The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Kisses in the Common Room

Kisses in the Common Room

March heralded its arrival with a bout of terrible weather that rocked the grounds. Sleet hit the windows of Gryffindor Tower and the ceiling of the Great Hall was a constant horrible grey. The boys continued checking on the Draught of Change as it bubbled and brewed in the Secret Room, as they'd taken to calling it, but there wasn't much to do but peer in at it. The book had expressly warned about touching it too soon and the horrible effects that could have on their final results. Instead, the boys' new focus for preparations was an even harder step than getting all the ingreients for the potion.

"So when did you learn how to do an unspoken spell?" James asked Bilius Weasley and Derek Bell in the Common Room one afternoon. The pair of them had been working on doing some revising for the N.E.W.T.'s and James had taken it as as good a time as any to ask. The last step of the change was an unspoken spell, which would be used anytime that they needed to change to and from their animal forms. It was, according to the book, absolutely necessary that it be an unspoken spell, but none of the second years knew how to go about casting an unspoken spell.

Derek thought a moment, "It was last year, wasn't it? Tutman?"

"Nawh, mate - Last year but it was Moody who taught us it," Bilius replied. "Brilliant man. Wish he was teaching Defense this term, too."

"So not until Sixth Year?" James asked.

"Yeah, sixth year," Derek said, nodding, "It's not easy but it isn't as hard as it sounds. I think they just wait that long so the teachers know you're responsible or what have you before you're able to cast spells they can't hear."

"Why in Merlin's name did they teach it to us lot then?" Bilius cackled.

"Dunno, Moody hadn't gotten to know you real well yet when he taught it, else he would've sent you off into the hall to wait," Derek jibed, kicking Bilius's ankle.

"Me! What about you?!" Bilius exclaimed.

Derek grinned, "I am a perfect example of a mature --"

Bilius snorted and said, talking over Derek, "Mature as the finest mead!"

James left them to argue their maturity levels and went back up to the dormitory to report back to Sirius, who was sitting on his bed, reading the Animagus book. Peter and Remus were both down at the table in the common room, studying with Lily Evans. When the door to the dorm opened, Sirius shoved his book beneath the covers of his bed quickly. "Oh, it's you," he said, seeing James, "Did you get to talk to Derek?"

"And Bilius," James answered. "They say they didn't learn until sixth year - Defense Against the Dark Arts. Moody taught them."

"Sixth year?!" Sirius clapped a hand to his forehead, "Oi - that is a problem - it's such advanced magic!"

James shrugged, "They said it wasn't hard; it's more a maturity thing that makes it later in the curriculum. Bilius said the teachers want to hear what we're casting so that's why they don't teach unspoken spells until after we're all older."

"Did they tell you how to do it?" Sirius asked.

James shook his head, "They started bickering."

"Well that's not very helpful."

James grabbed his wand from his pocket, "But how hard can it be, right? It's just casting a spell without saying it out loud. Magic doesn't depend on words, does it? Not real magic, anyway. It's the wizard that makes it happen, not the word. The word's just a way to focus the intent of the wizard, yeah?"