"Get up, Y/n! We're going to be late!"

I snorted as I woke, shaking my head at the loud noise that was Lily Evans. Then the words registered in my head.

"Late?!" I shrieked.

I jumped out of bed, the world spinning with the movement, and ran to my trunk, pulling out my uniform.

"Come on!" Lily exclaimed, tying up her shoelaces.

After putting my head through my sleeve three times, I finally found the right hole, and pulled my shirt on. I put on my skirt and robes and grabbed my school bag and books before running with Lily down to the Transfiguration classroom.

We were huffing and puffing as we arrived at the classroom. There was only a minute to the bell, and our Marauder friends were looking at us smugly. James and Remus handed Lily and I a slice of toast each.

"We didn't see you at breakfast," Remus explained as I took the slice of toast.

"Thanks, Remus," I said, biting into the toast.

Light colour stained his cheeks, but he smiled at me. Professor McGonagall arrived as I stuffed the last bit of food in my mouth. We entered the classroom after her, and I sat next to Lily. Remus and Sirius sat down in front of us, while James and Peter sat on the desk adjacent to us.

"Alright, class," Professor McGonagall said. "For our second lesson of the year, we will be learning about Animagi."

She then proceeded to transform into a tabby cat. The cat had markings around its eyes, just like McGonagall's glasses. McGonagall transfigured back into herself before addressing the class.

"Can anyone tell me what the difference between transfiguring yourself and becoming an Animagus?" she asked the class.

James and Sirius's hands shot into the air.

"Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Transfiguring yourself is only a temporary spell, while becoming an Animagus is permanent," James said.

"Correct," McGonagall said. "Five points to Gryffindor. Now, while the process to become an Animagus requires a wand for the most part, after a while, an Animagus does not need their wand to transform."

I listened intently, interested in the subject. Wandless magic? Only powerful wizards and witches could perform magic without a wand, unless we were talking about Animagi, of course.

"All Animagi are required to register with the Ministry of Magic. One of the reasons for this is so the Ministry can ensure that an Animagus does not use his or her power for any illegal purpose while in their animal forms," she continued.

Professor McGonagall continued teaching us about Animagi, and James, Sirius, and even Peter barely paid attention.

McGonagall gave us a foot of parchment for homework, the topic being what we learnt about that day.

"We have a free before Charms," Sirius said. "Who's up to cause mayhem?"

"Definitely," James said.

"I'm in," Peter said.

"Moony, Y/n?"

I shrugged.

"I think I'm going to tackle the Transfiguration homework first," I said. "Our breaks aren't for causing mischief, you know."

"Oh, we know," Sirius said. "But causing mayhem is our best quality."

I agreed with him. Sirius and James just rolled their eyes.

"I think I'll do the homework with you," Remus said.

Sirius scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You know, out of all of us, I thought Remus would have been the least likely to ditch us for a girl," he said.

I felt my face instantly heat up.

"Actually, he's ditching you for homework," Lily said. "Y/n is just a bonus."

God damn it, Lily. I cleared my throat and willed my cheeks to stop burning.

"I sure as hell am a bonus," I said, but not with as much pride as I had intended.

James smirked at me, and I was tempted to throw him down the stairs.

"We'll see you later, then," I said. "You coming, Lily?"

"Mary wanted help with Potions," she said.

I just shrugged and said my goodbyes. Remus and I walked up to the Gryffindor Tower and sat down next to the fire. I got out my quill and ink pot and began writing. The only sounds were Remus and my quill's scratching, the occasional brush of a book page, and the crackling fire.

"Working with you is so much better than with the others," Remus said after a while.

I hummed in response, my heart beating abnormally fast.

"They're all too loud," he explained. "Sure, they are smart, but that makes them think that they don't need to study."

"Narcissists," I said.

Remus chuckled, the sound travelling all the way to my bones. His laugh was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.

There was a loud boom and a chorus of shrieks. I looked to Remus in slight alarm.

"What's the bet that was James and Sirius?" I asked.

"Oh, it definitely was," Remus said. "They've been planning this one for a few weeks."

"We've been here for three days."

"I know."

I snorted and went back to writing my essay. About half an hour later, we packed up and headed to our Charms class.

Professor Flitwick began to tell us what he expected of us as N.E.W.T students. James and Sirius began exchanging notes. They passed it to Remus, who wrote something down and then passed it back.

Our first task in Charms was to turn vinegar into wine. It was difficult, and by the end of the class, only Remus and I had been able to do it.

We ate lunch in the great hall. I watched as Snape entered the room. He glanced at Lily and my group of friends before sending a sneer our way and sitting down with the Slytherins.

"Git," Sirius muttered.

Lily didn't say anything. I looked at her curiously. We'd spoken over the summer, and she'd said that she didn't want anything to do with Snape anymore. Neither would I if he'd called me a Mudblood.

The rest of our evening was spent in Herbology, and then in the common room, playing games. We played a round of exploding snap (which Lily won) and then watched as James and Remus played a match of wizard chess. Even though I'd grown up with magic my entire life, wizard chess was still fascinating to me.

That night, I slept peacefully, lulled by the fact that I was finally home.