You're Fired! (Jammie and Bri Bri)

Briony sat next to the lake thinking about everything that had been happening to her recently, everything was moving so fast she just didn't know what to do about it. She had become a mother, and practically a wife over night and Briony didn't know what to do with herself any more now that her quest to kill her father was over.

Sighing lightly she decided upon the idea that she needed a distraction, something to make her time fly by and something that she would enjoy. Briony just had no idea what this might be. Scowling at the lake Briony picked up a stone and threw it at the water watching it splash against it.

James was out at the lake once again, he spend more time there than at any other place, but it wasn't weird for him. The water made him feel calm and stronger. He ran his hands through his blonde hair and was about to search for a place to sit down and maybe practice some of his water magic when he saw his Duelling teacher sitting on her own. He wondered if he should make his way over to her and decided he would just do it.

"The water can be a wonderful escape," he said softly as he stared at the calm lake, before turning to his Professor with a smile; "Hello Professor Blake."

Briony snapped her head up and craned her neck to see who it was who was speaking to her, she smiled gently when she saw that it was one of her newest class mates, James Jackson. Briony patted the ground next to her as a sign that he could sit down if he wanted.

"Hello James."

She looked out over the lake again, seeing how calm it was, and wondering what it might be like to ever be that calm, that relaxed.

"What brings you out here?"

James smiled and sat down next to the Professor, the grass was a little damp, like it always was, even on extremely sunny days, and it felt funny between his fingers. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either. That was probably because it was late, James didn't know the exact time but he knew it was something around 8 PM.

"I wanted to be on my own for a while, and the Lake is one of my favorite places to do so," he said; "And you, Miss Blake, what brings you here?" he asked, he hoped she didn't think he was disrespectful by asking this, because it was not how he meant it to be.

"I understand you...I too wanted to think for a while, but there is nothing more infuriating than thinking about a problem, and coming to a conclusion that you can do nothing about."

Glaring slightly at the grass Briony scrunched some of the blades beneath her fingers, she wasn't sure why she was telling all of this to a student, but, their refreshing innocence on situations was often helpful.

"Please, call me Briony, Miss Blake sounds so off."

"Those are the worst problems, you want to fix them, you would do anything to fix them, but you can't. It's unfair," he said, not even knowing where that suddenly came from, but he decided to just go with it. He chuckled softly at Professor Blake's next statement and nodded.

"Briony it is then, Miss Blake, I mean Briony," he said with a smirk.

"They certainly are."

Briony looked once more at the lake, her eyes not focusing on anything but the ripples of the water. She liked to think like this, with a person next to her to bounce ideas off. Briony looked up at the sky and grinned as she saw Byron swoop down next to her drop a letter and a dead mouse then fly off again.

"How wonderful it is to fly." She mused opening the letter

James watched as a falkon made its way over to them and he kept staring at it while it dropped a letter and something else next to Briony. James craned his neck so he could see what it was and winced slightly when he found out it was a dead mouse. Resisting the urge to poke it with a stick he settled back down.

"Flying, as in on a broom?" James asked with a raised eyebrow as he heard what Briony was saying.

Briony chuckled lightly, she probably shouldn't be telling James this but she didn't think that he would likely be going to tell the Ministry or something about her animagus form, after all, she had managed not to put down what exactly she was on the form and she wanted it kept that way.

"No, as in to fly like a bird. Alas, I cannot fly for long now...I'm out of practice a touch."

She turned her eyes to James with a smile on her face

"I'm an animagus."

"That's so cool," James muttered, he was glad he knew what it meant or he would probably look very stupid. His grandfather was an Animagus too, though the old man didn't turn into a bird, a wolf was his counter part. James had always found it fascinating a human could turn into an animal by command. He wished he would be able to become an Animagus some day.

"Can I see it?" he asked before he could stop himself; "I mean, only if you want it of course. Sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked that," he added, an apologetic smile on his face.

Briony smiled gently and stood up from her space on the grass, closing her eyes she let a familiar warmth wash through her body and when she opened her eyes once more she was looking at the world through the perspective of a hawk. She cawed softly at James and took off into the air swooping and diving back down to the ground.

Briony came to a sudden stop on the ground and changed back into her normal human self, laying down on her back once more, peering up at the sky.

"You must not tell anyone what my form is...it's secret." She muttered sternly

James stared at the significant hawk intently, it didn't look different from a normal hawk, and it could easily be mistaken for one if one didn't know it was actually a human. James waited for Briony to turn back to her normal self, still staring at the hawk, while sitting on the damp floor, when she changed back and told her to not tell anyone he nodded.

"No, of course not," he said, before adding curiously; "Was it hard? Learning to be an animagi I mean."

"Not really."

Briony shrugged, she knew others found it harder to learn to become one, but since she used magic that involved changing body compositions already it was quite easy for her to just change the structure of her bones etc.

"I found it quite easy, it was just time consuming, I got it down in about a month. It's tiring though."

Looking back at James she raised her eyebrow lightly.

"Why you interested in becoming one?"

"I, well, maybe, I want to, but I have no idea how," he said with a shrug. He could ask his grandfather to teach him, but James didn't think the man would agree to that until he was of age, which was way too far away for James. And then he had the problem of his family all knowing he was a Animagus, and that was just what he didn't want.

"Maybe when I'm older," he said with a sigh.

Briony raised her eyebrow at James, she wondered why he didn't learn now, surely there would be someone in his family who could teach him, animagus' were common because they are so useful but she supposed that not all families had a member who could do it.

"Why wait? Why not start to learn off a family member?"

Briony smiled gently.

"I'm always hesistant to bring up families, they're often a contentious issue."

"Oh no, my family is just fine. Actually, I do have a family member that is an Animagus, my grandfather," James wondered if he should say what his Grandfather's counter part was but decided against it, he didn't know if the man would be so happy about James spilling his secret to other people.

"But if I become an Animagi, I want it to be something from me," he said, trying to find the right words. "If I ask my grandfather to teach me, he will surely tell my parents, and I don't know if I want them to know," he said, he knew it probably sounded quite wrong but he hoped Briony would understand.

Briony chuckled lightly, she should have known it would be something like that, of course, she didn't blame James at all and she certainly wouldn't do anything like tell his parents or something. If the boy wanted to become one and keep it a secret then that's fine with her.

"I understand, I was like that too...I want to do things for me, by myself, to know that it was truly me who did it."

She nodded and then thought a little. Briony supposed she could always teach the boy to become one. It would keep her busy, make him happy...

"HOw much do you want this?"

How much did he want this? James thought about it for a moment, it was something that had been on his mind since he first saw his grandfather transform. It was just something that fascinated him, something that he wanted, no he needed to master. But since he knew he couldn't, he had pushed it from his mind.

"Like I would do everything I could do to become one," he settled on.

"You would huh?"

Briony raised her eyebrow and sighed, she stood up from where she was sat on the bank and stuck out her hand for James to either take to help up, or shake in order to confirm the deal they were about to make.

"I will teach you. If you would like. I wouldn't tell anyone, just as you will not tell anyone of my form...what do you say James?"