Bad News

[Alexis James]

Alexis smiled a bit. "That sounds like a great man to get to know." she said with a smile on her face. "Too bad we won't get to meet him personally hey?" she asked her with a smile. It was true for one thing they would never be able to meet Sirius Black. "Why couldn't Lucius Malfoy die and not Sirius Black?" she asked remembering what she had read in the book.

[hohum]

"Yeah, I suppose he was," Lucinda said listlessly as Alexis marveled about it. Lucinda had met a fair share of significant people, but not him. Alexis mentioned having Lucius Malfoy die instead of Sirius Black, and Lucinda laughed.

"I suppose many would think that," Lucinda replied, still laughing. "I, personally, wouldn't mind at all. However, there is a reason for why these things happen, I suppose."

Out of nowhere, an owl zoomed in and left as soon as it had appeared. Confused, Lucinda noticed that the owl had carried a package. It was square and wrapped in brown paper. Curious, Lucinda removed herself from the comfort confines of the armchair and went over to the fallen package.

It was addressed to her in her father's neat, loppy script. Raising an eyebrow to herself, she picked up the package and placed it on a vacant table. After tearing it open, the paper revealed a book of spells. Lucinda immediately got excited and flipped through the pages. There were spells in here she had never even heard of! This must be his idea of compensation for leaving. Well, Lucinda hoped that he knew she would not buy it, but she still felt more comforted that she could learn more, considering their situation.

"Wow," she said, scanning the pages. "Look at all these!" She looked at Alexis. "Want to go try some out?"[/size]

[Alexis James]

Alexis looked at Lucinda with a smile. Then thought she might as well learn something right? "Yeah let's do." she said with a smile on her face. "We can do in here as well. We don't really have to go some where do we?" she asked with an questioning look on her face. She looked out the window and smiled. So that's how wizards and witches get's their mail. she thought to herself. She smiled and pleased she didn't have to ask that question at all. She then turned her attention back to Lucinda and smiled a bit.

[hohum]

Lucinda was so excited that she had nearly forgotten why she was so upset in the first place. Alexis agreed, and this made Lucinda even happier since she had a partner. She shook her head when Alexis inquired as to moving somewhere else to do this.

"Nah, nearly everbody is in Hogsmeade, anyway." Lucinda closed her eyes, fanned the pages without looking, and stopped at a random page. It was the robe enlarging spell. This particular one excited Lucinda.

"Okay, we have our first trial," she announced, pointing to the page. "Engorgio. It's a spell that makes objects bigger." Lucinda removed her wand and pointed it to the piece of paper that was left abandon on the floor. Double checking the book, she looked down and said, "Engorgio." Nothing happened. A bit disgruntled, she tried again, but to no avail. This might get frustrating.

"Huh...you try." she offered.[/size]

[Alexis James]

Alexis took the book and looked at the page a bit. And then smiled a bit. "This sounds simple but it looks hard at the same time." she said as she took out her wand. She looked around the room looking for something to enlarge. Then she had an idea she grabbed the book and placed it ten steps away from where Lucinda was sitting. She then walked back to where Lucinda was. She pointed her wand at the book and said in a determind voice "Engorgio" and watched as the book grew ten more inches then it was before.

[hohum]

"Cool," Lucinda said, a bit mystified. A little jealousy welled up inside her as Alexis got the spell correct on her first tries. She didn't let this jealousy show, and instead she molded her expression into mild amusement. She studied how Alexis had performed it, and attempted to immitate it.

"Engorgio!" she attempted again, but the book merely grew a couple inches before falling back to its original size. Lucinda never really was as good with charms as she was with hexes. Odd, that realization was. A bit irritated, Lucinda jabbed her wand at the book and repeated the spell sharply aloud, while screaming it in her head. The book exploded into a giant size, reaching shortly above their heads. Lucinda gazed slowly at the book, then her wand, and back again.

"Woah," she said, a bit shocked by the suddeness of it all. Then she started to laugh. She was beginning to enjoy the sensation of laughing, which she had been doing so frequently lately. "How the hell do we get it back to size?!" she asked, laughing slightly again.[/size]

[Alexis James]

Alexis smiled when her friend finally got and then let her mouth hang when she realized it was huge. And when Lucinda asked how they were suppose to shrink it she did not know. "Um I'm not extactly sure but I think I'll find out." she said as she opened the now giant size book. Looking down the contents to find the right one she opened to that page and read the chapter quite fast.

She scanned the page one more time and then smiled a bit. "This might be easier for you. Point your wand to the book and say Reducio!" she said into her ear. "It should shrink it back to it's normal size." she said still looking at the huge book they have. "Hopefully before um people comes back in from whatever they are doing?" she said with a small smile. "If Lucinda couldn't she sure would try.

[hohum]

Alexis consulted the book in order to find the counter curse that would turn it back to its original size. She said that the incantation was Reducio and mentioned that it seemed like an easy one for Lucinda to do. Lucinda wasn't quite sure about that. It was easier for her to know hexes, curses, and jinxes (spells that mainly pertained to dueling) than charms. Even the simplest of ones gave her trouble.

She would try, nevertheless. Pointing her wand at the oversized object before her, Lucinda said, "Reducio!", but to no avail. She tried again, receiving the same results.

"This book is just way too big," she complained in a teasing manner. "I think it would take more than one person to shrink it." She turned to Alexis and smiled. "Care to try with me?" she said, pointing her wand to the book and waiting for her fellow Gryffindor to do the same.[/size]

[Alexis James]

"Sure thing Lucinda." Alexis said pointing her wand to the book. She was ready when she was. She was excited about it. She wondered how things where gonna be this year. Especially when a prankster king named James Potter was about. She met him not long ago. To her though he seemed like an all right guy. He looked and sounded like fun. But too much fun could get someone into trouble.

[hohum]

Lucinda waited for Alexis to move her wand toward the oversized textbook. When she did so, they both said the spell and the book went back to size. Lucinda was amazed that she had actually done it - with the help of Alexis, of course.

She smiled at her. "A job well done!" she said. She saw that Alexis's thoughts were elsewhere, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked, picking up the now normal sized book and putting it on the table. She smiled encouragingly. When she was little, she told her father that someday she would learn how to read minds. Now she knew that it was possible to do so, but she would never attempt it on a friend - even if she knew how to.[/size]