The Bond of the Links

Chapter 4

The following day dawned with no incident. Malfoy was avoiding them, which was definitely a bonus. The fifth years' classes were getting tougher and everyone, especially Hermione, was busy studying.

However, Harry couldn't help wondering about Shalimar's strange powers and the way their rings matched. Their second week back, he got a note from Professor McGonagall, telling him and Shalimar to meet him in her office after dinner. After dinner that day, the two hurried to her office. Sirius was there already.

'Harry, Shalimar will be the one helping you with your transformations. If you do well, your practice lessons will be cut down to once a week,' Sirius told him. Harry was grateful. He would have Quidditch practices in October too.

'But how can Shalimar help me?' he asked. He got his answer as Shalimar suddenly transformed into a magnificent cheetah and back again.

Harry's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. 'B-but how-how in the world-?' Harry managed to sputter. A wide grin spread over Shalimar's face. Sirius was looking the same.

McGonagall, however, said, 'Shalimar is an Animagus because of a special reason. That is the same reason why we want you to be an Animagus. But-' she held up her hands as Harry opened his mouth to speak, 'we won't tell you the reason yet.'

Harry was furious. Seeing this expression on his face, Sirius quickly said, 'It's for your own good, Harry. We can't risk anything.' Harry looked at him. Slowly, he nodded, knowing he wouldn't get the answer now.

'Ahem. Anyway, let's get to the matter at hand. When Shalimar learned to be an Animagus, she did in a month. We want to see how fast you can do it. Now, all you have to do is to concentrate and think about yourself turning into an animal. Doesn't matter which one. This requires a lot of willpower. Many of the cleverest wizards and witches could not manage it because they lacked willpower. You had better manage it Potter. After all, you are a Gryffindor,' McGonagall told Harry with a smile on her face.

Harry breathed in deeply. A month? Four weeks? 30 days? It seemed too less. He was nervous, but excited. He closed his eyes and summoned every ounce of willpower he had. For some reason, he pictured himself turning into a cheetah, like Shalimar. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sirius looking at him in awe. However, this expression was soon overtaken by laughter.

Harry looked into a mirror next to him and almost passed out in shock. His head was that of a cheetah, but his body was the same. He noticed that there was a faint patch of orange fur over his forehead that looked very remotely like a lightning bolt. He quickly closed his eyes and changed back into his own self. 'Nice work, Harry. I think you will be able to complete this in a month. Or less,' McGonagall said with a twinkle in her eyes. Sirius didn't trust himself to speak, he was laughing so hard.

'Shut up Sirius. I'm sure you looked just as bad the first time you did it!' Harry retorted. He shut up at once, and Harry snickered.

'Well, you better get back to Gryffindor Tower. I expect you have homework to do. Harry, brush up on your fighting skills, will you? You don't want to fall down again!' Sirius told him. Harry winced at the memory of falling down a dozen times during DADA that day. The two went back to the tower. Going in, they found Ron, Hermione and Ginny sitting at a table, doing their homework. Recently, Ginny had started hanging out with them, and Harry had found himself getting as close to her as he had with the other three. Bringing their own homework down from their dormitories, they joined them. Hermione looked up.

'What were you two doing in McGonagall's office? You aren't in trouble are you? Because this is only your second week back. And you are a prefect Harry!' Harry sighed.

'Skip the lecture Hermione. I know I'm a prefect. And no, we aren't in trouble,' he told her. Then he hesitated, wondering whether to tell them the truth.

'Tell them Harry. They are going to find out sooner or later,' Shalimar said, sensing his discomfort.

'Er...well, they want me to become an Animagus. Today was my first "lesson". I managed the head,' he muttered offhandedly. Ron and Hermione gaped at him.

'B-but, how? How in world-?' Hermione managed, her response the same as Harry's when he had seen Shalimar transform. Harry grinned.

'I don't know. That's just it, Sirius won't tell me for some reason.'

Hermione looked thoughtful. 'But why did Shalimar come with you?' Ron asked suddenly.

'Well...She's an Animagus,' Harry replied. Ron's look was priceless. Hermione was looking at Shalimar with an arrested look.

Looking around to check that no one was listening, she said, 'Shalimar? Do you mind telling us something? That day, when Malfoy tried to hex us, how did you protect yourself without a wand? I have a feeling I know, but would you please enlighten us?'

Ginny looked puzzled, as she hadn't been there. Harry told her about he incident, and by the time he had finished, her mouth was open in a wide o.

Shalimar sighed. 'I wasn't going to say anything until a while, but you will know sooner or later. Of course, there's much more to this than you could imagine, but I'm not telling you that. For a while anyway. You see, I can do Wandless Magic,' she told them in such a low voice that they had to lean forwards slightly. Hermione looked triumphant; she had obviously figured it out, but the other three looked stunned.

Ginny looked extremely thoughtful. 'What's up Ginny?' Harry asked. Something about her expression told him she had figured out something.

'Harry, you said that Shalimar is an Animagus- a cheetah right? And when she confronted Malfoy, her eyes glowed and were feral. I was just wondering if this is connected,' she said, looking at Shalimar closely.

Shalimar started. She looked up at Ginny and then at the others' expectant faces.

'What I'm wondering is what was Malfoy doing out there?' she asked, feigning absentmindedness. Sighing, the rest cleared up their stuff and went upstairs to their dormitories. It had been a long day.

***

The following week didn't bring any surprises. Harry's Animagus lessons were progressing well. However, everything had put too much pressure on Harry's mind. Why did he have to be the Boy Who Lived? All he had ever wanted while living with the Dursleys had been a better life.

True, he had people now who actually gave a damn about him, but he also had things he did not want. Or wanted. Instead of parents, he had a sadistic psychopath after him for god-knew-what reason. Why? It was like people expected what he did. No big deal. Hah! Right. Let them try it! No big deal indeed! He was walking towards the Great Hall for lunch while thinking this.

He was sure Shalimar coming to Hogwarts was not a coincidence. Who was she? How did she have those powers? Harry had a sudden feeling of irritation towards her. Harry had a nagging feeling about something. Just what, he didn't know. The surprises weren't over. There was more coming and he knew it. He just wasn't sure that he wouldn't be in St. Mungo's by the time he experienced it.

Just then, a pale, blond figure emerged in front of him. Great. Just the person he wanted to see when his nerves had reached a breaking point. 'Bug off Malfoy. I don't want to deal with you now,' he snarled.

'Touchy today are we? Being noble again, trying to save your little friends?' was Malfoy's immediate response. Complete with trademark smirk.

Something about that remark stung Harry. That was it.

'Shut up Malfoy! I told you I've had enough of this rubbish from you! You obviously don't know how it is to get something you absolutely don't want! Jealous of my fame are you? You can have it for all I care. Except that you don't have a single bloody thing to worry about! You have a family Malfoy! I just don't!' Harry shouted, his eyes flashing. Literally, just the way Shalimar's had.

'Get out of my sight Malfoy. Just. Get. Out.' Harry's voice was bitter. Malfoy's expression flickered.

Shalimar gazed at Harry with a pained expression on her face. 'Everyone, leave Harry alone. Go. Just go,' she told the people nearby.

With two quick strides, she was beside Harry, comforting him, as he massaged his head angrily. Before she knew what she was doing, she hugged him; he didn't pull away.

Harry soon calmed down. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were looking at them, astonished. Only the girls understood the pain in Shalimar's eyes. The pain that comes from keeping a secret from someone you love.

***

Harry was sent to the Hospital Wing for the rest of the day. Shalimar was excused from classes as well.

'Sirius, I think he may develop his powers soon. This is taking its toll on him. If he doesn't know anything, it will break him. He won't understand, and this will affect him. Considering the state he already is in, that won't take long,' Shalimar said as Sirius winced.

They decided to prevent anything extraordinary from happening, until they were sure he was stronger than before, and could do whatever Shalimar could. He would have to continue with his usual activities until the time came. Only time would tell how fast his powers would mature.

The next day, Harry woke up to find Shalimar and Sirius sitting beside his bed, deep in some discussion. He sat up and put his glasses on.

'Hey. What are you two doing here?' he asked them.

Shalimar jumped at the sound of his voice. 'Oh! Hi Harry! We were waiting for you to wake up. Feeling better?'

'Yeah I'm fine,' he said truthfully. 'Can I go back for lessons today?' Sirius nodded. Harry got dressed in time for breakfast and headed towards the Great Hall with Shalimar. As they entered, there was a sudden hush.

For once, Shalimar was in the center of attention as well. After the way she had hugged Harry the previous day, everyone was talking about it. The two walked up to Gryffindor table, where, except for Ron, Hermione and Ginny, everyone was staring at them. Harry felt extremely irritated.

'Quit staring for God's sake!' he finally snapped. Everyone was shocked by his sudden display of anger. They immediately went back to their breakfasts. Harry sighed and sat down. It was going to be a long day.

The weeks passed in a blur, it seemed to Harry. Because of his stress, his Animagus lessons were the only thing that hadn't progressed well enough. His DADA 'Muggle Defense' skills were better, and he was the best in class, besides Shalimar. In no time, it was October. As the days passed, Harry noticed that his abilities were getting stronger. He couldn't figure it out. During DADA lesson one day, Sirius said that he would be teaching them how to block curses. Without a wand, only their magical abilities. But that wasn't Wandless Magic. He asked Harry to come first. Shaking from head to foot, he approached Sirius.

'Now listen, all you have to do is to concentrate on not letting your brain feel that the curse has hit you. Some of you may even be able to block the Cruciatus Curse.' There was a collective gasp in the room.

'Anyway, right now, I won't tell you which curse I'm going to throw. You have to be ready. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!' Harry concentrated his whole being on not feeling anything. He tried to imagine how he would be if he were placed under the Imperius Curse right now. It worked. His brain went numb to the point that he could feel his surroundings, but not the curse. Sirius removed the curse, which turned out to be the tickling charm.

He was grinning widely. As the class progressed, he noticed that only Shalimar managed what he had done, but he had the distinct feeling that she had done this before. Even Hermione had not managed it, much to everyone's surprise.

'Evidently she hasn't come across the theory in some book or the other,' Ron told Harry and Shalimar in an undertone. Both tried to stifle their laughter as Hermione walked back towards them.

The same thing happened in other classes. Difficult things that were done for the first time turned out to be easy for him. He was only glad that he had Quidditch as a distraction. He found that his worries lessened after an exhausting practice.

Gryffindor team's Quidditch practices were going well, especially because of their new Keeper, Shalimar. The Keeper tryouts had been held in secret, so that they could use him or her as weapon. Shalimar was the best Keeper Harry had ever seen. He was sure they could win their matches with her as the Keeper.

On the other side of the pitch, Shalimar was having the same thoughts, but about Harry. He was the best Seeker she had ever seen. Unless some accident occurred (God forbid), he would definitely catch the Snitch. Hopefully that would lead to their victory. Considering that the first match was in three days, they were very well prepared. They had to be. The Slytherins were cheats after all.

The day of the match dawned on a bright, slightly cloudy Saturday. It was slightly windy, but perfect Quidditch weather. The players assembled in the air. The whole school was evidently surprised by the appearance of Shalimar. Even most of the Gryffindors were startled when they saw Shalimar.

There were many jealous mutterings about favoritism. They obviously thought that Angelina had chosen her because she was popular among most people. Even the Slytherins thought so, but they took it as an advantage. How wrong they were.

As Madam Hooch blew her whistle, the players took off hard, into the air. Harry circled the pitch, high above.

'And they are off! The Quaffle is immediately taken by Angelina, and is passed over smoothly over to Katie Bell. Oh no... she's followed by the Slytherin Chaser. Careful there...he's trying to cheat...But- no- he's hit by a Bludger. Neat work by Fred or George Weasley. Take that you rotten- ' Lee Jordan was doing the commentating, followed, predictably, by McGonagall's voice.

'JORDAN! If you don't-' Lee ducked her hat as he hurriedly apologized.

'Sorry Professor. Aaand... Katie scores! Take that Slytherin! Oh, but the Quaffle is quickly grabbed by Slytherin.'

What happened next, was a blur. The Slytherin Chaser sped to their hoops so fast, that Harry could only make out a green blur. How Shalimar blocked the Quaffle was a mystery to him, for next moment Lee was shouting in glee. The 3 houses cheered for all they were worth.

There were whispers of awe all around. The Gryffindors were beside themselves with joy. It was obvious that Shalimar was good. The Slytherin Chaser was looking stunned as Shalimar smirked at him. This continued for a while. The Slytherins were losing confidence.

In desperation, the Slytherin Beater hit a Bludger towards Shalimar very fast. Shalimar sensed the Bludger coming towards her and dived just in time. But the dive caused the Slytherins to score their first goal. The Slytherins cheered until Gryffindor had to put away a penalty.

The smiles were wiped from their faces. The Gryffindor Chaser scored goal after goal while Shalimar blocked most of the Slytherins' shots. Soon, the score was 80-20, Gryffindor.

Harry had started wondering when he would see the Snitch when Draco Malfoy went into a dive. He was just about to follow, wishing he could see the Snitch, when somehow, his eyes zoomed in (very much like an automated Muggle camera) onto the far end of the pitch. The Snitch. So, Malfoy was feinting. Harry took off for the other side.

The spectators were confused until many of them noticed the Snitch. Harry was a few feet away from it when Malfoy realized the situation. He took off after Harry.

The Chasers were still playing furiously. Just as Malfoy gained on Harry, Alicia Spinnet made another goal and Harry's fingers closed around the cool Snitch. There was practically an explosion over at the stands.

All the houses, except Slytherin were screaming and cheering. Harry could see Ron jumping up and down. Hermione was waving furiously. He waved back, a huge grin on his face. He swooped down onto the ground. Shalimar landed next to him. He swept her up in the same manner that Sirius had. Everyone was cheering on. Shalimar and Harry received an equal share of hugs and pats. It was due to Harry's acute observation that he had gone after the real Snitch.

Since it was a Saturday, the celebrations continued late into the night. Frankly, Harry didn't know why everyone was celebrating. It was only the first match of the season. He spent most of the evening sitting with Hermione, Ron and Shalimar. Suddenly, he found himself wondering how could he possibly have seen the Snitch all the way at the other end of the pitch. It was exactly like looking through binoculars. He tried it again.

Looking out the window, he tried to 'zoom'. All of a sudden, he could see that there was a bird sitting on a tree, which, by right was VERY far away. He 'zoomed' out and tried to sort out his thoughts.

Suddenly he realized Shalimar was looking at him, and had witnessed his weird ability. To his immense discomfort, she was grinning to herself. He tuned his ear to the conversation.

'And the way Shalimar dived to avoid the Bludger was amazing. And luckily Harry didn't follow that git. Too bad feinting is legal,' Ron was saying loudly over the noise in the common room.

'I wish I could have captured Malfoy on a camera,' said Ginny wistfully.

The others stared at her. She stared right back until she realized what they were thinking.

'Oh! OH! No...ugh! Not like- I mean, only to see his expression when he realized that he was making a prat of himself!' she exclaimed defensively. Harry grinned. It was hard to worry when the Weasleys were around.

The next day, the five woke relatively early and went down to the almost empty Great Hall for breakfast. They were going to visit Hagrid, whom they hadn't talked to for a long time, except during Care of Magical Creatures.

Shalimar was sitting quietly next to him. Ron and Hermione were just the opposite of quiet.

'Ron, how many times are you going to read Quidditch Through the Ages? This must be the millionth time! Read up on Potions or something instead!' Hermione was saying. Ron snorted in disbelief.

'Potions. Potions. Really Hermione, you should know better than to tell me to read Potions in my free time! Potions! Honestly!' Harry had to admit, he had a point. Hermione started to say something, but Harry had had enough.

'Shut up already! Hermione, let him do whatever he wants. It's his problem. Just be quiet all right? I'm going to get a headache with this!' he burst out.

They shut up and stared at him. Never had he spoken like that to them. Harry suddenly stood up and walked out of the Hall.

'What's up with him?' Ron muttered. Shalimar shrugged. 'He's confused,' she replied, before jumping up to follow Harry. 'What was that all about?' Ginny wondered aloud.