Please, Not a Ferret

Please, Not a Ferret

He couldn't open his eyes.

God, what if he did, and he was a ferret? Please, let him be anything but a ferret.

After all, he hadn't chosen that shape, right? And no one who knew him (aside from those bloody Gryffindors, anyway), could possibly think he was weasel-like at all.

He'd spent days wondering what he would become, knowing that the change was out of his hands. At least, if he turned out to be a ferret, he never had to do it again, right?

But what else might he be? A dragon was unlikely. He simply didn't feel that big. Felt kind of small, in fact. He shuddered, and pushed the thought away. He'd thought of how Potter's Godfather had been a Dog. God, that would be almost as bad as being a ferret, really. And he definitely didn't want to be a snake, though it might be fun, just to scare the girls. No, snakes were too low to the ground, and people didn't like them. They'd be more likely to destroy him than anything else.

So, what did he want to be? He'd thought about it a bit. A big cat wouldn't have been too bad, he'd thought. A panther, or a tiger, maybe. Not a lion, though. Nothing that would connect him to those dolts in Gryffindor. A bird wouldn't have been too bad, either. Something large, an eagle or hawk, maybe. Even a fox wouldn't be so bad...

Anything, really, would be acceptable at this point, as long as he wasn't...

"Come on, Draco, open your eyes. You're gorgeous!" Blaise squealed.

Draco opened his eyes. Well, he was definitely small. The bed was huge around him, and Blaise looked about as tall as the front doors to Hogwarts. Not the best of signs. But everyone knew he didn't want to be a ferret, so surely Blaise wouldn't be this excited if he were, would he? Not that Blaise had ever been known to be too intelligent...

Draco looked down to examine himself. White fur, totally pristine, no markings, but with a slight hint of silver at the tips. Paws--not ferret paws, which made Draco sigh with relief. Which came out as--a purr. He opened his eyes in surprise. A cat? He stood up, still gawky in his new body, and jumped--quite gracefully, he thought--to the floor. He strode up to the mirror, and began to examine his new form.

A cat. But not just any cat, no. He was an Oriental. Blue eyes looked back from a long, slender face. The ears were just slightly tipped with a darker silver fur. He had a long, sleek body, and when he swung it round to look (dear god, he had a tail, and what a gorgeous tail it was...), his tail was tipped with the darker silver as well.

He was perfect.

He couldn't wait to show up Potter when they met with McGonagall in the morning to show their new forms. There was no way Potter could beat this.

~*<>*~

The next morning McGonagall eyed them beadily as they came in. They had both approached her separately about becoming animagi, and she had agreed, as long as they did not fight during the classes she gave them on becoming animagi. They had managed to keep peace just barely, though it had helped that neither Draco's goons nor Harry's sidekicks had joined them in the sessions. There had been a few days where they had barely managed to get out of the room before exploding at each other, which had earned them several detentions.

But now Draco would have the last laugh. His form was perfect, and there was no way Potter could outdo him today.

The two boys sat quietly as McGonagall went over what would be expected of them after successfully transforming. Paperwork, and an examiner who would come to the castle to record all markings of their new forms. Draco sighed. Couldn't the old windbag just drop it? Couldn't she just let them change already? Finally, she wound down, and turned to Draco.

"Well, Mister Malfoy, since you approached me first, let me see your form."

Draco stood, and with a smirk directed towards Potter, he began the change. Once the change was complete, he jumped up onto the chair, then up onto the desk, so he could see their stunned faces. He was rather disappointed.

McGonagall simply nodded. "Very nice, Mister Malfoy."

Potter was smirking, though. Draco didn't like that. He glared at the other boy, and let out a slight hiss.

"None of that, now, Mister Malfoy." McGonagall turned to Potter. "Now you, Mister Potter."

"Yes, ma'am." He stood and moved to the back of the room. Showoff, thought Draco to himself. Probably just trying to intimidate us.

Then Potter began to change. His body lengthening, limbs rearranging to turn into paws, clothing suddenly subsumed by a sleek coat of sable fur. Golden-green eyes...

This time, Draco hissed in horror. A panther? Potter was...a panther?

Draco closed his eyes. There was simply no justice in the world.