Animagi

Animagi

Harry and Ron were sitting in Divination, thoroughly bored as per usual. Trelawney was droning on about the importance of interpreting the 'hazy depths of the crystal ball' correctly by telling an extremely long story about someone called Jeremiah Jookey. As if they cared.

Harry was just about to fall asleep when for some reason, his father popped into his mind. Everyone said he was just like him (Sirius and Lupin included - and they should know) but was he really? The same hair, the same glasses. As far as Harry could see, that was where the similarities ended. His father was great - always everyone's friend, great at Quidditch, smart, a real prankster, a loyal friend, brave and an Animagus. Okay, so maybe they were more similar than he first thought. Still... the last one stuck in his mind. Animagus. Could he become one? According to Sirius it would take years... but if he could convince Hermione he doubted it would take long at all!

He began to list in his mind the people he could use to help him. Hermione obviously, (if she'd agree. It was, after all, illegal) Ron as well, Ginny? Maybe. He'd talk to them tonight.

"Ron, Hermione, I need to talk to you. It's important, and I don't really want to be overheard," Harry said in a rush, as soon as they'd left the dinner hall.

"Well, let's go down by the lake then - Professor Vector didn't give us any homework," said Hermione. At this, Harry could hear Ron groan. They'd gotten a lot of Divination.

The trio continued chatting until the came to the far side of the lake. Harry could see Hermione regret her rash decision to come to the lake. It was cold out here in November. Under her breath she muttered a few words, and lit a handy blue fire inside an old jam jar.

"So Harry - what's so important?" Ron asked. He cold tell it wasn't Voldemort related by the fact Harry wasn't grimacing, so his tone was rather offhand.

'May as well spit it out,' thought Harry. "I want to become an Animagus!"

"A - what? Harry, that's illegal!" cried Hermione.

"I know, but my dad was one, and it could be handy if I need to get away from Voldemort," as he said this he looked at Ron.

"Don't argue your case to me - tell Hermione!" he said.

"Well, yes, I suppose it could be useful..." she trailed off.

"Hermione - I need your help. You don't have to be one if you don't want too..." this time it was Harry who stopped talking.

"Of course I want to be one! I'm just not sure I could...but being a bird would be wonderful!" She sighed happily.

"Well...will you at least help me research? See if we can find anything about it?"

"'Scuse me for stating the obvious, but couldn't you just ask Sirius? Or Remus even - he must have known how to do it!" Ron said in a tone that suggested he was talking to a three-year-old.

"Ron, asking Re- Professor Lupin would be suicide! He's our teacher again now, he'd be obligated to turn us in!"

"Well - Sirius then," he said lamely.

"I don't see any problem with that..." said Hermione slowly. Harry shook his head.

"I kinda want to see if I can do it the way he did - no help. And, I was thinking about asking Ginny to join us, but I wanted to run it past you two."

"Ginny!" Ron yelped.

"Yes, Ginny, you know - your sister?"

"I know who Ginny is! But - why?"

"Why not?"

"Why?"

"Because, she's our friend - especially mine. I want her to be in on it as well, Ron. Unless she doesn't want too," Hermione butted in. Harry flashed her a grateful smile. Arguments like that with Ron could last hours, and frankly, he didn't have the energy.

"Okay! Ask her."

The next day was Saturday, and the trio were in the common room. As much as Harry wanted to go fly, Hermione had practically chained him to the books, hissing in his ear - 'get your homework done or we can't look for you know what!'

So, the three were sitting at their favourite table, engrossed in work. None of them noticed Ginny come up behind them and plop down in the empty seat, until she said hi.

"Oh, hi Ginny."

"Hi."

"Hmmm," this last one was Hermione.

"What are you doing?" asked Ginny trying to peer over Harry's shoulder. He showed her.

"Divination."

"Well, I guess I can come back another time, if you're busy..." Ginny turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey! Ginny, wait!" She turned and looked back at Harry. "I want to ask you something. Come here."

Ginny came and sat down in the free chair again, and Hermione lowered her book. Ron had long since tossed his away. Harry quickly (and quietly) outlined the plan, and she wholeheartedly got involved. In fact, she offered to run ahead to the library and see if she could find some books. As she left, she yelled "Meet me there in fifteen minutes!" over her shoulder.

A few weeks later Ron, Hermione and Ginny were just about ready to admit defeat and owl Sirius. (This involved a hasty explanation of the events of third year to Ginny.) Harry, however remained steadfast.

"They did it! We can too," he would state whenever someone suggested giving in. This particular time however, Hermione was going to fight back.

"Harry - it took them the best part of three years! If we take that long (and we probably will) we'll only just get it when we graduate!" Harry glared at her. Hermione glared back.

"Okay! I'll owl Sirius and see if he still remembers. He might not though!" he added, sounding hopeful as he wandered in the general direction of the Owlery.

"I wonder if we're doing the right thing..." said Ron. "I mean, Harry had his heart set on doing it the way his dad did."

About a week later, Hedwig returned with two letters attached to her leg. One was addressed 'Harry' and the other 'Everyone'. Harry stuck his letter in his cloak, then opened the other one. It contained full instructions of how to make the potion, and the strong will required so 'have no second thoughts, or it could go wrong', as Sirius so gently put it.

Harry nodded resolutely, and after a hurried discussion it was decided the cubicle in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was probably the safest place to make the potion. Ginny volunteered to steal some potion ingredients from Snape, before Harry said he could get them somewhere else. The twinkle in his eye made Ron sure he was going to sneak out to Hogsmeade, and he quickly reminded him to take some Age Potion, so he looked 17. *

Three weeks later it was time. For the past week the potion had been simmering, and it was finally ready to be drunk. Hermione looked nervously round at the cubicle walls - last time she'd been in here and drunk a potion, she'd been a cat for the next couple of months.

"Relax - you need strong will, not a hair!" It was Ron, grinning at her. She moved into a separate cubicle and thought hard. Then, she downed the potion in one.

Harry was staring at his potion. It was yellow, a nice yellow though. He shrugged and quickly knocked it back. 'Tastes of lemon' he thought, before shifting his mind to being an Animagus.

Ginny was shaking. She had no second thoughts, but...what if it tasted horrible. 'Don't think about it' she told herself and gingerly took a mouthful. 'Mmm, chocolate! No - Animagus!'

Ron looked at his potion, excitement mounting inside of him. His mouth broke into a grin and he began to drink.

Hermione felt different. Very different. She still felt magical, but more so. She tested her golden wings and flew over the top of the cubicle door. She looked into the mirror and grinned. A phoenix.

She turned around as she heard a bashing on one of the cubicle doors. She began to pick the lock with her beak, whilst trying to remember who had been in that cubicle. Just as the lock clicked, the door to the right of that door opened, and from another cubicle flew a bird. Or, more specifically, an owl. From the other door came a bright white unicorn, and from the lock she just picked, a stag.

She turned to the unicorn. "Ginny?" she asked. It came out as a couple of notes of song, but the unicorn obviously understood. "Yes," it neighed back. "Hi Hermione!"

The stag pawed the ground and neighed **. Although Hermione heard the neighs, she understood them. It was Harry. 'So the owl must be Ron,' she thought. 'Interesting.'

It was Sunday. All day Saturday they'd practised changing back and forth between their Animagus and human forms, except for meals and so Harry could send a letter to Sirius explaining their success. Today they were going to plan an outing. After much persuasion, Harry had convinced the others to go on a moonlit journey into the forest. Now, it was time.

They sneaked out of the castle under Harry's cloak, though it was a bit of a squash with four of them. As soon as they came to the border of the forest, Harry whipped the cloak of them and they changed into their Animagi forms. Hermione and Ron, phoenix and owl, took flight into the dark trees. The stag and the Unicorn looked at each other, whinnied, and galloped into the darkness.

* its my opinion that the apothecary probably wouldn't sell certain ingredients to underage people, so only the 7^th years would be able to get them, for advanced potions.

** I'm not sure what noise a stag makes, so I just said it neighs. If anyone knows please review and tell me.