Sirius Black's Secret Love

Chapter Four - The Disinformation Campaign Begins

That night as Harry was getting ready for bed he saw the approaching form of an owl coming towards his bedroom window. He opened the sash and saw a large tawny owl come and land on his windowsill. He took the parchment scroll that was attached to his leg and saw that it was from Hermione. As he scanned the letter he realized that she had been worried about the security of Owl post and wrote cryptically so that it wouldn't be understood if it was intercepted.

Harry,

I didn't follow through with what I had planned on doing in London. I was all set to, but a small voice in the back of my head said, "Stop. Let Dumbledore decide." After all, it dealt with rule breaking at Hogwarts, he should be the one to determine how best to deal with the culprit. I sent him an owl about the matter and he showed up the very next day and took the problem in hand. He merely said, "Well done, Miss Granger," then left.

I had my parents stop at Diagon Alley before we went home and we bought this owl. I decided that I really needed a post owl of my own. Say hello to Athena.

"Hello, Athena."

The owl hooted softly to him. Hedwig looked up from her cage and eyed the other owl suspiciously.

"Hedwig, this is Hermione's new owl, Athena."

Hedwig then seemed to nod in approval. Harry turned to continue reading.

I'm attaching a copy of today's Daily Prophet. I thought you should see this. Please Harry, try not to worry too much about this or about things that you have no control over. Use this time to study for the O.W.L.s. I hope the Dursleys are treating you better.

With love,

Hermione

Harry gave some owl treats to Athena and Hedwig and then sat down on his bed to read the newspaper clipping.

Has the Dark Lord Returned?

Ministry of Magic dismisses rumors

By Hearst Seldes, Managing Editor

Yesterday the offices of the Daily Prophet received a deluge of owls from concerned parents throughout the British Isles. They are worried about the possibility that You-Know-Who has returned.

Three days ago at the annual leaving feast at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the embattled headmaster Albus Dumbledore startled everyone with the announcement that You-Know-Who had not only risen but that murdered Hogwarts sixth year student and Triwizard champion, Cedric Diggory.

The Daily Prophet had previously received unconfirmed reports of the death of one of the Triwizard champions, but now it can be stated that Cedric Diggory was killed during the third task of the tournament on June 24^th.

It seems that during the third task of the tournament, two of the champions, Diggory and Harry Potter (the boy who survived an attack by You-Know-Who when he was just a baby) disappeared for a period of about half an hour.

When they suddenly re-appeared outside the maze, Potter was bleeding and clutching both the Triwizard cup and Diggory's corpse.

We have been unable to determine where Potter and Diggory were during this lost period of time.

It is commonly known that one cannot Apparate or Disapparate on the grounds of Hogwarts, so any claim that Potter and Diggory left Hogwarts, saw You-Know-Who rise again and then reappear at Hogwarts grounds should be treated with great suspicion said a source from the Ministry of Magic.

It was also rumored that Harry Potter has an Invisibility Cloak, which would add another layer of intrigue regarding the 'disappearance' of those two champions.

The Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge refused to answer questions regarding rumors that he had summoned a Dementor and that someone within the castle walls had received a Dementor's Kiss that night.

Fudge did have this to say regarding Cedric Diggory's death. "The Triwizard Tournament has a long history of fatal accidents. Dumbledore had assured us that this year would be different, as they had supposedly taken great precautions to assure everyone's safety. Since Cedric was the son of one of our Ministry's officials, Amos Diggory, all of us at the Ministry of Magic have been hit hard. It is as if we all lost a family member."

In regards to You-Know-Who's possible return, Fudge responded, "I've seen no evidence of that happening. Frankly, I think Dumbledore is being very irresponsible and is listening to the ravings of what appears to be a very disturbed young man who has his own suspicions about him. After all Potter can converse with snakes, he has episodes of unexplained convulsions as well as an unexplained disappearance in which he then returned holding a dead rival. The other two champions had been stunned in the maze. It seems that Dumbledore may be trying to cover up for a favoured student."

Others also cast questions regarding Potter's reputation as being a hero. Narcissa Malfoy complained to this reporter that her son Draco and his classmates Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe had been attacked by Harry Potter and his friends on their ride home on the Hogwarts Express.

"My son was only going to extend his congratulations to Potter on winning the Triwizard Tournament when he was viciously attacked and left unconscious for hours in the hallway of the train. I became worried when he hadn't disembarked from the train when all the other students had."

At this point, Mrs. Malfoy began to cry. "Imagine my shock when I found my son and his two friends sprawled out with footprints on them. All those boys had to be treated at St. Mungo's for the jumble of hexes that were placed on them. I sincerely hope that Dumbledore will punish those responsible, but given his history with Potter - I'm not holding my breath."

Dumbledore has long been considered a controversial headmaster. He's hired a werewolf and a half-giant to teach his students. It is also reported that he allowed Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody to place students under the Imperius Curse as part of their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.

Two years ago, Dumbledore was briefly removed by the school governors after four students had been attacked and petrified by something within the castle.

There was a fantastic story at the end of that year that Harry Potter and his friend Ronald Weasley were in a hidden chamber in the bowels of the castle and fought a thousand year old basilisk that supposedly was left there by Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin.

There was no evidence to support Potter's wild tale at that time, but it was enough to garner Dumbledore's praise and four hundred house points, which assured the House Cup to Gryffindor. (Note: that was Dumbledore's House also.)

Another curious note regarding that episode is that renowned author Gilderoy Lockhart was injured in the company of Potter and Weasley.

This famed hunter of werewolves, vampires and other dark creatures cannot verify anything of Potter's supposed encounter with a basilisk as he is still an inpatient at St. Mungo's with severe memory problems suffered that fateful night.

The previous year there was the wildly reported story that Harry met You-Know-Who in another (!) secret chamber at Hogwarts and fought with him over a Philosopher's Stone. According to this legend, the Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort.

This incident in the chamber caused the death of Professor Quirrell and for Dumbledore to lavish enough points on Gryffindor to snatch the House Cup from Slytherin for the first time in eight years.

One should carefully weigh rumors of the Dark Lord's reappearance with the sources of this information. Unfortunately, neither Headmaster Dumbledore nor Harry Potter could be reached for comment on this story.

One other side note, our own reporter Rita Skeeter who had been covering the Triwizard Tournament and had been critical of Harry Potter is missing. She was last known to have been trying to cover the Third Task. Another disappearance linked to Potter, perhaps? Might his survival years ago against an attack by You-Know-Who have been a sign that Harry Potter is destined to become an even more powerful dark wizard? Only time will tell.

Harry fell backwards on his bed. He wanted to scream with anger, but didn't dare because he knew he'd wake up the Dursleys. There seemed to be an uneasy truce right now with his relatives. They were glad that he was now going to be spending his days out of the house and didn't want to speak with him at all. If he woke them up...who knows what they would do to punish him. No, he'd just have to wait until the morning and talk it over with Sirius and Professor Figg.

He dragged himself over to his desk and found a spare piece of parchment and wrote a note to Hermione.

Dear Hermione,

Thank you for sending me that article even though it barely reflects reality. I'll try not to let it bother me, but I'm sure that there'll be lots of people believing that garbage.

I'm glad you changed your mind about that 'task.' I was really worried about what would happen if you hadn't.

Professor Dumbledore already arranged for me to get my books and supplies for next year. He thought it might pose a security risk for me to go to Diagon Alley this year. I'll miss not shopping with you and Ron, but I'm already starting to read next year's assignments. The first time I'll ever be ahead of you academically.

Athena seems like a good owl, you'll enjoy having one.

Here's hoping you have a nice summer holiday.

Harry

With that he rolled up the parchment, attached it to Athena's leg and sent her out the window. As he watched the form disappear into the night he began to wonder whether or not Voldemort would be happy or disgusted with the reports in The Daily Prophet. It seemed that Voldemort craved attention and fear. That article spent precious little space on Voldemort and lots of space about Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Was this going to raise awareness in the Wizarding World or just make them suspicious of those fighting against evil? Harry sighed, took off his glasses and went to bed.

The next day Harry brought the article with him when he went to Professor Figg's house. She looked grimly at the text and shook her head slightly.

"There's nothing we can do about this. If we attempt to get a retraction, they'll only use this as a further excuse to twist the truth. I'm sorry, but I know how this publication works and there's not much we can do about it."

Harry then told her about the Witch Weekly article that had made Hermione out to be toying with his and Viktor Krum's affections and how it led to her being inundated with hate mail and howlers. Professor Figg frowned and then led Harry up the stairs to the bedroom with the surveillance equipment.

"I hadn't meant to show this to you Harry, but I don't see any reason why not at this point. Do you see this monitor?" she pointed to the screen on the desk that Snowy was perched at. Harry nodded as he peered closely at the display.

"This shows the neighbourhood for several blocks surrounding your aunt and uncle's home. There are various charms and enchantments that detect magical activity and also repel other activity. On my house I have a charm that repels owls. Like I mentioned before, I find that owl post is far too unusual for a plain Muggle neighbourhood. Besides, your aunt was well aware of owl post due to your mother and I could not risk her ever seeing an owl here and realizing that I was a witch."

Professor Figg then pointed at the centre of the map and Harry realized it was Number 4 Privet Drive.

"On the roof of your house is also an owl repellent charm. I had that in place and active until I knew you'd get the acceptance letter from Hogwarts. Until then I didn't want anyone sending you letters, greetings or fan mail. So any owl posts would have been returned to sender. I can reactivate that charm for you, temporarily if you'd like. At least until the furor of the article wears off in a week or two," she suggested.

Harry thought about the undiluted bubotuber pus that Hermione received in one letter and then he thought of how his aunt would react to Howlers.

"Maybe that would be best. But what will happen to my owl, Hedwig?" he asked.

"Well, I think you should send word to your friends that they won't be able to contact you by owl post until your birthday because of security concerns. All mail will be returned to sender. I'm sure that Hermione will understand completely. You might want to remind Ron of the letters that she received and then I'm sure he'll understand it, too. You should also have Hedwig stay at either one of their houses until your birthday. Then we'll try lifting the measure for a day or so and see how things work out. Maybe you should go home, write a quick note to Ron and send Hedwig away. You can tell your aunt you forgot something in your room. By the time you return I'll have reactivated the charm and you won't have to worry about receiving any mail today."

Harry looked at the monitor with amazement. "This is really cool. I haven't seen anything like this at Hogwarts."

"Thank you," she said being very pleased. "I've been working on these security measures over the years and it really improved after I took an electronics course a few years ago at the local college. I thought I could use a mixture of magical and Muggle technology to create the most powerful security field on your behalf."

"Mr. Weasley would be very impressed."

"Yes, I'm sure he would be. But he's not going to see anything about this place until after this detail is no longer necessary, then I'll show him everything. I don't want him grousing about Muggle protection acts. I hide everything magical in my house so that none of my neighbours will detect anything untoward and I don't want anyone knowing my business in the magical world. It's funny, your godfather thinks this is a little too high tech. He keeps talking about making an enchanted parchment to perform the same duties." She looked at her watch, "You might want to get going back to your house and send that letter. Otherwise your aunt might soon be pelted with Howlers."

That got Harry moving quickly. He took the steps downstairs three at a time.

That got Harry moving quickly. He took the steps downstairs three at a time. When he got to the living room he found a spare piece of parchment and scribbled a quick note to Ron telling him about the temporary ban on owl posts at his house and to please notify Hermione and have Hedwig stay at either of their houses until she could return at his birthday. He addressed the outside of the scroll and ran quickly back home to Privet Drive. His aunt was startled to see Harry come in the door.

"I forgot something, Aunt Petunia!" as he bounded up the stairs to his room. He noticed that there were three owls already beating their wings outside his window. He walked over to Hedwig's cage and opened it. "Hedwig, I've got a letter for you to take to Ron Weasley. See those owls? There's bound to be more coming and I need to make them stop for a little while. So please stay with either the Weasleys or at Hermione Granger's house for a few weeks. One of them will send you back here at my birthday, but until then...you'll have to stay away."

Harry stroked her feathers and gave her some owl treats. "I'm sorry about this, but that's the way it has to be."

She softly hooted and extended her leg for Harry to tie the letter to it. He then raised the window and Hedwig hissed at the other owls that were fighting to get in. They hovered in midair and then made room for her to leave. After Hedwig flew away the three flew into the room and dropped their letters at Harry's feet and took off. He looked and said a few silent thanks that none of those were Howlers. He snatched them up and closed his window, locking it. Then he ran down the stairs and out the front door trying to ignore his aunt's scowling face as he ran past.

As he ran back to Professor Figg's house he saw a flock of owls flying towards his house, but suddenly they turned around and flew back in the direction that they had come from. Harry was out of breath when he opened the door to her house. Sirius was trying to stifle a smile when Harry collapsed in a chair panting.

"I see you've gotten some fan mail. Did you read it yet?"

Harry shook his head, still gasping for breath.

"Let me see them," as Sirius reached for the pieces of parchment held in Harry's hands. Sirius scanned them and frowned, "Well, it's what we expected. The Daily Prophet is using you and Professor Dumbledore as a means to sell papers and create a scandal. Too bad they didn't get to the real story, but that's not what they're interested in. It's a shame that the only daily wizarding paper is a scandal mongering rag. The only upside is that they regularly attack the Ministry of Magic for its incompetence, but now when the wizarding world could truly need informing about Voldemort's return they get a load of crap instead."

Sirius crumpled up the letters, "You don't want to see them Harry. There's no truth or reason behind them. I don't want you to even think about this for awhile, there's far more important work to be done."

By this time Harry had caught his breath and he nodded to Sirius. "So, what's my first lesson? I did bring my wand."

Professor Figg walked in the room and placed some rolls of parchment on an end table and then showed him a magazine opened to a page with a brightly coloured wall on it.

"I want you to transfigure these rolls of parchment into wallpaper with this pattern on it. How good are you in Transfiguration?"

"I'm okay, I guess," he said sheepishly.

"Just okay?" she said arching one eyebrow. "I suppose that means that after trying for about ten or twenty minutes or so that you eventually can get something transfigured. That's just not good enough for you Harry. You need to be able to transfigure something quickly or don't even bother."

Harry's stomach sank. He knew that he was required to take Transfiguration and now Professor Figg was telling him he should give it up.

Professor Figg's tone softened with him, "I love Minerva. She's my aunt, but I'm afraid her method of teaching is not what it should be."

Harry was startled at that.

"I heard that Remus worked with you and helped you to be able to conjure a Patronus in your third year. Harry, you're a powerful wizard and I wish that Minerva would recognize that students need to learn to become accomplished with something small and then you'll be able to transfer that technique to larger objects. Instead of working individually with students she lectures and hopes at least for some level of competence but not proficiency. Tell me, what have you learned to transfigure?"

"Well, we learned to transfigure hedgehogs into pin cushions last year."

"Ah yes, the ever present dilemma of what to do with rampaging hedgehogs. Something that's kept me awake many a night," she said dryly.

Harry tried hard to suppress a smile at that, but couldn't quite manage it.

Professor Figg shook her head. "You need defensive skills Harry. Turning bunnies into slippers is useless for you. What good would it do for you to pelt a Death Eater with slippers? We need to concentrate on objects you could use to defend yourself with."

She then walked over to a cupboard and brought back a box of wooden matches. "I think after four years of lessons you should be able to transfigure this box of matches into needles in the blink of an eye. Do you think you can do that?"

Harry breathed a heavy sigh and slowly shook his head.

"Well then let's start with the matchstick to needle - your first lesson four years ago. I want to see you concentrate and get it transfigured by the time I can snap my fingers."

Professor Figg and Sirius helped Harry work on focusing his mind and energy on this task for the rest of the day. By the time it was over he could make an entire box of matches into needles and back again in the blink of an eye.

"Excellent work, Harry. Tomorrow we shall work on the parchment to wallpaper. Let's break for dinner," said Professor Figg.

Harry was feeling much better about himself and a subject that he had only had a passing interest in before. The summer was turning out much better than he had hoped. Harry knew that they listened to the WWN to get the Daily Prophet news in the morning before he came over, but they didn't share with him any more of its coverage. His attitude improved by not knowing what lies were being told about him. And working closely with Sirius helped settle his nerves so that he soon had some nights that were dreamless and he was able to actually get a good night's sleep.

For the next two weeks Harry helped by stripping the walls of old wallpaper, transfiguring rolls of parchment into the new pattern, and hanging the new wallpaper. The house was looking much nicer, lighter, and brighter. It seemed that Professor Figg

had picked up a few decorating tips over the years reading Muggle home fashion magazines and decided that now was the time to spruce things up. Harry was beginning to feel very confident in transfiguring now with all the tutoring and practice he had gotten.

One morning after he had finished a large breakfast with Sirius and Professor Figg they broached an important subject with Harry.

"Have you ever thought about wanting to become an Animagus?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked up at him with a startled look on his face. It slowly changed into a smile and he nodded.

"I thought you might have," said Sirius. "It's not easy, but I think you'll be able to do it far quicker than your father and I did. We had to do all the research ourselves and experiment without any guidance. It took us three years, but we did it. Harry, I don't think you'll have any trouble doing this in record time. The only problem you may have is...you might not like the animal you become."

"Why do you say that?" he asked perplexed.

"You don't get to choose the animal you want to become," Sirius answered simply. "The soul of an animal is inside you. The trick is to figure out what it is and then concentrate fully on becoming it."

Harry felt very confused. "How do I have a soul of an animal inside me?" he asked.

Professor Figg then chimed in, "In carving a piece of wood or stone, it's been said that the carver doesn't choose what to carve. Instead he will release the spirit that is trapped inside. It's an old magic that is recognized worldwide."

"So I have to find out what animal is inside me?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Sirius nodded. "Except that we think that we may know what animal it is. If we're right it will make it easier, but you may not like it."

"What is it?" Harry asked with dread in his voice.

"A snake," Sirius replied.

"A snake? Why do you say that?" Harry asked quickly.

Sirius and Professor Figg exchanged looks.

"Because you can speak Parseltongue," Professor Figg answered. "I am a registered Animagus and can change into a cat. Therefore, I can speak with cats and Kneazles. Sirius can communicate with dogs and to a lesser degree with cats. Because you can speak with snakes - we think that should you decide on becoming an Animagus - that you would probably turn into a snake."

Harry sighed heavily. He hated the association with snakes because it linked him with Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin. It also seemed that snakes were regarded with suspicion by the Wizarding World as a whole. But maybe, he thought, it might prove to be helpful sometime in escaping when his human form might be endangered.

"Think about it Harry," Sirius said patting him on the shoulder. "You don't have to decide today, but I will tell you that having the ability to assume an animal's shape has been very helpful for me. Arabella has also used that to her great advantage, too. You just never know when that skill might come in handy."

"Last year in school, Professor Moody, er -- I mean Crouch, Jr. who was posing as Moody - turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret," Harry stammered.

"A ferret?" Sirius snickered.

"Yeah, a pure white ferret and then he started to bounce Malfoy on the floor. It was really funny and amazing. He did it when Malfoy had tried to hex me in the hallway while my back was turned. Professor McGonagall was furious with Moody, er - Crouch. So maybe Malfoy would be a ferret if he became an Animagus. It seems like it would suit him," Harry mused.

"You may be on to something. I should have realized that Pettigrew wasn't trustworthy when his inner animal was a rat," Sirius muttered darkly.

"A ferret? I would have thought he would have become a dragon because of his name," said Professor Figg.

"Yes, but maybe his parents misnamed him and disregarded his inner essence," Sirius replied.

"If you were to try and transfigure me into an animal, would it automatically choose my inner animal or would it be dependent upon the animal you had in mind?" Harry asked.

Sirius and Professor Figg looked at each other.

"That's a good question," they answered in unison.

Sirius started nodding his head slowly, "I know you can forcibly transfigure someone into an animal of your choosing, but if I were to try and tap into your inner spirit...it might speed things up considerably. If you knew what kind of animal or what kind of snake you might become, then you would know how it feels being that animal first and then you could work towards doing it to yourself."

"I think that Sirius and I should discuss this idea before we do any transfigurations on you," interjected Professor Figg. "There might be some side-effects that we should take into consideration. Let us think about that for a day or two. In the meantime, you could at least start on your first Animagus lesson. You'll need to concentrate on listening and recognizing your inner animal soul."

Harry sat and listened to both of them as they discussed how their cat and dog selves would reflect themselves in their human form. He sat with his eyes closed and tried to concentrate like they had instructed him. He became a bit baffled and try as he might he couldn't think of any snake-like tendencies, except of course being able to converse with them. Then Harry started to think of how he liked taking naps in the sun, even though he seldom had the chance to do so. How for years he had slept in a dark confined space of the cupboard under the stairs similar to a snake's lair. He found growing up that in order to get any nourishment at all that he had to eat his food very fast before Dudley would snatch the food away. This meant that sometimes Harry felt like he was almost swallowing his food whole.

After a full morning of meditating on his inner snake, Harry was glad to spend the afternoon working on the various essays that had been assigned by his instructors over the summer holidays. He had developed the routine of transfiguration exercises in the morning and studying in the afternoon. The prospect of Animagus training was exciting, but made Harry a little apprehensive at the same time. What would the wizarding community think if word got out that he could transform into a snake? Would they all just assume he was an Evil Dark Wizard? Just what headlines would there be in the Daily Prophet? If he ever truly did become an Animagus and he became a snake, Harry knew that he would have to follow in his father's footsteps and never register with the Ministry as it would make too many people suspicious of him.

Harry had wondered if Sirius and Professor Figg would follow his suggestion to transfigure him or if they had rejected the idea. After a week of his snake meditations, Sirius announced that today Harry would indeed be changed into a snake.

"Harry, I want you to be aware that your thought processes will be different in your animal form. I don't want you to panic and bite anyone, because there's a good chance you'll be venomous. If you start feeling like you need to change back, please give me a sign."

"What kind of signal do you think I could give you? I can't just write H-E-L-P with a paw?" Harry said flustered.

Sirius pondered that for a moment and then brought out a catnip mouse.

"If you need to transform back, just go up and bite this mouse. Don't swallow it, just bite it."

Harry gave him a look like - why would I consider swallowing a cat toy?

"Are you ready?" asked Sirius.

Harry nodded and then Sirius raised his wand and a bolt of blue-white light shot out of it. Harry felt a shock course through his body and then he felt himself falling to the ground and his arms and legs were frozen tightly to his body. His head started shrinking and then he felt his body slam into the floor. He looked around and saw under the furniture. His tongue started to flicker and when it left his mouth he sensed the pungent smells of Professor Figg's house. It had a strong odor of multiple cats, dried herbs and various potions that were made in the root cellar.

Harry tried to move and found it difficult. He had to think and visualize how snakes moved forward in a sine wave like motion. He forced himself forward and once he started moving he found it easier to do so. He started to explore the ground floor of Professor Figg's house by roaming over the floorboards. He found that going over the tile and hardwood floors were fine, but trying to move over her various area rugs were difficult. He soon avoided going over those.

Harry had slithered past Sirius and Professor Figg several times, but he had trouble seeing their faces, let alone the looks on their faces. He also instinctively knew that they were speaking, but Harry had difficulty hearing anything. It all just sounded like muffled noises.

Harry then saw Sirius kneeling on the floor and holding the catnip mouse. He wasn't sure what his godfather wanted, but he slithered over next to him. Then he felt like he was being electrocuted. The shock coursed through his entire body and he felt like his head was spinning out of control. When the feeling subsided he realized that he was lying face down on the kitchen floor. He started to shake uncontrollably as if he had a bad case of the chills. Professor Figg soon wrapped an afghan over his shoulders and started rubbing his arms vigorously.

"Sirius, put a kettle on. The poor boy is freezing."

Harry's teeth were chattering and only after he sat down on the sofa covered up in two blankets and holding his second cup of hot tea in his hands did he begin to feel warm.

"We certainly didn't expect that reaction from you, Harry. But then again, neither of us has ever turned into a reptile," she said in a comforting voice. "Can you tell us how it felt?"

Harry looked up at her and shook his head.

"I'm still trying to piece it all together myself. Tell me, what did I look like?"

Professor Figg poured him another cup of tea and then sat down beside him.

"You were a very large snake. It's hard to know exactly how long because you kept moving, but I'd say you were close to a metre in length. I think you could probably swallow a rabbit or small cat if you could catch them."

"But why would I want to do that?" Harry asked.

"Well, last year I used my Animagus form to catch and eat rats," replied Sirius who was standing before the fireplace. "You just never know when your animal form and its attributes will become helpful."

"You also had dark brown and tan diamond patterns on your back and had bright green eyes. It'll be your eyes that'll give you away as not being an ordinary snake. I'm going to have to be certain that all my sentries are at a safe distance from you when you take that form again. I could tell them its you, but I think they'd still get a bit antsy."

"I couldn't hear anything - or at least understand anything. It was all fuzzy and muffled."

"Well, yes. Snakes don't have ears. With training you'll be able to maintain your own hearing and vision, but that comes with time and practice. Tell me how was your sense of smell?" she asked.

"Pretty powerful. I found smells coming from your root cellar overwhelming at times."

"Well, I was brewing up some more aging potion last night after you left. It should be ready in a few days," she said sheepishly. "How are you feeling? You look exhausted."

"I am. Famished, too."

"Well let me heat up some of the chicken and dumplings left from last night's dinner and then I want you to rest. You can use my bed and feel free to sleep as long as you need," she said kindly.

Later as Harry was drifting in and out of consciousness he heard Professor Figg and Sirius speaking in hushed tones.

"Perhaps we're pushing him too hard. Just look at the poor boy. He's completely worn out and this is only the beginning."

"He's strong Arabella. Very strong. We just need to give him some time. He will succeed at this, I have no doubt."

Harry wanted to scream out, "I don't want to be a snake!" to the shadows that were encircling him, but he heard the high cackled laughter of Voldemort. Nagini was then chasing Harry in his Animagus form. Nagini was gaining on him and he was afraid that he'd be swallowed by the gigantic serpent. He was writhing around the ground between the tombstones and the only thing saving him was that he was faster and more agile than the lumbering snake. Harry woke up drenched in a cold sweat and seeing that it was eight o'clock at night. He sat up and felt his head spin.

"You're awake. I thought I heard you rustling in here. How are you feeling," Sirius asked.

"Really groggy. I think I've got to get going home or my aunt's going to worry."

"I doubt she'll worry, but she'll certainly begin to wonder. Why don't you come into the kitchen and you can have some food that we've been keeping warm for you.

Arabella will call and come up with some excuse as to why you've stayed here so long. Then I'll walk you home to make sure you get there safely."

Harry nodded and stumbled into the kitchen. He had a hard time remembering what happened the rest of the night. It seemed to be a blur of images and his dreams were vivid serpentine fantasies.

Sirius and Professor Figg decided to give Harry a break from Animagus training for a few days. Professor Figg brewed some Pepperup potion that was normally used to help ward off the common cold by warming your blood. She gave some of this to Harry before Sirius transformed him into a snake. She hoped it would warm his blood enough to avoid the severe reaction he had experienced in changing so rapidly from warm to cold blooded.

It did seem to help him adjust and he was able to maintain his snake form for longer and longer periods without any adverse reaction when he resumed his human state. Harry started to visualize how he could turn himself into a snake and was able within a week to get his legs to lock together and get a faint glistening of scales to form on his calves.

*

Harry had slipped into a comfortable routine with the Dursleys. He woke up in the morning, took his shower, got dressed and headed for Professor Figg's house and returned to the Dursley's house after dinner. He would head straight for his bedroom where he would read over his course schedule and plan out what he needed to cover the next day. He hadn't seen or talked with the Dursleys in weeks. This seemed to have suited everyone. Then Harry realized one night that he couldn't stay hidden in his room that night because he needed to do his laundry.

He took a towel and wadded his clothes up and gathered the top of the towel and dragged it downstairs to the laundry room. No sooner had he started the water filling in the washing machine did his Aunt Petunia show her face into the cramped room.

"Harry," she said shrilly. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I have a few questions for you."

Harry started getting a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that she wanted grist for the gossip mill. He actively was trying to remember everything that Professor Figg and Sirius had told them about their cover.

"How is Mrs. Figg treating you?"

Like you'd really care about how anyone was treating me, Harry thought darkly.

"Okay, I guess," he answered.

"What is she having you do - all day, every day?"

"Different stuff around the house," he shrugged. "I helped her put new wallpaper up."

"Wallpaper? Hmm. How is she doing? No one's seen her outside taking her walks in a long time."

Harry knew that was because Professor Figg hadn't been taking her aging potion and instead was staying safely inside since Sirius could do the outside surveillance for her.

"Er, she twisted her knee pretty badly, so she's trying to stay off it for awhile."

"What's she like?"

"She's just a lonely old lady, I guess," Harry sighed. "She doesn't have many people to talk to - that's why she has so many cats. They keep her company."

"What about her nephew? What do you think of him?"

"He's okay. He keeps to himself mostly. He's busy writing, so I don't get a chance to talk with him much."

"I heard he's some academic sort," she said with an accusation in her voice.

"Yeah, I guess. He's said a few things about the Enlightenment and I don't understand what he's talking about so I just nod my head every once and awhile."

That seemed to satisfy his aunt. She started to leave the doorway when she turned around with a new question.

"She lives in a small house. Where's he sleeping?"

"I don't know. There's an upstairs bedroom - I assume that's where he's sleeping," Harry answered.

Then he thought about that bedroom being full of surveillance equipment. Just where is he sleeping, he wondered. Then he thought of Professor Figg's double bed and started blushing that he hadn't considered the obvious before. He immediately began concentrating on loading his clothes into the washer so that his aunt wouldn't see his red face.

"Is she still planning on leaving to see her sister?"

"Yeah, she's been on the phone a lot talking with people - her sister, doctors and others. I think she's now planning on leaving in late August or early September." Yeah, on the Hogwarts Express.

"Well, I've got homework I have to work on - so if you don't mind," Harry said as he tried to squeeze past his aunt.

"Very well, you may go. And I don't want you doing laundry all night long. I'd rather not hear the dryer going while I'm trying to fall asleep."

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry nodded and quickly bounded up the stairs three at a time.

He wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and his aunt. She made him very nervous and he hoped that he had been believable in his answers. He spent the rest of the night listening carefully from his bedroom to every sound of the washer and dryer. When he went downstairs later he saw his Aunt Petunia examining his knickers. He immediately felt the blood rushing to his cheeks.

"It looks like the elastic is going on these. You should get some new knickers before you go back in September," she said looking at them with disgust.

She can't even force herself to say the words, "go back to school" Harry thought. He didn't want any more of Dudley's hand-me-downs, especially his knickers. Talk about worn elastic. Harry would need to tie ropes around his waist to wear those.

"Is Mrs. Figg paying you for all that work you're doing?" she asked.

So that's why she wanted to talk with me.

"Yeah, five pounds a week. I know it's not much, but she's on a fixed income and I'm not all that handy so..." he trailed off.

"Well, by the end of the summer you should have earned forty pounds. You ought to be able to buy your own knickers. Maybe that nephew of hers - what's his name, again?" she asked with her eyes narrowing.

"Umm, Joseph."

"Joseph, what?"

"Joseph O'Brien, I think," he replied.

"Well, maybe Joseph O'Brien could go with you clothes shopping as I don't know that I'll have any time for that," she snapped and then turned on her heel and left. Harry watched her leave with his mouth wide open. Well, yeah I'd much rather go shopping with Sirius than you Any Day.