Some Things Never Change

Ch. 03: A Lesson in Animagi

Lucas groaned heavily and let his forehead fall forward onto the table. He, Rienne, Connor, Britton, Ophelia, and Caleb had gone down to breakfast and had received their timetables for classes. Lucas was staring at his as though he was facing the worst of tortures.

Ophelia reached out and seized his schedule, eyes narrowed critically. "This isn't so bad; I don't see what you are complaining about."

"Oh no?" Lucas asked, snatching the parchment back. "I have both of my parents and a pair of Weasleys for classes all in the same day, three times a week," he growled.

Rienne delicately plucked the timetable from his hands and laid it on the table beside her own. "We have the same schedule," she told him after comparing the two. Her eyes sparkled slightly. "And I must say, I rather enjoy Care of Magical Creatures since Professor Weasley took the class over."

Ophelia giggled. "Me too."

Caleb shot the dark-haired girl a look of disbelief. "You don't even take Care of Magical Creatures!"

The girl puffed up indignantly. "That doesn't mean I can't enjoy the class!"

The two looked as though they were going to explode, but Lucas held up a hand to quiet them. "Even I can admit that the class has improved since that oaf of a gamekeeper retired from teaching. Anyway, who wants to go with me to see Grandmother Cissa this afternoon?"

Caleb and Ophelia both shook their heads. "Deimos is a holy terror, and I've been looking forward to getting away from him for a while," she smirked. "Maybe next time."

"Mrs. Snape will be overwhelmed enough with you four. I think I'll sit this one out as well," Caleb added.

"Four?" Lucas repeated thoughtfully. "That doesn't sound right." A thought occurred to him. "Connor, go ask Flynn if she can come."

Connor nodded and left the Slytherin table. He returned several minutes later, a blush fading from his cheeks. "She said she'd meet us outside the Great Hall after lunch."

Caleb stood to his feet. "Well, I'm going to go see if I've got any classes with Clara. I'll see you guys at lunch."

Lucas stood as well. "And I have to escort the lovely Ms. Potter to Transfiguration, so no evil Gryffindors accost her in the halls," he stated, his voice sounding valiant and long-suffering.

Rienne rose, giggling. "And I have to escort the tragically handsome Mr. Malfoy to Transfiguration, so his legions of adoring fans don't trample him in the corridors."

Britton stood and linked his arm in hers, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Well, if you insist. However, I must inform you, I have Potions, not Transfiguration."

Rienne smirked and pinched his side. Then she turned to Lucas. "Shall we go?"

"Sure thing," he replied. Lucas wrapped his arm around her waist and, after shooting a superior look to Weasley, left the Great Hall.

"You know," Rienne muttered as they walked upstairs, heading for the Transfiguration classroom, "perhaps you should worry a little more about yourself. From the looks Weasley gives you, it would seem he would prefer to accost you in the halls. He has only ever been nice to me."

Lucas snorted. "Have you ever thought why that might be?"

"Of course," she snapped. "But he's not going to hurt me, and I'm not going to run off with him behind your back, so you can drop the macho displays." Lucas looked a little taken aback. "You, Lucas Malfoy, are an idiot, if you think I don't notice your little smirks towards the Gryffindor table. No wonder Weasley wants to kick the bloody hell out of you!"

Lucas couldn't help but blush at this. He ran his hands through his hair with embarrassment, and glanced at Rienne wearing a lopsided grin. "Would you believe me if I told you I won't do it any more?" he asked sweetly.

"Only if you mean it..." Rienne sang, her voice easily more saccharine.

Lucas looked stricken, as though the concept of actually meaning what one said was a horrible thought. "Alright," he relented finally, his voice frustrated. "I won't antagonize Weasley." As much. "But you'd better believe I'm going to defend myself if he starts anything," he grumbled.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Rienne said cheerfully, skipping into the Transfiguration classroom at which they had just arrived. She immediately took the foremost desk in the classroom, right in the center.

Lucas stared at her grumpily for a few moments before grudgingly taking the seat beside her. Lucas hated sitting at the front of the class, especially for those his parents taught. Rienne knew this and sat in those seats as often as possible.

Both Lucas and Rienne were very skilled at Transfiguration and were usually the first called on to demonstrate things. Lucas hated the attention, but Rienne doted on it, usually showing off in the process.

Lucas rummaged through his knapsack in the spare minutes before class began, searching for a quill, ink, and parchment. He noted, from the corner of his eye, that the other students were doing the same. It was his mother's accepted method of teaching to lecture notes to them for the first half of class before letting them attempt any spells.

None of the students were showed any surprise as a large red fox with black streaks through its fur came barreling into the classroom. It hopped lightly onto the professor's desk at the front of the room. Perching lightly on the edge of the desk, it stared intelligently at them all.

Lucas looked away disinterestedly, reaching into his bag to retrieve a pot of ink. When he looked back to the front of the class, his mother was seated at the edge of the desk, swinging her legs merrily. Ever since she had finally registered with the Ministry of Magic, Brynne had made a point of shifting into her Animagus form as much as possible.

Brynne Malfoy was in her mid-thirties, but anyone asked would have to admit she looked as beautiful as ever. Her hair was a coppery red, riddled with blackened streaks induced by being scorched by magical flames. It was from their mother that Lucas, Britton, Connor, and Flynn had received their coal-black streaks. Their parents had been quite amused that they had been passable traits.

Brynne's slightly freckled face hardly showed her age, and her emerald eyes sparkled mischieviously, as though she knew something the class did not. "You can all set your quills and parchment aside for the moment," Brynne stated, her voice bemused.

Lucas looked at her curiously and did as he had been instructed. This was new. Rienne was looking at him inquisitively, but Lucas shrugged in response, indicating he knew as much as she did.

When the rustling of paper ceased, Brynne continued. "I have been speaking with the Headmistress on and off for several months now, and she, in turn, has been conferring with the Ministry of Magic, and they have finally granted my request to reward my hardest-working class and teach them a different branch of Transfiguration."

At this, Lucas heard the excited whispers of the students around him, but he simply smirked. Now he knew what his mother was up to. He leaned back in his chair, looking sated, and smiled knowledgeably at his mother, who was looking back at him, more amused than ever, waiting for the hushed conversations to stop.

When they did, Brynne raised her voice slightly. "Lucas, Rienne, front of the class, please."

Lucas complied almost eagerly, still wearing his self-satisfied grin, while Rienne looked more than a little confused.

"All right dear, you first," Brynne told Lucas, as it was obvious he knew what to do, while Rienne was most clueless.

Lucas nodded and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, willing himself to change his body chemistry at the cellular level. Almost in the back of his mind, Lucas heard gasps, but he was too overcome with the itch of sprouting hair to take much notice.

When the transformation was complete, Lucas leapt onto the desk beside his mother and looked out at his classmates, his grey eyes sharp and calculating. Whereas his mother had been an unregistered Animagus for a number of years before registering with the Ministry of Magic, Lucas had learned the legal way, with the Ministry monitoring his progress carefully.

Lucas' registered form was that of a grey fox with silver eyes, its fur littered with black streaks, and a strip of black fur connecting the tip of his nose to the base of his tail, tracing a path back between his eyes, ears, and shoulder blades, marking the ridge of his spine. These markings were nearly reminiscent of a cross fox, but unheard of in a grey, making it obvious that Lucas was not a normal fox in any regards.

Shadow, as Lucas called his Animagus form, was rather amused at his classmates' reactions. They all looked shocked and impressed. This came as no surprise, as Lucas had only let a precious few witness his transformation. It was more useful in sneaking around if fewer people knew about it, after all.

Brynne then turned her gaze on Rienne, whose eyes now glittered with understanding. "Go ahead, dear," she murmured, idly scratching behind Shadow's ear.

Rienne's eyes were already shut tight with concentration. Lucas watched the familiar transformation disinterestedly. He had seen Rienne do this more often than he could remember, and was not even vaguely surprised when the tawny, green-eyed Siamese cat pounced on him.

Shadow let out a short, high-pitched bark and shrugged Princess, Rienne's name for her Animagus form, off his back, inadvertently knocking her off the desk as well. Princess flipped in mid-air to land gracefully on her feet. Then she turned and leapt back up, settling herself in Brynne's lap.

Brynne stroked the cat wearing an amused smile. "One of your two assignments is to write home tonight. By next Monday, I want each of you to receive written permission from at least one of your parents to receive Animagus training. If your parents have any concerns, they are free to owl me directly. I can only teach this if you all have permission, as it would be unfair to only teach part of the class." A dirty blonde girl at the back of the class put up her hand. "Ms. Derrick?"

"How long have they been able to transform?" she asked gesturing at Shadow and Princess, who were currently making playful swipes at each other's tails.

"My husband and trained Lucas after his first year, and Rienne after her third. Any other questions? Mr. Bole?"

"You said we had two assignments?" asked the brunette boy.

Brynne nodded. "I want each of you to write a short paper on two of the twenty-four Animagi registered with the Ministry of Magic. I have a list of them here." She lifted a sheet of parchment from her desk. "I've already assigned Lucas and Rienne their topics, so they will not have an unfair advantage. You will be reporting on your subjects at our next meeting on Friday. Ms. MacNair?"

"What sort of things do we need to write about?" asked a girl with a slight Scottish accent.

"I was just getting to that. On each person, I want you to find what their Animagus form is, their distinguishing marks, the age at their first transformation, length of their training, and anything else of interest you can find." Brynne paused and held the parchment up. "Now I'm going to read off the names, and it would seem most fair to let the first person who raises their hand have the topic. Remember: you must choose two." Then she proceeded through the list of registered Animagi, most of which had only vaguely familiar names. Halfway through the list, Brynne paused, eyes sparkling. Then she read the next name. "Britton Malfoy." In the silence following, no one raised their hand until at least a full minute after Brynne had spoken. Finally, three girls raised their hands, almost simultaneously. "Ms. Nott," Brynne murmured, writing the girl's name beside Britton's on the list. "Brynne Malfoy." She glanced up and nodded. "Mr. Fletcher."

She paused to note this and then said, "Connor Malfoy." She laughed. "Ms. Nott. Draco Malfoy," she read from the list. "Ah, Mr. Lestrange. Finally decided to put up your hand?" She gazed down at the list again. "Flynn Malfoy. Mr. St. Paul, you were first. Lucas Malfoy."

Brynne's eyes widened with shock and amusement as the hand of every girl in the class shot into the air. She glanced at the two animals beside her to see if they'd noticed. Obviously they had, for they were shooting each other amused glances, and Shadow was puffing out his chest slightly.

"It's difficult to say for certain, but I believe it was Ms. Bletchley who was first," Brynne said finally, marking her list. When she had finished assigning topics, she turned to the two Animagi seated on her desk. "If you two would resume human form..."

In seconds, there were two humans seated beside Brynne on the professor's desk, practically in each other's laps due to their close proximity when they had transformed and also the fact that a normal-sized teacher's desk is not made to accommodate three people sitting side-by-side on it.

Lucas and Rienne stood to their feet and Brynne showed them their essay assignments before they took their seats.

"You are permitted to conduct your research however you would like, of course," Brynne said, hopping lightly off her desk to pace in front of it. "However, I would suggest that some of you will find it easier to simply ask the person in question." After a moment's pause, she added, "Tactfully. I will inform you that my children in particular may not take kindly to you addressing this topic with, oh, say, Gryffindors around."

Everyone nodded. They could all see the benefits of being an Animagus, and why one wouldn't want such an ability to be discussed in an open forum.

Brynne glanced at her watch. "Alright, class dismissed. If anyone has any questions, you can either ask now, or come to my office any time during the lunch hour. See you all on Friday."

Lucas didn't bother packing his things, but instead went to the front of the room to address his mother. "Excuse me," he said sweetly. "What, pray tell, are you going to have Rienne and I doing while you are teaching them to become Animagi? We already are, in case you'd forgotten."

Brynne smirked. "No, I hadn't forgotten. You and Rienne have three options, from which you must choose two. A: You can assist with the Animagus training, B: You can complete an independent study project on the Transfiguration topic of your choice, or C: You can tutor one of my Fifth-years for their Transfiguration O.W.L. Did you hear all of that, Dear?" Brynne asked, looking over Lucas' shoulder. Lucas turned and saw Rienne standing just behind him.

"Yes. I think I'd like to do the tutoring and the independent study," she responded.

Brynne nodded and turned her gaze back to Lucas. "And what of you?"

"The same."

"Alright, but I'd just like to clarify that an independent study is independent. However, if you choose related topics, you may be able to conduct your research together and work as a team. Understood?" They both nodded. "I want you two to give me a written proposition for your research projects on Monday. I'll tell you whom you'll be tutoring on Friday. Now hurry along. I'm sure Draco's waiting for you."

Lucas returned to his desk and hastily shoved his things into his bag and then followed Rienne from the room. "Do you have any ideas for your project?" he asked, catching up and matching her pace as they headed downstairs to the Potions classroom.

"Several, actually," Rienne replied. "But the one that is most intriguing to me is the idea of what about a person causes them to take a certain Animagus form."

"How would you research that?" Lucas asked curiously.

"I've been thinking interviews. With the other twenty-three registered Animagi. Compare my findings with their known Animagus forms and see if any conclusions can be drawn."

Lucas nodded. "I was actually thinking about a project in which I could research the possibility of actively choosing the Animagus form. I'm not sure what kind of research I'm looking at, but it's certain to be interesting."

They were still discussing this when they arrived at the Potions classroom, but automatically clammed up upon the first sighting of a red and gold tie. By some cruel twist of fate, Slytherin and Gryffindor nearly always had Potions together, much to the chagrin of both houses.

Lucas' eyes drifted over to the desk where Michael Weasley was seated, as though he were the opposite pole of a magnet, but somehow, he managed to control the urge to smirk. Instead, he took the seat beside Rienne at the front of the class and leaned back in his chair, waiting for his father to enter the room.

Half the class jumped as the classroom door slammed open with a deafening "BANG". Every pair of eyes darted to the doorway, and every pair of eyes received a shock at what they saw.

~~~***~~~

A/N: So ends chapter the third. And I will not apologize for my cliffie like some authors do, because I am not sorry, because I intended for that to happen. So there. *Smug smile* Guess I showed you. And before you even accuse me of over doing the whole Animagus thing, you have to consider Brynne and Draco's background. Of course they're going to teach their kids. It's practically a tradition.