A/N: The idea for this came from a headcanon shared on the Shrieking Shack Society group Facebook page. I loved the idea and my muse ran with it. Credit for the headcanon goes to whoever originally thought it up on Tumblr. I have no idea who that might be, but I hope they would enjoy this one-shot in their honor. This is very AU, 7th Year, no war/Voldemort, EWE.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Seventh Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry included by far some of the most challenging magic to be learned and mastered during a student's long seven years of education. N.E.W.T. Transfiguration was certainly one of the most difficult courses of study. Having mastered plenty of inanimate to animate transfiguration and vice versa, human transfiguration was the primary curriculum of their final year. The students not only learned how to change their appearances and those of their classmates, but some attempted to make the difficult transformation into animagi. This was an optional extra course of study for those interested. An even smaller subset of the class undertook the far lesser known art of the fera hominum transformation, turning their familiars into humans. This could only be achieved using magical familiars who had a strong bond with their human, and humans who had enough magical power to enact the transformation. The level of difficulty notwithstanding, it was a risk in some ways because once the familiar was human, their own magic would sustain the transformation. It would be up to the familiar if they wanted to return to their animal form. This, in turn, created another class of magical being who had all the rights of their human counterparts but had to be registered much like animagi.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron decided to forego attempting to learn the animagus transformation for the time being. They each had a familiar and were struck by the curiosity of what they might be like to interact with as people. After much study, research, consultation with McGonagall, and general toil, the trio managed to transform their familiars. Hermione was the first to achieve the transformation of her beloved familiar, Crookshanks.
Crookshanks transformed from a bushy tailed, squashed faced, half-kneazle, into a tall but somewhat stocky ginger haired man, slightly older than Hermione with honey colored eyes. True to his feline personality, Crooks - as he preferred to be called - only cared for Hermione's company. He still loathed Ron and would try to trip the boy as he walked past where Crooks was cuddled up with Hermione discussing any number of academic subjects. Hermione found herself playing with Crooks hair as he rest his head on her lap while they both read books on whatever subject they fancied that day. Ron became increasingly jealous of the affectionate and often lively intellectual banter the two would partake in, feeling he was being pushed out of his relationship with the witch. Crooks felt this was perfectly acceptable and that Ron in no way was worthy of his girl. Any time that Ron accused Crooks of trying to kill him on the stairs, leaving dead animals in his bed, or shredding and marking his clothes and belongings, was scoffed at by Hermione. Why would such a mature and intelligent person stoop to such levels? Preposterous. Another student's cat had most likely taken a dislike to Ron after he'd stepped on a tail or something she would argue.
Ron, with Harry and Hermione's encouragement, managed to transform Pigwidgeon after much trial and error. Pig loved his shortened name and was extremely affectionate with Ginny when he found that the girl had originally named him. He was quite short and small, resembling a tiny first year. He had brown hair that was extremely fluffy. No amount of taming would get it to lay flat. His orange eyes looked especially large paired with his small, delicate features and pale coloring. Much like his owl form, Pig was exceedingly hyper, often found fluttering around Ron, jabbering at his person almost too fast to understand. Often times he could be found darting and weaving around, trying to get Ron's attention.
"Ron! Ron! Ron! Ron!"
"What!?" the boy snapped at the former owl.
"Can we go play Quidditch? Can we can we can we? You promised to show me how to play Chaser!"
Ron just groaned and looked around but none of his friends would look up and help him out.
"Fine, let's -" but he didn't get to finish as Pig zoomed out the portrait hole, presumably to race down the pitch. With a glare in Crooks direction, cuddled up on the couch in front of the fire with Hermione, Ron stalked out of the common room after his annoying former owl.
Harry, unlike his best friends, did not have an overly attached familiar. Hedwig had transformed into a tall, platinum blonde goddess with piercing amber eyes. She was fairly quiet and liked to keep to herself, but was always around if she thought Harry needed company or to talk to someone who would give a brutally honest answer or opinion. She quickly became known as an ice queen and snubbed the attentions of everyone, male and female, except for her Harry, and occasionally Hermione and Crooks.
Harry decided to wander down to the pitch to help Ron teach his overly excitable former owl how to play. He didn't notice Hedwig following from a distance. In the Entrance Hall, before he had a chance to even get out the doors he was ambushed by Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin bumped into his shoulder quite hard and began to taunt the Gryffindor. Harry hadn't even had a chance to respond before a long haired platinum blur rushed at Malfoy, screeching and flapping her hands at the miscreant. Her hands were curled like talons and her sharp nails were attempting to take gouges out of the boy's skin on his hands, arms, and face as he covered his head in a panic. Harry watched dumbfounded as Malfoy managed to escape the enraged and huffing girl and ran down the stairs back to the dungeons. She turned towards Harry, arched an eyebrow imperiously, jutted her chin out and walked out the doors in the direction of the pitch. Bemused, Harry followed.
In the end, Pig decided he preferred being an owl. He enjoyed the treats and the freedom to fly and deliver messages. He did make Ron promise, however, to transform him back at least once a month for a game of Quidditch. Being a natural flyer he took to the game well.
Hedwig likewise decided return to her animal form, but Harry and she reached an understanding that if he ever needed a non-judgmental, human shoulder to cry on or vent to he was always welcome to transform her and they could spend some time together.
Crooks enjoyed being a human far too much to go back to just being a beloved familiar, though. He was determined that his girl would have the very best man possible, and that was decidedly not Ron in his opinion. After much discussion with her mistress, they decided he would stay human, and live with her after graduation. Ron did not like this one bit and made the foolish mistake of issuing his girlfriend an ultimatum. Him or Crooks. Crooks watched with a smug grin as Hermione took his hand and stormed off, leaving Ron gaping. Eventually, the pair admitted their affection to each other and began a very loving and lively relationship, filled with debate, travel, relaxation, and passion.