Creative Liscencing!
Chapter one: The Papers
I was down in the basement, cleaning it out. I was supposed to be going out with some friends in two hours, so I really had to hurry. As I went to go pick up another box, it hit a large crate, scattering papers everywhere.
"This always happened to me!" I cried out angrily to the room. And, in fact, it did. I wasn't just simply being another dramatic teenager. I was like a magnet-anything that could happen to make my day worse would most likely happen. I bent down to pick the papers up, when an envelope caught my eye. I grabbed it, and then noticed several papers underneath it. I grabbed them, and then saw at the top, with big, black letters, the words 'Adoption Form'. I stared at it. Could they be thinking of adopting? I then realized that the papers were too old. I read through the papers. The first few pages had the process. The next few had the forms. And the last page had a letter in an envelope. I heard a thump on the stairs, and quickly sat on the papers and the envelope, and began to pick up the papers.
"Hermione? Are you done yet? You've only got an hour left." My mum called down to me. "Hurry up."
"Alright, mum, almost done." She turned around, and went back up the stairs. I reached for another paper, which had some kind of seal on it, with 'Adoption Certificate' written on it. I quickly put it with the rest, and then finished the basement. I snuck all the papers and the envelope into my room with about half an hour left to get ready. I hid that papers, and then took a twenty minute shower. I then took five minutes to get dressed. I shut and locked my door, and took out the papers. I was shocked at the date. They were from about almost 15 years ago. I thoughrouly read through the process, and was about halfway through when someone knocked on the door. I froze.
"Who is it?" I called.
"It's us, your evil minions, my fair beauty!" I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door, letting my three friends in. They were all male, which, at first, made my dad over protective. Then he learned that they were all gay. He then became all happy and cheerfully, and treated them like any of my other friends. Gavin, however, really wasn't gay. It was just easier to tell my dad that. I had met them all last year, when they had came from Durmstrang to Hogwarts for the TriWizard thing. We had quickly become extremely good friends, and were disappointed in leaving. However, they all lived in the same town, and the town wasn't even an hour away.
"Gavin. Grant. Nick."
Gavin was the tallest, with curly black hair and green eyes. He and Grant were brothers, Grant being eleven months younger, and a year below Gavin.
Grant was the shortest of the three(yet taller than me by a good three inches). He had straight, brown hair, and the trademark green eyes of the family.
Nick, though, stood out the most. He was shorter than Gavin, taller than Grant. He had wavy blonde hair, and shocking blue eyes. The stereotypical Californian surfer dude. I had met them in the library, them trying to research something. I grinned as I remembered.
I walked back to my corner, and frowned as I heard voices. Everybody knew that this was my corner! Everybody! I angrily turned into my sanctuary and gasped. They had ruined everything.
"You bloody nitwits! What have you done!?" I seethed at them. Books were everywhere; open, untidy, strewn about, the table was shoved into the corner, while three boys sat in the middle of the chaos. They looked up guiltily, and I was about to yell at them when I saw the book they were looking at. "You want to become Animagi, huh? Well, can I join?" They had quickly agreed, and I sat down, saying, "My name's Hermione."
The grin soon faded, though. "Uhm, guys? I have something to tell you."
"Great! We've got something to tell you, too! Why don't you go-oh, no." Grant had seen the papers. "Oh, Hun, I'm so sorry!" he said, giving me a huge bear hug. Nick and Gavin looked at the papers.
"Well, at least you'll have us to help you next year."
"What!?" I jumped off of Grants lap, which I had somehow sat on while he was hugging me, making him grunt.
"Yeah, I mean, after all, we are going to Hogwarts next year. Did we forget to mention that?" Grant said innocently.
"Yeah! I think it may have slipped your minds!" I said, a bit hysterically. Last year, grade's fourth and up had been allowed to come. So, Grant and Nick were going into fifth with me, while Gavin was going into sixth(however, he was seventeen because of his birthday-he had turned eleven right after his first year, they started a year earlier than here).
"Well, anyways, who's up to seeing me confront my parents about this?" I asked drily.
"Oohoohooh! Mememe!" Nick and Grant yelled together.
"Great!" I said. I grabbed the packet and the certificate, and ran down the stairs with the boys, yelling "Mum! Dad! I need to talk to you!" They were both seated in the kitchen.
"What is all that noise about?" My mother asked.
"Mum, am I adopted?"
"Wherever did you get that idea!?" My father asked. I started to get angry.
"Oh, I dunno. It may've been all in my head. Or, it may've been because of this." I slammed the papers down on the table.
"Oh, hunny, we wanted to tell you, and we were going to! But-"
"Bullshit!" I cut my mother off. "You were never going to tell me, where you? I mean, I just gave you the opportunity! And you threw it away by denying it! How bloody stupid do you think I am?" I grabbed the papers and then walked back to my room, locking myself in there with Grant Nick and Gavin. Since Gavin was 17, I grabbed his wand and Magically locked the door, too. I then looked at Errol, who had come yesterday, and I had been letting him take a break before I sent him back out. I grabbed a piece of parchment, and wrote-
Dear Ron,
I'd love to come stay! I'll be over as soon as I can after I get a reply back.
Hermione.
"There." I said, with grim satisfaction. I then took Gavin's wand and packed my trunk with it.
"So, boys. How long were you going to stay with me this time?"
"Our parents are gone for a week with Nicks, so..."
"Well, then. Fancy a sleepover?" They nodded. We sat in my room, just talking and playing games until 10. Anything we needed, Gavin either conjured or transfigured. At ten, I made Gavin Transfigure four objects into sleeping bags. We got settled and turned the lights off. It was quiet for several minutes. All of a sudden, there was a tap on the window. I looked up, and saw Pig.
"Yes!" I whispered. I couldn't get out of my sleeping bag, so I stood up and hopped over to the window, while the three were watching me in amusement. I took the note and quickly read it by the light of the moon.
Dear 'Mione,
We'd love for you to come! George and I will meet you at two in Diagon Alley to get ice cream. The rest of the family is all busy tomorrow. Write back to let us know if you can make it.
Fred.
I wrote back quickly.
I'll be there. And I have a few people who I want my family to meet. They are from Durmstrang, so tell Ron not to have a fit.
Mione.
"Hey, guys? Wanna go on a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" I asked them, grinning. They all agreed, and we I hopped back to my place on the floor and fell over and landed on Nick. I giggled as I rolled off of him. We settled down again. Before they could fall asleep, though, I said, "Hey guys? Well, I know that it sounds kinda stupid, but I think that we should get something. So that we'll never forget each other, no matter what." I could practically hear the gears turning.
"What about a tattoo?" Gavin asked. Now, I had loosened up since I had met them. But, a tattoo was going too far.
"Are you bloody kidding me? They hurt like hell!"
"Magical one's don't." Grant interrupted me, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Well...I mean, if they really don't that's okay...but you do realize that we'd have it for the rest of our life..."
"So...do you agree?" Nick asked. Hm, this was making me think that they had thought about this before.
Sighing, I gave in. "Alright. Hey! Well, since we need something special, why don't we take that Animagus test that we were gonna take today? I guess that we just got a little distracted...heh...And we could have Nick, here, the best artist ever draw a design?" They all nodded, and I brought out the book. The test was different. You had to copy the test, and then have your friends answer truthfully about you. You then took the completed tests, and shut them in the book, on the same page that the test was on. You ran your wand over, so that it could also show the exact markings and colors you'd have. You waited five minutes, then re-opened the book, and the test page was supposed to turn into a picture of the animal you'd become, and the description of that animal. You would then shut the book and run your wand over it-it wasn't real magic, so you couldn't get in trouble for it. But that cleared the page back to the test page.
I copied the test with Gavin's wand 15 times. Yeah, only twelve were needed, but in case you needed another one. We decided that Nick would go first. The five minute wait was unbearable. When the timer set off, Grant snatched the book, and opened to the page.
"Nick is...a black panther? Characteristics of this person are graceful. It can be Artistic, or the ability to clear a mind at all times. All people who have this animal are confident. Advantages are good hearing and eyesight. Are harder to spot in the dark. Are strong and swift. Disadvantages are that they stick out during the day, and are best when in the jungle."
I glanced up, and then said "Grant's turn." Yet again, I couldn't wait for the five minutes to be up. My timer rang, and I went to snatch it, but Nick grabbed it first. I glared at him and pouted.
"My dear friend is a fox. Characteristics are cunning, a sense of humor, clever, quick-witted and/or brilliant. Advantages are hearing, smell, and stealth. Disadvantages are that they are built for stealth, and not speed.
"Gavin?" He protested weakly.
"Fine!" The tests were quickly done and set into the book. This time, when my timer rang, I grabbed the book first. I opened it up, extremely slowly. Gavin went to grab the book and I slapped him.
"No!" I said, pointing my finger at him. He glared at my finger, and tried to bite it (so immature!) and I yelped and quickly brought my hand away, making the three of them roar with laughter. I glared at them, and then opened that book.
"Gavin! You are a...Chihuahua?"
"WHAT!?" He yelped, snatching for the book. I stood up and dodged him, saying, "Aw! Look! You've even got the perfect little voice!" He growled at me and I tsked. "Poor doggy." He sighed.
"Read the rest!" He snapped.
"Fine. And you're not a Chihuahua. I was just kidding. You're an eagle. A bald-eagle, in fact. Characteristics are serious, the ability to keep a cool head, and knowledge. Advantages are flying, a sharp eye. Disadvantages are being rare, and not able to go some places."
"Alright! Great!" He said happily.
"Your turn, Hermione!" They all said in unison.
"Great." I said miserably.
"What's the matter?" Grant asked me.
"What if I turn into, like...a beetle, or an ant or something?"
"Well, then, I guess that you just wouldn't change." Nick said, while Gavin snickered. That was probably the longest five minutes of my life. My timer rang, and Gavin grabbed it. I guess he knew I was about ready to cry, cuz he wasn't mean to me like I was to him.
"You're a horse." He said. "Characteristics are kind-hearted, curious, calm in situations, yet still has a wild-streak." I glared at the three boys as they 'mysteriously' started to all have a coughing fit.
"Read on!" I said loudly.
"So. Advantages are: Runs fast, graceful-" another coughing fit "-and can carry people. Disadvantages are too big in some places, and are best in open spaces. About 85% of people who have a Horse Animagus turn into vegetarians. But this normally only happens if a person doesn't like most meat to start off with."
"OHMIGOD! I'm going to be a vegetarian!" I yelled, horrified.
"Well, I mean, the only kinds of meat you actually like are hotdogs chicken nuggets hamburgers and sausages. Surely you can live without meat!" Grant said casually. I glared at him.
"You know, if you keep glaring at him, you're face is going to get stuck that way." Nick commented.
"Yeah, and then you're gonna look like a Slytherin!" Gavin finished. I growled, thinking that tackling people was beginning to sound REALLY good right now.
"So!" Nick said, taking my mind off of its vicious thoughts. "Let's see." He grabbed a piece of parchment and a pencil, and then began to sketch. We started at him, and he started twitching.
"STOP IT! Go have a bleeding staring contest with EACH OTHER over THERE!" So, having nothing better to do, the three of us went and sat on my bed, doing exactly that.
A little while later, Gavin said, "So, Ms. Granger. Do you have a wild-streak?" He asked suggestively. I laughed, and blinked.
"Cheater!" I yelled, and then launched myself at him, trying to knock him off the bed. He collided with Grant, and Grant grabbed me, and we all fell off the bed in a tangle of us, the blankets on my bed, and the sleeping bags that got tangled when we tried to get up. We quit trying and collapsed into a hysterical pile. Grant untangled himself while we were getting our breath back.
"Aw, Nick! Look at the lovebirds!" He cooed.
"GRANT! SHUT UP!" Gavin and I yelled. Gavin and I weren't going out, but they loved to tease us none-the-less.
"Done!" Nick cried. We finally got untangled, with Nick and Grant helping us. We then looked over Nicks shoulder. He then took Gavins wand and closed his eyes and gave the picture color and movement. There was a horse lying on the ground. The way she was positioned, she was lying on her stomach, you could see the length of the body, with her head turned towards us. There was an eagle grabbing onto her mane with his talons, so that he was resting on her neck. The Black panther and the fox were draped over the horses back, the panther leaning against the horses neck, and the fox leaning against the panther. Every once in a while, the eagle would turn his head up to the night sky, and call out.
The horse would then roll her eyes, snort, flick her tail, and then jerk her head, putting it up, and then setting it back on the clearing grass really quickly. While that was going on, the panther and the fox would stretch, and bump into each other purposefully, hitting the horses neck. The horse would then nip the panther playfully, and then lay her head back on the grass and watch us.
"It's perfect!" I breathed, awed. It was set in a clearing, with trees in the background. He had colored in the sky, showing the sun going down, colors appearing and fading as the moon appeared and stars littered the sky. I started thinking, and I bit my lip. "I won't be able to afford this." I said quietly.
"Who said anything about paying? My pureblood uncle owes us a few favors. He knows how to do tattoos. That's why I suggested this." Gavin said. I started protesting.
"Come on, let's go to bed." Nick said, who cast a silencio on me, seeing as he still had Gavins wand.
"Gimme that!" Gavin said, snatching it from Nick. We got settled for the third time that night.