Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except my OC, Mal. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.
AN: Some people have been asking about the timeline and which characters were gonna be in here so here it is. This story is canon up until the fifth book. The whole Department of Mysteries thing never happened. Snape actually taught Harry occlumency and was successful so that Dumbledore could tell Harry all about the prophesy. In this story Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in their seventh year at Hogwarts. They decided to finish school before going after the horcruxes since Voldemort is still not being very active. They will be in this story, but not as main characters. Hope that clears some things up.
Prologue
Malachi Crowley, who really preferred to be called Mal as his mother only called him Malachi when he was in trouble, which was often. You see, when Mal was three he wandered into the woods by his parents' home in Washington (the state not the district) and came back nearly twelve hours later. He was fine, except in those twelve hours he had somehow gone from being a slightly chubby three-year-old boy with light brown hair and hazel eyes to a small wolf cub with grey fur and hazel eyes.
Needless to say, little Mal's parents were concerned. Finally, after several hours of coaxing and the promise of ice cream (mint chocolate chip of course), they convinced there son that while playing with the dog might be more fun as a wolf cub, he still needed to be a little boy.
Over the next few years Mal continued to transform into different animals. It seemed sometimes all he needed to do was look at one, and then he was one. His parents, Patrick and Angela, soon realized that something would have to be done. Patrick Crowley was an expert in martial arts and had practiced meditation for the past two decades. After hearing from his now four-year-old son that it was his inner desire to be the animals that made him change, he decided to teach him to control his mind.
Mal's parents were terrified that if anyone ever saw their son transform he would be hauled off to some government facility and treated like a lab rat. They told him never to let anyone besides them see him transform. He only transformed when his parents were watching, and only when they were alone in their home, which was several miles outside of town and free of prying eyes.
By the time he was six it no longer happened on accident and he was attending a local elementary school. Unfortunately, said elementary school had faulty wiring and one Thursday afternoon the fire alarms went off. Mal panicked, the blaring alarm hurting his over-sensitive ears and the smoke burning his nostrils. His animal instincts told him to run and the window was the quickest way to do so. Unfortunately Mal was on the third floor at the time.
Luckily no one saw the young eagle soar out the window and fly off in the direction of the Crowley home. When Patrick and Angela got frantic calls from Mal's teachers, they rushed home to find him sitting on the sofa watching TV. After hearing the full story from him they decided to move, fearing the repercussions.
While Patrick had grown up in Washington, his family was originally from Britain and he had inherited a small cottage on a good bit of land near Plymouth. It was fairly isolated and seemed the perfect place to run to.
Mal, while said to lose his friends, was excited to begin a new adventure, as he saw it. He had always been exceptionally bright. His enhanced animal senses, which he kept even in human form (though they were not quite as strong), let him observe the world in a way few others could. That, combined with a nearly eidetic memory, made him even more extraordinary.
When he was seven Mal decided he needed to test the limits of his gift and he started experimenting. After a few close calls, he realized that it was much safer to know a bit about the animal he wanted to transform into before he actually transformed. He soon learned that he was limited to only birds and mammals, and he wondered why. He also learned that the more he transformed and spent time in a new body, the faster he could transform and adjust. He began reading as much as he could about animal anatomy and physiology, as well as behavior and psychology. As an animal, he kept his human mind but also gained the mindset of whatever he transformed into. As a wolf, his favorite, he had high predator instincts and wanted to chase and be in a pack. As a buck, he wanted to run and hide at every unfamiliar sound.
As time went on he wandered further and further from his new home. His parents let him go, recognizing the wildness inside of him and the need to be free. They just warned him to be careful and stay away from populated areas. It was great, but young Mal was lonely. His parents had homeschooled him since the move to Britain, fearing another incident. His father gave private martial arts lessons at a studio in the city and his mother worked from home so she could stay with him. He loved his parents, but he missed being around other kids. When he was nine his parents finally decided he had enough control to reenter society; he hadn't changed on accident in nearly three years. He attended the local primary school for two years, making friends and laughing and joking like any boy should, but everything changed on the day of his eleventh birthday.
Chapter One: Letter
On June 6, 1997, Mal walked down the winding mile-long driveway, which in reality was a dirt lane, to the mail box. He did this every morning, reveling in the cool fresh air and bright sunlight of the beginning of a new day. When he got to the box he retrieved the usual post, bills and letters from distant family, a catalogue for some store he'd never even heard of, and one unusual thing. At the bottom of the stack was an envelope of heavy parchment with his name written in emerald green ink. Excited, he raced back down the lane to open the letter.
As soon as he got inside, entering through the kitchen door, he dropped the rest of the mail in the usual spot on the counter and sat at the small table to open the mysterious letter.
"What's that sweetie?" his mother asked from the stove where she was cooking breakfast.
"I don't know," he responding, studying the wax seal that held the envelope closed. "Someone sent me a letter."
He broke the seal and hastily pulled out the letter. As he read his chin dropped lower and lower, his eyes widening in shock.
Dear Mr. Crowley and Family,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We understand that this must have come as a surprise and we would be happy to send one of our professors to come and explain everything at you earliest convenience.
Professor R. J. Lupin, Deputy Headmaster, will be coming by your home on this coming Saturday at approximately 2:00pm to introduce you to the wizarding world, of which you are now a part.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
The letter slipped from Mal's limp fingers as he continued to stare, mind working furiously. Is this some kind of prank? No, that doesn't make sense; this is too crazy to be a prank. But it can't be true, can it? Witchcraft and wizardry? Was this letter actually saying that not only is magic real, but there is a school where it is taught and he, Malachi—freak shapeshifter extraordinaire—was accepted? Without even applying?
He mind continued to race and he didn't notice his mother coming up and looking at him concernedly. Finally, he came to his senses in time to see her pick up the letter and read. Her face went from worry to shock to disbelief as she read and reread the letter. Mal could literally hear her heart skip a beat. She sank into the chair beside him, still looking at the letter. They were both still sitting, silently staring, when Patrick walked in, looking to refill his coffee mug.
"Honey? Mal? What's wrong?" he asked, seeing them.
"Patrick," Angela said, turning to her husband. "Read this, please. I don't understand," she whispered, handing her confused husband the letter.
Patrick frowned as he read the letter. Mal watched him and was surprised to see that, after the initial shock, his father's face showed understanding. Putting the letter down gently and sliding into the chair across from his son, Patrick sighed.
"I wondered if something like this might happen," he said, rubbing his face. "Ever since he started transforming like that I wondered if it might lead to something like this." Sighing again he turned to his wife.
"We have to do what's best for Mal, Angela. If these people can help him understand who he is, what he is capable of, then we have to see this through."
"I agree," she stated, after only a second's hesitation. Looking over at her young son, she smiled softly. "Well that's quite a way to start you eleventh birthday!"
Mal grinned. "Yeah!" He was excited. Sure this was strange and a little scary, but he craved the wild adventure. Today was Wednesday, so in only a few short days he would finally, hopefully, know all the answers to the questions he'd had since he could remember.