A/N: This is my response to two challenges: Lor Menarii's "The Secret Relationship Challenge" and Emmasexual's "What We Pretend to Be Challenge".
You should note that there is a controversial issue discussed within this story. This is not necessarily representative of my view on the subject, so please do not attack me in a review. Also, please do not use the review to attack either side of the argument.
Other than that, please enjoy.
Blaise had been practicing since the start of the year to find his animagus form. The night after his last exam, he was going to try one last time. If he didn't get it now, he didn't think he ever would. He left the Slytherin common room and headed for his usual spot: one of the abandoned dungeons Filch was always threatening the students with.
He transfigured a chair into a mirror before sitting on the cold stones and began to focus his mind. He released the stress from NEWTs; he shelved the uncertainty that was his future; he pushed back the anxiety that came with his task for the evening. Finally, he felt ready to focus on his 'inner animal' - at least, that's what all of the books had called it.
He saw it, a shadow prowling about inside of him.
He jumped on it, grabbing it behind the front legs. He pressed his chest firm against its back as he pulled the form inside of him. He didn't know what he had expected the transformation to feel like, but it wasn't this. Perhaps he expected pain or a brief moment of unconsciousness but all he felt was a sense of peace washing over him.
He opened his eyes and looked at his new form in the mirror. He was short - only about two feet from the ground to his shoulders. He was long, though - probably four feet from nose to tail, but half of that was his tail. He had a light tan base coat, almost white on his chest and stomach, with black lines and spots covering him. He was an ocelot, he now recognized.
He decided to give his predator instincts a try and challenged himself to stalk Mrs. Norris without her figuring it out. As he was prowling the second floor corridor, though, his stronger hearing picked up the sound of crying. He heard that it was coming from the abandoned girls lavatory, the one Moaning Myrtle usually occupied, but he somehow knew that this was a human girl and not that annoying chit of a ghost.
With this in mind, he slowly and silently pushed the door open to find Hermione Granger seated on the floor in front of a cauldron. He thought about going to tell Professor Snape, his head of house; even the Head Girl wasn't supposed to be roaming about this late. He wasn't worried that he would get in trouble as long as the Potions Master could take points from Gryffindor. But before he could leave, he saw something that changed his mind.
There was a rumor going around that she hadn't been sleeping but rather surviving on Pepper-Ups for the past three weeks. Even if it wasn't true, the entire school knew how she was even a month before exams and that it only got worse as exams drew closer. Yet here she was at two in the morning, not sleeping, but brewing a potion - a potion she wasn't supposed to be brewing if the location was anything to go by. And she was crying. Blaise knew he would never be a Potions Master, but even he recognized that this situation had disaster written all over it. He decided to sit and watch from the shadows to make sure she didn't blow something up.
It was a good thing he did stay as, not ten minutes later, the cauldron exploded. He grabbed her robes and dragged her out of the pool of potion now on the floor before turning and running for Professor Snape.
He was thankful for his teacher's insomnia when the man pulled open the door within seconds of his knocking. "What do you need, Zabini? You're supposed to be in bed."
"I'm sorry, sir, but there was a potions accident in the girls lavatory on the second floor corridor. I'll explain why I was there later. You need to get there now." Blaise was also thankful for his mother's rare-at-best time for him. It had trained him to explain a situation in the quickest way possible.
"Very well. Go get the headmaster," Snape ordered before pulling the door shut behind him as he began gliding along the corridor toward the stairs out of the dungeons.
Blaise transformed back into his animagus form before heading for the headmaster's office. He knew it would be the fastest way to get there. As he approached, he saw Dumbledore standing beside the statue that guarded the stairs. Before he could revert back to his human form to explain the situation, the headmaster commented, "Glad to see your efforts were rewarded, Mr. Zabini, but we will discuss that later. For now, lead the way." Blaise did as he asked and led the old headmaster to Moaning Myrtle's haunt.
Before they could enter, however, Dumbledore stopped Blaise and motioned for him to listen. He could hear Hermione crying again and relief ran through him at the knowledge that the girl was alive. Then he heard the Potions Master speak: "What were you doing, Hermione?"
"I'm so sorry, Severus," Hermione sobbed, but the sound was muffled. Blaise pictured the professor cradling her against him.
"It's fine, Hermione. I'm just happy you're okay. But you need to tell me what you were trying to brew," the man continued, trying to get her to answer.
"I didn't want you to be mad. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Please don't be mad," Hermione continued to ramble.
Blaise was surprised he couldn't hear hidden exasperation in the teacher's voice when he answered, "I will never be mad at you, Hermione. But I need you to answer me. What were you trying to brew?"
There were no more tears in Hermione's voice when she finally responded, "It was an abortion potion, Severus. I'm pregnant."
There was a moment of silence before the Potions Master responded. "But, that's not possible. Just last week you were menstruating. Even if you had gotten pregnant since, you wouldn't know yet. I'll show you. Ostendere infantem." There was another moment of silence before Hermione let out another sob.
"It must have absorbed through my skin after the explosion. My period was fake, just another potion. I was about three months along, Severus. I can show you the memory."
There was more silence - Blaise assumed the skilled legilimens was viewing said memory - before he heard the man's voice. "Hermione. Why would you do such a thing? Did you not want the baby?" After all he knew the man had been through, Blaise had never heard his head of house sound so… dejected.
"… I didn't think you would. I didn't know how you would react if I told you, so I … I'm so sorry, Sev. Please forgive me." Hermione sounded lost and scared, as though she didn't know what she would do without the man in the room with her.
"I forgive you, Hermione. I love you. Please, please promise me you will never do something like this again. I want nothing more than to argue with you and grow old with you and have children with you."
"I promise, Sev. I'm sorry. I love you, too."
Before anything else was heard, Dumbledore motioned to Blaise to head back down the corridor. When they returned to the entrance to the headmaster's rooms, Blaise returned to human once more.
"Go to bed, Mr. Zabini. I believe Professor Snape has everything under control. I expect you will not tell anyone what you heard tonight."
"Of course not, Headmaster," Blaise quickly replied.
"Good. You may go." Before Blaise could reach the end of the corridor, however, Dumbledore called out to him, "I will expect you after lunch to register your animagus."