Chapter 1
I finished Hogwarts seven years ago but I couldn't just left the castle which became like a home for me. It was alive, thinking and noisy with hundreds of children's voices. Century after century absorbing the magic and memory of everyone who has ever lived there, Hogwarts obtained its own unique sorcery which was able to attract to itself stronger than Amortencia potion.
One wanted to return there all the time. To walk down the corridors with high ceilings and stained-glass windows, to touch the rough cold stones and to breathe the sweet aromas filling an air in the Great Hall.
And now a couple of juvenile idiots decided to destroy all this magic. I couldn't have allowed them to get away with this outrage and the next day I immediately started to make my moves. Once again I interrogated with Doyle and Feenek and because of that I once again infuriated Snape. the guilty students, obviously, didn't confess and only smiled arrogantly, just as their Head of House, feeling themselves in complete safety.
It infuriated me, but I still wasn't going to give up such easily. I was teaching the Runes in Hogwarts and I knew perfectly well about them almost everything (as nobody could be sure that he know everything). Raido – the rune of path – could have helped me to find out the truth. Or the vanished clock, not breaking the restrict of using Legilements and Veritaserum.
But to make the charms work I needed the shred of those who knew the secret: Doyle, Feenek and Snape. I didn't doubt that the last knew all the details of that disgusting trick.
For the foundation I decided to take the signatures of all of them, as it was known that the handwriting was the reflection of the personality. Making a story about an opening of the dueling club I started to take the signatures of the students from the senior classes in the supporting of my idea. Most of them, including Doyle and Feenek, supported me. And there was the last bit of my task – take the Snape's signature.
I didn't go to him immediately – it could have raised his suspicions. At first I was forced to take the entire Professors' signatures, after that the Headmaster's one and only at that moment I risked to approach the Potion Master.
Though, I picked an unfortunate piece of time. It was potions in the Gryffindor and Hufflefuff.
When I entered the classroom Snape glared at me darkly but didn't say a word. Perhaps, he didn't want to argue with me in front of the students.
"Please, subscribe it, Professor Snape".
I gave him a parchment, trying not to laugh. The expression on his face was quite amusing – a mix of curiosity and annoyance.
"What a flubdub," he murmured, frowning. "Couldn't you come up with it during the break?"
"Well, you're not speaking with me, Professor," I reminded him kindly.
Snape was ignoring me after we quarreled with each other in the staff room when I called him a misanthrope and an egoist.
"Well, I think I might present it to you," he said scornfully, making a broad signature and gave me the parchment. I smiled fondly, already imagining how I would draw the rune and make the ritual of search. That was so exciting!
My abstractedness played and evil joke with me. Passing near the rows I should have looked more attentively after what was going on near me and to be prepared to all possible suddenness. I stumbled and in sake to keep my balance I clutched the nearest table. In that moment a student pushed the cauldron by his elbow, it overturned and the entire bad smelling potion was on me. It was good that the liquid was already not boiling and I hadn't got burned!
Although, I was rejoicing too soon. I didn't know that a student was supposed to brew but the potion was clearly spoiled. I didn't like at all an unknown color and the smell of the rotten eggs in it, either the fact that it started to steep the fabric of my cloak too fast for the normal liquid. The skin on which the potion had fallen lost its sensitivity in an instant. I tried to move my fingers – and I couldn't.
Suddenly my palm started to change visibly, becoming smaller. My head was spinning, I felt nausea and all the sounds around me disappeared as if somebody had turned off the radio. I screwed up my eyes, trying hard to breathe deeply and calmly. And when I dared to open them it turned out I was wrapped in some kind of carpet. I tried to throw it off in sudden fear. I wanted to get free and to breathe the fresh air. The carpet was unexpectantly big. It caused me nearly five minutes to finally get rid of it. I looked around warily and then squalled in fear.
Without no doubt it still was the potion's classroom but it was oh-so strange at that moment. Tables towered over me on their columns instead of normal stems and all over me were giants who were making horrible noises. They pointed on me with their fingers, waving their hands, shouting and laughing. Not able to stand this amymore, I shouted,
"Stop it immediately!"
And I fell silent, realizing that instead of words only the tiny squeaks escaped my mouth. Swallowing, I stretched my arms in sake of looking at them.
Paws. Instead of hands I had paws. If I could I would have laughed at them so hilarious they looked. Little, funny, covered with golden fur. Merlin, what had I turned in?!
"Silence!" ordered Snape.
Class fell silent in an instance.
"Forty inches essay about the properties of amaryllis flower till Monday. End of the lesson," he barked and then added in an amused voice, "and be so kind not to run over Professor Granger. Hamsters are delicate and fragile creatures."
