Disclaimer: If they were mine, I would be in Scotland right now with my best friends.
Two weeks after Hermione's detentions and she was out every night, soaring over the castle grounds with Fawkes.
The phoenix was definitely her favorite form.
Whenever they went out they'd fly around for a bit before Fawkes would land in a tree and allow Hermione time to practice changing.
So far, she'd learnt how to start at a run, change and take off all in one go as well as how to change form from one animal to another.
She was now practicing changing back during a dive and rolling into a stand.
She was getting better and better all the time.
One night while flying she spotted Crookshanks prowling across the grass.
Deciding to surprise him, she dived and changed, landing on her hands and rolling into a full standing position. Fawkes settled on her shoulder as she knelt down near Crookshanks.
"Hey, Crooks," she said lovingly, leaning forward to scratch his ear, "How're you?"
Crookshanks simply looked at her, before walking away.
"Hey!" she called, "Wait up!" She turned to Fawkes, "See you later."
He nodded and leapt off her shoulder as she quickly changed into her first form of a cat and followed her pet.
Crookshanks sped up as Hermione followed.
He lead her across the lawn and towards the forest.
"Crookshanks!" she hissed, "Where are you going?"
She didn't have to wait long to find out.
A huge, shaggy black dog strode out of the forest and stopped dead at the sight of her.
Crookshanks trotted happily up to the dog as it looked at her.
Deciding to be nice, she raised a paw to her chest and changed instantly into a dog in order to communicate effectively.
The dog's eyes widened.
"Hello," She said, sitting on the grass, "I'm Hermione. Who're you?"
The dog was silent.
Crookshanks nudged it with his head and it opened its mouth, "How did you do that?" it asked in a male voice.
Hermione shrugged, "Shapeshifter," she placed a paw over her mouth and giggled, "Don't tell anyone!"
"You're human?"
She nodded.
"Good," He said, "Maybe you can help me then. I'm looking for a rat."
Hermione blinked, "A rat? Well… There's loads in the forest… Or dead ones in the dungeons… Or Malfoy, you know…"
The other dog sat down, "Not just any rat. I believe it goes by the name of Scabbers…"
Her eyes widened, "Ron's rat?"
The dog shrugged, "It's an animagus. A little twerp by the name of Pettigrew."
Where had she heard that name before?
"But why do you want him?"
The dog growled as he spoke, "Hand him into the ministry and get my bloody name cleared."
Hermione was confused, "Cleared for what?"
The dog looked her straight in the eye, "For killing twelve muggles."
Suddenly she was terrified, "Y-You're Sirius Black!" she jumped to her feet, "I've got to go."
Black pounced and pinned her to the grass. "Not before you hear me out," he snarled dangerously, "If I get off of you, will you come with me somewhere we can talk? As humans. I wont hurt you. I just need your help."
She nodded, "O-Okay..."
He climbed off of her, "Come on then," with a flick of his tail, Crookshanks lead the way.
Hermione seriously considered turning tail and heading straight for Dumbledore, but Black stuck to her side like glue.
Her pet lead them to the Whomping Willow, where he darted under the swinging branches and prodded a spot on the base of the trunk, freezing the tree and opening up a hole in the ground.
"After you," Black said, nodding at the gap after Crookshanks.
"Where does it go?"
"You'll see."
The tunnel stretched all the way to the Shrieking Shack.
She followed Black up a set of stairs and into what seemed to have been a bedroom.
Black became human and dropped onto the bed next to Crookshanks.
Hermione stared at his ripped clothing and pale, waxy face and suddenly realised the true horror of Azkaban prison.
Black raised an eyebrow, "Are you planning on changing? Or am I going to have to talk to a dog?"
She shook her head slightly as she raised a paw to her chest, promptly becoming a normal girl again.
Black commented as she sat down, "I'm impressed. How'd you manage that? It took me the best part of three years to become an animagus... Yet you," He paused and his brow furrowed, "Shapeshifter? What does that even mean?
Hermione hesitated, "Uh... It was an experiment. It just means I cant be what I want, when I want to."
"So a metamorphmagus?"
"No. I said experiment. It's only been a couple of weeks, I wasn't born with it."
Black seemed impressed.
There was an awkward silence.
Hermione coughed, "You... Uh, wanted help?"
He nodded, "I need you to get that rat away from Weasley and to me. I assume you can do that? After all," He gestured to her robes, "You're Gryffindor and you seem to know Weasley."
"Yeah..."
"... That means you know Harry Potter as well."
Hermione stiffened.
Surprisingly, Black laughed, "Calm down, I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Bu-But, Ron woke up with you standing over him with a knife!"
"Hello. Rat?"
She looked down, "Oh..."
"Did Harry like his broom?"
Her head snapped up, "It was you!"
Black rolled his eyes, "Yes. It was."
"I told them so." she muttered.
"Just run up there and grab him, okay? Try not to wake Ron."
Crookshanks nodded at her instructions and shot off.
Hermione changed back into a human, and sat down.
"How do you do that?"
She looked at Black, "The change?"
He nodded.
"Like I said; experiment. I wanted to be an animagus, and found an easy, better way."
"What else have you been?"
She counted off her fingers as she went through, "Cat; dog; bat; owl; snake; unicorn, and phoenix, that last one's the best."
"Magical creatures as well?" he asked skeptically.
Hermione nodded, "But, I haven't tried any others."
"How many do you have?"
She shrugged, "Dunno yet."
Crookshanks came back empty pawed.
Hermione sighed and changed, "What happened?"
"Weasley," was all he said.
She changed and turned to Black, "Ron woke up. He wont go back to sleep for a while. Maybe tomorrow?"
Black shook his head, "I saw Snivellus out earlier. I can't risk it for a couple of days."
"Snivellus?"
"Oh, right. Yeah, Snape. Sorry."
Hermione snorted, "Snivellus!"
Hermione flew back to the corridor outside Gryffindor tower and changed back in a secluded, and shadowed spot.
She nudged the snoring portrait, who jumped and woke up, "Hominem revelio."
The Fat Lady nodded and swung open.
Luckily, the common room was empty at this time of night, and she crept into her dorm undisturbed.
"Hermione!" Ron yelled at her as she entered the common room the next morning, "Control that bloody furball! It was after Scabbers again last night!"
Hermione huffed, "He is a cat Ronald. What do you expect?"
"You sound like you want him to be bloody well eaten!"
She remained silent.
"I swear Hermione, I'm not joking," Harry said, "Crookshanks was there with another cat. The Grim showed up and the one minute the cat was a cat and the next it was a dog."
Hermione laughed, "And when was this?"
"Last night."
"What time, Harry?"
"Umm… Midnight…?"
Hermione sighed, acting exasperated, "Honestly Harry," She said, "You were obvious tired and seeing things."
Inside she was terrified.
Crookshanks approached her as she was taking a night-time wander.
"He's back."
Hermione smiled, "Thanks, Crooks," before changing into her favourite avian form and shooting through the closest window.
She soared towards Hogsmeade and landed on one of the Shrieking Shack's window sills, and examining the boarded window, she noticed a gap small enough to crawl through as a mouse. She changed and scrambled painfully through.
As she landed on the other side, she became human again.
"I am never coming in that way again..." she muttered.
Wandering through the house, she found Black laying in the old bedroom again.
As soon as he saw her he sat up, "Any luck?"
She shook her head, "Ron's kept him in his pocket for days..."
"Damn it... What are we going to do?"
"Just keep trying. We'll catch him in the end."
Hermione was shocked to realise that her mind had started saying 'Sirius' instead of 'Black' whenever she thought of him.
And she was finding it increasing difficult not to snap at the people around her as they muttered about a murderous fiend out to kill them all.
"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!" Seamus gasped one day at dinner.
"Who?" Ron asked dumbly.
"Sirius Black!"
Harry's eyes widened as he read over the article Seamus was brandishing, "Dufftown? Isn't that close to here?"
He looked at Hermione expectantly.
She sighed, "Yes. It is."
"Sirius!" She bellowed up the stairs, "You're all over the paper!"
His head popped out from behind the upstairs door, "What did you say?"
"Dufftown!" She barked, leaping up the stairs two at a time, "The whole school's in uproar. Thinking you're gunna jump in there brandishing a knife!"
"You called me Sirius."
"What? Oh. Well, yeah... So? That's not the point!" She pulled the Daily Prophet article out of her pocket, "Read it."
Sirius took it in his hands and read it quickly, "Pfft," he scoffed, "I wasn't even in Dufftown yesterday."
Hermione crossed her arms, "Where were you then?"
Sirius scratched his head and shrugged, "Hogsmeade."
She threw up her hands in defeat, "That's even worse! Imagine Harry's reaction if you were sighted there."
Sirius had the decency to look ashamed.
Hermione decided it was time to ask, "'Snivellus'?"
Sirius laughed, "Oh yeah. That was Snape's nickname. Thought of by yours truly!"
"Yeah, but why 'Snivellus'?"
He shrugged, "Closest thing to 'Severus' I could think off that was actually insulting."
"... Fair enough."
"So Lupin's a werewolf?"
Sirius nodded, "Remus was bitten as a kid. His father had some trouble with a particularly nasty guy. We didn't find out 'till second year though."
"So you had a werewolf sleeping in your dorm? Yet you didn't notice him disappearing each month?"
He shrugged, "Remus was always making up stories about visiting his sick mother and such. And before you ask; Yes, we believed him."
"How long did it take?"
"Around three years. Me and James did most of the work."
"'James and I'."
"What?"
"It's 'James and I' not "Me and James."
"Right... Anyway; Pettigrew just sort of sat there..."
"You did what?"
Sirius shrugged, "I was a kid; fed up of Snape and his nosing... I could resist."
"So you told him about Lupin?"
"Not exactly," Sirius said defensively, "I just gave him enough information to make him want to see. I didn't actually expect him to listen!"
"So that's why he hates you; You almost got him killed."
"Do you even sleep?" Sirius asked as she entered the Shrieking shack one night.
Hermione shrugged, "It's amazing how little sleep phoenixes need."
A/N
*Edit* Noticed a few typos, if you see anymore feel free to let me know.
Have a new chapter! Hope you like it :)
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~HPA
