The other day I gave in to the urge to buy a set of Animorphs books. I haven't read them since I donated my original collection to my school's library, so I'm pretty excited to relive some nostalgic Animorphs feels (at some point; the delivery estimate was hilariously vague). It'll be cool to see how well they hold up after all this time.

As usual, please leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you notice something that seems odd or that I've made a mistake, feel free to tell me. I don't have a Beta, so it really does help to have someone else point out problems I haven't noticed. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy :)


Chapter Four

There was still one important thing that we hadn't done in our morphs.

Malfoy spread his huge wings and gave them an experimental flap. [So, how are we going to do this?]

[Well, it can't be any harder than flying a broomstick, right?] asked Harry. [It's basically the same thing.]

[What on earth are you talking about?] exclaimed Hermione. Her owl morph let out a shrill shriek of alarm. [They couldn't be more different! The aerodynamics alone—]

[Don't bother, Granger,] said Malfoy. [Something tells me that Potter isn't interested in silly little things like facts or logic.]

[Come on, you know what I'm talking about, Malfoy,] I said. [You've flown before.]

[Loathe as I am to agree with Granger, I do think there might be a difference between flying on broomsticks and flying on our own wings, Potter.]

[The only way we'll learn is by trying,] I said. [Birds don't learn about aerodynamics before learning how to fly after all. They learn by doing.]

[I… ] Malfoy's eyes narrowed and his feather 'horns' smoothed back against his head. [Alright, you might have a point.]

[We're actually going to fly?] Neville asked hesitantly.

[We did acquire owls for a reason, Longbottom,] Malfoy said. [It would be safe to assume that we might use them to fly at some point.]

I couldn't blame Neville for being nervous. Neville had lost control of his broomstick and broke his wrist during our first flying lesson at the beginning of the year, giving him an understandable fear of heights.

[The first thing we should do is try to fly up to that window,] I said. I opened my wings and spread them wide. [All it should take is some flapping, right?]

I experimented with the wings, learning which muscles controlled them. They seemed to move more-or-less like my own arms. My confidence grew. I could do this. I had seen Hedwig fly hundreds of times, so I'd just do what she did. Crouching down, I tensed my muscles for the take-off.

I gave a powerful flap of my wings and shot up into the air. I flapped desperately to stop falling and found myself lurching forward through the owlery. I was doing it! I was doing it!

I swooped towards the window, my heart pounding with excitement. I could see blue sky, the mountains in the distance—I could fly there, I could fly anywhere, this was easy!

WHAM!

I crashed face-first into the wall beneath the window. The world spun wildly around me as I tumbled to the floor of the catwalk in a heap. As my vision oriented itself, I assessed the damage. Though I wasn't physically injured, my pride was another issue entirely. It didn't help that Malfoy was laughing so hard that he'd literally fallen over in hysterics.

[Harry! Are you alright?] Neville asked anxiously.

[I told you, didn't I?] Hermione said. [Please tell me you haven't hurt yourself?]

[I'm alright,] I grumbled, trying to put myself right-side up. [Oh shut up, Malfoy.]

[I can't breathe!] exclaimed Malfoy, who was now rolling on the floor. His owl morph hooted and shrieked with delight. [Did you see that? 'Oh, this will be just like flying a broomstick, I'll have no trouble at all'—SPLAT! That could not have been more perfect!]

[Let's see you do it, then!] I challenged. [If you can even stop laughing long enough to stand.]

[Alright, then I will,] Malfoy said. He rolled onto his belly and stood up on his talons. [Though I don't know how I could possibly outdo your graceful performance.]

[Go on then,] I said angrily.

He crouched down like I had, but he closed his eyes for a long moment, as if waiting or listening for something. His eyes opened and he spent another several seconds simply staring at the window ahead.

Suddenly, he hopped into the air and started flapping his wings. He flew easily across the room.

[See, this is simple, I—ah!]

He was about to land on the ledge when his wings, the span of which were over a meter and a half wide, struck the edges of the window and folded back against his body. Without his wings to slow him down, he sailed right over the ledge and out of sight on the other side.

[Malfoy!]

What had I done? Maybe this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't challenged him, why had I done it? Could he survive the fall? Or would we find his crumpled body at the base of the tower? I couldn't believe—

An eagle owl flew back into the owlery, this time tucking in its wings as it passed through the window. Malfoy was whooping excitedly in thought-speech while his owl form hooted out loud. He swooped down to land next to us. [That was amazing! Did you see me? I am the master of—ah!]

I was hitting him over and over with my wings. [You idiot!]

[There's no need to be so jealous of my skill, Potter,] Malfoy said. [When I started falling my mind just went blank, but the owl took over. The owl knows how to fly, and it's still there, in the back of my head. It's like Granger said, the owl's instincts are still there.]

I paused to think for a bit, and found that Malfoy was right. I could indeed sense Hedwig's presence lingering beneath my own. The ability to fly was there, as well as how to hunt and a lot of other skills, though I didn't think I would have to use those.

[Now, if any of you would care to join me,] Malfoy said, before taking off and easily flying outside.

I focused on the instincts without letting them take me over completely. It seemed so simple now—of course that was how it was done, obviously I had to tilt my wings like this, clearly I had to spread my tail-feathers like that…

I leapt up into the air and sailed out through the window.

The feeling… it was like nothing I'd experienced before. Not even flying on a broomstick had anything to compare with the way the muscles on my chest and back strained, with the feeling of wind blowing through the feathers all over my body. The constant threat of danger and the sheer freedom of flying with only the air to hold me combined into a heady rush.

Beneath me was a world I knew but had never seen like this, with an owl's sharp eyes. I could see every individual blade of grass on the ground that was rapidly falling away from me. I could see fish jumping in the lake from over a thousand feet away. Through the windows of the school I could see other students going about their day, completely unaware of who and what I really was.

I spotted Malfoy not far away and flew towards him. The owl's instincts told me to hold my wings outstretched, so I glided easily over the warm air rising from the castle roof.

[So, what do you think?] Malfoy asked as we circled around each other.

[This is incredible,] I gasped.

[Not so much like flying on a broom as you thought, eh Potter?] Malfoy said with a laugh.

[No, not quite,] I admitted. [I don't think I can play Quidditch as an owl, though.]

[To think this is what Quilly gets to do all day while I'm stuck in class,] said Malfoy. [It's too bad this morphing thing doesn't go both ways. I certainly wouldn't mind trading places with her every once and a while.]

[Quilly?]

[Er… I meant Aquila. My owl's name is Aquila.]

[I wouldn't have expected you to have a nickname for your owl, Malfoy. Cute.]

[Shut up,] said Malfoy. He swooped away towards the north tower. I chased after him a second later. We made a tight loop around the tower, flying so close to the castle that our wing-tips almost brushed the curved stone wall, before heading back to the owlery. Hermione was perched on the roof, so we landed on either side of her.

[How did you do?] I asked.

[Well enough, I suppose,] said Hermione. [Not as good as you and Malfoy, though.]

[Well aren't you a flatterer,] Malfoy said. [Keep it up, it makes you much more likable.]

[What about Neville?] I asked, ignoring Malfoy's rudeness.

[Well…] Hermione leaned over the edge of the roof and peered down. Neville was perched in the window below.

[Neville?] I asked. [What's wrong?]

[Oh, nothing,] said Neville. [You know, I'm no good at flying. Maybe I should just watch you three from here. It'll be okay, I don't mind.]

Malfoy somehow managed to sigh in thought-speak. [Honestly, Longbottom, are you an owl or a chicken?]

[Um… neither?]

[It's easy, Neville,] I said. [You'll do just fine, I know it.]

[I'll take care of this,] said Malfoy. He took off, soaring around the owlery.

[What are you going to do?] Hermione demanded in a warning tone.

[Just watch, trust me,] Malfoy said. He flew out of sight.

Hermione and I exchanged confused looks.

[What do you suppose he—]

[LOOK OUT LONGBOTTOM I'M COMING THROUGH!]

[Wait, Malfoy! Don't—] Neville screamed and leapt out of the window to avoid Malfoy, who shot after him with an evil cackle. Thankfully, rather than tumbling to the ground below, Neville seemed to get the hang of flying after a few seconds of panic. Malfoy led him away on a practice lap around the castle, giving him pointers on his technique.

Now that Hermione and I were alone, it seemed she had been waiting for an opportunity to say something. [How are you handling this?]

[What?] I asked.

[All of this,] she said. [Elfangor, Yeerks, morphing… All of it.]

[Oh,] I said. [I'm going to fight the Yeerks and avenge Elfangor. I think I'm handling it just fine.]

[Hm. I suppose I'm still having trouble believing it,] said Hermione. She looked up at the sky. [Extra-terrestrial life… if the world knew about this, it would completely change everything we know about science and the universe.]

[Sort of like if the world knew about magic?] I asked.

Hermione let out a laugh. [Yes, I suppose you're right.]

We were silent for a while, watching Malfoy and Neville fly in a big loop around the far side of the castle.

[I think we should go check the crash site,] I told her.

[Oh?] The black, doll-like eyes of Hermione's tawny owl morph fixed on me. [Harry, they wouldn't have left anything behind.]

[I just need to see it for myself,] I insisted. [It's something I have to do.]

[Okay,] Hermione said. [But keep in mind that there's a time limit. If we stay in our morphs for over two hours…]

[…We'll be trapped in the morphs forever. I remember now,] I said. [How long do you think it's been?]

[Only twelve minutes since you first morphed,] Hermione replied. [I've been watching the clock tower.]

[Thanks, Hermione.] Trust her to look out for the important details everyone else missed— I don't know what I'd do without her. I glanced at the large, ornate face of the Hogwarts clock tower. [We'll be able to see that from a distance with our owl-vision, I think.]

Neville dropped in for a landing beside Hermione, if a bit clumsily, and Malfoy swooped down on my other side.

[Did you see me?] Neville exclaimed. [I can fly! I can actually fly! Me, of all people!]

[Good,] I said, [because we're going to fly for a bit.]

[Any particular destination in mind, or are we going to be wandering aimlessly?] asked Malfoy.

[I want to find where Elfangor's ship crashed.]

Malfoy's eyes widened and his morph's ear-tufts stood on end. [That… doesn't seem like a good idea. The Yeerks might be monitoring the place.]

[We'll fly away if we see anybody near the crash-site,] I said quickly. [I just need to see what's left of it.]

[I understand,] said Neville.

[Come on. Let's go,] I said. I leapt off of the owlery roof and dived for the sheer pleasure of it, the others following on silent wings behind me. We all soared up high over the Forbidden Forest, scanning the ground with our powerful eyesight.

We flew for only a few minutes before finding the trail Elfangor's ship had left as it ploughed through the forest. Following it, we came across the gully where Malfoy and I first discovered the crashed space ship.

Hermione's suspicion had been correct. There was nothing left of the ship, not even the debris that had been knocked off during the crash. The Yeerks had picked the place clean. Besides the trail of destruction and the crater, which both looked as though they could have simply been caused by a large asteroid, there was no sign that Elfangor had ever been there or even existed…

Except for us.

We were there for a few hours, with a break to de-morph and morph again in order to re-start the time limit. We went off on our own for most of the time we were there. I guess we all needed some space to think about that night. I certainly did.

I wondered how we could possibly fight the Yeerks. It felt like there was so much more we needed to know to even have a chance. I wished that we had just a few more minutes with Elfangor so that he could answer even a fraction of the questions brewing in my head like a storm-cloud. But he was gone. We were alone.

I told the others to regroup. We stood together in the branches of a tall oak tree.

[We're not going to find anything here,] I said. [Everything's gone. The Yeerks destroyed it all. Elfangor's dead. We're on our own, now. There's nothing here that can help us, so we have to help ourselves. We need to decide where to go from here. Ideas?]

[I think we should learn as much as we can about the Yeerks,] said Hermione. [We need to study them, and learn how they operate. We should also learn as many defensive spells as we can before the end of the school year. If there really are witch and wizard Controllers, we'll need to be able to protect ourselves from magical attack.]

[How do you plan on studying the Yeerks if we don't know where they are?] asked Malfoy. [What we need to do is find this 'Yeerk Pool' Elfangor mentioned and see who's there. Then we'll know who the Controllers are, and once we know the location of the Yeerk Pool we can plan an attack against the pool itself. From what Elfangor said, that seems like the best way to defeat them: destroy the Yeerk Pool, destroy the Yeerks.]

[Maybe we could learn more about possible morphs?] Neville suggested timidly.

[Those are all good ideas,] I said. [We'll do all of that. We can search for the Yeerk Pool entrance today. Elfangor said there was a Yeerk Pool not far from here, after all.]

[When did we decide that you were the leader?] Malfoy asked.

[I'm not the leader, I was just trying to figure out what to do,] I sighed. [Do you want to have a vote? No prizes for guessing who you'd choose to be leader, I suppose.]

[Don't presume,] Malfoy chided. [You're right, of course, but you know what they say about making assumptions.]

[I vote for you, Harry,] said Neville.

[Amazing. He's not even wearing shoes anymore and you're still licking away at those boots,] Malfoy taunted.

[Leave him alone, Malfoy,] I said. [You're the smartest, Hermione. You should be in charge.]

[Books and cleverness,] said Hermione. [There are more important things. You and Malfoy are both out-voted, Harry. That means you're the leader.]

I was surprised and humbled by Hermione's words, and uncertain of what I had done to earn them. Malfoy just shrugged his wings and grumbled a bit, but didn't really protest. Maybe he didn't care. He wasn't going to be around any longer than it took to replace him, after all.

And with that, I somehow found myself the leader of our little team. We took to the skies once more and began our search. But as the hours went on and the ground still left unsearched dwindled with the setting sun, it began to look like we would never find an entrance to the Yeerk Pool. We were exhausted from flying and morphing all day, hungry from missing lunch, and frustrated by our lack of progress just when it seemed we were getting somewhere.

Finally, we agreed to give up the search for the day and head back to the school for dinner. We returned to the owlery.

Malfoy de-morphed first and went to retrieve our clothes and wands from the staff-section of the owlery. "Wait a moment… I don't see our things. They're not where I left them."

[What?] Hermione gasped. [Do you mean someone's stolen them? But only the professors and other staff can go in there!]

[I wouldn't put it past some of them,] I said.

[What do we do?] Neville asked.

"Wait! I can feel them!"

[What?] I resisted the impulse to look.

[What do you mean? You just said you didn't see them,] Hermione said.

"I can feel them, but I can't see them," Malfoy explained. I heard a rustling sound, likely our clothes being pulled over the stone floor. "Hold on, now they're visible again."

[How can that be?] I asked.

[Someone must have cast an invisibility spell over the place Malfoy put them,] Hermione deduced.

[Who would do that?] asked Neville.

"I don't know, but they must have saved our clothes and things from being discovered," said Malfoy. "I didn't expect us to be gone so long. Plenty of people must have gone through here by now."

[Why would someone cast an invisibility charm to hide our clothes?] Hermione wondered. [Do you suppose that means someone knows about us?]

"How would they know?" asked Malfoy. "I'm pretty sure if I found a pile of clothes and wands hidden somewhere, my first thought wouldn't be 'four students were given the ability to shape-shift in order to fight an alien invasion, but had to be naked to do it'."

[If there is someone who knows about us,] I said, [at least it looks like they're trying to help.]

We de-morphed and got dressed in turn, all carefully avoiding looking at one another during the process. Finally, we left the owlery and crossed the grassy field of the south-west courtyard.

"I should probably wait and let you go on ahead," Malfoy said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs that led to the front entrance. "We shouldn't be seen together if we don't want people to get suspicious."

"Maybe I should wait, too," said Neville. He gave Hermione and me a weak smile. "We're not really friends, either."

"Yes we are," I said. Neville's eyes widened a little in surprise.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "Well, we did all have detention together just last night. We could claim that we got to talking and became friends. It would make it easier to explain why we'll be spending so much time together from now on."

Malfoy waved his arm towards the door. "Well then, apparent new friends, shall we go to dinner?"

We entered the Great Hall. Though we arrived in time for dinner, it seemed we were tardy enough that most students had already finished and left—including Ron, it seemed. Hermione waved at Malfoy as we parted ways for our respective houses' tables. I saw a few first years look at us in confusion, but like Hermione predicted, they seemed to accept our supposed friendship at face value.

Eating quickly, I was nearly done with my first helping of dinner when I saw Madam Merrythought approach Malfoy at the Slytherin table.

Madam Merrythought was a petite woman with kind blue eyes, attractive features, and long blond hair. She wore fashionable robes and a pair of spectacles that magically changed colour to match her outfit. As pleasant as she was pretty, she was very well liked by just about all of the students and professors at Hogwarts.

I watched them for a while, wishing that I still had my owl morph's sharp senses so I could hear what they were saying. But I knew Malfoy was a member of one of the Circles, though I wasn't sure which one, so I thought it probably had something to do with Circle business.

"Harry," Hermione said, pulling my attention back to the Gryffindor table, "I was thinking that this evening we could go to the library and do the research that we discussed earlier."

"Oh. Yeah, alright," I said. "Good idea."

I looked up at the high table, where most of the professors and other staff sat to eat. My thoughts went back to the invisibility charm in the owlery. The person who cast the charm had to be a professor—only staff members were allowed into that part of the owlery. Was it possible that one of them really knew what we were doing and tried to help us?

And, come to think of it, was it possible that there were Controllers in the Hogwarts staff?

I shivered at the thought and suddenly wasn't in the mood to eat any more of my dinner, though just a minute ago I had been hungry enough to have seconds and thirds and even dessert afterward.

I stood up and patted Hermione and Neville on the shoulders. "I'll meet you in the library. Bring Malfoy, alright?"

"See you there," said Neville.

I intended to go right to the library, but was held up in one of the corridors. It was Hagrid. Like he always does whenever he's indoors, he looked simply too big to be allowed. He's about twice as tall as a normal man and five times as wide, making him big enough to block an entire hallway without even trying.

"Oh, there you are, Harry!" he exclaimed. "I've been lookin' all over for yeh!"

"Hello, Hagrid," I said, smiling up at the gigantic man. "Why were you looking for me?"

He looked positively miserable. "I was trying ter apologize for leaving you in the forest last night. I realized yeh must be really angry ter ignore my invitation for tea, so I had teh come find yeh and apologize in person."

I immediately felt terrible. "Hagrid, I'm sorry. I completely forgot that you invited me. Something came up, and… I'm not angry, I promise."

Hagrid gave me a relieved smile. "Thank Merlin! I really am sorry I left yeh, though. I had ter take care of summat and lost track o' time."

"What were you doing, anyway?"

"Er…" Hagrid's smile faded and he looked away. "Well, er, yeh see… I was—Well, I've got some things in the forest that I'm not necessarily supposed ter have, and… I just wanted to make sure nobody was goin' to run afoul of it, yeh understand?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. I frowned. "Not another dragon, is it?"

"No, no, no, nothin' like that," Hagrid said, waving his dustbin-lid-sized hands. "Sorry about that, too. I didn't mean for yeh ter get in trouble over…" He leaned closer and whispered, "yeh know, Norbert."

"It's alright," I said. "It's my own fault anyway. Even after Malfoy ratted us out, we wouldn't have been caught if I hadn't forgotten my invisibility cloak."

The invisibility cloak was exactly what the name implied. It once belonged to my father, and was given to me that Christmas by an anonymous caretaker with nothing but a note telling me to 'use it well'. Hermione and I used the cloak to sneak Norbert to Charlie Weasley, Ron's dragon-tamer brother. But then I stupidly left it on the Astronomy tower, which eventually lead to us being caught and given detention. The cloak was gone when I went back to the tower, so someone must have taken it. I was furious with myself for losing the cloak. It was all I really had of my father.

"So, funny thing about last night," said Hagrid. "Did yeh see that comet that crashed down in the forest?"

"Er, no," I said, ignoring the squirm of nervousness in my gut. "We must have left before that."

"That's too bad, yeh missed quite a sight," Hagrid said. "It completely lit up the forest. I guess it must've started a fire or somethin'. O' course, by the time I got there it had gone and burnt out."

"Really," I said.

"The comet must've burnt up before it even landed, I couldn't find any pieces left o' the thing. Too bad, that," said Hagrid. "Space rocks can be worth quite a bit o' galleons, ter the right wizard."

"That is too bad," I said, though on the inside I was relieved that Hagrid hadn't seen anything. Hagrid could never keep a secret, and if the Yeerks found out that he knew what happened that night…

"Anyway, yeh should come down ter me hut some time," said Hagrid. "Aren't yer exams soon? You an' Ron an' Hermione can come celebrate after! I'll make sandwiches and biscuits for yeh!"

I tried to force a smile around my grimace. Hagrid is a good friend but a terrible cook. "That sounds great, I'll see you then."

After saying goodbye to Hagrid, I continued to the school's vast library and found a table out of the way where we could work unnoticed by the rest of the students. Time went by as I absentmindedly thumbed through various advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts texts, though as a first year I couldn't really understand much of the subject matter.

It was nearing curfew and still Hermione, Malfoy and Neville hadn't showed. Most of the other students were starting to leave. I was about to give up and head to Gryffindor tower when Madam Merrythought entered the library. To my surprise, she was heading my way.

She arrived at the table and smiled. "Hello, Harry. I'd like to talk to you in my office for a little while, if you don't mind?"