Chapter 7:

"Harry?" Kagome said softly, approaching the sullen boy carefully.
He had stopped on a moving staircase a few minutes away from the hall, but Kagome had caught up with him easily.

"Go away Kagome. I just need to get away right now." Harry said, standing and moving to get away again.

"Harry, I'm sorry." She whispered.

He kept moving stiffly, but was jerked to a stop when the staircase began to slide away from its bearings, rotating smoothly towards another balcony.

"Harry, what's happening!" Kagome said, lurching forward into him.

"It's just the staircases, Kagome. They do this occasionally." Harry turned around, and gave a half smile. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Kagome said, loosening the grip she had on his cloak. "But do you think you can get me to the greenhouse before class starts? I think I'm going to be late."

"No problem. Follow me, it's outside in Greenhouse 3."

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Kagome shivered under her cloak, glancing from side to side in the dark. She pictured Harry and Ron and Hermione, who had all wished her luck from their comfortable seats beside the fire, and mentally cursed them out. The wind whisked around her, rising the chill in the air. Hagrid's hut was ahead of her, and she could just make out his massive form pottering about in front of a well lit window. When she knocked on his door, Fang's booming bark almost made her lose balance and tumble onto the frozen ground.

"Hello there Kagome. We'll be going into the Forest now. Just a standard walkabout. Now that Dumbledore says that You Know Who has returned, we need to check up on security every now and again." Hagrid said.

Kagome gulped, and wondered if Hagrid knew how not reassuring he was.

"Stick close to me and my crossbow. Fang's a bloody coward, so I wouldn't go to far with him."

As if to prove Hagrid's point, Fang whined and backed away from the darkening forest. Hagrid handed her a lantern, and together they entered the forest.

"Do you do this often?" Kagome said.

"What, go into the forest?" Hargrid said.

"No, take detention duty."

"Oh no, not that often. Just when Dumbledore requests it. You're my first this year."

"Really?" leave it to her grandfather to let her off easy.

"Yeah."

They walked on in silence, the only sound being the whistling of the wind and the slobber of Fang as he drooled over everything.

Then, suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise from nearby. Hagrid swung his crossbow around, and was met with a low level demon.

Kagome made a strangled gasping noise, and Hagrid just leveled his bow. With a steady hand, Hagrid shot it through the forehead, but it stumbled forward still, determined to reach the all powerful object in its vicinity. Hagrid cursed, shoving Kagome back towards Fang, who was whimpering near a tree.

"They don't normally come so close to the castle." He said.

Kagome shut her eyes, knowing why it was there.

"the jewel. Give me the jewel!" It hissed.

"Jewel?" Hagrid said.
Kagome leapt forward and grasped Hagrid's bow, fumbling with an arrow.

"Kagome, what are you doing?" Hagrid yelled.

"How do you load this thing?" Kagome said, frustrated, swinging it back and forth as she tried to reload the crossbow.

"That's a dangerous weapon! Kagome I can't protect you from this demon if you don't give it back!" Hagrid yelled.

Kagome fumbled again, dropping the arrow entirely.

Panic was beginning to set in, but as the demon swiped its claws at her again, Kagome knew that she was the only one who could take care of it. The arrow sticking out of its forehead wasn't killing it, so only her power would.

"Why won't you die?" she yelled, dodging another attack.

"so close, I can feel it. It keeps me here." The demon hissed.

Kagome stood still for a moment, understanding flooding her. The proximity of half of the jewel was enough to keep the demon alive.

The pause was enough for the demon to attack. Without thinking, Kagome raised an arm, and for the second time in her life, her powers roared to life and purified the demon.

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"She's back. I can feel her." There was a brief pause, then laughter echoed around the chamber that hid the source of evil from the world.

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"Kagome?" Hagrid said uncertainly. "C'mon. I'm taking you to Dumbledore right away."

"Yes, Hagrid." Kagome said with a sigh.

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"Welcome back, Kagome." Ron said cheerfully, rolling up a bit of parchment.

"Yeah." Kagome said, yawning. "Are you the only one up?"

"Had to finish potions. You look like hell. What did Hagrid have you doing?" Ron said, surveying Kagome's torn cloak and shadowed visage.

"Oh, nothing much. It's just dark in the Forest, you know?"

"Well, Hermione said for me to tell you to go straight to bed when you come back, because we have Animagus class first thing tomorrow." Ron said.

"Thanks Ron. But I don't need you mothering me."

"Hey, it wasn't me, it was Hermione!" Ron said defensively as he backed up the boys staircase.

"Sure Ron, whatever you say."

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"Welcome back. I hope you all read some of the book that I gave to you." Professor McGonagall said to her students, surveying the class with a slight smile. "Today¸ I am going to demonstrate the process of changing from your human form to an animal. Keep in mind that we will not be attempting this transformation until after Christmas, as I want to give you plenty of time to decide on your Animagus. Many of you will find, however, that your Animagus may correlate to the Patronus you cast, if you can cast one."

Harry glanced at Hermione, and they shared a look as the remembered the series of events in their third year. Being a stag would be cool, but Harry felt as if that was somehow copying from his dad. After all, his dad wasn't called Prongs for nothing.

"Anyways. Watch closely as I transform, and try to find similar markings that I possess in both forms, markings that are used by the Ministry to recognize my form as an Animagus."

She transformed quickly, and Kagome watched as the spectacles perched on the brim of her nose became dark markings around the feline's eyes.

Then, the professor transformed back.

"Your glasses, professor." Kagome said, with her hand raised.

"Very good Kagome. My glasses are the markings that identify me as an Animagus. While you are trying to decide on your form, please also think of the physical trait that you wish to keep. For many of you it will be a birth mark, or a scar. For a few, it will be physical objects, such as my glasses."

"You've got to keep your scar, Harry. It would look wicked in animal form." Ron said, grinning.

"What are you going to keep, your red hair?" Harry joked.

"Nah, I was thinking about the scar I've got on my arm from the time Fred and George pushed my off the broom into a rose bush."

"What about you, Kagome?" Hermione asked. "I was thinking about my teeth, since everyone always notices them."

"I have a few scars that I could select from, but I was really considering a scar I have on my hip." Kagome said.

But before they could pursue the topic any further, Professor McGonagall called the class to attention again and began to lecture.

"Up until Christmas, we shall study the anatomy of a few basic animals. A winged animal, a land mammal, a sea creature, a reptile and a magical creature. That way each of us has a basic understanding of the inside of the creature they are going to transform into. It is very important to know your transformation inside and out. Understand?"

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Well. That was that. I had to include Animagus class since it seems like a hit. I hope the detention turned out okay, because I wasn't in the mood to drag it out. Read and Review!