A/N: This is the last of the training chapters. I didn't want to spend too much time on it. It covers the last six months or so of training.
"Come on, damn it, change!" A part human part feline creature was sitting on the floor of the classroom on its hands and knees, which were slowly becoming furry legs. After a few moments there was what looked to be a black leopard sitting in the room, but it lacked a tail and had Harry's head. It was quite a disconcerting image.
"What's wrong this time?" Daphne was sitting in a nearby chair, both arms covered in feathers. She and Harry had been using their free time to attempt the animagus change, which was proving to be more difficult than either of them had imagined.
Finding their inner animals had been easy enough; Daphne had known hers for a while now. She was a hawk owl. Harry had told her it was very fitting. "It totally makes sense," he'd said. "Owls are the symbol of wisdom and hawks are vicious predators. The hawk owl is a perfect combination of your features: wise, deadly, regal, and, of course, beautiful." Both of their cheeks had pinked a little before Daphne managed to chain the conversation topic.
She'd found herself having to do that more and more recently. For more than five years she'd employed the Ice Queen persona to keep people at a distance. It was a defense mechanism, and one that had come in quite handy.
Still, though, there was something about Harry that made her want to lower her walls, drop the mask, and show the real Daphne. Not even her family received so much. She loved them, she did, but she spent most of her time at school and couldn't afford to get into the habit of dropping her mask.
Surprisingly, Harry hadn't needed her to. He'd learned to read her very well, from the quirk of her lips that was her smile to the warning glint in her eyes that made him flee in fear.
They'd become quite close over the past six months. Of course, living, working, learning, and even saving someone day in and day out didn't exactly create a distant environment. But still, he was as close as her good friend Tracey, if not closer.
He was different than her friends as well. Tracey was nosey and pushy and wouldn't let up on something until she got what she wanted. It had led to some nasty fights between the girls. Blaise was sarcastic and hormonal and very secretive, giving away nothing about himself he didn't wish to give.
Harry, however, was different. He was quiet and respectful. He didn't interrupt to ask annoying questions or make sarcastic comments when she was talking. He seemed to actually care about what she said, but, and this was her favorite part, didn't expect her to change.
Tracey was always pushing her to do something about whatever situation she was in and Blaise typically joked about it. Harry just listened though, and gave suggestions if he could. He didn't ask anything of her she didn't want to do and was perfectly content to let her have her secrets. It was refreshing.
She'd found herself becoming completely comfortable, almost too comfortable, in his presence. He was just so... respectful, of her privacy and her emotions and just everything, and she felt her mask crumbling bit by bit every time he smiled.
She had it so bad. It didn't hurt that he was bloody hot. Six months of physical exercise and eating right had only helped his figure more. His shoulders had broadened, his muscles swelled, his figure had become more chiseled, and he had grown another inch or two. His hair reached just past his ears and was a shaggy, sexy mess. And his eyes, they were simply marvelous. Oh, she had it so very, very bad.
A growl brought her out of her reverie and back to the problem at hand. While her form had been simple, Harry was having a harder time. The problem was, when he'd merged with his core he'd only seen his form for a fraction of a second. He'd thought it was a leopard or tiger but couldn't really tell.
Despite not knowing its exact anatomy he'd had enough knowledge to self-transfigure most of his body. He was still having difficulties with his tail and head though.
"It's my head. I just can't get it to change. I keep thinking about the animal I saw but it wasn't facing me so I don't know what it looks like." A few minutes later he gave up and changed back, landing on the floor in an undignified heap. "It's no use, not until I know what my form is."
"You haven't seen it again?"
"Nope, just that one bit. I've got all my memories sorted, too."
"Hmm. Alright, I haven't checked on your shields in a while. Why don't I take the time to check them? Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and find your form on my way." He nodded his consent and sat in the lotus position on the floor. Emerald eyes met sapphire ones and locked.
"Legilimens." She was in his mindscape standing in front of his core. The first time she'd seen it she'd been shocked by its strength, but by now she was used to it. Glancing around she realized it was the only thing there, so, after taking a deep breath she stepped inside.
Within seconds she was suffocating under the pressure of his magic. She was pretty sure that this wasn't even one of his defenses. His core was just so strong that it was almost impossible to get through. Energy crackled around her and she was so overpowered she couldn't move.
She was opening her mouth to scream in agony when a hand appeared and tugged her in.
It felt like she had entered a bubble, or perhaps left one. The pressure around her was suddenly gone and she fell to her knees in relief. After catching her breath she looked up into the eyes of mind-Harry. He winked at her and disappeared back into the walls of his core.
Examining the room, she found there was once again only one thing in it; a small black chest covered in silver chains and radiating danger. The contrast between the white room and black trunk only seemed to add to that sense of danger.
Slowly she walked towards it and cast a detection spell. Placed on the trunk were dozens of wards and curses that would harm but not kill anyone who touched it. Grinning, she slowly began countering each curse and ward, almost all of which she had personally taught him.
At last the chains were off and the only thing left was a simple reminder charm, which caused the victim to suddenly remember something else they had to do and leave the area. With a smirk she cast the counter and lifted the lid.
Suddenly the room grew cold and her heart began to race. Her worst memories flashed across her eyes and she unconsciously began to cry. Her mother screaming for her uncle just before he was struck with a cutting curse to the neck, her sister lying on a bed, pale and unmoving, her father yelling at her angrily for pushing her down the stairs, her mother sobbing on his shoulder. It was horrible. It was a dementor. Sure enough a floating black specter floated out of the trunk and began to move towards her.
Unconsciously she backed up several steps before she was pushed against the wall, cursing the smallness of the room. Remembering herself she pulled out her wand and tried to focus on a happy memory. It was too strong, though, the dementor was too close. Her mother's sobs filled her ears and with only seconds remaining before her mind avatar would be kissed she abruptly withdrew from Harry's mind, gasping and trembling on the floor on the chamber.
As tears welled in her eyes she felt strong arms gather around her and pull her close. Harry. With a choked sob she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. Strong hands caressed her back and a soft voice whispered reassurances in her ears. Still she cried.
It had been years since she had visited that memory. She had only been eight years old when it had happened. Astoria had annoyed her somehow and in her anger she had forgotten where they were and she pushed her. She could still hear Astoria's bones crack as she toppled down the stairs, her tiny body uttering a scream before it lay still and silent.
She had never seen her parents that upset. It was the first and last time her father had ever yelled at her and the first and last time she'd seen her mother cry. It was a miracle that Tori had lived. The doctors hadn't been sure she would, but she was strong and pressed through it. When she woke up she hadn't remembered a thing, but Daphne had, and she'd had nightmares for weeks.
The news had spread rapidly and the first time she'd been in a social situation after the accident had been in a corner of her father's ball room being sneered at by the other children who kept called her a murderer. The next week she'd developed her Ice Queen mask and hadn't let it down since.
It took twenty minutes for her to finally calm down and relax enough to sit up on her own. Still, Harry held his arms around her loosely, his emerald eyes filled with worry and guilt.
"I'm so sorry Daph. I should have warned you about the dementor, or put something less deadly there. I'll change it immediately. I'll-"
"Don't," she rasped, her throat sore from all the crying. "Don't change it. It's good. Really good. Good enough to keep out Voldemort even." He was quiet at that, his hands still rubbing circles on her back. She wasn't even sure he knew he was doing it but she wasn't going to ask him to stop.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said seriously, his hands stilling and tightening slightly. "I never wanted to hurt you." He was really close to her. Just inches separated them. Just inches.
"I'm sorry, too," she said, trying to pull herself together. She quickly wiped off her face and sat up straighter, though she didn't move farther away. "I haven't cried like that since I was eight years old. Gosh, I feel like a baby." It was obvious she was embarrassed and uncomfortable and she kept wringing her hands nervously. He put his own hand over hers to stop her.
"You shouldn't. Dementors are nasty things."
"Yah but still, I'm not usually like that. I mean, it's just a dementor, right?"
He met her eyes again and she almost gasped at the pain reflected in them.
"I hear my parents' murder when the dementors are near." At that she did gasp and then leant closer to give him a hug. She was too tired, too traumatized to put her walls back up.
"I'm so sorry." He nodded and hugged her back, but didn't say anything. After a few minutes she spoke again. "I see my sister falling down the stairs. I pushed her when I was eight. She almost died. And she doesn't even remember."
"I'm sorry." She nodded but didn't speak. What was there to say?
They sat like that, curled together on the floor, backs against the wall, completely silent, offering each other comfort the best they could, for nearly a half hour.
After a while Harry noticed it was getting late and pulled Daphne to her feet.
"Come on. Some sleep with do us both some good." She nodded and followed him back to the living area, her hand still in his. Before he left her for the night he leaned in close and pressed his lips softly against hers in a gentle good night kiss.
"Night Daph," he whispered. Then he disappeared into his room and she into hers. Unknowingly, both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.
The next morning she wasn't sure how to act. Things had changed between them, or had they? He had kissed her last night. It had been short and quick but it was still a kiss. And she hadn't detested it. In fact, she would be okay with another one.
But would he? What did the kiss mean to him? Was it a promise for the future, a kiss between friends, something to make up for the emotional drainage of the evening? Did it even mean anything to him? She hated herself for acting all girly and overanalyzing the situation, but she couldn't help it. Things had been going so well between them. She didn't want that to end because of one kiss.
Harry sensed her problem as soon as he saw her for their morning run. Giving her a grin he parroted her words to him before. "Nothing's changed, you know. We'll still train here, I'll still smack down Dumbledore, and together we'll kill the dark lord. That's that." Then he kissed her again, this time for a little longer, and she smiled. Everything was okay again.
"Right then. We should get training. We have a dark lord to kill after all."
Later that afternoon they met at their usual spot in the library, having moved their lessons together there since it was more comfortable. Things had gone well in lessons thus far. They'd even managed to score a hit on Iron fist and to dodge most of his curses. She only been thrown once, Harry twice, and they hadn't even broken anything! Alas, all good things must come to an end, and this seemed as good a time as ever.
Taking a deep breath she prepared herself for the oncoming battle.
"I want to try Legilimency again." Emerald eyes snapped towards her in shock, fear and surprise showing before Harry managed to get his shields in place. He stared at her for several minutes, his face expressionless, before he finally responded.
"You sure?" She nodded resolutely, covering her surprise. She'd expected more of an argument.
"Alright then. I trust you to know your limits." And with that he took his position and looked towards her, ready to begin. She couldn't stop herself from grinning. She really had gotten lucky to get such a good guy.
Wiping the grin off her face she got serious. "Alright. Today I want to try something different. We've already determined that I can't get through your defenses. You, however, can. What I want you to do is to take me through your defenses with you and then work with me to find your animagus form. You understand?" He nodded.
"Right then. Legilimens." Once again she appeared in an empty space in front of Harry's core. This time, though, he was with her. Linking their hands they walked through the walls and into the inner room.
"The trunk is just a decoy," he said after seeing her worried glance towards it. "The real memories are actually hidden in the walls. Each strand of memory is a strand of magic that builds up the walls. In order to see them you need a penseive and a wand. That's it." To further explain he dipped his wand into the walls, bringing out a silver colored strand, and placed the memory in the penseive that suddenly appeared.
Walking over, Daphne stuck a finger in the silvery liquid and was sucked into a memory. She and Harry were dressed in exercise clothes and headed outside. "Weather charms are linked to the wards," she heard herself explain. "There are many different levels of the charm. The strongest ones allow you to control every aspect of weather all the time. Those take a lot of power, though, and can drain a wizard dry. The ones we use have bounds. If it gets too hot or cold or what not, the charms are activated and moderate the weather. If they aren't needed they lie dormant and recharge."
"Like a battery," he'd asked confusedly.
"What's a battery," she responded.
"Purebloods," he'd said, rolling his eyes.
Then she was pulled out of the memory and back to the inner room.
"You know, you never did explain to me what a battery is." He simply grinned at her.
"Another time, maybe, but for now let's find my form." He placed the memory back the walls, watching it turn white and blend in as it went back in, before reaching in and grabbing another strand. "This is all I remember, consciously at least, of my form." Placing it in the penseive he placed his finger in, Daphne following right behind him.
The first thing she noticed was that it was dark. The second thing was that it was cold! She shivered and pulled her robes tighter around herself. A twig snapped to her right and she jumped, drawing her wand and dropping into a crouch as a reflex.
"Relax. It's just my form. It won't hurt you. It doesn't even come this way." She stood and looked to where he was pointing. Up ahead was some type of feline. It had thick, black fur with silvery gray spots like you would see on a leopard's coat. Except it definitely wasn't a leopard. It was too big. A typical leopard doesn't stand more than two feet off the ground. Harry's form had to have stood at least four feet off the ground and weigh a good seven hundred pounds.
It was shaped like a tiger but obviously differed in size and fur pattern. Seeing it now she was impressed that Harry had managed so much of the transformation. Like he'd said, she couldn't see its head at all. Feeling brave she grabbed Harry's hand and walked towards the beast. Harry tugged her to stop but she resolutely kept on going. She was practically dragging him when it happened. She stepped on a twig, causing a loud SNAP, and the beast whipped its head around.
Harry had been right, it was definitely not a leopard. It wasn't even a normal tiger. For one it was too big. For another, no tiger had fangs that long.
Suddenly they were pulled out of the memory and then back out into the real world, (not real time mind you, but real world).
"Woah." They both looked rather shocked, Daphne more so because she actually knew what it was.
"Yeah, whoa. But what was it? It definitely wasn't a leopard, or even a tiger. Do you have any ideas?"
"Wait a sec." Daphne jumped up and ran around the library, looking for the right book. Finding it she jogged back over and sat down, right on Harry's lap. "You're not gonna believe this." Ignoring his further questions she opened the book and turned to page 117.
"I was right. You're a Smilodon." Craning his head over her shoulder he began to read the passage.
The Smilodon is a large saber-toothed cat that lived during the Pleistocene era (2.5 million years ago-10,000 years ago). It is most famous for its eleven inch long canines which were slender and finely serrated. The largest of the Smilodon species, S. populator, stood at shoulder height (approx. 4 feet) and weighed up to 900lbs. Smilodon were ambush predators that concealed themselves in dense vegetation before pouncing on their prey, typically large mammals. They became extinct when their food source died out around 10,000 years ago.
"How is this possible? I mean, they haven't lived for 10,000 years. Can an animagus be an extinct species?" Daphne thought for a bit, then shrugged.
"I haven't read anything that says otherwise. I'll admit it's unusual but we both saw what we saw and this," she pointed to the picture in the book, "is definitely it." Harry nodded, conceding the point, then sighed.
"Can't anything I do be normal?" Daphne pretended to think for a moment, putting her fist under her chin in the classic "thinker" pose, and then shook her head.
"Nope." In the aftermath of her answer Harry learned one very important fact about his new girlfriend: she was ticklish.
The next few months practically flew by in a blur of lessons, lessons, and more lessons. Daphne and Harry had been able to consistently outduel Ironfist, both individually and as a team, so Ironfist decided that they were only allowed to cast nonverbally from then on. The healers were extremely displeased when they had to start visiting several times a day again.
Despite the increased challenge in dueling, other lessons were getting easier and some were ending entirely. The healers had decided there was nothing more to teach them in the given time allotment and had left them to self-study, clearing up an extra hour in their afternoons.
They had also done all they could in regards to occlumency, so Daphne had taken to teaching him the lost art of Legilimency. It turned out that he was a natural and soon he was able to blast through Daphne's defenses using both raw power and some sneaky little tricks she had shown him.
Ironfist had also began to teach them apparition. Of course, with Ironfist nothing could be that simple, so he added several impossible requirements. The first was that you couldn't make any noise when apparating. "How are you supposed to sneak up on the enemy when you pop in louder than a cannon," Ironfist had yelled one day.
The next requirement was that you had to do it while disillusioned. When Daphne had told him that wasn't possible, bringing him reference material to back up her arguments, he decided to teach them goblin magic to circumnavigate the issues. The only thing was that Ironfist decided that if they were learning goblin magic, they were learning it the goblin way. Since they were used to his teaching method the transition wasn't hard. It was learning gobbledygook that proved to be a challenge. What sounded like grunts and babble to the wizard and witch were battle commands and formal greetings. After the third stinging hex for accidentally insulting a goblin when trying to ask for help, Harry and Daphne had fled to the library to study up on the language individually.
After two months of goblin studies Harry decided he wasn't suicidal enough so he asked to add even more lessons into their already full schedule, this time from a house elf. His first thought was to call Dobby, but after some thought he decided against it. Dobby was a great elf with great intentions but he tended to go off on tangents and get over excited in Harry's presence. It was Daphne who suggested they speak to the house elves that served the chamber, since they were used to the time change.
The result was lessons from a female house elf named Tinky, who was an especially tiny elf with a high pitched voice and bright purple eyes. Since she was used to serving goblins, who treated them more equally than wizards, she was much less formal and more open to Harry's way of doing things.
She proved to be an excellent teacher and soon taught them elf apparition, which bypassed most wards since wizards didn't think to ward against them, and also telepathy, which is how the house elves spoke to each other. This was much more difficult to master and was proving to be a challenge for them both.
"Sir and miss must listen with their magic, not their ears. Tinky is calling, yous is just not hearing." They had been at it for forty five minutes and so far only Daphne had been able to pick up a few words.
"What do you mean listen with my magic? Should I push it into my ears or something?" Tinky shook her tiny head vigorously.
"Sir and miss must listen to Tinky. Tinky say to not use ears to hear. Must use magic. Must see the connections and join."
"Right, because that made even more sense."
"Tinky is thinking you is being grumpy. Tinky does not like this."
"Sorry Tinky, I'm just frustrated."
"Tinky is understanding this. Tinky will help." With a pop she was by Harry's side and grabbed onto his arm. Suddenly he was viewing his magical core, Tinky standing next to him. "White magic is yours. You is needing to see more than it. Look to Tinky's magic."
With only a vague understanding of what she was asking Harry looked for Tinky's core using a combination of Legilimency and wild magic (simply using his magic without using a spell). Sure enough there was a small bronze core in her head, except unlike Harry's, which was a simple condensed sphere, hers had strands going in and out, making it look like a sun. Or a porcupine. Harry wasn't particularly good at analogies. Anyway.
Reaching for one of the strands he was surprised when he was suddenly transported to another bronze core, which, while similar, was somehow distinct at the same time. Pipsy is looking for extra work. Is anybody be needing some? Not only did he hear the thought/voice of the elf Pipsy, but he instinctively knew she was in a cabin on the French Riviera.
Suddenly one of the threads attached to Pipsy's core shown red and Harry heard another voice. Jelly be needing help in the kitchens.
Pipsy be coming.
Tinky must have ended the spell somehow because he suddenly found himself standing in the library of the chamber once more. "Tinky be helping sir. Sir can help miss now. Tinky must be going now. Sir and miss have learned all that Tinky can teach," and with a pop that would have had Ironfist in fits Tinky was gone.
"Wait, I don't get it!" Daphne actually stomped a foot in frustration, causing Harry to cover up a laugh with a cough. He'd learned that not much really bothered Daphne, but academics and learning were the exceptions. She was crazier about it than Hermione, except she was less judging of others and more of herself. Harry tried to help her understand that she didn't need to be perfect but he wasn't sure he'd gotten through yet. Still, his attempts were fun and always led to passionate snogging, which both of them quite enjoyed.
"Don't worry Daph, I can teach you."
"But thirty seconds ago you didn't get it either!"
"I know, but now I do, which means that you'll have it down in just fifteen seconds." She calmed at this and blushed slightly.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be childish, I just want to be able to do this." Harry smiled at her and gave her a peck on the lips.
"I understand. Come into my inner room and I'll show you what Tinky just showed me." After they'd viewed the memory they both focused on casting out a strand of energy to Tinky. They both succeeded on the first try.
Tinky? Can you hear us?
Tinky be knowing that sir and miss be able to learn. Tinky sees great power in yous. Tinky is proud.
Thanks Tinky. Can we connect to all elves or just the ones we've met?
Miss and sir must meet the elf before they connect, but elves can add theys own links to yous's.
So you could add the links of all the elves you know for us?
Tinky could be doing this, yes.
Wow. That's amazing.
I agree. Harry, can you hear me?
Yah. Tinky, can you hear us both?
Tinky be hearing yous since link still open. To turn it off yous just need to want it to be off. Harry focused on shutting the link between him and Tinky and then tried thinking to Daphne again.
Alright. Daph, can you hear me?
Yes. This is amazing. I can't even begin to describe the advantages of it! I mean, can you imagine being able to talk to each other in front of Voldemort, or being able to contact each other no matter where they are? Wait, Tinky? Oh darn, I turned her off. Hold on.
Tinky?
Yes miss?
Is there a range on this?
Tinky is not understanding miss's question. Tinky is sorry.
It's alright Tinky. Let me rephrase. Can you call an elf no matter where they are or do they have to be close to you?
Tinky can only be calling elves she knows, but Tinky only knows elves nearby. Tinky be thinking that master and miss can reach far away because they is so strong. Did Tinky answer miss's question?
Yes Tinky, thank you.
As they ended their connection Daphne was immediately brought into a long kiss by Harry.
"Now that I'm complaining," she panted after they parted, "but what was that for?" He grinned down at her, a light in his eye.
"I can do it. I can beat him." Seeing her scowl he immediately amended his statement. "We can beat him."
"You are Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, the Boy-Who-Lived, Tri-Wizard champion, and my boyfriend. You can do anything." After a moment she added, "Except, of course, grow foot long fangs."
His grin changed abruptly to a scowl and he glared at her. Daphne had completed her animagus transformation the other day and had been seen flying over the chamber several times already. When Harry had sent her to spy on Ironfist to see if they could prank him, (they were really sick of his lessons), he had promptly dubbed her "Scout".
Daphne had teased him in response, saying maybe she should call his form "toothless". It was no secret that Harry had been struggling with his form. He'd gotten the body down pat and could grow a reasonably accurate tail, but the head was giving him problems, or, more specifically, the teeth. He had visualized the fangs over and over but when he just couldn't figure out how to grow them when he was still half human and changing forms.
At his scowl Daphne laughed and gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry, Harry, I've managed my transformation, I'll protect you." Her laughter could be heard across the cavern as Harry used his secret weapon: tickling. After all, she may have won the battle, but he would win the war!
A/N: Here's the links to the image of Harry's form, mind, his coloring is black with green eyes. For Daphne's form a basic google image search will work. For some reason I can't put the link up.
Saber: dk-find-out/image/upload/q_80,w_1440/smilodon_full_