For the first time in he didn't remember how long, Draco felt a measure of peace. As he listened to his former DADA professor drone on about the serious business that was Animagus transformation, he realized that this peace had been found whilst sitting among Potter and what had been the DA; people who up until then he'd considered his mortal enemies. People of which his father would certainly never approve. People whose life's mission was to stamp out everything he thought he'd held as a cherished belief: order, purity, hierarchy. Yet, as he sat in the meadow on the other side of the lake from Gryffindor Sound, it occurred to him that the way the last few weeks had sorted themselves out had, on balance, been for the best. Sure, he was the love-slave of a nearly three-legged house elf. His father was dead, he had to cook and clean for a house full of mudbloods and blood-traitors, but at least he wasn't in constant danger of the Cruciatus. And, it seemed as though he was close to being accepted in the strange amalgam of people that had gathered at Potter's home. For the first time since he entered Hogwarts, Draco truly felt as though he was a part of something; not the leader, not a special case, just one among many.
The animagus lesson was fascinating. Remus started, as all good magic teachers ought, with theory, but didn't linger too long there in some pedagogical self-abuse, the way McGonagal was prone to do. Rather, once the basics were taught, he quickly moved into the practical part of the lesson. The students were to ingest three one-dram measures of a potion, separated by thirteen seconds, and then meditate on the animal that appeared first in their mind's eye. Draco was crushed, of course, that the animal that appeared for him was a ferret, but as he'd been forcibly transformed into one earlier, he reckoned he wasn't going to have much of a choice.
All in all, though, he could have come out in worse shape. When 45 minutes of meditation had ended, the group shared the animals into which they'd transform, and compared to Su (a trout) and Colin (a donkey), he didn't have it all that bad. Of course, compared to Hermione (a rabbit), Michael Corner (a hawk) and Harry (a flying unicorn that could use its horn as a wand) he'd gotten quite the short end of the stick. He took the inevitable ribbing gracefully, and was pleased that it seemed to be good-natured.
Remus then proceeded to walk the DA through the steps to making that animal come to life. It was much easier than one would have imagined; one simply needed to supplement tactile visualizations for the more ordinary kind, and turn the knob, if you will, up to 11. Draco began to feel his arms and legs get shorter, his face longer, his body hairier. His senses began to heighten, and the world around him grew very tall, very quickly. He scurried to a bush, which provided him some cover. The menagerie forming around him was amazing - he wondered if there had ever been such a gathering of animagi in history. He saw Ginny Weasley (a house cat) sunning herself on a rock, and thought that looked a capital idea. Ginny was friendly enough, too, scooting over to allow Draco room, and even giving him a gentle nuzzle of affection after he'd finally climbed up there with his still-unfamiliar stubby legs. Draco took the time to follow Remus's advice about noticing every muscle, ligament, bone and hair in his new body. He had just finished stretching out the muscles in his right hind leg when he noticed Ginny jump down from the rock and head for some shade. Draco was pleased, because it allowed him more room to stretch out his tightly-clenched spine for examination. The next thing he noticed was a shadow flickering over him every few seconds. He looked up and saw Michael Corner circling overhead. Draco squeaked a salutation and returned to his exercises, only to feel a swift jerk moments later, not unlike apparition, and he found himself forty metres high and climbing quickly. He squeaked a note of surprise, and then began to squeal as he realized what was happening. Remus had mentioned that if an animagus spends too much time reveling in the heightened sensual information, he could very easily temporarily lose his humanity, and begin to act instinctively as the animal. Draco began to squeak loudly, hoping to rouse Michael from his reverie. He thought he'd achieved this as Michael began to coast on an airstream, but as Michael's head turned toward Draco and his beak opened, Draco realized he hadn't stopped him at all.
"Fuck, I'm sorry guys, I just got a bit into it is all," was Michael's apology upon coming to and seeing a half-digested ferret skeleton at his feet.
"Dude, you ate Draco," was Harry's admonishment. "And you almost ate Ginny."
"Nah, that was last year," Michael replied. "Besides, that's Hermione's gig now."
Ron smacked Michael across the back of his head. "No, you pillock. Ginny was the cat that was lounging next to Draco as you flew overhead. She just had the good sense to get out of the way before you came."
"Yeah, that's her alright. Wait, what were we talking about?" Ron smacked the back of his head again.
"It's okay, Michael," Harry reassured him. "No big loss. But you're really going to have to apologize to Clyde. Speaking of which, where are we going to find another snooty ex-Death Eater to turn into our personal butt-monkey and- Yes, Tilly?"
"Begging your Harryness's pardon, but there's a Miss Narcissa Black at the door, saying she wants to invoke something called Privilege of Legacy in order to secure sanctuary. May I let her in?"
Harry and Neville shared a high-five. "Let Miss Black know that I'll be right there," Harry responded.