Disclaimer: Anything recognisable belongs to J.K. Rowling.
.oOo..
Prehistoric, perhaps?
It was Sunday, and Harry was sitting in Snape's office for his second Legilimency lesson. He'd spent the day mucking around with his friends and gorging on all the Honeydukes products they had bought in Hogsmeade, and the fact that he had a Legilimency lesson put something of a dampener on his mood, especially when he recalled the first one. He hadn't managed to accomplish the spell, even when Snape had completely dropped his defences, and that hadn't given him much hope or Snape much patience.
He hoped to do better tonight, but if he was honest with himself, he hadn't practiced at all since his last lesson. It had only been a few days ago, but his mind had been on other things. He knew however, that he needed to learn it. His visions of Voldemort had been getting more and more vivid as he had progressed at Occlumency, and he was sick of sleepless nights.
Snape put down his quill and sealed the letter he had been writing with wax, before tucking it into the top drawer of his desk and turning to face Harry across the desk, a resigned expression on his face. "Seeing as you were completely inept in our previous session, we shall start out simple." He sneered before continuing. "I will completely drop my shields and you will once again attempt to penetrate my mind. Before you attempt the spell however, I will perform the spell on you. I don't want you to resist me, rather I want you to let me in and just concentrate on my presence, what it feels like, the images it conjures for you. Understood?"
"Yes sir." He wondered what the point of this was, but didn't ask. Instead, he cleared his mind and dropped his shield of darkness. To his surprise, it was somewhat disconcerting to feel that his mind suddenly vulnerable after so many weeks of constant shielding. He nodded at Snape to let him know he was ready.
"Legilimens."
Harry immediately felt Snape's presence in his mind, and did as he was told, focussing on how it felt. The presence was intrinsically Snape, but he had never thought before about what actually made the presence so Snape. Now that he thought about it, the presence was... black. Not just black, but dark, it felt dark. It was hard to explain, but even though he knew it was only mental, he could detect a sort of texture to the presence, an oily, slippery sort of feel. He withheld a mental snort. If there was one word anyone would use to describe Snape, it was oily.
Snape appeared to have detected this errant thought, because Harry heard an impatient mental huff. He returned his focus to the task at hand. As he opened his mind to the presence, he noted something disturbing. Snape's presence was familiar, comfortable. The realisation shocked him. The first time he had detested Snape's presence in his mind it had been alarming, uncomfortable and intrusive. Now however, it felt safe, something which disturbed him.
Suddenly, the presence withdrew and Harry was alone with his thoughts. Snape cleared his throat, pulling Harry's attention back to him. "Now, Potter, when you perform the spell you need to imagine you are already in my mind, as you were doing in your previous lesson. I want you to remember the... characteristics, if you will, of my mind. However, do not picture those distinct traits as you saw them in your mind; there you were outside of it. Instead, surround yourself with them. Hopefully this will aid you in imagining that you are already in my mind.
Harry frowned thoughtfully. It made sense, and it wouldn't be too hard to surround himself with that blackness that had felt strangely familiar and safe. After all, his own shields were of blackness, the familiar blackness of his cupboard where he had felt safe. All he had to do was make the darkness more liquid and oily than empty space, and perhaps, he thought, incorporate a sense of superiority and sarcasm.
Pulling his wand out of his sleeve, he pointed it at Snape and incanted the spell in a determined voice, all the while recalling the way Snape's mind felt. "Legilimens!"
...
He blinked stupidly, and Snape gave his usual sneer. "Again."
Harry sighed. This was exactly how the last lesson had started. "Legilimens!"
Again he was left feeling silly, but he also felt the strange sensation that part of him was pushing against a thin, invisible barrier. He supposed that was progress; last time it had taken him many attempts before he had felt that.
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"You said you had no shields up, but I can feel something stopping me."
"I see." Snape surveyed him, a finger tapping lightly on his thin lips. "This indicates that you are doing the right thing, at least. You are pushing your mind outwards to meet mine, you simply do not have enough power or focus behind the spell yet. The resistance you are meeting is my minds subconscious defences."
He vaguely recalled Snape mentioning that even Harry had weak natural defences in an Occlumency lesson.
"I cannot take down those barriers, but the fact that you are detecting them is a good sign. I believe the best way to proceed is to continue in this manner. Practise makes perfect, after all."
Reigning in a sigh of frustration, Harry again pointed his wand at Snape's head. It was going to be a long night.
...
Forty minutes, sixteen sarcastic remarks and a pounding headache later, he was ready to quit. He had made no further progress and Snape was becoming increasingly impatient.
"Well how long did it take you to learn this stuff?" Harry cried when Snape made yet another insulting remark about his sub-standard intellect. "You can't expect me to pick it up like that," he said, snapping his fingers in Snape's face.
The Potions Master raised an eyebrow, fixing Harry with a somewhat amused stare. "I, Mr. Potter, pride myself on having great control of my mind. As such, I became adept at these skills in a relatively short amount of time. Still, it took me years to become a master in both arts, and there is always room for improvement. That said, I do not expect you to progress at the same rate. I do however expect that by two lessons time you will be able to penetrate my mind. That is your goal. So, you will practice in your own time, and if you do not achieve your goal, I shall be severely displeased."
Harry swallowed, his throat dry. He was about to reply when suddenly the fire in the hearth roared and turned green. As Harry watched, Dumbledore's head appeared in the flames. "Aah, Harry. How are you doing this evening?"
"Fine, sir."
"Excellent, and how are your lessons coming along? Professor Snape mentioned that he has begun teaching you Legilimency. I must say, quite impressive. I did not imagine you would become proficient at Occlumency quite as fast as you did."
Harry didn't know how to react to this; Snape had seemed to expected that Harry would have done it sooner than he had. Either that or the man was just an impatient git. Hm. He was that.
"Umm... thank you sir. Lessons are going well." He ignored Snape's quiet snort.
"Excellent, excellent," murmured Dumbledore, turning his attention to the Potions Master. "Severus, we are in need of your company. How long do you anticipate we will be waiting?"
"Moments, Headmaster. Potter and I were just finishing."
"Excellent, excellent," said Dumbledore yet again, and his head disappeared from the fireplace.
"Well, Potter, off you go, and remember what I said. You now have a specific goal to work towards. I expect to see results."
With that, Snape ushered Harry out of the office and in to the dank corridor. "I shall accompany you up to Gryffindor Tower. Be sure to clear your mind before sleep."
"Yes sir."
As he followed behind Snape, he thought it odd that Snape was dropping him off. It was on the way to Dumbledore's office, though it wasn't the most direct route. He came to the conclusion that there was an Order meeting; Snape was on his way there and whoever would usually be following him, Tonks or Owens, was there already. Leaving Snape to be his temporary babysitter, he thought moodily.
Snape left him at the portrait hole without a word and Harry clambered in. The fire was low and there were only a few people still scattered about the room, despite the fact that it was only an hour past curfew. He was surprised not to see Ron and Hermione; they, and sometimes Pandora, usually waited up for him.
He didn't really care tonight; it would make it easier to slip away. Despite the fact that all he wanted to do was crash, he was determined to find out as much as he could about what Voldemort was up to, and he couldn't pass up the chance to sit in on an Order meeting.
At the top of the stairs, instead of heading in to the boys' dorm, he ducked into the dark bathroom and wrestled his invisibility cloak out of a pocket of his robes.
After covering himself, he stepped back onto the landing. He had hardly used the passage that led from the Gryffindor Common Room to the Chamber, but he did now. Hissing the command, he watched as the floor dissolved, revealing the stone steps.
As he descended the stairs, he pondered on the Legilimency lesson. It had been strange to recognise Snape's mind as a calming and familiar thing, and the thoughts troubled him. It was hard to associate Snape with the cool presence that was Snape's mind. Shaking his head, he continued on down the passage.
He figured he had about ten minutes, he doubted whether Dumbledore would start the meeting without Snape. He picked up his pace a bit, and then decided that the fast walk wasn't doing his headache any good. He didn't even bother to pull the Pendant out. He felt the Snake begin to slither faster, as if it knew that he wanted to be somewhere else. He pictured the waterfall painting and the snake really came to life, writhing in the familiar pattern on his chest as the Pendant grew warm.
Instantly, he was standing in front of the painting. He shivered as he stepped through the frigid water and moved into the world of paintings. A minute later, he was sitting in the shade of a large oak tree, by the Black Lake. The painting he was in was his usual one, looking down upon Dumbledore's office. It was an excellent vantage point; he could see everyone in the room.
At that moment, the door slid open and Snape swept in, nodding shortly in response to a few 'hellos.' He strode to the back of the room, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. It was obviously not a full Order meeting; there was less than ten people in the room, all of whom Harry recognised. All of them were either his teachers (McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick), aurors (Owens, Tonks and Moody, Kingsley), and Mr. Weasley.
This was the group which, along with Mrs. Weasley, Remus and perhaps a few others, he had come to call the Orders Inner Circle. He had cringed the first time he had thought that; after all, it was a term he associated with the Death Eaters, but the fact was that this group was exactly that, only the good guys, and he had been unable to come up with another name that fit so well.
"Severus, thank you for joining us so quickly. We have much to discuss tonight."
Snape nodded briefly.
"I trust Harry got off to his dormitory safely?"
"Of course, Albus."
"Excellent. Severus has been instructing young Harry privately," Dumbledore informed the room at large, and Harry frowned. He wasn't sure Dumbledore should be telling everyone that, but he supposed there was no one in this room he didn't trust. The only person he didn't really know was Owens, and he found it impossible to think of the jolly young Irishman as anything other than friendly and loyal.
"What sort of instruction?" asked Moody gruffly, his magical eye whizzing madly around before turning backwards in his head and settling abruptly on Snape.
Dumbledore waved a hand vaguely. "Oh, this and that." Harry sighed, he felt better knowing that they didn't know exactly what he was learning. After all, if Voldemort should find out that Snape was an Occlumens, it would undoubtedly cause trouble.
"You made sure he got back to the common room?" asked Owens, and Snape raised an amused eyebrow. "Of course. I can assure you he did not suddenly disappear as we turned a corner or any other such nonsense." To Harry's surprise, his tone was not biting or sarcastic, merely amused. Even so, Owens blushed and Tonks scowled. At the same time, Harry could have laughed. He wondered what Snape would say if he knew Harry was not right now tucked safely and snugly into his bed as he clearly thought.
"Yes, he is an elusive young man, isn't he," commented Dumbledore.
"Perhaps you should relieve him of that invisibility cloak Albus. Damned thing is more trouble than it's worth," growled Moody.
Snape gave a snort, and Harry could just imagine that he was thinking something along the lines of 'like that would do any good. The boy will simply steal it back."
The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye showed that he understood the meaning behind Snape's snort as well. He stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though I think that will be difficult. He has warded his trunk quite effectively. That said, we shall move on to other business. Severus, how is your search coming for any sign of an attack?"
Snape grimaced. "I have no specific news," he admitted, the reluctance and regret in his tone evident. "He has not approached me, nor any other members of his Inner Circle, so far as I can tell. I have been trying to glean information from members of the lower ranks, but it is difficult when I do not know even their identities. I am rarely called to meetings with lower members, and when I am, I am usually called on to stay behind. Perhaps the aurors have heard something?" Snape added, turning to Kingsley.
"I have information, though I don't believe it will help us at all. I tried to talk with Moody to relay this information sooner, but it is unsafe to talk within the walls of the Ministry. Indeed, it is unsafe to talk anywhere but the most secure locations. After all, the walls have ears."
"And eyes," added Moody. Harry smirked to himself. Oh, if only they knew, he thought smugly.
"Last week we caught a Death Eater, freshly marked. Under Veritaserum, he claimed to be a part of the group that was in the first attack of You-Know-Who's to flush out the spy. Of course, he had no idea that that was the purpose of the mission, and neither does the Ministry. That said, he was unable to name even one other Death Eater, or provide any information otherwise."
"Damn," murmured Tonks, and several members in the room grumbled their agreement.
"Quite," agrees Kingsley. "All in all, his questioning led absolutely nowhere."
"What was the fellow's name?" asked McGonagall.
"Kevin Rudd."
"Really! I believe I remember him, mousy little fellow with glasses, his family owned a Mandarine farm?"
Kingsley nodded. "Yes, though they ran it into debt years ago, had to sell."
"Yes, well interesting as his family's economic history is," ground Snape through clenched teeth, "I think the more pertinent issue is what did you do with him?"
"We released him." He held up his hands to stall the flurry of outraged remarks that broke out. "Under the Imperius curse."
"What! Oh my!" gasped McGonagall.
"Come now, Minerva. Surely an experienced and knowledgeable witch such as yourself doesn't believe that the Ministry is above such behaviour," said Snape sourly.
Kingsley continued. "We don't know how much we'll get from him, but very few people were aware of his capture and we're only hoping that none of those who were are under You-Know-Who's influence. Hopefully he'll relay something useful."
"The Dark Lord is bound to detect that he is under Imperius. He routinely reads the mind of his follows."
"That may be so, but to be honest, we have nothing to lose by sending Rudd back in there. He's been tagged and we can arrest him whenever we want. In the mean time, we hope he will bring us information. We are aware of the risk that You-Know-Who will plant information, so we will treat anything he brings us with extreme caution."
"I for one think it was an appropriate course of action. Was Cornelius aware of it?" asked Dumbledore.
Kingsley snorted. "Usually we would be required to consult him before releasing a known criminal, but the man is completely inept. He refuses to commit to any plans, offensive or defensive."
"Well we've all known that for some time now," sniffed McGonagall.
"With any luck we'll have a new Minister after the next election. Campaigning is only a few months away now," said Mr. Weasley.
This surprised Harry. He had never considered before the political rules of the wizarding world.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he's booted out before then with a vote of no confidence," stated Kingsley. "Even the public is starting to wonder what he does every day."
"When are the candidates to be announced?"
"Anytime between the end of next month and the election," replied Arthur.
"Have we heard any rumour of who will be running?"
Those who worked at the Ministry all shook their heads and Tonks spoke. "No, but I think we can safely assume that You-Know-Who will have a man running. Perhaps... maybe we should have someone in there? Merlin knows what would happen if they had more control of the Ministry than they do already."
There was a mixed response from the people in the room. "It is something to consider," Dumbledore responded. "Do you have a suggestion for who might run?"
"I hadn't thought about it that far," Tonks replied.
"Perhaps it is something to think about and revisit at our next meeting."
Murmurs of assent rolled around the room as people got to their feet and began to leave. The office emptied quickly, and as usual, McGonagall and Snape remained behind. It had become clear to Harry that his two teachers were Dumbledore's most trusted confidants.
"Severus, how is Mr. Potter progressing with his lessons?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"He has made no real progress with Legilimency yet, of course, he has only had two lessons, so I hardly expect much. Legilimency is far more difficult than Occlumency."
"Hmm... I hope you aren't being too harsh with him, Severus."
"You needn't worry, Minerva. I am a perfectly capable teacher."
"I didn't say you weren't capable. I'm simply reminding you to treat Mr. Potter as you would any other student. I know that you tend to be overly aggressive with him."
"You don't know what you're talking about witch," snapped Snape.
"I know it frustrates you because he reminds you of-"
"Hush, Minerva, or I am going to get angry."
McGonagall pursed her lips and gave him a stern glare. "Albus, have you had any luck determining who it was that broke in to your office?"
Dumbledore sighed. "I have not, Minerva. The fact is that my wards were not broken, and yet no one entered through the Gargoyle. It is a worrying problem indeed. Even worse, I have lost one of the only things that Harry has from his father."
Dumbledore looked truly guilty, and Harry felt a twinge of guilt. Although, he reminded himself, Dumbledore is the one who took it from him in the first place.
"Albus I assure you, Potter has the map. You needn't worry about where it has gone. However, the longer you deliberate about telling him, the more he will distrust you."
Harry frowned. He hadn't thought about that. Knowing that the Map was safe, he hadn't thought further about Dumbledore telling him about it. When he thought about it, he heartily agreed with what Snape said.
"That may well be true." Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I simply cannot fathom how the culprit circumvented my wards. It is highly unlikely that Harry has the knowledge to do so, in fact, very few do."
"No doubt he has discovered some obscure spell. Either that or his Parseltongue abilities allow him to get around your wards as he did mine."
"I assure you Severus, my office is amply protected from the usual – and many unusual – threats, including those with the ability to speak Parseltongue."
Snape scowled at the fact that Dumbledore refused to believe him, and Harry grinned as he saw the Potions Master getting frustrated.
"If you have nothing specific, Albus, I really must be going."
"Of course, Severus. Good night."
"I think I will retire also. I have an unending pile of essays to mark," said McGonagall.
Dumbledore showed them out and Harry made his way back to the waterfall painting and through to the damp passage way. From there he apparated to the top of the stairs in the Common Room and trudged into the dormitory, his mind going over all he had heard.
He got into bed, and remembering his night after the first Occlumency lesson, he made sure to put up a silencing spell around his bed and pull his hangings tight.
oOo
He was relieved he had done so when he woke from a disturbing vision in the early hours of the morning. His Legilimency headache had retreated, only to be replaced with the throbbing pain of his scar and a raw throat. The vision had been the usual sort; Voldemort torturing some poor victim. The only difference was that he had only had two Death Eaters with him, instead of it being at a meeting or on a raid.
He managed to fall asleep again for a few hours before Seamus' alarm woke him to get ready for classes. He dragged himself out of bed, and went down to breakfast in the clothes he had worn the day before. They were rumpled and if he was honest with himself, they didn't smell the best, but he really couldn't bring himself to care. Hermione however, was on his case.
"Harry, your clothes look terrible! Your robe looks as if it's been bundled up and stuffed under your bed all year!"
"Leave off, 'Mione," said Ron, and Harry was glad to have backup. "We can't all be pretty all the time." Then he blushed and refused to say any more about anyone's state of dress. Thankfully, his comment also made Hermione forget the subject.
Harry snorted into his cereal. Really, he thought. They've been going out for months now, and they're still embarrassed around each other. He shook his head, smiling at their behaviour.
Their first class was defence, and Snape treated them to a lecture on fire curses. Then they had twenty minutes of practicing the shield. He managed to produce a very weak one by the end of the lesson, and to his surprise Pandora produced a very good one after only a few tries. No one else managed even a flicker of a shield.
By lunchtime the pain in his scar had completely faded away and the rest of the day passed happily enough.
oOo
The next day in during Potions they were working on a medicinal elixir called Longhorn's Mix which was predominantly used for treating Spattergroit and related illnesses. It was a difficult potion, requiring much concentration, and the classroom was mostly silent as groups worked at their benches.
Harry and Malfoy were currently nearing the midpoint of the potion, where it was set to stew for twenty minutes. Some groups were getting there too, and whispers were starting to break out around the classroom.
Harry picked up the handful of dried lilac leaves he had just crushed and held them over the potion. They needed to be sprinkled in while the potion was stirred two times clockwise and then sixteen times counter clockwise.
Malfoy picked up their stirring spoon and as soon as he began to stir, Harry sprinkled the handful evenly over the surface until Malfoy had completed the correct number of stirs.
Almost immediately, the Potion turned from beige to pale blue. It was supposed to be more purplish, but Harry thought it was good enough considering the difficulty level of the potion.
He recorded the observation in his book for later use in his report.
He looked over at Malfoy's book. His observations were longer, more detailed, but Harry was at a loss as to what he wrote. He was exactly like Hermione in that regard, his attention to detail was phenomenal.
He looked around the classroom; most of the class was now at the first waiting stage, and everyone was starting to talk.
"Potter."
"Hm?" He turned to face Malfoy and the pale Slytherin leaned closer, dropping his voice.
"Want to go to the Chamber tonight?"
Harry brightened at the idea. It had been a few days since they had been, and he would like a break from the rowdiness of the common room. "Alright. I'll meet you at Myrtle's after dinner."
"Will it take you long to get away from your babysitter?" asked Malfoy, a smirk on his lips.
Harry scowled at the term. "I have an idea for that. You know that really narrow passage on the second floor, beside the statue of Bannok?"
"Yeah."
"It's too narrow for two people to pass each other. If you wait at the far end for me to come through, then you go through the other way, anyone following me will either have to go back or reveal themselves. Either way, you'll stall them long enough for me to disappear."
"So now I'm being dragged in to your rebellious endeavours?" He rolled his eyes theatrically, but didn't complain, so Harry assumed he would do it.
"I'll watch for you to leave the Great Hall, and wait a few minutes before I follow you."
Just then, Snape swept over and peered down at their potion. "Not the usual standard," was his only comment before he moved on to the next group. Harry was secretly delighted that Snape couldn't criticise his potion without criticising Malfoy's.
A few minutes later, the stewing time ended and they went back to work. Everyone was working until after the bell for lunch went, except for Hermione and her partner who managed to finish on time.
The elixir needed to stew again, this time for twenty-four hours. After that it needed to be taken of the heat and cooled, so they would need to come back at some stage tomorrow to do that. They ended up being twenty minutes late for lunch, but their potion was still looking good, for which Harry was relieved.
...
That night towards the end of dinner, Harry started keeping an eye on the Slytherin table, waiting for Malfoy to leave. The boy took his time, and Harry was starting to get impatient when Malfoy finally stood and strode from the Great Hall.
As he had promised, he waited several minutes before grabbing his bag. Ron, Hermione and Pandora were still at the table, and he had the feeling they were just waiting for him to finish. He was proved correct when he stood up and they followed suit.
He said nothing as they walked through the Entrance Hall and up the stairs to the first floor. "Guys, I just need to go see Dumbledore for a minute. I'll see you back in the common room."
Hermione smiled brightly; Harry had known any explanation involving Dumbledore would sit just fine with the three of them. They were still suspicious of where he disappeared to, and always reluctant to let him go off alone, though they didn't push him for fear of another argument breaking out.
"I might stop by the library on the way back. See you later." At that, Hermione pursed her lips, exchanging a look with Pandora. Ron just looked resigned. He turned and walked in the opposite direction to the next set of staircases and up to the second floor. At the top of the stairs he ducked in to the hidden passage he had arranged to meet Malfoy at and sped along the length. At the far end, he slowed down a bit. The passage was quite dark, and he pulled his invisibility cloak out before stepping into the corridor.
Malfoy was waiting just as they had arranged, and he gave Harry a rough push as he passed. Rolling his eyes, Harry pulled on the cloak and started towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Behind him, he heard the sounds of a quiet scuffle. He smirked. At least now Malfoy would really believe that he was being followed.
Five minutes later he was walked through the door into the bathroom, surprised to find Malfoy had beaten him there. "That was quick!"
Malfoy shrugged and provided no explanation as Harry opened the entrance and started down the steps.
"You know, I thought you being an idiot when you said you that they'd had put aurors on you, but you were telling the truth. You aren't paranoid after all."
"Of course I'm not paranoid."
"Yes, well. It was that auror Owens, one of the ones Dumbles introduced earlier in the year."
Harry froze. "You saw him?" He didn't want Malfoy revealing to his father anyone working for the Order.
"No. Heard him. He was swearing like nothing else when he couldn't get past me. Colourful fellow."
"You can't be sure it was him then. Owens is a Ministry Auror anyway."
"Maybe Dumbledore isn't the only one having you followed, then. Maybe the Ministry is too."
Harry changed the subject. "Yeah, well. Fudge is an idiot."
Malfoy snorted. "No arguments there. Just a few more months and there'll be a new Minister in office, one that's much more in touch with what the Wizarding World needs."
Harry had a feeling they would disagree on anything the other had to say about that subject, so he didn't reply.
"I see you bought new shoes."
Harry looked down at the comfortable leather shoes. "Oh, yeah. Thanks by the way, for getting the money for me."
"Just remember to take them off before we practice tonight. Have you had any other changes since the feet?"
He shook his head. "No, I've been practising though. You?"
Malfoy shook his head as they stepped in to the library. They both settle down, Harry taking off his shoes first.
Silence descended on the Chamber as they both cleared their minds, and after a while Harry started on the Animagus practice. Very quickly, he felt his teeth, tongue, and feet begin to tingle. He focussed on the feeling, trying to extend it to other parts of his body.
He was rewarded when a half hour later both his arms started to tingle. He snapped his eyes open, and with the loss of concentration, the feeling stopped. Grumbling to himself, he slipped back into the relaxed state, and after a while the tingling in his arms began again. He was careful this time not to feel surprised, to continue focussing on the feeling.
A few moments passed and the sensation stopped, and he opened his eyes, grinning in triumph. Just then, he heard a small gasp and he looked up at Malfoy. The usual scales and spikes and horns were already there, but as he watched, Malfoy seemed to grow before his eyes.
Harry jumped up and moved closer, quietly so as not to distract Malfoy. Seconds later, Malfoy's eyes snapped open, revealing the sharp orange irises.
Despite the fearsome look it gave him, Harry couldn't help but laugh as he looked down at the Slytherin. Malfoy's triumphant look disappeared and he glared at Harry. "What?"
"Your robes!" Harry chuckled. Malfoy had grown, and his robes were now exceedingly tight, stretched across his torso and looking like they would rip any second.
"It's not that funny Potter."
"It looks like a dress!"
Malfoy jumped to his feet, scowling. His menacing expression wasn't enough to stop Harry's laughter when a loud ripping sound was heard.
"My shirt," muttered Malfoy, and then he was laughing too.
After a minute, Harry could look at Malfoy without laughing. The Slytherin had grown about a foot.
"Shite, Potter, you're short!"
Harry scowled, not liking being reminded of the fact. Malfoy suddenly gave him an odd look, and sniggered. "What?"
"You changed too."
"Oh, yeah." His change wasn't as impressive as Malfoy's, in fact it was quite the opposite. His arms had shrunk. He lifted them to get a better look and found that he couldn't lift them above chest height. He studied them; his skin had changed, it appeared rougher, and the colour was darker, tinged green.
"You look ridiculous with those tiny little arms. I bet you would hardly be able to wrap your fingers around one of mine."
Harry was going to argue, but after looking dubiously at Malfoy's enlarged hands he had to agree – he probably couldn't.
"What do you think I am?" he asked.
Malfoy frowned thoughtfully. "I really don't know. You've got those weird feet with the spike, but your arms are really tiny. Sharp teeth, so you eat meat, you're a predator of some sort I would say..."
This appeased Harry somewhat. The tiny arms had made him think he was a weak sort of animal, but Malfoy was right. With teeth like his he was definitely a predator. "Maybe a bird of some sort?"
"There aren't many birds with teeth... some magical ones. I suppose it's possible."
Harry's eyes lit up. Maybe I'm a dinosaur!"
Malfoy burst out in laughter.
"What!? It's possible. They used to exist. There's no reason I wouldn't be one."
"Sorry, sorry. The idea just surprised me. It is more likely than you being a magical creature."After all, magical animagi are extremely rare." He puffed up proudly.
He quite liked the idea of being a dinosaur. Maybe a T-Rex, or...no! A raptor! He grinned widely. Yes, a raptor would be very nice. Speed, agility, teeth that could tear through flesh like it was sponge cake...
"What are you smiling about?"
"Just thinking."
Malfoy looked at him for a second, but with his new features, Harry couldn't tell exactly what kind of look it is. "You really like the idea of being a dinosaur, don't you?"
"Yes! It would be excellent!"
Malfoy shook his head, chuckling. "Like a little child."
Harry would have scowled, but he was too happy at his transformation and thoughts of what his form might be to be offended by Malfoy's remark.
Harry glanced at his watch, only to find that it had slipped off his tiny arm. He looked around and saw it lying on the floor. As he walked over, he transformed back to his human form. He undid the band and put it back on. They had only been here an hour. It was definitely getting easier the more they practiced.
He flopped down on the lounge. "Hey, Malfoy?"
"Yeah?" The Slytherin was standing admiring himself in the mirror, standing several feet back just to see all of himself in the full length mirror.
"Can you teach me Legilimency?"
Malfoy's reply came instantly. "No."
Harry sat up. "Why not? You helped me with Occlumency."
"That was when I benefited from it. It helped me with my Legilimency. Severus has already taught me Occlumency, so there's no benefit I would get from helping you. Besides that, there's no way I'd even consider letting you in my head."
"I let you in mine."
"That was your decision. This is mine."
Harry scowled. "Come on, I really want to learn it."
"I don't care what you want," he replied, finally turning from the mirror. As he did so the fabric of his robe finally ripped across the chest, revealing the white shirt beneath. The Slytherin shrunk back t his normal size and sat down at the other end of the lounge.
"Remember our deal, Malfoy. I wouldn't tell anyone anything I saw in your head. Plus, if Snape's already taught you Occlumency you should be able to direct my thoughts."
"I'm not that good. I can block people out and throw them out, but I can't direct thoughts. I don't have that much control. Severus is still teaching me. You would see whatever you happen to see. So no."
They lapsed into silence. Harry was irked by Malfoy's stubbornness. He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere by asking nicely.
"You know," he began slowly, looking up at the high ceiling, "It would be a shame to never be able to come back here... to be locked out with no way in... I'd hate it."
In his peripheral vision, he saw Malfoy's head whip around. "Yes... I'd really miss this place," he continued. "The peace and quiet, the books, all this knowledge and power..."
"Fine!"
Harry smirked. That line of 'reasoning' had worked out better and quicker than he'd thought.
"Fine, I'll do it, but you can't break our deal."
"Hmm, it seems Malfoy's respond well to blackmail. I'll have to remember that."
...
Harry was on his way back to the common room when he heard whispering. Stopping, he tilted his head to the side and listened. Voices were coming from an unused classroom near where they had transfiguration. Shrugging, he started walking again when he heard his name. At least, he thought he heard his name. Moving closer to the door, he listened again and was surprised to detect Ron's voice.
"Harry... ate........nest...."
"....ont to on....."
"...tell him.... he'd... us too."
"I.... Ron, but.... heard what...or Ed...not to."
Harry frowned and strained to hear them better. Who was Ed?
He heard a frustrated sigh, followed by Ron speaking, no longer whispering. "Look, let's just go back to the common room. Maybe Harry's back now. Have you done your Transfiguration essay yet?"
"Of course I have Ron. It's due tomorrow."
"Great! You can check mine over for me."
"And by check over, do you mean read through, or write it for you."
"Come on Mione! What kind of person do you think I am?"
Harry backed away from the door as the voices got closer and walked quickly away. What could Hermione and Ron have been talking about? They clearly disagreed about something, and it was to do with him.
Finding an empty table in the common room, he pulled out some homework, just as Ron and Hermione came in through the portrait hole. He waved them over and Hermione smiled at him. He wasn't sure, but he thought she gave Ron a warning look before she ran over and took the seat beside him.
"Harry! Ron and I were looking for you."
"As usual," grumbled Ron.
"You know you don't have to go looking for me every time I want some time alone."
"Don't worry about Ron. He's just in a mood because I told him he has to try writing his own essay before I do it for him."
Harry smiled at Ron. "I sympathise with you, mate."
Ron looked up, a hopeful look in his eye. "Have you done transfiguration yet?"
Harry held up the parchment he was writing on, displaying all three sentences he had written. "What you see is what I've got. Sorry mate."
Ron let out a mournful cry and cradled his head in his hands. Harry reached over and gave him slap on the back. "Don't worry. At least you aren't the only one who's going to be up all night."
Hermione tisked. "Harry, I thought you had become more organised!"
He grinned ruefully. "I'm allowed to slack off occasionally aren't I?"
Hermione shook her head and opened a thick book.
"So where's Pandora?" asked Harry. It was rare to not sitting with them in the evenings.
"Library," said Hermione shortly.
"Oh. She'd better get back here soon. It's nearly curfew."
"I'm sure she'll make it."
"Hm." Not able to forget the whispered conversation he had half overheard, he decided to ask, "Is there anything you two want to tell me before she gets back?"
He looked up when a silence greeted his words. Hermione and Ron were both staring at him, Ron's eyes slightly wide. Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"What do you.. ah.. mean?" asked Ron.
He shrugged nonchalantly, leaning against the backrest. "I just mean, is there anything you need to tell me?"
"About what, Harry?" asked Hermione quietly.
"About anything."
Hermione eyed him carefully, as though trying to determine what he wanted to hear. "I can't think of anything..." She shook her head, doing a very good job of looking innocent.
Harry pondered silently. Perhaps what he had heard was unimportant, or had nothing to do with him.
"Ron?"
"Umm..."
Just then, the portrait hole banged open and Pandora came in, effectively ending the conversation. He would have to follow that up another time.
oOo
A decent chapter for you all. Hope you all enjoyed it. I'm on holidays now (YAY!) so updates will be every few days, hopefully. Please please please review. It gives me reason to write. (I would anyway, but I always feel really enthusiastic after reading some good reviews). A challenge, perhaps? The record number of reviews for a chapter is 23. Can we beat it???
Thanks to chapter 24 reviewers:
Befread Di
Jensindenial3516 ams71080
fhippogriff lirica
nxkris Junky
Vanessa riddle ZHYLOSA
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