Animal House

Word of Jeremy spread like wildfire through Hogwarts. It had been nearly four years since someone was sent to the hospital wing due to breeching a contract with Salazar's Salesmen. Corvus couldn't even remember the name of the last idiot. "Feels like the old days, don't it?" smirked Louis as they passed through the Entrance Hall. A group of sixth year Hufflepuffs had been standing in their path, but they immediately parted and stared after the Salesmen, in fearful awe.

This was only day three since Jeremy's mistake. People whispered about them whenever they entered the room. The lower years grew visibly nervous at the sight of them. Teachers scowled at them. Only their fellow housemates acted comfortable in their presence. Louis was right, it did feel like the old days.

"He wouldn't've done this unless he thought he could get away with it," said Corvus, biting his bottom lip. He really wanted to know how things had gone down that day for Jeremy.

"So?" asked Louis. "He was wrong, wasn't he? He didn't get away with it."

"And now he's suffering explosive diarrhea," said Anwar, grinning devilishly.

"Maybe they gave him some kind of potion to make him talk," suggested Daphne.

"It wouldn't happen like this," he told her. "Magical contracts are complicated. If the person who signs one is given something to trick them into breeching it, the magic binding the contract will prevent them from doing it. It would be painless, they'll simply be unable to say or do whatever it is they're bound to."

"Really?"

"Even Veritaserum wouldn't do it," said Max.

"But Pretzel wanted to rat us out," said Anwar. "He's wanted to since we've chucked him."

Anwar had a point. Magic protects the signee only if they wouldn't breech the contact if they had the choice. Meaning, if someone had given Jeremy some substance to loosen his tongue, he would breech the contract if that's what he wanted. But if Jeremy was tricked into thinking he was safe to blab, he'd probably take the chance.

"'bout time we were reminded of what happens when you cross the Salesmen," said Max matter-of-factly.

"Bad timing for him though, isn't it?" said Daphne. "Reckon he'll miss taking his OWLs."

"He can always sit for them at the Ministry," replied Anwar. His mother worked on the board of education, though technically she didn't have to lift a finger, she was already very rich thanks to a textile factory she'd inherited in Southwest Asia. His father was wealthy too, he worked at Gringotts. "Tons of idiots re-do theirs, if they aren't happy with their results. It costs money though."

X
X

As March approached, he realized his OWLs were approaching as well. He had to study in earnest now, he was behind everyone. Even Louis had started the night before Jeremy was sent to the hospital. "Managed to talk Ashely Fenlaw into tutoring me after Mara flat out refused to," he explained, "He's got me on this schedule, going to be doing eight hours every Saturday and Sunday 'til the exams. In exchange, I'm teaching him how to speak to girls. Win-win situation."

"I'm going to start meeting up with Cho and everyone again," said Max, "We want to do four hours every week day, then ten on the weekends. The extra hours on the weekend will be dedicated to softer subjects, like Charms, History, Astrology, you know."

"That sounds smart," muttered Corvus. If Cho Chang didn't still hate him for his behavior at the Yule Ball, he would've asked Max to let him tagalong.

"You think Charms is a soft subject?" laughed Louis. "Must be nice."

"Charms is one of your better subjects," reminded Anwar. "You're just lazy."

He looked flattered, "Thanks, Anwar."

"Shut up."

The weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned their hands and faces every time they went out into the grounds. Night runs were unpleasant and it only added to Corvus's eagerness to finish Animagi. "I hope this is the last time we have to deal with this rubbish," smirked Corvus. It was Thursday night and Max and him were sneaking through the castle on their way to meet Dung for their potion's ingredients.

Max was smirking too and whispered excitedly, "The potion only takes a day to brew or what, we can be done by Saturday morning."

"I think I ought to turn into a black panther," he told him as they approached the end of the dungeon corridor. "I've already got the dark hair, and personally I feel I share a lot in common with a black panther, personality wise."

His best friend snickered, "Sure. I want wicked fangs too."

They both tried to keep their laughter as quiet as possible. Corvus took a deep breath and held the ear-trumpet to his ear. As usual there was the rush of magnified sounds. It was past midnight, most of what he heard was empty space with a few noises of far away snoring bodies and house-elves shuffling about cleaning. But he carefully searched the sounds, hunting for Filch, Mrs. Norris or Peeves. All three of them were very far away, possibly several floors above them.

He put the ear-trumpet down. They hurried through the third floor corridor passageway. As Max moved the suit of armor aside, Corvus daydreamed about how this would be the last time they'll need to sneak out through the little yellow door. As Animagi they could just pop a window open, jump out and race openly across the grounds to Hogsmeade.

They sneezed on the rubble blocking the passageway behind the yellow door. They got on their hands and knees and entered the dark, earthy tunnel. A black panther could dart through it very comfortably. He was serious about wanting to become a panther. Last year when he'd seen Professor Lupin turn into a werewolf, he watched as convenient it was to be a large animal in Animagus form. Sirius was able to fight Lupin off while Corvus and the Gryffindor Trio ran for safety.

And a black panther was way cooler than a big black dog.

Perhaps it was the brutal winds and their excitement combined, but the boys practically sprinted for Hog's Head from the rickety outhouse. By the time they turned the corner into the pub's back alley it had turned into a race, Max came in first making Corvus the loser. Dung took a step back, probably looking very bewildered underneath his balaclava. "Someone chasin' yeh boys?"

"Huh, no," panted Corvus.

"We're just in a hurry," said Max.

"Exactly, show us the stuff, mate."

"Pretty interesting list of things yeh wanted," commented Dung as Max checked the quality of the ingredients. "My mate says some of 'em thing aren't used ever except in some serious potion-making."

"Our clientele's become very varied this year," explained Corvus. "You wouldn't believe it."

They paid Dung extra for his discretion and returned to Hogwarts with their ingredients. Again they checked that the coast was clear before making their way to the Shrieking Shack. Corvus stood back while Max prepped the ingredients and brewed the potion. He was insistent that Corvus not help or interrupt his concentration. So Corvus just stood there, watching unblinkingly. He wanted to ask Max if everything was happening as it should, was the liquid's color corrected? What about the consistency? Is it supposed to be odor-less?

By the looks of it though his best friend didn't come across any problems. He worked in complete silence and in constant motion. Never once did he hesitant at what he did. The sun was just beginning to peak on the horizon when his hands stopped and he looked at Corvus, "Done."

X
X

Corvus could hardly sit still during breakfast. He didn't touch a thing of food. Best of All Worlds stressed that you shouldn't eat 24 hours prior to your first Animagi-transformation. Max cleverly moved around the food on his plate as if he was actually eating. Breises didn't notice, probably because Max kept her busy by asking her questions about what her experience with her OWLs had been like.

"Are you not eating?" Daphne asked Corvus. He still sat in front of a bare plate. She was sitting across form him, and he noticed that she was two seats away from Blaise Zabini.

"Are 'ou not feeling well?" wondered Veronique. She hadn't noticed he wasn't eating, Rebecca and her were talking about something that had happened within the Beauxbatons crowd. Apparently an Elodie and Roger were starting to date, even though Roger's ex-girlfriend was Elodie's best friend.

"Yeah, not feeling well." Veronique frowned at him, pityingly and kissed him on the cheek. She didn't waste too much time returning to her conversation with Rebecca though.

There had been delays recently in the post because the owls kept being blown off course by the cruel winds. Most of the owls arrived with their feathers sticking up the wrong way. Corvus watched as most owls hurried out of the Great Hall after delivering their mail in fear of being sent outside again.

"Oh here it is!" giggled Pansy Parkinson. She had a magazine in her hands – Witch Weekly. She hastily riffled through the magazine to the center pages and held it up for everyone around her to see. A color photograph of Potter headed a short piece entitled HARRY POTTER'S SECRET HEARTACHE.

Tracey Davies heckled nastily as she read a quote, "Granger, a plain but ambitious girl – Rita Skeeter's putting it mildly."

"Well I don't," boasted Pansy as she let Malfoy take the magazine from her. "I told her the truth, Granger's ugly."

"When did Skeeter interview you?" frowned Milvina Fox as she read her own issue of Witch Weekly. Corvus suspected she was rather jealous not to have been quoted herself. The article described Pansy as pretty and vivacious.

"It better had not been on Hogwarts ground," warned Brazda, "Because she's prohibited."

"Don't worry, Brazda, you'd never find her on Hogwarts ground," sneered Malfoy.

"Viktor invited her to visit him in Bulgaria?" gasped Louis once Milvina gave him the magazine. He glanced enviously down the table where Viktor Krum sat with the other Durmstrang students. "I want to go to Bulgaria..."

"That could just be the love potions talking," smirked Balise Zabini.

"Viktor does talk much about her," said Breises, as if she didn't care.

Louis passed the magazine onto Anwar. He read aloud in a drawling voice, "Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents -She's never going to let him live that down, is she?"

While this was all very amusing, Corvus felt it was minimal compared to what he had to look forward to that night. Max didn't blink twice either about the article, but it distracted everyone else for the rest of breakfast and no one noted they weren't eating.

Corvus's mind was dreaming of what life was going to be life like as a black panther as he left for Charms and someone tapped him on the back at the doors of the Great Hall. He turned, surprised to see that he'd completely ignored the Gryffindor Trio in passing. He quickly looked around at who was watching them, "What do you want?" he hissed out the corner of his mouth.

"He sent this," Potter handed him a rolled up piece of parchment. Corvus quickly read it.

Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish & Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Tell Corvus and bring as much food as you can.

"Is he bloody insane?" said Corvus incredulously.

"Seems like he is," said Weasley. "It's not like the place is swarming with Dementors any more."

This put a damper on his mood, though slightly. If all went according to plan, after all, by tomorrow afternoon he ought to be an Animagus. Even seeing Sirius couldn't spoil his mood then. "Whatever," he returned the letter. "I'll be there."

"We should do it at three in the morning," whispered Max in Arithmancy, their last class of the day. They were huddled over their number charts, acting as if they were consulting them while Professor Vector calmly walked by. Corvus didn't even have to ask why Max chose three o'clock, three was a magical number, three in the morning was traditionally the witching hour. Were they under any other circumstance, Corvus wouldn't pay attention to such a thing. But this was different.

"I can't wait to tell Anwar, Louis, Daphne – everyone we can," said Corvus. His stomach felt like it was being besieged by over-grown butterflies. Neither of them managed to write a complete sentence by the time the bell rang.

"I'll see you later then," Max half-smirked. "No point in sitting around in the Great Hall while everyone else eats again, might as well go straight to the library. Wait for Cho and the others."

As someone not allowed in the magical study group, Corvus figured he should try and get some studying done on his own in the dormitory. He'd have a good few hours alone while everyone else enjoyed dinner. As he pass through the Entrance Hall he smelt the delicious aroma from within the Great Hall.

Strolling through the dungeons, he twirled his wand between his friends, trying to get rid of his pent-up energy. If I can't be a black panther, I wouldn't mind being something like a bear... though a bear would be conspicuous wouldn't it? Someone's bound to notice a bear... what about a wildcat? Or a fox? Yeah, a fox would be cool... He was nearing Snape's office and noted that the door was ajar.

His stride faltered immediately. He still remembered seeing Crouch trespassing in Snape's office on the Marauders' Map. Carefully he held his wand at the ready and drew closer. Voices could be heard within.

"You must be curious about what this means," began an agitated voice. "What is making this happen? Have you told Dumbledore of this?"

Using every ounce of expertise at sneaking about, he tiptoed to the door and peaked in. Karkaroff was hovering over Snape at his desk. Snape looked exceptionally angry. "If you feel this is something the Headmaster should be made aware of, by all means I'm sure he'll make time to meet with you, Karkaroff."

Karkaroff pulled up the left-hand sleeve of his robe. Corvus saw something on his skin, something like a dark tattoo. He couldn't see the particulars of the design, though he thought he could make out a skull. "It's never been this clear, not since he was defeated."

Snape's black eyes steadily stared into the tattoo. Judging by his expression, he was uncomfortable to be confronted by this strange tattoo. Slowly Snape moved his right hand over his own left-forearm.

"If this means – if this means..." Karkaroff swallowed. He couldn't finish his sentence. "Severus... we both will be in danger for – for what we've done. For turning our backs –"

"I've told you before," snarled Snape, glaring up at Karkaroff instead. "If you wish to flee, then flee. I am remaining in Hogwarts. Now I will not speak to you again about this, leave my office."

Karkaroff covered his arm again. He looked pale in the candle-light, his forehead was glistening with a cold sweat. Snape continued to fix him with a loathsome stare, and the Durmstrang headmaster surrendered finally. He began to approach the door. Corvus quickly stepped back and bolted.

X
X

He slept very lightly that night. He had a dream. He was running outside to the Whomping Willow. The branches wouldn't stop swing at him even when he touched the knotted root at its base. Something was caught on his leg as well so he couldn't crawl into the passageway. He kept struggling against it. If he didn't get through he'd miss his chance. He used his hands to crawl himself forward. On his left-forearm was the same tattoo that he saw on Karkaroff. Time was ticking by. He kept kicking his foot, but he wasn't going to get free!

"Wake up."

Corvus jolted out of sleep. Max stood over him, soft light shimmering from his wand. He was already dressed and he threw Corvus a cloak. They didn't speak. Corvus pulled his boots on, haphazardly tied them without lacing them up all the way. He left his silver pocket-watch on his nightstand. Best of All Worlds stated that first-time Animagi should be done with nothing more than clothing and a wand on the person. Together they slipped out of the room. Louis nor Anwar stirred.

Once they got out onto school grounds, Max put his wand away. Corvus remembered his dream vaguely and pulled up his sleeve to check his left-forearm. Of course there was nothing there. Dismissing the dream, he began to review all he'd learn for Animagi in his head.

His dream hadn't been a prediction for anything. Max and him got by the Whompin Willow with no problem and they were soon within the Shrieking Shack. Max examined the cauldron. "Well?" Corvus asked, his voice croaky.

Max kept peering into the cauldron. "It's perfect. It's done."

Corvus went to stand beside him and looked in. Yesterday Corvus remembered the cauldron to have been filled nearly to the rim, but now it was nearly empty. There was only a small puddle of green liquid at the very bottom.

"It's just enough for the both of us," he explained. He was glowing with pride, Corvus could tell. "The potion takes a day to dilute, to the finite state it needs to be for it to be consumed. I brewed it with two quantities in mind."

Corvus took out his own wand and conjured two cups out of thin air. This display of transfiguration built confident for him, even if they were primitive wooden cups. He gave one to Max, "Who goes first?"

"Obviously we both go or what," he said. He leaned over to scope up the potion. Corvus did the same. The was just enough potion for their two cups.

"So we drink this and say the incantation," said Corvus, unblinkingly staring at the cup. Max was doing the same, he carefully nodded his head. "We should do it."

"Yeah..."

"On the count of three?"

"Yeah..."

"One..." he took his eyes off the cup to look to his friend.

"Two," swallowed Max, meeting his gaze.

"Three," they said at once and quickly brought the cup to their lips. Corvus closed his eyes and titled his head back as he drank it all. It tasted like dirt. He tossed the cup down. Max and him used both their hands to hold their wands to their own chests. Again glancing at each other, they chanted in unison, "Immediatus Corpusfera!"

Corvus winced. A hot, searing light exploded behind his eyelids. It engulfed the inside of his head. It was painful, excruciating but he didn't scream out. His body was controlled by something else. He staggered backwards. His legs bent and cracked in unnatural angles. Blind he held his hands out, it felt like his fingers curled back into his palms. His ears were filled with deep popping sounds. He gasped for air and felt at once his lungs expand to their very limits before contracting sharply. He lurched forward, his back hunched and finally he started to feel his heart, liver, kidneys, stomach, they were enveloped by that same hot, searing sensation in his head.

His mind didn't panic. It didn't tell him he was dying. It was painful, yes, but he didn't feel dread. In fact, his mind traveled away from his body. It wasn't concerned with the internal. He was concerned about the air around him. It was stale here, but that was because he was trapped indoor. It was outside he wanted to be. There was no visible exit. He called out, listening to his lone voice echo back at him. He was somewhere rather big compared to his own size.

He smelt the air. He could smell the trees just out of his reach. Where he was was very dusty and moldy, stifling. He cocked his head, suddenly he knew where the exit was. Fresh air was coming through somewhere and it smelt like moist earth. Moist-earth? Worms were to be found there.

Stretching momentarily he jumped and soared a few feet until he landed on the edge of a hole. The hole was what was letting the fresh air in. He let out a call again, it traveled far and obviously wherever this hole led, it wasn't to a place as confined as this.

A high-pitched yelp startled him. He leapt into the air again, this time coming to a rest on the other side of the room, atop a perch of some kind. Also in the room was a large canine, it was staring at him. It had large, pointed ears and grayish brown fur. He cocked his head sideways, there was something peculiar about this canine. The fur above its eyes were rather dark, almost like human eyebrows...

Suddenly his consciousness sprang forward again in his mind. It was Max!

Ha!

Corvus listened to his new voice. It was a kaw, he was a bird! He'd flown without realizing it! His spirit elated, he stretched his wings and turned his head both ways. His wings were quite wide and black with a green sheen. The primaries had white inner webs. His belly was pure white. He was a magpie.

Max yelped again, his tongue rolled out of his mouth like he was grinning. He was a jackal, or a coyote. He'd research later, right now he wanted to fly and be in the open night sky. Max wanted that too, he could sense it.

Max bounded forward at Corvus. He wanted to chase him, to play. Corvus kawed again at took off into the air. He dove down at Max, twisting out of reach of his paws, then spun into the direction of the passageway out of the Shrieking Shack. Max howled before leaping in after him.

The air fluttered across his feathers, he felt it beneath his wings and felt his own fine balance. It felt like he was on the edge of losing it, but that didn't leave him feeling insecure. He knew he'd never fall, he'd never lose it. His body knew exactly what it was doing. It was all instinct. He could hear Max running after him. Both of them darted through the long, sloping tunnel in a matter of seconds, or so it felt.

Corvus shot out from underneath the Whomping Willow. He startled the tree and it became to sway savagely. Corvus gracefully flew between its flailing branches, laughing. He distracted the Whomping Willow enough for Max to sprint out and run out of reach.

Max panted and barked for Corvus. He wanted to go into the Forbidden Forest. He'd always wanted to. Corvus swooped down to glide along beside him as he ran towards the dark Forest. There was a strong sense of something foreboding but it wasn't near to them. Corvus knew it was further into the forest, hidden deep within. Max knew this too and they decided not to push their luck. They'll stay within view of the school's grounds.

Max was thrilled by all the smells around him. He immediately went to bury his nose in every crook and cranny. Corvus picked at things with his beak, he knew immediately where to find worms and bugs. He didn't feel hungry but he ate. He got quite carrying away eating actually, his human mentality had to rein it in. He called for Max, he wanted to race him again.

Before Max could answer him, both of them sensed another creature. Max sniffed the air and his ears folded back. It was a rabbit. Corvus remained silent as he watched Max crouch low on his four legs. He approached where he knew the rabbit to be. Corvus hopped sideways, following cautiously. He wanted Max to catch the rabbit too, because then there would be food for the both of them.

His friend lunged over a scrub and landed on the brown rabbit passing by behind it. Corvus flew after them to watch. The rabbit struggled beneath his paws and Max's jaw was shut over it's neck. His ears were still folded back.

Pop.

"Ah!" Max in his human form scrambled back on the ground. The rabbit sprinted off at an unbelievable speed, disappearing into the forest. Max panted frantically and looked at Corvus, who cocked his head sideways curiously. "I almost killed a rabbit!"

Corvus laughed, though it only came out as a crow call.

Max grinned, "Let's save the Forest for later. Hogsmeade's probably enough for now, tons of interesting smells there I reckon."

Corvus kawed in agreement. With a final half-smirk at the magpie, Max turned back into his canine form.

X
X

"You're in a good mood," noted Daphne later that morning. Corvus and Max had gathered the Salesmen in their room while everyone else went for breakfast. They looked disheveled and half-crazed, they hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since three in the morning. But they couldn't stop smiling.

"We have good news," said Corvus. "Brilliant news."

"Yeah, we've got to have a meeting," said Max. "Before we leave for Hogsmeade."

"Exactly, we have to have a meeting. This is very good news."

Daphne laughed, "Alright, alright."

"What's this about?" asked Louis, eying them like they were complete nutters. He cautiously took a seat on the foot of his bed beside Daphne.

"Where to start," muttered Corvus, excitedly. "Okay well, you've all noticed how Max and I are always sneaking off, right?"

"And won't tell us why? Yeah, we've noticed," drawled Anwar. "Are you two officially dating finally?"

"Ha."

"It's been for the benefit of us all," said Max. "We wanted to come up with a better defense against Filch or what, you know, to avoid any more close calls."

"I was told you lot haven't had any since you got the ear-trumpet," said Daphne, her eyebrow raised.

"This is a thousand times better," assured Corvus, stepping towards her. Since changing back from a magpie, his step had an extra spring in it. It was like his body wanted to take flight again. It was taking some time to return to his rational, human mind. Everything shiny in the room kept distracting him. "We've been working at this since our second year, Daphne. Nearly three years!"

"Tell us already, Blackstone," said Anwar, losing patience.

"Let's show them," Corvus turned to Max, his eyes alight.

"Yes. On the count of three? One... two... three!"

Pop.

All three of them gasped and drew their legs away from the floor. Anwar's eyes bulged and Louis's jaw fell to the floor practically. Daphne was amazingly twice as awe-struck. "Oh my... you're an Amagius..."

Max howled while Corvus flew laps round the room in the blink of an eye. Like he'd watched his mother do countless of times before, he tried to morph back into his human form in mid-flight. He went crashing to the floor. Max had turned back into a human too and he helped him back to his feet. Grinning like fools they turned to their friends, expecting to see the same delight on their faces. What they saw was something different entirely. Louis and Anwar both wore deep scowls. There was nearly a snarl on Louis's face, Corvus was reminded of the Veela's at the World Cup – how gruesome looking they turned when they grew angry. Anwar wasn't as animated, but his displeasure was practically radiating off of him and Corvus felt afraid to maintain eye contact.

"What's wrong?" Corvus muttered, afraid to break the tense silence.

"You've been becoming Animaguses?" asked Louis sharply.

"The plural's actually Animagi," said Max tentatively.

"It's honestly the perfect plan," Corvus told him, daring to smile again. "Think about it, we can spot Filch and Mrs. Norris before they can us –"

"But – but we have the ear-trumpet," stuttered Daphne in a small whisper, still recovering.

"That's fun, don't get me wrong, but this... this is brilliant. Think of it, who would ever think the Salesmen had a pair of Animagi?"

"Yes, a pair," repeated Louis, voice dripping with cynicism.

"Right, a pair of wankers," growled Anwar, his voice a low rumble like thunder.

Corvus frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Didn't think of including us?"

"Yeah, been here since our second year too and we've got to get past Filch as well," chimed Louis.

"Didn't think of including us?"

"Well... it was a huge undertaking, obviously," began Corvus. "I felt Max and I were already advanced enough in Transfiguration to give it a try – "

"Oh, so we weren't smart enough?" said Louis. "Afraid we'd hold you back?"

"I'm sure that's not why," interjected Daphne, delicately. She, at least, wasn't angry with them. She looked concerned about the growing conflict amongst them though. "Right?"

Corvus held his tongue. In truth, that was exactly why Corvus kept it between him and Max. He didn't want to have to help Louis or Anwar keep up. He wanted to become an Animagus as quickly as possible.

Anwar gave a derisive laugh, "And Pretzel thought he got cheated."

"Oi! This is nothing like that," snapped Corvus. "Pretzel wasn't cheated, we chucked him because – huh – he's a dumb git." He couldn't reveal the real reason in front of Daphne, because then he would have to reveal that Max was Muggleborn.

"Might as well chuck us too then," said Louis. "We're useless now, aren't we? Compared to you two geniuses."

"We still need you," said Max, sincere but Louis and Anwar weren't having it.

"Nonsense, you've got enough legs to do all the running around, don't you? We've just go two each."

"No wings either," added Anwar, glaring at Corvus. He stood up. Corvus nearly flinched, he worried his friend was going to punch him. "Come on, Louis. Daphne."

The part-Veela boy got to his feet too, sneering, "Right, let's go enjoy the company of our fellow slow-witted non-Animagi friends."

They both looked to Daphne. She was blushing under all the attention. With a tentative glance at Corvus and Max, she too got up. Without speaking a word she followed Anwar and Louis out.

"Can you believe them?" Corvus said, incredulously. He was aghast, how could they have said those things? He was so sure they were going to see why Max and him being Animagi was a good thing for them all. They were taking this way too personal.

"That really didn't go as expected," sighed Max, possibly Corvus's only friend left.

X
X

By half past one, Corvus's mood had worsen. Louis and Anwar refused to speak or look at them when they arrived at the breakfast table. Everyone else noticed the tension. Louis laid claim to the older Slytherins in the Quidditch team, he talked loudly with them and every time Corvus tried to interject, he'd go silent. Once Corvus had finished, Louis would start up a completely different conversation topic. Rebecca and Veronique kept exchanging troubled glances when this happened.

Anwar sat with Adrian Pucey and a few other sixth years, Corvus nor Max dared trying to speak with him. He was still radiating with anger. When Adrian Pucey asked him what was bothering him, he only assured them his problem wasn't with them.

So Corvus and Max sat alone on the edge. Daphne wasn't even sitting with them, she was sitting beside Louis, silently eating.

When he left the castle at noon, he walked alone with Veronique. Max and Brieses were standing in the castle because Max had his study group to attend. A weak silver sun was shining down upon the grounds, at least the weather was looking up for him. "'E told Rebecca and me zat we weren't going together to 'Ogsmeade," she explained, crestfallen. "When we asked why 'e only said it was because 'e and you were not speaking. Pour quoi?"

"He's being a brat."

"Oh."

They didn't speak until they arrived in Hogsmeade.

"Where'd you want to go?"

"I don't care."

"Zat is not helpful," she scowled. He shrugged. She sighed and flipped her long hair back, "Vell, I 'ave to buy my little brother a birthday gift. They told me 'ere is a place where I can buy a Sneakoscope?"

He brought her to Dervish & Banges. Since she claimed to know what she wanted to buy, Corvus figured it would be a short trip. However he ended up standing around for nearly an hour while she examined every size, color and model of Sneakoscopes before she decided against Sneakoscopes all together. She then started from scratch, browsing all sections of the store. "Listen, I've got to meet someone," he told Veronique at half past one.

She did not look pleased. "Who?"

"Prefect stuff." This was quickly becoming his go-to lie, he didn't even blink when he said it.

"But who will I shop vit?" she demanded. "You vill just leave me alone? Like zat?"

"Rebecca and everyone's probably at the Three Broomsticks or Madam's Puddifoot's. Honestly, you can go find them. You're allowed to talk to Louis, he's just not speaking to me," his lip curled.

She clicked her tongue and turned her back to him, facing the merchandize again, "Bien. Aurevoir."

Sensing that he'd just made another big mistake, Corvus made his way up High Street and out towards the edge of the village. He hadn't been on this side of the village before. The outhouse stood about a mile out of Hogsmeade on the opposite side to this. Here the winding lane was leading him out into wild countryside. The cottages were fewer and their gardens larger. Where the outhouse was there were no cottages and the land surrounding it was unfit for farming. It was completely neglected.

Corvus was walking towards the foot of a mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. Then he turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for him, standing beside a large, shaggy black dog was the Gryffindor Trio. "Hello," said Granger when he reached them.

"Hn." He looked to the dog. Sirius had some old newspapers in his mouth. The thought of turning into his own Animagus form was very tempting. It would take him away from his foul mood and horrible day.

Sirius turned and began to trot away from them across the scrubby path of ground which rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. Corvus climbed over the stile after the Gryffindor Trio as they followed him. Sirius led them to the very foot of the mountain, where ther ground was covered with bolders and rocks. It was easy for Sirius, with his four paws, and again Corvus thought of how convenient it would be to turn into his magpie form. Soon they were out of breath after Sirius. He led them higher up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour they climbed a steep winding and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail.

"Waste of bloody time," grunted Corvus. "I don't have to do this... if only..."

"Got – better – plans – do you?" panted Weasley. He didn't understand, Corvus literally didn't have to be killing himself climbing this mountain. He could be flying!

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley."

"What!" he stopped climbing causing Granger to nearly bump into him.

"Ron!"

Sirius started to bark up ahead at them. "Come on guys!" called Potter, annoyed. The ginger sent Corvus a loathsome look before continuing on. Slytherin responded with a similar expression. At last, Sirius slipped out of sight.

When they reached the place where he had vanished, they saw a narrow fissure in the rock. They squeezed into it, and found themselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak. All four of them bowed low to him, and after regarding them imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees. He allowed Granger to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck.

Sirius had turned back into his human form. He was wearing ragged grey robes, the same ones he'd worn when he left Azkaban. His black hair was longer than it had been when Corvus saw him in November. It was untidy and matted once more. He looked thinner too.

"Chicken!" he said hoarsely, after removing the old Daily Prophets from his mouth and throwing them onto the cave floor.

Corvus wondered if his uncle too had difficulty avoiding slipping into an animal consciousness when in his Animagus form. In Best of All Worlds it mentioned that the tendency never goes away, but the wizard learns how to fight it off more easily. It's all a matter of practice. But Sirius had to spend a lot of time as a dog, did he ever lose his concentration?

As Potter pulled open his bag and handed over a bundle of chicken legs and bread, Corvus wandered to the old Daily Prophets. He picked up one of the yellowing copies, bearing the headline Ministry Witch Still Missing – Minister for Magic Now Personally Involved.

"Thanks," said Sirius, grabbing a drumstick. He sat down on the cave floor and tore a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade. I'd draw attention to myself."

Corvus watched him grin up at Potter, but Potter returned the grin only reluctantly. "What're you doing here, Sirius?"

"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very dog-like way. Corvus imagined that one day he too would start acting like a bird. "Don't worry about me, I'm pretending to be a loveable stray."

"That doesn't sound like a fool-proof disguise to me," said Corvus, dropping the Daily Prophet back to the cave floor. Sirius grinned at Corvus, who of course didn't smile back. "Just saying."

"Hello to you too, Corv." He looked to Potter again, still grinning. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble to convince him to come." Seeing the anxiety in Potter's face made him lose the joking demeanor and he said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter... well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."

He nodded at the yellowing Daily Prophets. Weasley picked them up and unfolded them, but Potter continued to stare at Sirius. "What if they catch you? What if you're seen?"

"You four and Dumbledore are the only ones here who know I'm an Animagus," said Sirius, shrugging and continuing to devour the chicken leg. Weasley nudged Potter and passed him the Daily Prophets.

"They're making it sound like he's dying," said Potter as he read the headline story about Crouch. "But he can't be that ill if he managed to get up here..."

"That map might've been wrong," retorted Corvus, crossing his arms and leaning against the cave's wall.

"The Marauders' Map's never wrong," guffawed Sirius.

"Yes it is," he said with pleasure. "My name didn't show up, and I was standing right there."

Sirius blinked, frankly bewildered. Corvus felt satisfied.

"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant," Weasley informed Sirius. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork."

"Mind you, he did look ill, last time I saw him up close," said Potter slowly. "The night my name came out of the Goblet..."

"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Granger coldly. She was stroking Buckbeak, who was crunching up Sirius's chicken bones. "I bet he wishes he hadn't done it now – bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him."

Corvus didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before, but Granger was wearing little, silver stud earrings. They were shinny. Eyes glued to them, he managed to zone out of the conversation without knowing. When he snapped to, Potter was wrapping up his story about what had happened at the World Cup with Crouch and Winky.

Sirius was on his feet again, pacing up and down the cave. "Let me get this straight," he said after a while, brandishing a fresh chicken leg. "You first saw the elf in the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?"

"Right," the Gryffindor Trio said together.

"But Crouch didn't turn up for the match?"

"No," said Potter. "I think he said he'd been too busy."

"Harry, did you check your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?"

"Erm... no. I didn't need to use it before we got in the forest. And then I put my hand in my pocket, and all that was in there were my Omnioculars." He stared at Sirius. "Are you saying whoever conjured the Mark stole my wand in the Top Box?"

"It's possible," said Sirius.

"Winky didn't steal that wand!" said Granger shrilly. Corvus whipped his head round to stare at her, her sudden cry breaking his will to ignore her earrings. He had to look at her. Stop staring at Granger! He told himself.

"The elf wasn't the only one in that box," said Sirius. Corvus made his eyes follow his uncle as he continued to pace. "Who else was sitting behind you?"

"Loads of people," said Potter. "Some Bulgarian ministers... Cornelius Fudge... the Malfoys..."

"The Malfoys!" said Weasley suddenly, so loudly that his voice echoed all around the cave, and Buckbeak tossed his head nervously. "I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!"

"Really, Weasley? Then how did it end up with Crouch's House-elf?" asked Corvus dryly.

"He had to pin it on someone else, didn't he? House-elves will do whatever a wizard wants them to do." Granger made an offended sound.

"Wizards never order about House-elves that don't belong to their residency or own family," he reminded Weasley, haughtily. "Of course you wouldn't understand such protocol, first you'd have to have a House-elf..."

"Corv, give it a rest," warned Sirius, before asking "Anyone else?"

"My mother, Coco and me," said Corvus.

"And then no one," said Potter.

"Yes, there was," said Granger. "There was Ludo Bagman."

"Oh, yeah..."

"I don't know anything about Bagman, except that he used to be Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps. What's he like?"

"Moronic," drawled Corvus.

"He's okay. He keeps offering to help me with the Triwizard Tournament."

"Does he now?" said Sirius, frowning more deeply. Corvus actually didn't know this either. "I wonder why he'd do that."

"Says he's taken a liking to me."

"Hmm."

"We saw him in the forest just before the Dark Mark appeared," Granger told Sirius. "Remember?"

"Yeah, but he didn't stay in the forest, did he?" said Weasley. "The moment we told him about the riot, he went off to the campsite."

"How d'you know?" Granger shot back. "How d'you know where he Disapparated to?"

"Yeah, I have a hard time believing he'd go help at the campsite," agreed Corvus.

"But come on," said Weasley incredulously, "Are you saying you reckon Ludo Bagman conjured the Dark Mark?"

"It's more likely he did it than Winky," she said stubbornly.

"Told you," he said, looking meaningfully at Sirius, "told you she's obsessed with house – "

But Sirius held up his hand to silence Weasley. "When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"

"Went to look in the bushes," said Potter, "But there wasn't anyone else there."

"He was desperate to find someone though," added Corvus, remembering watching that man's frantic search, all the while talking to himself.

"Of course," muttered Sirius, "Of course, he'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf... and then he sacked her?"

"Yes," said Granger in a heated voice. "He sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled – "

"Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!"

But Sirius shook his head and said, "She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his interiors, not his equals."

He had a hand over his unshaven face, evidently thinking hard. "All these absences of Barty Crouch's... he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament and then stops coming to that, too... it's not like Crouch. It he's even taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."

"D' you know Crouch then?" asked Potter.

Sirius's face darkened. He suddenly looked as menacing as the night Corvus had first seen him, the night when Corvus still thought he was a murderer and his possible father. "Oh, I know Crouch all right," he said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban – without a trail."

"What?" Granger and Weasley said together.

"You're kidding!" exclaimed Potter. Corvus only raised an eyebrow, but this was rather disgusting to him too.

"No, I'm not," said Sirius, taking another great bite of chicken. "Crouch used to be Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?"

They shook their head.

"He was tipped as the next Minister of Magic. He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical – and power-hungry. Oh, never a Voldemort supporter," he said, reading the look on Potter's face. Corvus winced at the Dark Lord's uncensored name. "No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken again the Dark side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark side... well, you wouldn't understand... you're too young..."

"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," said Weasley, with a trace of irritation in his voice. "Try us, why don't you?"

A grin flashed across Sirius's thin face. "All right, I'll try you..."

...

...

Another long chapter! God Sirius talks a lot in the Padfoot Returns chapter, go figure...Yay! Corvus and Max did it, they are Animaguses! Okay so, let me explain what and why I picked their forms as; 'corvus' is latin for crow/raven, so I knew he had to an animal in the crow family. He is a European Magpie, they are beautiful I think. and their folklore is tied to a lot of cool things, such as thievery, death (Corvus has a lot of death around him), witchcraft... Max is a coyote. He was originally going to be a fox, but i thought it would be more fun if he was a coyote, coyotes are American as he is! They've got cute ears. Again the mythology behind coyotes is interesting, they're seen as tricksters and mediators between life and death (like ravens)

next chapter will pick up immediately from where we left off here... Corvus will get a glimpse of what kind of world his parents lived through... the loss of Anwar and Louis is felt... OWLs study madness... Crouch's Madness too...