The 8th Year
Chapter 37 – Of Cats & Men
When January came to a close the determined group of 8th Years finally finished the animagus potion. They had spent the entire month sweating over a cauldron in the basement of Potter Manor during every spare moment that they had and Harry had spent the entire month with a mandrake leaf in his mouth. Harry had approached Professor McGonagall earlier in the month and she had started to give him lessons, mostly on the mental aspect of becoming an Animagus because (as she herself had pointed out) between them his friends could probably brew an Animagus potion in their sleep. She certainly turned out to be right there.
Harry's last lesson with McGonagall was on the 5th of February which was precisely the day that everything started to come together. The animagus potion had to brew for a final 24 hours and then Harry could take it. However, there was a minor blip with their plan. The animagus potion was finished but the cure wasn't. Between them Daphne, Hermione, Sadie, Draco and Theo were close but they were struggling with one particular aspect of the potion and they didn't know who to approach for help on this final hurdle.
"The problem is with component 6," Hermione explained for about the hundredth time in the common room. Harry sighed, maybe a little too loudly, and a book collided with his head.
"Ow," Harry said dryly as Draco sniggered.
"Bloody component 6, I'm sick of hearing about it," Harry whined and Daphne hit him hard in the arm, "Ow!" he said indignantly.
"Shut up Harry, you haven't been helping so you can't complain," Daphne told him with a firm glare as she turned to the others, "But the problem isn't removing the component, that's not going to be difficult at all, replacing it is the issue and we can't-"
"- replace it until you know what to replace it with," Harry finished. He sighed and muttered, "I'm going to get an O in Potions after this."
He got hit on the head from two directions, "Ow," he muttered dryly.
"Stop being so negative!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm just fed up," Harry admitted, "I want to help that poor girl and nothing we're doing seems to be working. This time tomorrow I'll be an Animagus and you don't even have anything to test on me."
"I don't know what else to do," Sadie admitted. She sighed and let her head drop into her hands.
"We need outside help," Theo said firmly, they had needed it for a little while but they were all too stubborn to ask for help.
"But who can we ask?" Hermione despaired as she racked her brains, "I mean Slughorn is good but who has extensive knowledge of experimental potions?"
"Shit!"
"What?" Daphne asked sharply, tempers and tensions were high at the moment.
"My Mother!" Harry exclaimed.
Hermione's eye's widened, the answer had literally been on their doorstep the whole time.
Harry elaborated, "My Dad was an Auror and if my Mum hadn't had me so young she was going to go into experimental potions. That's why her and Snape were close and why Slughorn loved her. She was one of his best students!"
They all stood up as one and hurried out of the common room, they skidded to a halt in front of the portrait of the Marauders. Lily was sitting there reading while the other three schemed in the background. They all looked up when they saw the group of 8th Years.
"We need your help with a potion," Hermione said quickly. Then she explained at top speed about Filch's daughter and Harry becoming an animagus but that the components wouldn't match up, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!
Lily followed all of this with ease and then her green eyes narrowed, "I have an inkling."
"What's your idea Mum?" Harry asked eagerly.
Lily beamed at her son, "Your issue is finding something to replace the permanency charm and I think you may have missed the solution for want of trying too hard. The solution is very simple, surely you can replace the permanency charm with another permanency charm. Only you must ensure that the second permanency charm will keep the human form as the permanent one."
There was a stunned silence as they all considered her words.
"Lily...you are a genius," James beamed.
"I didn't understand a word she said but it sounded good," Harry turned to the experts of the group, "It was good, right?"
"It was brilliant," Draco marvelled as Daphne gaped at Lily in amazement.
"So that will work?" Theo asked as he looked around his friends.
Sadie nodded eagerly, "Not only will it work, it will work quickly. We can have the potion finished by tomorrow!"
So their night ended well after all. It was Friday night and everyone apparated to Potter Manor to finish the potion. The job was largely done by Daphne, Hermione and Sadie, for the most part Harry, Draco and Theo drank coffee and tried to morally support the others.
The "EUREKA" moment came sometime before 2am in the morning; the potion was finally finished.
Now all they needed to do was talk to Filch about it and get his permission which they thought might actually be harder than brewing the bloody potion had been. But then again with Trelawney on their side... well it could go either way.
They decided to hit the hay so the Slytherin members of the group would be at their best for the match against Ravenclaw the following day.
It was a great feeling that night, after a month of hard work everything was finally paying off.
They got up early on Saturday morning so they could get back to school without getting caught. They had learned their lesson after their wild night out in Edinburgh. If they were leaving Hogwarts without permission; they did it much more sneakily now. They slipped into the great hall at breakfast and ate quietly, the table was tense as it always was before Quidditch games. The group then made their way out to the pitch and wished good luck to their Slytherin friends. Harry, Neville, Hannah and Susan made their way into the stands to make sure they would get a good view of the match.
It started out as a fairly average, pretty good game. Hermione was commentating again and as per usual it gave everyone a good laugh, especially with Dennis on the sound since Luna was playing in the game.
"Daphne is flying towards the hoops and she looks like she's going to score...oh, oh, go Daphne! Sorry Professor – Yes, she's scored!"
"Pour some sugar on me, ooh in the name of love. Pour sugar on me, come on fire me up!"
Harry grinned at this matches goal song for Slytherin; it had been "Bad to the Bone" in the last match. He saw Daphne chuckling and shaking her head as she sped away from the goals.
"Oh and now Sadie has the quaffle, wait, Daphne, Sadie, oh no Tracey, wait no Daphne, and Tracey and she's on her way to the goals, oh she's going to score, come on Tracey!" Hermione was jumping up and down on her seat; she was such a closet Quidditch fan.
"Yes, and she's scored! 20-0!"
"Oi Granger, what side are you supporting here?" Terry Boot joked as he flew past the commentary box.
Hermione grinned, "Slytherin! My boyfriend's the captain, sorry Terry!"
"No worries!" Terry said, he laughed as he flew off into the distance.
10 minutes into the match Slytherin were 50 points up and doing well, then Ravenclaw upped their game.
"Luna has the quaffle and she's heading for the hoops, oh no, Draco's blocking her, Draco that is not your job, look for the bloody snitch! - Oh sorry Professor - Oh no Luna dropped the quaffle, but wait Mandy has it and she scores!"
"Live fast and die young, all we are looking for is hope and glory. Cause I was born to run, theres not a boring page in my life story."
Harry shook his head in amusement and smiled at the same time as the song played. After that Ravenclaws game was kind of off again and after half an hour of play the score was at a dismal 90-20 to Slytherin.
"Draco's seen something; he's going after the snitch!" McGonagall didn't bother telling Hermione off as she jumped up and down on her seat again, "He nearly has it – oh my god! DRACO! MADAM HOOCH HE'S HURT! TIME-OUT!"
Madam Hooch blew her whistle for a time out; Hermione dropped her megaphone and ran as fast as she could to the pitch. Draco had been hit in the back of the head with a bludger sent his way by Michael Corner who was currently getting yelled at and hit by his ex-girlfriend (Ginny) for the incident. Hermione reached the pitch and knelt down on the cold wet grass next to Draco who was in a makeshift stretcher looking dazed and confused.
"Hermione," Draco sighed when Hermione reached him.
She smiled weakly at him, "You're going to the hospital wing Draco, you're going to miss the end of the game."
"P...P...Potter..."
"What about Harry?" Hermione asked gently as she took Draco's hand in her own. The Slytherin team chose this moment to arrive on the scene and dismount their broomsticks.
"I want Potter..." Draco said weakly.
"Now Draco, you're not dying, no need to confess your love for the boy-who-lived," Theo jested from his spot behind the injured captain.
"Who wants me?" Harry asked as he appeared on the scene with Neville hot at his heels.
"Draco," Daphne remarked casually.
Harry snorted, "Wow, he must have been hit pretty hard."
"I know right," Daphne joked.
"Guys," Draco said dryly, "I'm trying to give my dying speech here."
"Draco you aren't dying, you bloody drama Queen," Neville retorted with a snigger.
Even in a dazed state Draco managed to glare at the Gryffindor, "Shut up fatbottom."
"Still so original," Neville muttered.
Draco cleared his throat, "Harry...I can't finish, I...need...you...to...go...on...for...me."
With that his eyes slid shut and Hermione panicked slightly, "Oh my gosh! Is he dead?"
Madam Pomfrey chose that point to hurry over to Draco, she did a few quick checks, "No, he's just fallen asleep."
There was laughter around the group and only Hermione seemed genuinely concerned about Draco's welfare.
Theo turned to Harry, "Well you heard the dying man's words Harry. Grab Draco's broom and join in."
Harry shrugged and grabbed the broom, "Okay," he said simply. Once upon a time playing for Slytherin would have seemed worse than committing suicide but there were far better things in Harry's life than Quidditch now. It was just a bit of fun for him, a hobby to keep him fit and to pass the time.
He climbed onto Draco's broom and felt it buzz underneath him. It sensed that he wasn't its owner. He tapped it and said, "Um, hey? I'm Draco's friend, I'm going to win the match for him," was he actually talking to a broomstick? It seemed to believe him though as it buzzed happily and didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore.
Draco was rushed off of the pitch in a stretcher and Hermione went with him. McGonagall it seemed had very reluctantly agreed to let Dennis do the commentating because there was no one else on hand to do it. She then appeared angrily on the pitch, "Potter! What do you think you're doing?"
"Um, going on for Draco," Harry said, as if this was obvious.
"The rules clearly state that-"
Theo cut McGonagall off, "- That if a team is in dire need of a replacement and there is not one on the team, that a Slytherin between 2nd and 7th year can go on. As Harry here is an 8th Year his house doesn't apply therefore he can help us. Thanks for that chat Minnie, I really feel like we understood each other."
McGonagall looked like smoke might come out of her ears as her face gradually turned from red to violet; Harry hadn't seen a transition so spectacular since Uncle Vernon.
"Theodore Roosevelt Nott! Private detention cleaning up my classroom for a month!"
She turned on her heel and stormed away. As she did so she muttered under her breath, "I'm changing this bloody rulebook."
"Your middle name is Roosevelt? Seriously? Roosevelt?!"
Theo rolled his eyes, "He was the first Wizarding President of America and my Mum was a Wizarding Historian," he said irritably as he mounted his broomstick.
Harry flew behind him laughing his head off and occasionally shouting things like, "Okay over there Roosevelt?"
Harry smirked as he looked around the pitch. He saw the snitch glinting and sighed to himself, he knew he was effectively helping Slytherin beat Gryffindor in the inter-house cup but he found that he didn't really care. His friendship with Draco and his relationship with Daphne meant a million times more to him than Quidditch did these days. As it so happened, the game ended about 5 seconds later when Harry caught the snitch in record time and Slytherin won 240-20.
When the match ended the Slytherins (+ Harry, Neville and Dean) made haste and hurried up to the hospital wing to check on Draco.
When they got there Madam Pomfrey reluctantly let them in and made it clear that they only had half an hour and that they needed to be quiet because Draco needed his rest. As the group approached Draco's bed they saw Hermione sitting on the edge of it, she was holding his hand and smiling as he spoke to her.
Harry thought it was quite sweet and he was going to suggest to the others that they should come back later and give Hermione and Draco some time together. However, Theo was already striding towards Draco's hospital bed and Harry dreaded to think what he might do.
"Oi princess" Theo said loudly, "Get away from my man."
Hermione shook her head, "Oh Theo," she said fondly as she stepped away from Draco's bed.
Draco raised an eyebrow at Theo as he hugged him tightly and said, "I was a little worried back there."
Draco smiled and shook his head, "You know, I almost believed that."
Theo grinned, dropped into a chair by his friend's bed and said, "You must be delusional."
The others dropped into chairs by the bed and Harry laughed in amusement, "Finished with the reunion guys?"
Draco chuckled and then winced, "Did we win?" he asked.
"I don't know why you say we when asking me," Harry pointed out.
Draco glared at him, "So, did we win?"
Harry let himself grin, he had been holding it in since they walked into the room, "Yeah," he admitted, "Landslide victory."
"He caught the snitch seconds after he got on your broom, which seems to like him by the way," Tracey informed Draco, she smirked at her own choice of words.
There was laughter from almost all of them at that and then Madam Pomfrey appeared looking very red faced and angry, "I said he needs his rest, not noise! Out! All of you, now!"
With some grumbling everyone stood up, apart from Hermione. Madam Pomfrey sighed with resignation, "Apart from you Miss. Granger, you can stay."
Hermione positively beamed as the others trudged out of the room. They all needed showers anyway.
Harry yawned and stretched as the group walked back to the 8th Year common room together, "We should really try and sort out our Filch problem at some point today."
"I'm not asking him!" Daphne and Tracey echoed together.
Sadie looked afraid as she shook her head, "Please don't ask me to do it."
Harry caught Neville's eye and they both smirked, "I nominate Theo," they said in unison.
Theo groaned but then he got a worrying glint in his eye as he said, "Sure, I'll do it."
Harry was a little anxious. What on earth was he planning in that sick, twisted mind of his?
Later on in the hospital wing Hermione and Draco finally had the chance to have a decent length conversation without being interrupted. Luckily Draco wasn't too badly injured, he had a minor concussion and a big bruise from where the bludger had hit him. Madam Pomfrey had healed the majority of his wounds but he still had a headache so she was keeping him in overnight just in case there was something she had missed. Even in the wizarding world head injuries were tricky to treat.
"You really had me worried earlier you know," Hermione said quietly, she kept her gaze down and didn't meet his eye.
"I'm sorry," Draco said as he took her hand, "It was a rookie mistake, I got distracted by Dennis Creevey and his damn camera and I looked away for a second because the flash blinded me."
"Don't be silly," Hermione said, "It wasn't your fault. It's the beaters job to stop the bludgers from hitting people, if you want to blame anyone blame Theo."
Draco chuckled, "Oh now I like that plan. Blaming Theo always works."
Hermione smiled and for a moment there was silence between them. Then she sighed quietly, "For a minute I thought I was going to lose you and that really scared me," she admitted.
Draco stayed silent as he sensed that she had something she needed to say.
Hermione shook her head, it was as if she was trying to force her thoughts into order, "Less than a year ago you were the enemy. You were the son of a man who imprisoned us and wanted us dead. And now you're my boyfriend and Ron has left and everything is so different," she had a small frown on her face as she tried to figure out what to say next, "Sometimes I suppose I struggled to come to terms with it all but I finally have now. I've really started to love the way things are and the thought of losing you after that was horrible."
Draco smiled weakly at her and patted the spot of bed next to him; Hermione smiled back as she climbed up and lay down next to him in the small hospital bed.
"I know it scares you sometimes and trust me it scares me just as much. Right now I'm doing everything that was preached to me as wrong growing up," Draco said truthfully as he turned his head to smile at his girlfriend, "I was taught not to mingle with muggle-borns or half-bloods, now I'm dating one and I'm fast becoming great friends with another. And I don't regret one single bit of it, I promise you that. But so much change in such a short amount of time...well it sometimes scares me too, I understand Hermione."
Hermione shifted closer and sighed into Draco's chest, "I never thought this is how my life would pan out after the war."
Draco chuckled quietly, "No, this isn't the way I thought things would go either but it was the way I hoped they'd end," he felt Hermione smile into his chest and he smiled himself, "I love you Hermione and I'd do it all again to get this outcome."
Hermione's smile widened, "I love you too Draco and I'd do it all the same too...even that punch."
Draco laughed and they fell asleep holding each other tightly that night.
Theodore Nott didn't like to be delegated the jobs that nobody else wanted so he made it his mission to be as rude and annoying as possible when it came to talking to Filch that night. To be fair it was in his nature to be annoying anyway, he grinned to himself as he looked down at the map Harry had let him borrow. It was one of the perks of being allocated this job, he may have spent a little too long being nosy and sniggering at the fact that Daphne's 'angelic' little sister Astoria was in a broom cupboard with Dennis Creevey.
Theo had started his search on the 7th floor and typically Filch was in the dungeons so he trudged down there. He snorted in amusement when he glanced at the map after hearing suspicious noises coming from a 3rd floor classroom and saw that it was occupied by Mandy Brocklehurst and the keeper of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
When Theo eventually reached the dungeons he started to feel slightly anxious. He heard Filch whistling in one of the empty classrooms so without knocking he walked in. Filch was startled and jumped when the door opened, "What are you doing out of bed?"
"I'm Head Boy," Theo explained, "My curfew isn't for a while yet."
Filch narrowed his eyes at Theo, he was surprised that a student wasn't being rude to him and a Slytherin student at that.
"So Argus," Theo said casually as he dropped into one of the seats in front of an old dirty cauldron, "I want to talk to you about your cat."
Filch immediately tensed up, "Leave Mrs. Norris alone," he snarled.
Theo raised his hands, "I don't want to hurt her. In fact, quite the opposite. My friends overheard you in a pub, we know about her real form."
Filch didn't seem to know how to react to this so he grabbed the desk for support and sat down shakily. Theo continued, "We wanted to help so between Potter and Granger and some of the 8th Year Slytherins we've been working on a cure and we're pretty sure that we've found it. All we need to do now is test it on an Animagus to see if it works. Potter volunteered, of course."
Filch shook his head, "No," he said roughly, "I tried every experimental potions brewer in the wizarding world when it happened and no one could help," he looked away from Theo, "If they couldn't do it a bunch of ambitious kids can't either."
"Potions theory has changed a lot since Melody's accident-" Theo began, he tried to sound encouraging and helpful.
"Don't call her that!" Filch barked which made Theo jump, "Her name is Mrs. Norris! Now get out, OUT!"
Theo knew when to accept defeat and he knew he had lost this battle so he trudged his way back up to the 8th Year common room to tell the others of the encounter. They had never expected much, they knew Filch would be sceptical and that he would refuse to believe it but it had been worth a shot.
Theo sighed, he was dreading the others reactions as he moodily answered the doors riddle and dragged himself into the common room. As he flopped into an armchair by the fire he was immediately surrounded by the only people left in the common room.
"How did it go?" Harry and Neville asked at the same time.
"Not very well," Theo said honestly, "As we expected, he didn't think a bunch of kids could brew the potion and he told me to get out without so much as a thank you."
They all looked crestfallen and it made Theo feel guilty for not trying harder.
Daphne sighed, "Well, we always knew it was a long shot," she said reasonably, "So I guess it's time for plan B."
"There's a plan B?" Harry asked.
Daphne smirked then shared a smile with Tracey and Sadie, her partners in crime, "Yes," she said simply.
Harry narrowed his eyes, "And what is plan B?"
"Plan B is you and I go have ourselves a chat with our resident seer," Daphne said with a slightly evil grin.
"Seriously?" Harry groaned, "Why me?"
"Because, you're her number one student," Tracey said and she winked playfully at him.
Sadie was laughing next to her, "Sucks to be loved so much Harry," she teased.
Harry rolled his eyes and mumbled something about how he was the boy-who-saved-the-bloody-wizarding-world but he still had to do everything his girlfriend said.
On Sunday morning Harry was awoken very early by Daphne who had been tickling him with the end of a quill. He groaned, pulled a pillow over his face and mumbled, "What time is it?"
"It's 9am, come on we've got to find Trelawney."
"It's Sunday!" Harry whined.
Daphne pulled the pillow from his face, "And we have work to do, get up."
"Fine," Harry sighed, he climbed out of bed and pulled on the first clothes he could find. He grabbed the jumper Mrs. Weasley had knitted him as it was still very cold even now that it was February.
Daphne seemed pleased as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the tower and onto the grand staircase. He didn't object but he yawned all the way.
"So whats the plan?" Harry asked when they finally reached the great hall and he was able to sit down and start demolishing some bacon.
"We're going to go up to her office and charm her," Daphne said simply, she poured herself some pumpkin juice and watched Harry mull this over as she munched on some toast.
"You make it sound so easy," Harry said sarcastically.
Daphne chuckled, "I try."
"You're in a good mood," Harry said with a smile, he was amused at how bouncy she was and he loved to see her happy.
Daphne merely shrugged, "The potion is finished, you're becoming an Animagus tonight. It's exciting!"
Harry smiled, he felt much more awake now, "I guess it is...it feels like 2nd year with the polyjuice potion all over again."
Daphne laughed, "I still can't believe you turned into Goyle," she shook her head in amusement, "But if this is what it feels like being on one of your adventures I can see why you liked it, it's kind of fun."
Harry grinned, leant over and kissed her, "Yeah, it is. Now come on, let's go talk to Trelawney."
When Daphne and Harry reached the hatch up into Trelawney's unconventional attic-like classroom it seemed to sense them because it opened and the silver ladder dropped down.
"My children, come in," Trelawney's dreamy voice called out.
Harry glanced at a slightly hesitant Daphne and muttered, "After you," the girl rolled her eyes and started to climb the ladder with Harry close behind her.
Trelawney wasn't dressed in her usual eccentric clothes; she was sitting at her desk with her huge round glasses on. Her hair was still frizzy and all over the place. She wore orange robes which were blinding but an improvement on her usual dress sense. She smiled up at them and put her multi-coloured quill down, "My dears, you have come seeking my advice and guidance."
"Uh, sort of," Harry said, "We need your help with something."
Daphne nodded, "Something that is very important to us," she added.
Trelawney smiled at them and politely said, "Please sit down."
Harry and Daphne cautiously took seats in front of her desk.
Trelawney chuckled at the looks on their faces, "There is no need to look so afraid. Now, what is troubling you?"
Daphne and Harry met each other's eyes and had an inner debate on who would talk, Harry lost, "We didn't mean to eavesdrop but we heard you talking to Filch and we know about his daughter and we know that you knew my parents. We wanted to do something to help so we tried to brew a potion that would cure Mrs. Norris and make her Melody again."
Trelawney smiled sadly and looked down at the desk, "That is very sweet of you but Argus assured me it was impossible to cure his poor daughter."
"We thought so too," Daphne interrupted, "But then we all worked together and we managed to brew the cure, it's complete. We just need to test it now and then we can give it to Mrs. Norris."
"My goodness," Trelawney said. She looked at them both as if she was trying to read their minds and see if they really believed they had found a cure, "Does Argus know?"
Daphne sighed, "Yes but he won't accept that we found the cure. He thinks it's impossible for students to do it when expert potion brewers couldn't," she watched Trelawney mull this over, "But the truth is Professor that he can't accept change. So much has changed in potions theory in the last few years that the stuff we get taught at N.E.W.T level is much more complex than it was when these brewers were at Hogwarts."
Trelawney nodded, she seemed to be deep in thought, "I understand. Argus does not like to accept change, in fact he fears it. I will try my best to convince him that this potion may really cure his daughter."
Harry shared a smile with Daphne, their plan had worked. Surely Filch would listen to Trelawney, "We're testing the potion tonight. We'll be able to give it to Melody tomorrow if it works."
Trelawney smiled proudly at them, "I foresaw this day," she confessed, "When I first saw you two in my class in 3rd year I knew one day you would become a great team. I am glad to see that my prediction has been made true."
Harry and Daphne had to smile at that. It was the final straw that convinced Harry that perhaps Trelawney was a true seer after all.
It was a pivotal moment as everyone stood huddled around a cauldron in Potter Manor. The potion was bright blue in colour, like the ocean. Harry held a goblet in his hand, he was ready to drink the potion and hopefully become an Animagus. If the girls had brewed the potion correctly, then in theory everything would work perfectly. Once he was an Animagus, he would transform and the cure could be tested on him. After that they would be able to save Melody, assuming Filch would let them.
"Are you ready?" Daphne asked, she looked slightly anxious as she stood next to Harry. The Gryffindor gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Remember the mental part of it Harry," Hermione reminded him, "Shut your eyes and do exactly what McGonagall told you."
"And don't drink too fast or it won't work."
"Don't drink too slow either though."
"Remember and keep your mind focused so you can control the animal form."
"And if you need help remember the gesture we talked about."
"Guys!" Harry said loudly. This stopped them all from shouting random pieces of advice at him, "The last time this happened I accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley."
There were bemused and confused looks all around but Hermione smiled slightly, "Sorry Harry."
She added for the benefit of everyone else, "He needs silence to concentrate. Advice doesn't really help him."
"Sorry," Sadie and Tracey whispered.
Theo just shrugged, "Good luck Potter."
"Good luck Harry!" A few of the others cheered.
Harry closed his eyes, brought the goblet to his lips and drank deeply from it.
At first he didn't feel like much had changed but he continued to focus his mind on the task at hand and not let it wander, like McGonagall had said. He then felt a strange tingling feeling in his toes, sort of like when he had taken Polyjuice potion for the first time. The tingling started to spread throughout his body and then all of a sudden it stopped and he felt exactly the same as he had before.
He opened his eyes and said, "It didn't work," or at least that was what he tried to say. It came out more like a squawk and at that point Harry looked into the mirror that Hermione had just transfigured. He was an Animagus all right and his Animagus form had to be the coolest ever.
"Wow!" Theo exclaimed.
Draco was gazing at Harry in shock and jealousy, "Your Animagus form is a Phoenix, seriously?"
Harry smirked, or well he did inside because Phoenix's couldn't smirk, and the others went a little bit wild. Theo mumbled a spell that cut his arm and asked Harry to cry on it, he did and it was instantly healed, they ooh-ed and aah-ed. Then Harry lifted up Daphne, Sadie and Tracey and flew around the room with them holding onto his tail feathers. After that he closed his eyes, shut out the noise and concentrated on becoming human again. He felt the tingling sensation again but this time it started at his head and spread down throughout his body to his toes then it stopped. Harry opened his eyes, looked in the mirror and was pleased to see that he was himself again.
"Can I just say," Harry said with a smug grin, "That I have the coolest Animagus form, ever."
Daphne rolled her eyes but she was smiling, "When you've finished inflating your head can we please do the job we set out to do and test the potion?"
The portrait on the wall sniggered, it was Charlus's portrait and it could travel throughout all the portraits in Potter Manor, "You two sound just like James and Lily."
Harry chuckled, he wasn't at all offended by this, in fact it made him quite happy. Daphne was right though, the fun was over and now it was time to get back to work.
Hermione and Daphne added the final touch to the potion which had to be done right before the drinker took it. Hermione then ladled the potion into a new goblet and handed it to Harry, he glanced anxiously at the smoking goblet, "Is it supposed to do that?"
Hermione glared at him, "Yes Harry, of course it is. I wouldn't give it to you if I wasn't 100% sure it was ready!"
"Okay! I was just asking," Harry mumbled, he glanced worriedly at the goblet again. He put it on the floor and transformed into his Animagus form. Then he used the straw provided to drink all of the liquid from the goblet and he felt a searing pain shoot through him, it felt like every molecule in his body was tearing apart. He screamed in pain but he was sure it came out as a squawk and as quickly as the pain had started, it stopped. Harry warily opened his eyes, he was curled up in a ball on the floor and he was naked. He ached a little but other than that he was perfectly fine and perfectly human, the potion had worked.
"It works!" Harry said, he accepted the towel that Hermione gave him and covered himself up, "It really works!"
There were grins all round that they had actually done it, now all they needed to do was give the potion to Mrs. Norris and she would be Melody once again.
"What now?" Draco asked after the initial excitement had passed.
Harry replied, "We wait until tomorrow and hope Trelawney managed to convince Filch," it was the honest answer; all they could do now was wait.
"Then we wait," Theo said, he actually sounded sincere and mature for a moment but then he ruined it and added, "But until then I say we celebrate with firewhiskey!"
There was laughter and agreement all around as they headed over to the bar to celebrate their success.
On Monday morning when Harry and his friends walked into the great hall they could see Trelawney and Filch having a heated discussion in whispers at the head table, Harry was glad to see that it looked like Filch was losing. As they sat down for breakfast everyone watched the argument out of the corner of their eyes.
Hermione had a vial of the potion safe in her bag; all she needed to do was add the grated horned slug before giving it to Mrs. Norris to be effective. The conversation seemed to turn more civil as Filch nodded and Trelawney smiled, she patted his hand gently as Mrs. Norris rubbed her face against his leg. At that point Filch got up and left the hall, he glared at Harry, or maybe Theo who was sitting next to him. Mrs. Norris followed and it was then that one of the strangest things happened to him.
He heard Trelawney's voice loud and clear but she hadn't left the head table, it was like the time Voldemort had done the same thing but Harry had no idea that Trelawney was so skilled in Legilimency, "Argus has agreed, we will meet you in the hospital wing at lunch, do not be late."
Once he had gotten over the startling feeling of having someone speak in his head Harry looked up to the head table and smiled. He gave Trelawney a small nod, she nodded back and smiled at him. The deal was done, now all they had to do was somehow manage to make it through morning classes and hope the potion worked on Mrs. Norris as well as it had on Harry the night before.
When lunch time finally came Harry, Daphne, Hermione, Draco, Sadie and Theo who had done the majority of the work, with the exception of Harry who was the just the guinea pig, hurried to the hospital wing where they found Professor McGonagall, Filch who had Mrs. Norris on his lap, Trelawney and Pomfrey waiting for them.
"You have the potion?" McGonagall asked.
Hermione nodded, "Yes Professor," she said as she fished it out of her bag and took out the grated slugs, she uncorked the vial and dropped the final ingredient in, the potion smoked and Hermione put a straw in it, like she had with Harry when he had taken it the night before. Slightly cautiously she handed it to Filch and said, "It will hurt when she transforms but it shouldn't leave any lasting damage. However, a side effect of the potion is that she will appear naked so you might want to draw the curtain."
Filch nodded, he was incapable of forming words so Pomfrey drew the curtain around the two humans and the cat. The group behind the curtain waited with baited breath as Filch got Mrs. Norris to drink the potion. Next came a high-pitched yelp of pain and an agonising groan from Filch. After that there was silence and then...
"Dad?"
"M...Melody?"
"Dad...why are you so old? What happened? Where am I?"
Trelawney smiled proudly and happily at the group of 8th Years who were pleased and stunned that the potion had worked.
Filch shakily walked out from behind the curtain and Trelawney took him by the arm, she sat him down on a nearby bed, whispered something comforting to him and he nodded, although he still looked like he was in shock.
"It worked," He said, his voice was small and weak as he looked at the 8th Years. They didn't know what to say so they stayed silent.
A moment later Filch nodded, he didn't meet anyone's eye but he did sincerely say, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Hermione replied simply.
At that moment the curtain was pulled back and the 8th Years got their first view of Melody Norris-Filch. She looked around the same age as Ginny, her hair was dark brown and she had large hazel eyes. She was very pretty and clearly got all of her looks from her Mother, not her Father, although they had only known Filch as an old man.
Melody looked confused as she looked around, "Who are you people?"
"It's a long story," Hermione said gently, "But your Father will explain everything to you. Just rest," she smiled and Melody nodded, she accepted this explanation for now.
"Come on," Hermione muttered to the others, "They have a lot of catching up to do."
Harry smiled and slipped his hand into Daphne's as they left the room, "Yeah," he agreed, he felt like he had really made a difference in the world today, "They do."
"Mione. Do I still have access to my Animagus form?" Harry asked with a frown.
"No, the permanency charm in the cure means you'll stay human," Hermione replied with a yawn. They were all lounging around on sofas in the drawing room of Potter Manor.
"Well what if I was to take the animagus potion again?" Harry asked curiously, "There's a whole cauldron of it downstairs after all."
"It would work," Daphne replied simply, "But you would have to register with the Ministry which costs 300 Galleons."
"And?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, "I have the money to do it."
"So do I," Draco said and his eyes flashed eagerly, "And I know all about the mental aspect."
"We all do," Daphne pointed out, "We wrote essays about it for McGonagall this year. But none of us have carried a mandrake leaf in our mouth all month have we? And by the time we did that the potion will have expired."
"Damn," Draco sighed, "I didn't think of that."
"I did," Neville said with an amused smile, "Harry and I knew there should be a back-up, just in case something went wrong. So I carried the mandrake leaf in my mouth for a month. I could become an animagus too, if I want."
"Do you want to?" Harry asked his friend curiously.
"I'm really tempted," Neville admitted.
"So am I," Draco said, "We could brew another animagus potion and do it again. Probably not until we finish school though..."
"Sure if you buy all of the very rare, very expensive ingredients for a second time," Hermione said sarcastically.
"Deal," Draco said instantly.
Theo grinned broadly, "Hey what can I say, I am definitely in!"
"I'm not," Sadie said, "I don't want to be an animagus."
"No, neither do I," Hannah yawned.
Dean and Tracey were both shaking their heads too. But Daphne glanced over at Hermione and said, "I'm intrigued, I'll say that much. What about you Hermione?"
"I'm intrigued too," Hermione admitted, "But I don't know if I could go through with it. You could become anything; you know?"
"Well let's test it then," Harry said as he jumped to his feet, "We'll see what Neville becomes."
"Alright," Neville said eagerly and the others followed them into the basement where the cauldron full of animagus potion was still simmering. Hannah expressed her bad feeling about Neville becoming an animagus but he respectfully told her that he disagreed. Harry took the potion first, and just like the last time his entire body tingled until he became a majestic Phoenix. He transformed back into his human form just as Neville took the potion. They watched anxiously and held their breath as Neville shut his eyes tightly and concentrated hard. After a few minutes he began to change and it became clear very quickly that Neville's animagus form was a lion; a huge, majestic looking lion with Neville's deep brown eyes.
"Wow," Hannah breathed as she stroked his mane.
"I have got to become an animagus," Draco breathed, "This is so cool!"
Theo nodded, he was in awe and he was completely speechless. Both of which were very rare things for Theodore Nott.
Hermione and Daphne shared a look and they both smiled slightly. It was incredibly cool and wouldn't they be fools to miss out on an opportunity like this?
TBC :)