Part V

"E-Expecto patronum!"

"Come on, Francis. Think of a happy memory!"

Francis gulped. "D-d'accord, Arthur." He screwed his eyes shut. "Expecto patronum – Expecto patronum – Expecto patronum..."

"You can do it," Arthur murmured, standing behind the Frenchman. They were in the deserted dormitory; everyone else had gone up to the pitch for the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match. It was raining outside, but no sound of that reached the dungeons.

Francis frowned at his wand, and then he stormily tossed it to the ground and flopped on his bed. "I can't!" he complained.

"The memory just isn't happy enough," Arthur explained calmly, picking up Francis's wand and sitting down on the bed next to him. "Think harder – think of a memory that isn't bittersweet..."

"I try!" Francis snapped. "I try to think of something, but nothing works!"

"I can't bloody believe it," Arthur growled. "You're one of the happiest people in this bloody castle."

Francis shook his head. "I smile because I can, not because I want to," he replied. "My history – the history of France – it is turbulent and unhappy... Arthur – England – I can't."

"You bloody damn well can!" Arthur glared at him. "You're not a depressed old man just yet. Get your damn wand and we're trying this Patronus again!" He handed back to Francis his wand.

Francis took it, his blue eyes hardening until they shone like sapphires. They were a shade darker than Alfred's sky-blue eyes, but they were blue nonetheless. For a moment, they closed.

"Think," hissed Arthur in his ear. "Something happy."

The Frenchman's chest rose and fell heavily. "E-E-EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he screamed to the room, pointing his wand fiercely at the door. His eyes opened.

Silvery mist shot out of his wand. Francis's eyes went wide. "I-Is that...?" he started to say, but Arthur was smiling.

"It's not a full Patronus, but it's a start, Francis."

Francis shakily lowered his wand. "I did it," he breathed, a look of shock and wonder on his face.

Arthur nodded and patted his back, green eyes warm and shining. He looked directly into Francis's cerulean eyes and he could see happiness – wild happiness –

They both moved at the same time – their lips crashed together – Francis was pressing Arthur into the mattress of his four-poster, their wands forgotten – Arthur was arching up into Francis's kisses on his neck – his eyes closed –

"No," he suddenly gasped, stopping Francis's heated kiss.

"Pourquoi pas?" Francis mumbled against his chest.

"I-I have a boyfriend," Arthur said shakily. He got off Francis's bed and turned his back on him. "I-I can't let this h-happen again."

Francis's face was like a blank book.

"Er, hi, Ginny," Arthur said to the red-haired girl as she entered the entrance hall clutching her umbrella, her fiery red hair dripping wet. She nodded at him, a little smile playing at her lips.

"Hello, Arthur. Weren't you at the match?"

"I, uh, didn't go because I, um, had a stomach-ache. But I'm feeling loads better now, so... um." He felt his cheeks colouring. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Right. Well, I guess it was better that you didn't go anyways," she said in a small voice. "I'm off to go visit Harry in the infirmary..."

Arthur blinked and followed her as she headed up the marble staircase. "What? Harry's in the Hospital Wing? But... why? How? Did Gryffindor lose?"

"Yeah." Ginny definitely didn't look pleased about it. "Dementors came onto the pitch and made him fall from his broom. Then Dumbledore slowed him down as he fell and they took him to the Hospital Wing. He was furious with the Dementors..." She paused for a moment. "Oh, and Harry's broom flew into the Whomping Willow."

Arthur gasped. "It's been broken?"

"Mutilated, more like." The girl rolled her eyes. "So Diggory caught the Snitch. Hufflepuff so flattened us... it's our worst defeat yet, really. And Harry's out cold."

Arthur bit his lip as the Hospital Wing came into view. "R-right," he said after a moment. "I'll... uh, go."

And he turned tail and left Ginny in front of the infirmary doors.

"I want to learn how to be an Animagus, Professor," Arthur told Professor McGonagall after class. They had spent the entire class time attempting to turn rocks into pincushions, and all Arthur managed to do was get his rock all soft and mushy.

Professor McGonagall peered at him from the top of her spectacles. "Kirkland, you do realise how advanced this form of transfiguration is?" she asked, her eyes flickering to Arthur's squishy rock. "It is way beyond your level. I can help you, of course, if you truly wish to know how to perform the Animagus transformation, but I cannot give you a complete lesson. I simply do not have the time."

Arthur nodded. "I see, Professor."

"Indeed, Kirkland," she replied curtly. Arthur started making his way to the exit.

He paused. "Professor, is there a book I can use?"

"You're going to do what?" Alfred demanded as Arthur caught up with him on the way to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Become an Animagus – a person who can turn into an animal," Arthur replied, clutching a note close to his chest.

"Isn't that super hard?" Alfred asked. Arthur nodded.

"Yeah, McGonagall said so, too. But I'm going to give it a shot. I've got to go..." he trailed off, seeing Francis rounding the corner.

"You've got to go?" Alfred asked, not seeing the Frenchman, who had caught sight of Arthur.

"I've got to go to the library and get this book checked out. See you later!" Arthur rushed off in the opposite direction.

"Wait, but what about dinner? And you promised to go see Hagrid with me!" Alfred yelled after him.

Arthur rushed down several corridors and up a couple flights of hidden stairs. He tore through seven tapestries, ducked under Peeves and nearly tripped on loosened carpet, skidded to a stop and changed directions when he saw Francis's silhouette on the walls ahead, and finally tore into the library. Once there, he collided with Hermione's table. The Gryffindor girl had a stack of books in front of her and he had knocked half of them to the floor.

"What, do you live here now?" Arthur asked as he picked up the fallen books for her.

She looked at him oddly. "No, I'm working on Hagrid's case," she said matter-of-factly. "Malfoy's father is trying to get Buckbeak condemned for attacking his son. It's ridiculous, really, because Malfoy totally deserved what he got, but the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures is bound to side with the Malfoys against Hagrid, so I've got to come up with a good case."

Arthur nodded. "Er. Right. Well, good luck."

Madam Pince took the note. It was from Professor McGonagall. "Animagi Transformations for the Beginner?" she asked, looking at him sharply.

"Yes," Arthur affirmed. The vulture-like librarian held the paper up to the light. After a moment, she strode away and came back with an old-looking leather-bound book. "Th-thank you."

She nodded.

Arthur skipped dinner that night; he felt squeamish. Tucked away in his four-poster, he opened the book Animagi Transformations for the Beginner and looked at the pictures of people transforming into animals.

"What are you reading?" a voice asked. Arthur nearly jumped out of his skin.

"F-F-Francis! D-don't scare me like that!"

Francis looked at him matter-of-factly. "What, Artie?" he whispered.

"No!" Arthur scootched himself up into a little ball at the headboard. "G-go away!"

The Frenchman said nothing; only looked at him.

"Why can't you go bother some of those girls that are hanging on your arm every day? Why do you have to torment me?" Arthur demanded, looking into pleading cerulean eyes.

Francis shook his head. "Arthur," he whispered, "I really don't know how to put this, but..."

"But what?" Arthur snapped.

"But I've liked you since first year."

Arthur gulped. "F-Francis, I-I'm with Alfred. I-I-I can't."

"I know," the Frenchman said quietly. "And that's what makes me sad."

To become an Animagus, the wizard must first visualise himself transforming into an animal. Any animal will do at first, although when the transformation is mastered then the wizard will only be able of turning into one animal and one only. The animal form a wizard ends up becoming – considered the Animagus form – is not chosen consciously. It is a representation of a wizard's innermost being – their "inner animal", so to say.

The wizard must also imagine himself turning from an animal back into a human. To be able to undergo such a tricky transfiguration requires great force of mind and concentration. There must be no distractions; the mind must be clear.

"A rabbit," Arthur muttered to himself. "I see myself... as a rabbit."

In his mind's eye, he saw himself shrinking down to rabbit size, his hair becoming fur, his ears lengthening, a tail blooming from his rear... He saw his nose twitching, his ears flopping, his feet hopping.

"A rabbit."

However, concentration on animals is not quite enough for a novice. The novice Animagus must employ several other forms of magic other than willpower to find their animal form; potions and transfiguration spells may help. Once the wizard has discovered his Animagus form, he must perform the daunting and highly complex Animagus spell, which will transform him into his Animagus form if and only if he can focus his thoughts solely on the animal in question.

Arthur concentrated on the rabbit. His hands clenched into fists as he thought of brown fur – black eyes – pink twitching nose – long ears – golden hair and blue eyes under a cornflower sky –

"Fuck!" Arthur swore, as the picture of the rabbit shattered.

"Shut up!" hissed Gilbert.

Arthur sank against his pillow, clapping a hand over his eyes.

The little boy stood in the tall grass. He wasn't a toddler anymore, but a little school-aged kid dressed like a child from colonial times.

"Hi, England!" he called happily, running across the tall grass.

"America!" Arthur heard himself exclaiming as he rushed over to the boy and picked him up, spinning him around and around. "How wonderful it is to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you, too!" America exclaimed, a smile on his face.

"Arthur, I haven't seen you in weeks!" Alfred hissed.

It was the Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas break; Arthur was doing his Christmas shopping in Honeydukes.

"I'm really sorry, Alfred, but I've been busy," Arthur replied without even turning around. He bent down and examined a box of Ice Mice.

"Arthur, why?" Alfred demanded, trying to lean over to meet Arthur's eye. The Brit stubbornly refused to make eye contact. "Every time I ask to spend time with you, you've always been busy, busy, busy! It's like you don't have any time left for me anymore."

"Alfred," Arthur groaned, his voice exasperated, "becoming an Animagus isn't easy. I've got a lot of work to do –"

"A lot of work?" Alfred snarled. "I saw you with Francis the other day. What the two of you were doing didn't seem like 'a lot of work' to me."

Arthur froze and dropped the box of Ice Mice he was holding. "W-what?" he stuttered, turning around to face Alfred.

"Last Thursday, in the Transfiguration section of the library. The two of you were making out against the window."

"I-I was trying to help Francis with his Transfiguration homework. You know him – he makes use of every opportunity."

Alfred's voice was as cold as the weather outside. "You didn't seem to be objecting to it."

Arthur looked down at his feet, scarlet blooming on his cheeks. The American grabbed him by the shoulders. "Why didn't you tell me?" he spat.

Arthur looked up coolly into his heated gaze. "I don't have to tell you anything, Mr. Jones," he drawled haughtily.

"I-I trusted you, Artie!"

Arthur looked away from him. "Look, Alfred. Maybe we should talk about us some other time, all right? I've got my Christmas shopping to finish."

"I hope you got me a present." Alfred's eyes were like icicles. He brushed past Arthur on his way out of Honeydukes, ignoring the stares from other students.

Arthur looked around the shop. Kiku Honda was standing at the Cockroach Clusters display; he sent him a blush and a sympathetic look. Arthur couldn't bring himself to meet his gaze.

"I-I can't do this," he murmured to himself.

Notes: AND THE SOAP OPERA BEGINS. 8DDD