Chapter 44: The Storm
Those who sleep without guilt or remorse consider sleep to be a refuge and a balm. But to those wracked with guilt and haunted by the ghosts of the past, sleep was little more than a nightmare. For those in Azkaban, little separated the waking nightmare from the dreaming one. As such, Peter Pettigrew was not at first certain if he was dreaming, or if it was a real nightmare when a grim arrived at his cell door. The cell was enchanted, made so that he could not assume his animagus form to escape it. He peered out from the bars at the growling dog.
"Is that you, Sirius?" Peter whispered, his sunken eyes darting about, unable to focus. "Are you here to finish it?"
The dog growled again. It's face was covered in horrific welts and boils, and its coat was mangy and ragged. The mangy dog became a mangy man, and a wand was pressed through the bars. Peter sighed. At last, the nightmare was over.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/
The disappearance of Sirius Black caused no small stir at school. He had been highly popular with the Gryffindor students, having almost single handedly been responsible for their 1,291 point lead over Hufflepuff, which was the next closest. Dark rumors started that he'd been cursed by a seventh year ravenclaw for once again throwing the house cup to one of their rival houses.
Albus Dumbledore, however, knew better. He had a nagging suspicion, and thus called Severus up to his office. "According to the wards, you were the last person to see Sirius Black before he departed for Saint Mungos," Dumbledore began.
Snape nodded, his lip curling. "Why he came to me I know not. However, I immediately recognized the signs of a Spattergroit infection, and directed him to Saint Mungo's. I do hope he is recovering nicely their." Snape's tone and expression indicated that he hoped Black and shriveled up and died.
Dumbledore was about to continue when Remus Lupin threw open the door and stalked in, followed by a blank faced Mr. Prewett. "I have tried. Tried, Severus, to be civil. I have been nothing but polite. I have reigned in Sirius' more boyish endeavors in regards to you. He had done nothing permanent, all of it was meant as a joke. And now you've poisoned the man." The werewolf was breathing hard, his eyes gleaming. "I will not lose my brother again, Snape. Not again. Merlin help me I will-"
The floo flared to life, and Dumbledore let out a quiet sigh of relief as Nymphadora Tonks stepped through.
"No sign of him Bigger Boss. But Peter Pettigrew is dead." She stepped over to Remus and put her arms around the man, letting out a strangled sob. Remus blinked, and wrapped his arms around the distraught witch. "He said he was going to murder that rat bastard, and he did! Oh Merlin, he's gone off to die now, I just know it!"
"It's OK, Tonks," Remus said gently, patting her on the back, his earlier anger forgotten. Dumbledore had to admire the young woman's acting ability. Or was she acting? He could never be quite certain with the young lady.
"It's not OK! He'd just reinstated my mum and I and even dad into the family! But the Spattergroit...there was an outbreak at the prison. It killed Ravier Jugson, and his brother Oleg is still showing signs of it. Oh Remus, he's out there alone, sick and dying."
Snape did not bother to hide the smirk that spread across his face. It was a mistake.
With a snarl, Remus shoved Tonks aside and drew his wand. "You had something to do with this!" he shouted, pointing it at Snape, who sat impassively, his face now blank. "Why else would he have used your floo!"
"He was after McAllister," Snape said, his eyes not straying from Remus' wand. "When I saw he was infected, I directed him to Saint Mungo's. I was trying to save his miserable hide, you ungrateful moron. Unlike some people, I have actually managed to get past my juvenile grudges."
"Enough, Remus," Dumbledore said. He sighed and shook his head. "I believe Severus is telling the truth. I will have Madam Wainscott check the student body for possible signs of infection. An outbreak here could be disastrous."
"But...but Snape...Sirius," Remus' anger faded, replaced by grief. "I can't lose him. Not again."
"It's OK, love," Tonks said. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then took Remus'. "Come on. Let's go for a walk to clear our heads."
Mr. Prewett had followed the whole thing, his expression neutral, but he'd assumed a fighter's stance when Remus had drawn his wand. He glanced after the two, then looked at Snape. Snape nodded at him. Prewett nodded back, then bowed to the Headmaster. "I'll keep an eye on those two sir, make sure they're OK."
"They may desire some privacy, Mr. Prewett," Dumbledore said gently.
Prewett gave Dumbledore a small half smile and winked. "As you say sir." He left, closing the door behind him.
Turning his attention back to Snape, Dumbledore's forehead wrinkled slightly. "Severus, if you had anything to do with Sirius sudden illness…."
"The only thing I did was send a sick man to the hospital, which I am shocked I am being so interrogated for," Snape said, his tone dry. "If I had known I would be blamed for the infection, I would have instead hexed the man and allowed the disease to run its course. At least then I would have had the satisfaction of actually being guilty of the crime I am accused of."
"Well. I am glad that you at least have grown into the better man. However, I have dire news." Dumbledore reached into his desk, and pulled out the ring. "I have found the name of the kind of Phylactery that Voldemort created. It is a Horcrux; created by the splintering of a man's soul via murder."
Snape's sallow complexion paled slightly. "Merlin's balls. Is this the only one you know of?"
"No. There are more. I have begun to locate them, but…" Dumbledore trailed off, his expression concerned.
"You must surely know the location of one other," Snape said, his tone grim. "McAllister's scar."
Dumbledore flinched. So. Snape had figured it out. It had taken Dumbledore some time to make the connection, but knowing that a living vessel could be so imbued had made the leap of logic easy. "Indeed. I fear that it is the case."
"Then we must remove it at once."
"It is not so easy. The only known ways involve the destruction of the vessel. Basilisk Venom. A dunk in holy water blessed by a Christian wizard who is at least a bishop. The breath of a nurdu."
"The only one McAllister has a hope of surviving is a dunk in holy water," Snape murmured. "But that is not so likely; it is known to remove a person's magic and thus often kills them. When was there last a magical bishop?"
"1683. He died shortly after the Statue was signed, and there have been no more since. The Holy See is willfully ignorant of wizards these days, and we stay well out of the Church of England for obvious reasons."
"Damn and double damn," Snape growled. He shook his head. "We should consider other means then. There must be some other way."
"There is. Voldemort himself must kill the boy. It will destroy the Horcrux."
Snape's eyes flashed. "But will McAllister survive?"
Dumbledore hesitated. There was a hope, a faint one, but with the Stone part of the ring horcrux, it was a foolish one. "No. The boy must die."
Snape stood. "Then I find that option untenable. I will begin my research." In a swirl of dark robes, the man was gone.
Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "Harry, whatever shall I do?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
The day Harry returned to school, Draco Malfoy nearly died.
Having just lain his father to rest, Harry felt as though nothing was really real. He found himself drifting off and not focusing, his mind desperately trying to focus on anything that would distract it from the terrible reality he found himself in. He forced himself to return to classes, and his friends tried to distract and help him, but nothing really seemed to click.
"I think I need to be alone for a little while," Harry said quietly, looking at his lunch plate. They were sitting at the Slytherin table this time around, and Daphne gave Harry a concerned look and a pat on the arm.
"It's OK Harry. We understand. If you need anything-"
"Just some fresh air, Daphne," Harry said, sighing heavily. He stood and walked away from the table, wandering the castle without really seeing the portraits or the suits of armor.
Classes started, but Harry didn't attend. He wasn't sure if Professor Binns would even notice he was gone, and he knew everyone would cover for him, so Harry continued his meanderings. He needed his father back, needed his advice and comforting presence, yet it was that very absence that had created the problem Harry now face. As he wandered, chanced upon a room on the seventh floor he hadn't found before. He peeked inside, and was shocked to find that it was filled with pictures of two men: James Potter, and Tom McAllister.
Harry stepped inside, perplexed and a little frightened. Had someone been spying on Harry and his family. The more he looked, the more baffled he became. The pictures of Tom McAllister were a very eclectic collection. Some Harry recognized from family photo albums. Others were pictures of his father in uniform on dangerous, classified missions Harry had never seen before. There were school photos too, some Harry had seen, others of his father goofing around with his friends.
Next to Tom McAllister were the photos of James Potter. Everything from wedding pictures to images of him with a young Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. "What were you like?" Harry pondered aloud. He glanced around the room, and spied a mirror in the far corner. He jumped. There appeared to be three people in the mirror's reflective surface, and Harry spun around, hand on his gun, but no one was there.
He stalked toward the mirror, weapon out and nerves tight, and then paused. "Dad?"
Harry hurried forward, shocked to see Tom McAllister smiling out at him, one hand on his shoulder. The other was clasped around the hand of the other man at Harry's side, one he easily recognized as he was standing in a room full of photos of him. Harry swallowed. "Father?"
But the Harry in the odd mirror was smiling happily, looking content as both his father's rested their hands on his shoulders and clasped arms, looking immensely proud. At the corner of the mirror, Harry spied Lily Potter and his mother, Alice. They were hugging one another, looking happily at their son and respective husbands.
"What is this?" Harry whispered. He looked down, and saw an inscription on the mirror. Taking out a pen and pad, he quickly wrote down. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."
What did it mean? Harry shrugged, pocketing the note and deciding he'd show it to Hermione later. She could figure it out. Harry gazed into the mirror for another long minute, then gave a heavy sigh as his stomach growled. It would be dinner soon. He'd skived off of Herbology and Potions as well as History of Magic. Professor Sprout would be understanding. Harry was pretty sure Professor Snape wouldn't be, but decided that it would be alright. He needed an excuse to give Harry more detentions anyway.
Leaving the room, Harry made his way back down towards the Great Hall.
"There you are, McAllister. Too lazy to join us again? I suppose you've been skiving off class by sleeping in a broom cupboard. Probably reminds you of home."
Harry closed his eyes. "Malfoy, if you're still here when I open my eyes, I swear to Christ I'll-"
"Stupefy."
As soon as Harry heard the spell, he was rolling away, drawing his weapon and pointing it right at Draco. "I am not in the mood for this!" Harry snarled, his gun trembling. "I am not in the mood for this Draco!"
The other boy had gone even more pale than usual. Instead of his usual persistent companions, Pansy Parkinson was standing next to him with her own wand out. "What, what is that?" Draco stammered, backing away. "That's not a wand!"
Harry blinked, and looked at where the scorch mark from the stunning spell had hit. It wasn't even near where he'd been. "You were trying to trap me," Harry said slowly. "Trying to get me to use my wand on you. I'd get it taken away, and you'd just laugh into your sleeve." Slowly, Harry put the gun away. "You are one lucky idiot, Malfoy. If you try something like this ever again, you can spend another week in the hospital wing with a broken arm."
Harry stalked away to dinner, leaving the two Slytherin's behind.
"That arse! We should report him to Professor Snape," Draco snarled.
Pansy put her arm on Draco's shoulder and smiled. "No. Let's write to our families instead. I think they could come up with something much worse for McAllister, don't you."
A slow grin spread over Draco's face, and he nodded. "Yes. Yes indeed. I like the way you think, Pansy. Just like a Slytherin should."
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Clouds had been building all day, and seven hopeful girls cast constant glances up at them. Their had been several rainstorms at Hogwarts in March, but no truly spectacular thunderstorms. Yet.
"Do you think it will?" Lavender said
Ginny shrugged. "I hope so. I'm getting pretty tired of waiting. And the full moon is in just three days."
"Don't remind me," Daphne growled, then blanched and repeated herself. "Sorry, it's just…."
Hannah took her friend's hand. "We understand. It's OK. Maybe this time, we can be there."
"I hope so. Padfoot's gone now." Astoria looked forlorn as she said it, and shuddered slightly. "I don't want to be alone with just Professor Lupin."
Remembering all too clearly the wolf's instincts, Daphne shivered as well. "I hope so."
"Padfoot's gone?" Hermione asked, looking surprised. "Who was he?"
"Professor Black," Astoria said. Then she suddenly shrieked and jumped. "Did you see that!"
A moment later, the distant sound of thunder rolled over the castle grounds.
"Well, it looks like the gnelfids will have a grand feast tonight," Luna said dreamily. "They always come out to feed on the lighting, you know."
Together, the seven girls raced up the stairs to the transfiguration classroom, where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. "It is not yet time," she said sternly. "You must wait until the storm is directly overhead!"
"Please, please let it come!" Ginny groaned. "I've waited so bloody long for this!"
An hour passed, in which only Luna seemed relaxed and happy. "Can we play Monopoly again, Hermione?" she asked, kicking her legs out.
"NO!" the other six girls said immediately.
Hannah shuddered. "That was so awful."
"I don't think I could handle another game like that," Lavender admitted. "Daphne, Hermione, you got scary."
"The point of a game is to win, Lavender. Not to coddle your friends and let them have a free ride because you like them," Hermione lectured.
Daphne sniffed. "The Greengrass family did not gain its wealth by being kind in business deals."
"So then why did Luna win sis?" Astoria taunted. "I don't think she really even understood how the game worked."
"I do so love the color Blue," Luna declared, fingering her butterbeer cap necklace. "It goes with my eyes."
"That card was cheating," Daphne growled. She blushed and looked down. "I mean really. Right after I landed on stupid park place I get to the go to boardwalk card? Stupid."
There was a loud, deep rumble, and all eyes snapped to McGonagall, who had been pretending to grade papers. She set them down and smiled. "That, I believe girls, is our signal."
With a wave of her wand, McGonagall transfigured a cabinet to reveal a hidden chamber, which the girls hurried over and opened. Inside lay five potions of varying colors and tones. Hermione's was a glowing silver color, and when she opened it smelled faintly of sea foam. The shimmering blue vial that had an aroma of rain on cobblestones was Ginnys. Lavenders was a dark, rich brown that filled the room with the scent of hazelnuts when she opened it. Susans was a green, loamy color that smelled of a warm summer's day. And the vial that appeared to be filled with mist had been made by Luna, and smelled like musty old furniture.
"Ready?" Hermione said, her hand trembling slightly. All the other girls nodded.
"Amato animo animato animagus," the girls chanted, as they had done since they had first put the mandrake leaves in their mouths nearly six months ago. As one, they all downed the potions.
Groaning, the six girls sank to the floor, their forms shimming and folding.
"How long does it take?" Astoria asked, her eyes wide.
"That depends on how well the potion is made," McGonagall said, her eyes shining cat-like in the darkness. "Ah, there goes Granger. Her potion was expertly made."
Instead of Hermione, a large sleek brown shape lay on the floor. The otter sat up, blinked, and let out a barking sound, before putting its paws to its mouth in embarrassment. Interestingly, the otter's front teeth were actually slightly beaverish in nature.
The next to go was Hannah. In her place sat a rather perplexed looking common badger, which held it's claws up and twiddled them, letting out chuffing sounds. It's face was scarred, fur gone where the marks of old boils could be seen.
Then came Ginny, who was replaced by a beautiful arabian filly with a bright red coat that matched her hair exactly. The horse whinnied, then tried to stand on shaking legs, but collapsed.
From where Lavender had been came the sweet, musical call of a magpie. Then, in a surprisingly clear voice, "My goodness, I seem to have become a bird!" The bird hopped around, flapping its wings. "I'm a bird! This is amazing, I'm actually a bird!" On the top of the bird's head was a pinkish band, right were Lavender's hair band would have been.
Mist swirled about the place where Luna had been, which faded away to reveal a most particular creature. It had small antlers with two prongs, fanged teeth, rabbit ears, wings like that of a game hen, and the body and long bushy tail of a squirrel. Around the neck of the creature were strange markings, like those found on the top of a cap of a bottle of butterbeer.
"How can Lavender talk?" Daphne said, bending over and holding out her hand. Lavender the magpie hopped onto the outstretched hand, beating her wings clumsily.
"I don't know how I can talk, but I just started too and it worked fine! I want to fly though, ooo throw me Daphne, I think I can manage!"
"Go ahead Miss Greengrass. Not too hard though. She's light enough a fall won't harm her, and she needs to get used to her new body. They all do." McGonagall went over and crouched down by the oddity that Luna had become, pursing her lips. After a moment, she stood and shook her head. "In all my years...Miss Lovegood, you are perhaps the first Animagus since Yvonne the Odd to manage to become a magical creature. And a wolpertinger at that."
"Can they change back?" Astoria said, sounding concerned.
The otter changed back into Hermione, who sat on the floor, looking stunned. She swallowed and smiled. "Yes, I suppose we can. I just had to think the incantation. Amato animo animato animagus." Hermione once again became an otter, which then tried to make its way around the room on clumsy feet.
After a great deal of trying, Ginny the filly made her way onto shaking legs.
"Don't you dare Miss Weasley! You are far too large to go prancing about my classroom. You shall have to go outside for that."
"But it's raining!" Ginny protested, turning back into her human self. "We can't go out now!"
The badger waddled over and chuffed, headbutting Daphne on the leg. She picked it up, smiling and stroking it's back. "Hello Hannah. I have to say, your animagus form is perfect. Very fitting for a 'puff such as yourself."
The Hannah the badger hummed happily, then nuzzled Daphne, who set her friend back down. Hannah returned to her normal form, squealing and hugging Daphne tight. "We did it! We actually did it!"
Luna fluttered her wings, then jumped into the air and began to flap around the room.
"Can normal wolpthingies do that?" Ginny asked, frowning slightly.
Professor McGonagall snorted. "As if the normal course of things would have any impact on how Miss Lovegood behaves herself."
No one could argue with that sentiment, and shortly Lavender was flying around the room with Luna, singing as both a magpie and in her usual singsong sort of voice. She finally landed on a desk, and transformed back. She grinned, jumping onto her feet. "Professor, is it normal to be able to talk as an animagus?"
"For certain kinds of bird animagus it is not uncommon," McGonagall explained. "Birds, as you well know, are very capable of mimicking a variety of sounds, including human speech. Most animals however are incapable of making much more than approximations of human speech. My cat form, for example, can yowl as though it is saying hello, but even that is fairly unintelligible."
"That makes sense I suppose," Lavender agreed. She transformed back into her bird form, and once more swooped about the room. "But flying is ever so much fun! I wish you all had bird forms!"
Luna crashed into a desk, her odd form fading. She sat up and blinked. "That is very unusual. Do you know, I think I may have discovered several new magical creatures? Wrackspurts are much more visible as a wolpertinger, and I think I saw some odd wispy shapes in this room. I wonder, do they feed off of learning? There were a lot of them around you, Hermione."
For several more hours, the friends all experimented with their new animagus forms, Daphne, Astoria and Professor McGonagall cheering them on. Several times McGonagall became a cat and showed the girls the finer points of animal behavior, though mostly she was simply enjoying herself. It had been a long time since McGonagall had felt the simple joy that came with the transformation in the same fashion that her pupils did now, and she was revelling in their reflected happiness and achievements. This was truly why she had become a teacher.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\\/\/\/
Days later, Professor Lupin was waiting in the shrieking shack corridor, standing naked in the shadows while he waited for the inevitable. His whole body trembled with weariness and pain, the moon's call pressing upon him. It was almost a relief when his body warped and twisted, becoming that of a wolf. Thankfully, his mind was still his own thanks to the wolfsbane potion. Shaking himself, Lupin trotted up the tunnel to the room where he'd left the girls, only to have the race by him, yipping excitedly.
Letting out a bark of surprise, Lupin turned around and ran after the girls, who had gotten the secret passage to the woods open and were waiting for him. This didn't make any sense to Lupin: He'd thought the girls would be far more morose about the absence of their long time companion during the full moons.
Once out the door, the girls raced toward the castle, their sleek forms darting between the moon dabbled trees. Lupin growled and barked, trying to get them to turn back around. Merlin, had they not taken their wolfsbane? No, they must have, they weren't trying to kill him at the moment. He hurried after, but didn't catch up until they halted, close to treeline. Lupin growled and snapped, trying to get them to go back, deeper into the forest. Instead of complying, the girls just whined and pawed the ground. What was going on?
Then he saw it. Across the moonlit grounds galloped a young horse, her long mane flying in the breeze. That would have been fairly unusual, but what was even more unusual was the fact that she had four animals perched on her back, and a bird of some sort riding on the top of her head.
What in the name of bloody merlin is going on? Lupin thought.
As the filly got closer, a cat hopped off her back and strutted towards where the werewolves were hiding in the trees. With a start, Lupin realized he recognized her scent: It was McGonagall. The other scents were oddly familiar as well, but somehow altered and strange, almost like…
Lupin yipped in surprise, and Daphne and Astoria lifted up their heads and howled, then darted out of the treeline to where the horse had stopped to let the other creatures off its back. An otter, a badger, and a very strange beast that could only be a wolpertinger. Reluctantly, Lupin slunk out of the trees and sniffed at them, then snorted and shook his head in shock. If he could have have spoken, he would have sworn in surprise. It was Daphne and Astoria's little pack of friends, all turned into animals. But it wasn't some involuntary transfiguration: they were animagi, just like Lupin's companions of old.
The magpie flew around Remus' head, then to his shock spoke. "Hello professor! It's us! Can you believe, it, we all became animagi!"
Lupin whined, then barked, trying to communicate his surprise and shock. McGonagall meowed to get everyone's attention, then slunk off into the trees out of sight of the castle. The whole menagerie followed, and soon the night was filled with the sound of happy animals playing together in the forest. Inwardly, Lupin couldn't help but smile. While he would still miss Padfoot dearly, at least the Greengrass girls would never want for companionship.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/
Pansy clicked the camera again, grinning to herself.
"Did you get it?" Draco asked, capping his inkwell and blowing on the parchment he'd been writing on. "Three werewolves for sure. And a whole load of animagi. I think I know who they were as well."
"It has to be Granger and her crew of syncopants," Pansy whispered back. "We've no proof though, so we had best not name any names there. It makes for excellent blackmail material though. I got some shots of the werewolves alone in the trees though, so we need only hand those over as evidence."
"Parkinson, I think I may be in love," Draco joked, his white teeth flashing in the darkness. "You may be the most evil bitch I've ever run across. Well, except for Auntie Bella of course."
"Then I have something to aspire to," Pansy giggled. "Come on. I'm sure your father and my Auntie Umbridge are going to love this."
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Authors Note:
Good news everyone! The story is finished and I'm a couple of chapters into the sequel story already. But terrible news everyone, I'm going away to work at a summer camp. Sadly, we have yet to find a way to turn volcanos into active wi-fi hotspots, so I will not be posting chapters during that time regularly. I will get as many out as I can, but we shall see. I return at the end of July when we'll go back to regular updates.
