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Time continued to slip away as the children grew. What would have been Draco's and Harry's second and third years at Hogwarts went by very smoothly.
The boys did manage their animagus transformations in their third year.
"You can do it," Sirius encouraged. "Just a little more and you'll have it."
He watched intently as Harry tried to transform into his form of a flying squirrel. Harry was smart, resourceful, had a short attention span, loved to fly, and tended to regularly find his way into and out of trouble just like a flying squirrel.
Sirius shouted as Harry finally made the full transformation.
"Yes! You did it!" Sirius said, jumping to his feet.
Harry was so excited he bounced around in a full 360 before he ran up Sirius' body and stood on his head.
"Hey! Get off there," Sirius said, trying to shake the squirrel from his head. Harry jumped and glided around the room once before crash landing on the floor on his head. He transformed back into his human self, laughing.
Sirius helped him right himself and gave him a big hug.
"You did it. Great job! You're next, Draco," Sirius said, with a big grin on his face.
Draco high-fived Harry from his spot on the floor.
"Awesome. Well played," Draco grinned. Harry bowed in response and grinned.
"You can do it, too, brother. Just feel the animal and let it out," Harry offered.
Draco got a look of determination on his face and started concentrating. Draco's form was a white coated ferret. It was tiny like Harry's form but had better hands for grasping things and using tools. Draco's form could run much quicker and was known for killing snakes. Ferrets are a lot like cats, they're predators who can and will hunt and kill just about anything. They're also silly and cuddly, just like Draco.
The girls were close behind the boys. They could all very well transform by the end of their second year. Lily was a lioness, which didn't surprise anyone. Her fiery hair and fierce temper, when combined with her family oriented nature, meant that the lioness matched Lily perfectly.
Jazz was the real outgoing one of the bunch. She was so smart and full of mischief that she couldn't be anything other than a monkey. A macaque to be exact. The light colored fur and highly inquisitive and troublemaking nature fit the girl like a glove.
Chryssie was the last of the girls to transform. She was a free spirit. She loved to run. She needed her space and loved her family. Chryssie was a thoroughbred horse. Her black fur shined in the light while her strange (for a horse) green eyes captivated anyone who saw her. She loved to prance amongst the plants and delicately nibble on the tasty ones. That's just who Chryssie was.
Even Hermione had managed to catch up and was slowly making way to transform. Her form was a bushy brown British short tail cat. The cat was curious, fast to learn, and had a beautiful fuzzy brown coat. The intelligent beast was a just-right fit for Hermione.
Neville was moving much more slowly but the group knew he'd eventually get there. It might take a little longer, but Neville would definitely make the change into his form of a large, black bear. Neville's easy-going nature and love of food and friends made the bear an obvious choice for the boy who could also be a fierce warrior and protector when need be. He would finally make his transformation in his fifth year, which was still ages before most wizards could hope to become animagi.
All of the children had mastered occlumency. Not even Severus could break into Harry's and Draco's minds anymore. The girls and Neville weren't far behind in skill. The children excelled in most of their classes, though each had their own struggles to deal with. Their grades and test scores were excellent. Hermione had managed to catch up with Harry and Draco after a year of intense study. Now, she was on their level and often surpassed them.
Neville Longbottom had benefited greatly from attending homeschooling with the Black children, as well. They discovered that the main problem Neville had was twofold. First, he didn't have much confidence in his abilities as a wizard. Second, he was using a legacy wand that didn't suit him well at all. The second problem was quickly and easily solved. The first problem, not so much. His grandmother and her family always found the boy to be deficient, no matter how much he excelled after he got his own wand. He would never be his father, which means he would never be good enough.
The poor boy started spending more and more time at the Black House until he found himself only going home once per quarter to report on his grades and his other achievements, none of which ever seemed to be enough for his family. He was very glad he was so readily accepted by the Blacks. They were his family. If Narcissa was right, someday that would be in fact as well as in truth. Neville and Chryssie spent almost all their free time together, usually in the gardens or down by the faux sea. It was adorable.
Dion joined the children in classes after his eleventh birthday. He was a few years behind the other children but that didn't seem to matter to him. Like his sister, he was a very studious boy who loved to learn. He considered trying to catch up to the triplets, who were his best friends, to be a challenge that he relished. Unlike his sister, Dion was a little prankster. The boy held a special place in Sirius' heart. He started trouble everywhere he went, most times accidentally. Sirius thought it was hilarious. The boy drove Hermione spare but she still loved him. As long as he kept his pranks to the younger girls, Hermione tolerated him well. Lily loved him. She was glad to join in his mischief-making whenever he deigned to include her. She always got him back one when he didn't.
Narcissa was glad to see her children growing and thriving but she couldn't help but be nostalgic for the time when all her children were young. Little Julius and April were wonderful additions to her life. The toddlers, along with little Lyra and Corona, were a handful at times to be certain. Yet, Narcissa cherished every moment, even if some moments were trying.
She looked around and saw her family and smiled to herself. She was truly blessed.
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