Freddie stepped out of the fireplace into a large Atrium to find Snape waiting for her. There were a number of gilded fireplaces along both sides of the wall. The fireplaces across from them were used for departures and there were a number of witches and wizards leaving for the day. She and Snape were the only two on the arriving side.
"Come," Snape said to her, leading her down the hall.
Freddie had been to the Ministry of Magic once before, but she'd been young. It was when her parents had been sentenced to Azkaban and she had to meet with a lawyer-type wizard to determine what would happen to her. She didn't remember it all that well. She knew that the Ministry was deep underground in the heart of London, but she was surprised to see the late afternoon sun through the windows.
An enchantment, she thought as she hurried after Snape, her boots making a clacking sound on the polished hardwood floor.
They passed by a fountain in the middle of the room that had golden statues of a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf spouting water into the surrounding pool. There were a number of coins glittering in the bottom of the fountain. She paused just long enough to read the sign that identified the structure as the Fountain of Magical Brethren. It said that all proceeds from the fountain were donated to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. She thought about tossing some coins in, and making a wish that this would be over quickly, but her money pouch was nearly empty.
"Winifred," Snape said briskly and she hurried to catch up with him.
"Do we have time to stop by Gringotts afterwards?" she asked him. "I've been a little low on funds ever since I splurged on my dragonhide jacket a few weeks ago."
"We can," he said with a nod.
A poorly-shaven wizard in peacock blue robes was sitting at a desk at the end of the room. He looked up at them tiredly as they approached.
"Step over here please," he said, sounding bored. "Wands?"
Snape had already pulled his wand out and immediately handed it to the wizard. Freddie hastened to do the same. The wizard placed Snape's wand onto a strange brass scale. The scale began to vibrate, then spit out a piece of parchment.
"13 inches, Hawthorn, phoenix feather core," the wizard read aloud, then returned the wand to Snape. He dropped Freddie's onto the scale next. "11.5 inches, oak, kneazle whisker core." He paused briefly. "Kneazle whisker, eh? Don't see those much anymore."
Freddie took her wand back without comment. She knew some people thought kneazle whiskers made inferior wand cores. Even Ollivander had been reluctant to sell her the wand that had been made by his father, but it was the wand that had chosen her.
The wizard let them through a set of golden gates near his desk that led to a small hall with a series of lifts. A witch wearing Ministry robes stepped off one of the lifts and Snape held the door for Freddie to get on. He stepped in after her and pressed the button for the second floor, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Freddie felt a rush of anxiety as the lift began to move. This was it. She was going to have to transform in front of a stranger. Not only that but she was going to have explain to him that she couldn't transform back with her clothes on. She groaned quietly and Snape looked down at her.
"This is going to be so embarrassing," she said.
A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth but he didn't say anything.
"This is all your fault," she moaned. "You had to make me do this today? You couldn't give me a little more time? We couldn't do this next weekend?"
"It is your own fault," he said dismissively. "You are the one who had to become an Animagus."
She blew out a sigh as the lift reached the second floor and the doors dinged open. They stepped out into a corridor lined with doors. A man with red hair was waiting for the lift, a box of teakettles in his arms that were whistling to the tune of 'shave and a haircut'. The man looked up at them and recognition registered on his face when he saw Snape.
"Snape," he said with a forced smile. "Long time no see. How are you?"
"Fine," Snape replied coolly.
The man looked as if he were trying to decide whether or not to attempt more polite conversation when Snape stepped passed him, beckoning Freddie along. She glanced over her shoulder as the man stepped onto the lift and the doors closed behind him.
"Friend of yours?" she asked.
"Hardly," he scoffed. "That was Arthur Weasley."
"As in Charlie, Bill, and the twins?" she asked. Charlie Weasley was in her year, but he was a Gryffindor, as were all the other Weasleys. The twins were only second or third year but they had already developed a reputation as notorious troublemakers. They'd served more time in detention for Snape than any other student.
"Their father, yes. He works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office," he said. "Here we are, I think."
They'd stopped outside of a door labeled Improper Use of Magic Office. Snape opened the door and they stepped into a large room filled with wizards and witches sitting at desks. There were more doors along both walls with names on them. A witch with red hair was sitting at a desk directly in front of the door and looked up when they entered.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely.
"We're looking for Charles Dearing," Snape said. "We have an appointment with him."
"Ah. His is the third office on the right hand side," she said, pointing to it.
"Thank you," Freddie said to the secretary as Snape headed in that direction. She followed after him, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. There was no getting out of this, best to get it over with.
Snape knocked on the office door that had Dearing's name on it and a voice from within said "come on in" in a cheerful tone. He opened the door and they stepped into the office to find a middle-aged wizard with long gray hair and beard sitting at a desk. He stood up when they entered, beaming at them with a smile of perfect, bright teeth.
"Professor Snape!" he declared, coming around the desk to shake their hands. "And you must be Winifred Gray – I'm so very pleased to meet you."
"You can call me Freddie," she said, somewhat bemused as Dearing shook her hand enthusiastically. He was practically bouncing up and down.
"Freddie, of course. I can't tell you how delighted I am to meet you. An Animagus at 17 – well it's practically unheard of! I almost can't believe it!"
"I only just transformed for the first time last night," she said sheepishly. "I've been practicing all day but I, uh, haven't quite worked all the kinks out."
"But you can transform into an animal, right?" he asked, his face falling slightly.
"Oh yes sir. A kneazle."
"A kneazle!" he said, his face brightening. "How marvelous! I have the registry right over here for you to add your name to once I've seen your transformation." He indicated an old-looking leather bound book that was open on his desk. Curious, Freddie walked over and looked at the list of current registered Animagi. There were only 6. McGonagall's name was on the list and so was Hawkins.
"You'll be the youngest Animagus registered in over a century, you know?" Dearing asked her.
"So I've been told."
"A few coworkers of mine wanted to come in to meet you and to see you transform, you don't mind, do you?"
"Umm..."
"I think Miss Gray would prefer to do this as privately as possible," Snape said, coming to her rescue. "There is an issue when she returns to her human form – would it be possible to erect a privacy screen, perhaps?"
Dearing looked confused for a moment, then his face lit up.
"Oh, of course – your clothes?" he asked.
"Yes sir," she said, feeling her face flush.
"It happens," he assured her with a note of sympathy. "It can take a while to master it."
"Why does nobody write about that part in the books?" she asked, her face burning. "Surely there must be some trick to it or something."
"I wouldn't know, unfortunately," Dearing said. "I'm not an Animagus myself, I only do the registrations – and those are few and far between, obviously. My main job is monitoring instances of underage magic. And occasionally I investigate claims that someone is an unregistered Animagus. I've found a few in my time here but about 90% of those claims are unsubstantiated. It isn't an easy task to master."
"Yeah," Freddie said with a nod.
"Alright, well, let's see what we can do here," Dearing said, pulling his wand out of his pocket. He thought for a moment, then gave it a wave and conjured a folding screen in the corner that she would be able to change behind. "There we are, that should do the trick. I won't call my colleagues in if it will make you uncomfortable so just, whenever you're ready."
He clasped his hands together eagerly and Freddie glanced at Snape for reassurance. He gave her a subtle nod and Freddie took a breath. She slid effortlessly into her Animagus form and Dearing applauded loudly.
"Oh how marvelous! Beautiful!" he declared. She noticed Snape slit his eyes at him and she chuckled to herself, though it came out as a rumbling purr. Snape scooped up her clothes and dumped them unceremoniously behind the privacy screen.
"If you don't mind jumping up here so I can take some measurements?" Dearing asked, indicating his desk. Freddie padded over to the desk and leapt onto it, to which Dearing murmured "spectacular". Dearing took out a tape measure and began to take her measurements, but Freddie was distracted by a large gilded mirror that hung behind Dearing's desk. It was the first time she'd gotten a good, full look at herself as a kneazle.
Her fur was light silver, almost white, with gray leopard-type spots. Her large kneazle ears were tufted with an even darker gray. And her eyes were the same as her human eyes, a light golden-brown color. She admired her reflection in the mirror, turning in a slow circle so she could see herself entirely. Then she sat, her tail automatically curling around her paws, and smiled. Dearing was right, she was beautiful. She caught Snape's eyes in the reflection of the mirror, watching her, and she began to purr.
Dearing had finished his measuring and was making notes on her appearance in the registry book with an elegant blue quill. Her ears pricked forward at the sound of the quill scratching on the paper and the animal part of her wanted to pounce on it. She was crouched down on the desk, tail lashing, when Dearing put the quill down.
"Done," he said to her. "For your identifying markers I made note of your rosette-pattern spots and your honey-colored eyes. Most cats – kneazles, I mean," he corrected quickly as her fur bristled. "Most kneazles have brightly colored eyes, usually yellow or green."
Freddie thought of Ziggy with his bright green eyes and nodded her head. She looked at her reflection once more before jumping off the desk. She looked up at Dearing and tried to ask "are we done" but it came out as a questioning 'mrrow'.
"I believe she wants to know if you are finished," Snape said, since Dearing didn't speak kneazle and wasn't privy to her thoughts.
"Oh, yes. Yes, of course," he said, waving his hand absently towards the privacy screen. She nodded again then walked across the room with her tail held high. She found her dress, socks, and boots waiting where Snape had dumped them. After making sure the screen shielded her from view, she morphed back into her human form – managing at last to land on her feet without stumbling. She was dressed with a single flick of her wand and she stepped out from behind the screen.
"Wonderful, wonderful," Dearing said, clapping his hands together again. "Now all you have to do is sign your name in the Registry and you're free to go."
"Thank you," Freddie said, walking back over to the desk. She picked up the blue quill and signed her name in the book beneath the description Dearing had printed out. Her signature glowed golden for a moment, then faded to black on the page.
"It was very lovely to meet you, my dear," Dearing said, shaking her hand again before they left. "If there's ever anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks," she said again, giving him a quick smile before she turned to follow Snape out the door.
The pair were silent as they made their way back through the Ministry building to the Atrium where the fireplaces were. Even more witches and wizards were lined up now, waiting to leave for the day.
"You said you needed to go to Gringotts?" Snape asked as they got in line.
"Yeah, if that's still okay," she said and he nodded briefly.
"We will have to floo to the Leaky Cauldron," he said. "It's the best way to get to Diagon Alley since we cannot Disapparate while on Ministry premises."
"It would be a lot more convenient if we could."
"I agree. However, it is a security issue. They cannot have people just popping into the Ministry of Magic whenever they feel like it."
They reached the front of the line for the fireplace and each took a handful of floo powder from a large cauldron near the hearth.
"After you," Snape said, indicating she could go first.
Freddie tossed the powder in and when the flames turned green she stepped in.
"The Leaky Cauldron," she said clearly and she was whisked away.