Disclaimer: I don't own any characters.

Last Time

"He was going to change, wasn't he?" asked Hermione, in a small but awed voice.

Remus nodded.

"Change? What do you mean change? Into what?" he asked desperately looking around. He felt as though everyone knew a big secret and they were deliberately not telling him.

"Congratulations, Draco. It seems that you...are an Animagus."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Chapter 26

Hermione was beaming, along with Piper and Remus. Ron looked extremely jealous and Harry just looked surprised.

Everything was silent for a few seconds. The fire was crackling merrily in the grate and the sun had set hours ago cloaking Breyer's Inn in a thick velvety darkness.

Draco's yell shattered the silence in a most unpleasant way.

"I'm a what?"

Far from looking pleased with himself or extremely smug as was expected from everyone, Draco looked almost panic stricken.

Piper tightened her arm around his shoulders. "What's wrong? Shouldn't you be glad?" she asked slightly confused.

He shrugged her arm off. "Glad? Glad! I almost turned into, into...who the hell knows what I almost turned into!" He looked at his hand wearily, but the black had started to fade and it had already begun to turn back to normal.

"Piper is right, Draco," Remus began in his calm voice. "Not many wizards have this gift. Most would kill for it. You should be extremely pleased with yourself."

Draco tried to calm down and took a second to think.

Then it hit him...it really hit him. He was an Animagus! He was going to be able to turn into an animal whenever he wanted! As soon as he learned to control it, that is.

Just then, an even better thought occurred to him. It was him. Not Potter or Weasley or even the brain Granger...it was him.

As soon as the look on his face had changed and he had calmed down, everyone realized that it had finally sunk in.

When he spoke again, he couldn't keep the slight hint of superiority out of his voice. "What was I going to turn into? Did you see?"

"No. But whatever it was, it was black," said Piper smiling.

"Well, that will be enough for tonight. We'll have to go back so that I can have a talk with Dumbledore," said Remus.

"Wait. You're going to tell him?" asked Draco, looking quite like a child whose balloon had just been popped.

"Of course. And once you are able to transform fully and we know what your animal is, you will have to register with the Ministry."

"Why? If my father sees the records, he'll know! Then what good will my being an Animagus be?"

It was obvious that Draco wanted this to be kept a secret.

"I'll talk with Dumbledore and we'll see what he says," said Remus, his tone final.

One by one, they flooed back to the empty Muggle Studies classroom.

When Remus and Piper began making their way to Dumbledore's office, they found that Draco was following at a safe distance behind.

"Not very stealthy is he?" said Piper, loud enough for Draco to hear.

He quickly caught up with them to explain. "I think I deserve the right to argue my own case," he said in a lawyer- like tone.

"And what case would that be?" asked Remus.

"Why I shouldn't have to register!" he fairly whined.

They chose not to answer him as they made their way into the office.

When Dumbledore saw them, he seemed surprised. He had only been expecting Piper and Remus. He looked at Remus curiously and he explained Draco's situation. When Remus finished, Dumbledore was also beaming.

"Well done, Draco. Well done indeed."

Draco felt rather uncomfortable at being praised so openly by the man he was taught to hate.

"Thank you, Headmaster," he said in a business-like tone that made the ancient wizard chuckle.

"Nonsense, Draco. Not even Cornelius calls me 'headmaster' and I must admit it makes me feel rather old. I much prefer 'professor' if you don't mind."

"Okay, Professor," he began uncomfortably, "I don't think I should have to register because if my father finds out then I won't be able to spy on him or he'll probably hunt down every one of whatever it is I turn into until he kills me." He had said all this very rushed and in one breath. He now looked at Dumbledore, silently begging him to understand.

He was quiet for a moment before he said, "I agree."

Remus and Piper looked surprised, but not more than Draco.

"You do?" he blurted out. "Why?" he couldn't hide the suspicion from his voice.

Dumbledore smiled kindly. "I believe you have some valid points. Your life could be in danger if the wrong people find out about this. You will not register...for now."

Draco left Dumbledore's office feeling happier than he had in a long time.

"So, what do you think you are?" asked Piper.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "You said it was black. It could've been anything."

"Okay. Well, what would you want it to be?"

"Something big...and dangerous. Like a dragon."

"What if you turn into, say, a rabbit?" she asked with a smirk.

He turned to look at her, a stony expression on his face. "I'd kill myself."

She burst out laughing and didn't stop until he threatened to curse her.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" asked Remus, worry etched on his face.

Dumbledore's tone was serious. "Yes, Remus, I do. Like I said before, his life could be in danger if the wrong people found out about this, especially in the early stages. You must tell know one else. Make sure Harry and the others understand as well. Also, Draco must now have special lessons, to help him control this. The sooner he learns, the better. I will contact Minerva and see if she would be willing to give up an hour of her time every Tuesday, right after the Apparating lessons."

Remus nodded, and without another word, he left.

They each received a letter the next morning from Remus telling them to keep quiet about Draco. Draco also got a letter explaining his additional lessons, although he was none to pleased that it was McGonagall that would be teaching him.

"So Draco's gonna be able to turn into an animal whenever he wants?" Paige inquired.

"Looks like it," said Piper.

"And we can't tell anyone?" asked Phoebe.

"Yup."

"Wow. Now that would be a cool active power," said Phoebe with a far off look in her eye.

"So, when are you going to talk to Snape?" asked Paige carefully.

Phoebe's attention came snapping violently back to the present. "I don't know if I can face him yet."

"It's not like you did anything wrong," said Piper. "And he's got some explaining to do."

"Wait, so you guys actually want me to talk to him?"

"We just want you to be happy. And if Dumbledore trusts him then...I guess we should too," said Paige begrudgingly.

"Alright, I'll see if I can find him after class."

Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweating and she could feel the beginnings of a headache forming in her head.

What was she going to say to him? What was he going to say to her?

She stopped outside of his office door and took a moment to settle herself. Then she knocked.

"Come in," came the cold voice from the other side.

She opened the door slowly and walked in.

His eyes almost fell out of his head when he saw her.

"Phoebe," he said standing up quickly.

She half smiled and sat in the chair in front of his desk not knowing what to say.

There was an awkward moment of silence before she spoke. "Sorry about your head."

"Don't be. I deserved it," he said looking down.

He was ashamed and she could feel it. At least she would be able to sense if he was being truthful.

"Phoebe, I...apologize for not telling you the truth. I know I should have but I wasn't sure how you would react. Now I know," he said rubbing his head.

"Sorry again," she said quietly.

"You deserve to know the truth," he took a deep breath and continued, "When I was at school here, I was not the most popular person. Potter would curse me every opportunity that he got. And I would retaliate just the same. We hated each other. Lily, on the other hand...as much as I shouted at her and called her a mudblood, she would always come to my defense. I never appreciated it. The Darks Lord's powers were very appealing to a person like me and...I fell. I became a Death Eater. I did things I am not proud of. Then Lily died that night...she was the only person who had ever been truly kind to me, and she took that with her. I went to Dumbledore and he saw that I was sincere. He took me in, guided me to the side of the light. Now, I am a spy for the Order. If the Dark Lord ever finds out what I do...I will be as good as dead."

Phoebe listened carefully and sensed that everything he was saying was true. Now...she didn't know what to say.

"I'm not expecting you to forgive me right now. Think about it for as long as you need. You know where to find me."

Not wanting to say anything to ruin the moment, she nodded, got up silently and walked to the door. She opened it to leave but paused and turned around.

"Thank you," she whispered before walking out and closing the door.

He breathed a sigh of relief...knowing that he still had a chance.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

By the fourth Apparating lesson, when a month had gone by, Harry, Hermione, Draco and even Ron could now Apparate.

They had started off simple at first, apparating only a few miles at a time. Once, Ron misread the coordinates and ended up in Timbuktu instead of Kalamazoo. They all had a good laugh afterwards. After they all had it down pat, the Apparating lessons finished.

Draco, however, still had not been able to transform fully into his Animagus form and still needed the lessons with McGonagall.

It was now his fifth lesson and he had made little progress since he had started. Both him and McGonagall were getting very frustrated.

"Mr. Malfoy, you need to concentrate," she said in her usual stern tone.

"I'm trying," he said through gritted teeth.

"Then try harder. Remember, visualize the animal within."

He didn't even try to hide the snicker that came out of his mouth. McGonagall was not amused.

"Mr. Malfoy, if you would kindly get your mind out of the gutter and concentrate!"

"Alright, fine. But it's a little difficult to visualize an animal if you don't know what animal it is."

He closed his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that night. He steadied his breathing and concentrated. He could almost feel McGonagall's stare piercing right through his eyelids.

He ignored the feeling and instead concentrated on an animal he wished he could turn into. A dragon would be quite cool, he thought. Big and powerful. If anyone gave him trouble...he could eat them. That would be nice.

He sighed contently.

McGonagall watched as he closed his eyes. She had never been so frustrated in her life. If possible, he was almost as infuriating as the Weasley twins.

She closed her eyes briefly and opened them again when she heard him sigh, wondering what he was thinking of.

Then it happened.

He started to change.

Slowly, as if invisible brushes were painting on him, he began to turn a pitch black. His hair slowly retreated back into his head and turned a dark brown. The crunching of bones could be heard as his legs shrunk slowly. His arms thinned until they were near bone. Giant leathery wings sprouted from the top of his arms and connected to his feet.

All the while, he never stopped shrinking.

McGonagall stared in awe as he finally finished the transformation. It was a few minutes until it was all over and she was thankful that he had finally stopped shrinking. She wasn't sure how small he would get. After all, there were all different sizes.

She walked over and gently picked him up.

"Well, done Mr. Malfoy," she said with a trace of a smile on her face.

He lifted his head up slowly and she knew that he understood.

"Why don't you try a quick spin around the room," she said.

She walked over to the desk and placed him on it.

Gingerly he unfolded his wings and tested them out while McGonagall made mental notes.

"About a twelve inch wingspan," she murmured under her breath. "And a white spot on his back."

He flew a few times around the room, once nearly colliding with a window , and landed back on the desk. He was jittery and she knew he was excited.

"Now, listen to me carefully. To turn back you need to concentrate on your human form, obviously. Start by thinking from the tip of your head all the way down to your toes. Warts and all."

He gave a disapproving squeak as if to say, "Malfoy's do not have warts."

It took a little while but within ten minutes he had turned back.

"I must say that was very well done. Once you master it, you will be able to transform in mere seconds. So...how do you feel?"

"Like I've just played quidditch for a week straight," he said stifling back a yawn.

"That's perfectly normal. With time that will also pass. Is it what you expected?"

"No. I was expecting a dragon. But I guess this will do. At least it's not a ferret," he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

He thought he heard her chuckled but when he looked her face was as stern as ever and she was handing him the floo powder pot. "After you Mr. Malfoy."

She smiled at his retreating back.

Two owls were sent that night. One from McGonagall to Dumbledore and one from Draco to Piper. They both had only one word written on them

Bat.