This one shot was written for the MAYhem challenge for the HMS Harmony Discord Server. It was originally posted on Archive of our Own on May 5th 2022.

PROMPTS: Harry and/or Hermione are Animagi. / Harry and/or Hermione are Magical Creatures.

Werewolf!Harry, Animagus!Hermione

Fourth-year Gryffindor student Hermione Granger has a secret. Oh, she wasn't the only one with one. The reason she had a secret in the first place was because someone close to her heart had a secret of his own.

Hermione was an Animagus. For the last few months, she researched how to become one, made the right potions and slowly got used to transforming without losing her human mind. Why? Well she had a good reason for it.

You see, her best friend Harry Potter – the boy she was secretly in love with – was a werewolf! At the end of their third year, Harry was bitten while shielding her from a transformed Professor Lupin. Afterwards, he tried to shrug it off, convince her the werewolf failed to bite him. He would have succeeded if she wasn't so good at reading him. She saw the grief and horror that subtly adorned his face. When, the following morning, she overheard him discuss about the bite quietly to Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore, she knew he had been lying to her.

Hermione was unwilling to let him go through his transformation alone. Taking inspiration from Harry's own father, she decided to become an Animagus to be with him during the transformations.

Harry decided to keep the secret of his status as werewolf to everyone – even her. So, similarly, she decided to keep her Animagus project secret from him and everyone else, deciding instead to surprise Harry with it once she had mastered it and could transform at will. She spent the entire summer reading books on the subject and brewing the potions she would need. With a mandrake leaf stolen from Professor Sprout's greenhouses, Hermione did everything she could to initiate her first transformation once she was back at Hogwarts.

Her birthday was a quiet affair. With the full moon the same night, Harry was obviously not feeling well which did not make Hermione feel happy. As she had yet to encounter a thunderstorm, she could still not transform and follow him to the Shrieking Shack. She spent the whole night awake listening to Harry's cries out of the castle, tearing up and wishing for nothing more than to help him with his pain.

The lack of thunderstorm in October nearly demoralized her, especially once Harry was chosen as the fourth Champion of the Triwizard Tournament. With the entire school turning against him, only Hermione was there to support him. It became even more imperative for her to complete her transformation so she could support Harry in all aspects of his life.

And, finally, it happened. A few days before the full moon of November, there was a thunderstorm. Hermione was able to complete the last potion with the mandrake leaf and drink it. She immediately transformed into her Animagus form, that of a tiger. She was big enough to stop Harry should he lose his mind and try to hurt someone. It was perfect.

The night of the full moon, Hermione sneaked out of Gryffindor tower a few minutes after Harry left with a goal in mind. Making sure not to encounter patrolling professors, she walked all the way to the entrance where she waited. After a few minutes, she saw Harry and Madam Pomfrey make their way out of the castle and subtly followed from afar. She only just picked up their words.

"You did drink all of your wolfsbane, right?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey. Every drop of it, like the past few months." Harry answered with a tired tone.

"I still needed to ask just in case. We don't want another situation like with Lupin last year."

Hermione saw Harry wince. "Right..." he said.

They arrived at the Whomping Willow and Madam Pomfrey sent a hex to force it still. "Slip inside now, Mr. Potter. There are only a few minutes left before the full moon. I'll come find you tomorrow morning."

"Got it. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter." the Healer said as Harry slipped in the tunnel. Pomfrey let out a sigh. "Poor boy." she said, shaking her head before turning heels and making her way back to the castle.

After making sure Madam Pomfrey did not see her standing in the shadows, Hermione made her way to the Whomping Willow and slipped in the tunnel while it was still standing still. Then, quietly, she walked through it until she arrived in the Shrieking Shack.

The interior of the Shack did not look any different than on her last visit. There seemed to be a bit more damage and more footsteps imprinted in the dust on the floor but, otherwise, it was still the same grimly building it had been at the start of the summer.

Hermione followed the fresh footsteps on the ground up the stairs to the upper floor. She found a door open slightly and pushed it wide open, entering a bedroom. She found Harry sitting on the lone bed in the room. He looked back at her in shock and horror.

"Hermione?!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same." she answered jokingly, ignoring his panic for she knew it was for nothing.

"It's not the time for jokes, Hermione! You're in serious danger! If you don't leave now, you'll be hurt!"

"Why? Why would I be hurt, Harry?" she asked him softly, walking closer to him. She already knew why but she wanted him to finally tell her the truth.

"Because... because..." he tried, but the truth did not escape his lips easily. His face was full of shame. "I'm... I'm..."

"A werewolf." she completed for him. Harry's eyes widened in surprise, making her chuckle. "You were never good at hiding the truth from me, Harry. I knew the moment you were bitten, even when you tried to pretend otherwise."

"And... you're still my friend?" he asked, surprised.

"You thought I wouldn't be?" she scowled. Harry sighed.

"I'm a werewolf, Hermione. If Ron can abandon me for something as stupid as the Tournament, it didn't seem out of place for you to do the same because I'm a dangerous freak who could ruin your life simply by-"

"Stop." she said firmly, interrupting his words. She let out a sigh of her own and sat next to Harry on the bed. She couldn't blame him for his fear. Werewolves were treated like complete garbage by the rest of the magical world. And, like he said, one of his best friends abandoned him for a stupid reason. She could understand where he came from. It didn't mean she agreed with what he said. "Ron is being an idiot, Harry. I would never abandon you like he did. No matter what, I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks." he said with a small smile. "I was scared you would after Ron turned his back on me. You're my only friend now. I couldn't bear to lose you as well."

"You won't." she told him, giving him a hug. After a few moments, she said "I understand why you didn't tell me after Halloween but why not before?"

"I didn't want you to look at me differently." he admitted quietly. He then chuckled and turned to look straight in the eyes. "But you didn't. Of course you didn't. You knew from the get-go yet I never once realized it was the case. You never looked at me differently. I was always just Harry to you. That's one of the things I love so much about you."

Hermione felt her stomach leap. She was now just realized how close their faces were to one another. She wanted to know more about his last statement, hear what he loved so much about her but, before she could ask, he suddenly let out a groan of pain and fell down to his knees on the wooden ground.

"Damn! Go now, Hermione! I don't want to hurt you!" he said.

"You won't, Harry." she told him in an attempt to calm him.

"How? How can you-" Another grunt of pain. "Know?"

"Because you took your wolfsbane, for once. And second, because of this." Then, in front of his eyes, she transformed into her tiger Animagus form. Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course you did!" he said, letting out a laugh. "You wouldn't be Hermione without a plan! Damn... you're so beauti-" He suddenly let out another sound of pain as his face contracted. For a moment, he looked on the verge of tears. "Why does it hurt so much?!"

Hermione watched as Harry completed his horrible transformation, listening painfully to his cries of pain and horror that made her heart break. She wanted to hold him, to tell him everything would be alright but couldn't. She cursed the fact she couldn't transform again to do so.

Eventually, the cries stopped. By that point, the black-haired boy she knew and loved had vanished, letting place to a big wolf bit dense black fur and bright amber eyes. The werewolf was slouched on the ground, taking a small rest from his painful and exhausting transformation. Gently, Hermione walked to where he was and sniffed his neck. She suddenly felt the primal urge to clean him up with her tongue like a big cat. She stopped herself, knowing it would just make things awkward. Believing Harry wouldn't get up right away, she laid down next to him, curling her body close to him in the hope her presence would comfort him.

For the first two hours of the night, Hermione laid by Harry's side as he took a small rest from the transformation. She was unmoving, sleeping with one eye open to ensure nobody would come disturb them. Every so often, she would hear a small painful moan from Harry, causing her to move her body even closer to his'.

Around midnight, she felt Harry shift as he slowly moved to his feet. Hermione followed after him and looked in his eyes. She was comforted to find intelligence in them, now knowing Harry still had his mind. Tentatively, said werewolf bopped his nose on hers, causing her to let out a meow that resembled a giggle. Harry then let out a small excited bark and nodded his head toward the door. She quickly understood what he wanted to do. Get out on the grounds and explore.

Hermione hesitated for a moment. Part of her believed it was irresponsible to let a transformed werewolf free on the grounds where they could hurt someone. But, then again, Harry still had his mind and Hermione had the ability to stop him. The chances someone other than them could be hurt were quasi to none. So, when she saw how excited he was at the prospect, Hermione gave in. She nodded. She watched in amusement as Harry immediately galloped out of the room. She followed after him.

That night, the werewolf and tiger had a lot of fun exploring the grounds. The Forbidden Forest was their new playground. They ran through the woods, played tag and even hide and seek. Hermione better understood through the night why the Marauders seemed to have so much fun accompanying Professor Lupin on their full moon. Because it was very fun.

But, eventually, their fun ran out. Both Harry and Hermione became exhausted and, with sunrise only three hours away, they decided to make their way back to the Shack to rest. The last hours were spent cuddling with one another as they took some well deserved sleep.

Hermione was awakened in the morning when Harry began groaning in pain. She immediately stood up on her four legs, watching in concern as he slowly and painfully transformed back to a human. When the transformation was completed, Hermione switched back to herself, trying to ignore the feelings that rose from seeing him naked.

"Harry? Are you okay?" she asked, covering his naked form with the dirty blanked on the bed.

"Couldn't be better." he said with a small grin, slowly standing up. "Thanks for being here with me. It was a lot of fun tonight."

"Always, Harry." she said truthfully, giving him a hug. "I'll be here with you every full moon."

"Merlin, what did I do to deserve you?" he muttered over her shoulder. "You're so perfect. I lo-" he started before silencing himself.

"Yes?" she asked, her heart fluttering.

"I love you." he whispered in her ear. "I was afraid to tell you in case it ruined our friendship but I realize now it's a stupid thought. I mean – you became an Animagus for me! I... I love you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled as she felt tears form in her eyes. Sure it wasn't very eloquent but it was a confession of love to her from the boy she herself was head over heels in love with. Hermione put her hands on his cheeks and said "I love you too, Harry." before kissing him.

The kiss was slow, soft, sensual and perfect. Neither were willing to let go of each other's lips and, before they realized it, they lying down on the dirty bed, snogging like their lives depended on it. Unfortunately for them, reality soon caught up with them when the door opened, revealing Madam Pomfrey.

"What is going on here?" the Healer asked loudly.

"Nothing!" Harry exclaimed as Hermione buried her flushing face in his chest to hide it from Madam Pomfrey.

Merlin, that was so embarassing...!