Chapter 6: Animagus

Chapter 6: Animagus

Harry burst through the dormitory door, face still red with embarrassment. Ron jumped with surprise and fell over. He had been attempting to put on his socks without sitting down. He quickly finished putting them on, peering inquisitively at the confused Dean.

"Neville!" Harry called, pulling back the boy's bed curtains.

A surprised and groggy-eyed Neville sat up, shielding his eyes from the sudden sunlight.

"Oh, hey, Harry."

"What's going on, Neville?"

"Huh?"

"We hardly see you anymore. You leave the common room almost every night, and don't return until it's really late. I don't even see you eating in the Great Hall anymore! What is going on?"

Ron and Dean peered curiously at Neville, too, who was turning a bright shade of red.

"Er…well, I…uh. You see…um…"

"Spit it out, Neville," Ron said.

"I have a girlfriend."

Everyone was silent, staring at the beet-red boy.

"You?" Ron gasped.

"A-a girlfriend?" Harry stammered.

"Who?"

"S-Susan Bones from Hufflepuff."

"Oh-okay, Neville," Harry said, walking off with a dazed look on his face.

Ron quickly snatched his shoes and raced after him. He found him sitting on a chair, his face blank.

"Er…Harry? You okay?"

"Yeah…"

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, coming up to them.

Ron explained. She blinked slowly a couple of times, letting it set in.

"Well that was unexpected," she finally said.

"You're telling me."

Harry was silent, just staring off into space.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"Neville Longbottom has a girlfriend…and I don't."

"Oh, what is it with boys? It's not supposed to be a competition, you know."

"Besides, Harry, you could have almost any girl as a girlfriend. Heck, I only have Hermione."

"A-hem."

"Er…that didn't come out right. Um…I'm just lucky enough to have found my one and only."

"That's better. C'mon, Harry, let's go to breakfast."

"Yeah, okay."

Even though he felt better, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that he was lagging behind.

****

"Okay, everyone see the constellation Draco?" Professor Sinistra asked, "Good. I expect a one-page report on Draco's position, how to find it in the sky, and the story behind the name of the constellation. Extra credit if you draw a detailed, labeled picture of the constellation. Go ahead and start with the remaining class time."

Harry looked through the telescope a moment, trying to find a dragon among the many dots. Then, glancing around at the others, he turned the viewfinder to three stars. He had loved to look at them as a child, and still enjoyed it now.

"So, what do you have your sights set on, Mr. Potter?" the professor's voice came suddenly.

Harry jumped. "Oh, um…just those three stars."

Professor Sinistra looked through the lens and then turned back to Harry. "That constellation is called La Familia. That means 'the Family'."

Harry's eyes widened. " 'The Family'?"

Professor Sinistra nodded. "Yes. See how the two larger stars surround the smaller one, like two parents would surround a small child?"

Harry nodded, turning back to the sky. "I've always imagined that's what they were," he said softly, smiling to himself.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione slowly walked back to the Gryffindor tower, Hermione telling them exactly what her paper was going to be like.

"Hermione," Ron moaned, "give it a rest. It's past midnight and I'm-"

Before Ron could tell them what he was, he fell flat on his face.

"I assume you were going to say 'tired'," Hermione smiled, helping him up.

"Somebody tripped me!" he cried indignantly, dusting off his robes.

"Yeah, sure."

"They did!"

"Ron, there's no one else here, so that would be kind of-OUCH! Harry, what do you think you're doing?!"

"Huh?"

"You pinched my…my-my backside!"

Ron raised one eyebrow suspiciously and Hermione looked as though steam were ready to come out her ears.

"Hey, I swear I didn't. Ugh! I don't even want to go there."

Harry suddenly felt a smack on the back of his head, hard enough that it knocked his glasses off. They all spun around, looking wildly at the empty corridor.

"Peeves, show yourself!" Ron yelled, going a bit red in the face.

There was silence a moment, then Harry whispered, "It's not Peeves."

The other two stared at him, but Harry seemed to be concentrating on something. He squinted, listening, and suddenly launched himself forward, arms out as if to grab something. He landed flat on the stone floor, but the sound of running footsteps soon echoed through the hall.

Not needing to be told, Ron and Hermione raced after the noise. Ron, having the longest legs, soon caught up with the invisible figure. He spotted a shoe appear and disappear suddenly, and gauged the distance. Ron leapt forward and felt his arms close around on some fabric. A body appeared out of nowhere, and was quickly yanked down by the cloak still clasped around its neck. The hood was still on the figure, hiding its face, but Harry could recognize that sprawled body anywhere.

"Draco Malfoy!" he yelled, yanking the hood off.

"Hehe…whoops. Don't kill me."

"We ought to, after that!" Hermione shrilled, "What are you doing here?"

"Going to school; what did you think?"

"We haven't seen you in any of our classes."

"Hel-lo, Weasley," he said, dangling the cloak in front of him, "What do you think this is for?"

"So it was you who set off that smoke bomb in Potions!"

"One of the benefits of being invisible. You should have seen the expression on your face!"

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Malfoy."

"Oh yeah? Why should I tell you anything, Potter?"

"Because I know the Curse of the Bogies and would be more than happy to use it," Hermione grinned, holding her wand to Draco's chest.

"Hehe…point taken, mu-uh, Miss Granger. Where should I start?"

"From last summer."

"The whole thing? Okay, Potter. The night you had your…encounter, Dumbledore came into my dormitory and told me to come with him. He took me to his office and then whispered something at his fireplace. It opened up and behind it was a staircase. At the bottom was a hallway with a whole bunch of doors. He led me through one and inside was a bedroom and bathroom. There he explained what had happened, which I'm pretty sure you know. Oh and I never got to thank you for letting the cat out of the bag, Potter," he said with a touch of malice.

Harry didn't change his expression, but his eyes betrayed a hint of remorse.

"Anyways, I didn't even get to leave that room until school was let out. I wasn't even at the end of year feast, as I'm sure you didn't notice."

"Didn't notice, and didn't care," Ron muttered.

"It was the worst summer of my life. My dad kept sending owls, begging for me to come home, saying he and mum were worried out of their minds. I never knew if he was serious or just trying to find out where I was so he could kill me."

Harry had a sinking feeling that Draco wasn't exaggerating.

"Then, a week before the rest of the school came back, Dumbledore gave me this," he held up the Invisibility Cloak, "I go to my regular classes everyday, just five minutes earlier than everyone else so I'm not jostled in the halls. Of course, I do take advantage of it now and then."

"Like pinching my backside?" Hermione said, storm clouds in her eyes.

"Hey, don't think there was any ulterior motive to that, mu-Miss Granger. I was only acting to annoy. And now, I must be on my way."

With a swish, Draco disappeared and ran off. Ron made a move to chase after him, but Harry stopped him.

"Ah, let him go. Let's just get back to bed."

Harry couldn't sleep that night. He kept thinking of Draco. It was his fault he had to go into hiding. Draco may have been his enemy, but Harry had never really wanted him dead. Now Draco had to walk around expecting death at every corner.

Harry shook his head, snapping himself out of it. "Well, now he knows how I feel," he thought, then turned over and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep.

****

"Have you seen Hermione, Paravati?" Harry asked as he and Ron walked out of the Great Hall, which was decorated with bats and pumpkins, as is tradition for Halloween.

Paravati batted her eyes a considerable amount of times before answering. "Yes, I saw her entering an empty class room near the library."

"Thanks."

"My pleasure, Harry."

As soon as Harry turned away, Paravati and Lavender burst into a fit of giggles. Rolling their eyes, Ron and Harry walked toward the library. There was only one empty classroom near the library, so they headed straight for that.

At first it seemed as though nothing was in there but empty desks. Then Harry noticed something perched on one of the desks. It was a hawk with a parchment in its beak. Harry silently gestured at it so Ron could see. Neither had never seen one before and were a bit fascinated.

The two stared at it, inching slowly into the room. Harry was just wondering how close it would let them get when it fluttered to the ground. They didn't even have a chance to move before the hawk suddenly started growing. Harry and Ron watched with wide eyes as legs, arms, and a head of bushy brown hair emerged from where the hawk had been.

Ron and Harry were now staring at the back of Hermione, who was looking at the paper she had so recently had in her beak.

Harry's eyes bulged and he struggled to hold back what would have been a very audible gasp. Ron, however, didn't take it as lightly. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the ground.

The noise made Hermione jump and turn around. When she saw Harry and the unconscious Ron, her eyes widened and her face went pale.

"Oh dear…"

~*~*~

A/N: Hermione has a bit of explaining to do. ^-^ Hope you liked the chapter.

And thanks to all my reviewers:

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Lady Grizabella: Sirius in an apron…*grin* Interesting thought. Thanks

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Thank you all! And I would LOVE, ADORE, CHERISH any more reviews, even if you take my story, chew it up, and spit it out! I don't mind. My head's swelling too much with your reviews, so a good poke with a needle would do me some good.

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-Ady