Chapter 7: The Note
Harry
managed to get himself to speak, though not coherently. "You-you're…you're a…a…"
"Animagus,"
Hermione finished quietly for him, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"And
you're…a…a…"
"Hawk,
yes. I guess I'll have to tell you, but
first we need to revive Ron. Oh, and
could you close the door, Harry?"
He
managed to get the door shut, but could only stare as Hermione tried to wake
Ron. Gradually, groggily, Ron opened
his eyes. When he saw who was kneeling
over him, he sat bolt upright.
"You're
a…you're a…" he muttered, staring at Hermione.
"An
animagus, hawk form. We've established
that."
Ron
stared at his feet, a bewildered look on his face as he let it sink in.
Putting
his hand to his head, he finally cried out, "I'm dating a bird!" and flopped
back down.
Hermione
laughed, her shock at seeing them there completely gone. Harry was the one to speak up next.
"How
did you do it, Hermione?"
"Research,"
she beamed, "and work. When Snuffles told
us about it in our third year, it kind of intrigued me. I looked into it that summer, and the more I
read, the more I liked the idea. I
snatched up every book I could about the subject and studied about it until I
thought my eyes would fall out. I finally
started transforming this summer."
"Let
me get this straight," Ron said, his face tight with thought, "You've been
studying about becoming an animagus for almost three years? Why didn't
you tell us?!"
"Well,
I was afraid you guys might…"
"Faint?"
She
laughed. "No…that you might be angry
with me."
Harry
looked surprised. "Angry? Why would we be angry?"
"Because
I became an animagus without you."
"Hey,
yeah…" Ron said, "What'd you do that for?"
"Harry,
I have a letter for you," she said quickly, handing Harry the paper, "It's from
Sirius."
"Sirius?"
"Yes. I've been in contact with him since I
mastered the art of flight."
"Does
he know…?"
"Yes."
Ron
raised an eyebrow. "Do your parents
know?"
"Er…read
it, Harry."
Laughing
silently to himself, Harry read aloud:
Harry-
Hope you're doing well, and that this note got to you. I'm not sure how trustworthy the carrier is.
"He's
got a point there," Ron grinned.
"Hey!"
Hermione said, giving him a little shove.
Enjoying the quill? If you're as much like your father as I suspect, you haven't touched it since you received it. Things at the Ministry are becoming interesting. They're taking a strong interest in you. I'm not sure if that's good or bad… Don't worry, though. We have a backup plan.
In the meantime, enjoy school
while you can and don't get into too much trouble. (Yeah, sure.)
-
Sirius
"The
Ministry's taking an interest in me? What's that supposed to mean?"
Hermione
glanced down at her hands. "Well,
they're…investigating your…encounters with You-Know-Who. I think Fudge is just trying to find
something to make you less of a hero in the public eye."
Harry
sighed. "Figures."
"Harry…did
you, receive any…notes over the summer? Like the one you got last year?"
He
looked up sharply. "Yeah, I-"
"Are
you registered?" Ron interrupted suddenly, looking suspiciously at Hermione.
"Um…well,
not exactly."
The
two boys stopped, gaping. "You're-you're really not registered?"
"No,
I'm not," she answered stiffly, a little huffy, "Now, what about the note,
Harry?"
"It's
in my trunk."
"Then
let's go get it."
And
she was out of the room before either of the boys could move.
****
"I
don't like the looks of this, Harry," Hermione murmured, studying the note for
the fourth time.
"Especially
that 'flight of fear' thing," Ron added, furrowing his brow, " 'then Harry
Potter shall be no more'… That can't be
a good sign."
"Have
you told Dumbledore?"
"Well,
no. It kind of slipped my mind."
"Harry,
you have to tell him!"
"I
know, I know. Tomorrow. I promise."
****
"Everybody
have all his or her ingredients in?" Professor Moody called, walking around
classroom in his 'Kiss the Cook' apron. Harry couldn't help thinking that that was about the last thing anybody
would want to do.
"Okay,
now use the Heating Chant. Whoa, Mr.
Longbottom! Hehe, almost said the wrong
spell there, boy, and I'm sure Miss Patil wouldn't have enjoyed you shooting
flames her way."
He
walked over to Neville, then turned to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Azar.
"Mr.
Potter, will you come here?" Moody asked, taking Harry aside, "You're doing an
excellent job with this. Why don't you
give Mr. Longbottom here a little assistance."
Moody
suddenly stopped, chuckling to himself.
"Miss
Zundel," he said, "I don't think Mr. Potter would enjoy your adding ingredients
to his stew."
Harry
looked over Moody's shoulder and saw Azar ready to pour the contents of an open
vial into his pot.
"Ah,
you ruined it, Professor Moody," Azar whined, grinning, "It was going to make
his hair green and his eyes black."
"A
Characteristic Contorting Concoction, eh? Very impressive, but not for use on your classmates," Moody's normal eye
twinkled gleefully, "though I wouldn't object to using it on its producer."
Azar
laughed, dumping the potion in her own soup. "I've always wanted to have blue hair."
It
was time to taste their soups. Harry
nearly choked on his when, with one bite, Azar suddenly had blue hair and brown
eyes.
"You
are a very interesting girl, Azar," he laughed after managing to swallow his
bite.
"Yes,
I know," she replied, admiring her new appearance in the side of her pot.
She
and Harry walked out of class alone. Ron and Hermione had said they needed to send an owl. Ron had given Harry a wink, though what for,
he wasn't sure. Harry was chatting away
happily when he remembered the promise he'd given Hermione.
"Oh,
I have to go to Dumbledore's office."
"What
for?" Azar questioned, her brown eyes widening.
Harry
hesitated a moment, then pulled the note from his pocket and handed it to
her. She quickly read it over, paused,
and then read it again.
"That's
perplexing," she murmured, handing it back to him.
"Yeah,
I know…" he said, and then burst into laughter, "You look so ridiculous!"
Azar
put her hands on her hips. "And what,
may I ask, is wrong with blue hair?"
"I
just think you look a lot better with brown. How long does that stuff last, anyways?"
"It
should wear off by morning. And if it
doesn't, I can give my dormitory a good scare. Well, you'd better get to the headmaster's office."
"Yeah,
I guess."
"See
you later, Harry legs."
"Stop
calling me that!" Harry shouted as she ran off.
Laughing,
Harry walked to Dumbledore's office. When
he opened the door, he found Dumbledore sitting at his desk as if he were
waiting for Harry's arrival.
"Good
evening, Harry," he smiled pleasantly.
"Good
evening, Professor. I have something I
wanted to show you. I, well, forgot
about it."
He
handed the note to Dumbledore, who looked it over through his half-moon
glasses. When he looked back up at
Harry, there was a bright twinkle in his eyes.
"Now
that is interesting," he said, though he
didn't seem to think so for the same reason Harry did.
The
boy waited for more, but in vain. "Is
that all?" he asked, perplexed.
"What
did you expect, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow, "that I would
tell you the meaning of the note? I
assure you, it has me as puzzled as you."
Harry
stared a moment more. He had expected
the Professor to know something, anything about the note. But this…
"Uh…good
night then, Professor."
"Good
night, Harry."
He
walked back to the Gryffindor tower in somewhat of a daze. He was so distracted that he ran into Ron
and Hermione on their way back from the owlery.
"Oh,
hello, Harry," Hermione smiled, "Did you go to Dumbledore?"
"Yes…"
"Well?"
Ron questioned after a while.
"My
thoughts exactly…"
~*~*~
A/N: Ahhh…a bit of a dull chapter. I wasted all my creativity writing the ending to this fic. *grins* I must say, it surprised me a great deal. But I love it! Of course, that won't be up for a while…
Well, give me reviews!!! Um, please? ^-^ I really love them. In fact, I'd really enjoy it if someone just told me every little thing I did wrong with this chapter. Then I'd give myself a kick and start writing with a new vengeance!
Thanks to all my reviewers! You're all too wonderful for words!
Be excellent to each other, as always!
-Ady
