Chapter 6

A Potions Lesson and a Wizards' Pact

Harry stretched and uncurled himself from around Ron's feet, where he had been sleeping.  He yawned and hopped off the bed, stepping on his sleeping godfather.

Sirius opened his eyes and glared at Harry, ::Harry-::

::Yes?:: Harry replied in a mock-innocent voice.  This was Sirius' traditional wake-up call.  Harry would wake first and purposely tread on his godfather.  Sirius would grumble a bit and then go back to sleep.

Harry looked around the dorm and saw that everyone was still asleep, including his godfather who had already dozed off again.  Harry transformed into his human self so that he could open the door to the dormitory, then transformed back into a dog and left.  The portrait hole was simpler.  All he had to do was nudge it with his paw and it opened.  Harry grinned, it was time to explore.

First he went to the secret room that Sirius had shown him yesterday and dug around in the trunk.  Sirius had left it there the night before, after turning a couple spare socks into new collars for them both.  Otean had expressed a desire to explore Hogwarts on his own, and Harry had agreed, warning the snake to be wary of the cats roaming the school.  Otean had merely given Harry a contemptuous look, replied that he could deal with any cats that dared cause him trouble, and slithered off.

Harry grabbed a set of black robes, surprised to find a Slytherin badge added to the front.  Oh well, he thought, at least if someone sees me I can just pass myself off as an ordinary student they haven't met before.  This would be made easier by the fact that he had gotten his hair cut so that his bangs now covered his scar.

He transformed into a cat and left the room.  He wandered the halls until breakfast, at which point he went into the hall and hopped onto the table.  He was quite a bit more discreet this time, and merely grabbed several pieces of bacon before exiting the hall.  He headed back up to Gryffindor tower, transforming back into a dog as he went, making sure that no people, ghosts, or portraits saw his transformation.

"There you are!" cried Ron, just as Harry reached the entrance to Gryffindor tower.  Harry looked up and saw that Ron had just exited, accompanied by his dorm mates Neville, Seamus, and Dean, as well as Sirius.  "Come on, we're going to breakfast."

::Where have you been?:: asked Sirius.

::Exploring.::

::How many times did you get lost?:: Sirius asked, smirking mentally.

::er…::

::How many?::

::About five times, I think.  I ran into Mrs. Norris once or twice as well.  She's actually rather nice.::

Sirius looked at him, aghast.  ::What?!  Mrs. Norris?  The insane cat that belongs to the insane caretaker Filch?::

Harry snickered slightly, earning himself an odd look from Ron, and replied, ::I was in cat form, Sirius.::

Sirius was still looking at him as if he had grown several heads.  In fact, he looked at Harry for so long that he didn't notice where he was until he ran into a door.

Ron and his friends laughed, then Ron told the two of them to "sit" and "stay" since pets, particularly Harry, were no longer allowed in the Great Hall, owls excepted.

::Sirius,:: chided Harry mentally, ::you really should watch where you're going.  And if you're really that eager to get to know the door better, I'm sure that we can come up with a better way for you to do it.  Maybe breakfast, or a dinner out perhaps?::

Sirius, who was nursing a sore head as the doors were quite solid, growled at him, ::Shut up, you.  I suppose you'll be telling me that you think Snape is nice as well.::

::The "greasy bastard"?  Hmm, I'll have to meet him before I can pass judgment,:: Harry replied, grinning widely.

Sirius turned to stare at him for a moment before putting his head in his paws, ::No wonder you're a Slytherin.  You're completely hopeless at grasping the basic Gryffindor sensibilities.  Now, be a good boy and go get me some breakfast.  As a cat,:: he added when Harry got a rather mischievous look in his eye.

::Aw, you're no fun,:: and before the former Marauder could reply to that he transformed into a cat and ducked into the Great Hall.

He followed the pattern that he had earlier and grabbed a dozen slices of bacon, and a slice of toast this time.  Making sure that no one saw a cat with its mouth full of breakfast food, he slipped out the door and deposited it in front of Sirius.

::None for you?:: asked Sirius, chewing on the toast.

::I ate earlier.::

Sirius nodded and finished the food in front of him.  ::I think that we're going to have to start using the kitchen instead of the Great Hall.::

Harry nodded, ::Unless you want to eat that dog food that Ron has packed in his trunk.::  They both made a face.  Processed dog food, even the wizard sort, was not exactly the most appetising thing in the world.

Several minutes of idle chatter later, Ron and his friends came out and they headed to Charms.

Every class was different, and every teacher even more so.  Professor Flitwick was a tiny wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk.  Professor McGonagall was very strict and the only way Harry managed to get into the classrooms was to sneak in when she was busy.   Professor Binns was extremely boring and Harry quickly decided that he would learn any history he needed in the Library, where the driest textbooks would likely still be more entertaining.  Herbology was three times a week, but Harry was not allowed to attend, as "the animal" would likely chew on something poisonous, at least according to Professor Sprout.  Astronomy was another course that Harry decided not to attend.  Of course, this made perfectly good sense as it would be rather difficult for a dog to look through a telescope.  Professor Quirrel, teaching the Defence class, was little more than a joke.  Harry had to leave the classroom almost immediately as the smell that permeated the area made him sneeze almost constantly.

On Friday Harry and Sirius went through what was quickly becoming a routine.  Harry would wake and explore, then meet Sirius just as Ron came out of the portrait hole.  While Ron was at breakfast the duo would run down to the kitchen and beg some food off the house elves, who were only too pleased to spoil their "masters'" pets rotten.  Then the two of them would head back up to the entrance to the Great Hall to wait for Ron to come out and lead them to classes.  Usually Harry was the only one to actually attend the classes, as Sirius insisted that going through school once was plenty for him.  Often, however, Harry would head off to the library if he had free time or if he found that he already knew the material being taught in class.  Sneaking past Madam Pince was sometimes complicated, but he usually managed it.  He also took the risk of turning back into his human form, as the library was almost always deserted.  So as long as he stayed out of Madam Pince's sight, his secret was safe and he could study to his heart's content.

The difference about Friday was that this would be Ron's first Potions lesson.  Though Sirius adamantly refused to go near Snape or anything to do with Snape with a ten-foot staff, Harry was rather looking forward to it.  After all of the stories he had heard about "the greasy bastard," he was interested in finding out how much of it was actually true.  After all, Sirius was nothing if not biased against Slytherins, and Snape was head of house.

Harry strode behind Ron as he entered the Potions dungeon.  Ron sat at a desk  towards the back of the room with his friends, the first-year Gryffindor girls joining them as well, except for one girl.  Hermione Granger was sitting in the very front of the classroom, as was usual.  Harry, deciding that it would be a very bad idea to accidentally add Animagus fur to whatever potion they might brew today, settled himself in a dark corner near the door to watch unseen.

The Slytherins came in a few moments later, and sat themselves in the empty seats that the Gryffindors had left, talking animatedly, though with slightly lower volume than their Gryffindor counterparts.  All conversation ceased when the door opened, hitting the wall with a bang.

All the students stared, wide eyed, as Professor Snape made his way to the front of the room, robes billowing menacingly around him.  Professor Snape sat at his desk and gave a cursory glance around the room.  His eyes landed on Harry and they narrowed, but he said nothing and turned his attention to a roll of parchment on his desk.  He took roll call, sneering at the name Weasley, then turned his gaze back to the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he said quietly.  "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic.  I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses….  I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death —  if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The class remained silent, most of them had raised eyebrows at this little speech.  Hermione, of course, was on the edge of her seat in her eagerness to prove that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Weasley!" said Snape suddenly.  "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Ron blinked in surprise a replied, "I don't know, sir."

Snape sneered, "Lets try again.  Longbottom, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Neville looked absolutely clueless, and quite frightened, "I d-d-don't know, s-sir."

Some of the Slytherins were shaking with suppressed laughter now.  Harry didn't know why, they probably didn't know the answers either.  In fact, the only person who acted like they actually knew the answer was Hermione, who was raising her hand as high in the air as she could, without actually leaving her seat.

"I suppose that none of you thought you would open a book before you came here?  What is the difference, Finnigan, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Seamus looked stumped, and Hermione actually stood up with her hand still raised towards the ceiling.  "I don't know, sir."

"Sit down," Snape snapped at Hermione, who was standing up with her hand raised, desperate to answer the question.  "For your information, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death.  A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat that will save you from most poisons.  As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite.  Well?  Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment.  Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Finnigan."

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the lesson continued.  Snape paired the students up and put them to work on a simple potion to cure boils.  He swooped around the room, bat-like with his billowing robes, and criticised everyone except for Draco Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.  He was just beginning to praise Malfoy when a loud hissing filled the classroom.  Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron and their potion had spilled off the table and was now seeping across the floor.  Harry quickly moved to the other side of the classroom, where he wouldn't be touched by the potion.  The rest of the class were already standing on their stools.  Neville, however, was not quite so fortunate as Harry and the rest, as he had been soaked in the potion when the cauldron collapsed and was now covered in painful red boils.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand.  "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils popped up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus.  Then he rounded on Ron and Dean, who had been working at the desk next to them.

"You, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills?  Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you?  That's another point from Gryffindor."

Seamus opened his mouth to argue, but Ron elbowed him behind their cauldron.

"Don't push it," he whispered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."

"Even more nasty that he already is?" whispered Seamus, rubbing his stomach where Ron had hit him.

Ron just shook his head and turned back to his work.  Eventually, the lesson ended and the students left.  The Gryffindors climbed the steps, talking quietly, mostly about how unfair Snape was.  Harry, deciding that this was a rather boring thing to have to listen to, headed towards the library.  He wanted to look up some potions information.  After all, it would be nice to know why the porcupine quills had had such an effect.  If he knew that, he would be able to watch for similar mistakes in the future.

He walked into the Library using a secret passage Sirius had shown him the day before, which came out on the exact opposite end of the Library from the authorised entrance.  He looked around, making sure that there was no one nearby, then transformed.

Only to find a wand pressed to his neck not moments later.  Harry stiffened, but knew better than to move.

"Who are you?" asked whoever was behind him.  Male, thought Harry, and he hasn't gone through his voice change yet.  It also wasn't one of the Gryffindor first year boys, since he would have recognised their voice if it had been.

"Why should I tell you?" asked Harry softly.

"Because I'm sure that the Professors would be very interested in hearing about a boy who's an Animagus being disguised as that Weasley's pet."

Harry cursed mentally, and said the first name that came to mind, "Er, Evan Blakelock."  Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around as was apparently implied.

He came face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy.  Well, face to chin, as Harry was a good bit shorter than Malfoy was.  Something that looked like shock flickered in Draco's eyes but Harry ignored it.  Harry took a step back, standing that close to someone was very uncomfortable.  Draco made a move to grab at him again, but Harry stopped him.

"I won't run off."

Draco looked disbelieving, but nodded, "Why don't we sit?  I have some questions and you aren't leaving until you answer them."

"What's to prevent me from leaving?  You're a first year.  I doubt that you can do much with that wand you're holding."

Draco glared, "My offer to tell the Professors about you still stands of course, if that's what you'd prefer."

Harry glared back, but sat at one of the tables set up for studying in this area of the Library.  Draco sat across from him.

"Ask away, oh great one," said Harry.

Draco raised his eyebrows, "Cute, Potter.  Sarcasm, how becoming of the boy-who-lived."

Harry jumped out of his seat, ready to run, "How did you know who I was?!"

"Quiet down!  Unless you want Madam Pince to come over here, you twit," hissed Draco.  "And your scar's showing if you must know."

Harry flattened the hair over his forehead and sat on the edge of his seat, looking at Draco apprehensively.  "So, you caught me.  Going to turn me in?  I'm sure that there would be a reward for turning in the Boy-who-lived to the Ministry."

"No," said Draco.  Harry looked at him in surprise.  "There is nothing that I would gain from turning you in," he explained simply.  "There be even if I gave them Sirius Black.  I suppose that your godfather is the other dog of Weasley's?"

Harry nodded again, "What do you want then?"

"Er," Draco faltered, searching his mind for something that would be a suitable trade,  After a few moments he came to a decision, "Teach me."

"Teach you what?"

"To be an Animagus.  I don't believe that rubbish about your godfather teaching you the Dark Arts.  Father told me that Black wasn't even a Death Eater."

"And how would he know that?"

"Why, he was one, of course."  Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco's apparent openness on the subject.  "You won't tell anyone.  Not if it risks you and your godfather being caught.  Besides, lots of people already suspect.  You won't be saying anything new."

Harry shrugged, "Not everyone can becoming an Animagus, you know."

"Yes, I know.  So if it turns out that I can't, we'll just have to come up with a new reason for me to keep your secret."

Harry smiled slightly, this was business as he could understand it.  "Fine.  Wizards pact though, I don't trust you."

Draco smirked, "I can see that you were sorted into the right house, Potter.  Wizards' pact it is then."  He dragged the sharp end of his wand brutally over his hand. "I won't tell anyone the truth about your identity in exchange for you teaching me to become an Animagus," he said and held out his hand.

Harry nodded and repeated the gesture, "I will teach you to become an Animagus so long as you don't reveal my true identity."  They clasped their bleeding palms together and their hands glowed blue for a moment.  They pulled back and their hands had healed, leaving only a pale, oddly shaped mark.  Shaped like a star touching a crescent moon, the sign of a Wizard's Pact.  It would disappear only when both of them decided that the pact was no longer necessary for whatever reasons, or if one of them didn't uphold their end of the bargain.  If Draco told, Harry would have sufficient warning to get out of the castle and as far away as possible.  Fair deal, in his opinion.

"So," said Harry, "when do you want to start?"

"Tonight, after dinner.  I'll meet you by the Potions room."

Harry nodded and transformed back into a dog, he ducked back into the secret passage while Draco took the regular exit.  It was time for lunch.

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Gryffindors had afternoons free on Fridays, which meant that Harry had plenty of free time.  He spent some of it gathering the ingredients he needed for the Animagus potion.  He got some from the Potions classroom, and one or two from Snape's private stores. 

He completed his task and made his way back into the secret room where Sirius had stored their trunk.  He took out his cauldron and set up the ingredients, going over the process in his mind and making sure that he remembered the steps well enough not to poison Draco.  Turned out that he didn't and ended up pulling out the book that had aided Sirius in preparing the potion for Harry's own transformation.

Harry checked his watch, he still had three hours before dinner.  He shrugged, he might as well begin brewing the potion, as it took eight hours to complete.  There was also a rather convenient time in the middle of brewing where he would have to let it sit for two hours.  That would give him enough time to eat dinner, meet Malfoy, and get him back up here with plenty of time to explain to Malfoy exactly what the first transformation entailed.

Well, he thought, time to get to work.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Nearly three hours later Harry slumped back against the wall.  Merlin, this potion was complicated.  He vainly wished that he had more of a working knowledge of potions.  No use, of course.  Thankfully, he had managed to follow the directions exactly, and the potion was the proper colour and consistency.  Now he had a two hour break before he had to do the other half of the brewing.  He wasn't particularly looking forward to it.  However, the potion was the best tool to use in teaching Draco to become an Animagus and he didn't want to have to brew it twice because he mussed up the first attempt.  He mopped his forehead.  The first half had required some fairly intense heat.  Thankfully, the second half wouldn't need flame at all, so he wouldn't have to keep recasting Incendio for the rest of the potion brewing.

Casting a last glance at the potion, he transformed and made his way to the kitchens.  He got some food from the overeager house-elves and headed back up to the dining hall, near which was the path to the dungeons and Snape's classroom.  Draco wasn't there yet so Harry settled down to wait.

Harry was just about to fall asleep from boredom when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway.  He looked up and saw Draco coming towards him.  Harry got up and began walking in the direction that would take them to the room where the potion was; Draco followed, memorizing the path so that he would be able to find the room on his own.

They arrived and Harry immediately strode over to check the potion.  Looking in the book he surmised that he had a half-hour before he would need to begin brewing again.

"What's that for?" asked Draco curiously.

"It's a potion that will let you transform into your animal for about five minutes.  It makes it easier to learn how to transform."

Draco nodded and looked around for a place to sit, finally settling himself down atop Harry's trunk.  "How much longer will it take to finish?"

"Roughly three and a half hours."

Draco sputtered, "Three and a half hours!  I-"

Harry turned to him angrily, "Yes, Draco, three and a half hours.  If that's not to your liking then you could always do without.  However, I spent a good four hours gathering ingredients and brewing the first half of the potion so I'd hope that you would deign to use it without too much complaining."

Draco looked surprised, "Fine then.  I'll use the bloody potion.  I'd just like to know what I'm supposed to be doing in the meantime, Harry.  I doubt that your conversation is enough to keep me entertained for three hours."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Brat," he mumbled under his breath.  "Here," he said, tossing the book with the Animagus potion instructions in it over to Draco, "Read the first two chapters.  It'll tell you some of what you'll be getting into as an Animagus, and some directions about what you're supposed to do when you first transform."  Harry didn't need the book now anyway.  He'd read over the potion's instructions so many times that he could probably recite them in his sleep.

Draco caught the book and settled down on the floor, leaning against the trunk.  He still didn't look very happy about the apparent delay before he could learn, but was silent in favour of reading.  He looked surprised when he came across some of the information, and slightly apprehensive when he read over the risks of the Animagus transformation.  When he finished, he looked up to see that Harry was bent over the potion, stirring and measuring meticulously and muttering things under his breath.  Thinking that it would probably be a bad idea to interrupt Harry now, he settled himself into a more comfortable position and began reading some of the later chapters in the book.

"Finished," Harry finally announced, looking quite pleased with himself.  The potion was the proper shade of blue and everything had gone perfectly during the brewing.  Draco looked up and closed the book.

"It's about time," Draco muttered.

"Do you remember what you're supposed to do?"

Draco looked at Harry in annoyance, "Yes, I remember.  I need to pay attention to the feeling of the transformation and try not to let the animal instincts take control.  Simple.  Now, can I take the potion?"

Harry rolled his eyes and handed over a goblet filled with the potion, "Here."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "I'll be sure to work on that in the future," he said sarcastically before downing to potion in one gulp.

Harry watched as Draco transformed, interested in what the Slytherin would become.  He got his answer a moment later when grey eyes looked up at him out of the face of a very light coloured snow leopard.  Draco's form was quite stunning, actually.  Snow white fur with the traditional markings in a shade that was only a hair darker than the rest of his fur.  Draco swished his long tail and purred, extending and retracting his claws just for the heck of it.  He padded around the room once before coming back over to Harry and transforming back.

Draco looked at Harry, elated, "What was I?"

Harry grinned,  Draco was flushed with excitement and joy at having transformed.  Harry remembered the heady feeling of being an animal for the first time.  Nothing could really compare to it.  It was a feeling of power, of being able to do things that would normally be impossible.  "You were a cat, a snow leopard I think.  Pure white with really pale markings."

Draco was positively bouncing in excitement, "When can I do that again?  How long does it take to learn how to transform?  When can we start?  What-" he stopped his rapid-fire questioning when Harry started laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked, trying to glare, but this was made rather difficult by the large grin still spread over his face.  Harry just shook his head and kept laughing, so Draco leaned against the wall to wait it out, still smiling.

Harry finally got a hold of himself and quieted.  He thought back on when Sirius had taught him to be an Animagus.  Draco, however, was just a normal Animagus.  It would probably take a good deal more time before he could transform as proficiently as Harry.

"You remember what it felt like to transform, right?" he asked.  Draco nodded.  "Focus on that feeling and what it felt like to be a cat."

Draco closed his eyes, face forming into a look of concentration.  Slowly, fur started to sprout over his body as his robes melted into it.  Then he grew a tail and his ears adjusted to look like those of his animal form.  This took roughly five minutes at which point Draco opened his eyes and looked towards Harry before examining his blunted and furred fingers.

"Er, Draco?"  asked Harry.

"Yeah?"

"Catch," and Harry tossed over a small blanket.  Draco looked at it and Harry in confusion.  "Cover yourself."  Draco looked down and blushed furiously, which appeared as a faint pink tinge in the sparser areas of fur.  The process of Draco's robes melting into his body had left him rather… exposed.  Harry snickered as Draco hastily wrapped the blanket around his torso.

"It's not funny," muttered Draco, embarrassed.  Then something occurred to him, "Will I still be able to do this when I'm a full Animagus?"

"Do what?"

"This… partial transformation."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, then shut it.  "I- I don't know actually.  I don't think anyone has ever tried to before.  I'd imagine that once someone was an Animagus they'd be perfectly content with transforming completely.  That and it could be dangerous if you transform into something much bigger or smaller than your human form.  Say that you transform into a dragon and lost control and only your head transformed.  Your body would be completely crushed.  Or if your form is a bird and only your legs transform."

Draco looked puzzled, "Then how is it that the  beginning stages are always partial transformations?  Wouldn't it be just as dangerous?"

Harry shook his head, "The book says in one of the later chapters that your body adjusts to the transformation in a certain order."

Draco nodded, "I remember now.  I read that chapter.  It said something like everyone's body does things in a different order, as well as a different speed.  In rare cases the person's body has a dangerous order and something like what you said before happens to them."

Harry nodded, rather absently, "I could try…"  Of course, since he was a Minor, he had never actually done a partial transformation so it might be a bit tricky.  Draco looked interested, however, so he decided to give it a shot.

Harry concentrated on just the way it felt to grow a tail, nothing else, with fur sprouting only on the tail.  He opened his eyes some moments later and looked behind him.  Sure enough, there was a tail.  Harry grinned, "It works!"

Draco grinned as well, "Can you imagine what the reactions would be if we walked into the Great hall with tails?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Well, if they looked at me, there would likely be widespread panic since a "future Dark Lord" would have just walked in.  With you though…  McGonagall would likely go nuts trying to figure out exactly what you had done, give you a detention, then pass out because she had hyperventilated too much.  Dumbledore would just laugh, all the students would stare and think that someone had pulled a prank on you, and the rest of the teachers would be busy toting McGonagall off to the hospital wing."

Draco looked slightly sheepish about forgetting that Harry was in hiding, but got over it quickly, "When you're free then.  It'll be one of the first things we do.  I'll have to get registered first though, I heard the fines are rather extreme."

Harry grinned and nodded, "It sounds like a plan, Draco.  First, though, you have to finish becoming a proper Animagus."

"And how would I go about doing that?"

"Well, first," said Harry with a smirk, "you have to change back."  Draco rolled his eyes, but focused on changing back, making sure that the blanket wasn't pulled into his body like his robes had been.  Harry got rid of his tail and sat down.  Checking his watch, Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Almost curfew, you had better go," he said to Draco when he had finished transforming.  Draco nodded.

"Same time tomorrow?" Draco asked.

"Same time tomorrow," Harry confirmed with a nod.