Sorry about the lack of posting and the size of this chapter. I have had a bad bout of Writer's Block, and ended up breaking it today. *grins* There was a bit of a rush to get even this much done, I can tell you. There are also a few important things going on in my life right now, so I may be missing my posting time more often. I will make it up to you all when things have calmed down a bit, however, never fear. To the girl who said I was a college Professor…erm…no? I turn fifteen tomorrow, however. *grins* I seem to have scared off my anti-fan, which is rather annoying. Also, to the girl who said that an update reminder thingo came out on my list but I didn't update: I have that as an automatic thing on the site, and I'm going to have to change it to once every two weeks. Sorry about that. Also, please read the 'Only Happy When It Rains' story thing on my profile. I'm rather proud of it.

Disclaimer: When I am rich and famous I'll be buying the rights to Harry Potter, but that won't be for a while yet. Until then the goods are still JK Rowling's property.

Chapter Thirty

Harry stared at the cat. The cat stared at Harry. McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick stared at both. The cat was the first to move. A butterfly was attempting to fly out of the closed window, and it caught the cat's attention. It padded over to the sill and jumped up onto the window to swipe curiously at the poor insect.

"Very good, Harry," Professor McGonagall said, pleased. Flitwick smiled and shook his hand, congratulating him. Snape just stared at the tiny animal and nodded, as if he was weighing up something in his mind and had reached a conclusion.

Harry breathed out sharply. "Wow…"

"Now try to turn it back into the stool," McGonagall said.

"But it's alive!" Harry protested, shocked.

"It is still school property, and was originally a stool. It will begin to turn back after a time anyway, so why bother waiting? Besides, I need that chair for the classes I'm teaching tomorrow."

Harry nodded, and concentrated on the little creature. He thought he finally knew how he was using his magic, and this confirmed it. He pictured the kitten turning back into the stool, and wiped everything else from his mind. Nothing happened for a moment, then there was a small popping noise and the stool was balancing precariously on the windowsill. After a moment of wobbling it fell to the floor with a clatter. One of the legs broke of and Professor McGonagall hurried forward to repair it.

"I think I know how I'm doing it, now," Harry ventured, wondering whether they would spend the rest of the night practising just this or if they were going to move onto something else.

"You want to move on, yes?" McGonagall asked, voice amused. "Well if you can perform the transfiguration of a human without any problems we'll start with charms. I can't be the guinea pig though, since I'll be checking to see it there were any problems. Any volunteers?"

Flitwick began edging towards the door and shaking his head. Snape, who had moved over to stare out the window, didn't seem to hear Professor McGonagall. Harry could almost feel the gloating smile that crossed her face.

"It seems Professor Snape is the only one of us who doesn't mind," She announced. "Try to turn him into something fluffy and lovable. Not a cat, though, you've already done that."

Professor Snape turned around at that, realising what was going on. He opened his mouth to protest, but all that came out was a bark. Harry had turned him into a silky terrier pup that looked gorgeous apart from the glaring eyes. The Snape-dog got up and began to walk towards the door, stopping to attack McGonagall's shoe on the way. Once it had ripped off a sizeable amount of the material it padded over to the door where it sat down, glaring at the group. The message was clear. Harry pictured Snape and sought out the power he had been using, aiming it at the puppy. The transformation was halfway through when a picture appeared suddenly in Harry's mind. It was so fast that he almost missed it, and afterwards the only thing he remembered was a brief image of short, black hair and dark brown eyes. He faltered for a moment, before bringing the picture of Snape back into his head and continuing with the transformation. Soon Professor Snape was standing in front of him again, scowling horribly. He raised a hand to his mouth and coughed out a fair amount of Professor McGonagall's shoe. He stared at it in disgust for a moment, before throwing it onto the floor. Professor McGonagall dried the piece of material with a word and used another spell to repair the shoe.

"Never try that again," Professor Snape said, staring at them all. "Never."

Harry put a hand down onto the desk closest to him, a wave of dizziness passing over him, he saw the three Professors turn to see what was the matter, and Harry suddenly realised that Snape's hair was no longer greasy. Another wave of dizziness crashed over him, and he fell over, the room spinning around him.

Harry woke to find Flitwick gently slapping his cheek, McGonagall and Snape arguing over whether the transfiguration of a human was the cause of his collapse or not, and Professor Dumbledore watching the proceedings with a look of faint amusement on his face.

"I see you are awake, Harry," Dumbledore said. Harry nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

"Do you have any idea what happened, Harry? Perhaps you could resolve this little disagreement for Minerva and Severus."

Harry shrugged. "I was turning Professor Snape back and another image got in the way. It took a lot out of me to push it away and concentrate on the Professor. I think it might have been the beginning of another vision."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, that would drain your strength quite considerably. I believe you have had enough training for tonight, Harry."

"Can I go then, Sir?"

"In a moment, Harry," Dumbledore said, the amusement disappearing from his face. "I have something to tell you."

Harry's stomach lurched. "Is someone dead?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Quite the opposite, in fact. One of our spies—" At this point he glanced at Severus— "Has confirmed that Mundungus is still alive. One of our company is leaving tomorrow for Russia. We're going to try and get him back, Harry."

A feeling of foreboding filled Harry, and he took a deep breath. "Sirius."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Harry. He is the only animagus we have in the group apart from Professor McGonagall, and she would be missed. Sirius has more chance of being able to get close to the place where Fletcher is being held without being killed if he goes as a dog. He wants this chance, Harry. He has a lot to prove."

Harry blinked back tears, fighting to stay in control, "What time is he leaving?"

"Early tomorrow morning, before the student body is awake."
"Can I see him?"

* * *

"Can you understand why I have to do this, Harry?" Sirius asked anxiously, staring at his Godson. The night had passed quickly and Sirius was about to leave.

Harry nodded. "I can understand why, Sirius," He said eventually. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I know," Sirius said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I wouldn't like it if you were going either."

"I know," Harry said. "You'd probably do just about anything to make sure I wouldn't have to."

Sirius nodded. "You're right there."

"Promise me that you'll eat properly, you won't walk on the road, that you'll stay away from cars and only stop in muggle towns that are isolated," Harry said, face and voice serious.

"Yes, Mum," Sirius teased.
"I'm serious. I only just found you, Sirius, and you're the closest thing I've got to a family. I don't want to lose you now."

Sirius' smile faded. "I know. I'll be careful and if things get too hot for me to handle, I'll pull out and try another time."

Harry nodded, before leaning forward to hug his Godfather.

"And try not to lose your temper with any of the muggles you come across. They just don't understand that it's perfectly acceptable for a dog to be a person," Harry added, releasing Sirius, who laughed and promised to try to be nice to the muggles.

"Good luck," Harry said as Dumbledore beckoned Harry to come back into Hogwarts. "Be safe."

Sirius nodded before turning into his dog form and heading down towards Hogsmeade.