Chapter 5:
Professor McGonagall asked the students to turn in their essays from yesterday's assignment on Transforming human anatomy to the temporary state of their respective animal preference. It was at least a twenty feet scroll essay that took most of the students running to the library or sitting late in their drawing rooms by the fire, sipping coffee and tea to stay awake. Hermione had finished early and was able to get several assignments done beforehand. Ron grumbled and complained about the amount of work while Harry worried how he was going to find enough information to fill the texts. At least they used much of the spaces for their paste ons and drawings for paralled depictions.
The Professor stood up with a ruler in her hand, set her glasses atop her nose and glanced over her students. Everyone was accounted except for Crabbe and Goyle who were sent to do some heavy duty tasks for Professor Snape. The supplies of potions were in and they were short handed in the way of muscle assistance. It was not as if they couldn't use a spell to levitate the materials but rather that it would be prudent to use it against crates that were resistant to magic. This was mainly one of the reasons for having security in case it was to have been stolen by other wizards. She would have to give the remaining assignment afterwards to the duo. Hopefully Malfoy will help them as usual since they often have difficulty understanding the assignment.
"Well class today we do something very different." she walked along the aisles, "Today, we will learn how to transform ourselves into cats."
That brought on a slow wave of alarm to the students. This was definitely a bit advanced for them and the professor knew it. She thought however that they were reasonably prepared for the chore at hand. Many of them have proved mostly successful in the past except for Longbottom's fiasco with the chair and table that bit him in the ass as he tried to change it to a dog. It didn't quite turn into a dog but funnily enough was able to bark and chase him around the class while the rest of the students laughed. The professor had to immediately take care of the spell by counter acting it and reversing its process. Hermione shot her arm up in the air. Ron and Harry glanced over at her curiously.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor," she replied, "I was wondering. If we transform ourselves into cats, is it true from what the book says that we would have after effects of having the same senses, from their visions to their inherited capability of detecting disaster?"
"Hm, not always, there are some of you who will have longer after effects and some will not even remember. That is a good question that I wanted to cover. You see, each of us have different taste and senses, despite the fact that we all have the same five senses. Let me see…."
Professor McGonagall carefully looked around for her first victim, "Ah yes!" she pointed with her ruler,
"Mister Potter, perhaps you can be the first to demonstrate to us how to change your partner there, Mister Weasley into a cat."
Harry nervously looked at Ron but his friend was the one whose eyes bulged out at the prospect of being the first victim. Professor McGonagall assured Harry that he was ready. Draco sniggered from behind them while Pansy giggled loudly. Hermione looked on a little nervously, remembering the time when she had messed up on the polyjuice potion in 2nd year trying to change into Millicent. She wasn't completely a cat but the after effects of fur balls were something she did not want to experience again. The redheaded boy did not want to be the first victim to manifest himself into something remotely feline. Harry picked up his wand and nodded, cleared his throat and said the proper words they all learned to say.
"FeliciusCattus!"
Ron transformed into an orange tabby, shook his fur and hopped off his chair, running directly to Hermione and purring happily. The entire class laughed. Professor McGonagall beamed happily at Harry,
"Well done, Potter. Well done. Now shall we try and change Weasley back to his former self?"
Hermione blushed furiously at the attention Cat Weasley was doing, purring loudly and curling up in her lap. She hesitantly tried to pet the brightly colored tabby and it contently tried to sleep. When Harry tried to wave his wand again to change Ron back, the Professor suggested that they take the cat away from Hermione's lap incase the poor boy happened to wake up suddenly atop his friend. Hermione could not feel any more embarrassed as she took furtive glances around her to see even Draco Malfoy grin and snigger.
Pavrati giggled noisily, "Hermione, I have a camera, can I take a picture of you two?"
Hermione glared at her and rolled her eyes.
Thankfully the rest of the class had seem to forgotten the incident momentarily as several more students participated to change into cats, each into a number of variety of the feline species. They didn't get to do everyone as the class time went rather quickly. The lessons were indeed fun and had everyone laughing and taking notes of who turned into whom and how it affected each person individually. Hermione was relieved that she didn't get her turn and as class was over, she picked up her books and started quickly for the door but not before Harry and Ron both called out to her, Ron had this eager look in his eye and for a moment licked his fingers.
"Hermione, wait. Aren't we going to have lunch together in the great hall?"
"Uh. I have something very important to do. I will join you two as soon as I can and tell you all about it."
Then she took a furtive glance over at Malfoy. Making sure he would follow suit, meeting her to at the library, hoping to find the conclusion or the puzzle to these annoying dreams. He looked up at her and smirked. Hermione was a bit put off by his annoying smirks. In fact she was annoyed by him all the time. Why did she even look at him while Ron was on her lap as a cat? After the dreams she's been having of Malfoy, everything about the git made her painfully aware of his reactions.
At the library, Hermione sat at the back waiting for the blond Slytherin to come in and sure enough, he had the grace to walk in as if he owned the place with his swagger and gait. His oily white blond hair slicked back and that expression in his eye that locked onto hers the moment he stepped in the place. Most of the students were in the great hall eating their lunch and she intended to join Harry and Ron as soon as she could get some kind of information from him. She wasn't going to pussy foot around the subject anymore. There really wasn't any room for being shy about the topic. Wasn't she a Gryffindor? Bold and courageous, no matter what the subject was?
He slid himself at the opposite side of the table, sitting across her and placed his hands together atop desk. He quirked one eyebrow up and sniggered mockingly,
"So. Enjoy class?"
"Oh shut up! I don't want to discuss it, Malfoy, I just want to get this over with."
Hermione fumed inwardly, glaring at him and opened the books in front of her. Then she looked up and saw he had no books and spat out,
"Malfoy! Where are the books you had on dreaming?"
"What about them?"
"I thought we're here to discuss about our situation? Our dreams?"
"Oh. So you're having them too?" his face alight with curiosity, which were immediately replaced with an irritating disgust. "I knew it!"
"I'm just as disgusted with the notion that you invade my dreams as well."
"I have Quidditch practice after lunch so we'll have to do this another time. I just wanted to meet with you to see if we have the same thing going on. You know this ridiculous nightmare we've been having. I've tried to use spells to counter act the dreams but they seem pretty solid. I'm about to go to Professor Snape about what to do."
Hermione snorted, "What would he know? Anyway, I've discussed it with Harry and Ron and they're going to see about it as well."
"Oh, Weasley's not jealous?" he taunted.
"Well, I did try to stop him from hexing you."
She added with a satisfied malice and gave him a smug look. He leaned back, shrugged and said, "You tell me what kind of dreams you're having, Granger and I'll tell you mine."
That brought on a slight hesistance from Hermione as she realized with some strange horror that it was so private and so personal that she hoped he didn't see the creep of blush that stained her cheeks. He arched a blond brow at her, narrowing his eyes, seeing the opportunity to make the mudblood squirm,
"Afraid, Granger?"
"Not at all."
Professor McGonagall asked the students to turn in their essays from yesterday's assignment on Transforming human anatomy to the temporary state of their respective animal preference. It was at least a twenty feet scroll essay that took most of the students running to the library or sitting late in their drawing rooms by the fire, sipping coffee and tea to stay awake. Hermione had finished early and was able to get several assignments done beforehand. Ron grumbled and complained about the amount of work while Harry worried how he was going to find enough information to fill the texts. At least they used much of the spaces for their paste ons and drawings for paralled depictions.
The Professor stood up with a ruler in her hand, set her glasses atop her nose and glanced over her students. Everyone was accounted except for Crabbe and Goyle who were sent to do some heavy duty tasks for Professor Snape. The supplies of potions were in and they were short handed in the way of muscle assistance. It was not as if they couldn't use a spell to levitate the materials but rather that it would be prudent to use it against crates that were resistant to magic. This was mainly one of the reasons for having security in case it was to have been stolen by other wizards. She would have to give the remaining assignment afterwards to the duo. Hopefully Malfoy will help them as usual since they often have difficulty understanding the assignment.
"Well class today we do something very different." she walked along the aisles, "Today, we will learn how to transform ourselves into cats."
That brought on a slow wave of alarm to the students. This was definitely a bit advanced for them and the professor knew it. She thought however that they were reasonably prepared for the chore at hand. Many of them have proved mostly successful in the past except for Longbottom's fiasco with the chair and table that bit him in the ass as he tried to change it to a dog. It didn't quite turn into a dog but funnily enough was able to bark and chase him around the class while the rest of the students laughed. The professor had to immediately take care of the spell by counter acting it and reversing its process. Hermione shot her arm up in the air. Ron and Harry glanced over at her curiously.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor," she replied, "I was wondering. If we transform ourselves into cats, is it true from what the book says that we would have after effects of having the same senses, from their visions to their inherited capability of detecting disaster?"
"Hm, not always, there are some of you who will have longer after effects and some will not even remember. That is a good question that I wanted to cover. You see, each of us have different taste and senses, despite the fact that we all have the same five senses. Let me see…."
Professor McGonagall carefully looked around for her first victim, "Ah yes!" she pointed with her ruler,
"Mister Potter, perhaps you can be the first to demonstrate to us how to change your partner there, Mister Weasley into a cat."
Harry nervously looked at Ron but his friend was the one whose eyes bulged out at the prospect of being the first victim. Professor McGonagall assured Harry that he was ready. Draco sniggered from behind them while Pansy giggled loudly. Hermione looked on a little nervously, remembering the time when she had messed up on the polyjuice potion in 2nd year trying to change into Millicent. She wasn't completely a cat but the after effects of fur balls were something she did not want to experience again. The redheaded boy did not want to be the first victim to manifest himself into something remotely feline. Harry picked up his wand and nodded, cleared his throat and said the proper words they all learned to say.
"FeliciusCattus!"
Ron transformed into an orange tabby, shook his fur and hopped off his chair, running directly to Hermione and purring happily. The entire class laughed. Professor McGonagall beamed happily at Harry,
"Well done, Potter. Well done. Now shall we try and change Weasley back to his former self?"
Hermione blushed furiously at the attention Cat Weasley was doing, purring loudly and curling up in her lap. She hesitantly tried to pet the brightly colored tabby and it contently tried to sleep. When Harry tried to wave his wand again to change Ron back, the Professor suggested that they take the cat away from Hermione's lap incase the poor boy happened to wake up suddenly atop his friend. Hermione could not feel any more embarrassed as she took furtive glances around her to see even Draco Malfoy grin and snigger.
Pavrati giggled noisily, "Hermione, I have a camera, can I take a picture of you two?"
Hermione glared at her and rolled her eyes.
Thankfully the rest of the class had seem to forgotten the incident momentarily as several more students participated to change into cats, each into a number of variety of the feline species. They didn't get to do everyone as the class time went rather quickly. The lessons were indeed fun and had everyone laughing and taking notes of who turned into whom and how it affected each person individually. Hermione was relieved that she didn't get her turn and as class was over, she picked up her books and started quickly for the door but not before Harry and Ron both called out to her, Ron had this eager look in his eye and for a moment licked his fingers.
"Hermione, wait. Aren't we going to have lunch together in the great hall?"
"Uh. I have something very important to do. I will join you two as soon as I can and tell you all about it."
Then she took a furtive glance over at Malfoy. Making sure he would follow suit, meeting her to at the library, hoping to find the conclusion or the puzzle to these annoying dreams. He looked up at her and smirked. Hermione was a bit put off by his annoying smirks. In fact she was annoyed by him all the time. Why did she even look at him while Ron was on her lap as a cat? After the dreams she's been having of Malfoy, everything about the git made her painfully aware of his reactions.
At the library, Hermione sat at the back waiting for the blond Slytherin to come in and sure enough, he had the grace to walk in as if he owned the place with his swagger and gait. His oily white blond hair slicked back and that expression in his eye that locked onto hers the moment he stepped in the place. Most of the students were in the great hall eating their lunch and she intended to join Harry and Ron as soon as she could get some kind of information from him. She wasn't going to pussy foot around the subject anymore. There really wasn't any room for being shy about the topic. Wasn't she a Gryffindor? Bold and courageous, no matter what the subject was?
He slid himself at the opposite side of the table, sitting across her and placed his hands together atop desk. He quirked one eyebrow up and sniggered mockingly,
"So. Enjoy class?"
"Oh shut up! I don't want to discuss it, Malfoy, I just want to get this over with."
Hermione fumed inwardly, glaring at him and opened the books in front of her. Then she looked up and saw he had no books and spat out,
"Malfoy! Where are the books you had on dreaming?"
"What about them?"
"I thought we're here to discuss about our situation? Our dreams?"
"Oh. So you're having them too?" his face alight with curiosity, which were immediately replaced with an irritating disgust. "I knew it!"
"I'm just as disgusted with the notion that you invade my dreams as well."
"I have Quidditch practice after lunch so we'll have to do this another time. I just wanted to meet with you to see if we have the same thing going on. You know this ridiculous nightmare we've been having. I've tried to use spells to counter act the dreams but they seem pretty solid. I'm about to go to Professor Snape about what to do."
Hermione snorted, "What would he know? Anyway, I've discussed it with Harry and Ron and they're going to see about it as well."
"Oh, Weasley's not jealous?" he taunted.
"Well, I did try to stop him from hexing you."
She added with a satisfied malice and gave him a smug look. He leaned back, shrugged and said, "You tell me what kind of dreams you're having, Granger and I'll tell you mine."
That brought on a slight hesistance from Hermione as she realized with some strange horror that it was so private and so personal that she hoped he didn't see the creep of blush that stained her cheeks. He arched a blond brow at her, narrowing his eyes, seeing the opportunity to make the mudblood squirm,
"Afraid, Granger?"
"Not at all."