**Author's Notes:

1. I have just discovered the rather abnormal way my fic appeared on screen on fanfiction.net. I have to tell you that I didn't know about this before and I accept that it looks kinda… triple spaced. Unfortunately I do not know how this happened. I think it may have something to do with the length of the chapters, since none of my other fics have this problem. I can assure you that when I type it is only one single space between paragraphs, and if anyone has any ideas about this I would only be too glad to hear them. Otherwise… like it or lump it!

2. IMPORTANT: I have just got a brand new computer and didn't copy my mailing list onto disk before I erased all the information from the old one (sorry!) As a result I will have to start again. If you want to be on the mailing list, please tell me in a review, otherwise you will be receiving no more news about Fifth Year. I'm really sorry about this but stuff happens. Thanks!

3. Title. I have been receiving a few complaints that my title is getting a little inappropriate for the content of the story so far. Do you all agree with this? If so, and you want to tell me, let me know BUT you must give me an idea for a new title. It's only fair.

Phew, now that that's all over, on with the fic! Trelawny, new character and more animal forms for Harry! And that's the way uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it. **

*

Professor Trelawny emerged from behind a silken drape.

"Good day indeed," she went on. "I trust the morning's… activities, were not too strenuous?"

There were various mumbles of "No, miss," and "Yes, they were, can I go back to bed, please?"

Professor Trelawny either did not, or pretended not to hear the latter. She sat in her own armchair, surveying the class with her large, bespectacled eyes.

"This term, we will be reviewing the art of crystal gazing. We shall be trying, instead of letting our inner eye to wander freely, to See something of our own choosing. Please, collect your orb, and search the crystalline depths for a person or place that you wish to observe. This is a different type of divination, as we a surveying the present, not the future."

Harry decided that this was probably a good thing, unless he chose to look for Death Omens. This seemed highly unlikely.

He and Ron got their crystal balls, and set about trying to See something behind the fog.

Harry willed the ball to show him what Sirius was doing now. He hadn't seen his Godfather since the hospital, and he had been too tired and busy lately to contact him.

However, the crystal ball remained as stubborn as ever. It showed nothing except the usual swirling white mist.

After about an hour, Professor Trelawny told the class to tell her about what they had seen. Lavender went first, spouting a story about her parents shopping in Diagon Alley, the people they'd met and what they'd bought.

Parvati begged to go next, and Harry and Ron had to sit through yet another endless list of the music that her boyfriend had been listening to, and all the things he'd been writing about her in his diary.

~ And we thought we'd made up some tall tales, ~ said Ron.

Tell me about it.

When asked what he had seen in the crystal ball, Dean Thomas spluttered and answered, "Oh, er… nothing."

Professor Trelawny frowned and warned him that a man with a beard would be waiting for him around the next corner.

Dean made a face at her as soon as she'd turned her back.

~ Now I wonder why she didn't See that?? ~

That, my friend, is the greatest mystery of them all…

Professor Trelawny spun round when Harry and Ron burst into laughter.

"Harry," she said icily. "Tell us what you saw, when you looked into the orb."

And her globe-like eyes met his. Something slammed into him like a ton of bricks.

~

"I don't know about this," Sirius was saying. "I don't know about this at all."

Sirius Black, despite his less than perfect living quarters at that moment, was looking a little better for wear than he had when he had escaped from Azkaban prison two years previously. 

When Harry had seen him in the hospital, his now chest length mop of black hair had been casually tied back into a pony tail, a sign of two months soft living with his best friend, Remus Lupin.

Somewhere along the lines, however, he had lost the tie, and now his hair hung around his face in not as much waves as piles.

His face had more colour to it, and he looked healthy enough to pass for any normal man in the street.

The only really odd things about him were that he was sitting in a cave in Edinburgh, and he had a Hippogriff by his side.

Sitting across from him in the aforementioned cave was Professor Dumbledore. He was seated quite comfortably on a chair he had conjured up for himself.

The cave was barer than one might have thought. It contained supplies of food and water in dragon skin bags to stop them from spoiling. In one corner was a pile of rags for sleeping on, and this was the only furniture in the place, except for Dumbledore's newly positioned chair.

At the entrance to the cave, which had been specially chosen as it could not be seen easily unless you knew what you were looking for, were piles of rocks, supposedly placed there to keep out the downpour of rain, which was currently soaking the rags in the far corner, oblivious to the rough obstructions.

"How long?" Sirius asked, stroking Buckbeak absentmindedly.

"Until Sunday at the latest," said Professor Dumbledore. "The new strongholds will be opened on Friday. Aurors will be moving in on Monday to take the wards on this one down. You don't want to be here when that happens."

Sirius nodded his agreement, and looked around the cave. "This would be a lot easier if I could do magic," he said.

"I will try to make it more comfortable for you when I leave," the Headmaster promised.

"I've had worse," Sirius reflected. "It's quite a nice little place really. If only I still had my Key…"

"We must dwell not on the 'if only's," said Dumbledore. "I will see you on Sunday, with all hope."

"Yes, Headmaster." And with that, Dumbledore went out of the cave, and disapparated.

~

"Harry?"

He jerked awake to find himself still staring into Professor Trelawny's eyes, which were rather like crystal balls themselves, now he came to think of it."

"Come now, Harry, don't be shy, tell us what you saw."

Harry looked up at Dean, who shrugged. It appeared that he hadn't been out for more than a split second.

"Er… I… I saw Professor Dumbledore."

One of the girls giggled, Professor Trelawny's eyes widened.

"You were looking for Professor Dumbledore? Was there any particular motive for this? Are you worried about him perhaps?"

"Er…no, I just… well…"

"Where was Professor Dumbledore at this time?"

"He was in Scotland."

Harry knew that much, Sirius had told him before that he was in Edinburgh.

Lavender laughed outright at this, and Professor Trelawny smiled. "Don't be silly, Harry.  Why would Dumbledore be in Scotland in term time?"

Harry couldn't answer, so she turned away and listened to Seamus Finnegan relate an obviously made up story about Disneyland. Despite the fact that Trelawny didn't have a clue what he was talking about, she smiled encouragingly at him when he told her about the hundred people who had just died in a crash.

Harry looked at Ron, who met his eyes squarely.

~ Harry, what happened? ~

I dunno… I just looked at her, and then I was watching Sirius and Dumbledore in Edinburgh…

~ Oh, that's where it was. ~

WHAT?

~ I saw it too. ~

You sure?

~ If you heard them talking about strongholds and Aurors and keys. I didn't understand a second word they were saying. ~

I understood that Sirius can leave on Sunday. Do you think he'll come here?

~ It's unlikely. Remember Professor Little. ~

Sirius needs to talk to Alula sometime.

~ Well, I guess so, but - ~

"Ronald Weasley. Perhaps you would like to relate to us your Sights for today."

…

…

An hour later, Harry and Ron came out of Divination. Harry was still trying to figure out the vision; Ron was red in the face from suppressed laughter.

"I can't believe she bought it!" Ron spluttered for the hundredth time, except this time out loud.

"That was brilliant, Ron," said Dean, thumping him on the back. "Better than Seamus' rubbish about the Peter Pan ride."

Seamus punched him. "Well, I didn't see you coming up with anything."

"But, honestly," Dean insisted. "I think those were real tears in his eyes."

"Do it again, Ron, go on!" squeaked Neville.

Ron grinned, then put on a sorrowful expression and wrung his hands. "Oh... Professor Trelawny, it's so awful… my brother Charlie… it's… he's… he was stampeded by a dragon... and he's in a coma…"

Seamus, Dean and Neville burst out laughing. Harry joined in, playing Professor Trelawny.

"My dear Ronald, how awful. Do convey my condolences to your poor parents. Though I must warn you, the future is bleak."

"A most accurate impression, old boy."

They had reached the end of the stairs, and turned the corner. A tall man in his early fifties, perhaps, was standing there, and it was he who had spoken. He also had a long, curly grey beard.

Dean went white, and backed away, mumbling incoherently. Then he fled.

"Oh, I say," said the man. "What's wrong with him?"

"I think your beard scared him," said Neville, who was looking a little nervous himself.

The man laughed. "Another one of Sybil's ostentatious predictions, I presume?"

"Er… yeah," said Seamus. "I'm… I'm going to get some homework done."

He and Neville scuttled off, glancing back over their shoulder every few steps.

The bearded man coughed, but did not move. "Ahem… you must be Harry Potter," he said, holding out his hand for Harry to shake. Harry took it, a little dubiously. "I was told that I could find you here."

"Can I help you with something?" Harry asked. He wasn't all too sure whether he trusted this man.

"Well…" The man glanced at Ron. "I've just been to see a friend of yours who has a certain… canine, er – acquaintance, shall we say…"

Harry froze, and let go of the man's hand quickly. His hand went instinctively to his wand.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that, old boy," said the man with a chuckle. "I've known about that for months, although I had to be practically held down while they explained it to me…"

"What do you want?" Ron asked bluntly.

The man laughed outright at this. "Forgive me… I don't believe I've introduced myself… Mundungus Fletcher, at your service, Auror, Order of Merlin, first class, though I don't like to boast about that…"

 It looks like we've got another Lockhart on our hands, Harry warned.

~ No, ~ said Ron. ~I've heard of this guy. He's a top class Auror, though he's been out of service for years – too old. If he knows about Sirius, he's probably on our side. ~

"Ok," said Harry out loud. "So, was there something you wanted?"

The old man suddenly became serious. He looked Harry full in the eyes. "I see you still don't trust me. Not completely," he added when Harry opened his mouth to protest. "I will take you to someone who will convince you."

He looked up at Ron. "He's coming too," Harry said firmly.

"That makes sense, I suppose," said Mundungus Fletcher, scratching his beard. "Safety in numbers. You'd make a good Auror, young Potter."

For some reason, this seemed to amuse him. He motioned for them to follow him in a direction Harry soon began to recognise. They were going to Remus' room.

He relayed this news to Ron, who said, ~ Good. Maybe then we'll get some answers. ~

Why did he think it was funny when he said that about me being an Auror?

~ Well, you don't look like one, do you? I mean, no offence, but you don't really have the physique. ~

That's not my fault.

~ I know. ~

Mundungus Fletcher had evidently been told the password to Remus rooms, because he bent down to whisper to the wolf-like gargoyle at the entrance.

~ I remember now, ~ said Ron as they stepped inside.

"Mundy! Back so soon?" said Remus, emerging from the bedroom with a large book under one arm. "Ah, Harry, and Ron…"

"It's ok," said Harry quickly. "He knows everything."

Remus' expression grew stern. "Harry, I though we told you – "

"He didn't tell me," said Ron, coming to the rescue. "I found out." This was, at least, partially true after all.

"In two days?" said Mundungus Fletcher in disbelief. For a moment Ron thought that he was going to yell at him, but instead he grinned and said, "Well done, old chap."

Harry laughed silently. Ron heard him and struggled to keep a straight face.

"We're here for some introductions, Remus," said Fletcher, with a pointed look at the other man.

"Ah," said Remus, again. "Harry, Ron, this is Mundungus Fletcher. He's completely on our side, and he knows about Sirius. The only ones other than him who know are Arabella Figg, Barnaby Dunst and Helena Smithers. Some are other friends from when we were at school, others are Aurors, working for Dumbledore."

He didn't say who was which, but his face suddenly twisted into a slightly twisted guilty expression. "He also knows about your Animuchos abilities, Harry."                    

"WHAT?"

"I must say, it's completely fascinating," said Fletcher, lifting one hand to scratch the back of his neck under his hair.

"Mundy is an animagus, Harry," said Remus.

"And after dear old Minerva, the only registered one in Britain," said the Auror. "Remus has called me in to see if I could teach you anymore than you are teaching yourself, seeing as I was in the area, don't you know."

Harry nodded slowly.

"Now, the first thing I want to know is, can you communicate with another animagus while in a form, as other animagi can?"

Harry thought about this, but had to confess that he didn't know the answer. When he explained that this was because he had never tried it before,  Mundungus smiled jauntily.

"Jolly good!" he said. "Gives me a chance to brush off some of the old rust." He made a stance as if he was ready to transform, but then he added, "er, Harry… I'd be grateful if you took a form that wouldn't rip me to shreds in the real world. From what you say of your experience, I don't think you've had enough practise with temptation."

He transformed into a magnificent falcon perched on a chair, with wide, feathered wings and a proud expression. Harry looked at him, trying not to show his longing for the various splatters of bright colours which occurred occasionally among Fletcher's plumage.

Fletcher, he thought suddenly. How ironic.

~If you say so,~ said Ron. ~It'd better be Quill.~

"Quill, then," said Harry out loud.

"What?" said Remus, interestedly.

Harry didn't answer, but transformed into the large black owl. He fluttered up and settled on a different chair to the other bird.

"Quill," Ron explained. "We're naming all of Harry's forms. In the long run, it'll help keep track of them all."

Clever, said a voice inside Harry's head that wasn't Ron's. He looked up at the falcon sitting opposite him.

It makes sense, I suppose, said Harry back. If he had had a mouth, he would have grinned. He was however, a little worried about this.

Harry could hear Ron when he was in his animagus form. Other animagi, like Fletcher, could hear Harry. Did this mean that when Ron spoke to Harry, other animagi would be able to hear him whilst in their forms, and vice versa?

Ron seemed to be thinking the same thing. Harry tried as best as he could to go inside himself, like he did when he transformed.

What he saw put his mind at ease. His mind was now in five parts, one, the largest, his own, the second largest, his and Ron's, another now had bits of Mundungus Fletcher floating around in it, and the fourth, Sirius and Remus. Harry supposed this connection must have been made when they had first spoken 'mind to hand'.

The fifth path in his mind was blocked, because he could access it only in dreams. He knew, but wished he didn't, what was behind that door.

Luckily, all five parts of his mind had very thick barrier's between them. Unless he let them go slack, one should not leak into the other.

It took him such a while and such concentration to work this out that at first he didn't realise that Mundungus Fletcher was talking to him, again.

The experiments continued in this vein for a while. Harry transformed into each of his three animals under everyone's eyes. He had never had so many people watching before and he had to concentrate hard not to mess it up.

After that, Mundungus informed him that he had 'spanking good control, old boy,' and told Remus that Harry didn't really need to know any fine details about the animals he changed into.

This pleased Harry, but not Remus, who watched as Mundungus took Harry through the steps of becoming the magnificent falcon, except of course, that he was completely black.

He was, all the same, a terrific looking bird, and Ron, after a minute's deliberation with Remus, named him Jet-wing.

Other animals followed, once Harry had summoned his animal books from the dormitory, doubtless startling a few people on the way. He'd had to use a Returno Minimus because he wasn't quite sure where he had hidden them. He unintentionally impressed Mundungus Fletcher, who started asking exactly what levels of magic he was on.

"Stick to the task in hand, Mundy," Remus had told him.

So he did. Harry's next animal was not a bird, because, as Ron pointed out, they were going to run out of names for those soon. So he tried something bigger.

Within seconds, a coal-black lion stood proudly in the middle of the room.

"I… think you're making the floor creak," said Ron, and Harry changed back, grinning.

"Night-mane," he said.

"Night-mane?" Ron repeated sceptically.

"Well, it's better than Quill. Trust me, it just feels right."

"What about a dog, Harry?" asked Fletcher. "A big, shaggy one. You could pass for Sirius' twin."

"Are you mad?" said Harry. "What if Wendy walks in? She'll do her nut!"

"You think she would have been altogether pleased if she'd sauntered in to find a bloody great lion in here? Take the risk, old chap."

But Harry refused. That was Sirius' shape, he didn't want to use it. Instead, he retried the mouse he'd managed the first time he'd transformed fully for the first time, before he'd known he was an Animuchos.

Ron named him 'Darkclaw' before Remus asked Harry to change back because he was experiencing urges to kill the black rodent in front of him. Mundy patted him sympathetically on the back before forgetting about it completely and asking Harry excitedly whether he would be able to do fish if he took him down to the lake.

How this guy to be an Auror, I'll never know, said Harry as he answered as calmly as he could.

~Don't underestimate him, ~ said Ron, adamant to the end. ~He's the fiercest fighter in a pinch. ~

I don't recall you ever seeing him, Harry snapped back, before changing into a black frog with a 'pop'.

They called him simply 'Web'. Trying to find different ways of saying 'black' was starting to become tricky.