THE ANIMORPHMAGUS (Chapter Three)
Lupin wolfed down the large tray of sandwiches Henderly had brought him, while the others watched in silence.
"I don't think I've ever been so hungry!" Hermione smiled.
"I did expect the occurrence to take a lot out of you. But I'm glad you're okay."
Lupin was the same pale colour he always was around a full moon, but this time he had a rosy tinge to his cheeks, and his eyes were sparkling. When he finished, a man came in and took away the tray.
"Shall we go outside, then?" asked Dumbledore.
Everyone walked out through the glass sliding door into the deserted courtyard bar Rita Skeeter, who slammed the glass door behind them and shivered to the side, almost out of sight.
"This may feel a bit weird, but it won't hurt." Reassured Hermione, patting Lupin's arm.
The sky was dark, and the only light came from the wand-tips of Dumbledore, Henderly and Fudge. Lupin walked to the centre of the yard looking up at the sky, and behind him followed Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore. Dumbledore obviously trusted Hermione with his life, but Fudge and Henderly didn't know her that well, and Snape wouldn't trust her anyway, so decided to stay a fair distance back.
Finally, the moon came out from behind the clouds. Lupin saw it and tensed his muscles, as though preparing to turn into a werewolf, but it didn't come. Instead, there was a faint light radiating from him.
"You did it! You really did it! Thank you so much! YOU MADE ME NORMAL!" Lupin raised his fists to the skies and screamed with glee. Hermione turned to Harry, and he was smiling. "Congratulations, Miss Genius, you did it." She smiled back, looking deep into his eyes. They gradually crept towards each other, forgetting everyone else was there. Harry's heart was pumping so loud now he was sure Hermione would be able to hear it. He had one thing on his mind. Kiss her! But just as he leant forward, Snape's voice cut through the air like a set of knives.
"MR. LUPIN!" Snape scowled. "Are you sure this behaviour is appropriate?"
"Come now, Severus, he has something to celebrate." Dumbledore tut-tutted. "And we do to. Now, the world shall be rid of werewolves, people will be able to go back to living normally, and many lives will be saved. I think, we go to the Leaky Cauldron and drink to Hogwart's own Hermione Granger. First shouts on me!" With that, Dumbledore led them through the brick wall out into the street outside.
Harry and Remus Lupin walked side-by-side down the street from the Leaky Cauldron, where they had just emerged with Hermione. Dumbledore, Snape, Hermione, Henderly and Fudge had all disapparated, but Lupin wanted to walk, and Harry wanted to talk to him, so it all worked out well.
"I haven't celebrated like that since I was with James, Sirius and Peter." Lupin winced when he said Sirius and Peter, but for completely different reasons. Peter Pettigrew was a traitor, working for Lord Voldemort, and Sirius had died fighting Bellatrix, one of Voldemort's slaves. Lupin, like Harry, was still missing him.
"I wanted to ask you something, but I'm... not quite...well, I don't know how to ask you."
"Just spit it out, I won't hold anything against you."
"Well, I wanted to know more about my parents."
Just as Harry had predicted, there was an uncomfortable silence.
"Okay." Said Lupin. Suddenly, a ginger tom cat ran out in front of the pair, startling them both. It stopped in front of Harry and hissed. Harry's thoughts were running away from him again. Catch it! Chase it! The cat ran away, and Harry sprinted after it, close on its tail. Faster! You can catch it! He picked up speed, and the cat jumped over a fence. So did Harry. On the other side, he came face-to-face with a vicious looking bulldog. It growled at him. Instead of feeling scared, Harry felt enraged. Attack it! It can't beat you! He literally swelled with rage, and as he did so, the dog whimpered and ran away. Harry laughed.
"You big softy!" he yelled at the dog.
He jumped back over the fence and waked to Lupin. He was standing there, mouth open wide, just staring at Harry.
"Sorry," said Harry. "Are you okay? Don't know what I was thinking, just wanted to chase that darned cat."
Hermione, Harry, Ron and Lupin sat around the fire at Grimmauld Place.
"Incredible. Run that by me again, Remus?" Hermione asked.
"We were walking down the street, Harry and I, and a cat jumped out in front of us. When it ran away, Harry transformed, like an animagus, into a fully white cattle-dog. His glasses fell off and smashed, and he jumped over a five-foot fence, after the cat. I heard barking, whimpering, and then a fully white dog the size of a rottweiler came back over the fence. My first instinct was to grab my wand, but I didn't, and then it transformed back in to Harry, the wizard. Each time he was in animal form, I could recognize him, he was fully white and still had his scar."
"I never knew that," said Harry. "I just remember wanting to chase the cat, so I did, and when I met the other dog I got really defensive and it winced and ran off. When I came back over the fence, I didn't need my glasses anymore, I could see perfectly, and I still can." Harry pulled out his newly-repaired glasses from his pocket.
"Unbelievable." Gasped Ron, who had otherwise been silent.
"There's something you two don't know," Lupin told Ron and Hermione. "Harry's parents weren't normal. James, you already knew, was an animagus. Lily, on the other hand, was a morphmagus. I believe Harry has inherited both these traits, so he can't change his human appearance, but he can change the animal he transforms into."
"I've never read of it anywhere, I'll search more books tonight."
"And I'll ask my Dad!"
"I'll speak to Dumbledore, and see what he knows." The other three suggested. Harry looked a mixture of suspicious and defensive.
"Is there really any reason anyone else has to know?"
"YES!" Ron, Hermione and Lupin all shouted together.
Days passed, and then weeks. Harry hadn't seen Dumbledore since the night with Hermione's cure at the Ministry of Magic. Ron had graduated from Auror training, not with flying colours as he had expected, 'but I still graduated!' he said. Lupin had finished his top-secret assignment for the order, of which Harry was still trying to get the details out of him, and to everyone's relief Snape had been sent on a mission and had not been seen or heard of for a total of three weeks. In fact, the only thing that had gone wrong was that Hedwig had flew off on her own four days earlier, and had not been seen since. This really worried Harry, as she had never been gone for more than two or three days at a time. But all that was answered for the next morning.
Harry woke unusually early, he had been having a strange dream that involved catching and eating many mice, frogs, and even a bat. He dismissed it as just a dream, and went downstairs to make breakfast, but as he went to put on his slippers, lying
beside them was the dead bat, or, half of. The other half seemed to have been eaten. Coincidence? Harry doubted it, but he threw the bat in the bin and convinced himself he was thinking irrationally.
When he got downstairs, he magic'd up a breakfast feast for the whole household, sat down with his own, and was surprised to see Hedwig perched on the table.
"Good to see you again. May I ask where you have been?" Harry asked as he patted her. She hooted and nipped him on the finger, before flying into the corner. She disappeared where the shadows overtook the light, and Harry was even more shocked to see Dobby the House Elf walk out of the corner with Hedwig on his arm.
"I is sorry to disturb you will you are breakfasting, Harry Potter, but I has urgent news to tell you." Dobby spoke in barely a whisper. "Your owl, Hedwig, came to me, she did, and told me all that has happened, mister Harry Potter. I is sorry for prying if I is prying, mister Harry, but I need to tell you what your clever owlsie wants you to know, for I have seen it to, mister Harry."
Harry looked from Hedwig to Dobby. Hedwig told him stuff? Hedwig wants him to know something? "Dobby, do you mean, you can... talk to owls?"
"Of course, mister Harry. Anyone can if they really listen, but no, only house elves listen good enough. We notice things gooder, too, but that doesn't matter."
"What has Hedwig told you?" Harry asked. Hedwig rose off Dobby's arm and flew on to Harry's shoulder, nibbling his ear. He held up a piece of bacon for her.
"Hedwig has told me many things, mister Harry, like how you is a animorphmagus, and a mister Remus is no longer a dangerous werewolf. Clever miss Hermione found a cure, clever she always was. Just like your clever owlsie, Hedwig."
Hedwig? Clever? Harry though, but he didn't say this.
"Dobby has come to warn you, mister Harry, that danger is coming. Mister Wheezy has become an auror, and soon he will get his first job as an auror. You must not let him go, mister Harry! You musn't let him leave, 'cause with the departure of the wheezy comes danger! Danger seen before but long forgotten, danger in many foms, sir Harry! Small as a mouse, but deadly, and wheezy musn't leave!" Dobby gave a frightened look around, and disappeared.