Chapter 32, Exercising a New Form; Bookstore Brawling
Harry figured he was some sort of horse-thing, because he had four legs and a tail, but was most definitely larger than a dog or cat.
McGonagall lowered her hand and whispered something Harry couldn't catch.
Dumbledore nodded.
"A thestral?" Snape asked. "How could he possibly become a thestral?"
"He's a cross between the darkness of Voldemort's influence and his father's form, a stag. It's incredible." Dumbledore walked up to Harry and raised his hand. "Do you mind?"
Harry shook his head.
Albus softly patted the mane of hair on Harry's neck. "This is curious. I wasn't expecting a creature that could fly."
"Are we to keep this a secret, Albus?" Minerva whispered.
The old man nodded. "We must. Though it is illegal. We shall hide it as best we can."
Harry was trying to figure out how to fly.
"I suppose, Harry, that you would like to go out and stretch your wings?"
Harry nodded his head.
"Can you turn back to human form?"
Harry concentrated and changed back. It wasn't quite as painful this time around.
"So, what's a thestral?"
"A thestral is a type of horse that is only visible to those who have seen death. They pull our school's carriages. Hagrid tamed a pack of them; they're usually quite ferocious creatures. You can look up more about them in the library if you wish."
Harry nodded. "I was thinking I'd be a snake. Because of the Parseltongue and all."
"I believe we were also," Snape said.
Harry frowned. "So I can fly?"
Dumbledore said, "Yes. Now let's bring you onto the grounds."
The four walked to the Great Hall, where Harry changed back even less painfully this time, before walking onto the Hogwarts Grounds.
"Open your wings, Harry."
Harry did, controlling his extra ligaments.
"Jump and fly; it's in your nature, you can do it."
Harry took off from the ground, gracefully, slowly flapping the huge wings attached to his body occasionally. He circled the grounds a couple times, not tiring in the least. The pressure of the wind pushed against him as he flew, adding to the thrill of it all. Then he flew over the lake, gently dragging is feet over the surface. He could see the giant squid under the water, and mermaids swimming below.
He rose again and flew over the Forbidden Forest. Then he landed in front of Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall.
Hagrid came running out of his cabin. "Sir! Professor Dumbledore, sir! There's a thestral on tha loose! I don' know how he coulda gotten loose, sir, I have 'em carefully contained!"
"It's all right, Hagrid. I know there is." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Turn back, child."
Harry did.
Hagrid's eyes bulged. "Animagus, sir? Are ye sure ye should be havin' 'im do that?"
"It's safe, Hagrid, he's fine, and perfectly able."
"If ye say so, Professor, naturally I believe ye, but I really don' think it's safe."
"Harry will be fine; the chances of him making a mistake mid-change are slim to nothing. Carry on, Hagrid, we've business to attend to."
Hagrid nodded, and, with a lingering glance at Harry, walked back to his cabin, disappearing inside.
Harry turned to Dumbledore, smiling. "What now?"
"Now you practice. For the rest of the summer. Until two weeks before term when you go to Diagon Alley with your friends. After that, I believe you will be visiting Ron Weasley at his house, in the Burrow."
"I will?"
"Yes, as well as Hermione Granger and Vanella Incendie. They don't think they plan on inviting Draco Malfoy because the Malfoys and the Weasleys are long-standing enemies."
Harry was shocked. "How do you know all this? I haven't gotten an owl or anything like that."
Dumbledore twinkled. "I've visited the Weasleys recently. Now go practice!"
Harry jumped and ran to the dungeons while Snape was saying something about his potion.
He reached Severus's chambers in record time, collapsing on the couch. "Practice," he said. "I'm going to spend another month practicing." He stayed there for another few moments, then sat down Indian-style on the floor.
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Thirty minutes later Harry was still sitting in a meditation-like state.
Snape walked into his chambers, shoulders sagging. Suddenly he yelled "Holy Merlin!" at the sight and jumped back against the wall.
Harry's eyes snapped open and everything fell. The lounge chairs, the couch, the coffee table, and everything (even the clock) on the mantelpiece fell to the floor with an incredible crash. Even Harry.
"What…were… you doing?" Snape managed between heavy breaths.
Harry shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his rear. "Practicing… ow. Why'd you scare me like that?"
"You scared me! People don't usually walk into their homes to find their children floating in midair with all the furniture."
Harry stood, wincing. "Sorry. I was practicing. Like you all told me to."
"You should have warned me."
"How could I have? You've restricted me from your lab, because of your secret 'research'. And that's where you were, isn't it?"
Snape sighed. "Yes, fine." He pointed. "Upright the furniture so I can sit on it."
Harry did, with a small wave of his hand and a slight wince at the efforts of his day. "Better?"
Severus collapsed on a chair and sighed. "Much."
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By two weeks before term Harry could do almost everything without his wand, and his animagus transformation was no longer painful. Getting up in the morning, however, sometimes was.
"Harry!"
Harry felt himself being smacked over the head with a pillow.
"Harry, get up!"
Another thwack.
"Now!"
Harry moaned. "Alright, alright." He climbed out of the mass of blankets. (It was cold in the dungeons, no matter the season.)
"Get dressed. We're going to Diagon Alley. Minerva just dropped by your school list."
Harry stood and charmed himself clean. "What's on the list?"
Snape handed it to him.
It read:
SECOND YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart
Harry grimaced. "Who's Gilderoy Lockhart, and why do I need all his books?"
Snape sneered. "Gilderoy Lockhart is the egotistical fool that Dumbledore hired for the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry nodded, still looking at the list. "I'll have to pick up money, I don't have enough for eight books of an egotistical fool."
"I figured that, which is why we're going to Gringott's. And all your little friends are going to Diagon Alley today also. Albus figured you could meet them and I could go restock Potions ingredients."
The boy yawned. "All right, let's go."
They walked to the edge of Hogwarts' grounds and Snape apparated while Harry teleported himself (not before offering to fly them there, of course) to Diagon Alley.
Snape left Harry for the apothecary after Gringott's, so Harry went off to the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts. He wasn't the only one. A large crowd was gathered around the doors, pushing and shoving to try and get in. The explanation for this behavior was announced by a large banner in the upper windows.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30 to 4:30 P.M.
Harry slipped inside and looked around, spotting a clan of red hair he guessed was the Weasleys. He weaved his way to them through the crowd and popped in front of Ron and Hermione and Vanella.
"Hey," he said.
"Harry!" Ron yelled, positively squealing. Apparently he hadn't hit puberty. The high-pitched squeal caught the attention of most of the shop, causing everyone to look at him, even Gilderoy Lockhart.
The blonde haired, blue eyed smiling man looked over at Ron, then Harry. He practically gaped. "Harry Potter?" he asked, jumping to his feet. He was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that matched his eyes and a pointy wizard's hat on top of his wavy hair. Surrounding him were pictures of his own face, winking and smiling, showing off impossibly white teeth.
The crowd parted as Lockhart grabbed Harry and pulled him up to where he had been signing autographs. Lockhart shook Harry's hand fiercely and smiled while a short man for the Daily Prophet pranced around with a large black camera, shooting pictures and creating puffs of purple smoke and blinding flashes of light.
"Smile, Harry," Lockhart said, still shaking Harry's hand. "Together you and I can make the front page."
Harry could barely feel his fingers when Lockhart finally let go. Harry tried to sneak away back to the Weasleys, but Lockhart grabbed him and slung an arm around his shoulder. Harry was clamped tightly to the blonde man's side.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he yelled, waving for everyone's attention. "I think this is the perfect opportunity to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!"
The crowd quieted and turned their attention to Lockhart.
"When young Harry here entered this shop today, he expected to just buy my autobiography—which I shall be happy to present to him now, autographed and free of charge—" The crowd applauded. "He didn't know that he would soon be getting more than merely a copy of my book, Magical Me! He would soon be getting the real magical me, as well as his schoolmates. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I take great pleasure and pride in announcing that, this September, I will be taking the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The crowd burst into applause and cheers and Harry wanted nothing more than to make himself invisible from where he was clamped at Lockhart's side. He considered it for a few moments before deciding it would bring too much attention to himself.
He was ripped from his thoughts when he was suddenly presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. With difficulty, he managed to edge his way out of the limelight to where Ron's little sister was standing with her new cauldron. He dumped them into it. "You can have these, I'll buy my own."
She blushed.
Ron and Hermione came over, handing Harry a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2.
Suddenly a sleek voice from behind Harry made him jump.
"Well, this is interesting."
Harry turned to see a bigger, older version of Draco Malfoy standing there, sneering, with Draco at his side, looking apologetic. Harry had been told of Draco's father, Lucius. That he wasn't a nice man.
"Looks like Harry Potter is the center of attention again."
Harry flushed an unappealing pink color.
The Weasleys came up behind him, causing Lucius's lingering gaze to shift. "Oh, it's the Weasley family," he said quietly, seemingly to himself, before saying louder,
"Well, well, well—Arthur Weasley."
"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," Malfoy said. "I do hope their paying you overtime… all those raids…"
He reached into the cauldron and extracted an old and battered secondhand (or maybe third) book, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
He sneered again. "Clearly not," he said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed deeply. "We have different points of view on what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.
"Obviously," said Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who had walked up behind Hermione and were watching interestedly. He 'tsk'ed. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought you could sink no lower—"
A thud sounded when Ginny's cauldron went flying. Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf.
The bookshelf started to tumble, and everyone but the two fighting men jumped backward out of the way.
Harry saw it begin to fall, almost as if in slow motion. He put his hand up and caught it with magic, pushing it back against the wall and steadying while everyone turned to look at him.
Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy, oblivious of the danger they had been in, continued to roll around, hitting each other.
"Stop!" Harry commanded, enforcing his demand with magic.
Both froze, incapable of movement. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip, and Mr. Malfoy's eye seemed to be swelling. Malfoy was still clutching the Transfiguration book.
Harry separated them from where he was standing, feet away. He lifted the spell on them and they began moving again, growling at each other, but not attacking.
"Don't you dare start fighting again," Harry said, danger in his tone. "This isn't the place, and this isn't a good way to uphold the family honour."
Lucius Malfoy took the book and thrust it back at Ginny. "Here, girl—take your book—it's the best your father can give you—" And he stalked off, dragging Draco with him, the boy still apologizing to Harry and Ron and Hermione with the look on his face.
Everyone was gaping at Harry now. Harry looked around and noticed that no one was moving, so he summoned the other books he needed from the shelves, them flying into a stack in front of him, and turned to pay.
The bustle of activity started again as soon as Harry stepped outside to wait for the Grangers and the Weasleys and Vanella.
He didn't have to wait long. Ron came running up, "Bloody hell, Harry, we didn't know you could do that! Without even a wand!"
Harry shrugged. "I've been at the castle surrounded by professors all summer, remember? You'd be surprised at what else I can do." Harry wolf-smiled.
Mrs. Weasley stormed out of the shop seconds later, furious with her husband for fighting in public, and was making it quite clear, but was still surprised with the actions Harry had taken. "What Gilderoy Lockhart must have thought, Harry here saving you from a concussion while you brawl on the floor with another grown man!"
"He was pleased," said Fred, one of the twins. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report, and Harry's swift save—said it was all publicity –"
The Weasleys and the Grangers and Vanella headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, because they were floo-ing home. Harry said his good-byes and set off to find Snape.
Harry carried his books down to the apothecary, where he figured Snape would be.
He walked in to find Severus haggling with the owner over the price of a pair of Dragon's eyes. Harry leaned against the doorframe to wait.
Professor Snape got the lowest price possible and made his way over to Harry, clutching the container of the two Dragon's eyes.
"You don't need anything else, Harry? No quills, no ink, no parchment, no cauldron?"
Harry shook his head. "All I needed were the books this year," he said, indicating to the stack in his hands.
Severus nodded his understanding and they left for Hogwarts, apparating for one, teleporting for the other.
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Author's Note: I'm happy to say that I owe nobody money. ReflectionsOfReality said 'thestral' in the review, but just about every other magical creature I can think of was listed also, so I don't think that counts. Congratulations to everyone who guessed it but didn't review, though.
There were tons of good guesses though! And, sorry to say, even if you all could have found "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", unfortunately the thestral isn't in there. I checked, probably more than once (I can't remember). Had I thought of some of the creatures everyone sent to me, though, I might have chose differently. Difficult to say, now.
Oh well. Read on!