Chapter 2: An Unexpected Visitor
"Mr. Potter! You look terrible!" Harry whirled around so quickly he nearly fell out the window.
"Professor McGonagall!" he gasped. He was too shocked to do anything but stare as the serious-looking witch drew her wand and began to clear away some of Harry's clutter. She then magicked up a couple of chairs and took a seat.
"Now, Mr. Potter, " she began, "if you could please regain control of your jaw and try to bring your eyes back to their normal size, I believe we have some things to discuss."
Harry quickly shut his gaping mouth ad tried to relax his eyes, but only managed to blink several times. Professor McGonagall seemed mildly amused and motioned for him to sit down on the second chair. She leaned forward a bit and quietly spoke.
"Harry, I haven't got very much time here so we'd better get straight to business."
"Time.? Business.?" Harry asked numbly. He slipped off the desk and settled himself nervously in the empty chair; Professor McGonagall always made him feel like he was in trouble. "What's going on?"
"Well, Potter, I have several matters to discuss with you, but the charm I placed on this house wears off rather soon, so we must use our time wisely." If possible, Harry looked even more confused, so Professor McGonagall hurried to explain.
"You see, Potter, I've placed a concealment charm on your aunt and uncle's home to make any magic done within undetectable. Specifically, we are trying to prevent the Ministry from noticing-the last thing you need is to be in trouble for underage sorcery.So! Let me start at the beginning.
"I've come at Dumbledore's request for several reasons. Firstly, I'm here to check that you are safe and healthy, and as I said before, you look terrible!" She broke off and began conjuring up breakfast, pumpkin juice, and a little table to hold it all. Harry tried to decline, feeling rather uninterested in eggs and toast just now.
"I'm fine, Professor, really," he said, holding up a hand. But the professor was stubborn.
"Mr. Potter, I insist that you eat! You look as if you haven't eaten for days." With that, Harry gave up, admitting to himself that it had been some time since his last meal, unless he counted the couple of chocolate frogs he'd forced down yesterday. Professor McGonagall seemed satisfied as Harry unenthusiastically reached for a piece of toast.
"Good. Now, the second matter is this." She reached into a pocket in the fold of her robes and pulled out a folded up letter, which she passed to Harry. He noticed immediately that the handwriting was Professor Dumbledore's. Still holding a bit of toast up to his mouth, he began to read.
Dear Harry,
I apologize for the lack of warning, but I am sure you will understand under the circumstances.
I've asked Professor McGonagall to visit you for a very important reason. I am quite confident that it would be in your best interest, at this time, to allow Professor McGonagall to assist you in the procedures necessary to become an animagus. The choice is yours. I trust that you will act responsibly, should you choose to accept her help.
In any case, I also want to ensure you that you will soon be able to join your friends for the remainder of the summer. You will be traveling with a member of the Order as soon as our new headquarters have been sufficiently guarded.
Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore
Harry read the letter through two times and then dropped the bit of toast as he looked up from the letter.
"An animagus?" he choked, "Why?"
"A protection measure," she replied grimly, "Surely you can see the benefit. Dumbledore wishes you to be able to conceal yourself if you come across any...trouble." She gave him a meaningful look as she spoke the last word, which reminded him once again of his hopeless situation. Perhaps Professor McGonagall noticed the desperation which had crept into his eyes, but in any case, she hurried one. "This disguise must be kept secret, so unfortunately it will have to be done illegally; the whole thing would be useless if you were to be registered with the Ministry.
"Well? What do you think? Are you ready to begin?" Harry looked up to find her looking at him expectantly.
"Doesn't it take years to do this?" he exclaimed, "Wh-what will I need to do?"
"No, not years. One year at the most for a well trained witch or wizard. In your case, most of the procedure has already been done for you. It has taken a little less than one year for this potion to be brewed." she pulled out a small package from her robes and unwrapped it to reveal a tiny vial of clear liquid. "You'll need to do little more than swallow this, but you must first be certain that you want to go through with it."
Harry looked up from the vial hesitantly. He wanted to ask who had brewed the potion. He strongly suspected it was his potions master, Professor Snape and he was less than thrilled about drinking it. Knowing Snape, it could be anything in there.
"Professor? What animal will I become?" He thought immediately of all the foul things Snape could conceive for him. What if he turned into a bat or a toad? That would certainly amuse Snape, who hated Harry with a passion.
"That is something you must decide," she said solemnly, "I suggest a creature that will not draw attention and won't limit you physically." Harry tried to think of likely choices. His father had been a stag, but that was much too large. Some sort of mouse? Certainly not. Hedwig, his owl, would probably eat him.Hedwig! With some excitement, he looked up at Professor McGonagall.
"An owl!" he said firmly.
"Excellent! You'll fit in just fine as an owl-perhaps not among muggles, but that shouldn't be a problem. Now, give me one of your hairs please."
Harry obeyed as Professor McGonagall looked somewhat uncertainly at his unruly hair. Then, with a complex flicking of her wrist, she transfigured the hair into a small, black feather. She swiftly opened the vial and dropped the feather into the liquid, where it quickly disintegrated. Harry watched curiously as the potion cleared up and became colorless again.
"Now drink the potion and as you do, try to envision the animal form-it usually works best that way. And don't stop midway! All at once, if you please." Nervously, Harry grasped the vial and brought it to his lips. 'Here goes!' he thought, and closing his eyes, he imagined an owl and drained the whole thing in one gulp.
"Mr. Potter! You look terrible!" Harry whirled around so quickly he nearly fell out the window.
"Professor McGonagall!" he gasped. He was too shocked to do anything but stare as the serious-looking witch drew her wand and began to clear away some of Harry's clutter. She then magicked up a couple of chairs and took a seat.
"Now, Mr. Potter, " she began, "if you could please regain control of your jaw and try to bring your eyes back to their normal size, I believe we have some things to discuss."
Harry quickly shut his gaping mouth ad tried to relax his eyes, but only managed to blink several times. Professor McGonagall seemed mildly amused and motioned for him to sit down on the second chair. She leaned forward a bit and quietly spoke.
"Harry, I haven't got very much time here so we'd better get straight to business."
"Time.? Business.?" Harry asked numbly. He slipped off the desk and settled himself nervously in the empty chair; Professor McGonagall always made him feel like he was in trouble. "What's going on?"
"Well, Potter, I have several matters to discuss with you, but the charm I placed on this house wears off rather soon, so we must use our time wisely." If possible, Harry looked even more confused, so Professor McGonagall hurried to explain.
"You see, Potter, I've placed a concealment charm on your aunt and uncle's home to make any magic done within undetectable. Specifically, we are trying to prevent the Ministry from noticing-the last thing you need is to be in trouble for underage sorcery.So! Let me start at the beginning.
"I've come at Dumbledore's request for several reasons. Firstly, I'm here to check that you are safe and healthy, and as I said before, you look terrible!" She broke off and began conjuring up breakfast, pumpkin juice, and a little table to hold it all. Harry tried to decline, feeling rather uninterested in eggs and toast just now.
"I'm fine, Professor, really," he said, holding up a hand. But the professor was stubborn.
"Mr. Potter, I insist that you eat! You look as if you haven't eaten for days." With that, Harry gave up, admitting to himself that it had been some time since his last meal, unless he counted the couple of chocolate frogs he'd forced down yesterday. Professor McGonagall seemed satisfied as Harry unenthusiastically reached for a piece of toast.
"Good. Now, the second matter is this." She reached into a pocket in the fold of her robes and pulled out a folded up letter, which she passed to Harry. He noticed immediately that the handwriting was Professor Dumbledore's. Still holding a bit of toast up to his mouth, he began to read.
Dear Harry,
I apologize for the lack of warning, but I am sure you will understand under the circumstances.
I've asked Professor McGonagall to visit you for a very important reason. I am quite confident that it would be in your best interest, at this time, to allow Professor McGonagall to assist you in the procedures necessary to become an animagus. The choice is yours. I trust that you will act responsibly, should you choose to accept her help.
In any case, I also want to ensure you that you will soon be able to join your friends for the remainder of the summer. You will be traveling with a member of the Order as soon as our new headquarters have been sufficiently guarded.
Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore
Harry read the letter through two times and then dropped the bit of toast as he looked up from the letter.
"An animagus?" he choked, "Why?"
"A protection measure," she replied grimly, "Surely you can see the benefit. Dumbledore wishes you to be able to conceal yourself if you come across any...trouble." She gave him a meaningful look as she spoke the last word, which reminded him once again of his hopeless situation. Perhaps Professor McGonagall noticed the desperation which had crept into his eyes, but in any case, she hurried one. "This disguise must be kept secret, so unfortunately it will have to be done illegally; the whole thing would be useless if you were to be registered with the Ministry.
"Well? What do you think? Are you ready to begin?" Harry looked up to find her looking at him expectantly.
"Doesn't it take years to do this?" he exclaimed, "Wh-what will I need to do?"
"No, not years. One year at the most for a well trained witch or wizard. In your case, most of the procedure has already been done for you. It has taken a little less than one year for this potion to be brewed." she pulled out a small package from her robes and unwrapped it to reveal a tiny vial of clear liquid. "You'll need to do little more than swallow this, but you must first be certain that you want to go through with it."
Harry looked up from the vial hesitantly. He wanted to ask who had brewed the potion. He strongly suspected it was his potions master, Professor Snape and he was less than thrilled about drinking it. Knowing Snape, it could be anything in there.
"Professor? What animal will I become?" He thought immediately of all the foul things Snape could conceive for him. What if he turned into a bat or a toad? That would certainly amuse Snape, who hated Harry with a passion.
"That is something you must decide," she said solemnly, "I suggest a creature that will not draw attention and won't limit you physically." Harry tried to think of likely choices. His father had been a stag, but that was much too large. Some sort of mouse? Certainly not. Hedwig, his owl, would probably eat him.Hedwig! With some excitement, he looked up at Professor McGonagall.
"An owl!" he said firmly.
"Excellent! You'll fit in just fine as an owl-perhaps not among muggles, but that shouldn't be a problem. Now, give me one of your hairs please."
Harry obeyed as Professor McGonagall looked somewhat uncertainly at his unruly hair. Then, with a complex flicking of her wrist, she transfigured the hair into a small, black feather. She swiftly opened the vial and dropped the feather into the liquid, where it quickly disintegrated. Harry watched curiously as the potion cleared up and became colorless again.
"Now drink the potion and as you do, try to envision the animal form-it usually works best that way. And don't stop midway! All at once, if you please." Nervously, Harry grasped the vial and brought it to his lips. 'Here goes!' he thought, and closing his eyes, he imagined an owl and drained the whole thing in one gulp.