Chapter 3: Owls and O.W.L.s

Harry slowly opened his eyes, fearing the worst. What if he had messed up? What if he had unwittingly turned himself into some sort of mutant creature? What if Snape had played a trick on him? He held his breath as he finally took a first look at himself, and gasped with surprise.

He hadn't transformed at all! He was at once disappointed and relieved; at least he wasn't a blast-ended hippogriff or worse.but before he could think of any more horrid combinations, he was interrupted by a loud huff from Professor McGonagall.

"Honestly, Potter! If I didn't know better I'd think you hadn't been paying attention in my class! I'm sure I explained before that the transformation takes more than just a swig of potion. Let's continue." With a grimace, Harry prepared to try again, wondering if teachers could give assign detentions before school even started.

"To transform into the animal," the professor began, "you'll need to completely focus all of your energy on it, at least for a moment. For some people this is difficult, but for many people it happens very easily. Its called animavisus. Try just to clear your mind, calm down, and then envision the owl again. Once you have the image in your mind, all you need to do is sweep you wand-like this-and complete the final 'swick' motion. Understood?"

"Yeah, lemme just try." Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was no trouble to get a good owl image, and as he focused on the bird, he felt a strange warmness flowing through him. Without hesitation, he moved his wand about as Professor McGonagall had shown him, and as he finished his "swick" he felt it-it was wonderful!

Immediately Harry felt light and full of energy. He eagerly turned to look in his wardrobe mirror, but jumped with surprise as he found himself staring at the back of a sleek, black owl. It took him a split second to realize that he had turned his head completely around, and then he quickly rotated his body to match it. Harry noted with approval that his eyes, though they had grown quite a bit, were still the same clear, deep green. He couldn't resist the urge to begin trying out his wings, stretching and flapping-- much to the dismay of Professor McGonagall.

"Harry! Quiet down, please! I've placed charms on your aunt and uncle, but your cousin might still wake up if you keep flapping around like that. Now stop this tomfoolery and focus!"

Harry tried to give a quick 'Sorry, Professor!' but jumped as a faint 'Hoo!' escaped him. Professor McGonagall lightened up as she saw Harry's huge eyes grow even wider in surprise.

"All you have to do now is transform back. Seeing as you had no trouble turning into an owl, the reverse process --homovisus --should be quite simple," she assured him, "Just envision yourself again, the 'human Harry', and that should do it."

Slightly disappointed about having to change back so quickly, Harry cleared his mind again, and then pictured himself. Again, he felt suddenly filled with warmth, before he found himself back in human form. After a quick check for all the essential arms, legs, and heads, Harry looked up expectantly at his professor.

"Very nice. That didn't take nearly as long as I had planned." she broke off as she looked at a piece of parchment she had just pulled out of her seemingly endless assortment of pockets. Seeming satisfied, she tapped the page with her wand and Harry watched as it disappeared with a little wisp of dust. "That leaves only one thing to be done." Professor McGonagall looked like she was getting up to leave, but without thinking, Harry blurted out something that he had just remembered.

"Professor," he piped up, "What did Professor Dumbledore mean about a new headquarters? For the Order of the Phoenix.?" The professor's face immediately fell as she looked over at him.

"Ah." she began. She seemed to be stalling. "Yes, well, due to certain...circumstances.the Headmaster thought it would be best to move the headquarters to a better protected location."

"But, Sirius' house was protected," Harry puzzled, "What more protection could there be? Where is the new headquarters?"

"Mr. Potter, I'm sure you'll get a chance to ask the Headmaster yourself soon. You'll be escorted to the headquarters as soon as the protections are ready. So, if there is nothing more, I have something more to give you." She pulled out an envelope and handed it to him matter-of-factly. "These are the results of your O.W.L. examinations and your school letter is in there as well. I've got to head off now, but don't worry, Potter, you'll be able to rejoin your friends soon. Good-bye!"

In the blink of an eye, Professor McGonagall became a cat once more. She crouched quickly to her wand, which had fallen when she transformed, and picked it up in her mouth before bounding effortlessly out the window and out of sight.

Harry watched out the window for a moment, before turning back to his room. He glanced around and noticed that everything had gone back to how it had been before. The chairs and table were gone, and the floor where they had been was once again covered in a clutter of Harry's books and clothes. Sighing deeply, Harry fell backwards onto his bed, unsure what to do next.

'How long would he be stuck here at the Dursleys'?' he wondered. McGonagall and Dumbledore had both promised that he'd be seeing his friends soon.as soon as the protections were finished. What were these protections about anyway? With a stab of grief, Harry recalled Sirius talking about all the protections his own father had placed on the Black family home. What more did the Order need? What were they getting ready?

The more Harry thought about it the more it puzzled him. From all of the letters he received this summer, Harry had gotten the impression that Remus Lupin, Tonks, Mad-eye, and other members of the Order of the Phoenix were spending their free hours at the headquarters. Even more convincing were the letters from his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger; the two often send joint letters with obscure references to things going on within the Order. 'They must be there,' Harry told himself, 'But why aren't I?'

A heavy feeling of gloom fell over him. This was too much like last summer, when he'd been cut off from everyone, left only with frustrating hints about the action going on elsewhere. He'd been furious to discover that members of the Order had been following him, watching him, and suspicions that Dumbledore and the rest didn't trust him were seemingly confirmed once school started. The Headmaster continued to avoid him--it wasn't until the end of the year that Harry learned the reason; Dumbledore had suspected, and rightfully so, that Voldemort was using his psychological link with Harry to get to Dumbledore. Suddenly, Harry sat upright as a realization came upon him.

'That's why she wouldn't tell me!' he thought to himself angrily, "They're right, though," he admitted quietly, 'Sirius died because of me, and a few others came pretty close. Nobody should trust me. I can't even keep Him out of my own head!' It made a lot of sense that Dumbledore wouldn't want to share the location of the headquarters. But he'd find out soon enough, and then what? Harry decided that must be what the protection business was all about. Dumbledore must have some way of blocking Voldemort's unwelcome thoughts, and didn't want Harry around until the headquarters was secure.

"Well, its all for nothing!" Harry said venomously to his empty room, "I'm not going." He'd made up his mind. He wasn't going to risk endangering anyone else this time. If his life had to be doomed, at least he'd have peace knowing that his friends were still safe. Harry turned to face his reflection in the mirror; his face was set in a determined look, but as he noticed his hand start to tremble, he looked away. He threw himself against the bed as the loneliness of his decision seemed to rain down on him. Out of anger and frustration, Harry pounded his fists on his unresponsive mattress, but then noticed, with a vague feeling of surprise, that he was holding something. Bringing his hand closer to his face, he recognized the envelope that Professor McGonagall had handed him as she left: his O.W.L. results. Harry quickly crushed the envelope and threw it across the room in a rage. He wouldn't need it anymore. He was never going back.