Harry felt himself lying on a comfortable bed, and had a brief thought that perhaps he was still in St. Mungo's, and he had somehow dreamed the last few weeks. He opened his eyes slightly to see a dim blurred ceiling that he knew right away to not be the one at St. Mungo's. He looked over to his side and could make out Ginny's unmistakable form sitting next to him.
"We really have to stop meeting like this, Harry," Ginny said. "I don't know if my nerves can take it."
"Oh no," Harry said as he reached for his glasses. "Don't tell me I've missed another term."
"Not this time, Harry," Dumbledore said as he walked over to Harry's bed with Professor McGonagall at his side, and Madame Pomfrey following behind. "You have only been unconscious for a few hours this time."
"A good thing it was for you too, that Professor McGonagall was with you," Pomfrey said in her usual agitated tone. "You would have been back in St. Mungo's for sure if she hadn't known how to stabilize you long enough to get you here."
"Thanks, Professor McGonagall," Harry said.
"You're welcome," McGonagall responded. "It was my fault anyway. I should have warned you not to attempt to reverse the transformation until you had completed it first. As you now know, doing so is a very dangerous thing."
"Why was it that you tried to reverse it so soon, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "Professor McGonagall says that your transformation seemed to be taking place smoothly."
"Because, after I began to transform," Harry answered, "I realized why it was that I already knew how to do the transformation in the first place. I thought at first that I had read about it over the summer, but then I realized that it wasn't my memory. It was Voldemort's. Voldemort is an animagus. He transforms into a basilisk. He can't kill someone just by looking at them, but the poison in his bite is just as deadly as the real thing. When I started to transform, I felt myself changing into something large, powerful, and serpent like. I think I'm only an animagus because Voldemort is. If my animal is a basilisk, then I don't ever want to try to transform again. I can't help but remember what happened the last time I ran into one."
Harry gripped Ginny's hand, knowing that she remembered as well, and that the memories were not pleasant for her to think about. In that moment, he knew that he would gladly give back anything that he had gotten from Voldemort then to ever become a creature that she had such negative feelings about.
"Quite understandable," Dumbledore said as he looked at Harry over his glasses. "You are of course under no obligation to attempt such a transformation as a requirement for your classes here. And speaking of transformations, Professor McGonagall has told me of some remarkable transfigurations you were able to accomplish before this incident. I must say that I would be very interested to see your transfiguration into a phoenix for myself, when you're feeling up to it."
"Actually," Harry said, "I think I feel better now than I did before all of this happened. How long will I have to stay here in the Hospital Wing?"
"I would like you to stay here overnight," Pomfrey told him, "but you should be able to leave tomorrow morning."
"Great," Harry said. "I have three more classes tomorrow, and I start the day with Professor Bins in History of Magic."
"Well, if you do as well in those classes as you did in the ones today," McGonagall said, "then you should do fine. I would still like for you to come to your normal Transfiguration classes during the week, Mr. Potter, but after what I saw today, I don't believe any more weekend classes will be in order."
"Which reminds me," Dumbledore said, "I have informed Professor Snape that his request for your Potions test to take place on Monday will not be possible due to the fact that a panel of teachers is required to oversee the administration of the test. Since all of the teachers will be teaching their own classes on Monday, I have designated the Saturday one-week from today as the test day. You will have to miss your Saturday tutoring, but from what I have heard, Hagrid is the only one still requiring you to come to class, and he has agreed to suspend class so the test could take place."
"Great," Harry said with a smile.
"There is still time for you to back out of the test, Harry," Dumbledore said. "The other option is still open to you."
"I don't plan on backing out," Harry said. "I hadn't realized that there would be a panel of teachers observing the test. I would say that works in my favor, all things considered."
"Do not underestimate the difficulty of the test Professor Snape is preparing for you, Harry," Dumbledore warned. "We both know the motivations he has behind him as he designs the tasks for you. I suspect that not one of us who will be sitting on the panel would be able to accomplish all of the tasks he will set before you."
"I spent the entire summer working very hard on my study of potions," Harry said. "If Professor Snape designs a fair test that I can't pass, I'll be the first one to congratulate him."
"I guess that would depend on your definition of fair," Dumbledore said as he raised a brow.
The next morning, Harry awoke at sunrise, and was unable to get back to sleep. He sat up and put his glasses on as Madame Pomfrey spotted him and began to walk in his direction.
"How are you feeling this morning, Mr. Potter?" Pomfrey asked.
"Great," Harry said. "Surprisingly so as a matter of fact."
"How so?" Pomfrey asked.
"Well, "Harry began, "I've either had a bit of pain or numbness in my legs and back since I came back from St. Mungo's, but I don't feel anything like that now. Did you give me some potion that would mask a sensation like that?"
"No," Pomfrey said, thinking about something. "Nothing I gave you should have had any effect like that. I wonder…"
"What?" Harry asked.
"Well," Pomfrey responded, "I've been in communication, of course, with Healer Snagprat at St. Mungo's since you came back. He wanted to make sure I was familiar with everything that had happened to you at St. Mungo's, just in case you should have any related problems come up. I was just thinking about what he said about the piece of your wand that they suspect transfigured your appendix into a phoenix organ. Perhaps your lack of pain and numbness is related to the fact that you transfigured yourself into a phoenix yesterday afternoon."
"I hadn't really thought of that, but you might be right," Harry said. "You had better send an owl to Healer Snagprat to let him know. I'll wager it'll make a good final chapter for the book he seems to be writing on my stay there."
"Careful, Mr. Potter," Pomfrey warned with a rare smile, "you may be sucked into a career in the medical profession. They'll have you over at St. Mungo's working day and night transfiguring people into phoenix birds to heal them."
Hermione, Ginny, and Ron stepped thought the portrait opening intending to set out for the hospital wing. They were going to see if Madame Pomfrey would release Harry in time for him to go down to Breakfast with them. They had only taken a few steps when they heard Harry's voice calling to them from below them. Surprised, they all looked down to see that Harry was two flights down, but getting nearer quickly as he took the steps two at a time.
"I was just coming up to see if you all were ready for breakfast yet," Harry said as he regained his breath. "I'm starved."
"Harry…" Hermione began. "What… how…"
"What are you doing out of the hospital wing?" Ginny asked.
"Is there some reason why I should still be there?" Harry asked in return.
"You know what I mean," Ginny said. "We were just on our way to see if you could be released in time for breakfast."
"Madame Pomfrey released me a couple of hours ago," Harry said. "I've just been walking the grounds for a while. I visited with Hagrid for a while and helped him gather some firewood, but I figured you lot would be waking up so I was on my way back to the common room."
"How in the world did you manage to run up the stairs like that?" Ron asked. "I thought you were still recovering."
"I got better," Harry flippantly answered.
"Obviously," Ron said. "But how?"
"Does this have anything to do with your transfiguration into a phoenix yesterday?" Hermione asked.
"They don't say you're the brightest witch of our age for nothing," Harry said with a smile. "Madame Pomfrey thinks it's the most likely explanation."
"Brilliant," Ron said.
"I just wish I had realized it sooner," Harry said. "I would have transfigured myself into a phoenix ages ago if I had known it would have an effect like that."
"Speaking of that," Hermione began, "Ginny told us all about those three transfigurations you did yesterday. You realize that we haven't attempted even one of those transfigurations in class yet."
"I didn't until I had done all three of them," Harry said. "I thought she was having me go over things I missed."
"Instead she gave you the most difficult transfigurations possible," Hermione said, "and you breezed right through them like you've been doing them all your life. I'm surprised McGonagall still wants you to come to class."
"To tell you the truth," Harry said as if he were divulging a secret, "I think she just wants to keep an eye on me, and keep me out of trouble."
"If she wants to keep you out of trouble," Ginny began, "maybe she should try to talk Snape into taking it easy on you this Saturday."
"Oh, honestly," Harry said with a smile. "I think you lot are more worried about it than I am."
"Well, someone has to be," Hermione said.