Settling into the new sensations, Hermione bent her mind inward, observing how her respiration had slowed now that she had reached full height, sporting twenty or so branches, each full of clusters of freshly sprouted needles, distinct in her awareness and full of resin. She felt the sugars slowly flowing downward through her phloem as water moved up her xylem. A light breeze brought her attention to the vibration of her needles and how different it was to hear in this form. Remembering the transmission she received, she moved her consciousness outside herself.
Minerva had just transformed back into her human form, lying on her back in the tall grass, casting with a wand in each hand simultaneous, stupifying spells into the air, when Hermione's patronus had informed her of their plan. As the Lestrange ravens fell with twin thuds to the ground, she resisted the urge to fully change back into her Animagus, abandoning her hostages, to see Hermione shift up close. Instead, she exerted a bit of magical energy to semi-change, affording her cat-like sight and environmental sensitivity while remaining mostly human. It's not something she had done since her time studying under Albus, mainly because it can be very disorienting, but not wanting to miss witnessing the maiden transition into tree-shifting, she risked it.
It was not for naught. Seeing her vibrant lover's face from a distance light up in a genuine smile before her head tipped back and became obscured as a tree trunk was worth the slight dizziness of being bipedal in the process. Magnificent! A Scots Pine, hm? Taking a look with fresh eyes around her, she saw several of the species, all of which, from the size and girth, looked to be at least a hundred years old. She felt more than heard the vibrations of earth being displaced as her lover-turned-tree's roots clawed through the soil.
"Blimey," whispered an awestruck George as he watched the Scots Pine in front of them growing as if in a high-speed film. The ground beneath them shook and dirt began to shift beneath their feet as aerial roots popped from the surface, causing the lot to dance around awkwardly to avoid getting tangled. So distracted by Hermione's transformation into this giant tree, none of them heard or saw an amused Minerva; steadily approaching, carrying a cinched net with beaks and talons protruding. I wish I had my camera. This moment is priceless. Conjuring a vial from her wand, Minerva clutched it between the thumb and forefinger of the hand holding the net as she pulled the fresh memory from her mind with the tip of her wand. Tipping the ghostly tendrils into the glass, she magically sealed the vial and pocketed it with a coy smile. Not wanting to scare the distracted bunch with her highly reflective cat eyes, Minerva reverted back to fully human as she made herself known by waving her hand in their peripheral vision and holding up the net. Ginny was the first to see her and grinned widely at the sight of her former professor, hair all windblown, seemingly unbothered by the detritus on her robes, nonchalantly carrying immobilised ravens. She is more adventurous than she lets on. Pointing at the tree, Ginny mouthed Her-mi-o-ne . Minerva gave a nod and returned her smile. One of such brilliance, Ginny's eyes widened. Sweet Merlin, I can see how Hermione fell in love with this woman.
Now only a few yards away, Minerva took in the details of Hermione's new form. Her outer bark was a reddish orange, thick with grooves near the base, becoming more flakey toward the crown. Her branches had spiral patterns where they sprouted from about halfway up her impressive sixty-ish feet tall height, providing a nice sturdy branch that met the open window. She smiled as she noted that none of the branches or needles touched the wall that was rather close to her. My my, such control even on her first transformation. Her needles were mostly grey-green, with a smattering of yellow-green ones near the tips, and in the breeze sounded like rushing water as they rubbed together. Nodding at the guys as they silently acknowledged her return, she walked right up to the impressive pine, passing the net to Harry, and pressed her palm to the trunk. Letting her fingers fall naturally into the cool fissures, she breathed out a bit of magic and attempted contact. Are you well, gradh?
Hermione, adjusting to her new field of vision now tuned to the electromagnetic spectrum, was awestruck at how incredibly beautiful everything was. She easily picked out her lover as she approached from a distance, the torus shape emanating from Minerva's heart was different from those of her friends, the radius was much larger, with a vesica pisces intersecting, creating an additional plane of energy flow around and through her infrared figure. Her Animagus. Of course they're existing simultaneously. Goddess, she is gorgeous in all spectrums. Once Minerva was about six feet away, Hermione watched as their wavelengths converged, triggering a chemical reaction in her sapwood tissue. As she got closer still, a burst of ultraviolet light particles lit up the area around their energy fields. Our signatures! Willing Minerva to touch her, she felt her respiration increase again and her sugars start to rise as her lover's palm reached for her. On impact, Hermione felt the touch as if it were electricity directly to her pith.
Minerva, feeling a subtle vibration in the bark beneath her hand, ran her fingertips through the deep grooves. Hermione . At hearing her name in her lover's mind voice, Hermione felt a surge of energy ripple from her roots to the tips of her branches.
"Ouch," a whispered cry came from behind Minerva. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, she saw her four young friends with their arms over their heads now dodging pinecones as they rained down on them. Completely forgetting the need to be quiet, Minerva collapsed against the tree and let out a sparkling laugh.
