Chapter 9
Thank fuck Harry had remembered to use an alarm spell so he woke up before sunrise. As part of the Animagus transformation Harry had to recite a specific chant every day at sunrise and sundown until a lightning storm came along and he could down the potion which he'd made with the mandrake leaf he'd kept in his mouth for an entire lunar cycle, from full moon to full moon. The day before he'd almost forgotten, since sundown happened just after 8 while they were finishing up their welcoming feast in the Great Hall. Harry had been able to excuse himself to use the bathroom just in time.
Missing just one of these chants meant you'd have to start the whole process over again, which would take at least another 6 weeks and Harry had no intention of doing that. He was eager to fly again with his own wings.
Once Harry recited the chant in the bathroom of their dormitories, wand pointed at his heart as he did so, he decided he might as well get dressed since it was half past six already and everyone would be up soon enough anyway. And this way Harry might be able to avoid running into anymore surprise breasts. Sharing sleeping quarters with a bunch of fifteen-year-old girls was just all sorts of uncomfortable when you were in fact a twenty-six year old man, at least in mind, Harry now realized. So he made a promise to himself to avoid getting dressed and undressed at the same time as his roommates from that moment on.
Another thing that was new was the Hogwarts uniform. In his previous life, Harry had always worn trousers and a button-down shirt under his robes. Now his uniform consisted of a shirt, a knee-length skirt, and tights. Harry was fine with the shirt and skirt, but the tights were by far the most problematic piece of clothing Harry ever had to put on in his entire life. They made bras look easy.
Finally, finally, Harry managed to worm himself into the tights, which were very aptly named, as it turned out. Harry kept pulling on his crotch area because the tights were, well, very tight. In the end the decided to just leave the tights alone and endure while he slipped on his button-down robes.
Myrtle opened her curtains just as Harry put on his shoes. "I'll wait in the common room for you," Harry quickly said, because their other roommates were stirring as well.
What Harry had missed during the previous evening was that the walls of the common room, two stories high, were covered in bookshelves filled with all sorts of books. Harry knew from Harriet's memories that all of these were donated by previous Ravenclaw students, usually at the end of their Hogwarts career. There was a small section of fiction, but the majority of the books were on academic subjects, everything from the Hogwarts classes like charms and transfiguration to obscure texts about alchemy and curse-breaking.
Harry browsed the charms section, looking for any books on cartography. The previous night, as Harry lay awake in his bed for a while, he'd considered a few of the tasks he wanted to accomplish during the first semester back at Hogwarts. One of those was dealing with the man-eating spider Hagrid had just smuggled into the castle. Harry had no problems killing an arachnid that would grow up to populate the Forbidden Forest with its man-eating offspring and thereby disturbing the entire ecosystem. The problem was, Harry had no idea where Hagrid was keeping the acromantula. And Harry didn't want to waste his time following Hagrid around the castle day and night.
As he was contemplating this, Harry desperately missed the Marauder's Map. It only took him a moment before he realized he could create a Marauder's Map of his own. He knew from many conversations with Sirius and Lupin while they were all staying in Grimmauld Place during Harry's first life, that they'd created the Marauder's Map using a combination of charms and ancient runes while they used Hogwarts' wards to determine where everyone was at all times. Harry was sure that he could figure out how to recreate the map with the help of a little research.
And it wasn't as if he didn't have enough time to do that sort of research. One thing Harry was dreading was having to sit through all those fucking classes again while learning shit he already knew. Hopefully researching things like creating a pensieve and a Marauder's Map would keep his mind sufficiently occupied so Harry wouldn't keel over dead out of sheer boredom anytime soon.
Myrtle joined him just as Harry found a book on magical cartography. He tucked it into his bag quickly while he smiled at Myrtle. "Olive and her stooges give you any problems?"
Myrtle beamed at him. "No! They did give me lots of disgusted looks, but they didn't do or say a thing."
"Well, will wonders never seize," Harry said with an equally bright smile. "Let me know if they forget their lesson and give you trouble. I'd be happy to re-educate them."
"Can you teach me?" Myrtle asked eagerly as they stepped into the hallway, almost tripping over a couple of eager first-years who seemed worried they wouldn't get breakfast if they didn't get to the Great Hall before anyone else.
"Teach you what?" Harry asked with a frown. Holy fuck, those tights were absolute torture devices, the way they chafed his groin as they walked down the many flights of stairs.
"Teach me how to cast that curse you used on Olive last night," Myrtle said, now looking a little worried Harry might deny her.
"Ah." Harry kept frowning, but for different reasons now. There was an opportunity there, Harry realized. Once upon a time he'd started his own defence group because Umbridge refused to teach them anything. Now he could perhaps start a private defence group aimed specifically at muggleborns and perhaps a few half-bloods. Muggleborns were very much second-class citizens, much more so than in Harry's original time. They could use all the help defending themselves they could get.
"Yes," Harry finally said, giving Myrtle a quick grin. "I'll teach you. Maybe we can get together with Annabel and Lukas as well and practice together."
Myrtle pushed her glasses up her nose and gave Harry a look as though such a thing as socializing with other students had never occurred to her before.
Merlin, Olive and her stooges really had done a number on both Myrtle and Harriet over the years, hadn't they? Well, no more. Harry was going to teach Myrtle everything she needed to know to defend herself, from bullies and monsters like Mulciber if she ever needed it.
Breakfast was a loud and chaotic affair. Rosemary Driscoll, a witch in her forties with curly blond hair she kept pinned up, was their Head of House and also the professor of Arithmancy. She handed out timetables and distracted Harry long enough that he missed Riddle's entrance. After Harry was done examining their new schedule, he folded the paper and looked up and met Riddle's gaze across the tables. Riddle had positioned himself in a way that he had a perfect view of Harry and when he noticed Harry looking at him, he offered a smile bordering on a smirk and a cheeky wink.
Harry blinked while his cheeks heated up, something he couldn't stop from happening. To counteract the fact that fucking Tom Riddle had made him blush, Harry glared in response and took a very aggressive sip of his cup of tea, never breaking eye contact with that enormous twat.
This seemed to amuse Riddle to no end and his smile definitely turned into a smirk while his dark eyes seemed to shine with undiluted joy.
"Did Riddle just wink at you?" Myrtle whispered in astonishment.
"Don't be absurd," Harry all but snapped. "He probably still got sand stuck in his eye from his travels. There's lots of sand in Africa, or so I've heard."
Myrtle gave Harry a look that made it clear she sincerely doubted his sanity, but Harry ignored her and went back to taking very combative sips of tea. Riddle spooned scrambled eggs onto his plate, still smiling like he was magic's gift to mankind, the arrogant sod.
Myrtle wasn't the only person who'd noticed the exchange between Riddle and Harry, since it seemed that half the school had made it a hobby of sorts to closely observe every single fucking thing Tom Riddle ever did. And all those people certainly noticed Riddle smiling and winking at some nobody mudblood Ravenclaw for no reason at all.
Harry poured himself another cup of tea with a sigh, because now half the Great Hall was looking between him and Riddle in confusion and obvious jealousy.
When Harry had started this new Hogwarts adventure he'd genuinely looked forwards to being just another student who no one paid any attention to. And here Tom fucking Riddle had ruined that in just about three seconds, that gigantic pisser.
Harry had never been very socially literate in his previous life, but even he had picked up on the sheer amount of drama that went on amongst the teenagers once they were all old enough to notice each other in ways that went beyond friendship. When Ron had dated Lavender, even Harry found the whole thing embarrassing more times than not, and he'd certainly felt bad for Hermione. And yet he'd also been able to see the hilarity in Wonwon snogging Lavlav all day long and he, too, had become caught up in their latest relationship drama.
Not to mention his own irrational thoughts in sixth year when he'd first developed a crush on Ginny while she'd still been dating Dean.
And then they'd all grown up and their fascination and addiction to knowing who was snogging who had waned considerably. After his relationship with Ginny had been on the outs for the umpteenth time and seemed to stay on the outs for good, Harry hadn't been all that upset that Ginny had started seeing Dean again. He loved her, but he'd accepted that they just didn't work, and he was happy for her that she'd found a kind and decent bloke like Dean again.
And when Harry had started a friends with benefits relationship with Lavender, Hermione had rolled her eyes very long and very hard and then asked him, with an enormous smirk, if Lavlav had given him any necklaces yet. They'd both had a good laugh about that one. Ron hadn't minded either when Harry told him. During a private moment between just the two of them, Ron had asked him how Lavender was in bed, and when Harry told him she gave the best blowjob ever, Ron did seem to regret he'd never done more than snogging with Lavender when they'd dated.
And that was that, because they were all adults and understood that there was much, much more to life than keeping up with who was snogging who.
Except now Harry was fifteen again, after a fashion, and he was stuck at school, surrounded by nothing but teenagers who all lived and breathed relationship drama, real or imagined.
Harry drank more tea until it was time to go back to Ravenclaw tower to get their books for the day. He very firmly ignored all the whispers and pointed stares around him, and he was secretly grateful that living as Harry Potter had more than prepared him to deal with all this unwanted attention. Most reactions seemed to consist of confusion and shock that Tom Riddle would bestow such direct attention upon little mudblood Harriet Hubble.
Keeping his head up high, Harry marched out of the Great Hall, Myrtle hurrying to catch up with him. Just outside the doors, Riddle stood with his Slytherin cronies gathered around him. Harry studiously ignored him as not to give all the bystanders anymore fuel for their gossip. Their tongues were loose enough as it was.
Mulciber took a step closer to Harry while giving him a leer. "I'll come looking for you again soon, mudblood."
Harry stared straight ahead, whipped out his wand, released a burst of magic that sent Mulciber flying into the wall behind him, and tucked his wand away again, all without breaking his stride. Mulciber smashed into the wall with a surprisingly loud smack, not hard enough to knock him out, but certainly hard enough to make him see stars for a good long while.
As Harry climbed the stairs, he heard Riddle burst out in laughter behind him and somehow that sound made Harry grin like a loon.
Harry was no fool. He knew that publicly embarrassing Mulciber like that would have consequences. In fact, he was counting on it. He had plans for Mulciber, and he needed Mulciber to come to him during a quiet moment to get those plans started.
"Wow," Myrtle breathed as she was barely able to keep up with Harry on their way to their dormitories. "How did you do that? You didn't even say a spell out loud."
"I didn't even use a spell. I just released some magic," Harry said, falling into teaching mode without even realizing it. "Sometimes you find yourself in trouble so quickly, you don't have time to say or even think of an appropriate spell. Being able to use raw magic keeps you safe in such situations." Harry glanced at Myrtle over his shoulder and gave her an agreeable smile. "And yes, I'll teach you that as well."
Myrtle looked very happy at that news, before her face fell and she seemed suddenly filled with worry. "I don't know if it was such a good idea to attack those Slytherins like that, though. They're bad enough as it is already."
Harry stopped walking as they reached the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower and he narrowed his eyes at Myrtle. "Riddle aside, those Slytherins are all pieces of scum. But Mulciber… Mulciber is a monster. Stay away from him."
Myrtle nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I've heard some very disturbing rumours about him."
Swallowing, Harry gave Myrtle a measured look. "Those aren't rumours, those are facts. Just watch your back, Myrtle."
Myrtle paled a little while Harry glared at the enchanted doorknocker.
"What month of the year has 28 days?" the doorknocker asked.
"February," Harry replied with an irritated sigh. He much, much preferred the Fat Lady's portrait opening for a simple password than having to answer riddles all the fucking time.
"Wrong," the doorknocker said.
"What the fuck?" Harry snapped before he could help himself.
"All of them," Myrtle said with a nervous giggle, and that fucking doorknocker just nodded amicably before the door opened right up.
"That bloody thing," Harry muttered as he followed Myrtle this time to get their books. It was going to be a real bother trying to get into the tower for the next three years, Harry could just tell.
Their first class was double Transfiguration, and Harry was slightly surprised to see Dumbledore standing behind the desk in the classroom. Of course, Dumbledore had been the Transfigurations professor for decades before he'd become headmaster. Harry knew this, but he'd completely forgotten it somehow. Life had been rather hectic ever since he'd been reborn, so Harry blamed his poor memory on all the stress he'd been under recently.
"Welcome back," Dumbledore said with a wide smile as he gestured them all into the classroom. They shared the class with the Hufflepuffs. Harry and Myrtle settled down at a desk in the middle of the room. While he kept his head down as he got his book and parchment out, Harry observed Dumbledore from the corner of his eyes. Aside from his auburn hair and youthful face, Dumbledore did look very much like the man Harry had known. Thankfully, Harriet Hubble had been a quiet girl in all her classes, and she'd never drawn Dumbledore's attention in any way, shape or form. Harriet was good student, but she wasn't exceptional and Harry meant to keep it that way.
Dumbledore had them go over some of the magic they'd learned the previous year, to make sure they all remembered what they'd learned so far. Harry had no problems with any of this magic, and neither had most other students. After that, Dumbledore spent some time lecturing on vanishment, which he reminded them was something that came up in the OWLs.
Lunch was another loud affair, and Harry wondered if perhaps he simply wasn't used to the level of noise a hall full of teenagers made anymore. Mulciber kept glaring at Harry, his eyes almost fever-bright with the intent to see Harriet Hubble brought down in every painful way possible. Riddle, surprisingly, kept glaring at Mulciber in return. Harry simply ignored the whole lot of them, Riddle included. He was still miffed that Riddle's actions had made Harry the centre of everyone's attention that day.
Harry would have kept ignoring Riddle, if it wasn't for the fact that their next class was double Ancient Runes and electives were shared between all four houses. And Myrtle apparently always sat with Annabel Webster, the Gryffindor muggleborn Harry had met on the train. That left Harry sitting at a desk alone, but not for long because Riddle quickly slid into a seat beside him.
Grimacing, Harry shifted in his seat a few times while he glanced at Riddle.
"Are you all right?" Riddle asked with a worried frown as students trickled inside the classroom and found their seats.
Harry grimaced again and then just sighed. "Riddle…"
"Tom," Riddle said quickly with a pointed look. "We've been corresponding for more than a month. I'd appreciate it if you called me by my first name."
"Fine," Harry said after some thought. He didn't care what he called his former prophesized enemy. "Tom. Have you ever worn tights?"
Tom blinked large, brown eyes at Harry. "I can't say that I have, no."
Harry bit his lip as he shifted on his seat again. "Well, let me tell you, they're horrible contraptions designed to torture women, I'm sure of it."
"Ah." Tom looked like he was trying not to laugh. "So your tights are too… tight?"
"Surprisingly, yes," Harry said, unable to hold back his own grin. "They chafe. I hate them."
Tom briefly pressed the back of his hand against his mouth, as though trying to hide his grin. "I'm surprised dear Mrs Ashford hasn't offered you a magical solution to your problem yet."
Harry's mouth dropped open as he stared at Tom in absolute amazement. Of course! Mrs Ashford would almost certainly have a spell that would deal with chafing tights. Harry couldn't be the only person who hated the fucking things. At once, Harry snatched up his bookbag and rummaged through it, hoping against hope he'd put Mrs Ashford's compendium in there.
"I'm truly surprised you're not lugging your magical bible around with you all day. Disappointed, even," Tom said, trying very hard to maintain a serious expression and failing miserably.
Harry dropped his bag to the ground and gave Tom a mock-glare. "It's a very big and heavy book, so I keep it in my trunk. But thank you for reminding me that Mrs Ashford is, without question, the second coming of Merlin, and that she'll be able to help me with my chafing issues before the day is done.
"You're very welcome," Tom said with a bit of a smirk, but then their professor walked inside the classroom and he couldn't say anything more.
Milton Yates dropped a pile of books and scrolls onto his desk while he looked around the classroom. He was a fairly young man, couldn't be out of Hogwarts for more than a decade, and he reminded Harry of Remus Lupin in some ways. He seemed to be a man who enjoyed academics to the point of minor personal neglect. His brown hair was not quite completely styled, his tie wasn't knotted tightly enough, and his glasses were always smudged just enough that it was noticeable.
He was quite an attractive man, if you were into distracted nerds who spent most of their attention on their profession instead of on you.
"This year we're going to go through everything you need to know for your OWLs," Yates said as he rummaged through the scrolls on his desk. "But you are also going to create a private project with a partner."
Beside Harry, Tom visibly perked up before giving Harry an almost triumphant grin.
Sighing, Harry shook his head. It seemed he had a partner. But then Harry realized that perhaps he could rope Tom into helping him create a Marauder's Map. It used runes, along with a few other things.
Yates lectured on a few subjects Harry already knew because he had a fucking NEWT in Ancient Runes, so while listening with half an ear, Harry paged through his runes textbook in search of rune sequences they might be able to use for the map. Finally, halfway through the second hour, Yates let them pick partners and discuss ideas for their projects.
"I have an idea," Harry said while he got his wand out. He quickly cast a few wordless privacy charms because he didn't want anyone to overhear them.
Tom watched this quietly, eyes keen as he observed Harry casting magic without uttering a sound. Harry kept forgetting that at Hogwarts the students didn't start learning non-verbal magic until sixth year. "What's the idea?" Tom finally asked.
"A map of Hogwarts," Harry said, unable to hold back an excited smile as he leaned closer to Tom. "That shows everyone's positions in real time."
Tom's eyes widened for a moment before he narrowed them in obvious thought. Harry could practically see his mind analysing the feasibility of such an idea. "You'd have to tap into Hogwarts' wards," Tom finally said, and he sounded quite intrigued, so Harry counted that as a win.
"Sure," Harry easily agreed. "I think it could be made with a combination of charms and runes."
"Possibly, yes," Tom agreed slowly and then he gave Harry a calculating look. "The real question is, would you want such a map to be a public class project?"
Harry blinked and sat back as the meaning of Tom's words registered in his mind. If they created the map as an official class project everyone would know it existed, including the staff. "Ah, crap," Harry muttered with a heavy frown. "You're right. I want to make that map, but I don't want people to know about it."
"Yes, your array of privacy charms you just cast certainly suggest that," Tom drawled before giving Harry a lopsided grin. Ugh, the more Harry looked at the man, the more handsome he became. What strange witchcraft was that?
"Okay, fine, no map for the project," Harry sighed in defeat. "How about we make a pensieve?"
Tom waved Harry's suggestions away with his hand as he shook his head. "There are plenty of books that detail how to create a pensieve. The challenge is to create something new."
Shrugging, Harry sat back in his chair, tights pinching horribly. It was worth a shot, trying to get Tom to help him build a pensieve. "All right, what do you suggest then?"
Tom's eyes gleamed with ambition bordering on madness. "A magical portal."
"Er…" Harry blinked and stared at Tom in confusion. "Could you elaborate?"
Leaning closer, Tom lowered his voice which did some unexpected things to Harry's nether regions, tights be damned. "When the impundulu got loose at the Cairo portkey station, Newt had a hard time catching her because she was panicked and flew too quickly and erratically. Before Newt could set up his rune trap that would funnel her into his suitcase, she was already gone. I want to create a portal that would lead from one spot to another instantly."
"Keep talking," Harry said, genuinely intrigued by that idea.
Tom's smile was absolutely radiant. "We use the same theory as with rune traps, except it opens a portal between different locations."
"Huh." Harry was impressed just by the idea. "If we can pull that off…"
"I know," Tom said, his whole face radiating smugness. "We'd change the wizarding world."
"Well," Harry said with a dubious look. "I wouldn't go quite that far, but we'd certainly put portkeys out of business."
Tom threw his head back and laughed, which made Harry chuckle as well.
If anyone could pull off creating a magical portal, it was probably Tom Riddle. Harry realized that Tom Riddle might very well be able to change the wizarding world as long as he didn't accidentally turn himself insane along the way and become a murderous madman. Tom was a certified genius. Even Dumbledore, who was no slouch in the intelligence department himself, had called Tom Riddle perhaps the most brilliant student to ever walk Hogwarts' halls.
Tom Riddle had the makings of a wizard who could actually change the wizarding world, and Harry would get to watch it all happen.
Suddenly, spending three years at Hogwarts didn't seem like such a boring endeavour anymore now that Harry could spend some of that time simply watch Tom create things with magic that no one else had before.
"All right, let's make a portal," Harry agreed, his chest warming with enthusiasm and genuine fondness for the young man in front of him, who'd already improved himself so much over such a short period of time.
They spent the rest of the class talking about their idea, with Tom sketching out the rune traps so Harry understood how they worked. And thanks to his Ancient Runes NEWT, Harry had no problems keeping up with Tom's explanations and suggestions.
Once the bell signalled the end of class, Harry was genuinely disappointed that his time with Tom already came to an end for the day. "We've got an hour of history next," Harry said with regret clear in his voice.
"You have my sympathies," Tom said with a chuckle as they gathered their books. "Perhaps later we can meet up in the library?"
"Sure," Harry said, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He was about to follow Tom out of the classroom when he remembered something rather important. He quickly grabbed Tom's wrist and all but dragged him out of the classroom so they'd have some privacy away from the other students. Tom came willingly, seemingly amused by Harry's sudden kidnap attempt. "I found another Gaunt descendant!" Harry said in an urgent whisper once they were far enough away from the others.
Tom's eyes widened and he seemed genuinely shocked by that news. "Really? There's more of that side of the family?"
"Yep." Harry was very happy to see that Tom seemed shocked but also carefully excited about that news. "I can introduce you in the library later, if you want."
Tom glanced down at his shoes while he gave a slow nod. "Yes. Thank you." He glanced up at Harry, suddenly looking like a shy little boy. "I don't think I've told you this enough, but thank you. You've changed my life."
If there was one thing Harry had never mastered, it was the art of receiving compliments and gratitude. So he shrugged and ducked his head and mumbled, "Sure, you're welcome. See you later!" And then he fled the scene, so to speak. Myrtle was waiting for him at the end of the hallway, eyes wide as though Harry merely spending a class in Tom's presence somehow gave him divine status or something ridiculous like that.
"I told Tom we'd meet up in the library later," Harry said to a dumbfounded Myrtle. "He's eager to meet his long lost Gaunt cousin.
"Oh my god," Myrtle muttered, face pale in obvious shock. "Oh my god, I'm not ready."
"Yes, you are. Tom doesn't bite." Harry briefly squeezed his eyes shut when he remembered that in a different life, Tom had actually killed Myrtle. That was before. That was in the past. That was never, ever going to happen now, Harry would make sure of it.
For the whole duration of history, already taught by a ghostly Binns, Myrtle seemed to be in a slight panic. Harry had to hold onto her elbow and gently guide her to the library where they found Tom already waiting at an empty table. Black, Nott and Malfoy were seated a few tables away, doing their homework. Lestrange and Mulciber were nowhere to be seen, thank fuck.
Tom smiled up at Harry and then gave Myrtle a curious look.
"Tom, may I introduce your long, lost cousin Myrtle Warren," Harry said, unable to stand still out of sheer excitement. "Myrtle, this is Tom Riddle, whose mother is a Gaunt."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tom said politely.
"Erp," Myrtle chirped, cheeks flaming red. "Likewise."
"Show him your family tree," Harry suggested as they all sat down.
Myrtle was staring at Tom as though she'd just met her favourite celebrity and was terrified of making a fool of herself if she opened her mouth again. "Yeah, all right." Myrtle pulled the parchment out of her bag and opened it up on the table.
"Gwion Gaunt," Tom muttered as he examined the family tree. He glanced up and gave Harry a questioning look.
"Don't look at me," Harry said with a chuckle. "I've never heard of him."
Tom nodded and went back to staring at the parchment. "It is a few generations back, so I doubt anyone alive today would personally know him."
Just then, Annabel and Lukas, the muggleborn Gryffindors, came shuffling up to the table, giving Tom disbelieving looks while trying to get Harry's attention.
"Hi!" Harry said brightly, just as Tom disappeared into the stacks to find genealogy books.
"You said you had more of that potion," Annabel said, gesturing at two students behind them. "These are Ben Bishop and Arnold Wells from Hufflepuff."
"Sure, I've got some left," Harry said agreeably, happy enough to help more muggleborns find their squib ancestors.
So while Tom and Myrtle started looking for Gwion Gaunt in a number of genealogy books, Harry helped Ben and Arnold use the ancestor potion. They both had magical ancestors, as expected, but neither had any shocking names pop up.
Harry invited the four students to join them at their table. This way he could get to know them and eventually perhaps suggest they join his private defence club that he was still planning on setting up.
Just then a loud clap of thunder sounded outside, startling just about everyone in the library.
A lightning storm! That's what Harry needed to complete his Animagus transformation. At once, Harry jumped up, startling everyone at their table all over again.
Tom looked at Harry in alarm when Harry backed away from the table in a hurry. "Everything's fine!" Harry all but yelled. "Bathroom break!" And then he couldn't contain himself anymore and he ran from the library all the way to Ravenclaw tower.
"What is always in front of you but can't be seen," the doorknocker asked. What did that even mean?
"For fuck's sake," Harry snarled. "I'm a fucking Ravenclaw! Let me in!"
"Wrong," the doorknocker said.
Gritting his teeth, Harry banged on the door. "Open the fuck up, you ridiculous thing."
"What goes up but never comes down?" the doorknocker asked.
"Who the hell came up with this shit?" Harry wondered out loud while throwing both hands up in frustration. "I doubt the staff has patience for this." Then Harry realized something. If the staff wouldn't have patience for it, he doubted the Founders would have put up with it.
"Open," Harry hissed, and what do you know, the door actually opened because Salazar Slytherin must have been just as impatient as Harry was so he added parseltongue overrides to the whole bloody castle. Perhaps for the first time in his existence, Harry thought Salazar Slytherin was indeed the greatest of the Founders after all.
Harry rushed up to his dormitory and he was very relieved to find it empty. He got the potion from his trunk and retreated to the bathroom. He locked the door with a simple spell, just to keep anyone from accidentally disturbing him.
It wasn't recommended to take the potion by yourself, because lots of things could go wrong. But Harry wasn't worried that he'd get stuck or something, because he knew what to expect and how to transform.
Inhaling a deep breath, Harry recited the chant one last time and then downed the potion. Warmth spread throughout his body like eager tentacles until his entire body felt as though he was standing just a little too close to the fireplace. Harry inhaled again, eyes closed, and searched for his inner animal.
Instead of feathers, which he expected to find, he encountered fur. Wild, long fur.
Huh.
That was new, but perhaps it made sense that Harriet Hubble wouldn't transform into a bird. Harry had always loved flying and longed for freedom. Harriet Hubble didn't care much for flying and she had a large, loving family she felt safe with. While Harry's soul was his own, his body wasn't anymore, so it perhaps made sense that his Animagus form had changed significantly as well.
Only one way to find out.
Harry pressed into that fur, wrapped it all around him and then he pushed and pushed until he felt his body shift and he fell down on all fours until a deafening roar echoed throughout the bathroom.
The first thing Harry noticed was that he wasn't small by any means. The second thing he saw were large, beige paws with soft, rounded toes. But the moment he moved his muscles, razor-sharp claws emerged.
Slowly, Harry moved in front of the large mirror that hung on the far wall and he came face to face with an enormous lion.
A lion with a thick, wild black mane.