Chapter 36: Animagus
Cressida releases a shuddered breath, stepping from foot to foot. James looks back straight, his eyes screwed shut and his lips twisted like he's just eaten a lemon or something equally as bitter. Nobody says anything – not daring to break their stares.
It all seems to happen at once. James begins to grow both shorter and longer at the same time. His arms grow thinner and longer, and the hair on his head is being pulled back into his skin until it is only an inch or so long, and turning a shade of reddish-brown. The same hair covers his entire body.
The entire thing happens in less than a second. Once where James stood as a human boy, now stands a stag. His head is just a few inches shorter than Cressida's, but a large set of antlers rise high above them all, branching out majestically.
A hand raises to cup her mouth.
"Holy fuck," Sirius cries. James, in his stag form, almost prances from hoof to hoof, gathering a feel for his new body. He takes a wobbly step forward and the three remaining humans jump back.
"Antlers," Cressida warns him, her hands reaching out to hold them back gently. "Watch your antlers." His dark deer eyes look upwards as he bows his head at the same time, trying to see them for himself.
"This is wicked," Peter hisses. He paces around James, taking in every detail. Cressida is entranced, running her fingers along the antlers she had been holding steady. They feel soft but bone like – an odd mix.
She blinks hard, almost failing to recognise the animal and James as the same. Every instinct is telling her to be careful to not scare such a beautiful creature, but she doubts James would be timid at the attention. Cressida's hands fall to his neck, stroking the soft fur with one hand as Sirius examines the prongs more closely. "I told you that you wouldn't be a lion," she laughs. James tilts his stag head, intentionally poking her shoulder with one of his antler prongs. Only laughing louder, she adds, "this suits you so much better." His wet nose presses against her fingers, twitching slightly as they pick up on something.
Then suddenly the stag disappears and is once again replaced with James. His voice cracks with a manic laugh. "I can't believe that worked," he breathes out. "And a stag is so bloody cool."
Cressida blinks, taking a silent step back. "What did it feel like?"
He shakes his head slightly, still stunned. "It-it felt weird. I could sense everything so much better. I could smell you all differently, you didn't look any different but it was also like seeing you all through different eyes. But it's like everything else is blocked out. Excess things just don't exist."
"Excess?" Sirius repeats.
"Yeah," James nods. "Like, worrying about the Quidditch games coming up. Or the potion homework I haven't done. You sort of zone in on what's around you."
Sirius picks up his bottle that was placed aside, uncorking the top. "Guess there's no reason to wait." With his other hand, he places his wand over his heart and recites the incantation then downs the bottle just as James had.
The transformation happens even quicker this time and Cressida barely has a moment to watch it happen. Instead of a shaggy-haired boy, a large black dog with equally shaggy hair stands in front of them. His head stands close to her hip, tongue already out.
"A dog," she states with a sigh of relief, not even having the time to be concerned. "You're a dog, Sirius." Her knees fold outwards, letting her sink to the floor in a kneel as he begins to wander around in his dog form.
James and Peter follow suit. "Not as cool as a stag," James grins. He reaches out to pet Sirius who only gives him a face that she could compare to a scowl. "But wicked just the same." Sirius' nose twitches, picking up scents that are non-existent to their own sense. "Told you," James drawls. "You can smell everything."
Already with the natural movements of a dog, Sirius begins sniffing along the ground, tracing different trails, starting with Peter then James' legs then her own. Cressida smiles, leaning down to scratch behind his ears. "I've always wanted a pet dog."
Sirius seems to be battling whether to nip at her hand or simply enjoy the scratch. He barks a few times, all in odd pitches until he finds something suitable that is akin to a low growl. "Could you understand us?" she asks James, circling her arms around Sirius' neck while he occupied sniffing around her neck.
James nods in his crouch, smiling from the corner of his mouth. "Every word."
Sirius' snout continuously shifts between her skin and James' jacket. She muses that he's probably confused by the two different scents on her. Her arms slip off his neck as he trots back over to James, sniffing his legs and arms. "Getting a bit personal there, mate," James chuckles. Sirius snorts, almost sneezing in his dog form and shuffles backwards.
Just as quick as it happened the first time, Sirius stands once again on two legs. His eyes are wide, nose flaring as though the scents linger on them. "I understand the smelling," he whispers, twitching his nose around. "You all smell…weird." He points to Cressida with an odd expression. "That jacket mixed with your own stench was so strange, I can't even explain it."
"I…I don't know how to take that," she states, subtly smelling her shoulder. She can't smell a thing.
"James was right," he continues as they all stand back up, "it's like things become blocked. You just know what's at the front of your head and that's it."
"I'm going next," Peter declares. Before anybody else can even open their mouths, his wand tip is at his heart and the incantation recited from his lips. His hesitation shows though, as he drinks the potion, taking longer to down it.
His transformation is the slowest out of all of them. He shrinks slowly, sinking down towards the ground. The features of his face protrude forwards. The other three take a cautious step forward, almost fearing that he'll disappear completely until the transformation is complete and in Peter's place is a dark grey rat.
Cressida holds her tongue at her first thoughts. Sirius cackles, bending down and scooping up the rodent with both hands. It squeaks but doesn't attempt to pry the boys' hands off of him. "Merlin's beard," Sirius beams. "You could sneak almost anywhere like this. Just be careful that you don't climb onto a mouse trap."
"This is going to come in handy," James agrees avidly, peering down at their friend with loosely folded arms. He takes the rat from Sirius, examining the creature for himself before holding him out towards Cressida.
She shakes her head, stepping back. "I don't like rats," she excuses herself. They give her a gross feeling and the thought of holding one is down on her lists of things to do right next to meeting dementors. James shrugs, letting Peter crawl around his shoulders.
It must be strange to see them at such a different scale. Before long, Peter returns to them as a boy once more, pulling his vest down with a breathless grin. "That was bloody brilliant."
James smiles softly, picking up the one remaining bottle that she had placed aside just before James drank his own. "Your turn," he says, handing her the phial. Cressida takes it, no longer worried about it going wrong. Her worries lie in finding herself as a fish or insect.
"No time like the present," she murmurs, placing her wand over her heart. "Amato Amino Animato Animagus." Tucking her wand into the inside jacket pocket, she brings the phial to her mouth, tipping her head back.
The initial taste is bitter, much like she had guessed from their expression but the taste all but disappears as the potion glides down her throat. A soft and warm burning sensation erupts from her stomach and then the morphing begins. There's no pain or any true sensation that comes with it, except her brain's registering of a new form. She grows shorter but longer and wider, the muscles of her neck and back shifting the most.
Like the other three, Cressida comes to stand on four legs, a thick layer of something between her and the floor. The sounds from both inside the shack and outside becomes crispier and instantly her nose is overwhelmed with different scents that it's never been accustomed to before.
Looking upwards even more than usual, Cressida finds herself at the height of their waists, her head a little taller than the rest of her. Their eyes are wide, and Peter even takes a step back. James scoffs at him, pulling him by his sleeve back forward. "Don't be a wuss. It's still Cressida."
Peter nods meekly. "I know, but she's a-"
"A bear," Sirius finishes. His eyes haven't left her form. "A fucking Black Bear."
A bear? That's not so bad, she thinks. It feels strange and unnatural though. Sirius and James walk forwards, leaving Peter behind to only watch on. Cressida looks down, almost scaring herself at the sight of two black paws. Fur covers the short legs, long and black but smoother than Sirius'. She's probably not that much longer or taller than Sirius' dog form, but stouter.
James smacks Sirius' arm as they crouch on either side of her head. "Definitely not a bunny, mate."
Sirius makes an expression of agreement. Intrigued by what they were so caught up in earlier, Cressida stretches her neck, planting her new nose against his sleeved arm. The strange scents that she picked up on before are amplified and focused, a distinct scent lingering on his clothes and skin. Even if she couldn't see, the scent is easily identifiable as Sirius'. Her head turns to James who's still looking over her in wonder, but she hesitates to do the same to him. Nevertheless, he holds his hand near her snout, and she's pulled in. He has a softer smell than Sirius – no less pungent – but the scent is smoother. Whereas Sirius had the scent of leather and mint leaves, James is wood oil and something sweet like butterbeer. An odd smell, but it works with him somehow.
The hand moves from her nose, petting the hair above her eyes instead. Sirius examines her paws, pressing the hair back to reveal the claws better. Her head is pulled back by James who grips her fur gently but firm enough to hold her head in place. "We've done it," he grins. "We're Animagus."
With no ability to laugh in her animal form, Cressida morphs back into a human, sitting on her hands and knees. "Oh my gosh," she breathes, pushing her hair back with her fingers.
Xx
A black blur speeds past them through the tunnel. "He's going to be knackered by the time he gets back to the tower," Cressida muses as Sirius continues to sprint up and down the tunnel in his Animagus form. Peter is also around somewhere as a rat, sticking to the sides to avoid being squashed by their resident dog.
"Good," James acknowledges. "He'll fall right asleep and not spoil anything to Remus."
"When are we keeping this a secret till?"
"Till the next full moon."
The storm ended around an hour ago, leaving only light rain behind. The four of them have spent at least two hours in the Shack, mucking around in their second forms, getting to know themselves better. "I think it's safe to assume you don't mind being a stag," she says, knocking her elbow into his lightly as the walk at a meandering pace behind the other two.
"It's not a lion, but it's still pretty cool."
"The antlers do make you look majestic," she laughs. "But you've nearly poked my eye out a few times."
He laughs as well with a more bashful smile. "Sorry. Not used to having such a large head."
Cressida scoffs theatrically, giving him a shove hard enough to make him stumble to the side. "Please," she drawls. "Your head is bigger than all of ours combined. McGonagall would be so proud of us – she'd give us a year's worth of detention first, but she'd be proud."
James nods, smacking his lips together. "Shame we can't say anything," he agrees remorsefully. This is a secret they'd have to take to the grave. Quite literally since becoming an unregistered Animagus could land them a spot in Azkaban. They walk in silence again, a fond smile never leaving her mouth as Sirius runs back down towards them erratically. He comes to a skidding stop, digging a shallow trench in the dirt before he's racing back the other way. "I'm not surprised you're a bear."
Cressida tilts her head upwards. Her hands are stuffed deep into the denim pockets. "You're not? I honestly wouldn't have guessed it."
"Not at all." He has a soft sway in his walk, one that she's accustomed to seeing after a successful prank or another scheme has been pulled off. And one sort of has been. "I watched a documentary on them once. They're strong and fierce, but very gentle and tolerant." Cressida stares at him for a few seconds before erupting in a fit of giggles. "What?" he cries quietly. "That's what the documentary said."
Cressida shakes her head, trying to hide behind her hand but fails miserably. "It's not that. I just can't believe you were watching a documentary."
"Me either, to be honest. It was just on the tv that father brought, and I couldn't be bothered to get up and change the channel."
"Lazy. How typical of you."
"Cynical. How typical of you."