I'm... Afraid I don't own Harry Potter. Get it? (All hate mail to JK Rowling please, the joke is hers too.)
Thanks for the reviews! I plan on keeping this a long runner if all goes well, so stay tuned.
As he boarded the train along with Hermione and Ron, Harry pondered what to do. He, Ron and Hermione were friends, but the book had told him being an Animagus (whatever that was) was illegal. He didn't know if he wanted them brought into this, but he decided to tell them regardless.
On board, the golden trio rushed past the crowded compartments; Harry pulling the other two by their wrists, Hermione doing an admirable job of keeping pace, and Ron trailing behind. Harry's efforts were in vain, however; they were the last on the train and no compartment was completely empty. Nearing the last carriage, they ducked into a room occupied by a single, sleeping person, Remus J. Lupin. Harry opened the Guide, and text appeared.
'Hello again. Wave your wand in a C shape and think 'Muffliato'. Could be useful.' The three raised their eyebrows at this; Harry doubted he could cast silent magic, Hermione wondered what secrets this dusty old book could hold, and Ron remembered the diary, and nearly batted the Guide out of Harry's hands in his shock. The Boy-who-lived pulled out his wand, swished it in a C shape, and thought 'Muffliato'. A strange buzzing in his ears was the confirmation Harry recieved, and he turned to the others and spoke.
"The sleeping guy shouldn't be able to hear us now, so what's up?"
"What the bloody hell are you doing with another evil book?!" It said volumes of the situation that Hermione didn't chastisize Ron for language.
"What's gotten into you, Harry? Books like this could be cursed! You should know that by now!"
Harry took offence to that. "That's why I nudged you before I wrote in it, Hermione. I'm sure you could handle a possessed me no problem." With that, he moved to the issue at hand. "Do either of you know what an Animagus is?" Hermione raised her hand, and Harry chuckled to himself at her muscle memory. "Yes, Hermione?" She realised her arm was in the air, blushed and pulled it down, glaring daggers at Harry's comment.
"An Animagus is someone who can tranfigure themselves into an animal at will. Each wizard has a single Animagus form that could be unlocked, but more than one wizard could become the same species. Magical forms are currently unheard of, but may be possible; the art of Animagick isn't well researched. The animal form reflects an aspect of a wizard's life, whether it be personality, known languages, social status, effects on others or even past transfiguration mishaps. Animal instincts become apparent in the animal form, and may even bleed into the human form as well. The human form also gains some advantages, such as better night vision in a cat Animagus such as Professor McGonagall. Becoming an Animagus is illegal unless the form is registered, and also under the age of twenty-one, as it is very dangerous to attempt. However, I think-" Her mouth suddenly stopped, and she seemed to struggle for words.
"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked, and the girl in question glanced around the room, checking for nearby threats, then lowered her voice to a whisper.
"I want to learn Animagick, but can't find any books on it!"
She seemed shocked at her own words, and Ron gaped incredulously, "Hermione wants to break laws! What the hell happened over the summer?"
They laughed at this, if a little nervously in Hermione's case. She poked the book with a finger, "are you going to tell us what this is and how you got it, Harry?"
The black haired boy found all attention on him, and he told them. "It's called 'A Marauder's Guide to Magicks', and it apparently teaches whatever you name, or whatever it thinks would be useful in the situation. As for how I found it," he shifted uncomfortably, forcing himself to believe that Lucius Malfoy hadn't found another book. "It was lying on my bed when I went to check everything was packed. I picked it up and took it with me." It wasn't a lie, but a truth by ommission in Harry's eyes. Totally different. "When it told me to do transfiguration, there was a note only I could see, and it told me to do Animagick alone. I told you anyway, so thank me."
Ron muttered a thanks, but Hermione gave hers with a bushy glomp, before they all turned back to the dull red magical object, Ron with more than a little apprehension in his eyes. Harry picked up the quill once more.
'Teach me and my friends to be Animagi, please.'
And so they learned. With competent instructions on the process, they searched their inner minds for a glimpse of the animal they would become. Ron saw a blur of fire, and Hermione came into close proximity of a smart-looking bird, but both images were too warped to see properly. The guide congratulated them, and told them both that they'd have to transform to get a better look at their forms.
Harry was confused. Not just a little, either. He could see a warped sphere, glowing a bright silver in his mindscape, but he couldn't concentrate enough to tell anything about it. He asked Hermione for some privacy, and she complied, conjuring opaque magical barriers around him. He cast into his mind once more, and found... Nothing. There was something there, but Harry couldn't sense it in any way. He could just... Tell that it was there. It was like a muggle magic trick. You knew there was a trick, even if there was no way to sense it.
He knocked on the barrier thrice, and when it was down, he dove once more into his own mind. Now, instead of the sphere, Harry saw what seemed to be a piece of parchment, laying on the floor (his mind had a floor, by the way). Strange.
As the day dragged on, the trio sat in a fidgety silence, punctuated only by slight snores from the man, whom they had deemed to be a Professor by his age. They had agreed to wait until the trolley witch had come and gone, so as to minimise the chance of awkward situations. Besides, they were hungry.
The trolley witch came and went, the companions got changed for Hogwarts, and they stood, ready for the next step in Animagus training. Ron had a brilliant idea and cast 'Silencio' on the floor, to make doubly sure the Professor wouldn't wake from the noise of footsteps and see their illegal activities.
By the time it got dark outside, Hermione had grown feathers, Ron's eyes had changed, and Harry's... Nothing had done anything. Joy. In his defence, concentrating on what you would feel was kind of hard when he would become a miniature star.
Ron's hand changed into a claw at that moment, he panicked for a second, and Harry looked up in concern. In his mind's eye, he noticed an ever so slight change, and he grappled that in his subconscious, holding on for dear life. After making sure Ron was fine, he slipped, for lack of a better term, into a new form. He blinked, and felt four limbs behind him. Dully noting Ron's reaction of one part shock, six parts fear, he understood.
He was an acromantula.
Boom! New chapter. Will Harry's Animagus form strain his and Ron's relationship? Will it create new bonds? What will they make of the dementor? Find out next time on 'Scared?'!
Yes, I know that acromantula aren't exactly magical, but they are classified as such, and it'll be fun to write (And read, I hope). Besides, you still don't know Ron and Hermione's forms and abilities!