Haja

Chapter 12

Haja looked from Snape's amused smirk to Draco's shocked face. Headhunters? Poison frogs? He waged a brief internal struggle before deciding that no matter what kind of unknown danger they'd be going into, he'd rather do that than stay here with the Headmaster. He laid a paw on Snape's leg.

'''How will this work with me being a cat and needing to be human part of the time?'''

Snape gave his head a soothing stroke while looking at Draco. Haja realized that Snape could hardly discuss that question in front of the other young man and he settled back down to listen.

Snape laid out his parchment on the coffee table and began to detail the arrangements.

"I have already packed the tools we will need as far as the actual harvesting is concerned. The vials and jars are prepared. Some of the plants will be harvested at very specific times and must be kept in the dark. Others will need to be promptly immersed in a stasis potion to preserve them.

My tent is one that I have used before and it has a small potions lab in which we will process the harvest before we pack it for the return trip."

Draco spoke up hesitantly, "We will be staying together in your tent then?"

Snape gave him another amused smirk. "I'm afraid it is only large enough for one, Draco. You will have your own tent; and as I mentioned, at times we will be staying in shelters made of the available foliage."

"But I could—"Draco started.

Snape held up a hand. "I'm afraid the wizarding space in my tent is only meant to accommodate the one person, plus the laboratory essentials. I have never felt the need to expand the resting area and it was easier to get you your own tent."

Haja figured this was how Snape was going to keep the secret that he was an animagus from Draco; by having the other young man in a separate tent. He certainly didn't envy Draco that honor. Having been warned by Mrs. Norris, and hearing about some of what they might encounter, he was glad that he would be in Snape's tent!

Draco was still looking a little green and Snape leaned forward towards him, his voice uncharacteristically soft, "Draco… I went on my first expedition when I was just a little older than you, when I first entered my own apprenticeship. Read the information I gave you and you will feel better prepared."

Draco looked at him, eyes dark grey with worry. "But the dangers there…"

Snape shrugged easily. "It's a hazard that comes with the mastery program for Potions. One cannot be proficient and a true master of the craft if you are not willing to go to the source of your rarest ingredients."

Haja meowed, "He's a coward—"

Snape pinched his ear hard and Haja flattened the ears against his head and burrowed deeper into his place. Snape laid a hand on his back, its presence heavy with warning as he continued to talk to Draco.

"Draco, I will be frank with you. You have been coddled all your life; led to believe that the world owes you simply because you are a Malfoy. It does not."

Draco's face turned flush and his jaw tightened. Snape went on. "Your father has been a good friend to me. He has a head for building the Malfoy empire and it has done the family name well in that regard. You, however, do not have that shark mentality."

Draco jumped to his feet, fists curled. "I will run the family business someday! Father said so!"

Snape sat back, not rising to meet the anger pouring out of the blond. "Yes… so I've heard. But allow me to finish, please." He waited until Draco got himself back under control and sat down.

"In these last six years I have seen you at both your best and your worst. Yes, you will do a passable job if you take over the reins of the Malfoy empire. But I do not believe that is where your heart lies. You are a true academic. You thirst for knowledge and the feeling that comes to you when you acquire it. You are talented in Potions, seeming to have an innate gift for the proper way of brewing. Your other professors tell me you do as well in your other subjects when you apply yourself to it."

He stroked Haja's back lightly as he spoke, "In fact, you run neck and neck with Miss Granger for being the top in your year."

Draco jumped up again. "That mudblood will never match me!"

Haja hissed at the name calling and the hand held him down when he would leap at Draco with claws unsheathed.

Snape snapped, "Oh do sit down, Draco. There's no need to get in a twist over it now. It's tiresome the way you go on about only the pure of blood having power or brains. Use that pure blood brain to do some of your own thinking for a change. Don't accept views simply because they have been handed down to you."

Draco was looking at Snape incredulously and Snape smirked in amusement. "Looking at the scores on parchment, you are ahead of Miss Granger in Potions and Transfiguration, but by a bare point. In Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, and History of Magic, she is ahead."

Draco grimaced but finally sat back down with a huff. "Well what about Defense? Surely she isn't ahead of me there?"

Snape chuckled, scratching Haja behind an ear. "No, you are both tied there, but Mr. Potter has everyone beat by a wide margin."

"Oh yes…Saint Potter…" Draco spat derisively. "He might be good in class, but he couldn't fight his way out of a spider web."

The hand was heavy on Haja's back again, but the cat could not stop the throaty growl that seemed to rumble unendingly from his tensed body. Draco eyed him warily but then dismissed him as Snape spoke quietly.

"Do not underestimate Mr. Potter, Draco. That would be most unwise."

"Are you defending him?" Draco asked with the disbelief clear in his voice. "He's a half-blood idiot that everyone has raised up onto some sort of pedestal! You have to give him private tutoring, for Merlin's sake!"

Haja bunched up his muscles in preparation to attack, in spite of the hand now holding him firmly in place. He held his breath, waiting for Snape to confirm Draco's belief that all the Occlumency and Defense lessons had been the remedial tutoring that everyone believed he needed. His heart felt heavy as he waited for the words he knew Snape had to speak to keep up the cover.

"Mr. Potter is a very powerful wizard, Draco. Half-blood or otherwise, he will be a force to be reckoned with." Both Haja and Draco's eyes snapped to the Potions Masters face. Before Draco could sputter a response, Snape waved a hand and continued, "These childish comparisons do you little credit. Besides, that is not why we are sitting here. Before we were sidetracked we were discussing the harvesting expedition. Let's return to that if you please."

Draco reluctantly let the topic of Potter go and the two went back to discussing arrangements. Haja gradually relaxed against the warmth of the Potions Master, eyes closing. His mind was a whirlwind… Snape had defended him. Snape had not said anything derogatory, as Haja had expected him to. Snape had said he was powerful and that he would be a force to be reckoned with… A warmth spread through him and he vibrated with a contented purr as he curled his paws under and went to sleep.

*********

Harry was so soundly asleep that he woke up in his own bed and as a human again. The Marauders Map lay open on his desk and he glanced at it to see that Draco and Snape were together in the lab. Casting a tempus he noted that once again he had slept through the remainder of a day and then a night.

Opening his journal, he wrote about his concerns, worrying about the great deal of sleep he seemed to need lately. He tried to catch up on his animagus reading, thinking that perhaps there would be some kind of explanation there. He abandoned the chapter he was in and flipped back to the index. There was a listing for sleep disturbances and he turned to those chapters.

….the newly proficient animagus will find his or her transformation magic especially draining on the body. While changing from form to human and back again as often as possible in the early days is important, it also depletes reserves. The new animagus may find themselves going to sleep at inopportune times only to wake up many hours, and in some rare instances days, later….

…. due to the inequities in magical strength from day to day, the new animagus will want to avoid strenuous casting, or casting that may endanger others if not properly executed….

…. In the adult wizard or witch, the transformation magic settles in faster, since the levels of magic are stable. In the rare case that a younger wizard or witch manages the animagus transformation, the fatigue will be more pronounced, until the young one reaches their majority. Surges in magical energy, emotional upheaval, and episodes of manic energy, with alternating episodes of extreme lethargy and weakness have all been reported in the literature available….

…. but not enough is actually known about younger, magically immature animagus', because documentation is sporadic in families with the genetic trait. Most of these families tend to keep the abilities in their youngsters secret until they reach maturity and are required by law to register their form…

Harry sighed with relief to find that his sleeping so much was normal. He called for Dobby and ate a sandwich with some butter beer before he showered. Transforming into Haja, he made his way to the laboratory where Snape and Draco were placing vials and short jars with lids into a crate with divided spaces.

Snape was explaining, "These are the containers that have stasis spells. Once materials are placed within and the lids secured, the spell is activated." Draco nodded and marked the crate after the top was sealed.

The crate joined the mound of other boxes and bags in the center of the floor. Draco stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the stack before he asked, "So when are you putting your own bags in? Mine are ready in my rooms."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Bags? My personal belongings are there," he said, pointing to a small duffle.

Draco's mouth dropped open. "How did you get all your clothes in that? Are they already shrunken for the journey?"

Snape shook his head. "That contains personal potions in case of emergencies, and one change of clothing, and a rain poncho."

"We'll be gone how long? Two weeks, and you brought one change of clothes?" Draco was gesturing a little wildly.

Snape looked at the clothes Draco wore. "Are those new?"

Draco shook his head, puzzled at the change in the direction of the conversation. Snape drew his wand and muttered a spell and followed it with a few others before he tucked the wand back in his sleeve.

Draco looked down at the change in his clothing. In the place of his black slacks and grey shirt he was now dressed in a pair of loose Khaki pants with pockets down the length of his legs and a long-sleeved khaki shirt. On his head was a hat with a brim and some sort of filmy netting rolled up around the crown of it.

"What—what is this?" he shrieked as he pulled at the shirt.

"That is clothing appropriate for our destination. They are meant to repel most insects and they are now spelled to repel dirt as well. Making them water tight would make them too hot, so I will need an old robe of yours to transfigure into the rain poncho. If you bring me another old set of clothes I will fashion your extra set. That's all you will need."

"I have to change clothes at least twice a day, and my toiletry bag will be much larger than that tiny bag you're carrying."

"A toiletry bag is unnecessary as we will bathe in available water when it's safe. Soaps and shampoos would contaminate the native flora and possible make animals that drink from the water ill."

Draco stood there, hands out in a gesture that clearly said 'What the hell are you talking about?'

Haja gave a meow that sounded almost like a laugh and Snape looked down at him with an arched brow. "When we get there I will spell Haja as well. His fur needs to be able to repel insects and it could be dangerous for him to self-clean after brushing up against some of the plants."

Draco muttered, "I don't care about the stupid cat…" then louder, "How do you expect me to be able to wear the same clothes for two solid weeks?"

"The same way I will; they same as I have done on every expedition; the same as any Potions Master or Apprentice who is on a serious hunt for potions ingredients in remote and dangerous locations. Clothing must be functional and that's all. Personal hygiene takes a much less important place in the scheme of things. Our priority will be to find what we are looking for, harvest it, store it, and do it without harm to ourselves or to any indigenous animals, natives or ecosystem." He paused in his speech and pierced Draco with a glare. "I expect you to grow up and behave as the man you want to be treated as."

That seemed to get through to Draco, because he stood up straighter and pressed his lips into a tight line before he gave a short nod. Turning on his heal he headed for the door and said, "I'll return in a moment with the other clothes to transfigure." Without another word he left.

Haja looked up at Snape. '''Do I need to have some old clothes transfigured for when I'm human?'''

"I have taken care of it. Merlin knows that you had clothes that were old enough. When we return we will see about getting you new clothes before the term begins."

Haja sat up taller. '''I think I have money in my Gringott's account… if it hasn't all been used…'''

"That is another issue that we will straighten out when we return. Minerva is going over the accounts we copied from your relatives. We have discussed taking it to Gringotts and speaking to the goblins on your behalf."

'''Will I go too?'''

"I have no intention of leaving you out of any more business dealings that have to do with you and your property." He walked over to the cat and stooped down. He ran a hand over the cat's head. "I know that many things have been kept from you in the past. I intend for that to stop."

Haja purred and rubbed against the hand again. '''I'm sure I don't have that much business to deal with. I guess I only have what little my parents left me and Dumbledore made it sound like that had been given out to my aunt and uncle for keeping me.'''

Snape stood up again. "I daresay you may be surprised at what you have."

Draco walked back in just then and his mouth gave a quirk. "Are you talking to that cat, Severus?"

Snape frowned for a moment and then nodded. "Yes. There is some evidence that having a pet actually helps reduce stress levels in humans. I believe that trying to teach all the dunderheads at this school , brew the potions for the infirmary, keep up with my research and brew the potions for that, as well as all the other … assignments… that I have, has entitled me to try and reduce my own stress, if such a thing is possible."

Draco looked at him and acted as if he was about to refute that, but then changed his mind at the man's scowl. Instead he stepped forward and handed Snape some clothing items. "Here is the other set of clothes and a cloak for you to transfigure. I don't suppose it will be any good when we get back?"

Snape took out his wand and began spelling the clothes. Handing them back to Draco he waved the wand again over the cloak and it was changed into a olive green poncho with a hood. He folded it into a small rectangle and then placed it into a small bag. He handed it to Draco and Draco put the other clothes in on top and pulled the drawstring tight.

Finally looking at Draco, Snape responded, "They will be perfectly good for the next expedition we undertake."

"Let's just get this one done and we can decide if I'm cut out for this after all," Draco sighed.

*********

Author Note: Rio Negro is at the political border between Columbia and Brazil in the Amazon Basin…in line with the equator….or just a few degrees south of the equator in the Amazon Basin at the Japura River… it empties into the Amazon River (it is a place of magic!) just above sea level…in a line below the equator with the Galapagos Islands of the Pacific…

London time, 4 hours ahead of La Paz

************

They left in the 'middle of the night', much to Draco's displeasure. Snape patiently explained yet another fact that Draco had not absorbed in his studies: the rest of the world was not on Britain's wizarding time. The time zones of the world made it necessary for them to portkey to their coordinates in the Amazon Basin at 5:00am in order to arrive at 9:00am Amazon time. Snape wanted to be sure that they had the maximum amount of daylight available to set up camp and make the first scouting foray into the surrounding area. It was far darker in the middle of a rainforest with the dense vegetation and they needed all the benefit of the daylight they could get.

The landing was eerily soft and Draco found himself laying in the middle of a gigantic fern, surrounded by some of the crates and bags they had been hanging on to. He managed to climb out of the damp fronds and saw Snape standing nearby, cataloguing the crates as he levitated them into a neat stack.

The silence was broken by the sudden noise of monkeys howling and birds calling. Draco jumped, his wand drawn as he crouched in attack mode. Snape glanced over at him.

"The animals were momentarily startled by our arrival. They are resuming their normal chatter."

Draco looked up into the surrounding trees, their denseness barely allowing any sunlight through. He saw colorful birds flitting from branch to branch, their hues as vibrant as that of Fawkes. He caught glimpses of other creatures, the monkeys he had read about, jumping through the air as they peered down at the new arrivals.

"Are they magical?"

"No. You will find that most of the wildlife here is bright, as well as loud. It is quite different than what you saw at home in Britain."

Levitating his tent bundle into position, he set his up and then looked at Draco. "Well? I assume that you can manage setting up your own shelter. You did study the necessary charms, did you not?"

Draco rolled his eyes and levitated his own tent bundle as close to Snape's tent as he could get it. Snape responded by levitating it a short distance away. "We need room to maneuver around the campsite. I will be setting up the outside lab between the tents so that it's sheltered somewhat on two sides."

Draco watched as Snape enlarged a wooden table and set it with a cauldron and a crate of supplies. He erected an open tent over the top and secured the stakes that held it all in place. Draco set his own tent up, taking several attempts before it was settled with the entrance facing the inside of the campground and a safe distance from the lab table.

Snape looked it over critically before nodding. "It will do. Now go inside and set up strong wards that keep out anyone but you, unless you take them in by hand."

Draco tilted his head in question and Snape continued, "We can't ward the area against intruders, as there are too many lifeforms per square meter. The easiest way is to ward your sleeping quarters."

Draco nodded and sent into his tent to perform the necessary spells. Snape went into his own tent and then reached into one of his pockets, withdrawing a sleeping Haja.

Laying him on the bottom bunk of the bed set in a corner, he waved his hand and muttered a counter spell. The cat gave a sleepy stretch before blinking open his green eyes.

'''What happened?''' he meowed softly.

"Animals do not normally take portkey travel well. I performed a mild sedation spell so that you would be unaware until now. Rest for a bit before you transform. Food and drink will be on the side table for you. There are books and your journals. Do not leave the tent until we return."

Haja curled himself back into a ball and gave an agreeable meow before dropping back to sleep. He dreamed of exotic birds calling as they flew through humid green boughs, and wild monkeys swinging on vines.

He stretched himself awake much later and lay there looking around the tent. He had been in the Weasley's tent at the International Quidditch cup, so he wasn't surprised at the size of the inside. It didn't seem as large as that one had been, and held only the necessities of a trip such as the one they were on. The bunk bed he was on was off to one corner and he made a mental note to take the top bunk next time he slept. He couldn't imagine Snape crawling up there.

There was a potions table set in the center and a few of the crates and boxes they had packed lay underneath it. A small alcove held a one-burner cook stove and a shoulder high container that he recognized as a cold storage box.

He transformed to human and saw that his clothes looked like the ones Snape had transformed for Draco. As promised, a plate of food and a flask of water stood on the table beside the bunk and he ate hungrily as he listened to the strange sounds of the outside rain forest. He wished that he could go out and explore the surroundings, but Snape had made it clear that he was not to leave the tent. Before they left, the man had explained that when he and Draco were in camp, he would let Haja out of the tent and see their surroundings. If they were going on a longer day trip, he could come out as Harry if he were careful to stay near the tents and never get out of sight of them. Snape explained that going beyond their campsite would be dangerous without him, as it was very easy to get lost in the dense foliage. He would let Harry know when they would be leaving and he would set some kind of spell that would alert him to their imminent return so that Harry could transform back into Haja.

Harry read in his school books for awhile and then spent some time writing in his journals. He was nibbling on the end of his quill, deep in thought, when an inhuman growling scream from right outside the tent froze him.

*********

A/N: Well, here you go, and Happy Holidays to you all, dear readers! I apologize once again for the huge delay. Hopefully, when you read this, I will have managed, with all the help from everyone's replies, to post this and also get Chapter 1 back where it goes so that everything lines up correctly. If not, then I apologize for my inaptitude at computer stuff! Remember that this is a work of fiction, and as such, I use a lot of literary license to make things happen. Indulge me, please.

It may be another while before more is posted here, as I have absolutely nothing started on the next chapter of Haja! But, as I told you before, I worked very hard on Search For His Soul for the 2009 NaNoWriMo! It is all in one document at present, and is well over 62,000 words. My goal is to finish pouring it out before going back and editing and dividing up the chapters for uploading.

So keep on sending me your reviews… it is the greatest gift that keeps me wanting to write more! I appreciate them so much!

Everyone have a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with dreams fulfilled!

nnie