Haja
Chapter 14
Harry awakened to the smells of breakfast cooking outside. He got up and transformed before cautiously nosing his way out of the tent. Snape was stirring something in a shallow pan and Haja trotted over to him, rubbing his side against the tall man's leg.
"Patience. " He glanced over at the other tent and said softly, "She will be here after we leave. You are to go with her and follow her instructions."
Haja leaped jumped onto the table and gave a plaintive meow. '''What? Go with her? She's a wild animal! I'm not, in case you haven't noticed!'''
"She will teach you many things that I cannot. Her perspective, her experience, her 'wildness', they all give her many things to offer you." He looked over at the other tent again and waved his hand in a gesture Haja knew to be a muffling spell. "Your animagus form is a good one, but you can make it even better than the instincts that would occur in a domesticated cat. She can teach you in a few days what it might take you years to learn, if at all."
Snape dished out a portion of the fry up onto a small plate and set it in front of Haja. Haja ate quickly, feeling an excitement and an anticipation that overshadowed his doubts about going off with a wild animal willingly. If Snape had wanted to kill him, wouldn't he have had plenty of chances before now?
He licked his whiskers and gave a paw a few swipes of his tongue to finish getting the bits of egg that had clung to the sides of his muzzle.
'''What is her name? What should I call her?''' he meowed.
''She is just 'she'. At first I gave her a name, but it does not translate to her. She did not understand the need for one for herself."
'''She has a name for you… she called you 'magic man human'.'''
"While she does not see the need to name herself, she does need to call us something, to give her a point of reference. Her name for me is purely descriptive, do you see that?"
'''Have you learned from her, like I will be doing?''' Haja peered up at the Potions Master with his head tilted a little to the side. His tail swished nervously.
Snape peered back at the black cat. To reveal his secret could be a reckless move, but he saw that Haja needed reassurance. "She has been a companion when I am here in the rainforest. She helped me find some of the botanicals I was searching for. Her presence has deterred other animals from interfering and her hearing has helped me avoid the natives when they have come around."
Haja's tail twitched and he curled his feet underneath as he laid down. "'Do you think we will run into any of those animals or people?'''
Snape nodded. "It is likely."' At the nervous flick of an ear he hastened to add, "It will be useful in your training. Remember, you may be using your animagus form as a weapon. Training in this form will translate to your human form, if you apply the principles and the maneuvers you learn."
Haja now looked settled back onto the bed and Snape gave him a stroke over his head. "Now, after we are gone, She will come to the campsite and fetch you. Go with her. Listen carefully. Observe your surroundings and let the feline instincts help guide your responses. You are a domesticated feline, but with her help you should be able to tap into the wilder, instinctual side." He gave a smirk. "See if you can manage to apply yourself to your studies better than you do in your human form."
Haja sat up straight and his tail swished in a rapid, irritated response to the jibe. "'Cats are in the lion family. I'm still a Gryffindor in this form."'
"That's what I'm afraid of." Snape remarked with a raised eyebrow. He turned before Haja could respond to that and gathered a satchel he had already packed, throwing the strap over his shoulder. "We will be gone all day. Do not be alarmed if you return before we do."
With that he turned and exited the tent, leaving Haja to contemplate the day ahead.
It wasn't long after Snape and Draco disappeared into the forest that Haja heard the screaming roar that announced the large cat was here. She padded into the campsite, looking at Haja with large intelligent golden eyes.
'''Magic man human has gone?'''
Haja responded, '''Yes. They are gone for now.'''
She sat there, appraising him, tail swishing slightly, before she growled, '''Come then. Follow me as closely as you can. I will be moving quickly. If I should stop, you are to stay behind me and be quiet. You will be merely observing for now.'''
Haja hurried to follow as she slid into the shadows of the foliage. Her pace was not a hurried one for her, but for Haja's smaller body it was quite brisk. He struggled to stay caught up and there were a few times that he had to call out, asking her to wait. She would sit down and he would catch up with her, noting the irritated twitch of an ear before she turned to continue the run through the humid green.
The birds and monkeys seemed to take no notice of them, their shrieks and calls remaining loud around and above them. They traveled on and on until Haja had to simply stop and pant in fatigue. She came back and sat down next to him, regarding him closely. Her nose came close to him and Haja flinched as she sniffed and then gave a swipe of her rough tongue to his ear.
'''Magic man human said that you would be slow to start, but he did not say you would be weak. I smell injuries on you that came from humans. Who did this to you?'''
Haja flicked his tail and settled down to use the rest time She was allowing. '''My human family… they are cruel. My cousin does not like cats.'''
'''I would gut him if I came across him.'''
Haja looked up at her in surprise. '''Why would you do that? You don't know me yet.'''
'''Your injuries were not the kind that a human could accidently cause. I can tell that they were deliberately done. I would do no less to anything that hurt my own cub. You are magic man human's cub.'''
Haja startled. '''His cub?'''
'''Yes.''' She gave him an impatient prod with a paw that dwarfed him. He rolled sideways from the force and she growled softly. '''You need to eat more meat to strengthen you. Stay here.''' She pushed him further into the shadows of the fern that he was laying beside.
Before Haja could respond She was gone, melting silently into the shadows of the rainforest. He laid there, listening to the sounds around him, watching what he could see from his hiding place. He was as alone as he had ever been and in a place that was as foreign as if he was on another planet. What if She didn't come back? What if she had abandoned him? Even if he returned to human form he knew that they had traveled far from the campsite. He had no idea of coordinates to focus an apparition on. He trembled and scooted further back under the fern. Closing his eyes he focused on calming himself. Panic would not help him in either form.
He gradually relaxed and just listened to the sounds, trying to separate them and attach them to the different animals he had seen. When they became suddenly silent his eyes opened wide and the slitted pupils dilated. Muscles bunched as he prepared to flee from whatever unknown danger had silenced the other animals.
The monkeys began their chattering again and Haja relaxed a little. Just then there was a muffled thump in front of him that had him hissing. The bloody body of some kind of small animal lay on the ground outside the shelter of the fern. Then gold eyes were peering through the foliage at him.
'''Come out cub. Come out and eat.'''
Haja crept warily out of the leaves, eying the dead animal. As a human, he would have guessed it to be a rat, but it was as big as he was and the tail was short. She laid a heavy paw on the head and quickly bit into the body, tearing a strip of fur off and baring the raw meat.
Haja expected to feel nauseated, but the enticing smell of the fresh meat negated that and he inched closer with a low meow. She licked the meat with closed eyes and Haja heard a contented purr rumble up. Opening her eyes she called to him.
'''Come. Eat. It is not much for me, but it will be enough for you. It will give you strength to continue our lesson.'''
Haja came forward and tentatively gave the meat a lick of his own. The taste was heavenly! He bit into it and worked out getting the meat he wanted without the bones getting in the way. She laid down nearby and watched him. When he was full and trying to clean the blood off his paws and muzzle she came closer and gave him a few swipes of her own tongue. Afterwards, she turned to the leftover animal and Haja watched as she finished it off completely and quickly.
Once done, She turned to him and with a flick of her tail she growled, '''Let's move! Follow me closely!'''
Haja sprinted after the large jungle cat, running through vines and over fallen tree trunks, climbing as high up into the trees as she led him, only to slowly clamber down on trembling legs when she led him back to the ground. She showed him how to remain still and wait when the flittering butterfly tempted him to jump into the air after it. She taught him that the reward was surer and sweeter for the waiting.
Haja was sure it must have been hours later when he finally collapsed at the base of a tree.
'''I can't do anymore.'''
She sat down beside him and licked the top of his head gently. '''You have done well, cub. Better in fact than I expected, but magic man human said that you were determined.'''
Haja lifted his head. '''He said that about me?'''
'''Yes. He said you had a brave heart, like a lion.''' She hissed in aggravation. '''Lions are lazy creatures… you are like the jaguar, cunning, silent as the shadows, deadly.'''
Haja narrowed his eyes at the slur on the symbol of Gryffindor and then decided that perhaps he could be both, although She's definition of the jaguar sounded more like Slytherin. He rolled over and peered up through the tree above him, watching the movement of the inhabitants.
After a few minutes his eyes began to close and She reached over and swatted him gently. '''Do not sleep now. We are not far from your camp. Get up and move.'''
Haja reluctantly stood up and followed her as she melted back into the dark undergrowth. He was beginning to think that her definition of 'not far' was quite different from his own when they broke through the trees to the clearing where the tents stood. He started into the site and She cuffed him, knocking him to the ground.
'''Never move into the open until you have watched.'''
He sat back up and shook his head and watched her as she crouched there and slowly perused the area, her eyes scanning across the space and above it, her ears twitching in different directions as she listened. He followed her example and suddenly heard the voices of Snape and Draco coming from the opposite direction. He turned to speak to She but she had vanished into the undergrowth again. He peered intently, trying to see where she had gone, but it was as if she had never been there.
He scampered over to the tent and slid inside just as the Snape and Draco came into the campsite. He wanted to wait until Snape came into the tent and tell him about the day he had had, but almost as soon as his feet hit the bunk bed he had curled up and was asleep.
When he awoke it was dark outside, and Snape had lit a lantern for him. It sat beside a plate of the food he had prepared. Instead of going out after he ate, Harry decided to write about what had happened that day, while it was fresh in his mind. He noticed that his hip and shoulder muscles were beginning to stiffen and he wondered if it was from all the climbing as a cat that he had done. With a sigh he thought that tomorrow would be difficult if he got very sore.
Later, Snape came inside and nodded when he saw what Harry was doing. Harry felt a sense of pride that Snape approved and he gave a small smile.
Snape tilted his head in question when he noticed harry wince when he shifted in his seat. "Were you injured today?"
"No. But She had me climbing up and down trees and running everywhere. My shoulders and hips are getting sore. Do you think it will be worse tomorrow?"
"This kind of stiffness usually is. I'll give you a draught for the discomfort. Did you have enough to eat? That kind of exercise needs plenty of nutrients to fuel it."
"Yes. She brought me some meat to eat. Then I ate here, so I'm fine." He looked at Severus earnestly. "Shouldn't I be grossed out about eating raw meat like that? I feel like I should, now that I'm back in human form. But I remember it tasting so good when I was a cat."
Snape sat down in another chair and leaned towards Harry. "You are learning to reconcile the different thought processes of your animagus and your human mind. It is normal to feel the pull in the differences and feel upset by things like what your animagus may choose to eat. The journaling that you are doing will help you settle that within yourself sooner."
Harry nodded. "Is She coming again tomorrow?"
Snape nodded. "She will continue your training for as long as we are here. She is willing and the training is something that would not otherwise be possible, remember."
Harry nodded again before returning to his writing. Snape stood up and couldn't resist ruffling the hair of the young man before he left the tent again. Harry stared after him, once again put off balance by the gesture that was so unlike the Professor he thought he knew.
A/N: I am incredibly sorry about the long delay in posting this chapter! Thank you for your patience! Real life just kind of takes precedence sometimes, even when we wish otherwise. Anyway, I am trying to grab a few moments to update this and hopefully, Into The Lightning, this weekend.
Remember that this is all AU, and it is fiction, and it is done as an unpaid hobby. Any references to animals or plants that don't make sense… just go with it, okay? Enjoy it as a work of fiction where anything is possible!
FYI: The small mammal that She supplied for Haja was an Agouti. It is a rodent that can live in many areas, including the rainforest. It's like a large rat with a short tail!