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Aria hurried down the corridor, eager to meet up with her cousin Bríd for the first time since breakfast. She had just come from her first Care of Magical Creatures class and couldn't be more excited. She hoped her cousin had had as good a time in Divination with Professor Trelawney as she had with Professor Kettleburn. Aria rounded the corner and spotted Bríd leaning against the hall outside the library.

'Care of Magical Creatures is the best!' was the first thing that burst from her mouth as she stopped next to Bríd. 'Professor Kettleburn brought unicorns today. They are so amazing! We got to pet them and I got to feed one. Plus, I earned Gryffindor five points. Next week Professor said we get to learn about the jobberknoll and the diricawl.' Aria paused to take a breath. 'It's seriously the best class. How was Divination? Is Professor Trelawney nice?'

Bríd shook her head and rolled her eyes. 'Apparently, Ar, I… am going to die. We did tealeaf readings. Professor Trelawney took my cup and read it for the class. She went pale, nearly dropped the cup and then proclaimed that "My dear! Oh, my poor, poor dear!"' Bríd's voice changed to a high, breathy falsetto and the blonde clutched at her chest with a horrified look on her face, her bright blue eyes wide with something supposed to resemble terror. '"Oh my poor dear. No! Do not make me answer! It is too terrible! I cannot – I will not –"'

Aria grinned at Bríd's acting as Fred, George and Lee walked up, each holding a pear they had just filched from the kitchens. Lee started to asked what Bríd was doing, but she cut him off, her voice normal before she returned to her breathy, dramatic imitation of Professor Trelawney for Aria's amusement.

'So, of course, everyone and their owl wants to know what she saw in my cup. "My dear, you have much pain and strife in your future. The knives beside the ape… a secret enemy will cause you great pain and disaster. A broken chain predicts trouble and wrapped around a raven…"' Bríd paused and closed her eyes, as if in great pain, '"the raven is death…"'

Aria couldn't help it – she'd never heard anything quite so ridiculous and she burst out laughing. Lee nearly dropped his pear as he threw his head back, barking out a laugh. Fred and George's face were identically identical in their hilarity. Bríd grinned happily and gave an exaggerated, sweeping bow. There was nothing Bríd loved more than preforming and making her friends laugh.

'I should have listened to Mum when she said not to bother with Divination,' Bríd leaned against the wall next to her cousin. 'The entire lesson was a load of rubbish. As if soggy tea leaves could predict my future. Though, Louise Clarke kept glancing at me like she expected me to expire right there in front of her. Go face down in my tea leaves or something equally ridiculous.'

'And why didn't you, you inconsiderate trollop?' Fred asked indignantly, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised.

'I figured I'd at least wait until after lunch,' Bríd shrugged. 'Do something really dramatic like fall off my broom at quiddich trials or beat myself with my own bat. Or I could be smothered by my pillow.'

'You could drown in your pudding,' Aria suggested, which encouraged Fred and George to start spouting off way in which Bríd could meet her demise.

'A bookshelf could fall and crush you.'

'Gnomes could bite you to death.'

'Your tie could strangle you.'

'Your tea leaves might seek revenge for you doubting them and stuff themselves in your nose and mouth and suffocate you.'

Bríd laughed so hard she snorted, which only made her laugh harder. Professor Snape eyed them suspiciously as he swept past and the twins made faces at him after he had rounded the corner. Aria glanced at his watch. "Transfiguration in four minutes. We should go. Fred, did you get –'

'Pear for the animal lover,' Fred handed Aria a pear from his bag before turning to Bríd and pulling out a roll, 'and bread for the girl who's allergic to nuts and uncooked fruits and vegetables.'

'An enemy could sneak some sort of nut into my food…' Bríd pretended to eye Fred suspiciously as she took the offered roll. 'Should I trust you, Fred Weasley?'

'Absolutely not,' he shook his head seriously as they walked down the corridor towards the transfiguration classroom.

'Oh well. Sourdough's worth it.' Bríd took a bite of the roll. As they got closer to the door, she staggered, grasping at her throat and pretending to gag and sputter.

'Miss Desford…' Professor McGonagall sighed her name as she walked up on them on her way to her classroom.

'Sorry, Professor!' Bríd smiled winningly and stopped faking her death. 'We're deciding how I'm going to die.'

'Am I to assumed that you have become Sybill Trelawney's latest victim, Miss Desford?'

'I am.'

'Latest?'

'Yes, Mr Jordan. Every year, Professor Trelawney greets her new third years by predicting the death of one of their classmates.' Professor McGonagall's tone betrayed the fact that she thought lowly of the art of Divination. 'I'm glad to see you are not putting too much stock in your prophesied death, Miss Desford. Divination is a very… inaccurate science. I do not set much store by it, myself. Nor do I have much patience for those who do.'

'Professor, is it too late for me to switch Divination for Arithmancy?' Bríd asked as she followed her into the classroom.

'I don't see why it would be. What electives are you taking?'

'Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination,' Aria answered for her as she sat next to the empty seat Bríd would soon fill. 'She's being an overachiever.'

Bríd stuck her tongue out at her cousin as more Ravenclaws and Gryffindors slowly filed in as well. Professor McGonagall suppressed a smile. 'I don't see why that should be a problem, Miss Desford. You will need to talk to professor Vector and, with her permission, I can change your schedule.'

'Thank you, Professor!' With that, Bríd plopped down in her seat beside Aria and began pulling out her Intermediate Transfiguration textbook, some parchment, a quill and ink bottle, all of which Aria had already pulled from her bag. Fred and George had a shared copy of the book open between them – neither one of them willing to admit to their mother that the other copy, the one that had belonged to their oldest brother Bill, had accidently been used to put out a small fire they had caused in their bedroom when one of their experiments turned out not quite as they intended. Lee got stuck sharing a desk with an unkempt, smelly Ravenclaw boy that no one particularly liked, Wills Alden, and Lee's displeasure showed on his face as he also unpacked.

Aria and Bríd whispered and giggled while the classroom filed. When every seat was occupied and the final bell had rung to indicate classes had begun, Professor McGonagall waved her wand at the door and it swung closed with a satisfyingly loud thud.

'Welcome back to Hogwarts,' she greeted them. 'I trust you all had an enjoyable summer holiday and are ready to resume your studies. We will start this year on the topic on animagus. Can any one of you tell me what an animagus is?'

Aria's hand shot into the air first and Professor McGonagall nodded at her. 'An animagus is a witch or wizard who can turn into an animal at will.'

'Very good, Miss Desford. Two points to Gryffindor. Can anyone explain how an Animagus differs from a Metamorphmagus, which we studied last year?'

No one raised their hand and Professor McGonagall waited. And waited. And waited until a Ravenclaw boy in the very back ventured a hand up.

'Mr Kearn?'

'Well, Metamorphmagi can change their appearance, but they can't make themselves into something entirely different.'

Professor McGonagall awarded him two points before looking to see if anyone else had anything to add. Bríd raised her hand tentatively.

'Metamorphmagi are born Metamorphmagi. They don't have a say in whether or not they want to be a Metamorphmagus.'

'Who wouldn't want to be a Metamorphamus?' Fred cracked a joke and the classroom snickered.

'But don't Animagi have to use magic to become Animagi?' Bríd went on as if Fred had never spoken. 'Animagi aren't born animagi. They become animagi by choice. Right?'

'A very good guess, Miss Desford. Two points,' Professor McGonagall nodded and turned to point her wand at the chalkboard, upon which words began appearing. 'An Animagus chooses to become an Animagus. The magic required to become an Animagus is highly complex and dangerous should the witch or wizard fail. Because of this, the Ministry of Magic keeps a close eye on those attempting the feat. It is so complex, that there are only seven registered Animagi this century.'

Professor McGonagall paused and stayed quiet as quills scratched out the last of what she had been saying. Students looked back up, expecting more to write in their notes, but Professor McGonagall didn't continue speaking. This had never happened before. The transfiguration classroom had never been silent in the two years they had spent time learning there. Professor McGonagall was either teaching and expecting them to take detailed notes or the stone walls reverberated with students practicing spells and Professor McGonagall walked up and down between the desks correcting them. The room had never been silent.

Just when the silence was getting particularly unsettling, Professor McGonagall morphed into a sleek silver tabby cat. The classroom erupted in cheers and applause as the silver tabby cat sat on the desk and swished her tail back and forth. After a about a minute Professor McGonagall morphed back into her normal self, but the applause didn't diminish.

'THAT WAS WICKED!' Lee shouted.

'Thank you very much, Mr Jordan.'

A/N:

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