A/N: I got a few comments on Hermione's reaction on Harry's transformation so I decided to post a small snippet of her reaction from her point of view after she left to get Hedwig.
So here is Hermione's reaction:
Hermione immediately volunteerd herself to get Hedwig when Luna came up with the idea and quickly ran out of the room before anyone could see her red cheeks. She already got teased enough about her friendship with Harry, she didn't want anyone to know for sure that her feelings had stopped being just friendly two years ago.
She and Harry weren't in a hurry. Hermione didn't believe in finding a lasting love as young as they were and she wanted them to last more than anything. So, by mutual if silent agreement, they would wait.
She liked what they had and while she caught Harry looking at her sometimes with something so very soft in his green eyes, Hermione was pretty sure Harry felt the same. If it was time, then it was time to upgrade their relationship but for now they were both happy where they were.
But still, he took her breath away sometimes.
She had been supposed to concentrate on her own transformation into her Great Grey Owl, but instead she hadn't been able to resist watching Harry as he smoothly transformed. Hermione hadn't known it before but apparently, competence really did it for her.
Merlin, Harry being the first to turn in his Animagus form really was amazing. A dragon. Harry could turn into an actual dragon.
Leaning against the wall outside the Room of Requirement for a moment she sternly told herself, "Breathe Hermione. He's still Harry. He's just a boy. A boy who can turn into a extinct dragon species yes, but still a boy."
A passing student in a Slytherin tie quirked an amused eyebrow and asked, "You okay there, Granger?"
Feeling her face turn red all over again at being caught, she tried to pretent there was nothing to see. Nothing unusual to see here.
Smiling politely, Hermione told the other girl as casually as she could, "I'm fine, Davis."
Tracy Davis looked like she didn't look like she believed her, but to Hermione's relief she seemed to decide it wasn't any of her business as she continued on with wherever she had been going.
Putting her cool hands against her flushed cheeks to cool them down some more, Hermione nodded firmly to herself. She needed to compose herself and get Hedwig so she could help Harry with his flying. And wasn't that interesting? Apparently it wasn't instinct for an Animagus to fly. She felt an excited smile forming on her face, Hermione couldn't wait to question Harry about his form. There was still very little known about his species and she, Hermione Granger, would be able to get the information from the actual source!
It was going to be brilliant.
A/N: As for the guesses on Luna's Animagus form, as of yet only one person guessed it right! It will be revealed in the next chapter together with Ginny's Animagus form.
On with the main story, here is a chapter in Sirius's POV.
Hope you like it.
It was weekend, a week before the first task, when Sirius closed the door behind Harry and turned towards Remus and asked, "Ready to start the hunt?"
His oldest friend looked up from his book about dragon breeds and closed it with a soft snap. The first task of the Triwizard Tournament was almost upon them and Sirius couldn't be more relieved that Harry wasn't forced to participate. As a teacher, and wasn't that little thing still boggling his mind, he was kept in the loop as to what the first task was going to be.
Dragons.
The three students chosen by the Goblet of Fire would have to get a golden egg from a bloody nesting mother dragon. Sirius wondered who came up with that insane idea. Even with Harry's Animagus form, which they wanted to keep as secret as possible, he wasn't sure if his pup could have done it. Harry might have been the biggest dragon breed in existence, he was still a juvenile dragon. He was the almost the size of a Hungarian Horntail but not quite. And nesting mother dragons were no joke.
But most importantly, who knew what Voldemort had ordered his followers to do? They knew from Barty that Voldemort had been planning on something in the third task but who knew if that was the only one the bastard will mess with. Or if he was still planning on something now that Harry had gotten out of the Tournament.
But he'd digressed, it was time to start hunting for the other Horcruxes. Sirius had been planning for this for a while but knew he could only start the search when Harry was safe under the wards of Hogwarts. Harry of course, had wanted to join them too but while his son had come far, Sirius couldn't take the risk.
His son didn't need to be there for the Horcrux hunt, so why should Sirius risk Harry's life?
Dumbledore had looked dumbfounded when Sirius explained it so and had at first protested when Sirius'd told the Headmaster his plans for the weeked. Once again he was reminded that they couldn't quite trust the old man, not completely at least. Albus Dumbledore might mean well, but he didn't have Harry's wellbeing in mind. Not really.
Not like Sirius and Remus did.
Albus had a plan in mind for Harry and Voldemort and everytime they changed it, Albus got thrown off his game. He acted apologetic and probably even was yet he kept trying. Kept trying to put Harry in unnessecary danger. Harry hadn't quite noticed it yet, and Sirius knew he had to talk to him about it soon, lest Harry trusted and thus followed Dumbledore's plans without talking to them. But his pup had a good head on his shoulders, thankfully he took after Lily in that, so Sirius didn't think he had much to worry about.
Remus stood up from his chair by the warm fire and nodded firmly, "Let's go, Padfoot."
Bloodaxe, the Account manager of the Black family, had given them as much information as he could about the Horcruxes. It hadn't been much, it wouldn't have been enough if it hadn't been for Albus.
Say what you want about Albus Dumbledore, but he did have a very good idea as to where the man who used to be Tom Riddle would have hidden his little 'treasures'. The Headmaster had done his research into Tom Riddle and as his former teacher, he already had a good idea as to where Riddle might have hidden his Horcruxes.
The first locations they would visit were Little Hangleton and the Orphanage where the boy had grown up.
They apparated to Little Hangleton and appeared with a quiet pop. The little village was dark, with only a few lights still on to light their way. It was a beautiful little town but there was a strange pressure hanging around the air.
Sharing a look with Moony, Sirius said, "Well, I'm guessing we've come to the right place."
"Yes, I can feel it too." Remus's eyes flashed gold, "It feels wrong."
Remus was right. It felt like they were breathing through oil here in Little Hangleton, slimey and sticky and Sirius wondered how the muggles could live here. Didn't they feel it too? The wrongness?
"Let's check it out." Sirius had been told by Albus about both the Manor where Tom Riddle snr. had lived and the shack where Merope Gaunt had grown up in. Albus had told them the whole sad story of poor Merope and her love [obsession] with the handsome muggle boy.
Of the love potion and the subsequent rape of Tom Riddle snr.
Sirius hated love potions with a burning passion, he didn't understand how most of the love potions were still legal to use on another person. Sirius had the nasty suspicion that the only reason the damned things were still legal was because the Heir and Lord rings protected their wearer to potions like that so the 'important' people wouldn't be harmed by the damn things anyway.
Sirius hoped he was wrong.
He was pretty sure he wasn't.
They decided to first visit Riddle Manor. A quick point me spell later and then they were standing in front of where the manor was supposed to be standing.
Instead the only thing they saw was an empty lot of land. No manor, not even a house or garden shed to be found on the property.
Sirius scratched the back of his head as they looked at the empty land in front of them, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Moony?"
"Yes, Padfoot. Or rather, I'm missing what you are missing." Remus replied with a wry smile that made Sirius let out a surprised chuckle.
Sirius nodded, alright so he hadn't gone insane just yet. Thinking out loud for a moment he asked his friend, "The Fidelius, do you recon?"
"Perhaps." Remus responded with some thought. "But not like the one Lily cast. We still knew where Riddle Manor was, it's just gone. Someone must have fiddled with the spell."
Sirius growled, "So Voldemort is hiding here. We know he doesn't have a body yet, so who cast the spell? It can't be Wormtail. The rat wouldn't be capable of it and Barty is in Amelia's custody."
"Either Crouch cast the spell before he was caught or there is another Death Eater helping Voldemort." Remus said with a slight growl in his voice. "We need to warn them. Lets get away from here and sent them a Patronus, the Horcrux probably isn't here anyway if he's hiding here himself. Amelia and Albus need to know what we've found."
Sirius agreed and together they went towards the run down path that led towards the old Gaunt shack. Almosts there, hidden by the trees, Sirius thought about his most positive and vivid memory, the day Harry agreed to be blood-adopted by him. About the day James asked him to be a minutes old Harry's godfather. The day Sirius stood at James side as he married Lily.
Blinking away the tears, he cast in tandem with Remus, "Expecto Patronum."
A silver wolf came from Remus's wand but instead of the silver grim Sirius had been expecting, a familiar dragon came out. A suddering sigh escaped him and he said quietly, "Harry."
"He's beautiful, Padfoot." Remus said just as quietly as the two animals waited for their orders. "Go to Albus Dumbledore and tell him we've found Voldemort's base in Little Hangleton."
Sirius approached the silvery dragon that had the same shape as his son and gently touched the nose, "Go to Amy, Amelia Bones and tell her we've discovered Voldemort's hide out in Little Hangelton. He has hidden Riddle Manor from with some kind of Fidelius spell."
Both beasts bowed and ran off.
Staring after them, Sirius shrugged and said, "Shall we check out the shack?"
The shack was pitful. Just a little run down wooden shack that looked like it had been rotting away for longer than Sirius had been alive. And yet, there was the sense that this was the right place. The nasty pressure they could feel in the village was stronger here, much stronger. Sirius wasn't sure why Voldemort would have hidden his Horcrux here in the house his mother had grown up in, but it was clear that he had.
Never before had Sirius felt such darkness radiating from something. He was a Black, darkness was in his blood. He had grown up with his mother, an insane witch if there had ever been one but still, this run down shed felt worse. Much worse than anything his mother had ever done.
Soul magic.
Pulling out his wand, Sirius approached the shed as carefully as he could with Remus ready at his back. The first sign of trouble came with a furious hissing sound. Sirius had only a moment of regret of not taking Harry with him after all before a Runespore came at them.
The three-headed snake looked insane, all three heads completely focused on killing the intruders. Which was strange for a snake famous for it's abilty to argue with itself. Harry would have loved to meet the snake if it hadn't been mutated by the Horcrux it was guarding.
A quick cutting curse later and the three heads lay next to the still twitching body on the ground.
"Well," Remus breathed out in shock, "I think we are in the right place."
Sirius guffawed and asked with a raised eyebrow and a sarcastic smirk he knew irritated his friend, "You think so?"
Remus huffed out an annoyed little breath that made Sirius grin as he pushed passed Sirius and carefully opened the wooden door of the shack. Remus sniffed and said, "I'm not smelling any other people or animals. Can you do your thing?"
Sirius nodded. As a Black he had a strong sensitivity to dark magic, and a lot of knowledge about them whenever he'd wanted to or not. His family had made sure he knew everything there was to know about the Dark Arts and how to fight with and against them as the Black Heir was supposed to do.
He readied his wand and started casting.
His grandfather Arcturus had been a cursebreaker, a very good one. The old man had taught Sirius all he knew about entering potentially cursed rooms and finding cursed treasures. He quickly found the location of the Horcrux. If his spell hadn't told him, then the decay of the place would have. In a cornor underneath the floorboards, where black mold was growing and wood was rotting, lay the Horcrux.
Sirius could feel the dark compulsion trying to ensnare his mind and stopped Remus from stepping forward as he raised his wand to cancel the tricky spellwork surrounding the Horcrux.
Remus shook his head like a wet dog and asked groggily, "What was that?"
"That, my friend, was a compulsion spell of the highest order." Sirius explained as he wiped the sweat of his brow. From a few feet of distance he levitated the floorboard away from it's place. "I've dispelled it but be careful. The dark bastard wants anyone who enters here to put on the Horcrux, so lets not do that, yeah?"
Remus nodded and carefully inched forward towards the hole where the Horcrux was waiting for them. Sirius followed, wand still raised and ready to stun or dispell anything.
Remus looked and said, "It's in a box. A jewelly box."
Sirius watched as Remus cast his own detection spells before opening the box. "It's a ring. Quite a ugly one too."
He stepped closer and took a look for himself. Sirius had to agree, the ring was quite ugly. The gold of the band was blackend with age and the stone in the middle looked old and was cracked. Why had Voldemort chosen this ring as his Horcrux?
Taking out the Moleskin pouch Bloodaxe had given them for this, Sirius watched Remus carefully levitate the Horcrux with box and all into the Moleskin pouch. The goblins would destroy it for them in the same ritual they had used on Harry, a much safer way of destroying the damn things than using Fiendfyer or Basilisk venom.
Dusting of his robes as the oily feeling of the Horcrux disappeared Sirius asked, "Do we leave a replica?"
"That might be wise," Remus hummed thoughtfully, "We wouldn't want to alert Voldemort to the fact that we're on to him."
The making of the replica of the box and ring was quick work but the radiating aura of doom took a bit longer. But even that was done with a few spells Sirius remembered from his youth. Removing the dusting footprints and any other trace was easy and then they were standing outside again, looking at the corpse of the Runespore.
Magic really made it way to easy to commit crimes.
"How are we going to hide this?" Sirius asked with a groan.
"Best to just make the snake disappear. We don't want anyone see that we killed the snake in such an unnatural way, so completely destroying the body seems the best option." Moony concluded with a shrug as he cast the nessecary spells to make the corpse of the once beautiful snake vanish.
They apparated to Gringotts where Bloodaxe was already waiting for them. The account manager of the Black family looked up from the parchment he was writing on and said, "Lord Black, Mr. Lupin, did you find something in one of the locations?"
"We did." Sirius said with a satisfied grin on his face as he leaned back in his chair. He pulled out the pouch out of his robe and tossed it on Bloodaxe's desk. "Here it is. It's in a box, a very ugly old ring with a cracked black stone on it."
A bushy eyebrow went up, "A black stone you say?"
Remus, sitting on the chair next to him, asked, "Is there something interesting about the stone?"
Bloodaxe hummed noncommitingly, "Perhaps. I'll sent word to the ritual chamber that another abomination has been found. Do you two want to witness the destruction?"
Sirius, who was by now ready to call it a night, shook his head and thanked the goblin for their help. By tonight four Horcruxes would be destroyed. If their suspicions were right, there would only be two more to go next to Voldemort himself.
Back at Hogwarts, Sirius grabbed his mirror and called Harry to tell him the news.
"One more down, only two left to go, pup." He said with a tired grin as Harry's face appeared. It still warmed something deep inside hime very time he saw his son. With Harry's hair the same color as his own and his face, his cheekbones so very like every Black before him. His son.
James and Lily would have been so proud of their boy.
Harry grinned, "That's amazing, Padfoot! Where did you find it? What was it?"
Chuckeling softly at Harry's questions, Sirius sat down in front of the fire that Remus just made and explained, "We went to Little Hangleton, the town where Voldemort's parents came from. In his father's manor we found nothing, it was hidden from sight."
"Hidden?" Harry questioned.
Remus came to stand next to him so Sirius angled the mirror so he could see Harry as he explained, "Yes, cub. We think Voldemort had a follower modify the fillius spell for his needs. We are pretty sure he is hiding there."
Harry sounded breathless as he exclaimed, "You've found him?!"
From a distance away he could here Harry's friend grumble in his sleep as Harry's excited words almost woke him up. Harry eyes widened and he quickly closed the curtains around his bed which activated the silencing spell.
Sirius chuckled, "We did. Amelia and the Headmaster are aware but we can't do anything about it, unfortunately. Not until he comes out from underneath the wards."
Harry's shoulders dropped and Sirius smiled wryly. He knew that wasn't what his son wanted to hear.
"Are you sure?"
"Unfortunately so, pup, there isn't anything we can do for as long as Voldemort stays under the wards. But not all is lost, we found another one." Sirius hated, hated, disappointing Harry but there truly wasn't anything they could do about it.
To Sirius's relief, Harry perked up at that little bit of news, "You've found a Horcrux?"
"We did." Sirius said with a bright grin. "Bloodaxe has his cursebreaker team destroying the thing as we speak. Only two left to go, pup!"
"Good, that's good." Harry breathed out, relieved. "What was it?"
Remus sat down on the armrest of Sirius's chair and told their pup what exactly they had found in the old Gaunt Shack, "It was a ring. An old ring, made of gold with a black stone in the middle with a crack in it."
Harry tilted his head and asked with a frown, "A stone?"
"What is it with people repeating that bit? Do you know anything about the stone, pup?" Sirius asked with a worried look on his face.
"Well," Harry admitted with a shrug, "I've told you guys about my dream last Samhain, remember? Lady Persephone told me to find her Hallows. A cloak, a wand and a stone."
Persephone. The Goddess of Death. Sirius still wasn't sure how he felt about all that. He was her Harbinger according to Harry and if he was honest, it felt more like the truth than anything else. He was connected to her, and to the Death she ruled over through his Animagus form. Perhaps even his soul.
"You think that the little stone on the old ring Voldemort used as his Horcrux is one of your Patron's Hallows?" Sirius asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.
Harry shrugged again, "Who knows? Do you think Bloodaxe will tell us if it is on of the Hallows?"
"Of course he will. Bloodaxe knows about the connection between House Peverell and Lady Death. He won't risk offending her." Harry relaxed a bit at Sirius assurance and yawned.
"Go to sleep, pup. We'll see you again tomorrow." Sirius told him with a fond smile.
Harry nodded, "Goodnight, dad. Goodnight Moony."
"Sleep well, cub." Remus told their pup with a gentle smile as mirror went dark.
Sirius stared at the dark mirror for a moment, remembering the times he used the mirror with another Potter. James had been his brother, Lily his sister in all but blood and now they shared a son.
Remus sat down in the other chair and said pointingly, "You are doing well, Padfoot. Harry couldn't ask for a better father."
Smiling wryly he could only shrug, "Except Prongs, right?"
Remus growled which startled Sirius, "No Padfoot, not even James. You need to stop comparing yourself to James. He's gone, Sirius."
Breathing out shakingly Sirius tried his best to look his friend into his eyes, "I know that."
"Do you?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because I forget sometimes. But Harry needs you, Padfoot. He needs you."
Did he though? Sometimes, when he had a bad day, he remembered all the things he did wrong. All the things that should make him a horrible father. But then that boy, that wonderful boy looked at him and he forgot all of his doubts, all of his regrets.
Harry was his.
Stronger now he answered, "Yes, I do. I miss James, I miss Lily, but they are gone. Harry has only us now and I will do my best for him."
Remus's eyes flashed gold, "Good."
"Good?" Repeated Sirius unsurely, "That's it?"
Moony shrugged casually, "I just wanted to make sure you knew where you stood. There has been al lot going on lately, and sometimes I worry about you."
Sirius broke out in a grin and he cooed, "Aww Moony! That's so sweet of you." Turning more serious he continued, "But really, I'm fine. Andromeda is helping me with mind healing as well as my physical problems. I still have some ways to go, but I'm so much better than I was."
Remus breathed out a sigh of relief that made Sirius smile, his friend was a worrywart of the highest order and he was surprised that Remus hadn't started this conversation earlier, motherhen that he was.
"And you, Moony?" Sirius asked, "How are you doing with all this?"
To Sirius's surprise, instead of deflecting, Remus smiled, "Sirius, you don't have to worry about me. I've got a pack again. You and Harry make everything better, both for me, and for Moony too."
That was good to hear. Sirius had seen how different his friend looked last year after years without a pack. Wolves were not meant to be alone. Remus had gained a few pound he sincerly needed and the scars and scrathes had lessened now that Sirius was able to join him again for the full moons.
"I'm glad." Sirius said after a long pause. "You deserve some happiness too, Moony."
The next morning came early and found Sirius standing in front of the fourth year dueling class. He remembered the first lesson with Harry in his classroom.
Flashback:
Sirius paced nervously as the clock ticked closer and closer to the time his first class was supposed to arrive. To his surprised pleasure, the first class he had to teach was Harry's year.
Remus chuckled, "It will be fine, Padfoot. Just keep an eye out on any trouble brewing between the students and you will do fine."
Sirius tried to keep his wail in but had a feeling he didn't succeed, "Why did I agree to this? I'm not a teacher, Moony!"
Rolling his eyes fondly his friend he replied in a dry tone, "Chin up, Sirius. They can smell fear."
Sirius sincerely hoped that wasn't true but he didn't have time to reply as the door opened and the fourth year students walked inside. Remus directed them to stand in two lines, facing each other. From his spot Harry smiled encouraging at him and Sirius took a deep breath before he started talking.
"Welcome to the first Dueling class in forty years. I'm Professor Black and teaching with me is someone you already know, Professor Lupin." Sirius started his speel. Quit a few students applauded when he introduced Remus and after searching the faces of the students who kept quiet he continued, "This is a very physical class and while accidents can happen, I will punish you harshly if you cause someone harm on purpose. This is not a joke."
Remus took over, "Bullying will not be tolerated. We'll teach you how to duel, how to fight with magic but if we catch you using our teachings inappropriately, we will make sure you regret it."
Most of the students stood straigther at their warnings but Sirius saw some students exchange a smirk. His little cousin, Draco Malfoy being one of them. Harry had told them about the boy and Remus had a few stories of his own time teaching the littlest Malfoy so Sirius knew to keep an eye on him.
"Now, everyone choose a partner from another House and get in postition." Sirius waited for everyone to have picked a partner and then continued, "We will be teaching the disarming spell today, Experlliamus."
Keeping an close eye on the students as Remus showed the wand movements and the pronunciation, Sirius made his rounds. He knew Harry already knew this spell and was quite handy with it but he was probably one of the only ones.
It all went well until Sirius saw a bright yellow flash instead of the expected red one coming from Malfoy's direction. Remus went to help Neville whose face had broken out in a few painful looking boils.
Taking a few quick steps, he barked out, "Mr. Malfoy! Give me your wand."
The brat tried to look innocent but Sirius knew better, "Your wand, Mr. Malfoy."
"It wasn't me, Professor. Longbottom must have cast the spell wrong." The mini Lucius said with a mean snicker.
Sirius raised and haughty eyebrow and held out his hand. Malfoy narrowed his eyes but paled when he got a good look at Sirius expression. He quickly gave his wand over.
Good, at least the boy still had some brain cells left in his head. Sirius had seriously started to wonder what was wrong with Narcissa's son. He cast a quick Prior Incantato and immediately saw he had it right. Malfoy had cast the boil spell.
"Mr. Malfoy it was only a short while ago that I warned you and your fellow students that bullying will not be tolerated. Are you hard of hearing?" He asked, stone faced and, excuse his pun, serious.
Malfoy flushed an unflattering shade of red and grumbled, "It's not my fault that Longbottom stepped in front of Potter."
And there went his hope for even a single brain cell in Narcissa's son head. He raised and incredolous eyebrow, "Did I just hear you confess trying to curse my son, Mr Malfoy?"
Snickers sounded from all around them as they watched the show. Sirius knew he had finish this quickly as the boy flushed an even deeper shade of red in his anger, "Alright Mr. Malfoy, since this is your first offence I will be lenient. Two weeks of dentention with Mr. Flinch."
"Two weeks?!" The boy blurted out and Sirius had to hide his satisfied grin. Two weeks with Flich was quite the punishment already but he wanted to make sure everyone knew that messing around was not allowed in this class. Two weeks with the most hated caregiver of Hogwarts was for the first strike.
They better make sure there wouldn't be a second one.
End Flashback.
The rest of the class had gone well, as had every class after. The news of the punishment for the first offence spread quickly and most students behaved. Sirius found that he enjoyed teaching, even little brats like Malfoy.
Malfoy had settled down a lot after the first lesson and focused more on being better than Harry and his friends in class. He had yet to succeed to Sirius not so secret joy and Draco's mounting frustration. Still, it was nice to see the spoiled boy working so hard in their class. Even Remus remarked upon the surprisingly well behaved behavior of young Mr. Malfoy.
Sirius knew the type, and he knew that while Draco Malfoy was a horrible boy now, he could change. He wasn't evil, he was spoiled and ignorant. Sirius had hope that he could shake Draco's world up enough that he finally took a look around and see that the world was more than just what his father said it was.
Alright, so it wasn't completely selfless of him. The little Malfoy might have been his student, might be a cousin but that wasn't why he wanted to help the boy. It wasn't because of Harry either, though that was a close second.
Draco reminded him of Regulus.
Born into a pureblood family, the spoiled, beloved pride of his parents and right on the way of making the biggest mistake of his life. Regulus had been the same. His parents had loved their more obedient son, and had given him everything. Yet Sirius knew that Regulus would not have wanted to be a Death Eater, not really. His little brother hadn't known what being a Death Eater meant, had only seen what others had wanted him to see.
Until it was too late. Until his little brother, sweet little Reggie, had no way out, nowhere left to go.
Sirius didn't want to see history repeat itself.
A/N: Next up, the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament!
For those interested, I've posted a new story. This time it's a story of the Wednesday fandom and it can be found on my profile both on Fanfiction and on AO3.