Chapter 12: Forest Moon
DEDICATION: The new year. My goal of 2015 is to accomplish the goals of 2014 which I should have done in 2013 because I made a promise in 2012 and planned in 2011...
I want to finish this story before the school year starts.
Severus was worried. Extremely so.
If anyone had known about the current situation in all of its glorious detail, they would have a hard time not to be anxious or nervous or jumping up and down and shaking the nearest person and shouting 'What in the name of Merlin's pants are they thinking?'
Which was exactly what Remus did, two days prior, in Severus' rooms, shaking the living daylights out of James and Sirius and yelling to their faces because they were making a very big mistake.
Remus rarely freaks out and goes berserk in his human form so they kind of understands where he's coming from. Sirius was so busy trying to reassure Remus that he even forgot to use the age old pun.
What's worse and lacked common sense was that those two, for once, kept their mouths shut and refused to tell Remus their animagus forms. Which only increased his heart rate because he was afraid that the wolf will trample them rather than bit them.
He still is.
A panicked Remus does not think, or look. Sometimes the answer is right under his nose. Literally.
Remus was begging to know their forms so he could take precautions. Severus was threatening to see their forms so he could tease how fitting the animals are.
It seems they have gotten smart, and refused to give him any leverage to work with.
In a way, bantering was one of his methods to take his mind off of things. Things that were bad, and things that were far worse.
There's about a dozen different ways that tonight could go wrong. The wolf may step on James if his form was too small, though looking at his ego and bravery Severus highly doubt that. The wolf may not accept them as its companions or pack mates. Something may jump out of the forest and eat them. A teacher may be strolling through the grounds in the dead of night for recreation and catch them. They may be stuck in their forms forever!
Etc.
And it is not paranoia when it has happened before.
The process of becoming an animagus was not as easy as it sounds. You have to find what your inner animal is somehow before you went for the big picture, potions, occulumency, the Patronus Charm, the fur on the back of your hands when you tried it out the first time. You name it.
Then there came the meditation process. Determinations is the key.
After that was the step by step, that's where the Transfiguration Masters encounters the most troubles. You were either driven mad by the animalistic instincts or you're stuck with hooves as your feet. Or the stupidest instance, where someone jumped off a tower to test their transformation only to land flat on his face.
There is no potions or spell or charm that can sped up the process either. Potions Masters all over the world had researched countless hours, only to discover a futile cause, much like the cure for lycanthropy. The only thing that can help are the extra abilities gifted to when when you're born.
It took Severus four years, with his additional illusions and his mother, a Transfiguration Master, to help him when he finally managed to produce his wings. James and Sirius did it with only books and sheer stubbornness.
Metamorphmagus could only perform human transformations, much like the infamous Polyjuice Potion. There had been cases of metamorphmagi going into St. Mungo's for full animal transformations.
Severus started making illusions at the age of 7, when his father wouldn't even think about controlling his temper and his alcohol consumption. It scared him then, the way Tobias' handsome face would contort in rage and disbelief at seeing him standing there, all alone. Then he would smile, a grin that stretched from ear to ear, stretching open his face with his teeth bared yellow for young Severus to see, and all he remembered afterwards was pain.
He learned to hide with his tricks, and how push back his tears.
Tobias would often apologize when he woke up with glass shards in his hands and realized what he was doing, at first, then his belt and fists became the only way he knew how to communicate with his son and he stopped speaking all together.
Severus could see why his mother married a muggle far below her. When sober, Tobias would spin stories and legends from his words alone. When he was sober, he would teach his son about the earth, about the history of the roman emperors, about geology and geography. Weaving forgotten pictures in the air like his own brand of magic.
When he was sober.
Severus often got lost in the woods at Prince Manor. Marveling the plants and animals that dwelled there, jealous and happy for their freedom. Often thinking about 'what-ifs' and 'maybes.'
He just wanted to be free.
When he was flying, not on some uncontrollable broomstick but on his very own power, he could forget everything and let the bird's instinct take over. With the stars and the night behind him, his sharp feathers protecting him from any and all pest in his way, he was unstoppable.
He just needed someone to share it with.
First he found the wolf. The once great animal now turned into a mess of fur, scars and bones when he first saw the transformation with his beady eyes, the bird inside him screaming at him to run. A powerful lord of the mountains, but it lacked the proud air.
So Severus sought to restore what was lost.
His feathers smelled of candle smoke and rue flowers, a scent that always calmed the wolf. Everyone smelled differently, just like their signature, just like their core.
Remus smelled of pine needles and fresh parchments as he took his time walking to the shack, a sense of dread and foreboding surrounding him that even the thick tunnel couldn't contain. Severus had long since transformed and was now perched on a sturdy branch on the edge of the Forbidden forest, waiting for them to show up.
A heavy waft of belladonna and ink came from Hagrid's hut, Severus tensed in response. Please don't tell me they're being subtle. A sense of ashwood and mint immediately followed. Severus cursed in his head.
This was not what they had agreed on.
The raven fluttered down from its branch to the ground, waiting for them to arrive and get a lashing.
Bad idea.
One second the night was clear, just trees and stars. The next second a mouth full of white fangs was thrust into his feathered face.
Severus didn't even have time to think. By reflex he flapped his long wings, trying to take to the sky or land a hit on the animal, but was hindered by the sudden presence of a pair of bronze antlers.
He cursed again. Screw this.
He moved his wings once more, fluffed his feathers, flipping out the knife blades and twisted upwards. Wrenching himself from their annoying hold, scraping off a fistful of fur from the both of them with his feathers.
The next thing he knew he was using the antlers as his newest perch and found himself looking at an over-sized dog that was deciding whether to be pissed off or laugh. The antlers belonged to a gleaming white stag that was just pissed off.
Good for them.
All the fun they get up to.
The sun was still up, but Remus was already inside the broken shack, trying not to worry about too many things. Three animals stayed outside, two of them trying not to look too stupid and failing completely.
Your animagus form represents you, and could never be changed, even if your heart did. It will always be who you really are.
The animals etched in their merits could never tell the whole story. Seeing them with his own eyes, they look more ethereal, more magical, more us. They were all different, yet they compliment each other, each keeping another balanced, keeping each other safe.
Beautiful could be described for many different things.
The stag stood tall and noble, with long antlers growing on his forehead that could rip open a person's stomach if so wished. Its coat a shining white, contrasting greatly with the pure darkness of the raven. An adversary the stag was trying valiantly to swat.
Even playing the stag emitted a quiet air of thoughtfulness and kingship. The spot of black fur on its chest was blanketed by the touches of snow white, bringing with him a new sense of regality.
Quite different to the hunching black dog at its feet.
Full of muscled hind legs and mouth full of fangs that could put a werewolf to shame. It clambered onto the back of the stag before leaping off, pushing itself into new heights to get the wretched bird that was having a great old time teasing them. Long and shaggy black hair flaring in the wind, streaked with blue and dark brown.
To be honest, it does look mightily like the infamous Grim Sybill Trelawney was muttering about when Severus was a first year, though the actual Grim doesn't usually annoy stags and ravens. Sirius was large and vicious enough to be mistaken for a wolf if you took it to the side.
A carefree animal but could rip you head off if angered for Sirius Black. Righteous, playful and noble for James Potter. Mysterious, sharp and free for Severus. And inside that soft exterior was a heart full of rage and unspoken sadness for Remus.
Or the Wolf.
The radiant sun had set and the freezing moon had risen. The warmth had left, now only the cold remained. It didn't bother the ones with fur coats, but the piercing howl could chill anyone to the core.
The wolf was angry.
It was lost.
The wolf had gotten used to the raven's presence over the years. It had come to expect him to come every full moon to him, with the sharp beak and the sharper feathers. It understood that there's two months in the year that it wouldn't see the knife blades gleaming in the moonlight, but this was not one of those months.
The wolf needed him. Remus needed him.
It needed him to be with the animal inside, flying low on the ground as it ran through the forest, upsetting leaves and branches. It needed him to twist and fire his feathers when he sought after the castle. It needed him to convince itself that there's still some human shreds living inside its thick amber fur.
It pounded against the flimsy walls of the shack, looking for the blocked exit. When he shook loose the broken bricks away from his head he flew down the tunnel in a fit of anger and unspoken panic.
If he's hurt, it'll slaughter every single person up in that castle until he found the one responsible.
The wolf broke through the entrance of the Whomping Willow in a snarling rage, only to quiet down when its raven fluttered down to rest its wings on its fanged head. Safe.
It didn't calm his rage, but it did regain much of its head to have a good look around to make sure nothing will come pouring out of the forest. Nothing dangerous, only three animals and a werewolf before the moving willow tree.
There stood a dog, playful and carefree. There stood a stag, noble and proud. The wolf only smelled worry from them, from the friend on top of its head.
Had they come for him?
It should have felt betrayed, should have had his hackles rise on end as fury crashed over him. But the wolf only found silence and questions, and perhaps contentment deep within its mind, where a cowering and pitiful human dwelled in sadness and disrepair.
The raven had brought him new companions, the human said, new brothers, new pack mates.
It howled once more, this time in joy rather than shock or anger becaus efor once it listened to the soft voice inside him. It rolled out is tongue and tasted each of them in turn, savoring their scents and locking them inside its memories, giving them an almost smile before rushing into the forest.
The howl was answered by a throaty caw, a carefree bark and a soft grunt as the wolf's pack followed after their brother into the heart of night.
It was the sound of a pack as the four of them raced as one into the thick forest. None of them afraid of the dangers within its boughs.
They were brothers in all but blood, and nothing in the world can break them. No magic or weapon known to man can destroy what they held together. They didn't swear a vow or call an oath, because they understood.
But the moon sees all, and she saw the silent promise between them, made within the forest, where the secrets lie.
A knight, a lord, a bishop and a prince.
I got the idea for Tobias when I finished reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. A book about loyalties and hardships and how families stuck together.
Pay attention to detail, is my advice to all of you reading. Revisit the sorting hat and think about his desired.
Do any of you have any suggestions on what to call Severus Animagus form? I really need suggestions, the naming ceremony is next chapter! Review please! If nothing is coming through then, sadly, I'm going to use the Name.