A/N: Woops. Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I haven't really wanted to write this last week or so.

Maybe the next chapter will come quicker, but no promises! With the next semester slowly creeping up, I feel like I already have less free time.

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited Backup Plan! I'm so excited that you like it so far!

Your reviews mean a lot, especially the constructive criticism. I know that I have a lot of improving to do as a writer... So hopefully this story will allow me to grow and develop those skills!

Enjoy the chapter (which is rather shorter than I would have liked it to be).

The sound that filled the winter air was painful and shrill. Everyone still within Hogwarts' wards heard the shriek the shard of the Dark Lord emitted.

Harry stood still, adrenaline throbbing through his whole body, and held his breath. It was almost too good to be true. He had done it. He had succeeded. Voldemort was gone, even if just until next school year. That was another issue Harry had to address soon.

Fred and George Weasley were frozen in place, their charmed snowballs falling to the snow almost comically. Their faces were twisted into expressions of pure horror. Harry's head snapped to the Headmaster, who was running across the grounds toward Quirrell and the Dark Lord attached to the back of his head with his wand pointed at the Defense Professor. Before Dumbledore could get anywhere near the man and the leech attached to him, Voldemort tore himself off of Quirrell's head.

Magic radiated through the brisk air. Voldemort became a dark mist and disappeared into the distance, leaving behind him a shocked Light Lord. Quirrell fell to his knees, expression frozen somewhere between pain and horror. Before everyone's eyes, the man pulverized.

Harry had seen all that he needed to. He made his way back to the castle to avoid detection, knowing Dumbledore was powerful enough to see through his Disillusionment Charm if he stayed any longer. Thankfully the man was suitably distracted and oblivious to the Slytherin making his way back to the castle, covering his tracks as he went.

"Albus," The Head of Gryffindor's voice was full of questions. Minerva McGonagall had made her way to where the Headmaster was rooted in his place, shock that rivaled the Headmaster's plastered her face.

"I had no idea, Minerva."

Harry was back in the castle, dodging the crowd of students that had gathered at the doors. His peers were murmuring to themselves in apprehension and fear. Some of the younger students were crying. How had the Dark been able to get into Hogwarts so easily? How had the Headmaster not known?

Harry smirked. Dumbledore was going to pay for the way he manipulated Harry when he had been the Chosen One. After all, karma was a bitch.

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The rest of the day passed quickly. Aurors from the Ministry came to the school to escort the remaining student body who did not wish to stay at the castle to the Hogwarts Express. Harry holed himself up in the library with his familiar, Merlin, surrounding himself with books about one of his current obsessions: the Animagus transformation.

So far he had had little time to immerse himself in his extracurricular studies. He planned on being ready to attempt the transformation by the end of the summer when he returned to Hogwarts next year. As he read through the process of becoming an Animagus, he only grew more determined by the challenge the transformation presented. The first step in the process was to keep a mandrake leaf in his mouth for a month.

Harry was, for the first time, grateful that the second years had to deal with mandrakes in their Herbology class. He remembered the horrid creatures vividly from his own second year. It would be disconcertingly easy for him to sneak into the greenhouse during the holidays and pick a single leaf off of one of the creatures.

The Slytherin had charmed a notebook to appear empty to all but him. He wrote all of his notes on Animagi on the seemingly blank pages. Merlin had fallen asleep under the table that Harry was studying at. Glancing out the window, Harry saw the sun was at its highest point. On cue, his stomach gave a drawn out growl.

With a sigh he packed up all of his things and called Merlin, who opened a single eye and huffed at the boy before slowly stretching and standing up.

"You're such a drama queen, Merlin." His familiar merely flicked his tail and stared at Harry. "Let's go grab some lunch."

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Harry spent most of the days before Christmas studying in the library or wandering the castle with Merlin. His bond with the Savannah cat was growing into something he had never experience with his snowy owl, Hedwig, who now belonged to the new Boy-Who-Lived. It still upset him that he had to give up everything positive he had had as the Golden Gryffindor Boy. Looking on the bright side of things, Harry was certain that he was better off living the life he was getting the chance at now. Not only was he out from under the thumb of the manipulative Headmaster, but he didn't have a crazed Dark Lord after him.

The morning of Christmas Eve he sent out his single present to his only friend. He was certain Draco would return the favor. They had been inseparable since they had been sorted into Slytherin. At dinner the same day, his Head of House approached him.

"Hello, professor," the brunette greeted Severus Snape.

"Our next session will be the day after tomorrow, same time and place." No one else would notice the exchange as out of the ordinary. Dumbledore had not been present since it was discovered that Quirrell had brought the Dark Lord into Hogwarts. It seemed that the Ministry wanted to question the man as to how exactly the Dark Lord had managed to slip into Hogwarts unnoticed. Harry took pleasure in seeing the man struggling with the press. There had already been articles published in the Prophet that questioned the man's supposedly brilliant mind.

"Yes, sir." Harry was looking forward to the Occlumency sessions. Mastering the art would require mastery of meditation, which would speed up the Animagus process exponentially. Perhaps he could attempt the transformation before he even left Hogwarts for the summer.

Christmas morning came, and Harry was happy to find a present sitting by his door. The house elves must have delivered everyone's gifts. Unwrapping the present, Harry was struck by a feeling of loss. He had no one but Draco to send him gifts. Ron and Hermione… he didn't even want to think of their fake friendship. He knew that he was being illogical. The three of them had had a real bond, a real friendship, beyond the friendship that Dumbledore had commanded the two Gryffindors to form with Harry.

It had just been initiated by the manipulative old bastard, Harry thought bitterly. Shaking his head, he knew there was no reason for him to spoil Draco's gift with his dark thoughts.

The box he had unwrapped was simple and elegant, sleek black finish shining in the light that filtered through the lake and Harry's window. Inside was a carving of a serpent, its eyes two emeralds. The snake itself was made of what appeared to be obsidian with scales carved into it masterfully. The carving rested on a soft bed of green velvet which lined the inside of the box. Harry reached for the card that accompanied the gift.

Harry,

I hope you enjoy your gift. It is more than just a simple carving – I'm sure you wouldn't think that I would send something so simple and boring? I have the brother to this carving, and they will allow us to communicate from anywhere. Only you and I will be able to hear what the serpents say, and once you use your serpent for the first time, it will magically imprint on you and allow no one else access to it. I'm sure you will be happy to know that if someone is foolish enough to try to grab the carving, it will bite them. I found these in Knockturn Alley with my father and thought them the perfect gift for you. To activate your serpent, simply say "Spiras". You can use them to communicate with me or spy on someone for you.

Thank you in advance for the gift that, I am sure, you sent me.

Enjoy your holidays, Harry.

Happy Christmas,

Draco

Harry stared at the serpent, amazed. He had never received something so thoughtful and perfect. The Slytherin felt like his own gift for Draco would not cast a shadow on the carving he had received. Harry had gotten Draco a collection of potions ingredients that included water from all five rivers of the Greek Underworld, knowing that the blonde would appreciate the gift while also wanting to throw another book at Harry.

Harry stuck the serpent in the pocket of his slacks and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. When he entered the giant room, he noticed that the Headmaster was back, and that Neville was speaking to Ron in hushed tones. Raising an eyebrow, Harry was suddenly certain that their conversation had to do with the Philosopher's Stone. Smirking, he fingered the serpent carving in his pocket and decided to try out his gift.

He mumbled, "Spiras."

The carving began to move, the obsidian scales feeling almost real, as the small snake slithered out of Harry's robes and toward the Gryffindor Duo unnoticed. Harry couldn't suppress a smirk as he took a seat at the end of the only table in the Great Hall nearest the doors. A plate appeared in front of him, filled with all of his favorite breakfast foods. The house elves really outdid themselves every year on Christmas. Harry thought it was almost a pity that a major portion of the student body would never experience the elves' fantastic Christmas meals because they went home. But then again, they were probably eating far more expensive things than Hogwarts could afford for their students.

The Slytherin glanced sideways at Longbottom and Weasley, who were still engrossed in whatever they were discussing. Harry snorted. Their attempt at stealth gave everyone who cared to glance at them the idea that whatever they were discussing was top secret.

Ten minutes later, the Gryffindors left and Harry's tiny serpent returned to him. It slithered onto his shoulder and began hissing in his ear, hiding behind his unruly hair so it wouldn't be noticed by anyone who cared to look at Harry.

Harry struggled to keep his face stoic as the snake hissed in his ear. It recounted Longbottom telling Ron that Dumbledore had pulled him aside and told him that the Voldemort had tried to sneak into the castle and sabotage Neville as well as steal the Philosopher's Stone. Ron had scoffed and said that the Headmaster was taking the Stone out from Snape's grasp. Harry couldn't contain a snort when the snake told him that Ron thought the man was evil. Thanking his little snake, he placed it back in his pocket and stroked it, feeling the scales become hard and obsidian again.

All in all, the Slytherin was relieved that he did not have to worry about the Stone. He had pushed thoughts of the relic out of his mind once Voldemort had been revealed attached to Quirrell's head, wanting to enjoy a semblance of relaxation during his holidays. Now that the Stone was supposedly back at Gringotts Harry could push the issue of its existence to the back of his mind for now. He knew that eventually Voldemort would go after the Stone again, and when that time came, Harry would need to be prepared to find a way to prevent the Dark Lord from seizing the precious item. Maybe, by that point, Nicholas Flamel would have decided to end his immortality anyways and destroy the stone. Harry could only hope. Of course, there was always the chance that Dumbledore had lied to Neville and was keeping the stone here at Hogwarts under the man's watchful eye. But either way, Voldemort wasn't getting his hands on the artifact.

Now he could focus on his Occlumency and Animagus transformation, since he had completed all of his school work during his time at the library when he had not been submerged in books about mediation and Animagi. In fact, he was excited about his lessons with Severus Snape, knowing that if anyone could teach him how to Occlude his mind, it would be the Potions Master.

.

By the end of the holidays, Harry was definitely improving exponentially at meditating. He met with Snape at least every other day, since both he and his professor seemed to have a vast amount of free time. Harry had a feeling that his Head of House was the kind of man who prepared for the entire school year during the summer holidays so that the man could enjoy any and all available time away from the pesky students as possible. The brunette was honored that the man had taken such interest in teaching him. Never had Harry ever imagined that he would appreciate the man favoring his Slytherins.

Draco arrived back at the castle with the rest of the students two days before classes resumed. The boy was excited to see his friend again and raced through the front doors and into the Great Hall, where Harry was waiting, and thanked the brunette for the Christmas gift with a mock glare. All Harry could do was grin widely at the blonde.

"I used your gift already." Draco's eyebrows shot up.

"Who did you spy on?"

"A certain Golden Boy and his faithful sidekick."

"You have to tell me all about it." Green eyes glittered. This was the perfect way to build even more trust between Draco and himself.

"When we get back to the Common Room."

.

"No way! The Philosopher's Stone was here at Hogwarts? Right under our noses and we never knew!" Draco was disappointed that he hadn't gotten a chance to see the mythical stone. "Father used to tell me all about the Stone when I was little. It was the center of so many of the children's stories!"

"Yeah," Harry paused. "But I think the Stone was here for more than its own protection from Voldemort."

"Don't say His name," Draco hissed. Harry stared at the blonde.

"It's only a name."

"It's not just any name, it's the name of the Dark Lord, Harry!"

Harry scoffed, "Dark Lord, my arse. A snowball chased him off."

Draco choked on his laughs. Harry knew that he needed to start planting seeds of doubt in the Malfoy's mind if he wanted his friend to stay as far away from becoming a Death Eater as possible in the future.

"He's insane, Draco. He tortured and killed innocents during the last War, and everyone thought he was finally gone just over a decade ago. Voldemort," he enunciated the name, "is twisted and needs to be stopped again, and this time for good."

"I guess." Harry could see the blonde's thoughts flash through his grey-blue eyes. It had been indirectly ingrained in him from birth that the Dark Lord was a God whom Draco must obey and follow. All of the fitting ideologies and prejudices had been taught to him by his Father. But there was a flicker of doubt that passed through those grey-blue depths at Harry's words. That gave Harry hope that he could change the path that Draco was on.

"Alright I'm going to bed, Draco." Harry faked a yawn.

"See you tomorrow, Harry. It's great to see you." The blonde gave his friend a warm hug. Harry smiled at his friend and shut the door to his room after Draco left. It was amazing how warm the hug from his friend had been. He would have scoffed at the notion that Draco Malfoy gave warm hugs just a few months ago.

Harry changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. He had spent at least an hour before bed each night since his first Occlumency lesson with Severus Snape practicing his meditation. He could already noticed drastic improvements in his thought patterns during his lessons.

Clearing his mind, Harry focused on nothing but his breathing, and how each breath sent his magic and life throughout his body, branching outward from his heart. He had never paid attention to his magical core before, but now it was blindingly obvious. He could feel the steady beat of his magic in time with his heartbeat. It was fantastic, raw energy pulsing in his being.

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It was the week before the end of term, and Harry was thrumming with excitement. He was finally ready to attempt the Animagus transformation. After months and months of practice mediating, he was finally able to erect a somewhat sturdy Occlumency shield. He was also skilled enough to finish all of the steps towards achieving the transformation.

Harry had a sense of what his form was, magically. He could feel the way the creature that was the representation of his soul move with stealth within his veins. The beast's heart beat with his, in tune, ready to pounce and surface, completing the Animagus transformation. Harry had read countless books on the subject and knew that there was nothing more he could do to prepare himself for the initial transformation. He had learned that no one as young as he was had attempted the intense magic, and that no one knew if his Animagus form would be an juvenile or full grown animal.

He was sitting cross-legged in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He had placed a simple Notice Me Not Charm on the door to the bathroom that everyone avoided like the plague, certain that he would be alone here.

Harry focused on his magic and on the animal within it. It coursed through his entire being. Harry let the human part of him drift further and further to the back of his mind, and allowed the beast to surface. Suddenly, he felt his bones and skin shifting. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was definitely not a pleasant sensation.

The transformation took longer than Harry expected. When it was finally complete, he opened his eyes, meeting his gaze in the mirror that Harry had charmed into place in front of him. He was a feline, sleek and powerfully built. He was still an adolescent, proving that Animagus forms reflected the age of the wizard. He looked like a jaguar or a leopard, only smaller. His ears were rounded, and his eyes were an eerie, reflective green. The black markings on his face and his body sharply contrasted the rest of his light brown fur, and formed thick black lines around his eyes. These markings mirror his glasses in his human form.

Harry released a purr as he inspected himself. He was pleased with his animal form. He could definitely work with this.

Harry froze when he heard the bathroom door open. He jumped behind the nearest stall and eyed the intruder, who had not noticed the small wild cat.

"Merlin?!" Harry voiced, eyeing his familiar suspiciously. Surprise bubbled up when he heard himself speak. How could he speak? Animagi could not speak while transformed.

"Why didn't you tell me you're a cat!? We could have had so much fun already. And you're an ocelot… How wonderfully exotic." Harry could only stare at his cat in wonder.

Thanks for reading!