Chapter 5

"Do you really think that could work?" Hermione asked.

Professor Snape had theorized that Hermione had overstayed her bounds in hawk form, thus altering her "true form" to hawk rather than human. He had therefore suggested that they simply wait out the two hours with her in her human shape and hope that they could revert her base form back to human again. There was just one problem Hermione found with that approach.

"I mean, I've already done that once, haven't I? And I woke up as I was morphing back to hawk. I didn't even do anything, it just happened all on its own."

"This time you will be awake, however," he replied, settling himself on a lab stool and crossing his arms. "You can attempt to resist the change and consciously direct your magic."

Hermione huffed out a breath and stared dejectedly down at her hands. The pale skin of her fingers wrapped around the rich wood of her wand made an artful contrast—or perhaps she was just waxing poetic because she was facing the disastrous possibility that she would never see her hands again, except maybe in two hour increments whenever Snape or McGonagall was willing.

As if he'd read her mind, Snape said, "We'll also need to train you to transform yourself from bird to human."

"Oh, thank—"

"I haven't the time or desire to continue doing it myself," he continued as if she hadn't been speaking. They waited in uncomfortable silence for another few minutes, and then Hermione began to feel a strong sense of foreboding. Standing, her wand gripped tightly, she turned panicked eyes to Professor Snape. He frowned. "Concentrate."

Hermione fixed a mental image of herself, her human self, in her mind's eye even as she felt her body start to shift. Sparks flew out of her wand as she struggled to retain her shape, but she could feel the skin reforming itself into feathers even as her bones seemed to hollow and lighten. Only Snape's black gaze kept her grounded as she fought for her humanity, so she forced herself not to do so much as blink while the struggle continued. With great effort, she thought she could feel the tide turning in her favor, and then there was an odd sensation of another mind touching her own before everything went black.

It seemed only a few seconds later when Hermione's eyes opened, with great effort. The blurry form of Professor Snape was visible above her—oh, dear, there were two of him. That couldn't be good. "SqueeeAAAWW!"

No, no no! Please don't be a hawk, please don't be a hawk... She lifted one hand, only to see that it was a small wing that entered her field of vision. Her spirits sank, and a quick catalog of her body confirmed that she was back in hawk form. And feeling like she'd been run over by a Hippogriff.

Surprisingly gentle hands lifted her up and placed her on a soft bed of black wool. The double version of Snape melded into one as he disappeared from view for a moment before leaning over her again.

"Blink once if you can hear me." She did.

"Blink again if you are unharmed." She did, more slowly this time.

He exhaled slowly and glanced about, clearly at as much of a loss as she was. She watched, fascinated, as he scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed again. "What am I going to do with you, girl?" he asked her, clearly not expecting a response. Hermione wouldn't have answered him even if she had been in human form, so surprised was she by this heretofore unseen side of her sour professor. Gingerly righting herself, she launched into the air and grabbed her wand up from where it had fallen on the floor. Circling the lab near the ceiling, she aimed as best she could at the nearby chalkboard, and screeched her satisfaction when a few rough words appeared there.

"Kill me."

If Snape seemed taken aback by this request, he did not show it. "And rid the Wizarding world of one of the most intriguing magical mishaps in this century? I think not." He wiped away the words with one sleeve. Hermione made another loop around the room, then repeated the exercise with her wand.

"Would rather be dead than bird."

"Yes, well, you should have thought of that when you decided to ingest an untried potion." His tone lacked any real bite, though, and he snatched her out of the air with one deft motion. Prying her wand from her talons, he tucked her against his chest and strode for the door. "We need more help than I can provide," he explained.

The effect of Hermione's caustic response was lost in translation from human to animal, but she rather suspected Snape had understood her sarcasm anyway.

A/N: Hello! The past few months were very busy writing months as I participated in a few fests. Then I needed some non-writing rejuvenation time. Anyway, I'm back, and wanting to get this story rolling. I'd love an alpha reader for this, someone I can bounce ideas off of-if you're interested, shoot me a PM! Thanks!