Carry On

By: Teenlaunch

Disclaimer: Can't we just leave this out? It's so obvious. Anyway, no, I am not the proud owner of Harry Potter. If I was, SOME people wouldn't have died in the last book.

a/n: Well, it's only two weeks late this time…Sorry again. (I think you're going to be hearing that for a while.) Here's the next chapter. Thanks again for being so patient. Read and review!

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"I've never seen someone so, er, keyed up for Transfiguration, have you?" Remus asked, watching as Harry walked ahead of him, a slight bounce to his tired step.

"I dunno. I think Padfoot or Prongs could give him a run for his galleons." Peter laughed. "They've always liked Transfiguration."

Sirius and James glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean, Wormtail?" James growled.

"At least we look forward to the lessons. You only look forward to the girl you'll pick up." Sirius smirked.

"Do not! You're the one always hunting for the girls!"

Sirius made a rude gesture behind Peter's back as they went to their seats. Harry rolled his eyes, ignoring his godfather all together, and chose a seat in the corner, out of everyone's view. James nudged Sirius and motioned toward Harry, raising an eyebrow in question. Sirius shrugged. "Antisocial?"

He sat down beside Harry, James following his lead and sitting down on his other side. Harry glanced at them but said nothing. If they wanted to keep an eye on him, fine, just so long as they didn't ask questions he would be good. Harry sighed, tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk. Professor McGonagall seemed, to the untrained eye, to be absent from the room, a tabby cat sitting on her vacant desk. The bell rang and everyone's eyes fixed on the cat. Sirius nudged Harry and whispered, "That's McGonagall. Bet you didn't know she's an animagus, did you, Harry?"

Harry shrugged, failing to look surprised in his anticipation. "Doesn't mean much to me, just that she's smarter than the average wizard, or in this case witch."

Sirius and James beamed, sharing a mischievous look. "That's quite a compliment, Harry." James whispered, his smile widening.

"Well, anyone who has successfully become an animagus deserves it."

The cat chose that moment to jump down from the desk and transform into McGonagall. She watched the class passively for a moment then sighed. "I believe it best to get the animagus section out of the way. You all know most of the history behind the animagus, therefore we will try to only cover the theory behind the transformation. Professor Century," she gestured to the corner where Century sat patiently, "is here to help me even though he has never had any experience in this subject." Harry fought back a laugh and coughed to cover it up, trying to focus on McGonagall again. "Today is your opportunity to ask me any questions you would like. This will help you decide if you want to become an animagus in the future. Begin."

Lily Evans was first to raise her hand. "Is it true the transformation is painful?"

McGonagall nodded slightly. "When first learning to transform into your animal, it is painful. Your DNA has to merge, in a sense, with the animal's DNA. You are, however, still fully human, and retain all human thoughts. When you successfully turn into your animagus form, one tiny strand of DNA will combine with your animal's DNA."

"So, you just give up enough of your DNA so you can turn?"

"Yes. You see, with beings such as werewolves, the entire body of DNA fuses with the werewolf. In an animagus, the tiniest strand possible is used, and yet it is enough to completely transform. Of course, I am explaining it in the simplest terms possible. Any other information on the mechanics of the spell and I am certain that I would lose a number of you."

Harry put down his quill and looked at McGonagall with a confused expression. "So, Professor, you're saying that the DNA does not fuse at all until the wizard calls on the transformation? The animal's DNA is just latched onto a strand of your DNA, like a…buddy system?"

Professor McGonagall bit her lip, frowning slightly. He seemed to have really stumped her. Century intervened. He began to slowly walk around the room while answering, his movements relaxed, as though he thought about the theory behind the animagus transformation every day. "Yes, that is exactly right! As you can see, Professor McGonagall has no cat-like features on her person. If her DNA had actually fused with the cat's, she would likely have yellow eyes and perhaps claws or even a tail. Good question, Mr. Times." Harry smiled and went back to his notes, jotting it all down as fast as he could so as not to miss anything.

"Is the DNA of the animal added to a potion in order to make the DNA fuse, or is it a spell?" Frank Longbottom asked.

"It is both, but firstly a potion, and a very complicated and time consuming one at that." McGonagall answered. "However, it is neither the time nor effort toward the potion which diverts most wizards from the animagus. It is the pain involved, as Miss Evans pointed out." McGonagall clasped her hands in front of her and looked around the class. "The potion takes one week to brew, which is relatively short. It is drank right after the DNA, which is kept in its own solution called Puris Elementus, is added and a permanent transmutation spell is then performed on the potion. The spell is considered the easiest part of the transformation. The spell takes effect whenever you want to transform, as is normal for all transfiguration spells involving permanent transmutations. Next, the drinker has to learn how to concentrate on their animal. They must be able to feel their animal's emotions before they can transform. This usually takes a wizard months, even years, to perfect. Until they can feel those emotions well enough, it could take them a full five minutes to transform."

Sirius shocked Harry by raising his hand. "If someone didn't have an outside source, I mean…What if someone tried to become an animagus using only information found in books? How long do you think it would take them to find the right combination of ingredients, the right measurements? Is it even possible to do it by yourself?"

"It could be done. But it would take years without outside help. It takes at least a year for the most qualified wizards. It took me two years and I had every material made available for me from the Ministry of Magic."

Harry groaned and rested his head against his palm. "Professor, can you choose characteristics? I mean, you have those markings around your eyes when you're transformed. Did you choose that or did it just happen?"

"It just happened, Mr. Times. When the DNA fuses completely for the first time, it will choose your attributes automatically. It's all part of being magic. Some things just happen and we have no explanation for it, including much of the theory behind the transformation, which is why it is so hard to understand it."

James's hand went into the air. "How is it that you can be completely human while in your animagus form? Wouldn't you have…I dunno, like, cravings like your animal?"

"Yes. When you transform, the animal DNA overpowers yours, giving you the body, emotions, and mannerisms of your animal. You must learn to harness those feelings and mannerisms, to fight them so that they don't take over your mind. When you have complete control, you could pass off as your animal for months, years even." Harry growled and clutched his quill so tightly that it almost snapped in half. He ground his teeth together and forced himself to look down at his paper, and not over at Peter. A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Sirius had a worried expression on his face.

'You okay?' He mouthed silently. Harry nodded and looked down again, willing himself not to think about Sirius. Professor McGonagall continued, oblivious to his sudden mood swing.

"But while you can behave like your animal, you still have your mind. You can think as you would, not your animal."

Sirius raised his hand again. "What if you didn't know what animal you could turn into? Like, what if you accidentally added something to your potion or you didn't remember what DNA you added, because you couldn't decide or something?"

Century, who happened to be standing right behind Sirius, answered in an all too enthusiastic voice. Sirius jumped slightly in shock. "Excellent question, Mr. Black! First you would have to realize that you didn't know what animal you were. Say you accidentally added the wrong DNA to the potion and didn't know it. When you tried to focus on the animal you thought you added, you would feel nothing, no emotions, no cravings, nothing. There are four solutions to that problem.

"First, you could take a simple potion called Brutus Exposus. It causes the drinker to dream while looking through their creature's eyes. From what they learn, they must deduce what animal they are most like. Second, there is the potion Fantasia Horribilius. This potion causes the drinker to dream their animal is attacking them. That's one to avoid if you scare easily. Third, there is the image charm. It takes a great deal of concentration, but when done correctly, it is useful. The wizard can choose any material, such as a necklace or parchment or even their body, and perform the charm. A necklace, most likely the pendent, would reform into their animal. On parchment a picture would be drawn. On their body it would likely be in the form of a tattoo. The fourth solution," Century paused, "is to forget the whole thing."

A few people laughed. Harry chuckled and raised his hand. "Do any characteristics of the animal leak out into a person's everyday personality? Like, what if they were a dog? Would that make their laugh change into something like a bark?" Harry smiled slightly, glancing over at Sirius.

Century smiled too. "On the contrary. Usually a wizard will already have something that makes them akin to an animal, which normally prompts them to choose the animal they are most like. If a person has too many qualities, like the agility of a deer, the strength of a tiger, the loyalty of a dog, the cunning of a fox, the stealth of a snake, the bravery of a lion, well a person can't be everything, can they? So, another potion is used: Brutus Aquaintus which most, if not all, animagi have used to reveal their…inner animal, so to speak." Century chuckled to himself. "Knowing their inner animal really does nothing for them, but it makes it easier to choose an animal. Simple as that. It doesn't help the transformation in the slightest. And some people have so many options that they can't choose anyway or can't even be shown."

McGonagall spoke up, staring at Century, obviously wondering why he knew so much about her subject. "It is the most common way for a wizard to choose his animal. When drank, the potion has a similar effect as its brother, Brutus Exposus, except the animal is shown directly to the dreamer."

Harry put his head down on his desk. His head was spinning with too much information. Perhaps this was going to be a bit harder than he'd thought.

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"You've been at this for weeks! Take a break and have some fun with us. Come on!" Sirius whined. He slumped against Harry's chair leg, moping. He really didn't like being ignored.

"It's only been three days, Sirius." Harry took another book from his stack and started flipping through it, leaving the previous one open in his lap.

"But Sirius is right, Harry! You've barely moved. And look at this! You have piles – mountains of books here. Are you trying to read them all before Christmas?" James threw one of the books at Remus who turned just in time to see the book flying toward him. It slammed into his chest, knocking the wind from him in a rush.

Remus turned the book over and read the spine. His expression turned stony for a moment before he cleared his throat. "What-uh-are you researching exactly?"

Harry shrugged. "Just different things. Why?"

"I don't think we have any work on most, no, any of this, er…"

"Junk?" Sirius suggested.

"Tosh?" James picked up another book.

"Rubbish?"

"Dung?"

"Stuff!" Remus huffed, grabbing a book from Sirius's groping paws. "Don't you dare touch another of these innocent books, Padfoot! They never hurt you."

"I wasn't going to hurt them. I love reading. What gave you the idea I was going to torture them?" Sirius protested indignantly.

"Besides the fact that every book you touch somehow ends up with graffiti in it, all the poor books in your trunk have papers stuffed between their covers. I swear they look like overgrown puffskeins on a bad hair day."

"You're one to talk, Moony." Sirius grumbled. "Overgrown badger."

"Are you implying I look like a badger?" Remus gaped at him as James and Peter snickered. "That's an insult!"

"At least you aren't a rat," Harry mumbled unconsciously. The Marauders froze, watching him. Harry copied down another excerpt from one of the books on his lap, not noticing how quiet they had gotten. He picked up the book hanging on the chair arm, accidentally hitting Sirius's head with it. "Sorry." He flipped through a couple pages, skimming it, and suddenly threw his quill down with a frustrated sigh. He placed the books back on the table, all of them still open to the pages he had been working on. "I'm taking a break. See you in a bit." Harry stood, stretched, and clambered through the portrait hole.

The Marauders glanced around to make sure no one could hear them. Sirius stood up and moved Harry's chair slightly so their table was blocked from view, promptly dropping into it so he could talk with the others. Peter gulped. "You don't think he knows, do you?"

James picked up Harry's notes. He read through them quickly, skipping the uninteresting parts. "Looks like Harry's doing a lot of extracurricular research." He looked up. "And it's about more than one subject."

The others leaned toward him, reading the notes from where they were sitting. Sirius let out a low groan, taking a page from James as he read over it. "Look at all this stuff about werewolves." He ran his finger down the page and stopped at a note that was in bold. "Hey, here's something new. 'The werewolf is extremely terrestrial. However, researchers have found that when placed among larger animals, it will be more willing to submission. In a study by Ptolemy himself, who found lycanthropy to be a captivating subject, a transfigured witch or wizard was found to have at least a small degree of control over said werewolf. More recent studies show animagi have an unusual ability to control and befriend werewolves. When one subject was bitten, the bite was found to not affect the wizard, even after he had transformed back into a human. Lycanthrope bites do not infect animals, and therefore never transfer to their human counterpart DNA.' That's interesting. And we were wondering why none of us ever contracted the lycanthrope gene."

James snorted. "Yeah, interesting, not that I really cared so long as we didn't get it, no offense, Moony. Hey, here's something on animagi." He pointed to a few books and then Harry's notes again. "Looks like he's trying to get some extra points. He has all the ingredients to every potion Professor Century mentioned right here."

"And here's how long they have to brew." Peter pointed to another spot halfway up the page.

Sirius and James shared a glance then looked over at Remus who had been extremely quiet. His mouth was set in a frown. Peter prodded his arm lightly to bring him out of his thoughts. Remus silently handed them a crumpled bit of parchment on which a crude lunar chart had been inscribed. The date of the next full moon was circled. The boys stared at it in shock.

"What do you think it means, Moony?"

"He knows. There's no other explanation."

"No way. He's only been here for two full moons." Sirius objected. "It took us a year and a half! No way could he figure it out that quick."

Remus sat in silence. "What else is he researching?" He asked.

James flipped through the notes and stopped, staring. "Well?" Sirius coaxed.

"Wandless magic. I didn't know there was such a thing." James looked at the others for some input. They shrugged.

"So, shall we start our next mission?" Sirius asked. The others looked at him curiously.

"And that would be?"

"Puzzle Solving 101: Harry Times."

The others smiled. "Right. When do we start?"

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"Lily, it's him, take Harry, and run!"

"Not Harry, please, not Harry!"

"Kill the spare!"

"He's gone, Harry."

"No, he's just gone through, Sirius!"

"You're not a killer, Draco."

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Fang's in there, yeh brutes!"

"Now, I want you to write: 'I must not tell lies.'"

Cold laughter filled Harry's mind. He was falling faster and faster. More voices joined, each clamoring for Harry's attention, but he found himself unable to concentrate on anything but the rushing sound in his ears.

"The Lightning Child must prevail!"

"I would not know, Harry. I have never died."

"The Shadows will ease the pains of loss drowned in a sea of tears."

"And then she went out and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

"Betrayal, mockery, forgiveness."

"He is just a boy. He is too young."

"Pain, disbelief, anguish."

"There is no such thing as magic!"

"The Lightning Child must prevail!"

There was a flash of blinding green light.

"We will meet again, Harry Potter." The laughter reached a peak and Harry's scar seared. He woke up screaming.

Harry looked around quickly, his heart racing wildly. The curtains were drawn around his four-poster bed. Why had the Marauders not bothered to wake him this time? Remus wouldn't leave him screaming like that, would he? Harry yanked back the curtains. They didn't make a sound. He sighed. No wonder no one had heard him. He'd forgotten about the silencing charm he'd cast on his bed.

Harry got up and dressed quietly. There was no use trying to get back to sleep, not after that. He was pulling on his socks when he noticed how quiet the room was. He couldn't hear James's snoring or Sirius's heavy breathing occasionally punctuated by a loud snore, not even Remus's light sighs. Harry crept to James's bed and pulled back the curtains cautiously. It was empty. Harry let out a frustrated cry. All that creeping around for nothing. He flicked his wrist and the curtains on the other beds flew up. Nothing. All empty. Harry knew he should have been overjoyed by how easily his wandless magic was coming along, what with his luck on disabling Remus's spell on Sirius's ring, but other than a few spells here and there he had no time to practice. And now he'd wasted countless hours sleeping when he could have been researching as the Marauders planned their next prank. He growled loudly.

Harry stomped down the stairs into the common room. It was empty. Harry let out another frustrated cry. He was really not paying enough attention. He sat down in front of his notes and stared down at them, the words all too familiar. He'd been constantly reading for almost a week, not that he could say it hadn't been worthwhile. He'd learned more in that time than when Hermione had made him and Ron cram for exams. He flipped through the notes lazily and came to some information he had found just the night before.

'Few werewolves have been known to actually bear children. Many prefer to live alone, out of the way of others. When a werewolf does have a biological child, it will protect it with its life, even reverting to primal instincts when fully human. However, more werewolves have been reported to 'adopt' a child, either lawfully or simply paternally. When this happens, the child is seen as one of its pack, and treated the same way as their own child would be.'

'Werewolves have been asked, when fully human, how they get by on the full moons. Most have responded that they had formed a pack, not with other werewolves, but animals, leading to extensive research to determine whether animals have special control over werewolves.'

Harry had taken it upon himself to write himself a note underneath it. Moony's pack is/was/will be Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail, and Lily. Harry sighed. He finally had most of the information to start the animagus transformation. He knew that. The problem was that he didn't have the time nor privacy to pull it off. If only he could find that vital information he was missing. One important piece and he couldn't get it. He needed a first hand account and to get that, he would have to admit he wanted to become an animagus to somebody. And that was not a part of his plan.

Harry leaned back in the chair and sighed. He was so tired. He felt his eyelids droop and his head slumped forward onto his chest.

"Did you mean to produce a stinging hex?"

"Remedial Potions?"

"The Lightning Child…"

"Filth! Scum!"

"Kreacher won't, won't, won't, won't!"

"The Shadows…"

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground."

"Yeh're goin' ter win, Harry."

"Betrayal…"

"The Dark Lord did not manage to kill you, Potter…"

"Harry, Harry, wake up, you're dreaming, Harry."

"The DARK LORD…"

The voices had risen in pitch and Harry found himself yelling as he began to wake. "The Dark Lord!"

"HARRY!" Someone slapped his face and he woke with a start.

"Wh-what?" Harry blinked, and the room swam into focus. The Marauders were standing around him, their eyes wide. Sirius's hand was still raised from the slap. Remus and James nudged him away, obviously seeing how disoriented Harry was.

"Harry, are you alright?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, cause we heard you screaming and couldn't help but overhear." James shrugged, trailing off.

"No. I'm alright. Did I say anything?" Harry glanced around the group quickly, praying that he hadn't.

"Well, you were mainly flailing around like a madman until the last minute. Then you started screaming like crazy and-" Sirius caught Remus's warning glance and stuttered. "Er, no, why?"

"What did I say?"

The boys shared a look. Peter took a deep breath. "You said, the Dark Lord, well, more like screamed it. But you get the point."

Harry scowled. "Wonderful. See you all at breakfast."

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"Hey, James, you're awfully quiet this morning." Frank nudged him gently, but James didn't reply. He simply stared at his plate, a small smirk on his face.

A sudden scuffle seemed to break out across the hall. James and the other Marauders looked up, grins on their faces. Harry sighed and looked up from his parchment, frowning slightly. Pranks really were the norm for the Marauders, but they were getting to be annoying.

Snape had stood up, and he seemed to be having difficulty sitting back down. His body twitched as he tried to force his knees to bend, but they didn't give. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and yelled. "I love chicken wings!"

Sirius stared at the plate in front of him and pushed it away, even as laughter erupted around him. "Wonderful."

People all over the hall began standing up, declaring undying love for some inanimate object or unfortunate soul who blushed and ran out of the hall. Harry grinned when Alice and Frank stood up and declared their love for each other. It was rather sweet, in a cruel, twisted sort of way. He sighed and reached for his goblet. Peter grinned at him. Harry hastily reached for a piece of toast instead and bit into it. He instantly regretted it as the Marauders smiled evilly at him. Harry's body seized up and he found himself standing up. He opened his mouth and bellowed, "I love Ginny Weasley!"

He abruptly sat down again, blinking in surprise, and hastily picked up his quill, ready to start on his paper again before anyone noticed what he'd said. He almost screamed in frustration when he realized the Marauders had it. Harry snatched it away and Peter yelped in pain. "Sorry," Harry mumbled, not feeling sorry in the slightest, and got up again.

Sirius grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stay. "What was that you were writing, Harry?"

"Looked like a big equation to me," Remus said, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I could help."

"No!" Harry snapped. He jerked away from Sirius and cut his way through the students to reach the corridor.

James huffed. "How rude!"

"Well, we did take his paper." Remus tapped his piece of toast with his wand and was about to take a bite when Sirius grabbed it and stuffed it in his mouth. Remus gagged in disgust. "Do you have any manners in your internal programming?"

"Yes, but not around you." Sirius spoke around the toast. Swallowing it, he continued, "But why would it matter that we looked at that paper?"

"I don't know, but," Peter turned over his napkin. "I got a copy before he noticed."

"Brilliant! You're smarter than you look, Wormtail." James pulled the napkin to him. He frowned. "I don't understand any of this. It's coded or something."

Remus took it, smoothing it out. "I don't think so. Look, it's like a list, really. Lightning Child equals me, Harry in parenthesis, Dark Lord equals Voldemort, oh stop, Peter, Shadows is blank, and Silver Hand equals…Peter?"

"Silver Hand? Where'd he get that?"

"Dunno. What is this? It makes no sense." Remus frowned, looking it over again.

"To us. Harry seemed to understand it perfectly." James said with a shrug.

"He was pouring over it well enough from what we saw." Peter yawned widely, a sure sign that class was about to start.

"Yeah, going at it full speed." Sirius yawned too. "Stop yawning! I hate it when you do that!"

"Sorry."

"So, what now?"

"What do you mean?" James asked, getting up from the table.

The others followed. Sirius yawned again. "I mean, when is Operation Figure Out Harry starting?"

"I thought it was Puzzle Solving 101: Harry Times," Peter said, munching on some toast he'd taken.

"Whatever. I think what Sirius is saying is that he's getting anxious," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"Exactly!" Sirius crowed. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Well…"

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When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine.

-Job 7:13-15