The next chapter will be posted on the 26th. Will be on holiday until then.
The start of December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Drafty though the castle always was in winter, we were glad of its fires and thick walls every time we passed the Durmstrang ship on the lake, which was pitching in the high winds, its black sails billowing against the dark skies. We thought the Beauxbatons caravan was likely to be pretty chilly too. Hagrid was keeping Madame Maxime's horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey, and I went up to him one morning when I saw him doing this.
"Hagrid, why do the horses drink whiskey?" I asked
"Ahh, it's interesting that yeh ask that" he replied. "See, horses can often have what's known as a colic episode, which is basically their equivalent of a stomach ache. Giving them alcohol helps. Watch this"
He walked over to one of the horses which was moaning on the ground, and poured a bottle down it's throat. After a few minutes, the horse stood up and made some noises of comfort.
"Do you have any ideas on what the second task could be?" I said
"I think it's supposed to be something underwater, but that's all I know" "Genuinely" he added, seeing the sceptical look on my face.
I headed to Transfiguration feeling somewhat excited, as Professor McGonagall had said that we'd be starting to learn about Animagi in this lesson.
"I am aware that many of you will probably be excited by the topic of this lesson, Animagi, which you all know I am myself" she began. "However as I told you at the start of our very first class 2 years ago, it is a very complicated and specific process. I went through it purely to further my studies of Transfiguration. Now, please play close attention and copy down what I say in as much detail as possible, as I am about to tell you the full process of becoming an Animagus. A typical end of third year exam question could be describing three of the stages, so it is important you try to memorise as much of this as you can"
I focused all my attention at this point, as I wanted to eventually learn this ability myself.
"The first step" said Professor McGonagall "is to keep a mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month, from full moon to full moon. If you swallow the leaf or remove it, you will have to start over again"
"Professor, how would you eat and drink while doing that?" I asked
"It's very difficult, but you could shrink the leaf and keep it in just one side of your mouth, while chewing with the other. That is what I did. At the next visible full moon, you must spit the saliva filled leaf into a small crystal phial that has received the moon's pure rays. You must then add the following: one of your own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew that has come from a place that has not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven full days, and the chrysalis of a death's head hawk moth"
Demelza and I exchanged incredulous looks. Why on earth was it so convoluted?
"Come again?" called Andrew
"Yeah could you speak English please?" Amy added
"Godden, Bagman, I did tell you this would be complex!"
"Ok, sorry Professor, but could you just say that last part again, but more slowly please" said Andrew
She did so.
"Professor, what is a death's head hawk moth, and a chrysalis?" Demelza asked
"They are a species characterised by thorax markings, which look like a human skull. The chrysalis is the cocoon they emerge from when they are born"
"Where would you find such things?" said Magda
"You can find them in specialist potion shops usually. You must then place the completed mixture in a dark undisturbed location until a lightning storm occurs. I must stress that if the date of the full moon you intend to create the mixture on is cloudy, the procedure will not work, you will need to wait until a visible full moon. I had to wait through 4 full moons before I finally had a visible one"
"That's some incredible patience professor" I said
"Thank you Miss Weasley, but we are not finished yet. During the waiting period for the storm, no matter how long that might be, you must, every day, at sunrise and sunset, without fail, chant Amato Animo Animato Animagus, with the tip of your wand placed over your heart. After doing this a number of times you will notice a second heartbeat, but you should ignore this as it's a normal part of the process. Once the lightning storm occurs, you should retrieve the mixture, which if made correctly will be blood red, find a place where you can transform uninterrupted, repeat the chant with your wand over your heart one final time, and then drink the potion. If all goes well, you will then be an Animagus"
"Can you choose what animal form you take?" Colin asked
"Unfortunately not Mr Creevey, though I must say I am perfectly happy with my cat form. It is also my patronus. As so much can go wrong, the process is not attempted by most people, unless they have a great need for disguise. There is a spell to force someone to resume their human form, and if the Killing Curse is used on someone in their animal form, that will also force them to return to their normal shape, though dead of course. For this reason, it's not a useful spying technique, as in war, people will always check animals that are around them"
"What happens if you do any of the steps wrongly?" Thomas Coclan asked
"It can lead to horrible things such as permanent half human half animal mutations. One of my closest childhood friends suffered this fate, she now has the back end of a tiger and has to walk on all fours. That is why you must maintain such intense focus and concentration and be sure you will complete every step correctly before you attempt it. You must also register yourself with the ministry as soon as you achieve your first transformation"
"So, still interested in being an Animagus then?" Demelza asked as we were leaving.
I bit my lip
"Dunno mate. It seems like a hell of a lot of effort for something that would be a gimmick for the most part" I couldn't of course, tell her why James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had done it.
"It would be nice if you became a bird though, then you could fly unsupported" Demelza said
"True, but both of us love flying on brooms anyway, why go through all of that for such an uncertain outcome when we can just stick with our Cleansweeps?"
"I suppose it would be a good way of escaping danger quickly"
"Yeah but flight animal Animagi are very rare, and anyway, you can escape danger quickly by disapperating if you're 17 or older. Plus, most of us would want to fight dark wizards anyway, if they were the danger. Harry said he's not very keen on facing You Know Who again after only narrowly avoiding death all three times, but most dark wizards aren't You Know Who"