:used for High Mind Speech. Not to be confused with telepathy or Legitimacy:.
As the Humans headed out of the Suite to inspect the Ship and the Offered Entertainment… The two 'Familiars' settled in for the ride.
:You know that She is joining him.: The Owl, [Snowfall Death] as she called herself. Her Human called her Hedwig.
:I knew that before we left the School.: The Flat-faced 'Cat' rolled onto his back to sun his belly. [Skandalous Inferno] aka 'Skan' aka Crookshanks was happy to play his part. That of the pampered house cat. :Just what are his plans anyway?:
:No Idea. He spent most of the time plotting with his Pack. I was used to send and retrieve things that they could trust me with. So [Restless Storm] was mostly unsupervised.:
[Book Hunter] spent most of the time stalking her books.: Skan fell to the trap of the warm sun beam. He scratched at his exposed belly, : You do know that he is parting from the Pack where He is going.:
: That is why they are meeting up in Rio for two weeks.; Owl sipped her water… The lad had opened up a green bottle from the 'Cold Storage' box when he filled the bowls on her perch. The rest of the water in the bottle was given to the orange tom. :The Wolf will sing to the Moon before they portkey to Rio via New York. I overhead that much.:
:Gating is bad enough.: Skan snorted.
SPRB
That night after Dining in the Dining Hall, where the Rules for the Cruise were laid out.
Bottoms must be worn at all times when in public.
Dress for Meals, even if it is just a tee shirt and sandals.
PDA is restricted to non-skin on skin.
All Public Magic must be Charms Class. All Jinx, Hex, and Curse class spells must be consensual, and confined to the Rooms.
Violation of these Rules will see the Person or Persons facing Captain's Judgment.
Punishments include, but not limited to, Debarkation, Confinement, and Fines.
"Debarkation?" Harry asked with a frown.
"In the old days, the term was 'walk the Plank'." Dan grinned down at the lad.
"That's what I thought." Harry shook his head. "And I expect you have to swim back to shore."
"That's if they don't tie your luggage to you before making you take the long walk." Dan whispered to Harry.
"You mean I don't have to worry about my Luggage?" Harry wiped his brow. "For a minute there, I thought that they would keep it."
Dan walked straight into it. "Why?"
"Because two thirds of it is Hermione's new Books."
Dan looked at the lad, before he snorted. "I can't tell if you are joking."
"This time… the Truth is funnier than the joke." Harry adjusted his glasses. "It's closer to three fourths."
Hermione jumped him, hugging and kissing him like she was sucking his soul out.
"That seems a bit excessive." A deep voice sounded behind Dan.
"He just brought three trunks onboard." Dan watched his baby-girl try to devour the boy in her arms… anything to not have to look behind him. 1"He just said that it was at least sixty percent new books."
"What is she?" A witch with a cockney accent asked. "A Ravenclaw?"
"A Hat-stall Gryffindor." Dan answered with a grin. "First in all her Classes except Potions and Herbology."
"That means that she knows Harry Potter!" The witch Grinned. "And that Horrid Granger hussy."
Suddenly Hermione was thrust into Dan's arms as Harry was in the Witch's face. "Excuse me. I couldn't help hearing you. Would you be so Nice to Repeat your words?"
The Presence Behind Dan Hummed.
The Witch… Dan judged her to be in her mid to late thirties, looked at the lad before her… his Blazing Green Eyes behind golden rims… the Black Wild Untamed hair… the red and angry scar… before she turned to look at the Witch that was just assaulting him.
"Shite!" She turned and vanished into the crowd.
"The Captain will be informed." The Deep Voice hummed and moved off.
Emma looped an arm through Dan's. "Dan, I am going to the Sun Deck… I need someone to apply the sun lotion…" Dan patted Hermione on the head as he allowed his wife to lead him away.
"Do I need to tell them that…" Harry watched them go.
"No… even with the charm and spell work… they will still be applying lotion or oil on each other." Hermione smiled at the boy beside her. "It's the contact of the act that allows them to be so…" Hermione shivered. "She gets to be oiled and worshiped in public, while he gets to fondle her in public."
"So …" Harry looked around the room as people drifted off. He spotted a bulletin board that listed the offered activities. Starting in three days were swimming lessons. He signed up. He also noticed that they offered rock climbing. Again he signed up, but thinking that while Hermione could swim, he didn't know about rock climbing and so he included her name. And a third activity that caught his attention was yoga. He put both their names down on that one and made a note that they would have to buy clothing and the like for the yoga.
"What cha doing?" She whispered in his ear.
"Just prepping for my… trip." He turned and pulled her into his arms. "If the Adults are going to be busy until Dinner… what to see what Sirius sent me? I would like you to join me… even if just to watch that I don't do something too stupid."
"I would love to." She grinned at him and hooked her arm through his.
SPRB
Back in their suite, on the bed in Harry's room, the two teens opened and spread the package from 'Messrs Moony and Padfoot'. It contained two shot-glass vials of a silver syrup, an illustrated copy of Fantastic Creatures, a book calling itself the Creatures of the World, and a note sealed with a wax seal of a Wolf, Grim, and a Hart.
Harry handed the note to Hermione.
With her thumb-claw, she popped the seal without destroying it.
"Pup…Kitten. In the pouch you will find two potions vials, a picture book for almost every creature and animal in the world. One Muggle and one Magical. This doesn't include the Non Human Beings like the Centaurs and Goblins.
"Now, in our brash youth we thought that we would take a shortcut. The path McGonagall teaches guides the Magus to slowly shift into their soul animal. It is a slow and safe process…
"We streamlined it by removing the slow part and in doing so… removed the guaranteed safe. You will notice that I am Grimish. James was not just a Hart, but a Forest Lord. Our process doesn't just gather your soul's reflection for the transformation, but also your blood traits. Blood traits, not Bloodline traits. No doubt that Kitten knows what I am talking about.
"Now as much as I wish it was slam and done, you will need some time to understand what you are turning into. James only needed to know a stag and I only needed to know a dog.
"I hope you two will join us on this journey, and find yourself in the process."
"And they signed it with two paw prints."
Harry picked up the closest potion vail and examined It. "Why did they put them in a screw top vial?"
Hermione turned over the page.
"instructiones procedendi.
phialam aperta
adde sanguinem
bene agitabit
bibere cito
bona fortuna"
Harry frowned. "I almost followed that."
"Basically, instructions, open vial, add blood, shake well, drink quickly, Good Luck."
They obeyed… and as one, slammed the now purple potion.
Before Harry's eyes Hermione became furry before changed into a Cat almost half the size of Padfoot. The cat stretched first her fore legs, her hind legs, then her wings… before her owl face glared at him as she shrunk until she was an owl half the size of Hedwig. Then Hermione was back.
Before her eyes, Harry became a Black Puma, and as he stretched… he became a gryffon and then an owl…
As he lay on the bed panting. Hermione was already flipping through the Muggle book. "The Bird was the Great Horned Owl. The Cat was … a Black Panther or Puma… the difference is that the panther is taller and thinner. The Puma is shorter and heavier, and rarer."
"Puma then." Harry sneered. "As a Panther… I would not stand out… as much." He levered himself up and looked at her. "At first I thought you were a Kneazle but you didn't have the traits of a normal full breed. Your feet were too big, even if you were to take into account the size difference between you and Crookshanks. Your Owl is smaller than Hedwig, but bigger than Pig." He grinned at her. "But you are a true Gryffindor. Sharp beak, talons, and claws." He leaned close and kissed her. "And wickedly Smart."
"You too pretty boy. You are a black cat and a dark grey owl. Where Hedwig is fast for the Species, you are raw power."
"You are just buttering me up so you can get a new book." Harry smiled at her as he kissed her again and got off the bed. Selecting the tome on Occlamacy, he handed it to her. "This is really three books in one. I have finished the first one, and I need a few weeks to practice what it teaches." He swept the empty vials into the bin and sprawled on the bed. "Now… I am going to have a nap." And he collapsed.
Before her eyes, he shifted to his cat form. She set the book on the side table and curled up in his forehead paws, and allowing her Cat out, drifted off in his arms. Once she was out, she too fully turned into a cat.
Skandalous Inferno sauntered into the room and jumped on the bed. : Well, they did it. As they are not capable of Mind Speech, they won't hear us. Not until they get to Snow Point.:
:Yeah. How are you getting there anyhow?:
: I was thinking that I would Walk there. I would wait with His Pack, and when you get there, you can call me and I would walk to you.:
: You would abandon your charge?: Snowfall winged into the room and perched on the back of the desk chair.
Skan snorted as he picked his way up to the 'lass' and rolled/ curled into the belly of Hermione's cat form. :Abandon. Never. I am trusting her to you and [Reckless Storm]. Do you think anything she can't handle would mess with him?:
Snowfall gave him the mental version of a raspberry.
SPRB
Hours later, the two sunkissed adults returned to the Suite and found three 'large' cats sleeping on Harry's bed as Hedwig was perched on the back of the desk chair.
"Well. Next year, we have to decide on if it's cheaper to travel with four humans or two humans and three pets." Dan smiled at the three on the bed.
The Black Cougar yawned and rolled over as it morphed into an Owl, half again the size of Hedwig. The owl waddled to the edge of the bed, focused, and jumped…
To land as Harry Potter. "Next Year, you will be two adults and a Cat. Hermione has two forms as well."
Emma detached from Dan and rubbed Hermione's belly. "She looks like a Linux or a Main Coon… probably a mix. You said two forms?"
"Yes. We both are owls and cats. Those combined give us a third form. While we are not the standard of the breed…"
"You mean to say that my Gryffindor Daughter is actually a Griffin?" Emma grinned.
"We both are. Yes." Harry smiled at them. He picked up the book of muggle animals, and after looking through the section on owls, he pointed at a brown with white spots on its back and the inverse on its belly.
Emma peered over his shoulder. "Burrowing Owl. And her cat?"
"Well I heard you say that she was coon or lynx." He flipped through to the cats… and there she was. "Judging by paw size and body length, I think you are correct. She is a mixture of the two breeds. And I think that she is awake."
Hermione yawned and glared at the Humans.
"Hey Beautiful." Harry smiled at her, "You do know that you have a book to read."
Hermione blurred as she rolled to her feet. "There are times you annoy me to no end." She grabbed the book and exited out to the Sun patio and settled into a chair.
"And then I give her something else to learn and research." Harry smiled after her.
"Can you tell us why I saw your names on the sign up sheets for Yoga and Mountain Climbing?" Dan asked.
"I also signed up for swimming lessons. Half of getting into my new School is getting there. Rock climbing and swimming might be needed. And then there is the Yoga… healthy mind, healthy body… and yoga pants."
"Yoga…" Emma smiled at the boy. "Why the interest? Besides the women in skin tight pants."
"Like Dan, My eyes are only on Hermione. As they didn't offer a combat class… I felt that toning was the next best thing."
Emma whispered in Dan's ear. But with his new enhanced hearing,... "Yoga can also improve the Sex."
Dan nodded, before turning to the lad. "And the clothing…"
"They have a store." Harry grinned at the Man. "Charge it to the Room and the Goblins will take it from there."
"You weren't joking about being Batman Rich, were you?" Dan frowned. "I don't know how I feel about this?"
"Albus and his network will be looking for a single male youth." Harry smiled at Dan. "Not a family of four. If they are looking for Hermione, they will be looking for a family of three."
We are traveling in both mundane and magical transportation for the very reason to confuse the search. By the time the Searchers pull their heads out of Albus's ass and think for themselves, we should be beyond their reach. The cost of bringing you all with me is half the value of the cover you provide. And I get to spend much of the holiday with Hermione and she with you. The fact that you are watching over me is a bonus. Anything over a hundred pounds, let me know but odds are I will cover it."
He turned to look at both adults. "You do know that the Sun Decks are warded against the possibility of sunburning and sun related damage, correct!"
"So… the sun lotion I just spent applying to my wife was for nothing?"
"No… you had a reason to molest her in public. If you would prefer a scented oil instead… check the apothecary to see what they have in stock. Worst comes to worst, ask Hermione to brew you something. You can even get something besides just scented oil."
"Good to know."
TBC