Grumbling between them, the gaggle of students marched down the hall towards their detention for the evening. "I can't believe we have detention with McGonagall just for going to see Hagrid."
"Actually, Harry, we were out after curfew. She can't show favoritism." Hermione said haughtily.
Draco sneered. "I'm more interested in who ratted us out. McGonagall was waiting for us, remember."
Harry shook his head and gave a shrug. "Who knows. Not like she'd tell us, anyways. So, there's a storm outside tonight. Do you all have your leaves still?"
Each of his friends nodded, before showing off the leaf in their mouths. "Well, hopefully we can ask McGonagall what the next step is tonight." Harry said.
The group arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, Harry opening the door as he allowed everyone inside. "Hurry up, we don't have all evening." McGonagall said as Harry closed the door once everyone was within.
McGonagall had them working to carefully organize transfigured objects from other classes, sorting out which were close enough to be made permanent, and which needed to be finite'd. However, halfway through detention, McGonagall clapped her hands.
"I believe that's enough of that. They're sufficiently organized. Let us instead work on the ritual due to the fact that tonight will be both the full moon and a storm, both of which are needed for the animagus ritual. I am loathe to have to allow you to skip your detention, but heavens knows how rare it is for a storm to happen during the full moon..."
Harry noticed the slight smirk at the latter comment. Was this another situation where she gave them detention to keep their secret? Regardless of whether that was true or not, Harry grinned merrily at McGonagall.
"Mister Potter, go ahead and step to the side and finish up with the rest of the sorting. The rest of you, spit your leaf out into this phial." McGonagall said, flicking her wand and making a set of crystal phials float towards each of the five. Harry nodded and continued sorting the transfigured items, watching with fascination as each of his friends spat out a leaf that seemed to swirl with their magic.
"Now, each of you pluck out a hair and take a single teaspoon of this dew and add them both to the phial." McGonagall floated a small flask first to Hermione, who took a silver teaspoon offered to her by the old witch and filled it, adding it and her strand of hair to the potion.
One by one, each of them added the hair and dew as the phials started to glimmer with magic that shone with a silvery starlight. Harry could see the magic dancing around the phials, as outside, thunder echoed.
Just then, the door opened, as a familiar face walked in. Professor Dumbledore stepped into the room, his garish robes illuminated by the light of the classroom's sconces.
"Ah, Minerva. I need to speak with you… oh? What is going on here? I thought that you had detentions to oversee tonight, Minerva." McGonagall stepped in front of Harry for a moment, suddenly shoving a phial into his hands. It was filled with simple water, but a tap from Minerva's wand behind her back made it appear like a leaf was floating within.
"Headmaster! I was simply showing Mister Potter and his friends how to do the animagus ritual. I believe I expressed that they are all exceptionally talented?"
Dumbledore's unwavering gaze slid across the students one by one. Harry held his bottle tight, as the Professor looked at him as well.
"I see. I suppose this is an auspicious night for such a thing. Very well, I will speak with you after the children have returned to their dorms." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling as he turned and left the room.
McGonagall gave a breath of relief, as she took the phial from Harry. "I did not expect Albus to come this evening."
"Professor, why did you make the Headmaster think Harry was doing the ritual as well?" Neville asked, gesturing at the fake phial Harry was holding. "Because I would prefer he not ask questions about when Harry performed the ritual. I will not explain further." McGonagall said with a stern look that quickly silenced the others.
Harry knew why; if the Headmaster found out he hadn't done the ritual, if he ever found out that Harry WAS an animagus, then he'd question how he performed it. While there was a slim chance he'd consider the Old Rite ritual, the chance was not zero. It was best not to play with fate.
"Now, all of you, hold up your phials to the window as lightning strikes." McGonagall says, gesturing towards one of the large windows in the classroom.
Each of the students walked over, holding up their phial. It took a little while of waiting, but lightning soon arced into the Forbidden Forest's massive trees, and the phials suddenly started to glow, the contents within seeming to swirl and form a thick, silvery substance.
"Now. Quickly. Point your wand at your heart, and chant this." McGonagall said. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus."
As the others started chanting, McGonagall spoke up. "Keep chanting, even if you hear a second heartbeat. Do not let it disturb or stop the chanting, or your potion will fail!" The Transfiguration Professor seemed to be watching the students carefully.
Harry saw Crabbe starting to get a little tongue tied. He hurried over and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to help. The boy's rough, hardly-used voice steadied as Harry started chanting with him, steadily speaking up to keep Crabbe on track. Goyle was next to falter but Harry moved to assist. Repeating the process, Harry did his best to help his friends during the ritual.
Another lightning bolt arced across the sky, as the magic in the room was building and focusing towards the phials as they started to shine ever brighter. The silvery liquid started to turn darker and darker, gaining a deep crimson color that sparkled like it was made of liquid rubies.
McGonagall let out a breath, nodding to everyone as they stopped chanting. "Excellent work, each and every one of you. Five points to each of you for your Houses. And an additional ten points to you, Mister Potter, for quick thinking and impeccable assistance to your companions." McGonagall nodded. "Now, everyone return to the middle of the room."
Excited, everyone moved back to the center of the classroom as both Crabbe and Goyle nodded appreciatively to Harry, Crabbe even giving a slight grin. The two boys of little words soon took their spots in the circle, with Harry and McGonagall standing behind them.
"We will do one of you at a time so that we will not have any accidents. Mister Potter, you and I will be in charge of assisting them should their transformation go wrong. If it does go wrong, you are to immediately stop what you are doing and think hard on your human form. Am I clear?"
There was a chorus of "Yes, Professor" as each of them agreed. Hermione looked excited while Neville looked worried, peering at the red liquid in his phial. Draco was a bit downcast, peering at the potion, as Harry remembered what Draco had said before.
"Don't worry, Draco. You'll do it. I know you will." Harry whispered to him as he walked past. Draco looked up at Harry for a moment, then seemed to steel himself, giving a slight smirk to hide his apprehension.
Crabbe and Goyle, as usual, were emotionless as they both looked at the potion in their hands. Harry always had a hard time telling what they were thinking, but he wondered if they were worried too.
"Now, Miss Granger, you will go first." McGonagall said.
Hermione was startled, jumping in place for a second as she fumbled with her potion. "Miss Granger, point your wand once more at your heart, and chant the incantation one final time. When you are finished, drink the potion."
Hermione took a deep breath, pointing her wand at her heart and speaking proudly. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus!"
As soon as she finished saying that, Hermione drank the potion and the red liquid disappeared down her throat.
Harry saw the liquid flow through her body, its magic pushing into Hermione's and beginning to diffuse. It pulsed, moving around her body as Hermione gasped. "I-I can feel a second heartbeat!"
McGonagall spoke up, her voice firm. "Focus yourself, Miss Granger. Allow the magic to flow through you. Concentrate; don't let it take control."
Harry watched as Hermione started to shift, growing smaller as her hands turned to wings. Black feathers burst from her body as she shrank, shifting her form. After a few seconds, where Hermione had been sitting, a black raven was hopping in place with its wings spread.
"Caw! Caw!" The raven looked around, flapping its wings. Harry grinned and popped into his fox form, before bapping Hermione's tail feathers. The raven gave a loud, indignant squawk before whipping around and pecking Harry's nose.
Harry yelped and hopped back, making everyone laugh. "Excellent, Miss Granger. You appear to be a Raven. Now focus on your human form and you should be able to return to your normal self." McGonagall said, her voice indicating her amusement.
Hermione gave an affirmative caw and suddenly a familiar bushy-haired witch was once more sitting in the circle. "That was amazing! But it felt so strange. I could feel two heartbeats in my chest." Hermione said quickly. "Is that normal, Professor?"
McGonagall nodded, as Harry seemed curious. "Yes, it's actually stranger for someone not to feel the second heartbeat; if you do not feel a second heartbeat it normally means your animagus form has completely unified with your human spirit."
Hermione nodded to the witch's response as Neville spoke up. "C-can I go next? I-I want to get it out of the way, even if I think I won't be able to do it. I don't have enough magic."
"Neville! I told you, you aren't a Squib!" Harry protested. McGonagall raised a hand to Harry, silencing him as the woman nodded to Neville. "Very well, Mister Longbottom. Go ahead."
Harry grumbled a bit as Neville repeated the process, speaking the words with his wand pointed at his heart. For a barest moment, nothing happened, as Harry saw the potion push into Neville's body similarly to Hermione's. When at first nothing happened, Neville's face turned downcast. Giving his friend a grin to encourage him, Harry could see the magic shift and the boy's fingers slowly stretch into wicked claws.
After the claws sprouted, the rest came quickly; making Neville shrink down just as Hermione had. His face pushed into a muzzle as fur spread over his body. White fur coated his back, black fur on his legs and torso as he finished his changes. Harry looked at the fuzzy creature before him, and turned into his fox form once again.
Harry hopped onto the furry creature, which gave off a sudden snarl that made Harry's instinct scream "Danger!" He immediately hopped back, as the white and black creature snorted at Harry's retreat before suddenly jumping at him!
Harry yelped, as the furry little devil latched onto his face, making Harry fall backwards. Swinging his head back and forth, Harry saw the mirth in the little demon's eyes, before it let go and moved back to his seat.
Moments later, Neville was back to human form. "Excellent work, Mister Longbottom. And I believe that Mister Potter will not try to pounce on you again." McGonagall said, laughter in her voice. "After all, Honey Badgers are known for their viciousness."
Harry reverted to his human form and grumped. "All I'm trying to do is help them get comfortable with their new forms, and now I've been pecked and grabbed both!"
Neville laughed, Hermione also giving a giggle. Even Draco couldn't hide the mirthful smirk on his face. McGonagall nodded to get the conversation back on track, turning to Goyle. "Now, since we seem to be going around in a counter-clockwise fashion, Mister Goyle, your turn."
Goyle took his wand and repeated the process, this time the entire change lasting barely a minute. Where Goyle was a few moments before was an adolescent gorilla, half the size of a fully grown one but still having enormous, rippling muscles. The gorilla snorted, and turned back into Goyle.
"A flawless transformation, Mister Goyle. Your father would be proud; I believe he attempted the ritual when he was seventeen and it failed. Wonderful work." McGonagall complimented the boy; Goyle remained stoic, but Harry could see he was pleased.
"Now, Mister Crabbe? Your turn." McGonagall said, gesturing to the next boy. Crabbe gave a gulp, and repeated the process. His change wasn't as fast as Goyle's, but faster than Hermione's; it rippled over his body and made him slightly smaller before turning him into a large crocodile. After a second the reptile gave a hiss that Harry surprisingly could understand.
§§Fear me! I am the mighty and powerful Crabbe!§§
Harry snickered a bit, and spoke up. "Crocodile Crab. That's really wicked."
Crabbe looked at Harry and reverted back, giving his own smirk in response to the pun. McGonagall smilled and spoke, "A powerful saltwater crocodile. One of the most dangerous bites in the animal kingdom, Mister Crabbe. Well done."
Only one person was left, all eyes turning to Draco. Harry peered at the pureblood prince, who was lost in thought while staring at his potion. "Draco? It's your turn. Are you ready?"
"I'm not sure, Potter. The Malfoys haven't been able to become animagi in centuries. What happens if the transformation fails? Or worse, I end up becoming some half-human mutant! I'm a pureblood, I can't take that risk!"
Harry could hear the panic in Draco's voice, as McGonagall spoke up. "Such things are exceedingly rare, Mister Malfoy. I believe you will be fine." Draco took a deep breath, and raised his wand to his heart. Repeating the words, he drank the potion as lightning struck outside.
Harry could see a problem almost immediately. Something in Draco's magic seemed to react, almost like it saw the potion as an enemy. The magics didn't diffuse, but instead began to clash, as Draco clutched his chest.
"Mister Malfoy?" McGonagall hurried over and grabbed his shoulder, but Harry kept his eyes on Draco's chest. The red of the potion was fighting the silvery-black spectral dragon. The dragon released a soundless roar, as if it was ripping and tearing at the magic of the potion. Harry felt his necklace heat up at his neck as Draco started to choke; the potion's magic was trying to shift his throat, causing the spectral dragon to tear at the magic to revert it back in a dangerous tug-of-war.
"Draco!" Hermione shouted, as Crabbe and Goyle immediately rushed to his side, but the boys were unsure what to do. McGonagall had her wand out and was attempting to assist Draco, but the teacher had a confused look on her face. With a powerful, almost regal, shout Harry rushed up. "Don't touch him! Out of my way!" Harry had channeled Madame Pomfrey for a second but was too focused on his choking friend to notice.
Stunned by the sudden, almost magical authority in Harry's voice, even Professor McGonagall stepped aside, the eleven-year old boy rushing forward and placing his hand on Draco's chest.
Allowing his magic to slide into Draco's body, he could see it meeting the dragon. His magic shifted and twisted, taking the shape of a fox as it approached. A familiar pair of spectral beings, a black crow and gold and red gryphon, seemed to move next to Harry's magic. It was almost like they were standing guard to protect him.
The fox met the dragon, Harry's magic standing before the dragon as the gryphon and crow were beside him. The dragon peered at the three, and gave a challenge, the magic launching at Harry and pulling the four into a melee.
Harry could see Draco begin to convulse as the battle began. Harry made his magic assist the potion, but at the same time attempting to calm the silver and black dragon within Draco's magic.
Harry felt the dragon's might, but continued to guide his magic to attempt to calm it, allowing his magic flowing into Draco's body. The Malfoy heir stopped convulsing, and instead began to shine with a silver light as the gryphon and crow helped Harry's magic get the upper hand.
Just as it did, Harry saw the spectral dragon seem to twist around, finally relenting as the crimson potion's magic was allowed to diffuse completely into Draco's body and magic.
Draco's body shone with a powerful magical light, and Draco was gone, replaced by a midnight black dragonlike creature. The magnificent creature had the hind legs of a dragon and the body of an eagle; its body was coated with a mix of scale and feathers, both scale and feather having a deep ebony color with the tips having a glint of silver.
Like all of Harry's friends, the creature was still an adolescent, but despite that was almost as big as Goyle's gorilla form. Uniquely, its wings were a pitch, ethereal black, the tips of each web a glimmering silver. Its face had a beak, but inside of it was a row of sharp draconic fangs, with horns pushing out the side of its head. The entire creature was similar to a gryphon but with the back half of a dragon instead of a lion.
"Merlin!" McGonagall gasped, hurrying to her desk and grabbing out the same book she had looked through when Harry had turned. As the creature's eyes opened, he saw Harry and gave out a confused chuff before looking at McGonagall.
"Mister Malfoy, I believe you are a variant of the Gryphon, called a Drake Gryphon." McGonagall said, peering over at Draco. Draco gave out an eagle-like screech, and suddenly was back in his human form which landed roughly on his rear end. "A Gryphon?! But that's so… so… Gryffindor!" Draco protested.
"Mister Malfoy, you are a magical creature; one of the first that I know of in all my years of teaching, and your first thought is that it has similarities with the Gryphons of the Gryffindor crest?"
Draco opened his mouth, as Harry saw the exact moment when the first part of what the Professor said clicked in his mind.
"I'm not only the first Malfoy animagus in centuries— but I'm also a magical creature?!" Draco shrieked. The surprise of the blonde made the entire group burst into giggles. Even Crabbe and Goyle seemed to join in the laughter, relief on their faces from the harrowing experience.
Harry smirked as he saw Draco's magic calming, sighing with relief himself as his necklace's red lightly dimmed once more, not noticing the golden thread that formed between him and Draco.
"Mister Potter, stay behind, please." Professor Snape said as the Potions class ended. As Harry and Draco moved to leave, Draco nodded to Harry as he walked over to the Professor's desk.
"Yes, Professor?"
Snape glared at Harry, before pinching the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh. "Mister Potter… I'm going to be blunt. What did you do?"
"Professor? Am I in trouble?" Harry asked, worried.
"Professor McGonagall explained to me your detention with her last week. Mister Malfoy was showing the signs of animagus rejection, and an especially severe one at that. He would have been left at the very least unable to become an animagus, and at the worst as some sort of half-animal mutant. Whatever you did, whatever trick you pulled saved his life and possibly his magic."
Harry grimaced. He hoped this didn't mean yet another Life-Debt, but the third glimmering golden line that appeared when he checked made him wince at the confirmation. He hadn't noticed the bond the week before, but it indeed was there.
"I— saw his magic reaction, and used my magic to try to stabilize it, Professor." Harry said after a moment. Snape had done nothing but help him, so perhaps he would keep this secret as well. "Saw it?" Snape's eyebrow rose. "As in, physically saw it?"
"Yes, Professor. Ollivander said I have something called Mage Sight." The sentence was barely out of Harry's mouth when Snape threw his hands up in the air and flopped back. "Heavens above, Potter. One thing after another. Wild Magic, Feral Shifting Syndrome, a magical animagus, and now you can see the very magic of the world around you? Next you will be telling me you're a Parseltongue!" Snape cupped his head in his hands.
"Parseltongue?" Harry asked, not recognizing the name. Snape cocked an eyebrow before saying, "The ability to speak the language of snakes."
"Oh, I can do that too."
THUMP.
The poor man's head slammed into the desk as he lost his grip on it, leading to a few seconds before he gave a loud, piteous groan. The sound had made Harry jump in his seat, as he leaned forward. "Professor? Are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Just dealing with the fact that the next incarnation of Merlin is not only in my House, but the spawn of James Potter." Harry's nose scrunched up, wisely deciding not to comment on the mention of his father. "I'm no Merlin, Professor. I don't even consider myself that special."
"Mister Potter, humility becomes arrogance after a certain point. You have the skills that individually would make a wizard one in a million. All together, if anyone heard about this, you would be hailed as the next coming of Merlin himself. The wizarding world would immediately point to your status as the Boy Who Lived as proof of this." The pale wizard sat himself up, looking like he had aged twenty years in twenty minutes.
"But I don't want to be thought of as the next Merlin!" Harry protested.
Snape sighed, steepling his fingers in front of himself. "Mister Potter, let's not digress further from the subject at hand. You saved young Mister Malfoy's life here tonight; all because of your Mage Sight."
Snape placed his hands on his desk to steady himself and prevent him from falling out of his chair. "The events of tonight cannot be shared with anyone, and I need you to express to your companions the necessity of keeping it silent. Your other… abilities… shall remain a secret for now, but I believe that the next step is to make your animagus form public knowledge."
"But why, Professor?" Harry asked. Snape stood up, his robes billowing behind him as he started to pace in the room. "Because with the news that you and Mister Malfoy are magical animagi, they more than likely will ignore the facts of how Mister Malfoy received the form. Not only that, but it would let your friends keep their forms hidden, for when and if they should ever need them."
"But Professor McGonagall told me not to register my form before, Professor?" Harry asked quietly.
"That was sage advice from a wise woman, as being an animagus and unregistered can give many benefits. However, things have changed." Snape sighed, as he looked as if he was seeing how events would unfold before his eyes.
"If you keep it hidden, I believe that should it ever come out, many would use the history of the Malfoy Family to say you received the forms through some sort of Dark ritual. Coupled with the newspaper article about the Troll, it would cast an unfavorable light on not only you, but the entire Malfoy family."
"But Professor, that is only if word gets out." Harry pointed out.
"Indeed you are right, Potter." Snape sneered, crossing his arms. "But surely you do not believe the information will remain hidden forever? All it would take is for someone to listen in, or someone to squeeze the knowledge from one of your friends for it all to come tumbling down. Are you a Slytherin, or are you a Dunderhead? Think to the future, Potter. The benefits of revealing your Animagus form will also help prevent future information on your other skills being hailed as Dark gifts." Snape said, slamming his hand down on his desk and making the empty phials there jingle.
Harry nodded, as he rubbed his chin. "So you want me to keep my other abilities hidden?" Snape sighed, but gave a nod after a moment. "Considering how well you have done that until this point, I believe that you will at least be somewhat skilled in that endeavor, Potter. Do not prove me wrong." Snape sneered.
Harry nodded, as he was about to say something before Snape swiped his hand through the air for emphasis and cut him off. "Potter, you will have detention with me at the end of the month."
Harry's mouth snapped closed, before reopening again to protest, "But why?!" Harry let out a piteous, foxlike whine.
Snape delibrately ignored the whine, placing his hand on his desk. "Because your Mage Sight can allow me to gather potion ingredients from the Forbidden Forest that would be unable to be seen with normal vision, and the required magic to find these plants has a high chance of causing damage to them. Since you are using me as your personal advisor, I assume that you would have no issues with me in return using your unique services."
Harry saw what the man was doing. "Never give something unless you see value for it in the future. Very Slytherin, sir."
"Yes, Potter. Something I expect you to use going forward. Altruism is something that is valuable, but only to an extent. Your skills are going to get taken advantage of if you do not receive equal measure in return."
That comment made Harry silent for a few moments as he thought. "Yes sir. I'll be here at the end of the week for my detention."
"See that you do, Potter. You are dismissed." Snape said, turning around from him.
Harry noticed that the man seemed much less harsh to him than usual as he hurried out of the classroom to catch up with, and stop the argument between, Ron and Draco.
-Author's Notes-
If you have a hard time picturing the Drake Gryphon, search google with the term "Drake Gryffin Reference by gryphon1". The deviantart page is the reference I used, except for coloration.
I hope everyone had a Happy New Year's! Here's to a year of my fanfiction, and hopefully a good story that keeps you all invested.
if you're interested in Beta reading, send me a PM!
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling.