A/N: Nothing much to say here, except that I own nothing, except the plot, and any additional characters, spells, settings, I may use that do not already exist in the world of Harry Potter, or those that are not copywrited. Please read the end author's note (or not, if you choose not to) to read my rant about HBP.
Chapter Five: Animagi In Action
After dinner, (Ron had come down in the end) Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Staff Room accompanied by Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Snape. Oddly enough, Snape was visibly more civil towards Harry during the class. Snape was not commenting on his work during the lesson, and merely acknowledged his presence; almost as if he was ignoring Harry.
Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore began to describe the effects of the potion that Professor Snape had made for them. The potion would make the drinker lightheaded and dizzy for approximately three hours, meaning that the trio would not likely be going to their dorms that night. After that, over the period of one hour, the changes would start, progressing at a rate proportional to the drinker's knowledge of their alternate form. After this, they would stay in the hospital wing, as the trio suspected, so that Madame Pomfrey could conduct tests to make sure the potion worked properly.
"After tonight, we shall meet twice a week until we can be sure each of you can master your animagi forms well. All right, then. Professor Snape, if you would please produce the potion," said Dumbledore, as Snape moved swiftly from his corner in the room to Professor Dumbledore's side, and back "Ah, yes… Harry, Hermione, Ronald; if you would please step forward, you may begin." The trio moved nervously up to Professor Dumbledore with Hermione in the lead. They each took a goblet of the potion, and took them up to the Hospital Wing. Once there, they drank the potions and all of them almost instantaneously became unconscious.
The next morning, all three of the young wizards and witch were nursing monstrous headaches. They had woken up at the end of the initial three-hour period with a feeling of nauseous, similar to the sensation created by Polyjuice Potion. Over the course of the next hour, Hermione, Harry, and Ron each achieved their animagus form. Hermione, obviously, had been the first to transform back into her human form and felt dizzy and fell straight to sleep immediately afterward. The others followed as well. When they were fully asleep, Madame Pomfrey conducted her examination of all three students and found nothing wrong. Madame Pomfrey then sent an owl in the morning to the headmaster, explaining all of this, including the time it took for each student to transform to and from their animal forms. The headmaster, however, had left that night on Order business, and had not arrived yet. Meanwhile, the trio in the Hospital Wing was conversing about their experience the night before. Although it was unspoken, all felt that if they had a choice, they would never take the potion again. Ron even felt that Professor Snape might have made their potions especially more distasteful.
"Do either of you feel like we are essentially two different people, now that we have all transformed?" asked Hermione with her usual air of inquiry about her. Harry and Ron did feel that way, but couldn't find ways to express it, so they simply nodded.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I think that we should all go to the library for a spot more research on the aftermath of the animagus transformation," said Hermione, fully knowing that Professor Dumbledore had explained it only last night but couldn't exactly remember what the Professor said, merely the fact that he had explained it. She thought that maybe one of the others might have remembered, but then realized that it was Ron and Harry. They would have absorbed nothing of the previous night's talks if at all possible.
"Hermione, please! We've done enough bloody studying. Why don't we just talk to Dumbledore or McGonagall. Actually, come to think of it, they explained it to us last night. They said…er, well they said that…er. Blimey, I can't remember a single thing. Can you, Harry?" asked Ron.
"Well, I don't remember either, so what are we doing in here-" said Harry.
"-you are in here because I need to make sure you are not going to spontaneously combust, or anything like that. And by the way, Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore aren't here right now. They're off on Order business somewhere, I expect. Well, while I have you, drink this potion; it should eliminate most of the dizziness and lightheadedness you probably have," said Madame Pomfrey. The explanation being satisfactory, the trio drank the potion and felt perfectly fine within five minutes, when Albus Dumbledore came bursting through the Hospital Wing door, accompanied by the rest of the students and teachers, except for Professors Snape and McGonagall. Dumbledore's angry demeanor suggested something great was amiss.
"Listen, all of you. Professor Snape has been compromised. He was found out to be a spy by Tom yesterday, and was forced to set up a trap for me last night. I managed to escape, but Professor McGonagall was taken hostage. Tom has made no demands, suggesting that he does not wish to hold our two professors hostage; an even graver danger. I want all of you to remain here tonight, no going out on the grounds, and no going anywhere after hours. The castle is no longer completely safe, because Professor McGonagall is exempt from the school wards, as is Professor Snape, and if either of them is a victim of the Imperius Curse, we may not be able to trust them. If you see either of them, summon Fawkes by using these Order of the Phoenix medallions." Here, Dumbledore passed out golden medallions with the symbol of the phoenix emblazoned on the front, "Fawkes will take you immediately to me, and you can report the sighting. I repeat, do not, under any circumstances, attempt to approach the professors. We must consider them as enemies for the time being. Harry, if you would please come with me, along with Ronald and Hermione, if you please," said Dumbledore. Confused by this turn of events, as everyone was, the trio followed Dumbledore out of the Hospital Wing and down a side corridor, where Dumbledore turned to face them.
"I know that you have all just recently become animagi and are still a little new to being animagi, but I need your help if we are to rescue the Professors. I cannot ask anyone else to come with us, as they are needed to protect the castle if Tom comes. Also, most of the Order are currently undercover in the Ministry, and I cannot request them to come, lest I compromise our mission. Here is what we must do," said Dumbledore, conjuring up a table and four chairs for them to sit at. After this, Dumbledore conjured what appeared to be a muggle hologram, except in three dimensions, of a run down building in the middle of a forest.
"This is where the Professors are being kept. It is an old outpost that was acquired by Tom's family, and he has, no doubt, put up wards around the place. However, it is very unlikely that Tom will be there right now. He is probably very angry at the fact that he failed to capture me last night, so there will be minimal security at the outpost, allowing for us to swiftly take out the opposition, giving Tom less time to counter attack us. The three of you will transform and form a perimeter around the back and the sides. Harry, I recommend you take the back. Meanwhile, I will conjure up holograms like this one, of other Order members, to distract the Death Eaters inside, and force them to flee, where you will be waiting for them. Should you feel the need to transform back into a human to use your wand, do so, but use the greatest discretion, as no one knows you are animagi, and to reveal this to Tom would defeat the purpose of making you animagi. As none of you know how to apparate, we must go by portkey into the wards. Remember, this is a quick operation; if Tom appears, do not engage him, tell me and I will hold him off until we can secure the professors. If we do get separated, keep the portkey to use, and don't wait for me; I will find some way of getting away, understood?" asked Dumbledore. After seeing a furtive nod from the three faces, he looked at his pocket watch.
"Almost time to go; three…two…one" said Dumbledore, as at the conclusion of his words, all four of them felt the familiar jerk behind their navels.
"Wormtail, send for Bella and Rabastam; they have work to do," said Tom Riddle, in a very decisive tone of voice.
"Yes, master; immediately," said Peter Pettigrew, bowing out of the room as he went.
As the three wizards and one witch arrived at their destination, they split up. Hermione transformed immediately, the Black Panther jogging silently to her post, while her two friends arrived at their posts, transforming as they went. The lion looked fierce and agitated, concentrating on the rear door of the outpost. The eagle on the opposite side of the panther, was perched vigilantly on a small branch, overlooking the side windows. Meanwhile, Dumbledore conjured up about ten other Order members, and had them march with him to the front door. Once there, he made sure everyone was in position, and knocked on the door. There was no answer, except for hurried mutterings inside the outpost, and then, silence. Then, without warning, the door exploded, sending Dumbledore and the other "Order members" sprawling back. Harry immediately took guard at the back door, and soon enough, three wizards in black robes stepped out the back door. They were momentarily stunned to find a lion in the middle of the forests of England, but then they took out their wands, preparing to stun Harry, when Harry leaped forward, tackled them to the ground, and after making sure they were unconscious, transformed back into his human state. Harry then stunned and wrapped the Death Eaters in magical rope. He then went around the perimeter of the house, looking to see if Ron or Hermione needed any help. Ron had rounded up two Death Eaters, and had transformed back into his human form, while Hermione had not had the chance to attack any Death Eaters, and had transformed back. The three of them ran out to the front, where Dumbledore was unconscious, with Bellatrix Lestrange standing over him, wand drawn. Without a moments hesitation, Harry whipped out his wand, and cried "Forca", sending a bolt of orange energy straight at Bellatrix's unsuspecting back. The force of the curse sent her flying into a tree.
"Ron, Hermione, get the professors. I'll revive Dumbledore and make sure no more Death Eaters are coming," said Harry, his wand sweeping the area. Not looking back at Ron and Hermione, whom he knew must have gone in for the teachers, Harry rushed forward to Dumbledore, and said, "Enervate". Dumbledore did not stir. For once, danger truly crept into Harry's system, beyond the adrenaline rush that had given him the strength to perform the Energy Curse. Perhaps the reviving charm worked only on magical inflicted ailments. Yes, that would be why Dumbledore wasn't waking up. Momentarily, Ron and Hermione exited the outpost, both levitating unconscious professors behind them.
"Let's go, Harry," said Hermione. Harry produced the teakettle, which was the portkey, and carefully made sure everyone had a finger touching the outpost, until Harry had an idea. Before putting his own finger on the kettle, Harry took out his wand and said "Exploda Maximus". Instantaneously, the outpost exploded with pieces of wood flying everywhere, but not on the group of wizards and witches huddled near the portkey, due to the shield charm Harry produced to protect them. Then, without explanation, he said, "Conjurus, Conjurus, Conjurus, Conjurus, Conjurus," which produced five people who looked suspiciously like Snape, McGonagall, Hermione, Ron, and Harry, each with severe burn marks. Harry then levitated the five "corpses" to different places around the outpost.
"So Voldemort won't think we survived the explosion," said Harry, offering only that little piece of explanation before putting his own finger upon the portkey, which transported them back to the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.
After they arrived in the middle of the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey immediately levitated the three professors into separate stretchers, and set up her medical wards, which showed that the two imprisoned professors were in much worse shape than Professor Dumbledore, who still looked deathly pale.
"What happened to Professor Dumbledore?" asked Harry.
"Oh, he'll be fine. Just had a small head trauma, so he should be up and about in half an hour, which will allow his blood to circulate properly. Don't you worry now, he'll be just fine," assured Madame Pomfrey. Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. Everyone would be fine and he'd helped make sure it happened that way. However, he needed to tell Dumbledore what he had done, in order to fool Voldemort. He most undoubtedly would be at the outpost by now, looking through the wreckage. Harry, however, was becoming increasingly more worried that he would not be able to stop Voldemort's plans forever, and the thought of the prophecy loomed evermore upon his conscious. Harry knew he had to tell Ron and Hermione, and he knew he had to tell them soon. Harry knew that he had friends, and he knew Voldemort only had followers. There was a difference, Harry knew, and he was going to use that advantage until the end.
By the time Dumbledore had recovered, it was nearly ten in the night and most everyone in the castle, except for Madame Pomfrey and Harry, were up still. Harry had told Ron and Hermione to go to bed, and that he had to tell Dumbledore something. Dumbledore woke up to a dimly lit Hospital Wing, with Harry Potter sitting at his bedside. Dumbledore took his time, surveying the environment, searching for any signs of treachery. After finding none, he turned to Harry, eyes twinkling.
"Hello, Harry. What are you doing here? All I remember was the door exploding, sending me back about twenty yards, and then I lost consciousness," spoke Dumbledore, with his usual mildly inquisitive air about him.
"The door exploded, sending you flying. Then, the three of us heard it, but had to take care of about three Death Eaters escaping, each. After that, we came to the front and found you unconscious with Bellatrix Lestrange standing over you with her wand drawn. I had no choice but to use the Energy Curse on Bellatrix, which knocked her unconscious as well, and then I told Ron and Hermione to get the professors. I tried to revive you, but I couldn't. Then, I exploded the outpost, and conjured dismembered bodies of Ron, Hermione, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and myself and placed them randomly around the outpost. After that, we used the portkey to get here, and then, Madame Pomfrey healed you, and now, you woke up," said Harry, slightly out of breath.
"I see, well the diversion at the outpost will no doubt prove useful, if only to anger Tom even more, and I would not have thought you would do that, but no matter. Very well, I must ask Kingsley to expedite your Edward Skinner license. You will not be penalized, do not worry. Did either of your friends see you perform the Curse?" Dumbledore said.
"Yes, they both did. I did not have time to explain, or hide it from them," said Harry, ashamed.
"Then, I suggest that you go look for them and explain about your dark arts class with me. Do not give them any details, however, simply say that these lessons have just started, and that you will not perform it on anyone who does not warrant it badly," said Dumbledore, sagely.
"Yes, sir. With your permission, I will leave now," said Harry.
"Go, Harry, make sure your friends understand, and I am not just talking about the dark arts class, I am talking about something bigger," said Dumbledore. Harry knew what he was referring to. Dumbledore wanted Harry to tell Ron and Hermione about the prophecy. It made sense to do it, too, but it didn't make it any easier for Harry.
By the time he had gotten back to the Gryffindor Common Room, it was nearly five thirty in the morning. Realizing that neither Ron nor Hermione would be up at this ungodly hour, he went to bed, fully intending to wake up early the next day, to talk to his two best friends about the Prophecy that would govern the ending of the War between the forces of good, and the forces of Lord Voldemort, last Heir of Salazar Slytherin.
However, by the time he had fully awoken, still feeling extremely groggy, he glanced at the clock hanging on the far wall of the dormitory. It was one o'clock in the afternoon! He had overslept and found that no one was still in the dormitory. Harry, not feeling particularly hungry, trudged to the showers, and took a long, hot shower, which woke him up (especially when someone came in to use the toilet, and flushed, which gave Harry tons of cold water). After getting dressed, Harry went down towards the Great Hall to find Hermione and Ron, but found that the Great Hall was emptying, and that his two best friends were already heading out to the lake, along with Luna, whose arm was linked around Ron's, her head resting on his shoulder. Harry hurried to catch up with them.
"Hermione, Ron, wait for me," Harry said as he exited the Entrance Hall via the front doors. Hermione stopped, turned around, and waved at Harry to catch up. Once he reached them, Hermione said, "Why were you sleeping so late? I thought you told us you'd be up by midnight, but Ron and I both waited until two, until we called it a night, and went up to bed."
"Well, one of the reasons I was waiting for Dumbledore was because I had to tell him something about yesterday," said Harry.
"What was so important that you needed to sacrifice your sleep, and startle the poor old man the second he recovers from his injury, which must have been humiliating, in itself?" said Hermione, in a rush.
Before answering, Harry looked around the courtyard to make sure no one was listening. Ginny and Neville were playing with the Giant Squid, and weren't paying the slightest attention to the only other four student inhabitants of Hogwarts. "You remember the curse I hit Bellatrix Lestrange with?" said Harry, looking at Ron and Hermione. Luna was confused by what they were talking about, but was being unusually perceptive, and stayed quiet; content to listen to the conversation that was engrossing her Ronald, and his other two best friends. Meanwhile, Hermione and Ron both nodded their heads, confirming the question that was asked of them. "Well, that curse was an Edward Skinner Curse. It was the Energy Curse, but I don't have a license for it, so I wasn't technically supposed to perform it, but I had no choice. Dumbledore should have been able to get my license by now, but he hasn't, so I had to tell him that, so that he could get the proper paperwork at the Ministry expedited," said Harry. The nods of comprehension from both Ron and Hermione came slowly now. Hermione then asked the question Harry didn't care to answer.
"But where did you learn the Energy Curse, or the other three curses, for that matter?" said Hermione.
"I have been taking a lot of extra classes with the professors, as you might have guessed. Those classes are why I have been away from the Common Room so often. Anyway, one of my classes is with Dumbledore on Offensive and Defensive Dark Arts spells and curses. In that class, he has been teaching me curses, which are borderline Unforgivable, but he first taught me how to control my magical power, so that I can monitor how much power is in each of my spells. Also, he told me right up front that these curses and spells are to be used only in emergency situations against Voldemort, or his forces, and he said that if I disobeyed him, I would be expelled, pending trial by the Ministry of Magic. That is where I have been learning the Edward Skinners along with some other dueling spells and strategies. I have been meeting Dumbledore in the Room of Requirement three times a week ever since we got here. I wanted to tell you guys, I really did. However, Dumbledore made me promise that I would tell no one of the extra classes I have been taking," said Harry, taking time to weigh each phrase, putting emphasis on the fact that he had been unable to tell his two most trusted and best friends.
"What other classes have you been taking that we don't know about? Or are you not allowed to tell?" said Hermione, scathingly.
"Don't you dare lecture me about keeping secrets, Hermione!" shouted Harry. By now, the attention of Neville and Ginny was no longer on the Giant Squid. "Remember the Time Turner in third year, remember being at Order Headquarters last summer! What about all that, huh?" shouted Harry.
Without answering, Hermione broke into tears at Harry's comment, and ran off towards the castle, leaving a seething and angry Harry behind. Harry was still looking off in the direction Hermione had left in, when he received a sharp pain on the back of his head.
"OW! Damn, Ron, what the bloody hell was that for?!" said Harry, finding Ron's hand rearing back for another swipe at his head, the front this time.
"For being a bloody prat!" yelled Ron, matching Harry's tone of voice only moments before.
"What?!! What's that supposed to mean?" said Harry, still rubbing the spot on the back of his head. Ron now lowered his hand.
"I mean that she was only looking after you, mate. She was trying to tell you that keeping secrets hurts a hell of a lot more than not. I mean, she was worried sick about you this morning, saying there was something you weren't telling her. Of course, she thought it was because there might be another person you were seeing, besides her. But that's not true, is it? Even I thought that you weren't that thick. If it's true, than I am going to make sure you don't do much of anything for a long, long time," said Ron, his temper waning slightly towards the middle of his speech, but rising by the end.
"Of course that isn't true. I would never do anything like that. I love her, Ron. I am not some cheap bloke who thinks he's god's gift to women. I would do anything for her, and I thought she knew that," said Harry, in a pained voice. He really hadn't considered what his extra training had done emotionally to Hermione. He was new at this boyfriend stuff, so he hadn't figured that being away from her for long periods of time would not hurt her. Apparently, it had.
"Well, you're doing a bloody bad show of it. You were hurting her like crazy, mate. Every time you didn't study with her, she was hurt; you could see it in her eyes. She was close to tears. I thought even you knew that," said Ron. Suddenly, Luna spoke up. No one had noticed, but a few moments after Hermione had entered the castle, Luna's eyes had gone glassy, and she was staring off into space. Now, she snapped out of it, and yelled, "She's going to try and kill herself. STOP HER, HARRY!!! SHE'S IN THE KITCHEN!!!!!!" Luna then promptly fainted to the ground. Before Ron could think, he heard Ginny's voice yell, " I'll take care of Luna with Neville; GO GET HERMIONE!"
Without even thinking, Harry and Ron tore off to the castle, with Ron with a slight lead on Harry. They raced to the kitchen, but Harry tripped. Scrambling to get up, Harry told Ron, "GO, I'll catch up." Ron nodded, and kept on running, with Harry only twenty yards behind Ron. When they reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit, containing the entrance to the kitchens, Ron tickled the pear frantically, and dashed in, yelling for Dobby to tell him where Hermione was. The portrait closed before Harry got there, and as he tickled the pear, something went wrong with the portrait, and it wouldn't open. Panicking, Harry pointed his hand towards the portrait, practically screaming, "Alohomora!". The portrait would not budge. Before he could take out his wand and try again, Harry heard a loud, piercing scream from inside, which horrifyingly, was in Hermione's voice.
A/N: Sorry again for the extreme lateness, however, this is just due to my laziness. Feel free to flame me for it. If you hate what I did to Hermione, don't flame me too much! I am currently writing the next chapter, and hope I will be able to update once a month, as my own beta reading load has reached an enormous amount. When I post the next chapter, I might be changing the title of the story, as the plot bunny has mutated into something I feel is entirely different. If you guys think this story is worth continuing and possibly re-writing, please say so in your review. If not, then say so also. Here starteth the rant on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince:
Hello, everyone. If you read this and are offended, then please accept my deepest apologies, and please realize that this was not my intent. HBP was a complete disaster. No question about this fact. HBP was, in my opinion, very poorly written, with many, many Out of Character characters. Also, the ships in that book were utterly appalling, not just as a H/Hr shipper, but also as a reader of romance fiction. The ships were not thought out, and were unworthy of JKR's name (although most people believe that JKR did indeed write the book, and that it was not merely a random, 652 page fanfiction). Here endeth the rant on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
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