AN: Okay votes are in and heavily in favor of just 1 animagus form so that's what I will write.
I won't tell you now which one I will choose between the raven and eagle because I know that a good half of those who voted won't like it. But that's just how it's going to go, I suppose.
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At night on the same day, I took out the mirror to start a conversation with Grindelwald once more, but this time, I was a little more paranoid like I was before... if that was possible. Purposefully minding my words to not reveal any of my actions, past or future, I tried to extract as much knowledge from the man as possible.
It was way harder than steering a conversation with Dumbledore, I noticed quickly. He actually called me out for steering the conversation and made fun of me for my efforts. He probably liked messing with me.
Sadly, I couldn't come out and say that I knew Grindelwald was up to something because I knew he used to be in love with our headmaster. If I did that, I would indirectly expose myself as the source once Rita Skeeter's slam piece on Dumbledore dropped and if Grindelwald was still loyal to him and only acting now, I'd be in deep shit.
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"May I have a word, Lady Helena?" I quietly asked the grey ghost hovering in the Ravenclaw library the following day.
"You may," the ghost agreed with a small smile that I had never before seen on her.
"I dove into the waters of the Black Lake and found your mother's sigil carved into stone. And not the one she created for the school but the one of the viking clan?"
The ghost looked surprised. A short moment in fond reminiscence later, she spoke, "Oh? Curious. My aunt Helga said it would be hard for anyone to find it and know its significance..."
"So it was left behind by Lady Hufflepuff and not your mother?"
The ghostly woman shook her head and corrected, "No. Both of them sealed something inside. A sort of inheritence from the Raven clan. My mother never revealed to me what it was, only that I lacked the gifts to use them without turning insane. Aunt Helga said something along the lines of it being part of where three of the four founder's treasures came from."
"So all but the goblin silver sword of Gryffindor?" I asked with wide eyes.
Inwardly, my mind was already suspecting if the two witches didn't seal away a Piece of Eden or just a part of it. The Ravenclaw Diadem was said to have some pretty ridiculous powers, essentially turning even a complete dullard into a sharp-witted scholar. The Hufflepuff Cup was said to ignore Gamp's law and produce food and drink out of 'thin air', which shouldn't be possible. That only left the Slytherin Locket. It was a bit of a mystery to me if it was indeed part of these treasures. The only thing I knew about it for certain was that it needed a Parselmouth to open it. I wasn't aware of any other abilities it had.
The only thing bothering me was that it was a pretty wide variety of magical effects. Even the Deathly Hallows all came from different sources to display their ridiculous powers. I didn't doubt that the founders could replicate the Peverell brothers' feat of crafting something out of a shard of a Piece of Eden.
But was it really that? I could just be coming to the conclusion because I know of these mythical items. Heimdall didn't say anything about the diadem that was already more or less in my possession, too.
Nonetheless, I was eager to find out.
"Indeed. But neither of the two ever told me how to access the vault. They didn't tell my uncles, either. I doubt even Mockbrim knows," Helena Ravenclaw said with a deep sigh.
"Mockbrim?"
"Oh, Uncle Salazar used to call the talking hat that. I... I don't think I remember his real name," the Grey Lady revealed with a pained look.
"I see. Thank you, milady. If you want to find out, how about just asking it?"
With a small bow, I left the woman alone as she looked to be in deep thought.
From all I knew, I highly suspected that Eagle Vision was needed to open whatever mechanism was in play. I didn't see anything with the short look I could take during my last dive, but that was because I didn't want to bother the kraken.
"Talion."
I searched and found Lara sitting on a sofa in the common room all alone. I walked over and sat down next to her.
"You called?"
"Penelope said something about you involving her in your efforts to become an animagus this year. I'd like to join, too," Lara proposed as she closed the book on her lap.
Instead of a giant tome like she usually held, this one looked like a weather-beaten journal that had been at sea for some time.
"Yeah, sure. Not being the only one to go through it should be a huge help as we discuss the changes as they happen. Did she give you the list of ingredients I had her prepare?"
"Yeah, but I talked to Hermione. There's a few missing," Lara pointed out with a small frown.
"Eh, those are the really expensive herbs that Penelope couldn't hope to buy with her mum's salary. Plus, I found most of those in the Forbidden Forest already last year during Survival Club. There's no need to pay anyone for them. The only thing that I still have trouble getting is the Death's-head Hawk moth that we'll need," I explained with a small shrug.
Lara's eyes narrowed for a while before she sighed, saying, "You're a good friend. Leave those moths to me, I'll get them for us."
"How'd you even know to ask Hermione about this?" I asked as I couldn't figure out how that happened.
"Hermione is a very excitable girl who is very open to those she considers friends. We consider each other very good friends," Lara countered with a shrug of her own.
"I see. Let me go look for her. See you later, Lara."
Hermione was looking at the two of us from across the common room as she was putting the finishing touches on our first Charms assignments for the year. Her competitive spirit was in full swing when she noticed how ridiculously ahead I was in that particular subject. For what I supposed was a personal giggle, Flitwick had me perform every spell we would be learning this year.
Maybe he wanted the others to strive to be better than me, or at least become my equal, when he did that. There was a certain fire in most of their eyes when I cast all those spells a second time without the wand movements to show I almost mastered the spells already. Natalie Rosier and Isodora Selwyn, especially looked like a fire was lit under them.
"Hermione," I greeted in a small voice as I sat down next to her. "Need help with the charms homework?"
The brunette witch rolled her eyes at my little quip and asked, "What can I do for you? Are you cross with me that I revealed your plans to Lara?"
The muggleborn bookworm lightly bit her lips, which revealed that she no longer had the slight buckteeth she had the day she was sorted. I never congratulated her for that, though I suppose it would be shallow to praise someone for fixing a physical 'flaw'.
I could compliment her smile to show I noticed... but that was just my hormones once again trying to talk for me.
"No, that's okay. You didn't loudly announce it in the Great Hall or anything, Lara's a good friend to me, too. Just keep it a secret from those who don't already know," I said as I tried my best to calm down her worries. "How is your study of the recipe coming along? Are you confident you'll be able to do it?"
"It's quite complicated, but Penelope is willing to help, and we've been reading it over together yesterday," Hermione explained with shining eyes. "It's so much fun learning about all the principles at work in such a complicated potion!"
Suddenly, Hermione's eyes widened a little as she tried to find words, "And I'm so sorry again, Talion. I... she saw the full ingredient list, of course. And, uh, she was really worried about why you only gave her an incomplete list. I, I didn't know how to explain it, so she might be angry at you?"
I put my hands on her unruly head of hair, which stopped her from talking almost instantly. It always did.
"Thank you for telling me, I'll explain it to her. She was bound to find out eventually. In case you're curious, I found quite a few of the herbs last year during Survival Club. There's no need for her to bankrupt herself trying to get them," I revealed with a small smile.
With that, I left the girl to finish her homework and stood up once more. My eyes roamed around the common room, but I didn't find Penelope. She was possibly on her prefect duties, so I would have to explain it to her later.
Just as I was about to grab a book of my own, I turned to Hermione and quietly inquired, "Hey. You didn't ask me if you wanted to join us, too. Becoming an animagus, I mean."
The witch's gaze grew complicated again as she whispered, "I don't know yet."
-----
Thursday was almost entirely a free day for me. Dumbledore had not yet given his approval for Madam Pomfrey to tutor me during the potions lessons that I would no longer do with Snape, so I sat with the prefect Hilliard, who didn't have any N.E.W.T. level classes at this hour like Penelope did.
Like always, the young wizard was a man of few words and just quietly and earnestly studied while I actually browsed a few potion books that weren't in the curriculum. Just like with most things in the magical world, I quickly found out that the book the school had us buy for potions was not a great choice for really inane and incomprehensible reasons.
The books we bought completely lacked foundational knowledge that, according to a few older Ravenclaws I interviewed, was taught in P.S.Y. classes before Hogwarts started. Just one of the many little things purebloods did to mess with those raised in the muggle world, I figured.
It was curious that many lamented the fact that they had to suffer sitting through class taught by Snape, but nobody else opted out of it yet. Maybe it was parental pressure for most, but I doubted Harry would have any qualms about it, and Sirius even less. Maybe that would change now that Snape couldn't pick on me anymore and would naturally find Potter to vent his urges to be a terrible teacher.
"Ugh, how was not having to sit in that drafty, ill-lit, and smelly dungeon?" Mandy asked as she slumped down into the chair next to me after the lunch break for our last lesson of the day, History of Magic.
"Quite enjoyable. You should join me," I coaxed with a sly grin.
Mandy just groaned until she found the words and explained, "My parents would never let me. You're emancipated and can decide on your own. And while the reason for that is regrettable, you should be happy for this one particular advantage."
"I see. Professor McGonagall never went into full detail. Makes sense that a parent has to consent, I suppose," I said with a pitying expression on my face.
"Are you going to the lake after class again?" Mandy asked in an effort to change the subject.
"So that all you girls can ogle me again after I didn't go for a swim yesterday?" I asked with a scoff.
"There was actually a group of older witches waiting in the courtyard leading to the lake," Mandy said with a small grin.
"You would only know if you waited with them," I pointed out, and the girl gained a small blush.
"I had the elves prepare a few snacks for us and really just wanted to enjoy myself while there's still some sun left," Mandy defended as she looked down at her open book and let her hair cover her face.
"I'll go for a swim," I revealed and leaned back in my chair.
I noticed both Harry and Neville at the table next to ours whisper something, and both Hannah and Susan were stealing glances in my direction every so often, but I decided to ignore them.
-----
Me going for a swim seemed to have become an event you couldn't miss. Even a professor got involved because of the gathering. Professor Babbling eventually even had the elves bring out refreshments for everyone and asked Madam Pomfrey for sunscreen for all these witches who didn't bring any.
I hadn't found any exciting new plants that day because the kraken was active near the shore, and I still didn't feel like playing with it. It didn't leave me very confident in reaching the stone slab either.
During the night, I had another talk with Grindelwald, and our topic for the day mostly involved inheritence and the power of names.
It reminded me that I still didn't do anything with the public reveal that I was a Lestrange bastard or the fact that I was most certainly the next in line to inherit the Gamp lordship. Bella Farley, as the youngest daughter of a branch family who only birthed a girl, didn't have that right, but her elder sister, my grandmother Cassandra Macnair, apparently could try to make this claim through a grandson, same as my cousin Gemma Farley. Or, rather, her son should she ever have one.
The Wizengamot seat was currently held in proxy by Lord Ogden, who was on his last breath. With only his wife still alive, their seat, too, would be open soon the moment they both pass. At that point, the Gamp seat would no longer be part of the Wizengamot through some arcane law.
I didn't need a lordship if I wanted to change society. I could just use my assassin teachings.
But it could still open up avenues for me to implement change without the need for bloodshed. Political maneuvering sounded tedious and bothersome - but I could learn. And I didn't need to be good. I just needed to perform when I truly needed this soft power.
-----
Friday morning saw me sitting through Charms first and DADA second. After class, Professor Lupin held me back.
On our first class on Wednesday, he held back Harry. They likely had countless things to talk about. On this day, Lupin looked a little haggard. It was time for the full moon soon. I wondered why he still taught, but he likely didn't want to have the track record of not being able to finish teaching his first week of classes.
"Yes, professor?" I asked once everyone else was gone from the classroom. The last to go was Harry, who looked at his father's friend with an unreadable expression.
"I must say, the tales from the other professors do you no justice. You're well ahead of your peers. How'd you know about the spell to deflect a redcap?"
"Survival Club, professor. Professors Flitwick, Kettleburn, and Hagrid take us out into the Forbidden Forest to show us nifty tricks and spells to survive in the wild. Professor Kettleburn and Hagrid mostly show us what plants are edible and give us tips and tricks to avoid magical creatures, but Professor Flitwick showed us many spells to defend ourselves in addition to things like how to build shelter. In all honesty, the club should probably become an elective subject, if not even a core subject, in my opinion," I patiently explained.
The werewolf went through many changes in my Eagle Vision. Originally orange on our first meeting, the man immediately became a neutral white. On this day, he stood before me in a green outline.
"I see! I wish I had the foresight to attend the club back when Kettleburn first introduced it," Remus Lupin lamented with a small shake of his head.
"Is that why you wanted to speak with me, professor?"
The DADA professor gained a wry smile as he explained, "Partly. Most of the reason is something you likely don't want to talk about. Least of all with me."
I lifted an eyebrow as he continued, "Harry revealed to me that the two of you aren't talking with one another at the moment. He asked me to mediate because, frankly, his upbringing, as you know, didn't teach him how to cope in a healthy manner. The last two times you two seemed to talk, all he and you did was escalate the matter?"
I gained an awkward smile.
Ideally, I would just want to say no. Harry would never be able to convince me to become good friends with him again unless he withheld some critical information I lacked. But I suppose being on speaking terms with the wizard sharing a dormroom with me for the next six years was preferrable...