Dear Harry,
Whoa mate, I know you must be feeling pretty down lately, but you don't have to take it out on me like that. Honestly, I don't know why you'd listen to Ginny. She just likes to make my life miserable, so don't listen to anything she says about me. And speaking of Ginny, what's the big idea writing to her so much this summer? You know she has that crush on you, and you don't want to lead her on like that. The last thing we need is for her to reopen the Harry Potter fan club, right? I know she's with Dean now, but I doubt that'll last. You just shouldn't toy with her like that, mate.
And while we're talking about leading people on, I think Hermione might be writing her old pal Vicky again. I don't mean to get into anything, but I can't help but wonder if it's really safe for her to be writing him, you know? I mean, he goes to Durmstrang which is known for teaching the Dark Arts. Their old headmaster was a Death Eater, after all. Can we really be sure that he's on our side? I think we should talk to Hermione about it. She might take it more seriously if it was coming from the both of us.
What's the deal with you studying so much this summer? You've been stuck with the Dursley's every summer, but you've never studied much over the summer before. With you studying all summer, Hermione is going to be relentless about getting me to spend my entire summer buried under books. She'd probably have me read through all of the text books for all my classes next year before the term even starts. You're really leaving me hanging here, mate.
My summer's been pretty boring so far. I've had a bunch of chores to do around the house. The twins have their own flat in Diagon Alley, so they're not around much anymore. It's just me and Ginny here this summer. And she hasn't exactly been pleasant to be around lately, so I haven't had much of anything to do. Well, mate, don't let the muggles get you down, and write again soon.
Ron
Harry could only shake his head as he put down his friend's letter. Ron sure had a lot of nerve with what he'd said about Ginny. And he was still hung up on Hermione and Viktor. Well Harry was not about to get in the middle of that argument. Ron was blinded by his jealousy and not for the first time in his life either, Harry thought ruefully. He would have to admit that he liked Hermione sooner or later, and he would have to learn that he couldn't choose who his friend decided to spend her time with. Harry believed Hermione when she said she only wanted to be friends with Viktor.
'Maybe if Ron ever got a clue and a little courage he'd admit that he liked Hermione and end all of this nonsense once and for all,' Harry thought to himself. He gave a derisive snort and answered his statement out loud: "Yeah, and maybe Voldemort will finally realize the error of his ways and volunteer at St. Mungo's to help heal all those that have been hurt in the war."
Harry knew that he had to set Ron straight about Ginny and Hermione, but he also knew that if he didn't handle it right, he'd only make things worse. He wished his friend would just grow up a little so that he didn't have to be so careful with what to say to him. His friend had an outrageous temper, and once he got worked up there was no reasoning with him. He decided not to write back just yet, figuring that he'd need the extra time to calm down and gather his thoughts together.
He still had over an hour to go before the potion would be ready for consumption. He decided to practice his wandless magic to pass the time. After 45 minutes, Harry switched to apparation practice. Harry knew he had the basics down and could apparate anywhere in the room without difficulty, so he decided to be a bit daring. He had yet to try apparating to a space outside the room he started in.
He slipped on his invisibility cloak to hide himself away from his relatives. Then he focused on the dining room since he knew nobody would be in there at this time. Since it was his first time apparating outside the room, he took his time to concentrate on his destination before activating his magic and disapparating from his bedroom. Slowing his apparation down to mask his arrival, Harry barely made a sound as he appeared in the dining room whole and in tact. Grinning to himself he began apparating to different rooms around the house until it was time to check on the potion.
He appeared back in his room and strode purposefully to the cauldron set up on the floor in the corner of the room. He ladled some of the potion into a glass and let it cool for a few minutes. Satisfied that he'd waited long enough, he lifted the glass and said, "Here goes nothing," before downing the contents. It was only a moment before he started to feel the effects. He became drowsy and staggered towards his bed. He barely made it to the edge of his bed to pitch himself onto it as he was overtaken by the potion and succumbed to unconsciousness.
Harry found himself in a dark forest. There was little to no light, so Harry assumed it was nighttime, yet the forest was so thick that the sun may have been high in the sky without his noticing. Despite the lack of light, he was able to see surprisingly well. As his body began to move of its own accord, Harry realized that he was merely an observer in this vision. He had no control whatsoever. The body he was inhabiting stalked through the forest stealthily.
Harry was able to catch glimpses of his paws as he maneuvered through the overgrowth and trees. He had black fur and seemed to be feline. 'I must be a panther,' Harry thought to himself. 'This must be my animagus form.' Harry concentrated on the feel of his body, and he noticed the magic coursing through it. He committed the feeling to memory so that he could emulate that magic when it came time for him to transform.
The panther continued its progress through the thick growth on the forest floor, weaving in and out of trees as it silently stalked its prey. It sneaked up on another animal Harry was unable to recognize from the rare glimpses he received of it. When he drew in close, the panther pounced at it with blazing speed and quickly subdued the smaller animal.
Thrilled at his success (or should he say the panther's success?), Harry let out a mental whoop that the panther seconded with a victorious growl. Just then his vision blacked out. He assumed that marked the end of the vision, so he prepared to wake up. Without notice Harry's eyes were blasted with light. He was temporarily blinded as Harry felt air soaring all around him. As the spots began to clear from his eyes, Harry realized that he was facing the sun as it was beginning its descent. He also quickly noticed that he was not standing on the ground nor was he falling. At the moment he was gliding on a current of air.
Elated at the prospect of flying, Harry let out his second mental whoop of the day. He strained to catch a glimpse of himself as the body he inhabited flapped its wings. Harry could see that his wings were covered in black feathers. He tried to think of what kind of bird he could be. He didn't think he was a raven or a crow, but those were the only birds he could think of off-hand that were black.
Something inside of him seemed to insist that he was an owl. He had never seen a black owl before, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. And he just couldn't shake that nagging feeling inside him. He was a black owl. Harry concentrated on his magic again to note its form. It was very similar to the feel of the panther, he noticed. It made sense considering both spells would require transforming himself into an animal form. The minor difference between the two must just be the difference between the owl and the panther.
The owl descended into a forest. By now the sun had almost completely set, and the inside of the forest was plunged mainly in darkness. Harry could see as well as if he were in broad daylight, better in fact. His eyesight was sharp. He could probably see a needle on the ground a hundred feet away. He pinpointed a small rodent scurrying about on the forest floor. The owl spread its wings and deftly swooped down to snatch the critter in its talons before the mouse even realized it was in danger.
Harry again only had a moment to revel in his success before his vision blackened, and he was again plunged in darkness. He wondered if that was the last of his visions or if more would come to him. His question was answered as he was lifted out of his dreams and returned to the waking world.
Harry was mystified. He was under the impression that he would have been told which animal he was to take the form of as an animagus. He only expected to see one animal, not two. Did this mean that he got to choose which animal to become or what? He didn't dare hope that he could be both animals; he knew that was impossible. He'd have to ask Sirius about this the next time they met.
....
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