|
Honouring Sirius | ||||
|
Category: Animagus Challenge (2013-1), Animagus Challenge (2013-1) Characters:Harry/Ginny, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley Genres: Humor Warnings: Mild Language Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 8 Summary: Remus hands Harry the perfect way to honour Sirius. Unfortunately things don't quite go as easy as planned. Hitcount: Story Total: 3239 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: Thanks to mew-tsubaki who betaed this for me. |
|
|||
|
Honouring Sirius Harry woke suddenly. The dream he'd been having was still in the forefront of his mind and it was worse than reality. Not only had Sirius gone through the Veil, but also his best friends, Ron and Hermione, had been next and then he was following them. If he hadn't woken up he would have seen first hand what was on the other side of the Veil. He'd been having nightmares every night over the past week and a half since he'd returned to Privet Drive. They'd ranged from exaggerations of the fight at the Ministry of Magic, to the graveyard when Voldemort returned, as well as joining Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, though the strangest and scariest had been a warped dream of Dumbledore's Penseive and the memory of Trelawney and the Prophesy attacking him. The past week and a half had been spent doing chores around Privet Drive. For once he didn't mind as it helped a little to keep his mind off the fact that Sirius was gone as well as the contents of the Prophesy. Today he had decided that he had to stop blaming himself for Sirius' death. Even though he knew that he was at fault partially, he hadn't been the one to kill him and Sirius would kick his arse all the way to Hogwarts and back if he kept moping. Well, he would if he could, Harry thought. Instead of moping, Harry decided he needed to do something to honour Sirius. Though, at this stage he had no idea what. He'd briefly thought about getting a tattoo but had quickly decided against that mainly because he was most probably too young and he had no idea what to get - a dog, a stag, a Horntail - he had no idea. His stomach growled. He hadn't been eating much at all. This was another thing he knew he needed to change so he quickly slipped out of his bedroom and snuck downstairs to the kitchen. He found some leftover roast and made himself a sandwich. Just as he was about to take his first bite, the kitchen door swung open. He panicked momentarily waiting for his cousin or uncle to walk in, but when no one appeared he became alert, pulling his wand from the waistband of his pyjamas. "Who's there?" he asked quietly and firmly. "Show yourself or I'll Hex you." There was silence for a moment and then Tonks emerged from under an invisibility cloak. "Shite, Tonks," Harry swore. "Sorry, Harry," Tonks whispered. "I was a little uncertain whether I was allowed to reveal myself to you and then I realised I'd opened the door and you'd realise that someone was there so I thought "Why not?" and I find myself on the business end of your wand." Harry shook his head and tried to understand Tonks' garbled speech. "I presume you're on guard duty tonight?" he asked eventually. "Well, yeah," she answered looking a little embarrassed. "So I'm under constant surveillance again?" he asked sadly. "Not quite. Mostly just at night. We don't think that You Know..." "Voldemort," Harry interrupted, finally taking a bite of his sandwich. Tonks sighed. "We don't think Vol...Voldemort and his band of deathly men will appear during the day." Harry snorted at Tonks' description. "Actually, we don't think they'll show at all. We're just being careful. We believe that they're focusing on recovering after the fight at the Ministry and trying to bust Malfoy and company out of Azkaban," she continued. "So why are you here?" Harry questioned. "Just keeping an eye on you and making sure the Muggles are behaving," Tonks replied, looking at him closely. "Are they treating you okay...feeding you?" Harry shrugged his shoulders. "It's not too bad. I'm being given food. I just haven't been that hungry," "You look a little thin," Tonks observed. "I'm always thin," Harry retorted. "But I've decided to make myself eat. There's no point wallowing. I've realised that if I do, Sirius will kick my arse when I see him next." "And that's going to be a long time away," Tonks muttered before speaking louder. "Good to hear, Harry. So what are your plans for this summer?" "Nothing much, except wishing I was at the Burrow, though I'd love to do something special to honour Sirius. But I'm not sure what," Harry replied. "What have you thought of?" Tonks asked curiously. "I thought about a tattoo," Harry said quietly. "But I couldn't decide what I'd get, plus I don't think I'm old enough." "Yeah - too young," Tonks said. "Hey, do you have any?" Harry asked suddenly. "Er..." "You do!" Harry exclaimed loudly and then he looked around worried that he may have woken his relatives. "Not that you're going to see," Tonks retorted. Harry blushed at the thought of where Tonks could be hiding a tattoo. "Look at you blushing," Tonks teased. Harry threw a crust at her. Tonks chuckled quietly. "Actually, Remus has something that might help you decide. He found a book at Gimmauld Place that he, Sirius and your dad wrote in when they were at Hogwarts. He was wondering if you'd like it?" "Really?" Harry almost yelled excitedly. He loved finding out more about his parents. "I'd love to see it. What's in it exactly?" "No idea," Tonks replied. "But I'll tell Remus to come and show you soon." Harry smiled. "That'd be brilliant." Tonks stood, ruffled Harry's hair and then left the kitchen quietly. Harry was quite amazed that Tonks hadn't broken anything or knocked anything over during her visit. He quickly finished his sandwich, made sure the kitchen was as clean as when he arrived, and then went back to bed. Thankfully, he slept peacefully. ...:::... Harry waited excitedly for Remus to visit. He was extremely interested to see what was in the book. He was hoping to read about his parents and other fun things his dad and the other Marauders had done at school. Remus eventually arrived two days after Tonks' late night visit and he managed to scare Harry as he sat on a swing in the deserted park near Privet Drive. "Harry Potter!" Remus spoke authoritively. Harry jumped off the swing and spun around ready to use his wand. "Merlin, Professor Lupin..." "What have I told you about that, Harry? I haven't been your professor for two years," Remus explained. "Sorry, Remus," Harry replied. "You almost got yourself Stunned, you know." "That's fine by me," Remus admitted. "I'm pleased to see you're alert and ready to protect yourself though do be careful amongst Muggles, Harry." Harry nodded and started walking to wards a bench in the shade. Remus quickly followed him and they sat side-by-side waiting for the other to speak. "Tonks said," they both said at the same time and then they laughed together. "Tonks mentioned that you have a book," Harry eventually said as he looked at the careworn face of his father's friend. Sirius' death had been hard on Remus as well, he realised. "I have plenty of books Harry," Remus retorted, winking. "But, yes, I did find the Marauder's old journal. I had always thought that your dad took it to Godric's Hollow and that it was lost there that night." Both Harry and Remus sighed deeply at that thought. "But apparently Sirius had it and after looking through it, I've noticed that he added some things to it while he was holed up at Grimmauld Place," Remus added as he pulled a worn, leather-bound book out of his pocket. Harry looked at the book intently, half wishing that he could take the book from Remus, go home and just read. But he also wanted to spend some time with Remus and talk to him. Remus held the book out to him and he slowly took it and flicked through the pages before looking at his father's great friend. "Be careful if you try anything from there," Remus said. "I'd love to think that you're following in our footsteps and so would Sirius and James, but we were lucky to get away with a lot of those." Harry nodded and looked at the page that was open and noticed Sirius' handwriting. "I miss him," he whispered. "Probably more than I miss my parents -- is that wrong?" Remus patted him on the back. "It's understandable, Harry. I miss him too." They sat on the bench in the park until it was time for Harry to return to the Dursley's. Remus told him lots of stories about the Marauders and his mum. It was what he needed to push Snape's worrying memories of his dad out of his mind. ...:::... Harry spent the entire night and next day reading the Marauder's journal. A lot of the stories that Remus had told him were documented in the book and there were a few more that he wanted to talk to Remus about. It was one of the last few pages that caught his attention. It was titled: The Marauder's Guide for Becoming an Animagus. He jumped up and the book fell to the floor. This was how he could honour Sirius. He was going to become an Animagus. He quickly picked the book up, found the relevant page and read it through four times. The Marauder's Guide for Becoming an Animagus 1. Choose your animal (yes you do have a choice). Remember the bigger the animal, the harder it is to transform. Pick an animal you have an affinity for -- one you can relate to. 2. It takes a while to get a full transformation - that's okay! Start off slowly. Start with a hand and visualise what the animal's hand/paw/hoof/fin looks like and imagine your hand becoming like the animal's. Have a picture nearby if need be. 3. Once you've managed to transform that one hand, do the other and then move to your feet. 4. After you've transformed your hands and feet, move to arms and legs, then your body and finally your head - a full transformation. 5. Always repeat your transformation a few times straight away after you're able to transform a new body part. 6. Most Important: DO NOT DO THIS ALONE - it can be very dangerous to do this by yourself. Prongs and I helped each other through the whole process just in case. Harry sat quietly and thought. What kind of animal would he be? A stag or a dog like his dad or Sirius? Or something different? What would help him in his quest against Voldemort? He looked down at the book and he swore that the last instruction was glowing. He was determined to start straight away. He was not waiting until he got back to Hogwarts or the Burrow. Plus, he was sure that Hermione would try to stop him. He was going to have to do this by himself. The next day Harry went to the local library, somewhere he knew that Dudley would not bother him, and looked at as many animal books as possible in the hope he'd find an animal he had an affinity for. After a while he realised that he didn't want to be something that would stand out, so exotic animals from the jungles or deserts were out -- as much as he thought being a panther would be cool. In the end he discovered that a bird would be the best. He loved flying so much and felt so relaxed in the air that it was the obvious choice. And to fit in with the wizarding world, he'd be an owl. That night Harry sat cross-legged on his uncomfortable bed with the Marauder Manual, as he named it, open in front of him. He tried to visualise an owl - it's eyes, beak, wings, and talons. He wished that Hedwig wasn't out hunting right now -- she would have been a great help. It occurred to him that Snape's direction of "clear your mind" was actually quite helpful and the thought that Snape was unwillingly helping him made him laugh and spurred him on and he was sure that Sirius would appreciate the irony. He looked at the book in front of him, then at his hand and back to the book. The last comment once again appeared to glow. "Whom am I supposed to do this with?" he muttered. "Uncle Vernon?" He looked up at the ceiling and spoke. "It'll be fine, Sirius." ...:::... Harry spent three days and nights focusing on his hand and trying to turn it into a wing. Eventually he realised he'd have to Transfigure his whole arm, not just his hand, into a wing. Obviously some animals were different to dogs and stags, he decided. Once he had figured this out it didn't take long, though it took a lot of focus and concentration, for some changes to happen. He was staring happily at his feathery arm when a loud banging on his door interrupted him. "Harry Potter, you get downstairs right now," his Aunt Petunia yelled as she opened the door. "You haven't done any of the jobs your uncle needs doing...What is wrong with your arm?" Harry looked backwards and forwards between his aunt and his arm and then quickly put his arm behind his back. "Oh...er...nothing, Aunt Petunia. I'll come down...soon." "Right now," Aunt Petunia demanded, walking out the door. "The grass needs mowing, the gardens need weeding and the fence needs painting." Harry sighed. "So much for becoming an Animagus," he muttered. ...:::... A week later Harry could change both his arms into wings one at a time and he could change his legs, though it was a truly odd experience having a bird's leg where his skinny one usually was. Now he was ready to work on his body and he wanted to do it in the next few days before he went to the Burrow. Ron had written to him saying that he'd be escorted to the Burrow on Friday, but not by whom. Harry was excited. It seemed like he'd get a long time with the Weasleys this summer. Harry sat on his bed and transformed his left arm and then his right arm and then for the first time ever, both together. Hedwig hooted her approval from the top of the cupboard as he flapped his wings experimentally. He glanced at the manual and noticed the glowing again. "Merlin, Sirius. I'm fine and I'm not alone. Hedwig is here," he huffed. The following day, Harry managed to change his arms and legs together, something that really excited him. He felt like he was almost there. That night he managed to change his arms, legs and body, leaving his head on the body of an owl, which would have been a truly odd sight if anyone was watching. On Thursday evening he made sure that most of his belongings were packed before working on a full transformation. Firstly he transformed his arms and legs at the same time and then his body. Harry then took a deep breath and concentrated on changing his head. He was so focused that it took him a while to realise that he was an owl. It was only Hedwig landing in front of him and hooting that alerted him. "Hoot," he said. Wow, he thought. I've done it. He looked around and noticed that everything looked different. Looking through an owl's eyes made everything clearer and sharper. Hedwig was still in front of him looking at him quizzically. "Hoot," Harry said again hoping Hedwig would make something of it. She hooted her reply but it made no sense to Harry. Maybe communication with Hedwig would come later, once he'd mastered his transformation, he decided. He then tried to move across the bed as he'd seen Hedwig do countless times. It wasn't as easy as it looked, he discovered, as he toppled over and landed on the floor. Hedwig dropped down and landed beside him and proceeded to slowly demonstrate how to move. Harry copied her and they were soon moving across the floor of his tiny room. Hedwig then extended her wings, flapped them and flew up to the top of the cupboard. Harry tried to copy. He flapped his wings and suddenly took off. Unfortunately, the shock of being airborne made him stop flapping his wings so he dropped like a stone and ended up on the floor again. He tried again and managed to fly up to join Hedwig, though he knew he was nowhere near as graceful as she was. He then practised his flying around the room and was tremendously excited as it became easier and easier. He was very tempted to fly out the window and do some proper flying, but as he perched on the windowsill he noticed the faint light on the horizon telling him that dawn was coming. Harry knew he needed some sleep before he was taken to the Burrow so he flew back to his bed and tried to transform back to his regular body. Unfortunately, he was not able to. No matter how hard he tried or how much he concentrated, he could not change back. He was stuck. Sirius would be laughing at him right now, he was sure. Shit, he thought. What am I going to do? He flew up to Hedwig, on top of the cupboard, and tried to communicate his problem but it didn't work. Hedwig just blinked back at him and nipped him gently. After alternating between flying and trying to change back for a bit longer and not succeeding, Harry decided that he'd just have to sleep as an owl. So he flew back up to Hedwig, relaxed and eventually drifted off to sleep. Harry was woken by a banging noise downstairs. He was terribly confused when he first woke, but then remembered the happenings of the previous evening -- he was stuck as an owl. He flew back down to the bed and tried to change again now that he was rested, but had no luck. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs and stopping at his door made him hopeful. This could be the person coming to collect him. Maybe they could help him. Before that, he was going to have to make them realise he was an owl . There was a knock at his door and after a while the door opened. "Harry?" Ron called out. "You here, mate?" "Ron, let me in," Ginny said crankily. "There's no room out here." "He's not here," Ron answered. "What?" Remus asked sounding slightly annoyed. "Where could he be?" "He wouldn't have gone with the Muggles, would he?" Ginny asked. "He knew someone was coming today. He wouldn't," Ron stated, defending his friend. The three of them walked into his room and looked around. "Hedwig's here," Remus said. "Where's Harry, Hedwig?" Ginny asked. "How's that going to help?" Ron asked his sister. Hedwig opened her wings and flew down to land next to Harry. "Ooh, what a beautiful owl!" Ginny exclaimed. "I've never seen such a black owl before." "Me, either," Ron and Remus agreed at the same time. Harry knew that this was his chance to get help. He looked back and forth between the three of them and was suddenly struck at how beautiful Ginny looked through owl eyes. Her long hair was so vivid and her eyes seemed so compassionate. He shook his head to clear his mind and focus on what was most important. He was going to have to be a little direct. He flew towards the three visitors. They all looked a little surprised at his flight path, but luckily Ginny had her arm extended so he carefully landed on it. "Oh, you're a friendly owl too," Ginny declared. She then crooned to him and stroked his head. Harry leaned into her touch and hooted softly. "Enough with the ruddy owl," Ron stated. "Where the bloody hell is Harry?" "I'm going to check the rest of the house," Remus said and then walked out of the room. Ron started pacing around the room. "His trunk is here. He can't be far away. Hedwig is here too." "Hedwig!" Ginny exclaimed. "What about her?" Ron asked. "She'll find Harry," Ginny said. "Hedwig, where's Harry?" Hedwig flew over and landed on Ginny's arm and nipped Harry gently. "Whoa," Ron said, staring at the two owls on Ginny's arm. "No sign of him anywhere else in the house," Remus said as he came back into the room. He looked at Ginny curiously. "You must like owls, Ginny." "I asked Hedwig to find Harry but she flew straight onto my arm," Ginny explained as she looked at the owls. Harry bobbed up and down trying to get her attention. All he managed to do was make her laugh. "Hedwig, where's Harry?" Remus asked. Hedwig didn't move except to rub her head against Harry. Harry looked back and forth between his friends and hoped like crazy that they'd figure it out. "Remus..." Ginny started. "No..." Remus said, looking a little amazed. "What?" Ron asked, confused. Ginny was staring at Harry closely. Remus was looking around the room as if he was searching for something. Remus soon saw the Marauder Manual on the bed and picked it up looking at the page that was open. "Harry?" Ginny and Remus asked together staring at the black owl. "Where?" Ron asked "Harry's the owl," Ginny explained. "Harry, you didn't?" Remus declared, holding the book up. Ron and Ginny looked at the book. "The Marauder's Guide for Becoming an Animagus!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. Ginny was looking closely at Harry. "It's got green eyes." "Harry, is that you?" Remus asked. Harry nodded and tried to jump up and down. "Are you stuck?" Remus queried. Harry nodded again and bobbed up and down. Ron laughed suddenly. "His feathers on the back of his head are sticking up like Harry's hair." Harry turned his head and tried to glare at Ron. "Can you help him?" Ginny asked worriedly. Remus nodded. "Luckily, I can. I had to help Sirius and James once or twice. Harry, can you fly over to the bed?" Harry reluctantly left Ginny's arm. He'd enjoyed having her stroke his feathers. It was very calming. Remus waved his wand and muttered something Harry couldn't understand but soon he found himself back to normal on his bed. "Thanks, Remus," he said happily. "I'm so glad that you realised that was me." "How long were you like that?" Ron asked. "Just since last night," Harry replied. "Harry, I can't believe you did this by yourself. It's dangerous as you now probably realise," Remus lectured. "I realise that now," Harry admitted. "But I wanted to do this...for Sirius." Remus nodded and smiled. "Well, you've done it. He'll definitely be proud. I am too," Remus admitted. "I can't believe you managed it so quickly either. It took James and Sirius a lot longer." Harry stood up and looked around, his gaze ending upon Ginny, whom he realised wasn't just beautiful from an owl's perspective. She was looking at him strangely and Harry soon realised that he was only dressed in his pyjama pants. "Ginny, stop staring at him," Ron declared. Ginny's face turned bright red, which Harry found rather cute, which was definitely different to the embarrassment he'd felt previously in similar situations. Harry quickly moved to his trunk and pulled on the first shirt he saw and then jeans over his pyjama pants, while Ron made Ginny look the other way. "We need to get going," Remus stated. "Your aunt and cousin will be back soon. We sent them on a bit of a wild goose chase." Harry laughed. "Excellent. Just what they need." "Have you got everything packed, Harry?" Ginny asked. "Do you need some help?" Harry found himself feeling flustered with the thought of Ginny helping him. What is that about? "Mate, do you think you can teach me to become one?" Ron asked as they finished packing Harry's belongings. "I can't see you as an owl, Ron," Ginny said. "You'd be more like an otter." Harry looked at Ginny's mischievously twinkling eyes and knew she was teasing Ron. And after a moment he realised it was because of Hermione's Patronus, and he started laughing. "Sod off," Ron said. Harry moved next to Ron. "Not only will I help you, I also have a book of pranks we can try out back at school." "Really?" Ron asked gleefully. "You better include me in all this fun, Mr Potter," Ginny said, leaning closer. Harry took a deep breath of a very pleasant flowery scent, smiled at Ginny and nodded. "All right, all right," Remus interrupted. "You can talk about this at the Burrow. Let's get moving." As Harry moved to gather Hedwig's cage he decided that the rest of the summer at the Burrow was going to be lots of fun for more than one reason. |
| Reviews 8 |
|
