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“Are you mad?”
“Ummmm, no? It’s more of a ‘hopeful’, really.”
Alice Kirkland looked at her girlfriend with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance, before rolling her eyes and settling on annoyance.
Amelia knew the look meant that Alice would soon dismiss whatever idea she was proposing, so she had to act fast to save it. “Come on, Alice, pleeeeeeease? I can’t do it alone!”
The fifth year Gryffindor Prefect had managed to catch the Slytherin girl right after she’d been let out of Transfiguration, which was incredible luck considering her idea was on that very topic. It had hatched in her head during the Winter Holiday and it hadn’t left her head. To be fair, Alice had made up the majority of her impulse control since they’d started dating and she hadn’t been present.
“Then you shouldn’t attempt it!” she berated, crossing her arms as she scowled up at her.
“It’ll be fun,” Amelia said back in a sing-songy voice. Amelia was a little surprised Alice hadn’t already agreed. She was by far the best Transfiguration student in their year and this was the ultimate test of skill in the subject.
“Do you know how many things could go wrong?” Alice asked. “There’s no cure for a failed Animagus potion and I am horrible at Potions to begin with!”
“Well, yeah, sure,” she conceded briefly. Alice did have a really bad reputation with potion making. She’d managed to wreak all kinds of havoc - explosions, corrosions, poisons. The list was extremely extensive and it was almost impressive how bad she was, “but Maddie isn’t.”
Amelia pointed towards the Hufflepuff standing behind her, who looked sheepish at the callout.
Alice turned her attention to Amelia’s sister with raised eyebrows. “You’ve agreed to this?”
“I know she’d do it without me anyways, so I figured it was better to make sure she did it right rather than leave her to do it on her own.”
Madeline’s words were the final blow she needed in her argument.
“Very well,” Alice said with a huff. Amelia gave a victorious cheer before Alice added a, “but you’re responsible for getting the ingredients.”
-
The first step of an Animagus transformation was by no means the hardest, but it was most certainly the longest. Alice wasn’t quite sure that Amelia would be able to stick with it. Maybe the Gryffindor would lose interest a week in and abandon the process all together.
“An entire month?!”
“Full moon to full moon, to be precise,” Madeline told her, handing out the Mandrake leaves Amelia had managed to smuggle out of Herbology class. There were three leaves, one for each of them. “It has to stay in your mouth. No swallowing it, no removing it. If you do, you have to start all over again.”
In the bright light of the full moon above, the three girls placed the Mandrake leaves into their mouths.
-
Alice was fairly surprised that Amelia made it the entire thirty days. Hell, she was surprised that she’d made it the full time. The month was filled with careful eating and drinking, slurred talking, and light pecks on the lips between the two before the full moon finally came back around.
Then, it was time for the next step.
“Here,” Madeline said to them both, passing out clear, crystal vials to each of them. “Now, we put the leaves into these vials with one of our hairs.”
“Oh thank God,” Amelia muttered out loud, reaching into her mouth and pulling out the leaf. “This thing tasted like shit.”
“Agreed,” Alice said back. After her leaf was successfully in the vial, Amelia ran her tongue around her mouth, now finding its absence strangely weird. Together, the three girls added a piece of their hairs to the vials.
“Okay, so,” Madeline began again, glancing at the book she had laying on the ground beside her. “Now, we have to add a ‘silver teaspoon of dew from a place that neither sunlight nor human feet have touched for seven days.’”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Dew from the Forbidden Forest, maybe? It would be untouched by humans.”
“But not by the sun...What about dew from the dungeons? There’s condensation down there.”
“But it’s possible it would be exposed to humans.”
“Or we could just go to the Herbology room and wait until morning.”
Alice and Madeline looked at Amelia in surprise.
“That could work,” Madeline finally said after thinking about her sister’s proposal. “The greenhouse would protect the dew from the sun and Madam Sprout doesn’t go in there till nine. We could sneak in and collect the dew no problem.”
Amelia gave Alice a broad, giddy smile. “Let’s do it!”
The group stood up and began to make their way to the greenhouse. Along the way, Amelia slipped her hand into Alice’s and gave her a long, languid kiss.
“Couldn’t wait to do that any longer.”
Alice gave her girlfriend a soft hum, and returned the kiss. She couldn’t wait either.
-
After collecting the dew, adding the Death’s-Head Hawk Moth chrysalis, and placing their vials in a safe place, all the trio could do was wait. The final step of the potion required an electrical storm, which could lay two months or two days away. There was no telling.
Alice and Madeline had no problem waiting patiently with anticipation. Amelia, however, hated it.
“Alice, I’m bored,” she finally whined one day. The temperature at Hogwarts was finally on the rise and spring had come in full force. Which was why Alice and Amelia were now sitting on the shores of the Black Lake. Alice deeply engrossed in a book, completely silent save for the occasional page turn. Amelia was resting her head in Alice’s lap, soaking in the sun and the attention of her girlfriend.
“Have you done your school work?” came the response.
Amelia’s silence was enough of an answer for her.
“Have you been doing your incantation?”
“Yup,” she answered, staring up at Alice’s face. “Every morning.”
Alice looked down at her, green eyes critical. “And every evening?”
She had. Twice a day since they’d finished the potion and hidden the vials. She’d watch the sunset and sunrise, place the tip of her wand to her heart, and repeat the incantation Alice had told them to say.
Amato Animo Animato Animagus.
It was like clockwork. Consistent and routine. She still hadn’t felt the heartbeat. Yet. Maybe she was doing it wrong?
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry, love,” she whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead and running her fingers through her hair. “You’ll get there.”
That night, after she’d carefully muttered those words, Amelia could’ve sworn she’d felt the faint flicker of something inside her.
-
Amelia never thought she’d ever be so excited for it to storm, but here she was, obsessively checking the sky every morning for any sign of storm clouds. Then, finally, after what seemed like forever, the normally blue Hogwarts’ sky was filled with dark, churning clouds that threatened rain and, more importantly, lightning.
Every second that ticked by without rain seemed like hours and Amelia couldn’t help but glance outside at every opportunity in hopes of seeing the tale-tell flash of light. She heard the thunder before she saw the lighting. It was a low rumble that practically vibrated her being and called to her, telling her that it was, indeed, time.
As soon as the accompanying light flashed in the sky, Amelia bolted towards where she’d hidden her vial. She’d been in the middle of a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, but it had been a boring review anyways. She knew how to produce a Patronus for goodness sake.
Amelia found her vial exactly where she’d left it - wrapped tightly in a thick pillowcase and buried deeply in the pot of one of the planted ferns by the Charms classroom. Dark and silent. That’s what Madeline had said and Amelia had taken it to heart. They were so close to finishing the process and she wasn’t taking any chances.
After retrieving her vial, Amelia made her way to their meeting spot - the Prefect’s Bathroom. It was a large, private space where the three could transform safely, discreetly, and without putting themselves in any physical danger. That last part didn’t bode very well for Amelia, but she supposed it made sense.
Alice and Madeline were already there when she arrived, each with a vial in hand. They were standing in the middle of the - thankfully empty - Prefect’s Bathroom, directly in front of the column of sinks. Outside, the storm picked up and rain pounded against the stained-glass window that towered over the rest of the room. As soon as she arrived, Madeline locked the door behind her.
“Okay,” Madeline began, before her sister could say anything. “Moment of truth. The book says that the potion should be blood-red if we’ve done them right.”
Slowly, each girl unwrapped their vial. There was a terrifying moment where Amelia almost didn’t want to see the color of her vial, afraid that she’d failed in one of the tasks and wasted her time waiting on a potion that wasn’t going to work. The disappointment would be crushing.
Amelia came to the final fold of the pillow case and reached in for the vial inside. When she felt her finger tips brush against the cold, crystal surface she pulled it out, heart pounding in her ears, and caught a glimpse of a deep blood red coating the sides. She sighed in relief.
“Let’s see then,” Madeline ordered softly. Amelia held hers out, while Alice did the same. The three vials were identical in color. “Well,” she said, observing the vials with a critical eye, “they look right...but I can’t be sure. We won’t know unless one of us tries it.”
Neither of the girls spoke. The consequences of a bad Animagus potion would result in a half-human, half-animal mutation and the transformation was irreversible. If they got it wrong, there was nothing they could do to fix it.
“Alright,” Amelia said finally. Her eyes blazed with determination. She’d waited for this for months and she wasn’t going to throw away everything they’d done out of fear of failure. “I’ll try.”
“Are you sure?” Alice asked. There was a rare spark of concern on her face which almost changed Amelia’s mind. “You know the consequences of it being wrong.”
“It’s not too late to turn back,” Madeline chimed in.
Amelia held the vial up to the light, studying the way the liquid sloshed around. “Yes, it is.”
She stepped away from the other two, giving herself a wide berth. She didn’t know what animal she’d turn into if the potion was successful and she didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“Very well,” came Alice’s hesitant answer. The Slytherin stepped forward and her voice became deadly serious. “Place the tip of your wand over your heart, say the incantation, and drink the potion. If it’s correct, you should feel a fiery pain and the second heartbeat before you transform. When you do transform, don’t panic and stay calm. Panicking will only cause you to hurt yourself...or one of us depending on what you are.”
Amelia gave Alice a solemn nod and pulled out her wand. Alice took a step back and joined Madeline, who looked on nervously. She placed the tip of her wand over her heart, feeling it pounding loudly in her chest, and muttered the incantation she knew by heart.
Amato Animo Animato Animagus.
There was a fluttering echo of a second heartbeat, faint and weak.
Amelia set her wand down and uncorked the vial, watching the potion move around inside.
It wasn’t too late, something in her head whispered, you can still back out.
She took a deep, calming breath and threw back the contents of the vial before she could think twice about it.
The potion slid down her throat and, at first, Amelia felt nothing. Then, it settled in her chest and burst into an intense, unyielding pain that spread through her veins like a poison. She felt as if she’d been lit on fire, like flames were licking at her skin and trying to burn her from the inside out. Her entire body was screaming at her that something was horribly, horribly wrong and was begging for some sort of relief.
Then, another feeling emerged. It was almost unnoticeable at first, a distant feeling that quickly grew into a thundering heartbeat far louder than her own. It was as if someone had ripped her apart and was placing her back together, an indescribable amount of pain mixed with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Amelia closed her eyes shut, the low light in the room becoming too much for her to handle. Tears streamed down her face and she couldn’t help but buckle over at all of the sensations. That’s when she saw it. The dark, intimidating shadow of a large bird with its wings spread in flight.
As soon as she saw it, it was gone. Everything was gone. The heartbeat, the pain, the shadow. Everything.
Her eyes snapped open and, before she could stop herself, Amelia began flailing around. But instead of catching her balance, as she normally would’ve, she was thrown off balance by the large, flapping wings that extended from her sides. No arms. Wings.
Holy shit it worked! She mentally cheered. It actually fucking worked!
Slowly, she tried to move her arms again. The wings responded.
This means I can fly without a broom! Amelia realized excitedly. Shit, I don’t know how to fly...but I can learn because I have WINGS.
“Woah…” a surprised voice said. Amelia turned around and saw a much taller Madeline and Alice watching her. Both girls looked shocked by the transformation, like they hadn’t expected it to work. Amelia didn’t know if she liked that Madeline and Alice were surprised by the success of the potion.
“Okay, now how do I turn back?” Amelia tried to ask them. All that came out was a loud crow. That was to be expected, she guessed.
Alice seemed to get the jist of it though, because she snapped out of her stunned state and cautiously approached her.
“Imagine your human self,” Alice told her, picking up her wand from the ground next to her and stepping back again. “It’ll take practice, but you should be able to do it.”
Amelia closed her eyes again and tried her hardest to concentrate on her human appearance. Short, blonde hair, blue eyes, wire-rimmed glasses.
The trio sat there for several minutes in silence, waiting for Amelia to turn back.
Twenty minutes later, there was a small pop , followed by the reappearance of a ruffled looking Amelia.
“Holy shit!” she said, a wide grin on her face. “Holy shit!”
“Well, at least we know it works…”
“That was so fucking cool!”
“You’ll need your wand to transform back,” Alice told her, handing her wand back to its owner.
“What animal was I?” she asked, tucking the wand into her robes and looking back and forth between Alice and Madeline. “I could tell I was a big ass bird, but like, what kind?”
Alice snorted and Madeline looked extremely amused. Amelia didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“An eagle,” Alice said with a laugh, “a bald eagle.”
“Oh hell yeah!” Amelia cheered. Bald eagles were badass and they were patriotic. Totally worth it. “America for the win!”
The other two girls simply shook their heads at the declaration, looked at one another, and went to take their place at the center of the room to begin their own transformations.