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It is Theorized, by a Vast Many of the Learned Scholars of Magery, that in Ancient Times their kind became blessed by a Divine Host of Patrons, who took the forms of Animals Great and Small. These blessings, combined with the innate human affinity for Mage-craft, or Magic, caused the phenomenon known in Modern Days as Wild Forms.
Harry bit his lip as he entered the Gryffindor Tower alongside his new Housemates. The other first years around him seemed just as excited, while the older students were eager or at ease by turns. Ron’s older brothers, the twins, were giving him a bit of a ribbing, but not even their efforts were able to dim the wide grin on Harry’s new friend’s face.
Inside the common room, returning students settled themselves on chairs, couches, and floor cushions set along all the walls, while the newcomers were directed to a small cleared space in front of the fireplace. Just as everyone started quieting down, Professor McGonagall entered through the portrait hole, and closed it with a soft thud.
“Good evening, and welcome to the House of Gryffindor.” Her words were accompanied by a wide smile, causing the entire room to break out into whoops and cheers. “Now, while your names may have been called before the entire Great Hall, the time has come for your new Hogwarts family to meet you properly. One by one, please take a step forward to share a little about yourself with us, including where you are from, what you think you’re most looking forward to at Hogwarts, and of course, your Wild Form.”
Harry felt a flutter race through his insides. Their Wild Forms. The thing about himself he’d always thought to be the freakiest, only for it to turn out otherwise - because, apparently, every magical child could turn into an animal at odd times.
“Do we have any volunteers to go first?” The professor asked.
Hermione Granger’s hand immediately shot into the air, and when McGonagall nodded at her, the girl stepped out of the group of eleven year olds.
“I’m Hermione, from Hampstead in London,” she told the room. “I read lots of books, as many as I can get my hands on really, about all sorts of topics. I learned a lot about the magical world since getting my letter and going to Diagon Alley just from all the books I bought at Flourish and Botts, even though I’m a Muggleborn. I’m not quite certain just yet what I’m most looking forward to here - it’s just all so interesting! Much more exciting than any of the studies I’d planned to pursue in the Muggle world. Oh, and, well, my Wild Form is a cat. Close to the Himalayan breed, I think.”
“An excellent Form to have, if I do say so myself.” Several people around the room chuckled, and Harry recalled Ron’s whispers from when they first entered the castle about the Deputy Headmistress - that she was an Animagus with several Wild Forms, but her original True one was a housecat as well. “Would you please show us, Miss Granger?”
“Oh! Yes!” Hermione screwed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. Then, she started to shrink. Her clothes seemed to melt away as fur just as bushy as her hair sprouted, and in moments a half-grown kitten sat on the floor. Harry thought she looked rather pretty, with darker brown patches on her face, ears, tail and paws.
Professor McGonagall nodded her approval. “Well done, Miss Granger, that was quite the seamless transformation. I am always proud to have children willing to brave the unknown in my House. Who would like to go next?”
As Hermione returned to her human form and rejoined the group of first years, another boy carefully stepped forward. “Hi. I’m Dean, and a, uh, Muggleborn, like Hermione. But, I definitely didn’t do as much reading in advance.” He grinned as some light laughter rolled through the common room. “From what I have read, though, I think I’m most looking forward to learning about magical art and sports. Those living paintings were absolutely brilliant!” His enthusiasm got another wave of chuckles, and then Dean shared his Wild Form with them: a sleek, black bull calf, clearly going to get a lot bigger as he grew older.
After Dean came Seamus Finnegan, who grew up with his witch mother and shared a fox Wild Form with her, and Fay Dunbar, a quiet girl who could turn into a robin, with only the first beginnings of her flight feathers. Neville Longbottom’s Wild Form was a small lion cub, and Lavender Brown’s a poodle puppy. Elaine Coleridge turned into a red-furred squirrel, and Parvati Patil became a tiny fluffy tiger. Ron showed off his Russel terrier shape, and then-
Then it was Harry’s turn. He hadn’t meant to have waited until last, but didn’t realize until it was too late.
The few whispers that started up when he stepped forward were quickly silenced by a look from Professor McGonagall, and she smiled at him with a small nod.
“I’m Harry,” he started. “And just Harry, please. I didn’t find out about magic or the whole thing with the War until I got my school letter this summer, so, I’m really not used to being called the Boy-Who-Lived or anything like that. I’ve grown up in Surrey, with my Muggle relatives, and they definitely never treated me like I was something special, so- I’d really appreciate it if you all didn’t either.”
Quite a few people were staring at him or exchanging surprised glances with their neighbors, but the professor nodded again, her face turning to an unreadable expression. “Of course, Mister Potter. Here, you are just like the rest of us, if that makes you happy.”
Harry grinned. “It does. It really does, thank you.”
“Alright then, please carry on. Would you care to share your Wild Form with us?”
“Which one?”
Everybody paused.
“...I beg your pardon, Mister Potter?”
-Forms-
Every magical child, of great or lesser power, has a Wild Patron with whom they Share a Form. Even Squib children will experience Patronage, though the lack of other magic prohibits any transformations. Instead, Squibs make do with kinship affinities towards the mortal incarnations of their Patron, such as house cats or songbirds.
As they grow older, it is possible for magical folk to gain the blessings of multiple Patrons, gaining more Forms besides their Natural one, though some Traditionalists sneer upon such practices, claiming that each individual should remain loyal to their proper Patron and Self. Nevertheless, these specialized Animagi are automatically considered Masters of Transfiguration, and many attempt to earn the title without success, for it is a long and arduous process to gain so much as a single additional Form.
-Forms-
Which one?
The whispers rebounded around the room, and this time, Professor McGonagall was too shocked to silence them. “Mister Potter? Are you saying that you have more than one Wild Form?”
“Erm, yeah? Two of them. But, you do too, professor, right? Ron told me earlier that some witches and wizards have lots of different forms...”
“Animagi, yes. Skilled Transfiguration Masters and Mistresses who can induce multiple different transformations in themselves. But none have ever accomplished such a feat without years of learning and practice - for a child to first arrive at Hogwarts with two Forms already is- well, it is unheard of!”
Harry felt his heart sink. He found himself hunching defensively, head tilted forward and eyes glued to the floor. “So Aunt Petunia was right. I am a freak.”
Several people sucked startled breaths at his unconsciously muttered comment. “No, don’t go thinking that!” Someone cried.
“Mister P- Harry.” Professor McGonagall moved to kneel in front of him, hands going to his shoulders. “I want you to promise to never repeat those words. You are most certainly not a freak of any sort, even if you seem to have something unusual concerning your magical gift.”
“But you said-”
“I was being a foolish old woman, repeating what I’d been told my entire life. How can we know what is and isn’t heard of, having only ourselves for examples? No, you must discount what I said before, and in return I promise not to speak before I think. Alright?”
Harry nodded, quickly wiping at his eyes.
“Very good. Now then, why don’t you show us both your forms?”
He nodded once more, and without preamble shrank down, skin turning dark and scaly as he became a coiled snake. There were a few bitten-off shrieks around the room, but Harry only focused on his Head of House’s suddenly pale face.
There shouldn’t have been anything too exciting about his Wild Form. Having studied himself in the reflection of the Dursley home’s sliding back door, Harry knew he was black on top, dark grey underneath, and with two pale lines running down each side of his body. His eyes were still bright green, and his scar was present in the form of a little zigzag of white scales above his right eye.
Perhaps his size was unnerving the other students? After all, his snake form was rather on the large side - Harry had even measured himself once against the garden hose, and knew he was at least half as long as he was tall.
“My word,” Professor McGonagall finally said, after swallowing a few times. “Harry... Would I be right in guessing the Sorting Hat considered placing you in Slytherin House?”
He nodded, the gesture much more expressive when his body consisted pretty much solely of a head and tail.
“I see. Do you know why it didn’t?”
For that, Harry changed back to his human shape. “I asked it not to.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah... I’d already met Draco Malfoy, ma’am, and I really didn’t want to be Sorted into the same place as him. Ron seemed a much better kind of person, even though I didn’t know yet he’d be going into Gryffindor too.”
The professor blinked, then snorted. “Indeed. I’m not supposed to show bias with regards to students, Mister Potter, but even I think you made the better choice there.”
“Really, Professor?” Harry peered over his teacher’s shoulder, to see the twin Weasleys with astonished expressions upon their mirrored faces. “Our likkle Ronniekins seems like the better choice to you?”
“Oh, stuff it, you tossers,” Ron said, face growing as red as his hair.
As other students laughed, Professor McGonagall offered Harry another smile. “Well, Mister Potter, I believe you still have a second Wild Form to share with us.”
Grinning, he went through his other change, inciting a round of cooing from at least half the room. His ears flicking back and tail going up warily caused chuckles to come from the rest of the students. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” McGonagall said dryly, standing to observe him better. “Considering that your parents were a stag and doe, after all.”
Harry, his black fawn Form still covered with a liberal amount of white spots, looked up at her in surprise.
“Did you not know? Hmph. Come by my office any evening this week, Mister Potter, and we’ll make sure to fill the gaps in your knowledge.”
He quickly switched back again in order to thank her, and then the atmosphere grew more lively once more as a bunch of the older students set about introducing themselves and sharing their Wild Forms, as well as tips and advice for how to navigate the first few days of school. By nine thirty, things finally began to wind down, and everyone headed for their respective dorm rooms. Professor McGonagall watching them go, smiling proudly. Harry offered her a quick wave before disappearing up the stairs, which she returned with a nod.
“How long have you had two Wild Forms, Potter?” Seamus asked as soon as they and the other first year boys were alone in their new dorm.
Harry shrugged. “Always, I think. I honestly can’t ever remember just having one.”
“Well you must have, at some point,” Ron mentioned, tugging on his pajamas. “Can you tell which is your True one?”
“...I dunno,” Harry said, carefully setting his glasses on the bedside table. “The professor mentioned that both my parents were deer, though, so maybe that’s what I was first.”
“Do you think- I mean-” The other boys turned to stare at Neville, who struggled to get his words out. “Do you think your snake form might have something to do with- with You-Know-Who?”
“Voldemort?” Harry saw Dean’s eyebrows go up as Ron, Seamus, and Neville all simultaneously winced. “Huh. I hadn’t thought of that. What was his Wild Form?”
“My Gran said it was a snake,” Neville whispered. “A huge King Cobra. People say he- he could kill people with just a, just a single drop of venom.”
Harry grimaced. “Well, that’s unfortunate. But there’s lots of different kinds of snakes, right? And my snake Form isn’t venomous, either.”
“Still, it’d be pretty weird if it were coincidence,” Ron pointed out as he bypassed his assigned bed for a thick blanket pallet that took up several feet of space at the back of the room.
“What’s that?” Dean asked.
“It’s the bed for our Wild Forms,” Seamus explained, buttoning up his own pajama top. “Plenty of families have one so they can cuddle up in their Wild Forms at night. Nice to know we've got our own! I knew that was gonna be the hardest part of coming to Hogwarts, really - not being able to curl up with my mum in our fox forms for the night.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Dean said as he nodded. “Sometimes my little sisters would get me to sleep as a calf in our sitting room, so they could lean against me and pretend we were out camping on a farm, or some such.”
“My Gran wasn’t really big on having family piles,” Neville mumbled, looking at the mat with a bit of longing.
“Why don’t we all sleep on it tonight, then?” Seamus suggested. “Just to make the transition a bit easier. Weasley?”
“Yeah, sure. My parents always make us sleep in a pile at least twice a week anyway.” The redhead stretched, preparing to change Forms, but paused when he glanced back at Harry. “You okay, mate?”
“Mm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just, wondering if my parents ever slept in their Wild Forms with me before.” He didn’t notice the glances the rest of the boys exchanged.
“Well, come on then,” Seamus said, grabbing Harry’s arm on his way to the mat. “If we’re going to do it, we’re all going to do it.”
Neville and Dean followed after them, and soon enough a lion cub, a bull calf, a fox kit, a terrier puppy and a roe fawn were lying together in a large heap, all snoozing with an assortment of quiet sounds. When Professor McGonagall checked in on them, she smiled, and whispered a quick spell to make sure the boys woke up in time for class.
-Forms-
Many Traditionalist families will make marital arrangements for their Heirs based upon Class Patrons. A bloodline typically blessed by Avian Patrons, for example, would not bind itself to one known for Reptilian Forms, nor would a Canine family join with a Feline. While prospective matches need not have identical Wild Forms, it’s considered that the closer related the better, as it increases the likelihood of potential offspring sharing a Form with one or both parents.
Non-Traditionalists, a category which is dominated by Muggleborn magicians, tend to throw such attitudes out the window. Correspondingly, the children of parents with vastly different Wild Forms very rarely take after one or the other, but instead can be blessed by a completely different Patron. Case in point: an Amphibious mother and Airachnid father could produce a Marsupial child.
It should also be noted, however, that a great deal of modern Animagi come from mixed parental Patronage, often with Muggle blood within the last few generations.
-Forms-
“He doesn’t really have multiple Forms, of course, the Gryffindors just want to make him seem more impressive than he is.”
Harry closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, opened them again when he finished exhaling, and walked right past the group of Slytherin first years without looking at any of them. Uneager to sit where he could see their sneers, he moved straight to the front of the Potions classroom for a seat. Ron, unfortunately, had paused with the other Gryffindor boys to glower back at the Slytherins, and as such someone else got to the spot beside Harry before his friend.
“I rather thought they’d have taken more of a liking to you, in all honesty, given that one of your Forms is a snake.”
Startled, the boy glanced to his left, and was greeted by Hermione Granger’s sympathetic face. “It’s alright. I think it's mostly just Malfoy, stirring up the rest since I didn’t want to make friends with him.”
“Even so... Oh, you don’t mind that I sat here, do you? It’s just, I’m used to being at the front of the room, and this bench has the best view of the chalkboard-”
“It’s fine,” Harry said, before offering a small smile. “Just, may raise your other arm to answer questions? So I'm less likely to get smacked in the head every time."
That got a grin and a quiet giggle out of her. When Ron and the rest of their classmates filed in, the redhead took a seat closer to the back with Neville, shooting Harry a baffled look at the same time. He sent his friend a simple shrug, before facing forward again when he caught sight of various Slytherins watching him.
Bare moments after the last student was seated, the doors slammed shut with a tremendous BANG. Everyone jumped, and stared with wide eyes as their black-cloaked professor stalked to the front of the room. He started things off by calling attendance, an identical, uninterested drawl being applied to every name on the list. Harry hoped that he’d receive the same - in every other class so far, some sort of fuss had been put up when his name was spoken, and he was really starting to get sick of it.
“Parvati Patil.”
“Here, sir!”
“Harry, Potter,” the professor said, dark eyes finally flicking up from his parchment in order to settle on Harry. “Our new, celebrity.”
Instantly, his shoulders began to hunch. Before Harry or Professor Snape could say anything, however, half the room rose up in their housemate’s defense.
“It's not like he asked for that, sir,” Dean spoke up first.
“Harry should be treated differently than anyone else, professor!” Added Hermione. The rest of the Gryffindors put in their protests as well, causing the Slytherins to stare in shock while one of Professor Snape’s eyebrows slowly climbed.
“Sit. Down.” At his growled order, the group of annoyed eleven year olds slowly returned to their seats. “Perhaps, if he wishes to be just like the rest of the student body, Mister Potter could explain how the, obviously untrue rumors concerning his number of Wild Forms came to be circulated through the castle?”
“I only have the two, sir,” Harry said quietly. Not five or nine or fourteen, as some rumors insisted. “I don’t know where the higher numbers came from.”
The rest of the room remained silent as he and the man stared at one another. Then, with an impressive swirl of his robes, Professor Snape moved to stand beside his podium. “The matter of Wild Forms is not the concern of this class. Here, the science, the art, of potion-making is of highest precedence. In this place, I will teach the more receptive among you to bottle fame, brew glory, even, stopper death...”
He went on, keeping the group of first years spellbound with his speech. At the end of it, he moved on to quizzing various students around the room about basic rules of conduct, the early steps needed for beginning any potion, and double checking that everyone had brought their textbooks, cauldrons, and tool kits. After that, they moved straight into their first lesson, with the professor alternating moving among them to observe and standing up front to keep an eye on whoever was in his supply closet.
As they went along, Harry was very glad to be working with Hermione, because even if she was a bit overbearing with making sure all three of their ingredients went in at the exact right moments and in the precisely correct amounts, the girl didn’t cause any explosions, as opposed to Seamus behind them and Vincent Crabbe across the room.
“Well,” he said afterwards, rejoining Ron and the others. “That wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Thanks for standing up for me, guys.”
“Sure thing, mate.”
“Anytime!”
-Forms-
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harry’s first two months at school saw him do a lot of research about Animagi when homework didn’t take precedence. Hermione was all too happy to help, considering their small friendship that got started in Potions, while Ron just shook his head in the background. Hagrid and Professor McGonagall were helpful as well, sharing stories with Harry about his parents and their friends during the seventies.
That was how he found out about his dad's friends, the Marauders, and, after much wheedling, the story behind the name Sirius Black.
“I just- I want to talk to him, or, or maybe yell- just, why? Why would he- they were his friends! My godfather!”
Harry was more than a bit distraught on October thirty-first, the day Hagrid finally broke down and explained about Black while carrying pumpkins up to the Great Hall for the evening feast. The fact that it was the date of the anniversary of James and Lily’s deaths might have had something to do with it as well.
Ron and Hermione found him in the furthest corner of the library, crying. After an aborted attempt to get him to come to the feast, they just sat with him in silence, the trio eventually ending up in a pile in their Wild Forms.
Which was why they were able to smell the troll coming before it reached them.
When the teachers finally arrived, it was to find the huge creature lying prone and unconscious before the damaged library entrance, three first years just coming down from the adrenaline rush of their impromptu battle.
“Well, I never-!” Professor Sprout tutted. “Why in Merlin’s name didn’t you three return to your dormitory with the other students?”
She received three blank stares in return.
“I believe, my dear Pomona, that Misters Potter and Weasley and Miss Granger were not at the Halloween Feast to begin with,” the Headmaster said gently, his eyes twinkling.
“That’s right sir,” Harry sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault, Hermione and Ron just came to find me - I didn’t much feel like celebrating, tonight.”
He didn’t have to say anymore than that. Several of the teachers winced, and most of them started to look at him sadly.
“We understand, Mister Potter,” said Professor McGonagall. “Perhaps, Severus, you could escort the children to Madam Pomfrey, to make sure their bumps and bruises are attended to?” The Potions Master glowered at her, but nodded. He then jerked his head at the first years, and they quickly followed him away from the stench of the troll.
“Are you alright, sir?” Harry asked at one point, having noticed the extra cloth wrapped around Professor Snape’s leg that he seemed to be favoring.
“Fine, Mister Potter.” The man almost left it at that. Almost. “In future, on this date, it would be best if you informed your Head of House or another teacher that you intend to skip the evening’s festivities. You put yourself and your equally-dunderheaded friends at great risk by not doing so.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hm.”
-Forms-
“Thanks for staying late to practice with me, Katie.”
“No problem, little Double! We both know Oliver’s gonna be asking whether you finished your Seeker exercises or not when he gets out of detention.”
The pair grinned at each other from their brooms, hovering about twenty feet above the ground of the quidditch pitch. Despite Oliver himself having left practice early for a detention with Filch, something of his spirit remained, making sure the rest of the team put in a full effort to be ready for the upcoming game. Being the Seeker meant Harry could, technically, accomplish his workout tasks by himself - but it was the unspoken rule of the team to not leave their firstie out alone on the pitch. So, Katie Bell had volunteered to stay out longer even as the rest of the team headed off.
(Granted, after finishing in the locker room, the Beaters and other two Chasers came right back out to the stands with various pieces of homework, being present even if their assorted attentions were focused elsewhere.)
“Alright, do you want to go through the pursuit exercises first, or chase the Snitch around?”
“Pursuit first, I think, if you don’t mind.”
“Not in the slightest. Three, two, one, go!” At the older girl’s shout, Harry leaned forward into an immediate dive. Her heard Katie follow after him, and quickly started a random pattern of sudden turns and corkscrew maneuvers, making his way across the entirety of the pitch and around several of the stands. At times, he had to ease back on the speed to let Katie catch up to a reasonable distance before shooting off again. After twenty minutes, they wound up back where they’d started, his grin undiminished even by Katie’s mock glaring.
“I dunno why you don’t have a bird Form, Double,” she said after a moment’s recovery. “You’re definitely as suited to life in the air as much as us, if not more!”
It was a common trait for most quidditch players to have avian Wild Forms, something true of the Gryffindor Chasers and Captain. Katie herself turned into a collared dove, while Alicia was a goldfinch and Angelina became a starling. Oliver’s form was a gyrfalcon, one of the fastest birds ever, which the rest of the team joked meant he was destined to join the professional leagues after school.
Harry wasn’t so sure that their Wild Forms really had all that much to do with one’s skill on a broom, though. Fred and George, after all, were perfectly brilliant Beaters, and they both turned into Border terriers.
That night, after practice and dinner and homework, Harry laid awake on his bed, Katie’s compliment turning over in his mind. He thought of all the books he’d read, written by authors who all said a person’s True Form was the best representation of their essence, their key personality trait. He thought of how much he loved feeling the wind in his face, whether it was from running full out down a road or zooming through the sky on his Nimbus. He thought of Professor McGonagall’s words from his first night at Hogwarts: How can we know what is and isn’t heard of, having only ourselves for examples?
He thought of wings.
The next morning, Ron woke up to something small and dark hovering in front of his face. His scream caused all the other boys to jerk awake, each of them baffled as to why a black hummingbird was zipping around their room.
Then the tiny bird flew over to land on Harry’s bed, where it turned back into Harry himself.
To say the least, he needed to answer a lot of questions after that.
-Forms-
Over the course of the rest of the day, the boy only shared his new Wild Form with those who promised to keep their mouths shut: Hermione, the quidditch team members, and of course Professor McGonagall. She was quite surprised when Harry transformed into a hummingbird in her office, and the two of them spent a good long while sorting out the particulars of how he’d done it.
“I just found the place in my head where there’s the boundary between Human and Animal,” Harry explained, “And then the spot where it changed from Deer to Snake. And when I pushed, like the books say, I made a new spot that got filled up by Hummingbird.”
“Mister Potter,” the professor said, grinning at him. “I do believe you’ve had the breakthrough most Transfiguration Masters don’t get until after years of fumbling around inside their minds.”
“We don’t have to tell the whole school, do we, Professor? It’s just, the Slytherins-”
“Will always find ways to mock those they fear and dislike, Mister Potter, as do other students in all the Houses. But, in this case, I don’t see why we should have to give them more ammunition for their arsenal. Besides, it can be quite the advantage, having a secret Form no one knows anything of.”
Hermione didn’t believe him later when Harry said Professor McGonagall actually winked as she said those words.