7.2
Winter Break-
I watch as the Hogwarts Express leaves me behind, carrying all my friends into the distance. The walk back to the castle is entirely silent. Only a few people are left in the castle for the winter break. As I walk, I move the mandrake leaf in my mouth to sit under my tongue again. My destination is the Library. I stroll, observing my surroundings; there is nothing to rush for. No more homework, no more friends to hang out with, no more fake dating, only silence.
I will be spending the foreseeable future working towards completing the potion with John's help. He's not bad company now that we have moved past the uncomfortable stage of student and teacher. We have started to call each other by our first names when alone. Our relationship is more of friends with an age gap, not anything romantical like how some students think. He has taught me things that I would never even wonder about, such as the government of Muggles in America.
Entering the Library, I am greeted by a smiling Madame Pince. I move towards the restricted section. If I am to spend the entire break alone, I may as well learn things that are hidden from most students. I skim the shelves of leatherbound books that are older than me. I read the titles of each one, only stopping when I read Magick Moste Evile. I pluck the book from its shelf and open it. I skim the first few pages before deciding to check it out.
I make my way to the kitchen to grab snacks before arriving at The Room to read my newly checked-out book. I spend the next hours reading while music plays softly on my phone so I don't have to switch records each time the song changes. My chosen genre is eerie classical, fitting for the book in my hands.
I only stop reading when my phone starts to blow up on the couch beside me. The lit screen shows a picture of me and my girls in the snow that we took two days before the break started. Opening my phone, I see that the group chat between my girls and me is the thing making my phone buzz constantly. I read the many messages, learning that each girl got home safely and settled back in. I answered Jo's question about what I was doing with the truth. Elle replies, "Lame," when she sees my text saying I'm just reading.
—
I spend my days reading ahead in my classes, reading new books from the restricted section every other day, and working on becoming an Animagus with John. The repetition of it all makes me restless. Apart from John, Madame Pince, and texting my girls, I have no social interaction. I watch movies on my phone when I get bored with my work. I've gone through most of the good movies on Jo's Netflix.
It only took me and John until the first weekend of the break for the potion to be completed, other than the mandrake leaf, which will be done later in the break. John got most of the other ingredients shipped to the castle on the first day of the break. The only ingredient we got ourselves was the dew that we got from the ground of the Slytherin bleachers on Saturday.
We wait for an electric storm, which only takes until the Wednesday after the full moon. We watch as the storm gets worse together before John starts leading me out of the castle and onto the grounds. He stays in the doorway as I walk further into the rain. My anxiety gets worse the further I get. I'm in the middle of the sea of grass when I stop.
"Amto Animo Animato Animagus." I down the potion as thunder sounds through the air.
The pain catches me off guard. I double over in pain as I feel the double heartbeat echo through my chest. I can feel my bones breaking and reforming by themselves. My scream is covered by the sound of the rain. I don't open my eyes until I see a clear vision of a familiar large blond cat with human-looking eyes. The process feels as if it takes forever as I change form.
The pain ends. Opening my eyes, I can clearly see in the night, though as I look at the castle, even in the rain, it's severely blurry. I am surrounded by the clothes I was just in. I can feel myself in ways I could have never thought. The rain pours down on me, making me want to run into the castle until suddenly it stops, that is. Looking up, I see John. I can clearly see his features made in happiness. He picks me up from my stomach before plucking my discarded clothes from the ground.
—
It took me a week and a half to perfect my transformation. Seeing the world through the eyes of a blond Main Coon. I spend most of that time lying around The Room; I take up most of the space on the couch. I have also found myself craving protein more. Breakfast went from fruit salad to bacon, sausage, and eggs.
Only after I prove that I can reliably shift back and forth between John and McGonagall do they decide to send me to register in The Ministry. John rides with me to London but lets me go by myself to register. The ride is silent, not uncomfortable, as we have learned how to exist in silence together over the year. John drops me off near an entrance before running errands in the city.
The Ministry is heavily crowded, as it always is. I weave through the crowd towards the elevators. I must wait two stops before I end up on the correct floor. Moving through the sea of people, I make my way towards the Improper Use of Magic Office. I get stopped mid-step when I suddenly see a familiar face.
My father is walking past me while speaking to what looks like his assistant. I duck the opposite way to avoid him. My breathing is heavy, and my hands are shaking. I continue to walk towards a wall and rest against it for a few beats. Once I am breathing normally, I start on my way to my original destination.
The process is long and grueling. Most of it was simply waiting for the paperwork to go through. I provide my identification and shift it so they can take photos of my animagus form. I explain how I became an Animagus while at school with the help of two teachers, which gets them to get off my ass.
I text John once I am done and wandering the streets of London. I resist the urge to enter shops as I don't have any Muggle money on me. I walk for ten more minutes while I wait for him to roll up on me. Calling me, he explains where he is parked, and I get there within a few minutes. We have an hour to burn while we wait for the Hogwarts Express to be ready, so John decides to show me around the city. He shows me the different magic spots in public view of Muggles.
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