Chapter 14
Severus spent the entire night hunched over his desk, books stacked precariously around him, his quill scratching furiously against parchment as he scoured every Animagus text he owned.
On the edge of the desk, Harry, the little menace, sat, occasionally ruffling his feathers in frustration or making irritated little huffing noises that sounded far too judgmental for a bird.
“Do not look at me like that, Potter,” Severus muttered without glancing up, flipping a page with unnecessary force. “This is not exactly a common problem, and despite popular belief, I do not have an all-knowing solution for every magical absurdity that plagues your existence.”
Harry let out a sharp squawk, flapping his wings.
Severus gave him a flat stare. “Yes, I am aware you would like to be human again. Do you think I am doing this for my health?”
He sighed, rubbing his temples before reaching for another book. He had already dismissed the obvious solution, the standard Animagus reversion spell, because, unlike a properly registered Animagus, Harry had not gone through the years of careful transformation study required to make it safe. The spell forcibly shifted the body back into its human form, and if Harry had even one misplaced bone or an incomplete transformation, it could kill him instantly.
And knowing Potter’s luck?
Severus was not about to risk dealing with a dead bird boy on top of everything else.
He exhaled sharply, pulling another tome toward him. “Magical Metamorphosis and the Nature of Self-Transfiguration.“ He skimmed the index, eyes narrowing. “If this is some absurd accidental magic incident, perhaps...”
A light thump made him glance up.
Harry had face-planted into a pile of papers, wings sprawled out dramatically, the sheer weight of his exhaustion clear even in bird form.
Severus scowled but didn’t move him. “At least one of us is getting sleep,” he muttered, returning to his reading.
He had far too many questions and not enough answers. But one thing was certain:
Harry Potter was not a normal Animagus.
As the morning light filtered through the small windows of his office, Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and came to a reluctant conclusion.
There was no immediate solution.
He had spent all night researching, flipping through every transfiguration, Animagus, and accidental magic text he could get his hands on. Yet not a single book had an answer for what Harry had done or how to reverse it safely.
And now, with the first period creeping closer, Severus had no choice but to improvise.
He summoned a house-elf and ordered breakfast to be brought to his office. If he couldn’t figure this out before his sixth-years arrived, well...
He supposed he would just have to teach the class with a very disgruntled black phoenix sitting in his office.
Harry, for his part, had calmed down significantly since last night. Now, he sat neatly on the edge of Severus’s desk, fluffing up his feathers now and then as if settling in for the long haul.
When the food arrived, Severus simply pushed a plate toward him, watching in vague amusement as Harry awkwardly pecked at a piece of toast before giving up and going for some fruit instead.
“Do try not to make a mess, Potter,” Severus drawled, sipping his tea. “You may be stuck like this, but that does not mean I will tolerate you behaving like some half-wild creature.”
Harry pointedly knocked over an ink bottle with his beak.
Severus inhaled deeply through his nose.
By the time Potions class rolled around, Severus still had no solution.
So, with as much dignity as he could muster, he strode into his classroom, robes billowing as always, and set Harry down on a chair at the front of the room.
The sixth-years all froze.
A black phoenix sat perched on a chair, calmly ruffling its feathers as if it belonged there.
Every now and then, the bird hopped down onto the seat and flapped its wings in a little circle, doing what looked like a mix between a nervous shuffle and an impatient dance.
Severus paid it no mind, setting his books down with a sharp thud.
“Turn to page 247,” he said, tone perfectly even.
No one moved.
Severus’s dark eyes flicked up. “Now.”
The sound of scrambling parchment and frantic page-turning filled the room.
Harry, still in bird form, fluffed up his feathers smugly.
By lunchtime, the entire school was buzzing with rumors.
Some said that Professor Snape had picked up a demented bird and was now keeping it as a pet. Others whispered that it wasn’t a normal bird at all, a failed potion experiment, some claimed, or even a cursed creature that latched onto him.
The most dramatic rumor suggested that Snape had summoned a dark familiar, and it had been haunting his classroom all morning.
Severus, of course, ignored every single one.
With his usual sharp movements, he strode to the staff table, taking his seat with his usual scowl. He did not bother correcting the rumors. Let the students entertain themselves with foolish nonsense; he had far bigger concerns.
As he picked at his meal, his sharp gaze flicked toward Viktor and Jayce. The two were sitting together as always, but there was a certain tension between them.
Severus sighed.
He had neither the time nor the patience to let Jayce fumble his way through whatever ridiculous confession he was building up to.
So, without a word, he stood abruptly, stalked over, and grabbed both of them by the arms.
“Come with me.” His tone left no room for argument.
Viktor blinked at him, confused. “Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
Jayce, completely caught off guard, barely had time to stammer out, “W-Wait, what-” before Severus pulled them both out of the Great Hall.
The entire student body watched in stunned silence as their potions professor dragged two fully grown wizards out of lunch like misbehaving schoolchildren.
The rumors would only get worse.
Severus slammed open the door to his office, dragging Viktor and Jayce inside with the same level of urgency he usually reserved for impending disasters.
With a sharp motion, he gestured to his desk, where a sleek black bird sat, preening its feathers with an air of quiet frustration.
Jayce squinted at it. “Uh… okay? Why did you kidnap a bird?”
Viktor, however, was already watching Severus carefully. He had known the man long enough to recognize when something was seriously wrong. And the way Severus’s fingers twitched slightly, the way his gaze lingered on the bird like he was mentally cataloging feasible solutions, this was not about a random bird.
Viktor turned his sharp eyes back to the creature.
Then, he really looked at it.
The way its feathers ruffled in irritation. The way it subtly inched away from Jayce’s clueless stare. A familiar show of barely restrained frustration was evident in the way its tiny feet stomped against the desk.
“…Is that Harry?” Viktor asked, eyes narrowing.
Harry flapped his wings dramatically, as if to say, Finally, someone gets it.
Jayce choked. “Wait, WHAT?”
Severus crossed his arms. “Jinx kicked him off the Astronomy Tower.”
There was a beat of silence.
Viktor and Jayce slowly turned to look at him.
Then…
“SHE DID WHAT?!” Jayce exploded, his voice practically shaking the walls.
Viktor looked slightly paler than usual, which, for him, meant he was one step away from murder. “Please tell me you are joking.”
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. “I wish I were.”
Jayce ran both hands through his hair, pacing aggressively around the room. “No, no, no, seriously, what the hell, what the actual hell, WHY… WHY DID SHE THINK KICKING OUR SON OFF A ROOF WAS A GOOD IDEA?”
Severus waved a hand dismissively. “Something about seeing how wixen fly.”
Jayce let out an incoherent scream.
Viktor, on the other hand, was fixing Severus with a sharp stare. “And why is he still a bird?”
Severus exhaled slowly. “Because I cannot just force him to transform back. If he is an Animagus, then shifting between forms takes time and training. If I try to force it too soon, he could-”
He hesitated.
Jayce stopped pacing. “He could what?”
Severus’s voice was grim. “Mis-align a bone. Break his spine. Snap his own neck.”
Another heavy silence fell over the room.
“…Right,” Jayce said faintly. “No pressure.”
Harry let out an annoyed squawk, flapping his wings.
Jayce threw his arms up. “Oh, I’m sorry; did you want me to be less freaked out by my child being a bird?”
Viktor, ever the problem-solver, took a slow breath. “Then what is the next step?”
Severus’s gaze darkened.
“We have to go to Professor Lupin.”