Metamorphosis

... What animal in the Forbidden Forest would possibly want to be friends with ME? Which snake or bird? And how can you and I have midnight jaunts?

February Fortescue
Writer, Slytherin

It was 7 pm in the Slytherin Common Room, and two students could been seen whispering conspiratorially. Their behavior didn't attract much attention, because the other students were very used to the two of them sharing confidences, crafting schemes, and getting into trouble.

“Ok, Celestra, we've been practicing the animagus charm and we've been brewing and drinking the corresponding potion for months now, and I have a really good feeling about tonight! We are finally going to morph into our animal forms and roam about the castle grounds!”

“I can feel it, too, Noxanne! Tonight's the night our dreams become reality! When do you want to sneak outside the castle?”

“I say we leave around 9 pm. You take one hallway and I'll creep around the other. I'll meet you near the Forbidden Forest. Just think: once we've transformed, we can run into the words, or fly around, free as owls!”

Noxanne and Celestra arrived at the Forbidden Forest at the appointed hour. “I hope I morph into something like a doe or a wolf!” exclaimed Noxanne. “How much fun it will be to run through the forest, make animal friends, and be free from castle restraints!” “I heard that!” replied Celestra. “I hope I become an owl. Imagine flying anywhere I want to go, and the absolute freedom that brings! I can even deliver my own mail! Heck, maybe I'll even be a tiny bug, and if so, I can get the answers to all of our exams. Wouldn't that be great? I cannot believe we waited until our fifth years to become animagi!”

“I can't either! What were we thinking? Ok, let's do this. On the count of three. One.....Two...Three....”

Noxanne and Celestra drink the potion and cast the Animagus charm at the same time. Success! Noxanne transforms into an Occamy while Celestra becomes a Shark.

“A Shark!! I've become a Shark! Why on earth would I become a Shark, of all creatures??” Celestra rushes off to the Black Lake, because her animagus requires water to breathe.

“Look at ME!! I'm a flying snake, of all creatures!! What animal in the Forbidden Forest would possibly want to be friends with ME? Which snake or bird? And how can you and I have midnight jaunts? I guess I can swim sometimes.” Sighing, Noxanne follows Celestra down to the lake.

“Well, this isn't quite what I planned, but I suppose we should make the best of it. Cheer up, Noxanne! I wonder what the Slytherin Common Room looks like from the Black Lake? Let's swim over and find out.”

Back inside the castle, Tully Tobias can't sleep and has wandered down to the Slytherin Common Room. As she is looking out the window and daydreaming, she notices two very unusual creatures staring back at her. “Shark!! Shark!!” she screams. “OH! And an Occamy!”

Her screams awaken Prefect Polly Jeffers, who agrees that these two creatures are not commonly found in the Black Lake. Polly awakens their Head of House.

Less than five minutes after the Shark and Occamy are spotted, Noxanne and Celestra feel themselves pulled from the Black Lake and transformed back into their human selves, with Professor Yaxley standing over them. “We will discuss this in the morning! Now go to bed!”

Sometimes the dream doesn't quite match up to the reality.