A/N: Apologies for the sorting hat’s song.
Harry had never seen a group of first years look more terrified than the lot that stood at the front of the hall now, and he couldn’t really blame them. The happy arrival afforded to the years before them had not been extended to this fragile looking cluster. In his first year, the group had arrived at the school in a jolly mood after an uneventful trip and had been welcomed by a recital of the school song. A jingle that had not been heard since; the gloom of subsequent years had driven its jovial melody from the hearts and minds of the student body. The quiet clatter that was made when McGonagall put the stool on the floor caused a majority of the students jump, whether the sorting hat noticed or not, he couldn’t really tell, because it began its song all the same.
“A thousand years have passed now,
Since I first sang my song,
Those early days have vanished,
But I’m still here to sing on.
So come on up and take a seat,
I promise I don’t bite,
For I’m a floppy hat dear child,
There’s no reason here for fright.
There are four houses from which to choose,
And I’ll tell you where you belong,
So slip me snug about your ears,
And wait to see which table cheers.
There’s Hufflepuff in yellow and black,
The house of loyal fellows,
They’re not afraid of working hard,
But you’ll find them rather mellow.
In bronze and blue find Ravenclaw,
The house of those who are clever,
If it’s knowledge that you seek,
You’ll find it here for you to keep.
There’s Slytherin in silver and green,
The house of great ambition,
If it’s glory that you’re after,
You’re sure to find them keen.
In gold and red find Gryffindor,
The house of those with courage,
If you’ve got a heart that’s brave,
You’ll be welcomed with a flourish.
I don’t like to divide you,
Because I feel it’s wrong,
The battle won’t be long now,
Unite and stand strong.
Our bonds can make us powerful,
It’s something you all can do,
Everyone join together,
No matter what your hue.”
“Abbott, Malcolm,” Professor McGonagall called when it was finished. A small boy with sandy blonde hair looked horrified at the prospect of stepping away from the comfort and safety of the line, but after a strong look from the Transfiguration teacher he bolted forwards.
“Hufflepuff,” the hat called instantly. The boy rose from the seat with relief and scuttled forward to the Hufflepuff table where Hannah Abbott, who looked very proud indeed, welcomed him.
“Brother?” Ron said quietly. The others nodded their assent. The hat continued on until finally ‘Zeller, Hyacinth,’ was sorted into Ravenclaw. “Goody!” Ron rubbed his hands together; Dumbledore had a habit of keeping his pre-feast speeches short.
“Good evening. First things first, I would like to give a warm welcome to our newest students and express my delight that most of our returning ones have arrived back in one piece. I would also like to give a great deal of thanks to our prefects, and the sixth and seventh year students who ensured that their first year colleagues arrived here safely. Earlier today, information was received about the plan for an attack on the station platform at Hogsmeade. This is why you were hurried away from the train with such haste. Thanks to the efforts of several teachers, guards that were on the train, and the aforementioned students, everyone had been removed from the platform by the time half a dozen of Lord Voldemort’s Death Eaters arrived. I’m sure all of the excitement has made you all quite hungry, and this is why I shall save the rest of my speech for after dinner,” Dumbledore announced in a rather victorious tone. There was relative quiet as everyone tried to come to terms with the information that they had received. The five students sitting at the Gryffindor silence were engaged in an uneasy silence. They knew only too well the kind of carnage that could have happened if the platform had been full. After dinner, when they were all feeling rather bloated, Dumbledore recommenced his speech.
“It seems to me that every year the standard of goods coming from our kitchen reaches new heights of excellence. On a more serious note, I would like to assure everyone that while you are within the confines of the grounds you will be perfectly safe. The teachers and I are working continuously with the Ministry of Magic to ensure that you are all protected from the dangers of the outside world. Unfortunately, due to the events of last year, when several students and a teacher were attacked, all visits to Hogsmeade will be cancelled until further notice. I realize this will thoroughly disappoint those of you able to attend them, but I would rather have you safely miserable in the castle that dangerously jolly in the village,” he said a fatherly tone. He was just trying to look after everyone’s best interests.
“As always the Forbidden Forest is considered out of bounds to everyone, and I must encourage you all not to go near it without the supervision of a member of staff. Yet more items have been added to Mr. Filch’s list of prohibited objects, I was rather dismayed to read it yesterday and find that the rather delicious Canary Crèmes have been included on this year’s list, as have portable swamps. I am also happy to announce that the rumoured curse that has hung over the Defence Against the Dark Arts post these six years appears to have been broken. I can welcome back last year’s professor, albeit under a different name. I am sure that you will all join me in congratulating Professor Potter on her marriage and her subsequent name change to Professor Weasley.” There was a lot of loud clapping and cheering for Ellie who was forced to stand and make a little curtsey. “You will all be glad to know that I have finished and you may now make your way to the warm and cozy beds that await you. Luck be with you!” he clapped his hands and the doors to the hall swung open and allowed them all to escape to bed.
When the timetables were handed out at the breakfast table the next morning, the seventh year Gryffindors were a little bit disappointed that they had to go to Transfiguration before they could get to Defence Against the Dark Arts. It wasn’t as bad as they had first imagined it to be though, because Professor McGonagall had some very interesting news for them.
“Good afternoon, class,” she announced, taking powerful strides towards the front of the room. “I would like to remind you all that while you are in your seventh and final year of your magical education with us, we will not be tolerating any substandard behaviour or quality of work. You have all managed to do sufficiently well thus far and I would hope that this will not change any in the coming months. This is by far the most important year you will spend here. The marks you get in the exams at the end of this year will determine whether or not you are able to fulfill your career prospects, and I am aware that some of your expectations are high.” She looked distinctly at Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville when she said this. “During the course of this term you will have a series of careers interviews with the Head of your house where you will be able to make the final decision. Bear in mind that the potential employers we deal with place a lot of importance on the opinions of our teachers and if you are performing sub par then we are forced to tell them so.”
“We better hope the Ministry don’t want Snape’s opinion,” Harry whispered in Ron’s ear.
“Professor Snape’s opinion will be very important to the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Potter, but I don’t believe that should present you with any problems,” McGonagall said sharply and gave Harry a look that made him feel very ashamed of himself. “N.E.W.T does not stand for Nastily Exhausting Wizard Tests for no reason, as I explained to you last year. The work will be hard and many of you will find yourself stretched to your limits. However, the teachers are not here simply to push you, if anyone is having any serious problems then I would suggest seeing your Head. With that warning given, I would like to address the subject of this class. This year we will be looking at human transfiguration in more detail and our first order of business is finding out the Animagi potential of this class.” At this pronouncement excited whispering shot through the students. “Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finnigan, would you please hand out the contents of the boxes on your desk.” The two boys did as they were instructed and gave everybody a large piece of parchment and a shiny white quill.
“Who has the potential to be an Animagus?” Professor McGonagall asked. It was no surprise that Hermione’s hand was the only one in the air. “Ms. Granger?”
“Everyone does. It’s just that some people don’t have the determination necessary to carry out the transformation,” Hermione answered knowledgably.
“Correct, ten points to Gryffindor. The initial transformations can be very painful and this tends to put people off and it does of course require significant magical abilities, abilities that everyone in this class has. There is no one in this room who does not have the magical power to succeed at this task. However, I cannot determine whether you have the willpower. To complete the transformation takes a lot of time and effort. Now, I want you all to close your eyes and think of the first animal that comes into your mind. Focus on the image for a second. Now open your eyes again. I want you all to lick the tip of your quill.
“Yuck!” Lavender protested. “That’s very unhygienic.”
“Ms. Brown, these are brand new, there is nothing unhygienic about them.” McGonagall reprimanded her. “Has everyone done that?” She glanced at the members of her class who were all now staring at their quills inquisitively. “Very well then, put your quills on the parchment tip down.” At this the students gave her some very doubtful looks; they were clearly all wondering how the writing implements were supposed to stand on their tips unsupported. There were gasps of surprise as the white feathers poised themselves over the parchment. McGonagall smiled inwardly, she did love it when she managed to amaze a class. “I would like you all to close your eyes and focus on the animal again. You must concentrate extremely hard; take in every detail the length of the beak or snout, the colour of the fur or scales, the height and length, the size of paws or the sharpness of the claws. Think very, very carefully.” She allowed them to think in silence for fifteen minutes before she continued. “Open your eyes. If you were concentrating hard enough then you will now have a picture of the animal you were thinking of in front of you. If you were not then you will find varying degrees of a drawing or even just a feeble scribble.” She smiled to herself again as many members of the class picked up their drawings to show each other.
“What d’you think?” Harry asked Hermione, Ron and Neville as he held up a very detailed drawing of his father’s stag.
“Cool. What about mine?” Ron provided his for inspection. A very proud looking lion was standing in the middle of the page. It had a very big mane of messy hair.
“Looks just like you,” Harry joked.
“Very funny. What’s yours, Hermione?” Ron inquired. She held him up a picture of the adorable little otter that was her Patronus.
“Anyone noticing a pattern here?” She asked them. Sure enough when Neville showed them his parchment there was a griffin sitting in the middle of the page.
“Well spotted, Ms. Granger. Those of you able to conjure Patroni will almost certainly have drawn the form your Patronus takes. This is because the spell takes a form that provides you with hope and strength, and as such, is an animal close to your heart. Now, I would like those of you who don’t have a defined picture to wipe the parchment and try again. I want the rest of you to follow these instructions.” She waved her wand at the board and a series of complex instructions appeared on the board, she then paced between the rows giving help to those who needed it.
By the end of the lesson Harry hand was looking decidedly more hoof-like, Ron’s hair had grown much thicker, Hermione had sprouted brown fur on her neck and Neville had the beginnings of a tail. They were amongst the few that had actually transformed any part of themselves into that of their animal and they could understand why. The pain of transforming was almost excruciating, it had brought tears to Harry’s eyes as he felt his bones changing and the weight of his hand increasing. They all went to Defence Against the Dark Arts with a bit of an ache. However a majority of them cheered up when they saw Ellie’s smiling face at her desk. “Welcome back, Professor Weasley,” Hannah Abbott said happily.
“Thank you, Ms. Abbott, it’s very good to be back,” Ellie replied.
“It was a close call, eh, Professor?” Seamus reminded her.
“It certainly was, Seamus. I hope you don’t mind me asking, Ron, but what on earth happened to your hair?” She was looking at Ron’s hair oddly. His flaming red locks were a good deal thicker than normal, having not returned to their usual state yet.
“We’ve just been in Transfiguration,” Hermione said helpfully.
“I see, let me guess, the first lesson of the seventh year was Animagi related?” Her class nodded. “And what was it you were trying to turn into?” she directed her attention back to Ron.
“A lion.” He reached in to his bag and pulled his drawing out.
“Very nice, it’s given you wonderfully… voluptuous hair. What about the rest of you?” There was rustling as they all pulled their drawings out for her inspection.
“Is that dog?” she asked Dean.
“Yeah, Professor,” he replied proudly, glad that someone had been able to distinguish what his picture was.
“Superb,” she said with a fleeting smile at Harry. “What’s yours?”
“Who’d have guessed?” he grinned. She looked at his beautiful stag, shook her head and glance up toward the ceiling.
“Don’t do this to me, Uncle James, I couldn’t cope. No Marauder behaviour,” she whispered looking back at him.
“Yes, Professor,” he replied dutifully.
“Are you an Animagi?” Hermione asked.
“Perhaps,” Ellie answered elusively.
“What would your form be?” Seamus asked from the seat behind Hermione.
“Now that would be telling,” she said cryptically.
“What form does your Patronus take?” the question came from Draco who was sulking at the back of the classroom.
“Do excuse me if I don’t divulge that piece of information to you. If you had a better memory, you would remember. After all I did use the Patronus Charm during the attack on Hogsmeade.” There was the tell tale coldness in her voice and the struggle to maintain her composure was evident from the look on her face. “That’s enough chatter, let’s get to work!” she said clapping her hands together.
A/N: And so the curse is broken! I hope that you all liked that. The next chapter is…Interesting Behaviours. Until then!