More Important Than Any Broomstick [Harmione]

25. Animals

"Really?!" said Harry, smiling.

"It's ready?" asked Hermione happily.

"Yes," said Sirius, smiling broadly. "I brought it with me knowing how eager you both are to be like me." He then pointed at a table in the corner with two glasses on it. "I had it protected so that if a stray spell hit it, it wouldn't get damaged."

At that moment, two recliners appeared next to the small table. Remus said, "Once you drink it, you'll pass out for a few minutes. I figured you'd rather be sitting in a recliner when that happens than standing up."

"Good idea," said Harry eagerly as he started walking toward the table, holding Hermione's hand.

They grabbed their cups and sat in the chairs, reclining back. "Do you want to go first?" asked Harry.

"Let's drink them together," said Hermione.

Harry drank the vile potion as fast as he could, noting that he definitely needed to use mouthwash, brush his teeth, and then use mouthwash again once this was over. As he felt himself get light-headed, he glanced at Hermione, who was actually glancing back at him.

For a few moments, Harry found himself in complete darkness, which slowly faded away as though the sun were rising rapidly. He found himself standing on the sand in what appeared to be an endless desert. He looked ahead and saw a small puddle of water a few meters in front of him. It was the only thing he could see besides dry sand. He walked up to it and looked down.

Instead of seeing his reflection, he saw a bird in mid-flight. It was a large bird with broad wings (about a 78-inch wingspan) and a broad tail. It had a short, hooked beak. Its plumage was mostly dark brown, and its eyes were green and appeared to have some sort of thin circles around them that looked very much like Harry's glasses. He recognized the bird from a muggle biology class as a golden eagle. He smiled to himself, thinking about the advantages of being able to fly. He was just wondering how soon he'd take his first flight when everything started getting dark again.

He opened his eyes and saw he was back on the recliner with two marauders standing over him. He could see them looking at him expectantly. He smiled broadly and said, "I'm, I'm a golden eagle."

"I always knew you were a bird-brain," teased Sirius.

"I'll bet the ability to fly without a broom will come in handy!" said Lupin, smiling broadly.

At that moment they heard Hermione's voice call out, "I'm sure it will!" They all turned toward her and looked expectantly. She smiled and said, "I'm an eagle owl."

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After the young couple had rested a few minutes and been instructed not to attempt a transformation for twenty-four hours, they left and took a short walk around the school. "I'm glad you're over your fear of heights, Mine," said Harry. "It would be funny to see an owl walking on the ground afraid to flap her wings."

She soft-punched him in the shoulder and said, "That's not funny, Hero!"

"Yes it is," said Harry, earning another not-so-soft punch. "Ow. That hurt."

"Good," said Hermione. "The hero got beat up by his girlfriend."

Harry suddenly got a wicked grin on his face. "I'd say that qualifies as a fight," he said slyly. "Which means that it's time to..."

"...make up!" said Hermione eagerly, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward a broom closet.

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