𝐢. 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 ; harry j. potter ( UNEDITED )

022. "the more time flows the more it deepens"

"Lovely suggestion. Let's just hope that the merpeople don't get irritated by him doing that and stuck a pitchfork up his nose," smiled Lucia.

"Maybe you need a pitchfork shove up your arse..." mumbled Ron.

"What?" Lucia quirked a brow at him.

"What?" Ron acted dubiously.

Lucia narrowed her eyes at him, in which Ron merely responded by flipping to another page with the book he was reading.

"There's a way of doing it!" Hermione said crossly. "There just has to be!"

She seemed to be taking the library's lack of useful information on the subject as a personal insult; it had never failed her before.

"I know what I should have done," said Harry, resting, facedown, on Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts. "I should've learned to be an Animagus like Si —" but before Lucia could hear what he was going to say, Ron and Hermione had kicked his shins below the table, causing him to yelp and catch himself on the act. He quickly saved himself, "like Professor McGonagall," he said with a nervous laugh.

Lucia simply stared at the three, who looked back at her with an airy smile. She was too tired to even question them, as she rubbed her temples. "Being an Animagus could indeed be helpful for this type of stuff..."

"Yeah, you could've turned into a goldfish any time you wanted!" said Ron.

"Or a frog," yawned Harry. He was exhausted.

"It's a bit unfortunate you couldn't have even if you try," said Lucia serenely, leaning back. She covered her face from being exposed to the blinding candlelight. "Professor McGonagall said that it's terribly difficult to become one... You're clever, Harry, but you're not that clever. Not even a rather powerful wizard could become an Animagus in a span of a month only. Even then, you mostly need either dedication or luck — and that's rare..."

Harry hid his face under his book, smirking slightly. He like the fact that she had practically complimented Sirius without even knowing it, since Sirius was one of the only ones aside from Professor McGonagall, he knew to have successfully become an Animagus. He and his dad of course, and even — even the rat...

"Lucia's right. It takes years to become an Animagus, and then you must register yourself and everything," said Hermione vaguely, now squinting down the index of Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions. "Professor McGonagall told us, remember... you've got to register yourself with the Improper Use of Magic Office... what animal you become, and your markings, so you can't abuse it..."

Lucia's eyes widened. Hermione was droning on and on about the necessities of becoming an Animagus, but she believed that even Hermione herself hadn't noticed that she was dragging on. She must've been that tired...

"Luce, Hermione, I was joking," said Harry wearily. "I know I haven't got a chance of turning into a frog by tomorrow morning..."

"Oh, this is no use," Hermione said, snapping shut Weird Wizarding Dilemmas. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?"

"I wouldn't mind," said Fred Weasley's voice. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lucia looked up. Fred and George had just emerged from behind some bookshelves.

"Reckon Erin would love that," George mused, causing Fred to roll his eyes.

"Erin?" Hermione looked at them, puzzled.

"No one," said Fred immediately.

"Eridani," said George, smirking.

"That's the girl we saw you with during the last Hogsmeade trip!" Ron gasped.