Harry Potter And The Descent Into Darkness

Chapter 10

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed the following afternoon as Harry tried to slip from the common room unnoticed. Clearly, he had failed.

He turned around to face her and gave her an innocent smile. "Yeah, Hermione?"

"Where do you think you're going!"

"Er... for a walk?"

"And what happened to your promise to explain what you did in the task?" she asked in a hushed voice as she came up to his side. "Did you, or did you not, transfigure yourself? And what was it that Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to you about, yesterday after the task?"

Harry scowled slightly and gave her a brief glare before masking his expression to one of hesitant worry. He knew he couldn't dodge this forever. Although, admittedly, he had hoped for more than a day to pass before he was interrogated again.

"Alright," he mumbled. "But if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it with both you and Ron, in one go. I don't want to have to explain it again.

Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Alright, I go get him."

He rolled his eyes at her back and sighed. "Let's do this up in me and Ron's room. The other guys are all down here, so we'll have some privacy up there."

She nodded over her shoulder and quickly hurried across the common room to the table where Ron was engaged in a game of chess with one of the second years who had been gullible enough to agree to play him.

Ron looked annoyed at being interrupted, but Hermione was clearly being rather insistent. Harry stood there and tried to go over in his mind exactly how he was going to approach this situation. It wasn't like he actually cared if they were offended that he had kept secrets from them, but he wanted to avoid some sort of conflict if he could manage it.

Finally Hermione came back with Ron in tow. Harry sighed, but mostly in exasperation and annoyance at having to deal with this.

The three made their way up the stairs to the boy's dormitory and positioned themselves around Harry's bed and desk. Harry took out his wand and pointed it at the door. A few simple flicks and swishes later and the door was locked, and a privacy ward had been put up.

Hermione and Ron were both looking at him with wide, curious and slightly confused eyes.

He ducked his head in mock bashfulness and rubbed the back of his neck as he took a seat on his bed.

"I er... don't want this getting out. Theoretically, I could get into real trouble for it," Harry said, looking up at them and giving them a weak grin.

"Get into trouble for what!" Hermione asked as her eyes suddenly grew extremely wide with worry.

"Well... okay, so you know how you asked me two questions? You asked if I really did transfigure myself, and what the headmaster had wanted to talk to me about after the task?"

"Yes," Hermione said nodding her head. Ron just looked a bit lost, and watched the two of them curiously.

"Well, they're sort of linked. The headmaster wanted to know what it was I did too. I told him, and he's okay with it, so I'm not in trouble with him. I just can't risk it getting out to anyone at the ministry."

"What did you do, Harry!" Hermione asked in an exasperated tone.

"I er... became an animagus," he said with a sheepish grin and a shrug.

Ron looked stunned, but Hermione looked down-right flabbergasted.

"You what! How? When! Becoming an animagus takes years! How –"