Because I Deserve It - Drarry

Chapter 18

Draco waited a whole week after that night to go out again. He didn't want Harry to figure out what he was up to, and only cautious deflection had allowed him to keep it a secret. Draco was careful to choose a night where it seemed like Harry was sleeping peacefully.

He lay in bed, listening intently for his dorm mates' breathing. Hearing nothing out of the ordinary, he got up quietly and slipped out of the room, making sure to leave his curtains closed. He cautiously made his way through the common room and out into the dungeons. Once out, he hurried through the drafty corridors, up the stairs, and quickly slipped out of the doors of the castle. Strictly speaking, he was within his rights to wander about, even this late, but it would not be good for him and his secret endeavors if anyone found him. They would be quick to accuse him of hatching a plot to let the remaining Death Eaters into the school. Again.

At least he could honestly say that was not his intention this time.

Draco hurried towards the Forbidden Forest, which was still, as its name suggested, off limits to all students. But as long as no one saw him, it was fine.

He slipped between the trees and journeyed far enough into the forest that no one could immediately spot him from the edge. He stopped when he reached his favorite clearing.

Draco scanned the trees, and stepped forward when he found the one with the convoluted knot in the bark. He approached it, and groped around inside the tree for the book he knew rested inside. His fingers brushed leather, then he hauled the heavy tome out and nearly dropped it on his foot. Cursing, he lay it gently on the ground and flipped the pages until he found the right one.

Step 3: Partial Transformation, it read. Draco took a deep breath. He had completed the past two steps with ease. Step 1 had asked him to complete a series of complicated transfigurations to prepare his magic for his own transformation. Step 2 had simply involved visualizing his form, and the animagus potion had made that very easy. Now, he was going to attempt Step 3.

Visualize your animagus form, the instructions read. Allow it to fill your mind until you think of nothing else.

Draco sat on the ground. His father would have shuddered in disgust at the twigs and the dirt that lay on the forest floor, but Draco no longer cared about such trivial matters. He closed his eyes, employing his occlumency training to clear his mind with incredible speed. It was paramount that he only think of his form in this step, otherwise he may turn into an element of one of his wayward thoughts.

Once his mind was blissfully blank, he recalled his dragon form. Though small and short-lived, Draco had loved being a dragon. He felt so free and so powerful, like nothing was out of his reach. He smiled as the elegant creature filled his mind. But this was only the easy part. This is what he had done in Step 2. Now, it was time to go further. He opened his eyes to read the next bit.

Focus on one particular feature of your form. For your first attempt, you must pick something that the animal has in common with humans. Do not attempt to grow limbs such as wings, tails, extra arms/legs/heads, etc. You must only pick something to change. Smaller, less obtrusive changes will be easier than larger, grander ones.

Draco sighed. He kind of wanted to try growing wings. But he wasn't some reckless Gryffindor with a blatant disregard for instructions. Maybe he would try talons. He closed his eyes again and allowed his mind to zoom in on the talons. They were black, wicked, and menacingly sharp. He grinned in excitement, and his eyes fell on the book once more.

Envision the change. Imagine the human limb morphing to form its creature counterpart.

He did. He visualized the finger curving, becoming sharper and black. The skin smoothed over and turned shiny and hard. He felt a strange prickling in his right index finger and a wave of excitement washed over him. He opened his eyes to find that his finger had indeed become a talon.