Defence, Pretence, Offence (Hecatemus Book #2)

Chapter 10 - Embarrassing

Harry looked around. He could already feel his face heating up. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by his Animagus form, well, actually it was. His face had to be turning a bright red. Even Draco had smirked when Harry had told him what it was. It was prestigious, but so completely mortifying at the same time. Nervously, trying to judge how much space there was available, he did his best to hide his embarrassment.

"I'm not sure there's enough room," he said, "and the hooves might mark the floor."

"Is your animagus animal the same as your father's, Harry?" Professor McGonagall asked; clearly she had picked up on his reluctance.

"No," he replied, "that's just my Patronus. My animal is more equine."

"A horse?" his head of house enquired.

Hermione had raved about it for days after he had first transformed, but then Hermione saw the world very differently from anyone else he knew. That was one of the reasons she was so brilliant. It was the connotations that got to him.

"Unicorn," Harry all but mumbled.

It was a magical creature, very unusual, but unicorns were so pure and flighty.

"Harry, did you just say unicorn?" Professor McGonagall appeared to believe she had misheard, either that or she was too shocked to believe him.

He nodded and tried not to look at anyone else except his house head.

"Black one," he said very quickly, and prayed that he wasn't blushing as furiously as he thought he was.

[Well we can put an end to all that virgin nonsense at least,] Draco said in his head, which really didn't help all that much.

There was complete silence in the room. Harry was becoming really fed up with gaining that reaction. So far he had managed to do something in every class that had afforded him unwanted attention, and he just wanted one where that didn't happen. McGonagall appeared to realise he was uncomfortable, but she did not look about to back down.

"I'm sorry, Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said with a sympathetic incline of her head, "but I would very much like to see this. Mr Longbottom, Mr Finnegan, please move your desk out of the way."

"I haven't, um since," he wasn't sure he was even capable of the transformation anymore.

It wasn't something he had tried since he had so completely changed. He didn't know if that could have an effect on the result.

"Don't worry, Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said, "the Animagus Transformation comes from within. You have always been as you are, it is simply that it shows on the outside these days as well. Just do as you would normally do."

Harry nodded; he really hoped she was right.

Taking a deep breath, he reached inside and found the spell that had been an integral part of him since he had first cast the Animagus transform. At his call it sparked to life and lanced through every cell, taking his body and morphing it into his animal shape. It didn't exactly hurt, but it was a disconcerting feeling. He lost his hold on the real world for a moment.

When it returned he could feel strong muscles in unfamiliar form and all the people in the room spoke to deep instincts that urged him to run. As Professor McGonagall rose to her feet, her eyes open in shock, Harry couldn't help himself, he snorted and tried to back away. He soon found that he had no space. Unicorn instincts warred with his human ones as he fought panic. Animal instincts were not supposed to be able to overcome human ones, but the unicorn's natural urges were simply so strong.

Suddenly Draco was standing directly in front of him. He hadn't even noticed Draco move. His soulmate placed his hand on Harry's unicorn head, rubbing gently around the single white horn.