The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Eight

Professor McGonagall eyed the two boys as she thought. It was an interesting idea. The quick witted witch had already figured out their plan, how they sought to use the form of an animagus to aid Remus while he was trapped in his werewolf form. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to tell them the truth. She would just have to make sure they understood the importance of its secrecy. A glint in her eyes, she said "Becoming an animagus takes mastery of self-transfiguration; being able to shift one's own body at will without incident. Through meditation and self-transfiguration practice, a wizard will discover his animagus form. He may shift his hand into a paw, or a claw, or even a wing. Skin can be shifted to fur, shell, scales, or feathers. During training it proves useful to keep a mandrake leaf at hand. After intense training to shift into their animagus form, a wizard is able to take on their animgus form at will with ease." She levelled the boys with a stare, before smiling and saying "But of course, this is purely hypothetical." Smiling at their stunned faces, she ushered the pair out the door and said "Good day you two. Try not to cause too much damage today." Her work done, she closed the door, leaving a pair of shocked students standing in the corridor.

Sirius was utterly speechless. McGonagall not only helped them, but she gave them everything they needed to know! She didn't ask any questions, she just told them what it would take to help Remus. He turned to James, finding a smile most likely identical to his own spreading across his friend's face. The shock wearing off, the two boys couldn't help but burst into laughter. As they laughed the pair started heading back to Gryffindor tower. Smirking Sirius said "So, shall we begin by getting some mandrake leaves? You still have your cloak with you, right?" That cloak really came in handy. Any time they wanted to sneak off for a prank, all they had to do was slip on the cloak and they were off! James rolled his eyes and said "Of course! Just have to get to my trunk and we are ready to go! Where do you think the leaves will be? In Slughorn's potions supplies? Or maybe in the greenhouses?" Sirius thought about it, saying "How about we start with the greenhouses? If they aren't there we can just drop by the potions supplies, and then we can get to work on this plan!" The two boys nodded to each other, silently agreeing that this should be kept secret. Remus was a bit of a worrywart, so they figured it would be best to keep this from him until they could actually change into an animal. Now the real work began.

Lily was gathering up her class supplies in the common room, waiting for her friends to finish getting ready for the day. Lydia and Alice spent hours each morning getting ready; constantly changing their hair style until they deemed it perfect, adjusting their uniforms to look just so. Lily shook her head at the thought. She couldn't understand why they had to waste so much time on such trivial matters. They could be spending the time preparing for class! But perhaps she was more excited to learn as she was a muggle born. Growing up surrounded by muggles does not prepare anyone for the wonder of the magical world. As she finished packing up her remaining textbooks, James and Sirius burst into the common room. She watched on curiously as James raced upstairs, shouting something about Sirius being brilliant. Once they were alone, Lily turned to Sirius and said "I take it that you managed to find the answers you were looking for?" Sirius grinned sheepishly and said "Yeah, thanks to your suggestion. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you what the plan is or why it was necessary." Lily still didn't understand what this was all about, but it was clear just how important it was to Sirius. So she nodded and said "I understand. It's clearly important to you, so I won't ask you to tell me. I hope your plan succeeds." There were muffled crashes coming from the boy's dorm. Lily laughed and said "Good Luck! See you in class!" Sirius smiled and nodded his thanks as Lily left the common room.