The Feather In the Fangs | Draco Malfoy

1. THE EAGLE

August 29, 1996

/ | \

Had Professor McGonagall not snapped her fingers at me my mind would have wandered farther down it's daydreaming path.  I apologized profusely and shook my head to clear my thoughts.  Closing my eyes, I focused on the center of my forehead and sighed heavily. 

Not even summer stopped animagus training, McGonagall insisted that we meet up in Diagon Alley every weekday during my break from Hogwarts.  Lucky for myself I lived just outside of Diagon Alley and had no trouble meeting her.  Though, it didn't stop me from complaining of waking up early to my parents.  Mum would shoo me off and tell me to be thankful for such a caring and determined teacher.

She was right, of course.

Today would be my last day of training for the summer, school was just around the corner and we would continue training there.  I invited her to our family's inn for the day and offered her some homemade dinner for all of her training she had given me.

According to Professor McGonagall, I was extremely close to achieving my full animagus form.  Once she was certain I was ready, I was to undergo the most difficult part of my training that would last for over a month.  Frequently I worried that it would be too much and that I would fail, but if Minerva McGonagall could do it when she was my age, certainly I could.

My skin tingled and the familiar sensation of my heart pounding against my chest fell over me.  This happened every time I began a transformation, it scared me.

"Push past that dreadful thumping, Fay!"

I drowned out all noise and thoughts and once again focused on the center of my forehead.  Suddenly I felt as if I were shrinking and the pride that swelled inside of me grew.  Just as my paws formed on the old, wooden floor of the inn's extra room, the door flew open and disrupted my transformation.  I gasped on the sudden rush of oxygen entering my lungs.  Transfiguring back was always rough, especially when it was unexpected.  I let out a horrid cough and grabbed at my throat, expecting a hair ball of sorts to come back up, luckily there was nothing.

"Mr. Malfoy, what an unexpected surprise!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed as she calmly folded her hands together.

I gathered my thoughts and sucked in a deep breath, standing in attempted to regain myself.  The room was still swaying a bit, but right in the doorway was indeed Draco Malfoy.  His face held that permanent sneer, but stress was obviously etched into his furrowed brow.  Not to mention the disgusted look he and his mother held on their faces and my coughing attack.  I nodded my head to him, only acknowledging his presence.  He let out a 'hmph' in response.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," he responded coolly.  His mother stepped out from behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but we were told we could inspect this room before holding a small party in it," she said sweetly.  The large, extra room in the corner of the inn was my designated practice room, since hardly anyone used it.  In these rare cases, though, fellow wizards and witches would rent it out for parties or gatherings.

"Oh it's no trouble at all," McGonagall responded with a small smile.

"From the looks of it, it should do," the other woman said with a smile of her own, "Come, Draco, we've interrupted enough already."

Draco followed after his mother and slammed the door unnecessarily hard.  Both McGonagall and I jumped at the sound; I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

Draco Malfoy made me nervous and angry.

Professor McGonagall decoded is had enough practice for the day and assured me I was on my way to becoming a well-experienced animagus soon.  The woman really had faith in me whereas I had very little.  The practicing was so hard and physically tiring.  One can only change form so much in a day.

I said my goodbyes to her and promised to keep working at it.  As soon as she was out the door, mum was on my case about catching up on my work around the inn.  I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose once she turned away, school could only come so fast.  There was luggage to be placed outside of rooms and dishes to be cleaned, working at an inn also called for lots of work. 

My younger twin brothers, Rolf and Jacob, were busy reading up on their first-year spells.  Father had insisted that they review what they had learned so they wouldn't return to school in failure.  In truth, it did help.  He had made me do the same thing my first three years and I had gained leverage over some of my peers. 

To my despair, the first group of luggage to be taken upstairs were labeled 'Malfoy.'  I sent them upstairs with the flick of my black wand, not wanting to come close to Draco again.  It was bad enough he would be sleeping under the same roof as I for who-knew-how long.  Rolf and Jacob snickered at one another, talking amongst themselves while trying to keep quiet.

"Shouldn't you two be studying?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Rolf retorted, Jacob stuck his tongue out at me.

Before I could respond, the sound of a door slamming upstairs caught my attention.  I groaned when Draco Malfoy rounded the corner and stood at the top of the stairs.  His glare was set on me and his nostrils flared, obviously angry.

"Where's our luggage?" he asked sharply.

I cleared my throat, "I've sent them upstairs to your rooms."

"Well they're not up there!"

I rolled my eyes and made my way up the stairs, shuffling around the seething Draco.  Quietly I hissed to myself because he was right, they weren't at his door.  He followed me down the hallway and there they were, around the corner and three doors down from his.  I turned and looked up at him, a blush creeping onto my face. 

He scoffed, "Since you obviously can't work with simple magic, I'll take them."

I could only stare after him as he lugged two bags into arms and sent the rest floating after him.  I prayed that he and his mother would not be staying much longer.

\ | /