HEATHER BLACK AGREED TO DO THE THING THAT NOBODY ELSE COULD TO DO.
Use her animagus form, and protect Harry Potter for fifteen years.
As an owl.
As Hedwig.
***
Travis McKinnon wanted nothing more than to do something useful.
So he used his animagus...
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World belongs to J.K. Rowling.
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WHEN TRAVIS TUMBLED OUT OF THE FIREPLACE, he was expecting some yelling, maybe some complications with what to tell everyone, and maybe other problems with trying to figure out what to do next and why, exactly, he'd come to 12 Grimmauld Place.
Well, it was obviously to find Heather—but then what? He wasn't really sure; most of the original Order members knew him, but he didn't know how well they'd take to his explanations.
They'd all thought he was dead, after all.
But instead, as he coughed and brushed dust off of his clothes, he blinked to clear his vision and found a rather startled Heather, a book laying half-open on her lap, her eyes wide.
It seemed the moment it registered in her mind that it was Travis who had arrived, though, that she immediately leapt to her feet, her book falling to the ground, forgotten.
(Or, as Travis liked to say, 'frogotten')
"Trav, what are you doing here?" She whisper-shouted, though her tone was not one of anger, but rather of joy, "Did Augusta let you leave? Won't Neville notice?"
"I doubt it," Travis said, shaking his head as he shook the ash from the fireplace out of his hair, "Besides, Mrs. Longbottom will cover for me."
"I have to return to being Hedwig soon, though," Heather said, her voice lowering considerably, "before Harry gets too suspicious."
"I get it," Travis responded, "I just want to go and maybe say hello to Sirius...it's not like I have many other people to greet..."
He trailed off, and Heather didn't ask for further explanation, because she knew what he meant.
His parents and sister had been murdered in the First Wizarding War, and though Heather's parents were not here for her either, she still had Sirius, and Andromeda.
"Hey," She said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay. I'm here for you."
"I—,"
But then the door opened, and Harry Potter entered the room, Ron and Hermione following closely behind.
"Travis?" Hermione said, her eyebrows furrowing, "How'd you get in here?" But it seemed that it was after she'd asked her question that she noticed the ash that still remained on Travis' clothes, her eyes trailing to the fireplace, "Oh."
"I thought there were enchantments preventing people from entering?" Harry said.
"Well, if those enchantments prevented Order members from entering as well as intruders, then that kind of defeats their purpose, right?" Travis replied, giving Harry a wink.
"Oh."
"I knew you were smart, Potter," Travis said with an amused grin, and Harry's cheeks turned slightly pinkish.
