There was a darkness lurking on the edge of the horizon, a war to end all wars approaching. Lord Voldemort was returning, and there was nothing they could do but be prepared for when he did, no matter how many people were killed in the process.
...
"Alyssa, care to explain to us why we're meeting in a broom closet at -" Jess broke off to stare down at the watch on Millie's wrist. "-Jesus Christ, Alyssa, it's already gone midnight. Can we not do this in the morning? Or at least in a place with less spiders?" Jess whispered, glancing around the cupboard with distaste. The three of them were crouched on the floor, Alyssa's nose buried in a book, all of them in pyjamas and yawning. "Jess, I am just as tired as you, see? Jammies." Alyssa pointed down at her set of pyjamas. "But trust me, this'll be worth it." There was a spark of excitement in Alyssa's eye that made Millie gulp. "I know that whenever you get that look I'm either gonna almost die or almost die. Am I gonna almost die?"
"Most likely." Alyssa shrugged as Jess groaned dramatically and sank back against the wall. "What's this about, anyway?" "Well, D'you remember the other week in Transfiguration McGonagall was going on about Animagi? And how wizards or witches can learn to transform into animals at will?" Alyssa asked, receiving confusing nods in return. "Well, I did some digging because I thought it sounded cool, and I found the instructions."
Jess's eyebrows raised as she glanced at Millie, who looks nervous, and took the book, glancing over the page. "Okay, Alyssa? This looks incredibly dangerous and disgusting and I'd rather not." "Wait, seriously? C'mon! It'd be so cool! We'd be able to do it by the end of this year!" Alyssa begged, pouting sadly. "Do you lot realise how many things could go wrong? We'd have to register, and we're underage so I'm fairly certain it's not legal, and if one of the teachers catches us, Alyssa, we could get expelled!" "Since when have you cared about rules anyway! C'mon, guys! It'd be awesome! And dead useful." Jess and Millie shared sidewards glances before sighing.
"What exactly do we have to do?"
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Turns out, becoming Animagi was an extremely long and difficult process. First, according to the books, you had to hold the leaf of a mandrake in your mouth for an entire month, without removing it to eat or sleep or anything. If you swallowed it or removed it, you had to start all over again. So yes, it had been a very disgusting process, as those Mandrake leaves had tasted horrible, but it would be worth it in the long run. Unless, of course, Professor Sprout noticed that three of the Mandrake leaves were missing an did an investigation, but that was unlikely. Alyssa had cast a spell that had meant that the leaf would stick to their tongue, so that they couldn't accidentally swallow it whenever they ate. Of course, the taste was disgusting, but hey, it seemed to work.
After a month, on the next visible full moon, they had to place their spit-soaked leaf in a phial and put it in a place within the moons pure rays, which meant it had to be a clear night. Thankfully, they got that within the same month. After that, the next ingredient they needed was dew that hadn't been exposed to sunlight or human feet for a full seven days, which they thankfully thought to seek after before the whole Mandrake leaf sucking step. So they didn't have to worry about that one, only add it to their potion.
Balancing classes on top of this had been extremely difficult. Defence Against The Dark Arts, however, had become by far their favourite. Only Malfoy and his gang of Slytherin cronies had anything negative to say about Lupin. They complained at his robes and Malfoy made a point to say how his old house elf, Dobby, used to dress better than the shabby Professor did. But no one else cared about the state of Lupin's robes.
