Memories - Dramione story

Chapter 20

Hermione's POV

A month had passed since we had started the procedure to become animagi, and today would be the full moon. 

McGonagall had agreed to help us and it made me feel much better about all this. Fortunately for us, the ministry had a lot of resources to help workers become animagi for missions, and  Shacklebot had given us ingredients for the potion and special locations so that we can transform. There was one location where there were almost always storms. Storms are one of the conditions to become animagi. Moreover, the ingredients for the potion were usually very hard to get, so we were very lucky that the minister of magic himself had given them to us. 

When evening came, I and Draco went to McGonagall's office. We would need to get to Venezuela to be able to transform. More precisely to a lake, Lake Maracaibo, because this was one of the places on Earth where there were most storms and lightning. The ministry new a particular spot at this lake that was perfect for making the potion that would allow one to become an animagus. Storms came and went very often, always at the same moments every day. It was one of the most secret places that the ministry knew about. That way, we could wait for a cloudless moment, use the moonlight to brew the potion, and transform as soon as the storm comes back.

The idea of going to such a place to try becoming animagi wasn't reassuring. Draco, who stood at my left, seemed paler than usual (if that could even be possible) even though he seemed to hide his fear very well. We both had managed to keep the mandrake leaf in our mouths for a month but still had to keep it until we would be in Venezuela. We had decided that the best thing to do would be to make the potion when we would be there. 

I was very curious about what animal I would transform into. I was even more curious about what animal Draco would transform into, even though I already had an idea of what it would be. 

Once we were in McGonagall's office, she gave us some instructions and we went straight to the location we had to get to by using the fireplace to get out of school before apparating to Lake Maracaibo. 

...

Draco's POV

We stood on a small island, surrounded by water, thunder roaring. The sky was completely covered with clouds. McGonagall drew out her wand and cast a spell. The air seemed to wobble in front of us before small houses appeared around us. They were simple brick houses but looked very unwelcoming. I highly doubted that anyone lived in them. 

The headmistress opened the door of one of the houses without bothering to knock and cast a wand-lighting charm. As we entered, I saw that the house was completely empty, except for several shelves of empty phials standing here and there. The house had been enlarged with magic inside. There was only one huge room. The logo of the Ministry of Magic was on one of the walls of the room. All the windows were shut with thick curtains that let no light get inside. The house was very calm and it was impossible to hear the thunder from here. It had all the perfect conditions to store our potion as we would wait for the next storm.

Hermione had already put the backpack she had brought with her on the floor. I did the same and we went outside to make the mixture that would allow us to become animagi. We waited several minutes for the storm to go away and the sky to clear up, letting us see the moonlight.

I was very relieved when I finally spit the mandrake leaf I had had in my mouth for the entire past month in a phial that I had brought with me. I held it up, exposing it to the moonlight, and added the other ingredients I had with me in it. McGonagall looked at me and Hermione as we prepared our mixtures, making sure we would make no mistakes.

Hermione finished preparing her mixture at about the same time as I did. We immediately put it in the house, where all the lights were off. We cast a silencing charm to make sure that no sound would disturb the mixtures. I put my phial in the left corner of the house, whilst Hermione put hers in the opposite corner so that we wouldn't mix up the phials and drink from the wrong one. We closed the door and waited outside for the storm to come back. After an hour of waiting, we saw a huge bunch of clouds heading in our direction, flashes of light lighting them from the inside, thunder resonating in the night. 

Several minutes passed as the storm covered the full moon above our heads. When the sky was completely covered and lightning started striking more and more, we went into the house to get our mixtures. McGonagall closed the door behind us.

Stress started rising in me. This was the moment. The moment when everything could go wrong. As soon as we were inside, I looked in Hermione's direction without really being able to see her in the dark. I took my phial.

«At three», I heard her whisper before she started counting backward.

I drew out my wand and placed its tip over my heart. We recited the incantation and I drank from my phial. The mixture tasted very weird, but I was too nervous to pay much attention. I felt pain fill my entire body as if I was burning and ripping apart. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. 

The pain crushed all my thoughts and memories. I closed my eyes and felt as if nightmare-like darkness swallowed me, making the pain even stronger. It felt as if it was the only thing I had ever known and would ever know. Still, the picture of a girl with brown eyes, soft features, and curly hair made its way in my mind, and even though the pain didn't let me remember who it was, I still knew that I loved her. 

Suddenly, the pain stopped and all my memories and thoughts flooded back into my head. As I opened my eyes, I realized I could see better in the dark. Also, my eyes were at a lower level. I could feel plenty of different smells that I hadn't smelled when I first came into the house. Dirt, dust, moisture, wood, rain, and... Hermione's smell! I turned around and saw an animal of the size of a cat that was staring at me, but it was still too dark for me to be able to distinguish it properly. Hermione...

Luckily for me, I could think properly even in my animagus form. It meant that I had done all the steps properly. I felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulders. I was finally done with the long and painful process of becoming an animagus. 

I watched as Hermione transformed back in her human form and decided to transform too. I was incredibly relieved that everything seemed to be alright with her.

«Are you alright?», I asked her when I was back in my human form, just to make sure.

«Yes, what about you?», she asked in a calm tone.

«Seems like it», I answered, sighing in relief. 

We stood up and went outside. McGonagall was waiting for us with a smile. We came back to Hogwarts to get away from the storm. 

«So, show me!», the headmistress asked us when we got to her office, excitement and curiosity clear on her face. 

I glanced at Hermione, a little bit worried. She glanced back. We both didn't know what our animagus forms were yet. I was the first to transform. I noticed that I couldn't see all the colors I usually saw as a human when I was in my animal form, though there were many more variations of grey. I also noticed that there was no more pain when I transformed.

«Yes, I knew it!», I heard Hermione say, her voice crystal clear and way louder than usual, even though it didn't bother me much that it was so loud.

I transformed back.

«So?», I asked, looking back and forth between Hermione and McGonagall. 

«A grey wolf, but you have a little spot of brown on your snout», Hermione answered with a wide smile. 

«Your turn then», I said, excited to see her transform. 

A second later, a raccoon sat in front of me. 

«This explains why you stole my pen in such a nasty way», I said, laughing. 

 She transformed back and looked at me with a confused expression.

«You're a brown raccoon. You also have a spot on your snout, but it's grey», I explained, confused by the coincidence.

A smirk appeared on her face and she looked at me with these intelligent eyes that made me feel like she was up to something. She rarely did this, but when she did, her raccoon side was clearly showing up...

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Author's note: Hi people! I'm back and I finally made a longer chapter... If you're curious to know why I chose these animals for Draco and Hermione, tell me in the comments and I will explain in an additional chapter.