Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

"To Change Your Life"	By : AnasumiHideki Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 7884 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I make no money from writing this here story.

Chapter List
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- 13
- 14
Note: I looked up so much shit about the transformation into an animagus, and it seemed people were just posting their own interpretations on the matter, so since I read it's all about mind and will power, this is will contain my own transformation technique. Taught by none other than Remus. :D

It had been three weeks since the night in the Horcrux cave. As promised by James, both her and Severus were able to go to work on finding their Animagus forms. As excited as she was for her daily lessons since she'd left the hospital wing, at the moment, she was quite down.

She stood in the dormitory, staring at the Quidditch calendar on the wall, marking off the days that she had neglected to for quite a while. As she placed Xs over each day, her hand scanned across September nineteenth. Hermione's birthday in her time. She stared at the number of the day for a good long moment before she reached up to check it off, along with the twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, and so on. It was finally October first. For another moment, she became a little depressed as she thought about what her parents would do for her birthday every year. She was never demanding of them, and required very little to make herself happy. However, her parents had always treated her to a nice dinner, and most of the time, a movie at a muggle theater in London.

Hermione remembered it wasn't actually her birthday. In her time, it was only the beginning of September. Though there was only a month's difference, she didn't feel it right to celebrate in any way. She didn't even consider herself eighteen years old yet. It was just another day.

She checked her watch, noting it was about time to meet Remus in the Room of Requirement for Severus and her lessons. Hermione showered, dressed, and made her way to the seventh floor with Severus at her side.

"Something is bothering you." he commented cheekily as they walked along the corridor. She turned to look at him in surprise. "How do you know?" she demanded, nudging at him with her shoulder.

"I read your thoughts." he told her, taking a sideways glance at her, preparing himself to get a slap, but it never came. "Because you seem saddened. That's why I did." he added.

Hermione shrugged. "I just... miss my parents, I suppose. I had to obliviate every recollection they ever had of me before the last year of the war. I haven't seen them for a very long time." she explained, feeling her heart sink lower with every word.

Severus felt his heart drop as well, hearing her explanation. This girl had lost so much, it was astounding to him that she had managed to remain as sane as she was. If it was possible, it made him admire her all the more. "I am sorry" he offered as he placed his arm around her shoulders. "That must be quite difficult..."

They remained quiet as they walked along, finally reaching the seventh floor where they stood at the stone wall that would soon hold the entrance to the Room. Hermione closed her eyes, giving it time to read her thoughts, and soon they were entering the room where Remus already stood waiting for them.

"Hello, Hermione. Hello, Severus." Remus nodded to them in greeting. "Keep in mind now, that I, myself, am not an Animagus, but... Being that I watched James, Sirius and Peter fumble about trying to learn their forms, I believe I'm good enough to know how to teach the process of becoming one." he explained, having not been able to aid James and Sirius, as the last full moon had been quite rough for him.

Severus and Hermione nodded their understanding, urging Remus to go on.

"First thing's first... Hermione, I'd like you to describe yourself to me. How do you view your personality?" Remus asked, taking a seat in a large comfortable looking armchair that had just appeared behind him.

"Er, well..." Hermione began, gaining a thoughtful expression as she mulled it over in her head. "I'd say I'm a nice person, though very quick to let someone know if they rub me the wrong way. I'm intelligent, quick, and eager, erm... I'm tactful, thoughtful... Not easily amused. When it comes to what I like, as in material things, I'm rather plain and easily pleased,-"

Severus moved away from her and took another seat, and Hermione blushed with embarrassment. Her answers were always so long. "I'm sorry." she giggled as Remus shook his head.

"No, no... It's quite alright. The more information, the better." he gave her a reassuring smile.

She stared at the two wizards who were leaning forward in their chairs with their elbows propped up on their knees, giving her their full attention. Both of them were gone in the future. It just kept playing out in her mind. Remus' death. Severus' death. She shook her head, snapping herself out of her momentary reverie and shortly continued. "I would also do anything for the people I love the most." she added quietly.

Remus sat for a moment with a thoughtful look on his tired face. "Your animal may be something completely unexpected. The point of this exercise is to assess what you could possibly become. That way, when you think of a scenario, you'll put your animal into it, instead of your human self. This allows the brain to make the connection with how your animal will maneuver through it. Let's ask another question..." he trailed off, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. "Say if you were to... Okay, say if you were to encounter the beginnings of a row. How would you handle it? Would you walk away, or would you strike out at your opponent? Severus, you can answer this question as well."

Hermione suddenly burst into laughter, keenly recalling the time in her third year when she boldy punched Draco Malfoy right in the face. More recently, when she defended Severus against James outside of the entrance to Slytherin House. "I'd say I'm not one to walk away. I definitely don't mind a little pain. When it's worth it." she doubled over giggling. No, she definitely wasn't the type to walk away. Especially if she hadn't started the scuffle.

Severus watched her in amusement before he gave his reply. His answer was short, and to the point. "I'm subtle, sneaky, closed off, and I don't enjoy sunlight. I will handle things as I see fit at the time of the occurance."

Remus quickly moved up from the armchair, smiling as he shook his head. "Count on you, Severus, to be short, sweet and to the point. Hermione, -"

He stepped over to her and willed her to get on her knees as he knelt in front of her. He had her sit herself in a very zen-like position.

"Close your eyes." he commanded, and Hermione instantly followed his instruction. She listened as Remus spoke, hanging on his every word. She knew he had been a good teacher, and didn't doubt his abilities now, even as a seventeen year old, non-Animagus. "Say, for now, that your inner animal is a cat. You strike me as very cat-like, with the way you describe yourself. What I want you to do, is put yourself, as a cat, into this scenario:

You're stalking slowly through a field of tall grass. The blades brush softly against your fur, while the trees whisper in the wind; leaves are falling all around you. You're a curious creature, inspecting everything with keen observation while your tail whips back and forth through the brush.

Imagine the colors of your hair; the narrow black pupils of your eyes, as the sunlight pours into them, drawing them smaller. You can feel a stillness. A sense of freedom, knowing you can go anywhere you like as this small creature,-"

Hermione was taken away; Remus' words drifting further away, but she could still hear him, as if he was shouting at her from the other side of very long tunnel.

"Dig your claws into the dirt of the earth beneath you; kneading gently at first, and then a bit more forceful,-"

Her hands, resting upon her knees began to move in time to his words; her fingernails raking slowly back and forth over her own skin, but she was feeling the dirt against her paws. She imagined herself as a beautiful white cat with honey colored eyes. The feeling suddenly welling up inside of her was comparable to sliding down a rollercoaster, full speed.

Startled by the intensity of the feeling, she gasped, snapping her eyes open, and out of the trance.

"Holy shit." Remus' own eyes went wide as he looked at her. Severus abruptly moved from his chair and came closer to inspect her.

There she sat, still in her human-form, but her eyes were slightly brighter with slits for pupils.

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the two wizards staring at her in amazement. Remus brought his hand to his mouth; a look of disbelief. Hermione ran her tongue over her teeth, and she startled, feeling that they were now, all fine points.

Panicking slightly, she rose from the floor and ran to the mirror that suddenly appeared on the wall. "Oh my... What do I do!?" she exclaimed, turning back to face them. Remus chuckled while Severus tried his best to stifle his amusement.

"Hermione, it's okay! It's fine. This is just progress. Quick progress, if I might say. Quite astounding, actually. It took James, Sirius and Peter a few months to get even that far. This means your animal is, indeed, a cat if you've gone this far. This is a good thing. What you need to do right now," Remus went to her, grabbing her gently by the arm, directing her toward the seat he had vacated. "is sit down, and close your eyes again. Imagine every detail about yourself. Your hair color, your eye color, your own teeth, everything. You will be back to yourself in no time. Severus,-"

Remus turned away from Hermione and went to Severus, asking him to sit the same way Hermione had been. "Now, you, Severus... I happen to think that your animal, is a Bat."

Severus cocked a brow "How original, Lupin." he sneered, making Remus laugh. "I'm not saying it to be a jerk. Please don't mistake my intentions here, Severus. I say this, because Bats are subtle creatures. They hide in the dark, and they, also, are sensitive to sunlight. Not saying you're sensitive to it, but it goes by preferences. Now, I want you to do the same as Hermione did. Close your eyes, and listen closely."

Severus closed his eyes and prepared to listen to Lupin's drabble. Remus knelt in front of him, and began to speak.

"Imagine, that you are in the dark. A dark, damp cave to be more precise. There is little light flooding in from the entrance, but being that you are nocturnal, you easily see through the blackness surrounding you.

Night has fallen, and you have just awoken. Imagine your small, leathery wings fluttering around your minute body; feel them brushing past the fine layer of fur covering you from head to feet as you depart the cave.

The moon is bright, and the stars twinkle above you,-"

Despite Severus feeling a bit ridiculous about the whole thing at first, he found that he was soon able to concentrate. Lupin's teaching method was much different than what Potter and Black's had been. Just as it had for Hermione, Lupin's voice trailed farther and farther away from him, sounding as though he was on the other side of a tunnel. The way Remus was describing feeling like an animal in such detail was a great contributing factor to the successes ahead.

"- feel the jagged webs of your wings catch on the cold night air as you fly toward the moon. Imagine it in slow motion; every muscle that moves to control your flight,..."

Severus could see it, plain as day. The soft blue hue of the bright moon, casting it's radiance upon the world, and his tiny, temporary vessel. Every fine hair on his animal's body. He imagined it's pointed ears, and the sharpness of it's black, glinting eyes. Much like Hermione had felt, the feeling of falling overtook Severus, but he held on through the almost unbearable feeling. He could feel wings flittering around him as the night air caught on them, and suddenly, he felt like he was melting.

Severus didn't open his eyes, but remained concentrated, and level headed. As much as the overwhelming feeling threatened to break his focus, he kept his eyes closed, wanting to see where the feeling would take him.

" - and there's a tree at the edge of the world. A tree you visit alone, and often. Imagine you're hanging on a branch; a silhouette against the brilliant light of the m - Merlin..." Remus breathed in sharply, catching Hermione's attention.

She snapped her gaze toward Remus, but saw only Remus. Severus seemed to have disappeared.

"Where did -" she began as she startled, standing from the chair to rush over. She startled once more, finally catching sight of a little black bat flying right at her. Hermione shrieked and ducked, covering her head, unsure if it was Severus or not.

Remus watched in amazement as Severus regained his normal form on the other side of the room. "This is just astounding work, you two! almost can't believe I've just seen what I did. You both must have incredibly powerful magic. I have never witnessed such a quick transformation."

Hermione crossed her arms, looking quite grim. "Well what did I do wrong?"

"The sinking feeling," Severus came from behind her "you felt that, yes?" Hermione nodded.

"You have to let yourself push through that sinking feeling. Maintain your concentration. It is rather overwhelming. I can see why it takes such a long time to master this."

The witch looked slightly put out, but Remus came to her aid. "Don't feel bad, Hermione. Just know that this is something you can also practice on your own time as well. Some times, it works better that way. Once you get the hang of transforming one time, you will be able to at will, and much quicker as well. Well done, Severus. Thanks for this. I get to rub it in Sirius and James faces that I was the one that aided you in turning." the tired Werewolf beamed happily.

"Thank you so much, Remus. You always were a great teacher." she told him as she pulled him into a brief hug.

-----

Severus and Hermione were back in the common room when they received a note from Dumbledore requesting their presence. Wasting no time, they all but ran to the Headmaster's office. Upon entering, Hermione paused as she took in the sight before her, and her eyes swam with tears.

Arthur and Molly Weasley were sitting in front of Albus. They had come, as per her strange request of meeting them.

"Miss Granger. How lovely of you to join us." Albus greeted her warmly, gesturing to two chairs that had appeared out of nowhere. "Arthur, Molly, this is Hermione Granger." the red-haired couple greeted her kindly, and got right down to business.

"Albus has showed us your memories, Hermione. We can't thank you enough for being so brave as to travel this far back in time to aid us. Molly and I have come up with a plan to enter the LeStrange vault, as you have requested." Arthur began, as Hermione took in their appearances. They were much younger, and Molly seemed to be two months along with who could only be Fred and George. Mr. Weasley pressed on. "I think that it would be wise to do this as soon as possible. Regrettably, a few unforgivable curses will have to be used."

Hermione nodded "The Imperius curse. It's the only way we'll be able to get a Goblin of Gringotts to open the vault."

Arthur and Molly agreed as he pulled out a small container of Polyjuice from his pocket. "Hermione, you are going to become Molly, and accompany me to Gringotts. We'll first request to be taken to our vault, and once my own business is concluded, you will have to curse the Goblin. Since no one at the Ministry knows you exist, hopefully it will all go smoothly, and we won't set off any alarms."

Severus became uneasy, knowing he couldn't accompany them. He couldn't afford to be seen with the Weasleys if he was to join Voldemort's ranks. But he was worried. "What about the Thief's Downfall?"

Arthur and Molly turned their attention to Severus, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, dear boy." Molly said, and Hermione stifled a giggle as she ran her eyes over Severus' thin frame, no doubt thinking to herself that she'd like to feed him a meal or two.

"Severus..." he introduced himself, catching the motherly look in her eye.

Arthur cut in, "I think we will just see what -"

"James." Hermione said, suddenly. Severus turned his attention to her. "What about Potter?"

Hermione took a deep breath and launched herself into her explanation about Harry, Ron and her break-in at Gringotts. She explained that while all the enchantments and Polyjuice got washed away from them while they were in the cart, Harry, beneath the Cloak of Invisibility was not affected by it. "I could use the cloak instead."

"What makes you so sure that Potter will allow you to use it?"

"Hmmm...." Hermione pretended to think for a moment. "Because his future depends on it?"

"Fair enough." Severus grumbled.

Dumbledore got to work on a note, and soon it was being owled from the room. The five of them sat in silence for a time before James and Lily quietly entered the office.

"Mr. Potter, how nice of you to join us. Let's get right to it, shall we? I'd like to borrow your Cloak of Invisibility for a time, if you don't mind." Albus smiled brightly at James who's expression morphed into one of outrage.

"How the bloody hell did -" he paused, catching sight of Hermione's pleading eyes. "Oh, nevermind." he groaned, turning to exit to the office again, no doubt to go retrieve the Cloak. Hermione and Lily shared a glance and burst into laughter, knowing that James felt undercut, now that his two largest secrets weren't as secretive as he'd like them to be. The map, and the Cloak were his prized possessions.

Ten minutes later, James returned wearing the cloak. He took it off of himself and folded it neatly before handing it over to Hermione. "What ever you have in mind for it, just please, I beg you, don't tear it, or worse, lose it. I will cry." he threatened her with a slight grin. "Lily and I have to be getting back to Gryffindor Tower though. We've got loads of homework to do."

With that, the future Potters left the office.

"That solves that then. Are we ready to go?" Arthur addressed Hermione with the same eager expression on his face that she had come to know so well. She nodded, gave Severus a goodbye hug and with that, she and Arthur exited the office, leaving Molly in Albus and Severus' company.

Hermione threw the Cloak over herself and she walked quietly behind Arthur, deep in thought. The nervous knot in her stomach seemed to release just a bit as she considered all the possibilities of this entire endeavor. Being that she had someone on her side who was not a wanted man, or had his face splattered all over the Daily Prophet, she had no doubt that this would go easy.

"Mr. Weasley... After you exit your vault, you ought to just go back up and out of the bank. I don't want anyone to think that you were the one to curse the Goblin. I think I'll be able to handle it on my own. I'm aware of the enchantments in the vault, and I will be extra cautious, given the circumstances." Hermione explained just as they emerged from Hogwarts grounds.

"No no, Miss Granger. I think we'll be just fine. I will not make you go this alone. You have proved already that you are an irreplaceable asset to the Order. Just two more to go, but then there is always the idea of how we're going to get close enough to dispatch Him." Arthur mused thoughtfully, and Hermione's heart sank once again, thinking about Severus initiating himself in a ring of rapists and murderers just for the sake of killing the leader. It was, at the same time, brave, as well as admirable, but... She couldn't stop feeling as though she failed. He would end up with the Mark on his arm anyway.

Hermione took Arthur's outstretched hand, and soon the feeling of being sucked through a straw took over her. He kept a firm grip on her to keep her from stumbling as they apparrated into a remote alleyway in Diagon Alley. It was nearly night fall, and the Alley seemed to be mostly void of witches and wizards. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she once again, began following Arthur.

The pair of them ascended the white marble steps; Hermione's heart pounded in her chest.

Meanwhile, Severus had other plans.

There he stood, atop of the Astronomy Tower with his eyes closed in a state of deep concentration. The curious falling sensation took over him once more, and he remained trained on his focus as he became the Bat. Without another thought or another glance back, he departed from Hogwarts.

He flapped his leathery wings in broken flight patterns just as a normal Bat would. He landed just outside of the gates, retook his human form, and apparrated to England. His third time shifting into his animal form was near liquid easy.

The expanse of the darkened house came into view. Being that he was in the form of an animal, he easily passed through the wards and began circling the vast Manor for an open window.

This house was gigantic. Not to mention, there had to have been thousands of books in it. If Severus recalled correctly, Lucius hadn't been a dunder whilst in school. He was the type to aspire to fill his head with knowledge of different things. The dark arts, first and foremost, was his forte.

As Severus found and entered through a cracked window, he quickly surmised that he was in the man's bedroom. It was lowly lit by the fire crackling in the hearth, but the blonde wizard didn't see to be anywhere in sight.

Severus quickly disengaged from his animal, and began quickly scanning the shelves. Every book that passed his sight had his heart sinking further and further. Potion making, Curses, unmarked novels. He'd seen the Horcrux Diary in Hermione's memories, so he knew exactly what he was looking for. He needed to narrow his search. This house had to have at least a hundred rooms in it.

-----

Arthur had played it cool with the Goblin who showed him to his vault, laughed and even (tried) joking with the angry looking creature. The Goblin, who's name was Breygallen, had opted to give Arthur a talking-to for coming into the bank so late; a talking-to, for which Arthur apologized profusely for.

He entered his vault, and tinkered with a few nonsense things to sate the Goblin's ranting. Hermione poked her wand out from beneath the Cloak, eager to shut the little thing up.

"Imperio." she muttered, instantly hushing Breygallen. Arthur peeked out of his vault with a grin. "Got him? Right! Off we go then."

Hermione commanded Breygallen to close and lock Arthur's vault. The Goblin did so, and stood at attention, awaiting the next request of him.

"The LeStrange Family vault. Take me to it."

Without a thought, the Goblin turned and marched the other way. Arthur and Hermione followed. She knew they were close, having been there before. "Once we get inside, Arthur, don't touch anything. Matter of fact... It might be easier if we just keep you outside for a watch. Hopefully, if the cup is in there, it will be in the same place."

Arthur nodded and remained silent as they walked along. Soon, the Goblin stopped in front of a warded vault. This was it. Reaching as high as he could, Breygallen slowly ran a single digit down the center of the door; the sounds of each individual lock coming unbolted on the inside of the door could be heard. Several moments later, the vault swung open, and Hermione stepped inside.

The LeStrange vault hadn't changed much. There was significantly less, but the contents were nowhere near scarce. She glanced up at the familiar shelf, and her heart jumped into her throat as she caught sight of the cup, sitting where it had always been.

"Thank Merlin, God, and Jesus alike." Hermione murmured as she carefully toed her way through the mess. She knew that if she touched anything, anything at all, it would multiply by the dozens, and then Voldemort would surely know that they were already onto his secret. Not wanting to attempt to reach for the Horcrux with her hands, she slowly unzipped her bag and grabbed hold of one of the poles used for the enchanted tent.

Taking extra care to remain still and accurate on where she pointed the pole, she felt a keen sense of relief as she pushed the end of the end of it through the cup's handle. Hermione successfully lifted it off of the shelf.

Slowly, she backed out of the vault, still not touching the cup until she was all the way out. Once she was successful and 'safe', Arthur took the cup from the end of the pole, and Hermione shoved the skinny wooden shaft back into her purse.

"So much fear over a cup." Arthur mused, sounding quite happy as he surveyed the Badger etched into the gold. Hermione gave him an odd look, laced with amusement as she took the cup and duplicated it. She put the Horcrux into her bag, and carefully levitated the duplicate to sit in it's place on the shelf. Breygallen closed the vault.

"I wish I had thought to do that before, but then again... Things were a bit more risky in my time." Hermione explained as she set off back toward Arthur's vault. Her plan was to take the Goblin back to where he was standing, and hopefully with some luck, he would have no idea he'd ever been controlled.

Arthur gave her an approving nod, and Hermione whispered the counter curse from beneath the cloak. Breygallen blinked and curiously looked around for a moment, as if he'd never been there before.

"Strange." he commented. "All finished then?"

Arthur nodded, "Yes, sir, I believe so. Best to be out then?"

Breygallen nodded tersely and lead them back to the cart that would take them back up to the top level, and continued to berate Arthur for coming in just before close.

"Closing time is eight p.m. Seven fifty-eight is not an acceptable time to come in!" he squeaked, slamming the door to the bank closed, locking it with a wave of his hand.

"Nasty little creatures." Arthur jumped as if he'd been slapped. "Did I say that out loud?"

Hermione laughed as she and Arthur made their way back to their apparition point. In no time, the two of them were heading back to the Headmaster's office where Albus, Molly and Severus would be waiting.

She let her smile for their success remain plastered on her face as they reentered the office, but it quickly dissipated as she took in the fact that Severus was now absent. "Where's he gone?"

"Severus? He said he was tired, and headed to bed dear." Molly replied before sipping her tea. Hermione didn't buy it. She knew that with her being gone, Severus wouldn't retire to bed until he knew she was safe. It was just how he was as of late. "What's the matter, dear?" Molly asked with concern on her face.

"Miss Granger? Is something wrong?" Albus inquired, also noting the color draining from her face.

Without another word, Hermione turned and quickly exited the office. She ran down to Slytherin House as fast as her legs could carry her.

Hermione entered the common room that was full of students, but she knew none of them were Severus. She abruptly pulled one of the seventh year boy aside. A handsome kid by the name of John Marx.

"Marx... Can you please go up to the dormitory and see if Severus is there?"

Marx looked into her eyes, noting the worry inside of them, and nodded. "Everything okay?" he asked with genuine concern in his tone.

"I'm not sure just yet. Please, Marx."

He turned without another thought and rushed up the stairs to the dormitory. Hermione waited for what seemed to be forever, but it was only a few moments before Marx emerged again, shaking his head. "He's not there. Hey, Gaines!" he exclaimed as Hermione turned and exited the common room without another thought.

After an hour of searching for him, she had no luck at all. She'd looked in Slughorn's lab, on top of the Astronomy Tower, The Room of Requirement. Everywhere she could think for him to be, he wasn't there. She'd even gone so far as to check the owlery.

She settled in privacy in the Room of Requirement. She pressed her back to the wall and sank down, hugging her knees.

Hermione closed her eyes, hoping he hadn't gone to join the Dark ranks. "Not yet... It wasn't supposed to happen this way..." she thought to herself.
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"To Change Your Life"