After a few minutes, he regained consciousness again. However, something was not right. His field of vision had been greatly expanded, and it felt as if he had wings. He looked at himself and saw many green feathers.

“A phoenix! A very agreeable Animagus form,” he could hear Severus say.

“A wind phoenix. He has lots of green feathers and a few white and orange ones in the back – very nice,” Dumbledore commented. “Harry, work hard at it, and then Fawkes, you, and I can have much fun in our phoenix forms,” he added smilingly.

#Yes, I would think so too. Hello, Breeze,# Harry could hear Fawkes trill at him.

“A magical animal. Very well. Now you have to practise as much as possible. – I don’t think this is a transformation, which will be easy to achieve,” was Minerva’s comment.

Suddenly, Harry transformed back into his human form. Everything hurt. Seeing the teachers beaming at him, Harry finally realized that if he were able to become an Animagus, he would be a phoenix! That would be wonderful. He’d be able to fly without a broom. Harry was so happy.

“Thank you, for helping me and letting me try this, Professors. I am very glad that I have such a great Animagus form, and I will try hard to achieve this goal.”

-----

“Albus, are you aware of the fact that Harry is a Parselmouth?” Severus questioned the Headmaster, who had just sat down behind his desk.

“Really? Are you sure?” was the surprised answer.

Severus told his two older colleagues about his transformation and about his small conversation with Harry while he was in his snake form.

Harry felt himself getting red in the face. Again he was the topic of their conversation. Why couldn’t anything be normal with him? Why did he always have to be the exception? He hadn’t even known that talking to snakes was abnormal.

“The only thing that I could imagine would be that Voldemort has given him some of his own powers when he gave him the scar,” the Headmaster said pensively. “Apart from that I have no idea. However, I think it would be the best not to tell anyone about it.”

“All right,” Harry said in a small voice.

“Harry! Look at me, please,” Professor Snape tried to calm him. “This is not bad; there is no problem with it. However, you know how people are: Snakes are associated with Slytherin, and many people think that Slytherin is bad anyway – which of course it is not. The students talk about everything, and I can imagine that you wouldn’t like it if everyone knew. Am I right?”

Harry gave his teacher a grateful look. It was very relieving that the professor seemed to be able to understand him so well. “Yes, Professor.”

Together, they bid the two older professors ‘Good night’ and left the office. When Severus asked him if he had already gone to see Madam Pomfrey, Harry denied and Severus accompanied him to the Hospital Wing.

-----

In the morning, Harry could only think about his fourth lesson – his first Animagus lesson. Classes passed in a blur. Harry was tired, and he could hardly suppress his excitement because of his Animagus form. He was very lucky that he didn’t attract any attention during the morning classes.

Finally, the third class was finished. Harry had slept through History of Magic, and Draco woke him up when the lesson was over. Hermione, Ron, and Blaise were waiting for them at the door.

“Are we going to the library, or do you prefer to do your homework in the common room?” Draco asked with a mischievous look on his face.

Hermione shook her head. “For you, lessons might be finished for today, but Ron and I still have a class left. You have classes with the Slytherins today, right Harry? We can meet in the library afterwards.”

“I have a Transfiguration class with McGonagall,” Harry explained and hurried up to the Transfiguration Classroom.

-----

Professor McGonagall was already waiting for Harry when he entered the classroom. She motioned him over to her office, saying, “As your Animagus form is not too big, I think you will be more comfortable on the sofa here in my office.” She sat down on the sofa next to Harry and threw him a piercing glance.

“Harry, are you feeling all right today? I explained yesterday that it is very important to do this kind of transformation only while you are in a good health condition. However, according to Madam Pomfrey, your health was far from good yesterday,” she said sternly.

“Professor, I’m sorry, but I didn’t know that. I felt just like I usually feel. Otherwise, I would’ve told you.”

The Professor glared at him and asked unbelievingly, “You did not notice that you were congested enough for Poppy to make you use the inhaler when you went for your check-up?”

Harry shrugged and repeated, “I’m sorry, but no. It always feels like this since they have taken the glamour off. Now, may I start to practise? What do I have to do?” he asked a little impatiently.

“First of all, you look at your left hand,” the teacher admonished. When Harry complied, she continued, “Now imagine your hand to be the pretty green wings of your phoenix.” She transformed her left hand into a cat’s paw.

Harry wished his hand to become part of his phoenix wings. Nothing happened.

“You will have to try over and over. It is very difficult. As I said before, I don’t know anyone who has managed to become an Animagus at the age of eleven. However, as you are capable of wish magic, it might be possible for you, because you have to be more powerful than anybody else at Hogwarts. In a few years, you will probably be the most powerful wizard alive.”

“But Professor Dumbledore….” Harry started timidly.

“He is not capable of wish magic,” Minerva said softly. “Now, go on and try; however, take care of yourself and try not to drain your magic too much.” She went to sit at her desk, where she had piles of homework and essays to grade.

Harry tried again and again without success, which was very frustrating. He was getting really tired now, but as he knew that he was only allowed to do this when he was together with the professor, he decided to practise as much as possible on this occasion.

“All right, Harry, let’s go to dinner. If you want to practise more, you may join me again after dinner, provided that you feel well enough,” Minerva suddenly suggested.

“I would like that very much. Thank you, Professor,” Harry said happily.

-----

It took Harry ten days until he was able to transform his hand into his beautiful, green phoenix feathers. During the first two days, he had obliged and only practised when Professor McGonagall was with him. However, as nothing happened anyway, he had proceeded to practise in bed every night when everyone else was asleep.

Very early on Friday morning, it happened. He suddenly saw green wings instead of his left hand. What now? Should he be happy or worried? Worried because he had practised against the professors’ orders, alone in his bed when nobody was around who could have possibly helped him if something happened. He wished his hand back and succeeded. Taking a deep breath, he decided on being happy.

Classes passed much too slowly for Harry. He just couldn’t wait for his private lesson with McGonagall in the fourth period – and he had to be careful not to give himself away. The teacher couldn’t know that he had already managed to transform his hand; so, he would have to feign surprise, provided that he was able to do it again, of course.

However, in the third period they had Defence against the Dark Arts, and this time, his scar hurt really badly. Harry whispered something to Hermione, who was sitting next to him, and ran out of the classroom.

Hermione excused herself quickly with Professor Quirrell and followed Harry, who groaned when he saw her. He didn’t want anybody fussing over him. He sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall with his hand at the livid scar.

Hermione suddenly gasped. “Your scar is bleeding, Harry. Are you all right?”

Harry summoned all his strength and led Hermione to the Gryffindor Common Room, where he collapsed on a sofa. Then he slowly began to talk and told his friend about his scar and how it sometimes started to hurt when Professor Quirrell was nearby. He was slowly getting afraid of the strange professor. Maybe he really meant to harm Harry. ‘As soon as I have a chance, I will talk to Professors McGonagall and Snape about it,’ Harry vowed.

“Do you have any idea why that could be?” Hermione asked, astonished.

Harry shook his head. “No, but I think Professor Quirrell might have been the one who attacked me at the Quidditch match. However, this is only an assumption – one that Professor Snape seems to share – and I don’t know anything for certain.”

They spent the rest of third period in the common room. Fortunately, Hermione had brought both of their bags with her when she left the classroom.

Harry excused himself and told his friend that he had another Transfiguration lesson with their Head of House. He still had a headache and felt a bit shaky, but he knew that he had to hide it well; otherwise, he would not be allowed to practise.

At the first try, he again managed to transform his hand. He was so glad that for a moment he forgot everything that was bothering him. Maybe he would be able to become an Animagus soon. Being able to fly would just be great!

“Professor, look at my hand,” he shouted happily, and Minerva looked at him in awe.

“Very well done, Harry. This was probably the most difficult step.” She gave him an encouraging smile and went on, “Now, try to change back and transform again several times until you can manage very fast and without thinking a lot. After that, you can try to transform your right hand too.”

Harry changed his hand forth and back a few dozen times. Then he tried to change his right hand but to no avail. He was getting too tired anyway, so he decided to end his practise session.

“Professor?” he asked in a small voice, not wanting to disturb the teacher. When she threw him an enquiring look, he asked timidly, “Has Professor Snape told you about my problem with Professor Quirrell and my scar?”

Minerva frowned and put her quill down. “Yes, he has told Professor Dumbledore and me that you think that he is always nearby when your scar starts to hurt. Do you know this for sure?”

“Yes, Professor. I am quite sure, because it happened again today in our Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.”

The teacher threw a piercing glance at Harry, noticing that his scar seemed livid red against the pale colour of Harry’s face. “Professor Snape even thinks that it was he who sent the Bludger after you in the Quidditch match,” Minerva said hesitantly.

To her great astonishment, Harry agreed immediately. “Yes, Professor, I think so too. And I am getting afraid of him. But there is no way around the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, is there?”

Minerva frowned and answered, “If you really feel threatened by him, you should not be forced to attend his classes. You could learn everything on your own, and some of us could give you a lesson once or twice a week. Let us talk to Professors Dumbledore and Snape later, maybe after dinner. I will ask them during dinner, and I will tell you before we leave the Great Hall.” She thought for a moment before she continued, “Unfortunately, although we are very suspicious about Professor Quirrell, we cannot take outright action until we have solid proof, but we are keeping our eyes on him.”

“All right, Professor, thank you very much.”

-----

When they talked in the Headmaster’s office after dinner, Harry had to tell all the teachers about the few incidents concerning his scar and Professor Quirrell. When he told them about his Defence against the Dark Arts lesson of the afternoon, Severus cursed under his breath.

It had happened again, Severus thought. So, there was no doubt that there had to be a connection between the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and the pain in Harry’s scar. But what kind of connection could be there? Suddenly a thought appeared in his head.

“Can it be,” he asked pensively, “that Quirrell is possessed by the Dark Lord?”

“Sorry,” Harry’s anxious, small voice could be heard, “Who is the Dark Lord?”

Severus wanted to answer, but Dumbledore beat him to it. “The Dark Lord is Voldemort. His followers call him that; others call him ‘You-know-who’. They are different names for the same evil person.”

Harry groaned inwardly. If Quirrell was possessed by the one who had murdered his parents, of course the professor would want to harm him, if not outright kill him. He vowed to be very careful around the Professor.

The three adults discussed how to investigate Quirrell for an hour, and finally, they decided on a procedure that was based mainly on a Leglimency spell performed by Severus. During the next meals, he would try to look into his colleagues head.

Harry was exempted from Defence against the Dark Arts classes from Monday onwards. They decided that he should have a free period instead, in which he could get a head start on his homework, so that he would have time for Defence lessons in the evening. Professor Snape agreed to teach Harry three times a week. The classes would be held between the end of the last afternoon class and dinnertime. Harry was very relieved and happy by the time the meeting was finished.

Before he could leave the room, Minerva asked, “Harry, don’t you want to show the professors your progress?”

Harry smiled and transformed his left hand into his phoenix wing, and Albus and Severus looked surprised at the pretty wing.

#Very good, Breeze, go on and transform your other parts too,# Fawkes commented, and Harry went over to the pretty bird to stroke his head feathers, which the phoenix seemed to like very much.

“I’m sorry, Fawkes. I haven’t managed yet,” he told the bird.

#As soon as you manage, come over and visit me. You may sit on my perch with me, and we’ll have a lot of fun. Don’t forget: The only person who can understand Phoenix Talk apart from you is the grumpy, beardy one over there!# Fawkes joked.

-----

During the next weeks, Harry was very busy. Apart from the evenings when he had Quidditch practise, he spent every evening with Professor McGonagall in order to practise the Animagus transformation. However, it took him two more weeks until he managed to transform his right hand.

Three times a week he had Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons with Professor Snape. In Harry’s opinion, the teacher seemed to be predestined to teach the subject. Lessons with him were much more interesting than Professor Quirrell’s lessons, and two weeks before Christmas, they had already finished the first year’s book.

Severus lent Harry his own second year’s Defence against the Dark Arts book, but on Harry’s request, he helped him to owl-order his own copy of the book at Flourish & Blotts, the huge book shop at Diagon Alley.

-----

Ten days before the end of term, parchments were put up in the common rooms, and the students who wished to stay at Hogwarts were requested to put their names on the list. Harry was very happy to be given the opportunity to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays and wrote his name on both lists, the list in Gryffindor common room and the one in Slytherin, as well. The teachers were not so stupid; they would know that it meant that he was going to stay in both dormitories every other night, as usual.

When Ron saw that Harry had put his name on the list, he immediately invited Harry to join his family during the holidays.

“Yes, Harrykins, come with us to the Burrow. You can share a room with Ron,” the twins immediately expressed their agreement to his invitation.

Harry remained quiet, thinking for a moment. Of course, it would be great to spend the holidays together with his friends and their families at a real home. And a wizarding home as well! However, would he be able to behave as everyone expected him to? He didn’t have any experiences with Christmas traditions at all. ‘I don’t want Ron to have to be ashamed if I cannot behave myself properly,’ he thought.

“Thank you very much,” Harry answered finally. “I appreciate it very much, and I would love to come; however, I have to ask either Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape if I may go.”

“Why do you have to ask them? It’s up to you to decide about what to do in your holidays,” Ron blurted out.

“No, I don’t think so,” Harry contradicted sadly. “Professor Dumbledore has told me that they are my magical guardians during the time I am at Hogwarts. Therefore, they have to decide what I am allowed to do. If it was you, you’d ask your parents. They’re your magical guardians. But I don’t have parents, so I have to ask the professors.”

“Then let’s go and ask McGonagall,” Ron said stubbornly, and the three friends went over to their Head of House’s office.

However, the teacher said they would have to ask the Headmaster as Harry’s case was special. They didn’t understand everything they were told, but nevertheless, they went to see the Headmaster.

Dumbledore frankly told them, “I am sorry, Harry, but: No! The Weasleys would be in a lot of danger if you stayed with them, and I am sure you don’t want that, right? However, Professor Snape has told me that Draco Malfoy asked if you could join him during the holidays, and I believe that this solution would be much safer for all of you. Although Lucius Malfoy was known as a Death Eater before, he would not touch a friend of Draco, especially not a member of Slytherin House.” ‘Apart from the fact that he doesn’t know that Voldemort is alive,’ he thought to himself.

Harry looked curiously at his teacher. Draco? He hadn’t told him anything. He looked over to Ron, who was still trying to argue the matter with the Headmaster. “Ron, it’s all right. I don’t want to put your family in danger, and Draco is my friend, too, so it will be all right.”

-----

During the last weeks, Harry had spent a lot of his nights practising the Animagus transformation. However, he preferred doing so in the Slytherin dormitory, although he knew that Severus sometimes entered the dormitory during the night to check on his students. He couldn’t even tell a reason – maybe he trusted the Slytherins more than the Gryffindors that they wouldn’t tell his secret if they happened to get to know it? Maybe it was just because he was further away from Professor McGonagall as it was her rule that he was breaking by practising alone.

One night, about a week before the beginning of the Christmas holidays, he was sitting on his bed in the Slytherin dormitory, practising his transformation into his phoenix form, when something strange happened. He couldn’t even tell what happened, he only knew it felt strange… and it hurt. He unconsciously rubbed his forehead and thought, ‘What did I do now?’