Chapter Twenty: And now onto Transfiguration

What Is This Thing Called Love?

Chapter 20 of 26

kittyperry

Severus and Hermione discover their Animagus forms.

Drama Romance Smut General Potions Under Duress 75,397 Words 26 Chapters Complete

Reviewed

Previous Chapter Next Chapter
↓ See Reviews & Actions ↓

(i) Thank you everyone for staying with the story and for the kind reviews. Please do continue to let me know what you think.

(ii) The characters and world of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this. Pity, I could use a bit of loot right about now.

(iii) And last but by no means least, a big thank you to my lovely, amazing beta, Queen_of_Stars.

********************************

Easter break saw Severus take his Princess to spend a few quiet days at Spinner's End. The house was neglected and had an abandoned feel to it. But Hermione fell in love with the little garden that had at one time been lovingly maintained by Severus' mother and the extensive library of second- and third-hand tomes that had been collected by Severus. Her face beaming with animated enthusiasm, Hermione began reeling off a list of things that could be done to bring the house and the garden back into resplendent glory.

Severus listened to Hermione's chatter with a gentle smirk upon his harsh visage. It never failed to amaze the Slytherin how generous his Gryffindor was. Another woman would have turned her nose up at the common neighbourhood in which the house was situated, or at least made disparaging comments about the dark and obviously cheap decor of the interior. Hermione, however, only saw the beauty that could be re-found in his back garden, and the clean lines of the second-hand but good quality furniture that his mother had collected from charity shops. Indeed, when she was not making unrestrained love with Severus or cooking, Hermione spent most of her time polishing, cleaning and organising, and by the end of their stay, the house looked more like a home than it had ever done during Severus' youth and later, solitary occupancy.

Severus, too, began to see his little Victorian terraced home with altered eyes. Instead of the discomfort the house brought out in his soul at the remembered suffering that he and his mother had undergone and the anger and resentment against his father's weak and drink-induced behaviour, Severus found in his childhood home for the first time a sanctuary.

Hermione's enthusiastic reading of his mother's books on household charms prompted her to attempt to redecorate the cramped upstairs box-room used by Wormtail. For too long the room had held nothing but unpleasant memories. It had been Severus' childhood bedroom, and later, the place where he had housed his Dark Lord-appointed spy and helper. Now though, the room was emptied entirely of all of its furniture before being given a most thorough of spring cleanings. Then, the walls were magically painted a bright white with matching white woodwork. Once that was done, Hermione transfigured the old, stained carpet into a clean, bright rug in rich Prussian blue that now slumbered regally on the cleaned and polished floorboards. All of the old furniture in the room was then repainted to match in pure brilliant white and transfigured to take on more pleasing and elegant lines. Severus marvelled at the time and energy Hermione spent mending his mother's old and faded linen, but a little bit of transfiguration saw it all given a new and altered look with more modern designs and patterns. By the end of their stay, the box-room looked like the most inviting of reading rooms and provided a nice working space for Severus, who for so long had used his living-room as his study, library and sitting-room.

Hermione's success with the box-room had her raring to go in doing up the rest of the house. But she realised that she didn't have the time to go into a major redecoration project during their Easter vacation. Besides, she realised that Severus was not one to take in change easily. A little at a time, that was the way to go with her dark Slytherin. She had the rest of their lives together to make significant changes to their home, for that was what Spinner's End was turning out to be, their home away from Hogwarts.

Severus, too, realised that for the first time, the thought of coming back to Spinner's End at the end of the term did not fill him with dread. Instead, he looked forward to working on the garden and spending the summer with Hermione in quiet domesticity. It surprised and pleased him to realise that he was very different from his father, who had had no love for the home. Severus had always secretly feared that he would turn into his father, uncaring, cold and unlovable. His time with Hermione, though, had shown him a very different side to his personality, a side that for too long had remained hidden behind a facade of stoic disregard for anything that could be used against him.

Their evenings were spent reading, as the duo embarked on their long awaited Animagus training, while their nights were spent in passionate love-making. Having a few days to themselves allowed the couple to explore their sensuality without reservation. Severus, who had for so long been so reserved, was finally able to laugh during their exuberant trysts. This was another eye-opener to the dark wizard. Sex had always been about domination, about control and power; now it was about affection, love and joy. Never had he thought that he could laugh during copulation, that he could tease with his smirk and his raised eyebrow. But with Hermione, who found everything that he did utterly erotic and arousing, Severus was able to bring out his playful nature that he himself had not known existed.

Once they were both well-versed in the theoretical understanding of the magic, they arranged on their return to Hogwarts to spend three evenings a week with Minerva, practicing meditation and visualisation to bring out their inner creatures. Eventually, on the first of May, Minerva announced that they were ready to attempt their transformations.

Early morning, just as the dawn was breaking, they made their way out into the grounds by the lake. There, in a secluded niche, Hermione and Severus began their visualisations. Soon, Hermione felt the resonance of her aura attune to her inner animal and began chanting the incantation. With the chanting directing her magic inward, Hermione felt her magic beginning to change. She had been training ardently for months and was more than ready for the challenge. With a sudden shift in her aura, she transformed into a small, gray owl. Once transformed, she hopped around attempting to coordinate her wings and her vision before preening herself in front of Severus and Minerva. Then, gathering her suddenly altered sense of perception, Hermione broke into flight. She did not feel uncertain in the air; she felt as though she had finally found her place in the universe. Wanting to wait for Severus, Hermione didn't go far. She merely tested out her wings before returning to alight onto Severus' outstretched arm.

Severus stroked the soft down of Hermione's new form. Then, he released her to alight on Minerva's waiting arm. From there, Minerva and Hermione watched Severus go through his intensely concentrated visualisation.

Severus took much longer, and Hermione, perched as she now was on Minerva's shoulder, began to despair for her beloved. She knew she would be devastated if he failed, and Severus would himself be broken-hearted. She recognized that being able to transform had been one of his most ardent desires. As Hermione watched, her owl eyes fixed on the man she loved beyond life itself, there was a sudden burst of magic. Hermione felt the shift in the magnetic field surrounding Severus. With a sudden shuddering of his body, he transformed into a majestic golden eagle.

Minerva, who had watched the pair with rapt silence, thought Severus' form was apt. Like his Animagus form, Severus was solitary, sharp and a predator, but he also was like his transfigured form, a creature that mated for life and had an extremely caring, faithful and protective nature.

For a moment Severus examined his new appearance before spreading his wings and taking off in flight. Together, he and Hermione soared in the air, flying in tandem before he wheeled higher and higher above her small owl form as the air currents swept them away. It was glorious, and they revelled in their ability to play and twirl in the air. Severus was immensely pleased that Hermione, too, was a bird. They could now share their new domain together. It would have been slightly disappointing if she had not been able to take flight as he now could.

Flight to Severus was nothing new. He loved flying on his broom, and the best thing about being a minion of the Dark Lord had been when he had been shown the megalomaniac's secret of flight. Since the fall of the Dark Lord, Severus was the only living person capable of unsupported flight. It was something he cherished, something he adored. Now, there was a third dimension to his ability to fly.

Finally he beat his impressive wings and dropped down to Hermione's height, and together they descended to settle on either of Minerva's outstretched arms. She admired them and rubbed her face affectionately against their soft bodies before shooing them both off to transform back to their human forms. It was time for breakfast and a meeting about whether it was prudent to inform the Ministry and register their new forms.

Previous Chapter Next Chapter
↑ Back to the Top ↑

Story Actions

To follow, favorite, like, and more either log in or create an account.

Leave a Review

Latest 25 Reviews for What Is This Thing Called Love?

261 Reviews | 6.91/10 Average

0/10

Susieq

Loved it :)