Categories > Books > Harry Potter > An American Wizard in Hogwarts
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I should probably be paying you to read this drivel.
A/N: Remember this is told from the POV of American. That means American English. Suspenders refer to the Elastic straps that go over a man's shoulder to hold up his trousers. The Bladed weapons may or may not be used in the future.
Chapter 8: Christmas in The Sticks
December 21, 1991
Harry, Hermione, and Matt exited platform 9 3/4 to find the Grangers waiting for them. The Grangers would be taking them to Heathrow Airport, and from there they would all fly to Lambert Airport in St. Louis. After seeing that they would be flying Trans World Airlines, Hermione looked at her trunk and chuckled something about a "powerful traveling rune."
They were met by Sirius, who was wearing a red flannel shirt, green trousers, steel-toed boots, brown suspenders, and a tan, fur lined cap with earflaps. Harry tuned it out, trying to ignore the stares sent their way when the song's lyrics started talking about cross dressing.
They met Mr. Robertson outside, where he was waiting in a 15-passenger van. For most of the two and a half hour trip Sirius kept playing "Nanuk of the North," singing loudly along with the chorus that went "Watch out where the Huskies go/And Don't you Eat That Yellow Snow."
As they passed Perryville, Sirius spoke up. "You may be wondering what has me so giddy."
"You, giddy? Never!" replied Hermione dryly.
"Well, I can't tell you exactly what, but James and I have a surprise for you," boasted Sirius.
"If it's anything like the last story the howler told, I don't want it," replied Harry quickly in mock alarm.
"Honestly, 'Little Johnny' Jokes aren't that bad. That last one was actually very good," interjected Hermione, clueless for once in her life.
Matt looked at his cousin. "Hermione, the girls, and I assume the teachers as well, didn't hear the last story. Consider yourself lucky," he shuddered. "No eleven year old should have to hear that kinda thing."
Changing the subject before Hermione could ask what they were talking about, Harry went on to explain about the sudden tendency for students to be carrying bladed weapons.
Sirius seemed to think on this before moving on to other subjects.
When they arrived, they were met by James, Lily, and Kira Potter, along with Jenny Robertson who hugged her son and niece so tightly that the casual observer would have assumed that she was trying to merge the three of them into one being.
They wouldn't have been far off the mark.
"How's Mona doing?" Harry asked, referring to a black snake he had befriended three years previously, which lived in their shed.
James replied, "She's thriving, as always. Last time I saw her she was huge, must be near six feet long by now."
Harry next turned to look at his seven year old sister. "How've you been doing, sis?"
Kira smiled and replied, "Great, I wish I could have gone to London with you, but staying with Matt's gramma and grampa was fun anyway."
When they entered the house, they were ushered into the living room, where James had an important question to ask them. "What would you say if I were to tell you that Sirius and I were considering teaching you how to become animagi this summer?"
Matt and Harry looked at each other for a split second before exchanging a high-five and shouting "Awesome!" Hermione, meanwhile, had a pensive look on her face.
"Isn't that really dangerous if you haven't received at least two years of Transfiguration training?" Hermione asked, always the wet blanket.
Sirius looked at her as if she'd proclaimed her undying love to his mother. Finally he found his voice. "You'll be under the supervision of two highly accomplished animagi. Plus James here is the only person ever to beat one of Dumbledore's N.E.W.T. records, which he did in transfiguration." With that James turned Sirius into an amalgamation only seen in a Daffy Duck cartoon. While his face was normal, Sirius now had four purple duck's feet instead of his arms and legs, a ring of Giant flower petals surrounded his face, and he had a tail that resembled the flagpole of a hole on a golf course. His body was green. When he tried to tell James where he could go, all he could say was, "You're dethpppicable!" in a very accurate Daffy Duck voice.
Everyone, including the women were rolling on the floor, clutching their sides, until Cynthia Black came in, and upon seeing the scene in front of her, gently stepped on James. Right where the legs met. He quickly returned Sirius to his normal state.
Harry said, once everyone calmed down, "We've got to get a picture of that and show it to Luna. I wonder what she'd make of it." His two oldest friends smirked at this thought.
"Tomorrow, we'll see what form you will be able to achieve," James informed the kids. They stayed around for a few hours, discussing the previous term at Hogwarts, before the Grangers and Robertsons left.
\m/
The next day, Hermione woke up to a deafening blast from an air horn. Right in her ear. It was so close she could feel the air blowing her hair around as it rushed out. Without opening her eyes, she took a swing at where she thought he would be. She missed, causing him to laugh and say, "Turn about is fair play."
"Was I even close to hitting you?" she asked, still not opening her eyes.
"Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and atomic warfare," he admonished.
It was raining that day; a cold, bitter rain, one that promised to turn into sleet by noon and snow by nightfall. After breakfast they slowly trudged up to the Potter's house. The south wind was bitter cold, but they were bundled up well.
When they finally reached the warm sanctuary of the Potter house, they found Sirius, James, and Harry already waiting for them. Sirius explained the process to them.
"This potion will put you into a state very similar to a Native American vision quest, where you will find your animagus forms. Your form will be the first animal you see. We would prefer it if you didn't all take it at the same time. Hermione, being the oldest will go first."
He handed her a goblet filled with some smoking liquid. She quickly downed it. Hermione felt the sensation of blacking out. When she woke up, she was in a forest clearing on a mountainside. It was eerily silent.
Suddenly the silence was broken by a screech. A large, majestic looking bird landed in front of her. It was over three feet in length from the tip of its yellow beak to the ends of its white tail feathers. The bird's wings were farther across than a man is tall. It had piercing yellow eyes and its talons matched its beak in color. It's head and tail were a pure white, while the rest of it was brown. It was a bald eagle. While impressive looking, there was no way that it would go unnoticed back home.
She again passed out, only to wake up in the Potter's living room. Fighting disorientation, she turned to James and said, "It was a bald eagle."
"Hmm, that would make a nickname difficult, wouldn't it James," said Sirius thoughtfully.
"Matt, you're next," said James, handing Matt a goblet just like the one he handed Hermione.
Matt drank it in one gulp. When he 'woke' he was standing in a dense evergreen forest. The silence was broken only by the wing through the trees. Matt reckoned that whatever the animal was it would show up soon enough.
The scream of the large cat was one that chilled him to the bone. He noticed it immediately. It was lying in the crook of a low hanging branch in a nearby oak. The tawny colored cat was nine feet from nose to tail. It yawned and flexed, revealing teeth over an inch long and claws that could rip the throat out of just about anything. It was a cougar.
He woke for real this time. He grinned and looked at James and said, "Mountain Lion."
"That could be another difficult nickname,” James said.
"Harry, it's finally your turn," James said as he handed his son a goblet of the smoking liquid. Harry drank it slowly, and when he was done he passed out.
He woke up in a steamy jungle. The silence was almost as oppressive as the heat. Harry looked around, and saw nothing. He set off in a spiral search pattern. The silence was starting to drive him nuts. He froze when he heard a growl coming from the shadows. He looked around but saw nothing.
“Hello?” There was no response.
Suddenly there was a rustling behind him and a massive black cat strode out of the shadow of a large tree. It was so dark it was almost appeared to be a cat shaped gateway to another dimension where not even the stars in the sky had discovered fire. No, wait a minute. The eyes. The eyes glowed green, though there was no light to reflect. It looked like it had at least a hundred pounds on Sirius’s animagus form. Harry carefully reached out and scratched it bend it’s ears. The cat let out a sound somewhere between a grunt and a mew. Harry grinned and passed out.
The first thing that he noticed upon waking was the strong smell of permanent marker that assaulted his nose. He decided to puzzle that one out later. He looked at his dad and said, “Black panther. A big one at that. Makes Sirius’s form look puny.
Sirius looked at James and said, ”We’re gonna need Moony’s help with these. I can’t think of any nicknames for them, can you?”
James shook his head. “Not a one. I want to say Shadow for Harry, but that seems a bit too obvious. I guess Hermione could be Regal, but that still leaves us with nothing for Matt. I just can’t think of anything for a puma.
“What about Snagglepuss or Murgatroy?” suggested Hermione.
“Nah, those are just plain stupid,” said James. “We’ll talk to Remus and get back to you.”
The next few days were fairly boring. Christmas was a lone bright point. They all got together at the Robertsons house, where they had a deilicious meal, consisting of roasted turkey, and all the trimmings. Hermione and her parents gave Harry a copy of every Rush studio album on CD, and they gave Matt the same. Hermione's parents gave her a copy of Metallica's self titled album, a copy of the new Skid Row album "Slave to the Grind," and a copy of Jethro Tull's album "Crest of the Knave." Harry's parents gave Harry and Matt Magic CD players like they had given Hermione for her birthday. They gave Hermione a Weird Sisters "CD," except it wasn't a CD, as it only worked in a Magic CD player. Additionally Harry’s dad gave Harry an invisibility cloak. Matt's parents gave each of the kids a baldric. Since nearly everyone at Hogwarts was suddenly carrying swords or daggers of some sort, Sirius gave Harry and Hermione each a blade with the same charms as Matt’s. Hermione was given a machete, and Harry received a 12 inch Bowie knife, almost identical to Matt's, but without the built in survival kit. They were all given a book on the theory behind animagus transformations. From their friends they received assorted candies, though Luna had given them each a year's subscription to The Quibbler.
Soon it was time to return to school. On New Years, they all loaded up into the van and headed to Lambert Airport. The kids and the Grangers boarded the plane and knew that they were returning to a Hogwarts that would be different from the one they left. And they still didn’t have Marauder nicknames!
\m/
A/N: Questions? Comments? Plotholes? Leave them in a review and I’ll get back to you. I need ideas for the Marauder nicknames for the three. I know it’s a short chapter, but I struggled to write this. I hope you enjoy it. I spent part of my time working on “Without You” and on another fic that I haven’t posted yet. I hope to have the third fic posted soon.
Don’t be surprised if I expand parts of this chapter at a later date.
And seriously, I need ideas for the nicknames. At least for Matt, anyway. I refuse to update until I get some.
A/N: Remember this is told from the POV of American. That means American English. Suspenders refer to the Elastic straps that go over a man's shoulder to hold up his trousers. The Bladed weapons may or may not be used in the future.
Chapter 8: Christmas in The Sticks
December 21, 1991
Harry, Hermione, and Matt exited platform 9 3/4 to find the Grangers waiting for them. The Grangers would be taking them to Heathrow Airport, and from there they would all fly to Lambert Airport in St. Louis. After seeing that they would be flying Trans World Airlines, Hermione looked at her trunk and chuckled something about a "powerful traveling rune."
They were met by Sirius, who was wearing a red flannel shirt, green trousers, steel-toed boots, brown suspenders, and a tan, fur lined cap with earflaps. Harry tuned it out, trying to ignore the stares sent their way when the song's lyrics started talking about cross dressing.
They met Mr. Robertson outside, where he was waiting in a 15-passenger van. For most of the two and a half hour trip Sirius kept playing "Nanuk of the North," singing loudly along with the chorus that went "Watch out where the Huskies go/And Don't you Eat That Yellow Snow."
As they passed Perryville, Sirius spoke up. "You may be wondering what has me so giddy."
"You, giddy? Never!" replied Hermione dryly.
"Well, I can't tell you exactly what, but James and I have a surprise for you," boasted Sirius.
"If it's anything like the last story the howler told, I don't want it," replied Harry quickly in mock alarm.
"Honestly, 'Little Johnny' Jokes aren't that bad. That last one was actually very good," interjected Hermione, clueless for once in her life.
Matt looked at his cousin. "Hermione, the girls, and I assume the teachers as well, didn't hear the last story. Consider yourself lucky," he shuddered. "No eleven year old should have to hear that kinda thing."
Changing the subject before Hermione could ask what they were talking about, Harry went on to explain about the sudden tendency for students to be carrying bladed weapons.
Sirius seemed to think on this before moving on to other subjects.
When they arrived, they were met by James, Lily, and Kira Potter, along with Jenny Robertson who hugged her son and niece so tightly that the casual observer would have assumed that she was trying to merge the three of them into one being.
They wouldn't have been far off the mark.
"How's Mona doing?" Harry asked, referring to a black snake he had befriended three years previously, which lived in their shed.
James replied, "She's thriving, as always. Last time I saw her she was huge, must be near six feet long by now."
Harry next turned to look at his seven year old sister. "How've you been doing, sis?"
Kira smiled and replied, "Great, I wish I could have gone to London with you, but staying with Matt's gramma and grampa was fun anyway."
When they entered the house, they were ushered into the living room, where James had an important question to ask them. "What would you say if I were to tell you that Sirius and I were considering teaching you how to become animagi this summer?"
Matt and Harry looked at each other for a split second before exchanging a high-five and shouting "Awesome!" Hermione, meanwhile, had a pensive look on her face.
"Isn't that really dangerous if you haven't received at least two years of Transfiguration training?" Hermione asked, always the wet blanket.
Sirius looked at her as if she'd proclaimed her undying love to his mother. Finally he found his voice. "You'll be under the supervision of two highly accomplished animagi. Plus James here is the only person ever to beat one of Dumbledore's N.E.W.T. records, which he did in transfiguration." With that James turned Sirius into an amalgamation only seen in a Daffy Duck cartoon. While his face was normal, Sirius now had four purple duck's feet instead of his arms and legs, a ring of Giant flower petals surrounded his face, and he had a tail that resembled the flagpole of a hole on a golf course. His body was green. When he tried to tell James where he could go, all he could say was, "You're dethpppicable!" in a very accurate Daffy Duck voice.
Everyone, including the women were rolling on the floor, clutching their sides, until Cynthia Black came in, and upon seeing the scene in front of her, gently stepped on James. Right where the legs met. He quickly returned Sirius to his normal state.
Harry said, once everyone calmed down, "We've got to get a picture of that and show it to Luna. I wonder what she'd make of it." His two oldest friends smirked at this thought.
"Tomorrow, we'll see what form you will be able to achieve," James informed the kids. They stayed around for a few hours, discussing the previous term at Hogwarts, before the Grangers and Robertsons left.
\m/
The next day, Hermione woke up to a deafening blast from an air horn. Right in her ear. It was so close she could feel the air blowing her hair around as it rushed out. Without opening her eyes, she took a swing at where she thought he would be. She missed, causing him to laugh and say, "Turn about is fair play."
"Was I even close to hitting you?" she asked, still not opening her eyes.
"Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and atomic warfare," he admonished.
It was raining that day; a cold, bitter rain, one that promised to turn into sleet by noon and snow by nightfall. After breakfast they slowly trudged up to the Potter's house. The south wind was bitter cold, but they were bundled up well.
When they finally reached the warm sanctuary of the Potter house, they found Sirius, James, and Harry already waiting for them. Sirius explained the process to them.
"This potion will put you into a state very similar to a Native American vision quest, where you will find your animagus forms. Your form will be the first animal you see. We would prefer it if you didn't all take it at the same time. Hermione, being the oldest will go first."
He handed her a goblet filled with some smoking liquid. She quickly downed it. Hermione felt the sensation of blacking out. When she woke up, she was in a forest clearing on a mountainside. It was eerily silent.
Suddenly the silence was broken by a screech. A large, majestic looking bird landed in front of her. It was over three feet in length from the tip of its yellow beak to the ends of its white tail feathers. The bird's wings were farther across than a man is tall. It had piercing yellow eyes and its talons matched its beak in color. It's head and tail were a pure white, while the rest of it was brown. It was a bald eagle. While impressive looking, there was no way that it would go unnoticed back home.
She again passed out, only to wake up in the Potter's living room. Fighting disorientation, she turned to James and said, "It was a bald eagle."
"Hmm, that would make a nickname difficult, wouldn't it James," said Sirius thoughtfully.
"Matt, you're next," said James, handing Matt a goblet just like the one he handed Hermione.
Matt drank it in one gulp. When he 'woke' he was standing in a dense evergreen forest. The silence was broken only by the wing through the trees. Matt reckoned that whatever the animal was it would show up soon enough.
The scream of the large cat was one that chilled him to the bone. He noticed it immediately. It was lying in the crook of a low hanging branch in a nearby oak. The tawny colored cat was nine feet from nose to tail. It yawned and flexed, revealing teeth over an inch long and claws that could rip the throat out of just about anything. It was a cougar.
He woke for real this time. He grinned and looked at James and said, "Mountain Lion."
"That could be another difficult nickname,” James said.
"Harry, it's finally your turn," James said as he handed his son a goblet of the smoking liquid. Harry drank it slowly, and when he was done he passed out.
He woke up in a steamy jungle. The silence was almost as oppressive as the heat. Harry looked around, and saw nothing. He set off in a spiral search pattern. The silence was starting to drive him nuts. He froze when he heard a growl coming from the shadows. He looked around but saw nothing.
“Hello?” There was no response.
Suddenly there was a rustling behind him and a massive black cat strode out of the shadow of a large tree. It was so dark it was almost appeared to be a cat shaped gateway to another dimension where not even the stars in the sky had discovered fire. No, wait a minute. The eyes. The eyes glowed green, though there was no light to reflect. It looked like it had at least a hundred pounds on Sirius’s animagus form. Harry carefully reached out and scratched it bend it’s ears. The cat let out a sound somewhere between a grunt and a mew. Harry grinned and passed out.
The first thing that he noticed upon waking was the strong smell of permanent marker that assaulted his nose. He decided to puzzle that one out later. He looked at his dad and said, “Black panther. A big one at that. Makes Sirius’s form look puny.
Sirius looked at James and said, ”We’re gonna need Moony’s help with these. I can’t think of any nicknames for them, can you?”
James shook his head. “Not a one. I want to say Shadow for Harry, but that seems a bit too obvious. I guess Hermione could be Regal, but that still leaves us with nothing for Matt. I just can’t think of anything for a puma.
“What about Snagglepuss or Murgatroy?” suggested Hermione.
“Nah, those are just plain stupid,” said James. “We’ll talk to Remus and get back to you.”
The next few days were fairly boring. Christmas was a lone bright point. They all got together at the Robertsons house, where they had a deilicious meal, consisting of roasted turkey, and all the trimmings. Hermione and her parents gave Harry a copy of every Rush studio album on CD, and they gave Matt the same. Hermione's parents gave her a copy of Metallica's self titled album, a copy of the new Skid Row album "Slave to the Grind," and a copy of Jethro Tull's album "Crest of the Knave." Harry's parents gave Harry and Matt Magic CD players like they had given Hermione for her birthday. They gave Hermione a Weird Sisters "CD," except it wasn't a CD, as it only worked in a Magic CD player. Additionally Harry’s dad gave Harry an invisibility cloak. Matt's parents gave each of the kids a baldric. Since nearly everyone at Hogwarts was suddenly carrying swords or daggers of some sort, Sirius gave Harry and Hermione each a blade with the same charms as Matt’s. Hermione was given a machete, and Harry received a 12 inch Bowie knife, almost identical to Matt's, but without the built in survival kit. They were all given a book on the theory behind animagus transformations. From their friends they received assorted candies, though Luna had given them each a year's subscription to The Quibbler.
Soon it was time to return to school. On New Years, they all loaded up into the van and headed to Lambert Airport. The kids and the Grangers boarded the plane and knew that they were returning to a Hogwarts that would be different from the one they left. And they still didn’t have Marauder nicknames!
\m/
A/N: Questions? Comments? Plotholes? Leave them in a review and I’ll get back to you. I need ideas for the Marauder nicknames for the three. I know it’s a short chapter, but I struggled to write this. I hope you enjoy it. I spent part of my time working on “Without You” and on another fic that I haven’t posted yet. I hope to have the third fic posted soon.
Don’t be surprised if I expand parts of this chapter at a later date.
And seriously, I need ideas for the nicknames. At least for Matt, anyway. I refuse to update until I get some.
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