HEATHER BLACK AGREED TO DO THE THING THAT NOBODY ELSE COULD TO DO.
Use her animagus form, and protect Harry Potter for fifteen years.
As an owl.
As Hedwig.
***
Travis McKinnon wanted nothing more than to do something useful.
So he used his animagus...
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IN THE MORNING of the second of November, a snowy owl perched itself on the front fence of 4 Privet Drive and sat there, watching silently.
There was a baby on the doorstep of the house—a small, black-haired boy who was still fast asleep, wrapped up in a little blanket. The owl's wings fluttered a little as it attempted to lean forward to get a better look at the boy, but instead it toppled over and had to ferociously flap its wings to regain its balance on the fence.
Then, the baby started to stir. It began with small movements, a twitch of his finger, a turn of his head, and then the baby's eyes opened—bright green, almond-shaped eyes—and he started wailing.
Even the owl winced away a little at the loud noises. She wondered how long it'd take for somebody to finally come and fetch the baby.
Not long, apparently. Because barely minutes later, there was a long-necked woman at the door, and she blanched at the baby on her doorstep, and the owl let out a hoot.
The woman gave the owl an irritated look as she took the baby in her arms and then found the letter tucked into the blanket.
Her face grew increasingly pale as she read through the letter, and the owl let out another hoot.
"Shoo!" The woman exclaimed sharply, "What are you doing here?"
A little frightened, the owl flew away—as the woman had told it to do—but seconds later, it came back and perched right back onto the fencepost, and the woman shot it an angry glare.
And then she rushed on inside, muttering under her breath.
The owl watched in amusement, and if owls could laugh—it would've laughed.
***
MILES AND MILES AWAY, a toad sat in the palm of an elderly woman. She held the toad like one would hold a child, gently and firmly at the same time.
The toad looked like an ordinary toad—but it had blue eyes that were extremely strange for its species. Its gaze also held a certain level of intelligence that was unlike any other toad, and it watched a baby boy squirm in his blankets just as intently as Augusta Longbottom.
The toad croaked a little as the boy turned to lie on his front, and Augusta placed the creature onto her shoulder before getting up and scooping Neville Longbottom into her arms.
Since Frank and Alice had gone to St Mungos, Augusta had been quieter than normal, and the toad found it to be quite lonely in the Longbottom Household. Their home was humble and cosy, though there was more than enough room for Neville and Augusta, and the toad—if he counted.
"Trev—or," Neville mumbled as he caught sight of the creature sitting on his grandmother's shoulder.
Trevor croaked in reply.
Neville giggled and reached out as though he wanted to touch him—and Augusta took Trevor off of her shoulder and placed him in Neville's hand, her watchful eyes never leaving the toad, to ensure that Neville did not accidentally hurt Trevor.
The little boy exclaimed, "Trev—or!"
Trevor croaked once more, and if he could smile, he would've smiled. Instead, he made a happy leap and landed on Neville's forehead.
"Trevor," Augusta chided playfully as she took the toad off of her grandson's forehead and put him back onto her shoulder, "Don't be cheeky."
Trevor made an almost indignant noise that had Augusta chuckling—something she rarely did these days. Neville, upon hearing his grandmother's laughter, giggled, too, and Trevor croaked happily.
Trevor had watched Neville grow up, and Neville had grown up with Trevor as one of his best friends.
The two cared deeply about each other and had developed a bond throughout the past year that they had spent together. Neville reached out and snatched the toad off of Augusta's shoulder, and Trevor seemed to give the old woman a proud look as he shut his eyes and buried himself into Neville's blankets.
Augusta Longbottom sighed a little, but her eyes were sparkling.
"You two," She muttered, though as Neville let out a giggle and Trevor made a noise that sounded oddly like a human laugh at the same time, Augusta's words died in her throat and instead she just smiled as she held Neville closer to her.
There was something precious here.
Author's Note:
There's the Prologue of 'Toadspawn'! I hope you enjoyed it, because there is a LOT to come in this book...
I really like the idea of this book and I hope you do too, I have a lot planned for this story, and I'm so excited for it to all come together! I think in this Prologue you get to see the first taste of Travis McKinnon and Heather Black's personalities...they're going to be such a sassy duo...
Anyway, vote on this chapter if you enjoyed it and let me know your thoughts in the comments section, because I really love all of your comments!
