The Ambitions Of Rebekah Potter

Chapter Twenty Seven

"Why do you want to become an Animagus so young, Miss Potter?" McGonagall asked, giving her a very firm look but it didn't make the young Witch falter.

"Why not, professor? I have already looked into the Animagus Potion and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to become my animal, whatever it is," Rebekah shrugged. "When did my father try and become one?"

She sighed, thinking back many years. "I believe it was in his Second year, actually. We had a sudden depletion of Mandrake leaves that year, and two years after that. It wasn't until the fifth year that they had been able to actually transform successfully."

"Why was that?"

"The Mandrake leaves, the group stayed silent for several months because they couldn't talk very well with them in their mouths. Gave us some peace though," McGonagall huffed in her past amusement. "Then they had to get dew, completely undisturbed. And then they had to wait for a lightning storm and they didn't have all of that sorted until their Fifth year."

"That is a lot to do," Rebekah said. "Can I ask how old you were when you became one, ma'am?"

"Oh, I was in my Sixth year when Headmaster Dumbledore," A smile laced itself onto her lips but then curved down cautiously. "If you do decide to become an Animagus, I do hope you ask either myself or Professor Snape to be there when you first transform. The experience can be very unpleasant and disorienting. You will not know what form you would get and you might react aggressively."

"Never thought of that, the book didn't hint at that at all," Rebekah said.

"When will you replace the book?"

"I already have, I made myself a copy,"

"Good, one of the Seventh year Hufflepuffs wants to become an Animagus," someone outside of the office was running and yelling about food. "Excuse me, I do believe Fourth years have found the way to the kitchens."

By the morning, the whole school was covered in snow from the blizzard from last night. Their last Herbology lesson was cancelled and Professor Sprout trusted no one to care for the young Mandrakes, they were desperately needed for the petrified students.

Rebekah was going to try and find Justin Finch-Fletchley, she wanted to make sure that he understood that she didn't try and attack him. She didn't need those rumours circulating around too. She found the usual group Finch-Fletchley was with, hiding at the back of the library,

"I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory," A stout boy said. "If Potter's marked him down as her next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile. Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he said to Potter that he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told her he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?"

"You definitely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?" The girl next to him said, flicking a pigtail away from her face.

"Hannah!" Ernest Macmillan, as Rebekah recognised the boy as, jerked his head.

''She's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark Wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue, and it's no surprise that she's in Slytherin, is it? Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of her while she tried to get her arm fixed. Next thing we know — Creevey's been attacked."

"She's been so nice when she wasn't with her friends usually," Hannah Abbot said. "Well, she can't be all bad, can she? She's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. "