Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [68]
“No that!” said Professor Fletcher loudly. “I mean, Mr. Malfoy here being our first Polymagus!” Harry, Ron, and Hermione sighed.
“He has the potential and talent necessary for transfiguration unlike any other student I’ve ever seen.”
Harry was about to respond, saying something bad about Malfoy, but just then he was taken surprise when his potion stopped smoking and bubbling and became white. Professor Fletcher looked over at them, taking notice of this.
“Your potions are ready. You need to drink them quickly,” he said. He gave each of them a small glass. Harry dunked his glass into the potion. It was surprisingly warm, and as he put his glass further down, got almost unbearably hot, too the point of burning. Harry quickly brought the glass up to his lips, and drank it. It tasted very good, like liquid happiness. However, a very unexpected thing happened. This potion didn’t feel like it was going down his throat and to his stomach. It felt as though it was going… up. It was flowing up his sinuses, and into his brain. It was seething its way through every pore in Harry’s mind.
This did not feel nearly as good as drinking it. In fact, it was very painful. Harry dropped the glass, and it shattered into a million pieces. Harry’s head felt as though it was ripping apart. He glanced over and saw that Ron and Hermione were obviously experiencing the same feelings since they were squirming on the floor and had their hands gripping their screaming faces.
Harry decided he had to do something to try and stop the pain. He focused his mind on a joyous thought, and tried only to think of that, like he did in Mrs. Figg’s class. This was just a bigger PainBall, thought Harry, trying to reassure himself. Harry searched his mind for the happiest thought he could muster… the time he was with Cho.
Suddenly, the pain went away. Harry took his hands off of his face, and put them back down to his sides. Harry walked over to Ron and Hermione, each of whom was still squirming on the floor. Harry helped them up, off the ground. They stopped screaming, but were still clutching their heads.
“Don’t worry. The pain will go away in a few seconds,” said Professor McGonagall. She walked over from Malfoy’s cauldron over to them. After she said it, Ron and Hermione stopped gripping their heads.
“How come your pain went away so fast Harry?” asked Ron.
“I just used that little technique we learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts,” responded Harry.
“I should’ve remembered to use that!” said Hermione. “What caused the pain anyway professor?”
“It was caused by the animal’s DNA merging with yours. You have to contain twice as much as before, in the same amount of space. Your body had to change around slightly to make room,” said Professor McGonagall. “Now that you have had the potion, we can go into your next phase of training: actually turning into the animal.”
“See you later professor!” said Malfoy. He walked out of the room, carrying a glass full of his multicolored potion.
“Why is he leaving?” asked Ron. “Doesn’t he have to train with us?”
“Well, no Mr. Weasley,” said Professor McGonagall. “Mr. Malfoy will continue his training privately. He will need… err… special attention.”
“Why is he leaving now, though?” asked Hermione.
“Mr. Malfoy’s potion will hurt him considerably more than yours did. He is taking in the DNA of several animals, and may have to stay the night with Mrs. Pomfrey. He is heading to the hospital wing now.” A sudden feeling of sadness came over Harry. Even though he and Malfoy were enemies, he still didn’t want him to have to go through pain like that. He didn’t want anyone to have to. Just the one animal potion was bad enough, a many animal potion would be worse than the Cruciatus Curse.
“Now back to your training. By the end of this session, you should all be able to form the head of your animal. To start, close your eyes.”
Harry closed his eyes, and darkness was all around him.
“Picture your animal’s face. Imagine every curve, every hair, every detail,