Over the next few days, Ron and the other Weasleys were getting more and more excited. Mornings were spent listening to the Wizarding Wireless, covering the quarter- and semi-finals of the World Cup, after which they did a few chores around the house. In the afternoon, they had impromptu Quidditch games which often lasted until dinner. Harry decided to continue his flying lessons with Hermione after dinner, and took advantage of the privacy this time gave them.
The first morning they spent outside, de-gnoming the garden while listening to the game between Scotland and Luxembourg. Ron, having no particular team affiliations other than the Chudley Cannons, simply cheered for the teams hailing closest to home. Unfortunately for him, Britain as a whole was doing rather badly. As the game progressed, the Scots were doing worse and worse, and Ron took his frustration out on the gnomes. Every time Luxembourg widened their lead with another goal while he was holding a gnome, he would hurl it as hard as he could over the fence, as opposed to simply tossing it over. Harry and Hermione tried their best not to agitate him more. When the game finally ended and Luxembourg also caught the snitch while they were already well over 150 points in the lead, Ron punted the gnome he was holding over the fence. That caused Hermione to give him an earful on animal cruelty and humane pest-control tactics.
That evening, they talked about the significance of the vision Harry had the night after his birthday. Hermione asked a lot of questions, trying to squeeze out every detail he could remember. They managed to find a few relevant bits of information- the fact that Voldemort was hiding out in a building known as Riddle Manor. He had the help of Wormtail, and a snake named Nagini. Hermione was the one who reminded him of the effects of his Occlumency, which allowed him to distinguish the difference between his own emotions and Voldemort's. They both decided that Occlumency was a skill they had to work on, and master, as quickly as possible. Lacking a good method to test each other's mental shields, they realized they needed to learn Legilimency as well. Hermione decided that the next time they were in Diagon Alley, she would search Flourish and Blott's for a book on the mind arts.
The next day was Ireland versus Peru. All the other English teams had been knocked out of the running, but Ireland was a strong contender for the Cup. The task for the day was a thorough cleaning of the entire Burrow, and Ron would cheer loudly every time Ireland scored. It didn't seem so bad at first, and seeing Ron so cheerful helped lighten everyone's mood while working, but they soon realized the problem. Team Ireland was known for its amazing plays with their chasers- and they were regularly scoring a goal once a minute. That meant Ron spent as much time cheering as he did actually working. Harry wasn't quite sure whether Ron was more productive when his team was doing well, or doing poorly.
For their post-supper flight, Harry told Hermione how Sirius had given him notes on animagus training. Hermione's jaw dropped when he told her and very nearly wanted to end the flying lesson immediately to read them, but Harry quickly ascended into the air and refused to let her back down until they had done some proper flying. Still, they were eager to discuss the possibilities, or at least, Harry was. Hermione often kept him grounded in reality.
"What kind of animal do you wish you could be, Hermione?"
"You can't choose your animal, Harry. You have to discover it."
"It doesn't hurt to imagine! What would you like to be?"
"Oh, I don't know... maybe a lioness? It just seems natural, being a Gryffindor and all. Although, I doubt that if everyone in Gryffindor became animagi that we'd all become lions or lionesses."
"Well, if you were a lioness, then I wouldn't mind being a lion..." mused Harry.
Hermione glanced over her shoulder at him, catching a glimpse of his jet-black hair flying wildly in the wind. "A lion? I don't know, Harry... I think you'd do better as a black panther..."
"A panther? What makes you say that?" asked Harry, as they changed direction and started circling the Burrow.
Quickly whipping her head back around and concentrating on looking straight ahead, she replied, "No reason... actually I pegged you for being some kind of bird. Like a hawk, maybe. You certainly love flying."
"That I do, Hermione. I wish I could be a phoenix, like Fawkes. I'd be able to flash in anywhere and come to your rescue..." said Harry absentmindedly, with images of the battle against the basilisk in second year passing through his head.
Her heart fluttered at the image of Harry, a knight in shining armour- no, wait, a knight in flaming armour, descending from the skies to her rescue. "Y-You c-can't be a... um... a magical creature," she said, trying to calm herself down.
Harry noticed her nervousness, and quickly tightened his grip on the broom. "Oh! I'm sorry, Hermione. Are we too high up? Let's drop down lower to the ground. And yes, I know we can't be magical creatures in our animagus form, but I can always imagine it."
Oh, Harry, you silly prat. You have no idea what you're doing to me! fumed Hermione. "What do you think I'd become, Harry?"
"Well, I always thought you'd be a raven or an owl. Your intelligence has always been what I like best about you."
"They're both birds, Harry! Have you forgotten that I have absolutely no talent for being in the air?"
"You're getting better at it, aren't you? In fact, tomorrow I'd let you ride the broom yourself while I fly beside you." Harry grinned, speeding up and climbing higher into the air.
"Harry!" Hermione took control of the broom, slowing down and levelling out.
"See? You're so smart. Your flying's improved so much in just three days."
"Well, I have you to thank, Harry. Besides, if you think my intelligence is my best trait, maybe I should become a dolphin, or an elephant. They're some of the smartest animals on the planet."
"Well, I'm not sure how useful a dolphin would be. I wouldn't want you to transform and then flop around on land, or transform back to a human in the water and end up with your clothes soaking wet."
"No, I don't think that would be useful, either. I wonder how many animagi are actually sea creatures?"
"I don't know, but I'm certain I won't be. I've never been to the ocean before. But if you turn into an elephant, that would be pretty interesting. Would you let me ride you?"
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