Just like Harry and the others, Cassandra and her companions had also completed the final steps of their Animagus training. Luna transformed into a rabbit, mirroring her Patronus, while Hermione became a small otter, similarly reflecting her own Patronus.
"Luna? What did I look like just now?" Cassandra asked.
"Probably... an otter? What about me?"
"A rabbit, a very cute little rabbit."
"Thank you, you looked cute too," Luna replied.
Satisfied with their newfound abilities, the two Ravenclaw girls gathered their things and headed back to their common room.
...
Cassandra's transformation was quite remarkable. She became an extraordinarily beautiful bird, strikingly similar to her Patronus. Slightly larger than a parrot, its emerald feathers were magnificent and elegant, complemented by a long, stunning golden tail. Judging by the way the emerald bird stood, wings akimbo, Cassandra was clearly delighted with her animal form.
The only downside? It was mostly green! Fortunately, the bird she transformed into differed slightly from her Patronus Charm; it boasted a beautiful, non-green crest of feathers upon its head. Otherwise, she would have been furious.
"Thank goodness, as long as the crest isn't green, it's fine."
Back in human form, Cassandra patted her rather ample chest. As long as the crest isn't green, the other feathers don't matter.
However, unlike the others, Cassandra didn't rush back to the Slytherin common room after her Animagus studies. Instead, she transformed back into the striking emerald bird and flew to a window on the fourth floor of the castle. Landing gracefully, she struck a pose, wings on her hips, head held high, radiating an air of expectation, silently demanding praise.
Unfortunately, the office was empty.
"..."
Her eyes widened in confusion as she tilted her head, looking around. It's confirmed, that idiot Tom is definitely not here! That wretched Tom! Honestly, why does he always wander off?!
Cassandra was exasperated by Tom's constant disappearances. With a sigh, she realized she had no choice but to return; it was getting late. Thinking this, the Emerald Bird turned and flew back out the window.
...
The next day, Malfoy still looked utterly dejected. The contrast between his expectations and reality was too stark. He had been the most eager to learn to be an Animagus, but now he was the one who most regretted it.
Harry's Animagus was tall and mighty, Cassandra's was beautiful and could fly, Hermione's could swim, and Luna's was at least fairly attractive, but him? A skunk. He couldn't accept it.
Malfoy's strange behavior worried Harry and the others. They tried to comfort him, but Malfoy was inconsolable, just staring blankly at the sky. After all, months of effort, risking never turning back into a human... and he ended up as a flightless, swimming, unlikable animal that just farts? I might as well not have bothered.
Luckily, Hermione, the know-it-all, had read enough about wild animals to offer some insight. She recognised Malfoy's Animagus form. "Hey! Malfoy, that's not a skunk! It's a weasel!"
"A weasel?" Malfoy silently transformed back into human form, a glimmer of hope returning to his eyes. "Does it fart?"
"Uh... yes."
"Then it's still a skunk?!" Malfoy looked as if the sky had fallen.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't rush me!" Hermione tried to explain from a scientific perspective. "Weasels belong to the Mustelidae family and the Mustelus genus, while skunks belong to the Mephitidae family. They're different; they're not the same kind of animal."
Unfortunately, Malfoy still looked lifeless, completely uninterested in families or genera. All he knew was that a farting weasel was basically a skunk.
Hermione had no choice but to explain in simpler terms. "Skunks are generally over half a meter long, while weasels are only about twenty or thirty centimeters long. Do you understand now?"
"Not even as big as a skunk?" Malfoy, with his peculiar logic, found a new angle. "Then isn't that even more useless?" He simply lay down.
"..."
The know-it-all was exasperated. All her persuasion had been futile; he was hopeless, and she had her own limits. If you won't listen, I'm too lazy to try.
"Let's leave him here and go." With that, she led Luna toward the Great Hall, leaving only Harry with Malfoy.
"It's alright, Malfoy, my stag isn't much use either, is it?" Harry patted the blond hair reassuringly. "Look, it's big, not very strong, and too conspicuous. It's easy to spot, especially in crowded places. It's much more useless than your stinky... weasel, isn't it?"
"But Scarface..." Malfoy looked up. "Didn't we learn these things in the first place just to show off? We never thought of using them for the things you're talking about."
"Uh... I guess so." Harry gave an awkward twitch of his mouth.
"Sigh, whatever, I'll just pretend I never learned about Animagus." Malfoy sat up. "But don't ever say the word 'weasel' to me again, or I'll get angry."
"Alright, alright, young master, we have to go to class."
"Okay, let's go! Scarface!"
...
Back in Tom's office on the fourth floor of the castle, Tom sat holding a copy of the Daily Prophet. Unlike usual, Cassandra wasn't engrossed in studying the books he'd left behind, but instead staring at him unabashedly.
"Ahem, Cassandra, shouldn't you be in class right now?" Tom asked.
"No, I already know it."
"Silly apprentice, skipping class is really bad behavior."
"Didn't you teach me this? Fine, you can deduct points from my academy if you want."
"..."
Tom smirked. "Okay, so what is it?"
"You really didn't notice?" Cassandra feigned a wronged expression.
"Okay, okay, you've learned Animagus, right? So great..." Tom said comfortingly, ruffling Cassandra's hair.
---
Done with the chapter? You got thoughts? Drop them. Simple as that.