281) Talk in the forest

In the middle of that space, a bonfire burned brightly, and we were all sitting on logs around it. We held sharp sticks with different kinds of meat and vegetables, slowly roasting them over the fire. The atmosphere was harmonious, and we were talking about what it felt like to be an animal, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each.

"So, your animagus is a deer? I wouldn't have expected that," Tracey said, lifting her nearly fully cooked skewer of meat.

"No, actually," I replied, gently blowing on Hermione's skewer to cool it down. She blushed, and that was exactly why I did it.

My casual response made everyone look at me again in confusion. I stayed calm, blowing a couple more times before handing the skewer to Hermione. Then, I continued roasting mine and finally clarified:

"My animagus is something else. That's just an alternate form... so to speak. It's a skill I achieved after much effort, but it has its flaws. Tomorrow, I might not be able to turn into a deer. There's only a 33% chance of achieving it every day," I said before taking a bite.

"Really? That's awesome!" Tracey said enthusiastically.

"So, you can turn into your animagus form and also into a deer sometimes? How lucky!" Parvati exclaimed.

"Don't complain, you can already transform into an animagus, you should be grateful," her sister Padma scolded.

Parvati stuck out her tongue in response, mockingly.

"So, what's your real animagus?" Ginny asked curiously, though deep down she hoped it was a horse like hers.

"Surely it's a wolf," Pansy said with a smile.

"Why do you say that?" Padma asked.

"Because he has the character of an alpha," Pansy answered, with a smile that hinted at much more. She knew about my relationships with several girls, and she also hoped my form was similar to hers. Of course, the most fitting would have been a lion, but she would never say something like that aloud.

"Doesn't matter what it is, but it'll surely be big and strong," Lavender murmured, unable to stop imagining her cat form contrasting with my possible more... imposing animal form.

"I think you could be a snake," Cho said. "You're in Slytherin, and we've already seen that most Ravenclaws are birds."

"Hey! I'm a bird, and I'm not from Ravenclaw," Tracey complained.

"The Hat made a mistake with you," Cho replied playfully.

"Hey!" Tracey protested, pointing her skewer at her.

"Maybe it's also an insect..." Astoria murmured, though everyone heard her.

"A poisonous one," Parvati added with a giggle.

"Why poisonous?" I asked, noticing how everyone avoided looking at me, somewhat embarrassed. No one wanted to admit aloud that they found my methods... unconventional, that my personality might be a little twisted.

"I think you could be a cat," Luna said in her usual dreamy tone.

"Too tame," Tracey replied without thinking too much.

"A wild cat, then?" Penelope chimed in.

"Hmm... maybe a big cat, a tiger or a leopard," Hermione suggested, thoughtfully.

"Why don't we ask him? He's right here," Hannah said, pointing at me.

They all fell silent and looked at me with expectation. It was true that, at times, they seemed to have ignored me while playing the guessing game, but they were trapped in the game and all wanted to win. But now, at this point, they wanted to hear the answer from my own lips.

They all kept looking at me for a while, waiting for me to break the silence. I watched them for a moment before speaking.

"As I told you, I used a special method for my transformation and managed to become a magical animagus. My animagus form is a magical creature." (Red)

"Isn't that like... super amazing?!" Tracey exclaimed, excited.

"You'd be the first animagus to turn into a magical creature in history," Padma commented in awe.

"There may have been others before," I said indifferently.

"But what did you turn into?" Hermione asked. "The variety of magical animals is very broad."

"Are you a dragon?!" Parvati asked, excited. The idea fascinated her, and deep down, she also thought that if I were a dragon, she wouldn't mind... riding me.

She wasn't the only one who considered it, as they thought that since I had played with them, they could play with me the same way.

"No, though that would have been interesting..." I admitted. "No, I turned into... a dark creature."

There was a moment of silence, but when I looked up, I didn't see the slightest bit of surprise on their faces. At most, a little discomfort.

"Why does no one seem surprised?" I asked incredulously.

"Naaaah..."

"Yeah, well..."

"I'm still processing it..."

No one gave a very convincing answer. The smarter ones kept silent, while the ones taking the situation humorously just covered their mouths in a fake act of surprise.

I let out a sigh. Definitely not what I expected.

"Am I so bad that you're not even surprised my animagus is a dark creature?" I asked, pouting falsely.

"It's not that you're bad, Red... it's just..." Hannah tried to respond, searching for the right words. "... Different..." she finally completed.

"You're awesome, Red. Smart, powerful, and all that..." Padma added, but her tone made it clear there was a "but" at the end.

"You have your blood magic," Cho pointed out.

"You know dark magic, and you use it against those who offend you," Millicent added.

"You give us too much homework and make us train until our bones ache," Tracey protested.

"You're very controlling," Daphne commented.

"You're a womanizer..." Ginny murmured.

"You have a perverse look," Padma said.

"You make cruel jokes," Hermione added.

"You blackmail," Pansy whispered.

"You're manipulative," Penelope added.

'He's a pervert like me, but he hasn't raped me yet...' Lavender thought, not daring to say it aloud.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I'm scum," I said, watching how some of the less attentive girls nodded unconsciously. "But still, you're all my friends... though, now that I think about it, this must be for convenience. I give you the power to become something few have achieved, and in return, I only get insults and degrading comments," I said in a hurt tone.

"*Cough* Manipulator *cough*," Parvati coughed dramatically, causing many to burst out laughing. My face flushed slightly with embarrassment.

"They're mean," I said, narrowing my eyes, but as I saw them laughing, I couldn't help but join in with a small chuckle. "But well, mean like me. I guess I was a bad influence."

"Alright, but tell us what you turned into already," Parvati insisted.

"Yeah, sure, probably a red hat," Tracey joked. "I mean, it matches your hair."

"Come on, Red, show us," said Hermione, who couldn't hide her curiosity.

"Okay," I nodded.

I stood up from the log and looked at them seriously. They all stared back at me with expectation. They wanted to know what I turned into, so I was going to give them a good demonstration.

I clenched my hands tightly as if I was about to perform a Naruto jutsu and shouted:

"Transformation!"

The excitement on their faces grew for a split second. Their eyes widened even more, ready to see something incredible: would it be big, terrifying, majestic, invisible...?

But their expectations crashed into reality when, after my shout, I simply disappeared.

Only a piece of cloth fell slowly onto the log.

The girls looked around, confused.

"Red?" Hermione asked, glancing behind her.

"Did he disappear?" Millicent frowned.

"Maybe he's invisible," suggested Penelope.

"Red, are you invisible?" asked Cho to the air.

"You better not be messing with us again," warned Hermione with a hint of concern. There was no response.

"Where is he?" murmured Ginny, while Lavender was already imagining all the things I could do to them if I were truly invisible... and almost had a small accident with her underwear.

A slight nervousness settled over the group. They were in a strange place, not knowing how they'd gotten there or how to leave. If something happened to me, would they be trapped there forever? Would they die of thirst or hunger?

The girls kept looking around in vain until their attention turned back to the piece of cloth on the log.

"He only left this behind..." Hermione said, reaching out to grab it, hoping to find some clue.

But as soon as she touched it, the cloth came to life and latched onto her arm.

"Ahhh!" Hermione screamed.

She fell back, the cloak winding around her arm, fear evident on her face. The other girls immediately reacted, pulling out their wands instinctively.

"Help!" Hermione screamed, feeling the cloak tightening around her arm, preventing her from escaping.

Several girls jumped to try and remove it, but before they could do anything, Hermione started laughing uncontrollably. Unexpected ticklish sensations ran through her trapped hand, causing her laughter to blend with her distress. This only confused the others even more.

"It's a Letifold! Red turned into a Letifold!" Penelope suddenly exclaimed.

There was a moment of confusion. Many had no idea what she was talking about, but they understood the general idea: that black cloak that was trapping Hermione... it was me.

"Red?!" several of them exclaimed in unison.

Smiling internally, I decided to undo the transformation, returning to my human form. However, I ended up in an awkward situation: Hermione's fingers were in my mouth. As soon as she noticed, she pulled them away abruptly, with an expression of disgust and anger.

Before I could say a word, Hermione jumped on me and began hitting me repeatedly on the chest and stomach, not holding back.

"You're horrible!" she shouted, venting her anger with each blow.

"You scared us, Red," Hannah sighed, though her voice made it clear she was also upset.

"Is that your animagus? A piece of cloth?" asked Pansy, frowning with disappointment.

"Letifold, that's what Penelope called it," Cho pointed out. "But what is a Letifold?"

Hermione, still glaring at me, eventually tired of hitting me, but she still took the chance to give me a hard pinch. Then, along with the others, she turned to Penelope with curiosity.

"A Letifold is a dark creature, one of the most dangerous there is," Penelope explained seriously.

The girls sat back down on the logs, ready for an unexpected lesson on unknown magical creatures. Hermione, however, was torn between sitting far from me because she was angry or staying close to continue punishing me.

"More dangerous for wizards," I corrected, rubbing the spot where Hermione had pinched me.

"Yeah, I suppose the real danger is for wizards. Maybe dragon fire or a unicorn could easily defeat them," Penelope admitted thoughtfully.

"But how dangerous can it really be? After all, it's just a piece of black cloth," Pansy commented, disappointed that it wasn't something more impressive, like a magical wolf.

"Letifolds are extremely dangerous because there's only one known spell that can repel them," Penelope explained. "And it doesn't even defeat them, just repels them: the Patronus Charm."

"Is it completely immune to magic?" Cho asked, surprised.

"Yes. Also, they're carnivores, aggressive, and very stealthy. They attack people while they sleep, suffocate them, and then devour them without leaving a trace—no sign of the creature or its victims. It's classified XXXXX by the Ministry of Magic because of its lethality."

The girls looked at me again with curiosity and some unease.

"She's right, everything she said is true," I confirmed.

"But if it's so dangerous, why have I never heard of it? It should be more well-known if it's that lethal. Or is it extinct?" asked Hannah.

"No, it's because there are no Letifolds in England or many other places. They only live in tropical climates, which is why they aren't mentioned much here, unless you're studying magical creatures in-depth," Penelope clarified.

"Yeah, definitely would be more comfortable in a warm and humid place in that form," I commented, nodding. "The cloak dries out and is really uncomfortable."

The conversation about my transformation went on for quite a while. The girls were fascinated, some by the fact that I was the first magical animagus they'd met, and others by the creature I had turned into. They asked all sorts of questions: how it felt to be a Letifold, if it had eyes or a mouth, if it breathed, if they could sew me into a dress... stuff like that.

I smiled inwardly. Yeah, I was definitely a bad influence on them.

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