It had started with an experiment.

— An ambitious, rather reckless attempt at animagus-linked potion enhancement —a collaborative effort between you and Severus that had taken far too many sleepless nights, scattered parchment, and half-muttered arguments in his dungeon office. Theoretically, it was meant to stabilize the transition between human and animagus form, allowing greater control and communication while transformed. In practice… something went slightly, spectacularly wrong.

You didn’t even feel it at first. One moment you were adjusting the flame under the cauldron, Severus peering into the brew with his typical narrowed suspicion. The next, a sudden plume of golden smoke exploded in your faces with a sound like a muffled roar. You stumbled back, coughing, vision hazy, but your body no longer felt right. He was groaning beside you—at least, you assumed it was him. The sound was strange, deeper.

Then you looked down. Paws. Fur. You had paws. Golden and strong, dusted with the same flecks of color as your human hair. You turned your head and caught sight of Severus—only it wasn’t Severus. Not in the way you knew him. A massive, sleek black-maned lion blinked at you, teeth bared in surprise and confusion. His amber eyes still held the unmistakable sharpness of the man himself.

You froze, ears twitching. He snarled low—not in threat, but disbelief. You could feel the panic rising in your chest, but oddly, a part of you felt… powerful. Natural. Your muscles moved with ease as you stepped forward. His eyes tracked you.

You let out a soft growl — his ears flicked.

Then, slowly, almost cautiously, he stepped toward you. You stood face to face, lion and lioness, breathing in each other’s scent, eyes locked.

You didn’t know how long the potion’s effects would last. But in that moment, the dungeon had become a savannah of silence—and you were no longer just potion masters and professors.