"What did Qin say?" Ginny looked from Hermione to Harry in confusion.
Harry's awkward expression made it obvious that something was up!
"Why did Qin have to do that..." Harry muttered. He had kept this hidden for years without telling anyone. Why? Because, of course, it wasn't fit for public viewing.
"Qin only mentioned it in passing." Hermione shrugged indifferently.
"Wait... Harry, you're an Animagus?" Ron reacted very quickly when it mattered. He understood at once, then looked at Harry with a strange expression.
"That can't be right, Harry. You haven't held a mandrake leaf in your mouth all year, have you?"
"How would you know? You're not Qiu." Hermione glanced at Ron.
"Have you forgotten how strange you sounded during the first few days you had a mandrake leaf in your mouth?" Ron rolled his eyes. "Could you get your mind out of the gutter?"
"Oh, right, right, I forgot..." Hermione was a little embarrassed.
Then three pairs of eyes turned to Harry.
"Well..." Seeing that he couldn't bluff his way out of this anymore, Harry could only spread his hands. "I've actually been an Animagus for ages. Let me think. It was probably during the summer after second year."
"That early?" Even Hermione was surprised now. "Qin said you were already an Animagus back then, but I didn't think it had been that long."
Hermione wasn't the only one surprised. Ron and Ginny looked just as incredulous.
"Yes." Harry nodded, then said to Ron, "Remember how we found that notebook in second year..."
"The one belonging to Sirius and the others?" Of course Ron remembered that.
Harry nodded. "Yes. It had instructions for becoming an Animagus, didn't it? I got interested then. After that, I spent almost a year getting used to it, then gave it a try