Chapter 4

Blaise

My name is Blaise Zabini.

I had to admit that I was a little frustrated. I couldn't determine what Goldstein had done or why he was so desperate to talk to me. It was out of his character.

Somehow, he had entered his thoughts into my mind. That alone was cause for curiosity. It was very advanced magic, there were few that could successfully intrude on one's mind like that. Those that could we very experienced and talented wizards, all of them masters of Legimency. I knew for a fact that Goldstein would never even consider using magic that was so invasive.

There was even another issue with this that I couldn't understand. I had read about the thought projection spell. Though it only works the one way, the user still forces their way into your mind. You feel it digging into your head. You feel pressure as they enter your head. You feel some of their emotions too. My mother mentioned it once when I asked her on the subject. She mentioned that the Dark Lord had done it once over an entire area that she had the misfortune of crossing. She felt his malice, his wicked joy. However, all of this was absent. I got his thought up sentences, nothing more. None of it made sense.

"And then he had the Halfblood banging his head against the table shouting 'I am not worthy'." A round of cackles and laughter filled the entire common room as one of the fifth years over dramatically told a story from his Dark Arts class. Naturally, half the house found it hilarious. The rest found it good enough to smirk at. I simply found it annoying and ignored them. Theodore on the other hand, had to duck his head, hiding his face in his bangs.

It was only because I was sharing a table with him and knew how to read him that I caught it at all. The flicker of anger and sadness crossing dark blue orbs. Theodore Nott is one of the few people I genuinely felt pity for. He comes from an ancient, pureblood family, an aristocratic one that has always believed in pureblood supremacy since its beginning. His father was one of the Dark Lord's friends in school, was one of the first Death Eaters and had always held a very high position in his Inner circle.

So naturally, Theodore was raised to be the perfect, pureblood aristocrat, a worthy heir to the House of Nott. To look down on all those who were deemed inferior to him, to be the epitome of pureblood supremacy. His clothes, outside his uniform were always custom designed versions of upper class robes, his stringy blond hair was always at least reaching down to an inch from his shoulders and always passed them when it was time to go home. His face was always carefully made blank or scowling at anyone purebloods considered lowly or distasteful. He looked and acted just like the perfect pureblood his father wanted. And he absolutely hated all of it.

The truth was that hidden under all of it was a very kind person. He had no problem with Muggles and Mudbloods, he got annoyed when I called them that. In fact, he really preferred them and blood traitors. But he could never let his father know, the consequences would be horrible. His father was a cruel man, even to his son if he didn't conform with his beliefs and demands and now that the Dark Lord had returned, it had only gotten worse for him.

He was rather fortunate that his father had him learn how to hide his emotions and put up masks. It was the one thing that allowed his true nature to go unnoticed, both at home and in Slytherin House, where any of our housemates could expose him to his father if he ever gave away anything. And when he couldn't hold it anymore, he hid behind the bangs that normally drove him crazy.

I was the only person who knew his secret and at first that freaked him out. It wasn't until he realised a week later that I was keeping my mouth shut that he approached me about it and relaxed.

"Is there really nothing else they can talk about?" I barely heard the words escaping his lips, not that I was supposed to. That was a slip up that was occurring more and more these days. He desperately wanted to stop the mistreatment, but even attempting it would put him through misery by the other Slytherins, his father and Death Eaters. Being disowned with nothing but the clothes on his back would be the nicest part by far. His self preservation wasn't allowing it. That didn't stop his frustration and misery from growing though.

I didn't bother with an answer. I'd only give him a look and his hair would block it from view anyway.

For the most part we ignored the rest of our House. While they kept around us elsewhere, in our common room they left us mostly alone. We had made it firmly known that we were neutral in this civil war and had no interest in talking about the Dark Lord's 'glorious conquests'. That alone got us a few glares and had Theodore's father angry with him, but as long as we weren't siding with the enemy they mostly dealt with it. So while they were bragging about what they and the Death Eaters were doing, we were left to our own devices. Theodore was currently trying to distract himself with the properties of potion ingredients and their compatibility while I was going over everything I could find on thought projection. The more I learned, the more I was sure that Goldstein would never touch the stuff.

"Hey, you know those Prefects are out doing rounds right now. What do you say we give them some grief?" Bulstrode called, getting some snickers and keen nods as ten people got up. The whole group laughed uproariously at the prospect of leaving the first Hufflepuff Prefect they saw frozen in place and covered in sludge.

As inappropriate as the future Death Eaters' intentions were, they did have their benefit. They reminded me to check my watch. If I wished to accept Goldstein's request, even ignoring my curiosity over what he'd done, I had the feeling that I should, I had to leave now.

"You're going too?" I barely heard Theodore as I stood up, placing my book down on the table. Glancing over at him, I managed to catch the instance his mask completely shattered. He only let me see it for a second before he shifted his head down and hid behind his bangs again, but only a fool would miss the raw fear and sadness he'd pierced me with. "I...I thought you weren't interested." He forced out, struggling to keep the nonchalance in his voice. I barely noticed the strain, but it was there.

"I'm not." I deadpanned as his once again blank face looked up at me. "I have no interest in doing anything with or for Death Eaters." It was a paranoid assumption on his part, but considering that I could ruin his facade, this wasn't the first time I'd followed Death Eater Wannabes out and I was hardly as pro blood traitor and Mudblood as he was, it was understandable. I could be swayed a lot easier than him and if I gave away his secret then it was all over for him.

Taking note of the number of people still close by, I took a step closer to Theodore and gave him a look indicating for him to stand before continuing, keeping my voice very low. "If you must know, I am going to have a talk with a member of that little group you admire so much."

"Goldstein?" Theodore whispered, this time letting his surprise show through as he frowned. He knew who, there were few outside of Slytherin that I'd ever said a single word to. "But his curfew is real soon. He'd never meet you and get back to his House before he was sealed out. What are you up to?"

"Don't know. I'm more intrigued than anything else." I responded before nodding goodbye and walking off. I could feel him frowning at me all the way out of the common room.

...

I had to move slower than I normally would. Now that we were outside the common room, the other Slytherins were likely to try and draw me into their theatrics. It was a standard tactic, making it look like the entire House was united and making it look more intimidating. They especially liked me being present because I gave off plenty of intimidation on my own.

Not that I cared too much. Goldstein sounded desperate, the thought of someone like him resorting to mental intrusion only emphasising the point, and he was naturally a patient person. He'd be grateful I showed up even if I was an hour late.

Reaching the door, I was about to open it when I felt the sudden urge to go back to reading my book. Why would I let someone like Goldstein know that they had knowledge to hold over me? I shouldn't be curious how he got into my mind, I should be able to tell him exactly how he did it and demand to know what made him think that he could enter my head with my permission.

However, as quickly as the urge appeared, it disappeared again, leaving me a little confused. I had come to respect Goldstein's talents and knowledge. I had no problem with asking him for an explanation and I had no real issue with him entering my head. He swore I was only listening to his thoughts, he didn't have a clue what mine were. There was no way he could without Legimency and I knew that he'd never touch such a thing.

Taking another look at the door, I smirked in realisation. It was hastily drawn, but off to the side of it was a rune circle, a complex one at that. I didn't know all the runes in use, but I definitely recognised the distraction runes used to send people away and what Goldstein told me was some type of filtering rune. He must have used this instead of a spell to allow me immunity from it. Other than our Runes Professor herself, Goldstein was the only person in the school that could do something so complex. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he was showing off.

Opening the door, I watched as Goldstein stopped fiddling with something behind a bench and whipped around only to relax and offer a relieved grin as I shut the door behind me. "Blaise! Thanks so much for coming."

"Rather impressive rune work. Though overpowered. I don't believe I was supposed to be affected at all." I commented with a small dip of my head. "You must be desperate. All this advanced magic you're putting into this private meeting. Entering my mind. I still don't believe you have that in you. The steps to such magic is too invasive for you."

"True." He said slowly, hesitantly biting his lip. "I was in a hurry when I drew the circle. I might have overcharged it a bit, I was just glad that it didn't blow up on me or something, you know? It'd only take a few runes being drawn too wonky or adding a tail or something to one."

"You're rambling." I stated stoically, Goldstein immediately shutting his mouth with a snap. That wasn't it either. He was pointedly focusing on the runes, not the thought projection. He was more nervous than usual. His hands were twiddling like they did with his quill every time a Professor praised him or asked him to speak before the class. Still, I'd let the mental invasion go for a little longer. "I believe you have a reason for such extremes. If this was about homework, you would have spoken to me after class."

"Yeah, that's true." He nodded, though now he was even growing hesitant just to look at me. "This is...that is to say...um..."

I just stared, waiting. I was probably unnerving him even more, watching him so intently, but I didn't offer any words. He'd get it out. He always did. Eventually.

"It's about that night...in the forest." The last part came out a lot softer than I was expecting. I only heard it because the room had a slight echo.

"What about it?" I asked emotionlessly. "I believe I made it clear that night that my assistance was a onetime thing. I have no intention of being involved again."

"Except...in a part of it, none of us has a choice in the matter. You did become involved." Goldstein responded slowly, biting his lip as he watched me worriedly. I gave him nothing, I just stood there, waiting for him to explain. "When you saw the Muggles there, when you touched the box...it made you too dangerous to leave on your own. This isn't about the Statute of Secrecy!" He added quickly as I scoffed. "This is about something a lot bigger. A lot more dangerous."

I admit, that caught my attention. What could be so dangerous about seeing them with Muggle filth and a glowing Muggle contraption? Besides the Death Eaters' opinion of the matter of course, but I now highly doubted that had anything to do with this. "Explain."

"First, I need to confirm something." If he bit his lip any harder he was going to rip it apart as he stepped right in front of me. Raising his hand, he gave me a silent request. Intrigued, I clasped it with my own and waited for an explanation. "When you touched the box, did the tingling feel like this?"

A mere second after he finished talking, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and yes, the familiar tingling the box gave me was suddenly dancing over every piece of skin that Goldstein was touching. However, this time all my senses dulled, along with my mind. I felt my whole body relax and my eyes drooped half closed. I can't say that it was unpleasant. In fact, I couldn't even find the will to care that my brain wasn't working at its normal speed. All I could do was give in and relax.

Goldstein gently dropped my hand a few seconds later, though my mind barely registered it. I stayed like that for another good ten seconds before my mind started to clear and I was able to focus on Goldstein's nervous face. Once I did though, reality came back like a slap in the face. Goldstein had just dulled my mind!

"I'm sorry, I forgot about the trance inducement." He said quickly, giving me the most apologetic look I'd ever seen. Not that many were ever directed towards me. Slytherins would never give me genuine apologies and the other students were always scared that I was going to curse them. Goldstein and Theodore were the only people who would ever consider it. "I should have warned you. Sorry."

"What was that?" I asked, getting right to the point. I knew Goldstein was being honest and I knew he wouldn't plot against me, so I wasn't really mad. But I still wanted an answer.

"The trance is a by-product, just like the tingling I asked about, for a transfer. Was the tingling sensation like the one the box gave you?" He asked nervously.

"Yes. Now what is this transfer? What did you and that box take?" I asked, a little irritated now. Something was being taken from me?

"I got a sample of your DNA, nothing you'll miss, don't worry. You have plenty more. It's like losing one drop of blood." He answered, his hands going back to fiddling like crazy as his eyes stared at the ground. I didn't know what DNA was, but I didn't see any reason to not believe him. You could tell when he lied. "The box however, didn't take anything. I'm sorry, I know I should have asked before taking some of your DNA, but I needed to be sure before I said anything else. You see, your answer to my question confirmed that the box gave you something."

What in the name of Merlin? Gave me something? "What could a Muggle toy possibly give me besides a disease?" I cried, surprising even myself when my astoundment and disbelief broke through to the surface. It took a good moment to school my face back to my usual blank look and Goldstein took just as long to start speaking, seeming to struggle to find his tongue.

"That wasn't made by Muggle humans. In fact, it wasn't even made on Earth." What the hell? What was he talking about?

"You don't really expect me to believe that it dropped out of the sky, do you?" I asked and let me tell you, it was a struggle not to look at him like I thought he was insane. He still seemed to catch on though, for he flinched again before taking a few deep breaths.

"I'll explain it all in a few moments." He said softly, seeming to lose more and more of his confidence. "First, I'll answer your first question. It gave you power. A specific type of power, that's actually broken into three. The first one is absorbing DNA, like I just did to you. This is so you can use the second, the main one. It's...just watch and bear in mind that I've drank no potions." With that, he took out his wand and placed it on a desk, right out his reach as he turned back to me. Only this time, while his nerves were still clear to see, there was a surprising amount of determination coming my way too. "Normally this is disgusting to watch, just a so you're prepared."

"Prepared for..." I started, only for my mouth to freeze midsentence. He had done nothing but frown and yet his skin was noticeably darkening. It only got stranger from there as his hair started curling slightly, the way mine did when it gained a bit of length, while darkening to black. Shrugging off his outer robe, I could see that his muscles were bulging a little, reshaping to match mine. What little difference in our heights was gone within moments, not that it was ever really noticeable to begin with, the air filling with the screeking and cracking sounds that I could only assume came from his bones expanding and reshaping. Finally, the light brown of his eyes darkened to my coffee coloured ones while his face reshaped itself, giving him more defined cheekbones, a more noticeable nose and tightening the skin around it a little more. By the time it was done, if it wasn't for the blue and bronze tie and the lack of outer robes, I would have been staring at a perfect mirror image of how I looked right then.

"The ability is shapeshifting. Obviously." He even had my exact voice! Admittedly, it sounded strange considering that the last time there had ever been any hint of nervousness or sheepishness in it was long before it deepened, but it was definitely my voice. Even Polyjuice potion couldn't pull off the vocal change! I had to hand it to Goldstein. Six years of wild, unpredictable circumstances at Hogwarts and I'd gone through the whole series of events completely unphased, shrugging it all off. It was all possible after all, even if unlikely. And yet here was Goldstein leaving me speechless!

"I hope you don't intend to do anything with my face." I said dryly, though it was a struggle. I wasn't going to let him know how shocked I was. To be shocked over something with origins with the Muggles...wait, how could the Muggles have ever pulled off something like this? It was a supernatural ability and that was advanced even beyond the magical equivalent!

"N-no! Of course not!" He responded quickly, throwing up his...my, whatever, hands and shaking his head. "This was just...the best way I could think of showing you the whole set of abilities I'm talking about."

"Then what is the third?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Focus on that for now, get my head a little more wrapped around the rest of it before dealing with the details. I felt that was the best way to handle the situation right now. The results were ultimately the most important part anyway.

"You've already experienced the third power." Goldstein muttered, gnawing on his lip. It was good he didn't intend to use my face, because anyone would see he was a fake in an instant. I did not show off any signs of nervousness. I wouldn't be caught dead chewing on my lip. /It's how I got the message to meet me to you./

I actually tensed at that, my eyes never leaving Goldstein as he watched me unsurely, waiting for my response. So that was how he did it? It wasn't the thought projection spell at all, but a power granted by a glowing, Muggle contraption? I refused to believe it! There was no way that the Muggles could get this far when even magic only gave pale, pathetic comparisons! It was preposterous!

"The third power, thought speak, was actually an originally unintended addition." Goldstein said quietly, though his tone had taken on the lecturing tone I often heard when I asked for assistance in Ancient Runes. Focusing back on reality, I found him slowly changing back into himself as he talked, putting a few hitches into his voice. "The race that created the power were the Andalites. You saw one that night. It was the blue creature comparable to a centaur. They have no mouths, so they always speak telepathically. I assume when they made the box, known as the Escafil Device or the morphing cube, they put in an adjustment so that they may continue communicating when they changed forms. As such, when we change forms, we gain the ability too. I was told by the original humans to use this power and the Andalite, Aximili, that practice and experience with the ability can even allow you to let others feel how you feel, even give people your courage." By the time he had finished his lecture, he was completely back to normal.

"Andalites are a race from...another planet." He continued before I could speak. He was just babbling now. Normally, I'd tell him to stop, but this time I wanted to know everything he had to tell me. I wanted answers, what made him think a non-magical thing could do all this, how to discredit the belief, anything that would make all of this make sense to me. Anything that I could wrap my head around. "They have no magic of their own and fear the few they know do. They are a highly scientific race, thousands of years beyond the Muggles. They are currently locked in a war with another race of aliens called Yeerks. These aliens are parasites that enter the host's brain and take control of them. The Yeerks came to Earth and began a subtle invasion about a decade ago and the Andalites came to try and stop them only to be defeated. One of the few survivors found a ground of teenagers and gave them the cube and its power as a last ditch effort to stop the Yeerks. You see, the cube gives you the power to turn into any animal you touch, not just the ability to go from one human to another. This way, the teenagers, who called themselves the Animorphs, could both fight the Yeerks and hide their identities from them under the guise of Andalite Bandits."

He kept rambling on from there and I made sure to listen to every word. He told me that these Yeerks had made their made to the Wizarding world, which was why the Muggles showed up here. He told me about the proof of the fact that he'd seen, from the giant centipedes called Taxxons, another race under the Yeerks' employment, to the whole in the forest floor that lead to a modified Chamber of Secrets. He told me about being saved by a wolf, about how these Animorphs made themselves known to their chosen helpers, the leaders of the DA and gaining the power himself. He told me of the trip to find Potter's group, going to the zoo and even admitted to being involved in the Azkaban breakout, which was apparently inspired by the fact that it was a Yeerk goldmine. He told me about the bladed creatures there, Hork-Bajir, the shock troops of these Yeerks. And then he told me about the Yeerks in more depth.

I must admit, it did unnerve me. I really did not want to believe anything about them, even more so than about aliens inventing things that outdid magic. The descriptions he'd been given of Yeerk enslavement and what he'd seen for himself were sick and horrifying. It made the Imperious Curse sound humane! It was bad enough hearing about the desperate screams and struggles of those he'd seen being temporarily Yeerk free down in the Chamber of Secrets, but the rest of it? No one deserved it. No one deserved to have a slimy creature crawl into their head and rip away control of not only their bodies, but their minds. No one deserved to have every special moment, every thought, fear, emotion and memory felt and observed, exploited and laughed at.

"I do not wish to believe any of this." I said once he finished, taking great care to keep my face blank now. It was all too much to take in, too unbelievable. Coming from anyone else, I would discard everything that had been said as false or stupidity in an instant, but I Goldstein had me hesitant. He'd never make something like this up and he wouldn't tell me unless he completely believed everything he said himself. In which case, I would have believed that he'd snapped, but that was countered by the evidence he'd given me of these...abilities. "This is..."

"Well beyond the understanding or beliefs of the traditional Wizarding world." Goldstein nodded, his lips curling into a hesitant grin before turning serious again. "But I need you to believe me. Even though you didn't realise what you'd seen and gained, if a Yeerk gets into your head, they would and we'd all be screwed. The Yeerks are currently moving very slowly, acquiring host, but trying to get as few people in positions to enter our civil war as they can. They really want a large number of hosts that have the intention of staying out of it. In addition, Slytherin is the most infested House at the moment, the Yeerks aiming for those that are too young to get involved in the war. There is also apparently a secret entrance to the Yeerk Pool in Slytherin House that's just been completed. You're one of the oldest students in that House and are openly neutral."

"Everything makes me a prime target." I summed up. "And if I could ruin you all before, I can destroy you completely now."

"Exactly." Goldstein nodded before sighing, giving me a defeated look. "Look, you don't have to believe all of it. If you can't grasp it all, or just refuse to accept it...that's ok. I just need you to accept that there are people who are willing to do you harm and to make sure they never get you. Pay attention to Slughorn, or Baddock or Mandy and Morag from my House when they think no one's listening to them and you'll see enough to prove that at least. At this point, that's all that I can ask."

"I can be more cautious." I accepted, getting a relieved smile in return. All the alien nonsense aside, it was entirely possible that there were undesirable characters around who would happily force others into their service. Actually, it was well established fact. And if accepting that was enough to make Goldstein relax, then that was fine. But still, this whole thing with 'Muggle power'... "In return, I would like more proof of this power of yours." I stated challengingly, raising an eyebrow as he frowned in return. "You claim that it allows you to turn into animals too, not just wizards?"

"Any that you've touched." Goldstein nodded, loosening his tie. "Even magical creatures."

"Prove it." I said immediately. Now this I refused to believe until I saw it. No wizard had ever managed to shapeshift into an already existing magical creature before. The only time such a thing was even heard of was the legend of the Quintaped's origins, when a family clan was turned into the monsters by a feuding clan. The clan responsible was all killed by the beasts when they failed again and again to reverse the spell after discovering just how dangerous the new creatures were. No one even knew how they did it, every attempt at transfiguring anything into a magical creature failed horribly, often ending in death, and no one had ever had one for an Animagus form. Whether the source of this power was magical or not, if Goldstein really could turn into a magical creature and back successfully...well, it would definitely make the rest of this nonsense a bit more plausible, even if I still loathed to admit it.

Goldstein blushed in response, something I could help but find strange, but he nodded anyway. As he sat on the desk, my raised eyebrow only rose higher as he removed his tie completely and moved on to his shoes. "What exactly are you doing?"

"This doesn't work like Animagi." He blushed harder, his socks quickly following his shoes to the floor before his hands slowly, hesitantly, moved to his belt. "Only certain clothes can morph with your body and that takes practice. I don't even have the right clothes. The creature I intend to turn into is small, but last time my clothes caused problems, burying me in my shoes. I'm just aiming for an easier escape." With that, he set his belt down on the table and unbuttoned his shirt, having it join his robe a moment later before standing back up. "Now, this will be disgusting." He reminded me, pressing his lips together in a nervous grin before closing his eyes, a look of deep concentration growing on his face.

I watched on in disgust, almost puking as he shrank into his loosening pants, his skin going brown and hard, his fingers and toes fusing together. It was more than a little disturbing how his face sunk and hardened, not to mention the way his arms started bend backwards as well as forwards. Human arms weren't supposed to do that! But what really got me was the sounds. Bones cracked and sawed away, what had to be his organs were slurping and squelching. It was so unnerving that I almost gave up on disciplining my appearance completely and covered my ears.

I was thankful that he shrunk right into the seat of his pants and got himself buried in them by the end of it. Watching such a slow, detailed change was simply disturbing. Though the result did prove his claims. When all the noises stopped, Goldstein climbed his way out and there before me stood a small, treelike bowtruckle. A very defined magical creature.

"That's why you asked to take it back outside yourself." It was a statement.

/That's correct./ Goldstein admitted, taking off for a broken chair, quickly climbing up it and jumping onto the desk. /I knew a magical creature morph would be the best way to convince you I was telling you the truth. Though if you want more proof, I could morph into a painted wolf./

"Nothing would be proven by that morph now." I replied blankly, never taking my eyes off of him. "There are no fallbacks to taking this form?" I let my curiosity show this time. It was fascinating. Without their specific magic, the plant-like body of a bowtruckle wouldn't be able to survive. It would stiffen up like a tree, which would be fine if it didn't need food and water, both consumed in the same manner as most other animals. But Goldstein was moving around perfectly. That could only mean... "Do you have its magic too?"

/Yes. It's in its DNA. A tiny portion of it stays in my human form now too./ He answered, leaving me completely gobsmacked. This power he...we had been given could allow us to take on the power of other magical races? Was there any limit to this absorption and transformation? Would it even be successful with creatures as big and powerful as a Nundu or a dragon? And if so, just what are the effects on the human form?

I guess the only way to find out is to experiment. I decided, my mind set. Goldstein said that I had this power too. Now I just needed proof of that.

"So the first part of this works by touch, correct?" I asked, taking a step forward. "If I touch you, I absorb your DNA?"

/Normally, yes. You just have to concentrate on what you're trying to acquire./ Goldstein answered. /But it won't on me right now!/ He added hastily as I raised my hand to him. Dropping my hand, I raised an eyebrow and gave him my usual 'explain' look. /For some reason I don't really understand, it's impossible to acquire DNA from someone in morph. You can acquire the real me, but you need to acquire a real bowtruckle to morph one. However, I have an answer to that. Look in the cage under that sheet./ He said, pointing a thin, sharp finger to the desk beside his.

Typical Goldstein. I smirked, grabbing the sheet. The guy was always well prepared, usually to the point of overcompensating. I almost snorted when I lifted the sheet. There, snoring away was a Cornish pixie.

Opening the door, I slowly reached in, moving carefully so as not to wake the thing. It was small, but they were wild and strong little devils. With my hand in the cage and so close to it, I doubted that I'd manage to get my wand on it before the blighter dragged me halfway through the bars with it if it woke up.

Placing my finger on its wing, I spared a moment to get confirmation that I was doing it right and concentrated on the puny troublemaker. Its colour its shape, anything I noticed about it. Once again I felt the tingling sensation before, but the trance was completely absent. Instead, the pixie's breathing actually slowed even more than its sleeping state had caused.

/That's it, you've got it./ Goldstein said softly, not risking surprising me. Pulling my hand back, I closed the cage and turned back to Goldstein.

"What now?"

/You morph the same way you acquire, by concentrating on the form. You have to keep the concentration from beginning to end, but that's the only challenge until the morph is complete./

"And after that?" I caught the meaning to that line loud and clear. He hadn't told me something.

/You'll get more than just the form and the pixie's magic in place of your own when you morph. You will gain its basic instincts as well. They will try to take over and on the first time you take up the form, it's easy for them to succeed./ He continued, hopping down from the desk. /While we're talking about the dangers once you've morphed, there is one more that you must take note of now. There's a time limit risk. Never stay in a morph for two full hours, otherwise you won't be able to change back you'll, be stuck in that morph forever. Other than that, it's perfectly safe. Just wait a moment for me to morph back, in case you get out of hand./ He added as an afterthought, the sounds of his body snapping apart and reforming. Within a few minutes, a very embarrassed Goldstein was stumbling from behind the desk and moving for his clothes. Showing him a little sympathy, I turned away and started taking my own clothes off. Unlike Goldstein, I had no qualms with him see me naked, so I took off everything and placed it on the desk holding the cage before closing my eyes and concentrating on the tiny, blue, winged humanoid form of the pixie.

I was appreciative that I had watched and heard Goldstein go through this already. It made me more prepared to watch and listen to my body change. Which was good, for being unprepared for the feeling of it for the first time was disconcerting enough on its own.

I felt it as my bones grinded together, shrinking and reshaping. I could feel my organs liquidating and solidifying into new, small shapes again when they were done. My whole body tingled as it thinned out and my skin seemed to grow stretched and rubbery.

I actually gasped as I shrank. Not because I was rushing closer to the ground like Goldstein did, but because my feet left the ground. My transition slowed a little as I tried to figure that out, my mind only returning to the task at hand when I remembered what I deemed the most interesting fact about them. Though they have wings, they could still float and fly small distances without them, a definite benefit if they were injured. The pixie's magic must have already surfaced and be in subconscious use.

When my concentration was once again properly focused once more, I felt my skull start to pinch in two places on my head and up sprouted a pair of antennas. My field of vision widened as my eyes stopped shrinking with the rest of my head and expanded a little again, taking up a lot more of my face. My ears felt like something was tugging on them as they stretched out, each one reaching a length comparable to the width of my head, while my skin turned blue from head to toe.

Then, while my fingers and toes were fusing together into threes and twos respectively, I felt two pairs of wings erupt from my back.

What little remained to changed altered itself into completion quite quickly after my wings started fluttering. Looking myself over, I had just enough time to take everything in before it was like a bomb went off in my head.

Why do I always hold back? Being calm and serious is no fun, why not go wild? Let's do it right now! Spinning around in the air, I found a cage with a fellow pixie in it, but immediately waved it off. The pixie was sleeping, it wasn't going to be interested in fun for a while. Now, that human however...oh, this would be good.

"Blaise? Are you ok" The human sounded cautious, was holding his breath. What a fun victim. My lips spreading into the most mischievous smile I'd ever made in my life, I cackled down at him, only making him tense more. "Blaise, focus! You need to take control of those instincts." Screw control. Time for some nice mayhem.

The human let out a scream as I dived at him. I just laughed in response, loving his screams as I grabbed his hood and dragged him back until he fell on his butt. I only laughed harder as he looked up at me, well and truly dumbstruck. A look that turned horrified as he realised that I'd snatched his wand as I flew away. Hehehe, this was turning into riot.

...

It had taken me an hour. A whole, bloody hour to wrangle control back from the mischievous pixie mind. It wasn't until Goldstein was screaming in pure, mortal terror that I finally snapped out of it to find myself holding him upside down by his big toe close to the ceiling. The pixie was an overly lively, energetic mischief maker so determined to cause what it deemed hilarious chaos that I'd ended up completely lost in it. The chaos I created was only matched by that of the pixie's mind!

Goldstein didn't seem any happier about it than I was, though while I was frustrated, he was sad and humiliated. Throughout my tornado of terror, I'd turned his hair a bright shade of pink, tied his wrists together with his own belt, tied up his legs with his outer robes and written a number of degrading words, including loser, wimp and few other equally childish names, on every visible bit of skin from his head to his toes with old ink that had been left in a cupboard. Among other things, some of which neither he, nor I would want to ever mention again. A pixie wielding your own wand against you is simply horrifying.

Having more than enough of this anti me mindset, I started morphing back as soon as I got Goldstein safely back to the ground. Kneeling down next to him as soon as I was fully human again, I undid the belt, setting his hands free, and gave him back his wand which he immediately used to cast vanishing charms on the ink while I freed his legs before going back over to my clothes.

Looking up as I finished snapping my belt back into place, I looked back over at Goldstein and grunted exasperatedly as he sadly tried and failed once again to change his hair back to normal. Pixie magic was different than wizardry, even if it was focused through the same medium, it was probably going to take quite a few hours at least for the colouration to fade back to his usual blonde.

Sighing, I took my own wand and vanished the 'Loser' still written across his forehead and pulled his hood up, a clear indication to leave it for now. Goldstein just nodded in response, staring defeatedly at the floor.

"I should have known the pixie mind would be tricky for you. It's far too different from yours." He muttered quietly, his red face never looking away from the ground. "Far too wild, too excitable. Should have known. Sorry."

"I let my guard down." I snapped, frustrated with myself. "Wild and excitable or not, I should have been able to subdue it quicker. You...you owe me no apology." I added, forcing myself to calm down again. It was frustrating just how much effort I had to put into that tonight. "I hope you accept my apology. I have done a lot of things to you tonight that are most disgraceful. I will do better by you in the future."

"It's fine. You couldn't help it." I barely heard the words, he mumbled so low. The damn Ravenclaw, I couldn't remember ever feeling this guilty about anything. I'd humiliated him good. Malfoy himself would have bragged about my work for weeks. Goldstein didn't deserve that, he was a kind, respectable wizard.

At least it all happened in private. The small voice in the back of my head known as my conscience offered. Just make him feel better and never bring it up again. It'll pass over.

Yeah. The only problem with that was that I wasn't any good at comforting people.

We sat there for about another half hour, not a word being said about anything said or done previously. Not knowing how to comfort or reassure anyone, I simply sat close to him and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder, squeezing it now and then while coaxing him to talk about the rune circle he'd put up. It didn't take much to get him into the details, he always liked when people were keen to listen to what he could teach them. He knew I was looking for a distraction, but that didn't change the fact that I was interested in the subject and he slowly grew more comfortable again as he got into intricacies that I could guarantee were beyond anything taught at Hogwarts. I was happy to note by the end of it, the blush on his face was a more happy kind, coming from me complimenting his mastery of the subject rather than the particularly embarrassing things the pixie mind thought were funny from before.

"It's getting late." I commented, sparing my watch a glance after I successfully got a shy grin to cross his face again. It was almost time for the Slytherin curfew and the other Houses... "You have trapped yourself outside of your tower." I frowned. Admittedly, I was concerned. I didn't want him to get into any trouble. If the Carrows or any other Death Eater found him, he'd be punished horribly. If another Slytherin found him, especially with his hair still pink, well I don't wish that humiliation on anyone.

"I have a safe place to sleep." He stated, climbing to his feet. "But yeah, I really should get there soon. Thank you for coming tonight Blaise. And...just be cautious."

"You too." I nodded, following him to the door. I spared him a look that anyone would claim was incredibly soft for me before heading back the way I came, Goldstein going the opposite way. I'd have to look out for him in the Great Hall in the morning, just to ensure that nothing else happens to him throughout the night. I was growing soft, I know, but he was always kind and respectful to me and often reminded me of Theodore's real personality. Those two would get along great if Theodore could reveal himself.

Speaking of which, I'm going to have to watch out for him too. I frowned as everything Goldstein had told me came back to the forefront of my mind. Even if the alien involvement was a load of crap, there had to be enough evidence of some type of mind control going on to support it if Goldstein believed it. And the cube did come and go with Muggles, so that did suggest some kind of outside involvement. So, combining that with the information he's overheard from these controlled people and what he saw at the Chamber of Secrets, it was safe to say that he was right in assuming I'd be a good target. That meant that Theodore was too. Whatever is going on, I'll have to get to the bottom of it. And, more importantly, figure out how to stop it.

AN: And there's the longest chapter yet. And Blaise's first ever. I hope you enjoyed it.