Disclaimer: I don't own this, so don't sue me.

Chapter 6: A Gargoyle, myself and I

I woke up from my trance to see that only 3 hours had gone by. Strange it had felt as if I had been in there for days. My Animagus was a Gargoyle. Huh, I've never even heard of one. The only gargoyles I know of, are those statues that decorate churches. Statues, not animals. I'm just glad that it took so short to find my form. It probably helped that I had done exactly the same to make my Occlumency barriers. Since it took only 3 hours to find my form, I went to the library to look up Gargoyles. I didn't know where to look for that information though, so I asked the librarian.
'Yes?', the woman said warily as I approached her.
'Do you have any books on Gargoyles?', I informed.
'Why would you need such a thing?', she asked, her eyes boring into mine.
'I heard from a friend that the ones on a muggle church used to be real and I was curious.', I lied.
She scrutinized me and then nodded. After a few moments, she came back with a big, musty tome.
When she handed it to me, I had to adjust to the weight because it was fucking heavy.
'You will return this book in a week.', she said in tone that brooked no argument.
I nodded and when I turned around, I rolled my eyes. I took the book back to my room.
Back in my room, I looked at the book for the first time. It's title was Rare Animals of The Magical World and it seemed really old. When I opened it, there were entry's on the Griffin, Basilisk, Nundu and other animals. After leafing through the book for some time, I encountered the entry on Gargoyles.

Gargoyle

The Gargoyle is an animal that originally hailed from Scandinavia. The Dark Lord Aesir was the first one to use these powerful creatures in battle, in the 10th century. When Aesir conquered the British Isles, the beasts got the reputation of being invincible. Their only major weakness is daylight. Originally creatures of the night, the Gargoyles' skin hardens when in direct sunlight, until it becomes stone. It is also the most powerful just before it turns into stone, for then is it's skin the most impenetrable by magic. The creatures were nearly hunted to extinction and their bodies still decorate muggle buildings. Their skin is grey and feels like stone. Their eyes are a vivid red and their horns can reach a length of 30 cm. They have a wingspan of 4m while their height can vary from 1.5m to 2m. They are fiercely protective of their pack and will eviscerate anything they perceive as a threat. Yet they are very easily angered, so, if encountered, it is best to make yourself seem as unthreateningly as possible.

Very protective, but easily angered. That seems exactly like me before I learned Occlumency. I wasn't going to share this with the others. I was going to wait until I had perfected the form. My musing was interrupted by Morrigan returning from her hunt.
§Hello, mistress.§, the snake hissed
§Hello, Morrigan. How was your hunt?§, I asked her.
§Not bad, I found some rats§
§Great, anyway, could you keep an eye on Draco Malfoy?§
§The blonde brat? Why?§
, the snake asked surprised.
§He has threatened my friends and I cannot tolerate that.§
§And if I see him harassing one of your snakelings?§,
the snake inquired. For some reason, she would refer to my friends as my snakelings.
§Paralyze him and then come get me§
§Understood, mistress§
, and the snake slithered away, looking for Malfoy.

I spent the rest of the day exploring some more of the school and when it was dinnertime I made my way to the Great Hall. My friends were already sitting in our usual place.
'Hey, guys.', I greeted them and filled my plate with food.
'Hey.', they all simultaneously said and then looked at each other amused.
'What have you been doing today?', Tracey asked me.
'I explored the school some more and found some new passages.', I answered. 'You?'
Tracey grimaced, 'I've been finishing that terrible essay from Binns.'
'Same.', Daphne said without looking up from her dinner.
'I had a date.', Blaise said nonchalantly, and everybody spun to look at him.
'With who?', Tracey asked with narrowed eyes.
'Susan Bones.', he said beaming.
'You finally asked her out?', Trace asked grinning.
'I did and it was amazing. She's joining me for the next Hogsmeade weekend.'
I looked confused and when Daphne saw that she explained, 'Blaise here, has been crushing on Bones for 2 years. He never had the guts to ask her out.', she snorted when Blaise grinned smugly at her.
'When are you going to ask someone out then, oh Ice Princess of Slytherin?, he said mockingly.
Said Princess rolled her eyes, 'Not, nobody interests me.'
I could see a brief flash of hurt in Alex' eyes, but she recovered quickly. When I narrowed my eyes at her, Alex shook her head. After dinner, we made our way back to the Common Room.
As we sat in our corner, I put up a privacy ward.
'Ok, I got a question for you all.', I began.
'What?', asked Alex.
'First of all, do you trust me?', I asked
They all nodded after trading confused glances.
'Good, because tomorrow night I'm going to bring you to my favourite location.'
'What's the catch?', Daphne inquired.
'You'll have to wear a blindfold when we go there.', I said nervously.
'Oh Violet, and I thought you'd keep the kinky stuff in the bedroom.', Blaise said smirking and I swatted his head while the others laughed.
'Is it outside the castle?', Alex asked softly.
I shook my head grinning.
'Fine', Daphne said.
'Great, you won't be disappointed.', I said with a smile.
'We'll see.' Tracey shrugged.

The next morning at breakfast, a school owl landed in front of me. I took the letter it brought me; it sipped my pumpkin juice and then flew away. The letter stated that Harry had compelled his friends and Longbottom to come. I looked at the Gryffindor table and when I caught Harry's gaze, nodded my head. I then incinerated the letter.
'Who's the letter from?' Tracey asked, the rest looking at me curiously.
'An associate of mine. He confirmed our appointment for later.' I said evasively.
They narrowed their eyes at me, but didn't comment.
Alex and I then went to our next class, which happened to be D.A.D.A.
When Umbitch entered, she wore an outfit so atrocious; I almost wish I was back in Azkaban. I mean come on, that bitch's outfits could make you hate the colour pink! And when she spoke in that grating voice of hers, my head started pounding. I grimaced and started reading, but then she ruined it by addressing me.
'I'm sorry, miss Evans, but is that book more interesting than me?' the she-toad asked sickeningly sweet.
'Actually, yes.' I quipped hoping to shut her the fuck up.
'Is it now?' she said, her smile becoming predatory, 'Then you won't mind reading to us, will you?'
'You fucking bitch', I thought venomously, but I kept my face carefully blank.
'Very well, Madam.' I said, refusing to call her professor.
She glowered at my lack of her title, but before she could say something, I started speaking.
Since I didn't want her to know I was reading on Animagi, I made something up: 'The Toadicus Umbridgia, better known as the she-toad, is unique in its kind because it resembles a hybrid between a human and a toad. The she-toad cannot become very tall and adores the colour pink. Its voice, when heard for long periods of time, can damage the hearing of any person or animal in her vicinity. There are no males known.'
At the end of my monologue, the entire class was snickering and Umbitch was glaring at me. I just let a polite smile cover my face.
'Detention, miss Evans.', the she-toad spat.
'When, madam?' I asked politely, but on the inside I was grinning like the mythical Cheshire.
When she heard the 'Madam', her glare became harder and while it didn't even faze me, the saying 'If looks could kill' entered my mind.
'Tomorrow and the two days after that, miss Evans.' She said, regaining her smile.
I just nodded my head and when she turned around, I flipped her of.
'What are you doing?' Alex whispered to me.
'Getting rid of my headache' I said smirking.
Alex just rolled her eyes and we both went back to our books.
I then trudged through Herbology, Charms and after lunch through Transfigurations. I couldn't wait to go to Thalia's Pad, because I needed a break. Harry and I had agreed to meet up at 5 P.M. so we still had time left to get to dinner.
When we were in the Slytherin Common Room, everybody put their school bags in their rooms.
'Okay,' I said as everybody gathered in front of me. 'I can lead you there but you have to trust me and don't panic. Now nobody's going to see us because I'm using a secret passage I know to get there.'
They all nodded in understanding.
'Stand in a line.' They did and I bound Tracey to Daphne, Daphne to Alex, Alex to Blaise and Blaise to me. 'You can't get lost this way.' I said in response to their inquisitive gazes. Then I blindfolded them using Obscuro and then used the passage in the common room to go to the Chamber. After 10 minutes we arrived in the chamber just in time to see my brother enter with his friends.
'Finite', we incanted at the same time and the blindfolds disappeared.
They looked around curiously until the Gryffindors spotted the Slytherins.
'What are they doing here!', Ron yelled as he drew his wand.
'Put your wands away.', I calmly said when Blaise and Tracey drew theirs. At the same time, Harry convinced Ron to put his away too.
'I believe you have an explanation for this?', Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.
'Yes, I do.', I answered. 'But first, do you know where we are?'
The Slytherins shook their head and Ron snorted.
'We're in the Chamber of Secrets.', he said smugly and I rolled my eyes.
'He's right, but it is no longer called the Chamber of Secrets.', I said
'You renamed it?', Harry asked smiling.
'Uhu, it's now called Thalia's Pad.', I said grinning.
'Why did you call it that?', Alex asked softly. 'Isn't your name Violet?', I winced.
'Yes and no.', my brother answered. 'It's her middle name.'
'Then what's your full name?', Blaise asked, his eyes narrowed.
I sighed, 'My full name is Thalia Violet Potter.'
'Potter!?', yelled Blaise, Tracey and Longbottom at the same time, while Daphne just nodded as if I confirmed something and Alex just shrugged.
'Are you his cousin?', Alex asked, while gesturing at Harry.
'I'm his sister.' I answered. 'You don't look that surprised.', I added to Daphne.
'I'm not', she answered, 'First of all, you two look very much alike. That and I heard about your escape through my father.'
'Escape?', Blaise inquired.
'Yeah.', I shrugged, 'I kind of escaped from Azkaban. I'm surprised that it wasn't in the Daily Prophet.'
'You escaped from Azkaban?', Tracey said disbelievingly.
I nodded.
'You know,', my brother began', you never actually told me how you escaped Thal.'
'One of the guards came by to pester me every week.', I informed him, 'I knocked her out, stole her cloak, wand and medallion and then I flirted with a guard to take me to the exit.'
'So you're telling me,' ,Harry said cracking up, 'that they escorted you out of Azkaban?'
I nodded my head grinning and the rest started laughing. 'We didn't realize I had escaped until I was nearly on land.', I added.
'But,', Alex spoke,' what did you do?'
'I', I started to answer, but then I saw my brother's expression and quickly changed my answer. 'I'd rather not say'
'Why not?', Hermione asked curiously.
'Because it's personal, Granger.' I said a bit harsher than I intended and she flinched.
Harry gave me an admonishing look and Ron glared at me.
'How long have you been in there?', Tracey asked, trying to change the subject.
'7 years.', I answered nonchalantly.
'Then why do you seem so …..', Neville trailed of, not knowing what to say.
'Normal?', I offered, smiling grimly.
Neville just nodded.
'Are any of you familiar with Greek mythology?', I suddenly asked, surprising them.
'You mean Zeus, Poseidon and all that?', Harry asked confused and I nodded.
'What does that have to do with your sanity?', Hermione interrupted nonplussed.
'Well, if you'd let me finish, you'd know, wouldn't you?', I said sarcastically and Hermione ducked her head in embarrassment.
'Do any of you know Pandora?', I asked.
Everybody except Hermione and Daphne shook their heads in the negative.
'She was the wife of Epimetheus, and the first woman.', Daphne began and I nodded at her to keep going, 'She was given a pithos to protect. In that pithos was every evil you could imagine. She was also given curiosity so she would eventually open it. This was a punishment for Prometheus because he gave fire to mortals.'
'What's a pithos?', Ron asked.
'It's an urn from Ancient Greece. In modern times we know that pithos as Pandora's Box.', I explained.
'Yeah, I know about Pandora's Box with its evils, and of course Hope, but I still don't see the connection.' Hermione said, but Harry's eyes widened in realization.
'You locked it away.', he said quietly.
'Yes,', I smiled sadly, 'if I wanted to keep my sanity, I had to lock away my rage and sadness or it would consume me.'
Everybody was slack jawed.
'And what would happen if you opened the box?', Alex asked carefully.
'It would be bad?', Harry quipped
'Everyone who ever wronged me,' my smile turned feral, 'would die a very painful death.'
After a few moments of silence, it was broken by Harry saying: 'Like I said, bad.'
I began chuckling, which turned into laughter.
'You always had a way with words, little brother.', I smirked.
He returned the smirk: 'Not everybody can be as awesome as me, Thal. I know you're jealous.'
The rest of them were looking at us as if we were insane.
'What?', we asked at the same time.
'So creepy.', Tracey whispered to Blaise, who nodded.
I checked the time and realized it was time for dinner so we took off.

The next day, I had detention for Umbitch at 6 P.M., so I had a quick dinner and then made my way to her office. She was grading essays when I entered the office, but looked up when she heard me.
'Ah, good evening, miss Evans', she said sweetly.
I simply nodded, not trusting myself to NOT insult the bitch.
'Nothing witty to say, miss Evans?', she smirked and my hand twitched to my wand.
'No, professor.' I said, using all my occlumency to keep the distaste of my face.
'Good.', she said, her smirk widening. 'You will be writing lines for me.'
I nodded, sat down and started pulling parchment and a quill from my schoolbag.
'No, miss Evans, you will use a quill from me.', she said a pulled a black quill out of a desk drawer.
'Fine.', I said monotonously and accepted the quill. 'What should I write?'
'I must not insult my betters'
'How many times?'
'As many as necessary to let the message properly sink in.', she said.
I put the quill on the parchment and as soon as I had written "I must", I felt a stinging pain on the back of my right hand. I looked at my hand and I saw the words "I must" in my handwriting on the back of my hand. So it appears I was writing in my own blood.
'Do you have permission to use a blood quill?', I asked her, raising my eyebrow.
'Of course I do, silly child.', she said, but I caught her glancing to the left.
'Liar', I sing-songed in my head.
Since I was going to get a scar anyway, I could as well make it a good one. Instead of writing what I should be writing I wrote: " Umbitch + Fudge 4ever".
The hours progressed as I kept writing and after what I believed to be 6 hours she asked to see my hand. I quickly cast a glamour charm so it would say "I must not insult my betters". I had 2 nights to go after all.
She looked over my scar and then said: 'It needs more time to sink in, it seems. You may go.'
I didn't say a word, but just left. I immediately went to bed. The next detentions were the same as the first and at the end I wanted to show her the real scar, but refrained, because otherwise I would probably have more detentions.

That Saturday me, Harry and our friends met back up at Thalia's Pad. When we asked about the detentions and I showed them my scar, they broke out in hysterics. Yet, Harry glanced away. I kept wondering why, and as I rolled it over in my mind, I realised that I hadn't seen the backside of his right hand for some time. Normally this wouldn't alarm me, but what set of the alarm bells was the fact that he did it intentionally.
'Harry, show me the back of your right hand.', I ordered quietly.
My brother began to sweat, 'Why, Thal?'
'You know perfectly fucking well, why.', I retorted harshly.
His shoulders sagged and he held up his hand. On it were the words: "I must not tell lies".
'That motherfucking piece of retarded shit.', I cursed and Hermione looked affronted at my language, while Ron and Tracey looked impressed. 'I'm going to rip her apart.'
'No you won't.', Harry said firmly.
'And why the fuck not?', I asked heatedly.
'Because I'm telling you to.', he said glaring.
'And why, pray tell, should I listen to you?', I sneered.
'Because I will fucking deal with her, Thalia.', he sounded pissed and it was more that he cursed than his tone that snapped me out of it.
'Fine', I gave in.
'Good', he said, still glaring at me.
'Only you.', I said half-smiling.
'That's just because you're an idiot.', he retorted smirking.
'Shut up, jerk.'
'Git.'
'Asshole.'
'Bitch.'
We were both grinning now.
'You were just insulting each other and now you're both smiling?', Hermione asked flabbergasted.
'Yeah, it's a great stress reliever.', I answered, shrugging.
'That's it, I'm giving up.', Hermione said throwing her hands up in exasperation. 'The entire Potter family is insane.'
'The Blacks are worse.', I snorted. 'I should know, I met three of them.'
'Who?', asked Harry confused, 'Sirius is one, but who are the other two?'
'Tonks and Bella', I said shrugging.
'Oh yeah', Harry said while Neville paled.
'You met Bellatrix Lestrange?', Neville asked faintly.
'Yeah, I was next to her in Azkaban.', I answered nonplussed, 'Why would she be –.'
'Oh', I said as I realized why it would be a big deal.
'It was your parents, wasn't it ?', I asked the pudgy boy.
'Yeah.', the boy replied.
'It wasn't her who tortured them, Longbottom.', I said.
'Yes, it was.', he retorted growing angry.
'Who told you?', I asked him.
'My grandmother. She was at Lestrange's trial.', he answered, glaring at me.
'Actually, she never admitted it.', Harry said pensively.
'What do you mean, Harry?', Neville asked, shifting his glare from me so he could look at Harry.
'I saw the memory of Bellatrix' trial in Dumbledore's Pensieve.', Harry explained, 'While she didn't renounce Voldemort,'Everybody but me and Harry, shivered, 'she never said that it was her who tortured them.'
'I saw her memories of the night, Neville.', I said and the round-faced boy focused his attention back on me. 'She arrived when we were already torturing your parents. She did cast the Cruciatus, but it wasn't on your parents. It was on Rodolphus Lestrange, because he wanted to kill you too and there wasn't any time since the Aurors were on our way. He refused to obey her when she told him to leave, so she tortured him. And just as he stood up, the Aurors came. She was holding a wand which had recently cast the Cruciatus and you parents were clearly tortured so the ministry didn't look any further for suspects.
'So, she's innocent?', Neville asked disbelievingly.
'No, she's murdered and tortured plenty of people. But she never harmed a child.', I answered.
'Why are you defending her?', Trace asked.
'It was because of her I could escape Azkaban. She taught me Occlumency, Legilimency, how to Apparate. She taught me all I know about magic, so I owe her.', I explained
'I need to think about this.', the pudgy boy said and I felt a little for him. His beliefs were torn asunder and he didn't know what to believe anymore.
'That's okay, Nev.', my brother said soothingly, 'I think it's time to go back to the common room.'
I nodded my agreement and the Snakes separated from the Lions to go back to our respective common rooms. When I returned to my room, I started to practise my Animagus change again. So far I could only shift my nails to claws, but I was indeed making progress. I simply couldn't wait until I had completed the change.

October flew by and so did November, with nothing major happening except my brother getting kicked of the Quidditch team. He was also disappearing a lot, along with other students from other Houses, but he didn't inform me and I didn't ask. My Animagus project also progressed very good. I could now shift my hands and feet into my Gargoyle form, but the rest didn't change. At this rate it would take a few more months until I had completed the change. December started as I how you would expect it to start. Fucking cold. Thank God for warming charms, or my teeth would've fallen out from chattering. It was on the 18th of the month however that I was woken up in the middle of the night by my Head of House.
'Wake up.', Snape's voice said.
I blinked up drearily and it took a few moments before my eyes focused on Snape.
'Wazzit?', I said sleepily.
'You need to come with me now.', Snape answered, his voice sounding stressed.
'Fine.', I grumbled.
I quickly put on a ACDC shirt, my black skinny jeans, and some sneakers before I woke Morrigan up and let her coil around my stomach. The snake was almost fully grown and had to coil herself a few more times around me before she was comfortable. I then followed Snape as he briskly started walking towards the Headmaster's office.
'What's this all about?', I asked as we entered the 3rd floor.
'Your brother appears to have had a vision.', the Potions master drawled.
'A vision?', I inquired.
'It seems so.', was his only reply and didn't give me any other information.
'What was it about?', I asked.
'I don't know.', was my answer and we continued on in silence.
When we got to the Headmasters office, Harry and the Weasley's were just reaching for an object.
'Quickly, miss Potter.', Dumbledore said and I took a grip of the object just as it flashed blue. I felt a tug behind my navel, and when the spinning stopped, we were in the kitchen in Grimmauld Place. So the object was a Portkey it seems. Now I just needed to know why Dumbledore transported us here. Somewhere close at hand a voice said: 'Back again, the blood-traitor brats. Is it true their father's dying?'
'OUT!' roared a second voice.
The only sources of light were the fire and one guttering candle, which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper. Kreacher was disappearing through the door to the hall, looking back at us malevolently as he hitched up his loincloth; Sirius was hurrying towards us all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.
'What's going on?' he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. 'Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured -'
'Ask Harry, ' said Fred.
'Yeah, I want to hear this for myself, ' said George.
'I'm curious as well, Harry.', I added.
The twins and Ginny were staring at him. Kreacher's footsteps had stopped on the stairs outside.
'It was -' Harry began, 'I had a - a kind of vision'.
And he told us all that he had seen, though I think he altered the story a bit. Ron, who was very white, gave him a fleeting look, but did not speak. When Harry had finished, Fred, George and Ginny continued to stare at him for a moment. I did not know whether I was imagining it or not, but I fancied there was something accusatory in their looks. Well, if they were going to blame him just for seeing the attack, I was glad he had not told them everything.
'Is Mum here?' said Fred, turning to Sirius.
'She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet, ' said Sirius. 'The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now. '
'We've got to go to St Mungo's, ' said Ginny urgently. She looked around at her brothers; they were of course still in our pyjamas. 'Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything?'
'Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St Mungo's!' said Sirius.
'Course we can go to St Mungo's if we want, ' said Fred, with a mulish expression. 'He's our dad!'
'Are you daft?', I asked him with a raised eyebrow.
'Why?', George asked me angrily.
'How are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?'
'What does that matter?' said George hotly.
'It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!' said Sirius angrily. 'Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?'
Fred and George looked as though they could not care less what the Ministry made of anything. Ron was still ashen-faced and silent.
Ginny said, 'Somebody else could have told us: we could have heard it somewhere other than Harry. '
I snorted and the Weasley clan turned their glares on me until Sirius spoke again.
'Like who?' said Sirius impatiently. 'Listen, your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's -'
'We don't care about the dumb Order!' shouted Fred.
'It's our dad dying we're talking about!' yelled George.
'Your father knew what he was getting into and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!' said Sirius, equally angry. 'This is how it is - this is why you're not in the Order - you don't understand - there are things worth dying for!'
'Easy for you to say, stuck here!' bellowed Fred. 'I don't see you risking your neck!'
The little colour remaining in Sirius's face drained from it and I growled. The dog Animagus looked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, but when he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm.
'I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?'
Fred and George still looked mutinous. Ginny, however, took a few steps over to the nearest chair and sank into it. Harry looked at Ron, who made a funny movement somewhere between a nod and a shrug, and we sat down too. The twins glared at Sirius for another minute, then took seats either side of Ginny.
'That's right, ' said Sirius encouragingly, 'come on, let's all: let's all have a drink while we're waiting. Accio Butterbeer!'He raised his wand as he spoke and half a dozen bottles came flying towards them out of the pantry, skidded along the table, scattering the debris of Sirius's meal, and stopped neatly in front of the seven of us. We all drank, and for a while the only sounds were those of the crackling of the kitchen fire and the soft thud of our bottles on the table. I was stroking Morrigan and Harry's only reason for drinking seemed to be to have something to do with his hands. Suddenly a burst of fire in mid-air illuminated the dirty plates in front of us and, as some of us gave cries of shock, a scroll of parchment fell with a thud on to the table, accompanied by a single golden phoenix tail feather.
'Fawkes!' said Sirius at once, snatching up the parchment. 'That's not Dumbledore's writing - it must be a message from your mother - here -'
He thrust the letter into George's hand, who ripped it open and read aloud: 'Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum. '
George looked around the table.
'Still alive:' he said slowly. 'But that makes it sound:'
He did not need to finish the sentence. It sounded to me, too, as though Arthur was hovering somewhere between life and death. Still exceptionally pale, Ron stared at the back of his mother's letter as though it might speak words of comfort to him. Fred pulled the parchment out of George's hands and read it for himself, then looked up at Harry, who's hand was shaking on his Butterbeer bottle and he clenched it more tightly to stop the trembling. If I had ever sat through a longer night than this one, I could not remember it. Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that we all go to bed, but the Weasley's looks of disgust were answer enough. We mostly sat in silence around the table, watching the candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, occasionally raising a bottle to our lips, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure each other that if there was bad news, we would know straightaway, for Molly must long since have arrived at St Mungo's. Fred fell into a doze, his head lolling sideways on to his shoulder. Ginny was curled like a cat on her chair, but her eyes were open; I could see them reflecting the firelight. Ron was sitting with his head in his hands, whether awake or asleep it was impossible to tell. Harry, Sirius and I looked at each other every so often, intruders upon the family grief, waiting: waiting: At ten past five in the morning by Ron's watch, the kitchen door swung open and Molly entered the kitchen. She was extremely pale, but when we all turned to look at her, Fred, Ron and Harry half rising from their chairs, she gave a wan smile.
'He's going to be all right, ' she said, her voice weak with tiredness. 'He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now; he's going to take the morning off work. 'Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his Butterbeer in one.
'Breakfast!' said Sirius loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. 'Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!'
But Kreacher did not answer the summons.
'Oh, forget it, then, ' muttered Sirius, counting the people in front of him. 'So, it's breakfast for - let's see - eight: bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast -'Harry hurried over to the stove to help. However, he had barely taken plates from the dresser when Molly lifted them out of his hands and pulled him into a hug.
'I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for you, Harry, ' she said in a muffled voice. 'We might not have found Arthur for hours, and then it would have been too late, but thanks to you he's alive and Dumbledore's been able to think up a good cover story for Arthur being where he was, you've no idea what trouble he would have been in otherwise, look at poor Sturgis:'
After that she released him to turn to Sirius and thank him for looking after her children through the night. Sirius said he was very pleased to have been able to help, and hoped we would all stay with him as long as Arthur was in hospital.
'Oh, Sirius, I'm so grateful: we think he'll be there a little while and it would be wonderful to be nearer: of course, that might mean we're here for Christmas.
'The more the merrier!' said Sirius with such obvious sincerity that Molly beamed at him, threw on an apron and began to help with breakfast. 'Sirius, Thalia, ' Harry muttered, 'Can I have a quick word? Er - now?'
He walked into the dark pantry and Sirius and I followed. Without preamble, Harry told us every detail of the vision he had had, including the fact that he himself had been the snake who had attacked Arthur.
When he paused for breath, Sirius said, 'Did you tell Dumbledore this?'
'Yes, ' said Harry impatiently, 'but he didn't tell me what it meant. Well, he doesn't tell me anything anymore.'
'I'm sure he would have told you if it was anything to worry about, ' said Sirius steadily and I snorted. When he looked at me I just shook my head
'But that's not all, ' said Harry, in a voice only a little above a whisper. 'Sirius, I-I think I'm going mad. Back in Dumbledore's office, just before we took the Portkey: for a couple of seconds there I thought I was a snake, I felt like one - my scar really hurt when I was looking at Dumbledore - Sirius, I wanted to attack him!'
I could only see a sliver of Sirius's face; the rest was in darkness. 'It must have been the aftermath of the vision, that's all, ' said Sirius. 'You were still thinking of the dream or whatever it was and -'
'It wasn't that, ' said Harry, shaking his head, 'it was like something rose up inside me, like there's a snake inside me. '
'You need to sleep, ' said Sirius firmly. 'You're going to have breakfast, then go upstairs to bed, and after lunch you can go and see Arthur with the others. You're in shock, Harry; you're blaming yourself for something you only witnessed, and it's lucky you did witness it or Arthur might have died. Just stop worrying. '
He clapped Harry on the shoulder and left the pantry, leaving us standing alone in the dark.
'You believe me, right?', he asked me.
'Yes and no.', I said, carefully choosing my words.
'What?', he asked frustrated.
'Harry,', I sighed, 'I think you could see what the snake saw, because it was controlled by Voldemort.'
'What do you mean?', he asked, calming down.
'You have a link with Voldemort, right?', he nodded, 'And sometimes you could see what he was seeing?', another nod, 'Well, because Voldemort was controlling the snake, you ,through your bond, could see what the snake saw, because that's what Voldemort was seeing.'
He sighed in relief, 'That makes sense. I thought I was possessed or something like that.'
'Now go to bed.', I ordered him.
'Yes, ma'am', he saluted me mockingly and he went to his room.
'Cheeky bastard.', I muttered, before I too went to my room

As I entered my room, I decided I was going to visit my mindscape. I sat in my usual meditational position and started breathing deeply. I soon spotted the familiar grey orb of pulsing energy. I stared at it for a while, realising it actually wasn't really energy, but rather grey electricity. I could see the sparks flying and some random arcs of lightning flying. I shook my head and entered my mindscape. It was huge, since I had divided it into three major areas. If a regular teenager was asked to describe my mindscape after having just entered there, he would say that it consisted of a mountain, a sea and a deep cave. If a professor on mythology was asked however, he would say that it was based on the domains of the three most powerful gods in Greek mythology. Mount Olympus for Zeus, the sea for Poseidon and the cave leading to the underworld for Hades. My happiest memories were in the underworld, the regular ones were in the sea and my biggest fears were on Mount Olympus. There was a rune stone exact in the middle between the three areas. I walked to it and my three assistants appeared, one for each area. They each represented their domain very good. The one of Mount Olympus, my nightmares and fears, was Tonks wearing a sky-blue dress and wielding a lightning bolt. The one who stood for normal memories was my brother though he looked different. He was taller, his hair shoulder-length, wore a toga and most importantly, he was wielding a trident. The one representing my happiest memories was the first person, aside from my brother, to care for me. It was Bellatrix, who was wielding a two-handed sword made of black metal. They each bowed to me. When I was a kid, I was absolutely fascinated with Greek Mythology, so when I had to design my mindscape, I based it on the domains of the Big Three. They also referred to themselves as Zeus, Poseidon and Hades respectively, despite Bellatrix or Tonks being female.
'Zeus, you look different.', I said. Up until now, she hadn't looked like Tonks. No, she had looked like what I thought Mum looked like.
'Indeed, mistress Thalia.', Zeus acknowledged.
'How did this happen?', I inquired curiously.
'Your perceptions changed, mistress.', Hades answered, 'It was your will that the one you loved most became the guardian of your fears and nightmares. Until a month ago this was indeed Lily.
'But you fell in love with the Auror.', Poseidon continued, 'So your mind adapted itself to fit your emotions.'
'I see. I must visit the Box.', I said and they became wary.
'Very well, mistress', Zeus answered wearily while Hades and Poseidon returned to their domains.
I followed Zeus up the mountain, avoiding the memories stored their until at the very top I saw the prison. When we reached the prison, I saw the form my insanity had taken inside. It was me, yet not me. Her eyes were a vivid purple, her face was scarred and set into a permanent scowl that twisted into a smile as she saw me.
'Hello, Thalia.', the warped image of myself said.
'Silence, Titan.', Zeus bellowed. It makes sense that she refers to her as a titan, because as the titans were the enemies of the gods, so is this entity my greatest adversary.
'Vesania.', I greeted, I then looked at Zeus, 'Leave us.'
She looked at me warily before obeying my order, leaving to a place where she could not overhear my conversation, but still be there in a heartbeat.
'What is it that you wish, Thalia?', Vesania asked amused.
'I'm here to make a deal.', I said.
Vesania raised her eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
'I know that you will escape sooner or later.', I began and the image representing my insanity gleefully nodded., 'But what if I let you out more often?', I asked.
'What's the catch?', Vesania asked, eyes narrowed.
'You have to follow a set of rules.', I said and she began snarling.
'Insanity does not follow rules.', she growled.
'It's nothing elaborate. It only affects who you can attack, not how.', I elaborated.
'So in return for me letting your chosen people alone, I get to play more often?', the spectre asked curiously.
'Yes, all I ask is that you leave certain people alone and that you don't come out unless needed.' I realised what I said was wrong, just as I finished saying it.
'I AM NOT YOUR FUCKING WEAPON, TO DO WITH AS YOU PLEASE!', Vesania roared
'That is not how I meant it, I meant that you don't come out when I'm in the middle of children or something like that.' I quickly said and she calmed down.
'I can only come out with Death Eaters you mean.' Vesania snorted and I slowly nodded.
She scrutinized me and then slowly nodded, a grin spreading on her face, 'I believe we have an agreement, Thalia.'

I realized I had been meditating for 6 hours, so I made my way downstairs. They sent us our trunks while we were eating lunch, so we could dress as Muggles for the trip to St Mungo's. Everybody except Harry was riotously happy and talkative as they changed out of their robes into jeans and sweatshirts, as I had already changed. When Tonks and Mad-Eye turned up to escort us across London, we greeted them gleefully, laughing at the bowler hat Mad-Eye was wearing at an angle to conceal his magical eye and assuring him, truthfully, that Tonks, whose hair was short and bright pink again, would attract far less attention on the Underground. Tonks was very interested in Harry's vision of the attack on Arthur, something Harry was not remotely interested in discussing.
'There isn't any Seer blood in your family, is there?' I heard her inquire curiously, as I sat on her right while Harry sat on her left on a train rattling towards the heart of the city.
'No, ' said Harry.
'No, ' said Tonks musingly, 'no, I suppose it's not really prophecy you're doing, is it? I mean, you're not seeing the future, you're seeing the present: it's odd, isn't it? Useful, though:'
I grabbed her hand and when she looked at me, I whispered into her ear: 'Don't talk about it yet, he's still beating himself up about it. I managed to talk him through the worst, but this he has to go through by himself.'
She nodded, looking a bit embarrassed and I have to say the red on her cheeks made her look adorable. As the train shook, I got another whiff of her unique scent: Rain and flowers. Absolutely amazing. When we got out at the next stop, a station in the very heart of London, Harry let Fred and George get between him and Tonks and I, who was leading the way. We all followed her up the escalator, Moody clunking along at the back of the group, his bowler tilted low and one gnarled hand stuck in between the buttons of his coat, clutching his wand. When we returned to ground level, I realized I was still holding Tonks' hand, and I was sure that she knew, but she didn't say anything, so I didn't either. I then heard my brother ask Mad-Eye where St Mungo's was hidden.
'Not far from here, ' grunted Moody as they stepped out into the wintry air on a broad store-lined street packed with Christmas shoppers. I was sure his eye was rolling in all directions under the tilted hat. 'Wasn't easy to find a good location for a hospital. Nowhere in Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn't have it underground like the Ministry - wouldn't be healthy. In the end they managed to get hold of a building up here. Theory was, sick wizards could come and go and just blend in with the crowd.'
'Here we go, ' said Moody a moment later.
We had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red-brick department store called Purge 6z DowseLtd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modelling fashions at least ten years out of date. Large signs on all the dusty doors read: 'Closed for Refurbishment'. Harry distinctly heard a large woman laden with plastic shopping bags say to her friend as they passed, 'It's never open, that place:'
'Right, ' said Tonks, letting go of my hand and beckoning them towards a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy. Its false eyelashes were hanging off and it was modelling a green nylon pinafore dress. When she let go of my hand, I felt a distinct loss of warmth
'Everybody ready?'
We nodded, clustering around her. Moody gave Harry another shove between the shoulder blades to urge him forward and Tonks leaned close to the glass, looking up at the very ugly dummy, her breath steaming up the glass.
'Wotcher, ' she said, 'we're here to see Arthur Weasley.'
I thought it was a bit absurd for Tonks to expect the dummy to hear her talking so quietly through a sheet of glass, with buses rumbling along behind her and all the racket of a street full of shoppers. Then I reminded myself that dummies couldn't hear anyway. Next second, my eyes widened a fraction in surpise and my brother's mouth opened in shock as the dummy gave a tiny nod and beckoned with its jointed finger, and Tonks had seized Ginny by her elbow, took my hand again and stepped right through the glass . Molly, Fred, George and Ron followed after us. We were followed by Harry and Moody a few moments later. We were in what seemed to be a crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs, some looking perfectly normal and perusing out-of-date copies of Witch Weekly, others sporting gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra hands sticking out of their chests. The room was scarcely less quiet than the street outside, for many of the patients were making very peculiar noises: a sweaty-faced witch in the centre of the front row, who was fanning herself vigorously with a copy of the Daily Prophet, kept letting off a high-pitched whistle as steam came pouring out of her mouth; a grubby-looking warlock in the corner clanged like a bell every time he moved and, with each clang, his head vibrated so horribly, that he had to seize himself by the ears to hold it steady. Witches and wizards in lime-green robes were walking up and down the rows, asking questions and making notes on clipboards like Umbridge's. I noticed the emblem embroidered on their chests: a wand and bone, crossed.
'Are they doctors?' I heard my brother ask Ron quietly.
'Doctors?' said Ron, looking startled. Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they're Healers.'
'Over here!' called Molly above the renewed clanging of the warlock in the corner, and we followed her to the queue in front of a plump blonde witch seated at a desk marked Enquiries. The wall behind her was covered in notices and posters saying things like: A CLEAN CAULDRON KEEPS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS and ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-DON'TS UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER. There was also a large portrait of a witch with long silver ringlets which was labelled:
"Dilys Derwent, St Mungo's Healer, I722-1741 Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry I74I-1750"
Dilys was eyeing the Weasley party closely as though counting them. Meanwhile, at the front of the queue, a young wizard was performing an odd on-the-spot jig and trying, in between yelps of pain, to explain his predicament to the witch behind the desk.
'It's these - ouch - shoes my brother gave me - ow - they're eating my - OUCH - feet - look at them, there must be some kind of - AARGH - jinx on them and I can't - AAAAARGH - get them off. ' He hopped from one foot to the other as though dancing on hot coals.
'The shoes don't prevent you reading, do they?' said the blonde witch, irritably pointing at a large sign to the left of her desk. 'You want Spell Damage, fourth floor. Just like it says on the floor guide. Next!'
As the wizard hobbled and pranced sideways out of the way, the Weasley party moved forward a few steps and Harry read the floor guide:
ARTEFACT ACCIDENTS: Ground floor; Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc. CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES: First floor; Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.
MAGICAL BUGS: Second floor; Contagious maladies, e. G. Dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrojungulus, etc.
POTION AND PLANT POISONING: Third floor; Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable 2, etc.
SPELLDAMAGE: Fourth floor; Unliftable jinxes, hexes, incorrectly applied charms, etc.
VISITORS' TEAROOM / HOSPITAL SHOP: Fifth floor
IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHERE TO GO, INCAPABLE OF NORMAL SPEECH OR UNABLE TO REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE HERE, OUR WELCOMEWITCH WILL BE PLEASED TO HELP.
A very old, stooped wizard with a hearing trumpet had shuffled to the front of the queue now.
'I'm here to see Broderick Bode!' he wheezed.
'Ward forty-nine, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time, ' said the witch dismissively. 'He's completely addled, you know - still thinks he's a teapot. Next!'
A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle while she flapped around his head using the immensely large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out through the back of her romper suit.
'Fourth floor, ' said the witch, in a bored voice, without asking, and the man disappeared through the double doors beside the desk, holding his daughter like an oddly shaped balloon.
'Next!'
Molly moved forward to the desk.
'Hello, ' she said, 'my husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward thismorning, could you tell us -?'
'Arthur Weasley?' said the witch, running her finger down a long list in front of her. 'Yes, first floor, second door on the right, Dai Llewellyn Ward.'
'Thank you, ' said Molly. 'Come on, you lot. '
We followed her through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond, which was lined with more portraits of famous Healers and lit by crystal bubbles full of candles that floated up on the ceiling, looking like giant soapsuds. More witches and wizards in lime-green robes walked in and out of the doors they passed; a foul-smelling yellow gas wafted into the passageway as we passed one door, and every now and then we heard distant wailing. We climbed a flight of stairs and entered the Creature-Induced Injuries corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words: 'Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn Ward: Serious Bites. Underneath this was a card in a brass holder on which had been handwritten:
Healer-in-Charge: Hippocrates Smethwyck.
Trainee Healer: Augustus Pye.
'We'll wait outside, Molly, ' Tonks said. 'Arthur won't want too many visitors at once: it ought to be just the family first. 'Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions. I nodded my agreement and leaned against the wall too, while still holding Tonks' hand. Harry, however, got dragged in by Molly.
Tonks came to lean next to me and put her head on my shoulder.
'I'm a bit tired, so I hope you don't mind.', she said, while closing her eyes.
's Okay.', I said quietly. I studied her a bit closer. She did have some circles under her eyes. When I looked questioningly at Moody he grunted.
'She had an early shift this morning and was supposed to be in bed by now. But she got called in by Dumbledore to escort you lot.', he said in his gravelly voice, his disapproval clear in his voice.
Tonks had fallen asleep and almost fell until I quickly put my arm around her waist to secure her. Moody conjured a couch for us and I quickly set her down, her head still on my shoulder. After a few minutes, I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, the twins and Ginny exit the room just as Molly began screaming about muggle medicine being inadequate.
'What happened?', I asked quietly, not wanting to wake Tonks.
'Mr Weasley had stitches and they didn't work, since the snake venom kept dissolving them.', Harry answered as quietly
'Mum had kittens when she heard that.', Ginny added snickering.
The twins conjured a couch in front of mine and sat down along with Ginny.
'What's with her?', George asked, pointing at Tonks, who was still sleeping on my shoulder.
'Late shift apparently.' I answered absently.
The twins nodded in understanding and we just sat in companionable silence.
After that Molly came outside and called for Moody and Tonks. I shook her slightly until she woke up.
She blinked at me for a second before recognition flared in her eyes, which were emerald green in colour today, and she sleepily asked: 'Where am I?'
'Hospital', I answered, 'You were tired, so you decided my shoulder was the perfect pillow and took a nap.', I continued with a teasing grin.
Tonks blushed: 'Sorry, 'bout that.'
's Okay.', I said, turning serious, 'You look like you really need it.'
'Yeah', she said yawning. 'I feel like I could sleep for ages.'
'Come with us to HQ and you can crash in my room, if you'd like.', I offered.
'Don't want to be a bother.', she said, ducking her head.
'You won't be, I promise.', I said, smiling gently.
'Fine then.', Tonks acquiesced.
Tonks then followed Molly, who was getting rather impatient.
Harry raised his eyebrow at me, smirking and I flipped him off. He mockingly raised his hands in surrender.
'Want to hear what they're saying?', Fred asked us, and we all nodded.
'Looking for these?' said George, holding out what looked like a tangle of flesh-coloured string.
'You read my mind, ' said Fred, grinning. 'Let's see if St Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on itsward doors, shall we?'
He and George disentangled the string and separated six Extendable Ears from each other. Fred and George handed them around. My brother hesitated to take one.
'Go on, Harry, take it! You saved Dad's life. If anyone's got the right to eavesdrop on him, it's you.'
Grinning in spite of himself, Harry took the end of the string and inserted it into his ear as the twins had done.
'OK, go!' Fred whispered. The flesh-coloured strings wriggled like long skinny worms and snaked under the door. At first, I could hear nothing, then I jumped as I heard Tonks whispering as clearly as though she were standing right beside me.
'-they searched the whole area but couldn't find the snake anywhere. It just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur. But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?'
'I reckon he sent it as a lookout, ' growled Moody, 'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had a lot more time to look around. So, Potter says he saw it all happen?'
'Yes, ' said Molly. She sounded rather uneasy. 'You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this. '
'Yeah, well, ' said Moody, 'there's something funny about the Potter kids, we all know that. '
'Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning, ' whispered Molly.
'Course he's worried, ' growled Moody. 'The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake. Obviously, Potter doesn't realise what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him -'
I pulled the string out my ear to look at my brother and I shook my head. He gave me a hopeless look and I glared at him, until he gave in and returned my nod weakly. The rest was looking at him fearfully.

On the train ride home, Tonks had fallen asleep again on my shoulder. When we arrived at our station, I tried to wake her up, but she didn't stay awake, so I cast a Feather light charm on her and carried her to Grimmauld Place Bridal style. When Molly looked at me confused, I told her that I had told Tonks that she could stay in my room. The Weasley matriarch just nodded. I carried her upstairs, but the Feather light charm was wearing of, because I could feel her getting heavier. I quickly put her on my bed, took of her jacket and shoes, and then tucked her in. I put her wand on my nightstand and, checking if she was still asleep, gave her a swift kiss on the forehead.
I then sat on the couch in the corner and started to practise my Animagus again. It was well into the night when I triggered something I hadn't expected. I heard a loud Crack in my back and a stabbing pain. I tried to hold in my cry of pain, but a soft whimper still escaped. I quickly looked at Tonks, but she was still sleeping deeply. I quietly walked to a mirror and stood there staring. There were wings on my back. I wasn't even trying to form my wings. I studied them and they looked huge, I think they were 4m in diameter. I focused hard and I could feel the wings slowly retract into my back. After they were gone, I touched my back and I could feel two scars I didn't have before. One on each shoulder blade. This was enough for tonight, so I decided to go to bed. But when I had changed, I remembered Tonks . I chewed my lip for a moment, then decided to expand the bed. I crawled in, on the edge of my side, and fell asleep.

The next morning, when I woke up, I was very comfortable. Was my pillow always this good? Warm, soft, breathing….. I stiffened. Breathing? I opened my eyes and looked up, to see a pair of steel grey eyes looking at me.
'Hi.', I squeaked.
'Hi', Tonks answered, eyes filled with mirth. 'You know, if you sleep with me, you should at least ask me out.'
'I-I didn't mean to-', I started to stutter and Tonks burst into laughter.
'It's okay, Thal.', she assured me and I calmed down.
'Well.', I said, regaining my composure, 'if you ever get fired as an Auror, I'll hire you as my pillow. You're very comfy.'
I shifted a bit and I could feel Tonks' arm around my waist.
The Auror snorted, 'I'm honoured.'
'You should be.', I replied pompously, 'Not everybody can be a pillow for a person as awesome as me.'
She swatted at me, grinning. 'Git.'
'Meh, you know you love me.', The words shot out of my mouth before I could help it and I looked at her, waiting for her reaction.
She sighed dramatically. 'Yes, I do, despite your terrible sense of humour.'
'Oh, you wound me, be still my beating heart.', I deadpanned.
'What time is it?', I asked after a while.
'6.30 in the morning.', she answered.
'I'm going to shower.'
'Sure,', she said, 'I'll go after you.'
I took some clothes and made my way to the bathroom. After a nice shower, I made my way back to my room.
'If you want, you can borrow some of my clothes?', I offered.
'Thanks, Thal.', the Metamorph grinned and took the shirt and jeans I offered her. She then left to take a shower. I made way downstairs to have some breakfast. Sometime later, Tonks came downstairs.
'No work today?', I asked her.
'My shift starts in the afternoon.', she answered, while preparing her breakfast.
I nodded and finished rest of the morning was spent in the library. We both read some books on the couch and I was elated that she put her legs in my lap, so she could lie down. When she left for work, I returned to my room to continue working on my Animagus form. I figured if I continued working on it whenever I could, it would take me a shorter time to achieve the transformation. And worrying about Tonks. She seemed casual about when I held her hand yesterday, or when I woke up in her arms. Did that mean that she liked me too? Or maybe it didn't matter to her? Was I just a friend? Was she interested in me? Should I tell her about my feelings? These questions kept haunting me the next four days.

On the 23rd, I got a letter from Gringott's.

Lady Potter,
I think it might be interesting for you to know, that we have found your parents will. We would advise you come alone, but since these are dangerous times, you may bring one person for protection. It would be best if you come today or tomorrow at the latest.
Greetings,
Winehammer, Manager of the Potter account.

My parents ' will. I needed to go there, but who could I take? The only adults here at the moment were Sirius and Molly. Just then, Tonks entered the kitchen. I quickly took her apart.
'You busy?', I asked her.
'No, my shift just ended.', she replied.
'Good, can you come with me to Gringott's?', I inquired.
She shrugged and nodded.
'Thanks.', I said gratefully.
I took her hand and led her outside. I Apparated us to Diagon Alley and we made our way to Gringott's.
We entered the bank and made our way to an available teller.
The goblin looked at me and asked: 'Can I help you, Lady Potter?'
'Yes, I have an appointment with Winehammer.'
'Very well,', the goblin said monotonously, 'follow me.'
We followed the goblin down several corridors, until we reached the office of Winehammer.
When we entered, it was clear that he was already expecting me.
'Greetings, Lady Potter.', Winehammer said.
I nodded my greeting.
'Before we begin, Lady Potter,', the goblin began, 'do you think that miss Tonks should be present for this?'
'Yes, I trust her implicitly.', I said decisively and Tonks smiled at me.
'Very well.', Winehammer said. 'This the will of you parents. Only to be viewed by the Head of House, meaning you.'
He handed me a parchment.

I, James William Potter and I, Lily Sarah Evans,
being sound of body and mind, declare this to be our final will and testament. We fear we do not have a lot of time left in this life, so we are making sure that you, our children, are cared for. In the event that we do not survive this infernal war, everything goes to our eldest child, Thalia Violet Potter. This includes 4 letters. Two letters by me and Lily for Thalia and the same for Harry. Also, we request that the following people gain custody of our children:
1) Sirius Black
2) Amelia Bones
3) Frank & Alice Longbottom
4) Michael & Vivian Greengrass
We prefer that they are not be given to the Dursley's for the simple fact that they abhor magic.
Indeed, I love my sister, but I would not trust her with my children.
Signed,
James William Potter
Lily Sarah Evans

I looked up at the goblin and he gave me another piece of parchment.
Holdings Of The Potter Family.
Property:
Potter Manor, Cardiff, Wales. (Fidelius)
Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow, England (Destroyed/Memorial)

Financial:
150.067.334 Galleons
5 Sickles
1 Knut
Vault number: 101

'Holy shit.', I breathed. Why did I not know this? Shouldn't the executor of the will have contacted me?
A suspicion crawled into my mind: 'Winehammer, who executed their will?'
'It was never written down but I think it was-.', he started
'Dumbledore.', I growled.
The goblin nodded.
'Can you prove it?', I asked, trembling in rage.
'I'm sorry, Lady Potter, but I cannot', the goblin said, truly sounding apologetic.
I took the letters from my parents and began briskly walking out of the office with Tonks on my heels.
'Hey, you okay?', she asked.
I didn't answer, I was too busy controlling my temper. I was nearly outside when I realised I couldn't hold it in anymore. I spun to Apparate and Tonks grabbed my arm just before I Disapparated. We appeared in the Scottish Highlands, and there were no people around for at least 10 km. I told Tonks to stay back, I ran as far away as I could.
And then I exploded.

AN: And this is chapter 6 everybody. Now to answer some questions you may have:
The mindscape: I know it sounds ridiculously big, but don't forget it IS her mind. The mind is infinite, so I like to think you can make it REALLY big. And the Greek mythology is just my geekiness shining through (Xtra points for who guesses what the name Vesania means.)
Her relationship with Tonks: It might move a little fast, I'm not sure, but don't forget that Tonks is a flirt and Thalia is still a teenager. She goes googly eyed at the most minor thing that Tonks does.
And that's about it I guess. If any of you have questions, or
CONSTRUCTIVEcriticism you can always review or PM me. The next chapter should be out by Thursday or Friday. So R&R.

DarkLadyNym