A/N: heya, sorry for the delay, here's the next chapter, slightly more darker than the previous ones, but I hope you like it. Please leave reviews? THanks!!

Dark Magic

Ella

I try not to think about who spread the news about me turning Sirius into an animal shape shifter, but there is something about it that's bugging me but I can't put my finger on what it is. I have to work out how to return Sirius back into his normal (if you can even call that guy 'normal') human shape.

And that's when I see Remus running towards me. "Dumbledore wants to see you. He wants to talk to all of us." He says when he finally reaches me.

"OK." I reply. Why does Dumbledore want to speak to us? I'd talked to him before…was there something that he forgot to tell me before? "Do you know why?" I voice my thoughts. But Remus didn't prove to be of much help. He just shrugged.

We walked in silence. It wasn't the awkward kind…neither of us wanted to speak, we were both happy, not talking, too busy thinking. Walking along, I can see some people whispering amongst themselves and then stopping all of a sudden when they see me. They should do lessons in the Art of Inconspicuousness.

"Did you mention this to anyone?"

"Mention what?"

"The whole, you know, what I did to Sirius?"

"No, why?" It was what I expected. Remus doesn't strike to me the kind of guy who would go around gossiping. He has more tact than that.

"No reason, just wondered." I say, and then noticing that he was about to ask another question, I add "Don't worry about it."

We see Dumbledore, James and Sirius, now as a phoenix, hanging outside the gargoyle that leads to the Headmaster's office. I can't take my eyes off Sirius. He looks so…beautiful. His shimmering golden red plumage…I've never seen anything quite as beautiful as him.

"Mr Lupin, I'm sorry I forgot to give the password to enter my office. But no matter, we are all here now."

"Peppermint," Dumbledore says in a loud, clear voice, and with some creaking and groaning, the gargoyles shift aside, giving way into a long spiralling staircase. We all file in after him.

His room is huge. There are all sorts of instruments around the room that I've only ever seen in books. Row upon row of Hogwart's former headteacher's portraits are lined up all along the wall and the ceiling. The far side of the room is occupied by a desk and a tall arm chair behind it. In one corner, perched up on a golden stand, is another phoenix. So I guess this is the phoenix that Dumbledore was rumoured to have. I can't help but compare Sirius and the phoenix…and although they both look identical, there is just something about Sirius that looks slightly different…like there's something that's trying to hide inside him.

Dumbledore waves his wands and two extra chairs materialise around the desk. Once everyone is seated, Dumbledore speaks. "As you've all noticed that Sirius Black has been morphed into a sort of shape shifter by Miss Priestley. But we must not blame her for this for it was unintentional. What we must concentrate on is how to get Mr Black back. I was hoping the situation wouldn't get as far as this, but now that it has, something must be done."

Oh, God, what's happened? Has Sirius transformed one too many times, and one more transformation will turn him permanently into that form, or worse? Is there even a solution to turn him back to normal? There has to be!

"What's wrong, professor?" James asked, worry etched across his forehead.

"I don't know if you're aware or not, but the news of Sirius's transformation has reached the rest of the school. And it won't be long before Lord Voldemort gets wind of it." I can't help but shudder at the name. I can see the ridiculousness of it but still, this is a man with no soul. Even the thought of him sends chills down my spine. Dumbledore looks at me briefly but then turns away. "Let me first tell you, the magic that Miss Priestly accidentally performed tonight is very hard and ancient. It hasn't been done in millions of years, for it was banned by Gryffindor. You see, long ago, Slytherin used this type of magic as a form of punishment. The actual jinx itself originated from rage and a small amount of dark magic." Dark magic? What is he trying to say? I have goosebumps. I don't wan Dumbledore to continue but he doesn't. "However, this does not mean that you are in any way evil, Miss Priestley. All it means is that you have some dark, evil magic in you that could date back to your ancestor. This says nothing about your personality now. And I would have told you this before when we spoke, had I known it then. But, as I was saying, this magic is almost impossible now. There is only one other person who has done it. Lord Voldemort himself. And when he finds out that there is another person besides him who can perform this dark magic, he will want to speak to you."

Dumbledore looks at me as he says this. His piercing blue eyes are enough to convey the graveness of the situation. I shudder. I don't want to see you-know-who.

"That is why it is vital that you change Sirius back into his normal form as soon as possible." He continues. Silence. Everyone turns to look at Sirius apart from me. I am still going over Dumbledore's words in my head, each syllable dissolving into a cloud of fear as it slowly sinks in.

This is turning into something a lot more dangerous and scary than I first thought.