A/N: sorry about getting this out later than I normally do but there was adulting to be done today and it got in the way. Adulting is hard. On a happier note though, I should be able to pick up a better posting schedule again. Not every day but maybe every other day. I'm really hoping on that one.

Also thanks for all the welcome backs, they made my day :)

As usual, in heart crushing reality, I don't own Harry Potter

Chapter Fourteen: Unexpected Transformations…

I woke early the next morning to the stormy winds lashing against the dorm windows. There was a groan, part of it was because the girls had kept me up late last night teaching me how to do different hair braids and gossiping. Hermione just smirked at the discomfort I that I'd felt for this and whispered to me that it was okay to be a girl from time to time. I took her words to heart and hit her with a pillow. In the face! The other girls thought that was hilarious and then again when Hermione gave me braided pigtails.

The other part was because Quidditch was never cancelled for weather related problems. Sure, if there was a giant nope rope with a lethal gaze slithering about then they decided it's too dangerous to play. However, when a nasty, lightning filled with thunder that rattles the castle itself, high winds and cutting rain…nah, that's fun weather, let's play! (Lots of sarcasm in that statement that even, I, Athena Black, am irritated by it)

Groggily I sat up and turned off the alarm before it was to go off. First game of the season looked like it was really going to suck! Thank the Great Divines that Gran had given me those enchanted gloves otherwise the cold and wet was really going to hurt my hand, more than the ache and stiffness it was already feeling.

I sat at the edge of my bed, working my hand with that stress ball I'd gotten last Christmas, I think it was. It was slow going and made me grimace as I slowly squeezed the ball working out the stiffness in my hand. Ten minutes before Hermione's alarm was to go off, I put away the therapy device and dressed in my Quidditch kit. Carrying my boots down to sit next to Harry, who was scowling at the tantrum that nature was throwing against the windows.

"This would have been a better day to just stay in bed," Harry commented darkly wiggling his socked feet at the fire, his arms folded across his chest as Crookshanks jumped up to sit down between us "you going to be okay with your hand out in that crap?"

I blinked in surprise at him for remembering "yea," I nodded and grinned "Gran got me these enchanted gloves that aren't supposed to let the cold in and they're completely within the regulations."

"Gran is thoughtful that way," Harry's darkened expression softened a bit "so, what happened yesterday morning? You were crying when you left the Great Hall and then you weren't in class. I didn't want to press because I thought Hermione might. She wasn't happy with you not being there."

I snorted at that "no, no she weren't happy about that," I nodded as I leaned back in the couch, biting at my lip "I got a letter from the States. A good friend died," I didn't feel like giving the whole truth "she lost who she was and it cost her the ultimate price, her life. I'm not sure if they meant the letter to arrive when it did but they also sent what I inherited from her will, basically. I hadn't seen her in over a year but I wrote to her all the time."

Harry nodded "that were Gorgo was off to all the time?" he asked "off to the states?"

With my arms crossed over my chest, I nodded "yea, all the way to South Dakota. I was going to talk Aunt Andy to maybe visit this winter hols or maybe next summer; or beg Aunt Andy to take me," I let out long sigh to keep from getting choked up, lolling my head backwards to look up at the ceiling, scratching at Crookshanks's ears; the mangy feline purring happily at the attention "maybe I'll still go and see where she worked. Get closure or whatever."

"I'll go with," Harry said softly "I've never been to the State before. The Dursleys went once and left me with Mrs. Figg for the summer when I was four. Her house smelled like cats but it was the best summer I'd ever had until Uncle Ted and Aunt Andy because my guardians."

I nodded again before looking over at him "we'll have to kidnap Neville and Hermione and see the all the sights. That'd be fun, I think. I can see Hermione spending all her free time reading one of those tour guide books before we'd go."

"I would," Hermione agreed, announcing her arrival before she sat down at the end of the couch her back to the armrest and put her socked feet in my lap. She was wearing heavy jeans and carrying a rain coat and a hoodie she'd stolen from me; grinning at me when I started massaging the foot closest to me "might have to write mum and dad about this so they'll put it in our Jar of Random Travels," she sighed happily when I found a good spot "how do you think they chose Spain last summer?"

Harry and I shrugged "didn't give it any thought," I confessed "not all the things your parents do make sense, Myne," I pointed out "such as when they threw that 60's themed party near the start of summer and we spent the night watching the chaos from your bedroom window. I still haven't been able to listen to The Beatles since."

"I still think it was Aunt Andy and Mrs. G who spiked the punch," Harry sniggered "their hangovers were epic according to Nym. Then she had to explain what a hangover was."

Hermione just rolled her eyes at us, poking my middle with her toes "they have their moments," she frowned when our conversation was drowned out by the crashing thunder that rattled the windows "are you really going to fly in that?" Hermione demanded worriedly.

"It's not going to be fun…" Harry admitted and I added "…Quidditch stops for nothing but a fucking snake. I really just want to be at home playing Mario instead of doing this."

"I'd just win the Mario," Hermione gloated, her next words were a little more sober and somber "please be careful the pair of you, yea? Don't do anything stupid for the sake of a dumb game."

I was going to respond but I was beat to it "Quidditch is not dumb!" Ron glowered from the stair way "why you got your feet in Black's lap, Mione?" Ron sneered "some sort of…"

"It's very comfortable and Hammy needs to finish what she was doing," Hermione interrupted him and nudged me with her foot "there's another ten minutes before breakfast, I didn't give you permission to stop, Hammy."

"Oh, my bad, mistress," I smirked and went back to rubbing her foot "that better, mistress?" Hermione just grinned triumphantly with her arms folded across her chest.

\\\\A/

Breakfast was fun, especially when Cedric jogged over to our table to wish Harry and me good luck in the coming game. Oliver just sputtered as he watched us talking with the Hufflepuff captain; like he couldn't believe the treason that was happening in front of him. Once I realized what was going with Oliver, I tried to get Cedric to sit down and talk but he just chuckled and left.

"You are a serious pain, Hammy," Hermione rolled her eyes at me as she put her long bushy hair up into a messy bun and slipped on a dark colored beanie "stop torturing Oliver!"

"Yes, please, Black!" Oliver cried suddenly making himself jump, I think he surprised himself with that outburst "listen to the bookworm girl, the smart one of your group!"

Oliver was still ranting as he got up and headed out the door. His broom in one hand and his keeper helmet in the other, shaking his head. I grinned cheekily at Hermione as I lounged with my back to the table; I took way too much pleasure in tormenting Oliver. The Granger girl just rolled her eyes and gently slapped my cheek.

"You ready for that?" Hermione asked, her hand on my shoulder as she nodded towards the high windows that were intermittently lashed by cutting rain "I'm worried, Athena."

With a sigh and drew my wand before tapping the vintage aviator goggles that I'd gotten from Draco that Daphne had snuck in my bag in potions. A simple spell that I'd learned from Bridget and a perfect duplicate of the goggles appeared. With a smirking grin I handed them to Hermione and told her to put them on. Hermione raised an eyebrow at me but did as I'd asked.

"Now I'm ready, Doveling," I whispered leaning close to her "I can't have The Great and Terrible Myne blinded by the rain because then what would she know to chide me for later?"

Hermione blushed and playfully glared at me as she moved the goggles up to rest on her forehead "you are horrible, Athena Black!" she chided trying not to smile at me.

I feigned a hurt looked and tapped my chest over my heart "ouch, just ouch, Hermione Jean Granger, you're hurting my little Black heart."

Hermione pursed her lips and whispered back "oh, now, we can't have that now, can we Hammy?"

I shivered a little and then found myself protesting as Angie pulled me from the bench. Putting my broom in my hand and shoving my goggles into my chest. The older girl was rolling her eyes at me when I protested and kept walking.

"You're not old enough to flirt, little lion," Angie stated firmly as we left the Great Hall, she took her broom from Katie who was waiting there for us "my sister needs to stay as innocent for as long as possible!"

I frowned as Angie never broke her pace and marched out towards the sodden grounds. Katie snorted and patted my shoulder before she pulled her goggles on and followed the crazy older girl; woman had to seriously had to be nuts because that wasn't flirting! That was…well, that was just Myne and me being silly. Humph! Angie spoiled that, thanks Angie! Growling softly, I made to follow because I knew if I didn't then Angie would march right back to me.

\\\\A/

The walk to the pitch was a battle in of itself. Slanted, hurricane like winds had replaced the rain for the moment but from the moisture in the air the rain was soon for the coming back. Katie and I had caught up with Angie rather quickly; she hadn't been too far down the path to the stadium and a quick jog got us to her.

Oliver was on the verge of a full fledge emotional breakdown as he paced in front of the chalk board in our locker room. He'd been at it for the past ten minutes as the Harry and the twins finally arrived, the captain had been going on and on about the high winds and the torrential rains that had returned and how we were to change our style of play. Truthfully, I wasn't listening because I was watching the depth of standing water on the pitch starting to grow with every passing second. Forget seeing across the pitch to the wall of the stadium or the crowd that was gathering.

It was only a spell that kept the water out of our tent/looker room thingy. This made the water look like it was filling a tank or a glass. The worrisome part was the fact that it was ankle deep already and not stopping any time soon. Angie frowned when I pointed out the fish tank effect.

"Here," she gave me a hair tie and whispered "just stick close to me," she ordered as I put my hair up into a pony tail, seriously needed another hair cut "not sure tactics will win this one."

When it was finally time to take the pitch, Oliver looked like he wanted to either faint or vomit. If there was cheering as we walked out into the rain, it couldn't be heard. Hell, not even Lee Jordan could be heard playing commentator. I think it was only muscle memory that helped us to find the center of the pitch were a very unhappy and soaked Madam Hooch was waiting.

"POTTOR, DIGGORY!" Madam Hooch nearly had to scream to be heard "FIND THE DAMN SNITCH QUICKLY!"

This game…this game right here was enough to make me want to quit Quidditch, burn my jersey (least it'd be a warm) and never set foot in a Quidditch stadium again…ever! There was no visibility, the rain hurt, the wind made everything impossible and I'm pretty sure that I've nearly collided with three different people (I'm not sure if they'd been ours or Hufflepuffs) and may have scored at least two own goals. The only clear visibility came when looking straight up.

Time was so was easily lost in this cold, biting hellish experience. I was very thankful when Madam Hooch signaled the time out using red flares to get our attention. We took refuge back in our tent; the water was higher than before, certainly above the ankles before we passed into the tent. I didn't know about the others but I was cold, shivering and soaked to the bone. The only thing warm on me was my hands because of Gran's gloves.

Hermione was there waiting. I hugged the girl when she tapped the exposed skin on my neck and spoke some spell that sent warmth coursing through my numbing body. Hermione hummed happily when I buried my face into the crook of her neck; she was warm. She let me hold on to her until my shivering had dissipated.

"Thank you," I mumbled before pulling away from her "this game is ruining whatever liking I hold for the sport. The library has never tried to drown me."

"Impervius!" Hermione enunciated with a grin and tapped the goggles that were now down around my neck "makes it water resistant."

"Could ya do the same to me, Dove?" I asked warily as Hermione moved to Harry to do the same to his glasses "I think at the rate I'm absorbing water I won't need a glass of the stuff for the next ten years or so."

Hermione smirked while she was tapping her wand against Harry's glasses "and there's a reason you're nickname is Hammy, Athena."

I didn't get the chance to respond before Wood stomped his way into the tent, water slapping everywhere. He raised an eyebrow at Hermione as she slid back into the spot beside me, her hand grasping my water-logged sleeve. The boy said nodding at he moved towards the center of the room.

"Right, so, we're ahead by fifty," he sighed and ran his hands through his hair "that's something considering the conditions."

"No kidding," Katie smirked, wringing water out of her pony tail "going for a bit of an understatement aren't we, Oliver?"

He scowled a bit "maybe," he shrugged before looking to Harry "you have to find the snitch, Harry. This can't drag on for another hour. They'll call the game a draw for players' safety. We'll draw and get even points. Not necessarily a bad thing but we need to pull ahead if we want to win. Every point counts!"

"Basically," Angie translated looking to Harry "little brother, find the snitch!"

Harry blushed happily and nodded. He gave Angie a big hug before rushing back outside, following Oliver because the time out was over. Hermione hugged me before she pulled her hood back up and setting her goggles in place before heading back to her spot in the stands.

I watched her go before following Fred and George, being the last out of the tent. Followed the others' example and hopped on my broom the second I could so I didn't have to trudge through small lake that'd formed. Made me wonder if the stadium wasn't properly draining.

The spell that Hermione had cast to warm me up was quickly losing to the weather as I floated back up to where Angie was waiting for Hooch to restart the game. I was starting to shiver again as the red quaffle was tossed into the air. Katie missed catching it when a strong gust swept through the stadium and pushed it into Applebee's arms; who shot towards Gryffindor hoops.

We took off after Applebee with Megan Jones and Heidi Macavoy trying to run interference for fleeing Chaser. Angie got to Applebee first, causing the chaser to panic and try to get rid of the quaffle before Angie could slam into her side. I couldn't catch the quaffle but I didn't punch it away before Megan could catch it.

Katie got it in a one handed snatch just before the quaffle hit the water on the ground below. It was actually a rather amazing catch and I'm sure the crowd was cheering. If they saw it at all or Katie seeming to ride the wind instead of fighting it as she flew towards Hufflepuff territory.

Katie reached the end first. She faked out the Hufflepuff keeper with a false throw before tossing the quaffle back to Angie. Angie caught it before the she threw it wide of the goal post. The wind came up and through the foggy conditions we watched the quaffle bend around Herbert Fleet and through the hoop. Angie was grinning as she flew past me, high-fiving as she went by.

I didn't get to see who Fleet threw the quaffle out too as I was nearly unseated by a random bludger through the mist. George knocked it away, back the way it'd come after I'd managed to roll out of the way.

"THANKS!" I cried, gently pounding him on the shoulder with the side of my fist.

He nodded and made to move away when I happened to look upwards. Through the streaks of lightning I saw Cedric, Harry and what looked like the whole host of dementors that Hogwarts were playing host to. They were hard to see but there was no mistaking the sight of two figures flying for their lives. The pair were dodging and flying fancy, trying to get away but not being allowed to descend until a bolt of lightning struck one of the creatures below Harry and Cedric.

The crackling light past between three or four of the creatures, thus giving Cedric and Harry an avenue for escape. I cried out when one dementor went in for one last feed, missing the fleeing Cedric and caught a glancing blow to Harry instead. Harry went limp and parted ways with his broom.

He fell gracefully until the moment that I was grabbing at the back of his hooded robes. It took was felt like a lifetime at hyperseed as I was pushing my Nimbus as hard as it would go straight upwards before I'd gotten to the unconscious boy. His dead weight tore at my shoulder and the grasp I had on him, almost wrenching me all the way off my broom. I managed to hold on with one hand and locked my ankles around the upside down Nimbus.

I was gritting my teeth as I struggled to hang on to Harry, I honestly didn't have that great of grip on the boy's robes. There was a burning soreness in my arms and shoulders by the time that George caught up with us on his very outdated broom. He'd barely Harry on to his broom when a shrouded creature reeking of death smacked into my side. I lost my grip on Harry so that I could attempt to get a better grip on my broom so I wouldn't be the one falling.

George and I both cried out at the sucking breath the thing took as it passed by in the split second before I was hit again from the other side. The impact was enough to make me lose my grip on the broom and send me away me away from where George could have caught me.

I was hit again just after a few meters later. Bony claws trying to find purchase on my sodden robes so to hold me in place for a longer feed. I lashed out, smacking the creature in the face with the back of my hand. The creature screamed and shoved me away. Rolling me over so I could see what I was falling towards.

The wind rushed over me grasping my saddened clothes, the water that was falling slower than I pelted my face as I plummeted towards the Ravencalw stands below. My heart pounded out of control, powered by sheer terror and going at a rate that the human body shouldn't be capable of. If air rushing past me hadn't been stealing my breath then I'm pretty sure that I would have been hyperventilating at this point.

There was no help coming from above. George had Harry and there was no way that George's outdated broom could have caught up with me, even without Harry onboard, George wouldn't have been able to catch me. Not that I was giving this much thought as my focus was on the blue and bronze canvas top rushing towards me with each passing second. My insides turned cold and there was a numbness through my limbs. This was going to hurt, this was going to kill me! It was that thought that started me to panicking.

Nononononononononono! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Then I was screaming for a whole other reason as my body started to burn as my curled in on itself. My muscles shifting and morphing, shrinking and changing shape. At the same time my bones were being shattered and pieced back together in a completely different formation in the most painful way possible. They shortened and thinned out while it felt like my head was being squeezed in a vice.

The pain became too much for me to comprehend as my nose and chin distorted to become a very lethal beak capable of rendering flesh from bones. My conscious mind fled as my vision sharpened beyond extraordinary, there were flashes of vibrant colors that I'd never seen in the stadium before and my screams of terror and pain become the cawing cries of a bird.

Before I lost myself to the primal mind of bird of prey, I could see clearly the faces in the crowd below. A still shot of life. Gran was on her feet with her wand pointed towards me, mimicking Dumbledore next to her. Her face pinched and frightened, her green eyes trained tightly on me but the spell she was about to perform was stilled on her lips.

Neville looked pale, his hands gripping the railing in front of him. His knuckles white in their intent to indent the wood he was clinging to as a life line. The boy looked like he was crying but the rain was washing his tears away.

Next to him was Hagrid, who had his eyes closed and looking away from me. It was if he didn't want to watch what was going to happen next. He was holding up Hermione, her gloved hands covering her mouth with her goggles down around her neck. There was absolute fear and heartbreak in her chocolate brown eyes.

Katie and Angie were both heading for me, Fred trying to catch up on the same outdated broom that his twin was struggling with. Determination set on their faces as they raced to save me. Oliver only just realizing what was happening just like the Hufflepuff team; they were just a step behind.

Then the moment was over in a flash of lightning and the clapping rumble of thunder. All that existed after that was the flap of my wings and the need to get in out of the rain. Right after I got rid of the foolish creatures flying sticks that were coming after me. They weren't other hawks nor were they eagles but they would be hurt just the same by razor sharp talons.

I cried in frustration as I winged through the stadium. Battered by the gusting currents and the dimming light. I wanted to turn and fight the irritating creatures but the weather wasn't cooperating. Turning sharply, I cut through a split between towers of the stadium stands.

The creatures followed, I screamed in frustration. They were sticking close as I flew a route that wound around, through and between the branches of the stone structure of human construction. I would have considered foolish creatures following honorary hawks if I wasn't planning on finding a way to turn this chase around on them. My deadly talons were going to meet the foolish creatures' faces once I had the chance.

I was around a sharp corning when a heavy gust caught me, it snapped my wings open against my will. Screeching as I crashed through a solid piece of the sky that was attached to the stone structure. It hurt, cutting in my feathers and body before I hit something solid and unmoving. The pain snapped through the primal instincts before true darkness took me.