Chapter 9

Azalea jolted awake early on the morning of her friend's visit. She felt a strange euphoria that she never felt before. It felt artificial and made her uncomfortable. It brought her shields up on all accounts but she knew it was somehow muted. To her it made no sense until she remembered that soulmates can share emotion. She knew that the emotion was forced.

She got out of bed and threw on a dark emerald green tunic with a gold belt and brown leather pants and black socks and threw her hair up into a ponytail, having showered the night before. Her two heiress hair clasps were firmly in her hair that she kept braided. She rushed out of the room and towards the green parlour to see if Augusta was awake.

She turned the corner and spotted the older woman. "Nan! Nan! I think something is wrong with my soulmate!" She cried out as she skidded to a stop in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Augusta asked in concern.

"It feels like an artificial euphoria. I don't know what it is. It feels like it's crawling into my mind. It feels wrong!" She said in desperation, not knowing what to do. It was making her feel like she was being backed into a corner but she knew that it wasn't her. She knew herself too much to be fooled by such feelings. All those nights locked away in her cupboard without human contact or food and water made sure of that.

"It sounds like he is being put under the Imperius curse. It won't hurt him physically dear but I'll look into it." Augusta reassured the girl. She was unprepared for the girl to throw herself at her though. The hug knocked her back a step but she could feel Azalea trembling so she said nothing and just put her hand on top of her head.

It was this scene that Nelda saw when she stumbled into the parlour, fully dressed but groggy eyed.

"Azalea?" Nelda mumbled tiredly. She took note of her friends' distress and jolted into full awareness. "Azalea what's wrong?" She asked.

"My soulmate is under the imperius curse. I can feel what he is feeling. It feels wrong!" She cried out. She threw herself into Nelda's arms and buried her face in her friend's neck.

"Come on Aza. It'll be fine. If your soulmate has even an ounce of your strength he'll pull through. Besides, do you want Theo and Dee to see you like this?" Nelda asked.

In response Aza shook her head, still keeping it in the crook of Nelda's neck and took a deep breath to collect herself. She pulled away and Nelda watched amazed as all emotions slid off her friend's face before settling on a happy expression. She had only seen people who practice occlumency do that. It was the second step of the training.

"When is Theo coming?" Aza asked her friend in a relaxed tone.

"Around noon with Thorros. Do you want to go for a walk around the grounds with me?" Nelda asked.

"Sure, let me grab my cloak, wand and daggers. It's best not to wander unarmed in the wild. You should grab your throwing knives as well." Azalea said as she walked out of the parlour.

Nelda watched her friend leave in concern. She didn't really know how to help her. Azalea was the type of person that always seemed happy, but it seems that they are the ones who need help the most.

She left the room in a slow stride, she wanted to meet Azalea at her door so they could leave. She wanted to try and take Azalea's mind off of what happened earlier. Reaching her room she swung her door open then jolted, closing her eyes she took a deep breath. There was that longing feeling again, but it felt so warm. She shook her head as if to clear it. She marched to her nightstand and took out her throwing knives.

She latched them onto her belt on her right hip and put her wand right next to it. She glanced to herself in the mirror and stood in shock. There, staring back at her looked like a younger version of her Nan. The thought brought a tingling of pride. In her mind, if she turned out like her Nan then she would have made something of herself. She could finally be proud of herself she thought to herself while she grabbed her teal winter cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

With that thought in mind she walked out with a new found confidence. She finally had found a vision for her future. She might not be skilled at dueling yet and she might never be but she would make herself a formidable enemy nonetheless, just like her Nan. She knew where her talents truly lie; she could identify at least a hundred different plants with only a glance, many of them poisonous. And now she had her weapon of choice which could become lethal with only a scratch with the right concoction. If nothing else she would protect her friends and take down any enemy that got in her way, she was Augusta's granddaughter after all and she had Black blood flowing through her veins as well in the form of her grandfather's mother, Callidora Black.

There was a reason the Longbottom line never ended: either, no house had ever won a blood feud with them or won in a straight house war. The land they live on is a fortress of itself. And the plants will come alive and heed the call of their bloodline. The vines and roots of the forest have taken a liking to blood ever since magic clan MacAlister was wiped from existence when they entered the forest unprepared for the forest to attack.

She walked out the room to find Azalea leaning against the wall between their two rooms. "Let's go, Aza. We have things to explore!" She said cheerfully. Then she called out to her grandma. "Tìoraidh seanmhair!"

"What language was that?" Azalea asked, having heard it around the halls of Hogwarts but never before.

"It's Gàidhlig or Gaelic. The Scott's Gaelic not Irish which is basically a different language. It's actually my first language though not many people know it." She told her friend. The Longbottom's have spoken it for centuries, desperately keeping hold of it while many let it fade into the background, making it an endangered language. Now the outer Hebrides were one of the only places where you could hear it spoken daily along with the Isle of Sky and the remote places in the Highlands.

"It's a beautiful language. You must be really smart Nelda. Not a lot of kids can say they speak two languages fluently where I used to live." She complimented, making a faint blush kiss Nelda's cheeks.

"Thank you Aza. I could teach you if you like." She told her friend, watching as an excited glint entered her eyes. She herself knew that most purebloods knew at least two languages, the language of where their house originated from along with English or if they originated in England then they were taught either French, German, Russian, or Italian to help make better connections.

"Please! I would love to learn it! I used to spend my summers in the library where a nice lady would teach me what she called old Norse. Auntie Rowle was so sweet." She said excitedly.

"Wait, wait , wait, backtrack. Did you say Rowle? I know of only one Rowle and he is in Azkaban." Nelda said as the two walked out of the gates.

"Yea a sweet older lady about mid thirty. She had long golden blonde hair that she wore in braids and ice blue eyes. She was always smiling when she saw me. She was tall too. I would say she was 5'8 or 5'9. She used to teach self defense and recreational sword fighting at the Recreation Center." She told her friend. The tall Scandinavian woman treated her with with a tough kindness that reminded her of Augusta. She knew she was a retired Royal Marine who was honourably discharged after she got wounded in the Falklands war back in '82 but that was it. She never talked about her family or about her past except for her military career. Azalea just figured that it was none of her business so she didn't ask either.

"We should ask nan. Maybe we can hire her as a weapons instructor for this summer and save Mr. Arcturus the time of teaching us the basics. If she is indeed a member of the Rowle family I am thinking of then it should be fine." Nelda said to her friend.

After that the two walked in a comfortable silence, exploring the forest of Fir trees that were hidden within the wards. It was a peaceful morning with the sounds of wildlife all around them. The morning sun was streaming through the leaves, washing over the ground and illuminating the sea of soft white snow that made up the forest sent prisms of color throughout the forest, making it seem as if the forest was made out of crystal. It was as if it was a scene from a dream, not reality.

"C'mon there is a fresh water spring this way!" Nelda called out laughing. The two girls raced along, trying to beat out the other when Nelda tripped. She landed on her hands and knees while blinking in shock. She looked back while Azalea skidded to a stop and let out a Yelp, there laying mangled on the ground was a large Eurasian lynx, not that Nelda really was aware of that though. It looked to have gouges near its neck like it ran afoul of another predator.

"Nelda! Are you okay?!" Azalea called out while jogging over to her.

"Shh! Whatever killed it can't be too far away. It's still warm." Her voice came out in a trembling hiss.

At that comment Aza stilled then shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and drew her daggers while inching closer to her friend. She might not know how to use them yet but it can't be that hard right? Just stick them with the pointy end. It'll be like when she used to pretend she was a shield maiden from aunt Eir's stories when Vernon kicked out of the house last winter. She was just a girl but she would fight like a beast if it meant saving her friend.

Nelda stood up wiping her hands free of blood while she too withdrew two of her throwing knives. She didn't know how to throw them yet but a knife was a knife either way.

The two girls whipped their heads to the left. The sound of crackling leaves and twigs were loud in the serenity of the woods. In their hyper aware state the sounds of life seemed to become all encompassing.

Looking at her shorter friend Nelda held back a sigh. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to stay and be sitting ducks. We obviously interrupted something that we best stay out of. I don't want to run afoul of whatever can kill another predator like that." She said while pointing at the Lynx

"I'll walk ahead of you Nel. Make sure to only stay a step behind me and keep an eye out. I don't want to take any unnecessary risks. Do you know what kind of wildlife you have in this forest?" The Black heiress asked while scanning the surrounding area.

"Basically anything that was here 3000 years ago is most likely still alive within these wards. A lot of the animals that humans had wiped out sought shelter here in this forest. There are bears and wolves that no longer exist anywhere else but here." She replied it was one of her ancestors' crowning achievements.

"Right, well that's reassuring." Aza mumbled under her breath. She shifted her goblin silver dagger into a reverse grip position, she instinctively knew that having at least one dagger in a blocking position would be beneficial to her continued existence.

They started back to the manor in a slow and even pace, trying to keep as silent as possible so as to not reveal their presence to any predators. Azalea moved with a much more fluid grace than Nelda had expected of her friend.

As they walked they kept their senses open. It no longer seemed as safe of an arena as Azalea had assumed. There was the sound of soft rustling and the crunch of twigs and leaves on the forest floor making her paranoid. She knew that the chances of her hearing an animal approaching was sleep to none, especially if they were being stalked.

The sounds of life vanished and the forest went dead calm causing both Azalea and Nelda to stiffen up.

"Quick climb up that tree next to you. I will follow you up. Whatever scared the birds enough to hide can't be too far." She told Nelda. She seemed calm but she was anything but. The only thing that was keeping her functioning was survival instincts at this point. She shoved Nelda towards the tree urgently and there was no time to think of anything else.

Nelda had just climbed up the first two branches of the tall Fir tree when a twig snapped not even ten feet away. Azalea whipped around to face the sound while pressing her back to the tree to make sure nothing could sneak up on her.

"Aza!" Nelda hissed, frightened. She hated that Aza made her go first, it left the younger, smaller girl alone on the floor.

A massive grey timber wolf emerged out of the underbrush in powerful strides. It's massive grey body is not much shorter than Azalea. It must have stood at least 42" at the shoulder while Azalea herself only stood at 54".

The wolf's burning amber eyes locked onto Azalea's own killing curse green. Both froze as soon as the contact was made. It felt as if a surge of energy had just washed through her to the wolf, forging a connection with it.

The feeling itself sent a warmth alight in her chest. For some unexplainable reason she felt a sudden irrevocable bond to this dangerous kept her eyes locked to it and watched the massive beast cocked his head to the side as if it was trying to hear something that she couldn't pick up.

Eventually one of them had to move and it seemed that it was the wolf who lost patients first. It Wended its way through the forest floor and gracefully stalked closer to the small girl. It stopped about one foot away from her and sat on its haunches while continuing to make eye contact.

When the wolf sat Azalea sheathed her goblin silver dagger while lowering her mithril to her side. It wasn't threatening her, she realized, just observing. She started to inch her way closer and sat down on her knees turning her gaze to just over the wolf's shoulder, breaking eye contact and making herself seem as unthreatening as possible. She sat and waited for the wolf to make the next move, so far he'd not been aggressive, merely curious and she was curious if he would stay that way.

She watched as it stood up from it's sitting position and slinked closer still. She could feel it's breath now washing over her face as the wolf started to sniff at the girl, pressing it's cold nose to her cheek. She held still as the wolf started to rub it's head over her hair, scent marking her.

The animal instinctively knew that she was pack now. The bond that had formed was a bond revealed throughout the magical community. She had unknowingly forged a magical familiar bond, liking the wolf's lifespan to hers. She reached out a hand and caressed the animal's cheek.

"Hello boy. You need a name don't you?" She muttered softly letting out a soft giggle when the wolf poked her cheek with his nose. She let out a yelp when he used one paw to knock her on her back and plopped down on top of her encompassing her in the soft warmth of his fur. She threaded her fingers through the dense coat of fur and was surprised at how coarse the top fur was compared to the undercoat. "How about the name Herne. He is one of the Celtic gods of the hunt."

The wolf nudged her again before laying his massive head on her chest, leisurely wagging his tail and staring deep into her eyes with his own expressive gaze.

"Aza? Are you alright?" Nelda's muffled voice drifted to her ears. The sound triggered a rumbling growl that vibrated through the wolf and into herself.

"Shh shh Herne it's just Nelda." She whispered to the wolf. "I'm fine, Nel. He seems to like me. I don't know what happened, we locked eyes and felt like a bond had physically formed between us." She tried to explain the best she could while not really understanding it herself.

"Is it safe for me to come down then?" Nelda inquired. She did not like being separated from her friend while there was danger about.

"Yea come down slowly. I don't believe Herne will attack." She told her.

Nelda took that warning to heart. She slowly descended from the tree as to not spook whatever animal Azalea had acquired. When she finally reached the bottom and was steady she turned towards her friend and paused. She hadn't prepared herself to see Azaleas almost completely covered by a wolf that was bigger than she was.

"Did you really just make friends with a dangerous predator, Azalea? Do we need to work on your survival instincts?" She questioned incredulously. She couldn't believe her luck sometimes. "Come on, we need to return to the manor. Theo and Dee will be arriving soon.

As if the wolf understood her he got up off of Azalea and stood to the girls left, watching. Nelda felt as if she was being examined under a magnifying glass. She must have passed his judgement because not even a minute later the wolf relaxed.

Azalea stood with a grunt. Her legs had fallen asleep under the weight of the wolf causing her to be unsteady. She reached out and braced herself with the closest thing to her which happened to be Herne.

He stood completely still under her touch as if he knew that his new found packmate needed support. The pup barely even caused him to shift. He would have to make sure that his pup and her litter mates knew how to hunt. His new pack needed protection especially since right now it only consisted of two pups. He had found what his instincts were urging him to find.

Nelda turned on her heel and started to walk in the direction of her home. She could hear Azalea trailing behind her. She glanced back and had to hold in a sigh Azalea had kept one hand on the wolf, now resting on his neck instead of his back while the wolf kept paced by her side. They trekked back to the manor gates and were just five feet away when a loud roar could be heard from back in the forest. Nelda turned accusing eyes onto her friend and stared her down exasperatedly.

"What! It's not my fault, I swear Nel!" Azalea exclaimed with a startled indignant look in her eyes while trying to look offended when really she was just amused.

"Your luck is rubbing off onto the rest of us Aza." She deadpanned. She watched as Azalea's new partner stood rigid in front of them and felt herself softening towards the large wolf.

Turning her eyes towards the tree line, she reached out and yanked Aza behind her. It was the younger girls turn to be protected even if Azalea was better at surviving than she was. She was right to be weary it seemed as she started to pale drastically.

Out of the tree line emerged a truly monstrous brown bear, something that would not exist in the Uk in any place but here. The lumbering gait of the bear made it seem even more terrifying. The complete disregard of their threat level was humbling and horrifying in the same sense. Truly not even Herne could be considered a threat after all what could a single timber wolf do against a brown bear.

It raised its head up to the air as if it were taking in all of the scents in the area. It chuffed as it lowered its head before finally acknowledging their presence. It seemed to zero in on Nelda who had been backing up towards the gate while manhandling Azalea to go with her. It's intelligent brown eyes connected to her own hazel green for a split second before she looked down to it's paws. She knew that staring into a bear's eyes could be seen as aggression, after all her Nan made her take a wilderness survival course when it became known that she would likely be frolicking in forests in search of plants. But in that split second of eye contact a bond had begun to form. She could feel the rush of her magic surging towards the majestically fluffy animal. She had no idea how something so dangerous could be so cute but would blame it on the fluffy ears.

Her eyes flicked back up when the bond had solidified. She couldn't help the look of surprise that crossed her face. She had always assumed that she would never have the privilege of a familiar. Her uncle Algie always told her that she was too useless to be able to form one, yet here she was having formed such a magically expensive bond with an animal so dangerous and intelligent.

The bear started to move forward again, making Herne back up into Nelda and Azalea. He ended up on the side of the two girls with Azalea's hand threaded through his fur as if the pup was seeking comfort.

Eventually the bear had lumbered about 3 feet away from them, lifting her head up to scent the wind again. She stood on her hind legs to scent the air for any danger. Oh her hind legs she stood about 7'6, dwarfing the wolf and two girls. When she came back down her massive claws made a soft thump on the snow covered ground. Her long powers limbs brought her closer to what could only be Cubs of another animal. She had seen the young sun colored one before but never the night colored one, she must be a younger litter mate. Though the alpha wolf was known to her as he was one of the only lone wolves to survive in her territory without a pack.

Nelda closed her eyes in preparation for pain. She herded Azalea back to be fully behind her to try and shelter her and could hear a soft rumbling growl coming from Herne next to her. She could feel the breath of the brown bear wash over her face then felt something wet press against her forehead. Opening her eyes in shock she came face to face with the bear who was sniffing her face and hair. Being this close she could see that the bear stood just inches taller than her own 4'11 while it was on all four legs. Close up it's brown eyes took on a yellowish tinge.

She held completely still, trapped in the animalistic gaze of a predator. At the sound of a grunt the bear plopped down in a sitting position and started panting. It reached out with one powerful paw and snagged her cloak, tugging her into the bear.

Nelda fell with an oomph. She came to a crop against the bear's chest. She could feel Azalea's hand on her ankle, ready to pull her back at a moment's notice. the warmth of the bear's fur seeped into her cheeks as the massive predator started to nuzzle her hair. 'Fluffy', she thought to herself, rubbing her face in the fur.

If this magnificent animal was to be her familiar then it needs a name to fit a powerful animal. Macha. It was the only name that really fit as one of the three goddesses that make up the Morrigan.

"Okay okay girl. You have to let me up. I think you deserve a name now, don't you. How about the name Macha. Does that sound good?" She asked no one while she pushed herself into a standing position. She only got a step away when the bear grabbed her sleeve with it's mouth and tugged her back with nary a problem. She could feel Macha lick at her hair. She huffed out a chuckle and stood up again.

"We should find Nan, Nelda. She would know what to do. I don't think we will be able to bring them to Hogwarts with us." But Azalea said while running her fingers through the fur on Hern's neck soothingly.

"You're right, Nan would know. Let go Macha, I need to introduce you to Nan." She told the brown bear.

The four of them passed through the gate with the two girls sheathing their weapons as the heavy metal gates swung closed behind them. As the two girls walked up the path Azalea heard a rustling noise from the forest behind her. She whipped her head around but saw nothing. Azalea continued to scan the foliage for anything but got distracted by Herne brushing up against her. She turned back and noticed that Nelda hadn't stopped and was now a couple paces away. She jogged after her friend completely missing three sets of crimson eyes locked onto their retreating figures.