"Fascinating," Hermione said as she examined the fine green powder the pill made when it was crushed.
"What is it?" Ginny asked as she looked wildly around the room. Snape seemed to loom from every shadowy corner, and she was very glad they were doing this during the day rather than a clandestine journey at night.
"Ron told you about …" Hermione casually looked around the room to see if anyone was close enough to hear. A group of first year Ravenclaws were working on their homework in one corner and some seventh year Hufflepuffs were brewing something rank in another corner. "Ron told you about poly juice potion, didn't he?" Hermione said in a low whisper. Ginny nodded once and her eyes widened. Lisa frowned. She hadn't heard of that potion before.
"How could I forget from last year! But…This is…? But it's not a liquid!"
"Shh!" Hermione cautioned Ginny from yelling too loudly, "It's also part belladonna and Indian sleep-weed. A bunch of other plants I haven't heard of. Neville might know what they do," Hermione said as she examined the reaction the powder made when mixed with dragon tears. "Someone made the potion and crystallized it then mixed the crystals with a bit of honey and sugar water and rolled it into a pill. Lisa, you aren't doing well because of the herbs in it. They're probably what have been making you feel a little ill,"
"Sleep-weed is also transfiguration inhibitor, isn't it?" Lisa asked. She looked more than a little ill right now, "Isn't that one of the ingredients they used to try and cure Lycanthrope?"
"That's true. It just makes a werewolf's transformation more painful so they stopped. They also use it to prevent Animagi from transforming," Lisa looked positively stricken. All the blood rushed out of her face and she had to sit heavily on a bench to keep from sinking to the floor.
"But what concerns me more," Hermione told her, "is that the Snaproot is a memory blocker," Hermione flipped through the potions text to find the entry for Snaproot. She let the other girls read the entry while she added a bit of Flubberworm skin. (Apparently the creatures did have a use.)
"You've been forgetting," Ginny said in a hushed whisper. Hermione nodded agreement. She had noticed the recent phenomenon too. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she watched purple smoke rise from the pile of crystals when she added a little rose extract. The smoke should have been a green color. Whoever had made this had seemed to get the dosage incorrect and thus Lisa was being noticeably affected; unlike earlier in the year as Hermione was now beginning to suspect.
"Snaproot also prevents people from regaining memories when they've been Obliviated," Lisa read, gulping. Surely her parents wouldn't have sent this! The package had to have been intercepted somehow!
"You don't think something awful happened to you and you're better off not knowing, do you?" Ginny asked.
"I'm not sure I want to know," Lisa said somewhat shakily, "but what's Polyjuice?"
"It's a potion that makes you look like another person. But combined with these herbs, I don't know what it'd do. I'll do more research and find out," Hermione told her.
"But…why?" Lisa asked. She looked at the jar of pills as if it were a snake ready to strike her.
"I don't know. I was hoping you would. I think you should stop taking those pills. It'll be ok," she said.
"What will that do to me?" Lisa asked fearfully. They changed your shape? Memory blockers? Obliviate? That curse had always seemed as bad as the unforgivables to her. Lisa sniffed back a tear as Ginny gave her a quick hug.
"Hopefully you'll feel less fuzzy and forgetful and you'll be able to transfigure yourself. Beyond that…I don't know," Hermione patted her shoulder, "I also think we should go to Madame Pomfrey right away. She'll know what this is all about,"
Lisa nodded. The three quickly cleaned up their work and left the dungeons. Lisa felt confused as Hermione and Ginny walked on either side of her. Hermione's face was grim and determined, while Ginny smiled at her whenever she met her friend's gaze. Lisa felt sick. She was beginning to feel queasy and she wasn't sure if it was nerves or having missed taken that pill. Having never, scratch that, having no memory, of ever changing shape because of a potion, she wasn't sure what it was supposed to feel like. And she wasn't sure if her friends were walking like this because they were worried she'd die on the way or something. Hermione had been guarded since she'd determined the composition of the pills. Lisa was therefore unsure how to read Hermione's clenched jaw and- oh, geez she had her wand out! Lisa pressed her fingers to her temples. She was beginning to develop a buzzing headache.
"You've been acting so weird," Ginny told her in a hushed voice, "I didn't know if your parents got your prescription wrong or if you package was intercepted but I was worried, so I told Hermione,"
"That's ok," Lisa said, hoping her genuine tone would get Hermione to ease up.
"Ginny,"
"Yeah?"
"I don't know who I am anymore…"
Ginny gave her friend a quick reassuring hug, "Well, you're still my friend. And I doubt anyone else will suddenly not be your friend because of whatever this is, so relax. We'll know some answers as soon as that stuff wears off."
"I think it's gonna wear off real soon," Lisa said. Hermione and Ginny exchanged a look and hurried their pace.
"Apparently he hasn't woken yet, so they can't ask him what happened," Lee Jordan said. He and the twins had just come back from visiting the first year in the hospital wing.
"The fang marks seemed to have healed a lot, so they think he'll wake up any time now," George said, "He's reacted slowly to the poison and the anti-poison because he's a giant and their biology is different or something. Anyway, it was a reptile of some sort,"
"And it was going after the Quill," Fred added.
"What quill?" Harry looked confused. He wondered where Hermione had gotten to. It was probably something she would have read in Hogwarts: A History,"
"The Quill. The one Ravenclaw's founder enchanted. It writes down the name of every kid who is supposed to come here when they're born and McGonagall goes in once a year and sends owls off to the kids who'll turn 11. Mum told me about it. She had to help send owls off one year when she was at school," Ron told him. Harry nodded.
"You didn't hear anything, did you?" George asked Harry, "I mean fangs…it might have been a big snake,"
"I didn't hear anything that night. Well not from any snakes that I know of. The only thing unusual that I heard was that loud bang,"
"That was the repulsion spell on the door. Some VERY strong magic must have been directed at it for it to repel so loudly," Lee chimed in.
"I was wondering what those loud noises were. Woke me out of a sound sleep," Ron stifled a yawn. He'd fallen asleep re-reading the book that McGonagall had given him and going over notes from The Amazing Jhereg, and the loud noise had sent the stack tumbling to the floor.
"I heard Snape and Hagrid talking this morning between classes," Neville piped up. The group turned and looked at him expectantly, "I was doing some work for Madame Sprout and they walked by into the castle. Hagrid said the bite wasn't from a snake. He thought it looked like it was from a big lizard," The entire group turned and looked at Ron,
"Hey! I can barely change! And I wouldn't go around biting people! Unless it was Malfoy, maybe, but I didn't do anything! Malfoy already accused me of it! Harry, you were there!"
"No one said you did," Harry tried to calm his best friend, "but do you think it might have been a trained Jhereg?" Harry privately worried someone might have been trying to set Ron up the way Ginny had been during her first year.
"Hmm," Ron thought. He thumbed through a few pages of the text and brought up a chart of comparative sizes of Jheregs. "The greater Jhereg is only about 4 feet at the shoulder. The miniature Jhereg is only about a foot long. But the poison from either of these is actually about the same, and it might be able to take out a giant. I know it can take out a human easily enough. There was apparently an extinct species which was 5 feet at the shoulder and had four wings," Ron read, "But they were apparently mild tempered and died out when more aggressive species of creatures began to crowd their area due to the creation of reservations. But one might have survived. So, how far apart were the fang marks, or were they covered?"
"They were uncovered because I guess the salve Pomfrey is using needs air to work best. They probably were about, oh, the width of my hand with the fingers spread," George said. Fred and Lee nodded affirmation.
"Well, that'd be too big for a Jhereg," Ron frowned, "even one of these extinct ones. We're talking about a much bigger animal unless someone has bread a macro Jhereg. But breeding magical creatures like that is illegal,"
"Not that that would stop some people," Neville commented. The other boys nodded.
"So what other giant poisonous lizards are there?" Lee asked
"It might be in our text books," Harry suggested. The boys raced up to their rooms in search of their texts, determined to figure the mystery out.
"How about the Peruvian Vipertooth?" Neville pointed at a picture of a copper and black dragon in the book Charlie had Sent Ron for his last brithday. The creature in the picture opened its mouth showing long fangs. Then it attacked a goat. Messily.
"Maybe. But don't they life high in the mountains? In Peru?" George scratched his head.
"Well, someone could have captured it and brought it here," Fred suggested. George shrugged.
"Don't they eat humans?" Lee asked. All the boys exchanged alarmed looks.
"What is it girls?" Madame Pomfrey said as she bustled about. Hermione directed Lisa to sit on one a bed. The girl's skin was an unhealthy shade of yellow and she had dark circles under her eyes. The walk to the hospital wing seemed to have brought about a most unhealthy transformation in Lisa. She'd looked healthy two before. Now she walked in a sort of daze, as if she were listening to voices no one else could hear. Most frightening was that fact that she seemed to be nodding in agreement every so often. Lisa slowly sank to the bed and immediately lay back
"Oh, My!" Madame Pomfrey said when she saw Lisa. She moved Ginny and Hermione away. A quick spell drew the girl's shoes and outer cloak off. Madame Pomfrey tucked the sheet around her new patient and rounded on Hermione and Ginny. "What happened?"
"She's been taking these. They've been making her sick," Ginny said and handed Pomfrey the bottle," she been forgetful and constantly sleepy,"
"Where did she get these?"
"Her parents sent them,"
"They didn't notify me,"
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a glance.
"They told her that they had cleared it with you," Hermione said, hesitantly. Madame Pomfrey's eyes narrowed.
"We got worried so we tried to find out what they were made of, and some of the herbs were meant to stop her transfiguring and to keep her feeling ill," Ginny said," we just found out so we brought her here. She got sicker and sicker as we walked here," Madame Pomfrey looked at the bottle then back at the girls.
"I am going to have Professor Snape take a look at these,"
"We ran a test, " Hermione handed Pomfrey a list of what she'd found,
"I'll look at it. Now, you girls get back to your tower. You friend will be ok," Hermione and Ginny nodded and fled from the infirmary. Pomfrey clicked her tongue and tucked the parchment into her pocket as Nodens groaned. He'd be up soon. Pomfrey moved a barrier between her two patients with a levitation spell.
"How is he, Poppy?" Minerva McGonagall asked as she entered the room a few moments later. Pomfrey nearly leapt out of her skin with fright.
"Minerva!" she said, "You startled me. I swear you walk as silently as a cat even in human form,"
McGonagall rolled her eyes then peered down at Nodens. "I just saw two of my other students and they informed me that I have two Gryffindors here now. Hermione and Ginny were really quite flustered. Something about illicit medication?"
"They brought Miss Green in just now," Poppy confirmed. Minerva sighed and shook her head.
"It's very serious Minerva. Apparently her parents have been sending her these," Pomfrey held up the brown bottle, "I hope it's a case of overmedication. I sincerely hope no one has been purposefully trying to poison the girl. Speaking of poison, Fleur and Severus isolated what the poison was with a hand from Hagrid. I am just thankful it wasn't very life threatening,"
"What do they think it was?"
"Some form of dragon venom. Very rare in general and they're having difficulty placing which species. It's almost Peruvian Vipertooth, but not quite. I gave him the general anti-venom and he's responding well."
"Good,"
"She's being poisoned?" Ron asked, "I'm beginning to think this is a lot bigger than we imagined," the girls had returned from taking Lisa to the hospital wing and Ginnt and Hermione had explained their discovery.
"You don't think she was connected to the attack on Nodens, do you?" George asked. Ginny shook her head no.
"She was in bed. She went to bed early too,"
"You don't think….you know…that He's involved, do you?" Ron asked Harry who rubbed the scar on his forehead absently.
"Dumbledore told me that he'd been…hearing things. Nothing terribly Anti-giant though. But I do think that Nodens getting attacked was a byproduct of the attack on the registrar's office," Harry mused.
Ginny gasped, "The Quill? Someone tried to take it?"
"Yeah," Harry said, "we just found out that it happened the evening Nodens was attacked,"
"Oh! If…if…You-know-who got that, he could find all the magical kids and take them. That'd be awful!" Ginny said. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what Voldemort might do with a quill that could write the names and even locations of magical children….Especially magical children who were muggle born.
"They probably made that connection already," Neville reminded everyone, "That's why the protection spells are there in the first place, right? To prevent something awful like that from happening,"
"True," Ron agreed.
Back in the infirmary, the headmaster, potions master and student potions master had returned victorious. The three had discovered the origin of the venom keeping the boy unconscious and feverish and had devised a quick anti-venom.
"Quetzalcoatl," Dumbledore said as Pomfrey administered another dose of anti-venom to Nodens, "it's very unusual. I wasn't sure they even existed anymore. This proves at least one still does. I shall have to speak to Newt. Looks like he's responding well," The boy stirred in his sleep, but he already looked less blanched.
"I think he's waking," Pomfrey said. Sure enough the boy soon blinked his eyes and rubbed his face. He looked at the bandage on that arm curiously, then at the circle of teachers.
"She was leaving and she didn't listen to me when I asked wh-where she was going and then there was the dragon!" The boy said quickly, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. More than anything, Nodens was afraid of being expelled. Hagrid liked his job and he was a nice guy, but Nodes really did NOT want to be his apprentice. It was too much like what he would have had to do back home.
"Calm down! You aren't in any trouble," McGonagall told him. Nodens looked to Dumbledore for confirmation and seemed to relax a little.
"Start from the beginning," McGonagall prompted gently.
"R-right. I was up late doing my homework. Really I was! And I fell asleep at the table. And I woke up and Lisa was leaving. And I thought that was odd because we're not supposed to leave. So I called after her and she just kept walking. It looked like she was sleepwalking. M-my uncle does it all the time. I followed her to make sure she didn't hurt herself, and I thought maybe I could wake her up. She went to entrance hall and she tried opening the registrars door, but it wouldn't open," he took a breath, "And then, well, one minute she was herself and the next minute she was this other girl and then suddenly she was a dragon and she began clawing at the door. I tried to stupefy it, but I missed and then the dragon bit me!"
The teachers all exchanged glances. Pomfrey pulled the note Hermione had given her out of her pocket with a little squeak. She'd completely forgotten about it. She read the ingredients and gasped.
"I forgot about this," she explained and quickly handed it to the headmaster," Hermione said it was a list of ingredients in whatever Green was being given,"
"Poly juice," Dumbledore read. As one, the teachers looked at the divider between the beds. Snape pushed it back. Green was gone.
Lisa stood in the great entrance hall of the school, fixated on the door marked "Registrar". She swayed like a doll on strings, or perhaps a cobra ready to strike. She either didn't notice or didn't care when Snape sprinted into the hall.
"Who are you?" Snape challenged, wand drawn and ready, eyes dark and flint like, cape billowing impressively.
Lisa continued to glare at the door, ignoring Snape's challenge and the fact that her body was transforming. Her long yellow hair drew free of its braid and became shorter and wavy dark brown. Her nose became slightly longer, her cheek bones and eyes shifted. She became taller and her clothing changed as well. She now wore a black dragonleather breech-coat and matching pants. She had well worn leather boots of the same material and a small pouch at her belt. A wicked knife was strapped to the outside of her right leg and she held her wand in her right hand; ready. There were patches of dried mud on her boots from the soles to her reinforced knees. These were clearly the working clothes of someone who expected to get dirty and deal with unpleasantness.
Snape had never seen this woman before. Certainly not at any of the meetings with his former…associates. But that didn't mean anything. She wasn't any of the handful of openly dark wizards and Snape didn't recognize her from his schooldays, for she looked about as old as he. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't Lisa Green. The woman continued to study the door, ignoring Snape. She lifted her wand, about to cast a spell.
"Stop!" Snape shouted. Lifting his own wand, he attacked before, just as the rest of the teachers arrived. The woman whirled to face his attack and said something as she flung her forearm in front of her face. The hex shattered into little trickles of green lightening as it manifested against the spectral shield and dissipated. She immediately followed through with a quick disarming charm. Severus watched his wand arc in the air, well away from him. The woman smiled at him mockingly, the first expression she'd shown, and let her arm drop.
"Severus," Her voice dripped with acid as she eyed him the way a large predator would size up prey, the door forgotten for the moment. The teachers began creeping into the hall to provide the best backup.
"Who are you?" Severus asked defiantly. He matched her acidic tone, determined that he would not show the least bit of concern.
"I am the Dragon of Voldemort," her stormy grey-blue eyes suddenly changed color to an unusual silvery gold. Snape was both startled and confused, though he did not let those emotions show on his face. He had not heard of Voldemort having any dragons, and he wondered at what new threat this woman was. Snape soon got his answer. The woman's form vanished as feathers and scales seemed to flow outwards from her body, revealing her Animagus form.
Her serpentine head was surrounded by a crest of brilliant feathers which quickly changed from blue-green to red with golden tips. Her spinal ridge was covered in a thick line of medium length feathers which were a shiny, emerald green color. A patch of scarlet fathers was centered between the double shoulder blades. Her huge feathery wings matched the magnificent crest in color. The surface of her hide was the same brilliant green color as the ridge of feathers and her wicked claws were a shiny black. She thrashed a long muscular tail and Snape decided it looked prehensile enough to be able to squeeze a man to death. She moved with controlled power, muscles rippling under the brilliant hide as she crouched to spring. She flared both wings and crest in a show of intimidation and hissed exposing a mouth full of teeth and gleaming ivory fangs. Despite himself, Snape did take a step back.
Though he'd never seen one in real life, and had only seen a handful of (woefully inaccurate) hand drawn depictions in Creatures which may or may not be around anymore, since we haven't seen them for awhile, but here's what we know anyway, he knew what he faced; Quetzalcoatl. A particularly powerful and rare dragon from South America, they'd been purported to have become extinct when the native tribes they were worshipped by were decimated by the diseases brought by European Muggles.
Of course since no one had seen one in almost 500 years, Snape had no idea what to expect, and so say that this bothered him quite a bit would have been a gross understatement. In fact he'd only recently seen the pictures and read the information on this creature as he researched a cure for the sick first year. Snape shot a quick glance at the other teachers. They were all in various states of shock and surprise, but Snape could tell they also had little clue as to what to do. But, because of her size, shape, and the fangs, Snape chose to think of this creature as a bizarrely colored Vipertooth, and decided to face her that way. Nasty surprises would just have to be dealt with as they arose. The dragon let out a cry which was both terrifying and beautiful. To everyone present it sounded like the song of a phoenix blended with the roar of a dragon; fitting for a creature of such beauty and capable of such destruction.
Snape reflected that it was a pity he'd have to destory her- it. Whatever. Perhaps the skin would make a lovely trophy if it (and he) survived. Of course he'd never seen a dead animagus, so perhaps they reverted form upon death. Snape, having had enough of the brief display of plumage and cutlery, summoned his wand. It flew to his waiting hand and he began throwing curses as the animagus leapt.
.
Since she was only about 15 feet long and lightning quick, the dragon avoided Snape's hexes with ease. Had he had the time to think about it, Severus would have had newfound appreciation for the squad of wizards and witches trained to keep the Peruvian Vipertooths at bay. The dragon's tail was indeed prehensile they all soon found out as she deftly caught the chair fleur had levitated and thrown at her head. The tail had plucked it out of the air as she whirled and had hurled it back at the startled young woman. The attack had come so quickly, Fleur had had to leap out of the way as the chair hit the wall and shattered. Unfortunately she wasn't quick enough to dodge the small vase which followed it. Pomfrey ran to her side to see if she was ok.
Stonehoof threw a hex at the dragon but amazingly the animagus had been able to generate a spectral shield even in her draconic form. Severus had fired off a nasty cutting curse at her while she was occupied with the shield and had managed to nick her shoulder. The animagus growled in anger and then attacked Severus with flailing handpaws. Severus was dragged out of the way by a quick summoning spell by the headmaster. The dragon glared at the old wizard and then had rushed at him, her handpaws now flaming with magical fire. The headmaster used a levitation curse to liftt her off her feet, but she muttered something and the connection broke. She landed on all four feet, the stone under her still flaming limbs warped and melted.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to be able to do that trick for too long and just as suddenly the flame ceased. The animagus then sat back on her haunches and with a word and movement like she was pushing something away, sent the headmaster flying. Minerva was there with a levitation spell. She caught Dumbledore and he landed gently a few feet from her. The two turned to face the Animagus. The dragon chuckled, her voice now low and rumbling. She recited what was most definitely a spell. Minerva's shocked look was clear even across the great expanse of the entrance hall. Animagi were not supposed to be able to perform spells when transformed. A great wind grew in the hall and the dragon directed it at the headmaster and deputy headmistress. It blew them down the long hallway and knocked over several sets of armor and not a few paintings from the walls.
Stonehoof rushed forward with a knife and a spell. The great roaring wind died down as the dragon dealt with this new attack. The two quadrupeds fired spells at one another at the same time and they met with a horrific bang which shook the castle and probably woke everyone not already awake. The noise made the Animagus pause. Her expression was decidedly distant, as if she were going over some internal monologue. Stonehoof took the opportunity to land a spectacular backwards kick to the dragon's head. The animagus sprawled, sliding across the stone floor, talons making a most horrid sound. Albus and Minerva returned just in time to see her fall. Unfortunately for Snape, who was already tired from throwing so many hexes and curses, she landed near him. Their eyes locked and they attacked one another.
The combat drew close as the dragon noticed the other teachers moving to get into striking distance. Soon she was so close to Severus, the other teachers didn't dare attack for fear of hitting him. All they could do was watch and wait. The dragon knocked Snape's wand out of his hand with a flick of her tail and looked like she was going to strike him. But before anyone could react, the dragon disappeared and was replaced by the woman Lisa had turned into.
The woman wavered a little and suddenly her clothing changed again. She was wearing an oily looking body suit under the armor most Auror's wore for the most formal or dire of occasions. The silvery armor glowed every so slightly in the low light, it's protective runes flaring power intermittently. But despite it's impressive look, the metal was worn and slightly dirty. A few scuff marks were visible on the shoulders, more on the deeply dented breastplate. The divided white skirt which hung from a gilded belt was stained with mud and what looked like old blood. On her legs she had thigh guards and tall boots which were reinforced at the shins and knees. These were caked in mud as were her hands and wrist-guards. Severus eyed those warily. He could take her wand but she would still have the gauntlets. Though they were difficult to use and expensive to make and maintain, Severus was certain they contained a magical core and could act like wands. His reasoning was her impressive powers while transformed. With the extra boost equipment like that provided, it was not hard to believe she could cast spells.
The brunette staggered in place and looked around the hall, seemingly lost. Her eyes looked like they were focused on something very far away and the circling teachers paused when they probably should have struck. The manic look returned to her eyes and they even glowed a little as she struck. A large chunk of the floor promptly blew up under Severus' feet, sending him several feet into the air. Another quick levitation spell from the Gryffindor head of house prevented him from hitting the far wall. Minerva set Severus down quickly and tried to hit the woman with a body bind. The woman blocked the hex with another shield. She reached out into the air and then pulled back. As she did so, two massive gargoyles roared to life on their pedestals. The stone minions leapt to the ground and attacked the nearest people; Poppy and Albus.
Suddenly the woman's eyes refocused and a hoarse cry of triumph erupted from her throat as she sank to her knees. She reached out and the gargoyles stopped their attacks and looked at her quizzically before they returned to their previous positions. The woman smiled, triumphantly as a trickle of sweat ran down the side of her face. She wiped it away with a hand and then rubbed her eyes. The teachers moved forward and Snape began to edge towards his wand. The woman froze unnaturally.
"Stupid Girl," the harsh voice said, echoing off the stone walls. The hand lowered and the teachers could see that the voice came from the woman herself. The woman shook her head in denial and her face contorted into a grimace. "I am fighting you!" She growled in an entirely different voice. The harsh voice laughed. The woman tossed her head and clutched her temples. The voice returned with a laugh which filled the hall. "Change! Change damn you! The Dark Lord has Commanded it! You MUST obey," The woman said to herself and she went to her knees/ Her hands changed into the draconic claws and pawed at the stone floor, creating deep cuts. "No," The woman shook her head as if trying to clear it and winced in pain. Her fingers had become normal flesh and they were being cut by the sharp furrows in the stone floor.
"I think she's under the Imperious curse and she's trying to fight it," Pomfrey said to Fleur in a breathless whisper. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and now Stonehoof were circling the tortured figure. Severus, who was now nursing a number of bruises and small cuts, hung back ready to provide support. They all seemed to have made the same connection. It was very difficult to have this level of control on someone and the results were erratic and often messy. The effect was almost a second personality controlling the first. It was a horrible thing and a trick Voldemort had come up with just before his defeat in Godric's Hollow. The imperious voice tried to get the woman to disarm her opponents. She got as far as the retreating Severus before the normal mind controlled the curse.
Snape made a grab for his wand and the woman turned and snatched it from him with inhuman speed.
"I think not Severus," She hissed and slithered back from him. Her clothing changed back into the black leathers. She looked at the teachers, blue eyes shining in her manic expression.
"I will kill you too!" she said pointing at the deputy headmistress, "You and the Potter boy!" her laugher echoed in the chamber. Her face blanked suddenly. Her eyes became completely unfocused and her face became slack. Then, just as abruptly, it changed back to its fanatical visage which was now very pissed. The fanatic personality snarled and then smirked at the headmaster.
"Killed by your own kin!" She hissed; this thought seemed to please her. She then blanked briefly again before returning to the crazed look. The woman snarled and turned to face Snape, sensing an easier target. Instead of an insult, her face changed once more and she hurled his wand at him. Needless to say, Snape was surprised. He snatched the wand out of the air and watched warily as the woman smiled; very tired but triumphant. Suddenly the harsh voice screamed and the woman clutched her head. The cry became the musical cry of the dragon and then stopped abruptly.
"You are the servant of the Dark Lord. You will comply!" She hissed to herself. It was terribly disturbing to see someone fight with themselves.
"I'm not!" the woman shrieked in her normal voice.
"You don't even remember who you are!" the voice cackled evilly. She began to change, but she stopped. Confused, the woman frowned then the voice shrieked in frustration. She changed into the dragon briefly before she changed back and staggered, falling to her knees. She changed partway into a bipedal version of the dragon. She took a few painful, staggering steps before collapsing and reverting to her human body once again.
"Stun me!" The woman yelled at McGonagall, who was creeping forward. The woman ran a dirty had across her face, again wiping sweat from her eyes before swaying on hands and knees. Her clothing changed to the leather and back again twice even as her hair became feathery and her hands scaly. Her black claws dug into the stone floor making more deep cuts. She regained control of her form for a moment before wings began growing from her back as the imperious curse told her to transform. However, since the woman was fighting the imperious curse, the result was very messy to say the least.
Only one wing had begun to form. Bones poked through her pain arched back A bloody piece of skin attached one end of her malformed wing to her back. Muscle hung loosely from the bones, connected above and below the partially formed joint. A few misshapen flesh colored feathers and a few red and pink ones stuck out from the single wing at odd angles. Her blood was thick and so dark red it was nearly black. It slid down her back and arms to pool on the floor. Her face was trying to change and her hands already had. Her claws were once again making deep furrows in the stone floor which her human fingers were sliced on again and again as she changed back and forth.
"For the love of Merlin stun me!" She shrieked. Her yell was cut off as she gasped in pain. The second wing had nearly exploded out of her back, sending dark blood and bits of bone out in a red spray.
"STUPIFY!" the five teachers called at once. The woman's body arched and she fell to the ground. The woman groaned and curled into a little ball, still not unconscious. The Headmaster immediately cast a powerful sleeping spell, finally putting the woman out. McGonagall cast a restoration spell at her and her body returned to normal. The pool of blood remained, soaking into her tattered clothing. Large bruises were already forming on her exposed back. The teachers exchanged alarmed glances as they approached the woman.
At a nod from Dumbledore, McGonagall lifted her up with magic even as Poppy ran over, a shaky Fleur behind her. Poppy took over the levitation and maneuvered the woman's limp body out of the room and towards the hospital wing, leaving summoned house elves to clean the hall before any students were the wiser.
A/N Taking some liberties w/ what a Quetzalcoatl looks like. For those who haven't heard of them they were feathered snakes in S.American Mythology. Quetzalcoatl was the name of the God who sometimes took this form (and who the natives thought cortez was) traditionally they're depicted on temples as snakes w/ a fan of feathers around their heads and on the ends of their tails. I decided to make 'em look a bit more like other dragons. *points* this is what happens when an Animagus transformation goes BAD and why it is not a good idea to try it on your own. Having bones explode out of your back isn't fun. ^_^
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So I hope you like this chapter even if it is a little gory.
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