Chapter 37

Changing back to human, Minerva collapses to her knees and vomits up her breakfast. Once her brain has settled down again, she cautiously looks around her just in case she comes over dizzy. Cursing mildly as Hogwarts appears to fold out of view, with some of the internals becoming visible, before folding out of view as well. Her head swims as the grounds and earth around her seem to do the same. A blinking orange picture catches her attention, along with the green up arrows on it. When she focuses on it, it says 'UURRRRPPPP! Nausea. From viewing 4d space with 3d eyes.'

Phixaskiah appears out of a flash of fire, "You seem to be uncomfortable, what's wrong?"

Minerva shakes her head as she looks up, "Ugh, the world keeps, folding, yes folding away…" she stares at Phixaskiah for a moment before hugging the phoenix, "…you're not folding, thank Merlin, you're not folding."

Phixaskiah sounds confused, "I do not understand, what do you mean folding?"

"I… I tried to use my new animagus form, to get used to it, and now I can't stop seeing everything the same way." Minerva stares at Phixaskiah while she thinks, "It's like I'm looking at a book, and every time I move the page I can see changes. Except it applies in all directions."

"Maybe, instead of looking for a solution to the new problem, you could instead look at what you already have. Did you not say that it was a new animagus form, do you not have an old one?"

"Blurgh, I'll try."

It takes her several minutes to do something that she should be able to do in her sleep. Something that Minerva puts down to being able to see through her eyelids if she wobbles the wrong way. As soon as she does, the world settles back into the familiar landscape of sounds and scents, along with perfectly normal cat vision.

Phixaskiah lands on the grass next to her, "Interesting, I have never seen such a transformation before. How does it work?"

Minerva looks at Phixaskiah and tries to send her thoughts, "It takes many years of study to learn the transfiguration needed. Once you know that, you have to find your inner animal, and then teach your magic what that feels like. It usually takes months of effort to achieve, as you need to understand the animal both physically and mentally."

"I see, and you have not done this for your other form."

"Indeed, and today was supposed to be a test to see what it felt like, so that I have a starting point for understanding."

"What prompted such a foolish endeavour?"

"One of the new students is on Batuu, which I have been informed is a multi-month space flight away. In the event that you choose not to be my familiar, or are unable to get there yourself, I felt it better to have an alternate method of getting there quickly."

"An intelligent, and yet foolish decision. I have hatched many eggs, and seen my fledglings make similar choices. Your choice had nothing to do with the process that you described, you have no idea about how that species thinks, feels, or even behaves. Instead, like those that entrapped myself, you saw only the utility of the form. Like most who make foolish decisions, you must now learn to live with your decision, even if it changes who you are."

As Phixaskiah keeps speaking, Minerva's ears lie flat back on her head as she instinctively tries to make herself as small as possible. Therefore it comes as a great surprise when Phixaskiah continues, "Therefore, I believe I will make a similarly foolish decision, you may bind my life to yours. As it is clear that you need an Adult to watch over you and help prevent you from making further foolish decisions. Besides, my freedom is already tied to your whims, and I'd much rather lose my life than my freedom again."

Minerva yowls in surprise before flowing back into her human form, still crouched on the ground, "Are you sure, we haven't even spoken about it or the ritual."

Phixaskiah just bobs her head, "I am, I was close to flying sidewards to see what else there was when I was captured. The immature phoenixes I have seen flying in and out since you called me would probably benefit from an adults supervision too, especially with not getting with egg before they're ready."

That evening, it doesn't take Minerva long to find the book with the ritual in it, and brush up on it, so that they can go through the ritual safely. Fortunately it only requires a small circle with a few ogham phrases as part of the line. The most difficult part of the ritual turns out to be gathering Phixaskiah blood to mix with her own, before she drops it on the outline of the circle at the beginning of the ritual.

Once the ritual ends, a notification pops up in the middle of her vision, 'Achievement Unlocked: Lifelong Companion. Congratulations, you have bound a familiar as a lifelong companion. This sim can no longer use the familiar menu to summon or unsummon a familiar. Additionally, this familiar will be automatically restored if the sim is resurrected.'

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It takes her a few days, but eventually Minerva is able to phone Petunia using her interface. This is how she finds herself sitting on a bench in the duelling area of the Realm of Magic.

Minerva looks up, as out of the sky comes a scream, followed by a thud as Petunia lands on the floor with her broom, before standing up and brushing herself down, "Sorry about that, interface assisted travel. It doesn't always mount the broom correctly."

Minerva chuckles, "It's quite alright, thank you for meeting me. Why here though?"

Petunia shrugs, "You asked to talk to Veild, so if there's any accidents nothing breakable is going to be damaged."

"Where are they, anyway?"

"They're here, apparently they expect you to be able to see them."

Minerva looks at Petunia with a level of fear, and pointedly ignores the purple moodlet that has started flashing at her. With a deep swallow, she closes her eyes and uses the half forgotten exercises she last used when she'd discovered her cat animagus form. Finding the veild inside her is easier than she remembers finding the cat was. However, pulling it around her is far, far harder. However, she's learnt from her last abortive attempt, and subsequent conversation with Phixaskiah. The interface is only for things she already knows how to do, or can't do in any other way. As the change starts, she almost panics, but pulls on all of her Gryffindor courage to push through and allow the change to complete. As her eyelids disappear, she spots Veild off to one side, along with a vast void around it. Then she makes the mistake of looking over to where Petunia should be and her human mind rebels as the entirety of her body is laid bare.

You are Veild, yet not Veild.

Minerva spins to face the Veild and tries to work out how to even get to them. She also tries to open her mouth to reply, before realising that she doesn't have one. While she's recovering from that discovery, Veild moves towards her and grasps her hand. As it does she remembers aeons passing as stars are born, live, and die all around her, galaxies pass by like birds flitting from one place to another. Of the infinite variety of life that can be found on the different sideward depths of the planets and stars. Of learning to limit themselves to a single depth to see what's there. Her own life is a microscopic moment compared to that vast memory. Yet when Veild releases her, all she has left is impressions of what she saw.

Veild understands now. You are Minerva Veild.

I… what was that?

That was Veild and Minerva, do you not remember?

Only bits.

Veild sorry Minerva not Veild, Veild will understand Minerva.

Oh Merlin, this is going to happen again.

Phixaskiah takes off from the lamp she was perched on and flies sidewards to land on Minerva's shoulder.

"Are you alright, as you feel wrong."

I don't know, I am… Unable to verbalise what she means, Minerva touches Phixaskiah and for the second time in as many hours finds herself dwarfed by another's experiences. It doesn't last long before she removes her limb.

Phixaskiah ruffles her feathers in discomfort, "Don't do that again. I did not need to know what being human is like."

Apologies, I don't know how I did that.

Phixaskiah raises her wings in a shrug, "You are Veild, and Minerva, and now Phixaskiah. Just as I am Phixaskiah, and Minerva, and Veild now. Though I cannot see the way you do, so you will have to take us back to the other Human."

Minerva turns around and heads for the only slice that exists in this part of the realm of magic. Once she gets closer, she's surprised at her lack of reaction to being able to see the entirety of Petunia's body at the same time. Unfortunately, her new understanding of being veild doesn't help with human eyes looking in four dimensions, while limited to one slice. So, a shift to being a cat is required.

Over the next week Minerva tries to do two things, visit a few of the more local students as a veild, and avoid the other veild familiars. She is only successful at the first, and the second…

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Minerva put her head in her hands with exhaustion, "Phixaskiah, am I still Minerva?"

Phixaskiah looked up from the mink she'd caught in the forest, "That is a question an immature phoenix would ask. Is the answer not obvious?"

"Not to me it isn't, I feel like I'm being drowned in knowledge that isn't my own. Last night I dreamt of laying an egg and watching it hatch. I dream of places I've never seen, and could never see. And the world around me feels so flat."

"However you still use the word I for yourself."

As if summoned, a Veild moved into the current slice before moving over to Minerva and touching her. As it did, her eyes roll back in her head as she desperately reached for her animagus transformation. Just as she felt like her head was going to explode, she had a bout of accidental magic, and flowed into her animagus form. This Veild has never had direct contact with the system, though the memories are there as her own memories. Suddenly it pulled back and she watched it leave the slice, its curiosity satiated.

Left behind with Minerva were more Veild memories.

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As Minerva and Phixaskiah step onto the right slice of Batuu, by following the faint trace of magic on the acceptance letter, they are immediately grabbed by the System and transported to a wide open area with a domed building in front of her. In the middle of her vision is a picture with 'Welcome to Batuu!' along the top. Underneath is some text talking about currencies, credits, and career panel. Though Minerva is barely able to register that as the system pulls her out of her animagus form. As it does, she collapses to her knees as her connection to the realm of magic is tenuously thin here, leaving her to rely on her own innate magic to support Phixaskiah.

As she starts to adjust to the load, a young woman walks over, looking concerned, "Are you alright?"

"Ugh," Minerva clutches her head as a new language is rammed into her skull, "You're not speaking English or Simian are you?"

"No, I'm not, we're speaking Galactic Basic. Are you lost, as most people on vacation here seem to know what they're doing."

With a little assistance, from the lady, who, once Minerva is standing she can clearly see, is called Rienn Primme, and apparently a scoundrel.

Minerva breathes a sigh of relief, "Thank you Rienn, and no, I'm not here on vacation. I'm looking for a new student, one Ivi, no last name. Her mother is Rey, again no last name."

Rienn goes still, "Are you sure about that name?"

Minerva nods, "I'm the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, the school she's been enrolled in."

"Look, I'm at work at the moment, so I can't access my mobile phone. However, if you take a photo with me, it will raise our friendship enough that you'll be in my relationships once I've finished work."

Minerva has the grace to look sheepish, "To be honest, I have no idea what you mean. I've only had the interface for a couple of weeks, and that was accidental."

The sudden look of sympathy on Rienn's face catches Minerva off guard, "You're a first gen? My mum's a first gen and so is Rey. Rey and Kylo-Ren were the first of the first gen's here, though that's their story to tell. So, to access your phone, look along the bottom bar of the interface, just to the right of you small portrait, not the large portrait. There should be three icons, a house, phone, and calendar. If you concentrate on the phone, the interface should give it to you…"

Rienn spends the next hour going through the features of the phone, after talking Minerva through how to buy her a drink, and challenger her to a game of Sabacc so that she doesn't get reassigned to another area during her work.

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As she wanders around the First Order area part of the vacation area in Batuu, Minerva shudder as the memory of freshening up using the interface. The intense loss of control as she was marched into a cramped toilet and completely evacuated, before being walked to some sort of cleaning torture device that scoured her clean before marching her out of the building.

As she gets to something that says it's a droid shop, whatever a droid is, an incessant ringing starts in her ears. As she looks around for the source of it, she can't see anything.

"Phixaskiah, can you hear that?"

Phixaskiah taps her around the head with a wing, "Can you see anything with the interface?"

Looking down, Minerva can see Rienn's name with a green and red buttons under it. With a shrug Minerva focuses on the green button, and the phone appears in her hand again. Hesitantly, she holds it up to her ear.

"Hello!" she shouts.

"Ow! You don't have to shout. Listen, I'm going to send you an invitation to come round. You need to accept it in order to visit, otherwise you'll be stuck in there."

"Erm, ok, is it the same as answering the phone was?"

"Yes, just focus on the green icon. Speak to you soon."

When the green icon pops up, she focuses on it before disappearing in a pillar of fire, and reappearing outside a strange looking house.

Sounding very disgruntled Phixaskiah complains, "Warn a phoenix before you do that please."

Minerva isn't in much of a state to respond, as she sags to the floor with near magical exhaustion. She's barely aware of Rienn carrying her in, and laying her on a sofa to sleep. By the time she's recovered, Rienn's mother, Vi Moradi, has returned home. Much to Minerva's surprise, Vi looks to be the same age as Rienn.

As Minerva sits up groggily she apologises, "I'm sorry for falling asleep on your sofa."

Rienn shrugs, "It's ok, you're not the first, and I doubt you'll be the last. This is my mother, Vi Moradi. She's one of four 1st gen's still alive."

Vi grumbles, "Not that I want to be alive, but this doshing system won't let me die. Same as Rey and the others. Every time we've tried we wake up at home with no memory of the event, and a notification to say that a key npc has been restored. Anyway, I got a weird message from Rienn here. Apparently you're a teacher from a school."

Minerva nods and pulls out the acceptance letter, "I am, Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and wizardry."

Vi crosses her arms, "Prove it, the fact you're here proves you're not on vacation, but prove you're this teacher."

Minerva frowns, "I'd normally prefer to do this with the child and their family present. Also, I'm a little strained magically, as I'm supporting Phixaskiah on my own magic, and she's a phoenix."

"I don't know what a phoenix is, so that don't tell me nothing."

Minerva sighs, "Fine, I'll keep it to something small. Pick something around and I'll show you that it's magic."

Vi takes a toy robot out of her inventory and puts it on the table, "There you go."

Minerva nods, and draws her wand from her wrist holster. Carefully picturing a snuffbox in her head, she uses both the incantation and wand motions to cast the transfiguration. Once it's done, it's a lovely silver snuffbox with a Griffin on the lid. The sound of Rienn throwing up draws her attention, and she notices that Vi looks dazed. Confused, Minerva picks up the snuffbox and turns it around to make sure it all looks fine. Only for Rienn to throw up again.

Vi manages to croak, "Turn it back, turn it back."

Minerva frowns, and taps the snuffbox with her wand, turning it back into the toy robot.

"By the force, that was worse that looking at unshielded hyperspace. What ever it was, it wasn't the force, or something from the interface."

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A few minutes later, a young girl runs in and stares at Minerva, "You're real!"

Minerva nods, "I am indeed, and you must be Ivi. I'm here to take you and your mother to Diagon Alley."

"I've never been to school, is that ok?"

Minerva nods, "It's fine, most of our normal students are home-schooled until they reach Hogwarts age."

Rey looks sceptical, "How exactly are you going to get us to Diagon Alley, it's a three month spaceflight, assuming I can even get on the sugar rocket."

Minerva nods, "Witches and Wizards discovered a method of changing into an animal. It a very advanced transfiguration, but once you've learnt it you can change into that animal easily. My natural animagus form is that of a housecat." Minerva changes into a cat, before jumping into Ivi's arms and licking her face as she giggles. Jumping back to the sofa, she retransforms, "When the system discovered my ability to do this, it forced the interface onto me, and gave me a second animagus form. It's that form that I used to come here."

Vi nods, "Rienn, you're going with them. It's time you saw more of the universe than this backwater planet."

Rienn whines, "But mum!."

"No but's, I may be stuck here. Rest of the Galaxy has quarantined the planet. But you have a real chance to do more than just exist for the entertainment of others."

"But what about the actual visitors?"

"Rienn, you know as well as I do that they only come if they're desperate for something, otherwise they use their vacation."

Minerva frowns, "How does that work by the way?"

Vi laughs, "The system makes you a new human body that looks the same as your normal body, and links it to your actual body. Only it's baseline human. We've got a twi'lik family staying here, and they tried it out once. Their montrals were just for show while they were on vacation. Same thing happens to us when we go on vacation over there. Only, we can't bring anything back with us."

Minerva just nods, even though she doesn't understand, "So, Ivi, would you like to visit the Realm of magic, and get a connection to the Realm. It will give you more magic around earth and Scalluxe, but the connection seems to be a bit thin here, so you'll mostly be relying on your own magic. Or we can go straight to Diagon Alley and get you your wand and stuff there."

Ivi looks up at Rey, who laughs, "Let's stick with the basics for now, and you can always get the connection later."

After a couple more hour discussion, the three of them are transported back to earth by Veild express.