I NO OWN HARRY POTTER, J. K. ROWLING DOES AND I'M GLAD OF THAT CUZ SHE'S A GREATER WRITER! THIS IS CHAPTER THREE I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW, I'D DO IT FOR YOU. THE SONG BELONGS TO THE ANIME MOVIE BLACK JACK. (WHICH IS A TOTALLY AWESOME MOVIE!!)
Pain of the Death Day
Degas stood at the edge of the lake on the crisp Saturday morning with fully blossomed, stemless roses in her hands. She starred across the waters and closed her eyes. A soft breeze blew past her and she smiled. Hermione and Professor Lupin walked out of castle and started toward her.
'A voice sings out in the forest night
Leads my way like a candle light
If I can hear it so can you
A cry that echoes through thy ears
It clears my mind of its deepest fears
If I can hear it why can't you?
The owl calls out to me and shows me where to go
San Marida, to San Marida
A voice sings out in the forest night
Hush little one it'll be all right
My white owl is calling you.'
Degas sang this song as she crushed the roses in her hand and let the gentle breeze lift the petals out of her hand and across the lake. A single tear fell down her cheek and she sat down. She reached inside her bag and pulled out the leather book. She pulled out her quill and ink and started to write. She set the book on her lap and stretched. She read the book carefully and wrote some more. She looked across the lake and her owl was flying toward her.
Hermione and Lupin stopped and watched.
The owl landed next to Degas and transformed into a tall, thin, young man with long, straight brown hair. He was dressed in a long black robe and he tied his hair back with a small ribbon. He sat next to Degas and hugged her.
"It is painful for you no?" the young man asked.
"It is," she said in a shaky voice. "Even after all this time."
"Do you know what this is about?" Lupin asked Hermione is a hushed voice.
"I am guessing her past." Hermione shrugged.
The stranger pulled the book into his lap and scribbled something down. "It was very nice of you to being me here to Hogwarts Degas, it has been such a long time since I have been here. Are the others going to come?"
"Binx said he was on his way. He'll be here shortly."
"And Jak?"
"That's who was writing." She pointed to the book.
"Ah, I see, he's also on his way."
Degas nodded and put the book back into her bag. She leaned into the stranger and closed her eyes. "Galileo?"
"Yes?"
"I am happy that you are here."
He chuckled. "I am happy that I am here too."
Lupin and Hermione turned and walked back to the castle.
"Why did you want to talk to her Professor?" Hermione asked.
"When I was at school Degas was with us. I never knew why, since the first year she always looked the same throughout the seven years. She was a great trickster and just by herself she was able to make a mock mimic of our map in just a few days. She could disappear without the help of an invisibility cloak, like apparating and disapparating but I knew that it was not possible on Hogwarts grounds, but I knew that I was seeing her being there one moment and gone the next and I did not know how she did it." Lupin sighed. "She was a great friend, to all of the Marauders, especially Lily, when Harry was going to be born Degas promised to take care of Harry of problems that Sirius either did not know of or could not take care of. And I think that is why she is here."
Hermione nodded keeping in mind that Degas told her not to tell anyone that she now knew about her past. When they reached the castle Hermione bid farewell to Professor Lupin and headed for the common room.
A giant golden eagle about the size of a small mountain flew in over the forest with a giant white tiger on its back. They landed and transformed into people. Degas smiled and clapped.
They all sat down together and hugged each other for a long moment.
Hermione watched from the common room as they sat in a circle and began to talk.
"So Degas, you enrolled yet again?" Binx, a tall man with wavy blond hair and blue eyes smiled. He wore a baggy white tang top and black jeans and no shoes. He was the white tiger on the eagle's back.
Jak, the eagle, wore a yellow tang top and back jeans and sneakers. His hair was shoulder length, black and very straight. He smiled at Degas and nodded. "IS it as fun as the last, what? Thirty times?"
Everyone laughed.
"Damn it is so good to be with you all once again. To ease the pain of being apart." Degas said cheerfully.
"Come now," Binx chuckled. "We've only been apart one year. You missed us that much?"
"Well," Galileo pointed out. "We only see each other on one day of the year. And it is always our death day."
They all fell silent. There was nothing to say about that. They did always seem to meet each other on the exact same day that they "died" from the mortal world.
"Well, that aside," Binx nodded. "What is new with everyone?"
"I've been working with someone named Weasley or other, with dragons. It is really fun." Jak said. "Of course sometimes I loose my self and I transform into dragons when I am on break and I talk to the other dragons and it is really cool."
Everyone laughed.
"You always were the one to transform into something just to talk to it." Galileo laughed.
"Well, what about you Galileo?"
"Well, if you must know, I have been working for the Ministry as a messenger." Galileo smiled. "Always in owl form of course. I was heading back to the office when you captured me in that cage and took me to Hogwarts to be with Degas."
Jak puffed out his chest. "And damn proud of myself that I could actually catch you like that."
"Well," Binx interrupted. "I have been traveling around the world seeing the different sights and carnivals and festivals and all. There is this Greek island where no one lives and the water is always warm and so clear. It is like utopia."
"Until a storm blows in." Degas said and they all laughed.
"Yeah, until a storm storms in." Binx nodded.
Degas walked into the castle, her friends had left, Galileo was back in the owlery again and it was nearly sun set. Degas walked into the kitchen and looked around.
"Degas ma'am!" a house elf gasped. "You are back?"
"Hello Glibly." Degas smiled. "You are still here?"
"Oh Glibly is always here ma'am, Glibly loves it here at Hogwarts." The house elf chimed with a smile of pride. "Everyone at Hogwarts is usually nice."
"I am sure they are Glibly." Degas chuckled.
"Can I get Glibly get you anything?"
"Something to eat, I am going to go miss dinner tonight, I have some thinking to do."
Glibly nodded and ran off. He returned moments later with a small parcel of food. He handed Degas a couple of bottles of butter beer and he smiled widely.
"Thank
you Glibly." Degas nodded. "Thank you very, very much."
"Glibly is always happy to help
Degas ma'am. Degas ma'am is always welcomed at the kitchen." He bowed.
Degas bowed slightly back, careful not to drop anything and she left for the common room. She placed the parcel in her bag and removed her leather book and carried it. As she reached the portrait she heard voices. She stopped around the corner of the Gryffindor common room and peered around the wall. Uutte and Draco were standing outside the portrait talking to it. Degas quickly hid her bag and book behind a suit of armor and, after checking to make sure no one was in the hall, she transformed into a black panther. She ran around the corner and hissed loudly. Draco and Uutte jumped, Uutte dropped a slip of paper. Degas jumped and barely missed Draco as they turned heel and ran yelling. Degas looked around and transformed back into a human and picked up the slip of paper.
"Lists of pass words?"
"Degas?" the fat lady asked in a shaky voice.
"Viola, are you all right?"
"You nearly scarred me to death coming round the corner as a panther. I nearly forgot that you are a morph."
Degas laughed. "I'll be right back." Degas ran around the corner and retrieved her bag and book. She came back and smiled. "I am sorry to scar you like that Viola."
"Oh, posh, you know you love scaring people." Viola laughed.
"Yeah," Degas nodded her head with a laugh. "Sprite."
The porthole opened and Degas walked in. Hermione was waiting for her on the couch in front of the fire.
"Who were those people you were with this morning?"
Degas starred at her blankly. They were the only two in the common room. Everyone else was eating desert by now.
"You were spying on me Hermione?"
"No," she shook her head. "I'd never do that. Professor Lupin and I were going to go talk to you, I just wanted to talk, and I think Professor had something certain in mind. But we saw you with some guy who transformed into a human from the form of an owl."
"Galileo." Degas smiled. "He is my messenger owl when I am here at Hogwarts, he is also one of my best friends. The others are Jak and Binx. Their forms are their identity forms in Morph."
"Identity form?"
Degas nodded and sat next to her. "When you become a full fledge Morph then you are born into their race with one specific form, this is your identity form. Animagi's can only change into one animal yes?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, in the beginning we are bound to one transformation. This transformation helps us get the hang of being a morph. When we get better at being a morph then we begin to change into different things. They were all in their identity forms, Jak is a giant golden eagle, Binx is giant white tiger and I am panther. And as I already said Galileo is a snowy owl."
Hermione nodded. "Ah, I see."
"We always meet each other on the day that we died from the mortal world. And today is our one hundred and one year of being immortal."
Hermione nodded solemnly. "What is it like? To never change. Did you always look like that?" Hermione pointed to Degas's hair.
"This?" Degas frowned. "I did this to make my parents mad, it was my way of rebelling. If I'd have known I would have been immortally stuck this way, I probably still would have done it." Degas smiled. "Many people might not like it but I think it is fitting."
Hermione nodded. "It is very fitting."
Degas pulled out her parcel and handed a butter beer to Hermione. "Did you eat?"
She shook her head. "No, I was waiting for you."
Degas nodded and handed her a bit of food. They spilt the meal in half and ate happily.
"My life is not as bad as I might make it seem. The times we were suicidal were times that we just couldn't handle watching our friends be born, grow old and die and we never changed. We follow our friends though the ages. We never forget them; never forget what they looked like. It is hard sometimes but we have fun in our endless years. Skydiving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing and repelling, scuba diving, swimming across oceans these are the things that we love to do and since we cannot die, even from starvation, we can do these things forever. But I would have to say my favorite thing of all of these would be motorcycle racing." Degas rubbed her shoulder. "I have broken my shoulder six times from racing. Three times my bike fell on me. One time when my bike fell on me it landed straight on my shoulder and a piece of my shoulder bone had ripped itself out of my shoulder. They had to surgically put it back, it hurt like a bitch." Degas chuckled. "But it never stopped me. I still race whenever I am back in either Tokyo or America. It is my favorite thing in the whole world, that, and flying as high as I can in eagle form and then transforming in a human and free falling. The air rushing past, falling nearly a hundred miles per hour," Degas grinned. "And when that ground is a hundred feet away transforming in a hawk and pulling up just in the nick of time."
Hermione was watching her with wide eyes. "You actually do that?"
Degas nodded. "When you have nothing to live for… then why not do it? Especially when you are immortal?"
Hermione laughed nervously. "That must really be something."
Degas gasped and pulled out a slip of paper from her back pocket.
"What's that?"
Degas shrugged. "When I was coming back I saw Uutte and Draco in front of the portrait. I transformed into a panther and chased them away. They dropped this, it is a list of passwords." She handed it to Hermione.
"This looks like Angelina Johnson's handwriting. But why would she have to write it down? She has a great memory."
Degas shrugged and took it back. "Who know, all I care is that the last password is the password to get it. They could have done a lot of damage if they got in." Degas stuck it in her back pocket and collected her items.
Hermione held the leather book in her hands. "What is this?"
Degas looked at her. "That? That is my phone book."
"Phone book?" Hermione was confused.
"Yes, I write something in it and the others, Jak, Binx or Galileo will write back. We write to each other using this, we argue, discuss and just talk with it. Well, write actually, you see when we write it appears on everyone's book. So everyone who looks in the book can see what we talk about. It is very useful when I have questions about something and I don't know the answer."
"If you have this then why do you have Galileo in the owlery?"
"Because he asked me to take him to Hogwarts the next time I went."
Hermione nodded. "Oh, okay." She chuckled and Degas laughed.
"McGonagall!" Degas shouted down the hall early Monday. "Minerva!"
Minerva turned and looked at Degas. "Degas, what's the matter?"
Degas ripped out the slip of paper. "I caught Uutte and Draco with this yesterday, I put it in my pocket and forgot about it, but I remembered it this morning and I came here to ask about it. Hermione said it looked like Angelina Johnson's handwriting. Do you know what it is about?"
Minerva took it and looked it over. She shook her head, "it is definitely Angelina's handwriting, but what the Slytherin's were doing with it is beyond me. I'll ask Professor-"
Degas snatched it back. "Of course, I'll take it to Snape. You should get ready for class."
Minerva nodded. "You do that Degas."
Degas turned.
"Oh and Degas?"
Degas looked back. "Yes?"
"Try not to hurt Snape too much with a curse this time."
Degas widened her eyes. "You know about that?"
Minerva shrugged. "Better me then Dumbledore."
"Shit." Degas muttered and ran off. She caught up with Severus before he walked into his classroom dungeon.
"Severus!" she called out.
He turned glaring at her.
"Yikes!" she stopped dead. "What the hell is on your head?" she squinted in the morning light. "Oh, that's your face."
"Is there something you wanted Oso?" Snape hissed.
Degas rolled her eyes and grinned. "Crucio." She said plainly and Snape fell to the ground writhing in pain. "You really need to start being more nice to me you know. Then I wouldn't have to be so mean to you. You know, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."
Snape made a spitting sound and Degas withdrew the curse. Snape stood up glaring at Degas with the intent to kill.
Degas merely smiled and held out the slip of paper. "Do you have any idea what this is about? I saw Uutte and Draco standing outside the Portrait to the Gryffindor Tower holding this slip. Do you know where they got it or what they intended to do once inside? And please don't bull shit me I am so not in the mood."
Snape looked at the slip and shook his head. "I don't know anything."
Degas looked at him in disbelief. She shrugged and began to walk away. "Crucio." She said and walked off. She turned the corner and withdrew the curse.
Snape was cussing and she ran back to the tower. She was ready to turn the corner when she heard the voices again. She peered around the edge and saw Uutte and Draco talking to Neville. Uutte chuckled evilly and Draco passed Neville some money. Degas waited until the two Slytherins' were out of sight before she exploded around the corner as a giant white wolf. She tackled Neville to the ground teeth barred.
"What did you tell them? What did you say Longbottom?" Degas growled.
"I only told them that Harry and his crew would be at the quidditch field later this afternoon and that there would be no one around. Please don't eat me!"
Professor Lupin ran around the corner. "Werewolf!" he yelped in shock.
Degas barked loudly and ran off. Lupin followed in hot pursuit. They reached the lakeside before Degas stopped and turned. Lupin stood in front of her and began to transform himself. Degas starred at him blankly, shocked that he could now transform himself into a werewolf at will. They both growled deeply at each other and ran into the forest. Lupin jumped on top of Degas but she reared up and threw him off and into a tree. She tried to flee but Lupin was set on settling this now. He bit her on the scruff of the neck and dragged her back toward him. She bit his front leg and he let go. She jumped up and jumped on his back and into a tree, once safely at the top she transformed into a human.
She climbed down into view of Lupin, when he saw her he quickly transformed into a human too and glared up at her.
"What the hell do you think you were doing Degas!" He shouted at her.
Degas jumped down and looked at him. She turned around and headed back for the castle.
He grabbed her arms and pulled her back to him. "No! You will not turn your back on me this time! You have been avoiding me ever since the year began! You purposely come into class nearly late everyday, you are the first to leave, you avoid me in the halls with your mock map, and I know you do. You are rarely at dinner or lunch or breakfast, and I know that you just love Hogwarts food! What is wrong with you? And now I catch you attacking Neville Longbottom? What has gotten into you Degas?"
Degas was looking away. "I am here to protect Harry all right?"
"What? That's Sirius's job."
Degas ripped herself away from him. "You don't get it Remus! Sirius doesn't know that Harry is in danger! And even if he did what good is he against Lord Voldermort's daughter!"
A huge black dog walked out of the forest and transformed into Sirius. Degas shook her head.
"What?" Sirius asked. "What about Harry?"
"What about Lord Voldermort?" Remus asked.
Degas covered her face with her hands. "Shit. Shitty, shit, shit, shit."
THAT'S IT FOR NOW READER. I'LL GET CHAPTER FOUR UP IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. I AM DYING TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS AND I AM THE WRITER, I AM SUPPOSED TO KNOW AND I DON'T. IF YOU WANT TO BE IN THIS STORY OR ANY OTHER HARRY POTTER FAN FICS I MIGHT WRITE IN THE FUTURE EMAIL ME AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE, WHAT POSITION YOU WANT TO BE, GOOD GUY, BAD GUY… ECT. PLEASE REVIEW; I NEED TO KNOW IF I AM ANY GOOD.