Hey, my muses have officially returned from their vacation! *dances around in little skippy dance* Whew! But I'm working on this story at least, aren't you all happy? Nah, you probably don't care. Just want to read, am I correct? Then on with the story!

From Chapter 3:

The Slytherins went first, and then the other Gryffindors. Hermione and I waited, since we had a free period, we decided to go last, and stay after the class had ended, so we could look at the Gregorian more.

Chapter 4:

The Gregorian really was cute. It had a little button-like nose and cute little ears, in a relatively "c" shape. It's fur was soft, but if you rubbed the wrong way, you would cut your hand on it. But the eyes of the Gregorian were the most interesting. Not the sparkly black you would expect from a seal-like creature, but an iridescent silver that swirled in ever changing patterns around black pupils.

Hermione was sitting on the ground, a few feet away, with her feet tucked underneath her and a book open on her lap. She made the perfect picture of the diligent student. She was flipping through the textbook for this year's CoMC class, An In-depth Study of the Creatures in out Magical World, by S.W. Nardoni.

I chuckled. Her head snapped up from the book, and she stared at me. "What's so funny?"

"You are. You look very much the diligent student, studying for an important exam."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Thanks."

"Anytime. So, you going to sit there all day, or come look at this guy?"

"I'm coming. I'm coming." She stood up, and walked over.

Hermione's POV

I took one look at the Gregorian and was instantly smitten. It looked exactly like a stuffed seal that I had at home, plus stripes and silver eyes.

It seemed to like me too. When it pushed it's nose into my hand, I felt like we were connected somehow. Like we could read each other's thoughts.

I learned the Gregorian's name: Nynaeve al'Vere, and her age: 9 Gregorian years, or 3 human years. She was the youngest girl pup in her group. Not to go into detail, but she learned all about me as well.

Mackenzie's POV

I was in shock. A light surrounded Hermione's head and the Gregorian's. There appeared to be waves traveling back and forth.

Hermione appeared dazed when she removed her hand from the Gregorian.

"What happened?"

"I-I think we bonded," she stammered.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try to command it!"

"It's a her, and her name is Nynaeve. Nynaeve, be a cat!"

A swirl of light surrounded Nynaeve and when the last of it disappeared, there was a black cat sitting in her place.

Hagrid had seen the light from the window of his hut, and he ran outside.

"What's going on here? What happened to my Gregorian?"

I pointed to the cat. "That's your Gregorian, Hagrid. It changed into a cat."

"What? It's too young to change, unless it's using a different source of power!"

"Ohh," Hermione said. "I feel dizzy." She swayed, then collapsed.

Hagrid and I barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He carried her to the hospital wing.

Behind us the Gregorian morphed again. Into a doppelganger of Hermione. And neither of us noticed.

Hey all! Little cliffy for you. Wonder what's going to happen next? Hmm, well, when the author doesn't' know, it's time for a little reviewing! What do YOU want to happen next? Oh, and I still need a beta reader. Anyone interested?

Thanks!

mysticpixie