A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than most, which I apologize for. Also, parseltongue will now be in brackets and quotations ["like this."]
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Chapter Four - Werewolf? There Wolf!
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"Hey Ael, pass me the boomslang eyes."
Ael sighed and tossed the jar to Kat. Thankfully, Snape wasn't watching them at the time, and the irresponsible handling of his precious ingredients wasn't noticed. It was their first Potions class, early Friday morning, and already the Gryffindors were hating the mean old Potions Master. Within the first five minutes, thirty points were taken from Connemara for being two minutes late, twenty from Akiru for humming, and fifteen from Ael for asking Kat to hand her a dragon's tooth.
She wasn't sure what exactly they were brewing, as she had not been paying attention, but she felt uneasy about the color of the cauldrons themselves. They weren't using their own pewter ones, but some other kind that Snape had provided. She couldn't tell in the dark, but it seemed that they were a slightly different shade than pewter gray...
Kat looked at their instructions. "All right, now we have to take the cauldron off the fire."
Without thinking too much about it, Ael reached out to move the cauldron - and had to bite back a pain-filled howl. Tiny smoke tendrils curled up from her hands, and she swore under her breath. "Damn, Kat, the cauldron's silver!"
A look of alarm crossed the vampire's face. "Let me see your hands." Ael held them out, and Kat inspected the blisters. "Looks like second-degree." She let out a low whistle. "Got you bad, didn't it?"
"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered from behind them, "for being stupid enough to touch a hot cauldron." His dark eyes burned into Ael's (which decided to be green today), and she had the ugly suspicion that he knew she was a werewolf. "Miss Phillips, please escort Miss Bolt to the Hospital Wing."
~~~~~~
Christopher came to visit her when he found out she'd missed lunch. "It hasn't even been a week and you're already in the infirmary?" he said, shaking his head in mild amusement. "Such a klutz. My own sister."
"Oh, bugger off," she snarled half-heartedly. Oh, how she longed to rip the bandages off so she could make a proper fist and introduce it to his nose. Fortunately for him, Madame Pomfrey swept into the room and shooed him out abruptly, exclaiming that the young werewolf needed her rest. She soon found herself on the recieving end of said punch.
~~~~~~
Two hours later, Ael was let out of the infirmary with strict orders not to do too much with her hands until the next day. Thankfully, her absence from class only extended to the free period after lunch, and she was able to make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts - her favorite class, which was ironic, all things considered - which was not shared with any other House that hour.
"A'rright nuw," Professor MacBride said in his unbelievably thick Scottish brogue, picking up a piece of chalk and beginning to scrawl across the blackboard. "T'day we'll be wurkin' on identifyuin uncurrable Darrk Currses, and thuir effects on magic folk."
"Aye, vampirres and werewolves!" came the high, scratchy voice of MacBride's parrot, Willy. The rainbow-colored bird had a brogue to rival MacBride's, and didn't hesitate to ridicule anyone - including his master - from his perch on the desk. Willy bobbed up and down quickly. "Banshees and selkies and politishuns, aye!"
MacBride ignored his parrot. "Nuw, who ken tell me an uncurrable Darrk Currse?"
Akiru's hand shot up in a motion remeiscent of Hermione. "Quintapeds," he stated.
MacBride nodded and scribbled the name across the board. "Quintapeds arre rrumorred to bin human at a time, but a clan rrivalrry led to thuir transfurmations inta th' five-legged beasties. Thuir also nut verry frriendly, aye, downrright nasty li'' buggers." He looked up. "Whut else?"
Ael promptly raised her hand. "Vampires."
MacBride's eyes glinted in some form of amusement. "Aye, vampirres." He wrote as he spoke. "Once human themselves, they wur bitten by anuther vampire and Changed, forreverr fated to surrive off blood and walk in th' shadows. Most are innocent people who are shunned b'cause of sumthin' they cannae control. The more violent ones are rehabilitated, exiled, or killed by means that include the crucifix, wooden stake through the heart, or fire." He grinned. "Whut else?"
Connemara shot Ael a glance before raising her hand. "Werewolves," she said, and Ael was amused at the fact that everyone's eyes immediately darted to her.
MacBride was definitely amused. "Oh, aye lassie, werewolves." He leaned over his desk. "Tell me, young lass Bolt, all abuit werewolves, please."
Ael shot her classmates a grin. "Werewolves are ordinary people for most of the month, although the time varies with the type of werewolf - Natural, Bitten, Cursed, Demonic, or Hereditary. The other time is served as a magical wolf, most of which crave human blood - which only serves to either pass on the curse, or feed the wolf. Some types of werewolves can transform at will, in addition to being forced at the full moon. Werewolves are often discriminated against because of their savage sides, even if they have taken precautions not to bite any human. They can be killed by silver, although some need the silver to enter their blood to be harmful, and any major injury to vital organs can lead to death. Decapitation and paralysis also suffice."
The entire class stared at her in a mix of amusement and horror. MacBride smirked. "Twenty points t' Grryiffindorr, and I'll make it fifty if ye shuw us yer wolf form."
There were cries of fear and disgust from a few, but a glare from Connemara silenced them. Ael stood up and moved away from her desk. "As I said before," she continued, speaking to those who thought it was a stupid idea, "some werewolves can transform at will in addition to the forced change at the full moon, and that voluntary transformation is *completely under the werewolf's control*. It's exactly like being a very odd-looking Animagus." And with that, she sketched a quick bow and became a wolf mid-motion.
There were more shouts of surprise and fear as the mischevious-looking girl was replaced by the large, silver-furred wolf. Ael-the-wolf whuffed in amusement and sat down, wagging her thick tail so it thumped against the floor. Gold-bronze eyes glinted as her mouth curved up in an approximation of a grin.
Abruptly, Willy screamed, "FILTHY MANGY BEAST! COME ON OV'R HERE AND I'LL KICK YER TEETH IN!"
The werewolf leapt a good seven feet in the air and let out a shriek so loud, it nearly shattered the windows. Willy squawked in fear and flapped up into the rafters as the wolf whipped around, snarling at him. A moment later and the wolf blinked in confusion, then became Ael again in the blink of an eye. "Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her ears.
"Ten more points t' Grryffindorr," MacBride said, smiling.
"Huh? What for?" Ael asked in confusion.
MacBride grinned. "Whut else, but fur not eatin' Willy?"
~~~~~~
"That was so cool!" Connemara exclaimed on the way back to Gryffindor Tower. "A real live werewolf, unrestrained and not trying to eat anyone!"
Ael smiled and rolled her eyes. "Trust me, the novelty wears off after a few full moons."
Connemara didn't seem to hear her. "And that noise you made at Willy...maybe we should start calling you Shriek!"
Ael laughed, but something about the name struck a chord. "Yeah, maybe you should. It's got a nice ring to it. Shriek the werewolf!"
"Whatever you say, Shriek," Kat said as she caught up with them, Chris at her heels, along with a shy Ravenclaw first-year named Aislin. Khense was nowhere to be seen, although Ael guessed that he'd either wanted to talk to a professor, or vice versa.
"Sure thing, Fang," Ael immediately replied. She looked over at Connemara, knowing that the Irish girl would soon be demanding her own nickname, and started considering. Her friend was obsessed with horses - could even talk to them - so it would have to do something with that. She also daydreamed in class sometimes, getting her head in the clouds...
Right on cue, Connemara said, "Okay, so what about me?"
Ael grinned. "Whyever do you need to ask, Cloudmane?" She made a motion of pawing at the air with hooves, and Connemara chuckled.
Chris looked over at Aislin. "Bit crazy, aren't they, Eire?"
Aislin started slighty at being addressed directly. "Er...right."
The group continued to trade banter as they made their way to the library. Ael spotted Hermione almost dragging Harry and Ron in the same direction, even though both boys looked reluctant to do their homework on a Friday afternoon. She smiled and shook her head, and was about to turn back and comment when something caught her attention.
["Bladessss..."]
Ael and Kat glanced at each other uneasily, and stopped walking. The three other girls halted, confused at their friends' strange behavior. "Did you hear that?" Ael asked her vampiric friend.
["Blood...bladessss and fangssss..."]
"Definitely did," Kat agreed, turning in a slow circle and scanning for the speaker.
Ael straightened as a thought occurred to her, and she cast a glance in Harry's direction. Sure enough, the seventh-year hero was standing stock-still in the corridor, head cocked to the side for better listening. "Be right back," she muttered to the group, then elbowed her way through the crowd. She grabbed Harry's sleeve. "Harry Potter. I know you heard that, but no one else does. Is there a snake nearby?"
Harry looked down at her with a frown, then nodded. "Yes. But the last time this happened was...six years ago...and the basilisk is dead."
["Protect bladessss...usssse fangssss, glare...protect bladessss!"]
They both looked up at the ceiling at this, following the sound of the voice. "Well, there's definitely something demented up there," Ael observed.
"Perhaps not," Harry disagreed. "But then, I haven't spoken with many snakes. You have?"
She nodded. "A bit."
By now, Ron and Hermione were staring at them in open horror at the thought of another basilisk, and the group of four girls (plus Khense, who had caught up sometime after Ael had temporarily left) had arrived. Ael and Harry shared a quick interchange, completely in hisses, and turned to their respective groups. "To the library."
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TBC...
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Chapter Four - Werewolf? There Wolf!
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"Hey Ael, pass me the boomslang eyes."
Ael sighed and tossed the jar to Kat. Thankfully, Snape wasn't watching them at the time, and the irresponsible handling of his precious ingredients wasn't noticed. It was their first Potions class, early Friday morning, and already the Gryffindors were hating the mean old Potions Master. Within the first five minutes, thirty points were taken from Connemara for being two minutes late, twenty from Akiru for humming, and fifteen from Ael for asking Kat to hand her a dragon's tooth.
She wasn't sure what exactly they were brewing, as she had not been paying attention, but she felt uneasy about the color of the cauldrons themselves. They weren't using their own pewter ones, but some other kind that Snape had provided. She couldn't tell in the dark, but it seemed that they were a slightly different shade than pewter gray...
Kat looked at their instructions. "All right, now we have to take the cauldron off the fire."
Without thinking too much about it, Ael reached out to move the cauldron - and had to bite back a pain-filled howl. Tiny smoke tendrils curled up from her hands, and she swore under her breath. "Damn, Kat, the cauldron's silver!"
A look of alarm crossed the vampire's face. "Let me see your hands." Ael held them out, and Kat inspected the blisters. "Looks like second-degree." She let out a low whistle. "Got you bad, didn't it?"
"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered from behind them, "for being stupid enough to touch a hot cauldron." His dark eyes burned into Ael's (which decided to be green today), and she had the ugly suspicion that he knew she was a werewolf. "Miss Phillips, please escort Miss Bolt to the Hospital Wing."
~~~~~~
Christopher came to visit her when he found out she'd missed lunch. "It hasn't even been a week and you're already in the infirmary?" he said, shaking his head in mild amusement. "Such a klutz. My own sister."
"Oh, bugger off," she snarled half-heartedly. Oh, how she longed to rip the bandages off so she could make a proper fist and introduce it to his nose. Fortunately for him, Madame Pomfrey swept into the room and shooed him out abruptly, exclaiming that the young werewolf needed her rest. She soon found herself on the recieving end of said punch.
~~~~~~
Two hours later, Ael was let out of the infirmary with strict orders not to do too much with her hands until the next day. Thankfully, her absence from class only extended to the free period after lunch, and she was able to make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts - her favorite class, which was ironic, all things considered - which was not shared with any other House that hour.
"A'rright nuw," Professor MacBride said in his unbelievably thick Scottish brogue, picking up a piece of chalk and beginning to scrawl across the blackboard. "T'day we'll be wurkin' on identifyuin uncurrable Darrk Currses, and thuir effects on magic folk."
"Aye, vampirres and werewolves!" came the high, scratchy voice of MacBride's parrot, Willy. The rainbow-colored bird had a brogue to rival MacBride's, and didn't hesitate to ridicule anyone - including his master - from his perch on the desk. Willy bobbed up and down quickly. "Banshees and selkies and politishuns, aye!"
MacBride ignored his parrot. "Nuw, who ken tell me an uncurrable Darrk Currse?"
Akiru's hand shot up in a motion remeiscent of Hermione. "Quintapeds," he stated.
MacBride nodded and scribbled the name across the board. "Quintapeds arre rrumorred to bin human at a time, but a clan rrivalrry led to thuir transfurmations inta th' five-legged beasties. Thuir also nut verry frriendly, aye, downrright nasty li'' buggers." He looked up. "Whut else?"
Ael promptly raised her hand. "Vampires."
MacBride's eyes glinted in some form of amusement. "Aye, vampirres." He wrote as he spoke. "Once human themselves, they wur bitten by anuther vampire and Changed, forreverr fated to surrive off blood and walk in th' shadows. Most are innocent people who are shunned b'cause of sumthin' they cannae control. The more violent ones are rehabilitated, exiled, or killed by means that include the crucifix, wooden stake through the heart, or fire." He grinned. "Whut else?"
Connemara shot Ael a glance before raising her hand. "Werewolves," she said, and Ael was amused at the fact that everyone's eyes immediately darted to her.
MacBride was definitely amused. "Oh, aye lassie, werewolves." He leaned over his desk. "Tell me, young lass Bolt, all abuit werewolves, please."
Ael shot her classmates a grin. "Werewolves are ordinary people for most of the month, although the time varies with the type of werewolf - Natural, Bitten, Cursed, Demonic, or Hereditary. The other time is served as a magical wolf, most of which crave human blood - which only serves to either pass on the curse, or feed the wolf. Some types of werewolves can transform at will, in addition to being forced at the full moon. Werewolves are often discriminated against because of their savage sides, even if they have taken precautions not to bite any human. They can be killed by silver, although some need the silver to enter their blood to be harmful, and any major injury to vital organs can lead to death. Decapitation and paralysis also suffice."
The entire class stared at her in a mix of amusement and horror. MacBride smirked. "Twenty points t' Grryiffindorr, and I'll make it fifty if ye shuw us yer wolf form."
There were cries of fear and disgust from a few, but a glare from Connemara silenced them. Ael stood up and moved away from her desk. "As I said before," she continued, speaking to those who thought it was a stupid idea, "some werewolves can transform at will in addition to the forced change at the full moon, and that voluntary transformation is *completely under the werewolf's control*. It's exactly like being a very odd-looking Animagus." And with that, she sketched a quick bow and became a wolf mid-motion.
There were more shouts of surprise and fear as the mischevious-looking girl was replaced by the large, silver-furred wolf. Ael-the-wolf whuffed in amusement and sat down, wagging her thick tail so it thumped against the floor. Gold-bronze eyes glinted as her mouth curved up in an approximation of a grin.
Abruptly, Willy screamed, "FILTHY MANGY BEAST! COME ON OV'R HERE AND I'LL KICK YER TEETH IN!"
The werewolf leapt a good seven feet in the air and let out a shriek so loud, it nearly shattered the windows. Willy squawked in fear and flapped up into the rafters as the wolf whipped around, snarling at him. A moment later and the wolf blinked in confusion, then became Ael again in the blink of an eye. "Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her ears.
"Ten more points t' Grryffindorr," MacBride said, smiling.
"Huh? What for?" Ael asked in confusion.
MacBride grinned. "Whut else, but fur not eatin' Willy?"
~~~~~~
"That was so cool!" Connemara exclaimed on the way back to Gryffindor Tower. "A real live werewolf, unrestrained and not trying to eat anyone!"
Ael smiled and rolled her eyes. "Trust me, the novelty wears off after a few full moons."
Connemara didn't seem to hear her. "And that noise you made at Willy...maybe we should start calling you Shriek!"
Ael laughed, but something about the name struck a chord. "Yeah, maybe you should. It's got a nice ring to it. Shriek the werewolf!"
"Whatever you say, Shriek," Kat said as she caught up with them, Chris at her heels, along with a shy Ravenclaw first-year named Aislin. Khense was nowhere to be seen, although Ael guessed that he'd either wanted to talk to a professor, or vice versa.
"Sure thing, Fang," Ael immediately replied. She looked over at Connemara, knowing that the Irish girl would soon be demanding her own nickname, and started considering. Her friend was obsessed with horses - could even talk to them - so it would have to do something with that. She also daydreamed in class sometimes, getting her head in the clouds...
Right on cue, Connemara said, "Okay, so what about me?"
Ael grinned. "Whyever do you need to ask, Cloudmane?" She made a motion of pawing at the air with hooves, and Connemara chuckled.
Chris looked over at Aislin. "Bit crazy, aren't they, Eire?"
Aislin started slighty at being addressed directly. "Er...right."
The group continued to trade banter as they made their way to the library. Ael spotted Hermione almost dragging Harry and Ron in the same direction, even though both boys looked reluctant to do their homework on a Friday afternoon. She smiled and shook her head, and was about to turn back and comment when something caught her attention.
["Bladessss..."]
Ael and Kat glanced at each other uneasily, and stopped walking. The three other girls halted, confused at their friends' strange behavior. "Did you hear that?" Ael asked her vampiric friend.
["Blood...bladessss and fangssss..."]
"Definitely did," Kat agreed, turning in a slow circle and scanning for the speaker.
Ael straightened as a thought occurred to her, and she cast a glance in Harry's direction. Sure enough, the seventh-year hero was standing stock-still in the corridor, head cocked to the side for better listening. "Be right back," she muttered to the group, then elbowed her way through the crowd. She grabbed Harry's sleeve. "Harry Potter. I know you heard that, but no one else does. Is there a snake nearby?"
Harry looked down at her with a frown, then nodded. "Yes. But the last time this happened was...six years ago...and the basilisk is dead."
["Protect bladessss...usssse fangssss, glare...protect bladessss!"]
They both looked up at the ceiling at this, following the sound of the voice. "Well, there's definitely something demented up there," Ael observed.
"Perhaps not," Harry disagreed. "But then, I haven't spoken with many snakes. You have?"
She nodded. "A bit."
By now, Ron and Hermione were staring at them in open horror at the thought of another basilisk, and the group of four girls (plus Khense, who had caught up sometime after Ael had temporarily left) had arrived. Ael and Harry shared a quick interchange, completely in hisses, and turned to their respective groups. "To the library."
~
TBC...