"Watch carefully," Sirius muttered to me in Divination. He flicked his wand. The crystal ball, which Professor Branch had been gazing into, suddenly grew arms and a face. She shrieked and dropped it.
Sirius and I tried not to draw attention to ourselves, but Branch knew that we were at fault.
"Mister Black, would you explain why you feel the need to disrupt the class?"
"A simple mistake, ma'am. I'm afraid I don't have the sight," he said with a smile.
"And you, Miss Halliwell?"
"Well, no offense, but crystal gazing has very little to do with the gift of sight."
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"I have never had a premonition using a crystal ball," I replied.
"Few are blessed with the sight," Branch said.
I locked eyes with her. "I am." I closed my eyes and concentrated. I had never willed myself to have a premonition before. I waited and wasn't disappointed. "Professor Branch, do you know a man with an eye patch?" I didn't wait for her answer. "Beware him."
She walked away with an odd look on her face.
"I've never seen Professor Branch just walk away. You sure are something, Phoebe."
It was good to be back with him.
"Just a little farther," Sirius said and pulled me along.
"You're feeling particularly mischievous," I said, smiling. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
We were in one of the secret passageways. It was late at night. Sirius was taking me somewhere. I knew it was in Hogsmeade, but exactly where I couldn't tell.
"Here we are."
We went up through a trap door and found ourselves in the basement of one of the shops. Sirius led me through another door and told me to close my eyes. He guided me outside, then allowed me to open my eyes.
I gasped at the breath taking view. There was a small drop from where we standing to a gorgeous forest. Red and gold lights danced through the foliage. A crescent moon shed just the right amount of light to accent the beauty. I was speechless.
"What do you think?"
"Sirius, this is amazing."
"I hoped you'd like it. I found it a while back. I've been waiting for the perfect time to show you."
"I'm glad that you wanted to share this with me."
He summoned a blanket and we lay down. I snuggled into his arms. I knew that he loved me. I wanted him to know how much I loved him. Words, however, could not explain the way I felt when I was around him. They couldn't tell how my heart sang when I thought of him, or how I knew that everything would be all right as long as we were together. My heart was bursting with love for him.
"I love you, Sirius."
"I love you too, Phoebe. I have something to admit. I liked you from the first moment I saw you."
"I think I did too."
We stared up at the sky in silence for a while.
"I wish this night could last forever," I said.
"For now, it will."
Though I was filled with peace and happiness, my dreams were filled with angst and troubles.
I was floating above a beautiful garden. Suddenly I fell and connected hard with the ground. When I stood up, I was in a room that was occupied by several people. One of those present was Voldemort. The others were, I assumed, his followers. There were also a few young people, one of whom had a remarkable scar on his forehead. They were fighting his followers. But I was more interested in the man who was fighting a woman. I recognized the man. It was unmistakably Sirius. He looked very different, and he had a rough look about him. He was fighting well and seemed to be enjoying it. But then he was struck down. He fell behind a veil. The boy with the scar screamed, "Sirius!" and the dream ended.
I awoke with a jerk. I was shaking terribly. It was just past dawn. I stood up, my mind racing. The dream had been a premonition. I was sure of it. I knew I had to stop it from happening. I couldn't lose Sirius. I loved him too much. I knew that the premonition wouldn't come true for years yet. Sirius had been an adult in the vision. Still, I felt afraid that it would happen any moment.
I remembered the boy very clearly for some reason. As I thought of him, I realized that he looked remarkably like James and had eyes like Lily's. That boy was undoubtedly their son. Yet if that was true, why hadn't I seen Lily and James there? Surely they would never let their son go anywhere near Voldemort. That was, unless they were… No. That couldn't happen.
So what could I do for now? "A protection spell." I knew just the one to use. "For true love has found me and will not fade, know now that a connection is made, protect Sirius with a love so great, do it now so I won't have to wait."
A small golden light jumped out of my heart and landed in Sirius. Satisfied with that, I settled back in Sirius's arms and watched the day begin.
"I have figured it out," Piper announced the following morning.
"Good for you!" Paige said cheerily. "What did you figure out?"
"My third power. The only thing left for the molecules to do is for them to spread apart but not gain too much energy." She paused dramatically.
"Enough suspense. What's your third power?" Prue asked eagerly.
"Invisibility. My particles will spread apart so that I'll be invisible."
"Will? You mean you haven't tried it yet?"
"Leo's coming tonight. I'll try it then. In the meantime, I have a date with," she sighed, "Remus. We're going to, er, sneak into Hogsmeade."
"How deliciously devious," Paige said. "What's up with you, Pheebs? You're far too quiet."
I told them about my vision.
"You don't have to worry for now," Prue assured me. "That protection spell will let you know whenever he's in danger."
"I guess you're right. I think I'll enjoy him without worrying." I knew, though, that the matter would never stop nagging at my mind.
"Good," Piper said. "When you worry, you get unbalanced."
Just then, Remus came up. "We should probably get going, Piper."
She walked with him with the look she always got when he was around.
"He really brings out the wild side of Piper," I commented.
Paige sneezed and orbed. She ended up on top of a window. Everyone in the room turned and looked at her. She orbed back down. Whispers broke out.
"Oops. That was a complete accident. Do you think anyone noticed?" she asked comically.
"Nah. Why would they?"
As expected, a girl from Hufflepuff who I didn't know came over and asked, "Paige, what did you just do?"
"Well, it's kind of complicated." Paige looked into the girl's eyes.
The girl froze, her eyes wide. She blinked. "What am I doing over here?"
"You were asking Paige a question," I said carefully.
"Oh," she said and walked away.
"Paige, you erased her memory?"
"Not on purpose."
"Well, you found your third power," Prue said. "Try not to make eye contact too much."
"Yeah, I'd say so."
Piper
"Are you sure the owners won't have a fit if they find us in the basement of their shop?" I asked.
"I'm sure," Remus said. "We come through here all the time. The owners like us."
"Do you have any particular destination in mind?"
"There's a nice little tea shop that I think you'll like."
As we walking there, I noticed the house that was known as the Shrieking Shack. It certainly did look foreboding, but somehow not from the ghosts that people claimed haunted it. "Do you think that the Shrieking Shack is really haunted?"
"Yes. That's what everyone says," he said quickly.
"I'm not so sure. It seems more like… like a creature is in there. Some tortured creature." I thought. "You never know. Maybe it's even a werewolf."
"No way. No one would let a werewolf near so many people," he said and hurried me along.
The teashop was an adorable little place. I loved it.
Our date went very well; at least until there was a short burst of fire within the shop and a deformed and grotesque man appeared. It was a demon. A demon? I wasn't supposed to be battling demons yet! The demon saw me and threw a ball of flames at me. I was incapable of movement.
Remus shouted a shield spell just in time. The fireball bounced off and hit the wall, forming a huge hole. Remus stood in front of me and called out different spells, all of which had no affect on the demon. The demon sent out another ball of fire, which hit Remus's arm.
All of a sudden, I came to my senses and threw forward my hands. The demon yelled as its own fire killed it.
"LEO!" I yelled.
He orbed in.
"Heal him!"
He did. "What happened?"
"A demon attacked."
"A demon? But you're not supposed to—"
"I know. I guess we've been discovered," I said.
Leo decided that we should get back to Hogwarts. He orbed us there and went to find my sisters.
I immediately showered Remus with hugs and kisses. "You saved my life! You defended me so bravely."
"But I couldn't kill it. You aren't hurt, right?"
"I'm fine. You took a fireball for me. You're wonderful." Even though I had just faced a demon, I felt wonderful. Remus loved me so much that he would defend me against a demon.
"Here come your sisters. I'd better go… Are you sure you're all right?"
"I'm great," I said with a wide smile.
My sisters listened as I explained the date and the attack, though we were supposed to be listening to Leo.
"That's so sweet. Most guys just want to get in your pants. Looks like Remus isn't like that. Is Sirius like that, Pheebs?" Paige asked with a grin.
She hit her on the arm. "Of course not!"
"He's the first boyfriend you've had who isn't like that," Prue said. "Remember Dave?"
She shuddered. "Don't remind me."
"Girls, focus. Piper was almost killed," Leo said.
"Why did a demon attack, anyways?" I asked.
"Some force of darkness must have found out about your powers," Leo told us.
"How?"
"We're not sure."
We could all tell that there was something that he wasn't telling us, and though it was unwise, we didn't bother to ask.
"Regardless, you four have to work more on your powers."
"Which reminds me, I found my new power. I can erase memories," Paige declared.
"Don't even think of trying it on me," I told her. "I'd like to try out a power that I think I have."
"She can become invisible," Phoebe told him. "Try it. I want to see."
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and concentrated. I imagined my particles spreading out as energy collected in my body.
"It worked, Piper!"
I opened my eyes, losing my concentration. My particles came together quickly.
"That is your third ability," Leo confirmed. "You might have trouble remaining visible when you collect a lot of energy, so you have to work on control and try not to participate in anything that takes away your control while adding energy."
"So no sex?" Phoebe asked under her breath.
I blushed.
"Hush, Phoebe," Prue scolded, but I knew she was amused.
Following that day, Remus and I took a midnight walk to make up for the interrupted date.
Remus was rather quiet and distracted. I could tell that something was bothering him. Whenever I asked about it, he would mutter something about school. I knew that wasn't true, but I didn't press.
He was also looking rather pale. Something told me that wasn't from worrying. There was something wrong with him.
He stopped suddenly and looked up at the sky with a horrified look on his face as the moon began to come out from behind a cloud.
"What's wrong?"
"Get out of here!" He ran towards the Forbidden Forest.
I ran after him but stopped when I saw what was happening.
Remus was transforming into a beast. He was a werewolf. I backed away slowly, too numb with terror to move any faster. He lashed out, ripping open my arm. Frantically I flicked my fingers but nothing happened.
Suddenly I was pushed to the side by a stag. A shaggy black dog kept me at bay while the stag fought the werewolf.
Paige orbed in and grabbed me, orbing back to the castle.
"He's… he's a… a werewolf."
"I know," Paige said. "James and Sirius told me. Let me heal that. It looks really bad."
I moved my arm away from her. "But who were those animals?" I asked.
She made me hold still and healed my arm. "James and Sirius. They're animagi. Let's go to the Ravenclaw common room."
We appeared there. "You've gone through a lot. You need to get some rest."
I nodded. I was beginning to get over the initial shock. When Paige left, I went to the Book in search of an animal form spell.
"Aha! This will be perfect."
I would try it the next full moon.
I stared at James and Sirius, too shocked for words. Then my good-girl genes kicked in and I said, "You became animagi illegally? That was pretty reckless."
"He's our friend. We couldn't let him be alone on the full moon," James responded.
"I must say, I'm impressed. That's a difficult process. To have accomplished it in your third year, that's amazing."
"Piper!" Phoebe yelled, jumping out of the shadows.
I jumped and became invisible. "Dang it, Phoebe!" I said, my voice oddly broken up. I pulled myself together. "Don't do that. I told you the first hundred times."
"And it's still funny." She plopped herself down on the couch. "So, what's all this about becoming an animagus? I've been considering that myself."
"You're not allowed to do that," I told her. "It's against the law and I won't let you do it. You're too young."
"You're no fun, Piper," Phoebe complained.
"What kind of animal would you become anyways?"
"Definitely a cat. Have you ever seen Kit jump down from the willow tree? I'd love to be so agile."
"Phoebe?" I said.
"Hmm?" she asked dreamily.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Fine." She crossed her arms and stood. "I'm leaving. I feel like levitating."
I shook my head. "So how did you become animagi?"
"It's not easy. You have to find the animal within yourself and bring it out. It takes a lot of practice and concentration," Sirius said.
"You'd probably be able to do it," James told me.
"Absolutely not," I said. "I won't break the law. It's the law!"
They both rolled their eyes. "Piper, you have to stop being so good. It can't be fun."
"Who says life has to be fun all the time?"
They exchanged looks. "Hopeless. Completely hopeless."
Remus avoided me for the rest of the month. I didn't want him to. I desperately wanted to talk to him. Yet whenever I caught sight of him, he would suddenly disappear into the crowd. It was frustrating. I could understand that he believed I wouldn't want to see him, but that was for me to decide. Finally I got a chance to talk to him. I had him cornered.
"Remus, we need to talk. Why have you been avoiding me?" I demanded.
"Piper, back off. He's not ready to talk," James said, pulling me away.
"Why don't you let him speak for himself?" I snapped.
Remus took the opportunity to slip away.
My anger melted away and was replaced by sadness. How could he love me if he couldn't face me? He couldn't.
Tonight was the night. Time to use the animal spell. I opened the book. I had been practicing the animagus meditation I had found in the Book ever since I had talked to Sirius and James. A fire burned within me. I wanted to become an animagus. Soon, I knew I'd be able to do it. For now, I'd use a spell. I recited the spell and felt myself shrink. I was very small. I didn't know what my animal within was, so I had set up a mirror to see. I hopped over to it and took a step back. I was an owl. My feathers were dark—perfect for blending in with the darkness of the night. I had a faint symbol on my chest. It was the symbol that was on the Book of Shadows. I tried to talk and instead hooted. Happy with my change, I now tried flying.
At first, I kept falling. Flying was much harder than it looked. However, it didn't take me long to get the hang of it. I rather liked it. After flying around the room a few times, I flew out the window. The cool night air was wonderful. My heart soared as I flew. I had never felt so free. Looking down, I saw the Marauders running around and having a grand time. I settled in a tree and watched their antics. It was quite amusing. I would have smiled, but it was quite impossible to smile as an owl.
They glanced at me once or twice during the night but didn't think anything of me.
All night, I followed them around, happy to be near Remus again. I had missed him so much.
Unfortunately, the spell began to wear off early in the morning. I flew back quickly and got in just as I turned back. My body ached with exhaustion. I felt like I had run a million miles. "Ow," I whimpered. I practically crawled upstairs. My bed looked so inviting… but I had classes. Groaning, I dressed.
I walked into the Great Hall like a zombie. I wasn't at all my cheerful self. I will never turn into an animal again, I swore to myself.
I almost fell asleep in Potions. I had been an inch from it when someone's potion exploded, promptly waking me.
The Marauders seemed worn out too, though not nearly as much as I. They were obviously used to this. I wondered how long it took to get used to such an odd schedule.
In Transfiguration, I actually did fall asleep. Thankfully, I had already taken care of the spell, so Professor Angelo didn't notice. When I awoke, a few minutes before the bell, James was eying me. I was too tired to care.
"You were up late last night," he commented quietly after class.
"Yup."
"You were the owl, weren't you?"
"You are on a roll. Tell Lupin about it, not that he would want to know."
"He will."
"James told me that you were the owl the other night," Remus said the following week.
"So what if I was?" I said. "You don't seem to be very interested in me anymore."
"Why did you do that?"
"I had the spell and… And I wanted to see you, okay? I liked what we had and I don't see why we can't have it anymore. I never did anything to imply that I didn't want to go out with you. You've been avoiding me and it hurts me." My voice was loud and high, as it always got when I was about to cry. "I don't know what you think of me, Remus Lupin, but I love you!" I stopped. "I love you," I said calmly. He didn't do anything. "Say something!"
"You love me? Even after—"
"I don't care about that."
He was completely stunned.
"All I ask now is for you to tell me the truth. Do you love me?"
"Of course I do. I have all along."
Not caring that everyone in the hall was staring, we kissed. Everyone applauded.
True love… I think I've found it.