She felt different altogether and one glance told her why. From the tails
of her eyes she noticed something angel white furling from the sides of her
shoulders...they were moving.
"Ohhh..." It seemed that part of her back and shoulders had been hinged into the white wings of an owl, in proportion and her friends just stared at her in awe.
They moved easily, and she was just getting used to them when the door opened and McGonagall entered. She didn't look in the least bit surprised, however one of her think eyebrows rose when she saw the transformations. As a matter of fact, the whole class did well on that assignment, but Gaby and Smith got total, accompanied by Vanessa and Jade of course.
But it seemed that her transformation had stirred a queer sort of silence as they left the class for the grounds to care of Magical Creatures. Jade and Vanessa decided to take a restroom break before they left, but Gaby was sure she saw then exchange excited looks when they thought she wasn't looking, and Gaby and Smith went off alone. Any moment now, they would encounter the Slytherins coming from the other side of the castle where they took Astronomy.
"How did you...well you know?" Smith started.
"How did I do that?" Gaby finished, "I really don't know, it seemed like all I thought about was my friends, and how you people always come to me when I need help for something."
"Oh, but how could that substitute for wings?"
"It didn't, McGonagall told us to concentrate on a feature right? And it just so happened that Tower appeared and saved my neck...But honestly, if it wasn't for you guys, I would never have made it this far, I don't even think I'd be alive, I owe you a lot especially."
"Aw, not really, believeing you got killed by centaurs when I was twelve stopped my from doing anything stupid anymore, so we're even."
Gaby actually laughed, but they stopped short when they saw the massive outline of Hagrid emerging from his hut, carrying what looked like fifty pounds of caracas over his shoulder.
"Hello there Gaby...Smith," he greeted them.
"Hagrid, we're not going to feed that to anything are we?" Gaby asked.
"Oh no, well... yeah- you'll see," he ushered the rest of the class near them, some looked skeptical that the flesh might actually be alive.
Gaby noticed that Prince was absent, which boosted her spirits about having a great class, but when Hagrid turned to face the Forest, she gasped.
"Don' worry, if anything goes wrong, Madam Pomfery'll put yer back together again..." and he led them off to the dark side. Gaby walked with Smith, following in Hagrid's wake for about twenty minutes, through thick undergrowth away from the paths. They encountered nothing suspicious except for the usual bizarre animal cries from a distance.
Hagrid stopped in a small clearing, and the students crowded around him, though there was much space to go around. He dropped the caracas on the forest floor, and waited. "Oh, this lesson's all about' Theastrels [doubted I spelled that right] On the pretext of inquiring what in the world those were, Gaby noticed Smith look uneasy, which was a first for a long time.
The forest became silent, and then there were new sounds around them. Soft hoof beats from amoung the trees. The students turned in every direction to meet the Theastrels but they were not showing up. They could hear them, their breathing, hear them approaching nearer, attracted by the meat. The Gaby heard something chomp beside her.
"Argh!"
Part of the meat had been chewed off, and blood dripped from something invisible just above it.
"Oh...I can't see it but I know something's there..." she said.
"Those are the Theastrels," Hagrid instructed the bewildered class, as they observed the meat disappearing before their eyes into complete nothingness. "They're magical creatures, cross between horses and reptiles really...but they're brutes."
"How do you know?" a girl asked Hagrid.
"Because I can see them," he told her. "I can see them because I saw death, and I'm sure some of some if you can make them out too..."
Gaby looked at Smith; he was transfixed, staring at a point fixed above the ground. His eyes liquefied and he looked somewhat scared and angry. "You can see them Camry?" she asked quietly, he shook out of his gaze.
"Yeah," his voice broke, "I can..."
"Is it because of me? It can't be because I didn't die."
"No..." he blinked," you didn't," he was backing away from the creature from the centre of the clearing, in the cool shade of the coniferous trees around them, though still staring.
He sat down, at the base of a tree and brought his knees up before him, staring over them. Gaby sat with him, watching at the other students, pet space and shriek when they seemed to have felt something. "I felt its teeth, I felt its teeth!" gasped, Eddie excitedly.
"Want to talk about it?" she asked Smith, since he was slipping into an unusual silent mode, and she was right, he did have something to say about everything. But he shook his head. Gaby didn't recall him ever speaking about his parents for a while. Once they touched the subject a year ago, and it wasn't pretty.
"Not talking about it doesn't make the pain go away," Gaby told him. He continued to stare and shook his head again but this time, made a terse remark.
"That's why I was like that when I saw you almost killed, it was the second time...the second time, and I didn't want to lose someone again-" he trailed off. Gaby couldn't understand how he felt, but in his position it would mean the world to her, she rested her hand on his shoulder and watched on with him, until Hagrid was ready to leave, and they heard the creatures take flight back into the confines of the forest.
Gaby had never seen someone so sad before, so miserable it was beyond tears. They went back to the castle for dinner together. Gaby shook her head at Jade and Vanessa, saw their eyes shining and was sure Vanessa wanted to tell her about how it was like feeding the Theastrels. But they held off when they saw his state.
It seemed like nothing would bring him back to his former self- nothing except...
"Ohhh..." It seemed that part of her back and shoulders had been hinged into the white wings of an owl, in proportion and her friends just stared at her in awe.
They moved easily, and she was just getting used to them when the door opened and McGonagall entered. She didn't look in the least bit surprised, however one of her think eyebrows rose when she saw the transformations. As a matter of fact, the whole class did well on that assignment, but Gaby and Smith got total, accompanied by Vanessa and Jade of course.
But it seemed that her transformation had stirred a queer sort of silence as they left the class for the grounds to care of Magical Creatures. Jade and Vanessa decided to take a restroom break before they left, but Gaby was sure she saw then exchange excited looks when they thought she wasn't looking, and Gaby and Smith went off alone. Any moment now, they would encounter the Slytherins coming from the other side of the castle where they took Astronomy.
"How did you...well you know?" Smith started.
"How did I do that?" Gaby finished, "I really don't know, it seemed like all I thought about was my friends, and how you people always come to me when I need help for something."
"Oh, but how could that substitute for wings?"
"It didn't, McGonagall told us to concentrate on a feature right? And it just so happened that Tower appeared and saved my neck...But honestly, if it wasn't for you guys, I would never have made it this far, I don't even think I'd be alive, I owe you a lot especially."
"Aw, not really, believeing you got killed by centaurs when I was twelve stopped my from doing anything stupid anymore, so we're even."
Gaby actually laughed, but they stopped short when they saw the massive outline of Hagrid emerging from his hut, carrying what looked like fifty pounds of caracas over his shoulder.
"Hello there Gaby...Smith," he greeted them.
"Hagrid, we're not going to feed that to anything are we?" Gaby asked.
"Oh no, well... yeah- you'll see," he ushered the rest of the class near them, some looked skeptical that the flesh might actually be alive.
Gaby noticed that Prince was absent, which boosted her spirits about having a great class, but when Hagrid turned to face the Forest, she gasped.
"Don' worry, if anything goes wrong, Madam Pomfery'll put yer back together again..." and he led them off to the dark side. Gaby walked with Smith, following in Hagrid's wake for about twenty minutes, through thick undergrowth away from the paths. They encountered nothing suspicious except for the usual bizarre animal cries from a distance.
Hagrid stopped in a small clearing, and the students crowded around him, though there was much space to go around. He dropped the caracas on the forest floor, and waited. "Oh, this lesson's all about' Theastrels [doubted I spelled that right] On the pretext of inquiring what in the world those were, Gaby noticed Smith look uneasy, which was a first for a long time.
The forest became silent, and then there were new sounds around them. Soft hoof beats from amoung the trees. The students turned in every direction to meet the Theastrels but they were not showing up. They could hear them, their breathing, hear them approaching nearer, attracted by the meat. The Gaby heard something chomp beside her.
"Argh!"
Part of the meat had been chewed off, and blood dripped from something invisible just above it.
"Oh...I can't see it but I know something's there..." she said.
"Those are the Theastrels," Hagrid instructed the bewildered class, as they observed the meat disappearing before their eyes into complete nothingness. "They're magical creatures, cross between horses and reptiles really...but they're brutes."
"How do you know?" a girl asked Hagrid.
"Because I can see them," he told her. "I can see them because I saw death, and I'm sure some of some if you can make them out too..."
Gaby looked at Smith; he was transfixed, staring at a point fixed above the ground. His eyes liquefied and he looked somewhat scared and angry. "You can see them Camry?" she asked quietly, he shook out of his gaze.
"Yeah," his voice broke, "I can..."
"Is it because of me? It can't be because I didn't die."
"No..." he blinked," you didn't," he was backing away from the creature from the centre of the clearing, in the cool shade of the coniferous trees around them, though still staring.
He sat down, at the base of a tree and brought his knees up before him, staring over them. Gaby sat with him, watching at the other students, pet space and shriek when they seemed to have felt something. "I felt its teeth, I felt its teeth!" gasped, Eddie excitedly.
"Want to talk about it?" she asked Smith, since he was slipping into an unusual silent mode, and she was right, he did have something to say about everything. But he shook his head. Gaby didn't recall him ever speaking about his parents for a while. Once they touched the subject a year ago, and it wasn't pretty.
"Not talking about it doesn't make the pain go away," Gaby told him. He continued to stare and shook his head again but this time, made a terse remark.
"That's why I was like that when I saw you almost killed, it was the second time...the second time, and I didn't want to lose someone again-" he trailed off. Gaby couldn't understand how he felt, but in his position it would mean the world to her, she rested her hand on his shoulder and watched on with him, until Hagrid was ready to leave, and they heard the creatures take flight back into the confines of the forest.
Gaby had never seen someone so sad before, so miserable it was beyond tears. They went back to the castle for dinner together. Gaby shook her head at Jade and Vanessa, saw their eyes shining and was sure Vanessa wanted to tell her about how it was like feeding the Theastrels. But they held off when they saw his state.
It seemed like nothing would bring him back to his former self- nothing except...