My name is Cassie.
And I was terribly, horribly depressed.
I had known something bad was going to happen. I had even told Jake. But I had gone anyway, and now this had happened.
Silent tears trickled down my face. I put down the wounded raccoon's meds and wiped them away. I looked down at my hands. They were shaking.
Jake was pacing again. Ginny lay Stunned on a bale of hay, eyes wide open and unseeing. Rachel clenched and unclenched her fists. Marco stared into space. Tobias preened rapidly. Ax stood unmoving. He hadn't moved for the past six hours.
I followed Jake with my eyes as he walked over to the barn doors and looked out. My parents would be away at the Gardens all night. The Bengal tiger was sick, sick enough for both of them to be called in.
He looked straight into the sun's fading rays. Without turning around, he announced, "It's time."
I closed my eyes and focused on the thestral DNA inside me. Immediately, the changes began. You see, I have this special talent with morphing that the others don't. I can kind of control the way my morph goes. Ax told me that I'm what Andalites call an Estreen.
My eyes widened as they went colorless. You know Storm, from the X-Men? How her eyes go all white when she starts to use her powers? Well, that's what mine looked like.
Two great, leathery black wings sprouted from my back, just behind my shoulder blades. I momentarily stopped my morph to flex them. They unfurled and stretched, looking like a bat's. I vaguely wondered whether they could support the weight of a human.
Creepy, Marco said. It was the first time he had spoken since we had left the plant. I glanced over at him. He was halfway through his own morph. You look like a demon.
"Thanks," I said dryly, just as fangs slid down past my lower lip. My skin rippled and sprouted silken fur. I shuddered myself as my skin sagged when all muscles and fat were sucked into Z-space, and then went taut.
My neck thickened and lengthened just as my spine cracked and twisted, forcing me down on all fours. Knees and elbows cracked as they reversed direction. Eyes slid to the sides of my face. My skull and face pushed forward as if someone had taken hold and pulled.
I watched as my hands and feet liquefied, becoming hooves. Course black hair sprouted, forming a mane and tail. My ears stretched.
I shook myself as the changes completed. I could suddenly tell you where anyplace in the world was, and how to get there.
Everyone ready? asked Jake, flicking his tail.
Everyone murmured his or her consent. Without further ado, he trotted outside. We didn't have to hide ourselves. Our very natures were sufficient, for one can see a thestral only if they have seen a person die.
Jake reared back on his legs and flapped his powerful wings. I did the same, launching immediately into the air. I knew where I wanted to go.
The world became a blur. Thestrals can really move. My human mind couldn't begin to comprehend the whirl of colors flashing by, but my thestral mind could.
It took about ten seconds, tops, to reach the plant.
We slowed in the air, circling like vultures. I stretched my nostrils to their limits. Maybe if I could smell a human in the nearby woods…
There.
I caught a whiff of something that smelled oddly like butterbeer, chocolate, sweat, and… and..
Torture?
I shrieked into the silent night air, reeling. Seconds later, the others caught it too. How someone could smell of torture is a mystery to me, but there was no doubting that scent.
As soon as I wanted to know where Harry was, I knew. I swerved in the air, diving for him. This way!
The others followed me without hesitation. Harry! I called, Harry!
I landed with an audible thump. He sat on a rock, facing away from us. Without demorphing, I approached him and, as I approached, more and more scents hit me.
Anger. Sorrow. Horror. Agony. Torture. Fear. Loneliness. Emptiness. Love. Hate.
He had no need to turn around for me to see that something was terribly, horribly wrong.
It was too much to bear. I demorphed quickly. The strain on my nose lifted. Quietly, I came to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.
That's when he turned to face me.
And that's when I almost wished he hadn't.
His face was twisted with all the emotions that I had smelled. The sparkle in his eyes had been put out. Tears streaked his face. My eyes widened.
The other Animorphs tell me I have a thing for feelings, that I can tell when and what someone needs. Right now, I knew Harry needed someone there for him. I had no idea what had happened to him.
Acting on impulse, I pulled him into a hug. His arms remained at his sides; his face, turned ahead unseeing. It was as if he couldn't feel me.
I drew back, still clutching his shoulders. "Harry," I said softly, "Harry, what happened?"
He looked into my eyes without really seeing. "It's gone," he whispered. "It's all gone."
"What's gone?" I demanded, shaking him lightly.
"Everything," he said, and closed his eyes.
I dimly registered that my friends had demorphed and stood silently by my side. I could see Ron and Hermione out of the corner of my eye, half-obscured by shadows. However, I forgot about them and focused entirely on Harry.
"What happened, Harry," I said gruffly, "You have to tell me what happened. If you don't, we'll never be able to fix anything."
"They stunned me," he said, voice barely audible, "And brought me to the Anti-Magic Ray."
My insides turned to ice. I knew what he was going to say, knew it, but I sincerely hoped my intuition was wrong.
"Voldemort—he used the Ray on me. It took all my magic, using magic. I felt it being pulled into the Ray. Then… he let me go. He did something to Ron and Hermione. I've lost them. They're gone. Everything is gone."
"We'll get your magic back, Harry. We'll do everything we can. And don't worry about Ron and Hermione. They're right there."
"No. They're not." He said, and retreated back into himself.
Reluctantly, I drew away from him. I needed to see what had happened to Ron and Hermione. And why Harry was telling me they were gone, if they stood before his very eyes.
"Ron, Hermione," I said, walking away from Harry, "I need to know what happened to you two."
"Nothing," Hermione said, her face oddly twisted by a scowl, "And if something had, it would have been his fault. He's the reason we're in this bloody mess."
I backed up a step. That wasn't something Hermione would say. What was going on here?
"Ron?" I asked.
He shrugged. "All I remember is waking up out here. I mean, I don't feel any different."
Standard Ron answer. I turned back to Hermione. "Why are you so mad at him?" I asked.
Hermione's scowl deepened. "Because he's a stuck up snob. He's always bragging about defeating Voldemort. He never gives Ron and I our due credit. After all, we're always the ones that pull him out of the stupid things he gets into. And then, as Ron and I are walking out of the plant, he runs up and kisses me! I mean, talk about rude! He knows that I'm Ron's girlfriend."
If you told me that my jaw had been hitting the floor, I'd have believed you. A few hours ago—at most—Harry and Hermione had been… well… deeply in love. I'd had a front row seat for their first kiss and, believe me, you would have expected fireworks to go off.
All of the things she had said about him were completely wrong. In no way was Harry a snob. He was sweet and kind and humble and I loved him as I would a favorite older brother. He always gave his friends their credit when it was due, even more than they deserved sometimes.
And about Hermione being Ron's girlfriend? That didn't seem quite right. Ron had always respected Harry's relationship with her. The three had been close, as close as we Animorphs were. They couldn't all go King Arthur on us now!
I opened my mouth to say something. Jake held up his hand, silencing me. "Guys, we need to continue this conversation back at the barn. If a Yeerk happens to walk in on us, we won't be looking very good. Morph thestral. We're going home."
I began my morph without hesitation. I glanced over at Harry, who seemed to have done it just by rote. But then I saw that his clothes weren't melting into his morph, as it should have. I guess it was his magic that let him morph clothing.
Harry, demorph, I said kindly. He did so. You need a morphing outfit now. Since you lost your magic, it looks as if you can't morph your clothes anymore. You can ride me, if you want.
By then, I had completed my morph. Slowly, like a ghost, he walked over to me and clambered up on my back. Was it just my imagination, or did he feel extremely light for someone his age? Surely Ron didn't weigh as less!
C'mon, guys, let's go home, Jake said, taking off.
I followed. Harry wrapped his arms around my neck and held on tight. The world whipped by. Everyone was silent for the ride. I don't think anyone wanted to say anything.
When we reached the barn, everyone demorphed. Harry walked emotionlessly into the barn and sat down on a bale of hay, staring in the space inches from his face.
Hermione went as far away from him as possible. Ron wheeled in after her, looked confused, and finally went to join her. The rest of us trooped after, looking at them warily.
Jake eyed Hermione suspiciously. "Hermione, could you please… er… wake Ginny up?" He pointed to the Stunned girl.
Hermione looked over at Ginny and her eyes widened. She yanked her wand from her pocket and pointed it at Ginny, saying, "Ennervate."
Ginny snapped into consciousness. "H-huh? W-where am I? Hermione and Ron were being dragged away! Harry! They took him! They'll kill him!" She shoved herself upright and swung her head around. "HERMIONE! RON! You're all right! HARRY! HARRY! YOU'RE—you're…" She faltered, staring at Harry with wide eyes. "What happened to you?"
He didn't answer her.
"What happened to him?" she demanded.
Jake cleared his throat. "He—um—he… lost his magic."
Ginny's eyes, if possible, went bigger. "Oh, Harry," she whispered. She got up and walked timidly over to him. He didn't acknowledge her presence.
She hesitated, glancing at Hermione, and took his hand. "Harry?"
He jerked and looked up at her.
She carefully wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "It's all right," she told him, "Don't worry. We'll always be here for you."
He closed his eyes. Two tears trickled down his cheeks.
There was a long silence.
"Maybe," Harry began, "Maybe I haven't lost everything."
My face relaxed into a smile. I breathed a sigh of relief. So we hadn't lost Harry. At least, we hadn't yet. I sent a mental thanks out to Ginny for telling him that we'd all be there when he needed us.
I promised myself that I would get Harry's magic back. That I would get Hermione and Ron back for him. That everything will turn out all right.
Voldemort had taken a lot of things from Harry.
But he hadn't taken Harry's ability to hope.
A/N: BLEEARG!!! I'm so sorry! It's been, like, two months! Aaaargh! Darn those midterms!!! Darn that schoolwork! Darn that nonexistent homework!
::cough cough:: Forgive me for taking so long. I mean, it's been so cold I barely got up out of bed. It's warm out now, thought! IT'S ABOVE 0 DEGREES! WAH HOO! Next year, I swear I'll move to Florida if it gets below zero again. People, they cancelled school because it got to cold. It was too cold to snow. (I swear we should have had that snow day anyway!)
So, anywho, stick around for Chapter Eight: Lionhearted (Harry)!!! (which I'll try to put up before February vacation)