Chapter 15
Lilus opened her eyes and looked at her watch. It was six o'clock. No doubt the professors were up. Lilus listened to the silence of the night for a few minutes, lying there and staring at the ceiling. She listened to her breath. She listened to her heartbeat. She closed her eyes and opened them again, sliding out of bed in her usual pajamas. Her teddy bear fell onto the floor. She stopped on the spot and stared at it, before reaching down and grabbing its small arm. Still too early, but she did not wish to go back to sleep again. Jason was probably awake, though. She slowly walked across the room, taking the handle in her hand. She turned it quietly, gaining a small squeak from it. The door opened without hesitation, and she slowly walked down the stairs, her bare feet patting against the stone staircase.
Jason was on the couch, his nose in a book. He had turned into quite the little bookworm lately. He glanced up at her, then to the teddy bear in her hands. He smiled at her and patted the couch next to him.
"You're up early," he said, putting his bookmark in his book and putting it on the table. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just restless."
He looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You're lying, and you said you would tell me why you were out late last night."
She smiled awkwardly. "Well, I'm not allowed to come to class with you guys for a while."
Jason's shocked and frustrated face was very clear. "What?!"
"Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall think I'm a danger to the students, and they want to keep me away until the panic has died down," she said, sitting next to him.
"Lilus, that's bullshit," he growled. "That's so total bullshit it's making me sick."
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's what I said. They didn't let up, though. They acted like they were scared of me."
They must have known about her being possessed. That would be the only logical reason that they would fear her for anything. They must know what Snid had told her last night. Someway or another, they knew.
"Scared of you? Just for transforming into a dragon to save your life?!"
Jason was not yelling, but he was coming just under talking normally. Lilus sighed irritatingly and leaned on the arm of the sofa.
"It's not fair," she growled. "I go to Professor McGonagall's office this morning. I do something until night, and then I receive my classes somewhere."
Justin snorted. "This is so rediculous."
"I don't know how long they're going to keep me in this kind of schedule, but I hope it isn't long. I'm tired of all the bad things that keep happening!"
The American nodded. "I know. We'll get through this, okay?"
Lilus drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, sighing. "Thanks, Jason."
He smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Now what kept you last night?"
She turned her head and looked at him. His expression was highly curious, but when was he not highly curious? His eyes were the royal blue that they had always been, but behind them, there was a deep fear. The shadows that were cast over his face by the firelight made him look even more curious than he already was.
"Met someone at the Astronomy Tower," she said.
Jason's eyes got really big. "Whhhhhaaaaaatttt?!"
"Not like that. Nothing happened."
Most of the students used the Astronomy Tower to have sex or do other stuff similar to that. She knew that, and she saw Jason think about what could have happened before she corrected him.
"What did happen then?" he said, crossing his arms.
"I met with Snid, and we talked."
"Snid, that Ravenclaw I've never seen before?"
She nodded.
"What did you talk about with him?"
"My Animagi. He thought that was really cool. Oh, you need to teach me how to fly."
He laughed. "Flying's easy. You were just flying...well...down. If you find yourself in that situation, fold your wings as close to your body as you can, then turn over. The way you were trying to do it was totally wrong. It's like rolling over in the water with two barrels on either side of you, right?"
"Right. So...show me how to fold my wings."
She stood up and imagined her hands turning into wings. Fingers elongated. Webbing between her fingers. Jason watched her intently.
"That's weird."
"What?" she asked.
"Your arms just transformed. When an Animagus transforms, it's usually their entire body, not just one or two parts," he said, standing up and coming over to her side.
"Well, I guess that's a good thing now. I don't think all of me would fit in here," she said, looking around at their spacious, yet still-too-small-for-a-dragon Common Room.
She stretched her wings for him, and he grabbed what would have been her pointer finger and pushed it in towards the others before stretching it out again. He inspected it carefully and then snapped his fingers.
"Okay. Stand on the table and do this," he ordered.
He drew his arms up to his chest and pushed his fists down. He looked like someone did when they were trying to make a puppy begging image or a rabbit. His arms were folded like a Praying Mantis. She climbed onto the table and folded her wings like he had his arms, finding it not very difficult at all.
"That's how you fold your wings. And move them very slowly when you're like that, okay? Your wings are very big, and if you put any force behind moving them, you'll cause a gust and blow me over," he said, laughing.
"So, I just flap my wings?"
"Basically. When you first start out, it's really clumsey, and you might lose balance a few times. When you get the feel for how you should beat your wings, then it's really smooth. Understand?"
"Yeah," she said, turning her arms back into her hands.
"Oh my god, Lilus! Your hand!"
Nervously, she glanced at her left hand, the hand that had been bandaged yesterday. From her wrist up, her hand was covered in black scales on the outside and around her fingers. Her palm was covered with plates, as were the folding joints of her fingers. Jason came forward and took her dragon hand into his. Her fingernails had become long, sharp, and black.
"I guess we didn't brew the potion right," he said sadly. "I'm sorry..."
She ran her fingers against the flow of her scales, finding that it pulled at her black skin underneath. "If this is the worst problem, It's not going to be too hard to live with. I don't think so anyway."
"Well, at least you have an idea about flying. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it, but I think if you practice, you should just transform your arms. A large dragon flying around outside of Hogwarts looks a little too...yeah...strange.."
"When can we go flying?"
"I dunno. Maybe tomorrow night or something. I'll be in here when you get back from classes or whatever. We can go flying then if you aren't too tired," he said, plopping down on the couch.
"Okay," she said. "Thanks for the advice, Talon. I have to go get ready if I'm to get to McGonagall's office before anyone sees me."
He smiled and nodded. "Good luck. Make sure Frenchy doesn't get you. You want me to come with you?"
"Nah, I'll be okay," she said, turning to go upstairs. "See you later, Jason."
"See you later. And tell this Snid guy that I want to meet him, okay? You know, just to do the "if you're gonna date my best friend then you better meet the requirements" scan. Just in case he ever does want to date you. That way I can tell Justin and the boys if he's okay material or if he should be stalked."
She laughed. "Yeah, sure."
***********************
"Professor McGonagall, I..kinda have a problem," she called to the empty room. "Professor McGonagall?"
"She is absent at the moment, child. She had an urgent situation with the Ministry," Albus said, coming out of the shadows.
"Oh, Mr. Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore, um...my hand..."
She held her hand up, flexing the black scales in front of Dumbledore's astonished eyes.
"Child, what has happened?"
Albus came forward and took her lizard hand in his, inspecting it carefully. He brushed his fingertips over the scales, and she drew her hand back.
"Jason was trying to teach me how to fly, and when I transformed back again, my hand...didn't."
"Yes, we had that problem yesterday, didn't we? Well, Lilus, sit down for a moment. Minerva is due back shortly," he said, taking a seat in a comfy looking chair by the fireplace.
Lilus picked a wooden chair along the wall and sat in it, dropping her school bag on the floor next to it. She looked around McGonagall's office. It was decorated very neatly with rows of books lining the walls.
"What do you search for, child? What do you want right now in this very instant of life?"
She raised her head and looked at him. That was an odd question. Should she answer it truthfully or lie? He would probably know if it was a lie.
"That depends, sir," she said, locking eyes with the old man.
"Depends on what, Lilus?"
"Normally, I would have wanted a different color on my eyes, but now, all I want is that Death Eater dead."
Dumbledore seemed taken back but not at all surprised at her answer. "Aurors are searching for him even as we speak. He will be sent to Azkaban for the..."
"I don't want him to go to Azkaban. I want him dead," she growled. "I don't want him alive."
"I can understand that, but there are worse things than death at Azkaban."
She just stared at him. He stared back at her, his withered, pale face questioning and caring.
"Why...do I have red eyes?" she asked after a time.
"That, my dear, is one of the mysteries of the wizarding world," he said casually.
That went well. Some answer.
"Please, don't take me away from my friends," she begged. "Please don't. I won't hurt anyone. I promise. Professor Dumbledore, you know my father. You know Remy..."
Albus nodded his head slightly. "I know that you would not harm anyone, but the students are afraid of what they do not understand."
Lilus sat in the office and waited for a long time, waiting for Professor McGonagall. The old man across from her said nothing to her, and she said nothing to him. They just stared at each other, trying to figure out what the other was hiding behind his or her eyes.
"Albus?" finally said the voice of the headmistress.
"Yes, Minerva, I am here. Ms. Potter is here as well," he said, not moving his eyes from Lilus.
Lilus averted her gaze to Professor McGonagall who entered the room panting like she had just ran the entire way. The old woman turned to her, acknowledged her presence, and sat down behind her desk. She fumbled with the contents of her bag for a little while, then put it away, and folded her hands neatly in front of her.
"Ms. Potter, you have been registered as an Animagus at the Ministry of Magic. During the day, you will study and do assignments from the previous night. During the night, you will take your classes. You shall stay in the Room of Requirement because we have had some complaints from the witches that you room with."
"What about my friends?"
"They shall visit you in your residence."
"Can I visit them?" Lilus asked, focusing her demented stare at Professor McGonagall.
"No, dear. We cannot risk you frightening your classmates..."
Albus, for once, stood up for her. "Minerva, dear, perhaps if Ms. Potter uses an Invisibility Cloak?"
Minerva looked at Albus with questioning eyes. "Does Ms. Potter possess one?"
"Yes, and Ms. Potter uses it and knows how to avoid people while using it," Lilus piped up, grinning.
"Ms. Potter, if you use that tongue of yours against me, you will not see your friends at all until the fear leaves," Minerva said.
"Sorry, Professor. Never again."
"As I was saying, if she can use it properly and not raise suspicion among the students, then yes, she will be allowed to visit her classmates," Minerva said, nodding her head softly.
Lilus jumped up and squealed happily.
"Ms. Potter! What in God's name happened to your hand!"
Lilus stopped cheering and hid her hand beneathe her robes. "Uh...flying lesson?"
"You transformed?!" Minerva screeched. "Where?!"
Lilus trembled. God, that woman scared her.
"Th...this morning. With Jason. He was teaching me how to fly. No one else was around. I didn't break anything. I swear! I can even show you what I did!"
Lilus transformed one arm this time and folded it just like Jason had taught her. Minerva looked at Albus with eyes as big as dinner plates.
"Only one part? Lilus?"
Lilus nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, Jason said that we might not have brewed the potion right, but the worst thing that has happened is my hand," she said, transforming her wing back into an arm.
"Well," Minerva said right before a long pause. "You can visit your friends, just avoid staying out after curfew other than your classes and do not get caught."
"Yes! Absolutely! Totally understood, Professor McGonagall." She smiled and sat down in the chair again. "So what now?"
Minerva stood up. "Well, your luggage shall be delivered to the Room of Requirement, and you shall study or find some way to entertain yourself. You shall eat breakfast in there. If you wish to go to the library, you may do so with use of your Invisibility Cloak."
"Yes, maim," Lilus said.
"You may go. And please try to keep out of sight."
Boy, that woman could make her feel special. She said her goodbyes to Albus and Minerva and went on her way. Thank God everyone was in the Great Hall. The Room of Requirement. Well, at least she could make her room look like the one at home. Maybe that would make her sleep better at night. Maybe. If she surrounded herself with her parents. Maybe.
As she opened the hidden door, she saw her trunk there. She closed her eyes. Home. Make it like home. Make it home. She opened her eyes, and the cold, dark, bare room had transformed. A fireplace was at the far corner. It was their livingroom. Pictures lined the wall. Picture of her past. Picture of her family. The soft, blue carpet. The red loveseat, the gold chair. Her bed was across from the fireplace along the wall, and there was her nightstand with her lamp on it, and the plastic gold Snitch. Her teddy bear was on her bed, the one that Snid gave to her. There was her dresser close to her bed, and torches lined the walls. Her trunk was at the foot of her bed, waiting to be unpacked.
It wasn't home, but it was close to it.
She walked over to her bed and dropped her bag on it, sitting down. She picked up her teddy bear and hugged it tightly, falling sideways on the bed. She drew her feet up and just lied there for a few minutes. Homework. She didn't have any homework that needed to be done. She was a responsible kid, no matter who said otherwise. As for what she said to Dumbledore about not hurting anyone, well, she only hurt people who hurt her or her friends.
She would protect her friends and what was left of her family. When the Dark Lord was resurrected, she'd take him out before he even knew what happened.
****************************
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
'You must understand, child.'
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"
The voice would not cease now. It spoke to Lilus during her waking hours and her sleeping hours. It was always awake, even when she was not. Two days had passed, but she could not force the door open. She didn't understand why the teachers would betray her. Why? Professor McGonagall had agreed to let her roam about. She had not even been taking her classes. Surely Remy would wonder, since he had been alerted of her class hours. Or had he? What was going on?
Two days imprisonment had turned her into something new. Something was drilling out of her skull, and it was allowing this voice to become free. Something more like a dragon than herself. Something that wanted to destroy her. What was she becoming? What would she become if she was destroyed from the inside out?
What was trying to take her over?
Perhaps she was a threat to her friends and the others. She was driven by a blind fury, a beast inside her that couldn't see or feel pain. Sightless for one day in her rampage was too hard to deal with.
Everything was red.
All she could see was red. There were no outlines of objects. Just red.
And the burning pain.
She had only just been aware that she had injured herself, perhaps a few hours earlier.
And it was not a simple pain. Had the beast not resided inside her, she would have bled to death, but the raw instinct that the beast had was incredible, but even it had been weakened in the rampage.
And for the first time in twenty-four hours, objects were coming into focus.
Lying on the cold stone floor, Lilus knew that rising was impossible at the moment. There was just not enough strength left inside of her.
'Let me help you.'
"Leave...me..."
Her command was weak, but it came from the beast.
And she passed once again into a familiar darkness.
She did not expect help to come for her. It had abandoned her. Where were the teachers that she thought would protect her?
Not close by.
No doubt her friends knew something was wrong, but they did not know where she was, nor could they probably get through the locked door. She was trapped, and the best inside her did not like that. Not at all.
'Let me help you.'
"Leave me here to die."
'I cannot let you die.'
"I want to die."
'Then why don't you?'
"Because she won't let me."
'Who?'
"Blackwing."
'The Dragon?'
"LEAVE ME!"
She hated the voice, and she wasn't sure who it belonged to. She had given up on listening to it, but then again, it had been the only intelligent contact that she had. It was beginning to get extremely cold, and Lilus managed to crawl over to her bed and yank the blankets down around her. They were cold, but they would warm up soon enough. She stood up and remained for a few minutes just to see if she could stand. Her legs were shakey but she could stand.
She had to find Remus. She had to find her godfather.
The blankets dropped to the floor, and Lilus stood silent with her legs trembling. She had to call the beast. The dark creature that lay dormant within her had to come out.
"Free me."
Silence. Standing was becoming harder and harder by the second.
"Free us. Get us out of here!"
Then, she fell to her knees. The pain disappeared and the strength returned. The blood returned. She lunched at the outside wall, ripping at it with her left hand. The right hand followed, turning into the black-scaled twin of the other. The stone gave way to her dragonclaws, leaving in small crumbs every time she hit the stone. Only time.
**********************************************
Midnight.
Jason slid into his room and opened his nightstand and pulled out Lilus' Invisibility Cloak. He hoped that she wouldn't mind that he stole it. He would return it. After his little escapade tonight.The boys were sleeping, no doubt, but he didn't want to wake them, even though they would be glad to join him in his adventure. Dropping the cloak on his old bed, he slid his feet into his boots and laced them quickly, then as quietly as possible, he left the tower. Lilus had been missing for two days, and even Remus didn't know where she was. The other teachers said that he had asked either denied anything was wrong or didn't know. Well, it was his turn to do a little investigating. The hallways were empty. Mrs. Norris was doing her usual route, but all of her kittens had gone to sleep probably an hour earlier. He evaded her rather easily, but then he came across something else.
Alex.
Alex was leaning against the wall, and he had a devilish grin on his face. His hair was styled in the usual fashion, and he was dressed in his robes with an Invisibility cloak thrown over his arm.
"Greetings, Mudblood," he sneered as Jason took off his cloak. "For a moment, I thought that you were that bloody girl."
"Well, asshole, I'm not," Jason spat, cracking his knuckles.
Frenchy scoffed. "What are you going to do? Beat me up like a Muggle?"
Jason grinned. "Why, was that your plan?"
"Actually..."
"Alexander!"
Jason saw Raphael rush out of the darkness and to Frenchy's side. Malfoy whispered something into his ear and Frenchy smacked him.
"You fool! Leave!"
"But, Alex! Professor Snape is coming!"
Jason threw on his cloak and ran past the two boys. He heard Frenchy call him back, but he didn't care. Frenchy was Frenchy. Remus' office was just around the corner. Running full speed, Jason suddenly came in contact with something red. The force knocked them both down, and the Invisibility Cloak flew off.
"...Jason?"
The American opened his eyes and looked at the blood smeared body across the hall. He grabbed the cloak and stared.
"Oh my fucking god... Lilus, what happened?"
Her shiny black hair was caked with dried blood, and her beautiful skin was almost entirely red. There were gashes over her stomach and arms, and a really deep one on her stomach. Blood was still flowing from the wounds, and the first thing that Jason thought was that he was looking at a ghost. Her clothes were ripped in many different places, and some places were more exposed than others, especially across her chest. Her arms were crossed tightly over her body, and she was shaking. Jason practically tore his shirt off and handed it to her, closing his eyes as she put it on.
"What the hell happened to you?"
She shivered and looked at him fearfully. "...I...leave now! Run away so I don't hurt you."
"You won't hurt me."
Jason scooped her off the floor and kicked the door open to Remy's office. It came open very easily.Once inside, he put her in a chair and closed the door. Lilus suddenly sat straight up with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"The door just locked," she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Jason asked. "Remy will unlock it."
"Oh my god. I am such an id..idiot. Jason we have to get out of here. I can't rip the door apart. I'm not strong enough..."
Jason's eyes got really wide. "Full moon."
"Jason, be quiet."
"Lilus, the cage room is open."
"Jason!" she squeaked.
Lilus tried to get up, but she collapsed on the floor in front of the chair. Jason dove down next to her and covered them with the cloak.
"Lilus, he's standing at the door..."
Lilus opened her eyes and looked at her watch. It was six o'clock. No doubt the professors were up. Lilus listened to the silence of the night for a few minutes, lying there and staring at the ceiling. She listened to her breath. She listened to her heartbeat. She closed her eyes and opened them again, sliding out of bed in her usual pajamas. Her teddy bear fell onto the floor. She stopped on the spot and stared at it, before reaching down and grabbing its small arm. Still too early, but she did not wish to go back to sleep again. Jason was probably awake, though. She slowly walked across the room, taking the handle in her hand. She turned it quietly, gaining a small squeak from it. The door opened without hesitation, and she slowly walked down the stairs, her bare feet patting against the stone staircase.
Jason was on the couch, his nose in a book. He had turned into quite the little bookworm lately. He glanced up at her, then to the teddy bear in her hands. He smiled at her and patted the couch next to him.
"You're up early," he said, putting his bookmark in his book and putting it on the table. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just restless."
He looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You're lying, and you said you would tell me why you were out late last night."
She smiled awkwardly. "Well, I'm not allowed to come to class with you guys for a while."
Jason's shocked and frustrated face was very clear. "What?!"
"Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall think I'm a danger to the students, and they want to keep me away until the panic has died down," she said, sitting next to him.
"Lilus, that's bullshit," he growled. "That's so total bullshit it's making me sick."
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's what I said. They didn't let up, though. They acted like they were scared of me."
They must have known about her being possessed. That would be the only logical reason that they would fear her for anything. They must know what Snid had told her last night. Someway or another, they knew.
"Scared of you? Just for transforming into a dragon to save your life?!"
Jason was not yelling, but he was coming just under talking normally. Lilus sighed irritatingly and leaned on the arm of the sofa.
"It's not fair," she growled. "I go to Professor McGonagall's office this morning. I do something until night, and then I receive my classes somewhere."
Justin snorted. "This is so rediculous."
"I don't know how long they're going to keep me in this kind of schedule, but I hope it isn't long. I'm tired of all the bad things that keep happening!"
The American nodded. "I know. We'll get through this, okay?"
Lilus drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, sighing. "Thanks, Jason."
He smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Now what kept you last night?"
She turned her head and looked at him. His expression was highly curious, but when was he not highly curious? His eyes were the royal blue that they had always been, but behind them, there was a deep fear. The shadows that were cast over his face by the firelight made him look even more curious than he already was.
"Met someone at the Astronomy Tower," she said.
Jason's eyes got really big. "Whhhhhaaaaaatttt?!"
"Not like that. Nothing happened."
Most of the students used the Astronomy Tower to have sex or do other stuff similar to that. She knew that, and she saw Jason think about what could have happened before she corrected him.
"What did happen then?" he said, crossing his arms.
"I met with Snid, and we talked."
"Snid, that Ravenclaw I've never seen before?"
She nodded.
"What did you talk about with him?"
"My Animagi. He thought that was really cool. Oh, you need to teach me how to fly."
He laughed. "Flying's easy. You were just flying...well...down. If you find yourself in that situation, fold your wings as close to your body as you can, then turn over. The way you were trying to do it was totally wrong. It's like rolling over in the water with two barrels on either side of you, right?"
"Right. So...show me how to fold my wings."
She stood up and imagined her hands turning into wings. Fingers elongated. Webbing between her fingers. Jason watched her intently.
"That's weird."
"What?" she asked.
"Your arms just transformed. When an Animagus transforms, it's usually their entire body, not just one or two parts," he said, standing up and coming over to her side.
"Well, I guess that's a good thing now. I don't think all of me would fit in here," she said, looking around at their spacious, yet still-too-small-for-a-dragon Common Room.
She stretched her wings for him, and he grabbed what would have been her pointer finger and pushed it in towards the others before stretching it out again. He inspected it carefully and then snapped his fingers.
"Okay. Stand on the table and do this," he ordered.
He drew his arms up to his chest and pushed his fists down. He looked like someone did when they were trying to make a puppy begging image or a rabbit. His arms were folded like a Praying Mantis. She climbed onto the table and folded her wings like he had his arms, finding it not very difficult at all.
"That's how you fold your wings. And move them very slowly when you're like that, okay? Your wings are very big, and if you put any force behind moving them, you'll cause a gust and blow me over," he said, laughing.
"So, I just flap my wings?"
"Basically. When you first start out, it's really clumsey, and you might lose balance a few times. When you get the feel for how you should beat your wings, then it's really smooth. Understand?"
"Yeah," she said, turning her arms back into her hands.
"Oh my god, Lilus! Your hand!"
Nervously, she glanced at her left hand, the hand that had been bandaged yesterday. From her wrist up, her hand was covered in black scales on the outside and around her fingers. Her palm was covered with plates, as were the folding joints of her fingers. Jason came forward and took her dragon hand into his. Her fingernails had become long, sharp, and black.
"I guess we didn't brew the potion right," he said sadly. "I'm sorry..."
She ran her fingers against the flow of her scales, finding that it pulled at her black skin underneath. "If this is the worst problem, It's not going to be too hard to live with. I don't think so anyway."
"Well, at least you have an idea about flying. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it, but I think if you practice, you should just transform your arms. A large dragon flying around outside of Hogwarts looks a little too...yeah...strange.."
"When can we go flying?"
"I dunno. Maybe tomorrow night or something. I'll be in here when you get back from classes or whatever. We can go flying then if you aren't too tired," he said, plopping down on the couch.
"Okay," she said. "Thanks for the advice, Talon. I have to go get ready if I'm to get to McGonagall's office before anyone sees me."
He smiled and nodded. "Good luck. Make sure Frenchy doesn't get you. You want me to come with you?"
"Nah, I'll be okay," she said, turning to go upstairs. "See you later, Jason."
"See you later. And tell this Snid guy that I want to meet him, okay? You know, just to do the "if you're gonna date my best friend then you better meet the requirements" scan. Just in case he ever does want to date you. That way I can tell Justin and the boys if he's okay material or if he should be stalked."
She laughed. "Yeah, sure."
***********************
"Professor McGonagall, I..kinda have a problem," she called to the empty room. "Professor McGonagall?"
"She is absent at the moment, child. She had an urgent situation with the Ministry," Albus said, coming out of the shadows.
"Oh, Mr. Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore, um...my hand..."
She held her hand up, flexing the black scales in front of Dumbledore's astonished eyes.
"Child, what has happened?"
Albus came forward and took her lizard hand in his, inspecting it carefully. He brushed his fingertips over the scales, and she drew her hand back.
"Jason was trying to teach me how to fly, and when I transformed back again, my hand...didn't."
"Yes, we had that problem yesterday, didn't we? Well, Lilus, sit down for a moment. Minerva is due back shortly," he said, taking a seat in a comfy looking chair by the fireplace.
Lilus picked a wooden chair along the wall and sat in it, dropping her school bag on the floor next to it. She looked around McGonagall's office. It was decorated very neatly with rows of books lining the walls.
"What do you search for, child? What do you want right now in this very instant of life?"
She raised her head and looked at him. That was an odd question. Should she answer it truthfully or lie? He would probably know if it was a lie.
"That depends, sir," she said, locking eyes with the old man.
"Depends on what, Lilus?"
"Normally, I would have wanted a different color on my eyes, but now, all I want is that Death Eater dead."
Dumbledore seemed taken back but not at all surprised at her answer. "Aurors are searching for him even as we speak. He will be sent to Azkaban for the..."
"I don't want him to go to Azkaban. I want him dead," she growled. "I don't want him alive."
"I can understand that, but there are worse things than death at Azkaban."
She just stared at him. He stared back at her, his withered, pale face questioning and caring.
"Why...do I have red eyes?" she asked after a time.
"That, my dear, is one of the mysteries of the wizarding world," he said casually.
That went well. Some answer.
"Please, don't take me away from my friends," she begged. "Please don't. I won't hurt anyone. I promise. Professor Dumbledore, you know my father. You know Remy..."
Albus nodded his head slightly. "I know that you would not harm anyone, but the students are afraid of what they do not understand."
Lilus sat in the office and waited for a long time, waiting for Professor McGonagall. The old man across from her said nothing to her, and she said nothing to him. They just stared at each other, trying to figure out what the other was hiding behind his or her eyes.
"Albus?" finally said the voice of the headmistress.
"Yes, Minerva, I am here. Ms. Potter is here as well," he said, not moving his eyes from Lilus.
Lilus averted her gaze to Professor McGonagall who entered the room panting like she had just ran the entire way. The old woman turned to her, acknowledged her presence, and sat down behind her desk. She fumbled with the contents of her bag for a little while, then put it away, and folded her hands neatly in front of her.
"Ms. Potter, you have been registered as an Animagus at the Ministry of Magic. During the day, you will study and do assignments from the previous night. During the night, you will take your classes. You shall stay in the Room of Requirement because we have had some complaints from the witches that you room with."
"What about my friends?"
"They shall visit you in your residence."
"Can I visit them?" Lilus asked, focusing her demented stare at Professor McGonagall.
"No, dear. We cannot risk you frightening your classmates..."
Albus, for once, stood up for her. "Minerva, dear, perhaps if Ms. Potter uses an Invisibility Cloak?"
Minerva looked at Albus with questioning eyes. "Does Ms. Potter possess one?"
"Yes, and Ms. Potter uses it and knows how to avoid people while using it," Lilus piped up, grinning.
"Ms. Potter, if you use that tongue of yours against me, you will not see your friends at all until the fear leaves," Minerva said.
"Sorry, Professor. Never again."
"As I was saying, if she can use it properly and not raise suspicion among the students, then yes, she will be allowed to visit her classmates," Minerva said, nodding her head softly.
Lilus jumped up and squealed happily.
"Ms. Potter! What in God's name happened to your hand!"
Lilus stopped cheering and hid her hand beneathe her robes. "Uh...flying lesson?"
"You transformed?!" Minerva screeched. "Where?!"
Lilus trembled. God, that woman scared her.
"Th...this morning. With Jason. He was teaching me how to fly. No one else was around. I didn't break anything. I swear! I can even show you what I did!"
Lilus transformed one arm this time and folded it just like Jason had taught her. Minerva looked at Albus with eyes as big as dinner plates.
"Only one part? Lilus?"
Lilus nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, Jason said that we might not have brewed the potion right, but the worst thing that has happened is my hand," she said, transforming her wing back into an arm.
"Well," Minerva said right before a long pause. "You can visit your friends, just avoid staying out after curfew other than your classes and do not get caught."
"Yes! Absolutely! Totally understood, Professor McGonagall." She smiled and sat down in the chair again. "So what now?"
Minerva stood up. "Well, your luggage shall be delivered to the Room of Requirement, and you shall study or find some way to entertain yourself. You shall eat breakfast in there. If you wish to go to the library, you may do so with use of your Invisibility Cloak."
"Yes, maim," Lilus said.
"You may go. And please try to keep out of sight."
Boy, that woman could make her feel special. She said her goodbyes to Albus and Minerva and went on her way. Thank God everyone was in the Great Hall. The Room of Requirement. Well, at least she could make her room look like the one at home. Maybe that would make her sleep better at night. Maybe. If she surrounded herself with her parents. Maybe.
As she opened the hidden door, she saw her trunk there. She closed her eyes. Home. Make it like home. Make it home. She opened her eyes, and the cold, dark, bare room had transformed. A fireplace was at the far corner. It was their livingroom. Pictures lined the wall. Picture of her past. Picture of her family. The soft, blue carpet. The red loveseat, the gold chair. Her bed was across from the fireplace along the wall, and there was her nightstand with her lamp on it, and the plastic gold Snitch. Her teddy bear was on her bed, the one that Snid gave to her. There was her dresser close to her bed, and torches lined the walls. Her trunk was at the foot of her bed, waiting to be unpacked.
It wasn't home, but it was close to it.
She walked over to her bed and dropped her bag on it, sitting down. She picked up her teddy bear and hugged it tightly, falling sideways on the bed. She drew her feet up and just lied there for a few minutes. Homework. She didn't have any homework that needed to be done. She was a responsible kid, no matter who said otherwise. As for what she said to Dumbledore about not hurting anyone, well, she only hurt people who hurt her or her friends.
She would protect her friends and what was left of her family. When the Dark Lord was resurrected, she'd take him out before he even knew what happened.
****************************
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
'You must understand, child.'
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"
The voice would not cease now. It spoke to Lilus during her waking hours and her sleeping hours. It was always awake, even when she was not. Two days had passed, but she could not force the door open. She didn't understand why the teachers would betray her. Why? Professor McGonagall had agreed to let her roam about. She had not even been taking her classes. Surely Remy would wonder, since he had been alerted of her class hours. Or had he? What was going on?
Two days imprisonment had turned her into something new. Something was drilling out of her skull, and it was allowing this voice to become free. Something more like a dragon than herself. Something that wanted to destroy her. What was she becoming? What would she become if she was destroyed from the inside out?
What was trying to take her over?
Perhaps she was a threat to her friends and the others. She was driven by a blind fury, a beast inside her that couldn't see or feel pain. Sightless for one day in her rampage was too hard to deal with.
Everything was red.
All she could see was red. There were no outlines of objects. Just red.
And the burning pain.
She had only just been aware that she had injured herself, perhaps a few hours earlier.
And it was not a simple pain. Had the beast not resided inside her, she would have bled to death, but the raw instinct that the beast had was incredible, but even it had been weakened in the rampage.
And for the first time in twenty-four hours, objects were coming into focus.
Lying on the cold stone floor, Lilus knew that rising was impossible at the moment. There was just not enough strength left inside of her.
'Let me help you.'
"Leave...me..."
Her command was weak, but it came from the beast.
And she passed once again into a familiar darkness.
She did not expect help to come for her. It had abandoned her. Where were the teachers that she thought would protect her?
Not close by.
No doubt her friends knew something was wrong, but they did not know where she was, nor could they probably get through the locked door. She was trapped, and the best inside her did not like that. Not at all.
'Let me help you.'
"Leave me here to die."
'I cannot let you die.'
"I want to die."
'Then why don't you?'
"Because she won't let me."
'Who?'
"Blackwing."
'The Dragon?'
"LEAVE ME!"
She hated the voice, and she wasn't sure who it belonged to. She had given up on listening to it, but then again, it had been the only intelligent contact that she had. It was beginning to get extremely cold, and Lilus managed to crawl over to her bed and yank the blankets down around her. They were cold, but they would warm up soon enough. She stood up and remained for a few minutes just to see if she could stand. Her legs were shakey but she could stand.
She had to find Remus. She had to find her godfather.
The blankets dropped to the floor, and Lilus stood silent with her legs trembling. She had to call the beast. The dark creature that lay dormant within her had to come out.
"Free me."
Silence. Standing was becoming harder and harder by the second.
"Free us. Get us out of here!"
Then, she fell to her knees. The pain disappeared and the strength returned. The blood returned. She lunched at the outside wall, ripping at it with her left hand. The right hand followed, turning into the black-scaled twin of the other. The stone gave way to her dragonclaws, leaving in small crumbs every time she hit the stone. Only time.
**********************************************
Midnight.
Jason slid into his room and opened his nightstand and pulled out Lilus' Invisibility Cloak. He hoped that she wouldn't mind that he stole it. He would return it. After his little escapade tonight.The boys were sleeping, no doubt, but he didn't want to wake them, even though they would be glad to join him in his adventure. Dropping the cloak on his old bed, he slid his feet into his boots and laced them quickly, then as quietly as possible, he left the tower. Lilus had been missing for two days, and even Remus didn't know where she was. The other teachers said that he had asked either denied anything was wrong or didn't know. Well, it was his turn to do a little investigating. The hallways were empty. Mrs. Norris was doing her usual route, but all of her kittens had gone to sleep probably an hour earlier. He evaded her rather easily, but then he came across something else.
Alex.
Alex was leaning against the wall, and he had a devilish grin on his face. His hair was styled in the usual fashion, and he was dressed in his robes with an Invisibility cloak thrown over his arm.
"Greetings, Mudblood," he sneered as Jason took off his cloak. "For a moment, I thought that you were that bloody girl."
"Well, asshole, I'm not," Jason spat, cracking his knuckles.
Frenchy scoffed. "What are you going to do? Beat me up like a Muggle?"
Jason grinned. "Why, was that your plan?"
"Actually..."
"Alexander!"
Jason saw Raphael rush out of the darkness and to Frenchy's side. Malfoy whispered something into his ear and Frenchy smacked him.
"You fool! Leave!"
"But, Alex! Professor Snape is coming!"
Jason threw on his cloak and ran past the two boys. He heard Frenchy call him back, but he didn't care. Frenchy was Frenchy. Remus' office was just around the corner. Running full speed, Jason suddenly came in contact with something red. The force knocked them both down, and the Invisibility Cloak flew off.
"...Jason?"
The American opened his eyes and looked at the blood smeared body across the hall. He grabbed the cloak and stared.
"Oh my fucking god... Lilus, what happened?"
Her shiny black hair was caked with dried blood, and her beautiful skin was almost entirely red. There were gashes over her stomach and arms, and a really deep one on her stomach. Blood was still flowing from the wounds, and the first thing that Jason thought was that he was looking at a ghost. Her clothes were ripped in many different places, and some places were more exposed than others, especially across her chest. Her arms were crossed tightly over her body, and she was shaking. Jason practically tore his shirt off and handed it to her, closing his eyes as she put it on.
"What the hell happened to you?"
She shivered and looked at him fearfully. "...I...leave now! Run away so I don't hurt you."
"You won't hurt me."
Jason scooped her off the floor and kicked the door open to Remy's office. It came open very easily.Once inside, he put her in a chair and closed the door. Lilus suddenly sat straight up with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"The door just locked," she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Jason asked. "Remy will unlock it."
"Oh my god. I am such an id..idiot. Jason we have to get out of here. I can't rip the door apart. I'm not strong enough..."
Jason's eyes got really wide. "Full moon."
"Jason, be quiet."
"Lilus, the cage room is open."
"Jason!" she squeaked.
Lilus tried to get up, but she collapsed on the floor in front of the chair. Jason dove down next to her and covered them with the cloak.
"Lilus, he's standing at the door..."