The boy caressed his skin and placed his hand to eye range. A very dark, deep crimson fluid was dripping from it. Dirt was staining his hands, and under his nails, mixing with the liquid. His mouth tasted like steel, a sour, metallic strength was filling his throat and tongue. The youth paled with fear, and screamed loudly, kicking the blankets and quilt away. Blood. His whole body was stained in blood.
Yelling like a madman, the boy leapt out of his bed, tripping with the knot of his bed clothes, and collapsing hard on the wooden floor. Not loosing a second, the boy stood up and trotted towards the bathroom, leaping over trunks and avoiding clothes that laid sprawled on the ground.
"Ron?" Harry's sleepy voice inquired as the boy slammed the bathroom's door strongly.
The boy ignored his friend as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His hair, face, were stained in blood, his hair plastered to his forehead, redder than always. His body was also dirty with blood, but more accused were the stains of dirt, almost as if he had rolled over the quidditch field's ground last night. Ron gasped and began washing his mouth with water, only to get rid of the metallic taste of the blood.
Harry stood up from his bed and walked towards the bathroom. The rest of the people were beginning to wake up as well, alerted by Ron's yells.
"Ron?" Harry began slamming his fist on the locked door, "Ron, are you ok?" Harry began bellowing severely.
No response. Only the warning yell of Neville, calling for him. Harry left the door hesitantly and walked towards where Neville, chorused by Dean and Seasmus, where pleading his presence. Harry made his way towards the room and saw the three glancing at him darkly, then retreating tremulously from the red head's bed. The Boy Who Lived made his way towards the bed and looked inside. Immediately, he gasped and took a leap back. Blood was all over the white blankets, fresh blood, and the crimson fluid covered the maroon quilt and the curtains.
"Oh, Merlin!" Gasped Harry frightfully, "Call Hermione, Neville!" the youth said as he began running towards the bathroom, once again.
Neville obeyed while Harry proceeded to slam his fist strongly against the door, threatening to throw the door down. The sound of water reached his ears, and a gentle whimpering sound flowed into the atmosphere, fear making it vibrate strongly. Dean and Seasmus were standing at a good distance from the door.
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Neville walked down towards the Common Room. He was in his pyjamas, and people sniggered at him, but he was too used to people disgracing him, as to care much about them. Hermione was memorizing a book, reading each word in her mind, murmuring to herself and whispering at a candle to get a perfect pronunciation.
"Hermione!" Neville leapt down the stairs, leaned towards her ear and whispered the events into her privacy.
The woman stood up alarmed and made her way towards the boy's dormitory. People stopped snickering, murmuring or whispering, upon seeing the urgency in the two student's faces. Now they understood why someone would dare to come down in pyjamas, and those who laughed knew they would do it too.
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"Let me, Harry!" Hermione pushed him aside, storming into the room with authority.
The girl pulled out her wand and pointed at the door, "Alohomora" she bellowed at the lock. Red sparks illuminated the part where the lock was situated, and a clicking sound signalled that the door had been opened.
The three students entered the room. Ron was sitting on the floor, his back pressed against the wall, at the furthest end of the bathroom. He had cleaned his face, but his humid hair was dripping with crimson. His chestnut eyes were glancing at the group fearfully, and his body was stained in dried blood.
"Ron!" Hermione yelled approaching him, she had gasped fearfully but was worried for him.
"NO!" the boy yelled trying to push himself further away from the woman, not allowing anyone to reach him.
"What happened?" Harry, who had also entered the room, raced towards him.
"I don't know! I don't know! I woke up like this!" Ron began crying, tears were falling down his cheeks.
"There, Ron…" Hermione kneeled next to him and held his hand tightly.
"I'm scared… I thought it was something I ate, but this is getting worse!" Ron began sobbing through strangled breaths.
"Ron, listen, remember what you told me the other night?" Hermione tugged at his hand severely, calling his attention and making him look at her.
"What?" he inquired through a drowned voice.
"You told me you were there for me! I'm here for you too, Ron, ok? We'll find a cure for this… thing!" Hermione said severely, yet her eyes glimmered with the warm flicker of a flame.
"Hermione…" Ron whimpered collapsing, falling upon Hermione and embracing her tightly, sobbing on her shoulder. The girl received him warmly.
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"Are you sure you are ok?" Hermione inquired with concern.
"I'm fine, really!" Ron answered with a gentle smile, his eyes sparkling in his shade, and his skin glazing pale.
"We are here!" Harry said with a hint of excitement flowing in his voice.
The three friends were situated next to the entrance to the room of requirement. Their arms and bags were loaded with items needed for the complicated sortilege that formed the animagi preparation. Hence the potion was easy to work, the conditions had to be special, in order not to be discovered by the strict ministry control. As well the room had to be vast and free of perils, since nobody was sure his animagi form would be a dragon or an ant, and the dimensions had to correspond.
"Let's go!" Hermione said firmly, beginning to walk three times before it in order of opening the room with such special conditions.
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"Thanks for coming with me to the Greenhouses!" Neville complimented, beaming gladly at Seasmus.
"It's ok, Nevs. I didn't have anything better to do anyways!" The youth answered shrugging.
A large shaggy shape walked before them, heading towards the small, wooden cottage at the edge of the forest. Hagrid saluted them with a grunt and a dry nod of his hairy head. He was carrying an enormous, dark sack, which contained something that was apparently very heavy. It was almost as big as Hagrid, and was being dragged through the grass, leaving it squashed, damp and a murky shade of dark maroon. The sack was damp, dripping some kind of crimson liquid which was staining the grass. Several black birds were resting on the ground, licking the fluid pleasantly with their sharp tongues, flapping their large ears.
"Hello Hagrid, what have you got there?" Seasmus, naïve and innocent, inquired curiously.
Neville was glancing at the black birds with large, bulging eyes. He had realized that this birds were nothing but winged mammals, or small vampire bats to be more exact.
"Poor, poor thing, ye' know?" Hagrid murmured sadly, shaking his head and making his beard flop from side to side.
"Poor thing? What thing?" Seasmus inquired narrowing his eyebrows with concern.
"Seasmus…" Neville gasped fearfully, nagging at the boy. Seasmus simply pushed his hand away.
"Da' horse 'ere, ye' know? Poor thing, slain, torn, bitt'n till it fell, then eaten down!" Hagrid sobbed lightly, and he began rubbing his enormous nose, making several snorting sounds.
"Horse? Which horse? What happened?" Seasmus was now vividly interested, glancing sideways, almost fearfully at the inert lump hanging from Hagrid's shoulders.
"Seasmus…!" Neville was more urgent now, nagging more fiercely at his class mate.
"Good animal, ye' know? Da' Jerezano was, ya', I tell ye'. Good ol' beast!" Hagrid sniffed loudly and turned away, rubbing his eyes, and dragging the bloody sac away.
While the enormous mole retreated, Neville insisted once again into calling Seasmus' attention. The boy was very pale, and the fat under his skin trembled with each shaky bone.
"What?" Seasmus bellowed visibly irritated, although he was consternated as well, due to the event.
"Ron did it!" Neville said with the thin thread of a missing voice.
"Wh…wha?" Seasmus inquired quizzically, glancing at the boy as if he had gone nutters, "You are suggesting that Ron's new hobby is waking in the middle of the night and dedicate his free time at horse slaying?" the boy commented sarcastically, hence a veil of doubt fell upon him.
"What I'm saying is that Ron's been sick for the last week, and today he woke up drenched in blood. To make matters worse, look!" Neville pointed at the sky.
The two glanced upwards, one fearfully, the other curiously. The blue veil was stained with sparkles, and the creamy colour began to fade into a wintery shade of violet, and grey. Outlined perfectly against the growing darkness was the feeble shadow of a perfect, full moon.
"We must find Harry and Hermione, hurry!" Seasmus urged frightfully, beginning a sprint towards the castle. Neville followed, reluctantly, hence bravely.
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Three cauldrons glimmered in the darkness of the vast room. The light was a hazy silver, almost like the sparkling luminosity of a Pensieve. The glimmer reflected on the faces of three, very concentrated people. Their frowns and their starry eyes glared at the cauldron with some kind of madness hidden in them. The three students leaned over the cauldron, only to be sure that the liquid was perfect. Hermione smiled, the fluid in the three cauldrons slithered like mercury, some igniting metal with an icy flame.
"Perfect, now draw out your wands, this is the hard part!" Hermione looked around, wand in hand, heart beating furiously, and eyes glowing with excitement.
The two boys obeyed, and drew out their wands. Their shaky hands made several sparkles erupt from the tip of their precious items. Their faces were anxious, eager and as blissful and exultant as the girl's features, and broad smile.
"Repeat with me;
Mist of the depths,
fog of the mist,
born, grow and bloom,
Reveal myself!" Hermione's voice boomed melodious, chanting with a lovely security, hence trembling slightly.
The two boys repeated carefully, reading her lips, following her words and pointing the wand at the moon depths of the cauldron.
There was a sudden explosion of light, pale blue glimmer that flew and slithered around the three children. Animals galloped, flew, ran and swam before their eyes, some crawling, some slithering, some hissing and some roaring. The fauna that existed now, and which once lived passed before their eyes in a common living. A silver rex pursuing a foggy stag, while a pack of foggy lionesses battled a large, foggy seismosaurus. The animals sniffed them, glanced at them, studied the children, and even ventured to touch them, experimenting their solidness.
Suddenly there was a second explosion, yet inverted. The foggy beasts fused into one cumuli of thick, silvery mist, which glowed with an inner light. The dense mist retreated into their copper shells that were the cauldrons. The fluid inside glimmered once again, and from Harry's and Hermione's cauldrons bloomed a gentle, softer mist. The fog in front of Hermione took the shape of a galloping horse, one with a long, curly mane, with an erect tail and a characteristic way of lifting the knees. Andalusian.
"I can become a mare…" Hermione whispered in a drowned gasp, her eyes glancing at the horse almost hypnotised.
"I'm… I'm a bear!" Harry was completely amazed, a little, fog bear was clawing at an invisible threat.
Suddenly the animals faded into fog once again, hence the fog floated over the cauldron for several seconds, catching the children's attention. The two Gryffindors inhaled deeply, inflating their chests, and the hazy mist took this opportunity to penetrate their bodies, filling their blood with the transfiguration magic of the animagi.
When the sortilege was done, the two look around eagerly, nervous, desiring to let the animal free, to feel the skin of the beast. Hermione looked at Ron, curiously, with a broad smile. Her smile faded as soon as she caught eyes with the youth. He was looking miserable, his red hair falling upon his forehead, and his eyes staring at the two friends selfishly, enviously.
"What happened?" Hermione inquired narrowing her brow.
"I… I don't have potential, Hermy, the spell didn't work." Ron explained miserably.
"Oh Ron, I'm sure it's only because you are still sick, and probably your body could not cope with a transformation like this!" Hermione explained, while Harry eyed the boy doubtfully.
"It's ok, don't worry. I'll just go to my room!" Ron explained shrugging disinterested.
"Come with us! We'll let you ride on our backs, you'll enjoy it as much as we!" Harry pleaded with a gentle smile, holding the boy's hand and tugging at him upwards.
Ron looked at Harry, at Hermione, and back at Harry. With a smile, he accepted the effort and the hand, and was pulled upwards into a standing position. At least he would try to enjoy with his friends as much as he can, even if he can't become an animagi.
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The three children hid under the invisibility cloak, which could barely cover their grown up bodies already. They were all very nervous, but Ron was specially restless somehow. With the aid of the cloak and the Marauder's map, the three made their way to the Hogwarts grounds safely. The Night was fresh, and the moon was clear in the sky.
Harry leapt away from the cloak and stood before the two friends. It took him seconds of concentration, and a brief flash of time before an enormous, black bear with green eyes stood three metres tall before the children. A fanged grin appeared in his mouth, and a strange, lightning scar crossed his forehead, leaving a feeble, hairless line.
Hermione smiled and clapped at Harry, eager herself to try her ability, to gallop like Starbreeze had done once. That thought crossed her soul like an arrow, and hurt her far beyond comprehension, but something more important was going on than the spectre of a horse she was not even sure ever existed.
Ron was looking at the moon, curiously, restlessly, but also full of a strange, pleasant calm. It was round, full, glowing with that tugging, luminous silver, which kept pulling at his soul and heart. Suddenly a wave of pain coursed through his muscles and bones, tearing him inside. He growled, gripped his stomach and bent over until his hands collided with the cold, humid grass, and his body was standing on his knees and palms. He felt as if fire was consuming every inch of his body, his bones were breaking inside, shattered by some strange force. Ron was sweating fluently, and a sudden fear coursed through his veins, freezing him.
He had understood.
To Be Continued…
AN: Closer now, closer. I am so loving writing this story. I hope you people are enjoying reading it. I'd love to get some comments on how you think the story is progressing. I have this really shocking end prepared, one I hope you all like. Well, keep reading it. Special thank you to my reviewers!
MyPhoenyxLament
Magnolia Lane
Laura Truewood
JKWilliams