There he saw it, reflected into the glass, acting like a mirror thanks to the darkness, his very own image. And he knew it was his image due to the fact that it stood where he was supposed to be, gesturing like him, and staring back at him with his features contorted into shock and surprise. Staring back at Ron was a creature, standing on two feet, yet with the features of an animal, the muzzle had been pulled forward slightly, yet still keeping the humanity of the facial features. Fangs had grown where teeth were, not too large, yet visible enough.
His hair had always been wild, yet now it was more bushy, standing on end due to his shock, to his surprise, and was still that intense red that characterised him, and his family. His eyes were still that same brown, yet something within them seemed to sparkle into beast, maybe it was the red glow where light focused them. His skin was much darker, having turned from a redhead pale to a sunny tan. However, the most notable feature was the bushy, red tail that had grown behind his back, and which swayed back and forth nervously.
"AH!" Ron yelled startled, leaping backwards, causing the people to move away and trip against themselves, "What happened to me!" he inquired desperately, in a high pitched voice.
His brown eyes gazed at the people, fearfully, almost frightened that they'll jump and pin him down. Instead, however, he saw a very startled gaze coming from them, their thoughts equal to his own, fearing that the monstruous beast would attack them merciless. And he understood them. He truly did for the image gazing back at him from the glass was not human. It was a mixture of man and fox, and nothing like that could bring anything good, or so were the human thoughts. Since ancient ages, muggle and wizards have always feared werewolves, men who became bloodthirsty wolves on full moon.
"Oh no!" Ron suddenly gasped upon realization, "Am I a werewolf?" he inquired himself, gazing fearfully at his own hands.
People around him stared at each other, most curious yet none daring to approach the beast that had suddenly appeared before him. The train came to a stop, an acute and hard screeching made Ron wince. People took a hold of the metallic bars in order of maintaining themselves on their feet, hence those who didn't ended up with their bones against the floor.
The doors opened, unsticking the rubber band that isolated them. To a frustrated Ron it was his chance to escape. He leapt forward, towards the surprised and startled passengers. Various screamed in shock and fear, hence the others simply gazed with fearful eyes. Ron didn't focus on this, for now he was both, startled and frightened, and a frightened animal can be dangerous. He leapt over the people blocking his path, and landed on all fours on the cold stone of the platform.
People leapt aside as Ron, running still on all fours, his eyes crazed and seeking nervously for an exit, ran past them at full speed. His nose scented the air in search of fresh, non viced breeze that was to penetrate the train station. He ran up the stairs, leaping over them four to four. As he reached the top, he tackled a man and threw him to the floor, falling along with him. Ron layed on the floor, panting, breathing heavily and filling his lungs with warm air. This incident was enough to cool his nerves for a few instants.
"Hey kid, watch where you're going!" snapped the man, rubbing his sore back where he had collided with the hard stone.
"Sorry, I was just…I'm sorry!" Ron muttered alarmed, standing up and quickly extending a hand to the man.
The man gazed at the hand, ready to take it and accept the help. His eyes darted over to the tan skin, then to the startled face with canine features, a humid, black nose and sharp fangs. The man's face contorted and deformed into a curious glance, and almost immediately into a terrified gaze, coinciding with the vision of a free willed tail wagging behind Ron's back. The man pulled his hand back and started yelling uncontrollably, horror paling the facial skin, and startling Ron's fox inctints. The people muttered and murmured, gazing at the scene with obvious interest, all as startled in the large station as the few passengers of the train.
"Sorry!" they boy muttered sadly and leapt into a race again, this time his biped feet carried him along without making use of his legs.
"Hey, stop running on the halls!" yelled an old man, distinctly thinking that this was a lack of respect towards the humanity in general.
"Stupid asshole…wait a minute, what the heck is that?" snapped another voice.
"Cool tail, where did you get it?" said a third, joking or not, Ron ignored.
"That thing is real!" gasped another with a startled voice.
"No animals in the station!" the voice of a policeman called after an oblivious Ron.
Ron emerged into the fresh breeze and the clear sun of day. He took in several deep breaths, and extended his arms to the skies, thanking the Godess and the God for the gift he had been granted with. The run caressed his hair and fur with the delicate, golden rays, pulling and stealing glossy glitters of flaming red and orange from the silky hair and soft fur.
As the young student recovered his calm and breath, his eyes opened to see people surrounding him once again. At a fair distance, yet close enough as to take a god look at the fox boy, people studied him and murmured about his physical appereance. It was frustrating enough to be converted in some sort of werefox, more being pointed at and gazed at constantly. Although inevitable, Ron was starting to get more nervous about the people's curiosity than about the fact that he was a half animal now.
Pace fast and agile like the fox he was dragged him away from the unhealthy curiosity of the people. Although the highway was full with a profuse traffic, Ron leapt the safety barrier and started running across it. The strident sound of a car honking, the roar of motors, screeching of the stopping pedal affecting the wheels. Ron saw it, a magnificent Peugeot 407, of a deep, stormy cloud blue. The violent looking lights focused on the small, human figure with canine features that stood before it.
Ron was not to wait to feel the mouth of the vehicle tearing down his limbs. Before the surprised glare of the driver, the boy leapt up, landing on the ceiling of the car. The metal bent down, leaving a very untidy gap on the blue surface, the sound of breaking plastic and cracking metal echoed throughout the inside of the cabine. From there Ron leapt up again, reaching the other side of the highway and vanishing into the depths of a very profuse park, blooming with life all around it, filling itself with the bright greens of leaves and a rainbow of flowers.
"What the heck was that?" inquired the confused driver to himself, poking his head out of the window and far too startled to bother about the harm his new car had suffered.
The boy was safe now. The park at such early hours was basicly empty, and the area he had chosen was well guarded by the deep foliage of bloomed trees and bushes. He sat there, under a fresh shadow, his back pressed against the hard, rough bark of a tree trunk. His breathing calmed, his mind analyzed all the events occurred in this few minutes. His brown eyes gazed at the tan hands, his pale skin had vanished to leave this sort of mild, chocolate skin of an almost reddish tone. The fox tail waved back and forth gently, brushing the grass with the reddish fur, tipped in a creamy white.
His ears layed down, and he furrowed his brow, lips curling down sadly, pressing strongly to avoid making any sound. Shutting his eyes tightly, he allowed all the grief of his heart spilling out uncontrollably. Ron pulled his knees to his forehead, and hugged his legs, hiding his face between them. Tears flowed abundantly, trailing streams down his cheeks. His body began to convulse, to have continuous spasms, and the weak sound of a whimper echoed muffled by his legs, his sobbing went on as silently as he could maintain it.
He raised his head from the hidden position between the warmth of his legs. His skin shone brightly under the tender touch of golden rays which sneaked past the dense ceiling of leaves, crawling between the thick foliage. Salty tears were still streaming down his cheeks, the skin was humid with the sticky fluid representing his grief. His chestnut eyes were thick and puffy, red with the irritation the tears represented on them. Through the blurry veil of his sadness Ron observed his now tan hands, and more convulsions shook his body as the crying continued. A hiccup affected him abruptly, and his throat contracted into a canine whimper from the discomfort this represented. Not had he suddenly become a creature, but he was also feeling physically awful.
"Why is this happening to me?" Ron suddenly exclaimed, his voice was nothing but a sharp whine, a very acute shriek broken by his own manly tone.
"I don't know!" said a voice before the kid, a voice that startled Ron to the very boundaries of hope and fear.
It was a clear voice, deeper than his very own, that irradiated with a security, a courage he never even dreamed of possessing. However, the fact that had startled him more than the mere presence of such vocal tones was the familiarity that resided in this man's sound waves. Ron shot his head up to stare at the creature standing before him, praying deep inside him not to be mistaken in his assumptions, and hopelessly wishing that all this events were, for once, not a dream. The strong, manly hands rubbed the chestnut eyes in an attempt of clearing the translucid veil of grief and desperation, willing to see the bearer of the well known voice.
Ron looked up, and stared intently at the figure, but whatever he had been expecting upon receiving a response to the rethoric question, it was not what his, still slightly blurry gaze saw.
"Come on, Joice, up down, feel his rhythm, and follow it!" said the strong willed voice of a woman on her early twenties.
"Be careful Jason, pull on the outside rein, there, good job, now hold her back, see? It's not that hard now is it?" went on the same voice as before, brown eyes turning to gaze at something else, hence her previous area of focus.
Around her spiralled the clear, pale dust lifted by the enormous weights. Feeble clouds of hazy mist floated lazily over the square field. Afternoon sun tinted the sky with flames, and gold sparkled in the humid grass. The woman smiled delighted, pleased, cherry lips curled into a grateful smile as she secretly thanked the God and the Goddess for the gift she had been granted.
She stared at her surroundings, pleased with herself, hence a hint of nostalgy glinted in the corner of her eye. The enormous castle towered over the vast extentions of ground it carried along, the millenary stones glowing a pale green and a misty grey from the moss and humidity crawling up its walls. Grass extended a bright green rug along the whole land, only to sneak into the woodland, where a vast and profuse foliage crested the trees' heads. Such trees stood high and strong, like colossus, guardians of all creatures, inhabitants of their depths. Next to the castle, where there were the greenhouses had been built long cottages, this used to guard the equines. And several fields, two of them were sand, while the third maintained the bright grass blooming in the whole field.
The girl sighed again, taking a good look into the depths of her memories, seeing things that were no longer there, remembering herself, a long time ago, in this same grounds, in this same place, working much differently than now. She liked her job, but had she been asked in her youth, this was what she least expected. Her bushy hair was of a mud brown, a bright chestnut colour, and was tightly held into a thick ponytail to keep it from disturbing her eyes when working. She had grown pretty and tall, her childlish features gone to release a well formed woman with large, brown eyes and fleshy lips, a small, thin nose and a well defined jaw.
Around her, galloping with their characteristic elegance, galloped the finest horses of the whole town. A black mare was making a great effort to release a full gallop, while the boy mounting her had an enormous trouble in keeping her calm and steady. Behind him, a girl was having more problems in keeping her balance on the saddle. The rest of the group, three other children, all of them not older than fifteen, did their job as well as they could, for horse riding was as well as tiring as it was complicated.
"Come on children, the reprise is only three days away and you can barely control your horses!" the woman called at the group visibly frustrated at their ways.
"Hermione!" said a voice behind the woman.
The professor turned around to see a young woman, about her age, with long hair held on a bun ridding a beautiful white horse. It was an impressive male, tall and strong, representing the full power and beauty of these creatures.
"Rest!" Hermione called to the group, and the children, relieved, led the horses to pace, all except the boy riding the black mare who still was full of spirits and eagered to gallop, "said Lavender!" the professor urged her on.
"I'm off to the forest for a walk, need to run him a little!" the girl said with a bright smile, a sing of the clear beauty she had once owned, which had vanished through the horrors lived.
"Fine, Lavender, but don't force him much, the ankle might still be a little sore!" The stronger woman suggested, sending the rider a calm, knowing smile.
"Don't worry, come on Whisper!" Lavender nodded, pressing onto the horse's sides and pulling on the left rein such that the beast would motion in the desired way.
"Come on people, trot, gallop, to the left…now!" Hermione went on with the class, smiling to herself.
A sigh escaped from her mouth, deep, profound and nostalgic. Yes, she, Hermione Granger, talented Witch and student at Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry, was now the professor at a Horse Riding School, that same School she had once attended to as a Witch. However, things were not to turn the way they did, now were they?
Stomping on the ground with the enormous hooves, the white horse walked on at a light trot, exercising the injured leg into movement once again. Whisper tossed his head nervously up and down, chewing onto the bite constantly. Lavender leaned forward and patted his neck several times, holding the reins with only one hand. Her pale eyes stared worriedly at the one who had become her whole life right now.
"Hey, what's wrong my friend? You want to gallop, isn't it?" she said with a bright smile, calming the animal with soft cooings, "Don't worry, you will gallop very soon!" she finished sitting straight again and holding the reins with both hands.
Lavender's gaze turned to the sky, completely covered by the thick foliage. A dark veil had extended it's wings across the heavens, covering it completely with the velvet cloak sparkled with millions of pale glitters. The girl knew well that this forest had been long empty from all magical creatures, vanished or extinguished, and the few remaints were hidden or camouflaged between humans like themselves. However, although she was conscious of this fact, she was still uncomfortable in the depths of this haunted woodlands.
A rustle of leaves behind her, a gentle rumbling, like a melodious growling. Lavender quickly turned around on her saddle, attempting hopelessly to gaze into the depths of the night. To no avail, for nothing could penetrate the thick shadows that engulfed everything. She had been impulsed to grab her wand and charm a luminity incantation, hence she soon remembered this item was kept safely inside her chambers.
"Probably it was just a fox!" she told herself attempting to calm her accelerated heart, and reassuring herself that her fear had no base, after all, nothing magical remained here.
A deep roar echoed in the forest, and this time no fox could emit such a dry, and beautiful sound all the same. The girl turned around startled, the horse stood on his hind legs, neighing loudly with a shrilly, alarmed sound. The animal's terror was accompanied by a horrified yell, the one irradiating from the woman's throat at the vision of the thing crouching behind the bushes.
Indeed, out of the bushes leapt a spirit, as white as the foggy mist slithering past the trees on a very cold, winter night. Eyes cold like eyes, silvery like steel bore into the woman, tearing her heart with the mere view of such gaze. Lavender saw cruelty, a heartless vice glinting red in the cold gaze.
Was it luck or destiny, she ignored, but luck had it that her well bred mustang acted on pure instinct, and let himself be carried away. With a leap as he stood on his hind legs, the horse began a full time gallop. Legs moved vigorously, body combined perfectly with the environment, and the intelligent creature took good care of not running past low branches, hence the ridder won't suffer a terrible fall. Whisper leapt a rather large log, Lavender, as experienced as she was already leaned forward, regaining her back straight position when the horse's hands touched the ground.
Bad luck, or destiny, Lavender would never know, but Whisper's injured hand gave in when the 500 kilograms of fibrous mass and muscles touched the ground on the weakened ankle. The animal collapsed forward sending Lavender flying to the ground, landing luckily on a thick mass of green moss. Whisper remained on the floor, whimpering and grunting, immobile, breathing deeply and surrending to the obvious.
The girl knew the spirit was in pursue of them, hence she ignored her own fear, and acted in such way nobody would ever have expected that from the sissy girl of Hogwarts. She stood up whimpering lightly, her body sore from the hard fall, and her arm probably injured with a bone fissure. But nothing mattered now, only the rustling of leaves approaching as the spirit came closer, threatening them both, her and Whisper. Lavender would never know what went over her, perhaps her love for the mustang, the way the two of them came so close after the terrible disaster, how they protected themselves, strangers in a normal world.
Lavender rushed towards the horse, but didn't stop, didn't try to lift him up, she leapt over the enormous body and stopped before him. The spirit was close now, but she didn't move, her gaze defiant, her fists clenched tightly, and her integrity being as whole as her courage managed to keep it. The white phantom stopped before her, claws ready to slash, fangs foamy and bloodthirsty, but the gaze was curious, interested in the girl's reaction.
"Stop! You won't take him!" she affirmed extending her arms like a phoenix, wincing at the pain that shot through her left one, yet keeping her features as valiant and defiant as she managed.
Whisper lifted his head and stared at his owner and rider, his green eyes, for they were an intense olive green, gazed at the woman worriedly. He neighed and snorted, motioning at the girl with the point of his muzzle, wanting to catch her attention, somehow.
"Stupid girl, no magical creature can live!" the white ghost pointed out with a sharp, cruel laughter.
"Not him. Run Whisper, RUN!" Lavender said, now turning her back on the being and turning towards her mustang.
Lavender pulled onto the mane, tugging at it and motioning for him to stand up. The horse went on his knees, whinnying sadly, pained about the ache his injured leg was suffering. Shots of an intense, burning flame coursed through his swollen flesh and broken bone.
"Come on Whisper, Gallop, Gallop!" she called sadly, knowing she was sacrificing her safety for the being she cared for the most, understanding that he could not carry her weight again with the leg so badly injured.
"Fool, that horse can't run!" affirmed truthfully the spirit, approaching the woman with silent steps.
Whisper stared at the woman with a care and love that ignited his eyes with a calid flame. Lavender returned the gaze, tears starting to fall down her cheeks as her frustration grew within herself. She loved this horse, but it was that feeling which impulsed her to sacrifice herself for the creature. The animal won't go, he just couldn't abandon this woman who he admired so much to her faith, knowing he was injured, he still wanted to protect her. Lavender grew annoyed, angry, tears blurring her vision, yet keeping enough gaze to see the animal she cared for so much clearly, a well defined shape before her.
"GO!" she yelled as angry and frustrated as she could, slapping the horse on the hind buttocks with much strength, enough to make him feel a slight itch.
A neigh echoed in the woodlands, and the sound of limping hooves galloping vanished in the far distance. He was slow yet quick enough to escape the terror that was present in the woodlands. Such terror, however, was immersed in his own doubts, frozen by the vision his eyes had perceived something began beating feebly, and deeper within a sensation shook violently. He was startled by the vision, the care the two beings shared, the love that united them, and induced them to give their lives for each other.
"What is that? Is that love? Have I known love? It seems…familiar!" thought the beast shaking the elegant head vigorously, trying to clear his mind, and staring at the woman under a new light.
"I love you Whisper!" Lavender left this words to the wind, to be carried to the only one who had really meant something to her.
The morning was coming in fresh, the sky still remained a dark violet colour, sparkled by the last stars and luminous objects to be visible on the sky. The sun was beginning to wake up, rising into a clear dawn, free of clouds and promising to be a warm day. Hermione, however, was not to enjoy the fresh morning, nor the beautiful day for her pleasant dreams had been disturbed by an alarming sound. Pulling a cloak around herself she made her way towards the window in order to see what was going on over the grounds, concretely next to the stables.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, gasping loudly, eyes wide, rough hand covering her mouth, the shock she had received paralyzing her body for a few instants until she was able to recover her mobility and react to the events.
To Be Continued…
AN: Ok, so we have the hero, the girl and the bad guy, doesn't this look like some Spiderman movie? Or do we have the hero? What about the girl? Or the bad guy? Is he really that bad? And the hero has he got the superpowers he needs to fight evil? And what has happened to change all of this? Keep reading and you will find the answer to all of this questions, you can also try to guess, who knows, you might have the third eye :P.