While trying to be inconspicuous during my classes I found out two things. Nobody else could see my magic, and I could see more than just my own magic. Everybody had the spider web of veins covering whatever skin I could see. What amazed me was the fact everyone had their own specific color.
Dumbledore's was a bright yellow, almost white. McGonagall had dark blue veins. Severus had forest green, and Lily's were pink. Sirius had crimson while James was a lighter red, almost pink. Peter light orange, and Remus' magic was a soft brown, but his core had a sick yellow mark. It reminded me of a bruise. It took me a couple minutes of staring before I it clicked that it must have been the reason he becomes a werewolf.
As a test I watched him closely over the next month. There wasn't a noticeable difference, but on the week of the full moon the yellow spread over his core like wildfire. The day before the moon it was taking over the veins, and I had no doubt it would completely overtake his body on the full moon.
He spent the entire day after the full moon in the Hospital Wing. Instead of going to the library I sat with him on his hospital bed, watching the yellow magic fade away to its usual brown. It took him a full month before Remus was comfortable with me knowing about his lycanthropy. Despite this he still looked surprised when I walked through the hospital doors.
I saw magic in not only people, but the portraits glowed with their own magic. Even the suits of armor. The wall where the Room of Requirement was hidden also had a glow of magic around it, even though the rest of the wall looked like normal stone.
Seeing all these new colors resulted in me getting massive headaches. Not quite migraine level, but if they continued I was afraid they would get there.
One night I thought of a possible solution. After dinner I went up to the seventh floor (as usual), but instead of asking for my room I asked for any sunglasses someone might have left behind. To my relief a large double door appeared. What I found behind the door surprised me.
Mountains upon mountains of random junk covered the floor. There were chairs, wardrobes, tables, and other pieces of broken furniture. I didn't want to touch anything in case it caused an avalanche.
I walked a few feet between the piles of junk before realizing I would get lost. With a thoughtful hum I pulled out my wand to lay it flat on my palm. "Point me: sunglasses."
To my delight my wand spun around once before pointing in a northeast direction. Without putting away my wand I did my best to follow the direction my wand pointed in. The paths between the piles went in the right direction for the most part.
I found the small pile of sunglasses easily enough. What had me groaning was the style. Most of them were round or the cat style. Three pairs were actually the square types I remembered from my other life. They would be outdated here, but I liked them. One pair had cheetah print, one had pink wires, and the other pair had simple black with orange lenses.
Grabbing those I shoved them onto my face and immediately looked around. The few spots of magic I had seen near me and around the room became muted. I could still see where the magic was, but the colors weren't as definite.
With that done I made a path towards where I saw a pure vein of black magic. It was so black I could feel the ill intent. The feeling grew stronger the closer I got to whatever the object was.
I found the object on a round table. I didn't pay any attention to the other baubles, instead focusing on the little box with roiling dark veins weaving and lashing out. Tucking away my wand I cautiously stretched my hand towards the box. I watched in fascination as the black magic reached out and delicately wound around my fingers. The light hold was the only reason I didn't yank my hand away. My magic certainly didn't seem to like the blackness.
Opening the box didn't have any negative side effects, so I figured nobody put any wards to protect it. Whatever that black magic was would probably cause enough damage. Figures I would be the one to find it.
I would have left the box there if I didn't see the contents. A beautiful tiara in the shape of a bird with a large blue stone as the birds chest.
My first reaction to finding a beautiful tiara is the urge to put it on, but two things stopped me. The first being the black magic clinging to it, and the second being my memories. I remembered this specific tiara being Ravenclaw's diadem. The same item Tom Riddle used as a horcrux.
With a strangled yelp I slammed the box closed and jumped backwards. The black tendrils tried following after me, but they slowly gave up and went back to winding around the box.
Looking down at my fingers I realized the black affected me more than I thought. My purple magic had grey tendrils, slowly fading away the longer my magic filtered through my hands. No doubt had I stood there longer it would have been black instead of grey.
While I knew being in close proximity would be stupid, I also knew that this was a horcrux. An important piece of Voldemort's soul that needed to be destroyed.
Before I lost my nerve I snatched the box, keeping it in one hand as far from my body as physically possible, and asking for my normal room. When it finished changing I glanced at the fireplace mantle and my desk, neither of which would be a good place to store a horcrux. Sure nobody else would see it, but I would, and I didn't want to.
Closing my eyes I imagined a door in the corner of the room leading into a closet. I quickly strode over to the dull brown door, yanked it open, and shoved the box onto a shelf.
I silently asked the Room to hide the door and to do its best containing the black magic. To my relief the door disappeared, and I couldn't feel the tainted magic. I knew it would be hard to hide such an evil piece of magic, but I would take whatever precaution I could get.
With a horcrux in such close proximity I felt a lot less secure in the Room of Requirement. My eyes constantly looked at where the hidden door would be while I did homework or read a book. When practicing my Animagus change I had to force myself not to think about it, while my magic pulsed through my body to help ease the shift.
I debated on whether or not I should tell anybody about being able to see magic. I read some cases where people could do it, but it's a rare ability. The problem was I would only trust Remus with the information, but by his birthday in March I found myself baking him another chocolate birthday cake while he still didn't know about my ability. I supposed it was hypocritical, since I knew his secret but wouldn't tell him mine.
The months following his birthday became more hectic because of finals. Like the year before I skimmed through my class books and practiced the spells inside before setting it all aside. I wasn't a very strong studier. Whenever I didn't study I practiced my Animagus form. Being able to see my magic made using it a lot easier. Which was why, after months upon months of growing fur and adjusting my senses, my body completely shifted into that of a leopard.
It was on the last day of finals. As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of our tests everybody waited impatiently for McGonagall to tell us her hopes about us doing a good job before dismissing us. All the second years rushed from the room. The Marauders left with particularly loud whoops of happiness.
I calmly exited the room and slipped off in the direction of the main staircase. I made it to the seventh floor without accidentally stepping on any trick steps. First year was a struggle figuring out which steps weren't safe.
Once in the Room of Requirement I whipped off my school uniform and put on a pair of sweatpants and a green long-sleeve. I emptied my bag into my trunk and closed it with a snap of finality. I wouldn't have to use it again until September.
The knowledge that I would be leaving the castle, and consequently the horcrux, relaxed me more than I had felt in months. It allowed me to put all of my focus on the magic beneath my skin. I could wield it a lot easier than before, and it took two hours of trying to make it shift my body into something else before anything happened.
I had closed my eyes for better concentration, so I couldn't see what was happening to my body, but I could feel it. All of my hair, except for on my head, stood straight up. A tingle shot through my entire body. I felt everything beneath my skin moving into a different position. What surprised me was the lack of pain. My entire body structure was shifting, I'd expected more than simple discomfort.
My skull was compressed into a new shape while my mouth and nose stretched forward. My ears moved from the sides of my head towards the top. My neck shortened and my shoulder blades were pulled back, forcing my arms to stretch straight out from my torso. The same happened to my legs after my pelvis shifted into the same as a leopards. I knew when my tail appeared because I felt my spine elongate.
Throughout the transformation I kept my eyes closed. I worried about losing concentration halfway through and get stuck as part-leopard part-human. That wouldn't be easily explained.
After I felt the change over my body stop I waited for a few seconds. When nothing different happened I slowly blinked open my eyes. It never occured to me to expect my magical sight to change. I could still see it, but it was muted. The rest of my sense were much sharper.
Raising my head I took a deep breath through my nose. Several different scents drifted through my nostrils, but I couldn't make out which was which. I looked down at my front paws innocently resting against the floor. To get used to my new smelling abilities I would have to move around to categorize what each scent belonged to.
First I had to get used to my new limbs. I flexed my paws, rolled my shoulders as best as a leopard could, and cautiously pushed my butt off the floor with my hind legs. The instinct to push myself onto two legs was strong, but standing on four legs felt natural. I fought against the feeling and stubbornly stayed on all four paws.
I thought of what I would have to do next. As a human I could walk on hands and knees, so I knew the basics of which leg to put in front of which, but my balance was skewed.
Knowing I needed to start somewhere I lifted my right front leg. I quickly shoved it forward when I felt like I was about to tip over. My eyes closed in a resigned sort of way as I sighed through my nose. I never thought I would have to re-learn how to walk.
I stumbled around for five minutes before figuring out I could use my tail to help with balancing. Controlling it was just like using another arm or leg; not a lot of thought had to be put behind it. Probably the easiest appendage to use with this new body.
Falling was a common occurrence. I would misstep or my legs would somehow get tangled together, and send me face first to the floor. Thankfully the longer I walked around the easier it became.
As I practiced pacing around the room I would sniff whatever was nearby. The scents were catalogued inside my mind, so when I smelled it again later I would recognize it. By the time I finished smelling everything I could get halfway across the room before stumbling, and all the way across without completely falling.
From all of my walking I could tell my hearing definitely improved. I could hear every step I took and the whisper of my tail dragging on the floor. I wondered how good it would be when I actually had something worthwhile to hear. I read some leopard breeds could hear when small animals were moving in their burrows.
I didn't know what differences happened to my sense of taste, but I could definitely tell I had developed another sense.
When I enabled myself to see magic I also found out I could feel magic, but it wasn't very strong. I could sense when it was nearby, but I couldn't pinpoint its location. Now the roles seemed to reverse. I could definitely still see magic. Looking at one of my paws proved I could see the veins, but the purple color was muted. Now my ability to feel magic strengthened. It practically danced across my skin – fur – and made my whiskers twitch. I would have revelled in the feeling had I not felt a dark feeling dance around the Room. My tail unconsciously twitched in aggravation and I stared directly in the place where I knew the hidden door held the horcrux.
My upper-lip curled into a snarl, and I focused on my magic. It took a minute to figure out how to reverse my shift, before I finally changed back to my human self. I felt a little disoriented at first. The last hour was spent exploring on four legs, and going back almost felt wrong. I briefly wondered if the feeling was now part of my leopard form. I read about qualities of your Animagus staying with you after you've succeeded the transformation.
Shaking off the questions for a later time, I looked to see the door had appeared. I groaned and dropped my head back, so my face was directed at the ceiling. "Please, I beg you, keep that thing hidden. I can't destroy it yet, but I will." To my surprise I felt a warm blanket of magic drape around me in what I could only think of as a hug. Immediately afterwards the door disappeared, along with every drop of black magic I felt in the Room.
"Hallelujah!" In my happiness I even made the sign of the cross. I wondered what the other Slytherins would have done if they saw me do such a Muggle gesture. The thought made me laugh.
Unfortunately while I couldn't feel the horcrux I still knew it was nearby. I wanted to destroy it more than anything, but I couldn't for two reasons. One being I had nothing to destroy it with. I didn't have any basilisk venom, or the skill to wield fiendfyre. The second was that I didn't know if Voldemort would feel when one of his souls pieces were destroyed.
I certainly thought I would feel it if part if my soul was destroyed. Thinking about it even more I could have sworn the movies showed Voldemort being affected whenever a piece was killed. Just to be safe I decided against taking the chance, and I would collect them all and destroy them at once.
I didn't even know if all of the horcruxes were in their spots yet. It was 1973, so the ring would definitely be in the shack now, but would the diary be with the Malfoy's? The cup in the Lestrange vault? What about the locket? My best bet would be to wait until I graduate from Hogwarts. By that time they should be in their respective places, the locket being the only questionable one.
Going over to my trunk I pulled out my little black journal. I searched for the list I made of the horcruxes and added "After graduation" beside it.
With nothing else to do, and the train taking everyone home for the summer leaving late the next morning, I decided to get into bed. I closed my eyes and silently asked the Room for some music. When a familiar Coldplay song filtered through the room I snuggled beneath the sheets with a smile.
For a brief moment I could pretend I was back home. Lying in bed listening to my favorite songs before eventually falling asleep. A pang of homesickness entered my chest, and I sighed sadly. Most people would have thought getting thrown into a new world and becoming a witch would be a dream come true, but it isn't. Being ripped away from everything you know is a huge shock. That shock could be the main reason I never talked for eleven years.
Then I wind up in Hogwarts (a dream come true), and I'm a Muggle-born in the house of snakes. They criticize me wherever I go. They put up a united front with all of the other members, but they barely refrain from cursing me whenever I pass any of them in the corridors. It's just another situation making me feel even more isolated from everyone.
Remus was my only saving grace. I considered him a true friend. My first one in this world, and at this rate my last. I could live with that though. I lived with less for years; although, that was my fault. Unfortunately when you have the mind of a seventeen-year-old, and then continue to grow it gets tedious to find friends my age. I'm now, mentally, thirty years old. Thirty-year-olds don't make friends that are twelve or thirteen. Not in my books anyway. I just had to work with what I had in this situation.
Taking a deep breath I released it slowly. Thoughts of my family from my last life whispered around my head until I drifted to sleep, their images fuzzily appearing in my dreams.