Chapter 13: Jake
My name is Jake.
I had to admit that I was pretty relieved. After all the trouble we'd had reaching the castle, I was expecting things to be a lot more difficult. I was expecting to have to watch whoever we chose for three days, I was expecting magic like the stuff around the castle walls and evil wizards that had taken over the place to make travelling through it a nightmare. I was expecting a lot of time consuming requirements and the need to react to unexpected situations to appear again and again.
But I'd underestimated the students of this school. Most of the kids we've chosen, not that I can really call them that, they're older than me, were just as capable as us, their experiences involving or created in response to the war having well prepared them for what's to come, and in turn, their actions had cut our job down by days of work. If we'd been this ready before gaining the morphing power then the Yeerks wouldn't be nearly as far along as they were. The advantage of magic, what are you gonna do?
"So where exactly are we going?" Neville asked as we crept out the main door, flinching as it creaked loudly shut. Tobias had already long taken off into the sky and assured us that no one was around, inside or out as far as he could tell, but it was still a really bad idea to make much noise. The last thing we wanted was to be discovered, especially by the Carrows the wizards had told us about.
"We're heading around the lake a little and then into the forest." I informed him, pointing roughly to where the others were hiding. "It's the closest, safest place we could find where the cube still works."
"How exactly will it work anyway?" Seamus asked curiously as he took the lead, guiding them through the darkest parts of the yard and towards the Greenhouses. Stealth was his element, so we simply followed him without comment. "Getting this power?"
/You will place you hand flat on one side of the cube and the energy the cube distributes will be absorbed into your flesh./ Ax replied simply. /The process is very quick, simple and painless./
"That's a relief. Is transforming painless too?" Ginny asked softly, a flicker of worry crossing her face. "It looked and sounded anything but."
"Yes, it's painless." I nodded reassuringly, watching as her face relaxed back into its more keen state. Though, that did remind me that we hadn't warned them about the dangers of the power. Well, no time like the present. I decided. After all, the walk would be more than long enough. "Though that does remind me to warn you about the dangers of morphing."
"Dangers?" Ernie asked, raising an irritated eyebrow. "Yes, I think we should know about them. What kinds of dangers are we talking about?"
"There's only two that we've come across. And four facts you should know, though you'd figure them out pretty quickly on your own, trust me." I said calmly, giving the most uptight wizard a placating look. "The biggest danger, the one that you'll face every time you morph, is the time limit. You have two hours to return to your true form, otherwise you're stuck in that form forever. That's why Tobias is dominantly a hawk."
"But he can morph." Anthony commented confusedly, the others nodding in agreement, each looking equally lost.
"Yeah, but that's because of an event that had only happened once before him, though not with the same result, and will probably never happen again." I explained, fixing all of them with a very serious look. "Unless you know someone with the magic need to warp reality itself, I recommend never relying on that method. Even today, though he can become his human self again, among all his other morphs, Tobias is still a hawk."
"Ok, we'll remember that." Neville stated, getting nods of agreement from the others. "So what's the second danger?"
"Allergic reactions." I answered simply, nodding my head towards Rachel. "We've only seen it once, but when Rachel absorbed the DNA of a crocodile, her body reacted very badly to it. For days her morphing was completely out of control, going from one animal to another, which goes against one of the four facts I mentioned; you can't go from one morph straight to another normally, you have to return to your true form first. It didn't stop until her body rejected the DNA it was allergic to; in the form of the crocodile she acquired it from."
"She released a crocodile from her body?" Luna asked airily, staring back to a troubled looking Rachel. "That doesn't sound pleasant."
"It wasn't." She nodded distractedly, her eyes never leaving the sky. "And then the stupid croc tried to eat us. But enough on that, can we pick up the pace please?" She asked, surprising me with the level of insistency in her voice. Taking a better look at her, I quickly grew worried when I noticed just how sickly pale she'd grown since coming outside. "Those floating bodies are giving me the creeps."
"What floating bodies?" I cried, whipping my head up and straining to see in the dark, but all I could find was Tobias. "I don't see anything."
"But you'll feel their power if they come any closer." Ginny responded grimly as Neville nodded to Seamus, silently agreeing to speed up. "Only magic beings can see them. they're horrible, dark creatures called Dementors. They look like gnarled, rotting humanoids draped in ragged, black robes. They feed off the happy memories of those around them, their ability proving to be most effective on humans. When they do, those around them are left with only their bad memories and are forced to relive them again and again. Prolonged containment in their company usually drives the victims made and suicidal."
/They the guards of the Wizarding prison?/ Ax asked, remembering what Erek told us just as I was.
"Yes. But now that they are allied with the Dark Lord, they are free to terrorise a great many other places now." Ernie growled, staring up hatefully at what looked to me to be empty sky. "No one's ever found a way to destroy them, only repel them. It's why they were placed at Azkaban and other Wizarding prisons around the world. We don't have the power to contain them properly so if we didn't concede to feeding them with the darkest of our kind, they'd go off and feed on every human in sight. But even the worst of the dark wizards don't deserve to have the combined power of a thousand Dementors focused on him at once. I actually pity anyone sent to Azkaban, regardless of what they do to be sent there."
"And now the cells are filled with innocent Muggleborns." Seamus growled lowly as we reached the greenhouses and moved on for the hut near the borderline of the grounds. "Granted half the Dementors are running wild around here and who knows where now, but it's still the most horrific place you could possibly find."
"I don't know about that." Anthony muttered, staring sadly at the ground as he bit his lip. "The Yeerk Pool down in the Chamber gave me a good idea of just how bad Azkaban could be. It'd have to come pretty close, Azkaban and Yeerk imprisonment."
/Let's just hope that Visser Three never decides to mix the two./ Tobias said darkly, swooping low to the ground.
"It's bad enough that these Muggleborns are intended to go from one to the other." I agreed.
"What do you mean?" Neville cried, suddenly very nervous as he turned back to me. "I thought that the Yeerks' plans were at the school."
"Oh no, the Yeerks never work on such a small scale." Rachel shook her head. "They go big or not at all. What good would just infesting children be for a full invasion, especially if the most skilled are involved in a war the Yeerks don't want to die in? they have plans set up you Government and Azkaban. The second your war is over, everyone in the prison will be taken an infested on the spot, a new army of powerful, but mentally broken slaves obtained in an instant that, when uniting with the agents hidden in the rest of your society, can easily infest the rest of you. The prisoners are the perfect hosts."
"Then we have to get everyone out of Azkaban!" Ernie demanded, earning nods of agreement from all the wizards and witches as he looked right at me. "Will you help us do that?"
"I was hoping that once we got you guys on board that we could find some way to deal with that." I said as we finally reached the lake and walked around it. Taking the lead, I pushed a few branches out of the way and guided them straight to the others. "We don't know where it is or what magic is guarding it past Dementors. Hey, where are you going?" I called, suddenly distracted as a small, blond and black blur sudden took off a little too far right and out of sight.
Tensing, Neville, Ernie and Ginny whipped up their wands and pointed them in a wide arc ahead of them as they slowly move after Luna. It was amazing how well they worked together, seeming to know exactly what to do and how the others would react. Anthony looked a little awkward, obviously not as used to the people around him, but with Seamus moving purposefully behind and monitoring the flank, the others looked like well tuned machine.
Noticing Ax already demorphing behind the safety of a thick tree and Tobias grabbing a high perch, ready to swoop and claw if he had to, I stepped back behind Anthony with Rachel and started before starting our own morphs, Rachel gaining height and bulk while I gained orange and black striped fur.
Sparing only a second to ensure everyone was in place, Neville nodded his head and started to rush through the bushes only to yelp as Luna burst back through them on the back of a creepy black, skin and bone horse. With wings!
"Oh, she found a Thestral. You guys sure know how to set a scary mood over nothing." Rachel shrugged as she reverted her morph, her full confidence returning as Ax walked calmly out beside us. The wizards and witches had relaxed a bit too, though I couldn't help but notice that only Neville didn't look a little confused for a moment, their eyes never quite meeting the body of the beast carrying the blond.
"There's a Thestral here? Oh, thank God Hagrid's trained them, that would be a rather horrifying end." Anthony sighed, lowing his wand.
"Don't worry, it looks quite relaxed." Neville informed him, petting it's head softly, getting strange looks from Ernie and Ginny and only confusing me more.
"Why do you need to ask? Even I can see it looks perfectly docile." I asked with a frown. "Kinda creepy, but docile."
"I asked because I can't see it." Ok, that was a surprise. Why the heck could I see it if the blond wizard couldn't? "Only those who have seen someone die can see a Thestral, a fact that made many idiotic wizards claim that they are dark creatures. We've all seen a dead body, but only Luna and Neville have actually seen someone die."
"That's just weird!" Another voice cried, drawing everyone's attention and resulting in Neville, Ginny and Ernie instantly raising their wands again. However, having heard that voice pretty much every day of my life, I quickly jumped in front of them before they could do any damage.
"It's ok! That's Marco, one of us." I exclaimed hastily as Ax passed by and sliced away at the branches and bushes until our little hideout was in full view. And standing right before it was Marco and Cassie, the former looking everyone over with a raised eyebrow and the latter offering them all a nervous, but soothing smile.
"Sorry to startle you. We got a little nervous about all the commotion." Cassie said, walking up with a wave. "I'm Cassie."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Lass." Seamus grinned, looking thoroughly relaxed as we approached, stopping right in front of Cassie with Anthony by his side. "I believe it's to you that we hold a spot of gratitude for last night's rather unpleasant event."
"We are very grateful." Anthony nodded, smiling politely.
"I was happy to help. Seamus and Anthony?" She asked questioningly, getting smiles and nods as she correctly pointed at them in turn.
"With Neville, Ernie, Ginny and Luna." Rachel stated, pointing to each in turn. "Our new Magical Animorphs."
"So they past every test then?" Marco asked, staring over each of them critically, pausing only to wait for Ax to nod. Neville, Ginny and Ernie all tensed, Ernie and Ginny going so far as to look back defiantly as he looked them over while Luna was unaffected as always, Seamus clearly could care less about being scrutinized and Anthony grew nervous and stared at the ground.
"Yes, and they're better than we hoped for." I nodded, watching his and Cassie's faces for any sign of doubt. They hadn't had any contact with the wizards, but if there was something amiss that we hadn't seen, they'd pick it up. "Talented, resourceful, sneaky, powerful and battle ready. We saw them training with the rest of their group and it really was impressive."
"Well then, let's hope that they can do the same as all different animals." Marco responded, nodding his approval as Cassie smiled encouragingly. Both agreed with our choices and just like that, the tension seemed to disappear, though Ernie and Ginny still looked a little put off by my best friend. But then again, most people are. He's not the easiest person to get along with.
/Speaking of which.../ Tobias said lightly, further breaking the mood as he settled on the Thestral's back behind Luna and left it fall into a trance as he acquired it. /Cassie, Marco, if we acquire a magical creature, the magic stays in us enough to see through illusions meant to fool the non-magical. Rachel can see the castle from a mile away, and she can even see the creatures that were invisible to us in the village last night. You'll need magical eyes for where we're going next, so get acquiring./
"Great! Now if only we knew that before we went barging into a castle that's disguised to look like a dilapidated wreck." Marco grumbled, stepping up cautiously and placing his hand on the Thestral's side before Cassie, Ax and I followed. When my turn was up, I was a little surprised that it felt no different than when I'd acquired my dog or the tiger. Seeing that magic was now flowing through my veins, which I knew was happening now because I could actually see what had to be a Dementor floating in the sky that was not in sight ten seconds previously, I guess I was expecting it to feel more dramatic.
"So, speaking of morphing..." Neville cleared his throat, shifting his weight nervously from one foot to the other. "When do we-"
"HIT THE DECK!" I didn't even have time to react to the Irishman's scream before he'd tackled me to the ground. Two seconds before five flashes of light flew over our heads and crashed into the trees and rocks behind us blowing them away or to smithereens.
"What the heck was- WHOA!" Marco couldn't even finish his sentence before another set of streaking lights and a fireball shot our way again, forcing us all to roll and scamper away. Shot after shot came right at us, not even giving me or my team time to rise and had us forever rolling in random directions.
Fortunately, Neville was better prepared.
"Seamus! Protego!" He snapped, whipping his wand up as he pulled his roll to a halt. A yellow streak flying right at him seemed to strike a solid wall that only came visible as the offending spell struck, its light rippling over the barrier as it fizzled out.
At the same time, Seamus, rolling right onto his feet, muttered a series of undistinguishable words under his as he raised his own wand and our former hideout was surrounded by a ring of fire, eliciting startled, an in one case, pained screams, both from me and my friends and from the attackers hidden from view.
"AARRGGHH!" Turning to my left, I found Ax already galloping right at what looked like rippling air in the form of a human. I would have considered it a trick of the fire if it wasn't for the fact that the humanoid shape was too far in the circle of flames, moving and, most importantly, screaming due to actually being on fire.
"Aguamenti!" The ripple's scream was followed a second later by a stream of water and a sigh of relief. Followed again by an 'oof' as the flat side of Ax' tail blade slapped him in the head, knocking him out.
"Ax, MOVE!" Cassie scream as another explosion flew out from the fire. Seeing it with a stalk eye, Ax easily dodged it only to suddenly snap all of his limbs tightly to his body and flop to the ground.
"HAHA! I got the freak!" A loud, rather dumb sounding boy cheered right as Neville's team simultaneously cried out with 'Protego Maxima' and created a dome of light around us, easily deflecting the four streaks of magic coming our way. Given a reprieve from dodging who knows what, I looked back just long enough to see Anthony tending to a raging Ax, freeing his limbs, before turning back to where the enemy fire was coming from. I still couldn't see anyone for sure, but through the burning flames, I was able to see other human shaped ripples. Ignoring the one Ax dealt with, there were five, one of which was particularly chubby and jumping around excitedly. The one that shot Ax no doubt.
"That was Crabbe." Ernie muttered scornfully, his face warping into an ugly mask as he scanned the still attacking enemies over. Some of the spells hitting our bright, but dulling shield were creating bangs like thunder and I was starting to get a headache. "That means we're dealing with a group of ruddy Slytherins."
"The other four still standing are feminine." Anthony commented, looking each of the ripples sharply. "Judging from height and body outlines, I'd say the seventh year girls."
"How are they doing that?" Rachel grumbled as the shield looked like it was about to crack, my team pulling back towards some scattered rocks for cover. "I almost lose them when they stop moving."
"Disillusion spell." Ginny answered, tightening her grip on her as she focused more power into the shield with the others. "Almost as good as invisibility when you don't move, but a fair bit more noticeable when you do. Neville, what do we do?" She asked, turning back to the matter at hand. "We've never had to protect people without magic before, we're pinned down and this is probably drawing attention from both the forest and the school."
"We'll just have to be-"
"Hey, look at this!" A thick, feminine voice called startling us all. Somehow, one of the attackers had gotten through the circle of fire and behind us without us knowing. And picked up the morphing cube hidden behind some stones. "I wonder what the Muggle filths' toy can do."
/You have to stop them now!/ Tobias and Ax screamed simultaneously, instantly spurring wizards into action.
"Ignitis Concrematio!" Screams filled the air as the ring of fire exploded out in a wave, burning the four still hidden behind the trees. Their disillusion charms ended at that moment too, revealing the group clearly, stunned and screaming as they rolled around, trying to put out their burning clothes.
"Stupefy!"
"Impedimenta!"
"Incarcerous!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Neville, Ginny, Ernie and Luna's spells were released simultaneously, creating quite the display. Not being one the targeting end of it, I was actually able to spend a few seconds watching in awe as red and white lights zoomed right across the field and striking two of the girls while ropes followed behind. The lesser speed did nothing to lessen the impressiveness of them, as they slithered quickly through the air like snakes and coiled tightly around the screaming boy, Crabbe, finally shutting him up as they finished up, wrapping right around his mouth. I didn't see any spell leave Luna's wand, but the last girl was still and stiff as a board, just as Ax had been moments before.
"Put the box down Parkinson. Gently." Anthony ordered, his wand levelled, albeit shakily, right for the pig of a girl's head.
Parkinson only responded by putting her wand tip within an inch of the cube, growling in an attempt to look intimidating, only for it to be ruined by her visibly shaking body, a look of fury and fear decorating her face as the twelve of us formed a semicircle around her. Six wands, a deadly tail blade and a circling hawk, along with a few extra humans to ensure that she had far too many targets, was far more than she could handle. Her only advantage now was the threat to the cube.
"You lot have reached a new low! Associating with Muggle filth!" Parkinson spat vilely, taking a step back and brandishing her wand threateningly at the cube. "Five of you are disgraces to your own kind, purebloods talking and protecting dirty Muggles. As if the lousy half blood among you and the filthy Mudbloods weren't despicable enough, you're now befriending actual Muggle vermin and a freak of a centaur? Despicable blood traitors, the lot of you."
"If you don't shut your mouth right now, I'm going to take your already pig of a face and disfigure it so bad that it'll make your current horrid appearance look like a world class supermodel's!" Rachel yelled, a deadly promise gleaming in her eyes. The venom, rage and disgust that had been noticeable in Parkinson the whole time she'd been talking had shifted to my cousin and Neville's group, not that the rest of us weren't bristling. Even Cassie looked ready to slap the bitch. It would have been a race between most of us to see who could hurt her first if it wasn't for the fact that the...girl was threatening the most important device we'd ever come across or ever would again.
"H-how d-d-dare you talk to me like that, you filthy animal." Parkinson stuttered, taking another step away only for us to take a step forward. "You-you will pay! When the Dark Lord is done, the only filthy Muggles that won't have died a gruesome death will be the Mudbloods suffering in Azkaban and our sla-"
She was cut off before she could finish however, as a flash of red shot out and struck her in the back, its light illuminating her and leaving her looking rather disconcerting as she sucked in a loud breath before collapsing to the ground. Which would have been fine if she wasn't about to crush the cube between her body and the rocks.
"NO!" Marco cried, breaking into a run alongside Ax, but it was obvious that they'd never make it and Neville's team had even fallen into shock at what had just happened, like Cassie, Anthony and Ginny, or had snapped their attention to the trees behind Parkinson, searching for a new attacker. None had processed the danger of the cube, if they realised that it could be damaged at all.
Fortunately, our unknown saviour wasn't done yet, for before the cube had even made it halfway to the ground it suddenly snapped up and shot straight into the trees and in the hand of a dark skinned teenager stepping calmly and coolly out into plain view, tucking his wand into his robes as he did.
"Hey cool, a saviour." Marco said lightly. Though that didn't mean much, he was still watching the new appearance cautiously. And as I looked around, I noticed that Neville's group was doing the same.
"Zabini." Ernie more stated then greeted, watching him warily, his fingers twitching around his wand. "I must admit, this is unexpected."
"I'm sure you would think that MacMillan." Zabini replied coolly, staring coldly right back. "It is always rather amusing how the other houses fully accept that everyone in them is individual, but everyone in mine holds the same morals and personality. At least Ravenclaws have a little more insight." He added, nodding almost civilly to Anthony, getting one in return.
"For those of us who are out of towners, can we get an update here?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the boy. He still had the cube in his palm and he gave off a vibe I wasn't entirely comfortable with. Plus, now that he'd stepped further into the clearing, I could see the snake emblem on his chest. The fourth, darker House of Slytherin. Marco and Rachel clearly saw it too. they'd stiffened quite spectacularly.
"Blaise Zabini is a Slytherin in my year." Neville explained. "I don't know much about him, but unlike most Slytherins, he's never given us any trouble. Doesn't help us either. He generally just minds his own business."
"Why would I bother concerning myself with the affairs of others?" Zabini asked coldly, looking over each member of our group before settling again on Neville. "They do not concern me."
"Neither did this. Yet here you are." Cassie pointed out only to flinch when his chilly gaze dropped once again on her.
"Silly girl. Of course this concerns me." He snapped, holding the box out to us on his flat palm. "The Wizarding world is at war and all within it will be affected. That includes me. And in this clearing are some of the best fighters for my side that are left in the school. They will be needed when the time comes. Now would someone take this toy of yours? The tingling is starting to annoy me.
/Tingling?/ Tobias cried, expressing the shock every Animorph felt. That may not be good. we'd just unintentionally, albeit indirectly, created another Animorph. One that I wasn't sure we could trust.
"So you're actually against the Dark Lord?" Seamus cried, flabbergasted as I reached out for the cube, quickly backing away from the icy guy as soon as it was in my hand. The Irishman look completely lost as he went on. "But your father was a Death Eater! And you hate Muggleborns and 'blood traitors'. Why would you be against him?"
"Well, for a start, idiot, my father was also killed by that man before I even got the chance to know him." Zabini snapped, finally showing a little more heat, his voice seething with controlled rage. "And yes, I have no love for Muggles, Mudbloods or blood traitors, but that does not mean that I want them dead or suffering. I don't believe these statements are worthy of being criminal offenses or an excuse to cause pain. I long accepted that they have a place in the world too, I just prefer that their place be separated from mine."
"A live and let live deal." Luna said dreamily, ignoring the tenseness in the air completely in favour of staring at the cube in my hand.
"Exactly. They me alone, I leave them alone." Zabini nodded. "The Dark Lord has no right to slaughter and torture them and even if I was ok with that, I still wouldn't be ok with him. even his own side faces the same possible future every time they stand before him. asking a simple question or making a suggestion is grounds for torture where he's concerned. Why would I be so foolish as to want him around? He's a threat to us all."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Ernie muttered, though he didn't seem too thrilled with it. The Gryffindors seemed even more wary of him, not that Zabini seemed to care. In fact, he'd stopped looking at us at all, choosing to snarl disgustedly down at Parkinson before pulling out his wand and levitating her into the air.
"I'll erase their memories and dump them in our dorms. But next time, do us all a favour and be more careful. These idiot managed to follow you right through the castle. I don't like wasting my time just to save your butts."
"No one-"
"Thanks Blaise." Anthony interrupted, irritating Ernie and getting raised eyebrows from the rest of us at how genuine he sounded. "I appreciate it."
Blaise said nothing in response, but his hard face did seem to soften a little as he nodded to the Ravenclaw before turning back to his housemates. Within moments, he was already gone.
/You are civilised with him?/ Ax asked as everyone turned back to Anthony, our looks varying between shocked, annoyed and curious and leaving him quickly growing red and nervous.
"We um...have ancient runes and arithmancy and um...we ended assigned to the same table. At first it was uncomfortable, but we eventually came to help each other out a little here and there." He muttered, stumbling over his words as he looked hesitantly from one person to the next, but never in the eye, not even to me or my friends. He look scared. It didn't take me long to realise that he was terrified that we would stop trusting him.
"This could work in our favour." Well, that wasn't expected. I was waiting for Ernie to snap at Anthony, or Neville or Seamus to ask questions, or Luna to make a random comment. But instead, the first speaker was Marco. And he actually sounded pleased with this new development! Even I could never have predicted that one.
"How so?" Ginny asked, raising a sharp eyebrow, the others frowning curiously, if not a little irritably.
"Well, he was being honest. And he hasn't ratted us out or stuck around after 'wasting time to save our butts' so he must be on the level." He added, looking to Cassie and Tobias and only waiting for their agreement in his claims. "And while he doesn't know it, that tingling in his hand was his body absorbing the morphing power, which means he's one of us now."
"What?" Ernie and Neville cried, both growing wide eyed as the others gasped in shock. "You serious?"
"Yep. So it is really good that he's willing to communicate with at least one of you." I nodded, seeing where Marco was going with this. "If he's infested, then the Yeerks will know everything, not only about you guys, but us and the fact that he has the power, even if he doesn't realise it himself. We can't let them know that morphing power has been passed on to humans at all, so he will have to be informed of what's going on."
"Plus, seeing that he fights when events could affect him, he would likely assist us." Luna commented airily. "After all, he would probably not like have a Yeerk in his head. I'm sure he would find it most irritating."
/Very true. And considering Slytherin's position, it might help to have someone on the inside. He could get information and access to weak points that you never could./ Tobias added thoughtfully.
"I see your point." Neville conceded, though he didn't like it much. Ernie, Seamus and Ginny didn't look much different. Personally, I was very glad that people from Ravenclaw were on the team. Though they were not the fighters the others were, they were far more open minded. "We'll work on Zabini. Or rather, Anthony will." He added nodding to the finally relaxing blond boy before stepping up to me. "So are we gonna do this now or what?" He asked, indicating the box.
Nodding right back, I held it up in my palm toward him. "We'll do this three at a time. All you have to do is place your hand flat against one side of the cube."
All signs of irritation or tiredness disappeared as the air of excitement returned to the wizards. Looking between each other, they seemed to come to an unspoke decision that the Gryffindors would go first, Ginny and Seamus taking up their places on either side of Neville before each of them reached out for a cube face. The others all watched on as their faces turned thoughtful, though they were still smiling, at what had to be the tingling sensation of the absorption.
"It's done." I stated a moment later, offering each of them a grin. "Welcome to the club."
"Awesome! I can't wait to try this out." Seamus cheered, his smile taking up almost half his face as he went back and forth from staring at his hand and the area around him. "Where'd that Thestral go?"
"Down tiger, wait for your friends." Rachel grinned broadly. She'd definitely taken a liking to Irishman. Ginny too. They'd both shown plenty of the fierceness and keen for action nature that she possessed.
"Yeah, wait for us." Ernie agreed, walking up to me with the Ravenclaws as the Gryffindors moved out of the way. though those three had looked a little more hesitant before, probably unsure about the safety of the process, seeing its success in not harming their friends had completely reinstated their keenness and confidence. It was only a moment later that all six leaders and stealth masters of the DA had become Animorphs.
"So what's the next step?" Ginny asked as everyone finally stopped cheering and settled into a more warrior-like persona. "Acquire some monsters in the forest and lay waste to their Yeerk Pool?"
"No, the pool's unpredictable." I shook my head, getting grunts of agreement from the others. "Even if you found it, they would have technology down there and they've probably already set up a Biofilter at the entrance you found since last night. It'll destroy anything without a Yeerk in its head, and even if there isn't one, you'd have magic, deadly Dracon beams and who knows how many Hork-Bajir and Taxxons to deal with. Besides, if you take the pool away, they'll take every witch and wizard Controller they've got to a pool elsewhere and you won't be able to save them. It's best to avoid it for now."
"So then how are we supposed to get the Yeerks out of the school?" Seamus asked, quickly coming down from his high. "What else can we do?"
"Stop them from progressing." I answered.
/And cut them off from the Pool whenever you can./ Ax added. /As you gain knowledge of their actions and, weaken their numbers and amass your own without fear of them being infested, you will set yourself up for that final conflict and most likely prove successful./
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard." Ginny smirked smugly. "The Portraits, Filch, Death Eaters and House Elves are making it near impossible to keep their actions secret in the castle. And our actions probably will draw more."
/True, it's mostly the Yeerk opts in the forest that you'll have to worry about./ Tobias agreed. /There you'll see plenty of Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. Try saving the bladed guys, they make good friends and valuable allies./
"But this still hasn't answered Ginny's question." Neville reminded us, staring at each of us, magical, Muggle, bird and alien alike. "Surely this isn't all you guys planned to do here?"
"Hardly." I agreed, ignoring the questioning looks I got from a few of my friends. We still hadn't talked everything through, but now that twelve morph capables of two worlds were gathered and ready, it was time to get all the Intel we needed to prepare for the rest of the problem. "We have two other pools in place in Wizard territory. Obviously, no one here can get at the Ministry, so we need to work on a plan to deal with that. But the third one..." I added, giving everyone a smirk that was far more often seen on Rachel or David. "If you guys are prepared to ditch school and face a little danger, how about we work out a plan for a massive jailbreak?"
"Oh, I like this guy." Seamus smirked right back at me. "I believe this is the start of a rather interesting friendship."
AN: And there we have it. They finally gained the power to morph and a possible future ally or enemy, depending on what happens to Blaise. Down either road, he'd hold a very powerful position to the new Animorphs. Which do you think I'll pick?
Things will start moving faster now, the big battle of the story is drawing in, though there are a couple of necessary detours along the way, so I ain't saying the story's gonna end too quickly.
Well, that's it for now. see ya next time. Oh, just because I feel generous, I'll also say that the next chapter will hold the debut of the Golden Trio.