Chapter 4

The first thing Red Dragon was aware of was two voices, speaking close to her. As they spoke, she recognised the Headmaster's cold, brisk tones, and Rose's sneering speech. Groggily, she attempted to get herself upright, but unhappily discovered that her limbs would not obey her, and all she could do was twitch her hands and feet. She resigned herself to being stuck where she was for the moment and attempted to focus on the discussion occurring close by. At the moment, the Headmaster was speaking in a tone of voice which caused her to shudder. When the Headmaster was angry, he did not normally shout, but his voice became like ice, and any sensible person would have recognised that tone of voice and either ran for the nearest exit or attempted to placate him. "What you did was unacceptable. She was stopping the argument, and you have to continue by pushing her! Hopefully, you will see what damage such behaviour has caused and act in a mature manner in future." There was a splutter of outrage, and Red Dragon's eyes suddenly bulged in horror as she frantically thought stop right now you idiot! You are going to make him angrier! However, Rose, being the kind of person she was, could not stop herself from answering him back. "You think I should have stopped arguing?! She would not obey me! She is under my orders!"

There was gasp, and Red Dragon forced herself into a sitting position. She had to know what was going on, even if it caused the most terrible pins and needles when she moved. Rose and the Headmaster were standing in front of the door. The Headmaster, as she had feared, was looking furious, and Rose was looking slightly afraid, also wincing a little. The Headmaster was holding Rose's arm so tightly that it was obviously causing her pain; it appeared as if he had just grabbed her. When he spoke next, his voice was a hiss of fury. This caused Red Dragon to cower back and shut her eyes. "At least she knows when to stop! You on the other hand, are so arrogant that you think you are always right and that everyone must do what you say! Need I remind you that you are under my orders, and I will not tolerate any more feuding! This stops right now, is that clear?!" There was a quiet "Yes Sir" from Rose and the Headmaster spoke again. "Go home. I do not want to see you until Monday. You are lucky I don't demote you on the spot." Red Dragon opened her eyes again now that it seemed the target of his wrath was leaving, watching as the Headmaster let go of Rose's arm, and she walked out of the office with her head lowered.

She must have made some kind of noise to indicate her relief, as the Headmaster suddenly turned towards the Evolution Accelerator. Even though his eyes were hidden, she gained the impression that the Headmaster's cold and calculating eyes were locked with her own. Something seemed to startle him slightly, as he stepped backwards. Red Dragon had a nasty suspicion that it was something to do with her. What made here even more uneasy was that the Headmaster had been startled enough to let his reaction show, he rarely allowed any expression of his to demonstrate itself to those around him, even if they were loyal to him. "What…what is the matter Sir?" Her own voice seemed different somehow. It seemed to have a harsher edge to it, and she hissed (seemingly instinctively) whenever she said the letter 'S'. She gasped, her eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and horror. Something had changed her voice, and right now she was close to panic, as she did not know what had. In answer to her question, the Headmaster walked swiftly out of the office, returning in a few moments with a small mirror, which he silently held up in front of her face. Red Dragon could not believe what she was seeing. A dramatic change had taken place. Her skin seemed to have a different texture. She brushed her face with her fingertips, feeling cool, hard, scales yet seeing ordinary flesh in the mirror. It was her eyes which had changed the most. Her irises had completely disappeared, leaving just the pupils. The whites of her eyes had changed colour, into intense fiery amber, almost orange. Her pupils were slitted slightly, a narrow strip of black dividing her eyes in half, with fiery amber each side. This was too much for her to deal with right now. She whimpered, snapping her eyes shut, not wanting to see her unnatural face any longer.

She heard footsteps as the Headmaster walked away from her. There was a clink, and she guessed that he had put down the mirror on his desk. She heard his footsteps again, this time returning to her. He stopped, and she felt him grasp her by the arm, urging her to her feet. She obeyed instinctively but stopped short with a high yelp of pain as she moved, the pins and needles returning with a vengeance. The Headmaster sighed and said "Even though it causes you pain, you must move to get off the Evolution Accelerator you are on. If it is triggered again, your may not survive." Red Dragon nodded and gritted her teeth, forcing her twitching limbs to obey her and tumbling off the Evolution Accelerator. The Headmaster hooked an arm around her chest and hauled her off the floor, easily heaving her onto the chair in front of his desk. She grunted as she landed in the chair, surprised that the Headmaster was acknowledging her desire to keep her eyes firmly shut. She had expected that he would demand that she open her eyes as soon as she had closed them, as he insisted that his Prefects make eye contact with him while they were in his presence, so they would know when he required them to obey orders.

He again moved away from her, and she heard the creak of its legs as he sat down in his own chair on the other side of the desk. For a while the Headmaster was silent, and Red Dragon waited patiently for him to speak. When he did, his voice was thoughtful; it was obvious he had just worked something out. "You will doubtless wish to know how your appearance and physiology has changed so drastically. Listen attentively, and I will explain…."