fore notes :
1 Galleon = 370 pound
1 Sickle = 21 pound
1 knut = 0,75 pound
end of fore notes
The cauldron in front of her was simmering gently. A fine blue foam swirled on the emerald liquid. Myo looked at her pocket watch, a gift from Mélusine. A picture of her and Luna in the Lovegoods' garden stuck to the inside of the lid. She couldn't help but smile as she did every time she opened the clasp of the pretty black mechanical watch. Right, now, five turns of the glass rod clockwise, then the book said to turn down the heat and leave it to simmer for ten minutes.
She sat down on the comfortable stool a few feet from the work surface and pulled out her aptly named book, "Traveller's Potions and Decoctions" by "Elric De Melniboné" One of her new favourite books in which was the recipe for the potion she was brewing, one of the books she had finally managed to translate from the Old English, from her kitchen library. Blessed be the potion lab, and kitchen in the cave under the tower. Without it, she would have been in a lot of trouble. Andy had made it very clear that she was not allowed to brew potions without adult supervision. But Myo couldn't ask for help with that. This potion was after all an important part of her plan to kidnap Luna and take her to Hogwart's with her. And she doubted that Andy, or any adult, would agree to take part in her scheme.
It had been a few days since Myo had returned to her tower. The nightmares had faded, making only rare appearances, and the panic attacks had stopped. Isabelle had also said that she was back to full health. Now she saw Isabelle twice a week, once alone and once with Fleur. The alone time was used to teach her how to feel and control her aura to limit its effects and avoid having too many problems at Hogwart's. She would have problems anyway because of the aura. She would have trouble in any case because of the impossibility for a veela to have total control over her aura, but she might as well limit the damage.
These sessions had brought a huge revelation to Myo. The mystery of the house had finally been solved! She had talked to Isabelle about the durleys, asking her what she knew about this species that so many people seemed to ignore, and why the house was protecting her from them. Why the pack's vernon was only violent after spending several days away from home. It turned out that Isabel didn't know about the existence of such vile and deceitful creatures as the Durleys either, but she had an answer about the house. It transpired that it wasn't the house at all that protected Myo, but her aura! Isabelle had explained that one of the main functions of a veela's aura was to protect the veela. To manipulate the minds of those with evil intentions towards her, to redirect those intentions to something else. Whether to ignore the veela completely, or to worship her. The result really depended on the person subject to the aura. The thing was, Myo's aura at that time was very weak, Myo being so young and her aura having awakened earlier than normal to protect her. Her aura being weak, it needed time to become embedded in the vernon's mind, and its influence disappeared if the vernon moved too far away. The vernon would then be free of the aura when it returned, doing what it would normally do all the time if the aura had not been there. At least that was what Myo understood from Isabelle's long explanation.
Never before had Myo been so grateful to her aura, that invisible force that had done its best to protect her and prevent the Durelys from doing their worst. Just thinking about it made her shiver, she couldn't imagine what those monsters would have done to her if she hadn't had her aura, or if her aura had been weaker.
Ah, ten minutes had passed. Myo approached the cauldron and poured the sand rose powder into it, before turning the glass wand ten times counter-clockwise. The liquid had turned orange and smelled like a sea breeze. She nodded. Exactly what the book described. She grabbed her map of Britain and dipped it into the liquid, making sure the whole map was submerged. Now she had to let it reduce and wait for all the potion to disappear as it infused itself into the map and evaporated. She sat back down on the stool.
Isabelle's lessons were really exciting, she was learning a lot of things. Some less pleasant than others, like the fact that when she would be twelve, her aura would mature as she entered adolescence and that the boys would become stupid, slobbering idiots around her and the girls would be jealous and bad to her. Myo had then expressed her fears about the future of her friendship with Luna, would her aura drive her away from her? Would she also become stupid around her? To her relief, apparently not. Myo had been drowning Luna, Nym and the adults she knew in her aura unconsciously since they met, and they must have become entirely resistant to the allure long ago. The thrall was another story...
As much as Myo enjoyed spending time with Isabelle, Fleur's visits were much more enjoyable. She and Fleur had become fast friends. Their discussions became more and more interesting and Fleur agreed to let herself be drawn as often as Myo wanted. Fleur even agreed to sing with her. It was apparently normal for a veela to express themselves through song, a way of expressing their emotions and conveying more complex and deep feelings to other veela than could be shared through simple aura contact. One thing Fleur seemed to enjoy in particular with Myo was flying. Nym would sometimes join them, amusing herself by changing the colour of her feathers.
Since Myo had met Fleur and Isabelle, her life had changed radically. Talking, interacting or just being with another veela was just... Myo couldn't really describe it, but it was good. It was like meeting someone for the first time to talk to completely. Someone whose sincerity was perfectly readable and clear. Having grown up with dursley's, Myo had trouble interpreting people's feelings and emotions, but with another veela, it was no problem. She felt... connected. As if a hollow in her heart that she had never realised existed was being filled. Myo was as anxious as she was afraid to meet other veela than Fleur and Isabelle, a completely unfounded fear of being rejected because she was not familiar with their customs. Fear of being completely overwhelmed by the weight of honest and sincere feelings that she would feel and that would risk drowning her. But at the same time... she was dying to find out and understand what Fleur spoke of with such affection when she mentioned her flock.
Myo sighed, Fleur had told her that her flock had invited her to meet them in their village for the winter solstice festival. And Myo really hoped to be ready by then and not to make too big a cultural faux pas. Once she had proposed to Fleur to come with her to her room in the Tonks to do a preening together. Fleur had become red-faced and embarrassed, before accepting. It had been wonderful to do it with Fleur, and Myo hoped to convince Fleur to do it as a threesome by inviting Luna along one day. Afterwards, when Myo had asked Fleur why she was so embarrassed, Fleur had explained the problem. In a concise way, it turned out that Myo was far too 'affectionate' and offered to do things reserved for couples and family members to people you wouldn't normally do that with. Fleur had then reassured her. No one was going to blame her for this. Not until she inserted herself into a flock.
At her last meeting with Fleur, she had introduced her to Luna. Both had been civil with each other, but Myo wasn't stupid either. She had sensed the underlying tension, especially with Fleur's allure coiling around her, cold towards Luna. This civility was only on the surface, there was something between the two girls that prevented them from getting along as Myo would have liked, but she was unable to say what. When she'd asked Luna about it, she'd crossed her arms and called Fleur an Astrinne thief, and Fleur had said she found it odd that Luna was so close to Myo, but without elaborating. She hoped she could soon get the two to get along. Luna was her best friend, and Myo was quickly becoming attached to Fleur, and was hesitating to give her one of her feathers. It would be wonderful if the two could get along. She would investigate, and find out the source of the problem.
It was good to be back in her tower, although she did go back and forth between her home and the Tonks or Lovegood, having a home was one of the best things that ever happened to her. Besides, her commute gave her an excuse to take long flights, high in the sky, completely free. As she waited for the potion to finish infusing itself into the map, she began shucking the halibut caught earlier today, the smell of fresh fish making her mouth water. It would go wonderfully with the roots she had picked up the day before. Maybe she should imitate Andy and make a vegetable garden in the ruins below her tower... it would give more variety to her wild meals.
She was pulled from her activity a few minutes later by a steaming noise. She glanced at the cauldron, thick purple smoke billowing from it. She leaned over it, it was empty, all the potion gone, only the map remained, resting at the bottom of the cauldron. She grabbed it, the map was already completely dry, she was vibrating with excitement. She unfolded the map on a table, discovering Britain and all those islands before her eyes. She had to test her new creation, and now. She put her hand on the map and said loudly and clearly. "Where was I on the sixteenth of August at 11pm?" A red dot appeared in the middle of Scotland, in the mountains about ten miles from the sea. She smiled, Hogwart's location revealed before her eyes. "Where am I now?" she asked next. A green dot appeared about fifty kilometres from Hogwart, on the coast of northern Scotland. Hogwart was closer to her tower than she thought... Satisfied, she folded up her new map, her plan was on track.
oOOOo
Everyone was there, (except Fleur and Isabelle.) Ted, Andy, Nym, Pando, Xeno, Luna and Mélusine. Frankly, Myo thought that it was perhaps a bit of an overkill to have everyone present just to go and buy her school supplies. They met early in the morning at the Tonks' house. After a long breakfast with too many complicated and uninteresting adult discussions going Myo had ignored and spent with Luna and Nym discussing the best feather sharpening techniques. Myo had shown them her new metal-tipped quill. One of her own feathers for comfort and familiarity and a piece of metal found in the ruins below the tower had been used. Her flames made working with metal ridiculously easy, heating the metal to just the right temperature to easily shape it with her bare hands. The brooch holding the three feathers in Luna's hair and the silver triskel medallion around Luna's neck were evidence of this.
Unlike usual, Luna had chosen to sit on her lap. It made eating breakfast more difficult but didn't bother her that much. She liked having Luna against her. It was weird though, weird enough that it caused several raised eyebrows around the table. This was not Luna's habit. Since Isabelle and Fleur had come into Myo's life, Luna had been much more clingy than usual. Myo didn't complain about it... but it worried her slightly.
After breakfast, the group had left for the small country station of the small rural magical village where the Tonks' house was located. There weren't many people on the platform, except for their group and a young witch and her son who looked to be the same age as Myo, apparently an acquaintance of Andy's. After about ten minutes of waiting, playing the magic animal theme charade with Luna and Nym, an old steam train with a big green engine arrived at the station. Behind it were three painted wooden carriages. From the chimney rose a thick white smoke. Luna replied to her curious look: "Steam, my mother told me that these trains work with heating runes on the water tank or something. Personaly, i think they employ salamanders."
Myo sat comfortably on the bench of the carriage between Luna and Nym, watching the few other passengers in the carriage as the rest of the Lovegoods and Tonks settled down. A fat wizard in a big sky-blue cloak and a big black pointy hat was reading the paper, his monocle showing one of his far too large grey eyes. Two young wizards were talking animatedly about quidditch and a witch who was at least eighty years old if the first wrinkles were as significant as Myo thought. The two young wizards looked at her wide-eyed for several minutes as the train pulled away. Myo didn't like it, being watched like that. She decided to ignore the two rude ones and continue talking to Luna and Nym, drawing the gloomy witch with a smiling face instead of a sad one on her sketchbook while ignoring as best she could the adults' annoying talk about ministries and goblins.
The train sped through the countryside, stopping regularly, motley passengers getting on and off at each stop, many watching her with curiosity, fear or disdain, more rarely neutrally, none of them daring to approach because of the murderous glances Andy was giving to the boldest. Luna and Nym had gotten up to look at something in the window of the wagon while Myo finished drawing the witch. She carefully removed the sheet of paper with the drawing from her sketchbook and approached the sullen witch under the protective eye of Pandora who had turned away from the fatally boring conversation of the adults.
Myo plucked up her courage, she wasn't a Dursley, she was a veela, if she wanted to survive Hogwart's she would have to dare to talk to unknown humans. She swallowed, trying to calm the tension in her limbs, feeling her flames just beneath her skin, reassuring her with their soothing presence. "Ma'am?" She asked in a small, shy voice, trying to be brave.
The witch turned to her and gasped, her eyes widening in surprise, her gaze roaming over her form, first her eyes, then her wings, her green dress and the lovely grey scales of her talons before resting on her face. "Hello." Myo said with a smile. All the adults had ceased their conversation, watching the exchange with curiosity and tension. "Hello," croaked the lady.
"This is for you." said Myo, handing her the drawing with both hands, on which the lady was smiling, looking at the scenery outside. The lady took the drawing with a slightly shaky hand, her brown eyes tracing the charcoal lines.
"Thank you. It's very well done." She said in a slightly husky voice, before continuing in a slightly surprised tone. "I... smile on it." Myo's face lit up as she clasped her hands behind her back, this was going better than she thought it would. "You're much prettier when you smile," Myo said simply. The witch let out a small, muffled laugh, her features relaxing. Myo smiled wider, "Just as I said. Good day ma'am." She finished before returning to sit with Luna and Nym who had meanwhile returned to the bench and watched the exchange with curiosity. "Good day, young lady." The witch muttered, visibly shaken by the exchange. She got off at the next stop with a smile on her face, her previous gloom forgotten. Myo saw this as a success.
A question had been nagging at the back of Myo's mind for a while. Completely unexpectedly, and having nothing to do with Luna's theories about the presence of unicorns in Hogwart, Myo turned to Pandora. "Pando?"
She turned to her and blinked, trying to refocus after being so abruptly extracted from a very interesting discussion with Ted and Andy about the strange price increases of certain potion ingredients. "Yes?"
"Why a train?" Myo simply asked.
"What do you mean?" Pandora said with a frown.
"I mean... there's the apparition, the portkey, the floo network..."
"Ah, simple, floo is not safe for everyone, many people are allergic to it and get sick from taking it or get hurt. You for example, can't take it. And the apparition... The ministry levies a tax for each jump made with the help of their license to maintain the space coverage allowing the jumps. This makes the apparition terribly expensive if used too often or with groups. The portkey requires someone highly skilled to do the spell which makes it expensive. There is the knightbus but it has the same problem as the floonetwork. So many people prefer to take the train, for reasons of cost, comfort, or simply tradition.
Luna and Nym had stopped talking to listen too, interested in this question they had never asked themselves. "I see... and the brooms?" Myo finally said.
"The broom is the cheapest and therefore the most public. But it's uncomfortable for long journeys, and when flying over muggle areas, you either have to be able to cast the disillusionment spell, or fly very, very high. And then flying in broomsticks in bad weather or when it's very windy is dangerous."
Myo nodded thoughtfully. "And can't we make a safer and more comfortable flying object? Protected from the rain? More stable?"
"High-end brooms are equipped with spells for that purpose, and the broom lobby is powerful in Britain." Pandora replied with a laugh. "They even managed to make flying carpets illegal a few decades ago."
oOOOo
Myo shook the slumbering Luna, who had fallen asleep with her head on her shoulder. They had arrived at Charing station. Andy had admitted that she had originally wanted to take them shopping in Boggart Hole Clough, the main magical district of Manchester, deeming it quieter than Charing and Diagon Alley, but the Ministry had explicitly requested that Myo be taken to Charing, question of publicity or something like that going way over Myo's head. At least the fact that she had arrived at the magical Damelfritz station directly at Charing had spared her a trip to the licky cauldron, a far too busy bar where she would have been mobbed from all sides.
The station was full of people coming and going, minding their own business. Many stopped to watch her, some daring to approach, but fortunately repelled by a dark look and the impressive aura of the terrifying Andy Tonks. Myo had hidden behind Luna and between Pandora and Xeno as the group exited the station and headed for the main shopping alley, Diagon. Myo was more than a little uncomfortable. Some people looked at her with detestation, a clear form of betrayal in their eyes. Others were curious, frightened, fascinated, some had glassy eyes. Myo shivered. She already hated this visit. Too many people, too many eyes on her, burning her neck. She wanted to fly away, to go far away, back to her tower. Her breathing quickened, she felt a drop of cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She felt a hand slip into hers. Rooting her in the present. Myo turned her gaze to Luna's face, forgetting the crowd around them. They continued walking, only Luna existed, the rest was not important. They climbed a staircase and came to a place that was a bit quieter. Myo found her composure. Her vision cleared up, settling down again. Around her was a large marble hall. Along the walls, dozens of counters behind which wrinkled, dull-skinned goblins were busy. Their teeth were sharp, their expressions hard, knife-edged, often bald. They were counting, writing, and chatting with various wizards and witches. Everywhere, posted at key points of the room, goblins in full armour, glittering and finely crafted. Silver and steel reflected the orange and gold lights of the high chandeliers illuminating the hall. In the hands of its stoic guards, great halberds as elegant as they were deadly. Myo's panic attack was replaced by excitement. These goblins looked as fierce as they were noble.
Their group moved towards one of the vacant counters, Ted addressing one of the goblins and exchanging a few words before handing him a key. Myo was too absorbed in her admiration of the place to pay much attention to what was being said. She was soon brought back to her senses, however, when a goblin addressed her directly. "Veela Potter, we don't have all day, get settled in the wagon." She didn't have time to protest before she was literally shoved into the wagon. That's when the nightmare began.
...
Half an hour later, when Myo emerged from hell, she swore she would never go back in her life. Myo was a creature of the sky, from above the clouds. Not from the deep, damp, cold, narrow depths of underground tunnels. The journey in the wagon through the darkness, lit for brief moments by a few torches, the roar of a terrible creature hidden somewhere behind the massive basalt pillars. It was torture. Knowing that she was under hundreds of metres of earth and rock, so far from the sky, from where she belonged, had been awful. It was nothing like the cave of her tower. That big crevice so wide she could fly in, the comfortable room where she made her potions, her hot springs, the luminous mosses and plants giving the cave a fairy-like appearance. No, here it was darkness, narrowness, metal, and the promise of pain. She had quickly filled a bag of shiny coins, without really paying attention, focused on her only goal of getting it over with as quickly as possible and Fleeing! She hadn't even bothered to look at the contents of the vault, it didn't matter, all that mattered was getting out. It was only afterwards that the goblin accompanying them, noticing her rapid breathing and teary eyes as well as the worried look on Luna and Nym's faces, told her about the existence of grinvoucher, a way to pay without having to go and get the physical money, letting the bank proceed with the exchange for a minimal fee.
Myo gave thanks before bursting out of the bank like a cannonball, vowing not to set foot in the bank again unless forced to.
The next stop was Mrs. Malkin's Dresses for All Occasions. A glass-fronted shop with a view of elegantly dressed, inexpressive white mannequins. The interior of the shop was larger than the exterior suggested, much to the relief of Myo, claustrophobic after the horror of Gringotts. A few seconds after entering, she was greeted by a woman with a significant amount of girth. "Oh, dear, Myosotis Potter. She said with wide eyes and a hand in front of her mouth as her tape measure made violent contact with the floor with a clatter.
On a small round platform, behind the woman stood a blond boy about her age who stared at her with his eyes bulging, his already white skin paling further and his jaw threatening to drop. "Hello ma'am." Myosotis said shyly. Couldn't people just react normally in her presence? Behind her, Andy cleared her throat. "Ma'am, this would be to inquire if you are able to provide us with Hogwart's uniform dresses suitable for Myosotis' body type."
Andy's threatening look was enough to snap the woman out of her trance. "Ah, um. Greetings and welcome. Yes of course, I'm sure I can accommodate you. Darling, can you get on the platform next to the young lad please?" Myo complied, stepping onto the platform as a tape measure approached her to measure her in every angle. She had to make a conscious effort to keep herself from setting it on fire. She glanced discreetly at Luna to let her know it was time to start her reconnaissance mission before turning her head towards the boy as the adults stayed behind to talk amongst themselves. Nym had apparently seen the discreet exchange between Myo and Luna but did not seek to have more when Myo, placing a finger on her lips, gave her the silent sign. Pandora had begun to inspect the capes, observing a cloth covered in small silver moons.
"Hello." Myo said as she held out her hand to the boy on the other stand, a tape measure seeming to get caught in his hair, probably stuck from the amount of gel and hairspray. The boy snapped out of his trance, his eyes roaming over her entire body, ignoring her outstretched hand for the moment. "You know, it's rude to stare at people like that." Myo finally said.
By way of introduction, the boy looked her in the eye, his face forming a sardonic grimace. "Beasts are not allowed in Hogwart's."
"What beast?" Myo asked, curious. "The letter said we were allowed pets."
"That's you! That wild beast, Father warned me!" He said, pointing at her and smacking her still outstretched hand.
Myo cocked his head to the side, bewildered by all this hatred. "You know, beasts don't think or talk, so I'm not a beast. Your accusation makes no sense."
The boy suddenly turned from white to red. "You... you... DO NOT APPROACH ME! MONSTER! FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS." He finally shouted before running out of the shop, the tape measure still stuck to the gel in his hair. Silence fell on the room, all the adults looking towards the door left wide open, the bell tinkling in the air. The panicked footsteps of the saleswoman approached.
"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly.
Myo turned to her, disconcerted, "I don't know, I said hello to the boy, then he said I was a beast, I told him I wasn't because beasts don't talk, then he started screaming before running away. Is this normal behaviour?"
The saleswoman looked at the stunned faces of all the adults present offering her all the confirmation she needed. She let out a long, painful sigh. "It's nothing, honey, some of them are just a little limited in their minds and what their parents told them doesn't help. Please come in and try on the dresses."
...
An hour later, Myo and company came out of the shop. Upon discovering that Myo's wardrobe was more than limited, consisting of only a few antique dresses and other dresses handmade by Andy and Pandora, the saleswoman had gone into a frenzy. Now Myo found herself in possession of several winter, summer and mid-season dresses as well as three pajamas with designs chosen by Luna, an ingenious lace system had been added to accommodate her wings and tail. Myo had no problem with sleeping naked, but the memory of a morning when Pandora had found her naked in Luna's bed had made her quickly accept the pyjamas. Myo was also now enjoying a small army of loose silk underwear. The sort of thing she had never seen the vernons used but which looked comfortable.
Their next stop was to be 'Slugs and Pickles' a potioner recommended by Andy. Myo had pointed out that she already had all the materials in her tower, but Andy had insisted that it would be an insult to the 'magnificent antique cauldrons' of the cave to be used and spoiled in the classroom. So Myo had been forced into the shop where she had spent the time with Luna and Nym looking at all the ingredients and other strange things stored in jars while Andy was on the warpath, carefully selecting all the materials Myo would need. This stop was much quicker than the previous one, Andy being most efficient.
Pandora asked Myo if she wanted to have a look as she passed a shop full of caged poor owls. Myo could see the sadness in their eyes, their longing for the sky and freedom, the very existence of this place revolted her. But there was nothing she could do now. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before nodding and the group continued on their way. Myo clenched her teeth, the claws of her talons scraping the ground.
...
Myo was amazed, the Tonks' library was big, but not that big. Row upon row of overflowing shelves of books reached up to the ceiling of the library. For the first time since the outing began, the group split up, each whispering something about needing a book on a particular subject, or hearing about a new magazine or novel. Myo herself began to explore, getting lost in the labyrinth of shelves, stopping every now and then to read the spine of a book or to browse through one.
After taking into her basket a book devoted exclusively to owl feather care potions that she assumed could be applied to her own plumage, she turned the corner of a shelf to see a young girl about her age bent over a book. Both curious and frightened after her last interaction with a boy she didn't know, she approached, curiosity overcoming fear. She was the predator after all. A little human like that couldn't hurt her. The girl had long brown hair in a mess, her brown eyes resting on the page of the book in her hand. She was wearing clothes quite different from the wizards she had seen all day. She moved closer and looked over her shoulder. It was a book that seemed to be about the history of Howart, the page was about the reformation of the 1700s, the time when high ritual classes were abolished after the defeat of the dark lady Milavina Donwish. Suddenly the girl seemed aware of her presence and turned her head in her direction, her eyes widened and she gasped, her hand resting on her heart as she let out a small cry. Myo stepped back, a little frightened.
The girl sighed, "You scared me! Don't you think it's a little creepy to sneak up on people like that?"
Myo tilted her head to the side before lowering her eyes. "Sorry, I was curious." Myo tried to smile and held out her hand. The girl hadn't called her a monster, nor had she run away. A good sign, wasn't it? "Hello. My name is Myosotis, what's yours?"
The girl looked at her for a moment before shrugging slightly and coming closer. She shook her hand and said. "Hello, my name is Hermione." Her eyes roamed over her for a moment more, full of intense curiosity. "What are you?" She seemed to realise that her question was as direct as it was abrupt, if not rude, for she rubbed the back of her head with a blush. "Um, sorry, it's just... I'm new to the magical world and all, I didn't even know magic existed until a teacher came to my house a few months ago."
It all made sense now, Myo clapped her hands happily, a smile on her face. "Oh, it all makes sense now! You're a Muggle-born! Andy told me about them."
"Yes, that's what Professor Mcgonagal said."
"Hm, that's odd isn't it? People in this country don't contact Muggle families with magical children until they're eleven. It must be difficult if the child is raised by vernons."
"From this country? vernons?"
"Yes, Fleur says that in the Great Alliance they use a great nationwide ritual to locate the birth of mages and reach the parents as soon as possible. To avoid problems and vernons." Myo's enthusiasm was perhaps a little too great at meeting someone who didn't look at her with prejudiced eyes or run away after insulting her.
"Wait, you're losing me. The Great Alliance? And I still don't know what you are."
"Do you have enough to buy a book or two?"
Hermione nodded her head perplexed.
"Don't move." Myo went to one of the previously explored shelves and grabbed an Atlas of Magical Europe before trotting towards Hermione, the claws of her talons making their characteristic clicking noise on the wood. Hermione didn't move an inch as if dazed. She didn't seem to realise that Myo had returned until Myo thrust the atlas under her nose. "Here, here! There's the same one at the Tonks', it's very good."
Hermione took the book and gave her a smile of disarming sincerity. It was as if putting a book in her hands was a source of great happiness for her. "Thank you! I didn't know that wizarding geography was different from muggle geography. I had assumed that the borders were the same..." Hermione raised an eyebrow as she hung her sentence, as if she was waiting for something from Myo. Suddenly it was obvious to her and she felt stupid, she had been so excited that she had forgotten Hermione's question.
"I am a veela." She said with pride.
"A veela?" repeated Hermione in bewilderment.
"A bird thing, human-like body, with wings, and can summon flames!" She said as she spread her wings and conjured a blue flame in her hand.
"That wasn't in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." Hermione said with a frown.
"From what I've read, veela are in the category of beings, not beasts and there is very very little written about us." Hermione didn't look satisfied with this answer but nodded all the same. Eager to change the subject, Myo said. "Are you going to Hogwart's this year?"
Hermione's face lit up. "Yes! I'm so excited! I'm finally going to be able to practice magic. My wand is at home, and I'm dying to use it. And Professor Mcgonagal said there's a huge library there..." Hermione was cut short in her speech by a woman's voice calling her name. She glanced at her watch and winced. " Darn it! Mum's here. I've got to go! See you at Hogwarts!" she said before running towards the sound of the voice. Myo was as amused as she was taken aback by this encounter. Hermione seemed nice, it felt good to be talked to normally...
...
far too many books in their pockets later, and a duplicate of each school book, which Myo had convinced Pandora was necessary to take for safety reasons, the little group was on their way to their last destination. Ted had just joined them, after fetching a bottomless bag that Myo could carry on her belly so as not to interfere with her wings, and the requiered telescope. Now they just had to find Ollivander's wand shop.
The shop was positively ancient. A thick layer of dust obscured the windows. Bronze letters hung in the front, but many of them seemed to have come off over time. The paint was slowly peeling, giving the place an almost abandoned look. Ted warned them that the shop was small and suggested that only two people with Myo should be allowed in. Luna and Andy offered immediately and the trio stepped inside. The walls were covered with small boxes, a high counter cut the place in two and the atmosphere was dusty, the sunlight filtering through the grimy shop window visible on the dust particles. Sensing a presence behind her, Myo turned around briskly, her flames, worried, vibrating just beneath her skin. A very old man with parched skin and a surprised look on his face stood there. He slowly raised his hands in surrender, laughing. "Well done young lady, I'm Ollivander, nice to meet you. It's been a long time since anyone managed to see me coming."
His eyes seemed to be staring at her but not really seeing her, as if he was looking through her. He walked silently around the counter and stopped behind it. "Hello sir." Myo finally said, trying to ignore her unease.
"Um, a young veela... here to pick up a wand I suppose. Rare thing, rare thing... it's been a long time..." He said, completely ignoring Andy and Luna's presence.
Myo tilted her head slightly to the side, glaring at the man. "Has a veela ever bought a wand from you?"
"Yes, but that was a long time ago... The past is past and the future awaits you, storm bird. Follow me into the workshop, for you, I'm afraid I have to make a custom wand. Do you feel the fear of those already in the room? They know they cannot accommodate your flames."
The old man motioned for her to follow him into the back room. Myo hesitated, she didn't want to be alone with this strange old man, storm bird, wand fear? What did that mean? As if sensing her hesitation Ollivander stood still, and without turning around, said. "The little moon can come with you, twilight bird, not the black lady though." Myo and Luna looked at each other for a moment, puzzled. They only finally followed Ollivander's lead when Andy gently pushed them forward, muttering something about a senile old man. Luna and Myo nodded resolutely and followed the man.
The door to Ollivander's workshop closed behind them with a soft slam. The workshop was a mess, with workbenches, tools of all kinds and books and documents strewn about the room in unfathomable chaos. The atmosphere was dusty, old, the smell of wood and varnish hung over the thick atmosphere of the room. Three large windows with small multi-coloured panes filtered the sunlight, colouring the floors and walls, only adding to the surreal atmosphere of the place. In one corner of the room, on a table of antique carved grey wood, was a teapot and a motley assortment of cups all more or less chipped, the smell of tea mingling with the others. Ollivander was rummaging through various boxes and drawers, talking to himself in a low voice.
Sensing that Ollivander would be in for a while, Myo and Luna began to explore the room curiously, inspecting wood, tools, and other books and documents, not caring that snooping around like this might seem rude. A few minutes later, as Myo was flipping through an old yellow book of poems about the connection between wood, earth and magic, Ollivander let out an exclamation and poked his head out of the crate he had sunk into. "Here it is! At last." He turned and approached Myo. "Here, take this in your hand." He said, handing her a strange, long white bone. Myo squeezed it between her fingers, amazed at the warmth and comfort she got from holding the object in her fingers. Ollivander nodded with satisfaction. "A wing bone from an old dragon. Freely given, and recovered after its death of old age. Perfect for a sky creature and made for the flames." He retrieved the bone. "Now I need one of your feathers to give it a heart. A wing feather if possible. I need you to give it to me freely, it's important."
Myo looked to Luna for the little blonde's opinion. This was getting really strange and this Ollivander wasn't making it easy to trust him. Luna simply nodded dreamily and Myo sighed. She wouldn't cut it. She gritted her teeth and drew a feather, a bit of blood at the tip, a sharp pain on her wing. She held it out to Ollivander as Luna took the welcome step of massaging the point where it had been torn out.
Ollivander looked particularly Happy, a feather in one hand, the bone in the other. "Good! Perfect, back in an hour. And you too little moon, I must give you your wand now, or my shop door will suffer tonight."
Myo was horrified, did Ollivander know about their master plan? "Don't worry young ladies, I'll be as quiet as a grave about your plans." With these words he pushed them out of his workshop before closing the door and singing happily.
Andy looked up from the paper she was reading... she was silent for a moment before finally saying. "I've never seen Ollivander so happy..."
...
An hour, three ice creams and a very embarrassed Mr. Fortescue at Myo's enthusiasm at discovering frozen delights she didn't know existed, the little group was back at Ollivander's. The man was comfortably seated behind his counter and immediately stood up with a big smile when he saw them enter. "Ah here you are, little bird, little moon, follow me." He glanced at Andy with amusement, "And you, the black queen, please wait there."
To Myo's surprise, Luna spoke up, she who had been rather shy and silent towards Ollivander until now. "Sir, you act as if you were a serious case of wrackspurt infestation, whereas there are no wrackspurt here?" Luna asked in an adorably innocent way. Ollivander stopped and turned to Luna, a wide smile on his face. He said in a deep, serious voice. "Because I have eaten them all." Luna let out a small scream of terror before hiding behind Myo, whispering in her ear in a panicked voice that the wrackspurt must not be eaten. Ollivander laughed before taking them back to his workshop.
He approached his workbench and delicately took in his hands a long white wand of about thirty centimetres covered with tiny runes and arabesques engraved on it. In Myo's eyes, it was a true work of art. "Here is your wand, young storm bird. Thirty-two centimetres, relentless, dragon wing bone and veela feather heart. Try it."
Myo took it in her hands reverently, the bone was soft to her touch, she could feel her flames just beneath her fingers dancing happily at the object's touch. Without her being able to control it, she found herself enveloped in her blue flames, joyful, happy to welcome the wand. "Try making some movements with it," Ollivander suggested, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes sparkling with joy and amusement. Myo did not hesitate, she made a wide arc with her wand, her flames following the movement, passing through the bone wand, growing in intensity effortlessly, following its movement like a long snake of fire moving through the air in the middle of the room. Myo lowered her wand, making a conscious effort to calm her flames, to bring them back into herself, the arc of flame still in the air seeming to evaporate. Myo inspected her wand in wonder, it was right where it belonged in her fingers, light, soft, perfect...
"Take care of it, there is a special kit for the maintenance of bone wands, I recommend it. Oh yes, don't let anyone touch it, this wand may react very violently if anyone but you tries to use it." Myo just nodded, still in awe of his wand.
Meanwhile, Ollivander had disappeared into an adjacent room and returned with a long rectangular box. He opened it as he approached Luna, revealing a glossy black wand, entirely smooth, with no symbols on it. "Here you go moon girl. The wand that chose you. A year early, but this way, my shop won't be robbed tonight. twenty-five centimetres, thorn wood and unicorn hair." Luna took her wand gently, barely between her fingers, a shower of silver stars flew out, falling to the ground like snow.
"How do you know about tonight?" Myo asked, curious.
"Oh, the wind just whispered it in my ear. It's amazing what you can learn if you listen to the ways of dead leaves. Come on, now get out! You've explored my workshop enough as it is." He pushed them out. Once at the counter, they paid seven galleons each for the wand and the cleaning materials before running out of the shop. Myo was relieved, the man was a bit scary. To her surprise, Luna said, "I like this man." With a dreamy smile, which was enough to trigger a coughing fit in Myo.
oOOOo
Far above the ocean, between the blue of the sea and the blue of the sky, a living flame was flying. A great hawk of blue blazes and incandescent white eyes. Myo was free, united, her flames and herself as one, her body forgotten, a pure flame burning in the sky. She had succeeded, finally. Without the threat of death, without the fear of losing the person she cared most about, she had broken the surface, erased the last boundary between herself and her flames.
She flew, so high that the sea seemed completely smooth and the blue of the sky turned dark. She had no destination, only the will to let her flames guide her, to enjoy the happiness that was for her to be only flame in the air.
However, she had to return to her tower, she felt herself weakening, she knew she was too young to maintain her transformation for long without serious consequences. So she let her flames evaporate, her flesh reborn from the inferno, her deep blue feathers tasting the wind again. Flying in her body or in the form of the flame bird were two very different experiences. Both equally enjoyable in their own way. Too tired to flap her wings, she let herself glide towards the coast, her tower waiting for her. She couldn't help but smile. A nice grilled fish, an ash bath and a pile of soft cushions awaited her. She would miss the comfort of her tower at Hogwart.
At least Luna would be with her. Their plan had worked, Luna had hidden all her school supplies in her room which had been acquired the night after their outing to Charing. Her enchanted map had told her exactly where the magical part of London was, and they had been able to slip quietly into the dark alleys and retrieve the necessary materials without worry. Malkins had almost seen them, but they had managed to get away soon enough, leaving the price of the dresses they had bought on the counter, at Luna's insistence. The other shops had proved easier, except for the potion shop, which had turned out to be protected by an alarm system preventing them from taking more than a cauldron and a few empty vials and leaving a gallon on the counter.
The tower was in sight, Myo was anxious to get home, maintaining her transformation for so long had exhausted her. She frowned, a multitude of black dots were flying around the tower. As she approached, Myo was shocked to see what they were. Dozens of owls of all sizes and breeds sat on the roof of the tower and in the ruins, others flying around the rocky promontory. What on earth could be going on?
Myo flew through one of the tower's large windows and landed face first in the pile of cushions that served as her bed. She stood up and grunted in frustration. All the owls had landed on the windowsills. She recognised several of them, how had they followed her home? And why? Yes, she had released all the owls from the owl shop the day before, but was that a reason for them all to come to her? Myo didn't know what to do. Should she admit to Andy that she had gone to Charing last night to free all the locked owls to get her help? No, that would lead to the discovery of the 'Luna to Hogwart' plan.
Myo was too tired to deal with all that. Instead, she went to her ash heap to clean her feathers. For the first time in her life, Myo felt embarrassed to be naked. She felt vulnerable to all her owls watching her while she was in her ash heap rubbing her wings. Had she adopted them all without realising it by freeing them from those awful cages? No, it was unlikely. She did her best to ignore the countless owls circling the tower, devoured her fish, and then collapsed on her pile of cushions, sleep taking her immediately, banishing all thoughts of Owls from her mind.
The next morning, the owls were gone, the only trace of anything unusual having happened the night before, a pretty quartz owl skull which Myo immediately added to her necklace alongside the river stone ring and the hare skull from her first hunt. Perhaps she should have been wary, but the skull was too beautiful for her to resist the temptation for long.
oOOOo
Dawn would soon break, the letter had been placed on Momy's bedside table. Luna was ready on the terrace overlooking the garden of the Lovegood ancestral home. She would miss Momy and Dady, but Myo had promised that she would occasionally escape from Hogwart's on weekends and come back here. She sighed, her anxiety mixed with melancholy. The world had never seemed more colourful to her than it had since she met Myo. A friend almost her age, not looking at her strangely when she made remarks about what she could see or feel and trying to name these various things. And these days, her biggest fear was that Myo would leave her behind, abandon her to get closer to the other veela, to this Fleur Delacour...
Deep down, Luna knew this shouldn't happen, the feathers in her hair were proof enough of that. This very night had been spent between Myo's wings. But it didn't matter, she couldn't help but imagine Myo flying off with Fleur, never to return. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her bad thoughts. She fiddled with her dirigible plum earring to chase away any wrackspurt that got too close to her.
Today would be a beautiful day, Myo had told her about the last phase of her plan. Fly with her in her arms and the magically reduced bags in their pockets to Hogwart's where they would wait for the train to arrive at the station before discreetly slipping into the back of the first year group. A large cloak to hide Myo's wings would help to avoid attracting attention.
Luna turned as she heard the door open behind her, her smile stretching across her face by itself. "Hello Myo." She said in her usual dreamy tone, trying to hide her excitement.
"Hello, Luna." Myo said, hugging her from behind. Luna's heart quickened, this kind of moment did wonders to reassure her, to remind her that Myo would not abandon her and forget her once in the company of other veelas.
"Ready to go?" Myo asked, excitement audible in her voice.
"Yes," Luna said simply, the sun was rising over the horizon, and the house would soon awaken. One big wingbeat later, and they flew away, leaving the house behind, a year she hoped would not be too eventful ahead.
