The weather was unusually cold for the season. Thick rain was pouring down from the heavy dark clouds. Bodies were pressed together in a screaming mass of roaring supporters. Myo's wings ached. The bottomless bags they were stuffed into were hurting her. Thick leather boots itched the scales of her talons. The long sleeves and ankle-length dress she wore to hide her feathers were damaging them. She shivered with discomfort, she felt like throwing up. The noise, the dozens of humans swarming around her made her sick. All this to watch stupid witches and wizards throwing balls at each other from their brooms. She wasn't even allowed to catch the little golden ball if it came near her hand.
Her only comfort was the presence of Nym on her right. Why had she agreed to come and take part in such a horror, in this gathering of screaming, ranting, agitated lunatics? She felt vulnerable, exposed. She had to make a conscious effort to keep her flames under her feathers, they begged her to come out and burn everything around her to protect her from this mass of people.
On her visit to the Tonks today, Nym had offered to go with her to a quidditch match. Andy was against the idea and Myo herself was not particularly keen on it, but she wanted to please Nym. Nym had been so kind to her since they met. They had seen each other many times, had played together, had read together, had flown together. She had wanted to humour her and had given in before Nym's imploring eyes. The disguise had been tough and particularly uncomfortable. But Myo had to put it on, she was not to be seen after all.
At first, about half an hour ago, the stadium had been empty, the large space in the stands wide enough for Myo to feel comfortable, despite the bad weather. Naively, she had thought that there wouldn't be many people there and that she could handle the game. Myo had said she didn't like Quidditch but Nym had insisted, saying that you can't know if you like something until you try it, and Myo had given in. At that moment she was bitterly regretting her decision.
She felt bad, she wanted to vomit, there were black butterflies in her field of vision, her flames were rumbling, under her skin, ready to spring up. So many humans, so many loud, screaming potential Vernons around her. The noise hurt her ears. Her breathing became erratic, drops of cold sweat beaded on her forehead, her throat was tight, her heart hurt. A terrible terror was slowly taking hold of her and burning her senses and her mind.
Nym's eyes were riveted on the players, a smile on her lips, Myo didn't want to spoil the game for Nym, but she couldn't take it anymore. She tugged at her sleeve, trying to pronounce her name. But no sound passed her parched lips.
Fortunately, the tugging was enough to get Nym's attention. She turned and when her eyes landed on Myo's face, she paled drastically, her smile fading. "Oh crap. I'm so sorry. I didn't think it was that bad." She grabbed Myo in her arms and carried her across the bleachers towards the exit. Good move, Myo thought, she wasn't sure she could trust her legs to carry her.
As soon as she was out of the stadium, out of the wards, Nym activated the emergency portkey that Andy had given them just in case. In a flash, they were away from the stadium and the sticky, grimy environment that Myo could no longer bear, in the garden behind Andy's potion garden.
Nym gently set her down, and Myo collapsed onto her knees and hands, on all fours, on the ground. She promptly emptied the contents of her stomach into the grass. Nym seemed torn between running to the house to alert Andy or staying by Myo's side to watch over her. The question was quickly answered when the back door of the Tonks' house opened and Andy stepped out with a small briefcase in her hand.
With a flick of her wand she wiped Myo's chin and the grass clean and began to rummage through the case. Myo was too busy panting and trying to regain control of herself to care about what was going on around her. The only thing she noticed was that Andy directed a few harsh words at a contrite and guilty Nym, and that she came out of her inaction to remove the disguise as carefully as possible without damaging her wings, feathers and talons any further.
Andy was presenting her with a bluish-purple, lavender-scented potion and an orange bubbly potion. "Please, Myo, drink it. It will do you good. It's a calming potion and an antiemetic potion." Myo was reluctant to drink them, the fact that she still had to drink the awful nutrition, bone strengthening, magic stabilisation and neutral magic potions on a regular basis didn't help, but at Andy's worried look she gave in and drank them. The orange one was fizzy and citrusy, the calming potion was fresh and left a taste of lavender and violet in her mouth. Suddenly her nausea stopped and a wave of calm washed over her. She felt distant, detached. As if she was seeing the world through a window sitting in a seat deep in her skull. All the sensations that had been so vivid and disturbing a moment earlier were softened.
Nym had finished taking off the boots, the wing bags and the dress that made her arms, legs and tail feathers itch. Myo was already feeling a little better. Andy had moved a few steps away to give her some space. Finally... Andy had taken Nym by the shoulders to make her move away.
Myo sat cross-legged and taking several long breaths, she let go of her flames letting them surround her in their soft soothing warmth. Her wings were a mess. The bags that had been put on them had damaged and crumpled many feathers. The scales on her talons itched and many of the feathers on her arms and legs were broken. She grunted. She would have to do a preening ritual again before she could go home, she couldn't fly with wings in this condition.
She turned her head towards Nym who was being severely scolded by Andy. Something about paying more attention to Myo, that she should have told her it was a Harpies game and therefore the stands would be packed, that she should have known that Myo had trouble with people. Nym's eyes were glued to the ground, in a faulty posture that contrasted with the shapeshifter's exuberant, joyful nature. No one wanted to incur Andy's wrath.
"Nym?" Said Myo in a weak, still trembling voice.
Andy's violently whispered reprimands ceased and Nym shyly raised her head to Myo. "Yes?"
"The Quidditch matches. The crowds. Never again. Okay?"
Nym took a step towards her and when she saw that Myo didn't react adversely she came and crouched a metre in front of her. She held out her hand to Myo and said. "Sorry, I didn't think it was that bad, I'm sorry. I'll never drag you into anything like this again."
Myo hesitated for a moment, but finally grabbed Nym's hand. She may have been the one who got her into this situation, but she was also the one who got her out. Myo was new to the idea of having friends, and this idea appealed to her greatly. She didn't want to risk losing Nym for a mistake that she understood and regretted so obviously. Besides, Myo wasn't innocent either, she should have known that at this kind of event there would be people... The idea of the existence of thousands of people out there, was perhaps still too foreign for her to fully realize.
oOOOo
With her arms crossed, sitting in the centre of her ash pile, on the antique floorboards of her tower top room, Myo was thinking. In front of her, a piece of hardwood, a stone, granite, if her mineralogy book is correct, and a piece of Steel.
Myo had never really thought about 'testing' her flames before. Having her flames constantly just below her skin, feeling them dance against her, using them every day, constantly, was deeply natural for her. As if her flames were one of her limbs, an extension of her will. Well... not really, her flames almost seemed to have a will of their own. A basic and instinctive mind whose only purpose was to protect her. Myo was pretty sure that even unconscious, her flames could act on their own. That was what had happened when she had been transformed during the rescue of Luna and Xeno. She had lost consciousness at the moment of her transformation. She had tried to voluntarily change again since her return to the tower, but without success.
Mélusine's story had awakened a curiosity about her flames that she had not felt since the few months following their first appearance. Back then, when she was at the mercy of the Dursleys, extensive experimentation with the capabilities of her flames had hardly been on the agenda. Not at all. But now... the question arose. What could she really do? What energy it would take to push her flames to their maximum?
Myo could only admit that her flames were anything but natural. They didn't burn what she didn't want them to burn. They didn't seem to require any particular effort for her to appear. Less than a thought was enough. She even regularly had to do the opposite, actively thinking about keeping her flames inside her so they wouldn't come out. The only time using her flames had hardly tired her was when she had built up a large reserve of ash last week. (The lack of an ash bath during the few days at the Tonks and Lovegoods had... affected her.)
Today's experiment was to determine the strength of her flames and some of their characteristics. For example, would an object being burned by her flames burn her? If so, to what extent, and did this apply to everything she could burn? She already had a partial answer to this question, she had never burned herself when building her ash piles. Even holding the wood she wanted to see burn in her hand. If her flames worked differently... she could have gotten badly burned... oops.
According to the books scattered around her, wood could burn at around 300 degrees Celsius, granite at 1000 degrees Celsius, and steel at 1500 degrees Celsius. She would see how far she could push her flames. She grabbed the various objects, and jumped out of the window of her tower to glide slowly to a small area of battered earth amidst the ruins surrounding the tower. There was no way she was going to risk setting fire to her house.
She started with the large log. Unsurprisingly it caught fire in an instant, the blue flames devouring it with avidity. Soon there was nothing left between her fingers but a fine grey ash, almost white, impossibly thin. Although burning in her hand, her skin suffered no burns... That was a good sign. For the moment, unsurprisingly, there was no sign of fatigue. Her flames even seemed to be burning to be put to use if the sensation she had under her skin was any indication of their condition.
Second test, the stone. A large granite pebble slightly larger than her fist. She placed it on the ground, placed the palm of her hand over it without touching it, and let her flames flow. Immediately, the sensation was different. A kind of very slight pinch inside her, almost imperceptible. Her flames seemed to have a harder time taking effect, but soon, too soon, so soon that Myo's eyebrows shot up to her forehead, the stone changed colour. First a faint orange, then a powerful, bright white, tinged with the blue of the flames surrounding it. Finally, the stone melted. In less than a minute from the beginning, Myo was facing a puddle of molten stone. Curious, she moved her hand closer. She felt nothing more than the usual warmth of its flames. Hesitantly, she touched the lava with her fingertip, but nothing happened. Her finger sank into the liquid stone with no problem. She took some of the glowing liquid in the palm of her hand before letting it flow back to the ground. What was true for wood was also true for stone, she thought, surprised. She would have bet that after a certain temperature was atteined, even her flame couldn't protect her.
She moved her hand away and forced her flames to disappear. Immediately a wave of warmth hit her as the molten stone slowly began to cool. Small, normal-colored flames appeared around it. From this, however, Myo would not go near it. If she had any doubt about the absolutely magical and possibly sentient nature of her flames at this point, it would be swept away.
She took hold of the large piece of steel. (A large axe head she had found in one of the dilapidated houses below the tower. ) and walked away from the slowly cooling molten stone. This time, for this last test, she would give it her all, she would find the limits of her flames. For the first time she made a conscious effort to push her flames, to make them as hot and burning as possible against the old metal. Instantly her flames reacted, a cloud of bluish fire enveloped the axe head.
Myo felt sick, her breathing quickened, a deep exhaustion seemed to settle inside her. But she had no time to dwell on this sensation, which she was not used to associating with her flames. The axe-head that had been cold a few seconds ago had just flowed through her fingers like water. The only thing that remained was a puddle of molten metal shrouded in blue flame on the ground. Cautiously, Myo took a few steps away and let go of her flames. The heat of the completely white molten metal against the ground instantly glazed the sand around it.
Her flames danced happily against her skin and feathers, almost proud of their display. Myo stared for a moment at the glowing mess she had left, then flew away. She needed to record her observations in the journal Pandora had given her. What she had done was well beyond her expectation, seriously, metal don't just go liquid like that... Maybe she could consider trying her hand at forging, she thought with amusement and excitement.
oOOOo
It was a particularly warm Autumn evening, the atmosphere was heavy and stifling, the sky dark blue without a single cloud. The sea birds seemed to have fallen silent. Only the sound of the waves rolling against the shore broke the stillness. This kind of weather was particularly strange, especially for the north of Scotland.
Myo had spent the day reading a book she'd 'borrowed' from the Lovegood library about how to do magic with pretty symbols. Runes, it was called. Myo being really good at drawing, (now that her points of comparison extended to Pandora's inability to draw anything remotely resembling a human. ) she could perhaps consider herself more or less competent. Her room at the top of the tower was now filled with portraits and other drawings of Luna, Nym, Andy, Pandora, Ted, Mélusine and Xeno. She even had a few more photographs than the two she had received on her birthday.
She had hoped that by evening this strange sticky heat would dissipate, and had gone out to collect shells and other molluscs to eat tonight. Unfortunately, the atmosphere remained hot and stifling, a faint smell of rotting seaweed making her slightly nauseous. Perhaps she should have just stayed in her room, motionless on the pile of cushions watching the wooden lines of the ceiling. Skipping a meal in such weather wouldn't have hurt her.
Suddenly, a shiver ran down Myo's spine. An overwhelming terror ran through her veins. The air was still, heavy. The wind had died down. Her instincts were screaming at her to go hide. Her reason did not understand. Nothing but the heavy atmosphere indicated any danger. Following the impulse of terror, she flew up into one of the large crevices of the cliff. She lurked against the rock, discreetly observing the beach. What could have made her react like that?
The smell of decaying seaweed was getting stronger by the minute. She could now smell rotting flesh underneath the powerful and heady smell of seaweed. The sound of rolling waves had also ceased. This realization hit Myo hard and she swallowed. The sheer terror coursing through her veins left her frozen in the cliff, her eyes feverishly roaming the shore.
There were no more waves. As far as she could see, the sea was smooth as a mirror. Its dark waters reflected the ember light of the setting sun. For a long time, several dozen minutes, the world held its breath, Waiting. An unexpected movement immediately caught Myo's attention. A ripple in the smooth water was slowly approaching the shore. Myo's eyes widened, and she began to shake uncontrollably. The stench had become unbearable, as a vision of horror slowly emerged from the black water.
A horse, flayed alive, a single eye glowing sickly red in the middle of its distorted forehead. On its back, also flayed, in place of the rider, its flesh joined to the beast's purulent muscles and sinews, the torso of a man. His head bobbed from left to right, sporadically shaking. Its two empty sockets seemed to suck in the light. His lips were twitching, or rather seemed to be uttering silent, incoherent words. Its disproportionately long skeletal arms dragged in the water and sand.
The creature emerged entirely from the water and began to walk along the shore. The head of the man trashing sporadically before returning to it's previous state. Suddenly, it stopped in front of the place where Myo was hidden, about ten meters high in the crevice of the cliff. The horse's head and the man's turned in her direction. The creature's single blazing eye lit up Myo's hidding place like a beacon.
Without thinking, Myo emerged from her hideout, her flames reflexively wrapping around her to protect her. She flew higher and higher, further and further away. Before she was too far from the creature to see it, she saw out of the corner of her eye it raise one of its gaunt , long arms and point at her with one of its long skeletal fingers. Its mouth forming words that eluded her.
That night, she slept in Luna's bed, the little blonde snuggled up to her. When she finally fell asleep, her dreams were haunted by a glowing eye and the smell of rotting algae.
She did not return to the tower until three days later, vowing to avoid the shore on days of abnormal heat or when the smell of seaweed became too pugnacious.
oOOOo
Recently, Myo had discovered a new interest. On one of her many outings in the highlands around the tower, she had landed to examine the tracks of potential prey, when her eyes were caught by a bluish reflection on the shell of a beetle. The little beetle was sitting on a blade of grass and had a beautiful black carapace with a steel blue sheen. The insect really did look like a little jewel.
Myo had managed to catch it, and had brought it back to the tower. A month later, Myo had 'borrowed' three entomology books from the Lovegood library. One of them even described a spell to preserve the beauty of captured beetles and the best type of pin and display box for them.
Andy had readily agreed to help Myo with the making of the small display boxes and pins. Now Myo had started a small collection of jewel insects. The first display box, still far from being filled, was already hanging on the wall. Myo hoped one day to have the honour of adding a Chrysina aurigans and a rhinoceros beetle to her collection. Andy had made it clear, however. Myo was not allowed to put more than one beetle of the same species under the glass, otherwise she risked not seeing any more in the wild. Myo regretted a little that she couldn't give free rein to her collecting desires, but the threat of no longer seeing them where they were most beautiful was enough for her to accept Andy's condition immediately.
When she had shown her collection to Luna, she had been overexcited, unable to stop herself from looking for the specificity of each species that Myo had previously identified and admiring their beautiful coloured shells.
Nym, on the other hand, had given Myo's collection a much more mixed reception. When Myo had taken it out of her little flight bag on her last visit to the Tonks and proudly placed the display box in front of Nym's nose, Nym had squealed before jumping back and forbidding Myo to approach her with what she had in her hand. Myo had been left completely perplexed by this reaction. How could anyone not like being able to see the beautiful beetles she had captured and displayed?
She later discovered that Nym had always had a completely irrational fear of insects. It would forever remain a puzzle to Myo. Why be afraid of them? Beetles were just beautiful... Being afraid of anything other than the creature she'd seen at the seaside on that cursed evening, or worse, being afraid of the abominations that were the Dursleys made sense... but beetles? That part of Nym would remain a mystery to Myo forever.
oOOOo
It had been six months since Andromeda met her little cousin Myosotis. Luna had had her ninth birthday and was proudly wearing one of Myosotis feather in her hair, made into a legitimate ornament by the addition of a beautiful silver brooch hanging from the base of the feather (Andromeda still wondered how Myosotis had managed to make the brooch... runes had even been engraved inside the brooch so that the feather wouldn't get damaged. She had told Myosotis not to play with the runes without supervision, but apparently her demande had fallen in a deaf hear). Her own daughter had formed a strong friendship with the young Veela. The first two months had seen some setbacks, including that calamitous Quidditch match that Nymphadora had insisted on taking her new friend to, but now, when Myo was here, She and Nymphadora were joined at the hip.
Now Myosotis was practically part of the family. Andromeda would have liked to have her live under their roof or with the Lovegoods, but that would have been counterproductive. The young veela had lived alone for a year and to take away her freedom would only make her run away, or fight. For now, the arrangement was holding up well. Myosotis visited them once or twice a week. She had told her that bringing them a piece of wild meat she had hunted was unnecessary, but Myosotis was too stubborn to listen.
Andromeda had other problems with Myosotis, however. Her letters requesting a meeting with a Veela, preferably a healer Veela, that she had regularly sent to Beaulon had not been answered. She was beginning to despair, she had even tried to visit Beaubaton in person but the school had proved to be unplotable without an invitation. She would persevere, maybe one day... She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She had hoped to get in touch with a Veela before Myosotis' existence was revealed to the wizarding world, but with each unanswered letter, her hopes diminished.
On the other hand, the news that Myosotis Potter was a Veela would inevitably reach the international newspapers and no doubt provoke a reaction from a Veela community. This thought had almost prompted her to offer to notify the Ministry in some way to speed up the process and get Myosotis to meet other Veelas sooner, but this thought was quickly ignored. Their case for defending Myosotis' rights, while well underway, (the evidences they had recovered were beginning to accumulate), they were not yet ready to face the wizengamot and their merry band of racists. Moreover, Myosotis was not at all ready to face so much attention. The incident at the Quidditch match was proof of that. Myosotis had had an intense panic attack just because of the number of people and the noise around her. Andromeda didn't want to imagine how she would react if she found herself in the spotlight, bombarded by the flashes of the journalists' cameras.
In the midst of all this chaos, there was good news and bad news. The Goblins' investigation with the Svorak Hanseatic League was yielding results. Further tests had been carried out on Myosotis' blood sample and compared to the records of the Hanse of Scorak. Myosotis was of Norwegian origin, on her mother's side. Unfortunately, the research had to be interrupted because the files suspected of containing information about Myosotis' biological grandparents were classified as secret by the war council of the high druids of the Scandinavian Clan Assembly. This did not bode well. There was no way to learn more without exposing Myosotis.
Andromeda had heard of a potion that would be able to reveal a person's complete family tree over five or six generations, but the potion relied on complex divination principles and without access to the Blacks' library Andromeda couldn't do it. She had asked the goblins for the potion, but it was not for sale, and the goblins did not like anything that had anything to do with divination. In any case, Norwegian names would not help them much. Especially if they had to do with a secret of the Scandinavian Clan Assembly.
Andromeda leaned her head back and sighed again. This situation was giving her a headache. She grabbed her already neatly wrapped letter and walked over to Liz to tie it to her claw. With luck, Beaubâton will deign to answer.
oOOOo
The room was large. The bare stone walls were topped by a heavy oak frame. The soft, cool, golden morning light filtered through four large windows set into the wall. The wall opposite the windows was lined with numerous bookcases brimming with ancient-looking books. In the middle of the room were several wooden tables covered with a chaos of parchment and writing of all kinds.
In a corner of the room, near the door, Myo and Luna sat quietly waiting for Pandora to finish putting some order into the chaos of her workshop.
At Myo's repeated requests, and in the face of Luna's big imploring eyes, Pandora had given in a few weeks ago and started teaching them the theory behind the charms and spells. Today was the eleventh session Myo had attended. The first ten sessions had been about simple spells. The kind of thing that Myo would learn in her early years at Hogwart. The kind of spell where a chant, and a few flicks of the wand were enough to cast the spell.
Today, Pandora was going to start explaining the really interesting things to them. The kind of magic that was created and studied by spell makers and other enchanters. Secondary and Anchored spells. The ones that allowed you to do really complex things with magic.
Pandora had apparently had enough of fighting the army of scrolls and documents facing her and turned to them. "Well, Myo, Luna, today will be an introduction to secondary magic, or higher arcane. You won't begin to see this type of magic until your sixth or seventh year at Hogwart's, but knowing the principles of it can greatly help you master and understand simple, primary magic more quickly. Myo, remind me. What is the basic principle behind all spells?"
"The wand serves as a capacitor for magic. It allows you to give it a polarity in the body and direct it to a point and in doing so, refine it to be usable. The movement of the wand then gives form to this condensed magic, the words of the incantation carry the intention behind the spell. Once the magic is formed and an intention given to it, it is released and imparts an effect on matter or spirit."
"Right. In that case, how are me and Xeno able to do magic without incantation just with very little wand movement?"
"Um..."
"That's exactly what I'm going to explain to you today, among other things. And for that nothing better than an example." She took out a leather purse from one of her pockets and emptied the contents onto the floor. A hundred metal balls spilled onto the ground and rolled in all directions, some disappearing under the furniture. Myo had to make a conscious effort to stop herself from picking one up.
"I'll show you a secondary spell that is not reduced or anchored. Watch closely." She held up her long wand of grey wood carved with tiny ivy leaves and began to describe an extremely complex pattern. Circles and whirls of the wrist crossed with straight and curved lines. The speed of her movements seemed to vary precisely, giving the impression that her wand was forming a hypnotic dance between her fingers. At the same time, she was reciting a formula that was much longer than anything Myo had heard so far. "Adsurgere per aera, levis ut pelumis, ventus. Choro sensibus et mea. Aeris non erras. Maior, sublimior, ventos et procellas reddunt. Per virtutem et voluntatem meam, meus fiet, spiritus meus regit te. Serva coeli, in vento et astris, salta."
Pandora's voice was heavy in the air, a very faint smell of ozone wafted through the room. Myo could feel the sizzle against her skin and feathers. The moment Pandora's voice fell silent and her wand came to rest, the hundred or so marbles on the floor simultaneously rose into the air. Pandora tucked her wand into a small sheath on her wrist and gave Myo and Luna a small smile.
"This was a secondary rank spell. They are characterized by a very long incantation, a series of wand movements as long and precise as they are complex. You have to think of the wand movement as a dance with the rhythm of the incantation. Here, I casted the spell 'Magna Fuga'. This is a much more advanced version of the primary levitation spell Wingardium Leviosa. It allows you to levitate a large number of objects simultaneously and then control their trajectory and speed by thought. The quantity and mass limit of the objects that can be controlled as well as the duration of the spell depends only on the amount of magic available to the caster."
To illustrate her explanation, the hundred or so little balls began to fly in all directions at different speeds. Then they gathered in the air to write the name of Luna and then Myosotis in the middle of the room, before all returning neatly to the bag.
"Historically the spell was used in hospital and school evacuations, in building, enchanting and assembling parts too small to be handled normally, and various other things, but that's just one example. As you have seen, secondary spells are tedious to cast, and a mistake in incantation or wand movement can have... shall we say... unexpected consequences. A method has therefore been developed to allow easier casting of secondary spells. Anchoring. To make it very simple, I'll explain the details later, it's about keeping the precise form of the spell in your magic. To do this, you need to compartmentalise part of your magic, then repeat the spell over and over again. This can be dozens of times for the simpler ones, thousands for the more complex ones."
"Once your magic has been compartmentalized into the right form, a simple ritual freezes the compartmentalized magic into the form of the spell. The spell is then said to be in matrix form, or anchored. Once you have reached this stage, a simple wand movement and a short spell is all that is needed to trigger the spell. Watch." She poured the marbles on the ground again, then made a small upward movement of her wand and said, "Magna Fuga. The hundred or so little marbles rose into the air again before returning to the purse.
Pandora glanced challengingly at Luna and Myo, who until then had been listening attentively in silence, and said in a daring tone. "Now that I've explained this to you. Can anyone answer the question I asked you earlier? How do I cast simple spells without a word with a simple wand movement?"
Luna raised her hand immediately, almost bouncing on the bench. "Yes, Little Moon?"
"From using the primary spells, you've created an anchor for them. And since they're basically simpler than the secondary spells, just a thought and a wand movement is enough!"
"Exactly. Wordless magic is the result of anchoring primary spells."
Myo suddenly had an idea that seemed brilliant at the time. "Pandora, is it possible to do magic without a wand if the spell you want to cast is well enough anchored?" it made sense, after all she didn't need a wand to use her flames.
Pandora nodded. "Myo, promise me you won't try to do magic without a wand okay? Yes, it's theoretically possible to do magic without a wand by using anchored spells. But it's terribly dangerous. The wand doesn't just offer control and an easy focus for magic. It also offers security. Wands are made to withstand large amounts of condensed magic in the form of a spell. Your body is not. The only people who can do magic without a wand are very old wizards who have lived long enough for their natural magical resistance to increase enough to withstand the strain without injury. Young wizards regularly kill themselves trying to practice wandless magic. Others destroy their magical veins and become squibs. In your case, as you are a magical being..."
"But, my flames? That's magic without a wand! What about the accidental magic Luna told me about?" The idea of being able to do magic without a wand was too appealing for her to give up on the idea so easily.
Pandora sighed, "Your flames are elemental magic. I don't know much about the Veela. Nobody knows much about the Veela. I mean. Your flames are part of you. Your being is made to support your flames. After watching you for the past few months I can almost say that your natural state is to be in your flames."
"As for accidental magic... it's still a poorly understood and very mysterious subject of study. Some theories say that it is because of the instability of children's magical veins. Others have found that up to a certain age the child's magic is connected to something external. Strangely enough, these studies have shown that a similar phenomenon exists in near-death wizards and that they are also subject to accidental magic. All I can say is that this avenue has been explored as a way to more easily master wandless magic, but it has proven to be a dead end."
"I see." Said Myo in a tiny voice, eyes lowered to the ground. The disappointment visible on his face.
Pandora apparently couldn't take it and added. "However, I may have some good news for you. As you are a magical creature, your resistance to magic will increase faster than for humans. In five or six decades, starting to train in magic without a wand seems reasonable." Myo restrained himself from groaning. Five or six decades was still far too long for her.
"I think we can now close this aside and start talking about the limits of secondary spell anchoring and how occlumency can help in this discipline..."
oOOOo
Myo was anxious. Today would be the first time she let an adult into her tower. Myo had gotten used to having people other than herself in her tower, especially Luna who regularly asked Myo to take her up to her tower after her visits to the Lovegoods to do something called a sleepover. It was quite fun. She and Luna would spend the evening playing games, reading or drawing or just talking about stuff, (who knew the rotfang conspiracy had embarked on a disinformation campaign to make wizards forget about dental hygiene spells...) before sleeping together. From what Myo understood, Luna found it difficult to sleep without being between her wings. Something about feeling safe, how comfortable, smooth and fluffy her feather were, and that the Krackopoads (Myo had no idea what a Krackopoads was, Luna just told her thet they caused nightmares.) didn't come near her at night when Myo was around.
Luna had convinced Myo to let Nym come to one of their sleepovers. Nym had agreed but had not repeated the experience. She had complained that she couldn't sleep because the skulls Myo had gathered in her tower looked at her with blue flames in their eyes and that terrified her. It was a pity. That evening was fun for her Luna and Nym.
A few days later, Nym had suggested that they come to her house for a sleepover because: 'At least here, skulls wouldn't watch her sleep.'
Today, Andy had come. Myo had finally gathered the courage and determination to ask her to accompany her to the mad scientist's laboratory under the tower to protect her from the horrors that might be in that room. Andy was currently observing with interest the decoration of her room. Myo couldn't help but swell with pride. On the shelves, countless beautiful stones, magnificent shells and other shiny, beautiful objects were displayed. Against the wall, she had hung a second display box of beetles, the first being full. Dozens of skulls had joined the others as a sign of respect for her prey. Among them, her two main pieces, a boar skull that she had managed to hunt. She had had to share the excessive amount of meat with the Lovegoods and the Tonks.
In a corner, resting against a wall, was one of her greatest treasures. A two-metre long narwhal tooth she had found on the beach last month. She planned to carve runes into it to make a mage's staff when she had some real rune experience. Myo frowned as she unlocked the hatch leading to the large cave beneath the tower. Andy seemed less interested in her exceptional treasures than in the fifty or so drawings and portraits hanging on the walls along with photographs. She was staring at a drawing of herself with Nym clinging to her waist like the koala that the shapeshifter was, a strange smile on her face.
Myo cleared her throat. "Andy? Shall we go?"
"Hmm? Ah, yes of course I'm coming. I was just thinking... You're really good at capturing the emotion of a moment in your drawings."
Myo blushed a little. "Thank you." Myo lifted the hatch to the large opening in the centre of the tower. She jumped down and hovered gently until she touched the floor of the large underground cave. A few seconds later, Andy appeared, wand in hand as she fell gently. Myo raised an eyebrow. "Andy, how did you do that?"
"It's a Feather fall spell. 'Aeria mores'"
"Can you teach it to me when I get my wand?"
"I doubt it will be of any use to you," Andromeda replied with a raised eyebrow, her gaze on Myo's wings.
"You're right..." Myo had let the excitement get to her. She was really looking forward to getting her wand and learning to do more varied magic. Andy watched the inside of the cave, especially the hot springs, with interest for a moment before refocusing on why she was here.
"So, where is this mad scientist's laboratory overflowing with abominable creatures hungry for little Veelas?" Andy asked, amusement audible in her voice.
"Behind the big door down there," said Myo, pointing to the door and starting to walk towards it.
"Very good. Ah, yes, you were wondering earlier how to thank me for my help with the lab inspection. I'd like to try the hot springs. That's where you take your baths, isn't it? If you don't mind, of course."
"Of course not, I don't mind. You'll see, the water is really warm and feels great."
"Thanks Myosotis."
Andy walked over and stopped at the door. She began waving her wand and muttering incantations. The door didn't seem to react to anything Andy did. Finally, she nodded and opened the door wide. As she entered, the ceiling of the room began to glow with a soft white light. The room was large, containing many tables covered with stills and retorts flask. A shelf overflowing with books was leaning against a wall to the right of the entrance. Several cauldrons lay on a bench. Some were made of metal, but others were less conventional and made of glass, white crystal and gold. In one corner was what appeared to be a very old oven next to a supply of wood. Not far from this was an old water pump. In addition to the strange material, the room was equipped with various kitchen utensils. Underneath the bench there were countless cupboards, drawers and other storage space. In a word, the room was cluttered. Although reassured, Myo was a little disappointed. She had expected a monster in a vat, or tentacles coming out of a cauldron...
Andy took a few steps forward before glancing at Myo and saying. "I'm going to inspect the glassware and the contents of the cupboards to see if there are any harmful substances or spoiled and dangerous potions lying around. I will also check the books. It is common to curse books so that only certain people can open them or read their contents."
"Thank you, Andy. But why curse a book?" It was absurd. Books were meant to be read, or possibly slept on. (sleeping on a book could be odly comfortable to Myo.) In the worst case, if a book was too bad or insulting it could also be burned to serve in her ash pile. (She'd burned a piece of fiction by a narcissistic idiot called Lockheart or something like that. She had read twenty pages of it and couldn't hold her flames. How could people stand to read the nonsense spouted by someone who spent the first twelve pages of his book explaining how handsome he was, how silky his hair was, and how his teeth were white enough that the light reflecting off them was enough to burn a vampire. Notwithstanding the fact that vampires don't literally burn in the sun. ) On the other hand, cursing a book? That didn't make sense.
Andy, paused for a moment to think about her answer before saying. "In the wizarding world, where everyone has a wand and can do magic, knowledge is literally power. The only other factor that limits a wizard's power is the amount of magic they have. And again, some very obscure rituals can give the wizard more magic. So it comes down to knowledge. In noble families, it is common to curse books so that only family members can read them."
"I see." Said Myo as Andy continued to examine each trial and retorts flask.
A few hours of tidying up, a promise to Andy not to try to make potions without supervision, and a relaxing Andy in one of the cave's large hot springs later. Myo was in the middle of a clean and tidy room, perfect for making more elaborate dishes than her usual grills and stews. She also had a supply of potions that Andy had discovered in perfect condition, ready to use. All labelled in an unknown language. The ones Andy had recognised with certainty had been kept, the others had been thrown away. Now Myo had potions for headaches, stomach aches, blisters, constipation, a potion to apply to shallow cuts, a muscle relaxation potion, a feather care potion (Myo had really been right, another Veela bird thing had lived here.) A potion for burns and various others of the same kind.
As for the books, none had turned out to be cursed. Some were in the same unknown language as the label on the vials, others were in Old English, and Latin. Among those Myo could read were books on potions, for example a book entitled, "Everyday Potion, by Andrew Wixson, edition 1545 . The others were cookbooks. Strangely, one of the books was a romance novel. What it did there would remain an enigma.
A few days later, Andy would find herself at the mercy of Myo's big, pleading eyes asking her to teach her how to make potions. The books she'd found in the lab/kitchen had made her a little too excited.
oOOOo
The fact that Myo had just turned ten seemed to Mélusine to be reason enough to take her defence training to the next level. A year ago, when Mélusine had started training Myo, (and by extension Luna who had wanted to spend more time with Myo even if it meant joining in self-defence exercises, in which the peaceful little blonde had no interest). It was mostly physical exercises and training in dodging small pinching spells. Mélusine had made it a point of honour to train Myo to move on the ground without relying on her wings, which was particularly difficult given that her claws were not at all suited to this. Perching, catching prey, clawing, yes, but running, jumping, dodging... Myo's legs and talons were clearly not made for that. More recently, Mélusine had started to teach her hand-to-hand techniques. Especially dodging and how to get out of an entrapment. Myo had proven to be very good at this. She abhorred the very idea of being immobilized by someone. It reminded her too much of what Vernon could do when he came back into the house after being away for a few days.
Mélusine had also offered Myo lessons without Luna. When Myo had proudly shown Mélusine the result of her regular training in flame control by melting a large rock, Mélusine offered to teach her to use her flames to defend herself. Mélusine may not have had flames of her own to show Myo by example, but she had combat experience and was full of ideas as to how Myo could use her flames to defend herself. In the last few months, with Mélusine's help, Myo had learned how to throw fireballs, create a wall of flame, or vary the brightness of her flames to blind a person who wanted to harm her, as well as many other things.
Today, Mélusine was waiting for them in the Lovegood garden at their usual training spot with a long knife with a slightly curved blade in her hand, the scabbard still in place and hiding the blade. Myo held back a shiver of fear. The memory of the time Vernon had had a knife in his hand while he was at home had been... No, she mustn't think of it. She would never see that monster again. Beside her, Luna was giving her worried looks.
"Myo, Luna, starting today, I'm going to start teaching you first how to defend yourself against someone armed with a blade, and then, over the next few days, how to handle a blade yourself."
Myo raised an eyebrow. "Against wizards, aren't we more likely to encounter people with wands? I mean, all year we've been learning to dodge spells..."
"That's fair enough, but if you think wizards don't resort to, knives, swords and other daggers, you're mistaken my little feather." Myo couldn't help but blush at the nickname Mélusine had given her shortly after they started training. "It's common for wizards in normal fights, I mean outside of duels, to carry one or more blades with them. At least for wizards who are not naive. For most of us, to be without a wand is to be defenseless. One well-placed expeliarmus, by surprise, and it's over. Therefore, most mages with some training in self-defence always carry one or more blades." Luna and Myo both nodded apprehensively.
"Therefore, in combat, NEVER consider an opponent without a wand as harmless. An opponent can only be ignored once they are dead, or knocked out with something strong enough to render revival or reanimation spells ineffective. Listen to me carefully, you must NEVER let yourself be hit by a wizard's blade. In most cases, the weapons are heavily enchanted and it is better not to fall victim to any effects of such weapons. All the more so if it is a dark mage. You must therefore always dodge the blows. Forget also the basic magic shields. Most of these weapons are enchanted to tear protego like wet paper."
Myo was terribly intimidated by Mélusine's speech, but she was much more determined to learn. Never again would she find herself in a situation of powerlessness as under the hand of a vernon. It was better to learn how to defend herself in a safe environment with the kindly Mélusine than to find herself defenceless in a real situation. Luna apparently had the same thought if her furrowed brows and determined look were any indication of her mental state.
"First you Myo. I'll attack you and you have to dodge as best you can. The exercise ends when I touch you. Luna, you observe and at the end tell Myo what you think she could have done better."
Without warning, Mélusine's knife, fortunately still in its sheath, arced in front of her. Myo barely had time to jump back before a thrust followed. She turned her torso to the side, narrowly dodging the point...
The first training sessions of hand-to-hand combat with blades were difficult. Myo and Luna could only hold on for a handful of seconds before Mélusine touched them. However, progress quickly began to be made, and Myo was confident that by winter she would last a good minute.
oOOOo
In countless other universes, that day would have marked the beginning of Luna Lovegood's descent to hell. Her father would have become distant, neglectful. He would have distanced himself and his daughter from the rest of their family without even realizing it, going on more and more dangerous expeditions, putting his little Luna's life in danger. Luna, for her part, would have lost that glint in her eye that makes her so full of life. The creatures she sees and the fantastic stories she shares with her father would no longer be a source of wonder and a way of pushing her to open up to the world, but a barrier enclosing her, protecting her like a shell from a misplaced but implacable and inevitable guilt.
However, in this particular universe, things would play out differently.
Something was wrong. Myo could feel it. Pandora's gentle, calm magic was rippling and shaking. The stability that usually characterized her was absent. Sweat was visible on her forehead as her wand trembled, seemingly struggling for control of the experimental spell magic she was testing.
For the past few weeks, Pandora had agreed to let Luna and Myo observe her experiments under the strict condition that they not cross the constrictive magic barrier isolating the magic Pandora was testing from the rest of the room. Today, from what Myo understood from Pandora's explanation, she was trying to break down the fundamentals of an ancient Mesopotamian tertiary level spell to understand how it worked and eventually translate it into arithmancy and understand its purpose. For yes, part of Pandora's research work was to retrieve spells from ancient texts, to understand their purpose and function in the hope of finding a current application for them or just to use their principles to create new spells.
Luna, who had quickly grown tired of Pandora's constant muttering of a strange incantation while dancing her wand between her fingers, was focused on the homework Pandora had given them after their last lesson. But Myo was unable to concentrate on her homework. What was happening to Pandora was becoming more and more disturbing. Her magic was going off in irregular waves, vibrating the protective magical barrier, a greyish mist was rising from the ground, and gathering around her hand holding her wand.
Myo stood up and approached the barrier silently so as not to distract Pandora. Her breath was ragged, fear had crept into her expression of concentration as the magic became more and more volatile. Myo felt a terrible cold on her skin and feathers, like thousands of icy fingers running their sharp nails over her skin.
Everything seemed to be hanging by a thread, Pandora was struggling, her whole being immersed in her battle against this awful dark and icy magic whose mists were rising. Myo could even begin to see some of the furniture behind the barrier slowly crumbling into dust.
The barrage of tension broke abruptly when Luna's voice shattered the silence. "Momy? What's going on?" surprised, Pandora turned her head, her whispers stopping and her wand freezing. Time seemed to stand still, as Myo saw the fingers of Pandora's dominant hand begin to turn to dust. As Pandora's wand fell to the ground and the grey mists began to swirl in a hurricane of icy darkness, Myo reacted by instinct. She stepped over the barrier, and pulled Pandora with all her might to the right side of the barrier. She and Pandora stumbled, falling to the ground.
Suddenly, Pandora screamed in pain as she held her wrist. Whatever was turning everything on the other side of the barrier to dust had apparently attached itself to Pandora's hand and would soon begin to devour her arm if nothing was done. It was either a fit of courage or a fit of madness. Both of which are often hard to discern in this kind of situation, Myo pushed her flames out of her, concentrating with all her might on one thing. Burning the horror that was devouring Pandora.
Unexpectedly, as her flames draped over Pandora's hand, it stopped turning to ash. But Myo knew, the battle was far from over. She could feel the icy fangs of antediluvian magic begin to attack her flames in a fierce battle of power and will pitting light and flame against darkness and ice. Myo knew she would not last long. The abyss before her was too deep, too hungry. A candle could not keep the winter night at bay forever.
As she held a Pandora writhing in pain under her hands, Myo screamed. "Luna, get Mélusine. NOW." Luna, who had frozen in horror and dread at the sight of what was happening to her mother, ran from the room faster than Myo thought she could. Myo felt herself weakening, but she didn't give up, her flames growing, roaring, and devouring like a rampaging beast the monster of infinite darkness facing her. She could feel the stone begin to melt beneath her, but it was not enough. The air was incandescent, the heat was distorting the glass of the windows, the metal was reddening, the wood of the tables was beginning to burn while the scrolls and books had long since turned to ash, but it was not enough. The cold was gaining ground, Myo could see that slowly, very slowly the curse was progressing up Pandora's wrist.
Fortunately, Myo heard what was left of the door open with a bang. Mélusine stormed into the room, her wand dancing between her fingers as salvo after salvo of light-shrouded spells struck Pandora's hand. Myo could feel the endless icy darkness cracking, receding under the onslaught of Mélusine's magic. But like a hydra, Myo could feel that the abyss was only held at bay. Mélusine crouched beside her, and without hesitation drew her blade from its scabbard, and in one swift movement, sliced Pandora's hand just above her wrist. An instant later, Myo's last reserves were exhausted, her flames returning to her skin. As the flames left Pandora's severed hand, darkness overtook it and it dissolved into ash in an instant.
Pandora lay on the ground, unconscious. Her wound was not bleeding, already cauterized by Myo's flames. Mélusine got to her feet, with a wave of her wand Pandora levitated. She turned briefly to Myo and said succinctly, "Myo, go to the living room, Luna is waiting for you there. I'm taking Pandora to the hospital." With these words, she left the room with Pandora.
Myo got up slowly and let out a long sigh. A deep exhaustion had settled in her bones. She looked at what was left of Pandora's workshop with horror. Everything on the other side of the fence had been reduced to dust. On Myo's side of the fence, there was nothing left but ashes of everything that could be burned. The stones on the floor had melted and fused together. The glass of the windows had sunk against the wall, mingling with the melted metal of their hinges. Myo walked out of the room trembling, her knees weak. After what seemed like a long journey she slumped into one of the living room's footstools. Immediately she found a sobbing Luna in her lap. Her face buried in the hollow of her neck. Myo instinctively closed her wings around her friend. In one of the armchairs, Xeno sat silently with his face buried in his hands. A posture of deep despair that Myo had never imagined the usually cheerful man could have.
Time dragged on, the silence disturbed only by the regular ticking of the clock as the minutes ticked away. Luna had stopped crying. Myo could only see the top of her blond head and feel her arms squeezing her tightly.
Suddenly the flames in the fireplace turned green. Luna pulled her face out of the crook of Myo's neck and turned towards the fireplace. Xeno pulled his head out of his hands. A mixture of worry and despair etched on his face. Mélusine emerged from the flames and without waiting said. "Pandora will live. No ill effects except for the loss of her hand and a ban on magic for at least six months while her magic veins heal."
Xeno breathed a long sigh of relief, his posture relaxing. Luna burst into tears again, tears of joy streaming down her face. Myo felt a weight she hadn't realized she had on her shoulders lift and her breathing become easier. Pandora was after all the closest thing she had to a mother. She had never felt such relief.
Mélusine turned to Myo. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, preparing to receive the admonition that was due her. She had, after all, burned Pandora's workshop to the ground.
"Xeno, Luna. The Lovegood family is forever in debt to Myosotis. Without her, today, we would have lost Pandora." The sincere look of intense gratitude Myo received from all three Lovegoods was almost too much. Thankfully, Mélusine continued before Myo became too uncomfortable. "Now, my little feather, after what you just did, you're staying here for at least a week. I know you're best in your tower, but you've exhausted yourself magically and it's best to have someone there with you in case the accident that Pandora suffered affects your magic." Myo was saddened by this announcement, she was anxious to return home, unlike Luna who seemed more than happy with this development. One last thing made Myo uneasy, however, before she could articulate her concern Mélusine continued.
"And no, you don't have to worry about what you did to Pandora's workshop. Her life is worth more than a million of thoses."
As the last trace of adrenaline left Myo, her intense physical fatigue and magical exhaustion hit her. The comfort of the footstool, the warmth of Luna against her, she had no chance. When she closed her eyes for a moment, against her will, she fell asleep. It was only after four days of dreamless sleep that she would see the light again.
oOOOo
Their prey was elusive. That was the least they could say. For almost two years now they had been tracking her in the north of Scotland. Many would have given up, but not them. It would be worth it. The trap was set. Soon, they would have enough money to not have to work for the rest of their lives.