POV of Bella Black

I reacted too late to Par's attempt to push up my sleeve, so she touched my hand and I had to suppress a scream of terror. Because what I saw now, I didn't like at all:

Two dark-haired girls, about 8 years old, running through a forest at night. One of them turns to the other and seems to want to turn back, the other, Parvati, shakes her head and keeps running. Finally, they stop and look around as if they have heard something. The other girl seems to let out a scream and tries to pull her sister away with her, but Parvati seems paralyzed with fear and finally Padma runs on without her sister. Parvati stares at a creature now approaching, her fear clearly visible. IT looks like a mix between a vampire and a werewolf, but the transformation seems incomplete:

Fangs flash dangerously from the mouth of the creature with snow-white, matted fur, its eyes glowing blood-red. IT still has somewhat human features and walks semi-upright. IT pounces on Parvati, knocking her to the ground to bite her, but as soon as its fangs merely touch her shoulder, IT abruptly lets go of her and backs away.

While Parvati is still lying on the ground, her eyes begin to glow in a bright green. Blood seeps through her torn shirt at the shoulder and runs down her body. IT observes her from a few meters away, lurking and with a certain curiosity. Parvati now rises again, her eyes still glowing green, but there's no trace of fear left in her face, she now looks rather angry. She briefly eyes the creature suspiciously, quickly grabs a large stick and dodges just in time as the creature tries to knock her to the ground again.

Both Parvati, still holding the stick in her hand, and the creature are lying on the ground. Both are breathing. The creature regains consciousness first and runs away without looking back even once. Parvati opens her eyes, which are now back to their usual light brown, and stands up. She looks around briefly and finally runs away as well.

Night again. The same forest. Parvati, who doesn't seem much younger than in the present, stands at exactly the same spot where she was attacked a few years ago. She looks around as if expecting the creature to return as well, but everything remains quiet. She retrieves a sword from a hiding place in a hollow tree trunk and begins practicing fighting with it on a tree.

It seems as if she does this often, as she appears to be able to handle the sword, and after a while she pauses and puts the sword on the ground. Her facial expression changes, there's something wild about it. Her eyes flash green and her hair color seems to change slightly, becoming lighter, but since it's dark, nothing more specific can be said. She seems used to this change as well, as she picks up the sword again and continues training. In this transformed state, she seems even more skilled with the sword and after a short time, she ends the training.

She kneels on the ground and closes her eyes. After a brief moment, it becomes clear what's happening: Another transformation occurs. At first, it looks as if she's mutating into a werewolf, but the transformation doesn't seem painful, she remains calm, and in the end, where Parvati was kneeling just moments ago, there now stands a white wolf. It runs away.

A family celebration. Parvati and Padma stand somewhat apart from the others, seemingly talking to two girls. Parvati's facial expression suggests that it's not a friendly conversation, rather almost an argument. Suddenly her eyes flash green again and she clenches her fists. Frightened, her cousins take a few steps back and let out a scream. Parvati seems to regain control, but now the general attention seems to be entirely focused on her.

A name came to mind before it was all over: Scatty.

It was more of a curse than a desirable gift that after just a brief touch, I knew pretty much everything about an object or a person. That was the reason why I usually wore gloves, to protect myself from things I didn't want to know at all.

These scenes had flashed before my mind's eye in fast motion, and I would have to think about them later to become aware of what had really happened. Shocked as I was by this sudden vision that Parvati had unwittingly forced upon me, I jumped up and hurried away. As I ran through the corridors of the castle, trying to put as much distance as possible between myself and the Great Hall as quickly as possible, I was shaking all over. This was partly certainly because It was cold in the corridors, but on the other hand, I was also shaking at the thought that I had spent so much time with Parvati.

What I had seen deeply disturbed me, and I didn't even want to imagine what she might be capable of if she got angry. This wolf that she could apparently transform into really scared me, but I was torn:

She certainly had her reasons for not telling us about it, just as I had kept secret the reason why I always wore gloves. Could I really hold it against her? She must have expected a reaction like mine... But I still got chills down my spine as I thought about her.

I would have to distance myself from her for now, until I could assess her and say for sure whether she was dangerous or not. I was undecided whether I should tell the others or not, as that would mean my secret would be revealed as well.

Lost in thought, I had ended up near the Great Hall again and headed towards the girls' toilets to run some cold water over my hands. Water and objects that were in my possession were the only things I could touch without worry.

As I awkwardly turned on the faucet with my sleeve pulled over my hand, I noticed that the floor suddenly began to shake.