All around her was comfort, warmth and softness. She could feel a steady, reassuring heartbeat against her cheek. A pair of arms was wrapped softly around her, and she could feel a multitude of soft downy feathers covering her like the best duvet in the world.
Luna longed to snuggle deeper and be lulled to sleep by Myo's heartbeat. Unfortunately, the sun didn't seem to agree. Its rays were bright enough that even her eyelids were insufficient to block the light.
She sighed and realized that her wonderful night was over. She sat up and carefully extricated herself from Myo's arms, taking care not to wake her slumbering friend. She sat up and glanced at Myo. She had curled up into a ball and looked more like a bundle of iridescent feathers than anything else.
The place Myo had found for them to use as a bedroom was great. They'd had to make some adjustments the day before, but the "passage through the high flame" as Myo had called this fantastic and fascinating moment had taken care of most of it. Myo had said that she had done this without really thinking when she arrived in her tower. To make it her own. She had let her flames grow until they engulfed and exited the room, going into a strange trance and turning anything unwelcome in her 'nest' to ash. For yes, Luna had no other word to describe the way Myo had arranged the place.
First of all, Myo seemed to have found an old, disused tower that had been completely abandoned for Luna couldn't tell you how many decades before slipping through a window into the room at the top of it, just under the roof. By chance or by magic, the floor and the woodwork were in excellent condition.
She found herself in a round room five metres in diameter with a trap door in the floor and three windows. After the "passage through the high flame". Myo had undertaken to gather all the cushions and blankets borrowed from the dormitory into a heap cleverly organised to form a comfortable sleeping area. Some of the old, worn furniture had been burned to form a pile of ashes in an opposite corner of the room, and all their belongings had been stored in an old drawer chest that Myo had originally intended to burn but that Luna had saved from a very unfortunate fate by pointing out that the antique piece of furniture had a lot of character, and that it would be very useful to them.
Fortunately, the three windows were still closed and seemed to be in good enough condition not to let the wind in. The cold was not really a problem under Myo's wings, but getting out of the warmth of her friend's feathers would have proved impossible for her, had the temperature of the room been colder.
While Myo organized the "nest" and their belongings, Luna hung the decorations they had brought with them on the walls, some drawings and pictures, before going downstairs and exploring the rest of the tower. They had been lucky, for this tower seemed to have been used as a living quarters when it was still in use, and the room below was an old bedroom and bathroom.
Luna had wanted to go lower, but the call of fatigue and the comfort of Myo's feathers had been stronger.
She took one last look at Myo's still sleeping form before opening the trap door and slipping down the ladder into the room below, taking her toiletries with her. A nice hot shower and a meeting with two scarlet Blixy's later, Luna dressed in the uniform that lacked far too much personality for her taste. Perhaps she would do as Myo had done with her pointy hat the day before and decorate her uniform with dried flowers. It would be most tasteful. She clipped on her good luck butter beer cap necklace and slipped on her favorite dirigible plum earrings. There, Luna smiled, already feeling more like herself. How was it possible to like dressing so drab? She thought as she glanced at her black robes trimmed in blue.
She climbed the ladder and couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Myo was standing, stretching. Wings partially extended, the room being slightly too small for her to open them fully. She was proudly wearing the pyjamas that Luna had given her. The blue flannel dotted with patterns of chicks and yellow ducklings fit her perfectly.
Noticing her at last, Myo gave her a bright smile before giving her a hug. "Good morning Luna! Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning Myo, yes, and you know very well that I sleep best under your wings. Even the boldest Wrackspurt wouldn't dare come near me and give me nightmares when I'm sleeping with you," she answered serenely. If only they would leave her alone all the time...
Myo laughed. "I hope to scare them! Let them know that they can't mess with my Luna without a fight!" She said before bending her fingers like little claws and imitating a growl that would have been intimidating if she wasn't wearing chick and duck pajamas. "Well, I'm going to wash up, shall we go and see Nym then? It's nearly time."
"I'll pack the bag while I wait for you," Luna replied with a smile. She took a few seconds to let her eyes drift over their little room. In just one evening, they had made it their own, her and Myo putting their marks on it. She packed their things for the day, not having received their schedules yet, she just stuffed the writing case, drawing materials, sheets and other small things she thought they might need into their bag. Then she sat on the windowsill and let her eyes wander, enjoying the view of the castle, the mountains and the lake under the golden rays of the rising sun.
A few minutes later, she heard the click of Myo's talons on the floor before two arms closed around her waist. "Are you ready, my moon? I'm sure Nym will be happy to see us." Luna nodded before Myo jumped out of the window with her and glided between the towers, bulwarks and crenellations towards the lake.
oOOOo
Myo was happy, her plan to sneak Luna into Hogwarts had worked wonderfully well. None of the teachers had said anything! Luna had been called to the hat like everyone else, and the hat itself had said nothing! This huge success had led to a wonderful night in their new room in the nest of cushions with Luna pressed against her. Their new room was not nearly as good as the room in her tower, but after a few days and a few skulls from her hunts in decoration and delineation, the place would be cosy enough to house her and Luna, at least until the end of the year.
Besides her success and her night with Luna, Nym was already at the lake. Myo hovered silently before landing her and Luna on the pebbles of the shore. "Nym!" She said happily, trotting towards her friend as fast as her totally unadapted talons could carry her.
Nym turned towards her and Myo stopped dead in her tracks. Instead of her bright pink, spiky hair, her hair were long and dark brown, and she had a serious look on her face along with a frown. "Nym?" Myo asked, surprised and worried. Luna was silent beside her, looking neutral.
Nym sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Myo... Do you know how worried you made us?"
"I worried you?" Myo repeated, with surprise.
"Yes! Me, Dad and Mom, Luna's parents, everyone was planning to accompany you to the Hogwarts Express yesterday! But you were nowhere to be found!" She said, gesticulating and pacing back and forth on the shore. "It wasn't until I almost missed the train that Pandora found a letter she hadn't noticed on her bedside table in Luna's handwriting explaining in insufficient detail that Myo had decided to kidnap her so that you could have your first year together and leave early to, and I quote, 'go exploring and swim in the lake!' Pandora and Xeno were worried sick and on the verge of calling the Ministry! That was only avoided by the message I sent them as soon as I saw you in the hall. She glared at Myo who couldn't help but look down with a pale face. "Myosotis Potter! Can you explain to me what was going through your tiny little head?" she finished with her fists on her hips.
It was the first time Myo had had someone she cared about angry with her. It felt like a punch in the gut, and tears welled up in her eyes. Why was she so angry? Luna was safe with Myo to protect her, nothing could have happened to them. Even people like the poachers couldn't have caught her like last time, since she had mastered her transformation. Her throat was tight, she was completely unable to speak. Nym's angry look was unbearable for her. She'd been looked at that way by many people since she'd arrived among the wizards, so why did it hurt so much when it was Nym?
She hadn't realised it, but she had started sobbing uncontrollably and curled up on the floor. She could feel Luna against her, stroking her back and wings. Her vision was blurred, obscured by tears. The tone of Nym's voice had changed drastically, from anger to concern. Nym and Luna were discussing something and she was unable to understand it. Her head hurt, just breathing was an ordeal, the air burning her windpipe and lungs. Her flames had awakened and were dancing on her skin in her feathers and under her clothes, their gentle warmth and caress trying to fight the pain. But the image of Nym's icy stare, her jaw tensed, anger directed at her, was too much.
She could hear Luna's voice whispering something in her ear. "Myo, Nym is not angry anymore, everything is fine. Look at me please, open your eyes." Myo took a few slow breaths before slowly trying to open her eyes to see Luna's worried face in front of hers. Her eyes seemed to search for something in hers for a few seconds before she threw herself against her and wrapped her arms around her, burying her face in her neck. Myo reacted mechanically, closing her arms and wings around Luna and blinking. "I didn't think it could hurt this much," she whispered in her friend's ear as her heartbeat slowed and the world stopped shaking around her.
"I'm sorry." Nym's voice said. She was crouched two meters away from them, her arms around her knees, concern clear on her face. "I... I was so worried... I'm sorry I got so upset."
Myo sat cross-legged on the floor, keeping Luna in her arms, clinging to her like a lifeline. "I, I don't know why..." She turned her tear-reddened eyes to Nym. "It hurts so much... I've been told worse things, with so much anger, especially the dursleys... but it never really hurt. Why does it hurt so much now?"
"I think it's because, unlike almost everyone else, Nym, and the way she sees you matters to you," Luna murmured without releasing her embrace.
"I'm sorry Nym," Myo finally said in a small voice after a long silence.
Nym let out a long sigh. "You don't have to apologize to me. Pandora, Xeno, Mélusine, Mum and Dad are waiting for you in the headmaster's office. Before we go, I'd like you to give me your explanation, so I can repeat it if you can't do it in front of everyone.
Myo breathed out slowly, she hadn't imagined for a second that things would turn out this way. As Myo thought about how she would explain this to Nym, Luna spoke up. "We didn't want to be separated. It was horrible to think of Myo going to Hogwarts alone. Yes, you'd be there for her Nym, but you're three year above her, and weren't going to be in the same house as Myo. We made a simple plan, Myo was going to pass a letter from me answering an admittance, and we were going to fly together to avoid the town and everyone at the station. Before we left, I left a letter saying we were going together..." She finished, lowering her eyes.
Myo nodded vigorously. "Yes, if it wasn't with Luna, I wouldn't want to be here."
Nym sighed, "And you didn't go and explain your problem to Pandora and Xeno? They could have helped you, found a solution that wouldn't trigger all this panic."
Myo hadn't thought of that at all! Not for a second had the idea of asking for help crossed his mind. "I... I'm not used to asking for help..." she finally said. For her part, Luna looked down and blushed, "I was afraid we wouldn't find a solution and that the headmaster and teachers would refuse, and Myo would be left alone." Myo hugged her friend tighter. "If they refuse, we'll leave! Luna nodded energetically before burying her face in the crook of her neck.
Nym looked away, blushing as if she had just witnessed something indecent for a reason that Myo was unable to fathom before getting up. "Come on, they're waiting for us.
Myo reluctantly let go of Luna before rising to her feet, wiping her tear tracks on her sleeve and following suit, hand in hand with Luna.
A few minutes later, as the small group walked down a corridor, Myo had to stop for a moment. The hard, cold stone against her talons was beginning to hurt. She pressed her hand against a wall and inspected the underside of her talons. There were a few bruises and scratches visible despite the scales. In her tower, she walked very little, preferring to fly whenever possible, her talons used to capture her prey or to hold on to something. But since arriving at Hogwarts, she found herself constantly walking through the corridors on the cold, hard stone. Again, in the Tonks, the roads were of beaten earth and soft grass under her scales... But here...
She was surprised when she looked up to see Nym crouching in front of her. So much so that she was dumbfounded for a moment. "Come on, get on my back, I'll carry you to the Headmaster's office." Nym ordered. Still surprised, Myo climbed on her back, letting herself be carried. Luna giggled softly beside them.
"Thank you," Myo whispered in Nym's ear.
"It's normal, your talons are obviously hurting you, and you weigh less than a feather. No pun intended. Also... metamorphagus do not have strenght problem i guess. You know... for me growing muscles are not a problem at all" Nym laughed.
"Thanks for not saying anything directly last night. At the banquet."
"Ah, I wasn't going to make a scene in front of everyone. And you and Luna looked too exhausted for that. Besides, I needed to contact Pandora as soon as possible to let her know you were okay."
"Was she that worried?" Luna murmured.
Nym grunted. "You have no idea, Luna... your mother adores you."
The rest of the ride was in silence, an annoyed, reassured and frustrated Nymphadora Tonks accompanied by two pensive and shaken girls.
oOOOo
The large wooden door opened in front of them. The sight that met her eyes was so peculiar that Myo's anxiety was immediately forgotten. All the walls of the room were lined with shelves. Some were literally overflowing with books, others were covered with small, shiny, moving, or buzzing objects and trinkets. Various strangely coloured crystals, small richly decorated boxes, and shiny metallic objects with strange structures seemed to compete for space. Myo had to consciously struggle not to walk right up to them and stuff some of the shinier ones into her pockets.
The walls behind the large desk were covered with portraits of various sizes, all containing a sleeping wizard or witch. At the top of the shelf to her right sat the magic hat from the previous day's ceremony. Myo was itching to get hold of it and push it down on her head, to finally have a chat with the ancient artefact. But even more fascinating was the vermilion feathered bird that seemed to be staring at her, its black eyes focused on hers.
Sitting on the other side of the desk was Dumbledore. The old man was dressed in purple robes and looked at her with a strange expression. No sooner had she entered, than a sudden movement in the corner of her field of vision made her head turn sharply. Pandora had almost literally pounced on Luna to take her in her arms and examine her thoroughly. Xeno stood back a little, relief visible on his face. On the other side of the room, Andy and Ted were watching her with stern looks on their faces while Mélusine gave her a reassuring smile that slowed her heartbeat a little as she remembered why she was here.
"Hello Miss Potter, Miss Lovegood, Miss Tonks. Please take your seats in front of my desk. Said the Headmaster, indicating the seats with a casual hand.
Myo frowned, there were no beanbags or stools. If she sat like that, she'd hurt her tail. No way was she going to get her feathers twisted! As if she had read her thoughts, Mélusine transfigured one of the seats into one, and Myo sat down on it, giving her a grateful look. Pandora had refused to let go of Luna, who was now on her mother's lap, giving Myo a sorry look. "Hello sir," she said simply. She glanced at Xeno sitting just to her right, expecting a dark look, but he just ruffled her hair affectionately and gave her a small smile. Andy looked glum, and Pandora was still too busy checking Luna out to look at her. Myo, who was starting to get anxious again, was somewhat reassured by the fact that she was not receiving any open hostility. Even more so when Luccys, Mélusine's familiar, came to drape itself around her shoulders and Myo was able to distract her fingers by stroking the feathers and scales of the occamy.
"Well, now that you've got your daughter back safe and sound Mrs. Lovegood, and you've seen with your own eyes that Myosotis is fine, I think we can get started. I have a few questions of my own, but I think the ones you wish to ask are more pressing."
Pandora, still with Luna in her lap, her hands crossed over her daughter's midriff, let out a long sigh. "Myosotis, Luna, can you explain to us what possessed you? To leave like that one morning with just a letter? Not to mention the fact that, Luna, you're a year too young to go to Hogwarts."
Myo looked down and Luna blushed profusely but remained silent. So it was Nym who courageously spoke up. "Myosotis didn't want to go to Hogwarts if Luna wasn't with her, and didn't think to tell you about it, preferring to find a solution on her own. Luna, wanting to go with Myosotis, thought about talking about it, but was too afraid that the teachers would refuse the request and preferred to go along with Myosotis' plan."
Andy let out a long sigh in turn and covered her eyes with her hand while Mélusine, Ted and Xeno let out a small laugh. Pandora, for her part, watched Myo carefully.
Pandora spoke up. "First of all, you two have made us terribly worried. Luna, I didn't find your letter until quite late, and even then, its contents were insufficient. Myo, I understand, you have always lived more or less alone, asking for help is not part of your reflex. But you, my dear little Moon, should have come and talked to us, explained the problem. I'm sure we could have found a solution," at these words all the adults except Dumbledore nodded.
Xeno cleared his throat. "As this is the first time you've ever done something really stupid, and we think you're smart enough to understand, you won't be punished, Luna. However, the next time something like this happens. You will be. Myo, we can't really blame you for acting like this. Just consult with Luna further, and try to remember to ask when you want something. If it's possible, we'll help you, if not, we'll explain why it's a bad idea. I doubt we could really punish you anyway, even if we wanted to. You'd just go and fly somewhere else. The worst thing we can do to you is punish Luna. Am I wrong?"
Myo nodded, blushing. "Good." said Pandora
"Does that mean I can stay and do my first year with Myo?" Luna asked shyly.
At this, Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "And what happens if Luna is not granted that right, Miss Potter?"
Myo stiffened on her stool and gave the Headmaster a deathly fiery glare. "Then I'll go back home and wait a year to offer Luna to come and do her first year with me at Beauxbatons."
He then laughed. "As you can see, I'm afraid it's impossible to separate Miss Lovegood from Miss Potter at this point without resorting to coercion. If Miss Potter is helping Miss Lovegood to do her schoolwork this year and if she is doing well despite her age, I see no reason why Miss Lovegood should not do her first year earlier if that is the condition for Miss Potter to agree to stay within our walls. However, the decision is yours Mrs. Lovegood, Mr. Lovegood, it is your daughter after all.
Xeno started to nod, but Pandora raised her magical new prosthetic hand. "I have one condition for this," she said.
" "Do tell me," Dumbledore replied.
"I wish my daughter to be allowed to come home every weekend because of her young age. I refuse to not be able to see my ten year old daughter for more than a week." She says peremptorily.
"That seems easily manageable to me," he said, nodding.
"Thank you, Headmaster." Pandora said before placing a kiss on Luna's temple.
"Is there any other business I should know about?" Dumbledore asked.
"I don't think so." Andy said before turning to Myo. "I wanted to say, darling, don't ever scare me like that again. And then I wanted to know how your first night at Hogwarts went? Are the other students not bothering you too much?"
Myo smiled weakly. "I'm sorry Andy, I didn't mean to. And, no, all the other Ravenclaw girls in my year are very understanding. Elvetia is very nice, but another one whose name I haven't yet remembered with beautiful purple eyes immediately helped me sort out something I was uncomfortable with."
Andy seemed immediately relieved. "I'm glad to hear it," she said with a smile. If someone is bothering you, tell them about the letters you're going to send us on a REGULAR basis!
"Yes Andy." Myo yelped.
"I'm counting on it," she said, crossing her arms to everyone's amusement.
"One more thing." Said Albus. "Miss Potter, my girl, I must admit to being very curious as to how you managed to get your young friend on the list of our esteemed Professor Mcgonagall, under everyone's nose." His eyes sparkled with curiosity and mirth.
"Um... I followed the owl that was bringing back my answer to my Hogwarts admission letter, got in, then slipped in a letter from Luna saying she accepted her place at Hogwarts among the other answers."
"I see, rather ingenious, your father would be proud of you. It's strange, though, that the castle wards didn't notify me of your intrusion... I'll have to look into them." Dumbledore glanced at the large wooden clock leaning against one wall of the room and nodded. "Well, my children, it is eight o'clock, and breakfast has begun. It's about time you ate before school starts. Mr. and Mrs. Tonks. Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood, it was a pleasure to have you in my office this morning. I wish you a good day."
After a long exchange of hugs, the Tonks and Lovegood left the office through the wide fireplace beside the door, and Myo, Luna and Nym were left alone in the office. They apologised to Dumbledore before leaving the room, Myo's eyes lingering on the strange, brightly feathered bird. Their eyes met for a moment. Myo felt a brief burst of powerful emotions, anger, resentment, regret, bitterness... surprise, hope? elation? The red bird's eyes widened imperceptibly as Myo looked away and left the room, breaking the strange connection.
oOOOo
The great hall was full, bustling of activity, discussion and noise. Nym had just separated from their group and headed for the table of her house. On the way, Myo had regained her good mood, despite the events of this morning. Nym was no longer angry, everyone was reassured, Luna could stay with her this year... everything was fine. Myo would have preferred to go and collect their breakfast in the forest, or hunt something, but Luna had expressed her desire for yoghurt with fresh fruit, and in any case, they would have to be present to receive their schedule.
Myo's gaze was caught by a sudden movement in the periphery of his vision. The blond boy had been placed in slytherin! Strangely enough, his eyes were on her, his face pale, and his cup had just fallen from his hand and smashed on the floor. Myo chuckled and just waved at him, she should keep an eye on him, his actions were just so funny! Look, he had just turned from linen white to peony red. Maybe he was the descendant of a chameleon? She would have to ask him...
As they walked towards the blue and bronze table, Myo's gaze was drawn to Elvetia, who, with a big smile on her face, waved her hand and indicated two free seats on her right. Glad to find a seat so easily. Myo and Luna did not hesitate to sit next to her. They completely ignored the dark looks the purple-eyed girl was giving them and the sudden disinterest of her black-haired friend.
"Myosotis, Luna! Where did you go last night?!" She asked with concern and relief visible on her face.
Not really understanding the reason for Elvetia's concern, Myo simply smiled at her. "Me and Luna found a great nest! By the way..." She turned to the purple-eyed girl and gave her a beaming smile. "Thank you for suggesting we leave! It's much better this way. I don't think I could sleep in a room with anyone but Luna. What's your name?"
Strangely, the girl in question seemed unable to formulate an answer, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly without uttering a word. To her right, the dark-haired one, who until then seemed completely uninterested in what was happening, let out a long sigh. "Since you didn't seem to pay any attention during yesterday's sorting, my name is Padma Patil, and her name is Morag MacDougal." She said before standing up and walking towards the Gryffindor table to who Myo could only describe as her duplicate.
"Okay... anyway, thanks Morag," Myo finally said, a little puzzled after Padma's sudden departure.
"You really can't sleep if there's someone else in the room besides Luna?" Elvetia asked in a small voice.
Myo nodded. "Yes, the thought of it makes me anxious..." She couldn't hold back a shiver just thinking about it. Elvetia seemed to be kind, Morag particularly understanding, and Padma... she didn't know what to think of Padma, but she knew that until she trusted them completely, she couldn't sleep a wink, lest they decide to do something, or turn out to be undercover dursleys.
At this statement, Elvetia looked down with a particularly sad expression. "What's wrong?" asked Myo, she didn't like to see the girl like this, let alone not understand the reason for this discomfort.
"I don't want to say it here... somewhere else?" Elvetia asked, her eyes hopeful.
Myo was a little surprised by the turn of this conversation. She turned to Luna in the hope of finding support and help for this unexpected request.
Luna tapped her chin with one hand and filled her bowl with yogurt and cubed peaches with the other. "Elvetia, would you like to come and eat with us this lunchtime?"
Elvetia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I'd love to!"
"As long as it stays away from us..." Morag grumbled. Elvetia glowered at her, and Myo just shrugged, not understanding what the hell Morag was talking about, before grabbing an apple and some bacon. Nothing else on the table appealed to her. She passed it around in her flames until the bacon was hot and the apple had turned into a delicious stewed texture before she started eating. Luna gave her big kitten eyes, and Myo rolled her eyes before making her a grilled apple as well. Eventually, Elvetia also seemed interested in the improvised preparation and got one too.
From the beginning, Morag had been watching her with eyes as big as tureens, motionless. Myo sighed, if she wanted some too, there was nothing to stop her from asking for it. "Do you want some too Morag?" Myo asked, a little uncomfortable because of the look the other girl was giving her.
She shook her head no before standing up quickly and moving elsewhere at the table with other older students.
Completely taken aback, and given that Luna had started reading an old issue of the Quibbler, she turned to Elvetia who had been watching the whole thing with her eyebrows adorably furrowed. "I didn't think Morag was such a shy person... you think she dislikes compote that much, or that she didn't dare ask for it... maybe she's allergic, I read that somewhere..."
To Myo's confusion, Elvetia laughed uncontrollably.
oOOOo
Myo and Luna were lucky. This morning, their first class was transfiguration, at ten o'clock. They had plenty of time to finish their breakfast in peace and to see Penelope again, who had come to ask them how their first night had gone. A few minutes later, Myo had spotted the cute girl from the library, Hermione, if she remembered correctly, walking alongside an unfriendly looking young redhead. She had obviously wanted to stop and talk to her, which Myo would have liked to do, but the boy had dragged Hermione into the corridors before Myo could say hello.
The next hour was spent exploring the castle with Luna and Elvetia before Myo got too sore and suggested that Luna stay with Elvetia while she went to stretch her wings. Luna seemed to get on well with their new friend and agreed without much difficulty. This allowed Myo to put her plan into action. She had caught two hares and collected an assortment of wild plants on the edge of the forest, enough to make a special meal to celebrate the fact that Luna could stay at Hogwarts!
However, Myo had miscalculated her time, and it was a good twenty minutes early that she entered the Transfiguration classroom. No one was there yet. The room resembled a small amphitheatre with large wooden tables and stools facing a large desk behind which was an imposing blackboard.
The bare stone walls were covered with large posters depicting figures and formulas, some of which Myo had already seen in her books, and others whose meaning she could only guess at. Alongside the various documents that seemed to present the basics and things to remember about transfiguration, there was a large poster with too many safety rules, and another with some rules about handing in written assignments. (Apparently, plagiarism got the criminal two weeks of detention and a troll for a grade... whatever that means, but from what Myo knew about trolls, it couldn't have been anything positive). A smaller poster advertised something called "Annual International Transfiguration Contest" and the first place winner would get two thousand sylbes. Myo frowned... wasn't the wizard's currency the galleons?
Then her eyes fell on the most interesting thing in the room by far. A very pretty little striped cat curled up on the desk, snoozing. Myo loved cats. The little felines were among the few creatures that visited her during her long days of solitude in the shed. They came to seek the warmth of her flames, or her expert caresses and proved to be much better company than the spiders which, although adorable, were far from being an exciting sight.
She missed Morgoth, the huge black fur ball was an excellent companion, his powerful purring a delicious massage. To her great regret, the young wizards seemed to prefer owls to cats, since she hadn't had the chance to meet one since she arrived. Perhaps they were just in places in the castle that Myo had not yet visited. More in the dormitories or common rooms... Anyway, Myo wasn't going to let this opportunity to dip her fingers in a warm fur go to waste, maybe she could even help the poor lost kitty to find his sad and surely worried owner.
With gentle steps, Myo slowly approached the feline, still unaware of the grim fate he would inevitably meet under the assaults of her skilful caresses. Very slowly, patiently, she approached her hand, and before the animal could react, she let her fingers slide over its fur from the back of its head to the base of its tail along its spine. Had it been someone else, the cat might have reacted, run away, resisted in some way. But, in this case, its opponent was too powerful. Myo had years of experience in the matter of feline manipulation. The first caress, and all opposition was over. She had practiced this art for many hours on the multitude of small felines passing through her shed, becoming a master in the art of turning them into fuzzy balls of pleasure under her fingers.
The pretty striped cat opened its beautiful green eyes wide in surprise, ready to bolt, but it was too late, the first caress had been made, and the second followed. The smile widened on Myo's face as the cat slowly gave in, its tusks breaking one after the other. Soon the animal was at her mercy. Purring loudly under her caresses, Myo scratched behind its ears, under its chins, on its flanks and back, the cat had gone completely sluggish under her petting.
"Your owner is lucky, you're so sweet, so soft." Myo cooed. "I need to help you find them, there's still time before class starts... maybe take you to another teacher and tell him you got lost, sweet creature." At the teacher's mention, the cat stiffened abruptly, but another expert stroke from Myo made it completely vulnerable again, the purring coming back in full force.
Myo gingerly lifted the cat to her chest, between her arms, without ceasing her petting. Then she opened one of the windows with one of her talons. Maybe she had trouble walking for long periods of time, but grabbing and manipulating things? Child's play!
She jumped out of the window and called for her flames, the cat seemed too relaxed from the heat and petting to care that it was twenty metres high. Now, how to reach a teacher? Myo thought for a moment as she whirled around in the air, she considered landing at the big gates and walking randomly through the castle, when she saw a black-clad figure emerge from the forbidden forest and stride towards the castle. The forest being, as its name indicates, forbidden, Myo concluded that it must surely be a teacher. Perhaps he would be willing to tell her what to do with the lost kitty.
She glided in his direction and landed gently a few meters in front of him. It was the tall, lean man with greasy black hair, dressed all in black and looking particularly depressed that she had seen this morning at the teacher's table, carrying a large basket filled with various wild mushrooms and herbs on his arm. His grey eyes fell on her. Unlike everyone else she'd met so far, he showed no surprise, and for that alone, Myo gave him a bright smile.
"Hello professor." She said.
"Hello Miss Potter, may I ask what you're doing out of a classroom at this hour." It was then that his eyes widened almost comically. "And... with... your transfiguration instructor in your arms."
At the teacher's voice, the cat seemed to come to its senses and struggle, so much so that it managed to jump to the ground, escaping Myo's grasp. "Look out! It's running away... the kit..." She was interrupted by the cat's form becoming blurred, and it growing enormously, to give way to... Professor Mcgonagall. Myo froze in place, mouth agape as Professor Mcgonagall clutched one of Severus's arms, her legs wobbling, panting.
The man dropped his basket to place a hand on Professor Mcgonagall's shoulder, his eyes darting back and forth between her and the transfiguration teacher. "Minerva, what on earth happened with Miss Potter?" He said in a faint voice.
Myo had no idea what was going on. The poor, sweet, lost cat had turned into Professor Mcgonagall and was now catching her breath, cheeks flushed? How? She could only stand speechless as Minerva began to speak. "Severus... I... welcoming students, usual demonstration, warm room, tired, didn't see Potter coming, she..." her cheeks flushed. "she... did... she... me, couldn't do anything... she's a menace, to all the cats in the castle, she's a menace." She finished, burying her face in her hands.
The professor she just discovered was named Severus let out a long sigh and put both hands on Mcgonagall's shoulders to help her to hold herself up, before turning her head towards Myo and watching her from head to toe. "Miss Potter, what made you think that kidnapping your teacher, even in cat form, was even remotely acceptable behaviour." Myo blinked, had she been dreaming, was it amusement she saw in the professor's stern gaze?
"I didn't know it was Professor Mcgonagall. I thought it was some poor forgotten kitty stuck in the room. I wanted to take it to a teacher to ask for help and to know who to take it to." She said, looking down.
"I see... so I guess that was a good intention." The man turned to Professor Mcgonagall, who had regained some of her composure and was smoothing her dress. "Minerva, do you think this warrants disciplinary action?"
"No, she didn't know..." She looked Myo straight in the eye and glared at her. "However, if I ever find out that you've told anyone about this... incident, I will reverse that decision." She took out her wand, made a circle with it and whispered "tempus". "There are ten minutes left before the class starts. Follow me, Miss Potter. Good day Severus."
At these words she began to walk at a brisk pace towards the castle, Myo doing her best to keep up. "I repeat myself Miss Potter, not a word of this to anyone. Am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am." Myo yelped.
"Good."
Halfway to the castle, Myo dared to speak despite the teacher's outraged look. "You know, it would be faster if you turned back into a cat and I carried you to the classroom."
"Quiet, Miss Potter." Mcgonagall growled, her cheeks still bright red.
oOOOo
Two hours later, Myo, Luna and Elvetia emerged from the transfiguration classroom. Myo was pleased! She had managed to transfigure the metal ball into a small, shiny ring. She had had a lot of trouble at first because her flames had tended, as always, to show far too much enthusiasm, and to melt her metal ball. She had to change it twice, the first two having completely evaporated on contact with her flames. She had received many sideways glances from the other students, but Myo was getting used to it. She had beautiful feathers and flames, they did not, a certain amount of jealousy was inevitable.
As she walked down the corridor alongside her friends, admiring her new silver ring that the professor had allowed her to keep, Elevtia, who had been looking pensive for a while, spoke up. "You think Mcgonagall is unwell? She kept spluttering and blushing all through class..."
"She was infested with wrackspurt. You'll have to tell me what happened, Myo." said Luna.
"What's Myo got to do with it?"
"She arrived two minutes late with Professor Mcgonagall..."
"chht!" interrupted Myo. "Don't talk about it here! Mcgonagall doesn't want it to get out."
Her two companions looked completely taken aback, but they nodded.
As Elvetia turned in the direction of the Great Hall, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Myo and Luna heading out of the castle. "Where are you two going? Aren't we going to eat?" She asked.
"I'm following Myo." Luna said in the most natural way possible.
"I have a surprise for Luna on our first day," explained Myo.
"Can I still come with you? Padma and Morag don't get along well with me... our families are not... historically on the same side, and unfortunately, the hostility is passed on." She said in a small voice.
"hmmm... Do you like grilled rabbit with mushrooms?" Asked Myo, there was no point in inviting their new acquaintance to eat if she wouldn't like what she had planned anyway, so much for the surprise, anyway, Luna probably already suspected what they were going to do.
"Eh, yes? Why?"
"Luna?"
"No problem for me." Said her little moon.
"In that case, no problem, we'll have lunch at the lake, the weather is nice today, and the other day we found a small island perfect for not being disturbed.
A few minutes later, their little group arrived at the edge of the forest. The sun filtered through the thick foliage, spangling the shallow waters of the lake shore with spots of light.
Myo was about to lift Luna and take her to the small island when she turned to Elvetia. "You wait here and I'll come back for you? Unless you'd rather swim... but be careful, there are big fish."
Elvetia chuckled slightly before taking a good look around her, Myo raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "Myosotis, Luna, you don't tell anyone what I'm going to do. Do you agree? Promise?"
Curious, Luna and Myo nodded simultaneously. "We swear."
Elvetia watched them for a moment, as if searching their expressions for possible deception, before nodding in turn. Then, a split second later, there stood in her place an adorable grey owl with big amber eyes. Myo and Luna were stunned. The owl flew off to land on the island, followed a few seconds later by Myo and Luna.
On the island, Elvetia was waiting for them, retransformed, with a smile on her face, undoubtedly amused by the expression of surprise that Myo could not help but display. As soon as she arrived, her eyes filled with stars, Luna ran to Elvetia.
"You're an animagus!" she exclaimed.
"Are you like Professor Mcgonagall?" Myo asked.
"Of feral decent? You're too young to be an animagus," Luna added, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Calm down you two, calm down. Laughed Elvetia. "One question at a time."
As Myo took the cooking equipment out of her bag and began preparing the hares, Luna began. "Are you from feral decent?"
"No, wrong guess." replied Elvetia with amusement.
"What does it mean to be feral decent?" Myo asked.
"It's when you have an animagus father or mother, mages who can transform into animals, who then have a child with an animal of the same species as their transformation. All offspring are said to be of feral decent and can transform into humans at will. Some live among wizards, others choose to live in the wild," Luna explained passionately.
"I see." She said, nodding her head. The idea was exciting. Magic could really do amazing things!
"So, if you're not feral decent, how is that possible? The ritual to become an animagus is not feasible at our age." Luna questioned, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
"You don't tell anyone, and I only tell you because Myo is a veela, and you're her friend. Most of the mages in England have a very bad prejudice against us."
"Of course!" Myo and Luna assured.
"The Morelles are of animalys culture." Luna gave a little "oh" of understanding, but Myo tilted her head slightly to the side in incomprehension. "Luna, do you know the United Houses of Llandecwyn?" Luna nodded. "Well, in our house, everyone is born an animagus. As soon as Mum found out she was pregnant with me, she took on her animagus form as is customary, until I was born. So I was born an owl." She finished with a tinge of pride in her voice.
The discussion continued in the same vein, Elvetia kindly answering Myo's endless questions. Luna, who already seemed to be aware of the possibility, had to remind Myo twice to stir the cauldron, to prevent the contents from sticking to the bottom.
According to what Elvetia had explained, she was the Morelle heiress, and would inherit the title of nobility. Her family had been birthing owl animagus for generations. To Myo's surprise, one of the points of contention with the other noble houses was the matriarchal organisation of the Morelles and the few other noble families of Llandecwyn. The more general English magical nobility refused to marry their sons into these families for fear of losing their name. This lack of connection has led to some deep rifts between the rest of the nobility and the united houses of Llandecwyn. Elvetia's presence in the school was a hand out to the rest of the nobility to ease some of the tensions Elvetia had admitted.
The rabbit and mushrooms were delicious, and Luna was so drowsy after eating in the early afternoon sun that she fell asleep on Myo's lap, leaving Myo to discuss with Elvetia what she had told them about her adventure with their transfiguration teacher this morning.
Elvetia was amused to discover this new side of their teacher and had explained to her that Professor Mcgonagall must have felt particularly embarrassed to have been petted like that by a student and not to have been able to fight back before finding herself in this embarrassing situation with another teacher. Myo still didn't understand why being stroked was embarrassing, since she herself loved it when Luna stroked her feathers, but she was going to take what Elvetia explained for granted. After all, even non-dursley humans could be weird too.
They were so comfortable on their sunny little island, Myo's fingers lost in Luna's hair, their exchange so interesting and amusing, that she gasped when she heard the bell indicating the resumption of classes.
"I think we're late..." whispered Elvetia. Myo shivered. Especially since in this first half of the afternoon, they were going to face the terrifying and imposing professor of herbology.
oOOOo
Myo sat down at the ravenclaw table in the great hall and sighed deeply. This afternoon had been exhausting. First of all, botany had been horrible. Myo loved gardening, she really did, but with Professor Sprout, it was difficult. She had taken five points off each of them for being less than a minute late before spending most of the practical work practically over myo's shoulder. Myo had been so stressed that she had unintentionally burnt six aquaflora plants they were supposed to repot and lost ten extra points for it.
This behaviour on the part of the usually jovial big teacher had surprised not only her, but the hufflepuffs, with whom the class was being held, had looked at Professor Sprout as if he had grown a second head. Other students had laughed at her and her misadventures with the poor aquaflores. As soon as the bell rang to indicate the end of the class, Myo had fled the greenhouse at full speed with Luna.
Myo couldn't understand why Mrs. Sprout was like that with her, and she thanked the hat for not placing her in Hufflepuffs with that professor. Fortunately, the next class went better. Mr Flitwick had turned out to be a lovely little man. He'd given her five points for her lumos, and another five for helping Elvetia, and at the end of the session he'd even ticked her spell proficiency box! Now she would be allowed to use it wherever she wanted!
The only other notable event of the charm class, apart from Luna managing to make beautiful multicoloured balls of light and gain ten points for it, which Myo still hadn't managed to reproduce yet, was the moment she had wanted to go and help the slytherin in difficulty. The Blondie seemed to be having a lot of trouble, and she had gone to see him, hoping to finally be able to greet him properly. She had shown him how to do it and introduced herself again, but the boy had remained motionless, as if frozen, his face pale and his eyes bulging. Not wanting to waste too much time with a statue, she had gone back to Luna who had managed to give her light a unicorn shape to the delight of their little teacher. Luna had been disappointed to learn that lumos would not allow her to make several lights at once, or shapes more complex than vague silhouettes, but she had still been happy to have her proficiency ticked too.
In the group of Ravenclaw girls in their year, only Morag had not left the class with her proficiency box ticked. Myo was a little sad for her, she would not be allowed to use lumos in the corridors...
Penelope and Michael joined them at dinner, to 'make sure the baby first years had a good day', but more importantly to exchange gossip and wild theories that delighted Luna, and to discuss the day's lessons. Penelope seemed completely outraged to hear how the lesson with Mrs Sprout had gone. Nym joined them a little later, explaining that she had finally found an opportunity to escape from her clingy group of friends.
Their discussion was interrupted by a thunderous laugh from the teachers' table. Hagrid had fallen out of his chair laughing, and a number of the other professors, including the Headmaster, seemed terribly amused. Unfortunately, Professor Mcgonagall flicked her wand, and all sound from the teacher's table disappeared. She could still see their mouths moving though. Professor Mcgonagall was peony red and glaring disapprovingly at her colleagues, especially at Professor Severus, or Snape, as Nym had told her he was called, who was acting as if nothing was wrong as he continued to eat, only a slight smirk betraying him.
The great hall was buzzing with murmurs as to why there was such a mess at the teachers' table. Elvetia and Luna stared at her knowingly, and Myo nodded. The cat seemed to be out of the box, figuratively and literally, at least at the teachers' table.
oOOOo
That evening, after a good ash bath, and a delicious preening session, leaving her completely relaxed, her plumage renewed, (the feather care potion she had brewed from the book she had found in Diagon had proved to be very effective.) Myo was lying in her nest of cushions and blankets. Luna was already asleep, curled up in her arms, nestled between her wings. A blanket of silence had fallen over the castle, the last rays of the setting sun filtering through the window.
This first day had been gruelling. Her talons were aching from walking on the cold stone of the castle... Maybe she should ask Nym for help to find some kind of shoe, or sock, that would fit her talons.
Apart from a few, such as Elvetia, Penelope Michael, Neville, and Hermione, (the last two she should arrange to see again) the other students were really weird. Some looked at her with fear, some with hatred, some, often older, had something different and scary in their eyes, something she couldn't name. She would have to be careful to keep her and Luna away from these types of people. Fortunately, most of them seemed quite indifferent. Surprised, shocked, certainly, from what she understood, the one they thought had defeated the nasty Voldemort was a human, and it must have been surprising to find out that everything you thought about a vaguely known person was wrong.
Perhaps it was even better that way, her strangeness serving to repel all those who only wanted to get close to the idea of the fictional dark lord destroyer she had understood she was presented as.
This year would be difficult, she was a veela, made to be with other veela. The level of happiness and communion she felt in Fleur and Isabelle's presence was something she knew she would seek sooner or later. Why did the magical government have to force her to stay here for a year? Didn't they understand that she was going to join Fleur and her family and the other veelas at Beaubaton anyway? Why bother to get her at Hogwarts ? ... When she got to Beaubâton she would just have to convince Pandora and Xeno to let Luna go with her.
She sighed and buried her face in Luna's hair, letting her friend's distinctive wildflower and humus scent relax her. She closed her eyes, hoping that this year would go well and swiftly, and that soon she would be able to leave this place where the eyes on her were scorching her skin.
oOOOo
Minerva was tired, it had been a long day. It had started with Albus giving her a slap on the wrist for unknowingly admitting a child a year too young to Hogwarts. How could she have known that young Luna Lovegood wasn't supposed to join the school until a year later? Only those who received their admission letter were supposed to be able to answer. She'd finally gotten out of it without too much difficulty by reminding Albus that the whole situation was his fault with his totally irresponsible placement of Myosotis with muggles without even doing the health check that would have undoubtedly exposed the poor child's nature.
As she had expected, Myosotis was a strange child. Not surprising given her background. She was, however, pleasantly surprised to see Myosotis making friends in Ravenclaws. Friends other than the young Lovegood with whom she was attached at the hip.
Then came the most humiliating moment she had had the misfortune to experience in a long time. Worse still, it would be a lie to herself to say that if she were to give up all forms of self-respect, she would go to see Myosotis in her cat form, without a second thought.
She was in dire need of a few drinks. Or maybe a whole bottle...