Willow's Story

Willow's Story

Chapter 3

"I hate things all fiction... There should always be some foundation of fact."

-Bryon

Willow stretched. Her body was fully rested for the first time in months. She had had no dreams at all. Her emerald eyes flickered open. She sat up. Alastor was in the corner of the house where the stove was. He turned around.

"Well, Willow, are you feeling better today?"

"Yes."

"I see that you have turned back."

"What do you mean, 'turned back'?"

He walked towards the table. He sat down heavily on a chair. He looked at her.

"Do you know who you are?"

"I'm Willow. I am 13 years old."

"Yes that's true. But that's not the only thing you are. You are part of an almost extinct race. More exactly a tribe. The tribe of the Invisibles, otherwise known as Watchers. Watchers only get 'fixed' at the age of 13, which means that they only acquire their true form and powers at that age. I think that you will have stages where you will have your Watcher form, and others where you will be in your Human form. Of course it's better for your health to be in the Watcher form."

Willow was nodding. She turned to look in the ancient mirror on the wall. In the fraction of a second she was in her Watcher shape. Her ears were long and pointy, her hair was blacker than a black hole, her eyes were amber in color, her wings were back in all their splendor and her skin was as white as ivory. She turned towards Alastor.

"Is this how I should be?"

"Yes."

"How will I go around unnoticed?"

"I'll give you a cloak. It will hide your wings, as for your ears, they won't matter."

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I think that I should go on traveling..."

"Why do you think that? Don't say that there isn't any reason, I have known several Watchers in my life, none of them ever did anything with-out a reason."

"When I had just run away, I witnessed a meeting organized by this Snake-Like-Man, I think it was called Lord Voldemort, in any case it had these minions who had to swear alliance to it, then it told them of it's plan to kill a boy called Harry Potter, I think. It said that it had finally found a way to kill him. It said that the only way to kill him was to weaken him by killing his true love. It closed the meeting by saying that the only thing that could stop it was me! It even ordered its servants to kill me. I am going to find the boy Harry Potter and protect him and his true love from the abomination that wants him dead. That's why I need to go."

"I must say, it's a good idea... But it will put you in danger..."

"I know, but I'm not afraid."

"If you insist. If you really want to find the boy Harry Potter, it's best to keep going north until you reach the castle on the hill, it's called Hogwarts. Well Willow, I suppose I won't see you again soon."

Alastor took out a plain black cloak and handed it to Willow.

"Here you go. I'll miss you. Farewell my dear!"

"Goodbye Alastor!"

Willow waved Goodbye, the cloak over her arm. She started running. Once again her powerful wings lifted her up into the air. The sun was rising on her right. She flew watching for the castle on the hill.

The sun was now directly overhead. Willow still flew on. She could a town on the horizon. She looked up. The sky was covered with clouds. She didn't know if she would be able to breath. She decided it was worth the try. Willow's wings directed her up into the clouds; she shivered as the sudden cold and the cold wetness of the clouds themselves. She breached the level of clouds and shook herself slightly; she felt the beads of water run lightly off her. She flew on.

The sun was setting at her left. She breached the level of the clouds again. She could now see a vast moor that extended so far in every direction that she couldn't see the end of it in any direction. It was getting dark. She flew on.

The full moon was rising on her right. She felt comforted by the moon's old wise face. Still she flew on.

The moon's presence left her a few hours later when it set on her left. Willow was left in complete darkness. She flew on.

Willow had been flying for so long that her wings were starting to hurt. She couldn't see anything. So when in the dawn light she saw that she had left behind the seemingly endless moor and had reached a forest, a forest that seemed much darker and much more mysterious than the last one.

At noon she could see a faint shape at the edge of the forest. She squinted trying to see what it was. But couldn't make it out. She flew on.

Later on, she could see that the smudge on the horizon was vaguely shaped like a castle. She hoped with all her heart that it was Hogwarts.