Outstanding powers

The First Vision:

The next weeks passed slowly at times and quickly at others. The Outstanding Powers group was making a lot of progress. Draco was able to control his fireballs, but he could only create them when he was extremely angry. Padma was able to break into people's minds slightly now. Hannah was capable to understand animals but she couldn't talk to them yet. Harry was finally able to block his emotions from provoking a natural catastrophe. Classes were okay, but homework was piling up on the fifth year students. Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff during the first Quidditch match of the season with a spectacular performance from the Gryffindor team.

The weekend before Halloween was a Hogsmeade weekend. Unfortunately, Ginny had caught the flu and was forbidden to leave the castle (order of madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Weasley) so Isabella stayed with her, after a great deal of "I promise to go to Hogsmeade next time!"

"Ginny Weasley? Could you tell me the story of you and Dean Thomas please?" a little first-year girl asked. Ginny smiled at her and told her to sit down next to Isabella.

"Here's what happened. I had found out that Dean was planning to break up with me later that day, so I decided not to let him destroy me. He asked me to meet him at the top of the Astronomy Tower at ten o'clock. I told him I'd be there. At nine, I sent him a letter. I had written that I couldn't make because Isabella wasn't feeling okay and I had to take her to the Hospital Wing. Then, at ten minutes to ten, I borrowed Harry Potter's invisibility cloak and climbed to the Astronomy Tower and waited for him. At ten, he climbed up the Tower with Susan Bones. They were kissing like two lovers who hadn't seen each other in years. I let them kiss for about two minutes then I took off the invisibility cloak and busted them. Dean told me he had been seeing Susan for a week now. I cast one of my bat-bogey hexes at him and I came back here. That's the story."

The little girl was watching her with huge eyes. Ginny smiled sweetly. The first-year thanked her and ran away to tell her friends the story. Isabella knew Ginny had been really sad for a long time. She still wasn't talking to Dean but at least she didn't hex him when she saw him in the common room or in the Great Hall. When Harry, Ron and Hermione finally came back from Hogsmeade, right before dinner, Isabella and Ginny had finished every last bit of homework they had. Since Ginny felt better, she was able to go down to dinner with them. They were in the Great Hall talking to Hannah and Neville after dinner when Malfoy appeared, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Get out of our way, Potter! You're blocking the way with your oversized head," Malfoy sneered.

"Go lay and egg, Malfoy! You're polluting the air!" replied Ginny. Malfoy laughed.

"And what are you going to do about it, sneeze in my face, Weaselette? Mind you, you should get that cold of yours cured, because your clients may find that very unattractive."

Ginny's face went as red as her hair. The only reason why Harry and Ron hadn't torn Malfoy's head off his shoulders was because Isabella and Hermione were holding the back of their robes.

"Malfoy, I am insulted! You are mistaking me for Pansy Parkinson, school slut! You must be on top of her waiting list tonight," Ginny clucked her tongue, "I never would have thought you had time for a girl and two boys at night, Dracelle!"

She gave Malfoy her best smirk and waited for his reaction. A pale tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks and an evil glint flickered in his eyes. "Locomotor Mortis!" he yelled before anyone could stop him. Ginny's legs were bond together by the spell and she fell backwards. Harry rushed and caught her just before she hit the ground. Isabella stepped forward. Her face was inches away from Malfoy's face as she whispered, "Never...attack...my...friends..." Malfoy grasped her wrist tightly and inched his head slightly closer to hers.

"Never...get...this...close...to...me...again..." Isabella was about to reply when she shuddered violently. Her vision blurred and Malfoy disappeared, only to be replaced by white fog. She closed her eyes and saw what looked like a scene happening in a dungeon, rolling like a movie in her mind.

"You disappoint me, son, and I will be forced to punish you," a cold voice said. The man who spoke it looked remarkably like Draco. His hair was a lot longer though and he seemed much, much older. He could only be his father.

Draco was lying on the floor, drenched in sweat. Blood streamed freely from a gash on over his right eyebrow. "Please father, no!" he yelled as the Cruciatus curse hit him. He didn't scream at first, he was used to physical pain. His father's wand never moved, and his pain became more and more intense. Every inch of his body was burning. He finally shouted out in pain. Satisfied, his father dropped his wand. "Ready for another dose, Draco?" he asked, malice dripping off every word. Draco had a look of utter terror as his father raised his wand again.

"Stop! Please make it stop! Make the pain stop!" Isabella yelled as she woke up, panting. She was still in the Entrance Hall, her head lying on something soft. She could see Harry's anxious face, Ginny's frightened look, Ron and Hermione's worried expressions, and Remus Lupin's relieved face. She slowly drew herself up into a sitting position.

"What happened to me?" she asked in a whisper. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked at each other.

"Well, you shuddered, and then you went like, all rigid and you fell to the ground. If Ron hadn't caught you, you would be mush," Hermione explained, "now c'mon, let's get you to the Hospital Wing. Hannah's calling the Headmaster, and he should know where to find us." Harry and Ron helped Isabella go to the Infirmary. The Headmaster was already there.

"Ah, Miss Black, judging by what I have been told, you have received a new power. You have the Power of Seeing."

Hermione gasped. Harry, Ron and Ginny looked at her in surprise. Dumbledore asked Hermione to explain what the power of Seeing was.

"Seeing has become a very rare gift. I've read about it a few times, and only in very ancient books. It was a common power to medieval witches of the Croft clan and the Warren clan. It allowed a witch to see the past, present and future of a person." Hermione explained. Dumbledore nodded.

"So basically, you have visions, premonitions about the person you are in contact with. In this case, I believe it was Draco Malfoy. What did you see Isabella? Can you remember?" Dumbledore asked.

Isabella's eyes unfocused, as she tried to remember what her premonition was about. She shook her head.

"Sorry, I can't seem to remember."

Dumbledore looked slightly disappointed but told Isabella it was okay. After promising they would be back the next day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny left the Hospital Wing.

"Isabella, I will inform Hagrid that you will be hunting tonight," Dumbledore said.

Isabella nodded. At about ten o'clock, she left the Infirmary without a sound. Hagrid's hut was lit. She told him that she was hunting now and that she needed about two hours. Hiding in the trees, she waited for a big enough animal to pass. She placed her two fingers under her upper lip and pressed gently on her gum. She felt a tiny jolt of pain in her teeth and felt her fangs growing until they pushed slightly on her bottom lip. She heard the leaves ruffling under the trees and the sound of hooves. She jumped down from the tree and landed on something as big as a horse, and that threw her off easily. A feline growl escaped her and she stood up from the ground. When she saw what she had attacked, she gasped in surprise and bowed her head.

"My apologies, Firenze, I didn't know it was you, I was just hunting," she stuttered.

Firenze smiled and raised his hand.

"Do not worry, Isabella Black, I know you didn't mean to attack me. There is a deer about twenty-five meters from here. Jara is very old, and sick. Killing him would save him a lot of pain."

Isabella thanked him and walked away silently. The deer was lying on the ground, trying to drink from a little spring. Isabella licked her lips unconsciously and gave into her predator instincts. She petted the deer's head, and he looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I can't say this is not going to hurt, but at least you won't feel anything afterwards," Isabella said in a low voice.

She bent down towards its neck. The burning in her veins was getting more insistent and as she bit the deer's neck, the taste of blood overwhelmed her senses. She went back to Hagrid's hut, staggering, as though drunk. She cleaned herself up and had a cookie that Hagrid gave her. It was rock hard but she was able to crush it thanks to her newfound strength. As she lied in her bed, she couldn't stop thinking about her vision. The harder she tried to remember it, the harder it got.

"It's about Malfoy, why should I care?" was her last thought before she drifted to sleep.