Destiny

Animagi

Chapter 18

Wide eyed, Destiny stared at the ring that Harry held before her.

'Wow...' she thought, awed.

It was a beautiful, delicately carved ring. There were two hands holding a diamond heart, with an intricately cut crown, sitting on the heart.

"It's beautiful..." she whispered, gently touching the exquisite, golden ring.

"It's a Claddagh ring," Harry replied, pulling it out of the velvet box. "This is an Irish wedding ring traditionally. The hands represent friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart is love. If the ring is worn on your right hand with the heart pointing towards you, it means that you are taken but not married." As he moved to slide the ring onto her finger, he hesitated, his eyes asking for permission to continue. "Destiny?"

Finally taking her eyes off of the ring, she smiled brilliantly. "I'd love to be promised to you!" In her mind though, she couldn't help but think that this was as close to the alter as they would ever get with each other.

'I will keep my promise though. I'll keep it long after you've forgotten me and married another...'

*****

Harry and Destiny decided to keep to themselves the promise they had made. Destiny had insisted that it would make it more special but, truthfully, it was to keep him from the embarrassment that would come when the school year ended.

'Why does this have to happen? Why was I cursed with the powers of a Seer?'

Quickly turning her thoughts away from that line of thinking, she turned her attention to what she was doing. After completing their morning routine, Destiny had begun to teach them how to use muggle fighting techniques. Both were progressing quickly, though Harry was much better due to the way he had grown up. After this part of the lesson was finished, Draco always headed back into the school- to primp Harry always said- and they continued working with Harry's Mage powers. For having no real teacher, Harry was progressing amazingly fast. Destiny did what she could to help but, mostly, it was up to him to figure out how to do it. Many problems had ensued from this line of training but nothing could be done to change it.

As the end of March approached, the Animagi potion was nearing completion- something they were all grateful for.

"Well," Hermione said cheerfully, "we just have to let it sit for a week and it should be finished."

"Good," Destiny muttered. "All this grinding and stirring is destroying my nails!"

*****

On March 29^th, the potion was completed.

"We can try it out anytime in the next week. Harry, have you finished collecting the books we'll need to say the spells?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, we're all ready to go as long as you can cast the spells."

"Hey, why can't I cast the spells?" Destiny asked, indignantly.

Smiling at his girlfriend's expression, Harry opened his mouth to answer when Ron interrupted.

"Oh course Hermione's going to be the one to cast the spell! Did you think we were going to leave it to you? If anyone but her does it, we'll all be talking trees!"

Giving him a blank stare, Destiny murmured, "Of course, talking trees." Turning to the rest of them, she said tonelessly, "We'll do it tomorrow."

"Why don't we just do it tonight?" Ron asked curiously.

"Because I say so," Destiny snarled.

"And we all know that your word is law!" Ron snapped back sarcastically.

Glaring at him, she suddenly smiled, teeth bared, looking for all the world like a vampire. "Tomorrow," she hissed before leaving the room, her robes billowing behind her.

"What's her problem?" Ron asked, scowling after her.

*****

At midnight, a figure crept into the secret room, as quietly as possible. Reaching the cauldron, it pulled out a small bottle. Filling it to the brim, it stuck a stopper in and hurried from the room as soundlessly as it had entered.

'Excellent,' the shadowy figure thought. Smiling to itself, it watched as the red liquid sloshed in its container. 'What they don't know will never hurt me!'

*****

After class the next morning, the four friends hurried into the secret room.

"This is so great!" Hermione's eyes were alight with the kind of sparkle a child's would hold on a Christmas morning. "This has all been so educational!" She abruptly stopped when she heard Ron groan and resorted to glaring at him. "Be quiet Ron!"

"I didn't even say anything!"

"You may not have said anything but I understood you perfectly well!"

"Guys, shut the hell up!" Destiny snapped. "Don't you ever do anything but fight?" Scowling at them in disgust, she moved over to the cauldron, dipped a goblet in, and turned to Hermione. "If you screw up, you will die screaming." Seeing Hermione swallowing nervously, Destiny raised the goblet, sniffed it, and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. "Yummy! Tastes like regurgitated puke! Alright, spell me!"

As the spell hit her, Destiny felt her bones melt painlessly and instantly reform. At the gasps around her, she looked down, feeling panicked. Her eyes were met with a colorful array of yellows, blues, reds, and greens. Not just colors, but FEATHERS!

'I'm a bird!'

Thrilled at the prospect of being able to fly without a broom, she flapped her wings and soared to a table on the other side of the room. Transforming, Destiny landed back on her hands and absentmindedly kicked her dangling legs against the table.

"Well?" Destiny asked with a grin. "What kind of bird am I?"

Harry, eyes wide with shock turned to Hermione, to stunned to speak.

"That's impossible!" Hermione exclaimed, grabbing the Animagi book and frantically flipping through it. "NOBODY should be able to turn into that!"

"What? What am I?" Destiny asked again, annoyed.

"You're a phoenix!" Harry replied proudly.

"Really? Cool!" Scooping up some more of the potion, she thrust it in Hermione's direction. "Your turn!"

Nervously, the frizzy haired girl drank it, gagged, said the incantation, and immediately transformed into a beautiful brown owl with white tipped wings.

Squealing, Destiny raced over to pick up the owl and squeezed it tightly against her.

"Hermione, you're SO cute!"

After being dropped back to the ground, Hermione reappeared with an indignant look on her face.

Smirking happily at her expression, Destiny handed the goblet to Ron. Wincing at the taste, there was a popping noise and a small reddish- brown dog appeared. Harry went as soon as Ron reappeared. Dipping the goblet into the blood-red liquid, he hesitated.

'Something's coming,' he thought nervously.

Shaking off the feeling, he downed the nasty drink and closed his eyes. As his feet hit the floor, he realized that he was on four furry paws. Turing his head to try and get a better look at himself, he felt his back shift and heard Hermione shriek.

"What IS that?"

Laughing, Destiny came forwards and patted him on the head.

"It's a Golden Griffin! They look just like lions until they raise their wings. It's the mascot of Gryffindor!"

Popping back into his human form, Harry grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "This is going to be so great!"

*****

On the roof of the Astronomy tower, Destiny sat with her arms locked around her legs, head on her knees, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. She'd been there for hours, just waiting for the next day to begin. Tears in her eyes, Destiny sang softly to herself.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, the world forgot me again, happy birthday to me..."

Allowing the tears to spill, she pressed her face into her arms and let herself cry as if her heart were breaking.

"Sh, love. It'll be okay," a comforting voice whispered.

Wiping her eyes, Destiny leaned farther into Lily's comforting embrace.

"How can it be? They forgot my birthday! My own MOTHER didn't even send a card!"

"... I'm sorry darling."

Giving one last great sniff, Destiny climbed to her feet. "Don't be sorry." Bitterly, she said, "It won't matter soon; I'll have company in my pain. Everyone knows how much misery loves company and there will be plenty of misery to go around."

*****

April flew by and as the end of March approached, so did finals. Students were frantic with worry and no one more so than the seventh years.

"I hate finals! Why do we even have to take the NEWTS? They're so pointless! Haven't we suffered enough in the last seven years?" Ron pouted.

"Be quiet and study," Hermione snapped, annoyed at this constant complaining and shoved another book at him.

Harry was not too worried about the upcoming exams due to the fact that his Mage powers had progressed tremendously fast and most Hogwarts magic had now become far too simple. Destiny had begun to watch her friends lead their lives, veiling her sadness behind a sparkling grin. Where she had once tried to firmly attach herself to them, she was now found trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

'It will hurt them less in the end,' she told herself reasonably.

She had begun to visit her father frequently and made sure he realized just how much she loved him. Not a day went by when she didn't at least write to tell him.

"Do you trust me?" she asked one afternoon.

Surprised, he raised his eyebrows in question. "Of course I do."

"Do you trust me to make the right decisions? To do what must be done?"

Narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously, he asked slowly, "Why?"

"Because there may come a time when I'll need you to trust me and my instincts without questioning what I do. Can you do that... forever?"

Cocking his head in a very dog-like manner, he replied quietly. "I'll try my hardest. That's the most I can promise you."

As the days continued, the visions grew clearer and clearer until, not even sleep offered any reprieve from the horrors. Destiny had tried everything she could think of to stop them but nothing helped. She had even become desperate enough to ask Professor Trelawney to help- an event that proved to be a complete waste of time. Being in the Divination teachers classroom was the worst. No matter what she said about the crazy teacher, the room still held a clairvoyant vibe to it and was making her increasingly nauseous.

Closing her eyes, with hopes of settling her stomach, Destiny immediately saw the flashes of green light, red liquid, and herself, torn between light and dark. There was a third choice but, as always, she was unable to see it before the vision came to an end.

Harry spent the next few days rubbing his scar while trying to ignore the pain that radiated from it.

"You should go tell Dumbledore," Ron suggested worriedly.

"No," he replied as the pain became more intense. "It won't do any good."

That night, after they had finished their Mage training, Draco cornered Harry, determined to get an answer to what was going on.

"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked, crossing his arms and scowling at him.

"What are you jabbering on about Malfoy?"

"Destiny, she's changed and not for the better I might add. Now I want to know why."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry growled, shoving past him.

Grabbing his arm, Draco forced him to stop and face him.

"Yes you do. If you haven't noticed the change, you don't really love her as much as you claim to."

Bristling irritably, Harry grabbed the other boy by his collar, drug the blond close enough that their noses were almost touching and hissed, "Don't you ever presume to know how I feel!"

Giving him a last hard shake, Harry turned and stormed off. Draco could only stare in disgust after him.

*****

The last Quidditch game was scheduled a mere week before school was to end for the year. The day dawned gray, with rain threatening to come down without a moments notice. Staring up at the sky, Destiny shuddered. An uneasy feeling had been following her for months, and she was just about at her breaking point.

"Are you ready to beat the Slytherins senseless?" Harry yelled determinedly at his team.

"YEAH!" the team responded.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Destiny quickly buttoned her uniform and followed her team onto the pitch.

*****

The match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was fast and furious. No mercy was taken and none was given. The Slytherins, who hadn't won the cup in four years, were pulling all the stops and cheating disgracefully. An agreement seemed to have been reached between Destiny and Draco- all friendships were to be forgotten.

The Gryffindor chasers scored goal after goal and Destiny was an instant celebrity for it. Just as Slytherin scored, making it 90 to 130, Harry went into a spectacular dive. Stopping to watch him, she was almost knocked from her broom when a particularly violent vision flashed before her eyes.

Blinking the stars away, Destiny gasped to herself breathlessly, "What, already?" Turning her broom to the direction of the snitch, she rocketed towards it, desperate to make it there first. "James, stop Harry! Lily, stop Draco!" Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at the little golden ball and shrieked in desperation, "Incendio!" reducing the unknown portkey to ash. Making a hard right, she ignored Madame Hooch's whistle and barreled towards the teachers stands. Landing, Destiny tumbled from her broom and hurried to the Defense professor.

"Remus, they're coming!"

"Whoa there!" Hagrid exclaimed, putting his large hand on the Necromancers shoulder to keep her from moving any farther.

"Miss Black!" Professor McGonagall shouted indignantly. "What is the meaning of all this?"

Yanking her shoulder away hard enough to nearly dislocate it, Destiny turned back to Lupin.

"Remus, the visions are coming true!"

Rising to his feet, he asked distressfully, "Which one?"

Looking towards the Forbidden Forest, she raised her arm and pointed towards it.

"The Death Eaters are heading our way as we speak."