In sickness and in health

Any character or place you recognize belongs to J K Rowling


Hermione did not answer questions in class anymore. She kept to herself and tried to be inconspicuous. She was grateful when classes were over and she got to her room. She went into the bathroom and undressed. She looked at herself in the mirror.

The marks on her face were nearly gone and the tears in her skin around her genitals, while still sore, were no longer visible. Hermione kept her eyes away from the wilted rose on her collarbone. A few tears leaked out of her eyes but she brushed them away and re dressed.

She entered her bedroom and picked up her wand. She took a deep breath. This step was dangerous but she didn't care that much. It wasn't the danger but the process that scared her. "Animagal" She said in barely a whisper.

She collapsed onto the ground but she was not aware of that. She was inside her own mind traveling down a winding path. She had to walk down this path until she reached her worst memory and must watch it from an outsider's point of view to get past and learn her form.

Needless to say by the time Hermione finished watching the memory of that night she was in tears but she walked on past the memory and into darkness. In the darkness there appeared a speck of light. She was expecting that, that was right but she was not expecting another speck of light and another and another. soon she was surrounded by light until it was blinding and she awoke to find herself in her bedroom again with blood streaming from her collarbone. She swore and grabbed her jar of salve and began rubbing it onto the wound all the while wondering what all the lights in her head meant when there was supposed to be only one. It didn't matter. She was capable of becoming an animagus and she was proud. Not many people had enough power to see that light.

The next night was the night that Hermione was going to try transforming for the first time. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror again so she could see what her form was. She closed her eyes and visualized what she had seen in her head the night before and moments later she saw herself flickering between the forms of every kind of animal alive including magical ones. But this wasn't right. She was just supposed to transform into her form and then go back. The flickering went on for an hour and a half before Hermione was suddenly herself again and very thoughtful.

Hermione spent every spare moment she had over the next two weeks in the library going through every book on animagi it held. It wasn't until halfway through the third week by which time everyone was getting a little worried about her that she found some answers.

The book was called simply 'The Forms Of Animagi' but she thought it sounded good. It was very thick and she sat reading it for hours. It was really quite interesting. It told the name of the animal and what kind of personality a person would have to have to gain that form. At the back of the book was her answer.

Morphi

Some mistake Morphi for metamorphmagi but they can change more than their looks. They can change into any animal they wish to and even communicate with other animals of the species they are at any given time. Morphi are extremely rare. Why are they rare you may ask, because to become one you must have the gift in your blood but it is only under certain circumstances that it can be awoken. Firstly they must be trying to become an animagus and secondly they must have suffered a soulrending event therefore many philosiphers have argued over whether the gift is a blessing or a curse. If you have the gift I advise you to practice using it or it may become somewhat of a problem as you can change your looks as well and if uncontrolled they will change on their own under extreme circumstances.

Hermione closed the book thoughtfully. It made sense. She had certainly suffered a soul rending event. She checked out the one book she could find on Morphi and took it to her room.

Hermione was thouroughly engrossed in her reading when there came a knock on the door. She quickly hid her book and answered the door. It was Draco carrying a pack of exploding snap cards.

"Come on Hermione you need to do something fun. I've seen how your working yourself to the bone." he made her sit down and play three games of exploding snap with him before he left her. Hermione decided she might as well go to bed. She had a lot of work ahead of her if the book on morphi was anything to go by.