"Speaking of followers, here's one now," Malfoy smirked, crossing his arms as he looked at her.
Amisty slipped her hands under her robes, hoping that her clenched fists would go unnoticed under the billowing fabric.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, taking a deep breath to regain her self control.
It didn't help, she was still bristling at the sight of him.
"Oh, don't pretend you didn't hear me," He replied, clearly aware of her growing anger towards him.
"I have no idea what you're on about. I'm not Harry's follower, I'm his friend. You should try them sometime," She started to walk past him, only to be stopped by his arm. Burning with anger.
"Rumor has it that you need to take a potion every morning. Don't tell me you didn't hear me talking," He whispered in her ear.
She stiffened.
How did he of all people find out. Crabbe and Goyle had disappeared.
"What..." She murmured back, feigning confusion.
He saw right through her lie.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," He countered.
Amisty swallowed, hard. Her mind was running amok with wild thoughts and her teeth ground together.
"So what? It's just a potion!" She pulled out of his grasp, shoving him and taking a step back.
"You're a freak, you know that?" He replied, raising an eyebrow.
She felt something in her chest, like a stone weighing her down.
"I'm not a freak, I'm just different. Personally I think having advanced ears is pretty helpful," She glared at him, taking a step forward.
"Why don't you add your little hearing problem to your sob-story? It'll make people feel even more sorry for little orphan Amisty," He snapped.
"Is family all you ever think about? So what if my hearings weird! So what if I don't know who my parents are! Knock, knock! They're dead. D-E-A-D. Why else would I be an orphan, hm? So what if I live on the streets, I'm clearly a better person than you'll ever be!" Her voice had started at a shout, before she quieted down after taking into account the silent hallway. "Stop thinking you're better than everyone else just because you're a 'pureblood' and your family's rich."
"Better watch your mouth, you don't know what I can do," He growled, narrowing his eyes.
"Hah, what are you gonna do? Take away my home? Good luck with that. Expel me? At least I won't have to see you ever again. Bully me? My insults are far better than yours, clearly. Sue me? Don't have any money for you to get rid of. How do you not get that I'm not scared of you. There is literally nothing you can do," She growled, stomping toward him and jabbing his chest.
"My father is a very powerful wizard. I can ruin your life," He threatened, looking down at her.
Even though the extra food had helped her on growing, it was nothing to the height of someone pampered his entire life.
"You go do that, let's see what else you can screw up!" She spat, storming away and making her way to what she assumed was the common room.
"River!" He shouted after her, only for her to respond with the back of her hand.
She was done.
-=+=-
Apparently wandering around when you're furious isn't a very bright idea. In only the span of a few minutes, she was hopelessly lost.
Letting out a groan of frustration, she sank against the wall, head in her hands. Even though she played it off as if his insults hadn't affected her, they did. They echoed around her skull, taunting her over and over.
"Stop, stop, stop," She whispered to herself. "They aren't true. Why do you suddenly care what he thinks?"
Running her hands through her hair, she fell onto her back, feeling the cold floor of the stone sink into her skin.
It was refreshing. A warm tingle spread across her arms and legs, like stepping out into the sun from the shadows but instead of on the outside, from her veins. Amisty sat up slightly, rubbing her arms and legs.
The tingle increased in intensity, on the verge of becoming painful. Slowly, her vision grew blurry, the sounds of Draco's taunts growing in volume. She fell back onto her back, unable to see or move.
There was one last sharp, piercing pain before she blacked out.
-=+=-
"Amisty, wake up... please!" Hermione's voice echoed in Amisty's ears, making her head spin.
It didn't help with the fact that she was shaking the bed violently, not even making an effort to be gentle.
"Hermione, shh, she'll wake up on her own," Harry's familiar voice reached her ears and the shaking ceased.
"Wake up on her own! She's changed form," Hermione hissed.
Amisty jerked up her head at her words but felt something hard make contact. She was in a cage.
"What's going on?" She yelled, but it came out as a high pitched bark.
"She's awake!" Ron announced, and a wave of relief washed over the three friends.
Amisty looked around, confused.
"SOMEONE LET ME OUT, PLEASE!" She wailed, ramming into the door of the cage head first.
"Amisty, I'm going to let you out, okay?" Madame Pomfrey walked into her view, a calm look on her face as she kneeled down and opened the cage door slowly.
She walked out hesitantly. Why could she feel four feet into the ground instead of two?
That's when she spotted her reflection in on of the beds, she was a small black wolf with brilliant green eyes, tiny white claws poked out of the fur covering her paws, and when her jaw dropped open she saw rows of tiny, razor sharp teeth.
"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!" She screeched, scrambling away from the bed post.
"Amisty, calm down, it's okay..." Harry whispered, holding out a hand to her.
"WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT THIS IS NOT OKAY!" She howled back, almost falling on her face as she scrambled toward them.
Hermione grabbed her, arms held far out of reach from her claws.
At the sudden contact she stopped moving, not wanting to injure her friend.
"Madame Pomfrey, do you have any idea what she's saying?" Hermione asked desperately, trying in vain to calm Amisty down.
Harry and Ron nodded, sitting down next to Hermione. The girl... ahem... she-wolf buried her head into Hermione's arms, a mixture of fear and confusion flooding her veins.
"I'm sorry but I don't. Very few can understand the language of animals," Madame Pomfrey replied, giving them all a sympathetic look.
"Will she be alright?" Harry spoke, gently running his hand through the wolf's curly fur. S
he looked up, getting a small, reassuring smile from him, and lay her head back on Hermione's leg.
"She's perfectly healthy and I have no doubts that we'll be able to get her back to her human form," The witch got to her feet, smoothing out her robes. "I'll give you five more minutes. No more, she needs to rest."
The three students nodded and she walked off into the backroom of the healing wing.
Amisty lifted her head slightly, to which Hermione loosened her hold on the wolf. She stepped delicately out of her friend's lap, circling back and sitting in front of the three, black tail wrapped over her paws.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, finally breaking the silence.
His emerald green eyes met her's, not a hint of fear or disgust in their depths. She opened her mouth to speak, before shutting it and simply nodding her head instead.
She wouldn't get anywhere with yips and barks.
"Do you know what made this happen?" Hermione turned her worried brown-gaze onto the wolf.
Once again, instead of words she simply shook her head from side to side, a muffled sigh leaving her lips.
"It'll be alright, we'll get you back to normal as soon as possible," Hermione whispered, running her hand down the she-wolf's back.
Her green-gaze shifted to the floor, tail flicking from side to side slowly. She got to her paws slowly, padded over to the cage, and curled up into a ball of black fluff.
Her friends traded sad glances, for Ron to be the first to leave. Hermione left next, turning back one last time to see if she had lifted her head.
She hadn't.
Finally, Harry got to his feet. He walked toward the exit, pausing at the doorway.
"Amisty?" He asked, not turning all the way around. She opened her eyes and lifted her head slightly at his words, uncurling her tail from her muzzle. "Do you want this to stay a secret?"
The she-wolf fidgeted slightly, a slight smile tugging on her lips.
She nodded slowly, hoping her gaze translated into the amount of gratitude she felt.
"Will do. I'll visit you later, okay?" The messy-haired boy waved goodbye as he closed the door behind him.