"Faster, Granger! If I don't see you at the finishing line in ten seconds, I will make you do another round!", Professor Snape bellowed.
Hermione groaned and clutched her broomstick tighter. So far, the Gryffindor had excelled at every lesson she had ever faced...except one: flying.
Hermione hated flying. Even before she had gotten onto the broom she had warned Professor Snape that she was a miserable flyer.
But without avail.
"Every witch or wizards needs to be able to move fast", Professor Snape had sneered at her. "Using broomsticks is one of the most important basics. Now get on that broom!"
It was only a week after the end of term. Gandalf had caught six Aurors sneaking around on Hogwarts' grounds and had warned Mioha about flying too far from Hogwarts. Now, during their flying practice outside, Hogwarts had created a large shield the shape of a dome. It surrounded the grounds and had enabled the professors to set up a track of a sort because from outside of the shield, no one would be able to see anything odd besides the castle.
There were tall poles with red flags rising high into the air that marked the racetrack, which ran through the air in a large, entwined circle. The finishing and starting line was between two poles that had been set up besides Hagrid's hut. The half-giant was taking the day off from his work and was sitting in an enormous chair by the finishing line, enthusiastically waving whenever one of the flyers passed him.
The track led them all around the castle, as well as around the towers and even above the courtyard. The trickiest part was when they had to fly up around the North Tower, then do a sharp left and fly down the West Tower again. The many walls and battlements of Hogwarts were very painful of you crashed into them.
So far, Mioha had been the fastest, followed by Harry, George, Ginny, Fred, Ron and lastly, Hermione.
The bushy-haired witch had difficulties steering into a straight direction because her broom kept spinning to the side.
In the beginning, Mioha had tried to stay around Hermione to help her in case the Gryffindor would fall off, but Professor Snape had quickly noticed this and had her do five extra rounds.
Now, they had to race each other and whoever reached the finishing line after three rounds was the winner.
Mioha shot through the air, barely moving her wings as she flew up to the top of the Owlery. Harry was below her, bent forward on his Firebolt with his eyes scrunched up in concentration. Ron was not far behind, although Ginny and George were quickly gaining on him.
They were about to finish their third round and had made a bet that whoever won got to eat the other's desserts.
The wind whipped past Mioha's face and she laughed freely as she closed her wings around her and spun up into the air. She felt right at home in the air and enjoyed the exercise after neglecting it while studying for her OWLs.
When she reached the top, Mioha opened her wings and let herself fall forward down the other side of the Owlery. The windows in the stone walls rattled from her strong wingbeats as she soared past them; earlier, Mioha had accidentally smashed one (or two) because she had flown past them to fast.
"Watch out, Harry!", Mioha heard Ginny's faint laugh as she flew across the courtyard, the bushes growing on the side swaying dangerously from the strong draft she created.
Below her, she saw Professor Flitwick and Professor Vector crossing the courtyard, the latter wearing a tall, pointed hat that flew off her head when Mioha soared past them.
"Sorry, Professors!", Mioha called back and saw how Professor Flitwick stumbled when the wind pushed him backwards. Professor Vector said something that could have been a scolding, judging from her facial expression, but Mioha couldn't hear her because after another wing beat, she had left the courtyard behind her.
Up she went, left, right, down, until the world seemed to spin around her in a blue blur. She flew a tight curve to the left and soared above the entrance of the castle. Down she flew above the path leading through the grass to the gates, and up ahead she saw the finishing line. In less than a second she had passed it and beat her wings to slow done. She flew a wide curve and descended to Hagrid, who gave her a thumbs-up.
"Nice flyin', eh?", he smiled as she landed next to the half-giant.
"Thanks", Mioha grinned and looked up. Harry was the next one to finish the race and he flew around them before landing next to Hagrid.
"Hope Hermione's alright", said Harry, sounding a little out of breath as he descended his broom. His glasses had fogged up a bit and he took them off his nose and wiped them clean on the hem of his robes.
Hermione had fallen far behind them, obviously struggling to catch up. Professor Snape was zooming around on his black broom (he didn't seem to own any other colors), commenting on Fred's technique and telling George off for trying to fly a shortcut.
"You're fast", Harry grinned at her as he held his broom vertically and leaned on it. "Thank Merlin you're not on the Slytherin team."
"Thanks", Mioha smirked.
"I guess that means I can eat your dessert now, right?"
Twenty minutes later, all seven students were in the Great Hall. The house tables had been removed and replaced with many round ones where ten people could sit. In another week, half of the Order's members would arrive to train. Since the total number of members had increased to 600 people, that meant the castle would be filled with at least 300.
Besides Mioha, none of her friends were official Order members, which meant that except for their training, they wouldn't be allowed to participate in the meetings. And Harry would have to return to his aunt and uncle in three weeks, although he dreaded it. At least he would be able to live with Sirius at Grimmauld Place at the end of August.
The Great Hall was empty at the moment besides the seven students, who ate their lunch with gusto after their hard practice.
"It's hopeless", Hermione groaned and let her head fall forward into the palms of her hands. "I'm never going to learn how to fly."
"It's acwually preddy simble", munched Ron eagerly with his mouth full of mashed potatoes. "I can bractice wif you domorrow if you wand."
Hermione shot him a look that was both grateful and disgusted at the same time.
"Learn some table manners and I might accept that offer."
Ron swallowed hurriedly.
Meanwhile, Ginny and Harry were chatting lively, not noticing the knowing looks that passed between Mioha and Fred.
Something brown shot down from the ceiling and landed next to Mioha's plate.
"I saw you flying", chirped Esma and helped herself to a peck of Mioha's pumpkin pie. "Not bad. Hedwig and Sisi are impressed."
Mioha watched amused how the blackbird kept on talking while eating the crumbs of the pie, as if Mioha wouldn't notice.
"The school owls got the message from Tellahorn's relatives, and they said they had found a weird animal with stripes and a lion's mane."
Esma clicked her beak disapprovingly.
"All size and no brain, those birds. It turned out it was just a normal liger."
"You know, Esma", said Mioha in a low tone and ate a fork of her dessert (which was shrinking rapidly by the second because of the blackbird, which had an enormous appetite for its small size), "could you ask the school owls to relay the message that the birds should focus on Scotland?"
Esma looked at her curiously.
"No problem. But why?"
"Because-", Mioha dropped her voice when she noticed George was trying to listen. "Three Titans have been found near the castle. That can't be a coincidence."
The brown blackbird cocked her head thoughtfully.
"Alright. I'll them them. Aries will probably tell the eagles, so I'll take care of the geese and Swift will do the wild owls."
"Thanks", Mioha smiled.
"Hey!", they suddenly heard Sirius' voice. Mioha turned and saw the wizard stroll into the hall with a big smile on his face.
"Nice flying guys, I was watching you from the Owlery."
Harry returned his grin.
"Although I gotta say, Mioha", said Sirius in a playfully stern voice, "try not to smash so many windows next time, ok?"
Mioha blushed.
"Professor Sinistra already told me that yesterday", she admitted sheepishly. "Sorry."
Harry slid a little to the side so Sirius could pull up a chair.
"How's Buckbeak?", he asked.
"He's great. I think that fella likes me", said the wizard as he sat down. He hungrily eyed a plate filled with chicken legs. "He's with his...herd now, or whatever you call it. There's a light female that I think he likes."
Mioha had to smile.
"That's Fairfur. She's really sweet."
"She almost stepped on me", peeped Esma enraged.
"I'm sure it was an accident", Mioha assured her.
"Hmpf."
"You know", said Fred slowly, pointing with his fork at Esma, "sometimes I wish I could talk to animals like you do, Mia. I wonder what it would sound like, hearing animals speak."
"It sounds pretty much the same", Mioha explained. "I just...understand it. It's like a new language you have to learn."
Hermione sat up excitedly.
"Do you think you could teach me?", she asked eagerly. "How to speak bird? And hippogriff?"
Sirius laughed heartily.
"That's our Hermione. Always wanting to learn new things."
The Gryffindor turned pink.
"I can try", said Mioha and shrugged, "although I'm not really sure how to do it..."
"Simple", said George and turned to Esma. "Esma, please say 'hello'."
"Hello", Esma peeped, rolling her button eyes at Mioha.
"Now say 'bye'."
"Bye."
"Okay."
The redhead thought for a moment.
"Now please say either one and I'll try to guess which one it was."
"Hello", Esma chirped and pecked at another piece of pie.
It got silent.
Everyone turned to look at George, who looked a little clueless.
"Er-", he said and scratched his head. "Somehow, both words sounded the same to me."
The others started laughing.
——————————————————-
"Breathe in."
Mioha obeyed.
"Now, breathe out."
She exhaled.
"Do not get distracted by your surroundings, by the rustling of the leaves or the smell of the flowers. They are a part of you and such, do not require any further attention...instead, let your mind wander back to your childhood..."
Mioha and Firenze were in a small glade outside. The trees surrounding them were glowing in a vibrant green from the setting sun, creating the illusion that they were in a large green tent. A shield surrounding the glade ensured their privacy as Mioha sat on the grass with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.
She had been sitting in this position for the past hour and her bottom was starting to hurt.
Bonding to nature had worked pretty easily. Mioha felt all creatures surrounding her, saw in her mind how little balls of energy pulsated in their bodies.
But whatever Gandalf wanted Mioha to achieve, it was not working. She only remembered the same bits of her childhood, such as spending the summer near the castle while watching from the Forbidden Forest how students ran across the grounds. So far, however, no weird memories had popped up in Mioha's mind.
She guessed whatever she had to remember had something to do with her Silverwing past. It had to be because these were the only memories a Legilimens could not access. Mioha had to remember this on her own.
But what was it?
"All right. That is enough for today", said the centaur.
Mioha opened her eyes.
Firenze's pale blue eyes surveyed her carefully as he asked: "Have you made any progress?"
Mioha mutely shook her head and stood up. She groaned as her knees cracked loudly, giving her the impression she had aged a hundred years.
"Meet me here tomorrow", said Firenze and turned around, his hooves thudding softly on the grass.
"Okay. Bye, Firenze."
"Until tomorrow, Jessamine Lince."
Mioha walked back to the castle and felt how Hogwarts expanded its shield to cover her with it. Another journalist had been caught by Hagrid earlier in the forest and the half-giant's annoyed voice had carried all the way to Mioha and Firenze.
As far as she knew, the centaurs weren't really interested in finding the last Silverwing (aka: her), but they were still keeping their eyes open for anything amiss in their forest. They would not tolerate more humans stomping around in their home.
Mioha entered the castle and headed for the Labyrinth. The full moon was going to rise at seven thirty and after many hopeful looks from Ginny, she had told her friends they could spend the night with her if they wanted to. After all, her friends had to get to know both sides of her, not just the human one.
Most people would have found it eery walking alone in an enormous castle, but Mioha didn't. Probably because she felt that the castle itself was alive, which made her immediately feel less alone. She had become so accustomed to feeling Hogwarts' presence in her mind that she barely noticed it anymore. It had really become a habit of hers to 'chat' with the castle.
The ball of energy that lay deep beneath the castle, where Hogwarts drew its power from, fascinated Mioha. Its energy was running through the entire castle and Mioha wanted to know what it exactly was. But every time she had tried to ask the castle about it, Hogwarts had just shown her in pictures that it did not know itself what exactly that- thing was. It had always been there.
It was six forty-five when Mioha entered the forest room. She was always amazed by how lifelike this room was, she barely felt like she was inside the castle. No one was here yet, so Mioha seated herself beneath an oak tree and closed her eyes with a satisfied sigh as she leaned back.
The loud chittering of a common chiffchaff and a robin filled the air as they fought over a sleeping spot in the treetop of the oak tree Mioha was sitting beneath.
"I was here first, you lousy, shredded chicken!", the chiffchaff exclaimed.
"No! I had my eye on this spot for days! Now-"
There was a shriek and the branches above Mioha's head started to shake.
"Oh you- you did not just do that!", the robin exclaimed angrily. "I am Mig, the best-looking bird in this forest! Depart from my territory before I make you!"
"Best-looking bird? Are you blind? You're more like a walking target for predators with that big red blob on your chest!"
Mioha opened her eyes annoyed.
"Are they bothering you too?", a soft voice asked.
She turned her head to the side and found Big Blue, the enormous blue sparkling butterfly, sitting on her knee.
"A little", Mioha admitted. "But I guess that's just their normal bird business. How are you, Big Blue?"
"Oh", said the butterfly, opening and closing his wings slowly. "I am alright. Can't complain, really. I have just found a lovely sunflower patch further down, their scent is absolutely lovely."
Big Blue sighed.
"But I haven't been feeling that well, I must say."
Mioha looked at him worriedly and stretched out her hand so the butterfly could crawl onto it.
"How so? Are you sick?"
"I am not really sure", said Big Blue tiredly and yawned. "I keep getting tired, even though I have increased my napping time after lunch from two hours to four hours a day."
Mioha inspected the butterfly carefully. She didn't know Big Blue's age, but he had to be at least four years old. That was an amazing accomplishment for a butterfly, and even though she was sad to see her friend age, maybe Big Blue's time had come.
"And I-", Big Blue sighed. "I keep getting this feeling in my head that I've forgotten something important. Really important. But I cannot figure out what it is..."
The butterfly moved his wings a little and fluttered off her hand into the air.
"Oh well. I must be off...the sunflowers are waiting for me."
"Alright. Bye, Big Blue", Mioha called out to him as he disappeared behind a bush. "And stay safe!"
Big Blue's faint reply: "Of course", reached her ears.
Hopefully he would be alright for another while.
The door opened and Mioha looked up. Ginny entered, followed by Harry, Fred, George, Hermione and Ron.
"Hey!", said Ginny excitedly and sat down next to Mioha, crossing her legs. "When does it start?"
"About twenty minutes."
Mioha had to giggle when Ginny beamed at her.
"Calm down, Ginny", said Ron as he sat down as well. "You've seen Mia in her Silverwing form before."
Ginny scowled at him.
"Yeah, last year when Aurors were trying to capture her."
They sat comfortably in a circle. Hermione had transfigured everyone, except Mioha, a red sleeping bag so they could spend the night with Mioha.
Fred and George started emptying their pockets and produced things such as chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter fudge, gingerbread and all kinds of sweets from Zonko's.
"We came prepared", Fred grinned. "If we are doing a midnight party, we'd better do this right."
"Straight on", laughed Mioha and helped herself to a cookie.
Ron eyed the sweets hungrily and immediately grabbed a handful of peanutbutter fudge.
"Ronald", Hermione scolded him and slapped him lightly on the back of his hands. "Leave some for the others."
Ron instantly dropped most of the fudge, although he did it with a mourning expression.
"She's right, Ronald", said George sternly. "Leave some for the others."
He smirked.
"But it's not like we'll run out. Dobby was so excited to give us the food-"
A loud crack made everyone flinch.
"Did someone say Dobby?", said the little House-Elf excitedly, beaming at Harry. "Does Harry Potter need Dobby's assistance?"
"Er-", said Harry surprised. "Thanks Dobby, but I think we're good."
Dobby's bat-like ears hung down disappointedly.
"Actually", said Mioha quickly. "Could you being me a few carrots and apples please?"
Dobby's huge eyes brightened up.
"Yes, Harry Potter's friend, one moment!"
And he disappeared with another crack.
"Carrots and apples?", repeated Ron unenthusiastically.
"What else do you want me to snack on after the full moon rises?", asked Mioha curiously.
Dobby reappeared with an enormous picnic basket filled with not only apples and carrots, but also bananas, celery and slices of pumpkin.
"Thanks, Dobby!", Mioha beamed. "That's wonderful!"
Dobby have her a shy smile.
"Dobby is happy to help."
And after setting the basket down he gave them all another bright smile and disappeared with a crack.
Mioha levitated the basket through the air and let it land gently next to her in the grass. She reached out for banana, then hesitated. Silver symbols had started to form on her skin in patterns that traveled up her arm and appeared on her face as well.
"Cool", Ginny whispered as Mioha was encased in a silver light.
Besides the fighting robin and chiffchaff it was silent while Mioha underwent her transformation.
After a few seconds, it was complete.
Mioha was sitting comfortably on the grass in her Silverwing form, her wings folded on her sides. Flicking her ears forward, Mioha bent her head to the side and carefully pulled a slice of pumpkin out of the basket with her teeth.
"Mi-o-ha", said Fred slowly. "Can-you-un-der-stand-us?"
Mioha looked at him amused while she chewed on her pumpkin.
Did he think she was stupid?
"She's not stupid, Fred", said Harry and helped himself to a piece of gingerbread.
The pile of sweets started to shrink as the six students chatted along, always asking Mioha a yes-or-no question to include her. Dobby dropped by with another load of peanut butter fudge and Mioha leaned forward curiously when its smell filled her nose. Chocolate and such tasted disgusting whenever she was in her Silverwing form, but the fudge actually smelled pretty good.
She bent her long neck over George's lap and grabbed a mouthful of peanut butter fudge. It was quite chewy and tasted a little weird in her opinion.
"Mia!", George laughed as Mioha straightened up again, accidentally dropping pieces of fudge into his lap.
Mioha looked at him innocently while she continued to chew, her ears pointing forward.
Nope. That taste wasn't right.
She bent to the side again and pulled a carrot out of the picnic basket. With a loud noise, she bit off a large piece and munched on the carrot and the peanut butter fudge.
Much better.
Hermione and Fred started laughing.
"Ew", Ron said and grimaced. "Peanut butter fudge and carrot? Yuck."
Mioha swallowed, then neighed playfully.
She pointed with her muzzle at the bundle of carrots, then at the fudge, then looked at Ron expectantly.
"What?", asked the redhead confused.
"I think she wants you to try it", Ginny giggled.
Mioha lifted her lips amused and grinned an equine-grin.
"No way. I consider myself an expert on interesting food combinations, and this...this is just vile", Ron protested.
"Try it, mate", Harry smirked.
George and Fred playfully cracked their knuckles.
"Come on, little bro", said George and lifted his eyebrow in a challenging way. "You've never backed down from a culinary challenge before."
Ron had a pained look on his face, but when Hermione looked at him expectantly, he sighed defeatedly.
"The things I do for you", he muttered under his breath and grabbed a piece of peanut butter fudge as well as a carrot. Then he slowly lifted them to his mouth as if he wanted to delay the inevitable as long as possible. Ron closed his eyes and stuffed both into his mouth, chewing as fast as possible with bulging cheeks. In less than ten seconds, he swallowed.
Then he opened his eyes, looking quite stunned.
"You know what? It's actually not that bad."
Mioha whinnied in laughter at Ron's puzzled expression, and her friends joined in.
Suddenly, the door of the forest room opened and Sirius' head appeared.
"It's almost midnight guys. What are you-"
His eyes widened at the pile of food in the middle of the circle the seven had formed.
"You're having a midnight party without telling me?"
"Oh dear", said Fred dramatically, raising his arms to the enchanted ceiling. "We have sinned. Forgive us, oh great Sirius Black for committing such a crime."
Mioha snorted in laughter.
"Come", said Harry with a grin and waved Sirius over. "'Mione, can you conjure another sleeping bag?"
The Gryffindor did so nonverbally with a mere flick of her wand.
"Awesome", Sirius grinned and sat down between Mioha and George. "James would do this all the time, organizing secret parties outside in the woods. Whoever stayed the longest was the winner."
"Well, we're technically still inside the castle", said Hermione and bit into a cookie.
Mioha munched on an apple as she listened to her friends' chatter. In moments like this, she wished they would never end.