Cats are the devil [Ophelia]

[Deleted]

Clodagh hated cats. With a passion. She used to like them. Love them even. But being lower on the food chain from them changed your perspective very quickly. Last night had been a bad one. One of the other guest's of the Leaky cauldron had a cat. And that cat had gotten into her room. Let's just say when she got back and locked the door as the sun set, she was shocked to find the feline sitting on her bed. That shock had turned to terror when she transformed into a mouse seconds later. Needless to say it'd been a long night. When she finally transformed back, she was sporting several deep scratches across her back, out of reach for her to heal. The cat had gotten in a good swipe before she'd managed to get under a piece of furniture. Cat scratches were nothing when human, but when a mouse? Well, they hurt like hell, and could do serious damage, and when she transformed back the wounds grew with her body.

So now, she had to go to St. Mungos, flinching as the fabric on her back rubbed against the deep scratches. She'd bandaged them as best she could, but she knew she needed someone to actually magically heal the injuries. As she walked, her mind reeled, trying to come up with some explanation for the injuries. A seasoned healer would know they weren't... well normal. You didn't have many creatures that could do that sort of damage in London after all! As she stepped into the magical hospital though, she found herself smiling as she saw the witch behind the desk. Ophelia. She was a year younger then Clo, but they'd known each other through school. Clo would even consider the girl a friend. She hadn't seen the girl in seven years. "Long time no see, Ophelia." She greeted, holding back a cringe as her shirt brushed against the bandage again.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia had just finished reading Imogens latest letter and sighed. When did her friend get so up in arms about everything? She wondered how happy the woman was at Hogwarts, or if she regretted taking up the Charms position in the first place. She hoped that Im wasn’t showing too much scorn towards Gryffindors, but unfortunately she couldn’t help but think she was. Mercifully she was distracted by the arrival of a familiar face. “Clodagh! Hello!" Ophelia exclaimed with a beaming smile. She got up out of her chair to hug the Ravenclaw but stopped suddenly, studying her face. Did she imagine it, or did Clo wince in pain? “Hey, are you alright?” she asked, then shook her head. “Of course, you wouldn’t be here if you were the perfect picture of health. Is it an injury or illness?” she asked, gently taking the woman by the arm and guiding her towards an examination room. “For injuries Healer Pye is on call, but before I give him a summon, do you want to talk to me about anything?” she asked, her eyes looking at Clo with concern.

@clodagh

[Deleted]

Clodagh noticed that sigh, but didn't realize what it meant. She'd always been bad at social queues, so she chose not to mention it or really call any attention to it. Instead, she smiled as her old school friend excitedly responded. So like Ophelia. A ball of bubbly energy. As she became concerned though, Clodagh's smile turned sheepish. She would have shrugged if it wouldn't irritate the deep scratches across her back. "I'm fine, how about you?" She chose to respond before addressing the actual 'issue' at hand. "Injury. It's not that bad, I just can't reach it myself..." And she didn't know where else to go. But she might be underestimating how bad it was. She hadn't been able to see it after all.

Now in an examination room, Clodagh made sure the close the door behind them. She really did't want anyone to... overhear any of this. Whatever it was that she told Ophelia. She didn't even know yet what she was going to say. "I...." She started, but found her voice stopping in her throat. Really, she had no explanation. So, she sighed, and closed her eyes briefly. When they opened again she was staring at the ground. "It's not exactly a.... normal injury. And I don't want it getting out what it is... This Healer... he can keep it a secret, right?"

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

“Oh I’m….alright, thank you!” Ophelia exclaimed with a smile. The girl seemed to have some more important things troubling her at the moment; absolutely no need to burden her with anything else. “So I’m not a Healer but I suppose it’s on your back then,” she noted, walking Clo into the empty room and closing the door behind her. She noticed Clo ensure the door was firmly shut, and Ophelia’s curiosity sparked. Perhaps Clo had obtained her injury through something not very legal, or perhaps she had run into someone bad and didn’t want to talk about them. “Whatever you say in here, I won’t tell anyone, not even the Healer who comes in if you don’t want me to,” she promised the girl, crossing her hand over her heart. “All Healers are contractually bound to a patient-Healer confidentiality agreement, so don’t worry there,” she added quickly. She could tell the girl was in a fair amount of pain. “Is there anything you want me to do before a Healer gets here? Do you want me to find a pain potion so your symptoms alleviate a bit?” she asked, biting her lip with worry.

@clodagh

[Deleted]

That was quite the hesitation. If Clodagh hadn't been already preoccupied with the fact that she was in a hospital, about to show evidence of her curse to someone. Knowing there would be questions. Knowing that she'd have to explain what was going on. It was nerve wracking. She pursed her lips together and nodded at the question of the injury on her back. She didn't offer an explanation yet though. She was still working up the nerve.

Hearing her old school friend say it was safe here, that Ophelia wouldn't say anything seemed to lift a weight off her shoulders. She let out a deep sigh, her gaze dropping to the ground. "No, no potion. It's not too bad. I've had worse..." She muttered. Sitting down on the examination table, she slowly grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up around her neck, exposing her back, and the deep and long scratches along her back. "... It was a cat." Must have been some cat. Those were far too big for any cat domestic to Europe.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia could tell the girl was more than a little hesitant to divulge what exactly her injuries were and what caused them; she herself had been a little skittish when she and Koda had first started sleeping together and had left more than his fair share of scratches on her back. They hadn’t hurt of course, just stung. But as Clo pulled up her shirt and exposed her back, Ophelia gasped. Those definitely weren’t human made scratches, which Clo confirmed it was a cat. “Are you staying somewhere that they’re trying to domesticate tigers or something?” she whispered finally, her eyes wide. Certainly a domestic house cat could not cause such injuries. Ophelia herself owned a cat, and while she’d obviously received scratches when Pam was scared or played a little too rough, they were never that deep or long. “Am I missing something from your story?” she asked her, scooting around so she was facing Clodagh square on.


@clodagh

[Deleted]

Normally the joke would have made her laugh. Domesticated tigers! Unfortunately right now she just wasn't in a laughing, probably due to the fact that an ordinary house cat could do that sort of damage to her. Hell, it would have killed her if she hadn't managed to get under some furniture in time! It was a miracle she survived.

Clodagh averted her eyes as Ophelia moved to face her. More to the story? Was it that obvious? "Yes...." She started but stopped. How was she supposed to explain it? "It was a house cat.... I... well, I'm an animagi... Sort of."

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia waited patiently for Clodagh to say what she wanted to say. Obviously it was a big secret, one that Clo seemed very hesitant to tell anyone. Still, those scratches from a housecat did not look like they were small enough to coincide, as Ophelia would be aware of.


When Clodagh got the words out, Ophelia’s eyes widened a bit. “Sort of an Animagus?” she asked her curiously. She knew of Koda who was a werewolf; though not an Animagus he still went through a transformation during every full moon. Then there was Imogen the Metamorphmagi...she wasn’t sure actually if she knew of any registered Animagus, but she was almost positive that it didn’t happen by accident. It took months, even years to get the transformation down right, and you had to do things like hold a Mandrake leaf under your tongue for a month. No way that was possible to accidentally do that for an entire month.

@clodagh

[Deleted]

How... How did someone explain what had happened to her? Even she didn't understand it all! Clodagh's gaze dropped to the ground and she pursed her lips tightly together. She'd tried to tell a couple people, but it'd never come out. Her voice would lock up. That was when she'd realized that part of.... whatever it was that had happened to her was a vow of secrecy. She couldn't tell people. No matter how hard she tried. She could write it, nothing. "It's complicated..." She muttered softly. Was there a way to explain it?

She wrapped her arms around herself, her hesitation and... almost fear evident. She knew she wasn't 'registered', and she could get in serious trouble with the Ministry for that act alone. But what was she supposed to do? "It... It just happens. I can't-" Her voice harshly cut off, her throat had just closed. That'd been too close to the truth, apparently. Clodagh squeezed her eyes shut and took a shaky breath as her throat started to relax. "Sorry..." She whispered. "I can't explain it..." It looked like the only way she might explain it to someone would be to show them. Words just wouldn't work.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia watched in mild horror as Clodagh tried to explain what she meant by she was a sort of Animagus. Something was happening with the girl; she seemed to be physically unable to speak about the story behind her transformations. “What, were you cursed or something?” she asked, her voice barely above a breathy whisper. She’d heard about curses on people obviously, but for the most part the Healers here at Saint Mungos could remove the curses. Of course, Clo would have to go into details about how the curse was performed and the consequences, which did not seem to be possible.


“Okay, so if you can’t tell me or explain it, do you think if I guess what happened you’d be okay?” Ophelia asked her, checking to make sure that the door was closed tightly. If more than one other person heard what was being said, Ophelia was concerned for the girls mental well-being. “Let’s maybe start with where you were when this started happening?” she suggested, hoping that Clodagh would at least be able to tell her that.

@clodagh

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Clodagh's eyes were practically pleading when Ophelia spoke, asking if she'd been cursed or something. She wasn't actually sure if it was necessarily a 'curse' or how you would even classify this sort of magic, but that's what she considered it to be. Slowly she nodded, admitting that she was right. At least as far as Clo knew.

The next question made Clo pause. If they guessed, could she answer? "We can try." she answered somberly, desperately hoping that this would work. Maybe they could figure out how to reverse it. "Louisiana. In the United States." she already knew she'd be able to answer that one. It was the last place she'd been when state side, and she'd already told several people about her stay in the southern state.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding for several minutes. “Okay, so you're cursed. At least now we have that out in the open,” she said, putting on a brave smile, though her heart was breaking slowly for the girl in front of her. How had she been living since this happened? She couldn't begin to imagine what the girl must go through each day and each night; nobody should have to go through this, especially not alone.

“Louisiana, got it,” Ophelia said, nodding. She'd heard a lot about voodoo magic in the United States; a lot of those stories seemed to take place in New Orleans. “Does this transformation happen every night like clockwork? With the sun setting, or the clock striking a certain time?” she asked her. She remembered her mother reading her a fairy tale called Swan Lake where a queen had been cursed to be a swan during the day, and human by night. Perhaps Clo's curse was something similar.

@clodagh

[Deleted]

Clodagh let out a deep breath as Ophelia said cursed again. She'd said it before, but almost as a joke. This time it wasn't. This time it was a statement. From here on, what Ophelia would be able to piece together would be based purely on what Clodagh was able to convey nonverbally, or with very short answers. She could only hope that this could work. Because she wanted desperately for someone to know what was going on. But she couldn't trust just anyone. Ophelia.... Well, she'd known the other girl since school. She had a good heart, back then and now.

Clodagh shift a little on the table as she wrung her hands together, nervous. "Sunset. To... sunrise." She managed to say, though her voice cracked just a little between the words. but she got through it. Probably because Ophelia knew there was a curse, so it wasn't.... well, it didn't feel like a big secret now.

Ophelia Mae Teller

[Ophelia Mae Teller]

Ophelia nodded silently as Clodagh explained that she was cursed from sunset to sunrise. Merlin, this girl really was cursed like the fairy tale of Swan Lake. Only this was no fairytale; she was quite certain it was Clo’s worst nightmare to be transformed into a mouse every single night without fail. “I wonder if the man knew the story of Swan Lake. A sorcerer turned a princess into a swan, but she was cursed from sunrise to sunset. The spell could only be broke by a proclamation of true love,” she recited from memory. The tale had also been told as a ballet; Ophelia’s mother had taken her when she was younger and she had been enchanted by the magnificent dancers of the Royal Ballet. “Do you think that could maybe break the curse? Did he give any indication that it could indeed be broken?” she asked Clo curiously.

@clodagh

[Deleted]

Swan Lake. Clodagh glanced up, eyes a little wide. Why hadn't she made the connection? Obviously it was a little different, but the concept was the same. Not only that, but it reminded Clo of her last week in New Orleans. She swallowed hard. "One of the theaters in New Orleans was performing it when I was-" Her voice cut off. Apparently she still couldn't say she was cursed, even though Ophelia already knew. She immediately cast her gaze downward. She truly hated this. Having to keep this a secret from everyone, not because she... didn't want to tell them but because she literally couldn't. She couldn't let people know she needed help.

As Ophelia suggested the way to break the curse might be the same, Clodagh slowly looked back up at her old friend, eyes sad. "I don't know. I just.... woke up like it. No explanation, nothing." She muttered. She wished she knew, desperately.

Ophelia Mae Teller