Post by sadhbh wormwood on Jul 28, 2020 10:07:24 GMT -7
Spring 2009
Hy-Brasil
Hy-Brasil
It felt almost as much a rite of passage as coming of age on Hy-Brasil. Sadhbh had long since lost count of every Animagus she knew, and watching boars or hounds shift back into their human forms was as normal as anything else on the island. Becoming an Animagus wasn't a small undertaking, but she knew the process by heart. It was the patience for it that worried her, having to keep a single Mandrake leaf in her mouth from one full moon to the next.
As Sadhbh put the leaf in her mouth, she was certain that she would end up spitting it out, yet she carried it through to put it in its vial—the hair, the dew, the chrysalis—and then the first sign of a storm. Sadhbh prayed to the gods that they would bring her an electrical storm. She didn't want anything that would damage the crops, though. Just enough for the transformation was all she asked. Faithfully, she put her wand tip over her heart at each sunrise and sunset. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus… Amato Animo Animato Animagus…"
The miracle came when she saw a bolt of lightning flash in the sky, and Sadhbh ran as quickly as she could to where she had kept her vial. In place of its contents was a potion, red as blood, just as promised.
Again, she placed her wand tip to her heart. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus." Careful not to spill a drop, Sadhbh drank the potion and felt searing pain. Briefly, she wondered if she had done something wrong. Her heart felt as though it might beat its way right out of her chest. It was the double heartbeat again.
The image of a hare entered her mind, and Sadhbh realized that she had been successful. A moment later, she recognized that she had shrunk considerably in size. Everything looked much larger to her, including her wand. She had done it. She had transformed.
As Sadhbh put the leaf in her mouth, she was certain that she would end up spitting it out, yet she carried it through to put it in its vial—the hair, the dew, the chrysalis—and then the first sign of a storm. Sadhbh prayed to the gods that they would bring her an electrical storm. She didn't want anything that would damage the crops, though. Just enough for the transformation was all she asked. Faithfully, she put her wand tip over her heart at each sunrise and sunset. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus… Amato Animo Animato Animagus…"
The miracle came when she saw a bolt of lightning flash in the sky, and Sadhbh ran as quickly as she could to where she had kept her vial. In place of its contents was a potion, red as blood, just as promised.
Again, she placed her wand tip to her heart. "Amato Animo Animato Animagus." Careful not to spill a drop, Sadhbh drank the potion and felt searing pain. Briefly, she wondered if she had done something wrong. Her heart felt as though it might beat its way right out of her chest. It was the double heartbeat again.
The image of a hare entered her mind, and Sadhbh realized that she had been successful. A moment later, she recognized that she had shrunk considerably in size. Everything looked much larger to her, including her wand. She had done it. She had transformed.
