Callidora ☆ Fred Weasley

[chapter 54]

Career Counseling

The first few nights after the transformation, Callidora Nott practiced whenever she could.

The Dark Forest became her sanctuary.

Sometimes Lucy, Stella, and the twins would be there, watching with varying degrees of excitement, commentary, and anxiety.

Other nights she slipped away alone.

It wasn't always practical to wait for them.

Sometimes she only had an hour between patrols, homework, and the endless expectations of being a Nott.

Those nights she would run to the forest edge, glance over her shoulder to ensure no one had followed, and transform.

The shift came easier each time.

Her bones stretched and rearranged.

Her wings unfurled like dark sails.

And the strange, steady double heartbeat began again.

At first it had frightened her.

Now it soothed her.

Two rhythms pulsing through her body, human and something older, deeper.

She didn't feel pain anymore when she transformed.

Just the rush of wind beneath skeletal wings and the strange clarity of senses that were not entirely human.

One particular night she ventured deeper into the forest than usual.

Mist curled through the trees and moonlight filtered through the branches.

Calli wandered to a small clearing.

She had barely folded her wings when she realized she wasn't alone.

Shapes shifted in the darkness.

Silent.

Watching.

A herd of Thestral stepped slowly into the clearing.

There were more than she expected.

Six, maybe eight.

Their skeletal wings rustled softly as they circled her.

Curious.

Calli froze.

They weren't aggressive.

Just interested.

One of the larger Thestrals tilted its long skull slightly, examining her with pale, intelligent eyes.

Another approached cautiously, sniffing the air around her wings.

Then something smaller trotted forward.

A foal.

The baby Thestral nudged her front leg.