(A Harry Potter Fanfiction) Just Add Magic

Brianne: "Prologue"

Wind and rain howl at me menacingly through the barred window of my cell. Really I should be grateful that I got a window cell, in Askaban they're a real privilege. However, it's hard to feel lucky when you have a life sentence here. Chilling waves of depression wrap themselves around you at random times, probably caused by the situation that your in. There would normally be dementors here, but they've joined you-know-who now. I want to be brave, but I don't know if I'll be ok. I've only been here a week and the ministry has been getting stricter and stricter ever since the last breakout. I don't know much about life outside the prison, but of course I know about the breakout.

Harsh blowing from the constant storms that surround the prison cool the walls and floor to a bitter stinging temperature. The only piece of furniture in my cramped room is the rickety wooden bench that I'm sitting on. Icy gales and freezing rain comes through the un-closable window. The window has three metal bars covering it, each one cold and rusty. The prison itself is a large triangular shaped complex made of a sorrowful looking stone. The rocky island that the prison stands upon is always surrounded by raging ocean and hazy fog. My uniform is a odd dress that is both too big and too thin. The outfit is made more undesirable by the black and white stripes on it. I have no gloves, blankets, hats or anything, not even a pair of shoes. Not that anyone would care if I froze to death, but still. It's only been a week and my courage is already whittling away. I hate it when people are cowardly. I hate it when people try to care about me or be my friend. I've always been a lone wolf by nature, preferring not to rely on others for support. I relied on my parents until they died, and look where I've ended up! No, I'm much better alone.

I'm never going to get out of here. I have a life sentence. I'm innocent. They don't care, they aren't sure. This isn't helping, I realize, I need to be strong. Moping around won't help me, for it never helps anyone. I have to be brave, I need to stay strong. Summoning my favorite memories, I conjure up a forest.

I picture the sunlight rippling through the soft green, crimson, orange and gold colored leaves. Then I remember the tall tickly grass and the wild tangle of undergrowth beneath my paws. I imagine my animal forms, a wolf with soft, yet matted grey and white fur. A fluffy dog with smooth white and light brown hair. A dragon with midnight black and blood red scales that shine in the light. I'm unusual, even for an animagus. Instead of being able to become a single animal, I can take the forms of three. After my parents deaths, I spent most of my time in wolf form, hunting for food that I wouldn't be able to buy in human form. I promised myself never to turn to crime, never to become a thief. I wanted to be uninvolved, an innocent animal, but Dolohov and Yaxley had to ruin it for me. I shiver as that dreadful day comes to mind, the blood, the fight, the duel, the body. Don't think of that. Be brave Brianne. I return to thinking of my forest, the tall trees, the scents of prey and the soft secret rustlings of the leaves, the undergrowth and the creatures lurking beneath them. It felt so good, so real, and one day I'll return to it. One day, but not today.