When with Rome {Sirius Black}

8.3 The Queen and New Form

"When your mother was in labor, Barbara, there was a big problem with you and your brother, James. Somehow, your umbilical chord wrapped your throat while she was in the middle of pushing James out. By the time you were born," Valerie looked at the little, confused girl's face, "it was around you so tight that you were seconds near death. I decided to save you by turning you."

"Why would you turn me and not give me back to my parents who knew nothing of my existence, Val?" Barbara's mind was buzzing with questions yet to be answered, and chose to ignore the queen's request of questions being asked later.

"I wanted to give you back once you were aware of what you were capable of as a Vampire; but you were kidnapped from me when you were a young toddler. However, I made sure you remembered your last name in case you were taken. I'm very glad you remembered it after all those years of being taken away."

"So my foster parents weren't actually my foster parents?" Valerie's eyes widened as she took in the news.

"You... you were kidnapped twice?" The little girl nodded her head; and the Vampire Queen was taken aback by how she let the innocent little girl be taken twice.

"I'm sorry." Valerie dropped her head so her eyes were glued on her lap. She failed the Potters, her friends, two times more than she wanted to fail them.

The Queen did not expect to feel small arms against her waist, but was pleasantly surprised when she noticed and felt the little girl snuggle up to her in a means to comfort her. She scanned her eyes over Barbara briefly before she picked the young Vampire up and set her on her lap.

Then she noticed a small scar hidden by Barbara's hair. It was a scar in the shape of an ancient symbol Valerie had not set eyes upon another being. Curious if the young girl possessed the same power the symbol had for her, her fingertip, her nail turning a brilliant blue, traced over the scar.

In an instant the young, Vampire Witch had magically morphed into a small, white, wolf pup. Valerie's expression mimicked Barbara's with shock; and the little girl hopped off of the Queen's lap and pounced toward the mirror, taking in her own appearance.

Her coat was pure white with a shine of silver when it was reflected in the light the room possessed. What stood out on the little pup, Valerie noticed, was not the glimmering coat, but the extraordinarily fiery, icy-blue eyes with their eerie glow.

Barbara took in her appearance with shock as she felt herself being morphed back into a somewhat-human girl. "What just happened?" Barbara asked, still surprised.

"Your animagus form I passed down to you, Barbara. Every Royal has a form to help conceal themselves in times of trouble. I guess when I bit you, it came as a side affect. We, as Royals, do not register with the Ministry of Magic because we would be giving ourselves away to the enemy if we wrote them down for others to see."

"Why is mine animagus a wolf? What's yours? Why didn't I read about it?" Barbara couldn't help that there were so many questions buzzing around in her head. She didn't remember reading about any animagus forms in the reading she had done.

"Royals are known to have animagus traits in the Vampire Realm. Of course, Wizards and other beings can have them; but only Royals can have them within the Vampire community. Your animagus form is based off of your personality, which means yours, a wolf, stands for intuition, intelligence, and power. It's a good form, Barbara. You needn't worry. Mine is a tiger while Angel's is a raccoon, which means I'm passionate, powerful, and devoted while Angel is a protector."

"How did you change me?"

Valerie laughed. "My, my, Barbara! You're so full of questions! There is a scar behind your ear in the shape of an ancient symbol from the Cherokees, an American-based native group, in the shape of their symbol for a wolf. It can only be seen if you're a Royal or if the person knows what exact symbol they are looking for; so don't be worried about others finding it because they wouldn't have a clue where to begin."

Barbara felt better knowing that she had a secret way to escape if it came down to a battle. She knew with the darkening of the Wizarding World she had heard her father say that she, a powerful being in two realms, would most likely be hunted down in the future; for it didn't take a genius to figure it out.

"Barbara, I would like to ask a favor of you." The young girl was snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at Valerie.

"Anything, Val."

"I need you to keep the secret of your wolf form between us Royals, not even your true blood family can know of it. We need to discuss a code name for it as well before you leave so my guards can be informed of the name; for they are the only ones allowed to know of our animagus forms."

Barbara thought it over for a minute. "Rome."

"Rome?" Valerie didn't understand how she had come up with the name.

Understanding the Queen's confusion, Barbara explained. "Rome, as in the city in Italy. The founder, Romulus, had a brother named Remus; and both were supposedly raised by a mother wolf. The wolf represents intelligence; so I thought maybe my wolf form should have an intelligent name with a fitting backstory."

Valerie and Barbara parted ways with goodbyes and promises to see each other at least once every few months to catch up and keep in touch. Angel didn't have to wait for Barbara to fall asleep peacefully; and she was happy to report to the Head Healer that she did not need a sleeping potion for a peaceful rest.

The Healers had high hips of returning the girl to her family in the coming days.