Her stomach had been doing little flip-flops all day. This was the sort of thing she felt born for. Real magic, advanced and as difficult as it could be. Gwen was confident in her ability to became a full-fledged animagus. She simply needed to want it more than anything she'd ever wanted. Like the college Gwen had said in her dream: if you want it bad enough, you'll find that it's real.

And she wanted this more than anything so far. It was the one thing she was certain about in her life, the one thing she could concentrate on and practice until it was perfect. Everything else was up in the air and she was just waiting for it to come crashing down.

She sighed impatiently, trying to clear her mind of any negative thoughts. It wouldn't help her to be so worked up when she needed to concentrate solely on the task ahead. Finally the end of the school day arrived and Gwen rushed down to McGonagall's office all in a fluster.

"I think," the girl said timidly, "I think that I might become a swan."

Minerva smiled knowingly. She had been equally nervous before her first attempt at becoming an animagus. Why it seemed only yesterday that she felt her frame shrink down into a tiny ball of fur. With practice she became more cat-like, better able to navigate as a feline. She was pleased at Gwen's eagerness and willingness to learn.

They took the entire afternoon just practicing simple breathing and meditation to get her prepared. And then finally McGonagall told her to do it. "Just concentrate on the form you see in your head. Feel it as if it was a part of you and make it so." She became quiet, patiently waiting. She didn't expect much from Gwen on her first try.

She was surprised when the girl closed her eyes, let her head drop just a bit and slowly began to alter. Her skin became bright white and then she was coated with pristine feathers. Her neck became long, her face thinned out to a dull, black beak. She was standing on two orangy webbed feet. Gwen had indeed become the swan she had spoken of.

McGonagall knew of her talent, her ability as a quick-study student. But she had never seen a sixth year accomplish what Gwen had in just a few short weeks.

To be continued in Episode Twenty Two