There was a flash of something in the Forbidden Forest. At first, Colin thought it might just be the glare of his camera, but then he saw it again. Ever curious, he crept closer and closer until he was right at the end of the tree line, clutching his camera tight. He kept his eyes open in eager anticipation, but not a leaf moved.
His knee itched. As he bent down to scratch it, a shriek from the forest toppled him over backwards. He gaped, wide-eyed, at the treetops for a few moments before his curiosity overrode his shock and he jumped to his feet. He yanked his camera to his eye and scanned the tree line once more, but everything was still.
A watched kettle never boils, Colin remembered, and pointed his camera skyward. A minute passed, then two, and Colin's neck was starting to cramp. With a sigh, he lowered his head and screamed. A girl stood in front of him with a puzzled expression on her very freckled face.
"Whatcha looking at?" she asked, brushing her messy red hair out of her eyes to peer up at the cloudless sky.
"Well, there was something in the forest," he tried to explain. A look flashed across her face and she laughed.
"Silly, there's lots of things in the forest. Race you back!" She gave him a brilliant smile and started running up the hill to the school. Colin fumbled with his camera and attempted to catch up to her. She was gone when he finally reached the doors.
.
Later that night, he flipped through the photos he had captured that day. He nearly dropped his camera in surprise when he came across a blurry photo of the Forbidden Forest that he must have taken when he fell backwards. A girl was flying through the trees on a large bird-horse-thing. The girl had red hair. Colin stared at it for a long while, fascinated, until the other boys sharing his dormitory hollered at him to turn out the lights.
He had dreams of a red-haired girl flying through trees.
WC: 350
Written for Russian Roulette |Colin Creevey| and The Emotions Challenge |Fascinated|