A redheaded girl ran through a forest, followed by something that she knew
was trying to kill her. She had no idea who or what the thing was; she
only knew that it was trying to kill her. It was near dusk, and the forest
was silent. Her hair streamed out behind her like a flaming banner as she
ran. There is a howl in the distance. She started to run faster
unknowingly. Her blue eyes were wide with terror.
"Oh God, oh God, help me," she said under her breath. She started crying as she ran without realizing it. She heard the thing behind her, gaining on her every second. A scream escaped, despite her attempts to smother it. "Help!!!" she shrieked.
Suddenly, a hand reached down from a nearby tree.
"Give me your hand!" a boy's voice yelled. "Don't hesitate, just do it!"
She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up into the tree. "Who are you?" she asked him. Because of the darkness, it was hard for her to see him and everything else. She could faintly distinguish his messy hair.
"Shh," he said, staring intently at the ground below them.
She turned her gaze to the forest floor as well. Suddenly, the air around them felt cold. She shivered. A figure in a black cloak appeared below them, walking slowly.
"Oh, my, Lord," she said softly. The boy hit her hand lightly to indicate she needed to shut up. The figure in the cloak stopped and looked around. The girl started to shake.
The figure stood there for a few moments, looking around. Her heart beat quicker every second. Finally, the figure walked off, the end of its cloak dragging on the ground. She let out a sigh of relief, as did the boy.
"Now," she said, turning to him. "Who are you? And where are we?"
"My name is Harry Potter," the boy said. "We're in the Dark Forest. I don't know how we got here, but we're here."
"My name is Callen. I don't even know where the Dark Forest is," she said unhappily.
"It's the forest outside of Hogwarts," he explained.
"And that is....where?" she asked.
"It's a school for witches and wizards," he said patiently.
"Oh," she said blankly. "I had no idea there were such things as witches and wizards."
"Well, there are," he said importantly. "And there are unicorns, and fairies, and pixies and"
"Of course there are fairies," she said, cutting him off. "I mean, I knew there were fairies. I'm part fairy!"
"What?" he said, amazed.
"Yep. My mother is a fairy, and my father is a StarChild," she said.
"Well, I'm a wizard, and I still have no idea how both of us got out here," he said, starting to get down from the tree.
"Come to think of it, I can't remember how I got in here, either," she said. She started to climb down after him, but halfway down she slipped and fell. She screamed, then blacked out. Or actually, woke up. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
She sat up in her bed, trying desperately to remember her dream and why she had screamed. A second later, her door swung open. Her mother was standing there.
"Darling, what's wrong? What happened?" her mother demanded
"I was dreaming...and someone was chasing me...and there was a boy...I fell out of a tree...I woke up screaming..." she said, her dream falling to pieces.
"Well, it was only a dream. Are you sure you're all right?" her mother asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Mother. Good night," she said, lying down again.
Her mother left, closing the door softly. Instead of sleeping, however, Callen lay awake, trying fervently to remember her dream. She had a feeling that it was telling her of something that was to come, or that had happened already. Finally, an hour before dawn, she fell asleep.
About the same time she fell asleep, far away in a castle somewhere in Scotland, the boy that was in her dream woke up.
"That was strange," he muttered, rolling over. He looked at his clock, then tried to bury his face in his pillow. He fell asleep again, only to be woken a few seconds later by a small boy - Colin Creevey.
"Harry! Hey, Harry! Wake up! You said you'd teach me to play Chaser today!" Colin said.
"G'way, Colin. It's too early," Harry said, his voice muffled by his pillow.
"But Harry," Colin protested. "You said you would!" He started sniffing, as if he was trying to hold back tears.
"Colin," Harry said, his face still buried in his pillow. "You're fifteen. Are you really going to cry about it?"
Colin quickly stopped sniffing. "I wasn't crying," he said quickly. "I, um, have allergies."
"Sure, Colin," Harry said. He reached out and yanked the curtains around his bed closed.
"Harry!" Colin yelled.
Two beds over, another boy woke up.
"Harry," Seamus Finnagin said, struggling to sit up. "Just take him out and teach him to play before he wakes up the whole bloody castle!" With that, he pulled the curtains around his bed closed.
"I am not going to wake up the whole castle!" Colin shouted indignantly.
"Colin, do us a favor, will you? Shut up!" Ron Weasley yawned, then rolled over.
Dejected, Colin stomped out of the sixth-years' dorm and sat down on the stairs. He tried to pass the time watching the sun rise, but decided that that was too boring and stood up. Whistling, he walked down to the Quidditch field. He sat down in the middle of the field, looking for four- leaf clovers.
After a few minutes, he noticed something strange in the forest – a shimmering area in the blackness. Standing up, he saw that it looked like a pool of water, only it was vertical instead of horizontal.
"Wow," he said. He walked toward it. As he got closer, he realized that it was about the height and width of a door. It rippled slightly, as if the air moved by his approach had disturbed it. "I wonder what this is," he said.
He picked up a stick and poked it. The stick, instead of just pushing the thing, went through it and was suspended halfway. Colin walked around the thing. It appeared the exact same from the back, only the stick wasn't sticking out of it like Colin had expected. It seemed to have disappeared.
"I've got to show someone this," he said determinedly. With that, he ran up to the castle.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"It's a myriod," Hermione pronounced.
"What is that?" Colin asked, disbelieving.
"It's kind of like a portal to another place," Hermione explained. "They show up in places where magic exists. It basically connects two places. Usually they appear when one of the places is going through some sort of trouble and someone or something from the other place can help."
"Really?" Colin asked, excited. "Then maybe someone should go through it and see what's going on on the other side that's so terrible they need our help!"
"It isn't necessarily the people on the other side that need help," Hermione reminded him.
"Yeah, but no one here needs help, do they?" Colin asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?" Hermione said, reading through her book again. "It says here that only the person that needs help and the person that can help them can go back and forth through the myriod."
"I'm gong to try it!" Colin declared. He tried to step through the myriod, but only succeeded in walking into it as if it were a wall.
"Obviously you aren't the one that needs help or will help," Hermione said, half-amused. Colin pouted.
"Well, who is?" he asked.
"I think I have an idea," she said, smiling. "Get Harry."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"What do you want, Hermione?" Harry asked, fighting back a yawn.
"I think that you're supposed to go through here," she explained, pointing at the myriod with her wand. Colin frowned.
"I still think that I should be the one, since I found it," he muttered.
"You tried to and it wouldn't let you, remember?" she reminded him.
"Huh?" Harry said, yawning. "I don't feel up to an adventure right now," he added. "It's way too early."
"Just go!" Hermione said, pushing him toward the portal. It shimmered slightly.
"I will, I will," Harry said. He pulled his wand out of the pocket of his robe. "I just want to be prepared," he said.
"GO!" Hermione yelled.
Harry stepped closer to the myriod. It shimmered even more than before. "Here goes," he said bravely. He stepped through the myriod. Everything went black, as if he was going through deep water. The air around him whirled. Finally, it stopped whirling, and it began to lighten.
"Oh God, oh God, help me," she said under her breath. She started crying as she ran without realizing it. She heard the thing behind her, gaining on her every second. A scream escaped, despite her attempts to smother it. "Help!!!" she shrieked.
Suddenly, a hand reached down from a nearby tree.
"Give me your hand!" a boy's voice yelled. "Don't hesitate, just do it!"
She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up into the tree. "Who are you?" she asked him. Because of the darkness, it was hard for her to see him and everything else. She could faintly distinguish his messy hair.
"Shh," he said, staring intently at the ground below them.
She turned her gaze to the forest floor as well. Suddenly, the air around them felt cold. She shivered. A figure in a black cloak appeared below them, walking slowly.
"Oh, my, Lord," she said softly. The boy hit her hand lightly to indicate she needed to shut up. The figure in the cloak stopped and looked around. The girl started to shake.
The figure stood there for a few moments, looking around. Her heart beat quicker every second. Finally, the figure walked off, the end of its cloak dragging on the ground. She let out a sigh of relief, as did the boy.
"Now," she said, turning to him. "Who are you? And where are we?"
"My name is Harry Potter," the boy said. "We're in the Dark Forest. I don't know how we got here, but we're here."
"My name is Callen. I don't even know where the Dark Forest is," she said unhappily.
"It's the forest outside of Hogwarts," he explained.
"And that is....where?" she asked.
"It's a school for witches and wizards," he said patiently.
"Oh," she said blankly. "I had no idea there were such things as witches and wizards."
"Well, there are," he said importantly. "And there are unicorns, and fairies, and pixies and"
"Of course there are fairies," she said, cutting him off. "I mean, I knew there were fairies. I'm part fairy!"
"What?" he said, amazed.
"Yep. My mother is a fairy, and my father is a StarChild," she said.
"Well, I'm a wizard, and I still have no idea how both of us got out here," he said, starting to get down from the tree.
"Come to think of it, I can't remember how I got in here, either," she said. She started to climb down after him, but halfway down she slipped and fell. She screamed, then blacked out. Or actually, woke up. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
She sat up in her bed, trying desperately to remember her dream and why she had screamed. A second later, her door swung open. Her mother was standing there.
"Darling, what's wrong? What happened?" her mother demanded
"I was dreaming...and someone was chasing me...and there was a boy...I fell out of a tree...I woke up screaming..." she said, her dream falling to pieces.
"Well, it was only a dream. Are you sure you're all right?" her mother asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Mother. Good night," she said, lying down again.
Her mother left, closing the door softly. Instead of sleeping, however, Callen lay awake, trying fervently to remember her dream. She had a feeling that it was telling her of something that was to come, or that had happened already. Finally, an hour before dawn, she fell asleep.
About the same time she fell asleep, far away in a castle somewhere in Scotland, the boy that was in her dream woke up.
"That was strange," he muttered, rolling over. He looked at his clock, then tried to bury his face in his pillow. He fell asleep again, only to be woken a few seconds later by a small boy - Colin Creevey.
"Harry! Hey, Harry! Wake up! You said you'd teach me to play Chaser today!" Colin said.
"G'way, Colin. It's too early," Harry said, his voice muffled by his pillow.
"But Harry," Colin protested. "You said you would!" He started sniffing, as if he was trying to hold back tears.
"Colin," Harry said, his face still buried in his pillow. "You're fifteen. Are you really going to cry about it?"
Colin quickly stopped sniffing. "I wasn't crying," he said quickly. "I, um, have allergies."
"Sure, Colin," Harry said. He reached out and yanked the curtains around his bed closed.
"Harry!" Colin yelled.
Two beds over, another boy woke up.
"Harry," Seamus Finnagin said, struggling to sit up. "Just take him out and teach him to play before he wakes up the whole bloody castle!" With that, he pulled the curtains around his bed closed.
"I am not going to wake up the whole castle!" Colin shouted indignantly.
"Colin, do us a favor, will you? Shut up!" Ron Weasley yawned, then rolled over.
Dejected, Colin stomped out of the sixth-years' dorm and sat down on the stairs. He tried to pass the time watching the sun rise, but decided that that was too boring and stood up. Whistling, he walked down to the Quidditch field. He sat down in the middle of the field, looking for four- leaf clovers.
After a few minutes, he noticed something strange in the forest – a shimmering area in the blackness. Standing up, he saw that it looked like a pool of water, only it was vertical instead of horizontal.
"Wow," he said. He walked toward it. As he got closer, he realized that it was about the height and width of a door. It rippled slightly, as if the air moved by his approach had disturbed it. "I wonder what this is," he said.
He picked up a stick and poked it. The stick, instead of just pushing the thing, went through it and was suspended halfway. Colin walked around the thing. It appeared the exact same from the back, only the stick wasn't sticking out of it like Colin had expected. It seemed to have disappeared.
"I've got to show someone this," he said determinedly. With that, he ran up to the castle.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"It's a myriod," Hermione pronounced.
"What is that?" Colin asked, disbelieving.
"It's kind of like a portal to another place," Hermione explained. "They show up in places where magic exists. It basically connects two places. Usually they appear when one of the places is going through some sort of trouble and someone or something from the other place can help."
"Really?" Colin asked, excited. "Then maybe someone should go through it and see what's going on on the other side that's so terrible they need our help!"
"It isn't necessarily the people on the other side that need help," Hermione reminded him.
"Yeah, but no one here needs help, do they?" Colin asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?" Hermione said, reading through her book again. "It says here that only the person that needs help and the person that can help them can go back and forth through the myriod."
"I'm gong to try it!" Colin declared. He tried to step through the myriod, but only succeeded in walking into it as if it were a wall.
"Obviously you aren't the one that needs help or will help," Hermione said, half-amused. Colin pouted.
"Well, who is?" he asked.
"I think I have an idea," she said, smiling. "Get Harry."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"What do you want, Hermione?" Harry asked, fighting back a yawn.
"I think that you're supposed to go through here," she explained, pointing at the myriod with her wand. Colin frowned.
"I still think that I should be the one, since I found it," he muttered.
"You tried to and it wouldn't let you, remember?" she reminded him.
"Huh?" Harry said, yawning. "I don't feel up to an adventure right now," he added. "It's way too early."
"Just go!" Hermione said, pushing him toward the portal. It shimmered slightly.
"I will, I will," Harry said. He pulled his wand out of the pocket of his robe. "I just want to be prepared," he said.
"GO!" Hermione yelled.
Harry stepped closer to the myriod. It shimmered even more than before. "Here goes," he said bravely. He stepped through the myriod. Everything went black, as if he was going through deep water. The air around him whirled. Finally, it stopped whirling, and it began to lighten.