p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Chapter 1:/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo opened his eyes, feeling unwell. Immediately, a wave of emotions hit him. He was angry. His hands were clenched into fists and his breathing heavy. He looked around, noticing the colossal trees standing pillar-like about him. All he could see was the deep greens of the foliage above him, making him briefly think that he was back at the school that had shunned him. However, he was not in the common room that he had called home for five years. He was laying, motionless on the floor of an unknown forrest, disoriented and alone. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Suddenly, he screamed out in pain. Hugo looked down at his right hand realizing that a charred mass of flesh existed where his fingers used to be. Panic seized him along with the immense pain that overwhelmed him. Where was the wand? Hugo had sacrificed everything for it. It couldn't be gone. He was holding it only moments before. He had clutched it as his uncle had attacked him. The wand could not be gone! Still, it was no where in sight. He felt desperate. Months of planning and now it was lost? His education. Relationships. His sister. His mother.../p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo hastened to his feet. Ignoring the pain from his mangled hand, he looked around for the powerful tool. Stepping over fallen limbs from the trees above, he searched and searched. After five minutes of desperation had passed, he spotted it. It was laying twenty feet away amid a clump of underbrush. He bent down to retrieve it only to discover that it was in pieces. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo began to weep. Taking the pieces of the wand, (of which he had only briefly been master) he pocketed them into his robes. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"The agony in his hand persisted. What was he to do? A simple spell would have sufficed, if he had a wand that worked. He succeeded at medicinal spells in his third year. Many thought that he would grow up to become a Healer. Alas, Hugo's wand was in shambles and any magical knowledge that he gained at school would not do him any good now. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"What would a muggle do? After-all, his mother had been one. Although, she would have known what to do regardless. She often was seen an a know-it-all. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"As he contemplated these things, he noticed the rushing sound of water nearby. He started to move toward the sound while clutching his aching hand. All at once, he emerged onto the embankment of a lake that was nestled within the forest clearing. High above Hugo sat a rock cleft, out of which water poured. He rushed toward the small body of water, finding relief as he quickly immersed his hand. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo looked down at his reflection. It was as if he was looking into a mirror, the water was crystal clear. He saw his own reflection, marred by the gash that ran across his face from his right temple to the left-side corner of his mouth. Hugo hated looking at himself. He only saw weakness. He had thick, bushy brown hair that belonged to his mother. The blue eyes that he inherited from his father stood out against his pale, freckled skin. For a moment, Hugo was entranced./p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Breaking away from his own reflection he examined his hand, or what was left of it. He could still move his wrist, although it throbbed with each contraction./p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"He mourned the loss of his beloved wand. All of this was overwhelming, especially now that those he once loved knew about his true motives. Would they come look for him? If they did, it would take them awhile. Hugo did not even know where he was. How could his "family" find him?/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"His wand was useless and his hand disfigured, all within minutes. Still, Hugo decided that these setbacks would not deter him from his goal. He had learned so much over the past year. He was not about to give up just because he had encountered a few flaws in his plan. His Master certainly had failed at points in his rise. Each encounter with Hugo's uncle has left his Master broken, seeking a new plan. His master had been resourceful. Hugo had witnessed it himself, through the memories of his uncle. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"No, this predicament, large though it may seem, would not stop him from the calling set forth by his Master. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo was brought back to reality by a rustling behind him. He started to turn. As he did so, Hugo felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Something had hit him, and the force of the blow made him stumble back into the water. As Hugo lost consciousness he heard a high pitch scream. Then, everything was silent. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo opened his eyes, feeling unwell. Immediately, a wave of emotions hit him. He was angry. His hands were clenched into fists and his breathing heavy. He looked around, noticing the colossal trees standing pillar-like about him. All he could see was the deep greens of the foliage above him, making him briefly think that he was back at the school that had shunned him. However, he was not in the common room that he had called home for five years. He was laying, motionless on the floor of an unknown forrest, disoriented and alone. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Suddenly, he screamed out in pain. Hugo looked down at his right hand realizing that a charred mass of flesh existed where his fingers used to be. Panic seized him along with the immense pain that overwhelmed him. Where was the wand? Hugo had sacrificed everything for it. It couldn't be gone. He was holding it only moments before. He had clutched it as his uncle had attacked him. The wand could not be gone! Still, it was no where in sight. He felt desperate. Months of planning and now it was lost? His education. Relationships. His sister. His mother.../p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo hastened to his feet. Ignoring the pain from his mangled hand, he looked around for the powerful tool. Stepping over fallen limbs from the trees above, he searched and searched. After five minutes of desperation had passed, he spotted it. It was laying twenty feet away amid a clump of underbrush. He bent down to retrieve it only to discover that it was in pieces. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo began to weep. Taking the pieces of the wand, (of which he had only briefly been master) he pocketed them into his robes. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"The agony in his hand persisted. What was he to do? A simple spell would have sufficed, if he had a wand that worked. He succeeded at medicinal spells in his third year. Many thought that he would grow up to become a Healer. Alas, Hugo's wand was in shambles and any magical knowledge that he gained at school would not do him any good now. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"What would a muggle do? After-all, his mother had been one. Although, she would have known what to do regardless. She often was seen an a know-it-all. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"As he contemplated these things, he noticed the rushing sound of water nearby. He started to move toward the sound while clutching his aching hand. All at once, he emerged onto the embankment of a lake that was nestled within the forest clearing. High above Hugo sat a rock cleft, out of which water poured. He rushed toward the small body of water, finding relief as he quickly immersed his hand. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo looked down at his reflection. It was as if he was looking into a mirror, the water was crystal clear. He saw his own reflection, marred by the gash that ran across his face from his right temple to the left-side corner of his mouth. Hugo hated looking at himself. He only saw weakness. He had thick, bushy brown hair that belonged to his mother. The blue eyes that he inherited from his father stood out against his pale, freckled skin. For a moment, Hugo was entranced./p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Breaking away from his own reflection he examined his hand, or what was left of it. He could still move his wrist, although it throbbed with each contraction./p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"He mourned the loss of his beloved wand. All of this was overwhelming, especially now that those he once loved knew about his true motives. Would they come look for him? If they did, it would take them awhile. Hugo did not even know where he was. How could his "family" find him?/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"His wand was useless and his hand disfigured, all within minutes. Still, Hugo decided that these setbacks would not deter him from his goal. He had learned so much over the past year. He was not about to give up just because he had encountered a few flaws in his plan. His Master certainly had failed at points in his rise. Each encounter with Hugo's uncle has left his Master broken, seeking a new plan. His master had been resourceful. Hugo had witnessed it himself, through the memories of his uncle. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"No, this predicament, large though it may seem, would not stop him from the calling set forth by his Master. /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #3d596d; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25.5px;"Hugo was brought back to reality by a rustling behind him. He started to turn. As he did so, Hugo felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Something had hit him, and the force of the blow made him stumble back into the water. As Hugo lost consciousness he heard a high pitch scream. Then, everything was silent. /p