QLFC – Round 4 – Falcons – Chaser 3
(dialogue) "Who's a good boy/girl?"
(sound) bark or mew (doesn't necessarily have to be made by a dog/cat)
(song) There's No Home - Miley Cyrus (Bolt)
Houses comp, year 2 Hufflepuff – Additional – Bonus 5 – First trip to Hogwarts (FP restriction)
Words: 2493 (Google Docs)
"Meeeeooooowwww."
What is that? Straining my ears, I don't hear anything that seems out of the ordinary—however this is my first night in the little hut, so all the sounds are new. Waiting a moment, I decide it must have just been Fang chasing something in a dream. Letting out a big yawn, I stretch my front paws out in front of me, and try to get comfortable again. Little claws like needles sink into the thick woolen rug Hagrid laid out on the hearth for me before tucking into bed himself. The room is dark except for the glowing embers of the fire. With Righty curled up next to me, and Lefty having the most comfortable neck that I use as a pillow, I relax again. The low grumbling snores coming from Hagrid's bed are slow and even. My breath begins to follow his calming rhythm, and the world fades to black as my eyes slip shut.
"Meeeeooooowwww."
Startled, my head whips around the room looking for the source of the sound that definitely did not come from Fang. It is also likely what woke me up in the first place. I know that sound; I have heard it my whole life. How did Isobella find me here at my new house? Oh, the boys are going to be so happy to see her! I wag my tail, and try to nudge the sleepyheads awake. Righty starts to stir when Lefty lets out a short yip as my sharp little teeth sink into his ear. Standing up I try to get my bearings, but it is hard being in a new place in the dark. Carefully, I walk around the monstrous dog, Fang, afraid to interrupt his slumber. Squeezing through the hole Hagrid showed us earlier today, I step out into the night air. The grass is cool under my feet and in the air is the sharp tang of somewhere new.
"Meeeeooooowwww."
In the dead of night, outside the protective walls of the hut, the forest is teaming with life. Licking my nose, I turn my face into the breeze to try to catch a hit of Kneazle that will lead me to Isobella. One of the other two must have caught the scent as we take off towards the darkness at the end of the property. When we get closer, the sweet smell of decaying leaves weaves towards me. The breeze lifts the soft fur on the back of my neck, and a shiver runs down my spine when I see two large glowing orbs in the distance. The Forbidden Forest is a place Hagrid promised to show us tomorrow, a place that is full of magical creatures that we are never supposed to go to by ourselves. The bright yellow orbs blink in front of me and as I close in on them, I begin to see the outline of our speckled friend.
"Mew," Isobella offers as a greeting filled with excitement—unlike the first cries I heard ringing with fear and anxiety. My steps quicken, as I get closer to my large grey and white Kneazle. Scrambling over fallen trees and brushing past branches that appear out of nowhere I skid to a stop as I tumble into my best friend.
"Isobella! How did you find me?"
"Isobella! Where were you?"
"Isobella, I missed you!"
All three of us yell at once as when she is within shouting distance. Isobella leans over with her eyes closed and brushes her face against each one of ours. The deep purr that rumbles in her chest calms us, and we stand there for a moment saying hello to one another in our own special language.
"My sweet, sweet boys. I followed you from the tavern and have been here at the edge of the forest all night, waiting for the perfect time to call for you to come out." Isobella stands up and begins walking into the forest. I quickly chase after her bushy grey tail as it swishes further down the path. I can barely see anything around me as the forest closes in on us. A thick carpet of shed leaves muffles our footfalls, and that only serves to make the other sounds in the darkness more pronounced. Just ahead Isobella is waiting for us at a split in the trail.
"So, would you like to see what is in the forest before I lead you home?" To the right is a wide trail that looks to run along the edge of the forest. To the left, the trail is much narrower and it disappears from sight moving up towards higher ground.
"Oh yes!" All three of us exclaim simultaneously. Before we say anything else, she takes off up the trail to the left. As it twists and turns the trail winds further into a wondrous place "full of creatures in all shapes and sizes" as Hagrid said. Wow, this is fun! Our old backyard is the closest I have ever been to nature, and this is nothing like that. I have to run to catch up to Isobella whose strides are so much longer than mine. We must have passed a hundred trees by now. They seem to be getting closer and closer together. Out of the corner of my eye I see a flash of white, and all of a sudden I am careening through the underbrush, ducking out of the way of branches and scrambling over debris.
The trees surround me on every side and I slow down trying to find my way through this dense forest. Massive tree trunks as wide as Hagrid is tall are firmly set in the ground by thick roots that jut up and twist around each other. Righty lets out a bark; glancing back it looks like he got his ear snagged in a thicket. I give him a moment to recover after he pulls himself free, and continue looking for signs of life. As my eyes adjust to the almost total darkness I begin to make out shapes—and those shapes begin to move. My heartbeat quickens and I take a few tentative steps backwards as I look around, trying to figure out how to make it out of here alive. Then, I see it again, but this time it is not from the corner of my eye. Walking about thirty yards ahead of me is an animal in the most brilliant shade of white I have ever seen. Standing on flashing gold hooves are legs that look delicate, but I can see the muscle underneath and can tell that this is an animal bred to run. Its chest and body is wide, neck thick with muscles that shake a mane of hair bright and soft. The crowning jewel is nestled into the thick mane on top of its head. Gleaming white, like the rest of it, and menacing is a most vicious looking horn. Even with the unknown danger of the beast, I cannot help but to go after this ethereal being, shining like a beacon in the sea of darkness.
I walk forward stepping around as many obstacles as I can. Heedlessly moving through the underbrush, my feet tangle and I have already tripped three times in almost as many steps. Standing up the last time, I notice how much darker it seems all of a sudden. Where did that white creature go? I must find it. Isobella forgotten, as I run down ancient trails, pushing my body to catch up to the beautiful being. Its tail whips around a turn in the trail, and I follow. Only after I turn do look down and realize I would have tumbled over the edge of a tiny cliff, if not for the dazzling shadow I am chasing down.
My feet slip a bit as they land on loose rock. I can see further into the distance as the trees thin out. A few stars are able to break through the canopy helping to light the way. The air is easier to breathe—it is not as thick with vegetation as the air where I first saw the magnificent beast. The animal slows down to a walk, and I can finally catch up to it in now.My lungs fill with air and I let out the loudest noise my body can make.
"Aaaaaarrrrrrrrffffffff!"
The creature freezes in its tracks. My eyes focus on the white body in front of me. So pure in essence that a rainbow of colors shimmers around it. The stars are bright overhead, moonlight bathing the clearing in a silvery glow. My feet find purchase on a centuries old tree that had fallen across the path, and I clamber over the top with as little sound as possible. The deep shuddering breaths taken by the enchanted animal in front of me drowns out my own panting. The only thing moving on its body, save the barrel chest breathing and the hair lifted off its head and tail in the slight breeze, are its eyes. They are clear and bright and pass over me as I stay as entirely still as possible.
I take a tentative step further into the clearing and stop dead. Crystal blue eyes bore into me, and I see small puffs of steam forced from the nostrils of the frozen beast. It lowers its head, eyes never leaving me, and begins pawing at the ground. The air around us begins to tremble in earnest and I see muscles twitching, in the unmistakable way they do before an animal attacks, and just as the beast rears up on its hind legs to charge, an awful screech fills the night air.
"Ggggrrrrrraaaawwwwrrrr."
The terrifyingly beautiful creature stopped in its tracks before tearing off out of the clearing in a blur of iridescence. Looking around for the source of the sound, I see a familiar set of glowing eyes. Isobella steps out of the shadows, rubbing her body against a particularly scratchy looking tree on the edge of the clearing. She looks dull and grey compared to the blinding white of the previous inhabitant of the clearing.
"Well, my sweet. I believe that was enough adventure for one night. Let's get you home and tucked into bed, my boys." Isobella turned and swished her tail slowly as she wove her way around the edge of the clearing.
I think back to earlier in the day—before my adventure through these woods. When I met Hagrid in the dark place Tiberius took me, I was afraid. His size makes him awfully scary, adding to that his giant head of wiry hair, and hands the size of dustpans. When he looked at me, though, it was with a smile. He didn't scream and run away like some people did, or look at me with a dark desire in their eyes. Hagrid smiled, and his eyes crinkled like he smiled all the time, and his huge hands were so gentle as he scratched each of us in turn. When he took us away from Tiberius to his home, he introduced us to Fang. That huge beast of a dog shared his sausage with us. Then, when it was time to go to sleep in the new place, Fang went to sleep right next to us by the fire. Hagrid tucked us into a thick blanket laid out on the soft rug before he whispered in his gruff voice, "Who's a good boy?" and hummed us a tune to send us off to dreamland.
"I don't want to go back to Tiberius, Isobella. I want to go back to Hagrid and Fang. I think I want the little hut to be my home now. Please, can you take me back there?" She is the only friend we've had since we were born. Hagrid has something about him that makes me think he will look after us always. I will be able to run through the forest and get to know all the creatures in it. I can grow up here and protect my new family. I don't know how I will do it without Isobella, but there isn't anywhere else I want to go right now. I want to go back to the thick woolen rug and curl up next to the fire.
"Yeah, Isobella. I want to go there too. I'll miss you so much, but I feel like we belong here with Hagrid and Fang." Lefty is usually on my side, but it was good to hear that he wanted this too.
"Can you come visit us? Make sure everything is okay?" Righty looks a little afraid so I lean over and rub my head against his. We will always be there for each other.
"I will miss you dearly, but if that is where your home is, that is where I will lead you." Isobella turns back to the trail and walks back the way we came. It got darker as we go further down, but the sounds of the forest are changing from the eerie cries from the night creatures, to the chirping of squirrels and calls of songbirds. The walk back passes quickly and before I know it we are standing back at the edge of the clearing I found Isobella in earlier. She rubs her head against ours, nipping Righty's ear a bit and I am sure she said something to help comfort him.
"Well, my sweets. It looks like you have a welcoming party." Isobella moves away and I see Hagrid and Fang standing on the small porch on the front of his house looking all around.
"Arf!" We all bark and I run towards the pair. Fang and Hagrid both look in our direction, and from this far away I can see them relax.
"Aye, you rascal! Did ye wander in the forest? What did I tell ye about that? It is no place for a puppy to go. Even Fang won't go in there without me," Hagrid chides when I finally get to the porch. "Look, Fang! Fearless little thing, even if it is just a little ball of fluff." I nipped his finger at that one. I am not a little ball of fluff! Hagrid chuckles and walks into the warm hut. After he put me down, I walk over to our rug in front of the fire and lay down. The soft heat from the fire chase off any lingering hesitation when I think about my new home.
"Fluffy little puppy. Ye sure had us in a right state. The forest is no place for a pup. No matter how courageous ye are." Hagrid was right. I am definitely going to wait for him next time. Bet that white monster wouldn't charge at me with Hagrid by my side! Curling up next to Fang my eyes slowly drift shut as I hear Hagrid humming on his way to his own bed.