Arc II: part I
September 25th of 1983; Bade-Wurtemberg:
Is it told that hundreds of people have disappeared in these woods, although the reasons why differed. Wherever rushing inside, voluntary attracted by a call for help, drawn by mesmerizing sounds or following a woman of great beauty. Over the centuries, people kept disappearing, leaving no trace behind until, two hundred years ago, the disappearances stopped and everybody in the town nearby forgot about it. Today, the forest and its lore had become nothing more than a story told to scare the little children to behave. Slowly, as the population grew in the region's cities and its entertainment, even the interest in the forest vanished.
Nowadays, the only children still venturing into the woods were the pupils of the Academy of magic that took residence nearby. It is furnished with special herbs and plants, essential ingredients to brew their potions, and magical creatures to observe in their natural habitat. Usually, silence reigned among the trees, a calm that was now increasingly disturbed by the rumbling of a group chasing a smaller figure crying for help.
Alexa was running in the snow as fast as she could, her heart racing, struggling with her shoes sinking in the snow. Screaming as loud as she could for help, despite the cold hurting her throat. While running, her distress kept increasing as she heard her pursuers laughter grow louder, shortening the distance between them. Alexa didn't want to think about the outcome if they managed to get to her, considering they didn't bother in public; what would they do to her here, out of sight and in the middle of nowhere.
Running, jumping to avoid stumbling on a branch, she swore that she had been careful. She had slipped away when she thought everybody's attention was directed elsewhere. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. In her runaway, she went deeper in the forest, making her situation even worse as now, even if she managed to lose her pursuers, she wasn't sure about finding her way back home. The nightfall not far only made it scarier. ..Suddenly she felt a pain in her foot coupled with a cold feeling, forcing her to stop and hide behind a tree. Looking down at her shoes, she sighed in defeat when she saw how her right shoe had ripped. Leaning her back against the tree trunk, she cursed and slammed her fist against it, regretting immediately after as now both her foot and her hand hurt.
As far as she could remember, she faced the other kid's looks, meanness, and violence due to all the mysterious incidents randomly popping around her. Until one day, a man came knocking at her parent's house door, introduced himself as an employee of the Ministry of Magic, revealed to her the existence of a worldwide secret magical community to which she belonged, and changed her life forever. It happened a few months ago, at the beginning of the summer holidays, and that day, she remembered first feeling freed from a weight in her chest, then started to dream about a new life among her peers, a happy life surrounded by friends; who would relate... But, unfortunately, her joy was short-lived. As soon as school started, the first day, she became an older group favorite punching bag.
Alexa could now hear them get closer; she discreetly looked. Then, she took a deep breath and ran again; in her rush, she didn't notice her bag was hooked by a piece of wood slightly detached from the tree. As a result, her bag broke, and her books, school supplies got scattered on the ground. She fell to her knees and tried to gather all her belongings as fast as she could. Ironically, that was the moment the group reached her, bursting in laughter as they found her battling in the snow. Alexa reached to her pocket for her wand, only she found it far from reach, stuck in the snow, while the four girls had their own wand already pointed at her while approaching.
Instinctively, she curled up, protecting her face with her forearms, her teeth clenched, waiting for the first blows to land on her sides or back. Only, she never felt the ribs hurt or any other part of her body except for her toe; she had hit earlier. Then, Alexa opened an eye slightly to see a shadow briefly fly above her; she heard a growl followed by screams. She opened her eyes wide to see a large black wolf growling and showing his fangs, drooling, between her and the four terrified older girls. One of them, Jenna, made to use her wand, only the wolf started barking and they runway, this time, it was them who screamed for help...Alexa chuckled before gasping as she realized she was now alone, deep in the forest with a wolf who now had turned his gaze in her direction.
She tried not to show any sign of fear; she had heard that wild animals only attack when they could see their prey in fear... But, that documentary must have been wrong as the wolf didn't go away, on the opposite, after a glance at the trees behind him, he started approaching Alexa, sitting on the ground, unable to hold her tears as she started thinking about the horrible death that awaited her. The wolf's mouth was now an inch from her face, its paws on her knees; even with her eyes closed, she could feel the warmth from its snout. Then, the wolf started to sniff her face, ears before, to her surprise, he didn't bite but started to lick her face, as she felt her face becoming suddenly wet.
She opened her eyes and was relieved to notice how she had wrongly identified the animal as a wolf, and it was just a Black German Shepard. The dog sat in front of her, his ears lowered as he waged his tail...Alexa wiped away her tears with her coat's sleeve and looked at the dog, while he ran to where her wand was and fetched it to her, letting it fall on her knees before running around gathering her books with his mouth to bring them back to her. Alexa slowly stood up and cleaned the mud from her pants while the dog ran back to her and sat in front of her, letting her wand fall in front of her. Alexa hesitated a moment before she dared to pet him on the head.
"Danke!"
The dog barked before starting to happily jump around her. Alexa crouched and patted him again, looking for a collar around his neck. The dog wasn't wearing any, which she found strange, not only for being so friendly and looking conformable around a human but because he had obviously been trained.
"Are you alone? Are you lost?" Alexa asked, and the dog barked. "Do you want to come with me?" Alex said, pointing a finger towards the trees.
The dog barked again before he started to turn around himself, trying to catch his tail, making her chuckle. She grabbed her back and waved to him to follow her. Then walked together for about half an hour, in which sometimes he ran a few meters forward before coming back, scaring squirrels of rabbits, before they finally arrived at the village.
Alexa and her family had moved to the village two weeks before September started. Like the other houses in the village, the one they lived in had a long-hipped roof, adapted to the black forest's condition and its hills, wide slopes, high levels of snowfall and strong winds. With its long overhangs, the large roof swung down to the ground floor on the sides, providing shade of the house walls in the summer while letting the sun pass through when it is much lower in the sky to keep the walls warm in the winter. They crossed the garden to arrive at the entrance door, then rushed inside the house to shelter from the cold that came along with nightfall. Once inside, Alexa got rid of her scarf and gloves, then switched her shoes for slippers. Then with the dog following her steps, she went to search for her mother and quickly found her in the living room, asleep on the sofa, her glasses sideways, an opened book lying on the floor next to the couch. Alexa silently approached her mother and leaned over her to softly caress her cheek. The woman slowly opened her eyes, then blinked a few times before smiling as she tugged her daughter to her and hugged her, covering her with kisses. She only let loose of Alexa when her eyes landed on the dog, sitting in the middle of the living room, and gave a curious look to her daughter.
"Can he stay with us, please?" Alexa asked her mother, resting her head on her mother's shoulder.
"You should start telling me where you found him..." She replied.
"I was in the forest collecting what I need for my potions essay...And...I found him." Alexa said, smiling, making her mother frown.
She glanced at her before jumping on her feet when she noticed her ripped clothes and the mud on them. "What happened to your clothes? You've got mud on your face!" She said, closely inspecting the scratched on her hands.
"Mum! It's nothing! I went to the forest and didn't pay attention, and I slipped on mud! I promise!" Alexa said.
"Why are your eyes red?! Did you cry?"
"It's just the wind and the cold outside!" Alexa said.
Her mom bit her lip before hugging her tightly.
"So, can we keep him?" Alexa asked.
"I don't know...maybe he's dangerous..." she said.
"No! He's not! He's trained...We could keep him until its owner shows up?" Alexa asked."Pleaaase!"
"Ok...But only until we find its owner!" She said, looking at the dog.
"Yes!" Alexa said. "Thank you, mum!" she added, kissing her mother's cheek.
"Now, if you're fine, go clean yourself and come down help me with dinner," Her mother said, kissing her forehead. " Go on, hurry up!"
Alexa got up and turned to the dog to order him to follow her upstairs, only he had comfortably settled in front of the fireplace.
"He'll be fine...Go!" Her mother said, pointing at the stairs.
She ran up the stairs and to her room. She threw her school bag and wand on her desk before sitting on her bed. She winced as she rubbed her knee. Fortunately, her mother didn't notice it bleeding, and the last thing Alexa wished was to worry her mother. For her parents, it had been a great sacrifice and inconvenience to move so far south from Hamburg so she could get an education and live a life without being forced to hide her nature.
Unfortunately, unlike other wizarding schools around Europe, the Academy she had been accepted into did not provide any housing accommodation for its students, so her parents had been forced to sell their house in Hamburg's suburbs and move... Naturally, they didn't think once before deciding to follow her. As soon as the Ministry of Magic had left their house, they fused around the rooms, sorting what was important from the rest to pack, and a week later, they charged her father's Trabant 601 and took the road, heading south.
They smiled all the way south and kept since, as for them, their daughter's happiness was more important than anything else, a new life, in a place far away from the repetitive harassment and bullying she had been so many times under the indifference of the primary school's staff, however, how many times her parents had complained.
Alexa grabbed her shower necessary and headed to the bathroom, then in the bathtub. As the warm water washed the mud and dirt from her sore body, she thought she would have to take it on her and be strong this time. Her parents were already worried, trying not to show how much this new world they discovered so suddenly with their smiles and showering her with their love. Only one school year to finish, then six others...
September 26th of 1983:
When Alexa woke up the following day and came down the stairs, she found her mother sitting at the kitchen table, stirring her coffee mug, yawning. Seeing her arrive, she stood up from her chair to hug her before rushing her to sit for breakfast. Alexa sat, yawning and grabbed a bun, her eyes wandering around the room as her mother sat back across from her, smiling.
"If you're looking for him, he is still sleeping near the fire...I added some logs for him before going to bed last night." Her mom told her.
"Is he? Do you want me to take him outside?" Alexa asked, chewing.
"He isn't bothering anyone...So, finish eating first!" Her mother said, placing in front of Alexa a glass of milk, making her wince.
"Can I have some coffee instead, please?" Alexa asked." It's going to be a long day for me! Two hours of history of magic!"
"No," Her mom said kindly," Coffee is for grow-ups; children your age need some calcium to grow...Especially hobbits like you."
"I grew up a lot this summer! 2 inches, dad measured me!" Alexa said.
"Ok...You might add some coffee to your milk if...You can grab me something from that cupboard." Her mother said, pointing to the clapboard above her head.
Alexa accepted the challenge, stood up, and grabbed her chair. "Without climbing on a chair, stool, table or using magic." Her mother added.
Alexa rolled her eyes and sat back, pouting. Her mother sneered, came to sit next to her and passed an arm around her shoulders.
"I want to talk to you about something." She said softly.
"Sure, what is it about?" Alexa asked.
"Sweetie...Do you like this new school? Do you get along with the other...Magic kids?" She asked.
"Magic kids?" Alexa asked, chuckling.
"Whatever...Do you get along with them?" She asked again.
"Yes...Everything is fine." Alexa said, turning her head towards her plate.
"I'm saying this because...Last night, while you were in the bathroom, I went to your room to pick up your dirty laundry and couldn't help to notice your clothes were all messed...And yesterday, you said you fell in the forest, but then I also found your shoes...Is there something more that I should know?" She asked.
Alexa smiled at her. "No! Everything is amazing! It happens that in potions or chams, our clothes get messed or...burned. All the first year's students are just like me, but I'll be more careful now that I know better...I wish you could come to visit the school and see by yourself."
Her mother didn't seem convinced by her answer and opened her mouth to say something; only before she could say a word, they both startled at the sound of a loud bark coming from the door frame. After announcing his arrival, the dog jumped on an empty seat and started to eat the leftovers on Alexa's plate as they both googled at him.
"Does he have a name?" Her mother asked.
"I don't know...But he seems to understand all I say..."Alexa replied, scratching the dog behind the ear.
"Maybe he is a magic dog." Her mother said.
"Or just a well-trained one...I don't know, to be honest, they are magical creatures living in the forest, but we don't study them until the third year, so I can't say for sure." Alexa said.
"Oh...I just...Thinking about that owl who brings us your grades...Maybe he is something similar." She said.
"Or a werewolf," Alexa said.
"You think?... They exist?" Her mother asked.
"Yes...But he is definitely not one; werewolves are...er...Wolves that only come out at full moon nights." Alexa said." Although, we should find a name for him."
"Later, you're going to get late for school." Her mother said, looking at the clock.
Alexa fetched her bag before coming up down the hall to meet her mother, who waited near the front door with her coat and scarf. Her mother helped her put them before Alexa left the house. She crossed their front garden then headed to a narrow street in the village where other academy students were lining up, waiting. The Academy enchanted a bus that provided a shuffle service every school day between the town and the Academy. Before lining behind the other students already there, she discreetly looked from the street corner if the way was safe to ensure she wouldn't have her shoes or other belongings stolen before even classes started. As she walked towards them, she felt something touch her leg. The dog had visibly left the comfort of the living rooms sofa and its fireplace to follow her. She patted his head before asking him softly.
"Do you want to go to school too?"
He raised his head to look at her with his grey eyes before he softly closed his jaw on her hand, then led her to the street towards the other first-year students who had gathered. Once there, only two older boys greeted her back as the rest only looked at the German Shepard who sat next to her...About ten minutes later, a seventh-year student took a list out of his bag and called out their names, writing down the names of those who were absent, before waving his wand. A few seconds later, a bus appeared in the street, drove towards a stop sign near the seventh-year student, and opened its doors to let them come up on board. When Alexa's turn came to get on the bus, the driver looked curiously at the dog following her but did not object to letting him get inside. So, they took unoccupied seats at the front and a few minutes later, the seventh-year student handed the list to the driver, who started the engine and soon left the village, heading to the Academy.