~*The Puzzle*~
A/N: You like? Stupid title, I know. But would you rather have the title, "Midnight Mystery"? More writers block follows, might get another fanfic. How would you like that? ^_~
We broke off from the Griffindors as they walked to the common room. Somehow we opened the doors leading outside soundlessly and stepped outside. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now what?" asked Carolyn excitedly.
"I don't know," I muttered nervously.
"WHAT?!" all my friends bellowed.
"Shh! We might be caught!" I whispered.
"Arg! I thought you actually knew what to do!" Andy cried under his breath.
"Yea, me too," Ryan confessed. "Try looking at your letter again."
"Okay. I'll give it a shot, but be quiet okay?" I asked.
"Aight," all my friends agreed. I opened up the letter and gasped with shock. My friends stared at me and Oreo popped his head out of his pouch to see what was going on.
"What's wrong?" they all asked at the same time.
"The letter…" I said weakly. They exchanged looks of confusion. Carolyn grabbed the letter out of my hand. She gasped as well. Ryan and Andy took a peek and their eyes grew wide with utter disbelief. Though I was not aware of it, Oreo had fallen asleep in his pouch.
"The… the words! The hole filled up with words!" Carolyn cried. "Read it."
I cleared my throat and read,
"On the brim of the forest,
Where Fang does dwell,
Look to where the birds nest.
In the mist you will see,
Something to puzzle thee.
Like words engraved in tree,
There are some figures,
Like the trees, overgrown.
Hark! Look there and you will see,
Something more or less a plant,
Dig under, deep deep deep,
And find the secret,
Again, engraved in stone,
One last puzzle,
One last time for your eyes to see.
At the night,
The moon will glow,
Speak Witch!
For your time grows short.
When the moon is at its highest,
You must speak the word,
The book will open and you will finally see."
"Uh… confusing," Andy said blankly.
"You're telling me!" cried Carolyn.
"Let's start from the beginning," Ryan suggested.
"Good idea, okay… On the brim of the forest, where Fang does dwell, Look to where the birds nest," I read.
"Okay… Fang…" said Carolyn. "What do they mean?!"
"FANG!" Andy cried.
"What?" I asked.
"Fang! Hagrid's dog! Hagrid lives right by the Forbidden Forest with Fang, his dog!" Andy cried.
"Brilliant!" Ryan commented. "Absolutely brilliant! It all fits!" We all ran to Hagrid's house, all pushing each other and discussing the poem that appeared on the piece of paper.
"Alright! Now, In the mist you will see, Something to puzzle thee. Sounds like Shakespeare to me!" I muttered.
"Who?" asked Andy and Ryan.
"Muggle play writer," said Carolyn impatiently.
"Forget that!" I cried. "There is no mist! That's the only thing that's puzzling me!"
"Yea…" Carolyn agreed. "There is no mist."
"Wait!" said Andy. "We have to look up, maybe if we look up where the birds nest we'll find some mist!"
"Yea, smart, but, there are no birds here!" Ryan moaned.
"Hey! Look up it's a bird!" I cried happily. We chased after it, being careful not to lose it. It flew around in a circle and landed on a nearby tree. It was a long and twisted oak and it looked a lot like a mutilated tree. Its leaves were small and pointy looking and the bark looked none too friendly. I felt like barfing. It was ugly!
"Okay… So now what?" asked Ryan sounding none too happy.
"Climb up it?" Andy suggested.
"I was afraid you would say that…" Ryan moaned.
"Are you afraid of heights?" Carolyn asked slyly.
"No!" Ryan cried. "I just don't like trees. When I was little, I fell off one and broke my arm. I'm not afraid of trees, but I'm afraid of climbing one! I don't want that to happen again." He shivered.
"I see your point…" Andy said.
"Hey look!" Carolyn said excitedly. She was pointing excitedly to a design on the tree. It was a beautiful design, full of intricate patterns and something to definitely puzzle over. I looked up and every inch or so, a new design was on the tree. Ryan pushed on one of the designs so hard that the design left a mark on the thumb that looked exactly like it, that got a laugh from all of us. Carolyn was giggling out of control though. She laughed and laughed and grabbed her sides. She grabbed me and still laughing she fell over, rolling on the floor. She took deep breaths and stood up. I gasped and pointed to where her rolling had created a clearing. It looked like a plant. With large leaves and a large trunk. I began to dig. Dirt was jammed in my fingernails and they were bleeding but I didn't care. It was only until Ryan pulled me away when I stopped. Andy used a spell to clear off the dirt and Ryan stopped the hurt and bleeding. We peered inside and saw the most curious object. It was like a stone book.
"Accio stone book!" Ryan chanted. The book flew into his arms. He smiled and opened it. It only opened to one page. And that only had scribbles all over it. I sighed in defeat.
"Now what?!" I wanted to scream, but only moaned it out. "Look at it! It's all… scribbley! Scribbled junk!" I nearly kicked it, but Carolyn restrained me. I slumped in her arms.
"What time is it?" I asked miserably.
"Midnight." Andy said.
"When the moon is at the highest," Ryan whispered.
"What?" I asked.
"The poem! The moon is at its highest at midnight! You have to find out the word! Quick! You or Carolyn! Because a witch needs to say a word and the book will open and everything will be solved!" he cried.
"Oh, forget it!" Andy yelled. "I'm going to sleep! Anyone coming?" Everyone shook his or her head no. He sighed and walked back to the castle. After thirty minutes of hard work, we all gave up and walked back to the castle. I saw a greasy haired man walk out of it. I remembered him somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. He spotted us.
"Out of your common room at this time of night? Detention. All three of you. And 10 points from Griffindor, each," he said. "Up to your room!" He bellowed. We all gave him a scowl and walked up to the common room. We entered and walked up to our dormitories. Carolyn and me crashed down on our beds, asleep before we hit the covers.
The next morning, was thankfully Saturday the only day we got off besides Sunday. I woke up late, and I only awoke because Oreo licked my face until I woke and I changed. I was still groggy, but I pulled myself into the common room. I yawned and sat down by Ryan, Andy, and Carolyn. Oreo was by the fire, getting acquainted to the other Griffindors. I didn't worry about him, Oreo could fend for himself if they got nasty and mean.
"Wanna try again? In the common room, once everybody's gone?" Ryan asked leaning forward.
"Yea!" Carolyn said so loudly and enthusiastically that people stared.
I nodded and Andy said, "Sure!" So that was that. We were going to try again tomorrow. I crossed my fingers, hoping tonight, our mission would be successful.
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So…? You like? No reviews… meanies… j/k