Disclaimer: I own nothing except the extended Dolan family and Hound's
Hollow (including all of its subsidiary locations). The rest of this stuff
is property of its proper owners. I'm a broke college student who writes to
pass the time before classes. (I really do write between college classes.
in the halls, in the café, in the labs, and in the library.)
One fall afternoon, just before Halloween, Patrick found himself out by the lake. He was alternately watching the giant squid paddle around the lake and his brother doing Charms homework with Daisy Evans. He knew that where Daisy was Lily wasn't far behind. Where Lily was James and his friends were sure to follow. There was just something about Lily that drove usually self assured annoying James out of his mind. Well, that and the fact Madison had developed the biggest of crushes on Remus Lupin.
While he was sitting, he noticed lots of motion in the, usually, quiet, Forbidden Forest. To him, it looked like flashes moving in and around the borders of the forest.
Curiosity getting the best of him, Patrick got up and walked to the edge of the forest. He wouldn't go into the forest because it was against the school rules and, unlike some he knew, Patrick didn't break the rules.
He found a great hiding spot in the groundskeeper's garden. Peering around a particularly large tomato plant, Patrick began to watch the blurs.
At first, they only looked like moving splashes of white light.
Once his eyes adjusted and he was able to see through the light, it was a whole different story.
They were people or something that looked quite a lot like people. They were dressed in metal suits and some were carrying Muggle weapons that Patrick didn't recognize. The wizard couldn't even tell if the figures were male of female because they all seemed to have long hair that flowed out from under their helmets.
"Patrick, where are you?" called Chris, breaking the older wizard out of his reverie.
The red headed wizard tore his eyes away from the blurs and the Forbidden Forest and called, "Stay where you are Chris, I'm coming."
He knew that he little brother was still a bit unsure about being alone on the Hogwarts grounds. Since Collin and Kelly were too "busy" to see to Chris, it had fallen on Patrick to act as his younger brother's guide.
He walked out of the garden and back toward the lake.
There he found his little brother, all alone.
"Where's Daisy?" Patrick asked, a little annoyed that she would leave Chris all alone.
"Lily came to get her a few minutes ago. She said Professor Destra wanted to talk to her," Chris responded.
Professor Destra was the latest in a long line of Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. He was an older wizard with a heavy Italian accent. He was best known for his rambling lectures about nothing.
"Did Lily or Daisy say why?" Patrick questioned.
Last he had heard, Chris and Daisy were tied for top marks in his class.
"Nope," Chris replied with a shrug.
Seeing that it was close to dinner time, Patrick gave one last look toward the Forbidden Forest. Then he took Chris back to the castle.
Nearly every afternoon following that day, Patrick found himself going back to the forest to watch the blurs in motion.
He still hadn't figured out what they were and he didn't intend on asking anyone for help. This was his mystery, just like Professor Destra's reasons for talking to Daisy were Chris's.
As far as he could tell, he was the only student---well, the only one he knew of---who could see these things.
He tried to find information regarding them in the library but to no avail. These things, whatever they might be, simply didn't exist. This was according to every book in the vast Hogwarts Library.
Instead of deterring the red headed wizard, it just served to make Patrick all the more curious.
There was something about those blurs, something very important, that Patrick had to figure out.
One fall afternoon, just before Halloween, Patrick found himself out by the lake. He was alternately watching the giant squid paddle around the lake and his brother doing Charms homework with Daisy Evans. He knew that where Daisy was Lily wasn't far behind. Where Lily was James and his friends were sure to follow. There was just something about Lily that drove usually self assured annoying James out of his mind. Well, that and the fact Madison had developed the biggest of crushes on Remus Lupin.
While he was sitting, he noticed lots of motion in the, usually, quiet, Forbidden Forest. To him, it looked like flashes moving in and around the borders of the forest.
Curiosity getting the best of him, Patrick got up and walked to the edge of the forest. He wouldn't go into the forest because it was against the school rules and, unlike some he knew, Patrick didn't break the rules.
He found a great hiding spot in the groundskeeper's garden. Peering around a particularly large tomato plant, Patrick began to watch the blurs.
At first, they only looked like moving splashes of white light.
Once his eyes adjusted and he was able to see through the light, it was a whole different story.
They were people or something that looked quite a lot like people. They were dressed in metal suits and some were carrying Muggle weapons that Patrick didn't recognize. The wizard couldn't even tell if the figures were male of female because they all seemed to have long hair that flowed out from under their helmets.
"Patrick, where are you?" called Chris, breaking the older wizard out of his reverie.
The red headed wizard tore his eyes away from the blurs and the Forbidden Forest and called, "Stay where you are Chris, I'm coming."
He knew that he little brother was still a bit unsure about being alone on the Hogwarts grounds. Since Collin and Kelly were too "busy" to see to Chris, it had fallen on Patrick to act as his younger brother's guide.
He walked out of the garden and back toward the lake.
There he found his little brother, all alone.
"Where's Daisy?" Patrick asked, a little annoyed that she would leave Chris all alone.
"Lily came to get her a few minutes ago. She said Professor Destra wanted to talk to her," Chris responded.
Professor Destra was the latest in a long line of Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. He was an older wizard with a heavy Italian accent. He was best known for his rambling lectures about nothing.
"Did Lily or Daisy say why?" Patrick questioned.
Last he had heard, Chris and Daisy were tied for top marks in his class.
"Nope," Chris replied with a shrug.
Seeing that it was close to dinner time, Patrick gave one last look toward the Forbidden Forest. Then he took Chris back to the castle.
Nearly every afternoon following that day, Patrick found himself going back to the forest to watch the blurs in motion.
He still hadn't figured out what they were and he didn't intend on asking anyone for help. This was his mystery, just like Professor Destra's reasons for talking to Daisy were Chris's.
As far as he could tell, he was the only student---well, the only one he knew of---who could see these things.
He tried to find information regarding them in the library but to no avail. These things, whatever they might be, simply didn't exist. This was according to every book in the vast Hogwarts Library.
Instead of deterring the red headed wizard, it just served to make Patrick all the more curious.
There was something about those blurs, something very important, that Patrick had to figure out.