"So…" Damon muttered nervously, his hands stuffed deep inside his pockets. Both Damon and Haylie were still walking down the long trail, neither of them exactly sure if they should make awkward small talk.
"So…" Haylie mumbled, quickly glancing at Damon, but immediately looking back to the ground. More awkward silence followed as both first-years kicked around the small pebbles blanketing the dirt pathway. The full moon shone brightly through the cracks in the crooked, almost snaky trees of the forest and Haylie gazed up at the creamy yellow light. She could see clouds floating high above the trees, sometimes shielding the Earth from the moon's milky glow. Haylie was never superstitious at all. In fact, she laughed at anyone at her old elementary school who would stay home on Friday the 13th, or would freak out if they accidentally broke their cheap pocket mirror. All of a sudden, though, Haylie began to dislike the shape of the full moon hanging among the stars. Old stories of horrible happenings that took place on nights of the full moon suddenly flooded her mind. Doubts shot through her like poison, making her feel weak and vulnerable. Damon's voice forced her to peal her eyes away from the glowing ornament in the sky, instantly bringing her back to her senses.
"So…Do you have any more of that magic silver jewelry?" Damon asked Haylie, observing Haylie's Ringer Ring, which he had asked to borrow for a while.
"Yeah," Haylie answered, taking it back from him and putting it on her right index finger, "Why?"
"Well, if the rings have special powers, maybe other kinds of jewelry from that store also have powers," he suggested, suddenly peering at Haylie's bare neck, "How about that necklace?" Haylie's hand traveled fast to the silver necklace hung around her neck. It was the necklace she had received the first day the silver store had opened, and she had worn it almost everyday since.
"I don't know whether it has any powers," Haylie said truthfully, bowing her head and loosening the clasp. Once she finally got the clasp undone, Haylie handed the necklace to Damon, who squinted in the dim light. The stood silent for a moment, while Damon observed the necklace closely, running his finger over every chain and every jewel. Suddenly, Haylie heard him sigh, not with nervousness or impatience, but with relief.
"There's a button," Damon informed her, moving in closer so Haylie could see it too, "Should I push it?"
"I don't know…do you think it could be evil?" Haylie asked, biting her bottom lip nervously.
"I don't think so," Damon told her, "The rings weren't evil or anything, so why would this be?" Haylie pondered this for a moment, glancing from the necklace to the full moon and back again.
"Alright, go ahead," she said, instinctively taking a few steps backward. Damon smiled eagerly.
"Here we go!" Damon said excitedly, pressing his thumb down softly on the small silver button. All of a sudden a huge flash of light erupted around them. Haylie turned her head and covered her eyes, trying to keep herself from being blinded by the glow. Then it stopped. Haylie looked back to where Damon was standing and saw he had also shielded his eyes. Now both were gazing at the only light that was left from the amazing flash. Words started to form slowly above the jewels of the necklace.
"Congratulations, you are the proud owner of a hidden silver map," Damon read softly, "The power this necklace possesses is none. No powers. The only thing special about this necklace is that it will guide you through any place you would like to go. Just push the button once more to turn the map off. Good luck!"
All of a sudden the words disappeared and the two first years were left in the cold darkness that had consumed them before. Haylie gazed at Damon. He didn't seem to be moving at all.
"Damon?" Haylie whispered nervously. A few seconds passed quietly. Then she finally heard Damon's voice.
"Hogsmeade!" Damon suddenly yelled. Haylie jumped back, startled, and found herself shaking, with her right hand pressed against her chest. Obviously Damon had been thinking of a way to use the power and had discovered what to do, because all of a sudden a huge hologram of a Hogsmeade map appeared in front of them. Haylie smiled and looked over at Damon who returned her grin happily.
"This is so cool," Damon said, gazing in awe at the map.
"Damon and Haylie!" Haylie yelled at the map, smiling even wider as she saw two tiny dots appear in the middle of the map, labeled with their names.
"It's a map of Hogsmeade," Damon said, "and we can also see where everyone is at all times." Haylie studied the map for a moment before beginning to twirl her earrings with wonder. They were the beautiful blue-green earrings her secret admirer had given to her for Christmas and they felt cold against her warm neck.
"My earrings! They're from the silver store too!" Haylie exclaimed. Damon turned around and smiled shrewdly.
"I just don't know how they work," Haylie continued, her face falling slightly, "There definitely isn't a button on these." Haylie began to unhook the back of one of her earrings before Damon seized her arm.
"Stop! You don't need to take them out to work them. In fact you need to keep them in your ears," Damon told her, "All you need to do is say a spell and they will alert you when any danger is near. Including evil wizards, so we should probably…"
"How do you know about these earrings?" Haylie asked him, her eyes narrowing slightly. A thought overcame her but it was impossible. Haylie was so sure Elvin had given her these earrings, it all made sense. Obviously, Elvin had some sort of crush on Haylie and had had one since the first day of school, so automatically Haylie had assumed he had been her secret admirer. Now, though, the tables were turned. Could she have been wrong? Could another person possibly have a crush on her?
"Were you the one who gave these to me?" Haylie asked Damon, not even requiring an answer. Even in the dark of the night Haylie could see the tips of Damon's ears turn bright pink, followed by his cheeks.
"Yeah, I knew you liked them and I knew you didn't have enough money on you to buy them….so I thought I'd get them for you," Damon admitted, tugging on the collar of his coat nervously. Now Haylie could feel her own cheeks turning a bit rosy as well.
"Well…thank you…I really love them," Haylie whispered, embarrassment turning her voice shaky. Both first-years shuffled their feet around nervously, making the pebbles beneath their toes rustle and roll far down the pathway. Luckily, after a few moments, Damon ended the awkward silence.
"Okay…so….to make the earrings work you must have them on your ears and say the spell alvardio kiomanda," he told Haylie. Haylie hooked the earring back through her ear lobe and took a deep breath before saying the spell loudly. When nothing happened, Haylie glanced over at Damon.
"So they're supposed to alert me when danger is near? I guess we're safe right now then," Haylie mumbled, laughing nervously.
"Yep," Damon grunted, pressing forward down the pathway. Haylie walked faster so she could keep up with his fast pace as they walked through the forest. A rustle in the bushes startled Haylie. She flinched and a tiny scream erupted from her lips. Instinctively, she grabbed Damon's arm and scooted behind him. They both stopped and gazed at the bush, almost in full bloom as it was the beginning of April. Tiny white petals fell from the branches of the oversized bush and drifted like feathers toward the stone pathway. Haylie knew she had stopped breathing, but couldn't bring herself to start again. She could hear the beating of her heart grow faster and faster and quicker and quicker. Fear pulsated through her veins and even her hair seemed to go limp from the strain. Damon didn't say a word, but she could feel his arm grow cold under her grip.
"Who's there?" Damon's shaky voice called. Haylie bit her bottom lip nervously as she waited for an answer. None came.
"Hello?" Haylie managed to whisper, knowing fully that Damon was the only person who could hear her. The branches started to rustle once more, and Haylie squeezed Damon's arm harder than ever. To Haylie and Damon's relief, the culprit of the rustling bushes was no more than a stray cat. It purred softly and glanced up at the two humans before racing into the trees. It disappeared within seconds. Haylie finally realized that she was still squeezing Damon's arm and immediately released, feeling extremely embarrassed and insecure.
"Sorry…I mean…um….if danger is coming, what do the earrings actually do?" Haylie asked, her cheeks blushing bright pink. Damon didn't seem to notice her sudden flash of anxiety.
"The earrings will start to vibrate and will glow a really bright blue," He told her knowingly. Almost as if on impulse, Haylie could feel a violent vibration numb her ears. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a creamy glow of light gleaming from her earrings.
"Like that?" Haylie questioned frantically, knowing she was witnessing both the earring's indicators that danger was near. Damon's tan face suddenly looked very pale and he nodded his head in confirmation. Once again, Haylie whipped around to gaze behind her. Her long brown hair slapped her cheeks from the force and quickness of her movement. About twenty feet ahead, Haylie could see more rustling leaves and branches, and this time the danger that was coming seemed bigger.
"That definitely isn't a cat," Haylie choked, almost unable to pressure the words out of her mouth.
"Get ready to fight," Damon whispered from behind Haylie. She nodded knowingly, her courage rapidly disappearing with each second gone by.
"Haylie? Is that you?" a voice came from the darkness. Almost immediately, Haylie shoulders dropped with relief and her fists unclenched at her sides. The loud, unruly voice belonged to Eileen.
"Eileen?" Haylie called, standing on her tiptoes to see clearer over the tall and long bush branches. A shadow passed over Haylie's feet as Eileen appeared from behind the branches and stumbled out onto the open trail.
"Hey," Eileen said, trying to fix her misplaced hair, "What's up?" She squinted as the bright light from Haylie's earrings flashed over her face. Haylie briefly touched her earrings, not sure why they were still flashing.
"Nichto alvardio kiomanda" Damon said, his voice cracking slightly. Immediately, the flashing and vibrating stopped and Haylie turned to Eileen.
"Why are you all alone? Where are Elvin and Hermione?" Haylie asked worriedly. Eileen sighed and rolled her neck in circles, obviously sore and tired from not having any sleep.
"They were right behind me…" Eileen started, but stopped and gazed behind her when she heard the sound of a boy screaming in pain. A girl's angry grunt followed and within seconds Hermione's head popped up from behind the bush.
"There they are," Eileen finished, turning back to Haylie and Damon, while still messaging her neck, "I told you I wouldn't lose them." Hermione shoved the large branches aside and walked into Haylie's full view. Her hair was all amuck and Haylie thought she could see tiny thorns wedged in the giant ball of knots resting on Hermione's head. Hermione smiled at Haylie, but then snapped her head around and proceeded to stare angrily at the bush for a few short moments.
"Come on Elvin! You're not terribly hurt! You just tripped for goodness sake!" Hermione yelled, waving her hands around wildly. Haylie peered at Damon, who appeared to be, even through the darkness, smirking. More grunts could be heard as Haylie and her friends watched the bush rattle and shake, sending a few freshly bloomed leaves to the ground. At last, Haylie saw Elvin crawl miserably out of the bushes and collapse on the ground, a few drops of blood trickling from a small gash on his right cheek.
"Hey Haylie," Elvin mumbled, looking slightly embarrassed, "Hey Damon." Haylie gave him a small reassuring smile, while Damon's face fell into a cold stare, which made both Haylie and Elvin somewhat uncomfortable. Elvin could tell that Damon wasn't very happy to see him and tried to avoid his glowering eyes. Haylie knew why Damon was acting so strange. He was suspicious. Damon's eyes flickered from Elvin to Hermione to Eileen, observing each one carefully, searching for tiny clues to something bigger, something evil. On the contrary, Haylie didn't want to consider that one of her friends could be the cloaked figure, especially Hermione. Her elder sister's name had come up continuously with the hidden identity of the cloaked figure, but Haylie wanted desperately to forget that night when Hermione had disappeared from her room, leaving the small window above her nightstand wide open. Haylie squeezed her eyes shut. The image of Hermione's window banging against the clean, white walls of her bedroom, allowing the icy winter wind to blow through the halls of Hogwarts, gave her a chill she would never dare to the forget.