Hyden's POV:
I sat in the field. Just waiting. My heart skipped beats. I was sure that wasn't healthy. Heart palpitations; definitely not good. I was barely breathing. Too nervous to even accept air. One question over all others. So many other questions. Millions upon millions. And one prevailed over all. Over and over.
I sat in the field, wondering where.
Where? I was sure my brain was short-circuiting. That was the only word.
Where? There were supposed to be other words. They just didn't want to show themselves.
Where?
I sat in the field, watching and listening and hoping. How odd for me to be waiting for him in a field he grew up in. I figured he would be here anyway, even if he had forgotten our date. Even if he didn't want to date me, I would understand. He could just tell me and spend the rest of his day happy here. There's no way that he would just not show up.
I sat. In his field. I thought it was our field, but maybe I was sorely mistaken. He probably didn't really want to share this with me. I had messed up from the start. There was nothing he wouldn't do to avoid me now. Even staying away from his own field.
That's alright, I thought, I understand. I wouldn't want to date me, either, if I had screwed up. Still, I had hope.
I sat in his field, hoping with all my power that he would arrive. Surely he would get tired of waiting for me to leave and would show up. If I waited long enough, he would show. Or maybe he realizes his mistake, and was willing to leave.
But surely I'm not that bad, right?
The sun was high in the sky, and slowly falling down. If I had a watch, I would have checked it, but alas, I did not. Only so long ago, I had apparated here. I hadn't seen him anywhere, and so I just waited for him to show. I was alright with him not being here early. And then I was alright with him not being on time. Lateness happens sometimes. We're all only human. And then I sat in his field and realized just how long it was taking him. Had he been held up? Was he busy? Had he forgotten? More minutes clicked by in what seemed to be hours upon hours. He had probably forgotten. Or he changed his mind about me. Or maybe the time had passed him by, and he just hadn't realized it yet. It was possible. Not very likely, but possible. I had decided to check his special world. He was nowhere on the path, or by the lake. I wasn't sure if he was in the forest, so I had called his name a few times, to no avail. He was simply not there.
And back to the present, I was sitting in his field once again. The grazing grasses swaying slightly in the blowing breeze in their mundane motions; I stared at them, and hoped to myself a wish that would not come true.
And yet I still waited.
There was something I just didn't want to lose out on. If he had arrived and explained that he didn't really want to be anything more than just friends, I would have lived. We could have run around and pretended to be children, just as friends, for the rest of our lives. I don't think I ever could have wanted anything more than freedom like what I had tasted with him. There was so much I just hadn't ever done, or had the chance to do, even. Being stripped of my childhood, he was all the hope I had left, whether he was a friend or more. Was it too much for me to ask for that? Honestly, was I asking for too much? After so many hopes during the war, had I reached my limit? Life was trying to tell me that I had crossed a line, calling me spoiled, and refusing me service. My harsh reality. I would live forever in a world that I hated. That was it; my limit for hope was up.
As simple as it was to leave and be done with waiting, I couldn't bear to do it. Leaving meant the end. Leaving meant there was absolutely no chance, for anything. Leaving meant desolation, and heartbreak, and confinement. All my hopes were mere pleas into the deaf ear that once granted pity and mercy. I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing. If he didn't show, I was sure that meant it was all done.
And so I sat in his field.
I ran a quivering hand through my hair, trying to get the strays away from my face, with no success of course.
Why is my hand shaking so much? It fell back down to my side and I stared at it, numb. It was pale, and attached to my side. Nothing was odd about it at all. I stared for no reason. And then, from my face, fell one drop right onto my palm. One simple drop into my hand. With my other hand, I wiped at my face and found it covered in my tears. I had been silently crying and had not noticed. How had I not noticed?
Where? Where was he? I shook my head. He couldn't see me like this. I tried to dry all the tears, but they kept on coming.
Where? He was simply busy doing something.
Where? He just forgot about it.
Where? He's not coming.
Where? It's over. The decision was made. It was all just done.
I stood up and disapparated to the front of Hogwarts. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn't want anyone to see them, but I took no precaution to hide them. I stared at the floor, walking the entire way to my room without looking, or even thinking. As soon as I arrived, I flopped right onto my bed and curled up into a ball.
All hope was lost.
Cygnus's POV:
Walking down a long hallway that never seemed to end. The walls were black, and the lamps were dim overhead. I walked on, my destination the door at the very end of the hall. Every step I got closer, and every minute I was farther. Every breath I was farther. Every blink I was farther. I stared to run, breaking into a sprint. For some reason, it was so important for me to catch that runaway door. There was a certain necessity to my arrival before its hinges; to reach my hand out and catch its doorknob and open it. Something told me it was what was behind the door that I was trying to get to.
Hurry, a voice inside me cried. With all deliberate and possible speed, I raced toward the door, seeming to make progress, and yet not arriving any closer to the door. It was so pointless, it seemed, but I kept going.
Running as fast as I could, it wasn't long before I stopped altogether. I needed to rest, and catch my breath a moment. There had to be a smarter way to get to the door; some way that wouldn't take the door farther from me so I could catch it. That door was my key to whatever it was that I needed. I wasn't sure what, but I needed it. I took one careful step forward, only to have the door go further away. It was so far now; I could barely make it out in the dimness. I sighed and returned my foot back to its twin, and the door came back to its original distance. Curious, I stepped back a step, and the door came closer. Another step, and then another, and the door was closer still. As crazy as it sounds, I started running backwards, facing the door, watching it get closer and closer. After a few moments of this, the door crept up to me, and I reached out my hand and grabbed the knob. Twisting, I expected it to open, but it did not. It was locked.
Hurry! I released the knob and yelled into the air, "Alohomora!"
Something clicked on the inside of the door, and I twisted the knob once again. To my delight, it opened. Inside, there was a bright sun sinking in the sky and tall, billowing grasses surrounding me. I sat up in my Sitting Spot, confused for a moment. Had I fallen asleep? Well, of course I had. I stretched like a cat, feeling so much better after. After sleeping in the dirt, I had a layer of earth covering me. I tried to wipe it off, but it only came off my clothes (which were magically charmed to repel dirt, dust, and all such things). I got up and decided to take a bath in my lake. It would be nice, relaxing, and not to mention wake me up. It was bad to be so off a normal sleeping schedule.
I stripped off my clothes and jumped into my lake. It was cool, but not cold; just perfect. I broke through the surface of the water, with a smile on my face. It was so nice to be so clean again. I swirled around the lake, feeling like a diamond surrounded by sparkling waters and reflected light at every direction. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of perfect forest that I loved so much, and then sunk underwater to release the air to make bubbles. It was the simple things in life that could make one person so happy.
A little girl in my mind was in a panic. She looked to her left and to her right in a field of nothing but mere grass.
"That thought flower has to be somewhere," she told herself. Her tiny hands separated the tall grasses fervently, trying to find where the flower could be hiding. Her eyes were starting to water in desperation. The flower seemed impossible to find in such a large field; would she ever find the flower she was looking for? It had to be found. She grabbed the attention of the other little girls, small, delicate tears streaming her face as she explained to them that she could not find the flower. All the little girls worked together, searching the endless field for any flowers at all. They searched their little hearts out, looking twice as hard as they ever had before. This was, after all, a very very important flower to find; it had to be somewhere in the field. Flowers cannot simply walk away. And yet, after so long, many of the little girls had given up their hopes of finding it, so stumped as to the location of the flower. How could a little flower be so talented in hiding? It had eluded most of them to the point of exhaustion, and many just had no energy to go on.
But the first little girl, whose job had been to pick the flower, still looked with as much determination as ever. It was her duty, of course. She wiped her eyes so her vision would not be blurry and affect her searching skills. Through the blades and blades of grass that she parted, she continuously found nothing. She would part some to her right, and find nothing, and then to her left, and still nothing. She would walk over a bit of ways and part again to her right, and left. And then again move and part through them once more, only to achieve the same result still. One more tear dripped from the corner of her glossy eye as she parted more grass. And yet, this felt different. One side was a bit heavy in wanting to return back to upright. She let her hands go, and then parted once more a little to the left. And there was a long, vibrant green stem and beautiful red, velvety petals. The little girl squealed in relief and picked the flower from the ground with all deliberate speed.
I was supposed to have a date with Hyden. I stopped moving. I might have even stopped breathing. I had been asleep so long. How long had I been sleeping? Was he still there?
Oh fucking Merlin, it is FAR past two. I smacked my forehead and quickly got out of the lake. I tried to dry myself using my clothes, but gave up and just put them on instead and ran to the entrance of my world and climbed back up to the field. The sun was sinking in the sky, showing sign of late day. He had showed up, and waited, and left. There was no way possible for me to screw up any worse. I had fallen asleep and he had left.
Probably thinking that I had stood him up. I smacked my forehead with my palm.
"How could I be so idiotic? Why would I fall asleep at the most inopportune time? I knew I would find some way to ruin this…" I slowly fell down to the ground, disappointed and angry at myself.
One chance. One chance to make it all work and be happy, and I blew it out of the water. It just went to show how my own mind was working against me to ruin all things good in my life.
As much as I loved having my own little world, it was very much taking its toll on my sanity. I enjoyed it all so much, but I really needed something else in my life to bring me back to the right state of mind. Or at least take me to an insane asylum. Something. I didn't care about many things, but I cared about that.
I also cared about Hyden. I could care less what we were, but he was important to me. He was a friend I couldn't lose. He was one shot at something greater. He was my key to freedom. And I had just ruined it past recognition. I had to at least attempt to fix it, even if I wasn't successful. I wouldn't blame him for not forgiving me. I had screwed up fairly bad.
I ran once more to my perfect world. Along the path, about halfway, I turned and headed into the forest instead of toward the lake. I continued on, knowing the path by memory, until I reached a clearing just large enough to hold all my things. It wasn't really clear anymore, because I had what belongings I had brought everywhere. I walked over to my Be-Anything Book (the book Hermione had sent me), my ink, and quill, and took them to the lake. I opened the book and ripped out a page and began to write on it.
Dear Hyden,
Please, accept my most sincere apologies. It's really just ridiculous how stupid I am right now. To explain it all, I hadn't slept all night. I had made it all night until the early morning without any sleep at all. Really, I had been awaiting our date, trying to pass the time with small things. But of all the things to do, I fell asleep somewhere around the late morning. Only upon my waking up did I ever realize my awful mistake. I'm so sorry. If you can forgive me, I would love to reschedule. If you cannot, I understand.
Sincerely,
Cygnus
I sighed, hoping it would work. I blew on the ink to dry it faster, and then folded the paper into an airplane. From my days during school, I could always send these paper airplane messages without any trouble. But to go so far was difficult to even imagine. At least, I assumed it was far. I positioned it on my hand, ready for takeoff, and blew.
It flew off my hand and into the air, doing loops and fantastic moves before going straight up through a hole above and left me.
3rd Person POV:
The little paper airplane soared through the air, just like a normal airplane. This aircraft had been blessed with one of the most experienced pilots around, Dr. Stilton Mages. Yes, he was a doctor, certified in not only in the medical field, but also in flying. His co-pilot, Mr. Jason Meadows, was not nearly as experienced, but very skilled as if he was. When an emergency occurred, Dr. Mages could always count on Jason Meadows to take control and fly the plane perfectly. And when the plane threatened to go down, Jason Meadows was there with his tool kit to fix anything that could ever happen. Together, they ran a top-notch paper airplane that would never even dream of going down.
Today, their plane carried a significant weight, if not in ink then in importance. Having so much pressure to succeed made Jason Meadows just a bit nervous, since he had only been in the business for a year or two and never had such a mission. Dr. Mages, however, was eager for the challenge, and took it on with all enthusiasm. Dr. Mages picked up the intercom and spoke to his passengers.
"Hello there, this is your captain speaking," said a gargled voice throughout the isles of the plane to the words written on the page.
"We're going to have a safe flight today on our trip to Hyden, seeing as how the weather is just about perfect. We are currently flying at a height of 16 feet, which is actually 192 inches. No need to feel panicked about that, folks. Being so high up is quite normal. Please, relax and enjoy your flight. Thank you for choosing Mages Mobile Airline." Jason Meadows kept looking at Dr. Mages out of the corner of his eye nervously.
"D-doctor Mages…have you ever…crashed landed during an important flight?"
Dr. Mages laughed heartily, both at the question and at Jason Meadow's nervousness.
"Never in my years have I crashed, especially during an important mission. Don't worry, my boy, we will be just fine. 'Ol Betsy here," he patted the plane right above the dashboard that held hundreds and hundreds of buttons, switches, and gauges, "will get us through without any trouble."
Reassured, Jason Meadows nodded and turned his attention back to steering and directions.
In the passenger part of the plane, Ms. Madeline Sawyer flipped her lush, light brown hair and pushed a cart of beverages to the front of the plane to pass out. She would smile and ask for drink orders, and hand it to the passengers, and then move onto the next row. Ms. Madeline was just about the kindest and most patient of all flight attendants. She truly loved her job, and had spent many years in the business, almost as many as Dr. Mages. Contrary to her appearance, however, she was a vital part to the plane. She was the only one who could calm the passengers in times of stress and panic, and keep a clever mind to solve problems.
Once, in the start of her career, a man had tried to hijack the plane. The people had been in such a panic, it was impossible to catch the man. She had quickly settled down the panic with a quick grab of attention and then soothing request to remain seated. The criminal, it had seemed, had disappeared in the chaos, but Ms. Madeline knew better. She told the passengers not to worry any longer, and continued to push the cart down the aisle. The hijacker had hidden himself in the restroom, and she planned to trap him there. Right when the door opened and the man's face was clearly visible, she rammed the cart against the door, knocking him backward and blocking the door from opening. She announced to a joyous crowd that the hijacker had been caught.
At the end of her run, she picked herself a drink from the cooler, a nice lemon-lime soda, and poured herself a glass, taking a sip before grabbing two more, with cups and napkins, to bring to the captains.
"Hello Dr. Mages, Mr. Meadows. I've brought you each a soda."
Dr. Mages smiled with perfect white teeth. "Oh thank you, Madeline. I really do appreciate it."
"I could use something bubbly. My stomach's been growling for a while now," said Mr. Meadows with a laugh.
Ms. Madeline smiled. "I'll get you some pretzels, then, Mr. Meadows. Can't fly a plane on an empty stomach, now can we?" She smiled and went back down the aisle to get a snack bag of pretzels for the co-captain.
Now with delicious soda in their stomachs, the pilots turned their attention back to steering. Dr. Mages pressed a few buttons here and there, and turned slightly left in his controls, Mr. Meadows following suit.
"We're right on target. We should arrive right on time."
"Oh yes. The winds are in our favor today."
"Here are your pretzels, Mr. Meadows."
"Why thank you, Madeline."
"You are most certainly welcome." She smiled and left to tend to a button that just buzzed somewhere in the aisle.
Dr. Mages looked out the windshield of the plane, into the distance, and furrowed his brow. "Hey, Meadows. Take a look at that. What's that there in the distance?"
Mr. Meadows, too, looked out the windshield, seeing the dark spot in the distance, not really sure what on earth it could be. "I don't know, Dr. Mages. It appears to be a spot. Are you sure it's not on the windshield?"
"I'm positive, Mr. Meadows. I just had it polished this morning."
"Do you think we 'outta raise our altitude to avoid it?"
Dr. Mages stared a few more seconds.
"That's probably best. We don't want to run into a bird, now do we?" He chuckled and pulled a few switches before speaking into the intercom once more.
"Hello, this is your captain speaking. It seems that there is a large black speck ahead of us. We don't yet know what this speck is, but we are raising our altitude to 18 feet, or 216 inches, to avoid said speck. Thank you for your patience."
Dr. Mages pulled his controls back, as did Mr. Meadows, and the plane smoothly rose up, higher into the air. After their change in height, the black dot that was below them rose to meet them at their new height. It grew closer and closer. Dr. Mages squinted at the windshield, and finally was able to decipher what the speck was.
"It's a bird. It's after us. We should take the correct precautions to deal with it."
Mr. Meadows nodded and turned to press a few buttons and pull a few switches. On the outside of the plane, two plates of the underside of the plane separated in a robotic manner, and a large gun descended from the space. The bird was very much closer now, black against the clear blue sky. Dr. Mages picked up a different set of controls while Mr. Meadows controlled the steering of the plane. Dr. Mages aimed appropriately, then waited for the bird to be within range. The bird grew closer, and closer, obvious in its attack of the paper plane.
The bird let out a big "CAAAAWWW" and was close enough now to make out details. Dr. Mages smacked a red button in the middle of his controls, and the gun fired. A large squirming worm shot out and landed directly inside the bird's beak. The bird was startled a moment, and then flew off in the other direction. The two pilots cheered, and Dr. Mages picked up the intercom as Mr. Meadows packed up the gun.
"Hello, this is your captain speaking. As it turned out, the speck was a bird, but no need to fear, we have already taken the necessary precautions, and now the bird is gone. We, fortunately, are very close to our destination. Ms. Madeline, please prepare for our assent."
Both pilots pushed some buttons and pulled back their controls to raise the plane up to the proper height. In the back, Ms. Madeline was walking through the aisle, asking the passengers to put up their snack trays and put on all seat belts. One passenger was concerned about the landing, for she was fragile and was not sure an elderly woman like herself could handle a bumpy landing.
"Don't worry, Ma'am. Our pilots, Dr. Mages and Mr. Meadows are very cautious with landing. They always achieve a perfect, smooth landing. No need to worry. If you would like, I can ask them to be extra gentle."
"Oh yes, Deary, thank you."
Ms. Madeline smiled and made her way back to the front of the plane. "Dr. Mages, Mr. Meadows, one of our elderly passengers has asked you kindly to be gentle when landing. She is very delicate."
Dr. Mages smiled. "Tell her not to worry. We're going to have a nice and soft landing."
Ms. Madeline nodded and smiled and made her way back to the elderly woman to tell her the news. They were at Hogwarts now, swirling around the school to get to the correct window. They caught all the air currents, blowing them in the right direction, and finally swooped right through their window.
"We have arrived at our destination," said Dr. Mages over the intercom.
"It's approximately a quarter after 4. May you have a lovely arrival. Thank you once again for choosing Mage Mobile Airline. We hope to see you again sometime."
The paper plane landed right on the edge of Harry's bed with a soft swish. That gentle landing had been a success. Harry had felt the breeze and looked to his open window, only to have his eyes meet the airplane instead. He rubbed at his now dry eyes and put on his glasses to read the note.
Harry grabbed the nearest quill and ink bottle he had, quickly wrote down a reply, and sent the airplane on its way.
"Hello, this is your captain speaking. We're going to have a lovely trip today to Cygnus. Please, enjoy your flight, and thank you for choosing Mage Mobile Airlines."