Special birthday shoutout to Tabby Kattene (formerly LoveLoveLovix). Hope you're enjoying your special day and I hope you enjoy this update!
I highly recommend her rewrite of the story Fly or Fall, so if you haven't checked it out, go do that and leave lots of love in the reviews on that (and her other works too!)!
After walking a while, Harry, Darian, Lucas and Aki came upon a spot that they felt was suitable to set up in for the night.
They had found a cave in the mountainside that wasn't too far from where they had experienced their rather rough crash landing.
"I swear, Professor Maximus enjoys doing these sorts of things to us too much. Him and his in-class surprises..." Darian muttered as he slung down his backpack.
"He's got nothing on a guy that used to teach me in high school. I swear, he was actually evil. He could have given the Trix a run for their money. Or Voldemort." Aki side-eyed Harry.
"I've had my share of horrid professors. The Defence Against the Dark Arts position is cursed-" Harry was cut off by Lucas.
"Really?" Lucas raised a sceptical eyebrow. "A position was cursed?"
"Yes, it was. Anyway, every professor would only last a year. Out of the five professors I've had for that subject, only one was actually decent. And as for Potions... don't even get me started on Professor Snape..." Harry scowled at the memory.
"While it's been quite fantastic to be talking about horrible professors that you've had in the past shouldn't we set up camp and figure out our action plan for getting an A in this field exercise?" Lucas asked as he set down his own backpack and sunk down against a wall, sighing.
"Getting an A? I'm more concerned with surviving this class! I wouldn't put it past Maximus to have deliberately left traps and monsters in this place for us to tangle with!" Aki exclaimed.
"He wouldn't do that, Aki." Harry began to look unsure. "Would he?"
"Oh yeah. That's him. He would do that. I've heard that other students that went on 'field exercises' with him never were the same after that..." Darian rummaged through his backpack and found a lighter.
"Anybody got some wood? We'll need a campfire to stay warm since warming charms are out of the question. Damn magic-restricted zones... Harry, I don't suppose you could try conjuring up some wood still?" Darian looked hopeful for a moment before Harry crushed his hope.
"Sorry," he spoke, not looking or sounding very sorry at all. "I looked up this area when Professor Maximus told us we'd be coming here and when he said that magic use was resticted here, he meant it." Harry held up his wand and tried to cast a Lumos, but there wasn't even the tiniest hint of a glow coming from the tip of his wand. "I literally can't cast spells here."
"Then why was he able to cast that spell to banish up into these damn mountains in the first place?!" Darian asked exasperatedly.
"Older, more powerful, been trained for longer, he put more effort into the spell, he's been doing this sort of thing for years..." Harry offered up several potential explanations.
"It's kinda like the Resort Realm." Lucas explained. "You really and truly could use magic here, but you'd have to have more power than the average magical and even then, you still couldn't do lots of high-powered spells for long. Look at Bloom for instance. She's the Guardian of the Dragon Flame and according to all reports, even she was restricted in using her magic there!"
"So no magic. No conjuring up firewood then. I guess I'll have to go get some wood myself..." Darian stretched as he got up and gathered a few tools, including an axe.
"I'll come with you." Aki volunteered. "Harry, Lucas, protect the fort!"
"We've got it covered, you two. Go." Harry waved them off.
"Well, at least we've got compasses, maps and such." Lucas examined a map he had. On one particular point, there was a dot marked in green.
"Care to explain what that is?" Harry pointed it out.
"That's where we landed the ship; otherwise known as the place we have to make our way back to." Lucas pointed to the marked spot on the map. "I took a couple notes on our surroundings and marked out the map while we were standing around waiting on everyone to get there. Figured we'd make good use of the time..." Lucas shrugged.
"Impressive. I wish I had thought of it." Harry complimented him. "I did some general reading up on the area and tried to pack appropriate supplies, but that's about it..."
"That is more than Aki or Darian would have done..." Lucas snorted.
Harry thought for a moment, then snorted as well.
"What are you two laughing about?" Darian asked as he came in, arms laden with wood.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself about..." Harry quickly composed himself.
"I'm sure..." Aki narrowed his eyes at them as he appeared shortly afterwards.
A few minutes later they had their campfire set up and were roasting marshmallows as they talked.
"This is fun. Kinda like camping. I used to love doing that as a kid." Aki smiled.
"Me too. I was in the scout troop for my school and I can remember that the competition was fierce for getting the most badges. Naturally, I won." Darian looked smug.
"If you're so good at camping, why are you complaining about camping?" Lucas asked.
"One, this is for school. I have to write a report on this afterwards. A three thousand word report. Two, he dumped us out in the middle of nowhere and expects us to find our way back to civilization in three days? What the hell? What kind of professor does that?!" Darian exclaimed.
"The professors at Red Fountain, that's who." Aki shrugged. "What about you two? Lucas? Harry? Ever been camping before?"
"No. Never was interested in it." Lucas shrugged.
"My relatives wouldn't even want to take me on a trip down the street to the supermarket, far less on a camping trip. They were complete arseholes to me." Harry said and the other three went silent. "Even if they did take me camping, they'd probably abandon me at the campsite and hope that I got mangled by wolves or something..."
The other three stared at him briefly for several moments, before simultaneously shaking their heads to clear them.
"I keep forgetting how crappy your childhood was..." Aki frowned.
"That is in the past now, guys. I'm learning to put that behind me. Now, anyone fancy a little night walk or something? Not too far out, since we have to come back here and get some rest, but it could be fun." Harry shrugged.
"And if we meet up with some unsavoury creatures while out there in the dark?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"We can fight them off. After all," Harry fished out his butterfly swords and twirled them briefly, ignoring Darian's mutterings about him being a show-off, before shoving them back into their sheaths. "we can fight, can't we?" Harry looked Lucas right in the eye as he spoke.
Lucas rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Anyway, despite this mountain range limiting magic use while within its boundaries, a surprising amount of magical plants are thought to be growing here. Some are more potent if harvested in the moonlight. Perhaps we should take a chance and see if we could acquire some of them..." his expression changed to one that bore an uncanny resemblance to Hermione announcing that she was taking (another) trip to the library.
He really missed her and the others back on Earth. Perhaps he should bring them for a visit someday...
"It'll give us something else to write about in that blasted report we have to prepare too..." Darian muttered, although he also looked in agreement with the idea.
"True. Plus it's always good to have extra potions ingredients on hands. If we can get our hands on some uncommon ones for free too, then that makes it all even better." Aki voiced his own agreement.
"Okay then. Let's pack up some supplies. Our weapons of course, stuff to collect and store ingredients in... well, I assume you could figure out what else you'd need." Harry moved to collect his necessary items.
"Yes, Harry. We can figure that out. We're all seventeen, not seven." Aki sounded slightly annoyed.
"Really? One would never know that by the way you act sometimes..." Harry commented casually as he finished packing and waited for the others to finish as well.
Darian snorted and Lucas chuckled at Aki's annoyed expression.
"Come on. Let's go." Harry beckoned for them to follow him out of the cave.
Harry and Lucas walked along a moonlight path, using torchlights to aid them in their search.
"Oh look! Silver roses!" Lucas knelt down in front of a bush that held glowing silver roses and immediately began fishing out scissors and a container out of his backpack.
"Pretty," Harry knelt down beside him. "but what exactly do these silver roses do?"
"They're extremely rare. Besides looking lovely, they don't wither away and die like other roses do, the petals can be used in perfumes and several different potions including cosmetic potions and medicinal ones!" Lucas looked more excited than Harry had ever seen him.
"Hmm... Useful in potions and they don't wither, do they?" Harry mused. "Do you think Roxy would like some of these?"
Lucas whacked Harry behind the head.
"Ouch!" Harry glared at Lucas.
"Focus, Harry! Flowers for potions ingredients, not as gifts for the girlfriend!" Lucas snapped.
Harry rolled his eyes and reached for a long, cylindrical tube he'd stashed in a side pocket of his backpack and clipped a few of the roses, making sure to get rid of the thorns before slipping them inside the container and putting it away.
"I still got some for her anyway. Now, potion ingredients reaping..." Harry took out a small, plastic box and began clipping away.
"Say, are the leaves useful too?" he asked Lucas.
"They can be used in some sleep potions, so yes..." Lucas nodded.
As Harry's container was nearly full, he heard a bloodcurdling scream of terror that nearly made him drop his container in surprise.
"Bloody hell! What was that?!" Harry looked around wildly as he quickly sealed away the container and stuffed it into his backpack.
"Was it one of the others?" Lucas' eyes looked widened.
They heard the scream again.
"No. It sounds like a younger person. A child maybe!" Harry exclaimed.
"A child? What would a child be doing out here at this time of the night- or at all?!" Lucas exclaimed.
They heard the scream again.
"Does it matter? Let's find the source of the screams!" Harry hiked up his backpack and ran in the directions of the screams as fast as his legs would carry him.
He could hear Lucas close behind him.
Harry stopped short at the sight of what he could best describe as something that looked like a giant hound from the pits of hell cornering a terrified looking boy, short and skinny; with olive skin and messy dark blue hair, who judging by the obvious scratches, bruising and bleeding, was already injured.
He wouldn't stand a chance if the monster attacked again.
"Come on, Lucas! Let's take that thing down!" Harry threw down his backpack and fished out his butterfly swords as Lucas did the same for his own sword.
The monster was about to lunge for the boy again, but Harry stepped between it and the boy and slashed his swords, cutting its face and making it howl in a mixture of pain and fury.
It focused on him instead.
"Come for me, you big brute. Attack children, won't you?" Harry sidestepped it as the monster lunged for him, extending claws that looked about half as long as the blades of his own swords.
When Harry moved, it crashed into a tree, causing it to collapse with a loud crack.
Lucas and Harry both ran forward and stabbed it simultaneously before it could react; Harry in its neck and Lucas about the rest of its body.
It collapsed onto the ground, dead, leaking out dark red blood from its wounds.
Breathing heavily, they turned back to the boy, who was shaking violently.
"It's dead. It can't hurt you anymore. You're safe now." Harry put away his weapons and slowly walked towards the boy, his hands up.
"No... I'm still not safe and my sister... they still have her..." Tears spilled from the boy's eyes.
"Don't talk anymore. Let us tend to you wounds..." Lucas came up next to them and pulled out his first aid kit.
The boy passed out as they were tending to him.
A few minutes later, when they'd finished doing whatever they could for the boy, Aki and Darian showed up.
"Great. Now you two get here..." Harry and Lucas spoke in unison, looking and sounding annoyed.
"So... who is the kid?" Darian inclined his head towards the boy, who was now sleeping in the back of the cave, a thick blanket covering him.
"And how the hell did he find himself all the way out here, alone?" Aki asked.
"We don't know. We found him being attacked by the now dead thing that you saw. I'm sure you heard his screams. He was screaming for bloody murder as it attacked him!" Harry exclaimed.
"He said something about still not being safe." Lucas pointed out. "Even after Harry and I had killed the monster. "He also said that 'they' still had his sister."
"Who's they? And who's his sister?" Aki wondered.
"I don't know, but he obviously couldn't make it up here on his own. Red Fountain students aren't the only ones taking a camping trip and roaming these mountains right now, it seems." Harry looked grim.
"Runaways? Kidnappers hiding them up here perhaps?" Darian suggested.
"Either way, I'd say that this little 'camping trip'/school assignment just got far more interesting than we'd planned for..." Harry glanced back at the boy, who in his sleep, still had terror etched on his features.
Side-arc/filler-ish plot truly begins here!
I'm planning on actually updating my fic, Magix's Next Top Model, but I still need more characters/contestants for it. Check my profile for details and message me the required info found there for a chance at your character appearing in that story!