Gavin's Magical Life(Hiatus)

by PuzzleMaster1998

Gavin Woodring, an orphan, finds out that wizards and witches are real, and that he's going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Wizarding World has no idea what's about to hit them. OC x Harem.

2. The Park Incident

Here's the next chapter!

I apologize profusely for such a long wait for another chapter! I was busy with life and writer's block got in the way and I had to deal with college and a new job and so on and so forth! I hope this chapter can at least interest the few who read this story.

Big thanks to General TigerDragon for their help on this story!

Now, there will be weird body proportions in this story, so I apologize in advance if it disturbs you at all. I am aiming for a great variety in body shapes and sizes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Not at all!

Now, let's resume our tale!

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The Park Incident

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11 Years later…

Although the outside of New Visions Home had changed very little over the years, most of the inhabitants had changed, which could be seen by looking at the photos around the red-brick fireplace in the living room. Every photo was of the kids and adults who were currently at New Visions Home, and each one was taken after every two years. In the five most recent photos, a young boy with light skin, short blondish brown hair, a somewhat muscular body, and brilliant blue eyes could be seen smiling, with his skin getting more tan in each photo and his height increasing as well. Around his neck was a familiar leather necklace.

This was Gavin Woodring.

Upstairs, Gavin let out a yawn as he woke up from a good night's sleep. 'What a weird dream,' He thought as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. He didn't remember much of it, but he did remember there being a golden light. 'What could that have been?' He thought with confusion. He lay there for a couple minutes, just trying to figure out what the golden light could have been, but he had no idea at all.

He then started to sit up, but paused when he heard a couple hisses and whines. "Sorry guys, but it's time to get up," he said to the animals who had been sleeping on his body and large bed in his somewhat small room. The animals included the following: one 4-and-a-half-foot long light brown female boa constrictor named Licorice, one short-hair female tabby named Tabitha, one female short-hair calico named Candy, one female corgi named Elsa, one 3-foot long female boa constrictor named Peach, and one female bearded dragon named Cynder.

The calico then meowed again, and Gavin shook his head. "Come on guys," he said. "Don't you want breakfast?"

Upon hearing the word "breakfast," Elsa got up and jumped off the bed, before then shaking her body to wake herself up.

"Thank you, Elsa," Gavin said to the dog, before turning his attention back to the other animals. "Anyone else?"

At this, Candy, Tabitha, and Cynder all got up and crawled off him. Licorice and Peach however, remained where they were. Gavin sighed. "Lazybones," he said as he sat up, gently pushed them off him, and got out of bed, revealing his necklace was on around his neck alongside his short-sleeve light blue pajama shirt and matching pants. He stretched his arms out for several seconds, before he got dressed. He put on a light green short-sleeve shirt with an orange cat on the front, blue shorts, white socks, and silver sneakers with blue stripes on them before he turned his attention back to the bed.

He held his arm down, and Cynder crawled up it till she reached his neck, and then pulled herself onto his head. He then picked up Licorice, and put her around his neck, not letting go of her till he felt she was in place before picking up Peach, who wrapped herself around his arm, with her head just below his wrist.

Once they were in place, he walked out of his room into the hallway, the cats and dog having already done so. Gavin walked down the hallway until he came to a set of stairs, and started going down them, yawning as he did so.

The smell of bacon hit his nose upon reaching the first floor, and his stomach hungrily growled. He made his way to the kitchen, and walked inside.

"Good morning Miss Carmell," Gavin said upon entering the light brown-colored room, the sound of frying bacon hitting his ears.

"Good morning Gavin," Miss Lavena Carmell replied, turning her somewhat chubby 5 foot 4 inch tall body to look at him as she cooked on the white metal stove. The woman's hair had gained some dark brown streaks in it, and a few more wrinkles were on her somewhat pale face. She was wearing a tan skirt that went just past her knees and covered her large butt, a light blue shirt with a yellow flower on it that hugged her large chest, and light tan shoes. "Sleep well?"

"I did," He said with a nod, careful to not let Cynder fall off as he did so.

"Good," She replied as she continued to cook, pulling off some bacon from the frying pan before putting some more on. "I already have a plate out for you on the table. Make sure you-"

"-Wash your hands and put Peach on my lap when I eat. I know," he said as he walked over to the large two-compartment light gray metal sink and began to wash his hands. 'You've told me that every day.'

As he washed his hands, Peach slid further back on his arm so she wouldn't get splashed by the water. Licorice, meanwhile, had wrapped herself around his neck once, with her head resting on his shoulder and tail hanging off his back.

Once he was finished, he dried his hands with a nearby paper towel and made his way to the dining room. Said room had a pretty large light brown wooden table in the middle, while a similarly colored china cabinet sat on one side. The walls were painted a light cream color, and the floor was made of gray tile, with a brass chandelier hanging from the middle of the light cream flat roof. A large window sat on one wall, with a white window shade pulled down over it.

Fifteen chairs were set around the table, and 12 of them had a kid sitting in them. All of them were eating, with most of them using their manners. A couple though, were not, and their ages ranged from 7 to 9 years of age, with him being the outlier at 11 years old.

Gavin's stomach growled hungrily once more as he sat down at his seat, which was located right next to the end, which was where Miss Carmell sat. A plate of scrambled eggs and bacon sat before him, along with a glass of milk.

"Alright Peach, you know the drill," he said to the snake, who hissed as she slithered off his arm and into his lap. "Thank you." He then started to eat, humming happily as he ate.

"Gavin, Cynder's staring at me," One of the children whined, prompting him to roll his eyes as he stopped eating and turned to the child who had spoken. Said child went by the name of Jacob, and was an 8-year-old Scottish boy with pale skin, green eyes, and blond hair, and was wearing red plaid shorts, black sneakers, and a white shirt.

"Well, she's got eyes, so she has to look at something, Jacob," Gavin replied. "Just ignore her. She'll look at someone else eventually." He then went back to eating his food.

A few minutes later, Jacob spoke up again. "She's still looking at me Gavin," he whined, prompting Gavin to inwardly groan with frustration.

"I said, ignore her," He replied as he continued eating.

"But Gaaaaviiin!" Jacob whined again. He then turned to Miss Carmell, who had just walked in with a large plate of pancakes. "Miss Carmell, Gavin won't make Cynder stop staring at me!"

"Jacob, you know what I said about whining," She replied as she set the pancakes down before she sat down in her seat. "And Gavin can't control where Cynder looks. You'll just have to ignore her."

"Yes Miss Carmell," Jacob said, prompting Gavin to roll his eyes as he continued to eat, putting a pancake on his plate.

'Of course he listens to her and not me,' He thought as he started putting syrup on his pancake. 'Typical Jacob.'

"Thank you, Miss Carmell, for the pancakes," Samantha, a 6-year-old English girl with pale skin, lots of freckles, green eyes, and long blonde hair, said happily as she ate her food.

"You're welcome, Samantha," The older woman replied with a smile before she started to eat.

As she did so, her cellphone rang, the device making a "Bleep-bloop!" sound, which prompted her to set down her fork and pull out a touch-screen phone that had a case covered in green and red chameleons on it. She tapped on the screen a few times, typing in her password to unlock it, before she looked at her notifications.

She then smiled, and tapped on her phone again. "Oh, it looks like Maxine wants to hang out with you today, Gavin," She said to Gavin, causing him to simile as he continued to eat his food. "I think that's a lovely idea!" she continued happily, before she pocketed her phone and turned to the nearby doorway.

"Señora Zapata, Gavin and I will be gone for most of the day," She said to a 5 foot 5 inch tall Spanish woman with lightly tanned skin who appeared to be in her late 20s or early 30s. She had long black hair that she kept in a large bun on the top of her head with the help of a large light blue beaded hairtie, with her short bangs framing her face. She had thick black eyebrows above her large dark blue eyes, with dark blue eyeshadow surrounding them, a large set of thick lips that had pale pink lipstick on them, a small beauty mark right above her lip, a somewhat rounded chin, and a somewhat thick neck. A dark blue dress with a pattern of elegant curves on it that was a shade lighter than the rest of the dress sat on her body, the skirt ending at the floor with a copper-toned line that had a pattern of arcing holes running right above the end of it. The top of the dress had a rather large boob window that showed off the very tops of her large breasts, with a bit of her white undershirt sticking up from the bottom edge of the window, while two long white sleeves ran from her shoulders to just past her elbows, ending there in thick cuffs. The very top of her dress was held together by several dark blue strings that crisscrossed with each other, and a small light blue apron hung around her waist, with a few teal patches on it, while a black necklace hung around her neck with a dark blue oval gem set in silver acting as the centerpiece. "Is there anything you'd like me to get?" she asked the woman, who nodded while her hands rested on her hips.

"Oh yes, Señora Carmell, there are some things I'd like you to get," Zapata replied with a somewhat thick Spanish accent in her lovely voice. "Some towels and a newspaper," She said, prompting Miss Carmell to nod while Gavin gave Zapata a confused look.

'Why does she need those things?' he questioned, not asking her due to not wanting to stir her temper, as she had a pretty good one most of the time, which she used very well in her position as housekeeper and deputy headmistress of the orphanage. 'To clean? Or is she going to try to bore us to death by reading the paper again?' he continued as he remembered how she'd read them the paper the previous day while Miss Carmel had been out for an errand and had sent half of them to sleep, while the rest of them looked extremely bored. 'I really hope not, but I have a feeling that it is going to be the case,' he finished before he finished eating.

"Very well. Gavin, go brush your teeth and put Cynder and the others back where they belong," Miss Carmell said to him with a smile, prompting him to nod before he got up and headed to the kitchen with his plate.

'I always do, Miss Carmell,' he thought as he set his plate in the sink before he headed towards the stairs, taking Cynder off his head as he went. He hurried up the stairs and went down one of the hallways to Clarice's room, where he saw Cynder's cage and put her inside it before he headed to Marie's room and placed Licorice and Peach in their separate cages. "Now behave. I'll be back later," he said to them before he turned and headed to the bathroom.

'Man, I seriously wonder what is with the animals here?' Gavin thought as he walked. 'I mean, I don't own any pets, yet they always want to be with or around me. Heck, Cynder likes sleeping on my body more than in her nice warm cage!' he continued with a shake of his head before he reached the bathroom and started to brush his teeth with his dark purple toothbrush. 'And why do weird things keep happening around me too?' he finished while he thought about the various rather weird incidents he'd been involved in almost as long as he could remember.

First, there was the time that Señora Zapata had tried to put an absolutely hideous straw hat with flowers on it. He had refused to wear it, and every time she'd tried to put it on, pieces of it started to disintegrate into dust, until eventually there was nothing left of it. She'd been very confused at first, before eventually chalking it up to old age. Another time, he'd gotten very angry at one of the neighbors for kicking a stray cat that wandered the area, and the next thing he knew, the neighbor, who had gone to kick the cat again, had done a complete somersault on some ice that had apparently been on the driveway and landed on their head on the orphanage driveway, knocking themselves out. The same neighbor, one elderly Mr. Smith, had later that week tried to run him and his bicycle off the road with his truck, and during his escape attempt, he'd somehow managed to end up on the roof of a three-story bookstore, completely unscathed but very confused. He still had no idea how he got all the way up there when all he'd done was hop a curb by the store with his bike, which had come onto the roof with him as well.

And neither did anyone else, with people presuming he climbed up the ladder in the back alley while an adult put his bike on the roof for him, despite him protesting that wasn't what happened and them finding no adult who claimed responsibility. He'd received quite the scolding from Señora Zapata, who had been beside herself with anger and dismay at what he'd done, while Miss Carmell had been more subdued/resigned to it having happened, which had confused him a bit.

'Kami, what did you do to me?' he questioned as he looked up at the ceiling while he brushed his teeth. 'Did you give me psychic powers or something?' he continued with curiosity. 'Cause if you did, that's cool and all, but I'd like to have full control of them and not have to deal with weird incidents popping up randomly all the time!' he finished before he rinsed out his mouth and headed to his room to grab his black sketchbook and some pencils.

He rarely went anywhere without it, as he was constantly trying to improve his drawing skills, and he also took occasional notes with it as well about things he saw. He then left the room and went back downstairs, where he saw Miss Carmell walking out of the kitchen doorway with her dark purple purse and silver key ring in hand.

"Ready to go Gavin?" Miss Carmell said to him with a smile, prompting him to nod. "Good. Maxine's on her way over," She replied, prompting him to smile before he headed towards the front door, with Miss Carmell following him with a bigger smile. 'Oh, that always puts a smile on his face,' she thought as they reached the door and exited it. 'He has such a good friendship with her!' she continued before she spotted an 11-year-old African American girl approaching them from the driveway.

She had light brown skin covering the visible parts of her body and her hair was jet black and long, tied in cornrows on the top and sides of her head and in a long braid on the back that ended at her shoulders. Her black eyes seemed to gleam in the morning sunlight as she looked at them with a smile, revealing her pink braces on her milk white teeth. A bright yellow short-sleeve shirt with the symbol of a green planet covered in circuitry sitting in the front of it sat on her top, ending just past her shoulders and right at her waist. Hanging from her waist down to her knees was a pair of black shorts with a yellow lightbulb sewn into the edges of each leg. Short white socks sat on her feet, with a pair of pink sneakers on top of them that had white soles and white laces.

"Hello Miss Carmell! Hello Gavin!" The young girl said with a slightly nasal and very high-pitched voice as she looked at them and came to a stop. "Are we going shopping?"

"Hello Maxine," Miss Carmell replied with a warm smile. "Yes, we're going shopping today. Your mother said it was fine."

"Hey Max!" Gavin said to his friend with a wave, prompting her to smile and wave at him in response. "So where are we going first Miss Carmell?" he asked the orphanage owner with curiosity as he looked up at her.

"To the deli, Gavin," The lady replied. "And yes, you both can have a cookie from there," she continued, causing the two to grin with excitement. "Just don't tell Señora Zapata or your mother," She finished as she headed towards a black SUV with silver trim on the wheel wells, bumpers, and around the oval headlights.

"We won't!" The two said with firm nods.

'You know, even though I'm technically an 18 year old in an 11 year old's body and want to be older soon, I gotta admit, getting free cookies from the deli again is really nice!' Gavin thought with a grin as he licked his lips while he and his friend headed after Miss Carmell and got into the back seats. 'It's one good thing about being this young again,' he continued while he looked out the window as she pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street, passing by woods and a couple of houses.

"So after the deli, where else will we go Miss Carmell?" he asked her with curiosity. "The park? The library?" He continued, with Maxine "Max" looking excited upon hearing the word "library."

"After the deli, we'll go to the department store to get Señora Zapata's things," Miss Carmell began. "Then we'll go to the pharmacy for Zoe's medication before we do some fun stuff," She continued with a smile as she glanced at them while they went through an intersection.

"Like the park or zoo?" Gavin asked with curiosity and a smile on his face, prompting Miss Carmell to smirk.

"No, not the zoo this time. The park is a good possibility," Miss Carmell replied with a nod, causing Gavin to smile even more. "So is the library," she continued, causing Maxine to grin. "You'll both just have to wait and see," she finished with a wink as she continued to drive, while the two children looked back out the windows with excitement.

'Oh I hope we go to the park! I love climbing the trees there!' Gavin thought as he watched them pass by the post office, the rising sun shining down on them as they headed closer to the center of Slough. Slough was a large town that had a decent amount of tourism thanks to its natural beauty, such as gardens and parks and lakes, as well as because of buildings like antique shops and the local museum. 'Hopefully it won't be too crowded even though it's the weekend at the beginning of May,' he continued with a bit of worry as he looked out at the streets, which had some traffic on them.

After driving for about ten minutes, they reached the deli, which was a somewhat large dark brown brick building with a tall pointy roof covered in light gray shingles along with two dark red brick chimneys at the left end. A white rectangular sign with the words "Slough Deli" written on it in curvy black letters hung from two short black chains attached to the front edge of the roof right above the black front door, which had a large rectangular pane of glass set in the top of it. Two more large panes of glass sat in the walls on either side of the door, revealing all sorts of meats hanging from strings attached to light gray metal poles and hooks along with light gray metal trays on white wooden stands holding various cheeses and more meats like hams. A large black sign hung on the front of the door right behind the glass, with the word "Open" written on it in big dark red letters.

"Oh I am cheesed to the nines right now! It's not busy!" Miss Carmell said with a smile as they got out of the car after she parked it in the small parking lot, which had only a couple of vehicles in it. "Come along you two! We better hurry before a crowd comes," She continued before they headed towards the deli, prompting Gavin to shake his head with a smirk of amusement.

'At this hour? I doubt it,' he thought as he remembered how it had been 8:50 AM when they'd gotten out of the car. 'Maybe moreso around 10:00 or 11:00,' he continued while they reached the door and stepped inside, only to be immediately hit in the face by the smell of freshly baked bread and various meats, which made him sigh happily.

He looked around at the somewhat tall light brown wooden tables and tall bookshelves scattered around the store on top of the dark brown wooden planks that made up the floor, and smiled, licking his lips at the sight of the various meats, cheeses, and sandwiches on them. Other things were on them too, like sauce bottles and seasoning cans, and a few wooden and plastic signs advertising deals for various products, while a very long glass case held sweets in them like cookies, cupcakes, and regular cakes, each one looking just as delicious as the one next to it, as well as meats and cheeses.

'Man, this place is wonderful,' Gavin thought as he looked around the store some more along with Max before they followed Lavena over to the nearby glass case, which had a white scale on top of it along with a white electric cash register. 'I can't get over how much better it looks compared to the deli's back in my old world,' he continued, frowning briefly as the memories rushed through his head again. 'Fuck I really miss my family. A lot,' he finished before he put his smile back on his face as they reached the glass case/counter.

When they reached it, a 6 foot 2 inch tall middle-aged man with very short light gray hair that was combed back a little and wrinkled lightly tanned skin on his burly body walked out from behind two white double doors that had a white sign on it that read "Employees Only" in big black letters. He had small dark green eyes, a large nose with a wart on the left side near the tip, rather chubby cheeks, and a small light gray goatee on his chin. His arms were very thick with muscle and his hands were large and meaty, with multiple small scars all over them. They were able to see that he was wearing a light gray short sleeve shirt underneath a white apron that ran around the top of his neck and covered the middle of his chest along with a gold earring on his right earlobe. A black rectangular name tag sat on the upper left side of his chest with simple white letters on it that read "William" on it.

"Hello there William!" Lavena greeted the man with a warm smile. "How are you doing today?"

"Very well, Miss Carmell," William replied with a rather gruff voice that had a bit of a Liverpool accent to it. "What can I do for you and the children today?" he continued as he looked over the glass case at Gavin and Max, who smiled at him.

"I'd like to get two pounds of honey ham, one pound of genoa salami, one pound of roast beef, and a small wheel of gouda," Lavena said to the man. "I'd like the meats to be thinly sliced as well," she continued as William pulled out a honey ham after putting on some latex gloves and started to slice it.

"Alright, anything else ma'am?" he asked as he quickly sliced up the ham several times before he set it on the scale to check if he had two pounds of it, only to find that he was short about a pound.

"Mmmm, well, I don't have anything else to ask you for, but I believe two others do," She replied as she looked over at Max and Gavin while William cut more ham to reach two pounds before he started to work on the other meats, starting with the salami.

"Oh? And what would you two little ones like?" William asked them with a knowing look as he watched his hands during the cutting, not wanting to put any more cuts on them than he already had.

"We would like one cookie please!" Max said with a large smile, Gavin nodding in agreement as they looked up at him.

"Oh, of course you can have one!" William replied with a larger smile as he stopped cutting the meat and walked over to the cookie section in the glass case, switching out his gloves for clean ones. "Which ones would you like?" he continued, prompting them to look at the various cookies.

"I'd like one brownie cookie please," Max said after looking for about thirty seconds, with Gavin speaking a few seconds later.

"And I would like a macadamia nut white chocolate cookie please," Gavin said, prompting William to nod with a smile before he grabbed said cookies and put them in small squares of tissue paper that he then handed to the kids.

"Thank you, Mr. William!" The two kids replied before they started to eat their sweet treats, humming happily at the taste of them.

"You're welcome kids," The man said to them with a smile as he returned to cutting up their meats for them.

'Fuck, macadamia nut cookies with white chocolate chips are incredible! I wish they made it as an ice cream!' Gavin thought with a grin as he quickly ate his cookie, enjoying the flavor. 'I would have Miss Carmell buy it all the time!' he continued. 'Gosh being this young again is nice!' he finished as his grin widened a little with excitement, while William continued to cut their meats.

It took the man about ten minutes to cut up all the meat and grab the cheese Miss Carmell had ordered and package and bag it before he then rang up the total price on the register, prompting Lavena to pull out the proper change and hand it to him with a smile. "Thank you for your patronage, Miss Carmell," William said as he counted the change before he put it into the till of the register.

"You're welcome William," Lavena replied with a smile as she grabbed the bagged food and took the receipt before she turned and headed away from the counter. "Have a blessed day!"

"Bye Mr. Knapford!" Max said to the man as she and Gavin followed Lavena.

"Bye!" Gavin added with a smile as he turned and wave at the man while he walked, causing William to smile warmly at them as he watched them head towards the front door.

"Bye you three! Have a good day!" William called out as they left, before he sighed and headed back through the double doors with a large smile on his face.

"So now we go to the department store?" Gavin asked Miss Carmell as they headed to the car and got inside while she put the groceries in the trunk.

"Yes, now it's the department store, and then the pharmacy," Lavena replied with a smile as she shut the trunk and got into the car while they buckled their seatbelts. They then left the parking lot and headed towards one of the department stores in Slough, a place called "Boyes," which was located a little over a half hour away from the deli.

Boyes was located in a somewhat dark brown rectangular brick building that was three-stories tall and had a flat roof with the flag of the United Kingdom flying above it. White trim ran around the edge of the roof and along the top of the first floor, with the word "Boyes" written on it over and over in big blocky light blue letters along with thin slanted red letters that said "for good value!" The double front doors were primarily made of glass and had light gray metal frames, with a few large plate glass windows on either side that showed various products the store sold, like shoes and shampoo and vacuum cleaners, along with multiple rectangular windows covering the various floors that had white blinds inside them.

"Alright you two, stay close," Lavena said to them as they got out of the car and headed inside after parking it in the large and somewhat empty parking lot.

"We know Miss Carmell," Max replied with a roll of her eyes as they walked beside her, holding the tissue paper from their cookies in their hands. "We'll stay close," She continued as they walked across the white tile floors of the store, passing by people as they looked at various items on the tall black metal shelves and coathangers that sat all around the store's first floor.

"Yeah, we'll stay close to you," Gavin said in agreement, nodding as well, which prompted Miss Carmell to smile warmly at them. "Like always."

"Good," The middle-aged woman replied before they arrived at the magazine and book section of the store, where she quickly found the most recent newspapers and grabbed a couple of them. She then led them over to the towels and linens, with them following her like ducklings following their mother along the bank of a pond, where she grabbed a few thick fluffy dark green towels.

"Alright, would you two like to look at anything before we check out and leave?" Miss Carmell asked them with a questioning gaze.

"Ummm, no, not today," Gavin replied with a shake of his head, while Maxine nodded.

"Can we look at the computers?" Maxine asked with a smile, prompting Lavena and Gavin to look at her and smile with amusement. "I want to see what the processors are in the newest models."

"Sure, Max, we can look at them for a little while," She replied before she started to walk towards the electronic section with them.

'Man, I lucked out becoming friends with a genius!' Gavin thought as they walked, his eyes locked onto Max as they went. 'I mean, she can take apart a computer into tiny pieces and put it completely back together without any issues, and she's only eleven!' he continued with awe running through him. 'And she helps me with homework at school. What's she going to be like when she's an adult?!' he finished with a curious look crossing his face before they reached the electronics section.

"Oh, Dell released a new laptop!" Max said excitedly as she hurried over to a laptop sitting open on a counter alongside other computers, yellow and black signs around it saying "Brand New!" and "On Sale!" "Awesome!" She continued while she looked at the technical information printed on the small light blue placard to the right and left of the laptop, her eyes drinking in the information like her brain was dying of thirst.

Gavin and Lavena smirked and smiled as they watched her examine the technical data that was currently available for the new laptop, muttering to herself about processors and circuit boards as she did so. "Gavin, would you like to look at the video games while Max is busy?" Lavena asked him, prompting him to shake his head.

"Not this time Miss Carmell," Gavin replied before he opened his sketchpad and started to work on a blue jay he'd started a couple days earlier. "I think I'm going to draw instead," he continued, causing her to smile with a bit of surprise on her face before Max walked back over to them fifteen seconds later.

"Miss Carmell, I'm done," Max said, prompting Gavin to let out a soft sigh of disappointment as he closed his sketchbook. "We can go pay now."

"Alright, if you're sure, Max," Lavena replied before the three of them headed to the front of the store and paid for the towels and newspapers.

They then left and drove off to the pharmacy, which was twenty minutes away. "So what are we getting at the pharmacy again?" Gavin asked Lavena as they drove through Slough.

"Zoe's meds," Lavena replied simply. "I'm picking them up through the window today before we drop off the groceries at home," she continued, prompting Gavin and Max to nod with understanding.

'Oh, we're getting her asthma medication,' Gavin thought with realization as they got closer to the pharmacy. 'Thank goodness I don't have asthma like my mother did,' he continued with an inward sigh of relief, before a sad look crossed his face briefly once again. 'Man, I wonder how much time has passed since I left them. Has it been just the past ten years? Longer? Or shorter?' he finished with curiosity, before he shook his head and looked out of the window once more.

Eventually, after dealing with a bit of morning traffic and narrowly avoiding a bicyclist who was swerving all over the road, they reached the small circular dark brown building that was one of the local pharmacies at 10:35 AM. The line in the drive-thru wasn't long, so it only took them a few minutes to reach the window. The old lady manning said window was very friendly, and sent out three lollipops along with Zoe's medication, one for each of them.

They ate them with smiles on their faces as they drove back to the orphanage and dropped off their purchased items and the medicine before they left it once more.

"Alright you two," Miss Carmell began with a smile as she looked at them through the rear-view mirror. "First we're going to eat an early lunch, since it's a little past 11:20, and then we'll go to the park," She continued, causing the two children to gain large smiles on their faces.

"Yes! The park!" Gavin said excitedly as he looked in front of the car. 'Oh I can't wait! I love the park!' he continued, while Miss Carmell smiled wider at his reaction.

'Oh, he is so excited!' She thought happily as they went through the town. 'I hope those girls won't bother him if they're there,' she continued with a bit of concern. 'I really hope they aren't there, for their sakes.'

They eventually reached a McDonald's and stopped there for a bite to eat, with Gavin getting a hamburger happy meal with fries and a large sprite, Max getting the six-piece nugget meal with fries and a Pepsi, and Lavena getting a large salad with pieces of grilled chicken in it along with a caramel frappe. They ate their meal rather quickly, with Gavin and Max being quite eager to go to one of the local parks to play, which made Lavena smile widely as she watched them eat.

Eventually they finished eating their meal and left the building at 11:58 AM to go to the park, with Gavin feeling very excited as they got in the car and left the full parking lot. "So, what do you want to do first at the park?" Lavena asked with faux curiosity as she looked at them, already knowing the answers.

"Oh, I'm going to go climb a tree!" Gavin said, causing her to giggle softly while Max thought for a few seconds.

"I'll go on the slide!" Max replied with a large smile on her face.

"Alright, that sounds good. Gavin, you need to be careful on the tree. We don't want you getting stuck at the very top like that one time," Lavena said firmly, causing Gavin to blush with a bit of embarrassment while Max looked at him with a smirk.

"I didn't mean to get stuck," He muttered as he remembered how he'd climbed up to the top of a tree, only to become unable to climb back down due to becoming momentarily afraid of heights. He'd ended up having to be rescued by some firefighters, which had been rather exciting, although his fellow orphans teased him constantly about it and Señora Zapata and Miss Carmell had fussed over him like crazy, with Zapata being rather angry with him for doing such a thing. Miss Carmell had been a bit more understanding but made sure he didn't climb up too high in the trees at the park whenever they went, which was often.

"I know. That's why I try to make sure you don't go too high in the trees," Miss Carmell replied as she glanced at him via the mirror while they drove through town.

'I'm more careful now though than I was before,' Gavin thought to himself with a roll of his eyes as he looked out the window. 'I can go higher now.'

It took them about a half hour to get to the park, mostly thanks to traffic, and when they reached it, they found the large parking lot to be about halfway full. Said lot sat on one side of the park, which was somewhat large and had large groves of trees scattered around it. A large dark brown wooden gazebo with a large dark brown picnic table in it sat near one of the groves of trees, with a large pond sitting near it that had a couple of lily pads in it. A couple moss-covered rocks sat near the pond as well with several flowers growing all over the grassy park, and a large dark brown wooden and plastic playground sat on the lawn as well, with light grayish brown mulch surrounding it. A few dark green metal benches sat by the playground underneath two small dark green metal triangular canopies supported by light gray metal poles. A couple of water fountains set in light brown and dark brown stones held together with white grout sat by the benches. A couple of concrete foundations that had two large dark brown picnic tables on each of them sat by the playground, with dark gray shingled roofs

Several kids of various ages could be seen on the playground, with their parents or nannies/babysitters sitting nearby on the benches, talking to each other or eating food or playing on their phones.

"Alright you two, go have fun!" Lavena said to them as they walked over to the playground, prompting the two to smile widely before they nodded and headed off in different directions, Max towards the slides and Gavin towards the nearest tree.

Said tree was a very old English oak with a trunk as thick as two of him put end to end and at least two stories tall. Its crown was very full and somewhat lopsided, with more bright green leaves on the right side as Gavin looked at it. The left was more sparsely covered in leaves, and its branches were very thick at the bottom of the tree, a couple of them resting part of themselves on the ground as they stretched out for about fifteen feet away from the trunk.

"Be careful Gavin," Lavena called out to him as he reached one of the branches and started to climb up it with ease. "Don't go up too high."

"I won't Miss Carmell," Gavin replied with a shake of his head. 'I've gone up this tree probably hundreds of times by now. I'll be fine,' he thought to himself as he went higher and higher into the tree with the help of smaller branches that stuck out between the huge ones, while Max reached the slides and started to go down them with a huge smile on her face.

Lavena headed over to a bench located by the playground and sat on it, her eyes constantly moving between Gavin and Maxine. 'Oh, do be careful Gavin!' She thought as she watched him go higher into the tree before he came to a stop and set his 4 foot 11 inch tall, somewhat muscular frame on a branch resting his back against the trunk for more support. 'Good. He's not so high up he can't climb back down,' she continued while he pulled out his sketchbook and opened it.

"Hmmm, what should I draw?" he muttered to himself as he looked around the park, tapping his pencil against his chin before he spotted a Barn Owl sitting on a branch to his right further up in the tree, its eyes looking at him intently. 'Oh wow! That's a surprise! Never seen one of them in a tree I've climbed before!' he thought as he continued to look at the owl for several seconds, before he started to slowly draw it on his sketchpad. 'Just don't attack me and stay where you are. I'd love to draw you!' he continued with a smile as he watched the owl sit there, its head turned 90 degrees to look at him.

'Kami, this is such an amazing experience!' Gavin thought as the owl continued to stare at him while he sketched it. 'It'd be even more amazing if it came up to me, but no way is that going to happen!' he continued with a smirk. 'It's a wild animal, not someone's pet….huh, I wonder what it would be like to own one as a pet if it was legal to do so?' he questioned with curiosity. 'I mean, they're nocturnal hunters, and they sound really weird when they vocalize, so they probably wouldn't be the best pet to have around. Although, food for them would be rather easy to get with the pet trade. It's not like they eat an extremely specific animal or something,' he continued with a smirk and silent chuckle while the owl slowly turned its head away from him and remained where it was. 'Not to mention they are practically silent when they fly. Would be a great way to spook someone. Invite them to the house, have the owl fly right over them during a meal. They'd freak the fuck out!' he finished with a grin.

He continued to draw the Barn Owl, which he nicknamed "Dusty" because of the white speckles on the back of its head, for about a half hour or so before he finished the art piece with a smile on his face. 'Another decent piece,' he thought as he looked from the sketchbook to the owl, which then flew off, causing him to chuckle a bit with amusement. "Heh, that was very good timing," he said before he started to slowly climb back down the tree, with Lavena watching him intently as he did so. "I wonder why it left?" he continued as he went. 'Maybe it got tired of the noisy kids or it grew tired of me being around,' he thought with a shrug, pondering over it until he reached the ground with only a bit of bark clinging to his clothes and no scrapes or cuts.

"Alright then, time to go swing!" he stated with a smile as he headed towards Lavena, who smiled at him before she turned her attention to Max, who was still in the playground.

"Miss Carmell?" Gavin said to her upon reaching her about a minute and a half later, catching her attention. "Can you watch my stuff?" He asked her as he held out his pencils and sketchbook, prompting her to smile warmly at him.

"Of course I can Gavin," She replied as she took his things and set them on her lap. "Now have some more fun. We won't be leaving for at least another hour," She continued, prompting him to smile widely before he turned and headed towards the swings, which were pretty much unoccupied along with the merry-go-round, as most of the children were on the monkey bars and slides. A few of them had left along with their parents or babysitters, so it wasn't quite as busy as it had been before.

"Yes! Another hour!" Gavin cheered excitedly as he hurried over to a large dark blue swing and got on it. 'Awesome!' he thought with a grin as he started to swing back and forth on it happily, slowly going higher and higher into the air.

He happily stayed on the swings for about fifteen minutes before he heard "Hello Gavin!" prompting him to frown and sigh with annoyance. 'Oh great! They're here!' he thought with frustration, recognizing the somewhat high-pitched young female voice below him as he went up high into the air. "Hey, Gavin!" The female voice said again with a bit of annoyance. "I know you can hear us!" the female continued, causing him to silently groan with annoyance. 'Just ignore them, and they'll go away,' he continued before he closed his eyes and continued to swing.

"Ugh, can you stop swinging for a second and look at us?" Another young female voice said, sounding a little less high-pitched but snootier. "We'd like to talk to you," she continued, prompting Gavin to remain silent.

'Just go away. Go away! Please don't let Eva be with you!' He thought as he started to come back down, before he felt the left chain of his swing get grabbed right below his hand, causing him to slow down drastically and swing to the left. 'Shit!' he continued as the swing continued to move around a little before he came to a stop, his feet dragging against the mulch-covered ground.

He then opened his eyes and looked in front of him with a frown on his face. There, standing in front of him, were four 13-year-old girls that had a bit of acne on some of the visible parts of their bodies. The girl on the far left stood 5 feet 3 inches tall and had light creamish-tan skin on the visible parts of her somewhat chubby body, with long raven black hair tired up in a short ponytail in the back of her head that ended just past her shoulders. Her somewhat small eyes were light gray in color, her nose was rather small and somewhat pointy, and her black eyebrows were small and thin, with her chin slightly pointy. A light brown t-shirt with a bunch of gold bars on the front of it sat on her top, ending at her waist, while a black belt with a silver buckle held up a pair of expensive-looking black leather shorts that ended at her knees. A pair of white socks ended at her ankles, and a pair of black sneakers with white laces sat on her somewhat large feet, while a pair of gold earring studs sat in her earlobes. Finally, completing her look was white nail polish on her well-manicured fingernails, which were somewhat short.

The girl next to her was 5 feet 1 inch tall and had somewhat tanned skin on the visible parts of her stocky body. Her hair was jet black and tied in a somewhat long ponytail with a dark blue hair tie on the back of her head, ending right at her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were somewhat large, and had a thick black unibrow right above them. Her nose was somewhat long and pointed and a small black beauty mark sat to the left of her mouth. A dark blue jogging shirt that had short sleeves ending just past her shoulders sat on her chest, a dark blue wristband sat on both of her wrists, a pair of dark blue athletic shorts with light blue stripes on the sides sat on her waist and ended at her knees, and a pair of white athletic socks sat on her feet, ending right below her knees. A pair of dark blue running shoes sat on her feet with white sholes and white laces, while no paint sat on her short fingernails.

The girl to the right of the one wearing all blue was 5 feet 1 ½ inches tall and was Hispanic, with somewhat dark skin covering the visible parts of her slightly skinny body. A white long-sleeve shirt sat on her torso, with a light green short sleeve blouse on top of it that ended a few inches above the bottom edge of the white shirt and let the collar be visible as well. The white sleeves were rolled up at her elbows, and a pair of light green shorts sat on her legs, ending just past her knees. Her feet had a pair of dark brown sandals on her feet, showing that her toenails were painted a dark green like her short fingernails. Her hair was dark brown and hung all around her head except for the front of it, ending at her shoulders with a flat edge. Her eyes were large and black in color, with somewhat thick black eyebrows above them and a small slightly pointy nose on her face.

Finally, the last girl stood 5 feet 2 inches tall and had very lightly tanned skin on the visible parts of her somewhat skinny body. Her long straight hair hung down to the tops of her shoulders and was dyed a brilliant blonde color, with somewhat large bright blue eyes with long black lashes sitting on her face on either side of a small nose. A pair of somewhat thick black eyebrows sat above her eyes and a bright blue bandana sat on her head covering the base of her hair. A dark red short-sleeve shirt sat on her top, ending right above her elbows and at her waist, while a dark red skirt hung from her waist to her knees. Sitting on her feet were dark brown cowgirl boots with short heels and light brown five-pointed stars on the sides of them, with the boots reaching up to just below her knees.

"Well, are you going to say hi, Gavin?" The Hispanic girl said, her voice being the somewhat-high pitched one he'd heard earlier.

At that, Gavin sighed heavily, before he spoke. "Hello Courtney," He replied with a frown as he looked at the Hispanic girl. "May you please leave me alone so I can enjoy the swings?" He continued. 'Ugh, why do they always do this to me the most?' he questioned as he looked at them. 'I don't get it. There's a lot of kids in this town! Why do they target me all the time?!' he continued, remembering how the four of them would target him for bullying, mostly of the verbal kind, as Eva, the one wearing all blue, would sometimes fight him for no reason. 'I mean, yeah they go after other kids too, but I'm their favorite and I don't know why!'

"No," Eva said simply as she looked at him with her arms crossed, eyes staring directly into his as he sat there, making him feel slightly nervous. Her voice sounded Eastern European of some sort and somewhat low in tone.

'Dammit!' "Well what do you girls want this time?" He asked them with an arched eyebrow as he sat there, while Miss Lavena looked at him worriedly as some of the girl's parents or babysitters chatted with her, surrounding her and preventing her from heading over to him to help him out.

"Um, what do we want with him guys?" The blonde-haired girl, who was named Lindsay, asked them, her voice sounding high-pitched and full of confusion, a similar look on her face.

'I don't get why Lindsay hangs out with the others. She's the most innocent and naïve person I have ever met,' Gavin thought as he looked at her.

"To make sure he knows his place, Lindsay," Heather, the tallest girl of the group who was also half-Asian said to Lindsay with a bit of annoyance as she looked at her nails, admiring them. "We're better than him."

"Yes, but it's not his fault," Courtney said with a shake of her head, a smirk on her face as she looked at him. "After all, he can't help that he's never been adopted or that he's not as smart as us," she continued, prompting him to frown and look down.

"Please stop," Gavin replied simply before he reached a hand up to his necklace and started to gently rub one of the centerpieces. "That's rude," he continued.

"Oh come on, we're just stating the facts," Heather said with a smirk as she looked at him, revealing the elegant braces on her teeth. "Here's another fact, you don't have a lot of friends unlike us," She continued. "We're the most popular kids in school!"

"We are?" Lindsay asked with confusion. "I thought we weren't," She continued, prompting the girls to roll their eyes at her stupidity.

"Yeah, I know. And I don't want to be popular," he replied, causing her and Courtney to look at him with arched eyebrows. "I don't need a ton of friends like you guys do," he continued.

"You'd rather be a loser than be popular like us?" Heather said with confusion, before she laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right! That's the biggest lie I've ever heard!" She continued, before Courtney spoke again.

"You know, there is a way you can become popular like us," she said, prompting him to look at Courtney with an arched eyebrow. "All you have to do is break your friendship with Maxine and be friends with just us," She continued. "With us you'd be a winner in society! You'd rise to the top and get the cream of the crop like us."

"Wait, we're farmers? I thought we were, um, lazy?" Lindsay questioned, causing Eva to growl angrily as she clenched her fists and glared at her while the others sighed and dragged their hands down their faces.

"No, Lindsay, we're not farmers," Heather said with frustration. "Or lazy." 'Ugh, she is so stupid!' she thought with annoyance as she frowned briefly.

"Anyways, what do you say Gavin?" Courtney said to him. "Will you join us, or stay an outcast?" She continued before she held out her hand towards him.

Gavin stared at her hand for several seconds before he looked up at her and frowned hard. "If you think I'm going to-"

"Hey! What are you four doing here?" Max said as she walked over to them with a frown on her face, coming to a stop right next to Gavin before she put her hands on her hips, having interrupted him. "I thought we told you to leave us alone!" She continued as she and Gavin looked at them with annoyance and frustration.

"Ugh, it's you," Heather said with a groan and roll of her eyes. "Go away!"

"Yes, go away!" Eva stated firmly while she lowered her eyelids a little. "This is between us and Gavin, not you, little girl," she continued with a bit of anger in her voice.

"I'm not leaving Max," Gavin replied firmly as he looked at Courtney. "She's my best friend. I'll never abandon her," he continued, causing Courtney's left eye to start twitching erratically. "Also, I'm not really an outcast. Get your facts straight. Now leave us alone," he finished, causing Eva to growl.

"Yeah, leave us alone you little skanks," Max said, causing all of their eyes to widen while Miss Lavena watched with worry from the distance, still being hounded by the adults.

"Maaaax!" Gavin exclaimed with alarm as Eva growled angrily before she leaped at Max, who quickly jumped to the right to dodge her. "You shouldn't have said that!" he continued as he got out of the swing and grabbed her by the hand.

He then started running towards the pond with her in tow, while the others headed after him, except for Lindsay, who had a very confused look on her face.

"What are 'skanks?'" Lindsay said with confusion before she realized that her friends had left and started to run after them. "Hey guys! What did Max mean by that?" She called out to them as she ran, prompting Miss Lavena to get up from her seat and start to hurry after the kids, much to the other adult's annoyance and frustration.

'Oh fuck!' She thought as she hurried after the kids, who had enraged looks on their faces as they went after Gavin and Max. 'What'd they do now?' she questioned with worry while she huffed and puffed, not really one for jogging, which meant she was left far behind the kids.

"How dare you say that to me!" Courtney yelled at Max with rage in her eyes as they ran across the grass. "How dare you!"

"Oh you're going to get it now little Max!" Heather called out as she ran, while Eva growled with rage on her face, flexing her fists as they ran. "No one calls me a 'skank!'"

'They said what?!' Lavena thought with shock and a bit of horror. 'Fuck, no wonder they're so mad at them,' she continued with a shake of her head. 'When this is over, whoever said that is in big trouble!'

"Come on come on come on!" Gavin muttered with worry as they ran towards the pond, knowing that the girls were gaining on them thanks to their longer limbs and rage. 'She just had to say that to them! She just had to!' he thought with frustration while he looked at his friend, who had a smile on her face from calling the girls "skanks." 'I mean, they aren't the greatest people, except for Lindsay, but "skanks?" I'm not so sure about that,' he continued before they came to a stop at the pond, which was shaped somewhat like a half moon. "This way!" he told Max as he pulled her along to the right, only to stop and turn around upon seeing Eva come to a stop in front of them with rage in her eyes. "Nevermind, this way!" He continued before Heather came to a stop in front of them, crossing her arms while her eyes looked at Max with rage.

"Nowhere to go you two!" Heather said as Courtney slowed down to a slow walk while they turned so that their backs were to the pond. Eva then started to crack her knuckles loudly while Heather popped her neck.

"Max, you are dead meat!" Courtney growled with pure rage as she glared at the girl, who glared back at her.

"Well it's true! You're all skanks and bullies!" Max replied firmly as she put her free hand on her hip while continuing to hold Gavin's hand.

"What does that mean?" Lindsay asked innocently as she reached them, coming to a stop by Heather.

"Shut up Lindsay and help keep them from running off!" Heather growled, prompting Lindsay to gain a confused look before she shrugged and said "Okay!" while she stood next to her.

"Oh please, we're not bullies. We're just showing people how to be winners, that's all!" Courtney replied with a smile that quivered a bit. "Now step to the side Gavin, while we teach Max some manners."

"No Courtney!" Gavin replied instantly with a shake of his head, feeling anger well up in him as he glared at her and the others, none of them noticing the reeds by the edge of the pond shaking a bit. "I won't let you beat up my friend!" he continued as he formed a fist with his free hand and pulled Max closer to him. "Not now or ever again!" he finished as he glared at them firmly, his rage building.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he heard all four of them scream with alarm as they landed on their backs, completely drenched with liquid that had come from behind Gavin and Max. "Ewwwwww! I'm all wet!" Heather whined with disgust as she sat up before she let out a louder scream upon seeing her wet hair on her face. "My hair! It's ruined!" She continued as she took hold of her white and black striped hair, which looked a lot like a skunk's tail, got onto her feet with shaky legs, and ran off crying like a baby.

Lindsay was only soaked from head to toe, and sniffled hard before she started to cry. "I'm not wearing my swimwear!" she cried as she turned and started to run away after Heather, fat tears streaming from her eyes like rivers as she went.

Eva remained silent as she looked at her drenched body, her eyes widening as she saw that the visible patches of her skin were covered in more acne than ever before, while her shoes had been turned into high heels that were a few sizes too big for her feet and her toenails were now six inches long. She then frowned more and looked at them firmly before she took off the high heels and walked away, her long nails pressing into the earth with each step she took.

Finally, Courtney coughed up some water out of her mouth as she sat up, only for her hair, which was now so long that it reached to her butt and colored dark, dark blue, to block her face completely. "What the-what the actual fuck?!" She exclaimed with confusion as she took hold of her hair and pulled on it. "What the bloody hell is in that pond?!" she continued as she pulled her hair apart to see before she spotted her fingernails and toenails, which now looked so curved and sharp that one could have almost mistaken them for eagle's talons that were four inches long. "My nails!" she exclaimed with horror before she started to get up, only for her legs to shake badly.

'What the fuck just happened?' Gavin questioned with confusion as he and Max watched her shakily get up, waving her arms around for stability before she glared at him and Max. 'How did they get pond water on them? And better yet, how did their bodies change?' he continued while Courtney spoke once more.

"This isn't over you two," Courtney said to them firmly before she turned and started to shakily walk away, her long nails tearing up the grass as she went.

As she walked away, Miss Lavena passed by her, huffing and puffing like a steam engine, with a few beads of sweat running down her face. "Are you two okay?" She asked them with concern as she came to a stop in front of them.

"I'm fine Miss Carmell," Max said to her with a nod, with Gavin nodding as well.

"I'm fine, but what just happened?" He said with confusion as he looked around and saw that the grass was soaking wet except for where they were standing. "Was there a freak gust of wind or something?" he continued while letting go of Max's hand and scratching his head. 'That was another one of my "incidents,"' he thought with intrigue and surprise as he watched the girls go to their parents and baby-sitters, who fussed over them with alarm and confusion. 'How the fuck did I do that?' he questioned, while Lavena looked at him with what appeared to be uncertainty, before she sighed.

"I honestly don't know Gavin, but I think we've had enough fun at the park for today," She said in a matter-of-fact tone before she held out his sketchbook and pencils. "Come along now. We're going home," She continued as he took his things, prompting them to nod before they started to leave.

As they left, Courtney looked at Gavin through her long hair and frowned angrily while her mother held a hand to her mouth with shock while looking at her fingernails, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

---

"Okay, what exactly happened back there that led to you two being chased by Courtney and her friends again?" Lavena asked them as they sat at a light located ten minutes away from the park, a decent amount of traffic out on the streets.

"They were trying to get him to break off our friendship again, Miss Carmell," Max said simply as she looked at the adult woman. "They wanted him to be in their group again."

"Yeah, and there's no way I'm going to stop being friends with you Max!" Gavin replied with a smile as he looked at her, causing her to smile warmly at him.

"Okay, so they started it?" Lavena asked, prompting both of them to nod fervently.

"Yeah, and I told them to go away, calling them 'skanks,'" Max said, causing Lavena's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates with shock. "What, they are! They bully a lot of people, Heather especially!" She continued while crossing her arms.

"Yes, I know they do. Gavin's told me about them, and I've seen them do it," Lavena replied with a nod. "But it's very rude to call someone that word," she continued, prompting Max to groan and roll her eyes. "I'll inform your mother about this when we get back home," She finished, causing Max to sigh.

"Hey, thanks for helping me deal with them, again, despite the name calling," Gavin said to Max, causing her to smile as she looked at him.

"Hey, you do the same for me," Max replied before she giggled. "And they ended up looking so silly!" She continued, prompting him to smile a little and chuckle a little as well.

"Heh, yeah, they did thanks to whatever happened," He said, before frowning a little. "It sucks that Lindsay got caught up in it. She's such a sweet and innocent person. She shouldn't be hanging out with those girls," he continued with annoyance in his voice.

"I agree Gavin," Lavena replied with a nod as they went through the intersection. "Lindsay is a lovely girl, and I've spoken to her parents several times about her friends. That's all we can do, unfortunately," she continued with a sigh, prompting Gavin to look out of the window with a frown still on his face.

"That sucks," he said simply, with Max nodding in agreement, as she too found Lindsay to be rather enjoyable.

"Yes, it does suck, but that's life," Lavena replied with another sigh, before silence fell across the entire vehicle as they went through the town.

The drive back to the orphanage took a little over half an hour thanks to traffic, with the clock of the car reading 1:55 PM when they pulled into the driveway of the orphanage. "Alright, Max, I'll walk you home after we bring in everything we got today," Lavena said to her firmly as all three of them got out of the car, prompting Max to nod and say "Okay Miss Carmell" before they entered the house while Miss Carmell texted Max's mother.

Upon entering the building, they saw that Señora Zapata was reading a book to the children, who had their pets with them as they sat on the living room floor.

"…and the little mouse ate all of his food, brushed his whiskers, washed his paws, and went to bed, happy that he had made a friend," Señora Zapata said before she shut a thick dark red book with gold embroidery on the edges that was triangular in shape like cheese wedges. "Now then, it's time for you all to go to your rooms to rest," She continued, causing all of them to frown and start whining and complaining.

"But Miss Zapata I'm not tired!"

"I don't want to go to my room!"

"I'm too old for nap time!"

"Silence!" Señora Zapata exclaimed somewhat loudly, shutting them all up while scaring some of the animals, who ran off as a result. "You all have been yawning while I have been reading! You are all tired, so you must rest now at nap time!" she continued as she stood up to her full height and looked at them firmly. "Now then, come!" She finished before she started to gently pull the children up onto their feet, with all of them looking at her sadly.

"But-"

"No whining Lucia!" Señora Zapata said to a small 7-year-old pale white-skinned skinny girl with bright red hair as she picked her up off the floor. "It is nap time!"

"But-Miss Carmell, please don't make us take a nap!" Jacob whined as he spotted her standing nearby with Gavin and Max, a pleading look crossing his face before he hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her as best as he could. "Please!" he continued, with other children coming over and joining him.

"Please! Please!" They begged her as they looked up at her pleadingly.

"Children. Children! Children!" Miss Carmell said to them as she gently rubbed their backs and patted their heads lovingly. "It is your quiet time. Señora Zapata is right," she continued, causing a couple of them to start crying sadly while a few more frowned with disappointment. "Now now, there's no need to cry. We do this every day. Señora Zapata and I will get you settled in for the next couple of hours," She stated before looking at Max.

"Max, your mother is waiting for you at home now and she knows she needs to talk to you about what happened earlier," She said to the girl, prompting Max to sigh and nod before she turned to Gavin.

"See ya later Gavin," Max said to him before hugging him tightly, prompting him to smile and hug her back.

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow," Gavin replied with a hopeful tone in his voice as he hugged her for several seconds, before they eventually let go and she headed back to the front door. "Goodbye Max!" He called out to her as she opened the door and stepped out, prompting her to say "Bye Gavin!" in response before she shut the door.

"Gavin," Miss Carmell began, catching his attention and making him feel a little nervous. "Go head up to your room. I'll be there in a bit," she stated, prompting him to nod and say "Yes Miss Carmell" before he headed towards the stairs. "Now come along kids. It's quiet time now," She continued before she started to head after Gavin, the children slowly trailing along behind her with upset looks on her faces while she comforted one of the crying ones.

'Oh, I hope I'm not in trouble,' he thought with concern as he headed up the stairs and walked down the right hallway to his room, which sat at the very end of the long hallway. 'I don't know how this stuff works or if I'm truly the one responsible!' he continued as he walked before he opened the door to his room and stepped inside with Tabitha, who had stayed by his right ankle the whole time after he'd entered the house.

His somewhat small room was dark green in color, with the ceiling flat and somewhat low. A light green closet door sat on the left wall, while a dark brown dresser sat against the right wall along with a tall dark brown wardrobe. A small white lamp sat on a dark brown nightstand next to his bed, with a dark green plastic rectangular alarm clock on it. A dark brown desk with a dark brown chair with a dark red cushion for a seat sat underneath one of the somewhat large windows that sat in the room, the other window located to the right of his bed, which had dark green sheets on it along with a fuzzy blanket with lots of mythical animals on it like dragons and unicorns and kelpies and two somewhat fat dark purple pillows. The desk was covered in drawing supplies along with some books, while more books filled the shelves of a dark brown bookshelf to his left, with a dark purple backpack that had light green zippers on it hanging from a hook on the back of his door.

He closed the door until only a small crack was left separating it from the frame before he took off his shoes, set his sketchbook and pencils on the desk, and got onto the bed. Tabitha hopped onto the bed and walked over to him with a swaying tail before she got into his lap, making him smile.

"Hey Tabitha," he said to the cat as he started to gently pet her on the head, prompting her to start purring as she laid in his lap. "I hope your day was okay," he continued as he felt her soft fur run against his skin. "Mine started out fine before ending with another one of my incidents," he stated with a sigh. "Man, I really wish I knew how I was causing them. It's bugging me to no end!" he finished before huffing with frustration.

As he sat there pondering over what had happened, his eyes slowly trailed around his room while he pet Tabitha, before Miss Carmell entered his room a couple minutes later. "Hello Gavin," She said with a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused," Gavin replied honestly as he looked at her while Tabitha continued to purr in his lap with contentment. "I caused another incident," he stated.

"Oh, no you didn't," Lavena said to him with a smile and shake of her head as she walked over and sat down on the bed by him. "Courtney and her friends were the ones who started it."

"I wasn't talking about the name calling, Miss Carmell," Gavin said with a shake of his head. "I meant with what happened at the pond," he continued, causing her eyes to widen a bit.

"Oh, well how could that be your fault?" She asked him with an arched eyebrow. "Did you put a hose or cannon into the pond without telling me?" She continued with a smirk, causing him to frown.

"No! It's just that whenever an incident happens, I'm near the focal point of it," He said with a bit of frustration. "Therefore, I must be the cause, and I don't know how I'm doing it!" he continued with more frustration, causing Tabitha to meow to catch his attention, which prompted him to pet her a little more. "It's freaking me out a bit! What if I hurt someone I care for next time?" he finished as he looked at her with worry.

Upon hearing that, Lavena sighed, and shook her head as a somewhat sad look appeared on her face. "Oh Gavin," She said as she wrapped her arms around his body in a warm hug, prompting Tabitha to purr more as she watched the hug from his lap. "Even if you are causing these weird incidents, you haven't hurt anyone you care for yet, and you won't in the future," she continued.

"But how do you know that for sure?" Gavin asked with confusion.

"Because I know the kind of person you are," She replied as she stopped the hug and lowered her head so that they were face to face. "You always help those who need it, no matter who they are. That's how I know you won't hurt those you care for in any future incidents," she continued with a warm smile, before she kissed him on the forehead. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll get some answers soon about these incidents."

"Oh, I hope you're right, Miss Carmell," Gavin said as he hugged her a little tighter, smiling a bit as well. "I really do," he continued before he chuckled a little while they let go of each other. "Heh, what if I got psychic powers or magic? That'd be cool!" he said with a growing grin, causing her to smirk as well. 'And would definitely be interesting to learn to control,' he thought.

"It would be interesting!" She replied with a warm giggle, before she gently rubbed the top of his head with a hand. "Now don't beat yourself up for what happened with the girls today. They got what they deserved," she continued before she started to slowly get up off the bed. "I'll let you enjoy your quiet time now. If you need anything, let me or Señora Zapata know, okay?" she finished as she headed over to his bedroom door and opened it.

"Alright Miss Carmell," he said to her as he picked up Tabitha and set her on the bed while Miss Carmell left his room, shutting the door behind her quietly, before he sighed once more. "I'll try not to beat myself up about the incident, but I definitely feel a bit bad about it," he continued as he got up from the bed and headed over to the bookcase. "I mean, the different colored hair is going to be a pain to deal with. The acne should be easier to fix. I'm just glad that Lindsay only ended up wet and not altered at all," he finished before he grabbed a very fat dark green book sitting on one of the bookcase's shelves at an angle, showing off its mostly blank cover. Bright gold elegant letters sat on the front, forming the words "Mythical Creatures from around the World, Modern and Ancient," and a thin gold line ran around the edges of the cover.

'I wonder if it'll all be fixed quickly like the one time when the ice cream truck froze that pure snatcher solid and they found him later completely unfrozen, unharmed, and unconscious,' he thought as he remembered the burly man who had knocked him into the side of the truck after stealing Miss Carmell's purse, only to be frozen a few seconds later by the ice cream truck's freezer, which had exploded out the open back door. 'If so, that'll be pretty odd,' he continued as he carried the book back over to the bed and laid down on it after taking off his shoes. 'I still want to know how that man was unfrozen without killing him,' he finished.

He then started to read the book, with Tabitha walking up and laying down next to him to be pet while he did so. The book was one of his favorites, a Christmas present from Miss Carmell four years ago, and he read it all the time. It held information of many, many creatures from myths and legends all around the world, going into great detail using information pulled directly from said myths and legends. It even showed the various differences of creatures in myths between countries and for creatures created online, like Slenderman and Cartoon Cat.

He stayed in his room reading the book for hours, pondering over the incidents that had been happening around him for a long time while he petted Tabitha and played with her occasionally. He only left the room once during quiet time, and that was to use the bathroom.

Even after quiet time had ended, he continued to read, having become fully invested into his book once more. He didn't leave his room again until it was dinner time, much to Señora Zapata's annoyance, and for dinner they had fish and chips, before he headed off to shower first, as he was rather good at cleaning himself quickly and thoroughly. Once he finished bathing himself and got into clean underwear and pajamas, which consisted of a light blue short-sleeve shirt and long dark blue pajama pants that ended right below his ankles, he headed back to his room to read some more.

At 8:15 PM, he yawned and rubbed his eyes after putting a bookmark in his book and closing it. 'Man, the one thing that sucks about being a kid again is having to go to bed early,' he thought as he set his book back on the bookshelf before he went to brush his teeth, returning to his room immediately afterwards.

About a minute after he entered his bedroom and got into the bed, Miss Carmell entered the room with a smile on her face, still wearing her regular clothes. "Sleep well Gavin," She said as she walked over to him and gently kissed him on the head while Elsa, Tabitha, and Candy got comfortable on the bed with him, the reptiles staying in their cages for the night due to Señora Zapata's request. "Would you like a story?"

"No, not this time," Gavin replied with a shake of his head before he yawned once more. "Goodnight Miss Carmell," he said with a smile as he closed his eyes, prompting her to smile and gently rub the top of his head before she headed over to his bedroom door and turned off the light, plunging the entire room into darkness.

"Goodnight Gavin. And don't worry, I'm sure eventually we'll figure out what's going on with you," she said quietly before she shut the door, leaving just enough space for the cats and dog to use to open the door in case they wanted to leave his room. She then turned and started to walk down the hallway rather quietly, not wanting to wake the other children, who had all gone to bed a bit earlier.

'Well if the other incidents haven't done it yet, this one should have. It's directly affected the most people!' Lavena thought as she thought back to every incident that Gavin had been involved in while she headed towards her bedroom, telling Señora Zapata goodnight as they passed by each other, the Spanish woman heading to her own bathroom to shower and then sleep. Every incident had had him either end up in a random location or affected one or two people, not four at the same time, although the incident with the ice cream truck nearly affected more people, as the exploding freezer had narrowly missed a couple while it flew through the air and had almost frozen a couple more bystanders.

She soon reached her bedroom and shut the door before heading over to her large desk and sitting down at it. She then pulled out a pen and piece of paper before she started to write a letter on it with a smile on her face.

It didn't take her long to write the letter, and even less time to put it in an envelope and place addresses on it. Once she'd done that, she then got up and walked over to a window located to the immediate right of her bed, which she opened before she pulled out a small silver whistle shaped like an eagle owl with outspread wings from the drawer in her nightstand.

She blew on the whistle as she leaned out of the window, causing an extremely low and near-silent "Hooooooo" to ring out through the night air. She then straightened herself out, and waited patiently.

About thirty seconds went by before a large white female snowy owl with a silver bracelet on her right ankle flew through the window and landed on the dresser nearby, nearly knocking over a bottle of skin lotion when she did so.

"Hello Athena," Miss Carmell crooned as the owl looked at her and screeched very softly with happiness before she reached a hand out and gently stroked the top of the owl's head, making the owl gently click her beak together a few times. "Tonight you have a very important delivery to make," She continued before she held up the letter. "Stay out of sight and be very quick. I want the headmaster to get this as soon as possible," she finished before letting Athena take the letter in her beak.

Athena then flapped her wings and took off, exiting the house very quickly and heading up into the sky, with Miss Carmell watching her fly away for several seconds before she disappeared from sight via a cloud. "Stay safe," She said before she went to shower, hoping that all would go well for the owl.

---

A week and a half later…

In an unknown location, the sun shined through a few small arched windows that lacked glass and had a small tannish gray circular pillar separating some of the windows from each other. The light revealed that the windows sat in one curved corner and wall of a small room that had tannish gray stone bricks making up the walls, a smooth tannish gray stone ceiling with tall circular columns set equidistant around the small room, and a single dark gray wooden door with a single black metal lock at the far end, with the floor made of dark grayish black wooden planks. A couple of white unlit candles sat on silver candlestick holders on the walls, while a large dark red wooden desk sat in the middle of the room. A silver candleholder sat on one end of the desk, while a large silver ink pot sat on the other end. In the middle of the desk sat a huge book that had pages made of parchment that looked brand new, and it was currently open, with one page covered in names and birth dates, while the other exposed page was completely blank. Resting in the ink pot was a large greenish black feather that looked like it had been freshly plucked off a bird, while a large dark brown wooden chair sat behind the desk, with dark red cushioning on the seat and the back of the chair, which had silver elegant curves on the very top of it.

The door to the room opened, and a middle-aged-looking woman walked into the room with a dark brown scroll in her right hand along with a two quills and pot of ink. She carefully shut the door before heading over to the chair and sitting down in it while setting her things on the desk.

She then started to read the names she'd written down on the scroll in alphabetical order, causing the pages of the book to flip around until said name was visible along with their birthdate, prompting her to put a checkmark by said name or an "X" by any name that wasn't in the book. She smiled at some of the names, before she reached the very end of the list, and said "Gavin Woodring," causing the book's pages to flip until his name and birthdate could be seen towards the bottom of a page.

She then checked off his name before she collected her things while the pages of the book turned once more to show a blank page. The quill slowly rose from the inkpot, revealing none on the sharp tip of it, before it flew over to the blank page and attempted to write a name on it, only for the book to snap shut briefly while it jolted back to avoid being caught in its pages.

'It looks like I'll have to get Miss Whiteblack to help after all. Good,' she thought as she walked down the stairs and went through another door, disappearing from sight while the book opened up once more and the quill attempted to write a new name and birthday on the parchment, this time succeeding.

---

Well, this was an interesting chapter!

I can't wait to write more eventually!

You see, I do not have much of a thorough plot down. I have talked with TigerDragon about several key points, but not every single milestone he will reach. Therefore, I am putting this story on an official hiatus until I can come up with a more thorough plot that I am pleased with.

I hope you all understand.

Please leave a review if you can!

This is PuzzleMaster1998 here, signing off!