Strange Nights

Chapter 5

—Harry—

"Harry, come help me cast the protection charms," Hermione yelled from the opposite end of the clearing. I'd been setting up my group's tent, but I walked over once I was done.

"The same ones we used to do last year, right?"

She gave a short nod, so we started canting the charms and spells, moving a few steps after each one, in opposite directions. After completing this ritual that we'd built up the previous year, we walked back towards where the others were either talking or making the campfire.

"We should probably set up a schedule for the watch shifts," Nico suggested. He and Will were sitting together on one of the rocks that someone had enlarged, so entangled that one could hardly tell where one of the boys ended and where the other began.

"You're right." Annabeth rummaged in she and Percy's bag till she found what she was looking for. It was a sketchbook that seemed in good condition, despite the faded cover and dozens of loose-leaf sheets of paper sticking out of the sides. The daughter of Athena flipped the pages all the way to a section at the end. As I sat down beside our former teachers, I could read the heading of the section; or I could've if it hadn't been in Ancient Greek. "Eight hour shifts of four people sound all right?" When everyone nodded, she outlined a schedule on the next free page. "Who's on first watch once we all go to bed?"

Sadie and Walt, who'd been gathering kindling nearby, volunteered, as did Hermione and Ginny. As they got the fire ready to be started later on in the evening, the next few days' shifts were assigned, and it was agreed that everyone should write their name in themselves after that.

Most people went their own ways for a bit, before we all gathered around the campfire. We spent hours telling the most embarrassing and hilarious stories that we could think of.

"And you remember the time I got Hazel on my team in capture-the-flag? She pretended to have taken your flag with the mist; it was the perfect distraction. Your face—it cracked me up." Annabeth certainly wasn't holding back her hysterical laughter now either.

"Well, I didn't mind losing as much when I get to see you be so happy to win."

"Get a room, you lovebirds!" Sadie shot at the newly married couple.

They chuckled conspiratorially.

"We've heard from our friend Lacy that you and Walt can be pretty lovey-dovey, too."

"Wait, you guys know Lacy? How?" Carter asked.

"She's a daughter of Aphrodite. She tends to tell her half-sister Piper about the cutest couples at school sometimes, and then Pipes tells me," Annabeth said with a smirk.

Sadie was visibly flustered, but she quickly regained her usual confidence.

"I'm going to take a walk; come with?" The teen offered her hand to her boyfriend. He took it, and they walked off after getting a lecture to be on the lookout for potential threats.

We went back to laughing at each other's past blunders; however, a strange feeling haunted me. The smallest patch of light caught my attention. I thought that it'd shot through the woods across from me—the very same ones Sadie and Walt were walking in.

"I'll be back in a minute; I need to stretch my legs."

"Kay, Mate," Ron answered, but I could barely hear, having already paced into the maze of trees surrounding our campsite.

My senses were on high alert, making my heart skip a beat at the tiniest sounds around me: a woodpecker's beak hitting wood, a leaf crinkling under the feet of a critter, the babble of a nearby stream. So, the next flash of this mystery silhouette that had me so on edge only heightened my panic.

I pushed past shrubbery and saplings to follow it, but it was never heading in the direction that it should've been. By the time I reached a clearing just big enough for me and maybe two other people to stand in, I could see it streaking past randomly every five seconds.

At a certain point, I couldn't just stand there trying to see whatever or whoever it was; I ran straight for it, aiming for the last place I'd seen it. The woods looked thicker than they had before in these parts. The forest here was odd overall, with a kind of foreboding atmosphere. I crept through them for what felt like forever before it showed itself once again. I raced to follow it's direction, only to break through a cluster of branches and see the two magicians. Naturally I was frustrated and confused.

The couple was sitting by a tree. My guess was that they'd originally been leaning on the tree's trunk, but now they were kissing. I uncomfortably cleared my throat, causing them to jump apart and take out a stick and a boomerang-like-thing, respectively.

I let them relax, then explained why I was out here in the first place. Even though they both brushed it off as a trick of the light, I still wasn't so sure. 

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A/N: I'm so, so, soooo sorry!! I'm horrible at updating right now. I'm also sorry for the short chapter. Unfortunately, I think what'll be best for my writing is taking a break. It could go on for a while, but I'll endeavour to limit it to 2 months. If I end up needing more than that (which I doubt), I'll at least post about it.

On a completely opposite note, thank you all from the bottom of my heart  for 600 reads!! It means the world to me, and Strange Teachers' reads (almost 36k) are just unbelievable! I love you all so much for everything, whether you comment, vote, follow (please do!), or a silent reader! I hope to be able to post sooner rather than later, but until next time!