River Grimes and the Champions Curse

Chapter Nine: The Snowy Owl

During breakfast, a week before the First Task, River had received a cryptic letter. Dropped off by an owl he had never seen before. It was a large and beautiful snowy white owl, with flecks of black on its feathers.

"It's time we meet, edge of the Black Forest, after dinner, come alone," River read. Murphy looked worried.

"That's...creepy," she said.

River nodded. "Who wants to meet me?"

"Is it signed?"

"No, there's no name on it," River said, holding up the small slip of old parchment. Before Murphy could read it, the paper burst into flames, disintegrating in seconds in his palm. His skin didn't burn, and there was no ash left over.

"That was...extra creepy," Murphy said. "Want some backup?"

"No," River shook his head. "It said come alone, don't want to disappoint."

"What if it's someone trying to hurt you?" Murphy asked.

"Then, that's their mistake, one I'll correct for them."

Dinner came and went. Lights out came, and as soon as River heard the cacophony of snoring coming from his roommates. He slipped out of bed and shifted into his wolf form.

A massive pure black wolf with purple eyes.

As a wolf, he could hear ten times better, see in the dark, smell something from miles away and practically disappear in the darkness.

He toned out the snoring from his roommates. River heard Murphy in her bed, she was still awake.

"Don't be stupid... don't fight them, just run back to the castle," She muttered to herself.

He focused passed the nervous Murphy, down the empty halls of Ilvermorny, and out of the large castle. His hearing and smell traveled across the dark grounds, around the Black Lake, to the meeting spot. A man was standing there, dawned in black robes. An unfamiliar smell coming from him.

The man wasn't from Ilvermorny, or anyone River had met before.

River left his room.

Snuck down to the Common Room, and out of the Thunderbird's Dorms. Down the dark hallways of Ilvermorny, and out of the castle. From there he was practically free to do as he pleased. But there were two problems now.

Castelobruxo and Mahoutokoro.

They had traveled to Ilvermorny and had stacked separate locations on the grounds as their dorms for this year.

Mahoutokoro arrived on a silver train, that seemed to forge its path. Laying tracks in front as it went, and picked them back up as it passed.

The long silver train was sleek and pointed at the front. Yuki said it can travel several hundred miles per hour. The trip from her school in Japan only took five hours.

She also said that each one of the compartments of the train was a large dorm with four separate rooms in each compartment. Even though from the outside, they looked small and cramped.

The lights were still on inside some of the train cars' compartments. Yuki's lights, which she said her room was in the second car to the front. We're still on.