The Female Durmstrang

New Friends

   I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, and somebody whispering. Wait- whispering?

   That sure wasn't normal.

   "Viktor, Viktor, get up!" I shouted and shot up from my position on the log, my back aching from sleeping on it.

No answer.

   "VIKTOR!!" I screamed into the forest surrounding me.

No answer.

I appeared to be alone, and neither Dumbles nor Reggie were in sight. I sure don't know much about being alone in creepy forests, but I knew this was bad.

   But wait- the whispering had stopped. Where had it been coming from?

   I looked all around the small clearing, but didn't see anything unusual. I slowly stood up and started to walk towards the area where Dumbles and I had first entered the field.

   Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a shimmer.

   I crept toward the bushes where I had seen the glimmer. I was quiet as I possibly could be...

   That's when I tripped on a branch. I stumbled forward, falling flat on my face.

   Pain shot through my skull and a figure jumped out of the bushes.

   "AAAYYAAAHHH" it yelled, shooting a red blast of light just missing my head.

   I slowly lifted my head off the ground, feeling a bit dizzy. I could barely make out the figure to be an old woman.

   "STAY BACK YOU- " She was cut off as a giant black dog the size of a car, leapt out of the shadows of the forest and onto the old woman's back. She collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles with the dog licking every inch of her face.

   "Seriously I just want a chance to scare someone without you interrupting!" She exclaimed through giggles.

   Through all of this, I was still standing, light-headed, watching her try to scold the dog without laughing. It was like I was invisible.

   "Umm, excuse me?" I said quietly.

   The woman nor the dog seemed to notice me.

   "Excuse me!" I said a little louder.

   Still no acknowledgement.

   "ExcUSE ME!" I shouted.

   The woman finally turned and squinted at me as though she still couldn't see me. "Oh! Sorry about that, dear." She finally said. "My name is Grace," she said, sticking out her hand.

   "Umm, you pop out of nowhere in the middle of the woods, try to scare me while I'm alone and my friends are missing, then a huge freaky dog jumps on you and scares me even more, and you want me to shake your hand?"

   "Sounds about right, yes." She nodded cheerfully.

   "Absolutely not!" I yelled, folding my arms.

   "Suit yourself." She pulled her arm back. "As for your friends, I think I know where they could be."

My eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes, but you have to shake my hand if we're gonna cooperate."

"Fiiiine," I groaned as I reached out my hand.

As soon as I felt her cold hands, I felt my body twist and turn, and the next instant, I was in a different forest. This forest, instead of oak and cherry trees, was filled with pine trees as far as the eye could see.

Somehow I ended up lying on my back, dizzy all over again. "What was.." I sat up, realizing she had apparated, taking me to a different forest, which seemed much more strange than the last.

"This is the forest of dreams," Grace said.

I looked around once more. It looked more like the forest of nightmares to me. I stood and turned to look at Grace who was staring at a nearby tree.

"What are you-" "Shhh!" She cut me off. "Just wait."

I waited for a full 10 seconds before I grew impatient again. Was she just messing with me again?

"Grace I-" "Hush child!" She interrupted again.

10 more seconds went by. "Any minute now," she said.

I opened my mouth to yell at her, to tell her that we have to find my friends, when the side of the tree she had been staring at lit up in a purple-ish glow and a dog leaped out. Her dog.

The glow on the tree faded, and the monster-sized dog came bounding towards us. I looked around. I hadn't even noticed that it wasn't with us before.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I never introduced you to my dog." Grace started. "Her name is Maxine and she's just about the best dog you'll ever meet."

"O-oh." I was at a lost for words. I had never seen such magic before.

"Close your mouth, honey."

I hadn't realized I was gaping. Although, in my defense, I had just seen a dog come out of a tree.

I quickly closed my mouth, slightly embarrassed.

I was just about to make a smart remark in reply, but something sounded through the forest.

A high-pitched, ear-splitting, terrifying scream pierced the air, and even when I tried to cover my ears, I could still hear it just the same. And when it finally was over, it left a ringing sound in my ears, practically shaking my skull.

~

Hi guys! Yes it's me, no, I'm not dead. Only on the inside.

I originally wasn't going to continue this book, because to me, it's super cringey, doesn't have a good plot, and is just overall terrible. But I've gotten so many requests and comments to continue, so here I am.

Thank you so much for not giving up on this book and pushing for more chapters and updates, because I had completely given up on Wattpad until I saw all those comments and dms so thanks a lot kids.

-Elly