The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 4: The Pendant of Light

Chapter 7: Gadgets and Gizmos

Chapter 7

     Bria Brightwater was a girl who talked to trees. Often her mother told her that the witches in her family were avid Tree-Talkers, that is, they spoke magical words to trees. Her father told her that their magical family lineage descended from the profession of wand wood harvesters. The people who sought out the wood preferred by wand makers across the globe were called Tree-Talkers in the olden days, a name that has stuck ever since. Bria was always fascinated with the trees. The family’s cottage, tucked in the woodlands of Cornwall, was built around a trio of trees that their family had planted there generations ago. She loved trees. She learned from her Herbology professor at Hogwarts (and a little from Jean Savageau and Master Wolf) that some trees had a magic of their own. She gravitated towards them, not for the future hope of being a wand maker, but because she thought they held a power of magic that few understood. She believed it every day. It was why she loved the family cottage in Cornwall; it was her favorite place to be amongst the trees and the magic within them.

     When she had offered her family’s cottage up as a place to lay low in before school had started at the beginning of term she figured no one would care much for the place (most of her extended family dismissed it as a rickety shack with twigs sticking into the den) but the exact opposite happened. The visiting students from Salem loved the cottage. The four-story house built around three trees looked magical to the students. Bria was filled with glee at the prospects of hosting her American friends in her family’s unique cottage. Sam, Star, Iggy, and Spirit in particular loved Brightwater Cottage. Bria would take the girls out for a walk into the woods (usually accompanied by Dan, who didn’t like leaving Sam) and show them all the different trees that grew there, many used to make wands and other magical items. She had grown very fond of the Americans and their quirky magical ways. It warmed her heart.

     What she didn’t expect, though, was that the older members of the Junior Phoenixes were going to continue to use her family’s cottage as a hideout and gathering place. The Figgs, who were the caretakers of the cottage when the Brightwaters were away, had grown annoyed at the comings and goings of some of the now-former Aurors (Mr. Figg was reasonably offended at Rouge’s presence). Rider Devine kept disappearing into the nearby villages and would come and go at the strangest hours of the day. Sherman Locke set up a table covered in doodads and junk, making the most curious of objects and devices. Rouge kept carving his initials into the nearby trees which upset the wood fairies and the bowtruckles. He managed to stir up a nest of doxies which followed him to the front door of the cottage and kept buzzing at anyone who entered or exited. Dev sat in the den, glued to a Talk-Box in his hand. Teller stayed by his side, both of them worried about Echo and Rain Fox.

     Sky Heart and Jinx had arrived at the Cottage with Master Bullavin and Star. Master Bullavin talked to Teller briefly and left in an angry huff. Teller promised the Iron Bull that he would bring the students back to the school in a couple of days (it was a weekend, which worked out for the students perfectly). Master Bullavin did not want to leave Star and the students behind but Teller and Dev promised the Iron Bull that they would see the students safely back to school. He departed with an angry expression.

     Sky Heart and Jinx were worried. Their worry furthered the worry that Dev and Teller wore. Star, Sam, Dan, and Bria often eavesdropped on their conversations in case there was word about Rain Fox and Echo.

     “What happened exactly?” Dev had asked Jinx.

     “I don’t exactly know, dude,” she replied to Dev, “One minute she’s there, the next she’s out of reach. Star said Argent cursed them and they disappeared.”

     “He didn’t throw them into that archway, right?” Teller asked.

     Dev looked up and worried again.