The Forest - R.L.

Chapter 48 - The Clearing

"Morning, grandma," Grace said as she entered the kitchen, feigning a yawn that soon became a real one. She had just come out of her bedroom after climbing in through the window, the events that had happened outside still swimming around in her head.

"Good morning, Grace," Mary Thorne replied, looking up from the piece of toast she was buttering. "You slept in a lot, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It, uh, took a while to go to sleep last night. Frodo was being really noisy. I think he saw a mouse or something and was screeching for me too let him out so he could grab it," Grace told her, the lies easily rolling off her tongue.

"Oh, now, Grace, your father sent us another letter. He wants you to go in this afternoon instead of Saturday, if that's alright with you. He's found a colony of Bowtruckles-"

"A branch."

"I beg your pardon?"

"A group of Bowtruckles is called a branch," Grace corrected her.

"Well, he's found a branch of Bowtruckles living in some bush that the Herbology teacher has in her office and she wants him to get rid of them. I think he's going to relocate them to a nice Wiggentree he's found in the Forbidden Forest. He thought you might want to help him."

"Of course! I love Bowtruckles," Grace replied, excited. Nearly every school holidays since they had moved from Australia, Grace had spent at least a part of them back at Hogwarts with her parents. Since they were both teachers, they still needed to plan and tend for the magical creatures during the holidays and Grace enjoyed helping them.

"Your mother wants to leave at about two, so please try to be ready on time. And you're still coming back on Christmas Eve."

Grace spent the rest of the day completing some of the endless mound of homework they had received for the holidays. For some reason every single teacher she had – include her own parents – had all decided that fifth years needed more holiday homework "to prepare you for the upcoming OWLs and for the senior years of your education".

At quarter to one, she left the house and went into the forest, heading for her and Remus' usual place of meeting: the clearing. He was already there when she arrived, his house being closer to it than hers.

"Hello," he greeted her, looking up from the stick he was fiddling with. Grace immediately forgot everything she'd planned to say whilst walking there.

"Hello," she replied, before blurting out "I'm leaving this afternoon instead of tomorrow. Professor Eischeid wants dad to move the Bowtruckles that have taken up residence in the small tree in her office and he thought I'd want to help."

"Bowtruckles? Those are the little green tree people, right?"

"Yep. Little green tree people," Grace repeated, sitting down on a rock as she scrambled for something to say.

"With Eischied, though? That's going to be interesting."

"Oh!" Grace cried suddenly, remembering what she'd wanted to ask.

"Oh?" Remus questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I was thinking, maybe, after I get back, after Christmas, we could... should... do a thing," Grace began, grimacing at the words coming out of her mouth. "...you know?"

Remus laughed. Grace blushed harder, if that was even possible at this point. "I would love to do a thing, you know."

Grace just sighed, turning away from him and burying her head in her hands. "I was going to be so cool, I had this whole monologue planned out and then I was going to ask you if you wanted to go into town with me and it was going to be super smooth and romantic and Merlins beard, what happened to that?"