A Common Ground

Chapter 42 - Nightmares Come True Too

(Mia and Theo inspo above)

"Lookin great guys, Bob try aiming a little higher, with your height everything looks smaller than it actually is, Scorpios - try pushing down on your broom to get quicker in those turns, Mia" Theo sighed finishing on his report as they all stood on the grass during practise. She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?" She mused. The team scoffed and left the grass and soared back into the sky.
"Perfect as always" He winks. She grinned big and wrapped her arms around him.
"You know if you don't be careful somebody is going to think you have favouritism" She quipped.
"Don't tell anyone, but I do" He whispered. "But I promise I won't make you think your brilliant when your not, but the hard thing is; you're pretty perfect" She rolled her eyes.
"Behave yourself Theodore" She removed her arms from his shoulders.
"Alright, go on then" he grinned.
She turned only for him to smack her backside. She turned sharply but he was already back up in the air on his Nimbus sniggering away.
***********
After a couple of quaffle speed passings and Keeper work, they tried some steals. Mia was soaring with the wind in her ears and her vision slightly blurred, she stormed towards Henson and Keenan, she was just about to reach for the quaffle; when a blunger came out of no where and skimmed Mia's pointed nose causing her to rear back, loose grip of her firebolt and fall back heading toward the ground. Firmly a pair of arms catch her bridle style.
"Thanks for dropping by baby girl" Bob smirked. She let out a breathy laugh and looked up to see her precious black twigged broom with silver sides, with Malfoy inscribed on the top ; soar off into the clouds and head into the forbidden Forrest. They sit back on the ground.
"You alright?" Scorpios asked her immediately.
"Yeah, I'm fine, my broom, my grandad bought me that; it's a one of a kind" She saddened.
"Bloody hell mate work on your aim!" Theo scalded Edward.
"It's alright Theo , we all make mistakes, just maybe work on your aim sweetheart" Mia shrugged at Edward (who was an alarming shade of pink) and looked back to the Forrest.
"Are you sure you're alright" Theodore said pushing his bronze hair out of his face.
"Yes heavens, I'm fine" She let out a short exasperated laugh.
"Accio broom" she held out her hand and nothing happened. "Accio broom" again nothing happened, she stood for another ten minutes giving it time but
she was a stubborn Malfoy and she turned around and left the field.
"Where the hell are you going?" She heard Scorpios call.
"Getting my blasted broom back that's where!" She cried back.
"You want me to come with you?" She heard Theo.
"I'm a big girl, I'll be fine" She waved them off and started her walk with her wand out saying "lumos" she wandered quietly on the path.
************
The further she walked the dense wood grew thicker, the leaves and and branches of the top started connecting like a canopy and it was burst of light through the gaps that gave her any sense of direction, the glow of her wand seemed practically pathetic. But further and further she went forward. All the while trying 'Accio' over and over again. She felt her shoulder sink in a little closer and her body tense as the darkness became thicker and tree's looked more like monsters of the night than the woods she saw minutes before hand. She walked for ten minutes sticking to the path when suddenly she looked down and the leaves and trail had been destroyed, a large smush in the dirt caused the path to look confusing. She paused for a second, breathing a little heavier. A rumble came from the thicket beside her, she turned to find nothing. She placed her hand on her heart.
"Clever girl you are Mia" She mocked herself sarcastically.
Another larger rumble. It sounded like the trees were moving and turning this time she looked above to see the leaves falling from the top and spiralling down toward her feet. She lowered her gaze from the top of the tree all the way down and nearly missed the large red light but quickly recovered and looked right at it. Two large red lights. She squinted and raised her hand higher seeing her reflection in those two large red lights.
Another rumble, the lights grew bigger and another two was added beside each one. She swallowed tightly but held her ground. The earth was shaking below her boots and it was as if someone was sinking a large knife into the Forrest floor and pulling it back out repeatedly. The lights grew bigger, then another two added, six now blaring red flames stared out toward her. She gripped her wand. The largest of all stabs smushed the earth just a few feet in front of her and from the glow of her wand tip, she saw the large tree, no not a tree, it was shimmering with a hair like sheen. Her heart thumped loudly as lastly the red lights became eight and now , a dawning sickening realisation that they were not lights but large red, bloody thirsty eyes that belonged to a Acromantula.
***************
She never dared to scream, she never dared to breathe.
"What is a pretty thing like you doing out here?" He said sickening fake as another 12ft long leg appeared.
"I'm looking for something" She hadn't known how she spoke at all.
"Looking for something?" He said with a slight lisp that was caused by the slipping venom from his fangs. "Innocent thing, but here you are and you've found something that you most certainly wished you hadn't"
"That's from your prospective" She answered. He crawled nearer; the earth shuddering like it to, was creeped out by his eerie appearance.
"Are you not" he paused his four long legs now on show as he was 3 feet from her. "Frightened by me" He snapped his fangs.
"You mistake me for Ron Weasley" She mused and wished she hadn't made a joke when a 14ft tall beast was about to eat her. "You are great but I do not scare easily, are you king?"
He hissed and snapped his fangs as his legs moved agitatedly on the leaves. "Touchy subject okay, your name?" Mia tucked her wand in her back pocket and raised up her hands.
"Aranore, prince of Acromantula's" He bellowed proudly. "And you witch! What pathetic two legged scum do you belong to" His red eyes blazing.
"Malfoy, I'm Mia" She introduced. "I want no trouble, I just want my broom"
He neared her all his greasy, hairy eight legs now on show and he circled her.
"And trouble you have and broom left unfound, a pointless venture you've had" He snapped venom.
Mia started taking a step back as his looming figure became a giant shadow over her. In a split second his eight legs moved faster than a firebolt and towards her , so quickly she couldn't get her feet to move properly and she fell on her back as his giant patchy haired face, venom thick like tree sap falling in her clothes as she lay motionless, thinking this was her end.
"Stupefy!" A large cry burst through and the giant spider fell backwards twenty feet down a steep hill. Mia breathed heavy and raised her eyes to see her rescuers face.
"Alright?" She had said.
"Thank you, I'm fine I think" Mia panted taking the women's hand. She pulled her back to her feet and dusted off the leaves from her clothes.
"Well that's just delicious" The women said sarcastically, but took out a small coin purse and pulled out a large jar. Mia was slightly confused. Then the women silently took out her wand and made the venom recoil into the jar and all of it left Mia's clothes.
"Sorry that was a rather bazar" She said putting the now closed jar back in her coin purse. "But it's worth a bloody fortune" She winked.
"I've seen you before " Mia said picking up her still illuminated wand from the floor were it fell.
"Perhaps, it's a common thing to recognise people" She shrugged. "Now let's get back shall we, before that hairy bastard wakes up and tries to crawl out the bathtub" The women began to escort her back.
****************
"So you've been to Hogwarts?" Asked Mia, placing her hands in her pockets.
"Oh yes, Slytherin" She winked.
"Really me too!" Mia smiled.
"Wonderful, are you the only blonde girl too?"
"Actually yes" Mia smirked. "It's changed a lot, so my dad says , he had it rough you see, well not exactly but the last three years of his schooling really, quite sucked" Mia sighed.
"I dare say, if it was during the war" The women took out a pipe and caused her wand to light a flame and it licked the tobacco.
"Where you apart of that year?" Mia asked her, the women snorted.
"No, I'm older than that believe it or not" She took a drag from her pipe.
"How do you know where we are going?" Mia asked her as she looked around the Forrest, everything looked the same.
"Like I said, I'm old and I know a thing or two" It was vague but Mia took it anyway. "A puff?" She offered.
"I'm seventeen" Mia laughed.
"So?" The women shrugged
"I don't smoke" Mia stated strongly."Think my father would be quite cross with me if I smoked"
"Really? Mine bought me my first pipe, of course it was fake and I was 5 but non the less encouraging, but if you don't you don't" She answered and placed the pipe between her lips.
Their was a moment or two were the only sounds were the leaves crunching beneath her feet and the sound of the burning tobacco.
"You must know Hagrid then" Mia said out of the blue.
"Why yes"
"Friends?"
"Old ones" She mumbled her pipe still in place.
"Talk often?" Mia was stretching for small talk.
"Not as we should, but that's more my part than his, your a Malfoy" Her last words where spoke nonchalantly.
"What gave it away, the Slytherin or my posh voice"
"Your dark Mark" Again nonchalantly.
"Beg-beg your pardon" Mia choked.
"The one you hide on your right side, saw it when you fell on the ground, plus theirs the fact that I heard you telling Aranone-"
"Aranore"
"Aranore- apologise ;that your name was Malfoy" She explained.
"And your not-" She paused. "Unnerved" The women suggested.
"Yes" Answered Mia.
"No"
"Oh"
"Oh? Am I supposed to unnerved?"
"No, just-"
"Racists people make you feel that you should be scared of yourself" She offered and Mia couldn't help but agree. She pulled up her sleeve and stared down at her mark, it wasn't as fresh looking and painted as her grandfathers looked, rather it was covered in white searing scars, like her father's , once or twice (he'd told her) that he'd been so low that he'd taken his anger out on the mark, causing to look ruined with white and red lines.
"My family, aren't favoured, but Hermione, Hermione made it all better, we didn't have to lick up our own wounds like badly behaved mutts, she treated us gently and wrapped them up and kissed them better, she made our life the way it is now, perfect-well nearly, but I do wish she had taken care of him earlier but beggars can't be choosers " Mia finished with a smile.
Why she was telling a stranger any of this ? She didn't know, but the woman gave a relatable aura. She has hardly seen this woman's face and barely talk to her but she had saved Mia's life and owed at the very least some civility and slight conversation. The woman did not reply but merely took drags from her pipe and nodded her head agreeing.  They were nearing The edge of the forrest as the light seeped through the trees and Mia took her wand from her pocket and muttered 'Nox'. They walked in a comfortable silence after that, the birds tweeted and the sun was still yellow, she was surprised by this; she'd felt she'd been away for hours, at least her legs did. Her body aching and back still sore from her (second) fall, she kept walking on. Finally Mia saw the field and she smiled brightly, happy to be out that place. She had raced a little ahead and into the sun again. She took in a deep breath , the smell of the freshly rained on grass and smokey air filled her lungs.
"Thank-" She turned and found the women holding her broom, black twigged and silver sides , with Malfoy signed on the side.
"Yours, I gather" She handed her it, her pipe was gone and Mia saw her bright blue eyes that were quite intimidatingly beautiful and held a sense of purpose.
"Yes" Mia took the broom. "How can I ever thank you for what you've done?"
"Don't go back in the Forrest? Think that's a good one" She winked "and I've got the venom, so" She pointed to the coin purse that hung from her wrist by a pleated gold rope. Mia smiled kindly.
"Thank you and it was lovely meeting you" who ever you are -Mia thought. The witch smirked amused.
"And it was lovely finally meeting you Mia" The teenager tilted her head at this bazar comment.
"MIA!?" Theo's voice called. She turned to see him and the team still waiting for her. She turned her head and the women had vanished a small plume of smoke left behind.
************
She walked slowly over to them her legs aching.
"Sorry, I didn't know how long I was going to be, you didn't have to wait" They laughed and she looked at them confusedly.
"It wasn't that long, what 5 minutes tops?" Scorpios said seriously.
"What?"
"Can't believe it, must've got caught in a tree or something when you accio ?" Theo suggested.
"No I-" they all stared at her. "Yeah, it did, how'd you guess" She mused.
"Just common sense, now let's go grab some lunch"

As they headed back, Mia looked at the Forrest again, what a strange venture she had indeed. Though was keeping her promise to mysterious saviour, she wouldn't step a toe in that Forrest, even for a priceless broom.

|thank you so much for reading A Common Ground, hit that little star if you liked it and comment down below so I can hear your thoughts & theories , Always - Morgan x|