Sweets

CHAPTER 13

The next morning we received the news. Ten prisoners and Death Eaters had broken out of Askaban Prison last night. Kristie was beyond shocked. She thought that Askaban was safe, that noone could break out. But clearly she had already forgotten about what happened in our third year, when Sirius Black broke out. He was still not caught either and now that more Death Eaters had managed to escape, the Wizarding World was starting to suspect bad things, with both Black and ten more horrible people out. Yet the school remained open nonetheless, nothing less was expected of a school that remained open, even if there was a giant monster roaming around after all.

The teachers started preparing us students for our OWL exams in june, which consisted of only much more homework. We barely had any leisure time anymore, peaceful walks on the grounds were now turned into nights of studying that often went well past midnight. I hadn't seen Ryu once since we talked in the library, except for the classes we had together. Even if he wasn't here to stay, he was still expected to participate in all the classes and take the exams.

Adding to that, I still attended the DA meetings, Kristie dropped that some time ago to cram more stuff into her brain. Dumbledore's Army still met as regularly as possible with all the studying and Quidditch practices going on. Sooo... our meetings were not regular at all. One time, the date and time on the coin changed so late, that I couldn't make it because I still had to finish an essay that was due the next day in the first period.

#

Months passed by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, March had passed and we were now in April. It seemed like the first time in forever that I had a bit of time for myself. It was a quiet Sunday and the sun shone brightly upon all of us. Many students were outside, enjoying the great weather but I was walking along the Black Lake's shore towards the Forbidden Forest. It had just came to my mind that the evening before those ten Death Eaters escaped, I had seen something glowing deep inside the forest. It had emitted the most peculiar color, a color I knew very well. The same pale blue that I saw in the halls before.

Standing on the edge to the forest I wondered. Was anything hiding in there? Anyone? The escapees from Askaban? They hadn't acted up at all up until now and something seemed suspicious. Then again, it could be the paranoia taking over. I hadn't been in the forest before and it seemed so very dark, so very intimidating. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the forest. Immediately, I felt as if the darkness engulfed me. I could practically fell it reaching out and tugging at me, trying to drag me deeper into the trees to the very heart of the forest.

I shook my head quickly to get rid of those feelings and started walking. I didn't know where to go, so I just let my feet carry me, but I did try to walk in the direction I thought the light to be at. I hoped that once I was getting closer, I would see it.

Deeper and deeper into the darkness I went, only having my wand to illuminate the path in front of me. But the simple spell got less effective with every minute. It was as if the darkness around me was slowly feeding on the light on the tip of my wand, eliminating it.

A sudden movement sounded to my left. I snapped my head around and tried making out any shape in the darkness. I wasn't stupid. Of course I knew that all kinds of creatures resided within the confines of these trees. Another sound. My feet stopped all on their own, seizing any sounds coming from me. I listened intently, trying to make out where the movement was, if it was a dangerous being or just a little bunny hopping by. Yeah, right. The bunny would have been devoured long ago by the magical creatures in here.

As I was pondering my thoughts, I didn't notice the figure that was moving towards me. A sharp breath sounded behind me. My eyes widened and I spun around only to be faced with a Thestral. A sigh escaped my lungs and I examined the creature closer. I never got the chance to take a good look at the skeleton-like horse in class. The Thestral was beautiful, majestic even. It lowered its head and neighed softly, pushing its head against my torso. I was surprised that the being was so comfortable with me, a human whom it has never seen before. Timidly, I reached out a hand to pet it and as soon as my skin touched the Thestral's, it nestled in my hand and let out a low whinny. I pet the magical horse slowly, eyes widening as I saw its wings unfold.