The Mystery of the Philosopher's Stone.

Chapter 15: Etta's Discoveries

Etta was disappointed that Harry wouldn't be home over Christmas. She didn't know anything about the relatives she would be visiting, as her foster parents said it was going to be a surprise. They lived in the Highlands of Scotland, in a remote village. Etta and her family would be flying to a nearby airport and hiring a car.

As soon as the holidays started, they would be leaving, to avoid the Christmas rush. The flight only lasted one hour and then an hours drive to the village, up in the mountains. They turned off the main road, up a small lane and saw a large, stone cottage or farmhouse in the distance. As they pulled into the the drive, they heard dogs barking. Long-horned, shaggy Highland cattle could be seen in the fields close by. As the car stopped a man and a woman emerged from the front door, followed by two large dogs and twin boys of about seven years. The adults greeted each other by name and introduced the children to each other. The boys were called Oscar and Felix.

Everybody walked straight into the large, warm kitchen to have a hot drink and a slice of red velvet cake. After the refreshments,  Mr and Mrs Thistlewood offered to help the Green's bring in their luggage; everyone joined in, including the twins carrying the coats with the dogs barking excitedly and getting under everyone's feet. Mr and Mrs Green and Etta went upstairs to unpack. Etta had her own small room and Mr and Mrs Green had a large one across the corridor.

There was an old fashioned radiator in the room. But, it seemed to work well, as the room was cosy and warm. It did not take long for Etta to unpack and she sat on her bed looking out of the window at the incredible views of the mountains and wildlife on the slopes, including rabbits, foxes and even a wildcat. When Etta was tired of this, she opened one of the dinosaur books she had brought with her to read until dinner time.She was called to dinner forty five minutes later. The dinner was something called Cullen Skink which sounded unappetising, but was actually delicious. It was a thick Scottish soup made with smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. It was served with warm, crusty rolls, straight from the oven.For dessert was Cranachan, another Scottish speciality, made from cream, raspberries, Scottish oats, honey and whisky. During dinner Etta noticed that the twins had slightly pointed teeth, as hers had been in the summer. Also, their fingernails were more claw-like than usual. When they all went to get ready for bed, Etta asked her foster mother to come into her room.

'What's wrong?" Mrs Green asked.

"Are we related to Mr and Mrs Thistlewood?" Etta asked.

'Yes, we are," Elizabeth replied, calmly.

"How?" Etta immediately replied.

"Your foster father is related to Mrs Thistlewood. She is his first cousin and the twins are your second cousins. Mr and Mrs Thistlewood are disguised dinosaurs but they have very little human blood mixed into their ancestry. Their children are the same. That is why they show signs of dinosaur heritage at an earlier age than you did, because of your mixed blood-line. I noticed you staring at them during dinner and I guessed what you were thinking. I was not surprised when you asked me to talk to you this evening," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Are there any others?" Etta asked eagerly.

"Not in this country, but there are a few abroad, in Eastern Europe, they came because of Grindelwald and decided to stay as they were aware that Voldemort would cause trouble in the future," Elizabeth explained, "You'd better get to bed now, as it's quite late and the family will be up early in the morning, as they are farmers."

Etta had a lot to think about that night. But she was pleased to meet her dinosaur kin. While they were staying there Etta and Mr and Mrs Green made a day trip to Hogwart's to visit Harry. The night before the trip, Etta had a dream about a red stone, like a ruby. She saw Harry reach out his hand for it and an ominous shadow in the background also reaching for it. She interpreted the dream to mean that the stone was a dangerous thing to seek. She told Harry about this on their visit, but it did not mean anything to Harry. He promised that he would be careful and bear in mind what she had told him. Two days after this visit, the Green's returned home, having had a very quiet, but pleasant time with their relatives.