The Beginning of Broken Tales

Posted on Sunday, 30th of July, 2023 @ 9:49am by Seventh Year Gryffindor Jennifer Collins & Fifth Year Gryffindor Prefect Kaitlyn Varoni & Third Year Gryffindor Jesse Connor & Third Year Slytherin Samantha Hawthorn

1,159 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Once Upon a Fracture...
Location: Various
Timeline: End of September

On

It had been a month since the welcome banquet and students were mostly settled into a new school year. Seventh-year students were focused on the N.E.W.T.s, but the rest were simply trying not to fall behind. Which is to say, it was starting like every other year. That is, until shortly after the last class ended on Friday.

This was going to be an eventful year. Thank goodness it was only Kayla's 1st year. Lucky it wasn't 5th or 7th year. That would be devastating! Oh, the irony! Homework and exams. The pileup of essays. But then everything all changed.

====

Jennifer sat on a blanket near the Forbidden Forest, a pile of books stacked neatly in three piles while she worked on a two-foot-long essay. She'd already blocked out her study time for the semester so she'd get her work done and have some time to study with Reg--although he'd been busy enough that she barely saw him as it was. One more year, she promised herself, then they'd be out of Hogwarts and might actually have time to spend together.

The sound of a trumpet caught her attention. It was coming from the forest. She stood and walked to the edge of the trees to listen. For a long moment, there was nothing, then the sound came again, only this time there were other trumpets. Then, faintly, she heard the sound of men talking.

She looked around for someone to call, but she was alone. Her first thought was that the Centaurs were up to something, or it was some special event. They were the only man-like creatures she knew of in the woods.

Then something brushed against her legs. "Hide me," a small, high-pitched voice said.

Jen looked down at a small fox. "Hide you from what?" She'd long grown accustomed to odd creatures talking to her at Hogwarts.

"The hunters. You have to hide me."

The horns sounded again. "There are no..." Did she catch a glimpse of men on horseback? "Okay. Come over to the blanket."

She hid the fox under the blanket and just managed to seat herself when a man on horseback rode out of the woods. "Did you by chance see a fox come this way?" he asked.

He was quite the most handsome man she'd ever seen. "Fox?" She looked around. "Why would a fox be out here?"

He looked around the grounds, then at the school and finally back at her. "I see your point, milady." He gave her a warm smile that seemed to radiate from his eyes. "I apologize for disturbing you." He took off his feathered cap and bowed. "I will take my leave if you don't mind." He didn't wait for an answer before turning and riding back into the woods.

Jennifer watched him, bemused. She heard dogs baying, then the horns again before they faded away.

The fox crawled out from under the blanket. "Thank you! I owe you my life." It licked her hand, then ran off.

Jen shook her head, then went back to writing her essay.

Fiona came up to her a short while later. "Still studying?"

Jen looked up. "Yeah. I was hoping Reg would join me, but I haven't seen him today."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him, either. Must be studying somewhere else."

"I hope so. I hope there isn't a problem. It's been rough with his father around," Jen said.

Fiona plopped onto the grass. "Yea. I'm glad this is our last year. That guy gives me the creeps."

Jen, too, but she wasn't going to say anything. If she and Reg stayed together, she'd end up seeing him a lot more often.

====

Kayla was glad this was only her first year. There were many other things that she had not done yet. Reg was deep down a great guy!

====

Kaitlyn had a short break before her next class. There wasn't enough time to go to the library, but the sun was shining and it was a warm day, even for early October. She decided she should take advantage of the weather and enjoy it while she could. It wouldn't be long beforesnow covered the grounds. She found a nice patch of grass and sat down to look over her book for her potions class. It wasn't one of her favorites and she needed to study if she was going to do well. She was trying to memorize the ingredients for one of the new potions when she heard a flock of geese fly overhead. She looked up to see them. They honked again and she thought she heard them call to each other. Was that directions? No. She had to be imagining things. But as they continued south, she though she heard one of them mention Hogwarts... She shook her head and went back to her studies.

====

Jesse Connor was glad to get outside for a bit of peace and quiet before his next class, which had to be one of the most BORING classes at Hogwarts, the History of Magic. He was thinking of how to respond to a letter he'd received from a witch of unknown relevance to him, her name was not at all familiar, and he'd sent a message to his grandmother trying to figure out who Sabina Rabbot was and why she had sent him a letter via an owl.

Whilst Jesse contemplated who Sabina Rabbot was and the rather cryptic letter she'd sent him, Jesse caught the briefest of glimpses of someone or something reflecting in the nearby window. When Jesse turned to see who or what it was, there wasn't anyone or anything there, as it had been a brief glimpse he wasn't 100

Samantha Hawthorn was coming along a nearby corridor to where her cousin was standing, she was looking at him in his Gryffindor uniform and smiling to herself, they had not grown apart despite being in different houses as she had feared, in fact it might have had the exact opposite effect, and thus it brought them closer than before.

Samantha was fixated on her cousin that she almost didn't see something or someone standing near her, when she did process what she might have seen, it was gone, and thus she was unsure if there was anyone or anything there at all.

Jesse seeing Samantha hurried to see her "Silly question, but did you see anyone or anything just now?" he asked her.

"Yes I thought I saw someone or something standing close by, but when I looked again, there was nothing there," Samantha replied.

"Something weird is going on here, and for this place, that is saying something," Jesse commented.

"Agreed," Samantha replied.

:OFF:

Kayla Taff T
1st Year Hufflepuff

Jennifer Collins
7th Year Gryffindor, Head Girl

Fiona MacLeod
7th Year Ravenclaw

Kaitlyn Varon
5th Year Gryffindor Prefect

Jesse Connor
3rd Year Gryffindor
Samantha Hawthorne
3rd Year Slytherin

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