Harry Potter--Dawning

Dawning

Godric pointed over at a large field that could barely be seen in the remaining night. “Over there,” he was saying, “we can put in the Quidditch pitch.”

Helga peered into the dark. “I wonder if it’s big enough.”

“I thought you wanted to put in a place to practice your fencing,” said Salazar.

“I can do both!”

“Have we got any food?” Rowena asked. “I forget how hungry I am in the morning hours.”

“I brought a few muffins,” Helga said, pulling them from it seemed her sleeves. “What about the lake, though? Seems a shame to put such a large thing to waste.”

“Remember,” Salazar said, “the mermaids. They’re rather… vicious things.”

“Ought to have a giant squid,” said Godric through mouthfuls of muffin.

“Why on earth would we have a giant squid?”

“Just ought to.”

“Where would we get one?” Helga asked.

Godric shrugged. “Just ought to.”

“There!” Rowena called. “That’s the spot!”

She hurried up the hill, collapsing on the top and motioning her friends closer. The rest followed slowly, but made it just the same.

“Why are we up at this ungodly hour again?” Salazar asked.

“Hm? Oh. We’re watching the sunrise.”

They could see just over the tops of the trees. The forest seemed to go on forever.

“When do we start exploring the forest?” Godric asked.

“I hear terrible sounds coming from it,” Helga said.

“That’s all right. We can take a few beasts.”

Salazar rolled his eyes. “We can’t take a forest full of them. Why are we watching the sunrise?”

Rowena smiled. “Because I’ve never seen one.”

He was not convinced.

“What do you think could be in the forest?” Godric whispered to Helga.

“Anything, I would think,” she answered. “Maybe a Snagzat.”

“A what?”

“Little purple things that fly around and burrow into people’s skulls.”

“Oh,” said Godric, touching the top of his head. “They don’t sound pleasant.”

“I think they prefer warmer climates though.”

“Maybe we can find a phoenix. I always wanted one of those.”

“Have you ever seen one?”

“No.”

“There’s a picture in one of my books,” Rowena said. “They’re big, I think. Er… swan-sized.”

“What do your books say about giant squids?”

“We’re not getting you a giant squid,” Salazar said.

“Don’t see why not,” Godric mumbled.

“Because it’s a giant squid.”

“It could be a friendly giant squid,” Rowena tried.

“Do they come like that?” Helga asked.

“I’d have to look.”

Their talk continued for another few hours. By the time the sun had found its way over the treetops, Godric and Helga had gone to investigate the edge of the forest, and were probably discussing the difficulty of finding a giant squid. Rowena sat up.

“There,” she said. “The sun came up.”

“As long as we’ve got that settled,” Salazar muttered.

She nudged him and smiled. “We should stop them, shouldn’t we?”

“Godric fights his way out of everything. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

She yawned and settled against him. “Watching the sunrise is a tiring experience.”

“I suppose.” He could feel his own yawn coming, and tried to suppress it. “You’re usually up until the morning hours anyway, aren’t you?”

She shook her head. “I never make it to the sunrise. I wanted to try.” She yawned again, closing her eyes. “We won’t be getting much done today, I feel.”

“We rarely do.” Damn. Now he was getting tired. He leaned back, and she sagged against him.

“Are you sure they’ll be all right?” Rowena murmured. “I think there are centaurs in these woods.”

Salazar didn’t answer, but she didn’t notice. Both had fallen asleep, just in time for Godric and Helga to hike back up the hill.

“We ought to wake them,” Helga said after a moment, hiding a smile as Salazar mumbled something in his sleep and pulled Rowena closer.

“Are you kidding?” Godric said. “He won’t be living this down for weeks!”

He wouldn’t, but Godric might not have lived to finish his jokes.