Bagsy Beetlehorn and the Corvid Trials (The Bagsy Chronicles 2)

The Visit

Bagsy didn't catch sight of the muggle boy again during the summer holidays. She was oddly disappointed – as scary as meeting a muggle had been, she realised after the fact that she was fascinated by him and his life, and regretted her shyness for preventing her from learning more about a real-life muggle.

Her loneliness was slowly waning, however, as she soon found that, even if she couldn't meet her friends in person, that didn't mean she couldn't hear from them.

Greenda sent Bagsy more letters that summer than Bagsy had received her whole life. She spilled on and on about how nervous she was for the Ordinary Wizarding Levels she'd have to take at the end of the school year, and how she'd already drawn up revision timetables to follow from the first day of the school; she needed top grades if she wanted to be a healer. Greenda was also raving about the Rocketing Unicorns, her favourite Quidditch team, who had finally found success and won some matches. Apparently, the Rocketing Unicorns were a team composed of players who'd grown up around the area Greenda lived in, Middle Frogton, and her entire town was filled with posters and flags in colours of white and red to support them.

When Bagsy asked Bontie if she'd heard of the team, Bontie was very defensive.

'Of course, I've never heard of them. Why on earth would you think I had? Such nonsense,' she'd spluttered, most suspiciously. Bagsy had been confused but didn't think much of it.

In response to Greenda's letter, Bagsy had sent her the rough blueprints she'd made for the new brooms, and had received both praise and recommendations in equal measure. Greenda seemed fascinated by how well Bagsy understood the workings of brooms and Bagsy couldn't help puffing out her chest a little when Greenda wrote that she was "the most ingenious first year I've ever met!" Though, coming the new school year, Bagsy would be a second year student. It was strange to think about it. She'd grown used to being a first year.

Greenda didn't understand how brooms were made, but she knew more about their features than Bagsy, and helped point out what they were missing. For one, Greenda said they needed aerodynamic bristles or anti-altitude charms. Not wasting a moment, Bagsy had set to work fixing this as best she could, but soon realised some features required spells and couldn't be supplemented by parts. It almost made her want to give up, but she swallowed her bitterness and focussed on what she could do.

After exchanging a few letters with Greenda, Bagsy was getting into the swing of writing to friends. So much so, she felt brave enough to send a letter to Mezrielda. In a strange way, Bagsy reckoned she preferred Mezrielda's company slightly more than Greenda's. She couldn't explain why, especially when Greenda had never insulted or played tricks on her like Mezrielda had or annoyed her in the way Mezrielda did. Bagsy guessed that being closer in age may have something to do with it. Greenda was fifteen while she was soon to be twelve, and there were things Greenda had experienced and understood that she could only dream of. Mezrielda, on the other hand, seemed on the same page as Bagsy a lot more than Greenda was. Then again, Bagsy thought, there was little use in comparing her friends; having even one was a miracle, let alone two. She could only count herself as extremely lucky.

Her first letter to Mezrielda was very informal, simply asking if Mezrielda could help her with her brooms by casting some charms on them and enquiring how she was doing. When she'd received a letter waxed sealing with a G for Glint Bagsy felt embarrassed by her own rushed correspondence. Mezrielda's writing was perfectly neat, as if a charmed quill had detailed calligraphy onto the page, and not a human being. The spelling was perfect, naturally, as was the grammar. Or, at least, Bagsy assumed it was. She supposed she had no way of checking, given how bad she was at it, and felt the need to consult at least two dictionaries when interpreting what Mezrielda had responded with.