Modification || T. Riddle || Completed

Chapter 30: Initiation

Chapter 30: Initiation

The sky was dark and the air was crisp as the leaves crunched beneath her feet. She shivered as a cold wind swept passed her body and she clutched her shawl more tightly around her. Amidst the darkness of the forest where she walked, a shining blue orb-like light was now visible just ahead of her. She could not identify the source of the light, but it seemed to be coming from within one of the many trees that stood around her like soldiers, shielding her from the moonlight.

When she reached the tree she hesitated, before reaching within the broken trunk, breaking through the barrier of cobwebs and moss, where her eyes met something hidden within. She held her wand above the box hidden inside the trunk of the tree and stared. It was a box like no other she had ever seen - there was no visible opening - it was akin to a black cube with no means of entering, similar to the Japanese puzzle boxes she had read about.

She had a strange instinct to place the palm of her hand on the surface of the box. As she did so and her skin met the cold material, she felt a rush of energy surge through her hand, up through her arm and all over her body, and the eerie silence of the forest was broken by the sound of a small clicking noise that echoed around the forest floor. The wind blew a fresh breeze of air around her, rustling the leaves above, causing the trees to sway like drunk men leaving the Hog's Head Inn after one too many firewhiskies, allowing some of the moonlight to creep in, giving her extra light where she kneeled looking at the strange box.

The strange feeling that someone was watching her made her feel uneasy, and she cast a quick glance around her where she saw nothing unusual - just tree trunks and foliage - and heard nothing but the leaves moving in the wind and the sound of her own heavy breath. She was just about to open the box and reveal what was inside when an owl landed on a branch above her and hooted softly, annunciating what seemed to sound like 'Estela...' She stared at the bird and its eyes became brown and human like as it hooted, 'Estela, wake up!'

Estela's eyes shot open as they looked around quickly. Estela came to her surroundings and found she was lying in bed in the girl's dormitories, and Cayra was stood above her.

"You've overslept, it's 8:45." said Cayra, watching Estela who sat up quickly in her bed. "Here, I brought you some toast." And she handed Estela a plate with two slices of toast topped with jam.

"Thanks." Estela muttered as she took a bite out of the toast.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she remembered what she dreamed about. It had seemed so real, just as real as the dreams she used to get about the snake-eyed monster with white skin. She had not dreamed about that monster for a while, come to think of it. She remembered the box in her dream and had a burning desire to know what was inside it. She then pushed the thought out of her mind and settled that it was only a dream.

After getting ready as quick as she could, she made her way down to potions with Anthony who looked as though he had just woken up.

"Rough night," he said with a small smile as he saw Estela watching him as he gave a long yawn. "I was up until about 2 finishing the potions essay." He explained as he smoothed down his honey-coloured hair. "I heard you slept in this morning too."

"Yes, for the first time in a long while. Why did you leave the essay so late?"

"I've been short on time recently," he said somewhat distantly. "This year really is a step up from O.W.Ls. I mean, being a prefect adds enough stress to the job for me, I don't know how you can handle all the advanced classes you're taking, too. How on earth do you do it?"

"Because she's a genius," Cayra said from beside Anthony. "You could throw an ancient, legendary puzzle at her and she could solve it in two seconds. It wouldn't surprise me if you were the legend they speak of in the prophecy of Merlin!"