Janna Black and The Cite of the Dead

The pumpkin patch

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Throughout the night Janna tossed and turned, on some occasions Ash would squeak at her and rub his furry face into her cheek, he would let a few flecks fly around for Janna to watch. Ash watched as Janna fell asleep again before lying at her forehead in a round white ball and absorb his flecks again.

The next morning Janna's eyes flew open, she had heard a heavy step at the foot of her bed, she slowly lifted herself, she stared wide eyed in between the two posts of the bed, she didn't see anyone at her bed. Janna sat upright and saw a pillow had fallen off the bed on her trunk, she breathed in deeply, feeling her head pulse with blood, Ash was next to her pillow where her head had been resting, his small body inflated and deflated as he breathed in his sleep.

The room was completely vacant, besides Janna herself, she took the opportunity to change in the dorm, since it was the weekend she didn't have to wear school uniform, she pulled her scarf that had elongated when she was picked up by Harry on the first... She knew it was going to be cold, especially since she was nearer to the north than usual, and because it was halfway through October.

As Janna waited for the boys in the landing where the stairs split she thought about how Greyback was going to get out of Azkaban, she knew that he wasn't able to sneak out like he had done on the night he had bitten her, she pursed her lips, watching the light beam behind her from a clear stain glass window into the common room where a few fifth years were studying.

    "Oi, Janna" Said Jake's voice from the top of the stairs, Janna looked up and saw the boys coming down "Orion is going to take us to Hagrid's after breakfast, you coming?"

Janna nodded, smiling "Yes, certainly" Janna finally find something else to think about now, but the previous, though, still lingered.

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After the four first year students went to breakfast Orion lead them down the sloping green, Janna heard the frost bit grass crunch under their feet, behind them a shadow of their shoes stick out in the glowing crystals of frozen grass. Orion slid an arm around Janna's shoulder, she accepted the warmth as he ran his hand through her hair, his black fingerless gloves allowed his fingers to feel her hair.

The four of them walked around a pumpkin patch where monstrously large pumpkins sat, "I wonder what those are for" Jake said, tapping a big pumpkin which sat right by the steps to Hagrid's hut.

   "For Halloween," Juno explained, smiling, his cheeks turning a pinky colour "my grandma grows pumpkins like those, they can grow even larger than these are now, usually she just makes pumpkin pie and fritters"

The pumpkin Jake had takes jumped out at the boy, the pumpkin's vines flayed at him. Jake shot back and mimicked the plant which groaned as it tried to move to him. The plant began to chuck frozen dirt at Jake who dodged the dirt by running into the pumpkin patch, the pumpkin he had disturbed slung a stone at Jake which missed and hit another pumpkin, Jake laughed but tripped on a vine, falling onto the patch, knocking another pumpkin. Two more pumpkins creaked and came to life, the one Jake had fallen on was about to swat him with a vine reaching to Jake's face "Immobulis!" Yelled Orion, aiming at the vine which stopped right before hitting Jake in the face.

Jake ran out the patch as pumpkins began to throw rocks and dirt at each other, he stopped at the group, laughing breathe less while wiping off his cloths "Woah, that was scary" he laughed, "Orion, you could have shot me in the face, you know"

Orion patted Jake's shoulder "But I didn't, you're welcome"

Inside the hut Hagrid came out from the kitchen; he thundered to the front door, Juno and Jake stepped back when the door swung open letting Fang the hound out, the great dog bound to Janna and pressed his giant forehead into her hand, he nosed it as Hagrid picked up a shovel, not noticing the four students in front of his door.

   "Calm dow', yeh grea' orange things!" Hagrid bellowed as he hit the pumpkins on the stems where the pumpkins connected to the plants, the last one of the bigger pumpkins grabbed the shovel, wrapping its vines around the wide blade head and the long branch that held the head "le' go' yeh darn bugger!" Hagrid slammed the pumpkin on the top, causing the vines to fall off the shovel and dig back into the ground "Ha, tha'll show you" Hagrid muttered, lifting the shovel.

The giant turned to the door, he stopped when he saw the four first years "Oh, hullo, Janna, Orion and...you two" Hagrid trudged to the four of them "come on in, I'll ready us a pot of tea" Hagrid called, moving into his house, Fang walked to Juno who jumped at the sight of the large dog.

   "Careful, Juno, if you jump too high you might fly away" Jake joked, Juno flushed while Orion and Janna chuckled as the four of them entered the hut. Hagrid had placed the shovel in a corner where a wooden chair carried a strange broad-leaf plant with bright orange roots which traveled out the large brown pot it was housed in. The four students sat around the table, Juno struggled to sit at the table since his chin could only rest on the table, he sat on his legs to take care of that problem.

   "So Orion, Janna, w'oo are these two lads with yeh?" Hagrid asked as he came with a tray of five large mugs and the large blue teapot.

   "This is Juno Erdem" Orion patted Juno's shoulder "and this is Jake Siglavy"

Hagrid looked up at Jake from pouring the tea into a mug "A Siglavy?"

Jake gulped, he then ran his hand through his hair and nodded "Yeah... You must have met my two other sisters who came here"

   "Met 'em? No, I caugh' 'em many a time, tryin' to get into the Forbidden Forest, bloody blighters tried to steal ol' Goldfeather once" Hagrid grumbled, setting the tea pot onto the tray again and placing the mugs in front of each student "Orion mus' have told ya all 'bout the work he does in detention, I think I better show yeh some of 'em" Hagrid leaned to the four of them "just don' tell Professor McGonagall, she might think tis' dangerous bu' not if I'm with yeh"

So after tea Hagrid lead the four students to the edge of the wood, there were strange noises coming from the trees, like squawks and whistles of birds and other creatures, with Hagrid he carried a jar of fire flies, which were more bright in the dim forest. Janna loved the smell of this forest, she though she might try to ran through it on the full moon at some point, just for the night.

The group came to a grassy clearing in the forest, the trees seemed to be scorched and cracking at the hem of the clearing, across  them in the gap between two tall trees there was a makeshift cave of large branches, boulders and long golden feathers which were knotted and twisted to help the structure keep its shape. The cave didn't seem to have an end or any light that came in through the branches and rocks. Hagrid twinkled his fingers on the glass of the jar with the fireflies, inside the cave there was a trill that mimicked the sound of low thunder, within the cave a pair of golden eyes glowed in the darkness.