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- 05 -
The cold morning air blew through my hair, the hair tie that had been holding it in place had snapped and fallen away from the sheer current of the wind. My grip was loose on the scales on Caelins back, in my mind I felt myself slipping, falling through the unforgiving air to the solid ground. Never to wake again. For a second, my hands do slip and I slide further down Caelins back, but my mind betrays me. What are you doing? A sharp voice asks in my mind, sounding suspiciously like a mixture of Cedric and Fred. I push thoughts of joining Cedric down, deep down to hopefully never be thought about again, much less acted on.
Caelin soars lowly over the castle, and I can just make out a blur of red hair relaxing on the entrance steps, despite the cool October air. I sigh, knowing I needed to bring myself but to earth soon, or I'd miss Breakfast. So would Fred, it seemed. I seriously doubt he'd move from the steps until he saw me. With a tap on the side of Caelins long neck, the dragon lets out a puff of annoyance but complies, diving down between the trees of the forbidden forest and allowing me to slide off his back. I lean my head against his, stroking his chin. Caelin had always been a constant presence in my life, but over the last few months, he had become a place of calm for me. A place away from the stares, and away from the expectations.
Usually, I'd sprint through the forest, but lately, I hadn't been able to find the energy to run. When I finally emerged from the forest, Fred was still waiting on the steps. With my eyes focused on him, I paid no attention to my surroundings and made my way over to him. Though I quickly regretted that decision. A loud, 'hem, hem' pulled my attention from Fred to my left, where the short woman glared at me, her hands placed crossly on his hips.
"Miss Black, what exactly do you think you're doing in the Forbidden Forest."
"Oh I was just vis-" I start, but the wretched woman holds her hand up to silence me.
"No excuses Miss Black, I expect to see you in my office tonight for detention."
"Professor I have permission from Dum-"
"No excuses Miss Black, or would you like another detention?" I gape at the woman, first, she asks me what I was doing, stops me from answering, and then gives me detention despite the fact I have permission from Dumbledore himself. I watched, mouth open in shock as she bounces back up to the castle, Fred glancing between me and her with a worried look on his face.
"What did she want?" He asks as he falls into step beside me, slipping his hand into mine as we walk towards the great hall for breakfast.
