What happened here? on At Home

Auror Walker Benton

January 15, 2022 7:39 PM

What happened here? by Auror Walker Benton

Auror Walker Benton looked around the forest again and saw nothing. Well, not exactly nothing, there was a massive bear lying unconscious on the ground not far away. The trees, shrubbery and rest of the environs looked like a magical war had broken out here. Bark and branches were shattered, the ground was torn up and debris was strewn all around the place. The problem was that he couldn’t see any sign of the ones who had done it.

He’d gotten alarms of underage magical use way up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. Apparently a pair of muggle-born siblings who attended Sonora Academy lived way out there. Frankly at the activity he thought they might be trying to kill each other. Upon apperating to the scene though, he only found… this. The bear had obviously been hit with numerous spells, which upon investigation, actually didn’t seem to have done much to it. However it also seems to have had a number of large rocks and tree limbs dropped upon it as well. The flurry of activity made sense, and if they had been attacked by the bear, it certainly fell into the ‘self-defense’ exception to that rule. That thing looked mean, Benton wasn’t sure he’d want to take it on alone.

Where were the kids though? He hadn’t taken that long to get here, they couldn’t have gotten far. Thankfully he didn’t see any blood around the area to indicate that the bear had gotten either of them. Were they hiding? Auror Benton waved his wand to try to locate the kids, to no avail. Very strange, he thought to himself. There was something else though that he had picked up in the process, he was in the midst of a Muggle-Repelling charm. That was peculiar. The kids couldn’t have done that, by the reports the elder was only going into his fourth year. It did in theory make his job a bit easier though, as no Muggle could have seen what transpired here. No possible break in the Statute of Secrecy. Still…

“Mr. and Ms. Cobb,” He called out, “I am Auror Walker Benton, and I came here to investigate the use of underage magic.” He paused, listening and watching for any sort of response. Nothing. “If you were defending yourselves against this creature, you are not in any trouble, that is allowed but I would still like to talk with you.” Again he paused and waited for any sort of response. Still nothing. He sighed. “I will need to make a report about this incident, and will be in contact with your parents as well.” Again, nothing. He sighed once more, for all he knew they inadvertently apperated themselves home during the fight and the bear collapsed once it’s prey was gone. Who knows. He’d make the report and see what happened, maybe someone would follow up, maybe it would get ignored. With a quick step he apperated away.

2 Auror Walker Benton What happened here? 0 Auror Walker Benton 1 7

Iris Cobb

January 17, 2022 6:30 PM

Nothing! Nothing at all by Iris Cobb

Iris watched the man with her eyes wide and dreading the moment he found them. Billy had his hand over her mouth and they were both pressed against the old stone wall hard enough to make her wonder if they weren’t going to push it over. She wasn’t sure why he didn’t see them, he wasn’t more than a stone’s throw away and they were just standing here against the wall in plain view. Still she noticed that anytime he looked in their general direction his eyes looked like they weren’t focusing on them but on some place far behind them. It was weird. That didn’t stop her stomach from twisting into knots or feeling like she was going to pee herself.

When the man spoke she got more worried, and Billy seemed to hold on to her harder. Then he said they weren’t in trouble and she nearly collapsed in relief, Billy still held on to her. Hadn’t he heard? They weren’t in trouble. She shot him a look, he was still pressed against the wall watching the Auror like a hawk. Finally the man left, magiced himself away just like he’d come. Billy still didn’t release her and she tried to pull free. He redoubled his efforts while continuing to watch that spot. After a moment he let go.

“Alright, guess he ain’t commin’ back.” Her brother said as he looked around before turning to her. “Now what the heck were you doin’ followin me like that?”

“‘Cause the last time ya wandered off like that we didn’t get ta come home for Christmas!” she stated matter-of-factly back at him. She heard the other boys telling him that they’d been hunting around the forest for more coins with no luck. He was going to have to take them to find more. She followed to try and stop any more stupidity like last time. After a while though the others suddenly remembered things that they had to do, really important things, and ran back home. She figured Billy’d head back as well, but no… her stupid brother kept on going alone. “You wandering around this part of the forest all alone is really dumb you know.” She accused him, “This area’s off limits ‘cause of that bear!” She glanced back at it, thankfully it wasn’t moving… yet.

“Why didn’t he see us?” She then asked. That hadn’t made any sense at all. Nothing here was making sense anymore. “We were right there, plain as day!"

2 Iris Cobb Nothing! Nothing at all 1526 0 5

Billy Cobb

January 20, 2022 6:37 PM

Abosolutely. by Billy Cobb

Billy shrugged. He knew that was true, but danger was part of the life of an explorer. Even if it was the creature that had plagued his nightmares. He made sure to remain calm. “It weren’t so bad, an’ I found some more coins.” He replied casually. True, he’d frozen again when the bear had burst from the underbrush to charge them, something he thought he was past by this point. Apparently not. Iris had hit it with something, distracted it and pulled him from his stupor. They tried to run, but got a bit mixed up in their haste to leave. Instead they wound up slinging every spell and trick they’d learned so far at the thing, keeping it off balance and confused. It had them backed up against this stone wall when they finally dropped a big enough rock on it’s head to stop the thing.

Then the man appeared. The auror. Billy had just known they were going to be in trouble… but they weren’t? He hadn’t even seen ‘em? Weird. Cool. Dope. “Dunno why he didn’t.. Magic I guess.” He shrugged again in answer to his sister. Sounded like a question for a professor, but not one he was actually likely to ask.

“Let’s get home!” Iris insisted. “We gotta get ready to go back to school tomorrow and it’s gettin’ dark.” Pfft. Billy waved his hand dismissively. “We got time yet, stop yer worrying. Who built a wall out here?” He began to climb the stone wall, Iris was such a wet blanket. Why couldn't he have gotten out here with Oz or Ray? “Come on!” he gestured to Iris to follow him. His head crested the top and he stopped in amazement. “Whoa… you gotta see this!”

2 Billy Cobb Abosolutely. 1519 0 5

Iris Cobb

January 21, 2022 7:19 PM

We're done here now. by Iris Cobb

“What?” Iris just really wanted to get home, and maybe if she was very lucky, get off to school before the Auror came to talk to Ma and Pa. But Billy was staring over the wall with an odd look and a weird smile. Dangnabit. She scrambled up the wall as well, the sooner they were done with this, the sooner they could get home. Plus if she just left, who knows what he might do.

On the other side of the wall, there was a house. A big house. An old and dilapidated, big house. The wall ran around the grounds of overgrown gardens. If it were in better shape, Iris thought it would be an amazing house and grounds. Something almost like she’d imagined Amethyst might live in. There was a sign near the door that was hanging crooked, as if being held in place by one remaining fastener. It was as old and worn as the rest of the place, and only two letters were visible on it 'C' and 'b'.

Iris looked at everything and was confused. "How did the Auror not see any of this? Surely he would have investigated, we could have been just inside? It was like he was looking around at just open forest."

"Dunno," Billy looked at her with a grin that didn’t end. “Let’s go explor…” He was cut off as there was the slight sound of movement behind them. They both turned in unison and saw one of the massive paws of the bear twitch.

“Time to go.” Iris breathed quietly.

“Yeah…” Billy responded just as quietly, but very reluctantly. They ran for home as they heard the bear really starting to stir again.

2 Iris Cobb We're done here now. 1526 0 5