Becca bounced her leg as her father drove further into the country. She was slightly nervous to see her aunt and cousins again. It had been a very long time since they had visited Aunt Carol because, well, she did not actually know. Her aunt and cousin Charles had been a regular face around the apartment when she was little. Then, without warning or goodbye, they had stopped showing up.

Becca smiled a little to herself as she remembered her shock when she read her father’s letter stating they would be spending a week at Aunt Carol’s estate during the winter holidays. Becca half expected the trip would be cancelled suddenly, but it seemed that was not the case.

Her father turned down a large drive and Becca craned her neck. The large house quickly came into view, and Becca’s mouth dropped open.

"Aunt Carol lives here?" she asked, surprised.

Her father squinted his eyes and nodded. "It seems that way. Do not break anything. I’m not sure I could afford to replace it."

Becca grinned at her father. Once they parked the car, Aunt Carol and Charles stepped out of the house, along with three other children younger than Becca. She did not realize Aunt Carol had more children than Charles. Becca’s father gasped and she looked over at him. He was staring at the other children with an unreadable expression. If she had to guess, her father did not know Aunt Carol’s younger children either.

They stepped out of the car and towards the gathered family on the steps. Aunt Carol smiled at them but did not make a move towards them. Becca’s father walked up to his sister, with Becca following closely behind, and greeted his sister warmly. It was a little stiff, but Aunt Carol greeted them too then introduced her three youngest children, Eliza, Michael, and Simon.

Becca followed her father into the house after the introductions were made. Becca listened to her father and aunt catch up on five years of absence. Eventually, they made their way to the room she would share with Eliza.

Becca looked at the posters hanging on the wall and a sense of dread began to spread in her stomach. She was about to spend a week in a room with a girl she did not know existed until half an hour ago, in a house she had never seen before. It was like starting Hogwarts all over, although at least this time she was only staying a week.

Suddenly, a horrible realization dawned on her. Neither her nor her father had purchased presents for the three younger cousins. Merlin, this was not shaping up to be a great start to the holiday break.

Word Count: 455

Explanation -
Credit - Made using a template from Canva with pictures from Pexels.com

Explanation -

Becca had never really considered her future. She always got so wrapped up in finding out about the past and dealing with the present that the future seemed almost like an abstract thought instead of reality. When teachers asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she always said a professor like her father, but she never really wanted to do that. She wanted to do something else; she just didn’t know what.

Now, though, staring at the pages of her Defense Against the Dark Arts book, she realized what the something else always was. She wanted to save people. She wanted to be a hero. Not for the glory, necessarily, she assured herself, but for the act of saving somebody.

She wanted to be the monster hunter that came in and saved the village. Or the explorer that stopped some thieves from stealing a precious artifact. Or the person who warned the government that a volcano was about to explode.

She looked at the picture of the beast on her page and made a vow to herself that she would learn all that she could from Hogwarts. As soon as she was old enough, she was going to travel the world and learn all she could. She was going to save villages, or people, from any and all beasts that wanted to do them harm. That was her destiny.
Word Count: 233

Explanation -
Credit: Superman and anything affiliated with him is the property of DC Comics. This was made for personal use.

Explanation -
Credit - Pictures from Pexels.com

Explanation -

Becca marveled at the seaweed forest she was swimming through. She did not realize the plant could grow so tall. It was amazing! Becca weaved in and out of the seaweed, careful not to let herself get entangled in it.

Suddenly, a round clearing appeared with a table made from pebbles in the center. Becca cocked her head to the side. She swam down to the table and looked at the table closely. She reached her hand out to touch the smooth stone.

As soon as her fingers brushed the stones, she heard something rustling in the seaweed behind her. Becca turned quickly, grappling for her wand. Becca looked down at herself when her hands came up empty. For some reason, she was in her robes, but she did not have pockets. Or her wand!

A giant squid, not the giant squid just a big one, came up to the table. Becca watched as it sat itself around the table and finally held one tentacle up. Becca looked at it with confusion, wondering what was happening.

“Well,” a voice suddenly said. It was loud, too loud, and echoed like they were in a canyon. “Are you going to do it?”

“Do what?” Becca thought.

Laughter rang through. “Do what, you ask! It’s obvious. You got to arm wrestle with me! Hurry up, I don’t have all day!”

“Arm wrestle? Why?” Becca thought to herself again.

“Merlin!” the voice said, annoyed. “So, you can go home. You can’t breathe down here, and you don’t have the energy to swim all the way up!”

Becca’s eyes widened in alarm as she realized she could not breathe. She was also tired, so tired. Her hands came up to her throat, and she almost clawed her throat in panic.

“Merlin!” the voice shouted. “If you win the match, you go home. Hurry up and wrestle with me. I can’t deal with you anymore!”

Becca did not see what other choice she had than to arm wrestle the squid. She swam quickly to the table, her limbs heavy. She settled herself down and held up her arm. The squid wrapped its tentacle around her hand, and Becca made a face. It was slimy and the suckers were attaching themselves to her skin.

“Begin,” the voice said.

Becca struggled and tried hard to bring the tentacle down, but it would not budge. In desperation, she brought her other hand up to help. It did not work, and Becca felt herself begin to pass out as she lost all her breath. As she felt her eyes begin to close, the voice laughed. Her hand smacked into the table with a loud crack.

Becca sat up, panting in her bed, gasping for air. She winced and rubbed her hand that smacked the table in her dream. For some reason, it hurt. What a weird dream.
Word Count: 477

Explanation -

The Whomping Willow stands alone
With light barely touching the branches
Moving and swaying in time
With the music of the sunrise

Birds weave and fly out of the way
But they seem to still turn their heads
Like me they want to see
The dance of a magical tree

The dangerous beauty
In the peaceful morn
Is a sight for all
From winter through fall

Explanation -

Becca ran through the corridors looking for the secret spot the third year had told her to leave her list and galleons in. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, but she was too young to go to the village. However, she needed the prank supplies from Zonko’s to deal with a problem. This was her last chance to get them, and she needed this to work.

She did not see anything in the rule book against her having an older student buy things from Hogsmeade for her, but she was sure any professor who caught wind of her plan would disapprove. That was why she was leaving a list and the galleons in some secluded alcove instead of meeting the third year. She was not happy to be paying so much more than she needed to, but the third year needed a cut too.

She looked at her list one last time before she put it down.



It was not a long list, but she wanted to make sure the third year remembered everything. She would need every item to pull off the prank she had planned. She was glad Zonko’s was in the village to supply her prank. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching her before she put the list and galleons down. Now all that was left was to wait to see if the third year came through with his end of the deal.
Word Count: 246