Pasiphaë
Fiona had an excellent holiday break at home. She spent time with her family and friends. She relaxed and enjoyed not having school work to do. It was toward the end of the break that things were starting to get strange. One day she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to find her brother and father head to head in a whispered conversation. When she stepped all the way into the kitchen and they finally noticed her they broke apart with her father sending a quick wink their way. No amount of pestering could get anything revealed to her that night or even the next morning.
The second strange occurrence was Boxing Day. Her father was gone for hours and when he got back home he went straight to the barn before coming into the house. He refused to say a word about what he had been doing while he was out and about.
She finally found out what the big secret was the day before she was due to leave and return to Hogwarts at the end of winter break. She had been finishing up some chores when her father asked her to meet him out at the barn. She walked in and saw him standing holding what looked like a bird cage. No it couldn’t be, she thought. She was told that she wasn’t allowed to get a pet until her second year at Hogwarts. She had wanted an owl for so long. At first she had considered bringing one of the barn cats but for some reason that just had not felt right to her.
“What are you going to name her?”, her father asked. The bird was beautiful. It appeared to be a barred owl. She had seen one once while she was visiting cousins in North America. They were white with a spattering of brown feathers. They were also known to be protective and territorial. “Pasiphaë,” she said. “Thank you father, I love her”.
“And you’ll be the one to take care of her as well, feeding her and cleaning her cage after travel, making sure she settles in at Hogwarts in the Owlery, that will all be you”. She nodded. She was eager and ready to accept her new responsibilities. She gently took the cage from her father and began to rub her fingers over the bird's feathers. She hoped that they had many happy years together.
Word Count: 405
The second strange occurrence was Boxing Day. Her father was gone for hours and when he got back home he went straight to the barn before coming into the house. He refused to say a word about what he had been doing while he was out and about.
She finally found out what the big secret was the day before she was due to leave and return to Hogwarts at the end of winter break. She had been finishing up some chores when her father asked her to meet him out at the barn. She walked in and saw him standing holding what looked like a bird cage. No it couldn’t be, she thought. She was told that she wasn’t allowed to get a pet until her second year at Hogwarts. She had wanted an owl for so long. At first she had considered bringing one of the barn cats but for some reason that just had not felt right to her.
“What are you going to name her?”, her father asked. The bird was beautiful. It appeared to be a barred owl. She had seen one once while she was visiting cousins in North America. They were white with a spattering of brown feathers. They were also known to be protective and territorial. “Pasiphaë,” she said. “Thank you father, I love her”.
“And you’ll be the one to take care of her as well, feeding her and cleaning her cage after travel, making sure she settles in at Hogwarts in the Owlery, that will all be you”. She nodded. She was eager and ready to accept her new responsibilities. She gently took the cage from her father and began to rub her fingers over the bird's feathers. She hoped that they had many happy years together.
Word Count: 405