Art Of Displeasure

I jumped out of the carriage the moment it stopped. “Wait!” I looked around at the endless fields stretching towards the mountains. “Dad!”

Dad smiled, already knowing what was coming.

“...since when do we own a farm?”

“Surprise.”

I turned in a slow circle, staring at the endless fields stretching towards the mountains. A river glittered beneath the afternoon sun, winding its way through the valley, while rows of ancient oak trees surrounded a beautiful farmhouse standing proudly in the middle of it all.

“I love this place already.” said Katherine.

“I've never been here either,” I admitted. “You seriously never told me about this.”

Dad simply shrugged. “I wanted your first visit to be a surprise.”

“Mission accomplished.”

I reached into my little handbag, pulled out my straw hat, then my camera.

Katherine stared. “How in Merlin's name?”

“What?”

“How did all of that fit inside that tiny bag?”

“Oh.” I grinned. “Extension Charm. Mum cast it.”

“I thought you did.”

I slipped my hat onto my head before handing Katherine the camera. “Well?”

She looked between me and the camera. “What?”

“Take the picture.”

“Oh.” She laughed. “Right.”

I struck the most ridiculous pose I could think of.

Click.

She handed the camera back, and together we watched the moving photograph develop.

“I look amazing.”

“You look ridiculous.”

“Ridiculously amazing.”

“Girls!” Dad's voice echoed across the yard. “You two want to meet the horses?”

My head snapped towards him. “We have horses?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Katherine admitted.

Without another word, I grabbed her wrist. “C'mon!” We practically ran across the farm.

The stable smelled of fresh hay and polished wood. Several horses lifted their heads the moment we entered. They were beautiful.

One chestnut mare slowly wandered towards me before gently nudging my shoulder.

“Oh,” I smiled. “I like you already.”

Mum placed a wooden bowl of apples into my hands. “You can feed them.” Then she pointed a finger at me. “But no riding.”

I gave her my most innocent smile. “I wasn't planning to.”

“Andrea.” she raised one eyebrow.

“What?”

“I know that face.”

“I don't have a face.”

“You have that face.”

Dad quietly looked away, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Andrea, I hope I made myself clear when I told you that you're grounded until the school day!” she stepped closer and kissed my forehead before doing the same to Katherine. “Behave yourselves.”

“Duh! Who's gonna follow the rules here?! Pity the undefined rule; they're meant to be broken!” I replied smoothly.

The second my parents disappeared around the corner; I counted under my breath.

“One...”

Katherine looked at me suspiciously.

“Two...”

“Andrea.”

“Three.”

I unclipped the mare's lead rope.

Katherine sighed exactly as I expected. “You are impossible.”

“No.” I stroked the mare's nose. “I'm adventurous.”

“You're grounded.”

“I'm grounded with style.”

Before Katherine could argue again, I reached into my pocket and placed a silver brooch into her palm.

It showed two beautifully engraved horses standing beneath the Fawley family crest.

“Camila Fawley designed it,” I said proudly.

She turned it over carefully. “I didn't know your family had a crest.”

“Oh, we've got loads of old family traditions.” I shrugged. “Pure-blood families love collecting dramatic history.”

“You don't seem very interested.”

“I'm interested in the horses.” The mare huffed softly against my shoulder. I scratched behind her ears. “You need a proper name.”

I pointed towards the handsome stallion beside her.

“You'll be Jamie.”

Then I patted the mare's neck.

“And you're Scottie.”

Scottie gave a satisfied snort.

“See?”

“She approves.” Katherine crossed her arms. “Andrea...”

“Hm?”

“You've never ridden a horse before.”

“I've read six books.”

“That isn't the same thing.”

“They had diagrams.”

“They were books.”

“They were very detailed books.”

“This is exactly how people end up in hospital.” she rubbed her forehead.

I climbed into the saddle. “This is exactly how legends begin.”

“Andrea...”

I gathered the reins.

“Andrea, you should think about it. Your mother won't be happy to hear the news.”

“You can stay here if you want but I'm gonna circle around in the village.”

Scottie trotted out of the stable before breaking into a gallop across the open fields. The wind rushed past my face as laughter escaped me without permission. Freedom, nothing ever felt quite like it.

Scottie carried me through the open fields before slowing as the path narrowed into the forest. The cheerful sounds of the farm disappeared behind us. Towering pines stretched overhead, their branches weaving together until only ribbons of sunlight reached the ground. The air felt cooler here, carrying the scent of damp earth and moss.

“See? Mum worried over nothing.” I leaned forward, patting Scottie's neck.

Scottie snorted.

“I know. We're having fun.”

She didn't seem convinced. The deeper we travelled, the quieter everything became. No birds. No insects. Not even the wind.

“...That's odd.”

Scottie's ears flicked forward. Then she stopped, completely.

I frowned. “What is it?”

She refused to move. I followed her gaze toward the trees. Just endless trunks disappearing into shadows.

I laughed nervously. “Don't tell me books forgot to mention horses being dramatic.”

Scottie gave another uneasy snort. I slid off her back and took hold of the reins. “Fine.” I scratched behind her ears. “We'll walk.”

Almost immediately she relaxed. “See? Problem solved.”

The trees slowly began to thin until the sound of rushing water reached my ears.

“There you are.”

A waterfall poured down the rocky cliffs, disappearing into a crystal-clear pool below. Sunlight danced across the water like thousands of tiny diamonds.

“Oh,” I stood there for several seconds. “It's beautiful.”

Scottie wandered away to nibble on the grass while I sat near the water's edge, slipping off my boots. The water was freezing.

I hissed. “Merlin.” Then laughed at myself. “I was going to jump in that?”

Scottie looked at me as if agreeing with my poor decision. “Oh, don't look so smug.” I splashed a little water towards her. She stepped backwards with an offended snort. “There she is, my dramatic queen.”

Time slipped away. I skipped stones across the lake. Read two chapters from the book I'd stuffed inside my enchanted handbag. Lay beneath a tree watching clouds drift lazily across the sky. For the first time all summer...

Everything felt peaceful.

No homework.

No Ministry gossip.

No Quidditch.

No worrying about school.

Just me.

Scottie.

And silence.

“I wish Hogwarts had places like this.” Scottie lazily flicked her tail. “I know., I'd probably never attend class.”

A cold breeze brushed against my shoulders. I frowned. It hadn't been cold a moment ago. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Scottie suddenly lifted her head. Every muscle in her body became rigid. She wasn't looking at me. She was staring into the trees behind us. Slowly, I turned around.

“Hello?”

Silence.

I took one cautious step forward. Leaves crunched beneath my boots. Still nothing.

Then, a large black shape slipped between two trees. I froze. A dog. No, much larger than a dog. It stood perfectly still, watching me from the shadows. Its dark fur almost blended into the forest itself. Only its pale eyes caught the light. For several heartbeats neither of us moved. I tilted my head,

“Well,” A small smile tugged at my lips. “Aren't you handsome?”

Scottie stamped a hoof. The animal didn't react. It simply continued watching me. As if it was studying me.

I slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out an apple. “Want one?”

The black dog blinked. Then, without a sound it turned and disappeared into the trees.

“Rude.”

I looked at Scottie. “See?”

Scottie snorted loudly. “It wasn't scary; you were over-dramatic.” I tossed the untouched apple back into my bag. “Come on, we should probably head home before Mum sends half of the Ministry after me."

Scottie looked unconvinced, but she followed.

The sun had almost disappeared by the time we found the forest path again.

“Oops.”

I glanced at the sky.

“That might be a problem.”

Without thinking, I reached for my wand.

“Lumos.”

Soft golden light illuminated the narrow path ahead.

“There, much better.” I looked around. “No Muggles. So technically, I'm breaking very few rules today.”

Scottie gave an unimpressed huff.

“Oh, stop judging me.”

The journey home felt much longer than before. Perhaps because the sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains. Perhaps because Scottie kept looking over her shoulder.

“Would you stop that?” I sighed. “It's making me nervous.”

Scottie ignored me.

The lights of the farmhouse finally appeared beyond the trees. I smiled in relief. “There we are.” The smile vanished almost immediately. Lanterns. Lots of them. People were scattered across the fields. Some carried magical lanterns. Others were calling my name. “Oh.”

Scottie slowed to a halt.

“I may have underestimated how angry Mum was going to be.” Before, I could decide whether turning around was an option—

“ANDREA FAWLEY!”

Definitely Mum.

Definitely furious.

“Hello?”

She marched across the field with the determination of a Hungarian Horntail. Dad hurried after her, trying and failing not to laugh.

Katherine stood behind them, clearly relieved. “There she is,” she whispered.

Mum stopped only inches away from Scottie. “Young lady.”

“Yes?”

“Get off,”

“Yes? The horse?”

“NOW.”

I climbed down as gracefully as I could. Scottie immediately wandered over to Dad, who scratched behind her ears as though she hadn't just helped me commit several crimes. Traitor.

Mum folded her arms. “How many times must I tell you not to do something before you actually listen?”

“I was careful.”

“You disappeared for nearly three hours; we searched the entire property!”

“I know...”

“You've never ridden a horse before!”

“I read six books.”

Mum and Dad exchanged their looks. Katherine looked down, already trying not to laugh.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I read six books.”

“On horses?”

“No — I wasn't completely inexperienced."

“Andrea.” she snapped.

“I didn't fall”

“ANDREA.”

“I came back alive!”

“THAT IS NOT THE POINT!”

Silence.

Then—

Dad burst out laughing. “I mean. . .” he wiped his eyes. “She's got a point, Luc.”

Mum turned so slowly that I almost pitied him. “You are not helping.”

“I'm trying.”

“You really aren't.”

“I'll stop.” Dad raised both hands in surrender, he didn't. I could still see him smiling.

“We're leaving tonight.” said Mum rudely.

“What?”

“The holiday's over.”

“But we only just got here!”

“I've received an urgent owl.”

“But—

“No.”

“I haven't even gone swimming.”

“No.”

“I found a waterfall.”

“No.”

“I found a giant dog.”

“A what?”

I blinked. “Nothing.”

For just a second, something flickered across Mum's face. She was concerned. “What kind of dog?”

“Oh.” I shrugged. “Big, black, fury kind of but it didn't bark at me, just watched me.”

Dad and Mum exchanged the quickest glance. So quick that anyone else would've missed it.

I didn't.

Dad smiled a little too quickly. “Probably somebody's farm dog.”

“Yeah.”

Maybe.

But for some reason I wasn't convinced.

That night, while everyone packed in silence, I stood by my bedroom window. Far beyond the fields. Just where the forest began, a large black dog stood beneath the moonlight. Watching the house. Watching me. It neither move nor bark, instead, it simple stood there.

A cloud drifted across the moon. When the light returned, the dog was gone.