As he stepped out of the floo, Harry stared in awe at the large cabin space around him. There were six other fireplaces in a row that more people were stepping out of, and the wooden structure of the hallway was beautiful and exciting. Harry jumped around in excitement, adjusting Miss Trifle in his arms as Eileen and Severus herded him toward the dining hall.

            “This is as far as I go, Harry,” Severus said, pausing right outside the dining hall.

            Harry turned and ran into his father, giving him a hug goodbye, holding on tight as he realized he wouldn’t see his father again until Friday afternoon. While he hadn’t been nervous before, now that he was actually at the camp, the nerves suddenly appeared, and he didn’t really want his father to leave just yet.

            “I will see you Friday,” Severus said giving Harry a quick kiss on the temple. “I know you’ll have a lot of fun here.”

            “Do you have to leave now?” Harry asked?

            “I thought you were excited for camp?”

            “I was—I am. But there’s a lot of people inside and I don’t want to be alone.”

            “You won’t be alone for long. Ollie and Draco will be here soon.”

            “I know. Can’t you stay until they get here?”            

            Severus smiled softly at Harry as he brushed his hair back, then gave him one last kiss.

            “You’re going to be just fine. I know this is all new and overwhelming, but it’s all part of the experience. Besides, Nana is here with you. You’re going to be just fine and I’m sure you’ll make new friends.”

            Harry didn’t release his father immediately, even as Miss Trifle struggled in his grasp to be free from the crushing hug she was caught between. Severus ruffled his son’s hair then gently removed Harry’s arms from around him. He turned Harry in the direction of the dining hall where several kids were gathering and waiting, chatting with friends old and new. Harry swallowed nervously.        

            “Be brave, Harry,” Severus whispered in his ear. “And have fun. I’ll see you Friday.”

            Harry waved goodbye to his father as he turned and left, leaving Harry to face the crowd alone. Harry readjusted Miss Trifle again and walked into the hall, finding an empty space at the end of a long table. He sat down and settled Miss Trifle in his lap, looking around wildly to see where Eileen had disappeared to, but he didn’t see her anywhere. How had she disappeared so quickly? Suddenly feeling very alone, Harry hugged his rabbit close and waited for further instructions.

            “There you are!” Ollie’s voice yelled as he came running into the hall, jumping in the seat next to Harry. “Isn’t this so cool!”

            “Ollie!” Harry greeted with a big smile, the lonely feeling fading away now. “This is the coolest! I can’t wait to get started. What do you think we’re all waiting for?”

            “Probably some formal announcement of some sort,” Ollie said, kneeling on the seat and scanning over the heads of other kids. “Where’s Draco? He is coming right?”

            “Yeah, he’s coming. Should be here any minute.”

            A minute later, Draco did come strutting into the room, wearing his usual formal robe. Only a few kids glanced at Draco as he entered the hall, which quickly gave them away as muggleborn wizards who may have not experienced much of the wizarding world lifestyle yet. Harry snorted as Draco plopped down in the seat next to him with an annoyed face.”

            “Couldn’t talk your father into regular muggle clothes?” Harry asked.

            “Please tell me you have extra clothes,” Draco pleaded.

            “Dad thought you might need some,” Harry said, patting his bag.

            “Thank Merlin,” Draco said, pulling at the collar of his robe. “These are too hot to wear all week.”

            “What does your dad have against normal clothes?” Ollie asked.

            “Same thing he has against the ones who make the “normal clothes.”” Draco answered.

            After a few minutes of catching up with each other, everyone began shushing each other as an older gentleman at the head table gestured for everyone to settle down. Harry looked up at the man, smiling at how similar he looked to Albus Dumbledore with his eccentric dark blue robe covered in silver stars and his long white beard. He noticed a few other adults standing up there with the older man, and he figured they were the camp leaders.

            “Merlin, it’s dear Merlin,” Draco whispered, and Harry and Ollie snorted.

            “Settle down, everyone, settle,” the man said. He waited a moment before continuing. “My name is Conlaoch Gallagher, and you have all just entered Gallagher’s Fantastical Summer Camp!”

            The kids in the room applauded while some of the older kids whistled at the same time. Harry, Draco, and Ollie joined in the applause, stopping when Gallagher gestured for everyone to settle again.           

            “I see we have many familiar faces back for more adventures, and several new faces starting their own adventures. Here at Gallagher’s, we have five different divisions that you will all be separated into. First, we have the Daydreamers, all of our five-year-olds beginning their camp experiences. They are only here for the daytime experiences and will head home late afternoon. Since you are all ready with your camp leader, I will allow you to go settle in your adventure cabin.”

            A young lady and a teenage volunteer gathered the five-year-olds sitting on the floor near the head table and walked out of the dining hall with them. Once they were gone, Gallagher continued.

            “Everyone else, you are divided by age into the other four divisions. Six- to seven-year-olds are in the Dayflies cabin. Eight- to nine-year-olds will be in the Daystars cabin. Ten- to eleven-year-olds in the Nightlifes cabin, and finally, our twelve- to fourteen-year-olds in the Nighthawks cabin. So, if we can all divide ourselves appropriately with Dayflies in the far-right back corner, Daystars in the right front corner, Nightlifes front left corner, and Nighthawks back left corner. You will meet your camp leader there and head to your cabin to settle in. I wish you all happy camping!”

            Everyone started scrambling to their respective corners while Harry hesitated. Ollie and Draco had both turned eight last June, Draco on the fifth and Ollie on the twenty-first. Harry would not turn eight until the end of the month, and he wasn’t sure if he would be qualified to stick with Draco and Ollie or if he should move to the corner with the six- to seven-year-olds. His worries were answered when Eileen appeared at his side.

            “Go with your friends, Harry,” Eileen said. “I made sure you three were stuck with each other. You’re close enough in age to stay with them.”

            “Thanks, Nana,” Harry said with a grin. He hugged Eileen before running after Draco and Ollie.

            “What took you so long?” Draco asked. He was sitting on the edge of the table while Ollie leaned back against it.

            “I’m not technically eight yet,” Harry said. “I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to come over here with you guys or in the corner with the other seven-year-olds.”

            “That’s right, we’re older than you,” Draco said smugly. “Not by much though. I don’t see what the problem would have been.”

            “You get to stick with us, right?” Ollie asked with a frown.

            “Yeah, I do,” Harry answered.

            “Why, if it isn’t Harry Potter,” a familiar voice greeted.

            Harry turned around and grinned at Minerva McGonagall.

            “Minny!” Harry greeted, hugging the elder professor. “What are you doing here?”

            “I assist with many of the camp’s enchanted and transfigured playgrounds,” Minerva answered, then added with a wink, “And I tell some of the best campfire stories.”

            “I didn’t know I would see you here,” Harry said.

            “Eileen wanted it to be a surprise. We’ve worked together at the camp for nearly seven years now. Almost as long as you’ve been alive.”

            Harry laughed at that, then Minerva wished Harry happy camping with a quick ruffle of his hair before continuing her way out of the dining hall. Harry explained who she was to Draco and Ollie, and they stared in awe as she disappeared around the corner.

            “Do you think she’ll still be working at Hogwarts when we arrive?” Ollie asked.

            “Maybe.” Harry shrugged.

            When all the kids were in their respective corners, Harry realized that his corner had seven other kids, including Draco and Ollie. Three girls and two other boys were waiting for their camp leader to show up. Harry smiled shyly at the new faces, his eyes lingering on a bird resting on a girl’s shoulder. The bird was a budgie, a small green bird with a yellow head, and it bobbed its head every now and then as it made a variety of chirps and whistles. The girl was staring at Miss Trifle with a smile, and when their eyes met, Harry offered a small smile that she returned. So, this was the other kid who had received permission to bring her familiar.

            “Hello, Daystars,” a young lady greeted as she walked over to the group of kids, carrying a clipboard and wearing her camp leader uniform of a green and yellow shirt with khaki shorts. She had thick brown curly hair pulled up into a messy bun and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement. She waved her wand, casting a muffling charm around their table to cancel out the rest of the noise from the dining hall. “I am so excited to meet so many new faces this year. Let’s sit down for a minute and get to know one another before we head to our cabin to settle in.”

            Everyone sat down at the end of the table they were standing by and Draco and Ollie slid into a seat next to Harry. Harry settled Miss Trifle in his lap so her front paws could rest on the table, and she sniffed around, checking out all the new smells and faces. The camp leader summoned a seat and sat at the end of the table where she could see everyone’s faces.

            “My name is Aisling, and I will be your counselor for the next few weeks. If you have any questions or concerns, need to floo call home for any reason, or end up injured, come directly to me and I will sort it all out.” Aisling set down her clipboard, looking down the list briefly before saying, “Let’s go around the table and introduce ourselves. I want you to give me your name and something you look forward to at camp. I’ll start. My name is Aisling, and I cannot wait to take all of you on your next big summer adventure! Let’s start over here.”

            Aisling pointed at a young girl seated to her immediate right.

            “My name is Nia, and I can’t wait to ride the ponies here!” Nia said.

            “My name is Felix,” the boy next to Nia said, “and I’m looking forward to the treehouse! I hear the rope climbing is super fun because the ropes pull you around.”

            Harry smiled at that. He had heard Eileen mention the huge treehouse briefly, and he also couldn’t wait to see the treehouse. Or ride the ponies which he knew were from the stable back at MacAuley Estate. He wondered which ponies had been shipped over to the camp. Probably not Maggie.

            “My name is Birgit,” the next girl said, “and I’m so excited to for campfire stories and smores! My mami never lets me have smores.”

            “A good treat to look forward to,” Aisling said with a chuckle. “And how about you two at the end?”

            Harry turned his attention to the girl with the budgie on her shoulder sitting across from him, and the girl shyly smiled, her face heating up as all the attention was on her now. She reached up a hand to pet the bird for a few seconds before answering.

            “I’m Katarina,” she said, “but everyone calls me Kat. This is Professor.”

            “I’m the Professor,” the budgie said, surprising all the kids who smiled at the talking bird.

            “What’s the professor say?” Kat asked her bird.

            “Attention class,” Professor said in a low voice, “Turn to page three-hundred-ninety-four.”

            Everyone laughed at the bird, and Kat seemed to visibly relax in her seat as she smiled.

            “No laughing!” Professor scolded, then chirped before saying, “Ten points from Ravenclaw.”

            That earned more laughter with praises of “cool bird,” and “he’s amazing!”

            “Detention, detention,” Professor said while bobbing his head. “Detention, detention.”

            “Shh,” Kat said, touching a hand to the bird’s head. “Good bird. Thank you, Professor.”

            “You’re welcome.”

            “He is really smart,” Aisling said. “We are lucky to have you both in our group. What are you looking forward to most at camp, Kat?”

            “Err, well, I guess maybe making some new friends?” Kat answered hesitantly.

            “That is always my favorite thing about summer camp,” Aisling said encouragingly. “Now how about on this side? Let’s start with you, young man.”

            “I’m Carwyn,” the boy sitting next to Draco said. “I really want to go swimming! And kayaking! And maybe find a lake monster!”

            “There’s no lakes here,” Felix said from across the table with a frown.

            “Okay then, a river monster! Or a forest monster! Or a cabin ghost!”

            “Hopefully, we won’t have too many issues with monsters or ghosts,” Aisling quickly said. “But I do love your enthusiasm. How about you, young man?”

            Aisling nodded at Draco, who sighed and begrudgingly participated.

            “I’m Draco and I look forward most to getting out of these robes.”

            “Draco,” Ollie scolded in a whisper. “Something fun.”

            Draco rolled his eyes.

            “And I guess I look forward to the campfire and smores. Never had those either before.”

            “Let me guess,” Aisling said, glancing down at her clipboard, “strict pureblood family and you’re the only heir?”

            Draco nodded, holding himself up a bit straighter.

            “We’ve seen a few like you come through here. I hope you find the chance to relax and be a child for a change. And if you need any clothes a little more comfortable than those robes, we can work something out.”

            “We’ve got him covered,” Ollie said. “I’m Oliver, but everyone calls me Ollie. I cannot wait to see all the magic that happens here! I’ve been to a summer camp before but never a magical one! I wish I could have brought my little brother but he’s not magical as far as we know, but he would have loved it here! Oh, and the treehouse sounds amazing! I’m excited for everything really.”

            “Loving the energy,” Aisling said with a big grin. “And finally, another duo. What’s your names?”

            “I’m Harry,” Harry said. He lifted Miss Trifle up slightly. “This is Miss Trifle.”

“She is so cute,” Kat said.

“Who’s a pretty bird?” Professor said.

“Thanks,” Harry said with a laugh. “I think we’re most excited for the hiking trail. I heard it has a lot of magical plants and creatures.”

            “And you would be right,” Aisling said. “Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves, let’s head to our cabin to settle in. Today, we are going to explore the campground, so you all know you’re way around, we’ll show you where the paths are to and from the different activity points in the event any of you every get separated from the group, and then we’ll pick an activity for the day. Are we ready, Daystars?”

            At everyone’s nod, Aisling stood and gestured for everyone to follow, and the kids stood up and threw their bags over their shoulders, ready for the new adventures to begin.

            Back at MacAuley estate, Severus had taken work home and was going over the inventory list that automatically updated itself, writing up a list of ingredients and cauldrons he would need to order from Diagon Alley. He was sitting at the dining table with parchment paper spread out everywhere, the list rather extensive and involved. He was halfway through, and he took a sip of tea before marking down another ingredient item the hospital was running low on.

            Something hard struck him in the back of the head, and Severus rubbed the spot while turning to see what had been thrown and who had thrown it. It was a stale biscuit that now lay in three pieces on the floor, but there was no one in the kitchen or living room that he saw. Frowning, Severus banished the biscuit and returned to taking inventory. Sometimes, magic was wonky, and in an ancient, magical house like this, odd things could happen.

            But odd things never happened twice.

            Severus winced as another biscuit struck him in the back of the head, then another struck his neck. Grabbing his wand, Severus spun around and pointed his wand in the direction he felt the biscuits coming from.

            There was no one there, only an opened cookie jar.

            Standing up, Severus slowly approached the kitchen, his wand still ready to fire at anything that moved the slightest bit. He closed the cookie jar and set it in a pantry. He did a swoop around the kitchen, but there was no one or anything that could account for the flying biscuits. Severus lowered his wand, his annoyance high now. He headed back for the dining table, then startled and jumped back when he saw what was hovering above his work.

            It was the fairy, shifted in her dragon form, but instead of the blue hue she usually had, the dragon was all black with red eyes. It snarled at Severus.

            Hesitantly, Severus slowly reached for the parchment on the table.

            “I’m just going to grab my work,” Severus said as slowly as he stretched his hand for the parchment.

            As his fingertips brushed the edge of a crinkled parchment, the dragon let out a hot stream of fiery red flames, and Severus jerked his hand back and nearly fell backwards.

            “Holy shit, it breathes fire,” Severus cursed.

            The little dragon suddenly decided to use its claws and teeth to shred the parchment on the table, and Severus lunged forward, not wanting to lose a days’ worth of work.  

            “Hey, knock that off,” Severus said, grabbing a parchment the dragon had in its teeth. He ended up in a brief tug of war before the parchment ripped, the dragon thrashing around half it had. Severus glared at the ruined page. “You’re a tough little bugger.”

            The dragon snarled at Severus, and he was wise enough to slowly back away, grabbing his wand and pointing it at the dragon.

            “Easy, now,” Severus said. “What has gotten into you?”

            The dragon snarled once more before lunging forward with open jaws. Severus dodged the flying creature and shot a stunning spell at it, only to discover that spells went right through the fairy’s ghostly form. A little alarmed now, Severus had to duck again as the dragon swooped down at him. He thought back to what effective things captured ghosts but was drawing a blank, nor did he think the fairy was truly a ghost. The fairies of Littondale were truly a rare breed, which did not help him in this instance.

            Severus slowly stood up after a few seconds of silence, glancing around to spot where the fairy had taken off to. There was no sign of her, and he debated grabbing his work before anymore damage happened to it. He had managed to take three steps in the kitchen when the little dragon appeared, flying directly into his path toward the dining table—with an army of knives floating behind it.

            “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Severus muttered, before throwing up a shield as all the knives came flying at him. The knives struck the shield before falling harmlessly to the floor. Severus ran out of the kitchen, the dragon flying after him with angry growls and snorts, an occasional stream of fire escaping her lips.

            Severus quickly opened a door and slammed it shut behind him, locking out the fairy dragon and leaning against the door in relief when he heard the creature fly away. He suddenly realized he was not alone in the room.

            Peadar was standing across from him, holding a book, and Severus realized he was in the library. Peadar smirked at Severus.

            “Hiding from a little dragon?” Peadar asked.

            “No, no,” Severus said, standing up straight and brushing himself off. “Just . . . looking for something to read. What about you? Are you hiding from a little dragon?”

            “No,” Peadar said, elongating the vowel in his answer.

            “What are you reading?” Severus asked.

            “Anything about horcruxes and how to destroy them,” Peadar said. “And a little bit about fairy magic here and there.”

            “Ah.” Severus nodded. “Any more books on that?”

            “Right bookcase, third shelf.”

            “Great. It seems like a very interesting topic.” Severus said as he scanned the shelf in question, grabbing a book on fairy magic and flipping through the pages quickly. Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed him in the chest, and he hissed and clutched at his chest.

            “Are you okay?”

            The pain went away quickly, and Severus rubbed his chest. After a few seconds, he nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m not entirely sure what that was.”

            Peadar frowned at Severus but returned to his reading when Severus returned to flipping through the book. There had to be answers somewhere in one of these books to what was wrong with the little fairy who had suddenly turned black and sported red gleaming eyes.

            Harry yelped and clutched his chest, dropping his marshmallow into the campfire flames. The pain quickly subsided through, and Harry rubbed his chest in confusion. Miss Trifle jumped up on the log next to her owner and sniffed him with concern.

            “Are you okay?” Aisling quickly asked, rushing over to him.

            “Yeah, I’m okay,” Harry said. “I just had a weird feeling is all. It’s gone now.”

            “If you’re sure,” Aisling asked. At Harry’s nod, Aisling added, “Let me know if it happens again.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Harry said. Aisling handed Harry a new stick and another marshmallow, and Harry returned to roasting his new marshmallow over the fire.

            “That was really weird, Harry,” Ollie said, giving his friend a concerned look.

            “You look like my dad when he hears about muggle politics,” Draco added. “You sure you’re okay?”

            “I’m fine guys. The pain is gone. Maybe I pulled a muscle in my chest or something. We had a busy day.”

            “Yeah, and we didn’t even do the really fun stuff yet,” Ollie complained. “We just walked around the camp and saw where everything was and then went swimming.”

            “It’s a good introductory day,” Draco said, happily wearing normal clothes for a change. “Now we know where everything is if we ever get lost and we got to have some easy fun. We can do all the really cool stuff tomorrow.”

            “I really can’t wait to see what Aisling has in store for us,” Harry said. “She’s been really fun.”

            Once Harry’s marshmallow was ready, he put together his smore and bit right into the gooey messiness, savoring every bite. Ollie had to catch his on fire a couple of times before he was happy with it, and Draco had to slowly cook his to perfection where it was evenly brown on all sides before he put together his smore. When everyone had their fill of the treat, it was bedtime, and Aisling led everyone back to their cabin.

The cabin had three main parts: the boys’ dorm with six beds and an attached bathroom with two toilets, a double vanity sink, and three small shower stalls, the girls side with the same number of beds and the same bathroom set up, and then the camp leader’s room with their own bathroom and shower stall. Everyone had already picked a bed and unpacked their things for the week, so all they had to do was change and take care of their nightly habits before crawling into bed.

            The boys had a quick pillow fight before Carwyn decided to tell his best scary ghost story about a child ghost haunting an old, abandoned playground, and one by one, everyone nodded off until Carwyn was telling the story in his sleep.

            When the rest of the campground was silent and everyone had retired to bed for the night, a strange shuffle could be heard heading straight for the Daystar cabin. The little budgie had been set up with a bird stand and a hanging cage next to Kat’s bed, and he opened his eyes at a gnawing noise just outside the girls’ side of the cabin. He chirped softly as he looked around in the dark, trying to pinpoint the noise.

            The gnawing noise stopped, and a dark shadow slithered along the floor in the cabin, squeezing in through a hole it had created in the corner of the cabin.

            “Naughty bird,” Professor said, as it watched the shadow crawl toward Kat’s bag. “Naughty bird.”

            Then, Professor let out a loud siren noise that woke everyone in the cabin, and the shadow scuffled out of the cabin, squeezing out of the hole it had crawled through and scurrying away.

            The girls turned the lights on while Kat pleaded with Professor to stop with the loud siren. Aisling came running into the room, her wand lit and ready. The boys came rushing over to the girls’ side of the cabin, concerned looks on their faces, Harry carrying Miss Trifle.

            “I’m sorry,” Kat apologized, her face red as she allowed the budgie to jump on to her shoulder when he finally stopped the loud noise. “Something must have spooked him.”

            Suddenly, Nia screamed.

            “A monster got in!” Nia cried, running over to Aisling and hiding behind her. “A monster got in!”

            “A monster?” Carwyn asked, rushing forward to see the evidence. “No way!”

            Birgit and Kat also ran over to Aisling when they saw the mess. A small hole had been chewed through the cabin’s wooden wall, the small teeth marks visible in the wood. The floor was muddy where something appeared to have dragged itself across the floor over to Kat’s bag, which had a small tear in it as if something had starting to take a bite out of it.

            “Definitely a monster,” Carwyn smiled.

            “Everyone calm down,” Aisling started to say.

            There was a loud knock at the door before Eileen entered with a few other camp counselors.

            “What is going on?” Eileen asked. “We could hear the bird at the other cabins.”

            “We have a camp monster!” Carwyn said excitedly.

            The girls squeaked in fear and hid behind Aisling more, burying their faces in her nightgown. She rested reassuring hands on the girls’ shoulders.

            “Carwyn, please,” Aisling scolded. She turned her attention to the other counselors. “It appears some kind of critter broke into the cabin, probably looking for food.”

            Eileen studied the damage while another counselor used their wand to perform a DNA analysis on the teeth marks and mud tracks. His spell came up negative however, and he shrugged. Eileen sighed, then used her wand to repair the damaged hole and the small tear in Kat’s bag. Another counselor cleaned the muddy floor. Eileen performed a few more security charms on the cabin and gave the girls a reassuring look.

            “There,” Eileen said. “Nothing will get in again. You are all safe now.”

            “You hear that, girls,” Aisling said. “No monster. We can all go back to bed.”

            “What if it comes back?” Nia asked.

            “I’ve reinforced the wood and Aisling will get an alert if something tries to chew its way through the wood again,” Eileen said. “You are safe, now. It was probably a badger or err . . .”

            “Could have been a fox,” another camp leader suggested.

            “Yes, a fox,” Eileen said. “And you’re little friend most likely scared it off for good.”

            “You’re sure?” Birgit asked.

            “We’re positive.”

            “Would you feel better if I slept out here with you girls?” Aisling asked.

            The three girls nodded and Aisling smiled at them.

            “Okay,” she said, “I’ll sleep out here with you and make sure nothing comes back inside here.”

            “Thank you, Aisling,” the girls said.

            “It’s settled then,” Eileen said. “You kids go back to sleep. There is much more fun to be had tomorrow.”

“I still think it was a monster,” Carwyn muttered.
“Carwyn,” Aisling scolded once more, “go back to bed!”

“Okay, okay,” Carwyn said, scuffing his feet as he followed the other boys to their side of the cabin. Eileen followed them and made sure they all got back into their individual beds.

“Goodnight, boys,” she said, turning out the light for them.

“Night,” the boys responded.

When Eileen left, the boys waited a moment before Ollie asked, “Do you really think it was a monster and not some wildlife?”

“No way a badger or a fox could chew a hole that large in a wooden cabin that quickly,” Carwyn whispered. “There’s something out there, magical probably, and it’ll be back.”

With those ominous words, Harry cuddled Miss Trifle closer to him, willing sleep to force him into dreamland, and it finally did a few minutes later, the threat of a monster in the far back of his mind for now.