Pulling the Strings (Saturday Writing Essential)

Challenge: Using prose or poetry, continue Patricia’s story in any way you wish.

* * *

As the foursome left the Leaky Cauldron, Ginny looked at Harry and said, “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

Ginny shook her head and then said, “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing but it felt as if someone was guiding me in some way.”

Hermione said, “I thought I felt something too.”

Ron and Harry shared a look that indicated they thought the girls were crazy until, without knowing how they got there, they were standing outside the entrance to the zoo.

“How’d we get here?” Ginny asked?

* * *

“Don’t pull so hard,” Genisi said.

Harvar looked at her and said, “Don’t tell me what to do or how to do it. I’ve been leading these kids for more than five years.”

Genisi shook her head and looked down at Ginny as she moved the invisible strings to have her puppet follow Harry.

* * *

“Look, over here,” Harry said. “It’s the python I met the first time I came to the zoo.”

All four stared at the snake and then looked at Harry as he spoke Parseltongue but Hermione suddenly said, “Come on,” and ran to the exit from the exhibit. “I want to ride the elephant,” she said as she ran out toward the pachyderm enclosure.

* * *

“What are you doing?” Ronasi asked.

Hermona wiggled the control strings and then looked at him and said, “I told you; Hermione wanted to ride an elephant.”

Ronasi said, “You never said that.” Then he looked at Harvar and Genisi and said, “She never said that.”

* * *

All four were startled and looked at each other. “What are we doing here?” Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head and said, “I’m not sure. I just thought about the fact that I’d like to ride an elephant and we’re standing in line waiting our turn.”

Ron said, “Does anyone feel magic in the air?”

* * *

“Dummy,” Ronasi said, “I told you not to get too wild with those strings. Now Ron’s suspicious.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hermona said, “Ron isn’t smart enough to figure out what’s happening. Let’s just get them on the elephant.”

* * *

There was a stairway with a small landing on top and each of the elephants would walk up next to it. The riders would get off, more would get on, and then the elephant would walk, slowly, around the circular track.

None of the witches and wizards knew how it happened, but they found themselves on top of the landing and climbing aboard an elephant. In just seconds, the elephant started walking around the circular track until…

A white mouse ran out across the track and the elephant reared up on his hind legs, tossing Harry onto the track and directly in front of the next elephant that was also rearing up, afraid of the mouse.

“Ron,” Hermione shrieked, “why can’t you keep your rat under control?”

“What rat?” Ron said, “Scabbers died early in the series, and that’s not a rat, that’s a mouse!”

* * *

“CUT!”

All the puppeteers turned to look at the director as he said, “Okay, where’d that mouse come from?”

“Mr. Jingles? Hello, has anyone seen Mr. Jingles?”

Everyone turned to look at the small man in a prison costume and the director said, “Mr. Jingles?”

“Uh, yes, we’re filming The Green Mile on the next sound stage and our white mouse escaped. Has anyone seen him?”

* * *

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