"I'm telling you Relashio is our best bet," urged Rose.

"I thought you weren't going?" asked Micheal innocently.

"I'm not," said Rose flushing slightly. "I'm not even sure why you are still talking about saving the moon dog; it will never work." Snorting, she rose from the sofa and headed towards the stairs to the girls' dormitory. She lingered for a moment at Talieson's phone balanced precariously on the armrest. The look in her eyes as she examined the photo wasn't lost on the boys. They smiled at each other as she left.

"I still think a combination of Diffidno and Accio could work to kind of cut the guy out of the wood and bring him towards us," repeated Talieson.

"I agree with Rose's argument," interrupted William, "I wouldn't want to risk hurting the guy." All three boys looked downcast. They had been combing through their spell and charms textbooks for hours tossing out ideas.

Micheal picked up the book Rose had left on the coffee table and idly leafed through it. William and Talieson had let him in on their little plan because of his talent for knowing what animals were feeling. Months earlier he correctly ascertained the Kracken meant them no harm when it picked up Taliesen's father's boat as they were crossing the Bering Sea on their way to Hogwarts from the West Coast of the United States.

"Relashio silva animalis in carcerem!" yelled Micheal looking up from the book excitedly. "A spell for releasing imprisoned forest animals." All three boys pounced on the book at once. Sure enough, there it was. In between "releasing imposters from prison" and "retracting incantations."

"Micheal you're a genius," exclaimed Talieson. "This spell is perfect. Where did Rose get this book?" He turned the large book over and examined the tattered cover. The title was no longer legible.

"I think she got it out of the restricted section of the library," whispered William looking around to be sure no one overheard them. "She convinced Madame Pince she needed it for a History of Magic essay."

"Let's review the plan one more time," instructed Talieson. "We want to go during the light of a full moon. It will give us the best chance of finding the right tree. That means if we leave just before sunrise, say 4:00am we will arrive on the West Coast just after sundown. I think we should leave early on a Sunday morning because most students will sleep in. That gives us three and a half to four hours to get back before anyone is awake for Sunday breakfast. We will meet in the common room and use this Portkey," he took out a gold doubloon and set it on the table, "to get to Lopez Island, about 600 miles north of the Redwood Forest. If Rose chickens out, we will call my aunt and tell her we have a paper due on Monday and could she please come and apparate us to California for a few hours to do some research. She hasn't been there so I will show her a picture of our camp." He picked up his phone and scrolled to a picture of himself and his mother next to a colorfully painted campervan. "Then we walk to the tree. I'm pretty sure I could find it even in the dark because the trail is just a loop. We relashio silva animalis in carcerem the moon dog, scoop him up, and take this Portkey back to Hogwarts." He placed a shark's tooth necklace on the table.

"We should think of the topic of the "paper" we have to write and why we need to be in the Redwood Forest after dark," offered William.

"Good point," replied Talieson. They sat for a few seconds.

"How about werewolves? It will be a full moon," suggested William.

"My aunt isn't going to believe a bunch of first-years are supposed to go hunting werewolves," said Talieson.

"How about glowworms?" suggested William.

"Are those real?" asked Micheal.

"I think those are those toys for little kids, but it sounds good, my aunt might not know" they all laughed. "I know!" brightened Talieson, "OWLS! They are really common first-year material, they are safe, and they only come out at night. And the Redwood Forest has loads of them: Barn Owls, Great Horned Owls, known as 'master of the night,' Northern Pygmy Owls, Saw-whet Owls, Spotted Owls, Barred Owls, and Screech Owls."

"That's perfect," smiled William."

________________________________

Rose lay in bed considering her options. She had laid there all night not feeling remotely tired, knowing that in the boys' dormitory Talieson and his friends had certainly remained awake. She still thought they were not completely serious, but their plan had enough details that it just might work. Part of her felt the impulse to run to McGonagall's office, now before they tried to used the Portkey. The Portkey might not even work inside Hogwarts, but she didn't want to tell them that. The other part of her longed to free the Moon Dog. Something terrible had happened to it, she was certain. Her indecision paralyzed her. Finally, she threw off the covers and pulled her clothes on in the dark. She started tiptoeing down the stairs to the common room in her slippers and then thought better of it and went back and put on boots, heavy boots. She couldn't seriously be thinking of going with them, could she? She grabbed a rain jacket for good measure. The boys had assured her the Pacific Northwest Coast was not like the images of Southern California palm trees, sandy beaches, and boardwalks filled with roller skaters she had seen in old Muggle movies. It was sure to be cold windy and rainy in late April.

She reached the common room, and the three first-year boys looked up at her, excitement shining in their eyes. They were likewise dressed for inclement weather. Talieson had a backpack full of camping gear and the shark tooth necklace around his neck, and William held a leash, though Micheal was arguing that a leash would hardly be necessary. They stood around the coffee table near the fire and the gold doubloon sat shining in the center.

"You are coming then?" asked William hopefully.

"I should go right now and tell Professor McGonagall!" huffed Rose.

"Then why are you wearing rain boots?" asked Micheal sincerely.

"I don't think you can take a Portkey out of Hogwarts anyhow," she retorted. "What's this," she picked up the other end of the leash that William was holding.

"It's four am let's go," said Talieson not making eye contact with Rose. Quickly the three boys reached out at once and placed a hand on the gold doubloon. Before Rose could react and drop the leash all four of them were spinning out of control. When they landed an icy wind hit their face.

"We made it!" shouted Talieson. He looked around. They stood on a woodsy ledge about thirty feet up from where waves crashed against the rocks below. A stormy wind howled. Cold, heavy raindrops pelted their faces. Talieson's father's house stood dark a few yards away. His father was at sea. No one was home.

"Can we go inside?" yelled Rose, the gusty wind blowing her hair into her mouth as she shouted.

"We don't have time, and I don't have a key!" screamed Talieson back. "Rose apparate us to the Redwoods, please!" He held out his phone with the photo of the moon dog at the base of the tree in which he was imprisoned.

"I thought your aunt was going to get you there?" she shouted back.

"I don't get cell reception here. I can't call her." His voice was almost lost between the crash of waves and the howling storm.

Rose looked at each of the boy's faces. They looked earnestly back at her. She stared again at the image of the moon dog and rolled her eyes. Why did it always go like this? "Fine!" she screamed to make herself heard above the storm. "Gather close." The boys formed a ring around Rose and hugged her tight. She closed her eyes and again they were spinning, but not for as long this time. They fell in a pile on a soft forest floor and quickly scrambled to their feet. The wind and rain were gone. It was still chilly, but the light from the full moon fell in patches where it found its way in from the canopy of treetops above them.

"You did it! We're here," exclaimed Talieson in a voice that was nearly a whisper. No one asked why he spoke so softly. The forest was very still. It felt eerie and almost alive. The boys and Rose looked around, all four of them jittery with excitement. They were humbled at the large ferns and massive trees. Nothing moved. The silence was deafening.

"I think he is over here," nodded Talieson and started along the trail soon reaching a fallen log. Just as he had almost four years earlier, he climbed up on it and started shuffling along its length towards the base of an enormous redwood.

"Careful," cautioned Rose.

"Shhh!" Micheal hushed her. He was uneasy, sensing a presence that wasn't entirely friendly. Micheal squinted into the darker shadows not illuminated in the patchy moonlight, but still, nothing stirred. The only sound breaking the silence was the rapid breathing of Rose and the boys and Talieson's boots as he moved slowly along the wet tree trunk. Their rising breath in the cold night air the only other movement besides Talieson approach to the base of the tree.

"Lumos," said Talieson quietly. He squatted low at the end of the log and used the light from his wand to search among the roots of the large tree. He was certain had to be the right one. Then he saw him. Two eyes looked up at him, and though they were made of wood, they seemed even more alive than Talieson remembered as if the moon dog knew his rescuers arrived. Unconsciously, Rose had also gotten up on the log and tiptoed along it in the dark leaving William and Micheal huddled together on the trail. "He's here," said Talieson softly to Rose, not looking over his shoulder at her. "I'm going to free him now," his voice was steady.

"Do it," she replied.

"Hurry," peeped Micheal. Talieson and Rose turned and looked at him. "I don't like it out here. We are not alone."

Talieson turned back to the Moon Dog. The muscles under its wooden fir looked coiled and ready to spring. "Relashio silva animalis in carcerem!" A bright orange light filled the air surrounding the base of the tree for several seconds causing the four students to squint and shield their eyes with their hands. And then the light was gone, leaving them blinking and trying to see in the dark again. A cool light wind now blew rustling the underbrush and the treetops high above. The moonlight was gone plunging them in complete darkness. One by one William, Micheal, Talieson, and Rose lit their wands to see. Talieson looked down at the roots of the tree. "He's gone!" he shouted. Rose pushed closer to the tree to see herself, then looked around wildly into the darkness.

"I want to get out of here!" whimpered Micheal. William nodded his agreement.

"He's got to be nearby," argued Rose calmly still looking around now quickly but carefully stepping along the log with Talieson to rejoin the others on the trail. They stood close together still all straining to see into complete blackness of the now visibly moving forest. "Do you have the shark tooth handy?" asked Rose perhaps a little less confidently.

"Yeh, but not yet. We've come too far to leave right now." The wind picked up, and the temperature seemed to drop. They shivered.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning that lit the forest up as light as day for a split second revealing the intricate gnarled bark of the giant trees, wildly swaying ferns, and movement behind the bushes and in the underbrush. Then, they plunged into total darkness once again, their wands extinguishing, and a crack of thunder making all four jump and grab onto one another. Something massive soared over their heads, there were hoofbeats, a hiss and a growl came from further down the path, William yelped, and all four kids huddled down on the trail, holding onto each other for dear life. And again, as abruptly as it started, the forest returned to silence and stillness. The light of the full moon returned flitting through the leaves of the trees and lighting the path on which they stood. One by one Talieson, William, Micheal, and Rose lifted their heads and looked around and at each other.

An evil laugh pierced the night sending a shiver of fear down their spines. Not ten feet away stood an old, ugly witch pointing her wand at them, a wild gleam in her eye.