Tales of Elderbrooke

Late Night Shenanigans

Felix's seductive voice sounded from right next to her ear, "Follow me," he whispered. She took a few steps back keeping her eyes on the room, first locating her brother– who happened to be awkwardly learning dance moves from Penelope – then followed the lead of the firm hand that tugged her down the dark hallway. She wasn't able to see for a few moments, but the dim light of the moon illuminated the windows that looked out towards the greenhouses in the Courtyard. Felix's tall silhouette guided her not towards the familiar iron gate that led into the outer forest, but dead left along the edge of the building. A towering oak tree on the left side of the greenhouses had been decorated with fairy lights and a ring of luminescent mushrooms circled the trunk. A bench sat underneath the branches providing a romantic place to sit and snuggle up. But alas, Felix pulled her past this point and around the edge of the building back into the darkness. He illuminated his wand and had a tight grip on Alice's hand as he kept trudging on turning yet another corner. Even in this area, the iron fence sat about a hundred yards out blocking the Academy from the surrounding dense woods. They happened upon another large oak tree that had to have been ancient. Its branches were feet in diameter at the base and they disappeared many meters above their heads. As Felix shined his wand light close to the trunk, Alice noticed a ladder bolted to the tree traveling upwards. Her gaze followed the ladder about 30 feet up before landing on the underside of a fair-sized wooden structure.

"Is that a–" she began.

"Treehouse? Yes. It's also referred to as a tree fortress, which is a cooler name for it. Would you like to see the inside?" Felix said offering her the ladder first. She gave him an excited look and then scrambled up the first few steps. Whoever built this conveniently used the branches as many of the steps as they zigzagged up to the wooden hut. A 10-foot wide flat wooden platform held the base and upon closer look, it seemed like any shabby hand-built treehouse. Alice had never been in one before but had seen them on TV. She had always wanted to be in one but they didn't have the right trees to do it back in Baltimore. At the top step, she had to wait for Felix. He tapped the lock on the trapdoor three times with his wand and it clicked open. Letting Alice go first, she peeked her head in. What she expected, was not at all what sat before her very eyes. The outside showed promise of a tiny space with no amenities, but inside it was the size of a large studio apartment. There was a whole second level to the place with a loft on top of that. The second level was open in the middle so between the banisters, she could see loungers up there as well as some side tables. The main level she crawled into had a desk, a wrap-around sofa with a table in the center, an oversized chest, and a fireplace with a cauldron hanging in the center.

Felix mumbled the illumination spell igniting the candles on all levels, bathing the space in a soft golden glow. He went first to the cauldron to start a fire for tea as Alice wandered around the room taking it all in.

"This place is so cool. It's like another secret hang-out spot," Alice said in awe. It was a cozy space that looked well lived in. The couch had depressions where many had sat. The tables had scuffs from repeated use. The games on bookshelves had tattered casings and the names on the outside had been nearly worn off.

"It was built closer to the time Sir Atticus was attending the Academy. Word has it he was one of the ones who helped put it together. It's a relative secret to most as we don't often use the front entrance and I enhance the invisibility charm on it each year, but it has gotten its use over the years. Now we use it as a private study place or hang-out room away from the younger ones. They tend to take over the common room in the boy's dorm and their rooms are too close for some conversations to be had amongst us teens. When I was around 15 I was introduced to this space by my upperclassmates. It was after my tumultuous break up with Dahlia and I needed somewhere to get away to that she didn't know about. I would disappear here for hours and practice magic with Xavier. Some of my favorite memories occurred here." Felix recalled fondly.