Tree house, Wakito River

[Benjamin Carla]

Benjamin gave Cyndi a warm smile as she seequzed his hand and shutting his eyes, he clearly pictured the beginning of the bridge on the Waikato River. He took a deep breathe before he felt his legs leave the ground, he was passing through a narrow tube, holding on tight to Cyndi's hand, it was suffocating for some seconds before his feet touched the soft ground again.

Loud voice of crackling steams of water and water falls could be heard clearly and a view that would make one's heart melt met their eyes. A water fall was in scene and then flowed the longest river in New Zealand. The tree house was on the other side of the bridge and being an adventorous person since childhood, Ben liked the risk and thrill of crossing this ancient bridge. "Are you alright?" he asked Cyndi holding her hands in his and tilting her chin to see her face.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi closed her eyes as the now familiar sensation of apparation took over. She continued to hold on tightly to Benjamin's hand. When they landed, she stumbled slightly, but managed to stay standing. Smooth move Cyndi, she bemoaned silently as she looked around. Her breath caught as she gazed at the scene before her. She watched the waterfall for a moment until Benjamin lifted her chin and asked if she was ok.

As she gazed into his face, Cyndi was a little flustered. The two were very close together, and Cyndi was aware that they were still holding hands. She made no effort to move away. "Yes" she said as a grin appeared on her face and then slowly added, "this is beautiful..." Now that they were alone, Cyndi felt herself grow more nervous. Back in the Leaky Cauldron, they had been surrounded by others, but now there was no one around for miles it seemed.

 

[Benjamin Carla]

Ben smiled as Cyndi said she was okay. There was so much he could and wanted to do but he reminded himself that patience was the key. They were standing close to each other, holding hands but all that Ben was clever enough to not take any wrong steps. "The treehouse is that side of the river" he told her with a smile.

"You know this river is the longest in New Zealand and this...this bridge was built hundred years ago by muggles" he said excitment reflecting in his voice. It was as if they were kids again, for a while who were going on a secret mission in their tree house. Benjamin had built this at the age of thirteen and yet it still was very close to his heart. Remembering that Cyndi was here with him, he asked her "Should we cross the bridge?"

It was dangerous but nothing that a witch and wizard couldn't manage. He waved his wand and made the knots of the bridge tighter and with another wave a red carpet appeared covering the one kilometer bridge. He had to make it special for her, after all she was the first girl whom he had brought to his secret hideout.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi looked at the bridge that would lead them to the other side of the river. It looked fairly old, and Benjamin confirmed that when he told her that the bridge was hundreds of years old. "It's hard to believe that the muggles didn't use any magic to build this" she said in awe.

When Benjamin asked whether or not they should cross the bridge, Cyndi nodded and smiled. "How else am I going to see your treehouse?" she teased as she watched Benjamin use his wand to make the bridge safer. When he rolled out a red carpet, she let out a laugh, pleased that he was making such an effort to make this special. The whole moment felt magical, and Cyndi couldn't help but hope that nothing would break the spell.

Not able to stop herself, she took a step closer to the bridge and lightly placed her foot on the edge of it. When it held, Cyndi took another step. "C'mon. Lead the way, Benjamin" she said as she looked over her shoulder and waited for him to join her. She was growing more excited by the minute, and couldn't tell if the excitement was coming from the adrenaline of being so high as they crossed the bridge, being with Benjamin or some combination of the two.

 

[Benjamin Carla]

Ben grinned as Cyndi smiled, once again holding her hand he took a step and they were on the bridge. Walking over the carpet, he lead the way. As he looked down at the river he remembered having read how the muggles generated so much of electricity to use in appliances in their homes. Benjamin knew how it all worked as he had attended muggle primary school. "Were you raised in a muggle or wizarding home?"he asked her curiously as they walked. Ben couldn't help but swing his hands slightly like a child.

"You know when we first came to New Zealand, five years ago, I built this without using any magic" he told her grinning at what he had done all those years ago. Of course he couldn't use magic out of school and his tree house had to be a secret therefore using his muscles he had built it using hammer and wood and nails and all other hardware.

The other end of the bridge was coming closer, only a half kilometer now. "Want to race?" he asked Cyndi. Coming back to the treehouse made him feel more like a child.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

"A little of both, i guess. My mom's a muggle and my dad's wizard " Cyndi replied with a shrug. She felt their hands swinging as they walked, and it reminded Cyndi of when she was a child and would do the same. She listened as Benjamin told her that he built the treehouse without magic and was impressed. "Really? Now I really can't wait to see it" she said happily, "It must've been a lot of hard work without magic."

At Benjamin's question, Cyndi nodded her head. She never turned down a challenge. It was one of her more Gryffindor-like qualities, and even though she had no idea which direction the treehouse was in, she knew the answer to the question instantly. "Definitely" she said with a laugh as she let go of Benjamin's hand and got ready to run. Being competitive by nature, she began to instantly form a plan to beat him there by allowing him to lead the way, waiting until she saw the treehouse and then sprinting ahead of him.

 

[Benjamin Carla]

Ben heard Cyndi and then on hearing her acceptance on racing him, he grinned. "We just go straight for around one kilometer" he told her as he bent lower to get a good start. "Ready...set GO!" he shouted as he sped forward running in the fresh cool air. It fely so good as he breathed, his long legs giving him an advantage. As he ran, he was almost going to trip on the carpet but he jumped and saved himself.

This broke his speed just a little bit. Carrying on, he raced straight ahead the distance becoming shorter, his breathing becoming heavier. He loved this feeling, it was similar to flying when air raced throughj your head and made you feel great. "I'm gonna win" he shouted happily like a five year old.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

As Benjamin said go, Cyndi rushed forward trying to keep pace with Benjamin even though he stood much taller than her and had longer legs. Her time on the quidditch team had served to keep her in decent shape and she paced herself knowing that they had about a kilometer to go. Falling behind a little, Cyndi tried to control her breathing and ran, trying not to trip over any branches or roots on the ground.

Continuing, Cyndi felt her breathing increase as the familiar burn entered her lungs. Push through it, Cyndi said as she continued pumping her arms and running. When Benjamin said that he was going to win, Cyndi pushed herself a little harder until she caught up with him and yelled "No way" as she raced past him, her hair whipping behind her. She looked frantically for a sign of a treehouse as she felt herself slowing again. Even without seeing it, she knew that they had to be nearly there.

 

[Benjamin Carla]

Benjamin's breathing got more heavier as he ran down the bridge and through the dusty path covered with leaves. It seemed only like yesterday when he was dragging wooden logs through this place. The happy thought gave him the energy and he caught up with Cyndi running beside her. "There it is" he said as he raced, keeping his pace he ran towards the old, thick tree on which the tree house was built. The path was slippery here due to the water fall but Benjamin's trainers helped him and he reached the tree house panting, smiling to be here.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Cyndi continued to run through the underbrush, but pretty quickly Benjamin caught up to her again. He let her know that they were near the treehouse, and she looked up, momentarily distracted by the sight of the large tree on top of which the treehouse stood.

Cyndi continued to run, not realizing that the path was slippery. Before she knew it, her feet slid out from under her and she landed hard on her bum with the wind knocked out of her. "Ow!" Cyndi moaned as she lifted her hand and saw that it was scraped and covered in wet leaves. She held out her other hand, hoping that Benjamin would help her up.

 

[Benjamin Carla]

Benjamin looked around as he heard a slight thud in the soft, soggy soil. Finding Cyndi having slipped in the muddy path, he couldn't help but laugh. But as soon as he realized that it was rude, he quickly walked forward and helped her get on her feet, grabbing her clean hair he pulled her and before he realized she was so close to him, their bodies touching each other and he could feel her breath, the pair breathing heavily.

He looked once again into her eyes, gazing as swung his arm around her waist. Benjamin! Do you want to make all of this useless? he scolded himself and quickly took back his arm. He had to constantly keep reminding himself that he had to take it slow with Cyndi.

Waving his wand, he cleaned her dress and hands and she was clean once again. Pointing his wand on the tree house he waved it and a long wooden ladder rolled out coming down to their feet. "Will you..need help in climbing?"he asked Cyndi with a smile.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

As Benjamin began laughing, Cyndi did too. She was used to her clumsiness and simply took it as lightly as possible when others laughed. When he helped her up, Cyndi's laughter died away as she realized how close their bodies were. Is he going to kiss me? Cyndi thought to herself as they stood together and Benjamin's arm wrapped around her waist. She waited in nervous anticipation, but Benjamin quickly dropped his arm. Feeling slightly dissappointed, Cyndi bit her lip. He's a gentlemen Cyndi. You should be happy about that.

Just as she reached for her own wand to clean herself off, Benjamin beat her to it. "Thanks" she said, feeling as good as new. When Benjamin asked whether she would need any help going up the ladder to his treehouse, Cyndi chuckled. "I think I can handle it" she said with a shrug and added, "but who knows?"