41. Thestrals

Feeling a little adventurous, and a little bit foolish, an eight year old Emily ran out to the forest bordering her back garden. Squeezing herself through the gap between two disjointed panels of wood in the fence, she hurried down the small dirt path, feeling her way through the trees.

Emily stood in a dimly lit clearing, she hadn’t been out here on her own before. “Feru!” she called.

Seeing the skeletal winged horse before her, she pulled out a fresh piece of meat from her pocket, holding it out in front of her, daring the beast to take it.