CARNIVAL du MYSTIQUE
A Harry Potter UNIVERSE/ Sasporilla Bucket Fan Fiction
by Darren Kelly
Chapter 5
Sasporilla pondered the trick of disappearing elephant as she walked out of the big show tent. She had watched the fabric of magic closely as the great Rudolfo performed his trick. At no time was magic used. So how in the world did he make a giant pachyderm vanish before her very eyes? For a muggle to this was inconceivable.
It was getting late but Sasporilla still had two things she wanted to do before go home. She wanted to play a carnival game and ride the roller coaster. Sassy walked down the games arcade of the midway. Barkers tried to pull her in to play their games.
Children sprayed water from wands attached to small hoses into the mouths of dragons, knocking back their flames until it was extinguished in the beasts belly and a winner was declared with a flurry of bells and fire works.
"Cast a spell, knock over the bottles, win a giant stuffed Banana!" The barker called.
Sasporilla smiled politely no as she walked past.
A tall pedestal with a large bell atop stood by a games barker who cried out, "Ring the bell, win a prize. Are you wizard enough to impress your young witch sir?"
A tall wizard cast a spell to turn his wand into a giant hammer. A young witch that stood beside him looked hopeful as he lifted the hammer high above his head. The barker smiled as the wizard brought the hammer down with all his might and struck a lever which sent a weighted metal dinger up the pole about half way. The games barker laughed and mocked as the wizard got angry and the witch tried to show him some sympathy.
A young Ravenclaw fourth year that Sasporilla recognized was busy whacking away with a large rubber mallet at a game of Whack-a-leprechaun. Aptly name for a devious Irish imp would run around beneath a counter, with several holes drilled into it, and randomly pop its head up through and taunt the player with a barb or insult.
"What's wrong?" The leprechaun laughed
WHACK!
"Ya couldn't hit.."
WHACK!
"...Yer own head..."
WHACK!
"...wit dat ting!"
WHACK!
"Ya poser hahahaha!!!"
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Quidditch fans gathered around the "Throw the Quaffle through the moving Goal game. Young and old witches and wizards threw quaffles by the dozens but few seemed to even get close. Life most carnival games Sasporilla assumed there was some sort of trick to it or they were out right fixed.
Sasporilla came across a game booth where the barker sat reading the daily prophet. The sign read SHOOTING GALLERY. A large glass wall sat like a blackened window behind him.
"Test yer skill." The barker sighed. "Stupify six targets in six shots and win a prize."
"How much?" Sasporilla asked intrigued.
"A sickle!" The man said putting down his paper and paying attention to the first person all day who had shown interest in his booth. Sasporilla pulled a sickle out of her bag and drew her wand.
The man smiled and nodded as he took the sickle and cast lumos at the glass wall. The back lit up and came yo life with fluttering Cornish pixies.
"Cast STUPIFY only and stun a Cornish pixie you win a point. You get ten shots. If you stun five out of ten you win one of these lovely "DEAD EYE" badges. If you stun six in six shots you win one of these lovely stuffed Nifflers!" The game barker smiled.
"What if I get ten out of ten?" Sasporilla smiled playfully.
"Then you would be the best shot I have ever seen!" The man said. "And you would win the coveted Beauxchamps Carnival Sharp Caster Cup!"
A once brilliant gold and silver cup, now very dusty and covered with cobwebs was motioned to on an upper shelf.
"Right!" Sasporilla said.
"You have thirty seconds when I say go," the barker said as Sasporilla readied herself. "... and.... GO!"
Sasporilla reached out with her feelings touching the fabric of magic. She saw the Cornish pixies making a well planned run for hiding spots that would making hitting them impossible. Their moments slowed to an almost dead halt before her eyes. Sasporilla moved like lightning casting stupify. Ten shots, ten Cornish pixies fell.
A magical counter to the side of the case rolled over and when it clicked ten confetti and streamers shot from the top of the game booth and spiraled down around Sassy. Large megaphones popped out counter and blared congratulatory music!
A crowd began to gather around Sassy as the game barker levitated the cup down from its shelf.
The old wizard himself, Ferdinad Beauxchamps, came over to see who had won the old cup after all this time.
Sasporilla graciously accepted the cup with a smile and a sneeze as the dust blew up her nose.
"I have never seen casting like that!" The barker ssid. "Are you an auror?"
"No!" Ferdinad Beauxchamps. "She is a student of wand making and hopefully will soon be our new wand maintenance technician!"
"How did you cast that fast?" The barker asked.
"I fought at the battle of Hogwarts." Sassy said.
"You must have killed a lot of death eaters." A person in the crowd laughed.
"I lost a lot of friends that day." Sassy said sadly.
"That's Sasporilla Bucket!" A young man said. "I have her battle of Hogwarts chocolate frog card! She's a hero! She blew a death eaters head clean off! That's why she's so good."
"I'm no hero." Sasporilla said. "Dueling for points or casting at targets is easy. Safe. Dueling against a living wizard trying to kill you is very different. So please don't celebrate war and killing."
Sasporilla took her cup and walked away ftom the crowd suddenly ashamed of her achievement. People murmured behind her as she left.
"What's wrong with her?" The shooting gallery barker asked.
"People who have seen war understand true horror, few others understand." Ferdinand Beauxchamps said. "Let's all get back to having fun!"
Sasporilla wondered through the midway as she stuffed the sharp casting cup into her bag until it was lodged in tightly but still stuck out awkwardly. Just past the deep fried chocolate frog on a stick stand and to the left of the Butterbeer and Pumpkinjuice slushee stand was Sassy found herself back at the spider floss kiosk. Across the way was the DEVIL'S FORK roller coaster.
Sasporilla rooted in her bag past the cup looking for the two ride tickets that remained. The thin blue slips of thick paper hid just past Sassy's small makeup bag. Though she didn't wear much make up, she did wear some, though she rarely ever got seen applying it or fixing it.
Sassy tore off one ticket and carried it in her hand as she approached the ride operator of the Devil's Fork.
"Ready for the ride of your life then miss?" The thin man smiled and took the ride ticket from Sasporillas fingers.
"Welcome Miss to the wildest roller coaster anywhere in the wizarding world!" The ride operator said turning and heading for the Devil's fork sign. With a tap of his wand against the sign the large 'E' opened up to reveal a space behind. A car rolled in on a track, enveloped in a devilishly red light.
"Beauxchamps Entertainment Unlimited takes no responsibility for lost or damaged items, limbs, life or riders as one in seven hundred twenty eight brave souls are never seen again."
The tall thin man offered Sasporilla a hand climbing aboard the car. For the first time she noticed the scattered burn scars on his hands and fore arms. As he did up her safety belts and lowered the safety cross bar.
"I'd secure your bag miss." The ride
Operator smiled showing his stubby baked bean teeth. "Unless of course you'd like me to hang on to it for you?"
"No thank you." Sasporilla said drawing her wand casting 'Reductio' and shrinking her bag down small enough to put in her robes inner pocket.
"Ok." The ride operator said quietly. "Seriously, keep your arms and hands in the ride and what ever you do, don't cast spells at the big fella, it really ticks him off."
"Wha...?" Sassy began to ask as the car lurched forward into the darkness.
The wheels clacked and squeaked ever faster as the car moved forward on its track through the darkness. The the track took plunge and with a scream Sasporilla found her car hurtling downwards. She could see the track, running thin in the distance like a string through a small light, which quickly grew in the blackness. The light was hole into a world of dry cracked earth, blowing harsh dust on hot winds and bubbling lakes of acids and pools of erupting lava.
As the ground rushed towards her Sasporilla closed her eyes. She remembered being a little girl and begging her mother to go to the carnival to ride the roller coasters.
"No Sassy." Wysteria would tell her daughter. "You're to small."
The car shot out across and up the track curved to the left and turned over in a corkscrew. Sasporilla Bucket screamed as the car rolled down over a lake of acid. Arms of melting flesh reaching up to grab at the pink haired witch as she passed.
The roller coaster car straightened and shot upwards up a track into a large loop as Sassy found herself flying head over heals.
Sasporilla Bucket screamed and closed her eyes. Once again she remembered herself, around ten pleading with her mum to take her to the muggle carnival across the highway in Essex to ride the roller coaster.
"Sasporilla!" Wysteria ssid. " You know very well we can't afford it!"
The loop came rolling around in a corkscrew back around and down over the lake then back into wide loop up then down into tunnel filled with undead, chained to the walls screaming at Sassy as she flew past.
The car rocked violently from side to side as it shot out of the tunnel. Sasporilla was alarmed at the sight of the track splitting into three directions. With a small bump, then a large thump the car flew up off the track and up into the air.
Once again Sasporillas mind turned to that of her mother. Thinking just before she got on how she could have said to her mother "I am now old enough, big enough and have enough of my own money to ride the roller coaster MOTHER!"
She could here the wise words of Wysteria Bucket in her mind... "How are you enjoying it dear?"
"What was I bloody thinking!!!!!" Sasporilla screamed as the car landed heavily on the track and dropped down off the side off a cliff. The car spiraled down around a pillar of flame and in to a small turn and into a series of small hills through pools of spewing fountains of lava.
The roller coaster car came to a crashing halt as it slammed into a burning red rock. Sassy didn't know if it was the loud cracking and grinding or the deafening roar that made her look up into the face of a roaring lava giant reaching for her car. Sassy didn't know if it was the words of the ride operator "what ever you do, don't cast spells at the big fella, it really ticks him off" or the fact that she seemed to be paralyzed with fear that stopped her from drawing her wand. Whichever Sasporilla screamed as the creature lifted the car in its lava dripped claw, high above its gapping firey maw where he dropped the car in and swallowed the pink haired witch, roller coaster car and all, whole.
When Sasporilla opened her eyes the ride operator was unfastening her safety belts.
"Thank you for Riding the Devil's Fork." The thin man said. "Come ride with us again any time."
He took Sasporillas hand to help her off the ride. Sassy had Smokey cheeks. Her eyes were wide and she her long pink hair was standing up in all directions. She pulled her bag from her robes pocket and it increased to normal size. She felt around absent mindedly, still half in shock, for her other ride ticket.
A young boy fought adamantly with his mother. "But we can't leave! I haven't ridden the roller coaster!"
"I don't have enough money Daniel I'm sorry." His mother said.
"Here." Sasporilla said blankly stuffing the tide ticket into the woman's hand as walked past. "I won't be using it."
Sasporilla just wanted to go home now. Where did she live? Oh yes, Number 4 castle road Essex. How could she get there? Oh yes she remembered. If only she could remember that spell to remove embarrassing stains from ones delicates???
Sasporilla pondered the trick of disappearing elephant as she walked out of the big show tent. She had watched the fabric of magic closely as the great Rudolfo performed his trick. At no time was magic used. So how in the world did he make a giant pachyderm vanish before her very eyes? For a muggle to this was inconceivable.
It was getting late but Sasporilla still had two things she wanted to do before go home. She wanted to play a carnival game and ride the roller coaster. Sassy walked down the games arcade of the midway. Barkers tried to pull her in to play their games.
Children sprayed water from wands attached to small hoses into the mouths of dragons, knocking back their flames until it was extinguished in the beasts belly and a winner was declared with a flurry of bells and fire works.
"Cast a spell, knock over the bottles, win a giant stuffed Banana!" The barker called.
Sasporilla smiled politely no as she walked past.
A tall pedestal with a large bell atop stood by a games barker who cried out, "Ring the bell, win a prize. Are you wizard enough to impress your young witch sir?"
A tall wizard cast a spell to turn his wand into a giant hammer. A young witch that stood beside him looked hopeful as he lifted the hammer high above his head. The barker smiled as the wizard brought the hammer down with all his might and struck a lever which sent a weighted metal dinger up the pole about half way. The games barker laughed and mocked as the wizard got angry and the witch tried to show him some sympathy.
A young Ravenclaw fourth year that Sasporilla recognized was busy whacking away with a large rubber mallet at a game of Whack-a-leprechaun. Aptly name for a devious Irish imp would run around beneath a counter, with several holes drilled into it, and randomly pop its head up through and taunt the player with a barb or insult.
"What's wrong?" The leprechaun laughed
WHACK!
"Ya couldn't hit.."
WHACK!
"...Yer own head..."
WHACK!
"...wit dat ting!"
WHACK!
"Ya poser hahahaha!!!"
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Quidditch fans gathered around the "Throw the Quaffle through the moving Goal game. Young and old witches and wizards threw quaffles by the dozens but few seemed to even get close. Life most carnival games Sasporilla assumed there was some sort of trick to it or they were out right fixed.
Sasporilla came across a game booth where the barker sat reading the daily prophet. The sign read SHOOTING GALLERY. A large glass wall sat like a blackened window behind him.
"Test yer skill." The barker sighed. "Stupify six targets in six shots and win a prize."
"How much?" Sasporilla asked intrigued.
"A sickle!" The man said putting down his paper and paying attention to the first person all day who had shown interest in his booth. Sasporilla pulled a sickle out of her bag and drew her wand.
The man smiled and nodded as he took the sickle and cast lumos at the glass wall. The back lit up and came yo life with fluttering Cornish pixies.
"Cast STUPIFY only and stun a Cornish pixie you win a point. You get ten shots. If you stun five out of ten you win one of these lovely "DEAD EYE" badges. If you stun six in six shots you win one of these lovely stuffed Nifflers!" The game barker smiled.
"What if I get ten out of ten?" Sasporilla smiled playfully.
"Then you would be the best shot I have ever seen!" The man said. "And you would win the coveted Beauxchamps Carnival Sharp Caster Cup!"
A once brilliant gold and silver cup, now very dusty and covered with cobwebs was motioned to on an upper shelf.
"Right!" Sasporilla said.
"You have thirty seconds when I say go," the barker said as Sasporilla readied herself. "... and.... GO!"
Sasporilla reached out with her feelings touching the fabric of magic. She saw the Cornish pixies making a well planned run for hiding spots that would making hitting them impossible. Their moments slowed to an almost dead halt before her eyes. Sasporilla moved like lightning casting stupify. Ten shots, ten Cornish pixies fell.
A magical counter to the side of the case rolled over and when it clicked ten confetti and streamers shot from the top of the game booth and spiraled down around Sassy. Large megaphones popped out counter and blared congratulatory music!
A crowd began to gather around Sassy as the game barker levitated the cup down from its shelf.
The old wizard himself, Ferdinad Beauxchamps, came over to see who had won the old cup after all this time.
Sasporilla graciously accepted the cup with a smile and a sneeze as the dust blew up her nose.
"I have never seen casting like that!" The barker ssid. "Are you an auror?"
"No!" Ferdinad Beauxchamps. "She is a student of wand making and hopefully will soon be our new wand maintenance technician!"
"How did you cast that fast?" The barker asked.
"I fought at the battle of Hogwarts." Sassy said.
"You must have killed a lot of death eaters." A person in the crowd laughed.
"I lost a lot of friends that day." Sassy said sadly.
"That's Sasporilla Bucket!" A young man said. "I have her battle of Hogwarts chocolate frog card! She's a hero! She blew a death eaters head clean off! That's why she's so good."
"I'm no hero." Sasporilla said. "Dueling for points or casting at targets is easy. Safe. Dueling against a living wizard trying to kill you is very different. So please don't celebrate war and killing."
Sasporilla took her cup and walked away ftom the crowd suddenly ashamed of her achievement. People murmured behind her as she left.
"What's wrong with her?" The shooting gallery barker asked.
"People who have seen war understand true horror, few others understand." Ferdinand Beauxchamps said. "Let's all get back to having fun!"
Sasporilla wondered through the midway as she stuffed the sharp casting cup into her bag until it was lodged in tightly but still stuck out awkwardly. Just past the deep fried chocolate frog on a stick stand and to the left of the Butterbeer and Pumpkinjuice slushee stand was Sassy found herself back at the spider floss kiosk. Across the way was the DEVIL'S FORK roller coaster.
Sasporilla rooted in her bag past the cup looking for the two ride tickets that remained. The thin blue slips of thick paper hid just past Sassy's small makeup bag. Though she didn't wear much make up, she did wear some, though she rarely ever got seen applying it or fixing it.
Sassy tore off one ticket and carried it in her hand as she approached the ride operator of the Devil's Fork.
"Ready for the ride of your life then miss?" The thin man smiled and took the ride ticket from Sasporillas fingers.
"Welcome Miss to the wildest roller coaster anywhere in the wizarding world!" The ride operator said turning and heading for the Devil's fork sign. With a tap of his wand against the sign the large 'E' opened up to reveal a space behind. A car rolled in on a track, enveloped in a devilishly red light.
"Beauxchamps Entertainment Unlimited takes no responsibility for lost or damaged items, limbs, life or riders as one in seven hundred twenty eight brave souls are never seen again."
The tall thin man offered Sasporilla a hand climbing aboard the car. For the first time she noticed the scattered burn scars on his hands and fore arms. As he did up her safety belts and lowered the safety cross bar.
"I'd secure your bag miss." The ride
Operator smiled showing his stubby baked bean teeth. "Unless of course you'd like me to hang on to it for you?"
"No thank you." Sasporilla said drawing her wand casting 'Reductio' and shrinking her bag down small enough to put in her robes inner pocket.
"Ok." The ride operator said quietly. "Seriously, keep your arms and hands in the ride and what ever you do, don't cast spells at the big fella, it really ticks him off."
"Wha...?" Sassy began to ask as the car lurched forward into the darkness.
The wheels clacked and squeaked ever faster as the car moved forward on its track through the darkness. The the track took plunge and with a scream Sasporilla found her car hurtling downwards. She could see the track, running thin in the distance like a string through a small light, which quickly grew in the blackness. The light was hole into a world of dry cracked earth, blowing harsh dust on hot winds and bubbling lakes of acids and pools of erupting lava.
As the ground rushed towards her Sasporilla closed her eyes. She remembered being a little girl and begging her mother to go to the carnival to ride the roller coasters.
"No Sassy." Wysteria would tell her daughter. "You're to small."
The car shot out across and up the track curved to the left and turned over in a corkscrew. Sasporilla Bucket screamed as the car rolled down over a lake of acid. Arms of melting flesh reaching up to grab at the pink haired witch as she passed.
The roller coaster car straightened and shot upwards up a track into a large loop as Sassy found herself flying head over heals.
Sasporilla Bucket screamed and closed her eyes. Once again she remembered herself, around ten pleading with her mum to take her to the muggle carnival across the highway in Essex to ride the roller coaster.
"Sasporilla!" Wysteria ssid. " You know very well we can't afford it!"
The loop came rolling around in a corkscrew back around and down over the lake then back into wide loop up then down into tunnel filled with undead, chained to the walls screaming at Sassy as she flew past.
The car rocked violently from side to side as it shot out of the tunnel. Sasporilla was alarmed at the sight of the track splitting into three directions. With a small bump, then a large thump the car flew up off the track and up into the air.
Once again Sasporillas mind turned to that of her mother. Thinking just before she got on how she could have said to her mother "I am now old enough, big enough and have enough of my own money to ride the roller coaster MOTHER!"
She could here the wise words of Wysteria Bucket in her mind... "How are you enjoying it dear?"
"What was I bloody thinking!!!!!" Sasporilla screamed as the car landed heavily on the track and dropped down off the side off a cliff. The car spiraled down around a pillar of flame and in to a small turn and into a series of small hills through pools of spewing fountains of lava.
The roller coaster car came to a crashing halt as it slammed into a burning red rock. Sassy didn't know if it was the loud cracking and grinding or the deafening roar that made her look up into the face of a roaring lava giant reaching for her car. Sassy didn't know if it was the words of the ride operator "what ever you do, don't cast spells at the big fella, it really ticks him off" or the fact that she seemed to be paralyzed with fear that stopped her from drawing her wand. Whichever Sasporilla screamed as the creature lifted the car in its lava dripped claw, high above its gapping firey maw where he dropped the car in and swallowed the pink haired witch, roller coaster car and all, whole.
When Sasporilla opened her eyes the ride operator was unfastening her safety belts.
"Thank you for Riding the Devil's Fork." The thin man said. "Come ride with us again any time."
He took Sasporillas hand to help her off the ride. Sassy had Smokey cheeks. Her eyes were wide and she her long pink hair was standing up in all directions. She pulled her bag from her robes pocket and it increased to normal size. She felt around absent mindedly, still half in shock, for her other ride ticket.
A young boy fought adamantly with his mother. "But we can't leave! I haven't ridden the roller coaster!"
"I don't have enough money Daniel I'm sorry." His mother said.
"Here." Sasporilla said blankly stuffing the tide ticket into the woman's hand as walked past. "I won't be using it."
Sasporilla just wanted to go home now. Where did she live? Oh yes, Number 4 castle road Essex. How could she get there? Oh yes she remembered. If only she could remember that spell to remove embarrassing stains from ones delicates???
PLEASE REMEMBER
I am in no way affiliated with Warner Bros. or with J.K.Rowling. My work is purely that of fan fiction & do not ask for, nor accept money, gifts or other compensation for my work. If you really feel you must do something, donate to J.K.Rowling's charitable foundation LUMOS! Link below! ( https://www.wearelumos.org/ )
I am in no way affiliated with Warner Bros. or with J.K.Rowling. My work is purely that of fan fiction & do not ask for, nor accept money, gifts or other compensation for my work. If you really feel you must do something, donate to J.K.Rowling's charitable foundation LUMOS! Link below! ( https://www.wearelumos.org/ )