Author Name: Foo Zi Rei
Age: 12
School: Greenridge Primary School

No one would believe me if I were to tell him or her what happened at my P5 camp – no one. They would probably say that I had read too much Harry Potter books and was not thinking clearly. But I vow every single word I said was true.

Thunder rolled and wind howled. Rain thundered onto the canvas flap of my tent, almost drowning out every other sounds. But I was warm and comfortable in my tent, snuggled in my sleeping bag. It was the P5 camp, and my partner, Mavis and I had pitched a tent in a clearing in a deserted forest together with our class. My class, 5 Loyalty, had set off in high spirits early that morning, looking for a place in the forest to pitch our tent. Miss Loh had instructed us on how to pitch the tent, build a fire, boil water and wash our clothes, as she had been a Girl Guide before. Finally, after a day of toiling, we built a campfire and some of us danced around it, singing songs and laughing away. Others merely sat in a ring around the campfire, admiring the leaping flame. To our great disappointment, raindrops fell around us and soon rain was pelting down in sheets. The campfire was extinguished and we had no choice but to seek shelter in our tents. Fortunately, Mavis and I managed to keep our spirits up as she had brought a pack of UNO cards with her. We played the card game by the light of our torches and finally turned in when it was lights out time.

In the dead of the night, I awoke to the sudden chill of thin needles lading on me. Startled, I opened my eyes and sat up. To my bewilderment, my tent’s waterproof canvas flap had gotten loose because of the rain and was flapping wildly in the wind!

“Mavis! Wake up! The flap has gotten loose!” I cried. Mavis woke up instantly as the wind blew onto her face.

Mavis and I were trying to pull the flap back down when we heard a splintering crack. A flash of lightning had streaked across the dark, velvet sky, as if cracking the sky into two. To my horror, it hit the tree near our tent, and the gargantuan tree started to fell. Its all happened in a fraction of a second and I knew the tree would hit me if I did not escape. Panic-stricken, I moved towards Mavis hurriedly, but it was too late. The tree came crashing down at me and I stared in horror. I cowered, hands over my head and braced myself for the blow. A shriek rang through the night.

“Wingaldrom Leviosar!” A voice spoke vividly.

After a few seconds, the blow did not come, and I looked up slowly, being inquisitive. To my surprise, I saw Harry, Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger all in raincoats and broomsticks, as if they had come straight out of the book! Looking up I saw the tree hanging in mid-air, motionless. I was dumbfounded.

“Reduce!” Harry said again, and the tree was reduced to a miniature tree, no bigger than my finger.

“You all right? Miss?” he asked politely, flying over to me and extending his arm to help me up. I thanked him, stammering and stuttering. The rest of my class had woken up at my shriek and were peering out of their tents to see what was happening. Pointing his wand to the sky, Harry muttered a spell under his breath again, and the rain suddenly stopped.

“Muggles, please leave here at once, as it is not safe for you here. You have stumbled upon the magical world, my world, and this forest has many evil creatures that dwell in it. Please heed my advice and leave at once, it has been nice meeting you all,” Harry, Ron and Hermione explained, as they flicked their wands and helped us pack our camping equipments with little effort after we regained our composure and got out of our tents. While we were bidding our farewells, Harry Potter spoke again.

“Em… may we ask a favour? You have to keep whatever happened tonight, a secret, as the secrets of the Magical World should never be revealed to normal people. Do I have your promise?” he asked.

“Yes, we promise,” my class and Miss Loh answered in unison.

We started trudging away with Miss Loh leading. I stopped in my racks, and thought, “It would be now or never.” “Wait! Wait!” I cried, running towards them and fishing out my pen and notebook from my pocket. “May I have your autographs please?” I asked pleadingly.

“Sure,” they all replied and after signing their names, they bewitched that page so no one but I could read them. I thanked them profusely, and watched them as they flew away, disappearing into the darkness.

Now that I have told you what had really happened, but do you believe me?