The Magizoologist In Training

The Magizoologist in Training

  I look back across the years to the seven-year-old wizard who spent hours in his bedroom dismembering Horklumps and I envy him the journeys to come. I have visited lairs, burrows and nests across five continents, observed the curious habits of Magical Beasts in a hundred countries, witnessed their power, gained their trust, and, on occasion, beaten them off with my travelling kettle. - Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

  *  

"Patrick, hurry up!" cried Newt Scamander. "If we're late for class Pokeby'll have our hides!"

"We still have ten minutes before class starts, Newt. And you know that Pokeby's hardly ever on time." said Patrick Murray. His voice was rather stifled as he was lying on his stomach under his bed searching for his copy of Monstrosities Galore for the Care of Magical Creatures Class.

"Better safe than sorry," mumbled Newt, running a hand nervously through his reddish-brown hair.

"Got it!" cried Patrick as he emerged from under his bed, his usually neat blond hair completely mussed up and his hand clutching a book which was so tattered it looked like it would have preferred to stay under the bed.

Without a word, Newt grabbed Patrick's arm, and ran out of their dorm, through the Gryffindor common room, nearly knocked down a first-year as he burst through the Portrait Hole ("Watch it!" cried the Fat Lady) and was soon racing down the corridors.

"Why the rush?" panted Patrick as he struggled to keep up with his friend.

"Don't you see?" cried Newt excitedly, not breaking his pace. "Today's the day!"

Realization suddenly dawned in Patrick's eyes and he grinned at Newt as they burst out into the bright sunlight onto the Hogwarts grounds.

Today was the day all right. Newt had been waiting for it ever since his mother had told him over the summer that she might help out their Care of Magical Creatures Professor by lending the school some of her prize Hippogriffs for the students to study for a few weeks. Newt was looking forward to this class. Not only was he going to see the animals he had grown up with, and missed terribly whenever he was at school, but nobody knew more about Hippogriffs than he did. For once, he was not going to look like an idiot in class.

School had never been easy for Newt. He was keen and enthusiastic, but he never could understand the incredibly formal and conventional methods most of the Professors used. For his first two years in Hogwarts the only solace he had was in the Transfiguration classes, where Professor Dumbledore would delight him with his whimsical idiosyncracies and the never ending encouragement he always gave Newt, no matter how many times he accidentally made body parts of the animals he was supposed to be transfiguring mysteriously vanish.

Academics weren't the only area in which he had trouble. He was quite unpopular in his house for the loads of points he lost for it almost weekly. Newt became rebellious when he was frustrated, and often broke the school rules blatantly, not caring for the consequences. He was wild, rash and adventurous, never comprehending why anyone would want to be cooped up in a stuffy old classroom when they could be out exploring the Forbidden Forest. The only friend he had was Patrick, and Newt treasured him. Patrick was the calm, sensible one, sticking up for Newt and often getting him out of trouble. He was one of the smartest students in their year, and all the teachers loved him. The mere fact that Patrick was Newt's best friend gave him the credibility he couldn't earn on his own.

But Newt had been very much looking forward to his third year, which he was determined to enjoy, because of the new class he had chosen- Care of Magical Creatures.

For the first time, for as long as he could remember, he actually felt excited about something. The summer before he returned to school, he spent most his time devouring the various textbooks his mother had lent him. He spent hours in the woody marshland near his house, observing Horklumps and playing with his pet Crups. However, a sore disappointment was in store for Newt.

Professor Pokeby was undoubtedly the last person Newt would have ever wanted to be in charge of his favourite class. Humourless, strict and at times horribly unfair, she looked upon Newt's passion for the subject with suspicion, and felt rather threatened whenever he displayed his precocious knowledge of Magical Beasts. She felt that he usurped her authority, and the best student in her class quickly became the one she least liked.

That was what Newt concluded anyway, but instead focused on enjoying the one class where he was allowed to be outdoors and sometimes within close vicinity of the Forbidden Forest. Now in his fourth year, Newt was being extra careful not to displease his professors. He would be taking his O.W.Ls in a year, and he was treading on thin ice already. He was looking forward to this class- maybe Pokeby might even relent when she saw how proficient he was in his knowledge of Hippogriffs.

As Newt and Patrick hurried across the grounds, they noticed the group of Ravenclaws they took the class with huddled together near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. They were avidly staring at the group of Hippogriffs tied to the trees. The Hippogriffs seemed to be rather nervous at being inspected like this; some of them were nervously pawing the ground or rearing their heads. Every time one of them let out a grunt, a short Ravenclaw girl shrieked. Professor Pokeby was nowhere in sight.

Newt hurried up to the Hippogriffs and began to stroke them without bothering to bow. After all, he had grown up with these animals. The only one who knew them better than he did would have to be his mother. The Ravenclaws, impressed, gathered around Newt.

"Wow!"

"So these are your mother's Hippogriff's, eh Newt?"

"Are they dangerous?"

"What are their names?"

"Yuck! That one just ate a worm!"

Newt grinned, enjoying being the centre of attention in a positive way for once. He was usually the boy who stood out for the hundreds of points he lost for Gryffindor, or the one who sneaked out into the Forbidden Forest every other night, or the one who got detention for releasing dozens of Cornish Pixies into the school grounds on Halloween. The only way in which people usually recognised him was 'The Son of the Famous Hippogriff Breeder Elizabeth Scamander' or 'The Best Friend of that Brilliant-Popular-Perfect-In-Every-Way Patrick Murray'.

Care of Magical Creatures was the one class he was good at, although he barely got recognition for it. Professor Pokeby seemed to be determined to taper down his marks to the lowest degree possible, which luckily, still came to be quite a lot.

Newt started introducing all the Hippogriffs to the Ravenclaws as some of the other Gryffindors lazily sauntered towards the gathering. "That one there is Diamond, and this one's called Rockhoof, better not get behind her. That's Brandybuck, Chubb and next to them is Eliza. She's named after my mother. Those two over there are called Goldy and Bronzy. They had a baby a few months ago, and she's called-"

"Let me guess... Silvery?" snickered the short Ravenclaw girl.

"Actually she's named Irony, because my mother always thought that her parents couldn't stand each other."

The Ravenclaws and even a few of the Gryffindors laughed at this. Newt scanned the group of Hippogriffs until he found the one he was looking for. "And this," he said, his voice becoming uncharacteristically gentle as he stroked a Hippogriff with silvery-grey plumage, "this is Eddy. He's the first one of his kind in the entire world to be completely tamed."

Eddy was the reason Elizabeth Scamander had attained worldwide repute, and had had her face splashed on nearly every Magizoology magazine in Europe. When Elizabeth had started out on her experiments, Hippogriffs were still classified as dangerous, untameable beasts that no sane wizard would try to domesticate.

However, after over 10 years of research, experimentation and many cuts and scratches, Elizabeth had finally realised how to earn a Hippogriff's trust and respect, and somehow had turned Eddy, the first Hippogriff she had ever captured, into a completely docile animal.

Elizabeth hadn't wanted to send Eddy to Hogwarts; he was getting on in years and she was worried on how he might adapt to the new conditions. But Newt had insisted. Newt was closer to Eddy than he had ever been to anyone else in his entire life. He had helped his mother raise him; he'd played with him, flown him and fed him. Newt was fascinated by all sorts of Magical Beasts, including the ones he found and experimented on in the woody marshes near his house, but somehow he and Eddy shared a bond that was hard to explain. Eddy was Newt's best friend. He was the only friend Newt had ever had before coming to Hogwarts.

Newt continued to stroke Eddy as his classmates gathered around to get a look at the famous Hippogriff. Some of them looked rather disappointed. Eddy was beautiful all right, at least to Newt, with his pure white, almost silvery plumage, but he was very old- Almost thirty years of age. Eddy looked around at the students around him with bleary, half-open eyes and his neck had a definite droop to it.

"Looks rather sick, doesn't he?" muttered Vincent Thomas, a Gryffindor.

"Like he might drop dead any second," said his friend Molly Took.

"He's very old!" cried Newt, defending Eddy. "But he's incredibly strong! I've flown him dozens of times!"

"You mean you can fly him?" asked Flora Sandydowns incredulously.

"Of course you can fly him! You can fly on any Hippogriff!"

The crowd looked at him in disbelief. The short Ravenclaw girl shrieked again as Diamond suddenly took a step forward.

"Oh, you shouldn't startle them. You have to bow to them first and..." Newt's voice trailed off as he heard Professor Pokeby's icy voice from behind him.

"I believe I am in charge of this class Mr. Scamander. All of you, get away from the beasts, now!" she barked. The class scattered away quickly as Newt blushed furiously and kept his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Although I see you lot were quite entertained by Mr. Scamander's tall tales, I have to register my absolute shock that you could even think of being in the close vicinity of dangerous beasts without proper supervision! Hippogriffs are brutal, and they will attack with the least bit of provocation-"

"But Professor-"

"Quiet Scamander. 10 points from Gryffindor for talking out of turn."

"Since Mr. Scamander obviously has so much expertise on the subject that he feels that it's not necessary to pay attention in class, perhaps he would honour us lesser mortals by demonstrating how to handle a Hippogriff?" Professor Pokeby drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

But Newt barely noticed. He struggled hard not to let himself grin like an idiot, and instead walked stonily straight towards Eddy. Newt bowed stiffly, although it wasn't necessary, but after all he was supposed to be demonstrating the proper method of approach. Eddy blinked in surprise, and then immediately bowed back. Newt grinned at his old friend, swinged his legs up onto Eddy's rather bony, but comfortable back, and nudged his sides with his heels.

Eddy walked forward a few steps and then spread his wings and took off. Newt could hear Patrick's admiring whoops and the astonished exclamations of the Ravenclaws as he soared into the air. It had been over four months since he had last flown Eddy during Christmas vacation, and he was determined to enjoy the ride.

For a few moments, he let the wind wash over him, and forgot himself. This is where I belong, he thought. The familiar feel of the Hippogriff's feathers seemed to put everything in perspective. It reminded him of home, where he and his mother would roam the marshes with Eddy, using his natural ability to sniff out danger as a warning signal, in case anything really dangerous was out there. Newt often roamed the forests himself with Eddy by his side, and the Hippogriff had saved his life more times than he could count.

Newt continued to relax and enjoy the ride when suddenly, instinctively, he realised that something was wrong. Eddy was squirming a bit under his legs, and Newt's eyes shot open. And he gasped.

Eddy was heading straight for the Forbidden Forest.

It was the fact that Eddy was heading anywhere it's direction that got Newt terribly worried. Something was wrong. Although some Hippogriffs might be naturally curious when they sniffed out something interesting, Eddy was extremely shy. The merest whiff of any harmful environment would send him galloping in the other direction. But now he was flying into the Forbidden Forest?

Newt might have snuck into the Forest many times, but he had always stayed within the outskirts. He was no fool. The Forest contained creatures that fascinated him, but he knew his limits. If Eddy didn't change direction that very instant, they would be within the very heart of the Forest, and God knew what would happen then.

"Eddy, Eddy boy, come on now, let's go the other way... Eddy, the other way... Eddy no!" Newt cried out in frustration as his pet continued to fly blearily towards the trees. Eddy's eyes were unfocused, and his wings were flapping slowly. He almost looked like he was going to fall asleep in mid-flight.

"Turn around!" Newt shouted and dug his heels hard into Eddy's sides. Eddy's eyes suddenly flew open, and he jerked from side to side. "Whoa!" cried Newt, desperately clinging on to the Hippogriff's neck. He could hear shouts, but they seemed unreal, as if from miles away.

"Eddy! Stop it!" cried Newt. But this only seemed to frighten the animal more, and with one violent jerk, he threw Newt off his back.

Newt desperately clutched at the Hippogriff's feathers, but it was too late.

 

He was falling.

All that Newt could see were flashes of green and brown... Trees, he thought dazedly. Isn't my life supposed to be flashing in front of my eyes now?

A gigantic orange eye suddenly came into view, and then a glimpse of silvery-grey feathers. Before he knew it Newt was suspended in mid-air by Eddy's surprisingly strong talons. Gently, almost timidly, Eddy drifted towards the ground and released his grip on Newt as the boy tumbled onto the grass.

Newt sat up, reeling from the experience. His vision was unfocused, almost blurry, and his limbs felt numb. He caught sight of Eddy standing over him, looking as worried as it was possible for a Hippogriff to look, and Newt suddenly felt a wave of emotions wash over him. Fear, anger, concern... guilt. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a dry, choking sound.

The next second Newt was surrounded by his classmates, all chattering at the top of their voices. Patrick helped him up, looking very concerned. Newt leaned on his friend for support; he didn't think his legs could support him just then. He wished everyone would stop staring at him. Just then, he saw something that made his knees really buckle under him.

Professor Pokeby was striding towards the group, looking so livid that Newt fully expected her to start breathing fire any moment.

"50 points from Gryffindor, Scamander. Be grateful it's not more. Never in my entire career have I ever seen such foolhardy behaviour. You could have very well broken your neck! Honestly-"

But sometime during this harangue Newt had managed to find his voice again. "50- 50 points? All at once? From Gryffindor? But Prof-"

"Shut your mouth Scamander. And don't forget to report for your detention tonight."

"Detention? But if you'd just let me-"

"Quiet. The rest of you, get back to your towers. Class is dismissed. Scamander, you come with me. I'll need to have a word with your Head of House."

Nearly every Gryffindor shot Newt a look of death before retreating to the castle. Newt barely had time to register what had just happened when he found himself outside Professor Dumbledore's office. Professor Pokeby had just gone in to 'have a word about his improvident ward' and he could hear her raised voice even through the heavy wooden doors. Before he knew it, he was sitting in front of Professor Dumbledore, while Pokeby continued to fix him with a look that made him wish he could melt into a puddle right there in the middle of the Transfiguration teacher's charmingly decorated suite.

"If you don't mind, Priscilla, I'd like to address Mr. Scamander privately... I assure you that he will be suitably dealt with." said Dumbledore.

Pokeby looked as if she were highly doubtful of Dumbledore's methods of 'dealing', but she left the room anyway.

Dumbledore sat on the edge of his desk and looked at his young student solemnly. "I hope you realise that you very nearly got expelled for that little mishap of yours."

"I didn't do anything," said Newt wearily.

"I'm fairly sure that's the case, even though I'm obliged as your Head of House to deduct 20 more points... Although I'm still not quite clear on what actually happened."

Newt was distraught at this news, but sat up a little straighter in his high-backed chair. "Sir... you know Eddy? My mother's Hippogriff? The one I was riding?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Well, I was just demonstrating to the class how to fly a Hippogriff, and everything was going fine when Eddy suddenly starting flying towards the Forbidden Forest. He... He looked really sick, Professor. Almost as if he didn't know what he was doing. And I don't remember much after that. I remember I kept trying to make him change direction, but the next thing I knew he'd jerked me off his back. Luckily, Eddy managed to catch me, and I made it safely to the ground, but... I'm scared Professor."

"Well, you have every right to be. You've just been through a very traumatic experience and it's perfectly understandable to-"

"No, Professor," said Newt, shaking his head impatiently. "I'm scared for Eddy. He's never acted this way before. I'm worried about him."

"Oh!" said Dumbledore, looking surprised. He then removed his glasses and massaged his eyes. Eddy wondered what he was thinking. "Well, it is rather natural for you to be so concerned about your mother's Hippogriff, Newt, but-"

"Proffessor, Eddy's as much my Hippogriff as he is my mother's. I helped raise him, and I'm really concerned. I think he's sick. I think Professor Pokeby should take a look at him. Maybe we could contact a magivet somewhere in Hogsmeade. Maybe-"

'I think that the best solution now is for you to rest a while and recover." said Dumbledore in a kindly tone. "You still look very pale. Maybe it's best if you visit the nurse."

"Professor I feel fine. What about Eddy?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I'll be contacting your mother. I think it's best that she take Eddy home with her again. After all, no one knows him better than she does."

That's true, thought Newt. But it still hurt that Eddy had to be taken away so soon. And it hurt that he couldn't help his best friend with whatever was bothering him. True, Eddy was old, and so maybe this trip to Hogwarts was more than he could have dealt with. Maybe Newt shouldn't have been so imaptient. Of course he should have listened to his mother. And anyway, she was coming back to take Eddy with her. He'd be fine.

He'll be fine, said Newt to himself, with a confidence he didn't feel. Dumbledore's voice seemed to be coming from a long distance away. "And now, if you are positive that you don't feel the need to visit the nurse, I suggest you go to the Great Hall and have lunch before the House-Elves clear away those excellent Peppermint Humbugs we're having today."

Newt nodded faintly and left the office.

 

Newt was lost in thought as he entered the Great Hall. He noticed an empty seat next to Patrick at the Gryffindor table. Newt rushed forward and sat down next to his friend, trying to ignore the dark looks that he was being subjected to by nearly every one of his housemates around the table. News sure travelled fast.

"What happened?" asked Patrick in a low voice.

"It's not as bad as usual. Another 20 points from Gryffindor and detention tonight." He shrugged.

Patrick shook his head darkly and tutted. Newt glared at him. "It's not my fault, okay? Eddy's sick... something's happened to him." Patrick still didn't look convinced, and so Newt repeated, "It's not my fault!"

Patrick kept quiet for a few seconds, and then turned around and faced him. "It's just... do you have any idea how hard the rest of us work to earn those points? You just keep bumbling around and losing them left and right... How on earth are we supposed to make them up now? We're losing to Slytherin and it's nearly the end of the year!"

Newt was absolutely stunned. He had always known that this was probably what went through people's heads every time they saw him, but he had never expected someone to actually say that to his face. He definitely hadn't expected his best friend to.

The two boys continued to stare at each other, and Newt's shock gave way to anger. "I'm telling you it wasn't my fault!" he repeated again.

Patrick just rolled his eyes and turned back to his plate of sausages.

Right at that moment, Patrick's younger sister, Porpentina, showed up at their table and Newt inwardly groaned. She was undoubtably the last person he wanted to see at that moment. There was no love lost between the two and neither of them had ever bothered to hide the fact.

"Here are your notes back, Patrick. Thanks." she said, handing back a large sheaf of parchments to her brother. Newt absently wondered what she was doing studying material that she wouldn't have to wade through for another year. But then, he reminded himself, he shouldn't have expected anything else.

"So Newt," Porpentina said, turning to her bête noire. "I heard you got detention for flying a Hippogriff into the Forbidden Forest."

Newt snapped. "Bugger off, Slytherin." he muttered darkly.

Porpentina's eyes flashed menacingly for a moment, but she didn't say anything. She merely flipped her dark braid over her shoulder and stalked back towards the Slytherin table.

Patrick wheeled around to face Newt again. "Oh, so now you have to go and insult my sister as well? What's the matter with you?"

Newt turned beet red. "What's the matter with me? You're supposed to be my best friend and you won't even listen!"

"As if you ever listen to me! You just don't care about the rest of us do you? Face it Newt, you don't give a damn about anyone but yourself! All you care about are your precious little beasts! You know, why don't you just live in the Forbidden Forest!"

"I might just do that if it means I'll never have to see your stupid mug again!"

Newt was aware that quite a few students were turning around in their seats to witness this rather entertaining row, but he was past the point of caring. Without another word, the two best friends got up and left the Great Hall in separate directions. Newt hadn't even sampled the Humbugs yet.

 

That night, Newt felt worse than he'd ever felt before in his life. His detention was mercifully light- dusting off the telescopes, without magic (not that it made any difference to Newt), in the Astronomy Tower. However, Newt suspected that this was because of the fact that it was Professor Orion's turn to supervise detention. The Astronomy teacher had never given Newt the impression of being competely 'there', and had unsurprisingly wandered off a few minutes ago muttering vaguely to himself. Newt idly wondered whether the Professor had had a nasty Apparition accident and ended up splinching half of his brain. He didn't expect the teacher to be back anytime soon.

Thus, with practically nothing to do, and no one to worry him, Newt was left completely alone with his extrememly distressing thoughts.

He couldn't believe the way he'd acted that afternoon. Newt had avoided the Gryffindor tower all evening, and as they'd had no classes after lunch, he'd spent his spare time wandering around the grounds and sneaking a peek at the Hippogriffs (now tied up near the Gamekeeper's hut) every now and then. Anything to avoid facing what he'd done.

Newt felt physically sick. It was his stupid rashness, all the time. Thinking before he spoke. Kicking off before he'd even gotten the broom off the ground. Patrick didn't mean any harm, he'd just been upset, and rightly so. I always bung everything up, don't I? thought Newt angrily. He'd just alienated the one person who'd put up with him in all his years in Hogwarts. Maybe if I had just apologised immediately, Patrick would have forgiven me. Of course he'd have forgiven me! He's the nicest person I know. But of course, Newt hadn't apologised, and now it was too late.

He closed his eyes, and leaned against the circular wall of the tower, hearing the school owls hoot above him and an Augurey cry from the Forbidden Forest below. Newt shivered, despite knowing better. He even felt bad about snapping at Porpentina. I should probably apologise to her too, thought Newt, frowning. Of course, knowing her, she probably wouldn't let me off the hook until I've groveled at her feet in public and volunteered to be the test subject of one of those nasty potions she's always brewing.

Newt scowled even harder at that.

He then sighed and started towards the humungous telescope near the front of the room. It's already clean, he thought, frustrated. They might as well let us do something interesting during detention! But then, that would sort of deafeat the whole purpose then, wouldn't it? I might as well be a Muggle for all I've learnt about magic here! he thought angrily as he gave the telescope another furious wipe with his rag.

Realizing that he was making absolutely no noticable progress at all on the device, he threw his rag across the room angrily. Newt stomped over to the tower's largest window and tried to concentrate on the hooting of the owls overhead. That sound had always seemed to comfort him before.

He looked sadly at what he could see of the Forbidden Forest from where he was standing. He let his gaze wander over to Ogg's hut a few metres away from its edge. The Hippogriffs were sleeping peacefully on the ground, tied up to the fence around the dwelling. To Newt, they seemed almost transcendentaly beautiful under the moonlight. One of them seemed to be hard at work chewing away something. Newt randomly wondered what Ogg was feeding them. All at once, the Hippogriff stood up, and sprinted away into the Forbidden Forest. Newt lunged as far as he could out of the window to see what was going on, and just managed to catch a glimpse of silver-grey feathers before they dissapeared behind the trees.

Eddy! Newt panicked. He must have chewed away on the ropes binding him? What's he doing?

Heart in his throat, Newt ran blindly out of the Astronomy tower.

He needed to save Eddy. But he also needed to get help.

 

Porpentina bade goodbye to Professor Sprout and shut the glass door of the greenhouse behind her gently. She sighed, and adjusted the straps on her shoulder bag, weary from the remedial session. Not that Porpentina needed remedials, but Herbology was her weakest subject and had to admit she needed help. True, the O.W.Ls were about a couple of years away for her, but better safe than sorry. Besides, it just wouldn't do for her marks to be less than the best, as befitted any self-respecting Slytherin. She set off across the grounds towards the castle, wondering what her housemates were doing. Probably zonked out in their beds, snoring so hard they could scare bats away, though Porpentina wryly. But then, she reflected, given our living conditions, that probably wouldn't be such a bad thing.

The night air was frigid, and the lights from the castle seemed far away and feeble. The clouds screening the nearly full moon caused the grounds to be covered in shadows. Occassionaly an owl hooted from above, startling her, and rather unearthly moans seemed to be coming from the Forbidden Forest. She hurried up her pace, and wondered what had possessed her to refuse Professor Sprout's offer to escort her back to the castle. She concentrated on her feet, trying to ignore the shuffling, whispering sounds behind her, and walked as fast as she could without actually running.

Just then, something pounced on her.

Porpentina whirled around, and gave whatever it was that had attacked her one effective blow with her satchel. I knew that 980 page tome on Spellish Applications I've been carrying around all day would come in handy... just not in this way, she thought. Her attacker crumpled to the floor, groaning, and cried out in an annoyingly familiar voice- "What was that for? You can't be that angry at me! And anyway I was going to apologise."

The clouds covering the moon broke, the silvery light throwing her attacker's features into sharp relief, confirming her suspicions.

"Newt Scamander! Is this your idea of a joke? Were you trying to scare me to death? Don't you have detention today? What are you doing out on the grounds anyhow?" Porpentina paused, looking more furious than ever. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat you into a bloody pulp right now!"

Newt got up slowly, still clutching his shoulder in pain. "In answer to your questions... No. No. Yes, but I managed to get away. A Hippogriff has wandered into the Forbidden Forest and we need to rescue it. And lastly, you'd regret it if you tarnished your perfect record by losing house points for slaughtering a fellow student."

Porpentina ignored the last comment and peered suspiciously at Newt. "So what if a beast is in the Forbidden Forest? That's where they belong. And what do you mean 'we' have to rescue it?"

Newt shuffled his feet, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I need your help. This Hippogriff, he's my... my mother's favourite. You know, the famous one."

Porpentina nodded. "Right. Patrick told me about it."

Newt winced, although this time it didn't seem to be from pain. "Yes, well. I don't know what's happened to the Hippogriff, but he's wandered off into the Forest, and he'll definitely get hurt... or worse, if we don't get him out of there. I think he's sick or something. He almost flew into the Forest when I was riding him today." Porpentina smirked at that.

"Please," Newt added earnestly. "I can't find Patrick and I can't think of anyone else who could help me. I don't have my wand. I need you to help me. I'll do anything!"

Porpentina's face split into a seemingly innocent smile. "Anything?"

Newt gulped and nodded. Porpentina's brow furrowed, as it always did when she was thinking hard. She asked, "Are you sure it's not dangerous if we go in there?"

"No! I've gone in there plenty of times, and I've never gotten hurt." he said, almost a little too quickly.

Porpentina couldn't decide whether to trust Newt or not, but she figured that it might be interesting to find out what the infamous place looked like. If an idiot like Newt could get out of there unscathed, then how dangerous could it be? And besides, having a Gryffindor at her complete and total mercy could be very beneficial.

She dug out her wand from her robes, adjusted the shoulder straps of her satchel again, and rolled up her sleeves. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll help. Besides, as a Slytherin I owe this Hippogriff a favour. It's made sure that we're getting the House Cup for the fourth year in a row."

 

For the first ten minutes, the moonlight illuminated their path, but the deeper they went into the forest the more dense it got, and the canopy of leaves above them soon closed in, preventing the moon rays from penetrating through the darkness that suddenly blanketed them. Porpentina's wand only yielded a thin shaft of light, which was hardly enough to allow them to observe their surroundings. She led the way, with Newt close behind her, who was calling out for Eddy every few seconds. The foliage became more and more dense, and they often had to duck to prevent their heads from coming into direct contact with the low-hanging branches. Porpentina was shaking all over, and it wasn't just from the cold. She had no idea that the Forest would be so intimidating, and she barely knew any powerful spells that would help them in case some wild beast did attack, or even worse, if she or Newt contracted some kind of poison from the venomous plants she'd read about. If that happened, by the time they realised it, it would be too late to administer the antidote.

Porpentina whirled around and shone the light from her wand directly into Newt's face, startling him. "Newt," she whispered, glancing around fearfully. "Let's get out of here, now. I've got a very bad feeling about this. Your Hippogriff will find its way out by itself. Please, let's leave."

Newt grinned, which was the last thing Porpentina had expected him to do. "Relax. We're still on the outskirts. Most of the animals inhabit the interior of the Forest. And besides, haven't you noticed that we're following a path?" he asked, gesturing to the ground. Porpentina then noticed that they had indeed been walking along a trail, although it was merely a narrow track that seemed relatively bereft of vegetation compared to the surroundings.

Newt continued to call for Eddy, and Porpentina composed herself a bit. She turned around and continued walking, now keeping her eyes on the makeshift path. She was still scared, but Newt seemed to know what he was doing and that somehow made her feel better.

But she still couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't supposed to be there. The whole Forest seemed to be observing her, silently telling her that this wasn't her place, and that her being there disturbed the natural order of things. The trees seemed to be staring sinisterly, stretching out their gnarled limbs, as if they were just itching to reach out and grab her. Porpentina shook her head in an attempt to get rid of such capricious thoughts. Now wasn't the time to let her imagination run away. But she still couldn't shake off that uncomfortable feeling she got of the whole place.

Newt obviously had no such qualms. He was tromping along behind her, almost cheerfully, still calling out for his beloved pet. He acts as if he owns the place, thought Porpentina disgustedly. Is this a boy thing? I can't really see Patrick coming anywhere near this area... even if he were to, he wouldn't be grinning idiotically and acting like it's a bloody hiking trip.

"So... you come here often?" she asked, in an attempt to make conversation.

"Sometimes," replied Newt. "When I want to... get away from things."

"Oh." she said insightfully, and they both lapsed into silence, except for Newt still calling out for Eddy every few seconds, albeit a bit worriedly now.

Porpentina halted in mid-step to disentangle her robes from some prickly shrubs they got snagged in, and muttered "Newt, do you even know where your Hippogriff is? We've already been here for twenty minutes, don't you think we might have found it already?"

Without warning, Newt suddenly took off. "Hey, wait!" Porpentina cried, her robes still caught in the shrubbery. "He's over here!" she heard Newt call, and sighed. With one last yank, she freed her robes, adjusted her shoulder bag, and set off cautiously in the direction Newt took. She realised that the moonlight was becoming more visible now, and that the trees were not as tightly packed. She could spot Newt standing, half-concealed by the branches, in what seemed to be a clearing in the middle of the Forest. As she got nearer, she finally got a look at the famous Hippogriff Eddy. Her first reaction was annoyance. The Hippogriff didn't look remotely like she had imagined. For a beast that had attained worldwide fame, it sure looked pathetic, with it's droopy eyes and sagging frame. She bit back an insult and glanced at Newt.

"Come here... and bow to him. Wait for him to bow back." he said, in a very unsettled voice. What's he so worried about now? thought Porpentina irritably. We found the damn thing, didn't we? Nevertheless, she walked tentatively towards the Hippogriff, and bowed stiffly. The Hippogriff then bowed back almost as reluctantly and Newt seemed to relax a bit. "I don't know what's wrong with him... He's never demanded that anyone approach him like that. It's almost as if he... he's angry with us for finding him." he muttered softly to himself.

Porpentina was suddenly aware of many pairs of incandescent eyes peering at them through the darkness. Gripping her wand tightly, she turned to Newt and nodded towards the fluorescent dots. Newt's eyes widened and he swung himself onto the Hippogriff's back. He then held out a hand to help Porpentina onto the animal. Porpentina's mouth dropped open. "I'm supposed to get on the Hippogriff?" she asked incredulously.

"Porpentina, now's not the time to be squeamish! Get up here so we can leave!"

But Eddy obviously had other plans. He squirmed and struggled, and Newt slid off its back to the ground in surprise. Newt got up and addressed the animal softly, "What's the matter, old boy? Can't you see we have to leave now? It's dangerous here... Let's go." With that, he took the chewed off piece of cord still around Eddy's neck and tugged it gently. The Hippogriff seemed to relent, and started to walk slowly alongside Newt, its head bent.

When Newt reached Porpentina, he whispered "I don't think he wants to fly. I don't even think he wants to leave this place. In fact," he spoke confidentially, his voice dropping a few more decibels, "It might be time for another visit to the M-A-G-I-V-E-T."

Porpentina rolled her eyes, although she knew that the effect would be lost in the darkness. "You talk as if it can understand what you're saying."

"Oh we understand each other perfectly, don't we boy?" said Newt affectionately, turning to Eddy. But Eddy continued to walk sullenly, head drooping and feet dragging. Porpentina noticed with relief that some of the luminous eyes around them seemed to have vanished now that they were in the company of the Hippogriff. But some of them stared out of the hollows of the trees, startling her. What a ghastly place. I doubt the Forest would be very less intimidating in the daytime. A little maybe, but not much. I definitely can't envision friendly squirrels inhabiting those tree trunks.

Abruptly, Eddy's head jerked up, and he started tugging on his tether, his eyes wild with fright. Newt struggled to maintain a hold on his Hippogriff, while speaking to him reassuringly. However, Eddy seemed to want to get as far away from that place as possible. Without a word, Newt mounted his pet, and held out a hand once again for Porpentina to get on. Frightened, she didn't hesitate. When she got on in front of Newt, he told her, "Eddy senses danger. I think he's ready to leave now."

Porpentina nodded mutely, realising that riding a Hippogriff wasn't as easy as Newt made it out to be. She felt that if she clutched some of the animal's feathers to keep her balance, they would come off in her hands. In the end, she wrapped her arms around the Hippogriff's bony neck, and felt Newt grab on to her satchel for balance as Eddy started to gallop out of the clearing. For a few seconds she barely moved out of fright, and then risked a glance behind her. She noticed many large, hulking silhouettes following them and whimpered in dismay.

"Don't worry," she heard Newt whisper. "We're going to be just fi- arrgh!"

Out of nowhere, a low-hanging, enormous branch had swung at Newt, knocking him out cold and off the Hippogriff. "Newt!" Porpentina cried out in terror, still clutching the Hippogriff's neck, as Newt lay crumpled on the ground, his body becoming smaller and smaller to Porpentina as the Hippogriff underneath her continued to speed away.

Newt's head felt like it was going to split right down the middle. He groaned, shutting his eyes tightly, afraid of what he might see if he opened them.

"Oh, good. He's awake," he heard a voice say.

Before he knew it, someone had propped him up and forced a disgusting liquid down his throat. He sputtered and gagged, flailing his arms, but that someone pinned him down and said "Relax. I know it's not pleasant, but it's for your own good."

Newt reluctantly opened his eyes, the pain in his head dissapearing gradually. For a moment everything was blurry, but slowly came into focus. He saw the petite face of the Nurse, Marie, peering down at him. "Where... where am I?" he croaked.

"You're in the hospital wing, and you have a visitor," she said, pointing to his right.

Newt realised that he was lying on one of the thin, white beds in the hospital wing, and sitting next to him, looking more unsettled than Newt had ever seen him look, was Patrick. He was in his dressing gown, gaping at Newt as if he were a ghost, and for a brief moment Newt feared that he was.

"Hello, Patrick..." Newt said, a little sluggishly. "What're you doing here?"

Patrick looked worried. "Don't you remember what happened?"

Newt squinted at Patrick, his mind feeling completely fogged up, and racked his brain to figure out how he got there. A figure rolled over and mumbled on the next bed, and he noticed that it was Porpentina, fast asleep. A Lumos spell suddenly seemed to activate in his brain, and with a start that nearly sent him tumbling off his bed, he remembered everything that had happened that night.

"Wha... What happened?" he croaked.

"Where do you want me to start?" asked Patrick, fidgeting in his chair.

"I... The last thing I remember is this huge branch heading right towards me... Ouch," he added, although he really didn't feel any pain anymore.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what Porpentina said."

Newt turned around slowly and looked at Porpentina in the next bed, who was snoring loudly. "Is she all right?" he whispered.

"She will be. The nurse gave her this potion which sent her into a fit of giggles, and so she gave her another potion which sent her to sleep."

Newt hung his head despondently. "You're probably here to kill me, right?"

"Well, when I heard what happened, my first thought was indeed to do that, but... Newt I want to apologise."

Newt's head snapped up in amazement. "You want to apologise? I was the one who was being the complete prat!"

"That's true," said Patrick smiling slightly, but then he sobered up. "Honestly though Newt, I... I should have been a better friend. I could have helped you today, you know that. And anyway it's not my fault that you're an absolute idiot."

Newt was feeling too relieved to argue with that. "You're... you're not angry with me for taking Porpentina into the Forest are you?"

Newt shook his head, smiling affectionately at the sleeping form of his sister. "No, not really. The cream puff could do with a few hard knocks. And anyway, I knew that she would've been safe with you. It seems like she enjoyed the whole experience."

"Really?"

"Well, apparantly when Ogg first brought her in, she was jabbering like crazy, but after she drank the potions she kept saying it was a 'Jolly Good Adventure.'"

"God, Patrick, I'm sorry."

Patrick shrugged nonchalantly. "I understand what you were trying to do. I would have done the same, you know. Or I hope I would have. But frankly I feel more sorry for you. Lesser men have been rendered powerless under the wrath of Porpentina Murray. But I get the feeling you can handle her."

"Why's that?"

Patrick shrugged again, not answering. Newt sighed and leaned back on his bed. "What happened exactly? How did Porpentina get out? Where's Eddy?"

Patrick squirmed again. "Well, from what Porpentina said, after you fell off, she panicked, but managed to get Eddy to stop. Then she guided him around towards you, and hoisted you up onto his back. Apparently, she got frightened out of her wits by a group of Ashwinders, freshly hatched, probably, but managed to get away by swinging at them with her satchel (Useful weapon, that, thought Newt) and climb onto Eddy. I think she saw some other creatures too, but she couldn't make out what they were. Anyway, Eddy galloped off at full speed, but for a few minutes she thought that she lost. She didn't want to risk flying Eddy in case you slipped off again. Well, there wasn't any immediate danger, but Porpentina panicked when she saw a Centaur, and so did Eddy, and he took off into flight. Luckily, she managed to get a firm grip on you, and it turned out that you were very near the edge of the Forest. Eddy... Eddy landed near Ogg's hut, and Porpentina persuaded him to help her get you here." He paused. "The important thing is that both of you are alive."

"And Eddy?" asked Newt quietly. "How's he doing?"

Patrick opened his mouth uncomfortably, but before he could say anything, the door burst open with a deafening BANG.

Newt saw, of all people, his mother standing in the door frame, absolutely livid.

Patrick glanced at Newt, muttered "See you in the morning," and hurriedly fled the room, squeezing past Elizabeth Scamander as inobtrusively as possible. Newt was both happy and not happy to see him go.

Elizabeth stormed towards her son, her face screwed up and her short brown hair flying in every direction. She stopped short in front of his bed and shrieked "Newton Artemis Fido Scamander!" From the next bed, Porpentina suddenly burst out giggling. Well, look who's up, thought Newt morosely.

Elizabeth looked bemusedly at Porpentina for a moment before turning on her son again. "Young man, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" she hissed, sounding incredibly like an Ashwinder herself.

Newt gulped and looked up at his mother's furious face. He noticed that Professor Dumbledore had discreetly entered the room as well. "I'm really, really sorry Mum. You have no idea how much. I was just... I was worried about Eddy, that's all. I'm so, so-"

Elizabeth's face crumpled and suddenly she flung herself at Newt, crying out "Oh, my baby!"

"MUM!" cried Newt, now thoroughly shocked. "It's... it's ok... really, I'm fine."

Elizabeth continued to sob on Newt's shoulder. "I was so, so worried. I just came here to retrieve Eddy, and I heard what happened... Oh, Newt why couldn't you just leave well enough alone for once?"

"Mum, what are you talking about?"

Elizabeth looked at her son sadly, while Dumbledore awkwardly cleared his throat. "Newt, Eddy... Eddy didn't make it. He died a half-hour ago."

Newt's throat went completely dry. "What do you mean? He... he couldn't have... I... he couldn't have."

Elizabeth hugged her son. "I'm sorry, honey, but you ought to have seen this coming. Eddy was very, very old, and he was becoming weaker everyday..."

Newt blinked furiously. "It's all my fault," he croaked. "It's my fault as usual. I shouldn't have insisted he come here. I... I even flew him today, what was I thinking? If it weren't for me, he never would have gone into the Forest and... Mum," he said, his voice breaking, "Why? Why did he have to go in there? And when I saw him, he didn't even want to go, and... it's all my fault."

Elizabeth shook her son as if trying to shake some sense into him. "Newt listen to me, Eddy might have lived a day or two longer if he was at home, but I don't think that would have been what he wanted."

Newt gazed blearily at his mother. "What d'you mean?"

Elizabeth hesitated. "Honey, I've never let that Hippogriff be... himself. Be what he's supposed to be. He was my first experiment, and I loved him dearly, but I guess I got a little carried away. I trained him to be highly sensitive to danger, but I never let him actually experience it. Eddy's been living a very... boring life, Newt. I never even let him mingle with the other Hippogriffs unless they were already tamed. I think that since he was here, with no one to mind him, he couldn't help but feel a little adventurous and go exploring. It's his natural instinct. He knew that his time here was going to end, and I guess he just wanted to have a little adventure before he passed on."

Newt contemplated this for a few seconds. "But then... he didn't even get to experience that adventure. I stopped him. I deprived him of the one thing that he ever wanted. I... I didn't know, Mum."

Elizabeth nodded to show that she understood, but Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully.

"Oh, I don't know, Newt. Judging from Miss Murray's account, he seemed to have quite an escapade while you were unconscious. Besides, I've always thought that Death was nothing but an adventure in itself... It's all right, Newt." he added, noticing that Newt was starting to cry.

"Honey, are you going to be okay?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

Newt nodded, quickly wiping his face with his bed sheets. "I'll be fine, Mum. I just... I'll be fine."

Elizabeth hugged her son again. "I'm going to spend the night here, Newt. I'll come and see you in the morning before you head to class."

Class. Newt felt the now familiar sensation of panic wash over him. "Professor, is Gryffindor going to lose any points over this?" he asked worriedly.

Dumbledore looked at Newt soberly. "The only ones who know about this are Ogg, Marie, and myself. They won't say anything if I ask them not to. I don't feel that it would be fair to deduct house points considering all that you've been through tonight. Although I do hope you realise the seriousness of what you've done. You not only risked your life, but also that of a fellow student."

Newt nodded, feeling worse than ever. "I suggest you get some rest, Newt," said Dumbledore, not unkindly, as he left the room. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Elizabeth hugged Newt, kissed him on the forehead and told him "I hope you realise that this means you're not getting your allowance till your O.W.L. results are out."

Newt nodded, smiling faintly, and bid goodnight to his mother as she left the room. The nurse bustled over and forced a glass full of some blueish looking potion into his hand. "Now that that's over..." she mumbled. "Drink the lot, Scamander, and no funny business. I'll be right back." Saying so she left the room as well.

Newt wrinkled up his nose at the stench of the potion. "I wonder where she's going," he muttered to himself. In the next bed Porpentina giggled again. Newt had almost forgotten that she was there.

"Probably off for a secret midnight snog session with Professor Whitby," she whispered confidentially.

"What?" exclaimed Newt.

"It's true," she nodded primly. She fell silent for a few seconds, and then added "They're probably going at it like rabbits right now."

Newt shook his head to get rid of that disturbing mental picture as Porpentina continued to giggle. "You do realise, Newt darling, that once this potion has worn off I'm going to kill you."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Porpentina giggled again and settled down in her bed. "G'night, Newton Artemis Fido Scamander." she mumbled drowsily.

"Goonight, Porpoise." he muttered, but Porpentina was already asleep.

Newt sighed, and stoically blinked back some more tears that threatened to spill. It would do no good to cry again. Eddy was gone. Animals go. People go. It was the natural order. If anyone understood nature it was him. He glanced at Porpentina without really knowing why.

Newt sighed again. pinched his nose shut and downed the awful concotion. All at once, he felt a sense of serene calmness take over his entire body, completely relaxing his every nerve. Is this what Eddy feels like now? Newt wondered sleepily. I guess he must be happy wherever he is. He'll be off having his great adventures, I think. I wonder what Hippogriff Heaven is like... I hope they have plenty of Flobberworms, Eddy always liked to eat those...Bye, Eddy...

And Newt drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.