Love and Monster Ch. 8 (Patreon)

The sun shone bright in the late morning, shockingly so for Scotland in the middle of autumn. It was warm enough for the adventurous to forgo long sleeves. The birds were chirping happily, and animals frolicked all about.

The innocent denizens of the forest were none the wiser. They were blissfully unaware of the danger that lurked within, the terror that now prowled their home.

Fawkes was leaning impatiently against the wall, arms folded as her talons loudly tapped against the floor. The floor was full of scratch marks from where her sharp talons had repeatedly scraped against it.

She was sure Amelia wouldn't care. They had much bigger issues at hand.

Apolline, Gardenia, Narcissa and Lady Greengrass were seated at the long table. Lady Greengrass was as she always was, unmoving and giving no signs of emotion, but the other women could not hide how affected they were. Narcissa tapped a clawed finger against the table, moving at the same fervent rhythm as Fawkes’ talons, and scratching the table all the same.

Gardenia was sitting as still as she could manage, but the shades of yellow and brown that lightly creeped up on her green hair were clear signs of the stress she was under.

“Fawkes, will you have a seat? That sound is quite irritating.” Apolline called from her place.

Fawkes stopped tapping, a slight frown on her face as Narcissa ceased her own fretting as well.

Gardenia bit her lip. “Apolline means no insult, Fawkes, this situation is just very concerning.”

Apolline did not say a word as the elderly phoenix took her seat.

“This is madness,” Narcissa finally spoke up. “Under siege in our own forest?”

“Believe me, I feel it most of all.” Gardenia pursed her lips. “Even the seedlings are hesitant to grow. What occurred last night, it echoes throughout the forest.”

“Did you manage to speak with Florence?” Fawkes directed her question at Apolline.

Apolline blinked a few times and shook off whatever thoughts had been plaguing her mind. “The centaurs will not budge. They refuse to integrate with us, even while facing such a threat.”

Narcissa slammed her fist on the table. “So whatever this thing is just has a free supply of defenseless cattle to feast on?”

Fawkes glared at Apolline. “Did you try to persuade them, Apolline? Or did you just give a token effort?”

Apolline saw red, “you would know all about token efforts, wouldn't you, Fawkes?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Um, ladies.” Gardenia leaned forward on the table with a nervous smile. “Let's calm down please.”

Narcissa was leaning back in her chair, head thrown back and eyes closed.

“You know exactly what I mean.” The Veela queen spat, her elegant beauty somehow making her snarl seem that much more cruel. “You spent years saying change was coming when none did. In the end, Tamara was right about many things.”

There was a sudden chill in the room as every turned to look at Lady Greengrass. The woman did not budge, but the message was clear, Fawkes and Apolline both sat back in their chairs and looked away from each other.

The door to the meeting room swung open as a surly looking Amelia stalked in, raising an eyebrow at the tense atmosphere.

“We've got enough problems for you two be squabbling like hatchlings.” She said tersely as she slammed the door shut.

“How's Aurora?” Narcissa asked, eager to change the subject.

Amelia grimaced. “Her horn is shattered… I am not sure if she will ever be the same.”

“They grow back, do they not?” Apolline asked.

Amelia shook her head. “It'll be months before it reaches a point where it is functional again, but that is beside the point. I fear for her psyche. Our horns are symbols of our pride, and there is no more prideful warrior than Aurora. She would have gladly died to that beast, but for him to spare her life and then crush her horn… that is a fate worse than death. She may never regain her honour.”

Everyone remained tight-lipped about how ridiculous they found that way of thinking to be. The customs of dragons sometimes seemed alien, but they all had their own quirks and idiosyncrasies.

“We are here for any assistance she may need, Amelia. My gardens can be very therapeutic.”

“I'll let her know.” Amelia said, very much doubtful that Aurora would ever agree to such a thing.

“Not to sound crass, but do you have the memory?” Fawkes asked.

Amelia nodded, pulling a small vial from her pocket. “I haven't seen it myself yet.”

“I doubt any of us have the stomach for a repeat viewing.” Apolline said as the women stood from the table and made their way over to the large pensieve which sat at the corner of the room.

Amelia uncorked the bottle and poured the wispy silver thread into the pool of vapor as the ladies leaned in.

They emerged half an hour later, looking even more troubled than before they'd entered.

Always one to look for a silver lining, Gardenia was the first to break the silence.

“Aurora had him dead to rights, if not for that ability of his, she would have beaten him. If we face him together, we should not have any trouble.”

Lady Greengrass let her thoughts be known, and Gardenia's smile faltered.

“I agree,” Fawkes said. “He will try and pick us off, ambush us and minimize our advantages.”

“From now on, no one should traverse the forest alone.” Amelia said. “That includes us. I have no doubt that each one of us could defeat this man, but it is best not to leave anything to chance. Can you see to it that the acromantula and dementors pair up as well?” She asked the Dementor queen.

Lady Greengrass gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Narcissa looked between Fawkes and Apolline before speaking up, “Fawkes, I believe it would be best if you informed Dumbledore. If this thing were to escape the forest, the consequences could be dire.”

Fawkes sent the feline a grateful look. Apolline rolled her eyes. “You don't have to dance around me like that, you know? I am not irrational just because I get upset from time to time.”

The elderly phoenix grinned, “So we're still friends then?”

“Birds of a feather.” Apolline said sarcastically, though with a smile on her own face.

“I will need someone to traverse the forest with me then, the seedlings must have some ideas as to his movements.” Gardenia said.

“I'll accompany you.” Amelia said. “On to the elephant in the room… a male with the capacity to reason? How could that be?”

“From the things he said, its clear he is ancient.” Narcissa said.

Everyone looked over to Fawkes, who shook her head, “Even when I was a hatchling, I don't recall anything of the sort. The name Manticore means nothing to me.”

The general unease in the room came roaring back at those words. A creature that not even Fawkes was aware of emerging out of nowhere? It was extremely disconcerting.

“So this Manticore is some creature from the distant past?” Apolline.

“Indeed. The wards failing must have awoken him, or released him from whatever imprisonment he'd been under.”

“Well then, it is our duty to put him down for good, isn't it?”

…

Harry woke up to a mouthful of fluff.

This wasn't his first time falling asleep with Vulpie, so he was used to blowing the soft white fur out of his mouth. Her tail was wrapped around him, and he smiled as it began to gently caress his face.

His arms were wrapped around her torso, her naked bum pressed against his sore cock.

Her naked bum and his sore cock.

The events of the previous night came roaring back to him. He felt his entire body heat up as the graphic images of what they'd gotten up to paraded around in his head, and only the beating it had endured the previous night kept his penis from becoming rock hard.

Out of impulse, his hand slid up her stomach until it cupped one of her creamy, supple breasts.

He was feeling Vulpie's chest.

That proved enough for the kitsune to begin to stir. Her body squirmed against his own as she let out a yawn that was far too adorable for the prissy little princess he knew.

Harry squeezed her breast and Vulpie let out something between a mewl and a grumble.

“You wake up and immediately fondle me. Can you not control your base urges?”

Harry chuckled even as Vulpie twisted around in his embrace, her body sliding deliciously against his own as she turned to face him.

Her little fangs were poking out of her mouth and her violet eyes still had that dreamy sheen to them. Her hands wrapped around his waist as she pressed her head sideways onto his chest.

“You don't seem to mind, princess.” Harry said as his hand now glided over her smooth bum.

Vulpie rubbed her ears against his body as she grumbled once more. “I'm used to your savage ways by now.”

Harry smiled. He felt content. Right here, with Vulpie laying on his chest, the outside world feeling like it was a million miles away, everything felt right.

“Vulpie, last night, everything we said…” He began, not wanting to sour the mood but also craving clarity.

She looked up at him with those regal violet eyes, “Yes?”

“Well… it wasn't just a heat of the moment thing, right?” He asked hopefully.

Vulpie glared, sinking her nails onto his side.

“You have always been mine, Harry. Last night, I just made it that much more clear, understood?”

A goofy grin sprouted on the boy's face, “Crystal clear.”

The two of them settled into a comfortable silence as neither really wanted to get up. Thankfully, Harry's bladder wasn't full, so he felt like they could stay in bed the entire day. Leave the outside world for another time, face the others…

Oh fuck.

The girls.

How would they take the news of Harry and Vulpie being together? Harry knew there was something between him and all of them, and he'd never really wanted to face the reality of having to make a choice. He'd always just put it off, thinking it would be years before they got to that point.

He'd been a coward, really. A coward that wanted all his cakes and to eat them too. But now, he'd have to face the music, he just hoped their friendships wouldn't be irrevocably damaged.

“Have you soured on me in under two minutes?”

He'd been frowning as he got lost in his thoughts. He looked down at Vulpie and kissed her on the forehead.

“Sorry, I’m just… thinking about how we'll tell the girls.”

Out of all the reactions, he wasn't expecting for Vulpie to snort.

“What?” He asked.

Vulpie rolled her eyes. “Yesterday, after you left, we had a talk. Everything is already settled.”

Harry blinked. “It is?” He wasn't sure what exactly she meant by ‘settled’.

Vulpie nodded in that arrogant manner of hers that looked far too adorable, “The others understood that you are my mate, that they never stood a chance. Magnanimous in victory, I granted them the right to become your mates as well, though obviously, I take primacy over them all.”

It took Harry half a second to cut through Vulpie's flowery language before the full meaning of her words sank in.

He blanched, “Wait, you mean…”

Vulpie raised her chin up proudly, “It would have been uncouth of me to let my friends flounder and be forced to settle for the chaff that populates this school. This is to be one of your duties as my mate, I hope that will not be a problem?”

Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. Before Vulpie could begin cursing at him for his laughter, he assaulted her with a barrage of kisses. She retaliated with kisses of her own, and soon the two young lovers were rolling around in the bed, trying to win this impromptu war of affection.

…

Outside, in the Slytherin common room, the girls were lounging around in front of the fireplace.

They all looked a bit more tired than usual. Their first ‘real’ full moon had been an experience, as outside of Susan, none of them had really experienced bloodlust to any real extent.

Well, it was strange, as while they did experience bloodlust, it was nothing compared to the other kind of lust, which had almost been overwhelming.

None of them were about to talk about it, but they'd spent the entirety of the previous night touching themselves raw. Each of them had inadvertently (or perhaps subconsciously) had at least one item carrying Harry's scent in their room, and it had driven them wild.

“I thought Miss Fawkes said there'd be breakfast ready for us when we woke up.” Delphi said as she stretched her arms out on the couch she'd commandeered for herself, lower half resting across its length.

Fleur shrugged. “Perhaps she had a rough time of it as well? I know I feel in no mood to do much of anything.”

The blonde's hair, always so perfectly sleek, looked frazzled and tangled up. Her wing feathers were also a mess.

“Maybe we can convince Harry to bring us food from the Great Hall? I'm famished.” Lavender said.

“Where is Harry? I would have thought he'd have returned by now.” Daphne wondered. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Delphi.

“Maybe he slept in. Its still relatively early. Vulpie hasn't gotten up yet either.”

“That lazy fox always sleeps in, that's not surprising.” Susan said, “I'm starving too. Maybe we shouldn't wait up for them and just go.”

Just then they heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps beginning to approach.

“She's up!” Lavender said.

“Perhaps Harry is already at breakfast? If only we could communicate with him so he could bring some food down.” Fleur whined.

“Wait.” Delphi frowned as she felt the vibrations even through the couch, “That's two sets of footsteps, isn't it?”

Her words lifted a veil, and the girls all quickly noticed that it in fact sounded like two people were heading their way.

The whirled around just as Vulpie and Harry emerged into the common room.

Harry wore a sheepish look as he rubbed the back of his head, clad in a new pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. Vulpie, on the other hand, was hearing one of his t-shirts and only that. The oversized shirt reached down to her mid-thigh as the kitsune trudged barefoot into the common room.

“I thought Miss Fawkes said there would be food?”

There was zero chance for the two to pretend like nothing had happened between them. Not only did they come out of the same room looking the way they did, but even after a shower, the other's scent was practically embedded into their own.

“You absolutely bitch!” Susan spat as she got up from her seat.

“Susan, I'm sure Vulpecula has a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.” Daphne was staring right at them, and Harry swore he could see the slightest twinge of anger on her face. It was the same the others as well, who were all glaring holes into Vulpie.

Harry stepped up, a slight frown on his face. “Girls, calm down.”

Vulpie wasn't about to back down. “Why are you so angry? We agreed I was to be first!”

That took some of the wind off the girl's sails. Though Fleur still pressed on. “We were talking about you maybe working up to a kiss, meanwhile you had already planned to shag him last night! That's why you made us all stay on different floors!”

Vulpie blanched. “I see how that would look, and I did stay in Harry's room-”

“You absolute bitch!” This time it was Lavender chirping in next to Susan.

“But I didn't plan for him to come here! Besides, there were supposed to be wards and stuff preventing that, weren't there?”

That finally stopped the girls in their tracks. It was true, Fawkes had gone on and on about all the measures to ensure there was no chance anyone managed to sneak into the dungeons.

For the first time, Harry himself began to ponder that. “Someone threw a dungbomb into my room so I had to leave, and I just sort of decided to come back here.”

“Even after all the warnings?” Delphi questioned.

Harry flushed, “I… err… figured you guys wouldn't do anything too bad to me.”

“It was actually quite good.” Vulpie purred, running her tail up his back.

Fleur and Susan shook their heads as Daphne now looked curious. “Still, there were supposed to be protections to keep you away, why did they fail?”

“I think that dung bomb wasn't just a prank. How many people even knew where you were staying at, Harry?” Delphi pointed out.

The mood turned serious at the implications of what she'd said sank in.

“So you think someone set this up to try and harm me?”

When he spoke the words out loud, it began to make a considerable amount of sense in Harry's head.

“Of course they would, stupid fucking wizard bastards.” Susan punched a wall, knocking some dirt and bits of stone from the ceiling.

“Who could have done that, though? I doubt another student could have set all of that up.” Harry said.

“I'l tell you what.” Daphne said in a calculating tone, “Whoever it is, I bet they expect you to be dead, and I’m sure they'd get quite a shock if you suddenly showed up to breakfast with us.”

…

It took them a while longer to get all cleaned up and presentable enough to go up to the Great Hall, but it being a Sunday, breakfast tended to stretch on into the late morning anyways.

They were so focused on figuring out who had tried to set Harry up, that they'd put the matter of Harry sleeping with Vulpie and what that meant for all of them in the backburner. Harry knew they'd have to talk about it sooner rather than later, though.

They made it to the Great Hall and received many more looks than they had in recent weeks. Everyone was aware that last night had been a full moon, and it had been a reminded of just who shared the castle with them.

The hall was basically full, and the only one missing from the staff table was Fawkes.

“Well, there's definitely a lot of apprehension.” Daphne said as they took their seats.

Fleur was working overtime, using her emphatic abilities, filtering out all the hatred and distrust to try and find anyone who was feeling shocked.

She quickly sniffed out someone at the Gryffindor table.

“Malfoy is shocked.”

“It shows on his face, his fear is also much greater than the others.” Daphne added.

“He was probably the one who set off the dung bomb, but I doubt that ponce could have messed around with the wards.” Harry said as he tried not to shoot a glare over to his former friend.

“No, that implies a member of the staff, doesn't it?” Vulpie said.

Fleur didn't move her head, but she directed her senses over to the staff table.

“I mean, it has to be Prewett, doesn't it?” Delphi said with downcast eyes.

Everyone else silently agreed, seeing as the hateful professor was the only staff member that actively hated them.

“I-It's not him.” Fleur said in a shocked tone.

“What?”

Daphne focused her own senses, and while she was nowhere near as good at weeding out emotions that were not fear or joy, she came to the same conclusion.

“He's neutral. Practically bored.”

“Well then who the hell did it?” Susan hissed.

“No one else besides Malfoy is shocked. Perhaps, he brought someone in from the outside?” Fleur offered.

“I think it'd be better if we just dropped this for now.” Harry said, seeing that they were getting nowhere.

“I guess you're right.” Lavender said from his side. “Hey, could you look over here one sec?”

Harry turned his head with a questioning look, only to be taken by surprise as the green haired girl bounced forward and planted a smooch on his lips. Her hands grasped his face and deformed into vines that kept his head in place as her soft lips moved against his own.

“Hey!” The other girls complained.

After a solid few seconds, Lavender pulled back and giggled profusely.

“What?” She was blushing, and the purple flower atop her head seemed to darken a few shades, “Harry's fair game now, isn't he?”

That drove the girls into in depth discussions about time management, setting up individual dates and making sure they each got their allotted time with Harry, and then that devolved into their usual squabbling.

In the middle of it all, Harry couldn't help but feel excited. Yes, there was someone out to get him and the girls and that worried him greatly. But, as a young boy, his mind continued to drift back to the previous night. He stole glances at the others while they bickered amongst themselves, vividly picturing himself wrapped in their embrace.

Things were about to get very interesting for him.

…

At the staff table, Fabian Prewett slowly ate his breakfast. Ever so often, his impassive gaze slid over the monster table before returning to stare at nothing.

“Went on a bender last night, Prewett?”

Not even the gruff voice of Rodolphus LeStrange could leave a dent in Fabian's serenity.

He took a sip of his tea as he glanced at the scarred, half-blind man.

It had been a very good idea to take a heavy calming drought this morning. He'd thought it necessary due to the possibility that after the Potter boy's death, the creatures would come looking for someone to pin the blame on.

He knew the veela and the dementor had empathic abilities, and he'd be the first person they'd think of, considering how he'd failed to hide his complete and utter hatred for them during their classes. The calming drought would help mask his emotions.

And it had worked, though not in the way he'd thought.

The Potter boy was there, perfectly healthy. He hadn't been mauled, hadn't been torn to pieces.

With no sudden surge of anger to cloud his judgment, Prewett could be analytical about things, he could observe.

The beasts were sitting close to the boy. The fox was at his side, and the way the two looked, the glances and smiles they shared, the slight flush on her face…

He would have been revolted if not for the potion.

They looked like a pair of lovers that had just succumbed to their carnal lust. Fabian got a sudden flash back to himself back in his youth, with a pretty young lady whom he'd fallen madly in love with, who he had finally consummated his love with after a Hogsmeade trip during his sixth year.

Back before they'd taken everything from him.

The boy had lain with the beast. He'd actually gone so low as to sully himself and sleep with an animal.

Then he saw when the shrub kissed him, how the others seemed to look at him with lust and want.

It was even worse than he'd thought. The boy was nothing more than their pet, their little sex slave. He hadn't thought it possible. Creatures were supposed to be violent during the full moon, and they were all so young, the thought of them using the boy to sate their disgusting carnal desires hadn't even entered his mind.

He hadn't even begun to mine the depths of their depravity.

He glanced at Rodolphus, who upon being ignored just dived back into scarfing down his breakfast.

Their plan had failed, they would need to move on and figure out another way.

Perhaps, having another ally within the castle would be a help.

“LeStrange.”

Rodolphus grunted in response, eyes not leaving his plate.

Fabian made sure the Headmaster was suitably engaged in his conversation with McGonagall before proceeding.

“Tell me, LeStrange, do you ever think about the war?”

The defense professor paused, putting down his fork to glance over at his colleague. “from time to time.” He shrugged.

Fabian nodded slowly. “You must have lost a lot. Family? Friends?”

“Listen, Prewett. If you want to wallow in your self-pity, you can go right ahead and do it, but don't ruin my meal.”

The calming drought was pulling double duty as Fabian's mouth hung open.

“You misunderstand me, LeStrange. I simple mean to make conversation. And you were one of the more prominent figures that survived the conflict.”

LeStrange shrugged. “I like fighting, and there was a war going on. I'm a wizard, so my side was chosen for me. Nothing more to it.”

“Nothing more to it? Surely you cared about what was being fought for.”

“Not really, Prewett. I fought because I wanted to, because the battlefield is when I felt most alive. All that other crap about us and them, about who was right and defending our culture? It's all bullshit. You know that, right? There is no right side to a war, it's all just chaos and death, and a man like me thrives in that environment.”

Fabian frowned. The potion was beginning to wear off, and he found himself disgusted with LeStrange.

“So you consider yourself nothing more than a mercenary?”

“Sure, if you want to call it that. Do you really think we were fighting for a cause? For some sort of justice?”

LeStrange laughed, a rough, barking laughter that grated on Fabian's nerves.

Yes, the calming draught was definitely fading.

“Forget I even asked.”

Rodolphus shrugged and went back to his meal, completely unbothered.

He would have made a good ally, but it was clearly a dead end. Fabian would have to speak with Lord Malfoy. They would find another opportunity, they would find another opening, and soon, this farce they were all playing along with would be over.

…

“How did you girls fare?”

Fawkes was sitting in the common room with the girls. She'd asked Harry to step out so she could inquire about their experience on their first mature full moon.

Based on their expressions, things had not been that bad at all. The girls all looked quite chipper, actually, with smiles all around. Usually, there was a sort of ‘hangover’ effect that took quite a few cycles to get accustomed to.

It was late in the evening. Fawkes had been very busy all day. Gardenia and Amelia had come back with no leads on the Manticore's whereabouts. The others had taken to organizing the dementors and acromantula as well as setting up alert wards and traps throughout the forest.

Meanwhile, Fawkes had spent a few wasted hours trying to convince the centaurs to see reason.

Then, she'd had a talk with Dumbledore. They had both agreed that it would be best to keep things as secret as possible. The rest of the staff would not be informed, much less the Ministry, and they had gone on to install several more alert and defense wards along the entry point to the forest.

She's already decided it best not to tell Harry or the girls. They were already barred from going into the forest, so the castle would protect them. Telling them would only make them worry, or, in the worst case scenario, make them actively try to involve themselves in the situation.

“Everything went well, Miss Fawkes.” Delphi said with a smile. The young girl had slowly shed part of her shyness in her short time at Hogwarts, something which had made the old phoenix's heart soar.

She couldn't help but see much of another lamia she'd thought of as a daughter beginning to emerge in the meek girl.

Tamara was many things, but Fawkes would be lying if she said she hadn't loved her.

“I see, I apologize for not having the meal ready for you in the morning, I had a rougher night than I'd anticipated.”

“It's alright. We were all good to go to breakfast anyways.” Susan assured her.

Fawkes let out a deep breath. “Good, good. Believe me, they get even more manageable the more you experience them. Are you sure you girls don't need some extra recovery time? Perhaps a half-day tomorrow?”

There was definitely some interest in that, especially from Vulpie, Lavender and Susan, but it was clearly more out of a desire to slack off than any needed rest.

“Well, I'll let your mothers know everything went swimmingly.”

The girls were all smiles as Fawkes departed to let Harry back in. They shared their own knowing looks, having hidden their own secret from their elder guardian.

…

The next day, things settled back into a routine. The Slytherins attended classes, and the general mood towards them dropped back into apathy as people returned to the doldrum of school life.

Things had changed, of course. Everyone's feelings were out in the open, and the previous night, they'd worked out a rough plan on how to proceed.

Without the haze of lunar lust clouding them, they could all agree that it would be smarter to take things a smidgen more slowly. They were aware that once the next full moon hit, nature would take its course, as it were, and so they chose to dedicate the following month to actual romance, setting up a series of individual dates.

Vulpie considered grumbling about being made last, but she wisely thought better of it.

Not to say that they were taking it very slowly. While none of them had tried to kiss him in public like Lavender had, there were a lot more hugs, lingering touches and bumping of bodies. Harry was sure that once they returned to the common room that evening, he'd be in for a snog, he just wasn't sure who it'd be from.

Transfiguration was the last class of the day. McGonagall was a good professor, and the class proved very enjoyable whenever they were actually casting spells. The Slytherins had taken to leaning on Delphi for this course, as she proved to be a prodigious talent.

Today, though, had been all theory, and it led to the entire classroom fighting against boredom and tiredness as the post-lunch daze threatened to take them all out.

Which meant that almost no one noticed as a folded up piece of parchment tapped Delphi in the arm.

The lamia's large, yellow eyes blinked in confusion as she took a look at the neatly folded piece of paper. She glanced to her left, where the others hadn't noticed a thing, struggling as they were to stay awake.

“Well, aren't you gonna open it?”

Delphi almost jumped as Lavender's excited whisper took her by surprise. The precocious girl had most definitely noticed what had taken place.

Delphi looked over to where the other students were seated, and she quickly caught the eye of a bushy haired girl who gave a panicked look before facing towards the front of the class once more.

“Well, at least we know for sure who its from.” Lavender giggled, “Now come on. Delph, lets see what it says.”

Delphi unfolded the paper, and both girls leaned in to read it.

Meet up after class, right at the entrance to the dungeons?

Lavender barely contained her squeal of excitement even as there was clear trepidation present on Delphi's face.

“Oh my god, Delph, this is soooo cool. Secret meetups with a witch! Can I come along?”

“Why would we go, Lavender? This could be a trap.” It made a lot of sense to Delphi, especially since Hermione was with Malfoy, who had been involved in trying to get Harry killed.

Lavender frowned. “It's right by the entrance to our turf, and they can't do anything to us or they'll get in trouble. They can only try and get us to attack them or something.”

“So what if they set something up and make it look like we attacked them?”

Lavender didn't have an answer to that. Her mouth clicked shut as she frowned. “Come on, Delphi, can we please do this? If we go and we see anyone besides her, we'll run back to dinner, how about it?”

Delphi bit her lip nervously. “I don't know, maybe we should see what the others think.”

“No.” Lavender glanced around her friend, making sure that the others were still distracted.

Susan was nearest to them and she was running her hand absently over Harry's hair. Their dragon friend was more than big enough to block everyone else's view of them, and she was much more focused on Harry than anything else.

“If we tell them, Daphne and Fleur are going to shoot it down.”

“Maybe because it's a dumb idea.”

Lavender pouted. “Delphi, please. Can we do it just this once? It'll be like a little adventure, and I promise I won't push you on anything ever again.”

Delphi frowned. She knew what Lavender was doing, but she also couldn't help but feel enticed as well. She'd always been so shy, so sheltered and afraid to rock the boat. She'd made small strides since they'd arrived at Hogwarts, but she still felt trapped in her shell.

Her mother had been bold, her mother had been unafraid. As tainted as her image was, deep down, she still craved for a connection, she still craved to prove that she had something of Tamara Gaunt in her.

“Fine.” She whispered. “But at the first sign of anything weird, we leave.”

The bell rang and everyone made their way out for dinner. Delphi and Lavender paid close attention to Hermione, who they heard make some murmured excuses about heading to the library before she ran off.

“Well, at least we know Malfoy's not with her to set up an ambush.”

“That might just mean they brought some older years instead.” Delphi said.

Lavender rolled her eyes before shooting the lamia a grin. “Don't worry, I'm adventurous but I'm not stupid. I put a spore on her.”

“A spore?”

“Yeah. When it detects other people's breathing it splits in two and goes into their lungs. It's a really neat way to track people mum taught me. It doesn't matter if someone uses magic to hide themselves, if they're within a hundred feet of her, they'll be spored and I'll be able to feel them from a good distance.”

Delphi looked at her friend with a new sense of admiration, glad that Lavender was being smart about this.

When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall, Lavender cleared her throat.

“I need to go get something from the dorm, Delphi, will you tag along?”

Fleur raised an eyebrow. “What's so important you can't wait until after dinner to get it?”

“None of your business, halo. Now come on, let's go.”

Lavender tugged at Delphi's hand and the two girls split off from the group. Harry reached out hesitantly, wondering if it was a good idea for them to go off on their own, but Vulpie stopped him.

“Leave them be, Harry. The dungeons are right there. They'll be fine.”

Susan sniffed. “Besides, we need to show these people that we're not afraid. They're not going to attack us directly, and I'm not about to spend the next seven years acting like a herd every single day.”

That, along with their rumbling stomachs, proved to be enough to assuage any worries among them.

Lavender and Delphi walked silently down to the dungeons. As they drew nearer to the rendezvous point, Lavender grew more excited and Delphi felt her nerves bundling up.

“She's alone.” The plant girl whispered, and Delphi felt relief flood through her.

The bushy haired girl was wringing her hands nervously as she waited by the stairwell.

Delphi and Lavender stopped in front of the girl. She seemed slightly surprised that Lavender had come along, but she shot them both a nervous smile.

“H-Hi. I was worried you wouldn't come.”

Delphi shrugged. “What is it that you want to talk about?”

Hermione seemed to be scrounging up every ounce of courage she had before speaking. “My parents are really well educated, you know. They're both dentists-” She noticed their questioning looks. “They're muggle healers for teeth.”

“Muggles have healers that just do teeth?” Lavender asked, the concept sounded very bizarre to her.

Hermione nodded. “Most doctors specialize in something, there's a doctor for practically every organ and some that specialize in specific diseases, its ac-” She shook her head. “Sorry, I ramble a lot, I'm trying to work on it. The point is, my parents are well educated, its why I like to study so much. But they also taught me to think things through, that if something doesn't make sense, I need to look into it until it does.”

“And something about us doesn't make sense?” Delphi asked.

“None of this makes sense.” The girl said. “The way the others talk about you, they all hate you. But you're so smart in class, and more than that, you don't look like you're these dangerous monsters they make you out to be. The history books… the way they talk about the war, about the past, it just doesn't add up.”

“What, you want us to tell you our side of the story so you can come up with your own conclusions?” Lavender said in a mocking tone. “Sorry, but that's not our job.”

Lavender grabbed Delphi's hand, but the lamia didn't move. She was looking Hermione dead in the eyes.

“What is it that you want?”

“I-I want to see if we could maybe… be friends?”

…

Blaise had managed to snag some grapes before he left the Great Hall.

He was snacking on them as he waited behind a pillar near the entrance.

He didn't know why, but he'd felt something had been off when he saw two of the creatures absent from their table at dinner. Those things always stuck together, they never strayed from each other, so why did two of them suddenly decide to slip off?

It had been ten minutes since he'd left, and he began to wonder whether he should just go back. Most likely they'd just gone down to their dorm. Perhaps one of them was feeling sick?

Then he heard footsteps. He stiffened, wishing he'd learnt some charms to aid in his spying but deciding he'd have to make do with just holding his breath and standing very still.

The snake and the plant creature were walking back. They were talking in hushed whispers, far too low for Blaise to make anything out.

He cursed himself. He'd been an idiot, risking getting caught out by those monsters in the hopes of what? What had he expected to catch them doing?

Now, he would need to wait a few minutes before returning for dinner to not seem suspicious.

Then he heard another set of light footsteps approaching from the same direction.

To his shock, he saw Hermione Granger, Draco's muggleborn, skipping along with a smile on her face.

The girl didn't return to the Great Hall. Instead, she seemed to be making a beeline for the library.

Blaise couldn't believe it. There was no way that had been a coincidence.

It was certainly an interesting development. He wondered if Draco would find it as interesting as he did?