Title: A Scary Thought
Rating: K
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Fay Dunbar, Marlene McKinnon
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 477
Summary: Fay finds an unlikely creature and decides to take it in as a pet.
Notes:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Triwizard Tournament, Stage 3 – Task 3 – Main Character (Fay Dunbar), Prompts (No dialogue, lemonade), Assisting character (Marlene McKinnon)
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Scavenger Hunt – Spell Used – Aguamenti
Fay looks over at the ghost of her Aunt Marlene. The specter has been her constant companion ever since her death. Aunt Marlene had become her guardian when Voldemort killed her parents, and then when she died, she refused to move on and leave Fay alone.
No matter how hard it gets, Fay knows she'll always have her Aunt Marlene, so it makes it easier. When she finds the Blast-Ended Skrewt, she ignores Aunt Marlene's admonishment. Who cares if it's a dangerous animal? Fay is sure it will make a great pet.
The first thing she needs to do is figure out if it's a male or female. She knows the basic things about the Blast-Ended Skrewt. One of the things she knows is the difference between the males and the females – the males have stingers and the females have suckers – so Fay puts down her glass of lemonade and carefully looks at the Blast-Ended Skrewt. She needs to name it after all.
Inspecting it carefully and making sure not to touch it when Marlene warns her to stay back, she notices the pointy things along its back. Stingers.
'So, you're a male. I will call you Ervin,' she silently decrees.
She points her wand at a dish and does the Aguamenti charm. She's not completely sure what Ervin drinks, but water is probably a safe bet. She nods to herself. Of course it's a safe bet.
She knows she should probably go to the library to research the species, but she's a Gryffindor – not a Ravenclaw – for a reason. She's sure she'll be fine. And if worse comes to worse, she knows she has Aunt Marlene to help her.
She smiles happily at the floating ghost. Who cares if Aunt Marlene can't touch her? Marlene will definitely save her if Fay needs it.
Ervin greedily drinks the water as Fay watches.
Her reverie is interrupted when she hears noises outside of the door. She recognizes Lavender's high-pitched giggle and quickly tries to hide Ervin. In her haste, she nearly touches a stinger when Aunt Marlene yells at her to warn her to be careful.
She knows she's caught when girlish screams reach her ears. She sighs dejectedly when Lavender threatens to tell Professor McGonagall and then runs to tattle on her.
She's given a month's worth of detention with Filch and a very severe reprimand about the dangers of keeping such dangerous pets.
Fay frowns, but she knows it's probably for the best. From what she knows of the species, Blast-Ended Skrewt can grow to be ten feet long and very lethal. She hates that she's losing her pet, her precious Ervin, but she knows she wouldn't be able to take care of him long term.
She knows that if she's not careful, she might turn into another Hagrid. She shudders at the very scary thought.