Written for Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Season 7 – Round 4
Title: Summer with Snallygasters
Team: Arrows
Chaser 3 Prompt: "This is a peculiar theme." Spy
Optional Prompts: 4: [quote] 'I reserve actual terror for only the most special of occasions.' 8: [object] Pendant. 10: [word] Aromatic
Word Count: 1916
Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter
Ed Spratt knocked on the door and waited for a response, checking out the landscape around him. He had never been to the Unites States, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland behind the small cottage was a sight to take in. He couldn't wait to start his report for the Daily Prophet Magizoology section about whatever creature this brilliant man was researching right now. He felt it on honor to have been chosen for this task. He smoothed out his formal, black robe and adjusted his clipboard against him.
The door opened.
"Mr. Scamander," Ed smiled, reaching out a hand to shake. "Edward Spratt—journalist from the Daily Prophet."
Newt never accepted the handshake. Instead, he gave an awkward nod and walked back into the cottage, leaving the door open to Ed, who frowned but stepped inside. The cottage was even smaller on the inside. It was one big rectangle with a bed in one corner, kitchen in another, and a desk against the back wall. It was at the desk that Newt was rummaging through several files and loose parchment.
"So," Ed said, stepping closer to Newt. He looked over the man's shoulder curiously, his eyes scanning the several pictures of fantastic beasts. "My job is to write about your latest research. I have some paperwork you'll need to sign for authenticity and . . . are you listening to me?"
"Yes, yes," Newt said, waving his hand at Ed, pausing to read a particular parchment.
Ed sighed. Yes, he was a rookie, but he didn't feel like he was off to a great start. "We'll come back to the paperwork." His eyes caught sight of a silver pendant on a table in the kitchen section. He stepped away from Newt's desk and studied the other items on the table: a small, pink vial with a darker pink liquid inside, an augite stone, several thin slices of meat in foil, and a suitcase.
"This is a peculiar theme," Ed commented, running a hand through his curly hair.
"We will need everything on that table for what we are going after today." Newt walked over to the table and started pocketing the items, slipping the pendant around his neck.
"So what shall it be?" Ed asked, tapping his chin in thought. "Some kind of American dragon? Windigos? A mishipeshu? I did a little research on beasts in America before apparating over."
"On the subject of most terrifying animals? I reserve actual terror for only the most special of occasions."
"How special of an occasion?"
"Like a misplaced suitcase in New York special."
Ed frowned. Newt called misplacing his suitcase terrifying. What was horrific in the strange man's mind? Ed shook his head and adjusted his clipboard in his arm, picking up his quill. "So, what exactly will we be doing out in the field today, Mr. Scamander?"
"Studying Snallygasters," Newt answered as he clicked a small button on the side of the pendant, revealing a compass inside. "It's summer, so they should be courting right now. And it's Newt, not Mr. Scamander."
"Courting?" Ed raised his brows. "As in like . . ."
"It's mating season," Newt put plainly. "The mating habits of snallygasters are just as important as any other behavior of theirs."
"I guess," Ed said, sighing and righting down on his parchment: Courtship Behaviors of Snallygasters. He attached his quill back to his clipboard so he didn't lose it and looked at Newt, except the man had already walked out the door. Ed tucked his clipboard under his arm and ran out the door, catching up to Newt. "You move quick. So, why study this particular animal now."
"Someone has to do it," Newt said. "And the only known information about the topic is a single paragraph in a three-hundred-year-old book. I plan to update it."
Ed wrote down what Newt said, nodding. Newt opened the pendant again. "We must go north into the mountains. That is where the last sighting of a snallygaster nest was recorded."
"What do you know about their habits now?"
"Their behavior is similar to Adelie penguins where the male builds a nest of rocks. From what I understand, the male locates a female by smell, then attempts to build a nest around her with shiny rocks. If she likes what he does, she'll accept him. If she doesn't like it, she rejects him. That's all I know."
Ed finished writing and reattached his quill. They walked in silence up into the mountains behind the cottage. For a while, Ed wrestled with flies, roots, and branches as he followed Newt up a trodden path. "I should have worn more casual clothes," he grumbled. Newt did not respond, more focused on his pendant than on his guest.
Two hours past and the sun burned down on their backs. Ed was panting as they worked their way higher up the steep mountain. He had gone through two bottles of water by the time Newt put an arm out to stop him.
"Shh," Newt said, a finger on his lips. He pointed ahead on a rocky ledge, where a strange creature was preening.
It was a great winged beast, with scales like a reptile and the wings and talons of a great bird. Its long scaly tail wrapped around its body, several feathers protruding from the tip. It used its long neck to clean the dappled grey feathers on her back. A snallygaster.
"She's beautiful," Newt said, leaning up against the rock to keep out of sight, Ed following his lead. He sniffed the air. "You smell that? She is giving off an aromatic scent to attract a male."
Ed sniffed the air and gagged. "Her and I have very different definitions of 'aromatic.'"
Newt motioned Ed to follow with a jerk of his head, and the two inched closer to the edge where the snallygaster sat on the edge. Ed had picked up his quill and was writing a thorough description of the animal and where they spotted her.
"This must be where she'd like to make her nest," Newt commented, tilting his head in thought. He set his suitcase down. "Yet she hasn't started building. The males must do all the work." Newt took a daring step even closer, reaching into his robe pocket.
The snallygaster swung her head and squawked at Newt. Ed backed up down the slope a few paces, keeping his back against the rock. Newt slowly pulled out the wrapped meat and held out a chunk to the female, who growled as she sniffed the offering. Newt kept his head down to avoid making eye contact, as that could be seen as a threat. The snallygaster gently accepted the meat, throwing her head back to gulp it down her throat.
Newt smiled and Ed relaxed.
The sound of loud flapping forced Newt and Ed to retreat. They moved down the mountainside to keep out of sight as a smaller snallygaster hovered above the female. Newt's smile grew. "Make note of this," he told Ed, "the males are smaller and brightly colored in red feathers, while the females are larger and dull in grey feather to match the surrounding rocks. Look at that bull! He is stunning."
The bull snallygaster sniffed at the air surrounding the female, who returned to grooming her feathers, ignoring him. The bull snorted and flew higher in the sky, circling. Newt bit his lip and dug through his robe pockets, finding the strange pink vial Ed had taken note of earlier.
"We must have startled our friend—she's no longer secreting that smell that attracts male as strongly as she was. This potion enhances any scent lingering in the air. Hopefully it'll bring the bull back down."
Newt opened the vial, the removal of the cork causing the potion to puff out in a misty substance. Newt used a wind charm to spread the potion, a pinkish residue spreading around the female and her rocky ledge. After a few long minutes, the male flew back down and sniffed at the female, landing haphazardly on the ledge in front of her. Newt pulled out the metallic augite stone and rolled it toward the duo before leaning up against the rock, staying out of sight.
The bull spotted the stone, stretched his long neck, and picked it up in his teeth, tilting his head every which way to show off his find. The female watched curiously, cooing at the bull. The males set the stone down at her side, nudging it close against her. He withdrew and allowed her to inspect his work. The female sniffed the stone before looking back up at the male, who seemed ready to take flight should she attack him. However, she did not attack him, instead, she slowly extended her neck and nuzzled the bull.
"Beautiful," Newt smiled while Ed scribbled away, smiling as well.
The bull flew away disappearing from sight for a few minutes, Newt and Ed waiting patiently. The bull returned with another rock, a larger one this time, and he showed it off to her before setting it down and nudging it against her. The female inspected his work once more.
"They will do this," Newt said, "several times in between copulation until the nest is complete and she is ready to lay eggs."
Ed had been writing, but he paused and made a face. "Lovely."
"Isn't it?"
Suddenly, a light breeze blew around them, spreading the pinkish residue still in the air around Newt and Ed. The bull sniffed the air and his head snapped in the men's direction, his black pupils constricting.
"Oh no," Newt muttered, picking up his suitcase and taking a step back.
"What do you mean 'oh no?'" Ed said, tucking his clipboard under his arm. He looked over at the duo. The bull stepped in between the female and the men, hissing loudly, his feather ruffled and his scaly tail switching. Ed's eyes widened. "I thought you saved actual terror for special occasions."
"Well, this is special," Newt said, taking another step back as the snallygaster stalked forward. "And I thought you wanted a little terror."
"What do we do, Newt?" Ed said.
Newt opened his pendant and said, "We go that way," as he pointed down the hill.
The snallygaster charged the two, who ran down the mountain slope quickly, slipping and sliding as they did. The bull flapped his wings behind them, snapping his jaws at them. Newt grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him off the path they were on, forcing them to tumble down the mountain side and into a thick patch of bushes below, concealed from sight. Ed struck his head on a hard rock during the fall.
Ed hissed in pain as he rubbed the back of his head, but Newt shushed him.
The bull circled above several times before flying back to the female. Newt sighed and stood, brushing himself off, his arm cut, and his face scratched a bit.
"You can make note," Newt started, checking his suitcase for damage, "that once they are a pair, the bull protects his mate from any threats."
"Right," Ed said, slowly rising to his feet, his head still pounding. He'd have to stop at a wizard hospital on his way back to London. "I'm sure the guys back at home will love the story I bring back for the Daily Prophet."
"I'd read it," Newt said.
"I'm sure you would," Ed snapped.