The class gathered at the edge of the astronomy tower, every eye turned upwards watching the sky, picking out the stars that had been listed for them to find. Hermione enjoyed simply looking at the stars as they were polluted at home, only being able to view half those visible from there. The blanket of twinkling lights over them had been breathtaking, and they had been blessed with a clear sky. The moon, full and as bright as a torch softly brushed over the scenery, making the tree tops below them glow, and reflected back off the lake with such clarity it looked as if a mirror had taken its place if it hadn't been for the squid raising a large tentacle out of the surface and slamming it down causing the ripples that gave it a more watery appearance.
A chorus of crickets and nocturnal birds from the Forbidden Forest provided the backdrop to a still night and would have gone ignored if it hadn't of been for the underlying screechy noise that started low. It was like someone had zipped a zipper, higher pitched, and long. The other noises were so familiar to the students, that this noise was as clear as day, sticking out like a sore thumb. Everyone tried their hardest to ignore it, forcing their full attention upon the sky, and for a while, everyone succeeded. Tina Anderson, a Hufflepuff, had been the first to cover her ears as the noise grew, accompanied by another.
A third zipping noise joined, echoing off the hills around them, buzzing through their insides as the slow bumpiness of the noise matched, then clashed, matched, then clashed again. A fourth just turned the sound into one long, unidentifiable noise.
"I'm pretty sure another one just joined." Marcel Maylump, another Hufflepuff added, he too clapping his hands over his ears.
A headache started to throb at Hermione's temples. The sound wasn't bothersome enough to her to block it out, but she searched the grounds below, zoning in on the one place it seemed to be coming from. She backed away slowly, entered the castle, then exited on the main grounds a few minutes later. As she expected, the zipping-buzzing noise, almost static sounding now had been loudest near the barn they were using for Care of Magical Creatures. As she approached and opened the door, the noise nearly knocked her over.
Four of the Moon Frog cages had their lids knocked off, drawing a slight panic from Hermione as she glanced into each one, searching them frantically to make sure she wasn't just overlooking them. The fifth cage, its lid knocked off too, had been almost vibrating from the noise. Inside the glass, she was able to make out the five frogs. They were sitting in a neat line, facing her, their eyes blinking in a fluid domino effect from the first frog to the last, and when they seemed to notice her presence, fell into deafening silence.
Hermione stepped closer, removing the lid fully, and looked inside. Each frog had formed one large lump on its back. It felt normal, as part of the frogs as Hermione could tell when she poked at the lumps gingerly. They didn't seem to mind, or be in any pain from them. She moved to the window nearest the cage and pushed open the shutters, allowing the moonlight to infiltrate the room, lighting up the barn better than any Lumps spell could have. When she turned around again, she was almost blinded. The dust that had gathered in the cage, the dust that naturally rubbed off from them when they moved and stuck to the glass on the inside, was glowing as bright as the moon itself. So bright, it blocked her view from the frogs from the outside. She moved closer and watched as the lumps on the backs of the frogs began to move. They began to swirl around as if a force inside them had developed a mind of its own, and soon, the lumps jumped off the backs of the frogs looking like small stones. The stones rolled on their own accord around the cage, some bumping into each other, before settling still, basking in the moonlight.
"'Mione!" Hagrid's sudden voiced caused her to scream, and she turned, a hand held to her chest as she regained herself.
"Almost stopped my heart, Hagrid! Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Sorry 'bout that." He seemed to be smiling though he sounded sincere. "You heard that noise too?" He asked, drawing closer. Hermione nodded.
"It was coming from the frogs. I found them all in one cage when I got here. Look at this." She waved her hand beckoning him over and then pointed to the stones that had detached from the frogs.
"I though' it were them. Woke me from a deep sleep, they did." Hagrid peered over the top of the cage. "Sure is bright. Guess they aren' called Moon Frogs for nothin'...would yer look at that."
"They popped right off of them, rolled around and fell still right when you startled me."
Hagrid poked at one. It moved, disturbed by the touch, then did something amazing. Legs began to grow, popping out of the front and back. It morphed quickly into shape, defining itself as a frog. It's eyes blinked open rapidly, then let out an ear shattering zzziiippp! Hermione jumped in shock, Hagrid let out a laugh.
"Looks like we jus' became parents!" He stuck his hand back in the cage, gathered the tiny frog in his hand, and looked at it closely. Besides its size, there was no other factor to tell it apart from the larger frogs.
Zzziiippp! Zzziiippp! Zzziiippp!
The other stones 'hatched,' Hermione watched forming a smile as they, too, appeared just as the first one did. She reached in and gathered one in her hands, bringing it up to examine it closely. It stared back at her, blinking, before moving to her fingers and jumped back into the cage. She gasped. The trail of dust it left on her hands, usually nothing more than a grey color in natural light, glowed brightly.
"Wow, this is amazing! Does the Magical Creature Department at the Ministry know about this?"
Hagrid shrugged.
"All I know is they had'm, didn' say nothin' about babies." He dropped his hands suddenly, the tiny frog let out a noise of startle meant then jumped back into the cage. Hagrid waved at his shoulder, grunting. "They aren' food, Milly."
"Hagrid? What-What is that?" Hermione raised her hand to the empty spot above his shoulder. At least it looked empty, and she would have believed it to be empty had it not been for some of the dust that had gathered on Hagrid's fingers rubbing on a spot, forming a smudge that seemed to hover in thin air.
"Oh." He lowered his head, slightly. "This is Milly, a Snartletooer."
"A Snartletooer?!" Hermione exclaimed. Her fingers brushed up against something soft, her own dust gathering upon the spot and painted out an image of feathers. She had heard of them before, invisible birds, not dangerous exactly, but when clean, they turned invisible and proved to be quite a pest. They were often fond of shiny things and would snatch them right away.
"She jus' had a bath tonigh'." Hagrid said, lowering his shoulder some so Hermione could pet the bird more closely. She let her finger follow the form of the bird until she found the top of its head, and gave it a scratch before pulling away.
"I'm sure she's beautiful when I can see her." Hermione said. Hagrid smiled. "Sorry I went and got her soiled again. Does McGonagall know about it?"
Hagrid nodded.
"Yes, she saw her this mornin', figured there's no harm in lettin' me keep her."
"Looks like you finally got yourself a pet." Hermione grinned again, turning back to the cage. "As for these guys, they're louder than a Mandrake root!How do you suppose we're to keep them silent?"
"May not be able to." Hagrid replaced the lid on the cage, then pulled a horseshoe from his pocket, placing it on top of the cage. "Tha' should hold 'em in place fer now. I'll stay up with 'em. You bes' be headin' inside."
Hermione nodded, said her goodbye, and left. She studied her hands on the way up to the castle, saddened to watch the glow die out as soon as she was inside. She made it up the stairs, and turned down one corridor before spotting a window. Not being able to resist, she went over to it, thrusting her hands into the moonlight and watched them glow once more. She pulled them out, then passed them through the moonbeam again.
"Out for a late night stroll, are we Miss Granger?"
She stiffened, turning around, quickly stuffing her hands behind her back out of habit, and winced as Severus glided out of the shadows.
"I'm sorry, sir. I was working late in Care of, and got sidetracked."
"What's this? No snide remarks?" He looked her over carefully. "What have you to hide?" He thrust his chin at her hands. Hermione pulled them from her back, showing them to her Professor who looked slightly disappointed they were empty.
"Our Moon Frogs had babies tonight. I was playing with them and noticed their dust glows under moonlight." She passed her hand through the moonbeams again, proving her point. "I got sidetracked on my way to the common room."
"Might I suggest continuing in that direction?"
Hermione nodded slowly, beginning to walk. Severus glided beside her.
"Is this an escort?" She asked.
"We just happen to be headed in the same direction at the same time." Severus said. Hermione nodded. She wouldn't have minded an escort, but seeing as he was only headed in her same direction, allowed it to be just that.
"Silent today, are we?" Severus asked after a beat. Hermione smirked.
"Are you expecting otherwise?"
"On the contrary. I'd expected you to have told me half your life story by now."
"Well let's see, I was born in London where I grew up in a Muggle family, not finding out I was a witch until I received my-"
"That was a rhetorical statement."
Hermione looked amused, crossing her arms over her chest as she continued walking forward. A few more steps led them to the stairs that would deliver her to the Fat Lady portrait and she turned, giving a polite nod to Severus.
"Thank you for the company." She said.
"Have a good night, Miss Granger." He said, and she watched him blend into the distance before retiring to her rooms, glad he had not given her another detention.