FLETCHLINGS

Hi again. I promised you all another chapter, so here it is! I know some of you were left a little disappointed after the last chapter, but it was necessary to explain this chapter. Sorry about that! This one is longer than the last few, and it has more crucial plot points, so I hope this makes up for everything! Enjoy! Don't forget to Review at the end, please!

Thanks again to everyone reading!

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I awoke the next morning feeling oddly refreshed. I knew that I would head out this morning to go find another ingredient, and normally, I dreaded these days. Except for mornings with Snape, there was nothing worse than waking up and heading to the mountains for some rare Snorcack venom. But today was different. I couldn't place it, but something about this morning's mission made me feel energized and ready for whatever the day threw at me.

I tossed the blankets off of me and jumped out of bed. Remus would be arriving soon, and we had to leave early if we were going to get the ingredient before dark. Today we would be going to a large lake in central Scotland to look for the leaves of a Blooming Seafoot plant.

It really didn't seem too difficult. The plant liked to grow in the deepest part of the lake, but its roots usually weren't planted firmly in the soil. I was a decent swimmer, and there were spells and charms that would allow me to breathe underwater long enough to get the leaves. And if we were lucky, some of the leaves would have washed up on the bank, making the whole trip much easier.

After all my research, I found only one thing that could make the trip go badly, the Ridge-horned Fletchlings. My mum used to read me stories in which Fletchlings would seize beautiful maidens and drag them into the lakes of Scotland, and they were never heard from again. They were the types of stories meant to scare small children right before they went to bed.

According to the stories, Ridge-horned Fletchlings were large aquatic beasts that nested in the plants of the deepest parts of lakes. The legends described them as huge, ugly animals with tough skin that was meant to camouflage them with the rocks on the lake-bottom. They were all black, except for the eyes, which were small and red and piercing. Their most distinguishing feature, however, was the large ringed horn that curled up from the forehead, forming a c-shape on top of their heads.

I'd never held much store in my mother's bedtime stories, but I had to admit that it caught me by surprise when I read about the Fletchlings in my research book. I had been reading through the "Aquatic Plants" section of the book Snape had given me. When I turned to the page on the Blooming Seafoot, rather than showing a drawing or photograph of the plant as the other pages had, a large picture of the Fletchling haunted the page. The animal wriggled its hammer-like tail through the water as it made its way through the Seafoot. Underneath the image, in small, italicized writing was, "Note that the harvesting of the Blooming Seafoot could be extremely dangerous. Ridge-horned Fletchlings nest in these aquatic plants, and if aggravated, can be deadly".

At the time, I had disregarded the warning. Fletchlings were mythological creatures that my mother had invented so that I would be careful around ponds and lakes. They couldn't be real.

I shook my head, trying to get the horrible image of the monster of my childhood out of my head. Remus would be coming soon, and he didn't need to come in to see me fretting over imaginary beasts.

Almost as if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and I rushed to open it. Remus stepped inside and shook the snow from his hair and cloak. "I had hoped I'd get here before you were finished getting things ready for today," he said distractedly.

I wrinkled my forehead in confusion, "Why?"

"We're not going to the lake," Remus demanded. "At least, not today."

"Why not?" I argued.

"I was researching last night, and—"

"Remus, I told you I would take care of it," I whined. "Don't you think Sirius will start noticing things if you're off studying every waking hour of the day?"

"That's not the point," he replied, waving me off. "Don't tell me you didn't read about the Fletchlings."

I groaned. "Don't tell me you actually believe in those things," I protested. "Those are just stories our parents made up to scare us into staying close to the banks when we went swimming."

"Tonks," he urged, "I really think we should consider the possibility of there being dangerous creatures in that lake. I mean, if a well-researched book claims that there are Fletchlings in this lake, than there probably are," he reasoned.

"Remus, you really can't believe everything you read in books," I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Remus opened his mouth to protest, but I started speaking again before he could get a word out, "We'll be fine," I assured. "I've checked it all out, and I'm sure we'll be okay." He still looked unsure, so I pulled him into a tight hug. "I promise," I nearly whispered.

When Remus finally released me, he looked slightly more convinced. "Alright," he said hesitantly, "let's go." With that, I ripped out the picture of the Fletchling and the Blooming Seafoot, grabbed Remus' arm, and we twisted into the air.

-oOoOoO-

The view of a large lake surrounded by marshland materialized before us as we reoriented ourselves to the surroundings. There was a large lake that looked almost black due to the overcast sky. Moist grass encompassed the area, making the ground squish beneath our feet.

I took a step closer to the water's edge, hoping that some leaves would have washed up on the bank. There was nothing but mud and grass. I sighed. "Looks like we're going to have to go in," I observed.

Remus stiffened. "Go in?" he repeated blankly.

"Well yeah," I said with a laugh, "when I told you we were going to get aquatic plants, I assumed you knew there might be swimming involved." I chuckled at him for a few moments, trying to decide where best to go in. Remus merely stared at the ground, an ashamed look plastered onto his face. "What's wrong?" I questioned, abandoning my inspection.

"It's nothing," he insisted.

"It has to be something," I pried. "You look like I just told you we were going to jump off a cliff. It's just a swim."

He just nodded. "I know," he assured, "it's just that—well, I didn't—."

I chuckled and eyed him curiously. "Remus, do you know how to swim?"

His face went blood red, and he shifted his weight nervously. "It's not that I can't," he persisted stubbornly, "I just never learned." He hung his head, ashamed.

I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's okay," I comforted, "I bet the Seafoot will be right near the edge anyway." He still looked miserable, and I felt like it was my fault. I'd been the one that decided to get this ingredient today. He'd suggested something yesterday, and I'd shot it down. Instead, I chose to do something he wasn't comfortable with, something that embarrassed him. I was determined to make it right, to make him feel useful. I pulled out my wand and went over to a large willow tree that stood near the water's edge. I reached up, and broke off one of the lower branches. I waved my wand down the length of the bough, and the branch transformed into a long rope.

"Here," I said, handing one end of the rope and tying the other around my waist, "I'll go in and see if I can find the plant. If I need you to pull me up, I'll pull twice on the rope."

"Okay," he agreed as I walked closer to the bank, removing my boots and socks.

I was just about to walk into the river when I heard Remus call from behind me. "Tonks," he began. I turned to face him. "Be careful." His eyes were worried and guilty, and I could tell that he still felt horrible for not being able to come along.

I gave him the biggest smile I could manage. "I'm an Auror," I started jokingly, "I'll be fine." He returned my smile weakly as I began walking out into the middle of the lake.

It was absolutely freezing. The combination of the December air and the cool lake water was making me shiver more with every step. I was about thirty feet out from the edge when the ground started to drop off dramatically; soon my head would be well covered with water. I took out my wand, waved it around my head several times, and a large bubble began to encompass my face. I turned around and saw Remus sitting on the grass near the bank. I gave him a large smile and two thumbs up. I could see him wave to me and return my smile just before I submerged my head in the water.

I searched the lake bottom for the plant. According to the picture, Blooming Seafoot was a very tall plant. The books said that it could grow to be up to six feet tall. It was also a deep green color with star-shaped leaves, but its distinguishing feature was the large, white blooms that covered the structure. I couldn't spot any Seafoot in the area, so I kicked hard and propelled myself further into the lake.

I could see that the lake was getting deeper and deeper, and I began to consider turning back. Several minutes later, there were still no signs of the evasive plant, and I started losing patience. There were large rocks, seaweed, and fish covering the lake-floor, but no Seafoot.

Just as I was about to head back to the bank, I caught a glimpse of a white speck out of the corner of my eye. I turned to the left and saw a huge patch of Blooming Seafoot growing on the bottom. I swam over and into the forest of the fluffy white plants. I plucked several leaves from the plants, and turned to start kicking my way back to the bank, leaves grasped firmly in my fist.

I kicked my right foot but felt something holding me back. A large vine of plants had entangled itself around my foot. I turned and began untwisting the knot of plants.

Just as my foot was freed, I heard a high, screeching sound, and I felt my blood run cold. I whirled around, trying to find the source of the noise. Instead, I turned straight into piercing red eyes and a c-shaped horn.

It was as if all my childhood nightmares stood before me. The bright red eyes burned into my face, making me chill to my very core. The ringed horn was inches from my nose, resting almost teasingly before me. I screamed from inside my bubble and kicked away as fast as I could. The Fletchling followed after me, ramming into my side and causing me to plummet into the lake-floor. Dirt and dust clouded my vision, but I could just make out the foreboding shadow of the monster charging for me. I dove to the right to avoid what surely would have been a fatal attack.

I started swimming back to the bank as quickly as I could, but I could see the leaves I had collected scattered across the bottom of the lake. I swam back to retrieve them, but the Fletchling blocked my way.

It whirled to face me, and I could see the fury build in its eyes as it prepared to charge me again. I waved my wand and cast, "Stupefy!" The jet of red light merely bounced off the animal's tough skin. It screeched again, and I could feel the terror begin to take over, causing me to become stiff.

The animal sensed my hesitation and took the opportunity to ram into my chest with its horn. I was thrust backwards, and I felt my head hit one of the large rocks covering the floor of the lake. The Fletchling turned away, giving me a moment's relief that quickly turned to panic. I dropped my wand, but I had no idea where it was. My vision was darkening. My chest and sides burned from the encounter with the Fletchling, making it even harder to breathe. Without my wand, I couldn't keep the bubble around my head, and I was losing air. I felt my head cloud and become dizzy. I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I needed to get air, and I needed it fast. Just before I went completely unconscious, I remembered the rope wrapped tightly around my waist. With what strength I had left, I reached forward, and gave the rope the strongest tug I could muster. And then, everything went black.

I hope you liked this one and that it made up for the boring chapter last time! Leave me a Review with your thoughts!