The Burning Egg
As it turned out, the feet were the only part of the creature to emerge from the egg. What had brought on the feet to break free? What else lay inside the egg? These things still remained a mystery for weeks after the initial discovery.
What was not a mystery was that, whatever lay inside, it was certainly alive. The legs seemed to be in a constant state of motion, always trying to go somewhere and do something. It never seemed to be anywhere in particular, either; so long as there was somewhere for those little legs to run to, they would.
"You're a rascally fella," Letti said to the egg one day, as it attempted to leap down the spiral stairs of the Astronomy Tower. The egg never seemed to have much care for its own well-being, which was all well and good when it was entirely egg - now that the little spindly eggs were sticking out, Letti had become extra-protective of it.
She wasn't the only one. The egg had become something of a sensation around the school after Letti brought it into the Great Hall one morning (she was hoping that being near food might cause the creature to hatch entirely, worrying that it would starve to death). Other students loved to try and take photos of the egg, especially when it scampered off on its own. Half of Letti's MagMeet feed was filled with photos of the egg, and someone had even gone and created a fan Instagram account for it, dubbing it 'Eggsy'.
As if trying to make Eggsy more popular, Professor Irwin had actually helped her rig up a sort of leash - since the egg seemed to have metallic properties, the leash was magnetic, remaining attached no matter how much it tried to escape. Cassie had quickly bedazzled the leash with a number of stickers and glued jewels, and Eggsy's blinged-out appearance was completed.
As fun as it was taking Eggsy around the Hogwarts campus on walks, or watching as the egg furiously butted itself against anything in its way, Letti also had a number of concerns. For starters, did the creature inside need to eat or drink?
"Prob'ly not," Professor Irwin answered when she asked that very question to him. "Many magical critters don't need nutrients the same way you or I do when they're growing. Take the jabberwocky, for example. Why, after it's born, it remains in a comatose state for nearly three hundred years; it still grows during that time, but it never feeds and it never drinks. I wouldn't stress too much about it."
That did make her feel better, for a time. But then again, the jabberwocky didn't do anything during that whole three hundred years, whereas Eggsy was exceptionally active. So still, she worried.
The other concern was for its physical well-being. Sure, the egg itself seemed nigh indestructible, but was that true of the two feet as well?
It certainly seemed that way, given Eggsy's complete disregard for its own safety. Once, before the leash had been made, Eggsy made a triumphant leap off a banister and landed egg-first on to the ground, dropping nearly thirty feet and yet not suffering a scratch. That was actually what prompted the creation of the leash, as Professor Irwin had nearly been struck by the shelled kamikaze.
The only thing that Eggsy seemed to avoid was water. Any time Letti tried taking it for a walk by the Black Lake, it would invariably attempt to get away. What prompted Eggsy to hate the water so much was still very much a mystery, but Letti quickly learned to avoid the lake when taking it along with her.
Eggsy's behavior was just one of many things Letti was learning. As it turned out, she had shaped up to be an exceptional student. By the end of October, she had quickly mastered a number of the spells her teachers placed before her. Professor Flitwick routinely praised her progress, gleefully noting whenever she mastered a new spell. Professor Malfoy, likewise, seemed pleased with her growth as a witch, though it was always a bit harder to tell with him.
The two classes that continued to give her pause were Potions and Transfiguration. Professor Mercury seemed to hover by her side in class whenever they began working on a potion - somehow, something always seemed to go wrong with her work. Professor Patil, in contrast, avoided commenting on her work as much as possible, instead focusing on the other students whose work was proving to be more successful.
One such student was Lily Potter. Where Letti failed, Lily succeeded. She flew past her classmates in Transfiguration, outpacing them in such a way that there were already talks of her jumping into the second-year class at the start of the next semester. She proved to be an equitable rival for Letti in Charms class, as well: despite a shaky start, she was quickly catching up.
Despite her best efforts, Letti could not rectify the conflicts from the start of the year. No matter what she did, Lily always glared at her with an angry contempt.
"You've just gotta accept that some people are going to dislike you, Letti," Cassie said, echoing Albus' words from earlier in the year.
"I can understand disliking me, but Lily just hates me! Even if we can't be friends, I at least don't want to be enemies."
They were in the Great Hall. It was Halloween, and the whole space had been decorated for the occasion. Floating candles had been replaced with carved pumpkins, the lights cast eerie shapes on the walls, and bats fluttered around the ceiling. The teachers were all on guard: it was a superstition that something strange always happened at Hogwarts on Halloween.
Letti didn't think there was much to it. She and Cassie sat at the Slytherin table, Eggsy grumpily plopped next to her in its leash.
"So what exactly is your plan this time?" Cassie asked. She sat across from Letti. "You've tried just about every normal way of making nice with her."
"Easy!" Letti patted Eggsy's side. "This little one is the key to it."
"What's Eggsy going to do?" Cassie looked incredulous. "Did you teach it to follow commands?"
"No, but I don't need it to." Letti was grinning from ear to ear. "I have the perfect plan. I'll let Eggsy loose to run around, and once it ends up at the Gryffindor table, I'll just happen to come across Lily. Who can be mad at little ol' Eggsy?"
"That's a really dumb plan." Albus sat down next to Cassie.
"It is not! Cassie, tell him it will be okay."
The other girl was too busy chewing on a strand of hair to answer. The sudden appearance of Albus had put her on edge.
Letti took that as acceptance. Albus rolled his eyes.
There were two ways to let Eggsy loose. The easiest was to just let go of the leash - the end of it was currently wrapped around her wrist, so that was easier said than done. The second was to pop the leash off Eggsy - this was more difficult than it seemed, since it was magnetically attached to the egg portion and thus rather challenging to remove. Since she had no desire to let Eggsy completely loose, she decided to unwrap it from her wrist.
The effect was instantaneous. She wasn't sure how, but Eggsy seemed to immediately realize that it was free. It sprung up and began scampering around the hall.
Eggsy's progress towards Gryffindor was hampered as a result of everyone else's adoration for the critter. Ocean Chang of Ravenclaw snatched Eggsy up and attempted to hold it aloft, momentarily forgetting about the fact that the egg's surface was still as hot as an oven. Yowling with pain, he dropped it on to the table; Eggsy took off, knocking over goblets and silverware and plates. Nobody seemed to be particularly angry about the mess - the entire Ravenclaw table was filled with giggles and delight at the sight of the egg running towards the front of the hall. Its path continued all the way to the end of the table, where it gave a little wiggle before leaping down to the floor.
At this point Letti stood up, pretending to be shocked by Eggy's freedom and lazily following it as it darted directly towards the Gryffindor table. Even the Gryffindor students, despite their intense disliking of Letti, were enthralled by the small egg, with James Potter cooing at it as it skittered nearby. She jogged ahead a little faster, hoping to catch up with Eggsy just as it neared Lily's seat.
Suddenly the egg was lifted upwards, hovering in mid-air. Lily stopped. Professor Malfoy stood with his wand out, a bemused smile gracing his face. "I do believe Professor Irwin made that leash for a reason, Miss Lunetti," he said. He waved his wand, and Eggsy floated towards her. Sighing unhappily, she grabbed her end of the leash. "Please be more careful in the future. The last thing we need is-"
The doors to the Great Hall swung open with great force. Everyone went silent and turned towards the disruption.
Mister Finnigan stood in the doorway, panting, a broom in hand. His brow was drenched in sweat - he looked like he was about to pass out. "At the Qui-the Quidditch Pitch. A whole pack." He took a deep breath. "Hellhounds."
Professor Malfoy was on him in an instant, snatching a goblet with water and handing it to him. "It's okay, Seamus. Talk to me. What happened?"
"I was just cleaning up some of the brooms, giving them a little test fly, when I saw them." Mister Finnigan spoke loudly enough for the whole hall to hear. "At least a dozen of 'em. They're big, Draco, and mean-looking. And they're heading towards the castle." He took a swig of water.
Professor Malfoy turned back towards the front of the hall. He and Headmistress Patil shared a knowing glance, and she nodded before standing up. "Listen, everyone." Her voice was calm, but commanding. "Prefects will lead students back to their dormitories. I need at least one teacher to go and stay with them until this threat is resolved. Professor Mercury, go with Slytherin; Flitwick with Ravenclaw; Bones with Hufflepuff; Longbottom with Gryffindor. Professors Patil, Malfoy, and all other teachers will come with me to the Quidditch Pitch. Mister Finnigan, take a moment to rest, and then you may go be with your students in the dormitory. Students, follow your leaders quickly and quietly. Do not take any detours." She waved her hands. "Go."
The Great Hall collapsed into uproar. Letti spun, trying to get her way to where Billy Bonivard was directing the Slytherin students, getting jostled as Professor and Headmistress Patil raced past. Eggsy yanked on its leash, dragging her for a split-second back towards the Gryffindor table. Wincing with pain, she let go. "No!" Eggsy scurried beneath a table.
She crawled underneath the table after it. "Get back here, you!" But Eggsy, being much smaller and having no awareness of the chaos unfolding around it, escaped her grasp and was on the other side in an instant.
Letti groaned and freed herself from beneath the table. The Great Hall was far from empty - the Prefects were having a hard time of getting their classmates to follow them. She caught a glimpse of Eggsy sneaking out of the hall and raced after it.
She snatched the end of its leash just as Eggsy made a leap down the stairs of the Great Hall. "Hah!" she cried. "Got you!"
The sound of screams behind her cut off the moment of triumph.
She spun around. Just outside the doors of the Great Hall, only a few feet from her, a large red rune had appeared in mid-air. It was strange, a giant circle with various other shapes inside, with jagged edges as if someone had made it by slicing through the air with a knife. For a moment Letti stared at it with curiosity. It looked rather like the symbol on her hand. Then something burst out.
The monster was every arachnophobe's worst nightmare incarnate: a massive, hulking spider. It was an inky-black color, with patches of deep purple scattered across its hide. The skin was as of a reptile's, scaled and coarse. The abdomen stretched eight feet in length – the legs barely fit within the cramped doorway. At the top of each patella was a gnarled spike, sharp and deadly. The palps contained several smaller spikes, forming a rudimentary clawed hand. Instead of mandibles, however, the beast's jaw was like that of a flower, unfurling to reveal many sharp teeth on the underside of each petal. The monster opened its jaw in such a manner and released a screeching, gurgling cry that caused the blood of all who could hear it to run cold with fear.
Chaos erupted as soon as it appeared, as students hastened to the back of the Great Hall. The arachnid lashed out, trying to grab at the nearest victims.
Letti stood frozen in terror. What should she do? Her first instinct was just to flee, to run back to her dormitory and hide from this nightmare. But there was another part…
She looked down at her hand. Professor Malfoy had told her the symbol had shown up whenever there was a victory during the Calamity - it had been a symbol of hope and triumph. She looked back up at the beast. Maybe it meant that she needed to make a victory here and now.
"I need you to stay here," Letti said to the egg. She wrapped the end of the leash around a pillar making up the stair railing and tied it tight. "I'll be back, I promise." She stood up, withdrawing her wand from her robes, facing the back of the giant arachnid that was now terrorizing her classmates.
"Stand back, girl. I've got this."
Mister Finnigan stepped in front of her, wand drawn. "This is how an adult handles monsters like these. Incendio!" A bolt of fire snapped at the behind of the creature.
The beast immediately stopped its attack, spinning around to face its assailant. Despite his conviction, Mister Finnigan's spell did not seem to have done anything other than infuriate the beast, as it stopped one of its eight legs and let out a gurgling roar.
He was undeterred. "Incendio Maxima!" he cried.
Flames billowed forth from his wand, enveloping the massive creature. But like before, there seemed to be no real harm done. The creature swatted him down the stairs with one of its legs. He landed hard at the bottom, crumpled. Letti shivered - it was hard to tell whether or not he was still alive.
The beast turned back around to the Great Hall, presumably to try and eat the cornered students. Letti frowned. How was she supposed to fight this thing if not even a teacher could really hurt it?
An idea came to her. Maybe she didn't need to fight it. Professor Malfoy was one of the most powerful wizards she knew. All she needed to do was keep this monster distracted long enough for him to return and stop it.
"Hey! Uh...stupid!" She waved her arms. "Hey!"
The creature did not respond. More than likely it could barely even hear her over the screams of her fellow classmates.
She groaned. After glancing at Mister Finnigan, who remained unmoving, she turned back to the beast and waved her wand. Some burning sparks crackled against the creature's hide.
It spun around in an instant, growling. Letti gulped. Now she had its attention.
"Erm...hey, stupid!" She hit it with another round of sparks, then hit the ground running. "Come and get me!"
She didn't have to look back to know that her strategy had worked - the monster took off in pursuit of her. It scrabbled against the stones, snarling. She was glad she hadn't tried to fight it head-on. She never would have stood a chance.
She passed the Grand Staircase tower, not trusting her ability to go up the stairs quickly enough to avoid being eaten. Turning a corner, she heard as the monster slammed against the wall, moving paintings exclaiming as they were knocked off their places.
She was in a courtyard: the same one where she had dueled McCormack earlier in the year. There was no time for nostalgia, however, as with the beast hot on her heels she ran through the grassy area. A ghost floated beside her. "We've sent for the Headmistress to return, young miss" he said. "They should be back very soon!"
Letti nodded. She was already starting to run out of breath.
She began running around the edge of the courtyard, beast in pursuit, when she noticed something waddling along in the middle of the grassy space: Eggsy. The leash was still around it, so it must have somehow slipped free from the knot she had made around the pillar. The egg wandered the space aimlessly, not a care in the world.
Letti wasn't the only one who noticed. Seeing a helpless victim, the giant arachnid peeled off and burst back into the courtyard. Before she had a chance to do anything, it swallowed the egg in one gulp.
"NO!" Letti shrieked.
There was a moment of pause, where the monster stood completely still. Then, wheezing, it spat the egg back up, flailing around in the process and clutching its flower-like jaw with its palps. Eggsy barely seemed to have noticed, wandering away slowly with a swaying walk like a drunkard.
She paused. Despite the monster being seemingly invincible to the spells she and Mister Finnigan had unleashed against it, the burning nature of the egg appeared to have actually damaged it. An idea crossed her mind.
"Hey, stupid!" She began waving her arms wildly, trying to get the creature's attention.
It worked. The beast raced towards her, a gurgling snarl catching in its throat. It charged through the half-walls of the courtyard to enter the hall, stone crumbling beneath its heavy form. She waited until it was almost upon her, jaws open, to raise her wand and cry in a confident voice.
"INCENDIO!"
A spout of flame burst from her wand, not nearly as powerful as what Mister Finnigan had produced and yet still impressive in its own right. The fire smote the interior of the creature's jaw, and the effect was immediate: the giant arachnid recoiled backwards and screeched in pain.
As it flailed about, Letti allowed herself a moment of joy, punching the air with happiness. She had done it!
Then one of its legs swept her, sending her flying into a wall. Her vision blurred, then went dark.