Team: Holyhead Harpies

Position: Beater 2: Write about a magical creature mishap

Extension and Reserve: No

Prompts: (colour) green; (dialogue) "It seems like something is missing."

WC: 1158

Beta: Ash Juillet, beawrites, MissyAndTheDocs

Trevor sitting on a chicken egg should have made a lot of red flags go off in Neville's mind. But, to Neville, it was just his toad sitting on a chicken egg, right? All it meant was that Trevor had finally gotten into the stash of organic eggs that Luna sent from her chickens every morning. Trevor had been trying to get to the eggs for a while now. It was a rational explanation for Neville's toad's behaviour that wasn't magical or deadly. That was what Neville had assumed as he glanced at Trevor's enclosure before heading out the front door.

Well, that had not been the correct assumption to make. He had casually mentioned it over lunch to Luna that afternoon. He had never seen her move that quickly. She had grabbed his arm and given him a dark look that quietened any question he'd wanted to ask.

There had been no words exchanged between them as Luna dragged him back to his flat. If Neville had the balls to describe her at that moment, he would have used the word "fuming". She critically peered into Trevor's enclosure, her wand moving quickly as she ran diagnostic charms, that glowed green, on his toad.

"I think I deserve an explanation," Neville said, charming his teapot to make a cup of tea. "Would you like some tea?"

"Gross." Luna's face scrunched up, disgusted at the thought. "I'll have some coffee. I don't get why you would drink that herbal soup."

Neville bit his tongue. Luna's distaste for tea was a well-documented fact amongst their friends, but it still took him back. "You still drink matcha though, and that literally looks and tastes like the colour green."

"That's different, Neville. Also, do you know what Trevor is sitting on?"

Neville wrapped his fingers around the warm mug of tea he had just poured. "That is a chicken egg, is it not?"

"And—" Luna prompted, tapping her foot with impatience as if the answer was obvious.

"I don't know why a toad would sit on a chicken egg. That's why I assume you're here," Neville said, feeling like Luna had asked him a test question that he had just miserably failed.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Your toad is in the process of creating a Basilisk!" she gushed out as if she couldn't wait a moment longer for Neville to connect all the dots.

"But I can't take away the egg. It's brilliant. This is the first time in years that I've been able to find Trevor without constantly hunting for him. How would one of your owls at the creature clinic feel if you took away its eggs?"

"This is illegal. Basilisk breeding is a banned practice, and you don't have to have Hermione's extensive knowledge of creature law to know that," Luna said.

Neville rolled his eyes. This was the rational side of Luna talking. The part of her that spent weekends pouring over magical creature healing textbooks and learning how to diagnose illnesses in animals better.

"But that still doesn't mean that this isn't bloody cool," Neville said, turning to look at the toad sitting on top of the egg.

"So cool," Luna agreed, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. "But we can't."

"I won't tell if you don't," Neville offered.

Luna took a moment to consider his words. "Deal. But I am killing that snake the moment it comes out of the egg."

Neville scrunched his face at that. There had to be some other solution to his issue.

"It seems like something is missing," Harry said, walking to where Trevor's enclosure usually sat. "Oh, where's Trevor's enclosure?"

Neville froze at the question. He was a terrible liar and his already poor skills were made even worse by Harry's no-bullshit detector.

"Luna suggested I move it. She said the green sap from my more exotic plants was stressing him out," Neville practically vomited out.

Harry's emerald-green eyes narrowed pinning Neville down like he was a particularly juicy piece of prey.

"That's the biggest load of hogwash you've ever told me. It can't be that bad," Harry said, pacing around the flat. "You would never purposefully allow a plant that could hurt Trevor into the flat.

Neville gulped. Harry turned around and zeroed to Neville's bedroom. Neville watched with frozen horror as Harry opened the door and then shut his eyes, unwilling to even look at Harry's reaction.

There was silence, then Neville heard hissing noises. Harry was actually hissing, and Neville opened one eye and found Harry literally having a full-on conversation with the baby Basilisk that had wrapped itself around Harry's arm.

"Care to explain why you have a baby Basilisk?" Harry asked, pointing to the green snake that, Neville noticed, strangely matched his eyes.

"Trevor sat on a chicken egg, I told Luna, who then wanted to see the breeding through. But then, when Arnold was born, he was blind, and Trevor wouldn't even let us look at them or separate them. It was like Trevor knew that Arnold wouldn't sur—"

"Wait. You named your Basilisk, King of Snakes and all-around superior predator, Arnold?!"

"Yea," Neville said defensively. "Arnold is blind, so he isn't going to hurt anyone, apart from the fact that he is still venomous. Besides, Arnold is a perfectly acceptable name for a relatively harmless pet."

Harry laughed at this, and Neville grew puzzled. Was Arnold not a good name for a pet?

"So, let me guess. You haven't told Hermione, have you?" Harry asked, absentmindedly stroking the snake.

"Um… I was kind of hoping that this would be one of those things that Hermione never finds out about," Neville confessed. If Luna wasn't going to tell her, Neville definitely wasn't going to be the one to break the news to the curly-haired witch that he was a law-breaking fugitive.

"Good. Can I have him?" Harry asked.

"Yea—wait, what?"

Harry was the one who now looked awkward. He sat down on the floor, being careful not to jostle the snake too much. "I mean, it makes sense. I still have brownie points with the Ministry, and I am a Parseltongue speaker, which means I can control a snake as dangerous as Arnold."

"Huh." That was the only thing that Neville said.

"Please. I promise that I won't throw you under the bus with Hermione. Also, we match," Harry said, bringing the snake up to his face so that Neville could fully take in how similar Arnold's green scales were to Harry's eyes.

"Um—"

He was saved from answering by the green flames being spat out of his fireplace.

"For the love of all that is sacred and holy! Neville, please tell me you did not intentionally breed a Basilisk!" Hermione's voice boomed causing some of Neville's plants to shudder with fright.

It dawned on Neville then that maybe letting Trevor sit on that chicken egg hadn't been a smart idea.