Porpentina bade goodbye to Professor Sprout and shut the glass door of
the greenhouse behind her gently. She sighed, and adjusted the straps on her
shoulder bag, weary from the remedial session. Not that Porpentina needed
remedials, but Herbology was her weakest subject and had to admit she needed
help. True, the O.W.Ls were about a couple of years away for her, but better
safe than sorry. Besides, it just wouldn't do
for her marks to be less than the best, as befitted any self-respecting Slytherin.
She set off across the grounds towards the castle, wondering what her
housemates were doing. Probably zonked
out in their beds, snoring so hard they could scare bats away, though
Porpentina wryly. But then, she
reflected, given our living conditions, that
probably wouldn't be such a bad thing.
The night air was frigid, and the lights from the castle seemed far
away and feeble. The clouds screening the nearly full moon caused the grounds
to be covered in shadows. Occassionaly an owl hooted from above, startling her,
and rather unearthly moans seemed to be coming from the Forbidden Forest. She
hurried up her pace, and wondered what had possessed her to refuse Professor
Sprout's offer to escort her back to the castle. She concentrated on her feet,
trying to ignore the shuffling, whispering sounds behind her, and walked as
fast as she could without actually running.
Just then, something pounced on her.
Porpentina whirled around, and gave whatever it was that had attacked
her one effective blow with her satchel. I
knew that 980 page tome on Spellish Applications I've been carrying around all
day would come in handy… just not in this way, she thought. Her attacker
crumpled to the floor, groaning, and cried out in an annoyingly familiar voice-
"What was that for? You can't be that
angry at me! And anyway I was going to apologise."
The clouds covering the moon broke, the silvery light throwing her attacker's features into sharp relief, confirming her suspicions.
"Newt Scamander! Is this your
idea of a joke? Were you trying to scare me to death? Don't you have
detention today? What are you doing out on the grounds anyhow?" Porpentina
paused, looking more furious than ever. "Give me one good reason why I
shouldn't beat you into a bloody pulp right now!"
Newt got up slowly, still clutching his shoulder in pain. "In answer to
your questions… No. No. Yes, but I managed to get away. A Hippogriff has
wandered into the Forbidden Forest and we need to rescue it. And lastly, you'd
regret it if you tarnished your perfect record by losing house points for
slaughtering a fellow student."
Porpentina ignored the last comment and peered suspiciously at Newt.
"So what if a beast is in the Forbidden Forest? That's where they belong. And
what do you mean 'we' have to rescue
it?"
Newt shuffled his feet, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I need your
help. This Hippogriff, he's my… my mother's favourite. You know, the famous
one."
Porpentina nodded. "Right. Patrick told me about it."
Newt winced, although this time it didn't seem to be from pain. "Yes,
well. I don't know what's happened to the Hippogriff, but he's wandered off
into the Forest, and he'll definitely get hurt… or worse, if we don't get him
out of there. I think he's sick or something. He almost flew into the Forest
when I was riding him today." Porpentina smirked at that.
"Please," Newt added
earnestly. "I can't find Patrick and I can't think of anyone else who could
help me. I don't have my wand. I need you
to help me. I'll do anything!"
Porpentina's face split into a seemingly innocent smile. "Anything?"
Newt gulped and nodded. Porpentina's brow furrowed, as it always did
when she was thinking hard. She asked, "Are you sure it's not dangerous if we
go in there?"
"No! I've gone in there plenty of times, and I've never gotten hurt."
he said, almost a little too quickly.
Porpentina couldn't decide whether to trust Newt or not, but she
figured that it might be interesting to find out what the infamous place looked
like. If an idiot like Newt could get out of there unscathed, then how
dangerous could it be? And besides, having a Gryffindor at her complete and
total mercy could be very beneficial.
She dug out her wand from her robes, adjusted the shoulder straps of
her satchel again, and rolled up her sleeves. "I can't believe I'm saying this,
but I'll help. Besides, as a Slytherin I owe this Hippogriff a favour. It's
made sure that we're getting the House Cup for the fourth year in a row."
For the first ten minutes, the moonlight illuminated their path, but
the deeper they went into the forest the more dense it got, and the canopy of
leaves above them soon closed in, preventing the moon rays from penetrating
through the darkness that suddenly blanketed them. Porpentina's wand only
yielded a thin shaft of light, which was hardly enough to allow them to observe
their surroundings. She led the way, with Newt close behind her, who was
calling out for Eddy every few seconds. The foliage became more and more dense,
and they often had to duck to prevent their heads from coming into direct
contact with the low-hanging branches. Porpentina was shaking all over, and it
wasn't just from the cold. She had no idea that the Forest would be so
intimidating, and she barely knew any powerful spells that would help them in
case some wild beast did attack, or
even worse, if she or Newt contracted some kind of poison from the venomous
plants she'd read about. If that happened, by the time they realised it, it
would be too late to administer the antidote.
Porpentina whirled around and shone the light from her wand directly
into Newt's face, startling him. "Newt," she whispered, glancing around
fearfully. "Let's get out of here, now. I've got a very bad feeling about this.
Your Hippogriff will find its way out by itself. Please, let's leave."
Newt grinned, which was the last thing Porpentina had expected him to
do. "Relax. We're still on the outskirts. Most of the animals inhabit the
interior of the Forest. And besides, haven't you noticed that we're following a
path?" he asked, gesturing to the ground. Porpentina then noticed that they had
indeed been walking along a trail, although it was merely a narrow track that
seemed relatively bereft of vegetation compared to the surroundings.
Newt continued to call for Eddy, and Porpentina composed herself a bit.
She turned around and continued walking, now keeping her eyes on the makeshift
path. She was still scared, but Newt seemed to know what he was doing and that
somehow made her feel better.
But she still couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't supposed to be there. The whole Forest seemed to be
observing her, silently telling her that this wasn't her place, and that her
being there disturbed the natural order of things. The trees seemed to be
staring sinisterly, stretching out their gnarled limbs, as if they were just
itching to reach out and grab her. Porpentina shook her head in an attempt to
get rid of such capricious thoughts. Now wasn't the time to let her imagination
run away. But she still couldn't shake off that uncomfortable feeling she got
of the whole place.
Newt obviously had no such qualms. He was tromping along behind her,
almost cheerfully, still calling out for his beloved pet. He acts as if he owns the place, thought Porpentina disgustedly. Is this a boy thing? I can't really see
Patrick coming anywhere near this area… even if he were to, he wouldn't be
grinning idiotically and acting like it's a bloody hiking trip.
"So… you come here often?" she asked, in an attempt to make
conversation.
"Sometimes," replied Newt. "When I want to… get away from things."
"Oh." she said insightfully, and they both lapsed into silence, except
for Newt still calling out for Eddy every few seconds, albeit a bit worriedly
now.
Porpentina halted in mid-step to disentangle her robes from some
prickly shrubs they got snagged in, and muttered "Newt, do you even know where your Hippogriff is? We've
already been here for twenty minutes, don't you think we might have found it
already?"
Without warning, Newt suddenly took off. "Hey, wait!" Porpentina cried,
her robes still caught in the shrubbery. "He's over here!" she heard Newt call,
and sighed. With one last yank, she freed her robes, adjusted her shoulder bag,
and set off cautiously in the direction Newt took. She realised that the
moonlight was becoming more visible now, and that the trees were not as tightly
packed. She could spot Newt standing, half-concealed by the branches, in what
seemed to be a clearing in the middle of the Forest. As she got nearer, she
finally got a look at the famous Hippogriff Eddy. Her first reaction was
annoyance. The Hippogriff didn't look remotely like she had imagined. For a
beast that had attained worldwide fame, it sure looked pathetic, with it's
droopy eyes and sagging frame. She bit back an insult and glanced at Newt.
"Come here… and bow to him. Wait for him to bow back." he said, in a
very unsettled voice. What's he so
worried about now? thought Porpentina irritably. We found the damn thing, didn't we? Nevertheless, she walked
tentatively towards the Hippogriff, and bowed stiffly. The Hippogriff then
bowed back almost as reluctantly and Newt seemed to relax a bit. "I don't know
what's wrong with him… He's never demanded that anyone approach him like that.
It's almost as if he… he's angry with us for finding him." he muttered softly
to himself.
Porpentina was suddenly aware of many pairs of incandescent eyes
peering at them through the darkness. Gripping her wand tightly, she turned to
Newt and nodded towards the fluorescent dots. Newt's eyes widened and he swung
himself onto the Hippogriff's back. He then held out a hand to help Porpentina
onto the animal. Porpentina's mouth dropped open. "I'm supposed to get on the Hippogriff?" she asked
incredulously.
"Porpentina, now's not the time to be squeamish! Get up here so we can
leave!"
But Eddy obviously had other plans. He squirmed and struggled, and Newt
slid off its back to the ground in surprise. Newt got up and addressed the
animal softly, "What's the matter, old boy? Can't you see we have to leave now?
It's dangerous here… Let's go." With that, he took the chewed off piece of cord
still around Eddy's neck and tugged it gently. The Hippogriff seemed to relent,
and started to walk slowly alongside Newt, its head bent.
When Newt reached Porpentina, he whispered "I don't think he wants to
fly. I don't even think he wants to leave this place. In fact," he spoke
confidentially, his voice dropping a few more decibels, "It might be time for
another visit to the M-A-G-I-V-E-T."
Porpentina rolled her eyes, although she knew that the effect would be
lost in the darkness. "You talk as if it can understand what you're saying."
"Oh we understand each other perfectly, don't we boy?" said Newt
affectionately, turning to Eddy. But Eddy continued to walk sullenly, head
drooping and feet dragging. Porpentina noticed with relief that some of the
luminous eyes around them seemed to have vanished now that they were in the
company of the Hippogriff. But some of them stared out of the hollows of the
trees, startling her. What a ghastly
place. I doubt the Forest would be very less intimidating in the daytime. A
little maybe, but not much. I definitely can't envision friendly squirrels
inhabiting those tree trunks.
Abruptly, Eddy's head jerked up, and he started tugging on his tether,
his eyes wild with fright. Newt struggled to maintain a hold on his Hippogriff,
while speaking to him reassuringly. However, Eddy seemed to want to get as far
away from that place as possible. Without a word, Newt mounted his pet, and
held out a hand once again for Porpentina to get on. Frightened, she didn't
hesitate. When she got on in front of Newt, he told her, "Eddy senses danger. I
think he's ready to leave now."
Porpentina nodded mutely, realising that riding a Hippogriff wasn't as
easy as Newt made it out to be. She felt that if she clutched some of the
animal's feathers to keep her balance, they would come off in her hands. In the
end, she wrapped her arms around the Hippogriff's bony neck, and felt Newt grab
on to her satchel for balance as Eddy started to gallop out of the clearing.
For a few seconds she barely moved out of fright, and then risked a glance
behind her. She noticed many large, hulking silhouettes following them and
whimpered in dismay.
"Don't worry," she heard Newt whisper. "We're going to be just fi-
arrgh!"
Out of nowhere, a low-hanging, enormous branch had swung at Newt,
knocking him out cold and off the Hippogriff. "Newt!" Porpentina cried out in terror, still clutching the
Hippogriff's neck, as Newt lay crumpled on the ground, his body becoming
smaller and smaller to Porpentina as the Hippogriff underneath her continued to
speed away.