Chapter Fourteen: Manticores and Armies
Kit, Ron, and Harry stood in the clearing after Hermione had left. There was no sounds of crooning. In fact, the Forbidden Forest was dead silent. Draco shivered and and moved from Kit's shoulder to Ron's. Then, as suddenly as it had stopped, the crooning started again. Low and gruff, the crooning sent chills up and down Harry's spine.
"I think it's coming from over here," Ron commented quietly, pointing to a narrow path that led into darkness.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. Kit nodded, taking out yet another blood-flavorred lollipop from her bag. "Would you please stop eating those things? You're making me nervous," whispered Harry.
"I can't help it, they're addictive," Kit hissed back. "Want one?" Harry shook his head and surpressed a shudder.
"No thanks," he replied, and moved up to talk to Ron. Kit hung nehind, wishing Hermione hadn't left so suddenly. She was probably up at the castle by now, snug andd warn in her huge bed. It began to rain, and winds suddenly began swirling around the three.
"Guysuh, I think it's past nine," Kit said, her voice sounding frail.
"We're almost there. Come on now Kit, don't desert us," Ron pleaded. Kit sighed and followed the two boys up a slight hill. Harry grinned, then, upon turning to look at the bottom, and let out a very high-pitched scream, very much like the one heard by guys when they get punched in the nuts really hard.
Large creatures, at least twenty of the vicious beasts, were standing in a large clearing. They were the vilest, ugliest creatures Harry and Ron had ever seen. The creatures, beasts with a man's head, lion's body, and a serpent's tail, seemed to have just finished off what once was an Acromantuala, or a eight foot tall spider that could talk. Ron suddenly began to giggle like a maniac. Harry took a few steps backward into a tree. Only Kit seemed unaffected by these creatures.
"What are those?" Harry asked, a look of disgust on his face.
"Manticores," Ron heard Kit whisper softly.
"Very nice," said Ron, beginning to back up. "Let's go now."
"Why? They're extremely rare. I had no idea that the Forbidden Forest held them. Wow"Kit trailed off.
"They are, like I said before, very nice. But ah, we left Hermione all alone. I'm sure she's proabably changed her mind and wants us to come back and help her to the castle," Harry murmured.
Kit nodded, and the three left the scene of the manticores. They found Hermione back at the other clearing, weeping her eyes out, and told her the story. She was fascinated, and asked questions all the way back up to the castle. Quickly the four raced up to Gryfinndor Tower, just as the clock turned from eight fifty-nine to nine o' clock.
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The four stood in the empty common room. Apparently everyone else had gone to bed.
"I'll see you all in the morning," Hermione yawned, heading up the spiral staircase.
"Same goes for me," Harry added sleepily.
"I'll be up in a second," Ron called. Kit started to leave too, but Ron caught her arm.
"What's the matter?" she asked, searching his face. Ron shook his head.
"Shhh," he whispered, his face awfully close to Kit's. Before either of them knew what was happening, Ron had dropped a quick, breezy goodnight kiss on Kit's lips. She pulled away slightly, and Ron was afraid that he'd overdone it. But Kit merely smiled, returned his kiss with one of her own and said softly, "Goodnight." Ron watched her go back up the stairs thinking, boy am I the luckiest guy on earth or what? Smiling, he headed up to his own dormitory.
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Hermione was still awake. It was a few hours after they'd returned from the Forbidden Forest. She could hear Kit muttering in her bed, doing something by the light of her wand. Parvati and Lavender didn't help either, giggling and gossiping away like it was a slumber party or something. Then she heard a voice.
"Psst! Hermione! Are you still awake?" It was Kit.
"Yep," said Hermione tiredly.
"I was thinking, about those manticores. If we can egt into the Forbidden Forest at least once or twice a week, and if we can tame them, they can be our protection!" Kit said.
"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione.
"Voldemort Hermione! Voldemort! Let's say he does come okay? He arrives, we have no real protection, everybody dies. But, if we do have protection, manticores for instance, we all would have a better chance ay survival," Kit explained.
"Mmm-hmm," Hermione nodded. "Makes sense. But why the manticores? Why not ship some dragons out from your place? Or borrow Fluffy from wherever Hagrid put him?"
"Because Voldemort can get past all of them. Dragons are easily defeatable if you know what you're doing, and these are grown wizards. They'll know every trick in the book. And wasn't it you that told me the story of how Voldemort got past the three headed dog five years ago? He won't forget how. And I happen to know that Voldemort has never before seen a manticore," Kit commented. Hermione sighed.
"You're right, it is a good strategy, but I don't think it'll work. We aren't even supposed to go into the Forbidden Forest. How will we explain that we know there are manticores in there?" Hermione asked.
" The crooning Hermione, the crooning!" Kit retorted. "Manticores are the only magical creatures that have reputations to croon as they devour their prey. All we have to do is explain to Dumbledore that we heard the crooning, and if he can send someone in to chck it out."
"Good plan. When do we ask him?" Hermione quieried.
"I'll leave that up to you and the boys," Kit replied. "Now I'm going to get some sleep. It was a long day and I'm tired. Goodnight Hermione."
"Goodnight Kit," Hermione replied. "See you in the morning."
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Kit told Ron and Harry about her idea the next morning at breakfast, and they agreed to ask Dumbledore for permission, using the story Kit had cooked up late the night before.
Right after Herbology Ron and Harry (Hermione hadn't wanted to come) headed up to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore listened attentively to the story Harry and Ron told.
"and Kit and Hermione informed us that the only creatures who croon like that are manticores. If you send someone in ho can prove that they are there, and if we tamed them, they could be the school's protection in case anything happened." Ron finished.
After a long thoughtful pause, the headmaster decided to grant their request, provided that things didn't get to messy. Dumbledore also consented to allow Harry, Hermione, Ron and Kit to help out with the training, as well as Alex and Hagrid and Kevin.
So the manticores were domesticated. It took the group a fair long time to do it, but in the end they had themselves a small, but dangerous and faithful, army.
Every night, just after dinner, two members of the small training group would go out to feed the manticores, who were penned in the enclosure near Hagrid's cabin.
Looking back, Harry decided that making the manticores into an army had been one factor that helped to save them all
