She walked quickly down the path breathing into her hands. In her haste to catch up with Hagrid she'd forgotten all, but her cloak and hat. The students had all talked about the weird and crazy animals he took care of. If anyone would know about a basilisk it would be him. The crunching of several feet on snow caught her attention. Glancing behind her she was surprised to find not only Sirius and Lupin, but James, Peter, and Lily had returned from vacation. Lily grinned and ran up to give her a hug. At the last moment she lost traction sliding into Vivian sending them both sprawling into the snow.
Vivian cried out as snow found it's way down the back of her shirt before they both dissolved into laughter. Lily had written diligently throughout the break, but Vivian couldn't help giving her a tight squeeze back. "I missed you too, but I'm freezing! Get off!" Lily helped dust the snow off the best she could, smiling sheepishly.
"Not to spoil the lovey doves fest, but what are we doing out here in the freezing cold?" James asked.
"I'm not sure. Why are you all here?" Vivian said. She shoved her hands under her arms in an attempt to warm them back up. The group stared at her quietly. She sighed, "I didn't ask you to follow me!" If she brought up the basilisk in front of them there would be no hiding her dreams. The thought of them thinking she was crazy made her stomach turn. She had no proof that what she dreamed was anything more than that. A dream. Lily sensed her distress quickly grabbing her arm.
"We are going on a walk. So all of you can go back to the common room. We have a lot to catch up on." Lily shooed them back up the path. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"As if you weren't sending letters every few days. You'd think the two of you weren't ever going to see each other again." He gave a shove, turning Lupin and James around back towards the school. "Here." A black ball hit her lightly in the chest. She barely caught it from falling into the snow. His gloves. She looked back up to thank him, but he and the boys were already sprinting towards the school pushing and shoving one another.
"Who's the one thinking about a boy with dreamy eyes this time?" Lily teased. "What's down this way anyways?"
"The grounds keepers house. I have a question for him." Vivian said. They both walked quietly. The soft crunch of snow and the soft hoot of an owl breaking through the silence. She pondered just how much to tell Lily. A part of her longed to talk about the dreams with someone. While her and Lily had grown close the past months they rarely talked about anything other than school work and whatever the latest gossip was. Lily never asked about Vivian's lack of letters or avoidance of mentioning her family. Vivian never asked Lily about her family picture that had, what appeared to be, her sister ripped off and taped back together. They were almost to Hagrid's hut when she spoke softly, "Have you ever heard of a monster here at Hogwarts? I don't mean the ones in the forest either." Lily stopped walking and stared at her in disbelief.
"That's what this is all about? Of course I've heard the legend about it. Sev wouldn't stop talking about it before we got on the train, but what does that have to do with going to the ground keeper's house?" Vivian started walking again pulling Lily along with her.
"First let's get out of this cold. I'll explain everything tonight…as long as no one else is back yet." Lily let out a long slow groan, resisting a little as Vivian pulled her up to the door. Seeing Vivian hesitate Lily knocked hard three times on the large door. She wanted answers and the sooner she got them the better. Her confidence fell a touch as the door opened to reveal Hagrid. A quick smile was all she could muster before pushing Vivian forward.
" Sir. I just have a quick…" Vivian hadn't finished speaking before Hagrid interrupted.
"Come in! Come in! It's blasted cold out!" He quickly ushered them in and towards two large chairs each on a side of the fireplace. "And no need to call me Sir. Hagrid's fine enough it is. Here! Warm yer selves up with some of this pumpkin juice! Made it myself!" His smile was contagious and put the two girls at ease as they warmed their freezing hands by the fire. "Now what brought the both of you all the way down here? Don't get much in the way of visitors this time of year."
"I just…love magical creatures…and I heard you know all about them." Vivian said.
"Oh I don't know about all of them, but I know my fair share. Go ahead and ask. I'll do my best!" He said beaming.
"Well… I heard if you know more about a creature you're less likely to be afraid of it…"
Hagrid grunted frowning, "Magical creatures are misunderstood by most wizards. A friendly lot they are if you treat'em right. Some of my closest friends are."
"Exactly! I've been fascinated by all the ones we've studied so far, until..well… I was reading in the library over break and I don't like snakes much in general, but I came across a particularly..unique…one. I was hoping you could tell me more about it." She hesitated looking intently into the mug of a muddy orange.
"Snakes, eh? I know a few things about em. Go ahead."
"It was about a basilisk…." Risking a glance up she caught a glimpse of a wide eyed Lily with her mouth slightly agape. Hagrid looked much the same.
"Basilisk. Well that would give one nightmares I'd suppose. A vicious creature it is. Known as the King of the Serpents. It's eyes can kill ya with a glance though I heard somewhere looking at it through a mirror will only petrify you. Not that that's much better, but at least it can be treated. Best way to kill it is with a rooster. One crow from it will leave that beast dead. Breeding em is banned mind you. So don't go worrying yer little head about it. This is Hogwarts after all! Ye'll be safe here with Dumbledor and all." The dark that had settled outside caught his attention. "Better be off you two before we all get in trouble and remember yer safe here." He added before giving Vivian a pat on the head. "Come any time if ya have any more questions. Been a while since I've had someone as interested in them as I am." The girls walked quickly, but in silence back to the common room. Lily tried to keep her breath steady as she wrapped her head around the possibility of the legend being true and the monster of a basilisk slithering somewhere inside of Hogwarts. Just as the two of them walked through the painting of the Fat Lady into a darkened common room a large black thing flew at them. Vivian squealed as Lily panicked and tried to jump backwards causing them both to tumble to the ground. A nasally laugh followed a rather loud thump as Peter fell out of his hiding spot.
"Hello. Peter." Lily said dryly as she helped Vivian up.
I have a few things I still need to sort out for the next chapters so I may be a little bit longer than a week to post next time. Make sure to follow or favorite if you want to get updates! Also comment below if there are other characters you want to see more of!