Chapter 5

"Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures." Mr. Dog Star said. "Unfortunately, Professor Hagrid is unable to attend this lesson, for reasons I may not divulge. So, Professor Lupin and myself will be taking the class indefinitely. My name is Professor Black. I will be expecting all of you to treat Professor Lupin and I with the utmost respect." Kati giggled at the look on his face, he looked utterly serious, but there was a twinkle in his eye too reminiscent of the man she'd met when she was 3 for her to be frightened. "Today we will be learning about the Serpanthri. The Serpanthri is a wood demon that, like the Succubus, can take any form it feels will catch its victim's desire. In fact, it is related to the Succubus, and the Dementor in many ways, being both a spiritual, and emotional vampire. Depending on the strength of the person's feelings, and magic, it will choose between ridding it of its soul, or its emotions. With wizards and witches it will usually rid them of their souls, as they can further strengthen their magic. But with muggles, it prefers to feed off their extraordinarily strong emotions, as they have no magical shield to get in the way. Now, the Serpanthri is not only a magical animal, it is also a Dark Creature, so this lesson will be done with Professor Potter. Because there is only one Charm that will stop the Serpanthri, and neither Professor Potter or I are particularly good at it, or rather, I'm hopeless, and Professor Potter doesn't like to perform that particular charm, the other Professor Potter will be helping as well." Kati watched as Mum and Dad moved forward, smiling pleasantly. "No doubt you will learn about both Dementors, and the Succubus this year in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Her Dad nodded, and Kati suddenly found herself very much looking forward to her next DADA lesson. Then, her father took over.

"The Serpanthri is, like Professor Black said. a Dark Creature. Serpanthri are always female, the male version being a cockatrice, or basilisk. That's right, the Serpanthri mate with the King of All Snakes, which is how they get their name. Because of their interesting lineage, a Serpanthri is completely ruthless. She speaks both English, and Parceltongue, but if you speak Parceltongue, you are more likely to get her to leave you alone than if you try to convince her in English. Unfortunately, she is not enough like the Basilisk to be killed by the rooster's crow. However, there is one way to get rid of her. A Charm." He stopped, and Mum took over.

"This Charm is called the Serpents' Call. It sucks all the darkness out of a Serpanthri, making her a human girl. As Serpanthri are immortal, there is no set age. So, a Serpanthri will usually, when changed, be turned into a human infant, ready to start afresh. Because she is originally a Dark Creature, she needs to be watched over carefully in the first year of her new life. If influenced the wrong way, she will become a powerful Dark Mage.  Thankfully, Serpanthri are very rare, for while in their natural form they will not take sides in human skirmishes, as humans, they very much possess the instinct to take a part in fighting, just like any other human. If someone changes a Serpanthri, they automatically become her mother or father in her eyes, and she will not obey anyone else."

"We have managed to procure a Serpanthri for you to study. First, we ask you all to drink this potion. It is called the Encumbering Potion. It will stop the Serpanthri from being able to feed off of your emotions, and we are sure that you won't get close enough to let her suck out your soul." Uncle Moony handed around a pale yellow potion. Kati and Ron both downed theirs in one gulp, they trusted Uncle Moony and Mr. Dog Star. Kati licked her lips.

"Yummy, banana flavour." She said delightedly to Ron, Gina and Mere. Ron drank his, and shook his head.

"Mine tastes like chocolate." He contradicted. Mere swigged hers.

"Mine's lime, bubblegum, blueberry and pineapple ice-cream!" She exclaimed.

"I feel special!" Gina said.

"Why?" Kati asked.

"Acos mine's licorice flavoured! Huckleberry licorice, aniseed licorice, and cherry licorice! Yay!" Kati wrinkled her nose.

"Ew."

***

"Holy shit." Kati nodded, in complete agreement with her twin. The Serpanthri, who was in her natural form, was beautiful. She had chin-length hair, which was three different colours, gold, silver and sable. Her eyes were a clear, shimmering blue, and her skin was the colour of strained honey. She wore black robes that hugged a well-defined figure. Her lips were full and red, and her features were as delicate as a fairy's. The most amazing thing about her were those eyes. They were trapped, caged. She seemed to be calling personally to Kati to help her.

'Help me.' Her eyes pleaded. 'Please.' Kati unconsciously took a step forward, not realising that everyone else did too. Except for her mother, father, Mr. Dog Star, and Uncle Moony. She wasn't listening, as Mum took out her wand, and shot a flash of gold and silver light into the air. She just kept walking forward. It was only when a shimmering dome surrounded all of the students, and they couldn't move forward anymore, or even see the Serpanthri, that she looked away, in annoyance, and confusion. Why on earth was I going to let her out? She wondered. She was glad to see that everyone else had walked forward too, but blushed in embarrassment, when she realised that her mother, father and two godfathers hadn't. Her father walked to the front of the dome, acting as though nothing had happened.

"The Serpanthri doesn't need to feed off you to get close to you, she doesn't even have to change her form to lure you in." He explained. "She has a magical quality about her eyes, which cause people to be lured into her trap. Once you've seen a Serpanthri, and resisted one, you are always more immune to her eye magic. Over time, depending on how many Serpanthri you see, you can become totally immune to her charm." Then her mother stepped forward.

"Your homework for tonight is to find out as much as you can about the Serpanthri, and the Serpent's Call charm. If anyone can find the charm in a book, without going into the restricted section, they will earn 20 points for their house. If you do go into the restricted section, we'll know, so don't even try it."

"I want you to write a 1000 word long essay about the Serpanthri, and how you felt when she was calling you." Uncle Moony commanded. Mr. Dog Star nodded.

"Yes, and remember, as tomorrow is a Friday, and the next day is a Hogsmeade Saturday, you must remember to pig out on Sugar Quills until you're sick." His blue eyes twinkled.

"Class dismissed." All four professors said.

~*~

"Gwynny, did you take my socks?" Her Dad asked sternly. She nodded, and pulled up her robes to reveal the vibrant socks, one lime and lilac, with a pattern of bells, the other orange and hot pink, with a pattern of doves.

"Yes, Daddy, I'm sorry to tell you I did." She said solemnly.

"Gwynny, I don't mind you borrowing my socks, heck, I don't even mind you stealing them! It makes you more like your mother than Ron or Kati-Bee, but do you have to steal the most garish, yet warmest socks I have?" Her father asked.

"Of course! What would be the point in stealing socks that weren't even warm?" Gwynny asked. "By the way, where did you get these… eclectic socks?" Her dad laughed.

"Off a house-elf named Dobby. Remind you to introduce you to him sometime." Gwynny grinned.

"Ok."

~Preview of Chapter 6~

Gwynny held her hand out over her broom confidently.

"Up!" She commanded. Hers was the only broom that came up on the first go. Gabrielle's hit her in the face on her second try, then fell back down, and refused to jump up again. Lorelei's didn't even twitch. She smiled, then blushed at the stares.