The Moke, The Sphinx, and The Snidget

Chapter 4: The Rebels

By: GoddessMoonLady

Disclaimer:

GML: Hey everyone! I'm just hanging around with Draco and Sevy today, Harry's off doing something with Hermione.

Draco: snort Why he bothers with the Mudblood is beyond me.

GML: Hey! Hermione's cool! It's the Weasel that's the problem.

Draco: True.

Snape: How many times do I have to remind you?

GML: Oh! My No Own 'HP'. If I did, the Weasel would be dead by now.

Draco: Such a shame.

GML: READ!!!

It's midnight, and everyone at Hogwarts is asleep. Well, everyone except Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy. They're hanging out in an empty classroom as they had been ever since Draco had saved Harry and Hermione from Filtch a couple of weeks ago.

Hermione had transfigured some desks and chairs into furniture for them to relax on. Draco was lounging on a black sofa next to Harry, and Hermione was sitting in a recliner chair with her feet up. They were playing 'favorites' and laughing at each others answers.

"Ok, Dra, favorite food?" Harry asked.

"Mmmm... Meatpies. Doesn't matter what kind, 'Mione?"

"Meatpies are good, but I'm a Muggle-born, Pizza. Harry?"

"French fries. Especially McDonald's. Pizza's good too, but not AS good."

"Pizza? French fries? What the hells that?" Draco looked at his two best friends curiously.

"Muggle junk food. We'll have to get you some. Seriously." Hermione commented grinning.

"Maybe we can sneak down to the kitchen and fix some for us." Harry added thoughtfully.

"Ok, next topic, favorite hobby." Draco leaned back on the couch.

"Hmmm... getting into trouble. And the best way to get into trouble? Pranks!" Harry answered with a grin.

"Agreed." Draco commented.

"I know! I LOVE pranks." Both boys stared at her in shock, "What? Just because I follow the rules doesn't mean I don't like breaking them. That's partly why I bother learning them to begin with."

Harry grinned, "Right. Never thought of it that way."

"Seriously! Don't tell the Weasley twins, but I rather enjoy their ideas and products." Draco commented.

Harry and Hermione nodded.

Suddenly Draco sat up strait, his eyes gleaming excitedly, "Hey, guys, What if we started secretly playing pranks on people here at Hogwarts. No one would ever know it was us!"

Hermione grins, "How would we do that and keep this all a secret, Dra?" The boys looked at each other in thought, "It's simple. We adopt nicknames. And come up with a group name. You know, like a calling card name."

Harry smirked catching on, "We could leave the name behind. People'd go nuts trying to figure out 'who' the mysterious pranksters are! And no one'd guess it was us as we 'hate' each other."

They all grinned. Then Hermione pulled out a piece of paper, "Ok, guys, start naming ideas for a group name."

For the next five minutes they threw out names and Hermione wrote them all down. After they run out of ideas Hermione looks over the list and grins.

"How about we use 'The Rebels' cause in a way that's exactly what we are. Were rebelling against the house rivalries by being friends, the school rules by being pranksters, and everyone's ideas of us by secretly not being what everyone expects." Hermione explained. Harry and Draco grinned.

"That's brilliant 'Mione!"

"Genius!"

Next Hermione suggests they come up with nicknames for themselves.

"All right, now lets think of nicknames for ourselves. How about, Harry be Snake, Draco, you can be Dragon, and I'll be Cat."

"Nah. Too obvious. How about... I be Green, Draco Silver, and you Red?" Harry suggested, Hermione and Draco both wrinkled their noses at this. They kept tossing out names randomly for the next two minutes.

"We need names that show who we are, yet hide us well. Names that we can use easily." Hermione commented.

"Gods 'Mione! You sound like a Sphinx." Harry laughed, Hermione and Draco look at each other. Harry pauses his laughing to look at them. Slowly grins crept across their faces.

"Hermione's Sphinx. It fits! Let's stick to the magic creature idea." Draco suggests.

"Ok, Hermiones' Sphinx. So who am I?" Harry asked leaning back, leaving it to the other two to name him.

Hermione and Draco look at each other for a moment then grined. At the same time, "Snidget!"

"And Draco should be a Moke." Hermione added.

The boys look at her oddly. She rolls her eyes and pulls out a copy of 'Magical beasts and where to find them', not required reading till third year but this is Hermione after all.

"Here." She points to the page and starts to read, "Moke. The Moke is a silver-green lizard reaching up to ten inches in length and is found throughout Britain and Ireland. It has the ability to shrink at will and has consequently never been noticed by Muggles.

"Moke skin is highly prized among wizards for use as moneybags and purses, as the scaly material will contract at the approach of a stranger, just as it's owner did; Moke-skin moneybags are therefore very difficult for thieves to locate. It's perfect for Draco. He's as slippery as they come and is able to almost always avoid trouble, unless he's causing it." Hermione grinned.

"Hey!" Draco whined, but grinned as he knew it was true, "Find yours and Harrys."

Hermione smirked and flicked through the pages till she came to 'Sphinx'. "Sphinx. The Egyptian sphinx has a human head on a lion's body. For over a thousand years it has been used by witches and wizards to guard valuables and secret hideaways. Highly intelligent, the sphinx delights in puzzles and riddles. It is usually dangerous only when what it is guarding is threatened."

"That's our 'Mione!" Harry commented. She reached over and smacked him before returning to her book to read about the Snidget.

"Snidget. The Golden Snidget is an extremely rare, protected species of bird. Completely round, with a very long, thin beak and glistening, jewel-like red eyes, the Golden Snidget is an extremely fast flier that can change direction with uncanny speed and skill, owing to the rotational joints of it's wings.

"The Golden Snidget's feathers and eyes are so highly prized that it was at one time in danger of being hunted to extinction by wizards. The danger was recognized in time and the species protected, the most notable factor being the substitution of the Golden Snitch for the Snidget in the game of Quiditch. Snidget sanctuaries exist worldwide."

"It has to do with Quiditch, It's a fast and skilled flyer, that's Harry all right." Draco grinned, before laughing with Hermione, Harry just shook his head.

"I think this might just work after all." Harry commented grinning.

"Too right it will!" Draco commented before yawning, "Damn, it's late. We should probably be getting off to bed."

"Right. Come on Harry." Hermione stood, the boys following suit. She waved her wand and the couch and chair returned to being a desk and hard chair. They left the room and headed for the stairs.

They paused to say goodnight before heading in their separate directions.

"G'Night Snidget, Sphinx." Draco Commented grinning.

"Good night Moke." Harry and Hermione said together starting up the stairs and to Gryffindor tower.

GML: Well, heres another chapter done! Boy I'm just popping these things out left and right!

Draco: I wish I could 'pop' you.

GML: Oh, your just pissed cause Harry's busy with Hermione today.

Draco: Damn strait I am.

GML: rolls eyes Jealous idiot. Well? What do you all think of this chappy? REVIEW!