**Hello everyone! It's Chapter Five and I must say, this is the lamest chapter I've written so far. I was just kind of writing myself into a dead end in that first day of school and I didn't realize it till five pages later. ;_; *shrug* Live an learn. So fair warning, this chapter is the lame and is just a care of magical creature's lesson. Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe isn't mine. /sigh.**
It was far in the afternoon when Zephyris had her last class. Her shoes carried her along as she traipsed across the field, down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest where a large paddock was. To her left, someone was skipping towards her, whitish blond hair flying everywhere.
"Hullo Zephyris Snape!" called a girl with a blue and bronze tie. Zephyris paused to wait for the girl who knew her name. "Well, you're a fast walker!" the blonde said as she came up beside Zephyris.
"Um" Zephyris started, "do, I…I don't mean to be rude but, have we met?"
The blonde began walking. "No. I just remember your name from the sorting. I'm Luna Lovegood." Luna looked at Zephyris and gave her a wide illuminating smile. Her necklace of bottle caps jounced around her thin neck as they plodded through the grass. "I'm in Ravenclaw."
"I kind of figured with the blue tie." Zephyris replied. "Lovegood…oh you were with Hermione and the others last spring in the ministry!"
Luna nodded, "that I was! We saw the most interesting things there!" she said in a very cheery tone. "I thought you may have recognized my last name because my father is the editor of the Quibbler."
"Ah, that's right." Zephyris nodded. "I knew your last name sounded familiar."
"Have you read it? We have a new 3D issue!" She pointed to some loud looking glasses perched on her head. "We tried smell-o-read but the nose plugs were uncomfortable and any charms we used just made the shops smell horrible."
Zephyris chuckled. "Sounds like a conundrum."
"Well have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Read the Quibbler?"
"Once or twice." Zephyris told her. "I've seen them but I don't really get a chance to read them."
"Well lucky you!" Luna said, "I always have an extra copy!" Luna shoved a brightly colored magazine wrapped in cellophane at Zephyris. "The glasses are inside the cellophane! You're going to love it!"
Zephyris took the magazine and gave it a glance. "101 ways to get rid of Kippulty Bandongers?"
"They are awful little creatures who like to steal shoelaces and hot water."
Zephyris slid the magazine in her book bag. "They sound dreadful." She replied with a stifled giggle as they finally made their way to the paddock. A very tall, well that was an understatement. A downright huge man was standing in the paddock with what looked to be a great handsome hippogriff. The large bearded man was flinging dead ferrets by their tails into the awaiting beak of the silvery beast. Zephyris removed Pen from her pocket and put her inside her book bag where it was safer. The very large man tossed the last of the ferrets into the hippogriff's beak and then walked over.
"Hello there Luna!" he said smiling. He looked at Zephyris. "And you must be Professor Snape's daughter?"
"Yes sir." She said giving a quick curtsey. "I'm Zephyris Snape." She glanced around. Neville was running down as well as a few other Ravenclaw girls and a Hufflepuff boy.
"well good to meet yeh." Hagrid said to her. "come on then!" he called to the students still walking down. "Hurry up now!" When all of the students finally arrived, Hagrid did a quick roll check and then looked them over. "I must admit, I expected more." He looked at Neville. "What about yer housemates? None o' them?"
Neville shook his head. "Just me. Well Zephyris too."
"Right right…" Hagrid mumbled. "Well I guess we better be off then! I've got some great things planned for us this year but first, I'll be needin' yer help feeding the hippocampus. Who knows what a hippocampus eats?"
Zephyris and Luna's hands were in the air immediately. "Luna, give me something." Hagrid said, "then Zephyris."
Luna nodded, "Usually they eat kelp and grass."
"Very right! Ten points to Ravenclaw. Zephyris?"
Zephyris began. "While that is true because hippocampus will eat vegetation, they will also eat fish and octopi. They're omnivores. They'll consider a humanoid if they feel threatened or are in dire need of food."
"Well said! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Hagrid grabbed a few buckets of what smelled like fish and reeds. "We'll be feeding two hippocampi that were rescued and brought here. They're rare, being freshwater and all, and are much less aggressive than their salt water cousins." He began making his way to the lake after shoving a bucket into the arms of the Hufflepuff student, a bucket to Neville, and a bucket to one of the Ravenclaws.
"How old are they, Professor?" Zephyris asked as she jogged up to where he walked.
"Youngins they are." Hagrid told her. "I suspect they were taken from their habitat to breed and be sold but they were being kept in terribly small tanks, the poor things."
"The lake is more than enough room for them, isn't it?" she asked.
Hagrid nodded as they came to the bank of the lake. There was a long pier there that had probably been magically erected for this lesson. It jutted out about a hundred feet, almost to the middle of the lake. "Definitely," he told Zephyris. "So, Snape's daughter, eh? Where've ya been? I've never heard of him havin' a daughter."
She shrugged forlornly. "I've been in Russia during the school year."
"Ah. Igor had been your, er, headmaster?"
"Well, not anymore. He's gone, you know."
"That he is. Not just a Dark Wizard. A bloody coward Dark Wizard."
"It's shameful."
"Aye, it is." Hagrid looked back at the students who were taking their time on the pier. "You all hurry up! You'll be needin to hear this!" They waited for everyone to catch up. "Alright, as I was saying to Zephyris, an adult hippocamp needs at least a half an acre that's twenty feet deep at the shallowest to thrive. We could have a whole herd of them here but since the giant squid also lives here, we'd probably safely have about six or seven. But since we have two, there shouldn't be no problems." Hagrid looked back to make sure everyone was keeping up. "can someone tell me the five distinguishing factors between a saltwater hippocamp and a freshwater?"
Again Zephyris and Luna's hand went up. Neville's did as well and so did the boy from Hufflepuff. Hagrid pointed at the Hufflepuff kid. "You, give me one."
"The skin color of the hippocampus is in the green and blue spectrum for the saltwater and in the brown and black for freshwater. Sometimes they'll have deep muddy greens in freshwater too. "
"Absolutely! Ten points to Hufflepuff! Neville, you?"
Neville shifted his bucket of fish and greenery slop. "Freshwater hippocampus's dorsals on their neck are not rigid like saltwaters and they don't have as many scales towards the dorsal. Most of the scales are on the bottom."
"Very good Neville. Another ten for Gryffindor." Hagrid stopped at the end of the pier. "Any of you Ravenclaws? No? Then Luna, go ahead."
Luna leaned over the railing to look in the inky depths. "Freshwater hippocamps have smaller webbing around their hoof area."
"Correct! Ten to Ravenclaw. I guess you're left Zephyris." Hagrid said as he set his bucket down. "Have at it."
"Freshwater hippocampi are amphibious. Their gills are located behind their front legs. Also if a hippocamp does have wings, which is rare, they will be large and useful in saltwater. They're usually small and decorative in the freshwater variety."
"Very good Zephyris. Twenty points! Now, everyone take grab a fish head or some lakeweed and come to the edge. Go ahead, just grab some. Alright, now these have been trained to come when a horn is blown. Mostly you just have to train them to come to a certain noise. The noise must be made underwater." Hagrid took a very long looking brass tube from his coat and bent far down to where the bottom edge was submerged. He took a deep breath and gave a great blow into the tube. Bubbles exploded from the tube and came to the surface. The sound was a dull noise but all was quiet soon after.
"Just give em a sec." Hagrid said. A few quiet moments passed then suddenly a horse's torso burst from the water. It was a shiny black color with silver flecks. It's mane was a long fin translucent fin that drooped to one side. "Ah, there's one. Where's yer buddy?" Hagrid said to the seahorse. Soon another horse torso burst up. This one was a deep hunter green and seemed to have black stripes. They sniffed at the food in the student's hand. "There, steady. Just hold it flat in your hand." Slowly the black one came up to Luna and gently took the ball of lakeweed in its mouth. Then the green one approached the Hufflepuff and took his fish.
"And that's pretty much it! After they've taken them from each of you and sniffed your hand, they'll know you and they'll know that you'll feed them. That way they're more likely to come to you and less likely to be defensive." Hagrid began tossing the contents of the buckets over the railing and the two hippocamps grazed. Occasionally one would swim up and sniff at a student.
"They're very friendly." Zephyris said as she sat with her legs dangling off the pier. The green hippocamp was knocking her feet around with its nose then nuzzling her hand.
"That they are. Young enough to benefit from people bein' good to em." Hagrid said. "Well we will have a schedule made. They are one of your responsibilities this year. Since there's so much security with you know who and all, you'll be in teams to feed them. Luna, pair with er…Hufflepuff, I'm sorry, I forget yer name. You two Ravenclaws will be paired, and Zephyris with Neville. " Hagrid picked up the buckets. "Zephyris and Neville, you'll be first. Come out and feed them tomorrow. Then Luna's team. Then you two." He said nodding at the two Ravenclaws. "You'll check off the day on the calendar in the paddock. Let's go back and I'll show you how to prepare their food." Hagrid began walking back across the pier with the students following after.
Zephyris walked alongside Neville. "Looks like we'll be spending more time together." She told him as they crossed the pier.
"I don't mind." He told her with a small smile. "Um…Are you feeling better?"
"Me? Oh, from earlier?" she asked. Zephyris ran her hand through her thick curls. "I'm fine." She said. "I guess I'm just homesick."
"For Durmstrang?" he asked.
"I guess." She replied. "Thanks for standing up for me though." She told him. Her mouth spread into a very bright smile. Neville's cheeks went slightly pink but he looked away before she could notice.
"Hey, us Gryffindor have to stick together." He mumbled through his sheepish smile.
Towards the end of the day, Zephyris was still trying to find the words to use with Harry. She'd seen him in the common room but he was busy with homework. Not even Hermione was able to talk with her. She tried to speak with him during dinner but he politely excused himself when she asked to speak with him. Later that evening in the common room he was so immersed with Ron in talking about the upcoming quidditch tryouts that she gave up and slumped down into a chair beside Hermione and Ginny who were doing homework at a table.
"So, nothing yet?" Hermione asked.
"No." Zephyris replied.
"Don't worry." Ginny said to her. "My brother is kind of a jack ass from time to time." She said.
"Your brother?" Zephyris asked, tilting her head quizzically.
"Oh that's right." Hermione laughed, slapping her forehead with her palm. "Zephyris, Ginny is Ron's younger sister. I keep forgetting you're new."
Zephyris said nothing but nodded. She took out a scroll that she'd been working on, a quill, and some ink and began writing. "I'm not going to worry about it anymore." She said. "I'm just going to do my work and keep my head down."
Ginny looked at Hermione then to Zephyris. "You know, " she said, "we can talk if you ever need it."
Zephyris looked up. "Thanks." She said with a smile. "Seriously, thanks." And the dove back into her homework.
For the remainder of the week she did just that. She kept her head down and did her work. During off periods she studied or tended to the hippocampi with Neville. During mealtimes she studied and usually ate alone. Even in the evenings in the common room she kept to herself. Neville mostly sat with her, Hermione engrossed in her own work, her prefect duties, or deep in conversation with Ron and Harry, but even then their conversations were mostly NEWTS and homework.
Nothing at all happened until Saturday morning at Quidditch Tryouts.
**See? way lame. but ch 6 will be better! I promise! don't leaves meh!! XD **
