Okay! I'm baaack! Now, I just want to say thanks to all the reviewers! You guys gave me SOOO many ideas!!! YAAY! So, I decided on going with an animal based on Daeleniel Shadowphyre's Sandrake, which was a very AWESOME creature by the way! Thanks for that idea, and its description!
Sandrake. A small, dragonlike creature about the size of a cat when fully grown. As kits, they're barely the size of an adult human's palm. Their native habitat is hot, hence their tough, leathery hide and beaded scales along the eyeridges, nose, and over the tops of joints. While not precisely rare, very few humans have ever seen a sandrake outside of captivity. Typically you find them living around oases in deserts, their mottled brown and tan colouring helping them to blend in with the sand and rocks. They are often shy of humans, being very intelligent highly empathic, but occasionally will bond with a human they resonate well with; once bonded, they will share their empathic abilities with their human and protect that human with their sharp claws and sharper teeth if threatened. Sandrakes typically eat small rodents like mice, rats, and voles.
So, I modified it a bit in the story, but this is the basis for Ed's 'pet'. It is also based slightly on Anne McCaffrey's fire lizards. All mannerisms this animal may have, however, are directly from my muse, who's asleep right now (he didn't have his coffee this morning). So, yeah, on with the story!
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Harry, this is a—"
"Winged Sandrake!" Ron finished, while Hermione glared at him for interrupting her.
"A what, exactly?"
"Well, if you'd been listening in 3rd year Care of Magical Creatures, you would know, wouldn't you? Hmph. Well, a Winged Sandrake is a small, dragon-like creature. They are rarely seen in the wild because of their exceptional camouflage skills. They can change the color of their hide at will, to a certain extent, though they tend to keep one color. They are shy, but very intelligent, maybe more so than most humans, because of their instincts and ability to sense people's intentions. Sometimes, really young ones in captivity will bond with a human, so that the two can telepathically speak to one another, and share senses," Hermione finished.
"Yeah, my brother Charlie's told me about 'em. He said he'd worked with one before. They can be just as fierce as a dragon if cornered, too. And their blood is almost as magical! It's amazing that you found one, Ed," Ron exclaimed, never taking his eyes off the small, scaled creature curled up in the cage.
"Wow," Harry said, quite astounded at the sight before him. Edward smiled smugly, before lifting up the cage.
"All right, guys, I'm going to bed. We need to get to class tomorrow," He said, making his way to the boys' dormitory. Harry and Ron gathered their chess board and pieces, while Hermione stood up.
Stifling a yawn, she said, " G'night. I'll see you tomorrow."
"G'night, 'Mione," Ron said, echoed by Harry and Edward.
She disappeared into the girls' dormitory and the boys went into the other dorm.
"So, Harry, what do you think the Tournament's going to be like?" Ron asked, eager to talk about the competition.
"Dunno, but it'll be dangerous for sure. I'd like to enter, but Dumbledore said there was an age limit. Wait a minute, ED! You're 18, so you could participate!"
"Yeah, I'm planning to, actually. I probably won't be chosen, but it'll be cool if I was."
"Bloody hell, yeah!"
"But first, I'll have to learn some spells and such, since I don't know any. You guys can help me there, right? I'll need them even if I don't get chosen for the Tournament."
"I think Hermione'll be a better teacher than us, but we'll do all that we can—"
They were interrupted by a soft, mewling sound coming from the cage, almost like a newborn kitten. Edward opened the small door, reaching his left hand in slowly, and letting the small sandrake kit take in his scent. Its eyes opened cautiously, staring at the sight in front of them. Those eyes were the same color as Ed's, stunning amber with flecks of deep brown. Its long, triangular head snaked around Ed's outstretched hand, nudging it, cooing. Edward took that as a sign to pick it up, and did so, gently holding it under its smooth stomach, and lifting it out of the metal cage.
Harry and Ron sat unmoving, looking at the waking sandrake with curiosity and a hint of fear. The little kit was yawning now, displaying a set of tiny, perfectly formed, knife-like teeth. Its tongue stretched out as it yawned, forked like a snake's.
It slowly made its way to Ed's shoulder, stretching its tail around his neck and lying under his shirt on his upper arm. Without warning, its teeth bit deep into Ed's upper arm.
"Wha—" Ed gasped as searing pain jolted up his left arm. Harry and Ron swiftly took out their wands, pointing it at the sandrake, their eyes wide with fear. Edward, getting over the pain quickly, shook his head at them, motioning for them to look at the small creature.
Where it had bit him, there was now a small mark consisting of two dots where the fangs had broken his skin. The sandrake kit itself had wrapped its long neck about Ed's own, its eyes closed again. Even as they watched, the little creature's scales were changing color to a deep gold, just like its eyes. Its wings, which had been folded all this time, unfolded, wrapping around Ed some more. It looked like he had an odd collar of gold scales.
"What just happened here?" Ron asked nervously, his wand still clutched tightly in his hands.
"Um, I think we just saw a Sandrake Bonding Ritual... Ed, are you okay?"
"I guess... I don't feel any different. The bite mark is all that's left, and it didn't even bleed a drop. Now she's asleep again."
"Should you talk to Dumbledore, or something?"
"Not now, maybe tomorrow. I'm fine, guys. Just go to sleep."
"Okay..."
"Damn, now would be a great time for some butterbeer, or fire whiskey. Well, g'night."
And with that, Harry and Ron retired to their own beds, pulling the deep maroon curtains closed to have relative darkness. Ed stayed seated, thinking about what happened.
"Today was... interesting, to say the least," he said to no one in particular, absentmindedly stroking the large golden wing hanging down his neck. "The hell did I get myself into?" he whispered, before lying down gently so as not to disturb the kit sleeping on him. She twisted into a more comfortable position, purring a little.
"Damnit."
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The next morning, Ed woke up to a very strong feeling of hunger. It ripped at him, attacking him, making him faint with weakness. He was very confused, this had never in his life happened to him. It took him a while to remember the events of last night. Then, being the genius that he was, he understood completely.
His sandrake was hungry, and she was relaying her feelings to him, through the bond they now shared. He got up slowly, seeing her on his stomach, wings outstretched. Her small head lifted meekly before falling back down. She yawned, nuzzling into Ed's shirt with soft claws.
Edward picked the little kit gently, setting her on the bed beside him. She looked up sharply, growling, as if saying, "Don't leave me here!"
"Relax, I just need to get dressed," He 'replied', scolding himself for talking to a lizard. When she didn't look away, he smiled, stroking her wings gently. Cooing, she lay back down.
With that, Ed got dressed in his new black robes, finding that they were an inch too short for him. He frowned, they had fit perfectly yesterday! Then, realization struck. He'd had a growth spurt! Quick-thinking as always, Ed picked up his new wand, clapped his hands together, and used a bit of the dark maroon curtains to add an inch to the robes.
A weird feeling of amusement riddled with the sound of bells reached him through the connection that was getting stronger every minute. His kit was laughing at him! Pouting, he picked her up swiftly, plopping her on his shoulders like she'd been the night before. The laughing continued, but the hunger was getting greater. He needed to get her some food, and fast. Taking his wand, and a dark, cloth bag filled with books, he went over to Harry's bed.
"Harry, wake up. It's time to go. Come on!" he said, shaking the poor boy out of bed. Doing the same for Ron, he headed to the common room without waiting for them to actually get out of bed.
"Edward! Good morning," Hermione said, looking up from the book in her lap, "It's nice to see someone else getting up early. Wait, is that—"
"Hermione, meet my Sandrake. She says hi, but I need to get her some food, or I might faint from all the hunger she's sending me," Edward managed to sigh out, wondering if Hermione had understood any of the nonsense he'd just said. Hell, even he didn't quite understand it!
"Edward, she... bonded with you?"
"Yeah, last night. Bit me on the shoulder and all. I woke Harry and Ron already, but I need to get food right now. Want to come, or will you wait for them?"
"I'll sit here forever if I wait for those two. Let's go," she replied, closing her book.
They walked out of the Gryffindor Common room, heading toward the Great Hall for breakfast. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, each grabbing a piece of toast. Ed's kit turned her head away, sending her disgust to Ed.
"Damn, now she's being picky!"
"Ed, they don't eat toast, they eat meat! Try giving her the bacon," Hermione smiled at Ed, who was pouting at the small dragon on his shoulder. The kit snorted out smoke, lifted her wing, and hit Ed on the back of the head. At this, Hermione laughed out loud.
Ed, grumbling, took a piece of bacon, and shoved it into the open mouth of his little lizard. "You like that, do you? At least you like something. Stupid little git—" he stopped as the feeling of satisfaction hit him, radiating from the golden sandrake. She nudged his ear, clearly asking for more food. At this, all his annoyance disappeared, replaced with a very different, warm feeling. She really was cute, the little dragon, his little dragon.
He gave her another piece of bacon, which she snapped up eagerly.
"Ed, you know, I think a lot of people are noticing your... pet," Hermione said, noticing the stares Edward's Sandrake was getting.
"Let 'em, like I care," Ed replied, not looking away from the kit on his shoulder, currently chewing away at a small piece of bacon. The hunger was receding, so he started eating as well.
"Hey, here they come. Harry, Ron! Over here," she said, beckoning for them to come sit down, which they did.
"Damn, Ed, did you have to wake us up that early?" Ron said groggily. His eyes were still only half open, and his hair stuck out at odd angles. Harry looked just about the same, and he nodded, agreeing with his friend.
"What do you mean? It wasn't early! It was 5:30 for crying out loud! You guys call that early?" Ed replied smugly, smirking behind the piece of toast in his mouth.
"I hate you," Ron deadpanned, before reaching for the last piece of bacon on the serving platter. He was stopped by a long, golden neck suddenly stretching out and grabbing the piece of meat, gobbling it down. Fear turned to anger, and he glared at the offending sandrake, seething. "I hate you, too."
Ed snickered as his sandrake held her nose in the air, aloof. She then turned back to Ron, and stuck her forked tongue out at him. Seeing this, Ron crushed the toast in his hand, sending crumbs flying everywhere. Grumbling to himself, he reached for another piece. Hermione giggled through the whole thing, but Harry wasn't paying attention. He'd fallen asleep on the table, head resting on his arms.
Today was going to be a long day.
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So, how'd you like it?? Huh? Huh? This chapter was pretty big- almost 2000 words! Well, I know there wasn't really any action or story line in this chapter, but Ed's Sandrake will probably play a HUGE part in the story, so I needed to introduce her, and of course, have her bond with Ed. I thought it was pretty good, and I'm slowing down the plot a little, to get in all the nitpicky details. I'm taking suggestions on names for the Sandrake, so please tell me your ideas!! Hope to hear from you soon! Bye!! And one more thanks to Daeleniel Shadowphyre for the Sandrake idea! I love it!