Chapter Thirty-Two
Full Moon
After spending all of Sunday morning revising with Cassie, Mia felt she did fairly well in her Wizarding Social Studies test on Tuesday. The rest of the week seemed to rush by in a haze of classes, homework, Quidditch practice, and a hastily rescheduled HEC meeting, and before Mia knew it Friday arrived: the day of the Care of Magical Creatures trip into the Forest. After Potions, Lily and Mia walked down to Hagrid's hut with Hugo; although he was in a different Care of Magical Creatures class to them, today both classes were going into the Forest.
"Now, are we sure this trip is going to be safe?" Hugo said as the three of them walked down the lawn. "I know Hagrid says it's perfectly safe, but... we all know what his perception of danger is like."
"Professor McGonagall wouldn't've okayed it if she didn't think it was safe," Mia reasoned.
"Yeah, Hugo, don't be such a baby," Lily jeered.
"I was just saying!" Hugo protested.
They reached the edge of the Forest to find Hagrid, Professor Edwards and Samuel Wood waiting for them.
"I didn't know you were going to be here, Sam," Lily said, going over to talk to him as the rest of the class started arriving.
"I'm Hagrid's star pupil," Sam shrugged.
"And what's Professor Edwards doing here – what does he know about magical creatures?" Lily demanded.
"That's a bit mean, Lil," Mia said. "I bet he knows loads about dark creatures."
"Exactly," Sam said. "And when we split up, my group needs a teacher so that's Professor Edwards."
"Alrigh' is that all o' yeh?" Hagrid asked, doing a quick headcount. "Sixteen – who's missing?"
Mia looked around. "Ilonka," she said.
"And Emily," Ruby added – she and Emily Bletchley, one of Ilonka's 'sheep' as Mac liked to call them, were both in the other Care of Magical Creatures class with Hugo. "There they are."
Everyone looked where Ruby was pointing and, sure enough, the two Slytherin girls were hurrying down the lawn toward the class.
"Where have yeh two been?" Hagrid demanded as they reached the group.
"Um..." Emily said.
"Your previous teacher couldn't have kept you behind because that teacher was me and I let you go five minutes early," Professor Edwards said.
"We just went down to our dormitory for our waterproof cloaks," Ilonka said defensively. "Sorry we're late, sir."
"Well, at least yeh here now," Hagrid said. "Alrigh', here's the plan fer tonight. We'll go a short way inter the Forest and then split in teh two groups. The two groups will each take a different path through the Forest, meetin' in the middle for the... main event-" here he exchanged a conspiratorial grin with Professor Edwards and Samuel "-an' then the groups will split up again an' finish their circuits. Now, it's important tha' yeh listen to the people in charge o' yeh groups an' yeh do as yeh told. Professor Edwards an' I went in earlier an' put up protective spells teh keep any truly dangerous creatures outta the parts of the Forest we're goin' in teh tonight, but yeh all know there are other creatures in there which could hurt yeh if yeh don't respect 'em. So... any questions? No? Okay – let's sort out groups before we go in. Half o' yeh with me, an' half of yeh with Professor Edwards an' Sam."
The class split into two groups. Lily, Mia and Hugo gravitated toward Samuel and were joined by fellow Gryffindors Kieran and Alexander, as well as Ruby, Ilonka and Emily.
"Ugh!" Lily muttered as Ilonka and Emily came to join them.
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Try sharing a dormitory with them," she said. "I wonder what they're up to..."
"What do you mean?" Mia asked.
"I'm not the only one who didn't buy that waterproof cloak story, right?" Ruby said. "Emily, for one, had her cloak with her in Defence because I knocked it off the back of her chair and she bit my head off."
"Maybe we could switch groups," Lily suggested, but it was too late. The other group – comprised of Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and three Slytherin boys – had already formed around Hagrid.
"Alrigh' let's go," Hagrid said, turning to lead the way. "Stay together an' keep yeh voices down."
The group moved off into the Forest. It was almost instantly darker as they stepped into the tree cover, although sunset was still over an hour away. Lily, Mia, Hugo and Ruby walked with Samuel toward the middle of the group.
"Sam, what will you do when you leave school?" Lily asked as they walked deeper into the Forest, following a rough earthy path. The ground was dappled with small flecks of sunlight which made it through the trees and Mia tried to keep her eyes peeled for any creatures they might see.
"I want to go into mazizoology," Samuel said. "I'm looking into openings at the Mazi Zoo in London, or some kind of conservation work."
"Are you interested in dragons?" Lily asked. "Because I could write to my Uncle Charlie and see if he knows of any jobs going."
"Yeah?" Samuel asked. "Do it – I'd be interested in seeing what it's like."
They had walked for almost ten minutes before they saw anything more interesting than trees full of chattering bowtruckles or flobberworms writhing in muddy ditches. Then Hagrid stopped and pointed silently. What looked like a buzzing black cloud was moving slowly toward them but as it drew closer Mia saw it was made up of tiny, hairy black creatures, humanoid in appearance but with shiny black wings and an extra set of arms and legs. Mia recognised them as doxies.
Professor Edwards cast a powerful shield charm between the class and the doxies, allowing them to get a close look without having to worry about getting bitten. Mia had only seen a doxy once before when Hagrid had brought a stunned one to class last year. It was a completely different thing to see them awake, however.
"Ten points for anyone who can tell me how to fend off a doxy attack," Professor Edwards said. "Mr Finnegan?"
"Stun 'em, sir!" Kieran said enthusiastically. "Can we?"
"Not unless they attack you," Professor Edwards said firmly. "Sorry, Hagrid, I'm hijacking your lesson."
"No, no, hijack away," Hagrid said genially. "Not long til we separate now."
They continued walking as the doxy swarm moved on. They were so far away from the rest of the grounds now that it was almost eerily quiet. The only sounds to be heard were the crunch of the ground beneath their feet and the rustle of the trees being moved by either the wind or unseen creatures. After another five minutes, Hagrid stopped where the path forked.
"Righ', my group follow meh, and the other group follow Sam," he said. "We've got about an hour to sunset so we should be in time."
"In time for what?" Lily asked, but Hagrid and his group had already set off down the left hand fork.
"Do you want to lead and I'll bring up the rear, Mr Wood?" Professor Edwards suggested.
"Alright," Samuel agreed, setting off. "Keep your voices down, everyone – Hagrid says he thinks there's a family of Clabberts living in this part of the Forest and we don't want to scare them."
"What's a Clabbert again?" Lily asked.
"It looks like what you'd get if a monkey bred with a frog," Mia grinned – she'd read her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them several times whilst searching for inspiration for her Fashion Show costume.
"I don't know how you know so much about magical creatures, Mudblood Dursley," Ilonka sneered.
In a flash, Lily drew her wand and squared up to the Slytherin girl. "You want to say that again?" she growled.
"Put your wand away, Miss Potter," Professor Edwards said quickly. "Miss Kallous, how nice of you to volunteer to come and scrub the tables in my classroom at 7pm on Monday. Let's see if a spot of cleaning can clean up your language at all."
The walk continued without further incident for about ten minutes. Before long, Ilonka started complaining that they weren't going to see anything.
"Well we definitely won't if you keep on whining," Lily snapped at her.
"Shh!" Mia hissed at the pair of them. She'd just seen something moving overhead, swinging through the trees and away before anyone had a chance to get a proper look at it. A second, slower creature followed and Mia was able to recognise it as a Clabbert. Its smooth skin was mottled green in colour and it swung through the trees on strong, supple arms. Mia could just about make out its curved horns and sharp teeth before it too was gone.
"Cool!" Hugo said. "That was a Clabbert, right?"
"Yep," Samuel said. "And we know we're safe here because..."
"The pustule in its head wasn't lit up," Mia supplied. "Isn't pustule a disgusting word?"
Several people laughed, and then Samuel chivvied the group on. They'd only gone about a hundred meters along the path when Ruby said,
"Hang on, where are Ilonka and Emily?"
Everyone looked around. Sure enough, the two Slytherin girls had disappeared.
"They were with us just before we saw the Clabberts," Mia said, "because Lily and Ilonka were arguing."
"Then they can't have got far," Professor Edwards said, turning to face the direction they'd come. "I'll go and find them. The rest of you stay here with Mr Wood."
"I hope they get eaten by something," Lily said darkly. "Hey, Sam, is it full moon tonight? D'you reckon there are werewolves in here?"
Alexander looked alarmed at this suggestion, but Samuel dismissed it quickly. "It is full moon, but do you really thing Hagrid would've brought us in here if there were werewolves?" he demanded. "Besides, Professor Edwards put up protective enchantments around this part of the Forest to keep it safe. I'm just worried about how long this'll take – I won't forgive those two if we're late and we miss it."
"What's 'it'?" Lily asked curiously, but Samuel refused to tell her.
Almost ten minutes passed before they heard footsteps approaching. Thirty seconds later, Professor Edwards returned, marshalling a somewhat subdued Ilonka and Emily before him.
"What were they doing?" Samuel asked.
"Harvesting mushrooms," Professor Edwards said. "I'm just glad I got there before you ate any – don't the pair of you have any sense?"
"We knew they weren't poisonous!" Ilonka protested. "We had the magazine – oh, sir, we left my magazine behind!"
"Well, you're not going back for it," Professor Edwards said firmly. "If you still had it, I would've confiscated it. I'll be asking Professor Hawksworth to keep a closer eye on your reading material. Hallucinogenic mushrooms!"
"Proper magic ones, not just Muggle crap," Ilonka muttered under her breath, although Mia suspected Professor Edwards didn't quite catch her words.
"I don't want to hear another word out of either of you until we get back to the castle and I hand you over to Professor Hawksworth," Professor Edwards said firmly. "Now, we've wasted enough time with your antics. Let's get on. Miss Kallous, walk with me. Miss Bletchley, go and walk with Mr Wood."
The two of them did as they were told and the group moved on again. They walked in near silence for about ten minutes before a sudden cry made them all jump.
"What the hell was that?" Hugo demanded, remembering to keep his voice down.
Samuel said nothing, beckoning them on silently. As they progressed along the path, the low throbbing cry grew louder and louder until Samuel brought the group to a stop. He pointed through the ticket and Mia thought she could just about make out a tear shaped nest.
"It's an Augrey," Samuel told them. "Makes that noise when it's about to rain. It won't come out til it's chucking it down, though, so we'd better get on."
As they continued to walk, Mia felt the occasional drop of rain but the tree cover sheltered them from the worst of it. Finally, almost an hour after they'd parted ways with Hagrid's group, they began to hear quiet chatter. Then the path rounded a corner and they came across the other group sat in a long row on some kind of tarpaulin, facing toward a clearing.
"About time!" Hagrid said. "I was about to send out a search party! Wha' happened?"
"I'll tell you later," Professor Edwards said grimly. "Sit down, everyone. Miss Bletchley, stay with Mr Wood, and Miss Kallous, sit right there and don't move."
"Quickly, an' no talking at all now," Hagrid added as Samuel's group scrambled to find places on the tarpaulin.
Mia sat down between Lily and Hugo and waited. She could see the cloudy sky above the clearing now. This must be where the 'main event' was happening, but what was it?
The full moon came out from behind a cloud, and all at once things began to happen. All around the clearing, pale grey creatures began to appear. They had big bulging eyes and walked on four spindly legs. Mia recognised them from her Fantastic Beasts book as Mooncalves from their enormous flat feet. The class watched with baited breath as the dozen or so Mooncalves rose onto their hind legs and began to dance.
The dance was the most weirdly beautiful thing Mia had ever seen. It lasted for about fifteen minutes and then, as quickly as they'd come, the Mooncalves disappeared – whether into burrows or into the undergrowth Mia was never sure. The silence lasted a moment or two longer and then Hagrid spoke.
"There!" he said proudly. "What d'yeh think of that, then?"
The exclamations came in from all sides:
"Amazing!"
"Epic!"
"Weird, in a good way."
"Or good in a weird way."
"Righ', we best be off, then," Hagrid said.
Everyone got up, complaining of pins and needles. Hagrid rolled up the tarpaulin and strapped it to his back, then called for his group to follow him down the path Mia's group had come up. Professor Edwards marshalled his group back into formation, with Samuel and Emily leading the way, himself and Ilonka bringing up the rear, and Ruby and the five Gryffindors sandwiched in the middle.
The journey back was far less eventful that the way out, a mischievous imp tripping Samuel up notwithstanding, and they reached the place where the paths joined a couple of minutes before Hagrid's group. When they emerged from the Forest, Professor Edwards escorted the whole group up to the castle. They parted ways in the Entrance Hall, with Professor Edwards taking Ilonka and Emily down to the dungeons to look for Professor Hawksworth, and the rest of them heading up to the Inter-House Common Room to fill their friends in on their foray into the Forest.