Chapter 3: Of Rescues And Companions
No POV
It was a day or so later and in the Hufflepuff dormitory, Joshua Lynch and James Keddle slowly came to upon the sun beaming through the dorm windows, and to the smell of breakfast being made in the kitchens right next door.
"Oh man, that is the best thing to wake up to." Joshua groaned as he stretched his limbs.
"I wonder if we'll see any of the house elves…" James hummed as he got up.
"The what?" Josh asked as they got dressed.
"They're basically elves that serve witches and wizards via magical binding." James explained.
"Slavery or symbiosis?" The taller Hufflepuff asked with a frown, not liking what he heard so far, but wanted to see if there was more to what he was hearing.
"A bit of both. The house elves need magic from a witch or wizard to live and in return, they do work around whatever dwelling they live in." James explained. "Though a lot of pure blood families just treat them like slaves." He amended.
"Of course they do…" Joshua grunted in displeasure.
"Not here at Hogwarts, though, from what I hear the Elves love it here, and they enjoy taking care of the students too." Karkus replied. "In fact, one of them happens to play Wizard's Chess with myself and my best mate's little brother Loki McCloud." He added.
"Well, that's something I can be okay with." Joshua hummed as he finished getting dressed. "Also, is Loki in Hogwarts, too?" He asked.
"Yeah, he's my pal Baldur's younger brother, he's in Ravenclaw and Baldur's in Gryffindor." The Prefect replied as the entered the common room after getting dressed. "Say, didn't you guys say you were friends with that Prince kid?" He asked.
"Cadmus? What about him?" Josh asked.
"Well he seems like a good person to ask about house elves, since his family has like four of them." Karkus replied.
"… Wait, Cad's a pureblood?" Joshua uttered, clearly confused.
"You didn't know?" James blinked.
"I thought he was half-blood, like you and Ginny." The taller boy replied.
"No, no, his family's related to one of the Noble 50 Pureblood Families in America, the Kenways. Their lineage stretches back to the foundation of Hogwarts, they used to be part of the list of Pure Blood families in Wales—but were struck from it after one of their members, Haytham, moved to America and married a Native woman." Karkus replied.
"Wow. Just… Wow." Was all Joshua could say in exasperation.
"Yeah, so his family has always been the "ugly duckling" of the pureblood community, other than the Weasleys…" The blonde nodded. "But honestly, who gives a troll's arse about that?" He questioned.
"Not me, I can tell you that much." The taller Hufflepuff nodded.
"What're you guys talking about?" Ginny questioned, rolling onto the couch and laying across Joshua's lap.
"Stuff I didn't know about Cad before." The boy in question replied.
"You boys always make a mountain out of a niffler hole, I'm sure he would've told you eventually." The ginger told him.
"Hey, I'm still new to all this. I have a lot to learn about." Joshua deadpanned as he looked down at her.
"Oh… Right." Ginny chuckled sheepishly, forgetting where Joshua came from.
"Looks like your 'best friend' has some explaining to do." Karkus chuckled.
(Elsewhere)
Cadmus POV
"AH CHOO!" The bespectacled Ravenclaw sneezed as he caused the table he was sitting to nearly fall over.
"Whoa, are you okay?" One of his housemates asked, surprised by how violent his sneeze was.
"Yeah… Someone's probably just talking about me." The boy groaned as he took a trio of fresh green leaves from his pocket and put them in a vial. "Now I just need to get these to the guys." He muttered.
"Get what to the guys?" A voice asked, causing the boy to jump and bang his knee on the table.
"Merlin's beard, Lavender! Don't fucking do that!" He barked, gritting his teeth as he held his knee, causing him to drop his vial.
"Oh! Sorry!" The girl winced when she heard something made of glass hit the floor. Picking it up, she looked and saw the leaves inside. "These are mandrake leaves." She noted.
"You don't need to worry about what they're for." Cadmus told her as he took the leaves back.
"You're not planning on using them to do something that'll break the school rules, are you?" Lavender questioned sternly.
"What? No!" Cadmus yelped with wide eyes at her stern tone. "... They're for Animagus potions." He caved. "There's no law against first years becoming animagi, just that no one our age has ever really tried it before because it's really advanced—so I decided to take up the challenge." He explained.
"That's really dangerous." The girl stated.
"Do I look intimidated?" The boy asked rhetorically.
"No, and I can't tell if that's a sign of confidence, bravery, arrogance or stupidity." The young witch responded.
"No animagus potion for you, then." Cadmus mock huffed.
"Whoa, hey, let's not be hasty!" Lavender backpedaled. She wanted to become whatever her inner animal was since she found the idea very fun… Even with all the bureaucratic crap that came with it.
"Then don't give me attitude." The Ravenclaw boy told her.
(Later)
Joshua POV
Afternoon breakfast was over, Josh and James made their way to their first class of the day, that being Magic History—which the two had heard was exceedingly boring—while Cadmus handed them the Mandrake leaves, and put his under his tongue.
"What's with the leaves?" James asked.
"It's for a potion I'm concocting for us. Put it in your mouth, but don't swallow it." Cadmus replied prompting him to do exactly that.
"How long do I need to keep this up?" The taller Hufflepuff questioned as he eyed his leaf.
"A month." The herbalist of the group replied, recognizing what the potions expert was doing.
"... Great…" Joshua groaned as he did the same… and actually felt the leaf stick itself to the roof of his mouth, filling it with a rather strange—but not unpleasant—taste of Mint and Camomile. "... Huh. The flavor is actually pleasant." He noted.
"Could do without the numbness, though." James muttered.
"Don't worry. It'll all be worth it in a month." Cadmus assured them as they arrived at their history class.
…
Only for them to immediately fall asleep a quarter of the way through Professor Binns' lecture on the foundation of the first magical government in Europe during the Roman Empire.
Suffice to say, Joshua was gonna mark that class as number two on his least liked classes list.
Number one went to potions.
(Later)
James POV
"Astronomy was never something that I ever found an interest in, I'll be honest." The elder Keddle twin noted as they were now in the Astronomy Tower later that evening. "I prefer to keep my interests here on the ground." He added.
"I dunno what you're complaining about. The view up here is amazing." Joshua smiled as he looked out the window.
"Pieces! I can see my birth constellation!" Cadmus exclaimed, looking through his telescope.
"Your constellation is a fish? That's ironic, considering that you're named after a snake." Josh stated.
"Oh yeah? And what's yours?" The potion specialist challenged.
"Scorpio." The taller teen stated, causing Cadmus to shiver.
"Urgh, I hate Scorpions. They give me the hibby jibbies." He shuddered.
"Oh please. I know there are some people in the muggle world that keep scorpions as pets." Joshua scoffed.
"Are they mad?!" The bespectacled Ravenclaw questioned in disbelief. "Do you know what a person gets if they're caught raising Orion Scorpions without proper documentation?" He questioned. "A month long sentence is Azkaban and a two hundred Galleon fine." He stated.
"Azkaban? And what's an Orion Scorpion?" The taller Hufflepuff questioned.
"Oh, right." Cadmus sighed. "Azkaban is reserved for the worst of the worst in the wizarding world, guarded by soul sucking ghouls called Dementors. If you feel a chill and see a figure in a black cloak gliding your way, that's them." He explained.
"It's creatures like that which make me regret attracting magical creatures." Joshua shivered, not that James blamed him Dementors were horrifying to behold.
"Orion Scorpions, meanwhile, are a newly discovered—well rediscovered is probably more accurate—species of giant Scorpions native to Greece and what was originally Persia. They're typically the size of a car and the biggest ones can be as big as a train." James explained. "They were thought to have been extinct—hunted to extinction by Alexander the Great and King Darius—but as recently as a couple years ago, the famous Magizoologist Newt Scimander found a population of them in Turkey and now they're critically endangered." He added.
"Well those things aren't in the muggle world." Joshua stated. "At least, none that I've heard of." He amended. "The ones that are kept as pets in the muggle world are ones found there and can fit in the palm of your hand from what I recall, but that's about it." He explained.
"Oh, so normal ones." The pure blood boy nodded in realization.
It was then that their Professor Aurora Sinistra entered the room.
"Alright everyone." She told them. "Let's do some stargazing." She added, clapping her hands.
(Timeskip)
It was the following day and now students from all four houses were having their first flying lesson with Madam Hooch.
"Flying… Why do I love flying so much?" Joshua wondered aloud.
"Because it's awesome?" Cadmus chuckled.
"… Yeah, that's probably it." Josh nodded.
"Bit simple if you ask me." James hummed.
"Good afternoon, everyone." Hooch nodded. The woman herself looked to be in her elderly years, around her late forties to early fifties. She had short gray hair, brown eyes and was wearing what looked like dark blue robes.
"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch." Everyone said in response.
"Today, we'll be going over flight training, starting with the basics." The woman began, gesturing to the brooms at their feet. "First and foremost, you'll learn how to summon your broom. Hold out your hand–palm down– and firmly say "up"." She instructed.
"Up!" Everyone started saying as their brooms either went straight into their hands, rose slowly, only rolled around on the ground, or just outright didn't move at all.
Lavender's broom, for example, was a case of the latter.
"Up! Up. Up." The girl said repeatedly, her voice becoming more and more stern with each repetition.
"Up!" Cadmus barked at his broom, which caused it to swing up and knock him right in the nose, knocking his glasses off. "Shut up, Josh." The boy muttered as his taller friend seemed to be stifling a laugh.
"Okay, everyone mount your brooms." Hooch told her students, prompting them to do as instructed. "Now I want you to kick off from the ground hard, then go into the air, then hover for a moment, before touching back down." The woman instructed.
The students did as told and kicked the ground, hovering into the air. Some fumbled around in the air, Cadmus and Joshua being among them. The former was able to get a handle on his broom with the latter following a few seconds later.
However, right as Ginny was about to touch down, her broom started acting erratically and then suddenly flew off with her still on it!
"Ginny!" Joshua and James yelled in alarm as the taller boy quickly flew after her on impulse, Hooch following as well.
"Mr. Lynch, be careful! She could hit you!" The flight instructor exclaimed.
"I'm not scared of that risk!" The boy called back as he got closer to Ginny.
"AAAAAAAH!" The teal eyed ginger screamed as she was hurled around by her own broom while it took her for a deathly ride all around the grounds.
"CRAP!" Joshua yelled in panic as he sped after her as fast as he could. Thankfully, it was more than enough since he was able to grab her before she could hit the ground.
Once the tall Hufflepuff had a firm grip on the redhead, he went back to the ground.
"You okay?" He asked gently as he tried to calm his heart.
"Urg, I think I'm gonna be sick." The girl groaned as Madam Hooch landed beside them.
"Come on, let's get you checked up." She told the girl. "Everyone to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take miss Keddle to the hospital wing. If I see a single broom in the air—the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say Quidditch." The woman stated as she walked away with Ginny in tow.
As if on cue, Marvolo Rosier stepped forward, his two cronies flanking him as he watched Ginny go with clear disdain.
"Did you see her face? I bet if that plumb hipped tart decided to jump, she would've landed fine because she'd probably land on her fat arse." He sneered, causing Snider and Garf (his cronies) to snort.
"Oi, watch it! That's my sister you're talking about!" James snapped.
"Or what? Gonna throw flowers at me, call a few birds over? Face it Keddle, you and your sister are nothing but a joke." Marvolo spat back.
James looked like he was about to draw his wand when Josh beat him to it by punching the Slytherin boy to the ground and getting on top of him before he pulled his wand out and pointed it right in the kid's face.
"One more fucking word out of your goddamn mouth, and I will roast your ass like a Thanksgiving turkey, you fucking hear me?!" The boy barked.
"Okay, okay! You win!" The bully caved, if only to get him to stop.
"Good!" Joshua hissed, putting his wand away.
"Prick." Cadmus muttered.
(Timeskip)
It was now a week later and the boys were now waiting for Dumbledore and McGonnigal on the school grounds.
"So what're you two here waiting for?" Cadmus asked.
"Magical Beasts tutor, you?" Josh questioned.
"Potions tutor, believe it or not." The bespectacled boy nodded.
"Why do I get the feeling that Dumbledore's already privy to our little project?" James wondered aloud.
"Given how old he is, it wouldn't surprise me if he saw through us and decided to subtly help out." The tall Hufflepuff mused.
"Agreed." The shorter Hufflepuff nodded.
As the three were talking amongst themselves, they soon took notice of not just Dumbledore and McGonnigal heading their way, but also Hagrid and two other people Josh didn't recognize, but evidently, James did.
"Professor Horus Slughorn? And Newt Scamander?" The boy blinked in surprise.
"Wait, Scamander? As in "Fantastic Beasts" Newt Scamander?" Cadmus questioned.
"Uh, fill me in?" Joshua blinked, lost in what was going on once more.
"Greatest magical zoology expert in history, order of Merlin and huge deal in that community. Our textbook? It was written by him." James whispered.
"... Oh." Was all Joshua could utter.
"Well, boys! Yeh ready for ya first lesson?" Hagrid beamed at the three.
"You know it!" Cadmus grinned, the other boys nodding in agreement.
"Then let's get started!" Hagrid exclaimed with a laugh.
(Later)
Cadmus POV
"Merlin's Beard, you certainly seem to know your potions, Mr. Prince." Horus chuckled after giving the boy a brief pop quiz that he easily aced.
"It pays to have a family who knows their stuff." The boy chuckled.
"Well now…" The man hummed as they entered the potions classroom. "Tell me something, seeing as you're already learning at a faster rate than most first years, how would you like to learn to make some more advanced potions?" He asked.
"I already have one picked out. The Animagus Potion." The boy grinned in reply. "Me and my friends already have some Mandrake leaves in our mouths for the first portion." He added.
"Oh Ho… Alright then. I suppose it'd be best if I showed you the correct way to brew it then, and maybe, if you'll allow—I could help you brew some useful second year level potions." The man suggested.
"I'll take that offer." Cadmus nodded in reply.
(Elsewhere)
James POV
"So, what do you have planned for me today, Hagrid?" The blonde asked as he was led past the castle towards a patch of woods between it and the forbidden forest.
"I got something you'll love." The giant told him in reply with a grin as they neared an opening in the trees.
The half giant then whistled for something, which then caused a giant three headed dog to come bounding out of the wood.
"James, I'd like you to meet Fluffy." The man smiled.
"A cerberus?!" James gasped in delight. "He's adorable!" He exclaimed, rushing up to meet the three headed hound and start scratching his three heads.
The giant triple headed dog was very appreciative of this, all three heads panting happily in response to James' affection.
"Well, you definitely have a good touch with magical beasts." Hagrid nodded with a smile.
"I can talk to them pretty well. I'm surprised that you even have a dog like this." The blonde noted.
"I won 'im from some stranger I met in a pub not long after becoming the game's keeper." The half giant told him.
"Was that person good to this big fella?" James questioned.
"Of course. Fluffy wouldn't be as healthy as he is otherwise." The giant chuckled in reply.
"Well, he's certainly a good boy." The first year smiled as he continued giving Fluffy affection.
"Good te hear." Hagrid smiled. "Now, let's get to teaching you how to handle beasts that're excited or frightened." He nodded.
"Let's get to work." James nodded with an eager grin.
(Elsewhere)
Joshua's POV
Joshua blinked as he stood at some pens for magical creatures near the Care for Magical Creatures area. What he was looking at specifically were small, round and furry creatures with the biggest adorable eyes he had ever seen. They also lacked any arms, legs, or even a tail.
"Okay, as cute as these are, what are they?" He asked, looking at Newt.
"These are Puffskeins. They're some of the most common pets in the magical world." The man replied.
"I can see why. They're cute." The boy nodded as he looked at the small creatures, who he noticed were all looking right at him.
There was a lot of interest in their gazes, likely due to the boy's gift.
"I figured they would be a better starting point, in comparison to your past encounters, if what I heard about you is true." Newt nodded.
"Thanks." The boy nodded. "So what can you tell me about Magical creature commonality and rarity? Anything of particular note?" He questioned.
"I can give you a brief list of examples from most common to rarest if you'd like." The Magizoologist offered.
"I'll take that list." Joshua nodded in reply.
(Later)
No POV
Later that evening, Hagrid and Newt were walking James and Joshua home after their lessons were done for the day. The two boys were chatting about what they'd done on their ends of things as they walked.
"So, you were introduced to some Puffskeins, yeah?" James noted.
"Yeah." Josh nodded.
"I love those little guys. So fluffy." The blonde chuckled.
"Yeah. If my mom saw them, she'd want one adopted." Joshua chuckled as well.
"If only they were allowed in the muggle world…" Newt mused, letting out a chuckle of his own.
"So hey, Josh." James whispered as he and Joshua fell behind so they couldn't be heard.
"What's up?" The taller boy asked.
"I had this weird dream last night of a camp at the west edge of the forbidden forest, and it involved a baby Hippogriff being scared and abused by a pack of poachers." The blonde explained.
"Weirdly enough, I had a dream in the same area, but with a Phoenix being assaulted by poachers, too." Joshua whispered back, completely confused and concerned by the implications.
"Think Cadmus also had a similar dream?" James whispered.
"We'll ask when we're back at the castle." The tall Hufflepuff replied quietly.
"What are you two talking about back there?" Newt questioned as he glanced back at them.
"Nothing important." James replied.
Before the magizoologist could say anything, he had to dodge an incoming spell from a poacher!
"Get 'em, boys!" The poacher exclaimed as five more poachers appeared.
"Oh for the love of—YEET!" Josh groaned before yelping as he dove behind a tree to avoid a Stupify strike.
"What are poachers doing this close to Hogwarts?!" James exclaimed as he sent a basic cast at a poacher before joining Joshua in cover.
"No idea!" The taller boy replied. "Here goes nothing—Confringo!" He yelled as he rolled out from behind his cover—before casting a fire charm that sent several poachers flying back with an explosion.
"Helga's bosom! You know the Blasting Curse?!" James questioned as he started joining Josh and Newt in basic casting while Hagrid took to beating with his bare fists.
"Cadmus taught me! Apparently he spent all the summer before school practicing with a second hand wand of his dad's—and knows a lot of different spells!" The boy called back. "Levioso!" He exclaimed, causing several poachers to float. "Accio!" He continued, bringing them to him.
"Repulso!" James called, sending them flying into tree branches neck first with a point blank repulsing charm.
"Yeah!" The two boys cheered, doing a double high five.
"Now what in the world could cause a bunch o' nobody poachers to attack us?" Hagrid wondered as he dusted his hands off.
"No idea, but we should give the headmaster a heads-up. Something has to be done about this." Newt stated seriously.
"Agreed." The boys nodded.
(Timeskip)
Cadmus POV
"Well you were certainly able to follow directions on creating the baseline Animagus potion very well." Slughorn noted as he and Cadmus walked together.
"I had a lot of practice with potions in general, so this was easy, really." Cadmus shrugged. It wasn't a boat, but rather a simple fact about himself.
"I can keep this between us for now, but I will have to inform Albus—Professor Dumbledore about what you're attempting." The potions master told him. "For your own safety, of course." He amended.
"Fair enough, I guess." The boy shrugged.
It was at that point they crossed paths with Newt, Hagrid, Joshua and James. The four looked like they'd gotten into a fight with someone or something.
"What happened to you guys?" Cadmus asked with a blink.
"Long story." James sighed, popping his back.
"Don't ask." Josh groaned as he twisted his neck to relieve a crick in it. "Thanks for teaching me the blasting curse, by the way. Really saved my bacon." He added.
"I can tell just by that that some kind of ambush happened." The potions expert noted.
"And a tedious one at that." Josh nodded.
"Well boys, we best be off to give our progress reports to Professor Dumbledore. So you better return to your common rooms." Newt told them.
"Right." The three boys nodded as they left.
As they did, James brought up the dreams he and Josh had with Cadmus. This made him perk up as he spoke.
"I had one in the exact same area as you guys. Mine involved some kind of snake, though." He told them.
"… This is too specific to be a coincidence." Joshua stated.
"Agreed, it has to be some sort of sign." James nodded, right as Cadmus spun on his heels and faced them mid step.
"Well then, I guess that leaves us with only one option, wouldn't you say, lads?" He stated, his Welsh accent peaking through.
"How do you mean?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, I don't follow." James nodded.
"The path, my dear Hufflepuff compatriots, is obvious—we need to investigate!" The Ravenclaw boy stated.
"... Oh no… Here comes an impromptu adventure…" The taller Hufflepuff sighed, now seeing the writing on the wall.
"Come on, lads! I know just where to go!" The shorter boy said, wand in hand. "Tally-Ho!" He cheered, zipping off.
"What have we walked into…?" James sighed.
"Something that I wish happened a month later, at least…" Joshua groaned in reply as the two followed their Ravenclaw friend.
(Later)
Josh POV
"Alright, gents, before we head in, there're a few spells I want to show you both so that we can do this without getting our heads blown open like a bunch of pumpkins." Cadmus said as they reached the Forbidden Forest.
"And those are…?" Joshua questioned.
"The disillusionment charm, disarming charm, revealing charm, stationary levitation charm, the fire charm and lastly the explosion spell." The shorter boy replied, tossing them a book. "Stunning Book of Spells, I have a copy but Lavender lent me a more up to date one." He added.
"Alright, let's see what we got…" The tall Hufflepuff muttered as he opened the book, James using the Lumos spell for light.
Cadmus, meanwhile, whistled slightly—before a male house elf with green eyes who was wearing a rather nice looking suit made of old pillowcases that was patterned blue and black, and very dapper tie and top hat as well—one with a Hippogriff feather in the band.
"Pip! Just the Elf I wanted to see." The bespectacled boy beamed cheerfully.
"What does Master Prince need of Pip?" The house elf questioned dutifully.
"Aw come on, Pip. I gave you that hat and tie so that you wouldn't have to call me master, remember? Just Cadmus is fine." Cadmus told him.
"Pip knows, but it's just easier for Pip to call you Master Prince." Pip replied.
"Alright." The bespectacled boy said as his friends closed the book and started practicing the spells—James getting the charms down pretty well, and Josh seemingly becoming a master of the disillusionment charm.
"Wow, you're basically invisible, I can't see even an outline." The blonde muttered.
"Petrificus Totalus." Josh whispered from behind the boy, causing him to lock up and fall down face first like a board. "Hello Assassin build…" He muttered.
'I think I just created the sneakiest boy in the school…' Cadmus thought with a sweatdrop. "Uh, Josh? Mind undoing that?" He requested.
"Got it." He nodded, doing so.
"Anyway, Pip." The brunette said, facing his elf again. "These are my friends Josh and James." He told Pip. "We're gonna need great grandpa Connor's Nab Sack. You got it on you?" He asked.
"Of course." The house elf nodded as he apparated elsewhere for a moment and returned another moment later. "Here you go." He said, giving the boy the specified object.
"Thanks, Pip." The boy nodded as the elf tipped his hat and disappeared. "Been with my family for four generations—best pal a guy could ask for." He stated, slinging the sack under his arm.
"What's that sack good for?" Joshua questioned as the trio resumed their trek.
"It's a Nab sack, what, Mr. Scimander didn't tell you?" Cadmus questioned.
"… Now that you mention it, he did mention something about that." Josh nodded. "So, what? We gonna hold the creatures we save in there?" He asked.
"At least until we can find somewhere safe to put them, yeah." His friend nodded.
"Brilliant." James nodded.
"Okay, let's see what our visions have pointed us at." The taller Hufflepuff said.
A few minutes later, they heard the sound of a bird's cry and spells being called out, prompting the boys to investigate. Activating their disillusionment charms, they crept on the area the commotion was coming from. The closer they got, the clearer the bird cries became.
James recognized them.
"Those are phoenix cries!" He gasped as they reached the scene, and sure enough, they found three poachers harassing a phoenix.
"I'll sneak up on them. I'll take down one, you two take the others." Joshua said as he snuck up on the three poachers, their target falling to the ground, exhausted.
As the three criminals laughed, Joshua quickly petrified one. He soon learned he overpowered it, since there was a blast effect that took down the other two at the same time.
"... Or I could accidentally take all three down. Joshua blinked as he became visible again and looked at the Phoenix while his friends joined him.
"Yeah, that's conve–" James started to say before he looked at the fire-based creature and gasped sharply. "T-T-T-That's…!" He stammered in shock.
"A blue phoenix…!" Cadmus uttered in surprise. "Exceedingly rare. You know how rare blue lobster and crayfish are? Same deal." He explained to Josh. "My Great Great Grandfather Haytham encountered one when he used to be a part of the Masons—but that one was male." He hummed.
"And this one is obviously female." Josh nodded, taking out his wand. "Alohomora." He intoned, causing the cage to open.
Cautiously and tiredly, the rare creature stepped out of her cage and fell over, only for Joshua to catch her. Then he hefted her into a gentle embrace, stroking her head.
"Ssshhhhh. You're safe now." He told her gently, trying to ease her nerves.
The phoenix let out a tired but grateful chirp, the song causing Joshua to feel a sense of peace.
"Merlin's beard!" Cadmus exclaimed as Josh put the phoenix in the nab sack. "This case has a phoenix, dragon and a Basilisk egg in it!" He exclaimed as he opened a case one of the poachers had.
"What?!" James exclaimed in shock.
"I'm placing these in the nab sack, you two start looking around for any other creatures in need of rescue." He told them.
"Right." James and Cadmus nodded as they continued onward.
(Later)
Cadmus POV
"Okay, let's see what we have… Here." The boy said as he started looking around the camp, and came upon something of interest. "Merlin's Beard…" He uttered.
In a small stone pen were several tiny snakes of varying colors of green and silver, with characteristics of a viper and Titanoboa, and also seemed to be larger than most baby snakes.
These were baby basilisks, but from what Cadmus could see, they weren't pure bred ones—if he had to guess they'd likely been crossed with some non venomous snakes—Boa constrictors and King Snake, he figured.
This was because their eyes didn't match the descriptions he was familiar with—as they reminded him more of the eyes of Ball Pythons—and they lacked Venom fangs, instead having rows of serrated recurved teeth—good for gripping and ripping.
One of them stood out, however.
Said odd one looked to be an Albino basilisk with white and pink scales and colorations due to absence of pigmentation; dull, blank rose quartz colored eyes due to suspected blindness, possibly no venom glands like the rest of his clutch being bred with non venomous snakes—though he did still have fangs along with the Python-like teeth, and his eyes were like that of normal basilisks…
But likely due to him being blind, he wouldn't be able to kill anyone by looking at them.
"Ooh, the ministry is gonna tear these guys apart…" Cadmus muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Taking the little one up in his arms, he took the box and started heading back to the others.
"It's alright little pals, I won't hurt you." He told the hatchlings, attempting to settle them down amidst their surprised and indignant hisses.
It was then that chaos was heard among what poachers remained in the camp, and Cadmus peered out to see them dropping like flies as James distracted them and allowed Joshua to take them down without being noticed..
All while a few were being kicked clear across the camp by a rather Irate looking—rare—pure white baby Hippogriff.
"Guessing that's what James ended up finding." He mused as he went to join them.
(Elsewhere)
James POV
Right around the same time Cadmus found the basilisks, James was also finding some beasts.
As he looked around, he found some captured Hippogriffs in cages.
"Hey, you guys want out?" He whispered, getting their attention.
The flying creatures in question seemed to squawk and call from their cages as he set them free.
Inside were a male and female pair with a single baby.
The female seemed to be a pure white hippogriff with the male being a regal looking obsidian black colored one.
The baby was a white female like her mother but had black hair on her back horse half as well.
"Well come on then, this way." He told them as they followed.
(Later)
No POV
"Yeah, I found these three hippogriffs." The blonde nodded as everyone regrouped. "This is Brightwing, Nightfury and Nightlight." He added.
"I found some non-lethal Basilisks over there." Cadmus nodded, jutting a thumb at the stone pen.
"Jeez, these guys were up to shady stuff, and so close to Hogwarts, too." Joshua remarked.
"Quite." The voice of Minerva McGonagall commented, causing them to turn—or jump in Cadmus's case—and see the woman herself walking up to them. "I had been informed by Peeves that you three had gone off on a very unauthorized excursion. Care to explain so I can figure out how many points to take?" She questioned sternly.
"Merlin's beard, professor! Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" The bespectacled boy said.
"Damn that nosy poltergeist…" James muttered.
"It was the result of some visions the three of us had, and all three of them pointed us here." Joshua explained. "Those visions had a different magical creature for each of us. Cadmus' was a mutated Basilisk, James' was a Hippogriff, and mine–" He continued as he opened up the nab sac, allowing the Blue Phoenix to fly out and land on his shoulder. "Was this Phoenix." He finished, the Transfiguration Professor now sporting a shocked look.
"... Well… I won't deny that the outcome is definitely a good one– Especially since I've never seen a Blue Phoenix before." She admitted after regaining her composure. "Still, I'll be taking twenty points from Ravenclaw and forty points from Hufflepuff—twenty each—for this act." She continued, getting resigned groans from the boys. "However, if you three would kindly help me look for evidence of these poacher's activities, I'll see to it that you'll all be rewarded for your work." She added further.
"Shit…" Cadmus muttered. 'Good thing I got eighty points in the last flying class…' He thought.
"I can work with that." James nodded as Nightlight nudged him, prompting him to pet her.
"Well, then let's get to work." The Deputy headmistress nodded as she went to look for anything of importance, the boys following suit.
(Later)
Joshua POV
The evidence gathered was very damning, as it was discovered. There was evidence of the poacher's illegal Basilisk cross-breeding efforts and plans to slaughter the Hippogriffs they captured to harvest their parts, on top of keeping the Blue Phoenix and her eggs as a trophy.
Minerva would've taken away the Basilisk Cadmus kept, but when he told her about its blindness and lack of venom as well as its clear timid and skittish nature, she acquiesced and let him keep the albino snake. She knew a blind Basilisk was a safe one, so there was no harm; double since it lacked venom and thus couldn't defend itself in the wild.
James, meanwhile, was keen on keeping the Hippogriffs safe, but he decided to let Hagrid take them for the time being.
"Problem is we don't have a place to put these poor creatures." Josh noted.
"Hm… Perhaps I can help with that." Minerva hummed, an idea coming to mind.
The boys looked at her curiously in response.
(Later)
James POV
When everyone was back at the castle, Miverva led them to a seemingly empty corridor.
"Uh, Professor? There's nothing here." Cadmus stated.
"Just wait a moment, Mr. Prince." The woman told him. "Now, I want you all to picture a room—exactly how you need it—and hold it in your mind's eye." She told them. "Be thorough, but don't strain yourselves." She added.
"O-Kay?" The boys blinked as they all pictured one thing: a safe haven for the creatures they had rescued.
As they did so, they paced idly. On the third pace, a door appeared and opened.
"What is that?" James blinked upon seeing the door.
"The Room of Requirement. It is a place that changes according to the needs of whoever uses it." Minerva explained in reply. "Due to its nature, most often never find it." She added.
"Perfect." Joshua nodded with a smile as they went in… and saw all the list items inside. "I guess it takes a while to get a read on us." He remarked as he looked around.
"It will change based on your needs." The woman told them. "For now though, may I suggest placing your beasts in the vivariums?" She offered.
The boys then thought of vivariums, and the room began to shift, all the clutter disappearing as walls appeared along with a trio of ornate vivariums.
One looked like a bird cage in design, and had a phoenix above the doorway. This one was meant for Joshua's phoenix and her eggs.
The other was a swamp in a bulbous looking vivarium, which Cadmus assumed was meant for his Basilisks. Which pleased him, since it was the perfect environment for them.
The third took the shape of a dome, the doorway of which being flanked by two Hippogriff statues reared on their hind legs. This told James that it was meant for his Hippogriffs.
"Now, to help you better utilize the room during your time here, I shall teach you a few spells for conjuration, alteration and vanishing objects in the room to fit your needs." McGonnigal told them, right as a house elf appeared. "Ah, Deek. I see you got my message." The woman nodded with a pleased smile.
"Deek came as soon as he could." The house elf nodded. "Especially since the come-and-go room is involved." He added.
"Is this one of the Hogwarts House Elves?" Josh asked, James taking note of how repulsed by his pillow sack the elf was wearing.
"Yep. He's been around a long time." The blonde nodded.
"Deek knows how to help with managing this room. He's done it before." The elf nodded.
"That's good to know." Josh nodded.
"Well, guess we better get to work." James nodded as they pulled out their wands.
(Later)
No POV
The Room of Requirement was quite a sight when they were done.
The room was now split into two distinct sections that were of either a scientific style with blue colorations or herbal with yellow and brown colorations.
Additionally it also had the room's appliances split down the middle—with all the potion and crafting based ones on Cadmus' side and all the beast and herbology items on James and Josh's side.
Unifying the two halves was an ambiance of a starry sky.
"Man, this is great." Joshua smiled at the group's handiwork.
"Now we have a place to call our own and do what we need to without interference." James nodded.
"Yeah, and we can have our magical partners stay here too." Cadmus nodded as he looked around. "Speaking of…" He hummed as the same albino nonvenomous Basilisk slithered out of his sleeve and curled into a ball like a ball Python. "I've noticed that not only is this one smaller than the others, albino and blind..." He noted before he started snapping his fingers at either side of the snake's head.
And surprisingly, it didn't react in the slightest.
"He's also deaf." Minerva nodded, instantly realizing what she saw. "I'll have to tell Professor Dumbledore, but I have no doubt he'll allow you to keep him with you outside the room when I tell him what you learned." The woman told him.
"Thank you, professor." The Ravenclaw boy nodded, scratching his snake's scales, causing him to uncoil and relax.
"What're you going to call him?" James asked.
"I've decided to name him Ladon." The brunette replied.
"I'll be naming this lovely lady Azure." Joshua chimed in as he stroked the Blue Phoenix's head.
Azure let out a happy chirp at her new name as she stood next to her eggs.
Speaking of which, her eggs were very eye-catching.
The first looked like it was made of amber shards and was encased in roots.
The second looked like it was made of turquoise with a soft glow at the bottom.
The third was autumn colored, looked like it was made of intertwining branches with acorns on them along with leaves and had an amber glow in the middle.
"Can't wait to see those hatch." James smiled.
"Deek can't either, it's a momentous occasion. Even more than seeing baby snidgets hatch." The house elf nodded.
"I'll wait as long as I have to for this." Joshua stated as he caressed the acorn-adorned egg.
"I'll leave you boys to it." McGonnogal nodded as she began to leave the room. "Oh and boys?" She called.
"Yeah?" The three questioned.
"Be sure not to tell anyone about this room, or at the very least, keep it within close friends? It's too much of a bother to keep track of who all knows when the numbers goes above ten." She told them.
"Right." The three boys nodded before Joshua and Cadmus put their magical creatures in their respective vivariums.
Along with the eggs, in Azure's case.
The events of the night were very unsanctioned, but what the boys gained made up for it, even with the punishments they got.
Dragon Emperor0: Hey guys. Hope you all don't mind getting another chapter. Because both of us had been playing Hogwarts: Legacy a good bit as of late—so much so that I was able to read the endgame of my first playthrough and I'm now starting my second playthrough on a different character.
ThermalsniperN7: We weren't skipping out on what to use here, either. We have a rare Blue Phoenix and her eggs, a clutch of hybrid and mutated Basilisks and some Hippogriffs. The Phoenix eggs are actually based on an AI video made by Cursed and Charming, which seemed like a must-have. In general, it also helps spice up the variety of Phoenix types.
Dragon Emperor0: Speaking of said basilisk, the ways this new species is different from the ones in the books will be explained later as the three boys spend more time with them. Which will give us enough time to make sure it all makes sense.
ThermalsniperN7: As well as give the Phoenix eggs plenty of time between here and later on to hatch. The exact amount of time for that remains undetermined as of right now. Anyway, see you guys next time.
