Part One: The Slytherin

If nothing else, she was intense looking, thought Neville as he looked apprehensively at his new Care of Magical Creatures partner. She was Slytherin, of course, with choppy brown hair and a short stare that gave a look that generally revealed nothing but boredom. Though once or twice Neville could have sworn he saw something deeper than that.

They had been put together to do the unthinkably unoriginal: take care of Blast-Ended Skrewts. The creatures themselves were vile and everything that Neville would rather stay away from. He hardly even got along with dogs, let alone slimy, hungry, worm-like animals that seemed more willing to bite him than anything else.

His partner, on the other hand, didn’t seem phased in the slightest. She looked un-interestedly at the creature and sighed, throwing Neville a look that he could hardly place. After a few moments of silence she poked at the Skrewt, making it thrash about in a sick manner.

“It’s ghastly, isn’t it?� she commented with a flat voice as she watched it flail about. Neville raised an eyebrow and looked at her with interest as well as a bit of nervousness.

“Uh – yeah, ghastly,� he murmured, glancing away again as she gave him a mildly-uninterested stare, which made him feel as though she was reading him like a toddler’s picture book.

“I’m Skit. You’re Neville Longbottom, right?� she said with curiosity. “I’ve heard about you ‘round the common room. A bit of a klutz, hmm?�

Neville blushed and nodded. The girl’s eyes flickered slightly, something unidentifiable hidden in the plainness of her murky brown irises.

“Yeah,� she replied, poking at the creature once more. “Yeah, you’re Neville all right.�

She glanced up at him, her head still bent down over the box containing the Skrewt, as Hagrid announced that class was over. “I’ll see you next class, Neville,� she said standing up and gathering her books together.

“Yeah … next class,� agreed Neville, picking up his own books and throwing the assigned creature a nasty glare before hurrying off himself. He wasn’t sure exactly what he thought about the girl, but so far she didn’t seem overly friendly. Neville couldn’t help but hope the Blast-Ended Skrewt assignment, and partners, didn’t last too long.

**

The halls were rather dark and gloomy in Hogwarts due mainly to the fact that it had been an overcast week. And despite the fact that it was Saturday and there wasn’t much homework to be done, Neville found himself feeling more bored than ever as he sat in the library and flipped through a book entitled, “Brambles and Thorns: A Wizards Guide to Magical Plants.�

He didn’t often come to the library, unlike others he knew, simply because he found all the dusty books to be somewhat prone to triggering his allergies, and he, like any normal person, didn’t enjoy having blocked sinuses. But today … today was bleak and dreary, and search as he might, he couldn’t find anyplace better to go than the library. Of course, he would have gladly stayed in the common room, or even his dorm, to read his book. Unfortunately, a pair of twins had mildly destroyed the Gryffindor common room, couch cushions and all, and someone had put a rather threatening “do not disturb� sign on the dorms doorknob.

He was in the midst of flipping to chapter twenty-three: ‘What to do when you find yourself between a rock and a flesh-eating plant’ when he heard someone moving around in the stack of books behind him. He was just about to turn around when he felt something slap over his mouth and heard a voice say:

“Shh. Don’t yell, we’re in the library.�

The person then removed their hand and came to stand beside him. Neville almost gasped in surprise. It was Skit, his Care of Magical Creatures partner; Skit, the seemingly unsociable Slytherin who had called him a klutz. She looked almost aggressive, her hair flipped up in a spikier manner than usual around the bottom, and her already-thin lips looking far more stretched than they were accustomed.

“What are you doing here?� he hissed, wondering if maybe she was going to hex him in the middle of the library. He watched as she looked around them to see if anyone was nearby, and then bent down to whisper in his ear.

“Can I trust you, Neville?� she hissed. “Or are you one of those tattle-tale types of boys that would sooner rat on someone to the teacher than have a bit of excitement?�

Excitement? Could she trust him? Was he going to tattle? Neville wondered what she could be talking about when he noticed that she was beginning to look a bit threatening.

“Of course I can be trusted,� he replied calmly, looking Skit right in the eye. In return, she glanced over him carefully, as if trying to decide if he really was, and then grabbed his hand off the book and pulled on his arm.

“Fine. Come with me.�

**

“Where are we going?� asked Neville worriedly as Skit rushed him outside. The wind was beginning to pick up and glancing up at the sky Neville could see it wasn’t going to be long until it started to rain.

“The lake,� she answered quickly. “Now hurry up. I don’t want to be caught up in this weather just because you were too busy being skeptical.�

Neville was about to say something back when he heard a roll of thunder in the distance and decided that he would rather not argue after all. They continued at a fast-paced trot down to the lake, where the water’s surface was being contorted slightly by the gusts of wind that were blowing over it; its color being more of a deep grey than the regular murky blue-green that he was used to. Reaching the sandy beaches, Neville stopped to catch his breath.

“This way,� commanded Skit, who was in the midst of delving into a large clump of trees and undergrowth that Neville knew trailed along the edge of the lake for quite a while. He was about to object when the girl shook her head exasperatedly and disappeared into the mottled green. Unsure of whether to follow or go back, Neville sighed and put the hood of his jumper over his head just as a few drops of rain started to fall. Wordlessly, he followed Skit into the darkened trees.

Unable to see where the Slytherin had gone, Neville quickened his pace and ran along what could only be described as a hastily made trail. The colors of dark green and brown flew by him in a frantic blur, and the sound of his trainers thumping on the hard earth, as well as his clothing snagging on the branches he passed, made the small woods seem like an entirely different world.

Suddenly, Neville found himself bursting from the trees and falling forward. He hollered and tried to catch his footing, but only managed to trip on a shoelace that had come loose and proceeded to roll his way down the small hill he had only moments ago been on top of. Coming to a stop, he found himself at Skit’s feet. He groaned and sat up as Skit looked at him unsympathetically.

“Shut up. You’re going to frighten it,� she said dispassionately, not stopping to help him up. Chortling quietly, the girl walked away from Neville to the edge of the lake that they had come to once again.

As Neville looked around, he saw that they were in a small clearing by the edge of the water. Around them were semi-thick trees and brambles and a large rock that looked perfect for sitting on. Skit was bent over at the water’s edge, right where the rocky beach stopped and jagged trees bent over into the water; it appeared as though she was tending to something.

“What are you doing?� asked Neville as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his trousers. When Skit failed to answer, he sighed again in annoyance and wandered over to where she was standing.

Coming up behind her, Neville stopped in his tracks and made a small squeak. In front of Skit, lying still amongst the smooth multi-colored pebbles and churning water, was a creature that could only be described as alarming. It was roughly the size of a dog, with a greenish-blue hide that seemed to be a mixture between leathery skin and small, reflective scales. The creature’s head was tucked out of sight, but Neville could see a soggy-looking fin was protruding from its body, starting at what he assumed was the base of the creature’s neck and running along its spine to where it met up with what looked to be a large fish’s tail. All of that was unnatural enough, but what looked truly terrifying was the fishing twine that was wrapped tightly around the small animal’s body, cutting into its flesh at some places.

“What – what is that thing?� choked Neville in disbelief, looking from it to the girl a number of times before finally resting his eyes at the water.

“A Tadfoal – a baby Hippocampus,� answered Skit. “At least, that’s what I think it is.�

“Hippo-what?� breathed Neville.

“Hip-po-camp-us,� she pronounced irritably. “It’s hurt, though,� she added, “and I don’t think its mum is alive.�

Neville tore his gaze from the water and looked at Skit disbelievingly. “Oh, so it’s hurt and its mum is dead and you dragged me all the way down here to look at it? What if it’s dangerous? What if its mum is alive and it comes here and kills us!� he hissed harshly.

“I thought you said I could trust you,� said Skit sharply as she bent over the animal further and touched it with her long fingers.

Neville didn’t answer, and instead looked reproachfully at Skit. After a moment, she turned to him, her eyes narrowed and her lips back in their thin appearance.

“Look. I asked you if I could trust you and if you wanted some excitement. Now if you’re going to stand there looking like an idiot all day, you can just leave. I can find someone else to help me if you’d like.�

“Help you?� said Neville in surprise. “You don’t even know me. I don’t even know you! Why would you possibly want my help? I’m Neville, ‘the klutz’, remember?�

“Yes, but you’re my Care of Magical Creatures partner. You looked bored with
Skrewts – I know I was – and I thought that … maybe you’d be interested in looking after something a bit more interesting. Plus, you just seem to …� she trailed off. Something in her face looked hopeful, maybe even sad, but before Neville could really examine it, her expression had gone hard again. “Whatever. I don’t need to explain myself to you. Either you can stay here or you can go. It’s up to you.�

Neville looked back at the Tadfoal, the way its fin drooped and the clear twine cut into its helpless body. He knew he wasn’t good with animals – they moved too much, they could have opinions; animals could see right through his feigning and tell he was afraid. Trevor was the only animal he had ever owned – and half the time he didn’t even know where the toad had gotten to. But … this one didn’t seem to move at all. And it didn’t seem too up to having opinions. Plus, the fact that it couldn’t shoot fire out of one end, as far as he knew, was a little more than comforting.

“Okay,� he agreed. “Okay, I’ll help you. But only until it’s healthy again, and then we have to let it go.�

Skit managed a half-hearted smile, which was more of a struggled lifting of the corners of her mouth, and then turned to the Tadfoal.

“All right. Now I need you to help me pick it up and bring it onto the bank,� she said as she waded into the ankle-deep water, glancing up at him expectedly. He obliged, taking the other end of the animal, and as they lifted, he was surprised to find it unnaturally heavy for its size. Together, they heaved the animal onto the beach and laid it down gently.

Skit sat on the sand, obviously not caring about getting dirty, and reached into her pocket to draw out her wand. “Help me,� she said to Neville simply, pulling at one of the many strings of twine and burning it off with the tip of her wand that had gone red-hot with her incantation.

The work was simple, yet tiring, and the rain had started to fall faster. Neville could feel a chill stirring inside of him and his fingers were starting to feel numb. He was useless for holding onto anything, as he found himself having to grab at the binding strings more than once to get a firm hold. At one point, his wand slipped and he burnt the side of his thumb rather badly, but rather than complain, he continued on with his job wordlessly until finally, unbelievably, they were done.

Neville was surprised to find both he and Skit were breathing quite heavily when they reached the end of the constraining twine. It was now, instead of on the Tadfoal, in a pile of shredded mess in the sand, where the lake water was lapping over it.

Neville had to admit that, in a strange way, the Tadfoal was captivating. Its head was that of a horse, but with the same green skin as the rest of its body, and it had two foal-like legs coming out of its front. The hooves themselves were a pearly white, as was a strip of scales down the front of its face, and the aura it gave off was immeasurably poignant.

It was haunting.

“Is it a boy or a girl?� asked Neville as he gazed at it in awe, waiting for every rise and fall of its chest, afraid that it could stop breathing at any moment if he took his eyes away from it.

Skit whispered something and touched her wand to the belly of the foal. As her wand brushed against its belly, the wand shone brightly with a pink light and then faded. Disturbed, the Tadfoal snorted and attempted to snap at Skit’s wand, but was too weak to lift its head up all the way.

“Girl.�

Neville nodded and pushed his soggy hair from his face. “Uh, so can we go now?� he asked.

“No. Are you any good at Charms, Neville?�

He hesitated. “I’m all right -�

“Never mind. I was just wondering. Charms and Care of Magical Creatures are my best classes. I’ll do it.� Neville watched as she performed some sort of charm; at first a large bubble seemed to envelop the Tadfoal, but as the seconds went by, the bubble seemed to evaporate, visible only by the odd glimmer of light surrounding the creature. As Skit turned away and began heading back towards the trail on which they had come, Neville grinned in relief. As he ran alongside Skit, curiosity began eating away at his insides.

“So … how did you find the, er, Tadfoal, anyway?� he said loudly, panting as he went.

“I was just walking,� replied Skit. Somehow, Neville didn’t find this story credible. Still, Skit didn’t seem like a person he would like to challenge - at least not at this point in their relationship, if you could call it that.




Part Two: The Tadfoal



It wasn’t until two days later that Neville saw Skit again. Since the day at the lake, they hadn’t seen nor heard from each other, and Neville had to admit he was wondering what had happened with their – the – Tadfoal.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly his fault that he hadn’t spoken to her. After all, they were in different Houses; they had different classes. In all truthfulness, they couldn’t even be described as budding friends. And what did it matter, anyhow? They were together now, sitting beside each other while both looking dispassionately at their Care of Magical Creature’s assignment as it spluttered and hissed in its small enclosure.

“After classes we should go see … you know,� muttered Neville to Skit, who didn’t look at him.

“Is she – is she, you know – all right?� he asked.

“She’s fine,� answered Skit after a few moments. “I named her.�

“You did?� said Neville in surprise. Skit wouldn’t strike him as the type of person to care for an animal in the first place – the fact that she had named it meant she was getting attached, which was almost unbelievable. “What’s her name, then?�

“Farrah,� she replied. “It means ‘delightful’.� She avoided Neville’s eyes as she spoke, frowning slightly and looking at the Skrewt with mock-interest.

Farrah. Neville traced the name very carefully with his mind, looking deeply into every syllable, every drawn out sound. Farrah …

It was beautiful.

He promised himself he would visit her soon; yet she was no longer ‘her’, or ‘she’, or ‘Tadfoal’, but ‘Farrah.’

Looking at Skit carefully, he couldn’t help but smile, if only just a tiny bit.


**

Later that afternoon, Neville found himself inexplicably jogging down towards the lake. The last thing he could remember was bringing his textbooks to his room and locking them up in his trunk. And now, he realized, not only did he somehow manage to go down multiple sets of stairs without noticing, but he had gone all the way outside and was now on his way down to the lake.

He had been thinking about Farrah often, ever since Care of Magical Creatures. He wondered if her cuts were healed, and if her fin was still drooped over to her side; he wondered if she was strong enough to swim yet, and what it looked like when a Tadfoal swam. He was curious about so many things that he just wanted to study the animal for days on end until he understood everything about it, and yet knew nothing at all.

Before he knew it, he was running through the hastily made trail yet again, though this time he slowed down before the hill and managed to walk down it without falling over. Today the lake looked beautiful, with the perfect amount of blue and green blended into each other to give the water that almost unbelievably tropical coloring. It was agreeably warm out, with a hint of wind, and Neville was in the midst of wondered how cold the water was when his eye just caught the sight of something jumping out of the Caribbean-blue and gracefully plummeting back into the depths. He rushed to the beach and knelt on the ground, looking out into the lake with the hopes of glimpsing what he guessed was Farrah again.

As if to grant his wish, Neville watched as a dark shape in the water picked up speed and burst from it, spinning as it went. Farrah arched her back with a whinny, water spitting from her gracefully body as she kicked her front legs in happiness and flapped her tail, before disappearing back into the lake.

Excited, Neville fumbled with the buttons on his trousers. He slipped them off and put them in a disarray pile on the sandy bank along with his robe and the jumper he wore beneath it. Slipping his toes into the water he shivered – it was pleasantly cool in the lake. Without a second thought, he waded into the water up to his waist and then dove in.

He came up spluttering, droplets of water sliding down his forehead and intruding upon his open eyes. He wasn’t an expert swimmer, and felt a bit nervous at the thought of being over his head in water. It didn’t help when he felt something brush past his foot and then swim off – but when he realized that it was Farrah, he felt happier than ever that the creature seemed to trust him.

Without warning, she popped up in front of him and he hollered, waving his hands and slipping below the water’s surface for a moment. When he bobbed to the surface again, he was met face-to-face with Farrah.

She was more beautiful than Neville remembered. Her eyes were a brilliant golden color that reminded him of fresh honey. Her skin shone with the reflection of the sun and her fin was slight and looked as though it could cut through the water with precision.

Apprehensively, he stretched out his right hand to meet with Farrah’s nose. He trembled slightly, afraid if perhaps she would be angry at this attempt at getting inside her personal space, but continued to reach forward for what seemed like an eternity until finally, his hand brushed gently on her muzzle.

She was incredibly soft, her nose feeling like what Neville had always imagined a dolphin would feel like – soft and smooth, almost like a rose-petal, or Ginny’s hand that time they had danced. As he soaked in the splendor of her skin, she slowly went into the water, bringing her neck and then her back and finally her tail into Neville’s grasp, allowing him to fully pet her. As she went, her hide changed from smooth skin to the same slippery scales he had seen on her that day with Skit. They shone with a brilliance he could hardly understand – a million colors swirling inside of them, pinks and purples and yellows hidden inside of the aqua-green.

They swam for what felt like only a few minutes, playing amongst the calmness of the lake, and Neville had a chance to get to know the baby Hippocampus. She was playful and energetic, and it disheartened Neville to see the odd cut that was in the midst of healing stretched along her back or stomach. It wasn’t until Neville saw the sun beginning to drift down towards the horizon that he clambered out of the lake, his hair drooping into his face, heavy with water.

The last thing he heard before disappearing into the trail was Farrah’s eerie call stretching out from the lake.





Part Three: The Girl


Neville didn’t know why, but Skit seemed to be very keen on ignoring him for the next few days. He wondered if perhaps it was because he hadn’t really put an effort into finding her after she first introduced him to Farrah, but he could hardly go and apologize for something as trivial as that.

As it were, he had been spending a lot of time down at the lake playing with the animal. He couldn’t explain it, but something about Farrah made him feel more alive – made him feel as though every breath was easier and every heartbeat was magical. Almost every day he would go down to the lake, either straight after classes or after dinner, and soak in the feeling of being one-on-one with the wild animal. She was looking healthier every day, he noticed, the cuts smoothing over into lightened scars and her movements becoming more fluid and free. He noticed that she would try to leave the small area of the lake they were in every so often but then would come back after a moment. He wondered to himself as he watched her, if she just didn’t want to leave, or if there was something stopping her.

He hadn’t seen her since the day before, and wanted badly to go see her after dinner. But he was slipping in Transfiguration and had homework to catch up on, and so he promised himself he would go back after dinner. He worked hard on his assignment and struggled, as usual; Transfiguration had never been one of his strengths, but he managed to get the bulk of it finished in time. Dinner went by in a blur, and before he knew it he was heading outside yet again.

The walk down to the lake was always enjoyable. It gave Neville a chance to take a moment and soak in the landscape and breathtaking beauty that surrounded Hogwarts. He took his time as he trailed along the path, breathing in the cool dusk air with slow, steady breaths.

He was just about to come out of the hastily-made trail when he heard a noise coming off of the lake and stopped. His heart quickened in the realization that someone was in the water where he normally played with Farrah. Quietly, he crept down the hill and found a bush to partly conceal himself in.

It was Skit who was in the water, he saw with widened eyes. And she was smiling – a beautiful smile that reflected so many things he had never seen in the hardened Slytherin. She laughed and dove into the water, Farrah circling her in the graceful way she did everything. The setting sun cast ripples of orange and red over the water and illuminated the side of Skit’s face as she came up from the water, making her look unnaturally bright and cheerful.

Neville watched in awe at the way they moved together, diving and twisting and just enjoying themselves, until suddenly he realized how intrusive he was being. Had he ever been watched while playing with Farrah he would have been furious and embarrassed. Rising from his place in the bush he took one last look at Skit and froze as his eyes met with hers. She looked furious and hurt, and started walking up from the lake to where Neville was standing with a blush in his cheeks and a touch of fear in his eyes.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, spying on me?� she said in a surprisingly calm voice that emanated malice in every syllable.

“I just came down to visit Farrah … I didn’t know you’d be here …�

“Shut up,� she said, something looking strangely familiar to tears swimming in her eyes. “Just – shut – up. I don’t care if you didn’t think I’d be here. You had no right spying on me!� Her voice rose as she came closer, her brown hair flat and dripping wet and her teeth clearly chattering slightly from the shock of cold air. “Just … go. Leave. I don’t want you here -�

“No!� shouted Neville, scared that she might do something horrible, like smack him straight across the face, but somehow not caring. “No. I don’t care if you want me here or not. I came here to see Farrah before we have to let her go.�

The words came out before he could stop them. He had been avoiding the thought of letting Farrah go for days now. He had told Skit he would help her until Farrah was better – and now she was. There was no reason to keep her there, other than greed on his and Skit’s part.

It appeared as though he had struck a nerve, because Skit seemed to have let a few tears fall. The way she cried was strange, Neville noticed. Nothing moved in her expression, her mouth didn’t screw up into a scowl and her eyes didn’t get puffy and swollen. The tears just fell; she just stood there, looking emotionless.

“We have to, Skit. She’s tried to leave before, even, but she never did. We can’t keep her here and you know it.�

Skit looked hard into Neville’s eyes until finally she spoke.

“It was me,� she said, turning her head away. “She couldn’t leave because of me. I convinced Professor Flitwick to put an Object-Barrier charm on two pieces of ribbon and I put one on either side of this stretch of water so she couldn’t leave until I took them down.�

Shocked, Neville stood in awkward silence. It was because of Skit’s Object-Barrier charm that Farrah hadn’t left yet. Nothing more. She didn’t feel tied to this place – she was as wild as ever, and she was ready to go.

“Let’s take them down, then,� he said softly, unsure of what her reaction might be. He was surprised to see her nod and start walking towards where she must have placed one of the ribbons. He stood alone and watched her appear back from the bushes she had gone into and then walk to the other side. When she returned, she held two battered green ribbons in her hand. She looked up at him and let them go, letting them fall to the brown earth like broken leaves.

“Let’s say goodbye, then,� he muttered. And they walked down to the lake water together, Neville still in his clothing and Skit in her wet t-shirt and swimming-costume bottoms.

Farrah came to them right away, her skin radiant with fading sunlight and her eyes bright and mysterious. She let out a soft cry and did a twirl in the water, kicking her hooves out in front of her making the lake water fly up and land on his and Skit’s faces.

“It’s been good knowing you, Farrah,� said Neville awkwardly. “But – uh – you’re free to go now. You’re all better.�

“Goodbye, Farrah,� said Skit with a softened face. She reached out her hand and petted Farrah on the nose, just as Neville had done that first day he had come here alone.

They made their way out from the water, their wet clothes clinging to them and making them heavier than normal, and with one final wave at their Tadfoal they disappeared into the trail. The last thought running through Neville’s mind, as he watched the way the trees went by him in a blur, was that Skit was far more than she appeared.

Even if she tried to hide it.