The Creature-Sitting Club

[Shay M. Loire]

June 1, 2004
Undisclosed Hallway; Hogwarts Castle

It was another one of those unseemingly lonely and unused hallways, cluttered with prized junk of various centuries, gathered by Hogwarts and its famous and infamous inhabitants of the past. In its eternal "under construction" phase, it was a hallway teeming with schemes, secrets, and so much more than just being a corridor. And between two teenaged friends, it could be a mini-world with a decision of much importance.

Fourteen year old Shay Loire had set up another "appointment" with Brittany Garland, so soon after the morning session they had yet another session right after dinner. She had come bearing gifts in her pockets-- warm bread rolls and lots of cheese cubes. She had tried to take some pellets from the CoMC class, but much to her chagrin, she was too easily caught and even more so an object of public humiliation when her maneuvers were exploited. Great, I'm the Pellet Girl now, she had too instantly thought, and still she bore the redness in her cheeks to prove her insecurity.

But she tried her best to get over that, and focus on getting together with the one who understood her motives. Brittany had discovered this wonder with Shay, and now it was up to them to figure out how to handle it. They were no dummies, they knew that dealing with this creature that they had found should have been up to the professors. But when it came down it, they were fascinated with keeping it themselves.

Except there had been the problem of the year ending soon. The two girls had to go back home, and so that left a question as to when and how they could get it to safety.

Shay imagined the poor thing in its cage. She couldn't go open it without Brittany anyways. Leaning on the wall, she kept one eye on the end of the dusty hallway, and another on her little plastic digital watch. It never worked, not since she came into Hogwarts, but it was just one of those things that she didn't want to leave as a Half-Blood. Old habits died hard.

[Brittany Garland]

Attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible, Brittany made her way up the staircases from the second floor carefully watching out for each step. Although she was trying to not be obvious anyone walking past would raise an eyebrow at the petite fourth year carrying a mountain of books in her arms. Not that she was really worried about it because she had left the Great Hall early from dinner in order to get the books from the library to the spot without running into more than two people. Even if questioned, she could always use the simple excuse that it was never too early to start studying for finals.

Excitement rose within her as she reached the floor and neared the secret spot. Brittany really hoped that Shay was there waiting for her because something about not knowing what exactly the creature was kind of made her uncomfortable. Hence why she had been the volunteer to ransack the library for every possible bestiary and 'How to Take Care of Your Pet' book. Although most of the 'How to...' books were meant for specific creatures so she just grabbed a few that the thing resembled and checked out quickly before the strange librarian could ask anything.

Rounding a corner Brittany caught sight of Shay just yards ahead and let out a sigh of relief. The books had been getting heavier with each step.

"I pulled every single one that I could find!" Brittany announced proudly upon her arrival.

Heaving the books on to one of the useless nearby tables that seemed to line the hall, she clapped her hands together and turned to show expectant. "What were you able to snag?" She questioned curiously.

Brittany had only thought of bringing her school bag to dinner with her after they had descended the seven flights of stairs from the Gryffindor tower. So she hadn't been able to swipe any goods for their little friend. However, now that she reflected upon it she figured it was probably better that she had forgotten because it would have looked a bit weird to have at the dining table randomly.

[Shay M. Loire]

She was almost alarmed by Brittany's arrival had she not spoken over the pile of books. Shay smiled at her, and was glad that she was able to take up the task of getting the books. Shay had very little focus and clarity to find the right books, even if it meant to just take out the whole library, as Brittany seemed to have done. "And thank Merlin! We need all the help we can get," She said eagerly and picked up a thick book that seemed to chronicle creatures from A to H.

After a quick skim on the Diricrawls, she closed the book and quickly unveiled a napkin filled with soft breads and cheddar cheeses. "Cheese and bread. I think Delilah really likes cheese..." She had named the creature Delilah on a whim, mostly because she couldn't remember what they decided to call it, and because she wasn't sure if it was a boy or girl. So tended to make new names for it, no matter what the sex of it was.

It rattled the cage slightly, and an audible sniff came from it. Shay laughed. "See?" She laid the napkin beside the books on the table, and picked up two cheese cubes, handing one to Brittany. "It's totally still shy."

[Brittany Garland]

Brittany couldn't help but let out a snort, "I'm still not too sure about how I feel about it."

Taking the cheese cube that Shay had offered, she couldn't help but have the instinct to eat it. They did look awfully tasty after all, but she refrained knowing that the creature hadn't eaten since this morning. They hadn't been able to get away at lunch time since they each had classes scheduled for the minute lunch got out. Looking over at Shay, she admired the confidence that she seemed to have towards taking care of the animal. Brittany was sure that she would get comfortable with the thing eventually but she hadn't exactly put any emotional attachment to it just yet. The only thing that hindered her from doing so was the unknown fact of what it was and what it was capable of.

Grabbing her wand out of her robe, she looked at Shay to single her to do the same. As her sister lioness stood guard in case the thing jumped out, Brittany softly swished her wand through the air uttering, "Alohomora."

At the small pop that the lock on the cage gave the small creature skuttled to the very back corner. It still hadn't become used to it's new owners. Smiling brightly at her small victory with the spell she bent down and peered into the cage, though watching that she still stood a good distance from the actual opening. It was a small thing, only the size of a few-week-old puppy yet it had large grey eyes that always seemed quite sad. Delilah, as Shay seemed to be calling it that evening, had jet black fur that seemed to reflect shades of blue when hit by the light. In a way, Brittany felt bad for the little thing because it seemed to be all alone in the world which is why she had concurred with the idea of keeping it.

Setting the cheese cube at the very entrance of the cave, she cooed, "It's okay, come on."

[Shay M. Loire]

Shay shrugged at Brittany, "You'll get used to it. It really is an interesting creature...." She didn't know why but she had taken a liking to it, because she was never really an "animal" person, except maybe her newly aquired cat Murder. Yet the truth was that she liked the animals that were so prevalent in the wizarding world, and this was definitely one of them. After handing the cheese cube, she pulled out her wand after Brittany gave her the signal. It was definitely important to take caution in handling it, no matter how much she'd like it.

Delilah looked up at the both of them and used its four legs to walk to the entrance. The paws were more like hooves, so it made a deep clanking sound as it came closer. When it went to eat the cube, its small mouth opened to a perfect circle, and seemed to suck it up. As Shay gave her cube to it, she nodded at it. "You were so lonely, right?" It responded to the second cheesecube in a particular way-- every time it wanted to "say" anything, it came out like a soft giggle. Shay loved it and often matched it with a giggle of her own.

[Brittany Garland]

Brittany couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh at the fascination that Shay showed over the animal already. Sure she liked the animal but it hadn't struck the deepest emotional chord in her heart yet. Breaking off a piece of the biscuit and setting in the edge of the cage for the animal, she leaned against the side of one of the tables.

The young Gryffindor couldn't help but feel bad for the poor animal. It had looked so helpless and alone when they had first found it. They had been playing down by the Groundkeeper's hut just on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. With the recent vacancy of the groundkeeper, they had deemed it safe to go exploring near and around the place. Just as they were getting ready to leave Shay had heard this high-pitched wining noise that Brittany had only heard when she had stopped suddenly and pointed it out.

Of course curiosity got the best of both of them and they had to track down where the noise was coming from. It's source lied under a bunch of thick bushes just a few steps into the forest. The poor thing was shaking and had the largest, innocent brown eyes that made both of them completely fawn over the animal. So they had wrapped her up in Brittany's robe and taken her in. Now she was all theirs and, although Brittany often had doubts, she felt like they had done the right thing.

"You know it's eyes matches ours," Brittany commented with a giggle. Both the girl's had brown eyes, though Brittany's were darker than Shay's yet Delilah's seemed to be the shade just inbetween theirs. "Do you think it would be safe to try and hold it?" She wondered aloud as she placed another piece of biscuit in the cage.