Skrewts

Hey wasup people?

Guess who's back?

It's the one

The only

SUBTHOR!!!!

*audience cheers*

(Or is it readers? Idk)

I am hereby taking over the absent Author over the chapter posting cause writing chapters on paper isn't grounded.

Well, for the OG readers who remember me, WASSUP BROS!

For the new readers who don't. Hi :)

ENJOY YOUR CHAPTER!!!!

Oh and sorry for the late chapter (should I even be the one apologizing? I dunno) my friend (the author btw) ran towards my house and said he needed me to do this like after dinner.

When does he normally post?

Someone tell me

/—/

The storm had blown itself out by the following morning, though the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter gray swirled overhead as Arthur, Harry, Ron, and Hermione examined their new course schedules at breakfast. A few seats along, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were discussing magical methods of aging themselves and bluffing their way into the Triwizard Tournament.

"Today's not bad.. . outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down the Monday column of his schedule. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures... damn it, we're still with the Slytherins. . . ."

"At least Scarlett is with us during Care of Magical Creatures," said Arth with a shrug. "She can be reasonable."

"After yesterday night? Fat chance," said Ron with a sigh, "most likely that she is going to be fuming."

Sadly, Arth couldn't really deny the statement.

"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down.

"You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. "Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy."

"You're eating again, I notice," said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too.

"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.

"Yeah. . . and you were hungry," said Ron, grinning.

"And So was I," said Arth darkly. "I want my turkey legs back."

Hermione gave Arth a good look before scoffing.

"Stop complaining, did you think I wouldn't notice you take a few turkey legs and stow it in your bag?"

"It doesn't matter! I could've had more!"

"Then you should've taken more!"

There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail.

The sudden interruption caused Arth and Hermione to stop bickering and focus on their meal.

After Herbology, the Gryffindor's set out for Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was standing outside, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this - Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"No way!" Said Arth forgetting all about his turkey legs for once. "You actually managed to secure them?"

"What again?" said Ron.

"Where are they!"

Hagrid pointed down into the crates.

"Eurgh!" squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward.

Arth couldn't help but think back to what Ron had said earlier about fancying Lavender Brown.

Sigh. If that's what you want mate, it's up to you.

They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches.

"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"How did you even manage to get them?" Asked Arth barley able to constrain himself from running towards the skrewts. "I thought the ministry made breeding them illegal-"

"They're illegal?" Said Hermione with a worried look, "Hagrid, you are going to get in so much trouble!"

"Don't yer worry," said Hagrid with a wink, "this time, I got me permission from Dumbledore and the Ministry."

"Fantastic! Now when can we touch them? You do know that they feed on blood right? I can't wait for them to suck out my blood!"

"Er. . . . Yeah," said Hagrid slowly pushing away a crate filled with frog liver and other animal body parts. "I knew that. Well, y'all lot can go do whatever you want with them now. Go have fun."

That was all Arth needed to hear.

"Ouch!" yelled Dean Thomas about ten minutes in, "It got me."

Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"Its end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"It's just common sense Dean," said Arth somewhere covered in Skrewts, "don't worry though! The burns aren't dangerous during the infant stage!"

"Infant stage?"

"Eurgh!" said Lavender Brown again. "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically, "I reckon they're the males. . . . The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies. . . . I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Yep! The males use the stingers as a straw and as a weapon, the females use the sucker. Absolutely fascinating." Said Arth now almost entirely covered in skrewts.

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Malfoy sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

"Exactly!" Said a voice very similar to Arth's somewhere underneath a swarming pile of skrewts. "Why wouldn't people love them!"

Theodore sighed before somewhat politely addressing Hagrid.

"Um. . . . Professor Hagrid? Don't you think it's time for you to. . . . Get Arth out?"

Hagrid went blank for a moment.

"Where is Arth?"

Harry, Hermione, Ron, And Theodore all simultaneously pointed at a lump of writhing skrewts.