214 Missing

The Skrewts, despite being quite dumb, were not that dumb. The moment the students enclosed them inside their comfortable hibernation boxes after much prodding, the Skrewts realized they'd been tricked. And in response, they did what they knew best: make their rear-end explode.

The large boxes blew apart like houses of cards, sending charred pieces of wood flying. Scraps of burning pillowcases and pillow stuffing were raining down like confetti everywhere Oleandra could see; Professor Hagrid had made sure his Skrewts would be comfortable in their boxes by lining them with pillows and providing them with teddy bears for company.

"Don' panic, now, don' panic!" yelled Professor Hagrid, but he might as well have been speaking to an empty vase; most of the class, brave Gryffindors included, were fleeing the Skrewts' rampage.

It looked as though they were planning on taking refuge inside Professor Hagrid's house. Oleandra swore; talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire; something even worse than a Skrewt was hiding in there: a young Manticore-Lethifold hybrid.

She had to do something, for the students' sakes and her own! If someone got hurt, then she was certain that Professor Hagrid would spill the beans to the authorities, implicating her in the process. It was highly illegal to create new hybrids, not to mention importing XXXXX-designation Fantastic Beasts into the country!

Oleandra took to the skies and sped off towards Professor Hagrid's cabin.

"Colloportus!" Oleandra yelled, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the door. The Locking Spell hit the door just as Draco grasped the doorknob, preventing him and the other students from entering.

"What do you think you're doing, Greengrass?" Draco yelled at her. "Unlike you, the rest of us can't fly!"

"Don't you think there might be a chance that Professor Hagrid might be keeping even more dangerous beasts inside?" said Oleandra weakly. Draco didn't know about her Lethifold specifically, but she had once told him that Professor Hagrid helped her feed a magical creature of hers.

"I know he loves his monsters, but even he wouldn't sleep with them," said Draco. "Alohomora!"

Draco's Counter-Charm dissolved Oleandra's magic, and he rushed inside, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, and then most of the class. Oleandra floated down and tentatively poked her head through the doorway and looked inside. There was no sign of anything remotely resembling a Lethifold inside; maybe it was disguising itself as the drapes? Perhaps Professor Hagrid had moved it elsewhere. And now that she thought about it, Cloak hadn't reacted to the other's presence.

Back at the pumpkin patch, Professor Hagrid, the Gryffindor Trio and a few others were busy trying to restrain the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Daphne was also trying to help, manipulating roots to help bind them, but every so often, the Skrewts would fart out flames, burning through their restraints.

"Be careful no' ter hurt 'em!" Professor Hagrid cried out, seeing Oleandra return.

"Thank goodness you're back!" cried Tracey, who was bravely hiding behind a pile of pumpkins. "Be careful, spells don't work on them!"

"Professor," Oleandra said to Hagrid. "The… you-know-what inside your cabin… where exactly did it go?"

"Ran off, I think," said Professor Hagrid through gritted teeth, exerting every ounce of strength in his huge body to pull a Skrewt he'd lasso'd away from Hermione. "Went ter celebrate after the firs' task at Rosemerta's with some Firewhisky, but it wasn' there any more when I came back."

"What do you mean, wasn't there any more?" Oleandra cried.

"How very fascinating," said a voice behind her. "Are you missing something, by any chance?"

Oleandra recognized that voice; it belonged to a very nosy reporter; and calling that woman reporter was already giving her way too much credit.

"Yes," said Oleandra, turning to face Rita Skeeter. "We're missing—gllk."

She'd tried to say that one of the Skrewts had gone missing, but for some reason, the words had once again got caught in her throat before she could say them.

"Yes?" said Rita Skeeter, pulling out her green quill and a piece of parchment. "You're missing a— what are these called, incidentally?"

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Oleandra said, her tongue mysteriously untying itself. "We… don't have as many as we— used to…?"

How strange; that she'd been allowed to say?

"Who're you?" Professor Hagrid asked gruffly, walking towards them. With Daphne's help, the remaining Skrewts had been successfully incapacitated, so he was free to come and see who had come to watch in on his class.

"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," she replied, grinning at him. "Now, Oleandra was telling me about how you're missing some of these… screws? I've never heard of them… where do they come from?"

"Er…"

'The jungles of Borneo!' Oleandra tried to say, but all that came out of her mouth was a choking sound. Okay, this was getting weird. Had someone slipped her some Veritaserum while she wasn't looking? Opening her Mystic Eyes, she began scanning her own body to see if there wasn't some foreign magic at work on her person.

"They're very interesting, aren't they?" said Hermione quickly, jumping to Hagrid's rescue. "Aren't they, Harry?"

'She must also have guessed that Skrewts were an illegal hybrid,' Oleandra thought to herself.

"What? Oh, yeah…" said Harry, wincing slightly as Hermione stepped on his foot to get his attention. "Ouch… interesting."

Rita Skeeter then asked Professor Hagrid a few more questions, before offering to interview him properly at a later date. And Hagrid fell for the bait, hook, line and sinker; eager to have his babies obtain proper recognition, he accepted.

And with that, the class ended, and the students who had barricaded themselves in Professor Hagrid's home tentatively made their way back to the castle for lunch, looking warily at the trussed-up Skrewts. Just as Oleandra was about to join them, Hermione coughed loudly to grab her attention.

"There will be a S.P.E.W. meeting in the afternoon," she said. "We'll meet up in the Entrance Hall after dinner."

"Wait, that wasn't a joke?" asked Oleandra in confusion. "You're still doing this spew thing?"

"For the last time, it's S.P.E.W!"