Lysander Scamander and the Missing Mirror

10: The Realization

I stalked the corridor, turning corners with anxiety. My neck hairs were stood on end. Something wasn't right. Maybe it was from the fact that my friends, my brother, and Lily were all in danger and here I was, stalking through a dimly lit, very damp corridor with my wand extended carelessly in front of me.

I stopped in my tracks when a distinct sound rang out. A kneazles cry, which was something between a meow and roar.

I didn't think that maybe the person who started this whole thing would've catered to my fears. Hugo, Frankie, and Lily liked to joke about how I got scars tattooing my body, going from quicksand to airplane crashes, but the truth was my papa and nana's kneazle, Milly, gave them to me. She was a very feisty pet.

"Why kneazles? Why couldn't it have been bowtruckles?" I said, my voice cracking.

I withdrew my wand and stalked further forward. Rounding the corner, I stiffened my wand arm as I shut my eyes tightly, but nothing went at me. Opening my eyes slowly, what I saw was not a terrifying monster ready to eat me. I stared into the eyes of a trapped, fear-ridden animal struggling to get up.

I raised my arms into the air cautiously and approached the kneazle slowly. It saw me and growled. I felt my heart leap, making me inch backwards a little.

"I won't hurt you. I want to help." I said, trying to be reassuring. I realized that wasn't helpful if I heard my own fear in my voice. I desperately tried to remember the lyrics to a song that calms me down. I couldn't think of any lyrics, so I made up my own melody and sang random words, "Shh. Calm down. No one's going to hurt you. Shh. Calm down. I won't let anything happen to you."

It worked! The kneazle calmed down enough for me lift the rock off its tail. The kneazle shot up and nuzzled my leg. I reached down and patted its head, laughing.

"I guess not all kneazles are like Milly, huh."

I started to walk away, shaking my head. I stopped in my tracks when I felt the kneazle nuzzle my leg. I looked down at it.

"I can't let you go with me. It's probably going to be dangerous." I told it.

The kneazle meowed at me, almost like it was trying to tell me, don't care! I'm going!

I rolled my eyes, "Alright. You can come. But if I shove you aside, you better not bite or scratch me."

The kneazle walked by my side as I stalked through the corridors. How could an underground, most likely underwater, structure be so large? Although, if I was correct and I was in fact in the Black Lake, I could be going down and not noticing it. I suddenly heard it again.

"Lysander!" it was Lily's voice, but it sounded like how I'd heard the first time. It was the mirror. The mirror was accompanied by another, very real, voice.

"Help!!!!"

Erika. I took off, bribing the kneazle with a whistle. Turning the corner, I slid to the ground like I was playing muggle baseball. That's when I saw her. Erika was hanging from the ceiling by her wrists, bound with seaweed. I looked beneath her into a pond of acid.

"Lysander?!" Erika cried, rather confused why I was down here.

I cupped my mouth with my hands and said, "Don't worry, Erika! I'll get you down!"

The kneazle tried to pounce, but grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, "Woah woah woah! Not so fast, my dude! That's a lake of acid. We have to think this through."

"Oh, now you wanna think this through?!" Erika snapped, "I don't need think-it-through-Lysander! I need no-impulse-control-Lysander!"

I looked up at her, "It's hard to become that guy sometimes!"

"But it isn't hard when it comes to Lily?!" Erika yelled.

I snapped to my senses. All this started because I heard Lily's voice. The mirror. Dorset. The lake. The game. The ledge. The corridor. Everything I did, I did because of Lily.

"Lily!" I realized. Looking up at his sister, "I'm in love with Lily!"

Erika sighed, "Great! You've made the realization! We've all known for a while! But can you get me-!"

She was stopped when the seaweed undid itself. Erika screamed as she fell closer and closer to the acid lake. I dove forward and grasped tightly to my sister's wrist. Erika looked up at me and narrowed her eyes. I smiled and blew a loving raspberry at her. Helping her up, she adjusted her clothes.

"Hey. Did you conquer your fear of creatures?" Erika asked, recalling me being unphased by grabbing at the kneazles scruff.

"Well, I don't think it's ALL creatures." I pat the kneazles head, "But I'm not as scared of kneazles now."