The Adventures of Laney Scamander: Lost In Time

Chapter 11-Mallory

Laney stuck the book back into her messenger bag, and her, Addison, and Mallory made their way out. "So, tell me about yourselves!" Mallory said. Addison and Laney looked at eachother, trying to figure out what they'd say. "We're both sisters." they said in sync. Mallory laughed. "More like twins! You know, I've heard the twins are always in sync, you reckon that it's true?" "Well, we're definitely not twins, and I'd say it's partly true. I know a pair who are only in sync whenever they're both stressed or worried." Laney said, thinking about her brothers.

"Cool! Who are they, maybe I know them?" Mallory wondered. "You wouldn't!" Addison blurted out. "I mean, they live in America, so you probably wouldn't know them." Mallory nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right, I don't know anyone from America!" she said. "Anyways, what's it like here in the 1930s? Pretty cool, right?" Laney's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" she asked. Mallory smiled. "Oh, nevermind, I was just talking to myself. I meant to say, what do you think of Hogwarts?"

Addison looked at Mallory with a curious expression. "We've been going here for a while, but I suppose it's alright." she said. "Oh, have you now? I haven't ever seen you two around until yesterday." Mallory said, giving them both a curious expression. "We like to lay low." Laney said. "Ah, right! Makes sense. So, you guys have many friends?" Mallory asked. "A handful of them." Laney replied. Mallory smiled. "Well then, add me to the handful!" she said.

Addison gave her a friendly smile. "Will do then!" she said. The three girls continued to walk and got to know each other, though Mallory didn't speak too much about herself. "So, what's your favorite Dragon?" Mallory asked Laney. At first, Laney had seemed a little standoffish, but the second Mallory mentioned something about dragons, she pricked up. "Well, it's a bit of a tough decision, but I think my favorite dragon would be the Common Welsh Green." said Laney. "No way, that's my favorite too!" Mallory said.

"No way, really?" Laney asked enthusiastically. "Are there any other magical creatures that you like besides dragons?" Mallory asked. "Of course! You know, some would say I'm a bit of a magical creature enthusiast." Laney said. Mallory looked at her, seemingly impressed. "Well, now I know who I'll copy off of." she said jokingly. "Anyways, what do you guys want to go do?" Mallory asked.

"Well, we sort of need to go back to the library now." Addison said. "Yeah, Addison's right, we do need to go back." said Laney in agreement. "Oh come on, please?" Mallory pleaded. "Here, I know a place where we could go! Just follow me." she said, and began to make her way over to a large tree. Addison and Laney sighed. They both really wanted to go back and finish their research on time turners so they could go back home, but unfortunately, Mallory was making that seemingly impossible. Nevertheless, they followed her down to the large tree.

"You know, I heard some friends carve their names into this tree. We should do it!" Mallory exclaimed. "Wouldn't that hurt the tree though?" Addison asked, feeling quite unsure. "It'll be fine, I promise!" Mallory said, insisting on the idea. Laney looked up at the tree. "That's a Bowtruckle's tree, you can't carve into it, they'll scratch you if you do." she said, taking a closer look at the tree. "Nonsense, it's just a perfectly normal tree!" Mallory exclaimed.

"It most definitely isn't." replied Laney. "It's an English Oak tree, and typically, Bowtruckles live in these." "Yeah, typically. It doesn't mean that any are staying in this one! Come on, it'll be fine!" Mallory said. "No. And I won't let you carve into it either, you'd be destroying their home!" Laney said. "And you'd be hurting the tree!" Addison added. "Whatever, you guys are no fun!" Mallory said as she crossed her arms. Laney sighed. "I just don't want you to disrupt them."

"Disrupt them? What is there to disrupt?" Mallory questioned. "Their peace." said Addison. "They'd be the ones disrupting me if they come out and scratch me!" said Mallory. "Which is why you aren't going to bother their home! Now, let's go somewhere else." Laney suggested. She knew that she and Addison would need to get back to the library soon, but she couldn't risk the possibility of Mallory coming back and carving into the Bowtruckle's tree, so instead she planned to get Mallory as far away from the tree as possible, then hurry off to the library with Addison.

"Here, let's go off to the garden! It's quite nice over there!" Addison suggested. "Good idea!" Laney replied. Mallory nodded. "Yeah, let's go! We could talk more on the way there!" The three made their way to the garden, feeling a rush of happiness. There was a slight breeze that made the grass sway, and the clouds covered the sky, growing slightly darker.