Letters - Year 1: A Post Potter Fan Fiction

Darian - October 12, 2014

October 12, 2014 

Marian Blyth
Alderwood Academe
Room Dragon Eating Princess.

 Hey sis!

Congratulations on your sorting! The way you described it sounds really cool! We have a divination class, but I think we’ll be taking it in a year or two. Now that you’re a good ol’ wand user, I’ll be sure to send you some spells the other slytherins promised to teach me!

Word got out about my encounter with the Headmistress. Of course the tale of my defiance and flippance to her reflected what was supposed to happen, so I think my reputation is getting better. Some of the seventh years even patted me on the shoulder and gave me a respectful nod!

Daisy, Severus, Lily, Amelia, and I stayed after during Care for Magical Creatures. The old half-giant Hagrid gave us all a suspicious look as he was shoveling griffin dung out of Buckbeak’s stall. Seems he doesn’t take to kindly to Slytherin.

“You want to talk, you gotta keep up with me yer here?” the large bearded man said. We could barely manage it. “Whot’chu be wantin? And what’re you doing hanging around a bunch o’ first year Slytherins, Daisy?” Hagrid really didn't like us. According to the older students, He was very close to the old headmaster Dumbledore. He seemed to glare at Severus and Lily. Could it be because their father killed him?

“We want to know about the giant squid!” Daisy said with a grin. Hagrid just grunted. “Have you ever tamed him? I heard, you once tamed a Cerberus a long time ago, and we even heard rumors from our parents about some dragon egg? You’re wonderful with animals, and Darian here wants to meet the squid!”

“I saw it on our first day, he seemed friendly! I wanted to know if he could be tamed, and if someone could ride him! We ride dragons, griffins, and other beasts… Why not Willy?” I piped in. Hagrid looked at the five of us with shock. Like he wasn’t sure to laugh, throw us out, or be impressed.

“Willy is a good name…” he said to himself, his eyes glazed over as his imagination seemed to take him somewhere. “Yer’d need a harness an’ a way to breath underwater… gettin’ him up on land would be a trick.. the saddle could be enchanted with an Aqua Eructo to keep ‘im hydrated and allow him to walk on land. Squid brains are small, so charm’in him would be easy, that’s how we got ‘im into the lagoon in the first place.”

After a moment, he seemed to have regained his senses and saw Amelia scribbling down every word on a scroll. His face paled, realizing what he just did and chased us all out of the stables.

“I don’t want to hear from Mcgonnigal of you five tryin’ to ride that squid ya ‘ere!”

The next meeting of W.R.A.T.H. we heald included a few extra members. Daisy convinced a few Hufflepuffs who were good at crafts to attend, and looked rather terrified at the design Severus and Lily drew up of the Squid riding saddle. It was designed to wrap around the base of the squid. The rider would sit on an L beam that would adjust to level the rider, whether on land or in the ocean. A permanent bubble charm would be attached to allow the rider to breath and keep dry while the squid is swimming, protecting him from the force of the current as well.

Since no one has ridden a squid, we observed some smaller ones in the menagerie of hogwarts. They had a few tanks filled with them, and use them for various components of spells. We had a lot of fun watching them flop around on land. We did see one small problem. They can’t really hold themselves up. Should Willy go on the surface, he’s flop over and be immovable. A simple feather charm should suffice… but it would have to be a major charm.

The new members of W.R.A.T.H were tasked to acquire the leather to make the saddle. The Hufflepuffs were quite good at sewing and eagerly began to talk amongst themselves on how to make this. I agreed if I survive my first ride, I’ll allow Willy rides for 1 Gallon each. Some of the older Hufflepuffs and Slytherins started to snicker and Daisy punched me in the shoulder with that comment and turned bright red. I looked at Lilly and Amelia for an explanation. Lilly just looked at her feet with a small grin and Amelia shrugged, as clueless as I about why I was suddenly hit. Girls are weird.