Scottish Highlands - Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Everyone was buzzing with excitement, professor Lupin had proven to be very popular amongst the students, especially with his fun and interactive lessons. (Y/n) smiled to herself, clutching her consent form for the Hogsmeade visits that her mother had signed for herself and her brother. "I think we should go to zonkos!" Seamus said, ruffling his sister's hair while laughing with Dean. "Oh I don't know Deartháir, mam said she wants us coming home with spare money at Christmas." (Y/n) reminded her twin as she walked side by side with Neville down the staircase.
Neville had seemed to be a lot more awkward around his best friend, going red in the face when she laughed or just staring at her from across the room. Dean and Ron would tease him, saying he was completely smitten. Of course Neville denied any of these allegations. He didn't know what the feelings would mean to her. Would she reciprocate? Or would she reject his feelings? It made him more and more anxious when he thought about her.
"Now these trips to Hogsmeade are a priveledge!" spoke Professor McGonagall as Mr Filch collected the consent forms from students left right and centre. (Y/n) grinned as she handed the pieces of paper to the grumpy man who gave her a grim look. Ignoring the man's unpleasantness, she linked arms with her brother and quietly giggled with excitement. Seamus and his sister watched as Dean handed his over and Neville fumbled about with his satchel, trying to find his consent form which was sticking out of his back pocket.
(Y/n) smiled and grabbed the form and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to face the small girl who was holding the paper up in front of his face. Neville smiled and blushed nervously as he took it from his friend, his sweaty fingertips brushed against her soft and silky ones. She smiled, completely oblivious to Neville's reaction before turning around and once again joined her brother.
She saw out if the corner of her eye Harry walking away from the deputy headmistress with a rather annoyed look on his face. He exchanged some words with Hermione and Ron before walking off back into the castle. "What's happened to Harry? Is he not coming?" (Y/n) asked Hermione who looked at her with a sad smile "His Aunt and Uncle wouldn't sign the consent form so he's not allowed to come to Hogsmeade." she explained. "Oh no that's awful! Shouldn't someone stay with him?" (Y/n) asked but Hermione shook her head.
"He didn't want any of us to worry, also Harry wanted me to give this to you, it's from Hagrid." Hermione drew a small note from her pocket and gave it to the smaller girl. She unfolded it and looked over the words that weren't very neatly scribbled on.
(Y/n)
Meet me at the front gates where the carriages will be escorting students to Hogsmeade.
Hagrid
She frowned, why the secrecy? It seemed very odd on Hagrids part but she just sighed, walking with Hermione and Ron, following Mr Filch and Professor McGonagall as they led the third years out of the courtyard and down the path that led to the front gates. She saw a line of carriages waiting patiently for the students, each with an empty space where a horse would usually stand. She looked around to see if anyone was watching before walking up to the carriage at the back and reaching out.
She felt the back of a large horse like creature which felt like it was made entirely of bones. Obviously the creature was invisible, anyone else would've said she was crazy but she knew better. She was about to get into the carriage when she spotted Hagrid fixing that particular carriage's wheel. "Is it really broken or is this your mysterious excuse?" She laughed as Hagrid looked up at her. "Errr no, this was jus a lucky coincidence." The half giant chuckled as he stood up.
The small girl giggled and hugged the larger man who almost covered the entirety of her small frame. "So, teh reason why I'm bein so 'mysterious' is cos I've got summin for yeh." He reached under his jacket and pulled out a small sack. He handed it to her gently, she grabbed the bag which was a lot heavier than she had expected. She untied the top and peeked inside to find a large amount of jewels and gold. She gave the gameskeeper a confused look to which he nodded to the bag, persuading her to look again.
She looked once again to see a little nose poking out from underneath the jewels. A little furry creature stuck it's face out, sniffing the air and inspecting the young witch. She gaped with excitement before facing Hagrid again, "is that....?" She asked, "Yep." Hagrid beamed. "A baby niffler?" She said in disbelief to which the cheerful man nodded. She then quickly frowned, "why are you giving this to me Hagrid?" She questioned. The half giant sighed, "I need yeh teh hide it."
(Y/n) stared at the giant in shock, "Hagrid, I can't possibly take care of a Niffler, also why aren't you able to?" She raised an eyebrow. Hagrid sighed once again, "I can't keep the little thief cos las time I did, it stole 'alf o' teh staff's silverware an' jewellery. Also, e' don't need much, jus feedin every weekend." (Y/n) looked between the tiny creature and Hagrid, feeling conflicted by the decision. She reached into the bag and held her hand next to the niffler who looked at her fingers skeptically before rubbing his head against them.
She smiled and nodded, "I'll find him somewhere safe to live Hagrid, you can count on that." She announced before tying the bag up and placing it in her satchel. She gave the half giant a quick grin before jumping up into the carriage and sitting down next to Hermione and across from Ron and Dean. Soon after, the carriage started moving, shaking and squeaking every so often. The two girls talked excitedly about visiting Madam Puddifoot's tea room while the boys talked about Honeydukes and Zonkos.
Once in the small village, the students dispersed, all heading in different directions in small groups. Checking her surroundings, (Y/n) snuck off to the woods that surrounded Hogsmeade, trying to find a safe place. She found lots of holes under trees, but none of them felt secure or safe enough for the little niffler. She sighed as the little niffler jumped out of the bag and crawled into her hoodie pocket. She felt it curl up, trying to use the fabric as a blanket, making her giggle at the little prods she felt at her gut. "You look suspicious." She heard a voice from behind her, making her nearly jump out of her skin in fright. She turned to see Neville standing there with his crooked smile, holding a blood lollipop. (Y/n) let out a sigh of relief as she grinned at her best friend "you scared me!" She whined while he shrugged.
He held out the lolly to the smaller girl who blushed and took it graciously. "So, what's your new mission?" He joked as he watched her lick the treat. "How did you know?" She asked in surprise. "Well you looked like you were looking for something, and you just confirmed it so yeah." He smiled as he watched his friend pout up at him. She looked over her shoulder and around Neville's frame, ensuring that there was no one else around. "Ok, can you keep a secret?" She asked. He smiled at her "well I kept my parents a secret from everyone so I think I'm capable." She grinned before opening her pocket and letting the niffler scurry out.
He stared at the little creature wide eyed, "what's that?" He asked curiously. "It's a baby Niffler, Hagrid gave him to me, but he can't stay near the castle so I have to find somewhere for him to keep out of trouble. Every weekend, I'll come and feed him and take care of him." She explained excitedly. "So you need help hiding him?" He asked. "Exactly!" She said, giving the little niffler that was now on her shoulder a little scratch under its chin. "I think I know a place.....but..." His words trailed off near the end, his face going a little pale. She frown, "but what? Tell me!" The boy gulped, "I'll just show you." He announced before walking away, prompting the girl to follow.
After about 10 minutes, they arrived at an old looking fence with a dried up track heading towards an abandoned house at the end. "This i-is it." Neville stuttered slightly, making (Y/n) look at him in confusion. "Neville, what exactly am I looking at?" She asked. The body shivered "The shrieking shack, s-said to b-be the most h-haunted building in b-britain." "Wait, Hogwarts has ghosts roaming around the halls, why is the shrieking shack scary?" She asked rather dumbfounded. "All I know it, unspeakable things have happened in that house, no one has been in it for years."
(Y/n)'s eyes lit up, "Then it's the perfect place for my niffler!" She exclaimed. Neville's eyes widened, "you can't possibly go in there!" He sounded very frightened at this point. "Please, if no one goes in there, then he'll be safe and hidden." She explained before walking towards the house. The boy didn't move "aren't you coming?" She asked. Neville looked shocked "Are you mad? I think I'll just wait out here." He laughed nervously. "Ok, thank you for showing me this Neville, I really appreciate it." She grinned, making Neville's face heat up. She eagerly made her way to the front door of the spooky looking house, not afraid in the slightest.
She walked in and stared at her surroundings, rotten wall paper, broken pictures and cobwebs everywhere. She made her way up the stairs and found a large bedroom with an old poster bed with the springs sticking out, an old piano that looked as though it was going to fall to pieces at any moment and some other dusty furniture. She eyed the large drawers in front of her and made her way over. It was creaky but thankfully empty and rather spacious which would make a perfect bed for the little niffler. From out of her bag, she took her old woollen scarf that was starting to unravel and placed it inside the drawer before letting the niffler get snuggled into the warm cotton. From out of her pocket, she took some nuts and raisins she had as a snack and fed them to the little creature.
She suddenly had a thought, "how am I going to keep you safe and not let you wander off?" She pondered for a while before remembering a spell she had read about in the library. A protection spell, although very basic, would keep the little niffler safe. She drew her wand and pointed it at the open doorway and drew in a breath before speaking "protego totalum!" Waving her wand gently up and down. A dim glow washed over the doorway signifying that it had worked. She sighed with relief before looking for a way out, noticing a hole in the floor that lead to the living room below. The hole was right above an old sofa that look soft enough to safely land on without getting hurt.
She turned to the little niffler and gave it a little stroke on the head and tucked it into the scarf, letting him fall asleep peacefully. Pulling a piece of wood from the corner of the room that had fallen from the ceiling, she jumped down onto the back of the sofa, standing on her tip toes to pull the wooden board over the hole so the niffler wouldn't fall through. The board was too heavy for the creature to move but light enough so that the small girl to slide it across to climb up into the room. Satisfied with her work, the girl slipped out of the house and down the track where Neville was waiting patiently for her return. He looked so relieved to see her that he ran up to her and hugged her tight.
"I thought something had happened to you!" He said with a muffled voice. She giggled, "I'll always be ok silly, always have been, always will be, ok?" She reassured him which made the butterfly in his stomach flap about madly. He loved her so much. She was perfect in his eyes. If only he had the courage to tell her.