CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (LUCIEN)

[ALIAH ISABELLA EVANS]

Dammit, dammit all to hell. She'd never liked that teacher, and now, for no reason at all, she'd been thrown in detention. Really, there was a reason, but Aliah didn't see why swearing in the halls during break was a punishable offence. Add to that, she had been late getting out of lunch due to some squabble between three third year Hufflepuff boys and it was now already five minutes past her appointed meeting time at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Taking the steps to the common room three at a time, she managed to sprint into her dorm, change her simple sweater and converse for something a bit more practical, owing to the freezing cold weather outside. Racing through the hallways to the great double doors and out through the corridoor, a blast of icy wind hit her and she knew she'd made the right decision to sacrificed another five minutes to get her thickest quidditch jumper, a black hoodie with IRELAND embroidered in gold across the front (thrown hastily on top of her sweater and long sleeved tee), a grey scarf, furry trapper hat, and a pair of very thick knit socks underneath her cobalt blue wellington boots. Albeit, the boots were making her progress a little slower, but she pressed on over the built up drafts of snow across the bridge over the moat.

Flying down the slope that led to Hagrid's cottage, as this was really the only identifiable marker to the vast expase of the forest, she took a moment to enjoy the sliding skid she took down the hill. Her cheeks were stinging and no doubt pink, and the tendrils of black hair that escaped her braid whipped her face, Again she was struck by how annoying and unfair it was to have detention in the holidays. Stupid teacher, she thought irritably, jumping to avoid a rock jutting out from the path. She slowed to a brisk walk, not wanting to trip and die on the slippery pathway, enjoying the soft crunch of snow under her boots.

Dimly in the distance, she could see a soft light escaping from the windows of Hagrid's cottage, despite the time of day. The clouds hung low and heavy, the sky darkened to a steely gray, threatening to unleash more snow at a moments notice. Sticking her hands resolutely into her pockets, her fingertips brushed the crackly softness of a cellophane wrapper, and she pulled out one of her Honeyduke's fang sweets, and smiled to herself. Obviously, owing to the fact she was headed in the direction she was and owing to the fact that as it was holidays, the Care of Magical Creatures class wasn't here to keep up a constant supervision of the various animals and plants situated about the castle, so she'd no doubt be helping Hagrid of Professor Seraphin with their rounds. Knowing what she did about the Professor, owing to her recent acquantaince with his son in the kitchens, she thought it'd be entertaining if she ate it.

Unwrapping the blood-red ball of sugar, she popped it into her mouth and sucked away at it thoughtfully, deciding it probably wasn't the best way to arrive to make up for extra credit for her disappearance last term. Alec had fallen off his broomstick at one of the last Quidditch practices of the year and Aliah had had to pack his trunk for him, therefore missing her last class, in order for him to be ready to catch the express at the end of the day. And he'd been a sucker all holidays, using his injury as a trump card for whenever he was required to do chores. Too late now, as Lee used her back teeth to bite down on the remaining central core of the sweet, a funny numbness stealing its way over her mouth for a second, before a cursory prodding with her tongue revealed the sweet's effect - two elongiated, pointed canines. Scrunching the wrapper back up and putting it in her pocket, she made a mental note to avoid biting her lip or tongue for the next hour.

Hitting the path offshoot that led down to Hagrid's cottage, she passed through the pumpkin path with its habitual residents - four very large, mean looking crows that watched her with the black eyes as she passed. Not satisfied they weren't going to attack her, she bared her teeth at them and noted with satisfaction that they looked ruffled and now left her alone. She stopped a little awkwardly by the door, before deciding to move a little so she could see in through the windows - one or both of the adults were probably to be found inside. Not seeing anything from her current line of sight, she contented herself to wait with her hands in her pockets and a sullen expression, gazing murderously at a particularly cheerful looking rock on the ground in front of her.

She could practically feel the wamrth radiating out of the windows, and shivered. What sort of thing was she in for today, in this wretched cold? For swearing, no less. This sucks. she thought, kicking out at the happy-stone and looking about for the teacher on detention duty. By now her nose was freezing, she could barely feel her fingers and toes, and her cheeks stung. Sighing, she drew her wand out of her boot and picked up another pebble, muttering a small charm that infused heat into it and made it a small, make-shift handwarmer of sorts. Putting her wand back into her boot, she flipped the stone back and forth between her palms, looking back up at the castle, with every second window or so twinkling with a warm light, everyone no doubt spending their leisure time indoors playing wizard's chess or, if her brothers were anything to go by, attempting to play a miniature match inside the greathall with apples and other fruits as snitches, quaffles and bludgers. Considering how much she enjoyed that particular trick, she hoped they got caught and got detention for it too, in her black mood.

'Pfeh. Screw you, i'd rather be outside anyway,' she muttered to herself, shivering as she waited by the cottage, her little rock steaming in the freezing air.

[Lucien Vilette de Séraphin]

Now that the rush of the Christmas holiday had subsided for the most part, both Lucien and Araziel had skipped right back to Hogwarts from over la Manche, and it was once more business as usual. Lucien did miss lazing about at home and spending long afternoons and evenings in the parlor or the study devouring roll after roll of parchment in his ceaseless musical writings, or enjoying tea with Camilla and Edmond out in the courtyard patio, or attempting to matchmake for Ivan (to which, as of yet, his endeavors had been unsuccessful, no thanks to Edmond). Too, Lucien missed being able to enjoy his 'meals' in leisure whenever and wherever he wished; the lack of available food was one of Hogwarts' most irksome inconveniences he had long since decided, but a few weeks back at the house had been refreshing for the palette.

As everyone had eventually dispersed to return to their various Chevalerie-related duties, however, Lucien and Araziel soon found themselves back at the school to continue with their own agendas. They always served some planned purpose after all; Lucien's position at the school provided an excellent connection into the wizarding world and a few of its choice individuals; a viable and favorable option, considering the nature of the Chevalerie's work. Of course on a more personal level, the vampire liked to entertain the idea that he was actually contributing something worthwhile to general society; whilst he rarely gave himself credit for these sorts of things, it could not be denied that this teaching position was one of the more beneficial things he had done for people not related to his family.

Of course, the matter of his vampirism was always an impediment, even in the wizarding world (though thankfully to a much lesser degree). He had come and gone from his post on more than one occasion (in the school's terminology, 'resigned,' though to Lucien a few years of absence only counted as a short break and not really a resignation), often because the friction between school staff and the Ministry simply became too much. Lucien was not secretive about his 'affliction' and quite frankly would never be so in a world where its knowledge was common place even if its frequency was rare. Still, his vampiric nature had always made the Ministry uneasy, even if Albus had never made an unwise decision in his staffing ... or at least no decision that had been irreversible.

Well, that said, as long as Lucien was given his free reign over lessons, he cared little about the Ministry's constant whining. His methods might have been somewhat unconventional, but they were never particularly dangerous ... or, well, if they ever were, it was always on account of the student's idiocy and not his own. Lucien might have had odd tendencies, but he was not careless.

It was only during particular incidents involving the Ministry's attempts to invade into his personal life did Lucien find them irritating. Upon his initiation to the school years ago, and upon his open confession that he was indeed a vampire, the Ministry had attempted to 'register' not only him but his entire family with the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for their 'record keeping purposes.' For a family that had long since flitted from one set of false identities to the next over the ages, the very proposal was preposterous at best and after plenty of dispute (one argument notably in regards to the classic confusion over 'beast' or 'being' classification), Lucien had manged to ward the nosy bureaucrats away. That did not stop them from trying again every year, however, though admittedly the Chevalerie had made it somewhat of a tradition to invent new ways of discarding the letters they received each year (one of which had involved Araziel shredding the lot, baking them into some Christmas cookies, and then mailing a single cookie to each and every worker at the Ministry from the minister himself down to the janitor).

With these entertaining memories at the forefront of his mind, Lucien returned his attention to the present. The castle was still fairly empty as the holidays were not yet through, though the students had been trickling back into the castle over the past week. The weather was so cold this far up north, too, that Lucien was surprised that the castle residents did not freeze solid upon exiting the front doors; whether that was actually possible or not did not matter too much to the vampire, however, since his physiology afforded him some measure of resistance to such conditions.

The afternoon had found both Lucien and Araziel lazing about the former's office; Lucien had been sitting at the desk absently scribing a few etudes between sips of tea with the occasional interruption from Camilla's nameless kitten hissing at the snoozing Félix in his arms. Araziel was perched at the window with a mug of coffee, a few photographs of the castle in his lap just covering a letter he was writing to Valeri. Valeri always asked about the castle, entertaining childish fantasies of knights and princesses, even though Araziel constantly reassured him that there were no knights and princesses; only crabby professors and whiny adolescents all wearing the same boring uniform. Still, he continued to humor him, sending him photographs or sketches whenever he remembered to do so, and, on occasion, a requested recipe from his recipe box when Valeri forgot how to make the mushroom quiche.

At some time after one o' clock, however, Lucien hummed to himself and looked up from the set of etudes he had been working on. After a couple of neat lines finished off the music sheet, he set the quill aside. Félix squeaked discontentedly at the movement, but Lucien simply rose and set the bat on the chair, ignoring him as he flopped about trying to make a racket.

"Where you off to?" came Araziel's idle inquiry from the window, though he didn't look up from his letter-writing.

"Some poor student has been assigned detention and ... well, though I fail to comprehend the system of professor-student-appointment registration, it has resulted in her being assigned to me."

Araziel rolled his eyes. "With whom?"

"Mademoiselle Evans. Ravenclaw ... fifth or sixth year."

"Oh! Her. She's a darling; no worries. Don't be shocked if she shows up with polka-dotted hair, though." Araziel grinned. "On that note, don't be shocked when Valeri pops up with polka-dotted hair either ... " But he trailed off at Lucien's incredulous expression, waving his hand dismissively. "Nevermind, nevermind. What's the agenda for today, then?"

Lucien pursed his lips, briefly running a hairbrush through his curls. "I plan on harvesting another Acromantula egg from the forest ... and then there are the usual duties to which I must attend. It is about time Félix converted to proper animal blood, and I ought to find something suitable for him to try; I tire of weaning him from my own blood." Lucien sighed and briefly held up his wrist to display the minute puncture wounds that lined it before he went to fetch his coat; Charlotte, however, had awoken at the mention of 'forest' and already she was bringing the vampire's frock coat and gloves to him. clicking her mandibles excitedly.

"Yes my dear, you may come to the forest with Félix and I," Lucien reassured the giant spider as he pulled his overcoat on; beneath the heavy garment, he was donned in his usual ensemble - long waistcoat over a loose white blouse trimmed with lace, today a garnet brooch pinned to the cravat; sturdy buttoned culottes and cavalier's boots. As today was to be a practical day outside, the clothing lacked the usual extravagant embellishments, the trim still elegant, but simple.

Scooping Félix back into the crook of one arm, Lucien made to leave but Araziel stopped him, tossing to him a tea tin.

"Mind giving that to Lee? 'S my chai blend. Tell her it's for tea and not for lattes 'cause lattes with water are just gross, but yeah. Still good."

Lucien simply nodded and gave the tin to Félix; the bat wrapped his wings around it and clung onto it securely.

With no further reason to dally (Charlotte had affixed the vampire's rapière to his hip during the short exchange between him and Araziel), Lucien swept on out the door to begin the trek down to the grounds and to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Félix in his arms and Charlotte in tow.

The fresh prints in the snow told the vampire that he was behind schedule, and he bristled at the idea; he was never late ... or, well, if he was, it was for attention. 'Fashionably late,' they would probably call it.

Still, following the footprints led the small party straight to where the bundled-up student was waiting. Lucien was reminded with some sympathy that the students (and other professors) were not resistant to the cold, but ... well, it came with living in the area and certainly they were used to it to some extent?

"Bon journée," Lucien greeted simply, his gaze flicking over the student in appraisal, his vampiric senses processing a thousand calculations within a fraction of a second: heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, the pace at which she breathed, the speed at which she blinked, and several other things best left unmentioned.

"Ah, before I forget." Lucien unceremoniously plucked the tin of tea from Félix's grasp despite another grouchy squeak from the bat. Offering it to Aliah, he nodded and gestured by way of explanation, "Chai, from Araziel. Tea, not concentrate."

He paused then, debating whether or not to pass comment on the fangs he had observed. It certainly was not the polka-dotted hair, but ...

"Whilst fangs are certainly befitting of your visage, I am not quite sure that they would serve much purpose beyond an aesthetic one," Lucien observed in his usual curt tones, though the glint of amusement in his pale eyes gave him away.

"Now ... do try not to freeze. I am not aware as to how cold of temperatures your physiology can withstand, but there shall be no lake swimming today so I do imagine you shall at least survive." He offered a half-smile, turning on his heel and beginning to lead the way into the forest. Charlotte hadn't moved from her spot for a moment, though, watching Aliah closely, all eight of her eyes blinking randomly before she finally turned to scuttle off after Lucien.

[ALIAH ISABELLA EVANS]

The first thing that alerted Aliah to an approaching party was the soft crunch of footsteps. What sounded like lots of footsteps. Frowning, she fidgeted and crossed her arms around herself, watching two figures coming out of the dimness, recognising the figure of Professor Séraphin, followed by – an acromantula? Mind you, it was hardly surprising, he did teach Care of Magical Creatures and so it shouldn’t be so odd he be accompanied by his own select pets.

She now understood why the Professor dressed as he did, so it was a rather unusual but striking image that the two of them made, striding towards her. Her breath, previously coming out in small puffs of steam, now momentarily halted as she saw just how large the spider walking besides the Professor was. A small, instinctual part of her screamed Big-ass spider! Run! but she refrained, staying put in the same spot, shuffling her feet a little to regain feeling in her toes, her willies must be getting to small, usually she was much better at withstanding cold. If Thaniel had given her his cold, she’d kill him.

She was momentarily confused by trying to work out what the small black thing in Professor Séraphin’s arms was, so she was momentarily unprepared when something square and silver came flying at her with a squeak. She’d been in the process of mumbling a ’Afternoon, sir,’ but it probably wasn’t quite as coherent as she’d’ve liked, being cut off with an indignant squeak of her own. It was only after fumbling and barely catching the square bundle she realised it was a tin and therefore couldn’t squeak, which meant that the little black thing in his arms was most definitely alive. Inspecting the tin with a raised eyebrow, she looked up and nodded at his explanation. Chai? That was quick, but thank heavens, she’d need a cup or six of it tonight when she got back from detention. She smiled, but it quickly faded as she realised she had no way of carrying it save for in her hands, so with a scowl she took her wand from her boot and tapped the tin once, muttering ’Emitto dorm!’ before drawing her wand back and letting go of the tin, it floated now as if attached by strings to the tip of her wand, before she flicked her wrist and the tin was sent zooming off in the direction of the castle, where it would somehow find its way up to her dorm.

’Um, thanks, she said, and before she could stop herself, she flashed the fangs again, emboldened by the glint in his eye.
’Araziel said you might not appreciate the polka-dot hair,’ before she realising what she’d just said and coughing, hastily adding;
’-ahem-, sir,’ and looking down. Once again her eyes were drawn to the little squeaking bundle, a little black, leather and fur bundle blinking up at her with blinking black eyes. A bat? It sniffed the air, its little face twisting, and giving her a glance of glinting white before it closed its mouth. A vampire bat. How...fitting? But then again, it was so cute, and Lee resisted reaching out to pet the little thing between his huge ears. Besides, she was extremely conscious of the acromantula watching her every move, and she had no idea how it would react. And as Professor Séraphin had said, it was best not to make any sudden movements around a creature you were ignorant of.

She blinked up at him, frowning. She wasn’t going to freeze. There was a risk of developing hypothermia if her core temperature dropped below 35 degrees Celcius, which was unlikely seeing as she’d taken measures to layer up, and find her thickest, warmest hat – the fur trapper with the ear flaps, as the majority of heat was lost through the head. But then again, he probably knew this, and was doing it to nettle her. She narrowed her eyes at him and felt her mood darken a little more. She was stuck down in the freezing cold with a vampire teacher, his pet acromantula, and a squealing baby bat, and he was cracking jokes about her winding up dead. She flashed a longing look up at the twinkling lights of the castle and sighed.

’Yes, sir. I’ll do my best, sir.’ she said, flexing her fingers by her sides. She made a mental note to send Araziel a nice note thanking him for mentioning his father’s pets. And to have a wooden spoon handy. After she’d finished all the chai, of course. Frowning, she looked down at the ground, the snow about her boots now a melting, dark and dirty mound of slush. She kicked a small fragment of ice off into the distance, she processed the sound of footsteps a fraction of a second after the sound reached her ears, and looking back up, she watched the tall, elegant figure of Professor Séraphin moving off, and out of the corner of her eye she could see the acromantula watching her. At a loss of what to do about it, she shot it what she hoped was a cheerful smile, before moving to catch up with the professor. Hopping over rocks and scrabbling up the path, thankful for the grip on her boots, the cold wind making her already a little breathless as she caught up.

’Um, sir, what are we doing tonight, if i can ask?’ she said, eyes darting everywhere as she watched her feet, the path, where they were going, and the acromantula scuttling along beside them. Chewing her lip, but managing to position her lip so that one vampire fang showed in the darkness, she focused on the path ahead into the ever-dark forest and tried her best not to squeak indignantly every time her foot slipped a fraction on the random pockets of ice along the way.

[Lucien Vilette de Séraphin]

Lucien raised a brow when Aliah bared her temporary fangs again before he dissolved into quiet laughter; the sound walked a fine line between soothing and unnerving. Ignoring her slip of tongue, he remarked, "As much of my kin are of the same ... persuasion as Araziel and I, I would have to admit that I am far more accustomed to seeing fangs than I am to seeing ... uhm ... 'polka-dotted' hair." He smiled a thin smile to himself as they began walking down the path towards the forest. "But you are correct; Araziel did mention it to me. In fact, a most interesting tangent was sparked from talk of the confection, and we wondered if its traits might be passed on through imbibing the blood of one who had recently consumed it."

The manner in which he spoke so casually of his vampiric nature and all of the little quirks that accompanied it made it clear that he was quite comfortable about mentioning it around others (even if it unnerved said others); a notable contrast to Araziel's somewhat awkward secrecy. Perhaps it was simply one way of coping with the affliction over time; shedding it in a normal (and occasionally humorous) light made it all the more bearable.

As they descended a particularly steep slope made all the more slippery by the snow, Lucien's pace slowed somewhat to wait for Aliah; his steps were deft and sure-footed, a hint as to the effortless grace he always seemed to exercise, but midway down the slope he turned back and offered his free hand with a simple, "Faites attention." Charlotte brought up the rear, her eight legs serving her well; Félix started to squeak grumpily, wondering why the walking had slowed.

"Oh, cease your fretting," Lucien mumbled to the bat, only receiving another squeak in response. Once they had reached the bottom of the slope and the start of the forest proper, Lucien released Aliah's hand and then gave Félix a scratch behind one pointed floppy ear, shaking his head in exasperation. "He always fusses about wishing to eat, and then even after he has dined, he quickly finds something else about which to complain." The vampire paused, and then with a considering glance towards Aliah, he offered her the bundled up bat. Félix was probably about as large as a medium-sized puppy; one had to wonder just how large he would grow if he was only a child now.

"Here; you ought to carry him. He is quite warm, actually, and you could probably use his warmth more than I." Without waiting for permission (as it seemed he would hardly acquiesce to protests), Lucien calmly deposited the bundle of Félix into her arms, adjusting him so that he was cradled in the crook of one.

The vampire's manner was apparently very direct when he wanted it to be; some might have found it pushy, even, but it could not be denied that Lucien did command a feeling of calm in the sense that he seemed to know precisely what he was doing, regardless of whether whatever it was he was doing made immediate sense or not.

Luckily, upon being transferred, Félix simply chittered contentedly and wriggled a bit to make himself more comfortable before he quieted down and returned to napping.

They were heading through the first line of trees that bordered the forest now, and the contrast of light between the exterior and interior was rather striking. Lucien did not seemed fazed in the least, however, as his pace did not slow; rather, he gestured for Charlotte to lead the way before he turned to address Aliah, still walking though.

"Oui; the main order of business is to obtain another Acromantula egg. Poor Charlotte accidentally devoured her previous mate, you see, so I must obtain another for her," Lucien explained with an exasperated sigh, though he spoke of the matter as if it were entirely normal ... which in retrospect, considering the vampire's company, it probably was. "As the Ministry has deemed Acromantula eggs Class A non-tradeable, I simply obtain them on my own, and as no buying or selling is performed, there is little they can do about it ... despite their repeated attempts to condemn me for it." He stifled a derisive scoff at the prospect but did not elaborate; Lucien complained enough about the Ministry during class with a complete disregard for the fact many of the students' parents and relatives worked there ... and no doubt passed word along of the vampire's griping. He did know for a fact that Aliah's father was one such figure, but she hardly seemed the sort to play tattletale.

"If your feet grow weary, feel free to ride atop Charlotte." An ... interesting suggestion, considering that he had just mentioned that the spider had eaten another spider. "Really, she is quite harmless. The ... mate issue was a one time occurrence, and only applies to spiders." As if to confirm this, Charlotte bobbed her head in agreement, twiddling her foreclaws timidly.

It seemed Lucien was leading them down a relatively straight path, deeper into the forest; fortunately they had seen nothing hostile as of yet, though with every notable sound (and sometimes when there was no sound at all), the vampire would pause and incline his head, inhaling slowly as if evaluating scents or perhaps the very currents of air that seemed so still this far into the forest. Still, nothing seemed to bother him yet, and so they pressed on, the darkness eventually thickening to the point that a lumos spell would probably be necessary for ... those not accustomed to seeing in the dark.

[ALIAH ISABELLA EVANS]

She blinked and shot a nervous glance at the Professor. Hereditary traits? She hoped he wasn’t in too much of a hurry to experiment and discover the effects of the sweet, the afternoon had already gotten off to an odd start and she was in no hurry to add another mark to the tally.
’Um, if you’d like to experiment with them, I’ve got a bag of them in my dorm I could give you,’ she swallowed, before her mind did really turn to wondering. Great, she was sure to be paranoid of randoms coming at her from the shadows to bite her. That would certainly be an inconvenience on her next visit to Hogsmeade, and probably one to be avoided.

But she was struck how candid the Professor was in comparison to his son, but she didn’t dwell on it too long as a particularly nasty rock was jutting out of the pathway and she was eying it with fastidious distaste, and she’d just set foot on the small slope that led down when her foot hit another damned icy patch and she felt her feet slipping, and was forced to latch onto the offered hand with a grip of iron, getting her footing back but staring blackly at the descending path. No doubt the melting snow would run down this hill, and with the dropping temperature at night it would freeze into thick ice, so she swallowed down the usual weirdness of gripping a teacher’s hand like a small child and made her descent, holding her head high with a lot more dignity than she likely deserved, ignoring the protesting squeaks of the little bat. She wasn’t sure whether Professor Séraphin was talking to her, so she frowned in concentration, finally breathing a soft sigh as her boots hit level ground before it was swallowed by an ‘oof’ as her toe hit a tree root and she swore.

’Bugger, oooow,’ she said under her breath, before looking angrily up at the huge tree that rose from the ground, even at the edges of the forest its uppermost branches were swathed in shadows, and she could smell the thick, earthy smell of the soil mixed with the slightly foul smell of decaying vegetation and a coppery tang she couldn’t identify. Looking back, her gaze passing over the acromantula descending gracefully behind them to the Professor, talking in a warm tone about the small bundle in his arms. She blinked, the little thing was hungry? Oh dear. Knowing her luck, she’d probably end up as dinner. Staring down at a thick blue vein in her wrist, standing out against her pale skin, she entertained a thought of what she might taste like, before shaking her head and looking up to see the small wriggling creature being held out to her.

’Oh, um, okay..’ she said as the baby bat was positioned in her arms, she did indeed feel his little body’s heat and it was a welcome respite after the relative coldness of Professor Séraphin’s hand. She used her hand to hold the little thing steady as it made himself at home, wondering perhaps if it would be more comfortable resting in the folds of her hood, before a small movement of her arm revealed the little talons on his wings were attached to the fabric of her jumper, he was obviously quite comfortable, gathering from the quiet that now emanated from him. Despite his size, he wasn’t very heavy, and Lee could even feel his little heartbeat through her layers. She offered the little bat a timid scratch between its ears, smiling at its little chitter. Before long, is quietened and promptly fell asleep, leaving Aliah a little baffled.

Listening to the order of things, she nodded before she looked incredulously at the spider.
’Accidentally? How do you accidentally eat your mate? If I tried that with any of the guys- um, never mind,’ she cut off, remembering it was indeed a teacher she was talking to, and looking intently down at the forest floor in front of her. She flicked a glance at the acromantula, not exactly sure what to think. Should she offer sympathies to the giant arachnid? More importantly, how were they going to get an acromantula egg, it wasn’t as if they were to be found lying amongst the roots of the forest. She wasn’t afraid of spiders, just the thought of making off in the darkness with the egg of a giant specimen was quite bizarre. Nodding at the mention of the ministry, she’d heard about the decree from her father, who’d said it was almost pointless as they would now be sought on the black market, people doing all sorts of unsavoury things to obtain them, with no mind for any harm they may being doing for a large sum of dirty money. She had listened to Professor Séraphin’s complaints in class, agreeing wholeheartedly for the most part, so she wasn’t surprised that he was scoffing at Ministry protocol.

Her toe still throbbing a little, more from the shock of actually feeling something through the cold as opposed to being in real pain, but she shook her head empathically at the offer. She was perfectly happy walking, and the offer was so bizarre she dropped her jaw a little.

’Thank you, but I’m sure I can manage for now. I’m sure she’s perfectly nice, but um, after what’s happened, I wouldn’t want to distress her further by making her lug me around,’ she said, nodding her head in acknowledgement to the request and shooting a glance at the spider ahead, who, she couldn’t quite tell, looked a little distressed by it all. The concept of having an acromantula in a state of distress was vaguely amusing, and bought a small smile to her face as the forest grew steadily darker. She wasn’t one to be afraid of things that went bump in the night, or the dark even, but there had been a time where she’d refused to turn off the small lamp in her bedroom, and would cry incessantly if forced to turn it off. Her stepmother, fed up of a grovelling, tearful Leah, had locked her step-daughter in the cavernous basement of their Sussex country home, leaving a shivering, 8 year old Lee to face the night alone and in the dark. Looking back now with great distaste (a. it was probably child abuse, that sort of thing), she begrudgingly admitted that it had worked and she’d never needed the lamp again. Regardless, considering the environment and the certainty of uncertainty in relation to the inhabitants of the forest and the fact that it would probably not be appreciated by any of the assembled company to have a blazing white light blinding them at every turn, and obviously there was the wild creatures int he forest to take into consideration, so she merely squinted her eyes, and made her way through the forest relying on her senses and reflexes to navigate the path after the pale form of Professor Séraphin.