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Kill It Before It Dies by Nagini Riddle

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Chapter 1: Halloween Plans

The bundled up woman traversed through the saturnine road, shivering despite the layers of wool cloaks she wore. Heavy snow thickly filled the air, and in the looming darkness, it appeared black and sinister. Shadows of gnarled empty branches leaped out at her from time to time, but she hurried on, not allowing fear to settle into her frozen mind. 
 
She was pretty enough, what little could be seen of her face, for a red scarf was wrapped around her cheeks and chin to ward of the chill. Her eyes stayed fixed on some point in the distance, as though she refused to look around at the lurking black corners and swallowed darkness. For what seemed like the umpteenth time, she wished she had taken the Knight Bus, but with all the frozen roads, she didn't want to step aboard the crazy vehicle, known for its lack of awareness to the passengers' safety. Better to push through the snow under her own conditions than end up skidding on ice and crashing. 
 
Still, she grimly gripped her wand in her right pocket with mittened hands. If the need arose, she wanted to be ready. Too many times she had heard of the lonely traveler and its gruesome fate. 
 
This passing thought caused her to guiltily pause and finger the wand, wondering if she should just set her reservations aside and get on the accursed bus. For the first time, she truly took in her surroundings. Every which way were bare, icy trees laden down with large amounts of snow. Just trees that eventually vanished in the various distances, fading to the blackness. 
 
Her heart rate sped up with anxiety. She could not deny the fact that she was utterly alone and exposed. 
 
Ridiculous, she chided herself. Shaking her head, she started forward again, but the grip on her wand tightened. 
 
It is a wonder that even when one is freezing, one can still experience a hot feverish sensation. The woman could feel her cheeks flush greatly and suddenly, she felt hot and sweaty under her woolen cloak and robes. She scolded herself again, knowing the expanse of her imagination. Could she not simply get to the building without all these awful fears and hallucinations?
 
Apparently not. A twig snapped behind her, extremely loud, almost as if it had shattered rather than been stepped on. She whipped her head around, the hood of her cloak flying off as she did so, revealing a pale, terrified face and a sheet of long blonde hair. Nothing. There was nothing. Besides, the whole thing was absurd, so cliché. 
 
An involuntary shudder passed over her. She reacted by producing her thin wand, which was instantly covered by the falling snow. Now shaking uncontrollably, her breath came in sharp, suppressed movements in hopes of remaining silent. A dreadful cold seeped through her attire onto her skin and down to her bones. 
 
After a minute, she let herself relax. Nothing there. She closed her eyes in relief. As she did so, she decided it would be better to board the Knight Bus rather than have to go through these spasms of terror every few steps. 
 
The woman turned back towards her destination - and froze at what met her sight, a scream dying in her throat. 
 
A grotesque creature stood, hunched over, a little ways in front of her, its desiccated skin stretched tightly over bones that jaggedly stuck out. It was gaunt, emaciated, its ribs clearly puncturing out of its chest, and an ashy grey hue recalled thoughts of the dead. The eyes seemed to sink deeply into their sockets, like that of a skull, and blood dripped from its pointed teeth. In a strange way, it reminded her of Inferi, albeit with small curved nails and a snarling expression. 
 
It stepped forward menacingly on humanoid feet, licking its ashy tattered lips. In desperation, the woman raised her wand, but her mind was wiped blank by fear. 
 
There was only one thing left to do. She turned on her heel and began to crash through the deep snow. In vain, she cried out for help, the sound muffled by the scarf covering her mouth. The creature's breath seared her neck, smelling of decay and rotting flesh. Another second and she tripped on her cloak. She scraped at the icy ground, trying to get up, trying to crawl away, but a shadow fell over her. A dark, cold, terrifying shadow...
 
---
 
Lily moodily pushed her sausage around her plate, her red hair hiding her sullen expression. The rest of the students took no notice of her sour disposition, too focused as they were on the Halloween trip to Hogsmeade. Their babbling chatter and excited tones grated against Lily’s mind as she continued to roll her food on the golden plate before her. It wasn’t fair. It was not fair.
 
Somebody rustled beside her, and the next second, Lily found herself facing Scorpius, who was smiling rather broadly.
 
–Hey there, sourpuss. Aren’t you excited for Halloween?” he teased, poking her in the side.
 
Lily rolled her eyes and tried to glare back at the blonde boy, but his grin was infectious. Determined to not break her bad mood, she turned away from her friend and focused on stabbing her eggs. Unfortunately, Scorpius only chuckled at this display.
 
–What did those eggs ever do to you?” he inquired lightly, a hint of humor in his voice.
 
She ignored his attempt at conversation, fully intent as she was at not having a good day.
 
–Sulking isn’t going to do you any good, Lily. Hogsmeade is open to third years and up, and it always has been. One moody girl isn’t going to change that,” Scorpius pointed out, as though he had read her mind.
 
–Oh, shut up,” Lily viciously responded, ramming her fork into her plate. The force caused the fork to bend and the plate to crack, but Lily only tossed her fork down and picked up the knife.
 
Scorpius raised a sleek, blonde eyebrow. –Having murderous thoughts, Bloody Mary?”
 
–Go away.”
 
–Are you sure? Because I didn’t come over here just to revel in your glorious mood.” He said it with a hint of mischievousness.
 
Lily struggled to keep her interest from showing, something she found herself doing a lot lately whenever Scorpius came up with his plans. –Whatever.”
 
She could feel Scorpius’ grin widen, and she knew then that he had detected the small amount of interest that hadn’t been able to escape her tone. With a small sigh, Lily shifted her eyes to Scorpius.
 
–Don’t act like this is killing you, Lily. I know very well that you can’t wait to hear what we are going to do this Halloween night. Hogsmeade can’t compare to what I have planned.”
 
–How can you be so smug?” Lily asked, but a smile finally found its way onto her face.
 
–I stole your brother’s map.”
 
Her smile contracted slightly. –How?"

"Easy. Your brother is careless with his possessions. I pickpocketed it during break, seeing as it was already sticking out of his bag..."

"James is going to notice immediately, you know.”
 
–Relax,” Scorpius said, and he whipped out the old folded parchment. Lily fervishly glanced around the Great Hall as she made to push the parchment back into Scorpius’ cloak.
 
–Not here!” she whispered vehemently. –I’m dead if James catches me with that.”
 
He only laughed. –What’s the fun if there isn’t a chance of danger?”
 
This time, Lily actually managed to glare at him. –What’s the fun if your plans are spoiled simply because you were impatient?”
 
–Fair point,” Scorpius conceded, and he put the parchment back inside his cloak. –Care to meet me in the Common Room?”
 
–For the last time, Scorpius, I am not going into your Common Room. All those Slytherins give me the creeps.”
 
–I give you the creeps?”
 
–No,” Lily huffed. –I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
 
–James won’t be able to interrupt us,” Scorpius said tauntingly.
 
–NO! Look-”
 
–Oh, fine. Meet me at the girls’ bathroom during the break, okay?”
 
Lily giggled. She knew he meant the out-of-order bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle, but it still sounded ridiculous coming from his mouth. –Okay.”
 
Scorpius wiggled his eyebrows up and down, and then he hopped up from the bench. –See you later.”
 
She shook her head in amusement and glanced back at her plate. After staring at the mutilated eggs and sausage, she shrugged and ate them. Today was looking up.
 
---
 
Lily caught herself doodling on the parchment before her as Professor Binns droned on and on about some Uric the Oddball or whatever it was. She suppressed a sigh and glanced at the wristwatch her father had given her for her birthday. Five more minutes until break. It might as well have been eternity at the rate Binns was going. Although she knew that watching the time would not help it pass quickly, she couldn’t help but focus her attention on the ticking clock. She loved her watch- not only was it Muggle-made, but it was encrusted with the most beautiful rubies. Whenever she was bored, she always found herself following the progress of the second-hand ticking past the Roman numerals and wondering how non-magical means could create something so pristine and detailed. It gave her faith that magic wasn’t always the solution to a problem, and that some things really did require logic, not a wand and some spells.
 
The class finally ended, and Lily made a beeline for the bathroom. Luckily, Moaning Myrtle was elsewhere. Lily wasn’t in the mood to try and be nice to her.
 
Scorpius poked his head around a corner, grinning evilly. –Need some privacy, Lily?”
 
–Oh, stop it!”
 
He strode over to her confidently, each step full of conceit. –How are you, Lil? Having a good Halloween?”
 
–Will you stop procrastinating? Just tell me what you have planned!”
 
With a playful seriousness, Scorpius gazed into her eyes. –First I need to know how your day has gone.”
 
Rolling her eyes and giggling, Lily gave him a good-natured slap to the arm. –Does it matter?”
 
–Yes.” His eyes glinted malevolently.
 
–I had Binns. How do you think my day has gone?”
 
–Then I say you are in a definite need of some fun… and perhaps danger.” He teasingly waved the Marauders’ Map in front of Lily’s curious face.
 
She snatched the parchment out of his hand. –What exactly are we going to do?”
 
As an answer, Scorpius whipped out an old and faded book that had a picture of a monster on it. Lily’s fingers brushed the cover hesitantly. Monsters were usually in the Forbidden Forest, and tonight was a full moon…
 
–Scorpius, what are we going to do?”
 
The excitement heightened in his expression. –What better way to spend a Halloween than to go hunting?”
 
–Hunting?”
 
–Yeah!”
 
Lily glanced back at the book. –Hunting what, Scorpius?”
 
–Nothing that dangerous,” he laughed.
 
–Scorpius, you sound like Hagrid. Monsters are dangerous. And have you forgotten that tonight is the full moon?”
 
Smirking, he opened the book up. –This is what we are hunting.”
 
Leaning in closer, Lily could barely make out the print: Amphisbaena. A depiction showed a serpent-like creature with two heads, one of which was at the end of the creature’s tail. –That’s not dangerous?”
 
–No.” He innocently smiled at her. –Not any more dangerous than any other serpent.”
 
–The basilisk comes to mind,” Lily retorted.
 
–Come now. I promise you won’t get hurt.”
 
–How can you promise that?”
 
–Because I’ll be there. And because killing one of these is said to give one great power.” He struck a dramatic pose.
 
–Really, Scorpius? Are you even sure there is one near Hogwarts?”
 
–No. That’s why we go hunting!”
 
–And attract every werewolf within five miles.”
 
–You worry too much. You know that werewolves aren’t really a problem anymore. Not since your dad and his friends started that campaign. And we won’t go that far into the forest. I know where there is a trail that we can follow a little ways.”
 
–Couldn’t we just sneak into Hogsmeade like James did his second year? I mean, you can go into Hogsmeade, being a fourth year and all." Lily nervously shifted, her grip tightening on the map.
 
"But you aren't allowed, and I am not going to do something you can't do."

"You would give up Hogsmeade for me?" Lily felt touched.

Scorpius didn't answer, but he didn't need to.

"Still, Scorpius, hunting a dangerous magical creature and in the Forbidden Forest at night..."

–Are you scared?” Scorpius purposefully lifted one eyebrow at her, knowing full well how Lily would react.
 
–No, just trying to be reasonable.”
 
–I though Gryffindors were brave,” Scorpius stated with an edge of disappointment.
 
–We are,” Lily responded defensively.
 
–Prove it.”
 
Lily gritted her teeth. He always knew exactly how to manipulate her. –Fine, but we are taking the cloak. I know where James hides it, and I can probably get it before James visits his room.”
 
Scorpius instantly grinned. –Deal. Meet me at Hagrid’s garden at 6.”
 
Without another word, Lily brushed past him determinedly out the door. Despite her nerves, she could still feel the thrill beating inside her. Even if they didn’t find the serpent, she knew she would have a good time with Scorpius.
 
Chapter Endnotes: I wonder what they will run into... *evil smile*

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