HP: The Stellar Witch [OFC]

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"Young witch, you should bundle up more. You're not wearing enough," Hagrid said cautiously, settling into the farthest chair. Lys could understand his wariness - she was a Slytherin, after all. Everyone was on guard these days, with people like that friendly Gryffindor senior being quite rare.

"Mr. Hagrid, well, you see, I have a snake," Lys said, pulling the reluctant Grrbing out from her clothes. "He's rather picky with his food. He only eats live prey, and sometimes needs variety in his diet."

Noting Hagrid's surprised expression, she continued, "Between classes, labor service, and homework - I must admit my assignments are in shambles." She placed the writhing Grrbing near the fireplace. "Don't worry, he's too lazy to wander off."

Feeling nervous and unsure what to say next, Lys glanced around the room when a glint caught her eye. "Mr. Hagrid, what's that?"

Hagrid shifted his gaze from the chubby little snake to where she was pointing, up at something hanging from the rafters. "Oh, that's er... something my friend found in the forest and gave to me. Should be some snake's shed skin," Hagrid stood up and took down the skin, handing it to Lys. "If you like it, you can have it. I've got plenty more..."

Hagrid's mind was still preoccupied with how this child had just casually pulled a snake from her collar - it was quite shocking, something he'd never seen before. But it also made him happy - surely someone who loved animals couldn't be a bad person.

"Young wizard..." "I'm Stalis Black," Lys quickly interjected, realizing she hadn't introduced herself even after accepting his gift. "Mr. Hagrid, you can call me Stalis or Lys, either is fine."

"Right then, Mr. Stalis..." "I'm a girl, just Stalis is fine," she corrected.

Upon hearing this, Hagrid's beetle-black eyes widened to more than twice their normal size. "A girl!" He mimicked the motion of pulling a snake from one's collar.

He scrutinized the young witch before him more carefully, but couldn't detect anything particularly feminine. The rusty red hair sticking out in all directions, large gray eyes, prominent nose and thin lips, plus the baggy clothes... A girl? Shouldn't girls wear dresses?

"Ahem," he cleared his throat and continued, "Stal... Lys, you mentioned last time you needed help with something?" Hagrid quickly changed the subject. Even with his occasional slowness, he knew that misidentifying a lady's gender wasn't something worth dwelling on.

"Yes, about that help - my snake has a big appetite and he's picky! He only eats live prey and occasionally needs magical creatures. It's giving me a headache because I can't catch the food he likes. Could you help me?" Lys didn't have any specific ideas, but figured Hagrid, living next to the Forbidden Forest, would know more about small creatures than she did.

"Oh, that's easily solved. A trap near the cabin won't get disturbed, no problem at all. I've dealt with these furry troubles myself," Hagrid waved his dustbin-lid-sized hand dismissively.

Seeing how well-kept the snake's scales were, he could tell she'd put in considerable effort. This small favor wasn't much trouble at all.

Having unexpectedly solved most of Grrbing's food problems, Lys was delighted. After promising to bring Hagrid more cookies next time, she prepared to leave with Grrbing, but... where was Grrbing?

Disregarding the cold and dust, Lys got down on the floor, searching under the sofa and tables, but couldn't find him anywhere.

It was Hagrid who finally found him - Grrbing hadn't left the fireplace at all, he'd just crawled onto a pile of multi-colored fur and was lounging there.

Tucking Grrbing back into her clothes, Lys firmly resolved to master that tracking spell when she got back - those moments of not being able to find Grrbing were truly terrifying.

Hagrid frowned watching the girl stuff the snake into her clothes, but after some hesitation, decided not to say anything.

As he saw Lys out, he pressed another handful of snake skins into her hands.

Back in her dormitory, Lys first released a small bird for Grrbing to play with, then locked the door and headed to the abandoned classroom where Snape and Evans usually went.

When she knocked and entered, Snape was indeed there alone, brewing something.

The cauldron stand was even the same silver one from when she had schemed against Sirius Black, which reminded Lys that her spell accuracy still needed considerable improvement.

Snape only showed any hint of a smile when Evans was around; at other times, he maintained his usual impatient, gloomy demeanor. This time was no exception.

He first glanced at Lys's shoulder, and seeing she hadn't brought the snake, his face twisted into an unreadable expression.

"What do you want?"

Snape was brief and to the point. Lys was even more direct - she simply placed the snake skins on the floor and said, "Not from Grrbing. Use them as you see fit," and turned to leave immediately.

"Wait," Snape said, holding his stirring rod and averting his gaze from Lys. "About the snake incident... I'm sorry." Then he turned back to his potion brewing.

"Well, I accept," Lys shrugged, not feeling particularly moved. While Snape was at fault in the snake incident, she bore more of the blame - she had sent Grrbing away from safety.

Besides, this apology was most likely at Evans's insistence.

Hurrying back to her dormitory, she spent quite a while staring at Grrbing before pulling out a magically pulsing egg from her pocket.

She had found it while passing through the small woods after leaving Hagrid's cabin and had picked it up, though she wasn't sure what magical creature it belonged to.

But Grrbing seemed to like it very much, even abandoning his focus on the bird to crawl over and start eating.