"Every creature born of magic reflects the dream that shaped it. Study them, and you study the earliest language of the world."— Archivist Renya Solé, Bestiary of Forgotten Genesis
January 28, 1970
The path down to the Gamekeeper's hut was a treacherous slide of packed snow and ice that seemed determined to deposit unwary students directly into the freezing waters of the Black Lake.
Vega navigated it with the aid of a sticking charm on his boots, his breath pluming in the frigid air. He wasn't supposed to be down here, first years were strictly confined to the castle grounds and the greenhouses, but the Hum in his blood was restless, and Raijin had spent the last hour trying to chew through the lock of his trunk. The serpent needed fresh air, or at least air that didn't smell of teenage boys and parchment.
He found Rubeus Hagrid behind his wooden cabin, near the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was massive. He looked less like a man and more like a tectonic plate that had decided to grow a beard. He was currently wrestling with a large, smoking crate that was bucking violently against the snow.
"Hold still, yeh little blighter!" Hagrid boomed, his voice echoing off the trees. "It's jus' a bit o' tonic! Stop tryin' ter set me beard on fire!"
Bang.
The crate exploded outward. A creature that looked like a cross between a lobster and a flamethrower—a Fire Crab—scuttled out, shooting a jet of sparks from its rear end.
"Oh, fer the love of..." Hagrid sighed, reaching out with a hand the size of a dustbin lid. He grabbed the crab by its shell, ignoring the heat, and tucked it under his arm like a misbehaving puppy.
"Need a hand?" Vega asked, stepping into the clearing.
Hagrid spun around, nearly dropping the crab. His beetle-black eyes narrowed beneath his wild mane of hair.
"Who's that?" Hagrid barked. "Students ain't allowed down here. Grubbly-Plank'll have my hide if she catches a firstie wanderin' near the Forest."
"I was just admiring the wildlife," Vega said smoothly, eyeing the Fire Crab. "That's a fine specimen. Fijian?"
Hagrid blinked. The hostility evaporated instantly, replaced by a flush of pride.
"Aye! Spotted it, did yeh? Fijian Fire Crab. Little beauty, ain't he? Though he's got a temper. Grubbly-Plank says they're dangerous, but he's jus' misunderstood. He's got a tummy ache."
Hagrid set the crab back into the repaired crate, fastening the lid with a piece of rope. He wiped his hands on his moleskin overcoat and looked at Vega.
"You're a Black," Hagrid stated, his tone shifting back to wariness. "I recognize the eyes. You look like your cousin. Bellatrix."
"We share a jawline," Vega said, stepping closer. "But not much else, I hope."
Hagrid grunted. "She was a handful, that one. Used ter try and hex the Bowtruckles just to see 'em squeak. Nasty business."
The Spark in the Cold
A low, vibrating thrum came from Vega's chest.
Hagrid stopped. He tilted his huge head.
"What's that noise?" Hagrid asked. "Sounded like a... like a generator."
Vega patted his heavy winter cloak.
"He smells the Fire Crab," Vega admitted. "He likes the heat."
"He?" Hagrid's interest was piqued. He leaned down, bringing his face closer. "You got a pet in there? Not a toad, I reckon."
Vega unbuttoned his cloak.
Raijin was coiled around his neck, seeking warmth. The sudden exposure to the cold air made his obsidian scales contract, but the scent of the Fire Crab's residual magic woke him up.
The Lei Shen uncoiled. He lifted his head, his crystalline antlers glowing with a soft, blue electric pulse. He tasted the air with a forked tongue made of ozone.
Zzzzt.
A spark jumped from Raijin's nose to Hagrid's beard.
Hagrid didn't flinch. His eyes went wide, round as saucers.
"Blimey," Hagrid breathed.
He sank to his knees in the snow, ignoring the wet cold, just to be eye-level with the creature.
"Is that... nah, it can't be. Is that a Storm-Wyrm?"
"A Lei Shen," Vega corrected. "A Thunder Spirit. From the Kunlun Mountains."
"A Lei Shen," Hagrid repeated reverently. He reached out a finger. Most people would have pulled back when Raijin hissed, his neck frills flaring with static. Hagrid just chuckled.
"Aren't you a feisty one," Hagrid cooed. "Look at those antlers. Coral-structure, right? Mr. Scamander, wrote about 'em. Said they eat lightnin'."
"You know Newt Scamander?" Vega asked.
"Know him?" Hagrid beamed, puffing out his chest. "We're pen pals! He sent me a book on Graphorns for Christmas. Best present I ever got. Though the book did try ter bite me finger off."
Raijin, sensing that this giant human was not a threat but merely a very large, warm object, slithered down Vega's arm. He extended his head and sniffed Hagrid's finger.
Snap.
A blue arc of electricity connected them.
Hagrid laughed, a deep, booming sound that shook snow from the nearby trees.
"He's got a kick to him! Strong lad. How old?"
"Two weeks," Vega said. "I hatched him on the Viaduct."
"With the storm?" Hagrid guessed, looking at Vega with newfound respect. "Takes a lot of juice to wake up a spirit like that. Most wizards would've fried their eyebrows off."
Hagrid stood up, the knees of his trousers soaked.
"You best keep him hidden, Vega," Hagrid warned, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial rumble. "Grubbly-Plank sticks to the book. Puffskeins and Flobberworms. She sees a Class XXXXX spirit wrapped round a first year's neck, she'll have a fit. And the Ministry... well, they don't like things they can't control."
"I have a habitat in my trunk," Vega assured him. "Newt helped me set it up."
"Good man, Newt," Hagrid nodded. "But listen. If he gets peckish between storms... try Ashwinder eggs."
"Ashwinder eggs?"
"Frozen ones," Hagrid advised sagely. "If yeh freeze 'em, they hold a latent thermal charge. Crunchy. Like popcorn for spirits. Keeps the static down so he don't shock your ears off."
He winked.
"I got a stash in me hut. From a nest I found under the stands at the Quidditch pitch. If yeh ever need a handful, just ask."
Vega smiled. He liked Hagrid. There was no pretense here. No politics. Just a man who looked at a creature capable of stopping a heart with a touch and thought it was cute.
"I might take you up on that," Vega said.
Raijin retreated back into the warmth of Vega's cloak, purring contentedly.
"You better get back up the castle," Hagrid said, glancing at the darkening sky. "Before Filch catches yeh. He's been prowlin' like a cat in heat ever since someone let a Niffler loose in his office last week."
"That was likely a Hufflepuff," Vega noted. "They have been feeling adventurous lately."
"Aye, well, keep yer head down," Hagrid chuckled.
He turned back to his crate of angry crabs, then paused.
"Hey, Vega?"
Vega stopped.
"Nice ter meet a Black who likes monsters more than mirrors," Hagrid said gruffly. "You ain't like the others. Your cousin... Narcissa... she looks at the forest like it's gonna stain her boots. You look at it like you wanna know what's livin' in it."
Vega touched the lump beneath his cloak where the storm spirit slept.
"The world is bigger than the castle, Hagrid."
"That it is, lad. That it is."
Vega turned and headed back up the snowy slope.
Ashwinder eggs, Vega thought. Who knew?