Better - The Marauders

THIRTY-SIX

- Chapter Thirty-Six -
"Oh, shit."

"Mr. Scamander makes me smile."

The marauders were sat in their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Professor Kettleburn was scraping some chalk against the blackboard, crafting some tasks for the class to get on with. Elladora was sat at a desk with Sirius, her 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them' book spread open in front of her as she read up on Glumbumbles.

Glumbumbles were magical grey, fury flying insects native to Northern Europe. They produced a treacle that induced melancholy in those who consume it. The treacle itself was used as an antidote to the hysteria caused by eating Alihotsy leaves. Glumbumbles nested in dark and secluded places and fed on nettles, they had been known to infest beehives, which had a disastrous effect on the honey produced from them.

Newt Scamander, a former Magizoologist, had written a book on all of the fascinating creatures that he had studied and even kept in his suitcase that he had charmed with the power to extend the interior, making a whole other world just inside his case. In this book, there was a whole ten-page chapter on Glumbumbles, including what they eat, what they're like and how they look. Mr. Scamander had included a lot of his own thoughts and opinions on the animals he writes about, which the chapter is mainly full of, but it's still very entertaining to read. Elladora seriously wants to meet him, she did her research and right now, he should be about 79 hopefully he still takes letters and fan mail.

"Who's Mr. Scamander?" Sirius questioned, pinching his eyebrows together, he was thoroughly disinterested in the work whilst Elladora's lips were twitching up at the way Newt described that acquiring a whole swarm of them was one of the best moments in his life. He seemed to have a lot of those.

"He's the author of the book you haven't opened." She looked over the book and Sirius, who flicked a piece of paper over at a Ravenclaw girl, who put a hand to the back of her head and swivelled around to see who had thrown it. Sirius only tuned his head abruptly to meet her eyes, the only facial feature that were peering over the hardback cover.

"Well, I don't want to read the book." He groaned and looked over at the board. "Great, we have to write an essay for homework." His body slumped back in his seat and he pretended to snore as Elladora glared at him slightly.

"Just look," She said and he opened one eye, watching as she placed the book down in front of them, the page to the left had an annotated illustration of a Glumbumble with some writing under it in scribbly handwriting, the next page was typed up with the adaptations that the creature had to go through and Newts thoughts on the process. "This man, Mr. Scamander, gives you everything you need to know about all the magical creatures that have been discovered in the Wizarding World, a lot of them had been discovered by him. This book is filled with drawings, facts and thoughts written by Mr. Scamander himself. I wouldn't have been able to get through my O.W.Ls without this book. I really recommend it, Sirius."