Cryptid Hunter

[Zoe Westwick]

The grounds of Hogwarts were fascinating to Zoe, with so many different places to explore and discover. She still hadn't quite dared set foot in the forest yet, despite Harley's assurances that the only danger she had seen in there was being caught by teachers. There would be time to check the forest, when she was older and stronger, and knew a few more spells, just in case. Whatever was lurking in there surely had to be powerful and fascinating enough to be worth the wait. (Zoe didn't want to get her hopes up for Bigfoot, but the chance of encountering Bigfoot SURELY had to be enormous.) The lake was certainly worth investigating though, and quite enough mystery for the moment. The real question was, how best to investigate?

It was certainly the best time of year for it if Zoe wanted to swim around in the lake, the hot February sun making the cool water especially inviting, but she had foolishly forgotten her goggles, and didn't know any useful goggles spells yet. So a swimming expedition would have to wait until next summer. Zoe had brought the next best thing though, her trusty binoculars, and on this particular day she had found a perfect rock overhanging the lake slightly to rest on, lying on her tummy over the edge, with her binocular lenses in the water, and her face above, peering hopefully into the open blue below. She couldn't see very far, or very well, but even the slightest flickering sight of some creature of the deep would be enough evidence to begin preparing for a proper investigation. There had to be some kind of fascinating cryptids here at Hogwarts, and Zoe was absolutely determined to find them.

 

[Abel]

Wandering around the forest all of Abel's life had slowly started to bore him. The centaur was becoming frustrated with the lack of hunting he could do and his limited freedom within such a big space. But there was much more of the world than the forest, and despite what his father and his brother would say, Abel decided he would make his way out of the forest when he was sure there wouldn't be many students about. After all, his father was always outside the forest doing whatever he did and Abel wanted to prove to him that he could too.

The sky was magnificently bright and Abel squinted up at it as he took a few steps out of the forest. He felt confident that there was nothing dangerous outside, especially considering the humans called his home the 'Forbidden Forest', and so once his eyes adjusted, the centaur joyfully took a few steps forward, his bow and arrow clutched tightly to his side in case he found an opportunity to try to hunt. Abel found himself walking straight to the lakefront, and he smiled at the sun that reflected off the water in front of him as he surveyed its surface. A rock sat in the distance with what Abel thought to be a mermaid sitting on top with an usual tool up to their eyes. He tentatively raised his bow, wondering what suspicious acts it was up to and spoke clearly over the water. "What is it you are doing?" he said, his arrow pointed at them. He couldn't quite make out what it was and hoped it wasn't anything worth shooting an arrow at just in case.​

 

[Zoe Westwick]

Something was swaying in the depths. Zoe was certain. Squinting into her binoculars she leaned closer and closer, until her face was almost touching the water. Was that seaweed, or could it be the tentacle of some horrible and mysterious creature of the deep, watching her and taunting her? She was so absorbed in her staring that even the voice of some approaching student didn't draw her away. "I'm looking for mermaids." She said matter-of-factly. Staring into the water for a few seconds longer, it eventually dawned on Zoe that he sounded like an older student, and could be a prefect. Was she not allowed to look in the water? Zoe tore her eyes away, looking up to see who had spoken to her.

And froze. Arrow. Bow. Arms. LEGS? A... it... "CENTAUR?!" She shrieked, jumping up from her spot and dropping her binoculars, which would have been lost to the depths forever had they not been secured around Zoe's neck. "You... are you real?!" She breathed, staring at him with wide, bulging eyes. "I... you... I mean, you're... did you... are you... is this a spell, or are you really a centaur?" Ignoring the arrow entirely, Zoe scrambled to her feet, making her way around the boy in awe, staring at his body. Nothing in all her reading and theorising could have prepared her for how this moment felt. A real centaur standing right in front of her. For real. "Wow..." She breathed, almost choking up with excitement. What to even ask him first?!

 

[Abel]

At the creature's words, Abel realised that it wasn't a creature at all and was in fact a human. He froze before slightly lowering his bow, wondering how successful the human currently was with finding mermaids - which he hoped wasn't at all. The centaur watched as the human moved the object it was holding away from its eyes and looked towards him. It spoke, a terrifying shriek alerting the centaur who jumped and took a few steps back, his bow raised even more now than it was before. It looked like it was about to attack as it moved, dropping the object in its grasp and not taking his eyes off him. It were times like this that he wished his father were there.

Abel could feel his knuckles turning white as he held onto his bow, pulling the string back slightly as he tried to make sense of what the human was saying. He didn't expect humans to be so loud, and his heart beat against his chest, not knowing what could happen next as the human approached him, eyeing him as if he were from another planet. "It is I, Abel, a centaur." he said, trying his best to appear confident. "You are a human. Please do not look at me like that whilst you are the one acting rather suspicious." He didn't appreciate the looks he was giving her and if there was one thing Abel hated it was those who showed him no respect.

 

[Zoe Westwick]

Zoe's eyes were near-popping out of her head. A real centaur. She made to take a step closer, but stopped as it was speaking again. The centaur had a name! Zoe knew a centaur's name! "Hi, Abel!" She said excitedly, bouncing slightly on her toes. "I'm Zoe." Zoe's face fell slightly as Abel kept speaking, and she rocked back onto her heels, dejected. "I'm not being suspicious! I just always wanted to see a real centaur. Are there lots of you in the forest, or are you all by yourself?"

 

[Abel]

The human introduced itself and Abel slowly lowered his bow again, figuring that it just wanted to be friendly. However, it was quick to defend and the centaur took a step back, keeping alert in case it was to do anything unpredictable. "I reside with my father and brother." he told her simply, not sure if he should tell her too much. His childhood taught him that it could be dangerous to tell one too much information, but his curiosity of the human's life passed his mind too and he couldn't help but ask. "What about humans? Why are you out here alone?" Abel couldn't help but still feel suspicious of the human. Having not really communicated with any other species before, Abel didn't know what humans were like, and so he had to be cautious.

 

[Zoe Westwick]

Zoe was relieved when Abel lowered his bow. She had been more interested in the centaur before her than the immediate danger, but it definitely felt better not to have a weapon pointing directly at her, and she stepped closer curiously. "So there's a family of you? Are there lots of centaur families in the forest, or is it just yours? That would be lonely, if it was just you." She said curiously, staring at the strange point where his human torso met his horse one. It took her a moment to even realise that Abel was asking a question. "Well, I go to school at Hogwarts." She pointed back at the castle. "I just came out to the lake to look for mermaids, but a centaur is just as good!" She beamed up at him in awe.