Humble & Wild

After the night of running into Harry and the others, Terra thought to keep that to herself, seeing she did not want to expose Lulu but not wanting any other student to go near the Three-Headed Dog, for both safety of human and beast. She also found out that after the flying lesson, Harry became the new Gryffindor Seeker, he clearly has the talent for the sport, she noticed that Hermione would be with her whenever the chance happened to meet, which she knew at once that the Gryffindor girl was not speaking to Harry or Ron indagating that she is cross with them.

It is the weekend, a perfect time to catch up on homework or to relax, Terra was one of the few first-years to relax, after going to the forest to see Firenze the Centaur and crossing paths with Hagrid, she was about to head back to her Common Room, when she heard the familiar sound of Pansy and her group talking to one another coming around the corner of the hallway in front of her. To avoid them she quickly opens a random door, quickly closing it the soft click of the handle echoed the hollow room, as she sees a big mirror in the centre of the room, bigger than any mirror she has ever seen, she walks closer to it, wondering why it is the only thing in the room. Only about a couple of feet away she could see herself, but something faded was beside her, walking closer the faded patch slowly starts to form a shape of a person, she turns around thinking there was someone behind her, but no one was there, she walks closer and closer.

She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands, stepping back from the mirror, turning around as if someone was behind her again, but there was still no one, just her and the mirror. Slowly turning back to it, taking a deep breath, and cautiously steps back in front of the mirror, she could not stop herself from letting a small whimper escape, staring in the reflected glass was a woman, tall, with beautiful long wavy dark brown hair, and the perfect shade of Hazel eyes, her eyes.

“Mum?”

The woman smiles at her, Terra could not stop the tears from falling as she sobbed.

“Rolf come on; you have to see this!” Terra exclaimed as she half dragged her brother to follow her.

“Terra slow down,” he says as the enter the room.

“Come on look it’s Mum,” she tells him as the are now standing in front of the Mirror.

“What are you talking about? It’s just us,” he says looking at their reflection.

“Stand there in the middle,” she tells him, moving him in the centre and moves to one side out of the mirror sight. “You see her now?!”

“No, it’s me, but much older, and it looks like I’m a  Magizoologist like Dad and Grandfather.”

“What?!” Terra looked back at the mirror then back at her Brother. “But I saw mum.”

“Come on Terra,” Rolf stated and slowly moves Terra away from the mirror.

“But-” she stopped herself, there was no point in talking back to her brother, but she now knew where the Mirror is, she can come back again.

After coming across the mirror, she went every weekend to see her mother, not caring if she had homework and if she was avoiding her to some extent acquaintances. The Autumn leaves fall as the rain pour down outside, Terra was once again in the room where the Mirror is, sat on the stone-cold floor resting her chin on her knees as her arms wrapped around her lower legs without a care in the world, Lulu pokes her head out of her front pocket, staring up at her friend, on her third time on seeing it she worked out the writing on the mirror.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

I show not your face but your hearts desired

“Back again Miss Scamander?”

Terra turned around in shock, Lulu quickly hide herself back in the pocket, she stood up so fast she almost lost her balance, she has been told of Albus Dumbledore as the wise and powerful wizard by her family, but she would never expect to be in the same room as him.

“Prof Dumbledore,” Terra exclaimed.

“It would seem that like many before you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised.”

Terra could only nod in response suddenly losing the ability to speak in the present of the most respected Warlock in century’s.   

“But I expect you’ve realised by now what it does?”

“Yes, I-I see my Mother,” Terra replied in a small voice, comprehending that this is the first time of speaking to the Headmaster of the School.

“Ah yes I thought as much, your mother was a remarkable woman, and student, and you didn’t hear from me, but Minerva said she is one of her favourite students even if see was not in her House.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes, and she would be proud to where you are and for what you wish to be, but what is it that troubles you Miss Scamander?”

“I know she’s not here anymore, but seeing her here, I'm… I'm afraid of forgetting her, her voice, and-”

“I understand,” Dumbledore says softly. “What happened to Maria was a tragedy, but what she did was saving you and your Brother that day.”

“But how come Rolf didn’t see Mum too?” Terra questioned.

“We all grieve in different ways, and some take longer to heal, and of course we have moments where we think back on the people that are no longer with us, however just because we cannot see, hear, hold, nor speak to them, that does not mean we will truly forget them.”

“But why did she have to die,” Terra questioned, tears starting to build up.

“Because she was your Mother,” Dumbledore replied, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “After all, love is very powerful, especially love from a Mother.”     

Terra wiped her eyes with her sleeve, Grandfather was right about Dumbledore, he knew just what to say.

“Now then, I believe it has stopped raining for now, the perfect time to get fresh woodlice for your Bowtruckle.”

Terra looked up at the Headmaster, she was expecting him to look strict but not smiling with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

“How-”

“You are just like Newt in his Hogwarts days,” he replied still smiling. “Off you pop.”

Terra makes her way to the door, before being called again.

“Miss Scamander, the mirror will be moved shortly, and I must ask you not to go looking for it again.”

“Don’t worry Professor I understand, and thank you.”

And without another word Terra leaves.

Staying true to her word Terra did not return to the room where the mirror was, though she had to admit there were moments when she wanted to go, but for what Dumbledore had said to her repeated in her mind. At least she had her classes to keep her thoughts away from the mirror as well as reconnecting with her classmates, however one lesson on Halloween morning could have gone better, while learning the Levitation Charm sitting next to Neville she could hear Hermione tell Ron that he is saying the incantation wrong, and after showing him and preform the spell correctly, she over heard him insulting her calling her a quote on quote ‘nightmare’, and she was not the only one to hear him, she watched as the Gryffindor girl hurrying pass the boys bumping into the Redhead’s shoulder. Sadly, Terra would have gone after her friend, but she had no idea how to help, she knows how to take care of Salamanders when they have a cold, but when it comes to helping sad friend in need of comfort is another task. 

Before the Halloween Feast was under way, Terra overheard by a Gryffindor girl named Lavender Brown that Hermione has been in the girl’s bathroom crying, she hardly ate anything, after excusing herself letting her brother know that she was going to head back to the Common Room, leaving the noisy hall and into the corridors while a storm was thundering outside. Walking for some time trying to find Hermione, seeing how Lavender failed to mention which Lavatory she was in, something foul hit her nose, and before she could groan in disgust, the thumping sound of something huge is in the corridor and it is coming from behind her, without a second thought she quickly hide behind one of the columns, putting her robe sleeve over her nose and mouth as the smell was getting stronger.

THUMP  SCRAPE  THUMP  SCRAPE  THUMP    

It is a Mountain Troll, one of the biggest and most tempered of the Troll family, Terra heard the grunts as it walked by, keeping very still and quiet, it did not notice her, they are not the brightest, but why is it so far from its habitat and how in the name of Helga’s Bloomers did it get in the Castle. The Troll carries on walking, Terra looks around from her hiding spot, it turns right while dragging its club along the stone floor, it was probably the most stupid thing to do is to follow a ten foot tall Troll, but she is ages away from the nearest Teacher and Hermione is still in the bathroom unaware of the danger, she sprints after the Troll, thankful that the sound the Troll is making and with the thunder from the storm is covering her hurried footsteps.

Turning the corner, she sees Harry and Ron locking the doors, but where was the Troll?

“What did you do?!” she asks them as they turned away from the door.

“We locked up the Troll,” Ron replied with an proud smile.

Her eyes widened.

“Do you have any idea where you locked the Troll in!?”

Before either of the boys could answer, a high-pitched scream came from inside the locked door, and all there faces turned white as a sheet.

“Oh, no” said Ron.

“It’s the girl’s toilets!” Harry gasped.

“HERMIONE!” they sync.

Ron unlocked the door, they hurried inside, several of the wooden stalls have been smashed, under the broken fragments Hermione lay hidden.

“Hermione move!” Terra called out.

The boys started throwing some of the fragments at the Troll to distract it, but it was unaffected thing the Troll still had its focus on Hermione.

“Oh pea-brain!” Ron shots throwing a plank of wood at the Troll’s head.

The Hufflepuff draws her wand and aimed at the Troll’s face.

“Flipendo!” Terra casted.

The spell hit right between the eyes, the Troll roared holding his head with his empty hand, this gave Hermione the chance to get out from the toilets, and escape to hide near the sinks. The Troll only grow annoyed and swings his fist at Scamander, Terra muttered a protection charm crossing her arms to protect her chest and Lulu, but the force was too strong, and she went flying into the wall, fallen to the floor in a heap.

“Terra!” the trio called out, in fear of their friends health.

The charm had worked but it was not perfect, she felt a bruise forming on her back and head, a wave of dizziness came over her for a moment but it was soon forgotten when she sees Harry charging at the Troll and jumped on it’s back with aid of the Troll’s club. Now on the shoulders, the Troll tries to shake the boy off, but that only lead to having Harry’s Wand lodged up its nose. Even more annoyed it shuck Harry off and grabbed him by the leg, hanging upside down, the Troll swings its club at Harry, he dodged it, Ron used the Levitation Charm on the club, it slipped from the Troll’s hand, confused on where it’s weapon had gone it looked up, the charm worn off, it fell right on its head, dazed it lets go of Harry, he got out of the way just in time as the Troll fall to the floor passed out.      

Terra gets up gently nursing her head as she slowly walks towards the Gryffindors.

“Is it dead?” Hemione asked.

“I don’t think so,” Harry replied.

“It’ll take more then a bang on the head to kill a Mountain Troll,” Terra informed.

“Terra are you okay?” Hermione asked in a worried tone.

“I'm fine,” she replied as Harry went over the retrieve his wand from the Troll’s nose.

“Urgh! Troll bogies.”

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up, the racket of fighting the troll alerted Professor McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell.

“Oh my-” McGonagall gasped at the sight, she looked at the boys. “Explain yourselves both of you!”

“Please Professor McGonagall, it was my fault!”

Both Teachers and students looked at Hermione in stunned. 

“Miss Granger!” McGonagall stated.

“I went looking for the troll, I read all about them and I thought I could handle it, but I was wrong, if Terra, Harry and Ron haven’t found me, I be dead now.”

“Well, in that case, Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a Mountain Troll on your own?”

Hermione hung her head, terra could not believe what she heard, she would never expect Hermione to lie to a Teacher let alone the head of her House and Deputy-Head.

“Five points will be taken from Gryffindor,” McGonagall says and then faced the boys and Terra, “And as for you three, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could take on a fully-grown Mountain Troll and live to tell the tale, five points, well be awarded to the three of you. For shear dumb luck.”

After tonight’s events the four first-years friendship was set in stone.