Know thy Familiar!

First Predicament: Owl and Rat

As I dodge a stunning spell in a dark and secluded alleyway, it occurs to me that there might be more attackers than I imagined. I was caught unawares, and I’m not sure I can take them all out. Although I like to be independent, I know better than to stay in a dicey situation like this on my own. It never hurts to have backup, so I summon my owl, Arradon, and my rat, Leirus.

A light rain begins to fall, and I curse silently. Rain will only complicate my situation. I hope Arradon and Leirus arrive soon . . . there is a pounding in my temples, and the alleyway seems to be tilting . . . I managed to take out two of my attackers earlier, but there are two left that I know of and there might be more. I doubt I can handle them all at once, which is why I crouch behind a rubbish bin and wait warily.

Suddenly, a flash of light explodes beside me and the rubbish bin is torn away. I whirl to face my attacker. His wand is trained on me, but he is distracted by something at his feet.

Leirus. Thank Merlin.

She bites down hard, and her magically enhanced teeth pierce the dragon hide boots with no difficulty. I don’t suppose my assailant thought to reinforce his skin magically, and I’m proven correct when he howls and kicks out at the rodent scurrying around near his feet.

But Leirus is gone by now. She has been trained well, and her dark fur helps her melt into the shadows. She doesn’t stay in sight if she thinks I can manage. Indeed, I took advantage of the momentary distraction and hexed him. Leirus is snuffling and squeaking anxiously at my feet. Though I still cannot see her, I assure her that I’m unharmed. She flicks her tail once, then darts down the alleyway, heading for the exit. When she smells flesh, dead or alive, she will warn me.

I hear a screech from behind me and then a woman’s shriek, and I throw myself to the ground. Is the woman an innocent victim? I raise my head carefully and see Arradon jabbing his claws repeatedly at the woman’s face, especially her eyes. Then Arradon clubs her on the back of her neck with one powerful wing, and she slumps to the ground.

“Arradon! Are you sure--” I start, but take a sharp breath when I see the knife and wand falling from my attacker's lifeless fingers. Evidently, she deserved what she got.

Arradon gazes at me gravely with one golden eye when I express my appreciation, then glides back up the alley, a silent ghost in the night, to make sure we aren’t being followed by anyone else. Leirus darts ahead of me, and as I finally make it out of the alley, I’m thankful for my Familiars--the ultimate guardians.

Hmm, I know that's a bit long, but I needed to give my imagination a warm-up . . .

Toad: He sits virtually anywhere outside and is ignored . . . so he hears and sees things I would never know. He can then warn me if the wizard whom I've invited over for dinner is actually trying to figure out the best way to break in and steal my valuables.

He can sense if a wand has performed a curse recently. Since particles of Dark magic will still be floating around the wand they will cause him some discomfort if his skin is dry. If his skin is wet he will feel the Dark particles being repelled. He will then alert me to the fact that the witch or wizard may be Dark . . . He can sense this even if the wand is in a pocket. As long as he is less than two feet away . . .

To warn me he croaks in a certain pattern I have trained him to croak, and his left foot turns orange as a side effect from the Dark particles.

Cat: She can pretend affection, then turn nasty, using her teeth and claws as weapons. She's fast and silent, and can pad up noiselessly behind someone who's trying to harm me . . . she can also get in and out of very tight places, thereby rescuing me if I need it or escaping if she's captured. She can tell when food has been poisoned and will not allow me to eat it. Also, she yowls if she sees anyone unexpected approaching my house at night, and the person in question can't see her to take her out, because she blends in with the shadows and streaks out from underneath bushes faster than the blink of an eye.

Kneazle: They are intelligent, and can tell if a certain person is untrustworthy. They are very good with directions, and can help me home if I'm lost . . . their qualities are very similar to cats', but Kneazles, once they're loyal to a witch or wizard, remain loyal. A cat, on the other hand, may sometimes waver between loyalties.

(Haha. This site I'm reading says, "Koalas are not bears. It is incorrect to call them koala bears. Their correct name is simply koalas." Lmao lots of people must make that mistake, then, if that's how they start off.)

So then, simply Koalas: Two of their five 'fingers' are movable, so they can pick up stuff and grip tightly to things. Once I lost my wand while tracking a Death Eater, and my koala found it in less than one minute. He was able to bring it to me held in his two 'fingers,' instead of calling to me and thereby alerting me to its position. A noise would have been dangerous, as it would have alerted the Death Eater to our position.

When he spies for me, he can hide up in trees. He also watches my front door, back door and windows by traveling from tree to tree around my house at night. He is naturally awake at night, so he can help me on night trackings.

Clabbert: The pustule in the middle of their foreheads flashes red when it senses danger, so it is good to have Clabberts as part of a security system. They are comfortable in trees, and can move quickly and silently between branches. They are more helpful than koalas in this aspect, because they move faster than koalas.

They have sharp teeth, and although they prefer to prey on lizards and birds, these teeth can be helpful in stopping a potential attacker. In fact, my Clabbert once ate a cursed Doxy which was heading for my house. If the Doxy would've entered, the entire building would've gone up in flames. Surprisingly, my Clabbert suffered no pain at all from devouring the cursed creature, and was only restless for one day, during which she turned every color of the rainbow.

Hippogriff: They are strong, with sharp claws and beak. This can come in handy if I need protection. They also do not form bonds with Wizards easily, but once they do they're very loyal, due to their sensitive nature. So if my hippogriff sees me being attacked he will almost certainly come to my defense. They are sensitive, and so can tell if I need rescuing/protecting.

Also their flying skills are very useful in tracking Dark Wizard/witches and escaping from them. They have considerable speed both in air and on the ground. They are also intelligent, and usually understand more than they let on. They have extremely sharp eyesight as well, and in fact my hippogriff once realized I was in danger before I was aware of the danger, and rushed over to protect me, when he and I were over four thousand feet away.

Dragon: This powerful creature is dangerous to all, and therefore works as an excellent guard. The Common Welsh Green tries to avoid humans, but if they are stationed outside a place that needs protecting and anyone tries to approach them, they WILL ward them off. Dragons' assistance should only be enlisted when there are enough trained Wizards/Witches around to control them if they get out of hand.

They have natural dangerous weapons--sharp talons, teeth and fire-breath. Their eyesight is pretty good, their reflexes are excellent, and their speed while flying is more than decent. Their skin wards off most spells, and some have dangerous horns or ridges on their heads, backs and tails. They should be used as guards only when absolutely necessary, because all Wizards, Dark or not, are alike to them. They deal with all humans the same way.

Sources: https://www.savethekoala.com and 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'

OWL:

Owls are highly intelligent creatures with the ability, in the Magical World, to search out any and all humans, and even non-humans, for the simple purpose of sending them a letter. Owls would be useful in combating dark forces because they can search out any enemies, in dark without seeming conspicuous. This enables the DA or the Aurors sending out the owl, to track down the death eaters with ease and conduct an effective and short ambush!

CAT AND KNEAZLE:

Cats are cute, gentle creatures that can turn ugly in a matter of second, and the Kneazle, which is quite closely related to the cat, can also do the same. Kneazles can detect dark people and take a disliking towards them. For example, Crookshanks is a cat, but he is part kneazle. He is extremely loyal to Hermione, and could see that Sirius was the good guy, but Scabbers was Pettigrew, the bad guy. His cat instincts of prowling undetected and slinking quietly from place to place came in handy along with his feline desire to eat rats came in handy when he tried to do away with Wormtail for his owners and for the dog that had befriended him. Cats and Kneazles also have deadly claws that really hurt when drawn across the body…I speak from experience…

RAT:

Rats are small and like the other animals, can get by undetected and can do things that larger animal and humans find difficult to do. Most of these creatures are useful for the same reason really: because they can do things we can’t and they can use their animal instincts for things that we are too big and conspicuous to do. For example, Wormtail as a rat was small enough to touch the knot on the Whomping Willow and let the others through. He was also small enough and harmless enough to hide as a rat for twelve years, live in the sewers, get information from other rats that knew more than he did…etc

TOAD:

Toads and frogs are small, just like rats, but they cannot move as fast or have the same agility. So they are still good for gaining information because they sit for quite a long time, just looking for flies to eat and they can listen out for any information or classified plans to relay back to the squad leaders to use in attacks and so that, again, the enemy can be ambushed.

KOALA:

Koalas are small cute critter creatures that are brilliant climbers and can cling to anything without support, using their vicious but oh so cute claws. Nobody would ever think that these creatures would be used to spy, so they would be dismissed as stupid little “bears”, who are munching on leaves. If attacked, they, like that cats and Kneazles have horrible claws that can rip easily through cloth, and that includes trousers…so it can attack through humiliation. They are also quite irritable if not taken care of properly, so they can be like nifflers and cause havoc while still looking so cute and completely innocent…kind of reminds me of a certain Miss Weasley…

NIFFLERS:

Nifflers are basically big magpies. They collect anything that is gold or shiny or interesting. Therefore, combined with a well-placed shining charm on the wands in the den of the death eaters form outside, release the nifflers and before long, you have a stack of wands and a den of wandless, furious death eaters with lots of jewellery and trinkets from their Noble Pureblood Houses and of the nifflers go again…then you have a stack of shiny wands, useless gold jewellery that you don’t really think is quite fashionable any more (maybe in the 1500s) and a den of apoplectic death eaters who are wearing flashing orange and yellow boxers because they think they look hot…well, you get the picture.

PHOENIX:

Phoenixes are gorgeous birds with amazing powers. On a battlefield, they can heal wounds through their tears, carry immense weights, they can flash/apparate from place to place, they are immortal so they can keep on going for as long as the battle goes on for, they are extremely loyal and can lift up the spirits of the good side while simultaneously dooming the dark side with a single liquid note of song. I could go on listing the virtues of a phoenix, but I can’t and I think that phoenixes which come to those only pure of heart are a great asset to the Light Side.

THESTRAL:

Thestrals are creatures that can only be seen if one has seen death, and considering that most death eaters would have caused death, they would probably be able to see them, but with a memory charm, the thestrals could be brilliant assets because they can find their way, like owls, to any destination on earth and the plus point is that they can carry people to the destination in a very short time, discreetly. They are also muggle proof, unless the muggle has seen death directly and not on TV.

Owl- Many refer to Owls as seers because they can see in the dark and they are swift in flight and quick. They are able to fly long distances and have been trained to carry messages- valuable messages that you can send to your allies. Owls are also intelligent and can blend in with the darkness of the night. Also they are birds of prey so they do have sharp beaks and talons as a means of protection. Their intelligence is amazing and it's why using them as messengers could prove useful. Examples are Harry's owl Hedwig. She's fast, and quite capable of taking care of herself.

Cat-
Although a typical cat may not seem useful, they are. A cat can walk softly on padded paws and slink in and out of corners and areas. They have sharp teeth like needles and their claws are also useful weapons. And cats are very independant creatures. Mrs. Norris for example is able to seek out students for Filch and she's so quiet that you'd never know she's there till she mews or Filch appears. Also the cats of Mrs Figg. Cats are extrememly proud too so they are most likely to stay by your side.

Kneazle- Crookshanks is part Kneazle and he is able to use his feline qualities as well as his kneazle intelligence. He's faithful to Hermione and in PoA he sensed something wasn't right about Scabbers which is why he always tried to get him. Kneazles are highly intelligent and because of that, they can relay messages in their own ways. They are able to spot dark witches and wizards disguised in animagi forms as well.

Rat- a rat may seem like a foul creature but it is actually useful. A rat can scamper around quickly and move faster than a cat can. They can dart in and out of tight places and are less noticable than a cat. They also explore forbidden areas like smelly garbage infested places and sewers and can find secret tunnels that way.

Toad- a toad is small, less squirmy and more practical to carry around in like your pocket or in someplace snug. They can hop up on places and scout around for you. They aren't as intelligent but the do have a sinse of animal know-how to spot where there is danger.

Koala bear- it can climb trees and would make for a great lookout if you need one. They are soft and furry and sometimes they can blend in with trees and other surroundings. And if the enemy isn't aware of them, they can prove useful for stealing things and running back up the tree. They are kinda cutesy too so that may throw off a death eater or an enemy that is on the look out for large terrifying attack creatures.

Unicorn- Fast and they have sharp horns and hooves. A unicorn also has special blood though drinking it could curse you, but it can also curse your enemies should they try to kill one. And the horn of a unicorn is supposedly able to hold and amplify magic and with it swift evasive tactics and its speed you could ride on it and get away from your enemies.

Dragons- Huge, vicious beasts that would give any dark wizard a scare. Though not the friendliest or easily controlled beasts, dragons are a great asset to have. They can breathe fire, spew acid, make horrendous roars that are not only frightning but deafening. They have large wings and can fly and they are fast in flight as well as evasive. They have thick tough skin that makes them nearly immune to physical attacks.

Phoenix- the phoenix has tears that when it cries can heal you, it is also a powerful bird that can produce fire from its body to burn the enemy. It can lift several times its weight and can be very loyal and trustworthy. It also has the ability to resurrect its self and so even when it dies it isn't dead for long. So when an enemy attempts to Kill it, the phoenix just resurrects its self back to life.


Consider those six named creatures and have a think about how they might be useful in combatting the dark forces.

Then do the same thing for three creatures of your choice - use of magical beasts is allowed.

Send in your thoughts. There is no word limit - the quality of what you produce is the most important factor - I'm looking for innovation, original thought etc. Of course, as usual, if you use sources, please cite them - and no copying and pasting!

Up to 50 points will be awarded.

Fawkes attacked the basilisk's eyes...

We who fight on behalf of the forces of light can look towards our Familiars for assistance in time of need.

Owl
Cat (with no kneazle)
Kneazle
Rat
Toad
Koala bear (yes, Roman, I know they aren't bears...)

Consider those six named creatures and have a think about how they might be useful in combatting the dark forces.

Then do the same thing for three creatures of your choice - use of magical beasts is allowed.

Send in your thoughts. There is no word limit - the quality of what you produce is the most important factor - I'm looking for innovation, original thought etc. Of course, as usual, if you use sources, please cite them - and no copying and pasting!

Up to 50 points will be awarded.

Please have your entries in by Friday 14 July (this year!).

Owl

An owl would be useful in sending messages asking for help. Also in the books hedwig seems very loyal to harry, so an owl could serve as an attack partner and scratch the enemy.

Cat (with no kneazle)

A cat could scratch you enemy. it could also trip them and distract them. Also if you have a black cat you could scare your enemy and make them think they are cursed. or if, like me your enemy is alergic, you could make their eyes swell and itch!

Kneazle

has a cool name.

Rat
could steal cheese!!!! (sorry i'm not at my most creative!) and then your enemy would go hungry

Toad
errr...a distraction!

Koala bear
they're cute and fuzzy! who wouldn't want one for a familiar?