The boy looked up from his book and smiled. "I'm Aurelius, and my sister is Aurora," he said by way of greeting.
"Yes, we have some of the heightened senses of werewolves, none of the transformations, and all of the same discrimination," Aurora continued with a kind smile. "We're out to our houses though, so most people know what we are."
"There are usually two or three magical creatures on average in each year at Hogwarts," Luna explained next. "We currently have 17 members, 18 with you. Aceline is the only first year right now, but we'll probably be finding another first year or two this term." A tiny, first year Slytherin gave Harry a shy wave. He waved back with a grin at the blonde girl.
"It's my first meeting too," the first year said quietly. "I'm Veela. My whole family is, and my mother was a member of this society when she was at Hogwarts."
"It's good to meet you, Aceline," Harry shook her hand.
Harry turned back to Neville, really, really wanting to ask what in Circe's name was going on with him and Malfoy. Sensing his dormmate's distress at not being able to ask, Neville smiled and chuckled. "I'm a high elf," he explained. "We're only very distantly related to house elves." With a flick of his head, Neville dispelled a glamour covering pointed ears, not as dramatically pointed as Luna's, and a faint green-tinge to his skin.
"High elves are very tactile creatures," Luna explained with a dreamy smile on her face. "Nev gets a little touch-starved throughout the week since it's not considered polite to hold onto people all the time. We encourage him to be himself during our weekly meetings."
Graham chuckled. "To all of our extensive amusement, Draco is his favorite because of what he is and his aura."
"Hey!" Draco frowned indignantly.
"I didn't tell him what you are," Graham rolled his eyes. "And he obviously knows you're something if you're here." Malfoy glared but didn't say anything else.
"It took over a year for Neville to wear him down," the seventh-year quidditch player stage-whispered to Harry. "We're just happy Draco gave up on all the complaining eventually."
"It was highly annoying," Snape drawled from where he had pulled his marking and blood-red ink from out of a bag. "Since you will most likely ignore all our rules and invade my privacy, I will save us both time and inform you that, yes, I am an alumnus of this club and was a member when it was," he sneered in distaste. "Remedial Divination."
Harry held back a laugh. From Snape's expression, he was certain his Potions Master hadn't been able to pass as a tutor. He just nodded though and bit his tongue to keep from asking what the man was. Snape raised an eyebrow in surprise that Harry was able to restrain himself from asking.
"I'm a vampire," Snape said with a smirk. "Aceline, welcome to the Hogwarts Society of Magical Creatures…Po—Harry," Snape rolled his eyes. "Can we change that idiotic rule this year?"
"You were outvoted, multiple times, Severus," Luna reminded him with a wide grin. Harry and Aceline both looked between the two, expecting their professor to give detention or take away points. The professor just sneered and went back to his marking though.
"Guys! Guys! Guys!" An excited voice was yelling as two brown-headed boys ran into the room. "I've found my mate!"
There was a collective groan all around the room and several eye rolls. Harry looked on in surprise as Colin Creevey, followed by his little brother Dennis, ran in. "This happens at least once a month," Neville remarked to Harry in explanation.
"We've told you a thousand times, Colin. No one finds their mate until their magical maturity at 17," a tall, blond Hufflepuff responded in exasperation. Harry thought the boy was probably a sixth or seventh year but didn't remember seeing him around much. The Hufflepuff continued, "I'll find my mate this year, but you still have about three years."
"Yes, we're all bracing ourselves for the upcoming drama, Matthew," Aurelius smirked at the seventh year over his notes.
Snape sighed deeply. "Why I took over the society from Filius is beyond me. I must have taken leave of my senses. If it isn't teenage hormones, it's magical creature hormones," he remarked to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Harry?!" Colin gasped out in surprise when he finally realized who was in the room. "What are you doing here?"
"Apparently, I'm a member now," Harry shrugged. "Er, Colin…I thought you were muggleborn?"
"We're druids," Dennis answered for his still stunned brother. "Not all druids have magic, our parents don't. So, we're listed as muggleborn."
"Oh…er, so, who do you think your mate is?" Harry asked Colin. "And do all magical creatures have mates?"
"Not all do," Graham answered before Colin could get swept up in explaining how perfect he believed this newest potential mate would be. "Only a few have mates that are chosen for them by magic like magical druids, veela, sirens, and a few others. Many others have mates, but they just pick who they want their mate to be, like vampires, werewolves, Valkyries, fairies, elves, and so on."
"Wow, I have a lot to learn," Harry remarked as Snape snorted in agreement at the statement, not even looking up from the parchment he was marking.
"Ok, Colin, who is it this time?" Neville asked from where he and Malfoy were now sitting together on a couch.
"Ginny Weasley!" Colin was almost jumping up and down in his excitement. "She's gorgeous! Her hair is like sunshine, and her eyes are as blue as the sky!"
"Erm, mate, I think she's dating Michael Corner," Harry winced in sympathy.
Colin visibly deflated, and his brother patted him on the back comfortingly. "Merlin, Colin," Malfoy sighed in exasperation. "It'll probably end between them in a couple months anyway. Mate or not, ask her out if you're interested. It's not like you're going to marry someone before you turn 17. You can always break up if you find out someone else is your mate. Or, just break the mate-bond if you don't like your mate. It's not pleasant, but not impossible either."
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