Quote:
Originally Posted by
Grangerfn1 
Max stared. Was Spike kidding? He scrutinized the younger boy for a moment, unsure. "Your other shoulder," Max replied, nodding his head at the tarantula. He then realized Spike was holding two small frogs in the palm of one of his hands. Max's tightened expression softened and a grin spread across his face. "Cool frogs! Did you find them along this path?" At the thought of it, Max excitedly scanned the edges of the path with his eyes. While he wasn't a huge fan of toads, frogs were much less creepy and pretty cool.
"Oooooh!" Spike exclaimed. "
That shoulder." He grinned. "She's nothing to worry about. Meet Matilda." On cue, Matilda stretched out and wriggled. "My friendly little tarantula." Okay, she wasn't exactly little on the spectrum of spiders, and some would claim she wasn't friendly purely by species, but she was definitely Spike's best friend.
"You want to hold one?" Spike asked, slightly surprised (but very pleasantly so) to find someone who looked nearly as excited as he did at them. "Killy and Kranky," he introduced, pointing them out with his free hand. "I got them before I came to Hogwarts, but I'm always on the look out on the grounds for new friends. I fancy a snake from the forbidden forest...but getting in there is an issue." He shrugged. "Have you got any pets?"