Don't be sorry.  You certainly did the equivalent of reviewing it, and far more. 

Thank you for your comments.  I suppose that, to the extent this is "about" anything (except, of course, the underlying theme of conservation of endangered creatures), its "about" the joy of discovery -- that Scorpius has resources, and even friends, he didn't expect, and that there's unexpected wonder in the world.  He kind of gets the childhood his father never had. 

Teddy will get short shrift, because this is basically a short story and its not about him.  I'll give hiim his moment, probably in the next chapter or the one after that.  He will come back famous.   But Teddy, I imagine, would have had a tough time of it.  Even surrounded by people who love him, he's an orphan, and a slightly odd one at that (what with the shape-changing talent).  And his parents are two martyrs of the rebellion.  No pressure on this boy growing up!  I could imagine him having a tough time finding his way. 

I'm glad you liked the taxi driver.  Some people object to American cliches.  I love American cliches -- the language, the phrases  (although, shame on me a few chapters back, making Victroire talk like an American high school girl). 

Thank you for the Father Christmas/Santa Claus idea.  I thought it was perfect. 

You're right.  Neville's no fool, and he's been teaching long enough to be accustomed to the stuff children pull.    And, as a Gryffindor, he appreciates a kid who doesn't always color inside the lines, and he truly likes Scorpius.  (But he is thinking about secretly sending an owl to Astoria to reassure her that her kid's with him and okay.)

First, I'm sorry if that bit was confusing. I probably need to take another look at it.

Since the Snorkacks are the title character, they require a backstory.  I did have to figure out why they were so hard to find.  And what they looked like.  I am glad that you felt the part describing the plight of the Snorkack worked. 

Thank you very much for your reviews. 

Back to the original challenge criteria -- Scorpius was one of the characters I had to use in some way, and I had to throw in a reference to the Crumple Horned Snorkack.  So I got the idea of making Scorpius an animal lover, sort of an anti-Draco.  Draco is a bit like my mom, who thought animals were either dirty and took a lot of attention, like dogs, or wrecked the furniture and looked at you funny, like cats, or expensive and dangerous, like horses.   So I suppose there's a bit of me at the same age in Scorpius.  (I would not have had it in me to be that devious, however.)

I imagine Lucius as being pretty thoroughly damaged by his experiences and never really coming back.  The one thing that would be familiar and comforting (and get him out of the house) would be to feed his peacocks.  As a kid, I used to love to feed the peacocks at a local botanical garden where they wandered the grounds; I am amazed at how much of my own childhood seems to have gone into this.   

As to the charity auction part: Scorpius does have a sound Malfoy eye for what happens between people and their money.  It will be useful one day.   

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter  (although I'm not sure but the reference to "Cheers" and "Sam Malone" are just too dated for many people to catch).   I can easily imagine Neville as a genial bartender-for-a-night.  But a crazy Saturday after a year of teaching 5 or 6 days a week and correcting papers -- that would try anyone's patience.    And I thought -- Teddy as an earnest, insecure young man who hasn't quite found himself yet. 

I owe everything to the crazy random prompts of the original challenge.  (Write a one-shot in 48 hours -- which, of course, I began to fiddle with as soon as I'd finished.) 

Thank you so much for your encouraging review.

I had fun doing Victoire as kind of a cliche self-absorbed pretty girl.  My thought was that she and Teddy would sort of deserve each other. 

As to Scorpius' trip preparations:  I probably should have had him bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  The poor kid has no idea what to bring on a mountaineering trip.  Thank heaven there are such things as wilderness guides.  He can't ask his parents, but, even if he could, they would be as clueless as he is. 

Of course, Vickie doesn't really like Quidditch (I mean, who wants to fly in a rainstorm).  It's boring, it's cold, they whack balls at you, you have to practice when you'd rather be doing other things, and Aunt Ginny knows perfectly well from her nieces and nephews (if not her own kids) that Vickie is not a happy camper.  She sees her fall off a broom after being barely grazed by a bludger -- the rumors are that Vickie took a dive to get off the team -- Ginny doesn't have the slightest doubt, and she's embarrassed by what she views as unsportsmanlike, wimpish behavior.  (Let's face it, she doesn't have a high opinion of Veelas anyway.)  Pro player Ginny has high standards anyway. She tells Vicky she plays like a girl (or flies like a Muggle, or some appropriate insult).  Fleur, who saw the same game and saw her daughter knocked off her broom by a hard bludger aimed right at her that would have knocked off anyone, thinks Ginny is totally out of line.  The two women don't speak for nearly a week.

I'm really glad you like this little diversion.  Thank you so much for reviewing.

A lot of these elements came from the original challenge.  I had never written Teddy before, so this is sort of what came out of the mix.  The Snorkacks were supposed to be kind of a random element, and they ended up being the main event.  The "coma in a glass" was inspired by a line by the great Bill Maher in his HBO show Real Time.  (I can't quote it; not 12+.)  Thank you very much for your review.  I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I never quite bought the stories about Lucius returning to his old dirty tricks after the fall of Voldemort.  Rather, I imagined him too overwhelmed with PTSD to have much of a life.  Sitting on an ornate lawn chair at the manor, feeding the albino peacocks, would just about sum up his later life, IMHO.  And, of course, we know Draco isn't much of an animal lover; ask Buckbeak.   So poor little Scorpius is pretty much on his own in that regard.   

I wish I had personal knowledge of the behavior of rich people.  It was a lucky guess.  Thank you so much for this review.

Somehow I managed to post my reply as a separate review by mistake.  Let's try this again.

I think I had a picture in my mind of Rolf that I got from reading one of your stories.  I don't know how I thought up that stuff about the CHS, except that I've always thought capybara are terribly cute, and I was mentally ruling out other creatures (bears, goats) that they might resemble. 

Thank you for using the correct plural for capybara.   I didn't know that they were so dumb, but, considering they are overgrown guinea pigs, I suppose it figures. 

I have to check my original story (that passes for an outline).  But I think we're off to Norway in the next chapter.

I appreciate your reviews enormously.

I am sorry I took so long to respond.  I was sort of picking apart this chapter in my mind.   

I had in mind that Scorpius would be kind of an anti-Malfoy.  Whereas Draco is afraid of hippogriffs and all the Malfoys like things fancy, neat and tidy, little Scorpius likes to play in the dirt.  Another reviewer commented on Lucius' fear of snakes and wondered how Scorpius would know -- he knew because he caught one and brought it in the house and tried to show it off!  Poor Lucius ended up on the table. 

Thank you for your kind words on the charity event.  It was quite fun to write. 

I appreciate your reviews greatly.   

I don't know if my "story note" made it into the final form, but this was originally written in response to the "48 hour fanfic challenge" at HPFF.  "Your situation is - Neville goes for a walk and runs into Teddy, who tells him something about Scorpius.  You have to mention the Crumple-Horned Snorkack and Quidditch Robes.  It can be action-adventure, romance or humor.  You have 48 hours.  Good luck."    So if it seems a tiny bit random . . .

You haven't read it before because it's totally hot off the presses -- it was only just validated.  And I think you, very much, for taking the time to read and leave a review.  (Although I can't see how anyone resists NevillesSoulmate's extremely cuddly Snorkacks.)

Thank you again.  I hope to have chapter 2 up before too long.

Carl, thanks so much for being my first reviewer.  (Since Rose made her banner, I've become quite as fond of the CHS as Luna -- they look so cuddly.)  I think, once I get this finished, I will post the original one-shot, together with the PM telling me what to put into it.  So if it seems a bit random . . . Originally, I had Neville courting Hannah.  Then I realized if Scorpio was old enough to be in school, Neville and Hannah might be a little old for that.  So I changed them into an old married couple. 

Originally, the idea was for Neville to take over the bar to impress Hannah before he popped the question.  Had to scrap that  idea. But I did figure that, since Neville's a scientist at this stage of his life, I'd like to show a bit of that side of him.  He will sort of complement Luna and Rolf, who are similarly inclined (although they are into fauna rather than flora). 

Poor Teddy has developed into more and more of a pain.  He does improve a little in the wilderness. 

I think you were writing this as I was editing it, and I believe (hope) I fixed the lingering italics.  

The part at the end -- I think you're probably right.  I think once I get it finished, I'll do another edit. The part about Victoire is actually repeated in a later sequence, only with dialogue and explanations.  (I think I mentioned that I had to throw a mention of Quidditch robes into the story.)

I borrowed the Geranium Vomit from Aurora, but then I figured I had to make up some others to go with it.  Aurora couldn't tell me what was in the GV, so I made up a few ingredients. 

Thank you again.  I really appreciate your comments.