A/N: Sorry this took so long. I'm second year uni and midterms and yeah...had to edit my Hagrid 'cuz it was way too confusing. Now I just need to write chapter 3 so I can post chapter 2.
Thank you for all of your comments. Much love. And if your name is Kieth Falwell, I am soooo sorry. Disclaimer: I own nothing but this storyline. Note: This is the sequel to You Look Good in Gray. Read that first or chapter 2 will make no sense. ^^
Ch 1: Teachers and Students
There was a certain resemblance between the creature on the left and Gregory Goyle. Both had sticking faces. Both looked quite strong. And both seemed to carry the air of absolutely knowing that they are better than you. The creature on the right had a similar look, but instead of steady strength there was an light grace that was evident even though she was sitting. She was more comparable to Xiao Li, whose ambitious parents had sent her to Hogwarts in order to receive an English education. Reserved, discerning, and regal, the girl was almost immediately sorted into Slytherin.
"Now can any o' yeh tell me what these are?" Hagrid asked the huge group of students assembled in front of his cottage
A red-haired girl in Hufflepuff robes raised her hand above her classmates' heads.
"They look like hippogriffs!"
Both animals 'kaw'ed indignantly.
"Well that is a good guess. But these 'ere are gryphons. Never confuse the two if yeh can help it. It insults 'em."
The gryphons nodded.
"Gryphons look a lot like hippogriffs, at least to us, but if yeh notice, they 'aven't got horse hindquarters. Their bodies are feline all the way through."
"They look just as stupid though." Keith Falwell's voice rang out from somewhere behind Greg
"'ey! That was uncalled-for! Ten points from Slytherin!"
The Slytherin crowd murmured unhappily.
"They would 'a had being status if they could talk. They got their own language. But they still can understand every word yeh say!" Hagrid pointed at the students
He walked up to the gryphon on the left.
"This 'ere is Gold. He insisted we call 'im that. He's what we call a classic gryphon. The hawk's head and talons, lion body an' tail. Very strong feller. Can fly me o'er Hogwarts. Can write English, too."
Gold lifted his head proudly and re-folded his front paws, yellow eyes staring at the crowd. Hagrid moved on to the gryphoness.
"An' this, is Wind. She's o' the opinicus variety, the difference bein' that she had feline paws, o' course. Other than that, eagle head and tail, cougar body. Not as strong, but she flies fast." He patted her on the neck, "These two come o'er every few years, so we gather all the older students to see 'em."
"Now," he stood to Gold's right, "The greetin' is The same as with the hippogriff if yeh remember. Yeh'll get one of four responses. Who wants to try it?"
Silence.
"Aww come on! One o' the Gryffindors? Harry, how 'bout you? You know how to deal with 'em!" Hargid winked
Harry reluctantly walked out of the crowd, looking not too much better than when he first faced Buckbeak.
"Come on, now. Give 'im a bow."
Harry bowed smoothly but carefully in front of Gold, looking up at the sitting gryphon to catch his reaction. The gryphon looked for a while before narrowing his eyes and 'kaw'ing.
"Step back, Harry. Step back."
Harry returned to his friends, a little bit confused.
"And I thought they were Gryffindor!" Crabbe laughed, earning a chuckle from the rest of Slytherin
Greg inwardly moaned. Leave it to Vincent to come up with the puns...But the chuckling abruptly stopped when a sing-song voice asked, "Can I try it?"
"Well, sure yeh can." Hagrid said uneasily
Luna Lovegood emerged, barefoot, sucking on what looked like a lollipop, and stood before Wind. Stashing the candy in her robes, she curtseyed. Wind, like Gold, looked, and then made a sound that was a mix between a coo and a meow, and dropped her left wing. Luna smiled, skipping to her side, and sat under the drooping wing.
"Well I'll be..."
"What is it, professor?" Hermoine asked
"Oh nothin', Jus' surprised is all. See these two usually taken on four or five students to..ah...mentor for the rest o' the year. They say they teach 'em important lessons. Part o' the deal they 'ave with Dumbledore."
"So...Wind's going to tutor me?" Luna asked
"Yeah. She is...Okay, now everyone's gonna try it."
The students quickly discovered what the four reactions where. Harry had gotten a kind of mild disdain, which a few students, including Ron, Seamus, Benny Margot from Ravenclaw, and about a fourth of Slytherin, got. Most got a nice nod that was a sign of friendliness. A few (like Crabbe, Kieth and Lavender), however, got an angry 'kaw' followed by a raising of the wings, that meant complete dislike. Arthur Lovelace, a Hufflepuff who had tried to run away from the scene altogether, was accepted by Gold as a 'student'. Neville, the last Gryffindor to stand, shakily bowed before Wind. Straightening out, he caught her gaze and it was as though her green eyes where looking through him, into his very core. It was an eternity before she made the noise of approval she'd made for Luna, ending her 'inspection'.
"Way to go Nev!" he heard Ron cry
Neville made his way back to the crowd, only to be replaced by Draco, who had decided to wait to face the gryphon, probably remembering his earlier hippogriff-related faux pas. Strutting up to Gold, who looked both tired and annoyed, he bowed in the most obnoxious and lavish way possible, flapping his arms and making his robes swoosh about as if he were Snape on a bad day. He looked thoroughly pleased with himself until he froze, eyes instantly changing to a look of shock and fear. Neville knew that what had happened to him, was now happening to Draco. Everyone waited in silence, until Gold made the completely unexpected rumbling coo. Malfoy was going to be his 'student' as well.
