CHAPTER ONE: HERE WE GO AGAIN

The chilly, early September wind blew through the massive structure of Hogwarts Castle, disturbing the placid surface of the lake and even shaking a couple of sturdy boughs on the Whomping Willow.

Inside, the drapes fluttered noisily. Professors Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick busy themselves with charming them, especially those that line the hallway near the Great Hall. A few feet behind them, Argus Filch, suspiciously sniffs the cold air.

"I think we're to expect a harsh winter this year," McGonagall says, her lips pursed in a firm line.

"Very harsh," adds Flitwick. He flicks his wand and halts the moving drapes in front of him. His forehead is creased with concentration and worry. "I've never seen anything like this."

Before McGonagall could say anything, Filch holds up a finger to his lips. "Do you hear that?"

Filius looks at him strangely but listens anyway. There is something. It sounds distant. A door left open? He listens further. An animal? He turns to look at Minerva.

The tall witch waits another minute until deciding to speak. "Heavens, Filch. What is that?" She points towards the direction of the Great Hall's foyer. "It sounds like it's coming from over there."

Filch follows McGonagall who walks briskly towards the noise. Professor Flitwick follows close behind, charming each drape he passes.

The foyer is empty. But they can still hear the thing, only closer now. The trio look at each other and then at the Great Doors. Through a silent agreement, they all opened the doors at the same time, with the two professors flicking their wands and Filch prying it open with his bare hands.

Lightning flashes overhead. Thunder crashes immediately after. Right by their feet is a bundle of rags, soaked, with something moving inside. With the help of his wand, Flitwick pulls away one layer of the rags to reveal the contents of the mediocre packaging.

It is a little baby girl.

The two professors gasp in surprise. Filch only laughs.

"Well, well," he says. "Not another one."

It is barely eight in the morning, yet a racket is already echoing through the thickness of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid wipes his forehead with the back of his arm as he runs for the Rhinotah - basically a huge rhinoceros with cheetah-patterned armour. It is thrashing about wildly, with Neville Longbottom on its broad back. He is hanging on for dear life, screaming for his grandmother.

His enchanted class card flies out from his pocket and hits Karla Haughton, a Slytherin, smack in the middle of her forehead. She takes it off and looks at it.

Monday. First Class: Care of Magical Creatures.

Professor: Rubeus Hagrid.

Houses: Gryffindors and Slytherins. (7th Level)

Usually, Karla would throw a fit if anything of Neville's touched her, but since it's the first day of classes and the "clumsy dungbomb" is already in the middle of something hilarious, she'll let it go this time. With an evil laugh, she drops the class card into the intercepting wind which blows it off again, this time straight into the woods.

"Neville!" Hagrid hollers as he tries to reach for the animal's leash. "Hold on, boy! I'm going ter get yeh down!"

Hermione Granger, Neville's partner for today's class, watches with terrified eyes as the Rhinotah lows like a cow and bounces like a bull, flailing Longbottom around, who looks so frail on the huge animal.

Ron Weasley, who is standing beside her, has his eyes opened wider than his gaping mouth. "I don't understand it," he says, grasping the leash of the enormous but rather placid Rhinotah between him and Harry Potter. "They're the calmest creatures we've had. They eat grass, love a good cuddle and are scared of the dark... what happened?"

Harry shakes his head, clueless. He ran his hand through his dark hair and nervously watches the scene. "Uh, do you need help Hagrid?"

"Don't worry Harry, I can do this!" he replies, grunting with each step he took.

Hermione wrings her hands as Hagrid keeps hopping around to catch the leash. Rhinotahs are very tame magical creatures. She's read about them before. The only thing that can drive them wild is a good kick in the behind like any other animal.

"Aw, come on, Hagrid!" shouts Draco Malfoy as he pats the Rhinotah assigned to him and Pansy Parkinson. "Let the Rhinotah have a little bit of fun!" He laughs as loud as he can and Pansy cackles along with him.

As soon as she hears them, Hermione's eyes narrow into slits. She whips her head to face the right side of the class and glares at Draco. He's now high-fiving the brainless duo, Crabbe and Goyle. 'That obnoxious, evil, spoiled - how could anyone be his friend?' she thinks, disgusted.

"Look, Pansy," Draco says, nodding towards Hermione, "The Mudblood's family still has enough money to get her through seventh year in Hogwarts."

Pansy throws Hermione her famous pug pout. She then points menacingly at her feet and whispers to Patricia Haughton, another Slytherin girl, and they both have a laugh at her yellow Wellington boots.

"At least you didn't miss the party, Granger," Draco smirks. He laughs again at the running Hagrid, bucking Rhinotah, and screaming Neville. He calls out to the rest of the class. "What do you say we all bet on which freak gets tired first?"

Now it was Ron and Harry's turn to get upset. As they start towards Draco, Hermione stops them and gestures that she will handle the situation herself.

"You did this, Malfoy?" she says accusingly, approaching him in determinedly.

"Ooh, are you going to hurt me Granger?" he taunts.

"DID YOU DO THIS TO NEVILLE, YOU FERRET?!" she yells as she pushes him. The Rhinotah beside him grunts nervously.

"DON'T TOUCH ME, MUDBLOOD!" he yells back, pushing her, too. "I won't take credit for anything Longbottom does to himself." His right hand slowly reaches for his wand in his jean pocket.

Hermione who has also started to reach for hers finally has a good grip of it underneath her school robes. "Nobody calls me a mudblood, you wart," she mutters threateningly at Draco.

"Well, I just did," he jeers, "What are you going to do about it?"

"Just this."

At the same time, Draco and Hermione raise their wands and place jinxes each other in a flash. Everyone ducks with the exception of Hagrid and Neville who are still busy with their own problems a whole 30 feet away now.

A scream erupts just as Hagrid got hold of its leash. The Rhinotah immediately stops bucking and catapults Neville straight into a muddy pool near their Professor's hut.

"What is it this time?!" Hagrid roars, tying the leash onto his fence post and running towards the commotion.

"Professor Hagrid, sir!" the lovely Parvati Patil wails, "Hermione has been turned to some kind of mushroom!"

"And Draco's— Draco's—he's a—" stammers Pansy who is now on her knees.

"A wart!" Ron cries out happily.

Hagrid walks through the parted crowd of students and fortunately manages to see a piece of wart and some weird shaped mushroom on the still dewy lawn. He looks at his students and points at Draco and Hermione.

"Perhaps, the most important lesson we've learned as of today is that these two creatures are the hardest yet to tame."