Care of Magical Creatures was Harry's only other class with the Slytherins,
potions was absolutely terrible and Harry had lost more house points there
than he had in all his other classes combined! Care of Magical Creatures on
the other hand was quite enjoyable, taught outside on the ground of
Hogwarts but the games keeper, and Harry's close friends Hagrid, who was
half giant but was friendly, kind, and would never hurt a fly on purpose.
So as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Alison made their way down to Hagrid's hut they eagerly discussed what they thought they might be studying this year.
" Well I think that we will be looking at some of the Dark creatures, how to identify them, and dispose of them" Hermione speculated.
" That's a good point, especially with you-Know-Who's rising again" Began Ron "But knowing Hagrid he'd probably end up thinking that the horrible beast was cute or something!"
They all laughed, thinking back to all the times in there past years when Hagrid had become associated with some horrible beast or another, and ended up liking it.
" What if we got to chose a M.O.M. class XXX or lower beast and we got to raise it ourselves?" Wondered Alison.
So far Alison had proved to be almost as smart as Hermione, and just as great, if not better than Ron at wizard chess. They all got along really well with her. The only thing Alison lacked in Harry's opinion was knowledge of his favorite sport, Quidditch. But she made up for it in every other aspect. As for Alison's idea everyone liked it, and for the rest of they way to Hagrid's hut they discussed which beast they might want to raise, occasionally flipping through their copied of "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them"
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Alison were early for class, as usual so they waited and tossed around more ideas to what they would be doing in class this year.
Harry was surprised then the Slytherin group came sauntering our to class. Malfoy, instead of being flanked by his usually cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, he deeply engaged in a conversation about Quidditch with the new girl Nikki.
"My cousin played of they Moose Jaw Meteorites, and we would often play in his back yard, he taught me everything I know. I hear that your fastest broom over hear in called the Firebolt, we don't have those back home, our newest and fastest is called LighningStreak. I brought mine with me to see how it compares."
Harry noticed that Malfoy wasn't saying much, but it didn't matter because the conversation had ended and Nikki and Malfoy were walking towards Harry and his friends.
"Hey Ali!" Nikki shouted and waved. She ran towards them, Malfoy on tow. "Hey, haven't had much time to talk to you. How are you liking Gryffindor so far?"
"Oh it's great I already have a great group of friends. Nikki this is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasly, and of course Harry Potter." Alison motioned to each of them in turn.
Nikki shook everyone's hand "Draco has told me about you three, especially you Harry." She winked at him. "Oh how rude of me Alison Dexter this is Draco Malfoy. The two of us have become fast friends, he knows quite a lot about Quidditch, he tells me he's the seeker for Slytherin!" Nikki Grinned.
"Nice to meet you Draco." Alison said as she shook his hand.
"Hey" was the lame reply she received from him.
Harry glared at Draco and wondered what else he had told Nikki.
"Malfoy, where are those two other deadbeats you used to hand around with, Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked
Harry was pondering that same thing, and was awaiting the answer
"That, Weasly" Said Malfoy with his usual sneer "is a good question, but also none of your business. But since you insist on sticking your nose where it doesn't belong I'll tell you. Those two deadbeats as you call them, which I might add will be the only time in my life that I agree with the likes of you, were beginning to bore me. I wanted some intelligent conversation, instead of grunts and what's for dessert? Thankfully I found Miss Matwiv here who can carry on a conversation."
"Oh, ok just wondering." Stated Ron, who was slightly red from being poked fun at.
Harry was about to say something whitty when Hagrid emerged from his hut, carrying his pink umbrella and a copy of "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.
"Alrigh' class, settle down. This year Dumbledor's lettin' me do sumthin' a little differn' with yeh. But first yeh all need to get a partner from the opposite house."
There was a mad dash for partners. Nikki and Alison were together, Ron and Hermione couldn't find partners and ended up going with each other, and Harry and Draco were buddied up.
"Well Potter, it looks like I'm stuck with you, unfortunately, so lets try to make this almost tolerable shall we?" Malfoy commented
"I will if you will." Mumbled Harry.
"Ok, now that yeh've all got partners yeh need to grab yer textbooks." Hagrid had begun the lesson so Draco and Harry stopped talking to pay attention.
"Everyone got yer textbook? Alrigh' yeh need to look through and find which ones come in eggs. Let me know when yeh've got them all and we'll continue."
Harry was surprised, this was turning into what seemed like a real lesson! Nikki and Alison were first to finished, followed shortly by Ron and Hermione, then everyone else.
"Alrigh' seein' as you two was the first ones done, ah Nikki and Alison is it? Can yeh tell me what beasts come in eggs?" Hagrid has started up the lesson once again.
"Well Mr.Hagrid from what we found there were no X rating, five XX, six XXX, two XXXX, and four XXXXX, but if you fourteen if you count each species of dragon separately. Making for a totally of 18, or 28 depending on how you look at it."
"Very good Alison, almost as good as our Hermione over here." Hagrid said.
Hermione was looking a little angry that she wasn't picked for the answer, and that Alison might be smarter than her.
"It's a good thing that you brought up dragons though, because that is what yeh all will be studien' this year! I want you to go with your partner to pick a dragon and have yerh selection ready for next class. Ok, class dismissed."
A wave of excitement went through the class, they were going to be studying dragons! Harry was suspicious, Hagrid had something up his sleeve.
"So, uh, Potter what sort of hideous beast do you want to do?" Malfoy asked.
"I, er, um, don't know, maybe a Welsh Green?"
"Oh come on lets do something exciting, what about a Norwegian Ridgeback, or the one you got past last year, what was it?"
"You mean the Hungarian Horntail?"
"Yes that one! Wouldn't it be brilliant? Fine then, it's settled the Hungarian Horntail it is." Draco said and started to walk back to the school before Harry could get a word on edgewise.
"So what did you guys choose?" Harry asked Ron, Hermione, and Alison.
"Well we decided to do a Norwegian Ridgeback, just to humor Hagrid we're going to call it Norbert!" Ron Laughed
"Nikki and I had a bit of a tough time choosing one, I wanted to do a Roman Longhorn, Nikki wanted to do a Peruvian Vipertooth, then we decided on the Hungarian Horntail, it was by far the coolest!"
"No way, that's what me and Malfoy are doing, well I really didn't get a say. Hey Ron what did you mean by naming your dragon?"
"Oh Harry you surprise me sometimes! Isn't it obvious? Hagrid is letting us raise dragons, couldn't you see the way his entire face lit up when Alison started talking about dragons, I mean he was practically skipping when he let us off." Hermione answered.
"Oh" was all Harry could say, realizing that is was probably very true, knowing Hagrid. "I think that you and Nikki, Malfoy and I are really going to regret picking Horntails, trust me I know."
*********
Soon they had reached the castle doors and had to split to go to their separate classed, Harry and Ron had Divinations while Alison and Hermione had Arithmacey.
On their way up to the Divination tower they talked about Quidditch.
"Hey Harry, now that Wood's graduated, who's going to be the new keeper / captain?" Ron inquired.
"Hm, I donno, I guess the ream will pick a captain and then we'll hold tryouts." Said Harry.
"Great!" Exclaimed Ron. "I've been practicing all summer, and I'm definitely trying out. You think I'll make it Harry?"
"Probably Ron, if you've practiced all summer then you'll be able to knock the socks off anyone!" Harry Speculated, he was hoping his friend might be on the team, but he honestly had no idea if Ron had improved at all from when he had last played with him. Sure Ron was good, but Harry wouldn't know how GOOD he was until tryouts.
Before they know it they had reached the trapdoor at the top of the long winding staircase and were climbing into the hot stuffy Divination room, that smelled funny.
"Come in, come in my children." Professor Trewlawney beckoned to them. Harry and Ron took their usual seats by the window. Harry prepared himself for another year of Professor Trewlawney predicting his demise.
So as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Alison made their way down to Hagrid's hut they eagerly discussed what they thought they might be studying this year.
" Well I think that we will be looking at some of the Dark creatures, how to identify them, and dispose of them" Hermione speculated.
" That's a good point, especially with you-Know-Who's rising again" Began Ron "But knowing Hagrid he'd probably end up thinking that the horrible beast was cute or something!"
They all laughed, thinking back to all the times in there past years when Hagrid had become associated with some horrible beast or another, and ended up liking it.
" What if we got to chose a M.O.M. class XXX or lower beast and we got to raise it ourselves?" Wondered Alison.
So far Alison had proved to be almost as smart as Hermione, and just as great, if not better than Ron at wizard chess. They all got along really well with her. The only thing Alison lacked in Harry's opinion was knowledge of his favorite sport, Quidditch. But she made up for it in every other aspect. As for Alison's idea everyone liked it, and for the rest of they way to Hagrid's hut they discussed which beast they might want to raise, occasionally flipping through their copied of "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them"
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Alison were early for class, as usual so they waited and tossed around more ideas to what they would be doing in class this year.
Harry was surprised then the Slytherin group came sauntering our to class. Malfoy, instead of being flanked by his usually cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, he deeply engaged in a conversation about Quidditch with the new girl Nikki.
"My cousin played of they Moose Jaw Meteorites, and we would often play in his back yard, he taught me everything I know. I hear that your fastest broom over hear in called the Firebolt, we don't have those back home, our newest and fastest is called LighningStreak. I brought mine with me to see how it compares."
Harry noticed that Malfoy wasn't saying much, but it didn't matter because the conversation had ended and Nikki and Malfoy were walking towards Harry and his friends.
"Hey Ali!" Nikki shouted and waved. She ran towards them, Malfoy on tow. "Hey, haven't had much time to talk to you. How are you liking Gryffindor so far?"
"Oh it's great I already have a great group of friends. Nikki this is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasly, and of course Harry Potter." Alison motioned to each of them in turn.
Nikki shook everyone's hand "Draco has told me about you three, especially you Harry." She winked at him. "Oh how rude of me Alison Dexter this is Draco Malfoy. The two of us have become fast friends, he knows quite a lot about Quidditch, he tells me he's the seeker for Slytherin!" Nikki Grinned.
"Nice to meet you Draco." Alison said as she shook his hand.
"Hey" was the lame reply she received from him.
Harry glared at Draco and wondered what else he had told Nikki.
"Malfoy, where are those two other deadbeats you used to hand around with, Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked
Harry was pondering that same thing, and was awaiting the answer
"That, Weasly" Said Malfoy with his usual sneer "is a good question, but also none of your business. But since you insist on sticking your nose where it doesn't belong I'll tell you. Those two deadbeats as you call them, which I might add will be the only time in my life that I agree with the likes of you, were beginning to bore me. I wanted some intelligent conversation, instead of grunts and what's for dessert? Thankfully I found Miss Matwiv here who can carry on a conversation."
"Oh, ok just wondering." Stated Ron, who was slightly red from being poked fun at.
Harry was about to say something whitty when Hagrid emerged from his hut, carrying his pink umbrella and a copy of "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.
"Alrigh' class, settle down. This year Dumbledor's lettin' me do sumthin' a little differn' with yeh. But first yeh all need to get a partner from the opposite house."
There was a mad dash for partners. Nikki and Alison were together, Ron and Hermione couldn't find partners and ended up going with each other, and Harry and Draco were buddied up.
"Well Potter, it looks like I'm stuck with you, unfortunately, so lets try to make this almost tolerable shall we?" Malfoy commented
"I will if you will." Mumbled Harry.
"Ok, now that yeh've all got partners yeh need to grab yer textbooks." Hagrid had begun the lesson so Draco and Harry stopped talking to pay attention.
"Everyone got yer textbook? Alrigh' yeh need to look through and find which ones come in eggs. Let me know when yeh've got them all and we'll continue."
Harry was surprised, this was turning into what seemed like a real lesson! Nikki and Alison were first to finished, followed shortly by Ron and Hermione, then everyone else.
"Alrigh' seein' as you two was the first ones done, ah Nikki and Alison is it? Can yeh tell me what beasts come in eggs?" Hagrid has started up the lesson once again.
"Well Mr.Hagrid from what we found there were no X rating, five XX, six XXX, two XXXX, and four XXXXX, but if you fourteen if you count each species of dragon separately. Making for a totally of 18, or 28 depending on how you look at it."
"Very good Alison, almost as good as our Hermione over here." Hagrid said.
Hermione was looking a little angry that she wasn't picked for the answer, and that Alison might be smarter than her.
"It's a good thing that you brought up dragons though, because that is what yeh all will be studien' this year! I want you to go with your partner to pick a dragon and have yerh selection ready for next class. Ok, class dismissed."
A wave of excitement went through the class, they were going to be studying dragons! Harry was suspicious, Hagrid had something up his sleeve.
"So, uh, Potter what sort of hideous beast do you want to do?" Malfoy asked.
"I, er, um, don't know, maybe a Welsh Green?"
"Oh come on lets do something exciting, what about a Norwegian Ridgeback, or the one you got past last year, what was it?"
"You mean the Hungarian Horntail?"
"Yes that one! Wouldn't it be brilliant? Fine then, it's settled the Hungarian Horntail it is." Draco said and started to walk back to the school before Harry could get a word on edgewise.
"So what did you guys choose?" Harry asked Ron, Hermione, and Alison.
"Well we decided to do a Norwegian Ridgeback, just to humor Hagrid we're going to call it Norbert!" Ron Laughed
"Nikki and I had a bit of a tough time choosing one, I wanted to do a Roman Longhorn, Nikki wanted to do a Peruvian Vipertooth, then we decided on the Hungarian Horntail, it was by far the coolest!"
"No way, that's what me and Malfoy are doing, well I really didn't get a say. Hey Ron what did you mean by naming your dragon?"
"Oh Harry you surprise me sometimes! Isn't it obvious? Hagrid is letting us raise dragons, couldn't you see the way his entire face lit up when Alison started talking about dragons, I mean he was practically skipping when he let us off." Hermione answered.
"Oh" was all Harry could say, realizing that is was probably very true, knowing Hagrid. "I think that you and Nikki, Malfoy and I are really going to regret picking Horntails, trust me I know."
*********
Soon they had reached the castle doors and had to split to go to their separate classed, Harry and Ron had Divinations while Alison and Hermione had Arithmacey.
On their way up to the Divination tower they talked about Quidditch.
"Hey Harry, now that Wood's graduated, who's going to be the new keeper / captain?" Ron inquired.
"Hm, I donno, I guess the ream will pick a captain and then we'll hold tryouts." Said Harry.
"Great!" Exclaimed Ron. "I've been practicing all summer, and I'm definitely trying out. You think I'll make it Harry?"
"Probably Ron, if you've practiced all summer then you'll be able to knock the socks off anyone!" Harry Speculated, he was hoping his friend might be on the team, but he honestly had no idea if Ron had improved at all from when he had last played with him. Sure Ron was good, but Harry wouldn't know how GOOD he was until tryouts.
Before they know it they had reached the trapdoor at the top of the long winding staircase and were climbing into the hot stuffy Divination room, that smelled funny.
"Come in, come in my children." Professor Trewlawney beckoned to them. Harry and Ron took their usual seats by the window. Harry prepared himself for another year of Professor Trewlawney predicting his demise.