Greetings, Wizard and Witches from across the globe and welcome to the next chapter of The Potter And Kent Chronicles: Cruel Angel Thesis.
I hope your all going to enjoy it as much as I had writing it and now on to the review.
girani4: There's a reason why Alex joined Divination. As for that letter from Margaret, quoting a very wise wizard, "Fly you fool!"
Anyways story time.
Harry, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the winding stair in silence, then set off for Professor Jeager's lesson.
It took them so long to find his classroom that, early as they had left Divination, they were only just in time.
The group were sitting in seat in the back of the room; the rest of the class kept shooting furtive glances at Harry, as though he were about to drop dead at any moment, which meant the class was hardly paying attention what they were telling them.
"Okay, what's going on with you all?", Jeager said, leaning against his desk, "I know Summer vacation has ended, but even I am not that broken up about it to pretend my class is a funeral." but nobody spoke.
Then Hermione raised her hand, "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and..."
"Oh, marvelous...", Jeager said, rolling his eyes before scanning the classroom, "Who is suppose to die tis year?"
"Me.", Harry said, finally.
"Of course...", Jeager said, sounding more annoyed than anything, "Then you should know, Harry, that Professor Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at tis school... And as far as I know, all of them have yet to meet their demise yet. Anyways, Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic, true Seers are very rare."
He stopped, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "I wouldn't be to worried Harry. Besides, you face death every year and live. So I don't understand why tis bothers you so much, tis should really be just another day for you."
Half of the class laughed, and Harry felt a bit better. Not everyone was convinced, however. Ron still looked worried, and Lavender whispered, "But what about Neville's cup?"
"That was possible just a self-fulfilling prophecy.", Jeager said, with a wave of his hand, "She told him he was going to break it, so Neville expected that it would happen."
When the Combat Class had finished, they were about to join the crowd thundering toward the Great Hall for lunch, when Jeager called Harry over.
"Something wrong, Professor?", Harry said.
"Oh, no nothing.", Jeager said, putting a few papers in his desk, "Just wanted to check up if you still wanted those extra Combat Classes we talked about last year."
"Yes, of course.", Harry said quickly.
"Let me see... How about eight o'clock tis Friday evening? Just come over to my office.", Jeager said, locking up his desk and the two left the class room, "I don't think you will have Quidditch practice, so when that starts up we will have to find a evening which will suit us both."
"Ron, cheer up.", Hermione said, pushing a dish of stew toward him once they sat down for lunch, "You heard what Professor Jeager said."
Ron spooned stew onto his plate and picked up his fork but didn't start, "Harry.", he said, in a low, serious voice, "You haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?"
"Don't think so.", Harry said.
"I have...", Claire said, Ron let his fork fall with a clatter, "I saw one the day Harry came to stay over. I think he was just a stray though."
Ron looked at Claire as though she had gone mad. "If you have seen a Grim, that's... that's bad.", he said, "My... my uncle Bilius saw one and he died twenty-four hours later!"
"Pure coincidence.", Claire said, "Just because most wizards are scared shitless by the so called Grim, doesn't mean every black dog is an omen of death."
"Indeed.", Hermione agreed, looking in her Arithmancy book, "I think most of them just see a dog and think, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"
Alex let out a chuckle as Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione. "I think Divination seems very woolly.", Alex added, "I think we are going to pass through it with minimal effort."
"Well now we know why Alex has chosen Divination.", Neville said, "Easy high marks for minimal effort."
"That and for another reason like...", Alex said, his eyes resting for a second on Hermione before quickly looking away, "Because... Lavender and Parvati are taking it!", he corrected himself a bit too quickly.
Hermione looked a bit disappointed at this reasoning, but her attention was turned back to Ron who said hotly, "There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!"
"You still on that? If there is any truth to them leaves, Hermione is going to marry someone rich...", Alex pointed out, suddenly going silent upon realizing, before shouting, "...Oh god, she is going to marry Malfoy!"
"Claire, punch Alex for me.", Hermione said looking for the right page in her book.
"Sure.", Claire agreed to her friends request, "I'll do it later, when he least expects it."
Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class after lunch.
Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other as they were sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Up ahead Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Harry exchanged a glance with Claire, both of them sure what they were talking about.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.
"C'mon, now, get a move on!", he called as the class approached, "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson coming up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.
"Everyone gather around the fence here!", he called, "That's it... Make sure ya can see, now, first thing yah'll want ta do is open ya books..."
"How?" the cold, drawling voice of Malfoy said, "How do we open our books?", He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.
"Hasn' anyone been able ta open their books?", Hagrid said, looking crestfallen, the class all shook their heads, "Ya've got ta stroke 'em.", as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.
"Oh, how silly we've all been!", Malfoy sneered, "We should have stroked them! why didn't we guess!"
"I-I thought they were funny.", Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.
Malfoy was about to give retort, but he was cut off by Harry, telling him to shut up.
"Right then.", Hagrid said, who seemed to have lost his thread, "So...ya've got ya books an... now ya need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on...", he strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.
"God, this place is going to the dogs.", Malfoy said loudly, "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when he hears about this."
"I am giving you a fair warning, Malfoy.", Claire told him, her voice icy cold, "If you do anything to mess up Hagrid's first lesson..."
"Oh, is that a threat, Kent?", Malfoy drawled, Goyle and Crabbe flexing their arms behind him.
"No, it isn't.", she said, "It's a promise, and I won't be scared to go through your butt buddies to get to you."
Lavender squealed, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.
Trotting toward them were a dozen of creatures that had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking.
Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.
"Get up, there!", he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.
"Hippogriffs!", Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them, "Beau'iful, aren' they?"
Claire could sort of understand what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was, half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the hippogriffs gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.
"If ya want ta come a bit nearer.", Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around. No one seemed to want to, however Harry, Claire, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously.
"Now, first thing ya gotta know about hippogriffs is, they're proud.", Hagrid said, "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
"Oh, so they are the animal version of Claire.", Alex quipped about his cousin, but she didn't seem to listen to him.
Claire was keeping an eye on Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle who weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone, giving Claire a nasty feeling they were plotting how best to disrupt the lesson.
"Ya always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move." Hagrid continued, "It's polite, see? Ya walk toward him, and ya bow, and ya wait. If he bows back, ya're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn't bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right... who wants ter go first?"
Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Even Harry, Alex, Ron, Neville and Hermione had misgivings.
"I'll do it.", Claire said.
"Me too.", Harry added.
There was an intake of breath, and both Lavender and Parvati whispered, "Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!"
"To hell with those tea leaves!", he said, as Claire and he climbed over the paddock fence.
Harry was appointed to a gray hippogriff and Claire a dark red one.
The hippogriff his great, sharp head and was staring at Claire with one fierce yellow eye. Lily gave a bow and then looked up.
The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at her, but then he suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.
"Well done, Harry! Claire!", Hagrid said, ecstatic, Harry having accomplished the same feat, "Right... ya can touch them! Pat them beak, go on!"
Feeling that a better reward would have been to back away, Claire moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. She patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.
The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.
Emboldened by Harry and Claire's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Harry and Claire watched.
"That was brave of you, Claire.", Harry said.
"Nothing brave about it, just helping out a friend.", she said, her attention not fully directed to Harry.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.
"This is very easy.", Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Harry and Claire to, hear him, "I knew it must have been, if Potter or Kent could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"
It happened in a flash of steely talons; Claire rushed over to Malfoy who let out a high pitched scream as he was tackled to the ground by Claire hitting him in the face, and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at a stunned Malfoy, who sat next to a curled over Claire in the grass, blood blossoming over her s robes. Harry, Ron and Neville quickly made their way to their friend, pushing Malfoy aside, there was a long, deep gash on Claire's arm.
Hagrid, had gone very white as he lifted Claire up easily. "I can walk myself!", Claire said as Hermione ran to hold open the gate.
Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The Slytherin's were all shouting about Hagrid.
"They should fire him straight away!", Parkinson said, who was in tears.
"It was Malfoy's own damn fault!", Alex snapped, "If it wasn't for Claire, he would be in the hospital wing right now to get his arm cut off.", Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly, "Am I suppose to be scared by two of the three stooges? Bring it overgrown buffoons."
The Slytherin's, still muttering about Hagrid, headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room. All except Tracey and another pale Slytherin girl with long blonde hair that flows just above her lower back. Her bangs partially cross her cheeks and go down all the way to her neck.
"Hey, you think, Claire is going to be okay?", Tracey asked, walking over to them with the blonde girl a distant away, "That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class. Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him..."
"What's it to you?", Ron said, crossing his arms, "I bet you hope this will result in Hagrid being sacked."
At this the blonde girl scoffed, "Typical Gryffindor.", she said, looking at him with her icy blue eyes, "Just because we are in Slytherin it must mean we all think the same way as Malfoy."
Ron was about to say something, but Alex stepped between, "Come on guys, let's try to keep things civil.", he said, looking from Ron to the blonde girl, "Let's just agree that not everyone from Slytherin is an bigoted arsehole."
"And that not everyone from Gryffindor is a dumb glory seeking hound.", Tracey added, turning to her friend, "Alright Daphne?"
The girl named Daphne scoffed, but agreed.
"And of course Claire will be alright.", Alex said, "She is a lot tougher than she looks. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second."
"Well keep us updated.", Tracey said, "I have a feeling Malfoy and his toadies are going to try and spin this tale to their advantage."
"We will, and thanks for the warning.", Alex said and the two girls walked off.
They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinner time, hoping to see Claire or Hagrid, but neither were there.
Looking over at the Slytherin table. A large group including Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were huddled together, deep in conversation. It seems Tracey's prediction was about to come true.
"They wouldn't fire him, would they?", Hermione said anxiously, not touching her steak-and-kidney pudding.
"They better not! I had to save Malfoy to protect Hagrid!", a voice said behind them.
Turning around to see Claire standing there, her arm recovered. "Claire!", the five said, relieved to see that he was okay.
"How are you?", Harry asked, concerned for his friend, "How is your arm?"
"I am fine, thanks for asking.", Claire said, "As for my arm?... I can still do tis.", she followed this up by punching Alex hard against the shoulder.
"What was that for!?", Alex groaned, rubbing the spot as his cousin helped herself to some pudding.
"Hermione asked me to punch you during lunch, remember?", Claire explained, "I would have been back earlier, but I ran into Jeager and explained what happened. After dinner, if we hurry we can still go see Hagrid."
"I don't know.", Hermione said slowly, and Claire saw her glance at Harry.
"I'm allowed to walk across the grounds." he said pointedly, "Sirius Black hasn't got past the dementor's yet, has he?"
"Not those stationed here at Hogwarts, as far as I know.", Alex said.
The grass was still wet and looked almost black in the twilight. When they reached Hagrid's hut, they were about to knock on the door but they heard voices inside the cabin.
"'Spect it's a record.", Hagrid voice said thickly, "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before."
"You haven't been fired, Hagrid!", the voice of Charles Jeager said.
"Not yet.", Hagrid said miserably, the sound of him taking a huge gulp was heard, "But's only a matter o' time, i' n't it, after Malfoy..."
"Draco isn't going to do anything.", the voice of Snape said pointedly, "If he did, it would admitting the Kent girl got injured protecting him, putting him in debt to her. And I wouldn't want to be in Lucius Malfoy's shoes when Margaret hears about it."
"Yeah, and Claire is fine, Hagrid.", Jeager said softly, "It was nothing Madam Pomfrey hadn't fixed before."
"School gov'nors have been told.", Hagrid said miserably, "They reckon I started too big. Should a left hippogriff's fer later... done flobberworms or summat... Jus' thought it make a good firs' lessons... all my fault..."
"You said hippogriff's would attack if you insult them, right?", Snape said, "It's Draco's own fault that he wasn't listening."
"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up.", Jeager said, "I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid."
The door opened to reveal Jeager with a massive tankard filled with strong smelling drink. "I think you can put down a dragon with tis stuff...", Jeager mumbled after smelling it, before noticing the six Gryffindor's standing there, "Oh, hello you six. Come on in, Hagrid would be happy to see you."
He stepped aside to let them through. Hagrid was sitting in his shirtsleeves at his scrubbed wooden table; Fang, had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told them that Hagrid had been drinking a lot, and he seemed to be having difficulty getting them into focus.
It was a little awkward sitting at the table with Snape but thanks to them Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair and followed Jeager unsteadily outside.
They heard a loud splash.
"What's he done, Professor?", Harry said nervously as Jeager came back in with the empty tankard.
"Stuck his head in the water barrel...", Jeager said, putting the tankard away, "And Severus says I have a drinking problem."
"You don't have a problem, your a perfectly functional addict.", Snape said in his usual dry voice, sitting with his arms crossed, "But once you begin you don't know when to stop."
"Name one incident where I had too much to drink.", Jeager said, looking at the potion professor.
"Remember that Weird Sisters concert three years ago?", Snape said with a raises eyebrow, "You head-butted a security guard, bumrushed the stage, and dedicated a song to your mother.",
"I don't remember that.", Jeager said, under the chuckles of his students.
Snape opened his mouth but Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping the water out of his eyes. "That's better..." he said, shaking his head like a dog and drenching them all, "Listen, it was good of ya ter come an' see me, I really..."
Hagrid stopped dead, staring at Harry as though he'd only just realized he was there. "What do ya think your doing!?", he roared, so suddenly that everyone minus Snape jumped a foot in the air.
"Easy there big guy, Harry was worried for his friend.", Jeager said, standing up, "Me and Sev will take them with us back to the castle."
"And don't let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again.", Hagrid said, as they stepped out of his cabin, "I'm not worth that!"
"You might think your not worth it, Hagrid.", Snape said, being the last one to exit, "But they obviously think you are."
And that's a wrap, hope you enjoyed it. Many thanks to everyone who read, review, favorite or follows this story, you beautiful bastards.
For now I wish you all a fantastic day, don't forget to leave a review if you liked my work and I hope to see you ladies and gents, next time.
Mischief Managed.