Harry felt himself go cold and his heart started to beat fast. Now Harry wasn't the nervous in the face of death type, but there was something about the large creature that filled him with a sense of respect or dread, he couldn't tell what it was. He felt a large hand push him hard in the square of the back and suddenly he was face to face with the immense deer. It looked even bigger up closer, maybe twice the size of an average deer.

Harry looked into its, interestingly enough, big purple eyes. The eyes had a glimmer of intelligence about them and he felt the way he always did when Dumbledore looked at him, as if his very mind was being X-Rayed. The Peryton snorted into his face and almost seemed to grin. Then pawed the ground.

Hagrid beamed from behind, "I think he likes you Harry!"

Harry wasn't sure, the eyes were gentle enough, but the thing was powerful with large claws on its front feet. He hoped the deer liked him as he was and not liked him on the ground in a bloody heap.

"Relax Harry, otherwise you'll insult him. He might think he looked ugly or somethin'" Hagrid shouted.

Harry relaxed his shoulders and stared at the deer. Maybe he should bow, maybe not. What was good and what was bad?

"Harry, back up and bit and nod to him."

"Nod?"

"Yeah, but more like a bow, like in a respectful way, but not too low, you don't want to be submissive do ya?"

Harry didn't know if it was bad to be submissive to an enormous deer who could gut him, but he did as he was told. The deer nodded back and then its eyes flicked away from him. It cantered over to the edge of the paddock. It seemed to be done with him and now it was someone else's turn. Now that the Peryton was away from him he felt the large pressure in his chest disappear. It was weird, it was like the dementors made him feel, but less fearful and sad, more respectful and awe inspiring.

Hagrid ussered all the other students up, including Snape, to take a look at the Peryton, one by one though. A crowd apparently was an insult to a Peryton.

Malfoy, remembering the Hypogriff insodent whimpered and shook the whole way up to teh Peryton and his nod was lower than most, as if he almost collapsed. Harry couldn't help from laughing.

Once that was done Hagrid quickly fed the Peryton and then led them away from the paddock, deeper into the forest. The deeper and deeper they went the darker and all out creepier it got. Malfoy contantly yelped at any noise, which was bonus.

Then Hagrid stopped at a very large clearing, bigger than the one the paddock was in.

"Alright you, I want you all to stay quite and still. I'll lure it out so we can have a good look. What'd ya think?" But before any could answer Hagrid lumbered off leaving them all alone.

"What do you think he's getting?" Seamus asked.

"I dunno, probably something horrible and deadly knowing him!" Lavender moaned.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "He wouldn't bring anything really dangerous, not with Umbridge on his case."

"Hermione, this is Hagrid we're talking about. Do I have to go through the list of things he's done?" Ron said.

Hermione looked severely paler and muttered an "Oh my!"

Harry was worried as well and turned to Snape who didn't appear worried at all.

"You're not nervous?" Harry asked.

"He's a teacher, how bad could it be? I mean really." Snape said.

"Pretty bad actually." Ron said.

Snape looked slightly paler also, but tried to keep a calm face.

After a little while Hagrid came bustling back over to them, "K, I got it to come out. Now watch carefull and stay silent!" He whispered urgently.

Harry watched, but nothing happened. Until he saw something, like a rock, moving toward them at a surprisingly fast pace.

"Hagrid, you didn't lure it to this exact spot, did you?" Hermione asked.

Hagrid looked at her, and then a stunned looked came over his face, though he muttered, "It'll be fine, it'll be fine." he didn't look like it was gonna be fine.

As the thing got closer Harry saw what it looked like. It was sort of like a large turtle, well the back was. It had six short, fay legs, that moved quicker than he could have imagined. At the end of the legs were what looked like straight spikes that had just be stuck on. It's face was like a wrinkled old lion, with a long mane of hair that seemed glow of its own accord. Its eyes were large, round, and bright red with small black pupils that flickered this way and that. Its ears were like a horses, long and tall, and they stood straight up on its head. Its mouth was large with little, pointed, needle like teeth. Its back, like he had thought before, was like a turtle shell, but it had long, fat spikes sticking up everywhere, similar to the ones on its feet. Its tail was long and powerful looking, like a serpent's tail. It was a pretty terrifying and interesting sight.

Hermione whispered in his ear, "A Tarasque!"

"A what?" Harry asked, but she had already turned away from him, she was facing Hagrid now.

"Hagrid!" She whisper-shouted.

He spun around to her and mouthed, 'What?'

"How did you get a Tarasque?" She whispered.

"I didn't. I found it here on my travels through the forest. It nearly killed me too, sprang up on me." Hagrid said as if this was something that happened often. Harry was still trying to get the image of the large, squat beast springing out of the grass like a tiger out of his head though.

"You found it?" Hermione asked incredulous.

"Yeah, why?" Hagrid asked.

"Well, Hagrid, Tarasque aren't native to this area. They live in the remote areas of Northern and Eastern Asia. What would one of these be doing here?" She asked skeptically.

"Are ya suggestin' I brought it here?" Hagrid asked going red.

"Well, Hagrid, you don't have the best track record." Hermione muttered embarrassed.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't bring one here!" He almost shouted.

"Fine, but where did it come from?" She asked.

"Well, couldn't it of migrated here?" Hagrid asked.

"Hagrid, you know very well they don't migrate."

"Fine, it coulda come here cause it's home was destroyed."

"Hagrid, its home was in Asia!"

"So?"

"So, there is like two whole continents, not to mention a large amount of water sepearting it from here!"

"So yer saying someone moved it here, brought it?" Hagrid asked.

"I'm not saying it was you, I'm saying someone else did, with some sort of intentions to use it. You know its rather dangerous?" Hermione said.

"Yes, I do." Hagrid grumbled.

"Why would someone bring it here though?" Harry asked, finally chiming in after listening to Hagrid and Hermione's agruement.

"I don't know, my first thought it to kill someone, but I don't understand why they haven't done so already." Hermione said.

"Maybe they have."

"We'd have heard about it." Hermione said.

"Unless it happened awhile ago. We don't know how long this thing has been here." Harry said.

Hermione nodded and turned to Hagrid, "Hagrid, how old do you think it is?"

"Dunno. You can tell by how big it is, they keep growing throughout their life ya know. Some people say they seen ones who had lived to a hundred the size of hills and bigger, but this one isn't as nearly as big a hill, so I'd guess twenty-five to thirty years old.

"How long do you think its been here?"

"Well, I saw where its nestin', large cave over to the northeast. It made scratch marks on its way into the cave, they get higher as it gets bigger. So I say it was brought here at 'bout eight ta nine years of age."

"So its been here seventeen or eighteen years?" Hermione asked.

"What I'm sayin'" Hagrid replied.

"Hermione, that's when my dad was here!" Harry said shocked.

"And that was also when Snape was here." She added.

"You think he would know anything about this?"

"He might." She replied grimly.