Chapter 6.0
Percy
Madame Pomfrey hadn't yelled at him, which was a relief. But she hadn't let him leave either, forcing him to stay the night. He had eaten his blue pudding in a grumpy silence. She had again told him she was there for him if he ever wanted to talk.
"Why did the Arai only affect me like that?" Percy asked her, and she frowned.
"I'm not sure why you call them that, they're Dementors. Those who've seen more evil and suffering are affected worse than those who haven't." Percy nodded.
"Oh. That explains it." He went back to his pudding. He then sat upright.
"Hey Madame, can you show me some magical first aid? I know a lot of muggle first aid, but I don't know anything about wizard medicine." She scowled.
"Not until you pass your fifth year of Transfiguration, at least. I hope you aren't preparing for more trouble." Percy quailed under her glare.
"No, no. I was just curious." He said, quickly shoving some more pudding into his mouth. He then choked, of course. At the gagging sound he made, her hawk-like eyes stared at him intently.
"You've got to be kidding me. You managed to harm yourself 'eating pudding'?!" Percy sighed as she began to rant.
He stayed in the infirmary for the next day and night, and rejoined his friends the next morning. Madame Pomfrey had wanted to keep him longer, but his protests had managed to get to her. He had promised to visit every morning for a week, and she made him drink a potion that tasted like old spinach. He sat next to his friends in the Great Hall, still feeling like he'd been run over by a herd of pegasi.
As he plopped into his seat, he piled a bunch of blueberry pancakes onto his plate. His friends asked him if he was alright, and he gave them cocky and reassuring responses. His voice was still croaky from screaming, but they were relieved nonetheless.
Two owls landed in front of Percy, one carrying his school books, and the other was Thorne. He untied the textbooks from the tired screech owl, who didn't even bother to peck him. As the owl clumsily flew off, he turned to Thorne. The owl glared at him, but offered his leg. An envelope with pictures of him, his friends, and camp was inside. He tucked it into his robes, throat burning.
"Thanks, Thorne. You should probably go to the Owlry now." The owl glared at him, and refused to leave.
"Is he your owl, Percy?" Hermione asked, reaching out a hand to stroke his sooty feathers.
"Yeah, and he's a real asshat too. He was a gift, and I appreciate him, but he's still a real jerk of an owl." Thorne snapped his beak at him. Harry and Ron snickered at the pair of them. Their first lesson was Care of Magical Creatures, and Hagrid was waiting for them. They snickered when they saw the Slytherins' books, which were tied shut with belts. Their own books were docile, acting like, well, books.
"Al'igh' class, open yer books ta chapter one." Malfoy raised his hand, and Hagrid turned to him.
"How, exactly, do you expect us to open them if they keep trying to attack us?" Hagrid's face fell, and Percy stepped forward.
"It's pretty easy if you aren't a total buffoon, Malfoy. All you have to do is be nice to it." Percy held up his own book, and Malfoy's pale face was tinged pink with anger.
"Tha's righ', Percy. Ten points ta Gryffindor." There was a bit of a flurry as students removed the ropes, belts, and odd ribbon that held their books shut. After a few minutes, everyone had a calm book.
"The firs' chapter has informa'ion on the creatures I'll be showin' ya today. Use it as a guide." Hagrid let out a shrill whistle, and a bunch of feathery… somethings came out of the forest.
"Hippogriffs!" He stated, and excited chatter swept over the students.
"Awesome! I knew this was the best class!" Percy yelled, punching his fist in the air. Hagrid beamed at them, and led the students towards the magical horse birds.
"Can anyone tell me the dif'rence 'tween a Hippogriff and a Gryphon?" Hagrid asked, and Percy's hand was only matched by Hermione's in speed.
"Hermione?" Hagrid asked, clearly uncertain about who was first. Hermione nodded.
"A hippogriff is a mixture of hawk and horse, and a gryphon is a mixture of eagle and lion." She stated.
"Yup. Five points ta Gryffindor. Hippogriffs are proud creatures, never offend one if you can help it." Malfoy whispered something to Crabbe, or was that Goyle?, who guffawed nastily. Hagrid scowled at them before continuing.
"You need to introduce yourself, stand in front of 'em and bow. If they bow back, you can touch 'em, or maybe even ride one. If they don't, get back real quick and try again." A few students looked nervous, so Hagrid decided he needed an example.
"Harry, come up and give it a try." Harry paled, but went up to the hippogriff. He bowed, and the hippogriff bowed back. He cautiously stroked him, and the creature seemed to like it. Hagrid got Harry onto it's back, and it gave him a short flight around the clearing. As Harry stumbled to the ground, they clapped. They separated into groups, and Percy went with Hermione and Ron.
Percy chose a stormy grey hippogriff with white speckles, and bowed to it. Then, it spoke to him.
What are you, odd-human-horse-friend? it bowed as it spoke, and Percy walked up to it. Only Ron and Hermione were beside him, so he decided to answer in a normal tone.
"I am not from here. My name is Percy, what can I call you?" Ron looked at him oddly, but Hermione looked excited.
I am Clouds-With-Thunder-Within, but you may call me Tempest. The hippogriff said, bowing to Ron and Hermione in turn.
"He says his name is Tempest." Said Percy, and Ron's face was incredulous.
"You were serious about that? You can really talk to horses?" Ron said, as he stroked the hippogriff's soft neck feathers. Hermione looked excited, and Percy also thought it was cool that he could speak to part-horse creatures.
Sure, he knew he could talk with pegasi, but these guys had bird heads for Zeus' sake. As Percy looked around at his peers, he saw Malfoy standing in front of a dark grey hippogriff with bright orange eyes.
He said something, and the hippogriff tensed. Percy leaped forward, shield spiraling out. He pushed Malfoy with one hand, and blocked the claws with his shield. Malfoy fell on his backside, and the hippogriff stopped it's attack.
"What'd you do that for?" Percy asked, and the proud creature turned its head.
He insulted me in front of my face. Younglings need to learn respect, and Young-Ferret-Human needs it worst of all. Percy snorted. He tapped his wrist, and the shield folded down into his watch.
"Malfoy, you're a dumbass. Why'd you completely ignore directions?" Malfoy was pale, and shaky. The Gryffindors snickered at him, and Percy went back to Tempest.
Why did you interfere, odd-human-horse-friend? asked the hippogriff, and Percy sighed.
"I didn't want the hippogriff to end up in trouble, and it was kind of second nature. Humans wouldn't see it as a lesson, they'd think he was trying to eat him or something." The brilliant yellow eyes turned to Ron, and he asked Percy to translate.
Tell Youngling-with-fire-fluff that I am willing to allow him to ride on my back.
Percy told him, snickering at the name. Ron seemed to think the laugh was an evil one, and well, he was a Triplet after all.
"I'm just laughing about what he called you. He called you youngling-with-fire-fluff." Hermione laughed, and Ron looked a little relieved. He carefully climbed onto the Hippogriff's back, and he went on a quick flight. Soon, they were headed back to the castle for their next class, Defense Against Dark Arts.
