((OOC: OK. I goofed up. I thank whoever it was that pointed out to me that I messed the years up. Ginny is 'sposed to be in her 4th year and Draco in his 5th. I'll have to change the description. And I actually own and have read ALL the books, so :p . ^_^ Jey4eva: I did see Paul. He's VERY hot. Too bad he chose that occupation.... Oh, well. God comes first. He's da man. Anyway, onto the story. The first chapter was VERY short without much detail. And here's my alibi: I was rushed. Very rushed. ^_- So here's my lame idea of how there gunna get together. Enjoy. R/R!))
CHAPTER 2
Field Trip
The next morning, Ginny woke up and went down for breakfast in the Great Hall, still half asleep.
Note to self: Don't stay up doing homework 'till then o'clock and then play three games of chess with Ron, she thought.
She sat down at the Gryffindor table, helping herself to some bacon. She spotted Ron, Harry, and Hermione entering the Hall. She waved to them and they sat down next to her.
"The chess master graces you with his presence," Ron said upon his arrival.
"Oh, shut up," Ginny replied playfully. "I almost had you the third time."
"Face it: I cannot be beaten."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"So, what's everyone want to do today?" asked Harry.
"Dunno," Ron said. "I guess we could go see Hagrid."
Hermione nodded. "We haven't seen him in a while. You coming, Ginny?"
Ginny thought for a moment. She really didn't have anything better to do, and she hadn't seen Hagrid in a while, as Hermoine had said...
"Sure," she said. "Count me in."
When Harry knocked on the door on Hagrid's hut, Fang came running around from the back and nearly knocked Harry off his feet, licking his face.
"Fang, get off 'im," Hagrid called. He appeared from around the hut and took hold of Fang's collar, pulling the boarhound off of the boy. "Sorry 'bout that 'Arry. How y'all doin'?"
"We're good," Hermione answered.
"I'm glad you lot finally came ter visit me. Come 'round back. I got somethin ter show ya!" Hagrid's face lit up with excitement.
Exchanging fearful glances, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and Ginny followed Hagrid to the back of the house near the garden. Usually when Hagrid had "something to show them", it resulted in a close encounter with a dangerous or unlikable magical beast. He had managed to get a hold of creatures such as hippogriffs (which weren't all that bad, as far as the kids were concerned), flobberworms, blast-ended skrewts, and even a baby dragon.
When they reached the garden, there were small crates, around thirty of them, stacked on top of one another. Ron shot a panicked look at Harry and mouthed the word skrewts?? Harry shrugged. He hoped not. Hagrid took a box off the top of the stack and set it down on the ground.
"Yer goin' ter like these," he said. He opened the lid of the crate. Hesitantly, Ginny looked inside.
"Oh, wow!" she said. Ron, Harry, and Hermoine looked over her shoulder. Inside was a small, catlike creature with speckled fur, outsized ears, and a tail that resembled a lion's. It was one of the neatest things Ginny had ever seen. "What is it?" she asked.
"They're called Kneazles," replied Hagrid. "They're friendly critters, mostly. Make good pets. They're gunna be part of the next lesson fer all the year levels. Yeh can hold 'im if yeh want. Just treat 'im like a cat." ((OOC: I REALLY wish I could have one of these!))
Ginny carefully picked up the Kneazle and held it. It's fur was soft. It reminded her of owl feathers. The Kneazle purred and snuggled against her. Ginny smiled.
"He's so cute! Where can you get these, Hagrid?" she asked.
Hagrid thought for a moment. "Yeh could probably get 'em at a magical pet store. But yeh need a license to own one. Attract too much attention from Muggles. But I don't think you would have to worry, seeing you live in an all-wizarding family. Yeh'd need yer mum's permission if yeh were to try an' get one."
"So, Hagrid, what do these fellas do?" Ron asked.
"They've got certain abilities. Yeh'll find out in yer lesson on Friday," Hagrid told him.
"Friday's too far away," mumbled Ron.
They went inside Hagrid's hut for tea, Ginny still holding the Kneazle. They were offered some rock cakes, but said they had already eaten. It was always enjoyable to hang around Hagrid's hut. There was a warm fire burning in the fireplace and tea on the table.
Ginny took a sip from her overly large cup. "Does he have a name?" she asked , petting the Kneazle.
"No. None of 'em do. Dumbledore jus' ordered 'em a few months back," Hagrid told her.
"So what's been going on lately?" Harry asked.
Hagrid sighed and said, "Oh, nothin' much. Just the Kneazles."
"I must say these are some of the neatest animals you've had so far," Hermione put in.
"Yeh, I kinda like 'em," Hagrid replied.
"Oh, Hagrid," Ginny suddenly said. "I heard you gave Malfoy extra homework!"
Hagrid gave a small smile. "He was talkin' back ter me. I told 'im I'm the teacher an' he had to listen ter me an' do as he's told. But he don' listen ter nobody. He's not as bad this year. I feel sorry fer that one. You-Know-Who killin his father an all. But that's what he gets fer followin him...."
"Yeah," Harry said. His mind was drawn back to Cedric Diggory from the previous year. "Voldemort's like that...." The others flinched at the name, but Harry ignored it.
They spent the rest of the day at Hagrid's cozy little hut. They stayed until it was time to go up to the castle for dinner. After putting the Kneazle away, Hagrid said he'd walk back up with them. It was dark already, as it usually was at this time in November. It was cold outside; Ginny and the others put on their cloaks.
When they finally were back at the Hogwarts castle, they took their places at the Gryffindor table and Hagrid sat in his spot at the teacher's table. Ginny spotted Malfoy across the Hall. He was sitting with Crabbe and Goyal. Nothing new. But Ginny did feel sorry for him.
Malfoy or not, it's still hard to lose a parent, she told herself. Her thought's were interrupted as Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table and cleared his throat. Everyone in the Hall fell silent.
"Students, I have an announcement to make," he said. "We have managed to grasp an opportunity to go on a sort of field trip for the 4th to 7th year students. There is a tropical wizarding island in the Southeast hemisphere that has many interesting magical aspects. I will be accompanying the students on this trip, You will have to do a bit of research while on this island. If you are worried about last year's events at the Triwizard Tournament, let me say that this island is absolutely safe from and of the Dark Lord's powers and followers. We will be taking this trip on the 15th. You will receive more information at a later time. Thank you." He sat down. ((OOC: I know, kinda corny and VERY farfetched, but what the heck...))
The Great Hall immediately began to become noisy once more. Ginny blinked.
"Neat," she said. As far as she knew, the only "field trips" Hogwarts students ever went on were the trips to Hogsmeid. She turned to Hermione. "Why would he wait 'till a week before to tell us?" Hermione shrugged.
"It takes a lot of time and effort to get reservations to those things," she said. Ginny returned to eating her dinner.
"Sounds like fun."
(( OOC: I know Draco wasn't in this much, but I promise he'll be in the next chapter. And there'll be more of the Kneazles, too. Please review!))