Chapter Eight:
Care of Magical Creatures
Ron looked up to see Harry and Hermione walking into the Great Hall; Hermione looking very upset while Harry attempted to console her. Her cheeks were wet with tears and her face was red with emotion.
What's happened now? He thought grumpily to himself as he moved his eggs around on his plate.
"Hermione – it's fine. I really don't care." Harry said, as they got closer to the table.
Hermione, emotional, shook her head.
"He's always done this!" she sobbed. "Why can't he just – get along?"
Ron didn't even have to ask to know who had upset her so much.
"Malfoy again?" he stated more than asked as he looked up at Harry.
Harry nodded with an annoyed expression on his face. He mimed a hangman's noose while Hermione wasn't watching and Ron grinned.
Ron hadn't smiled in a while, and it was nice to feel something besides hurt and guilt for a change. Leave it to Harry...
Hermione seemed to have calmed down somewhat and dried her eyes with a napkin. She continued to talk to herself.
"But – you know, I'm not going to let it get to me."
Harry looked relieved.
"Good," Ron said as he raised his eyebrows for a second before taking another bite of his bacon.
"Not today." She began piling heaps of pancakes onto her plate and Harry watched in shock as she covered them with half a container of syrup. After completely drenching them in the thick syrup, she cut out a section of the stack and stuffed it in her mouth.
After chewing it for a moment, she looked up to see both Ron and Harry giving her disbelieving stares.
"W'ot?" she asked with her mouthful.
Ron looked to Harry for something to say, so Hermione directed her attention to him.
Harry, in the spotlight, shrugged. But Hermione gave him a look as if trying to coax him into saying something.
"Nothing – it's nothing, Hermione."
"Good," she went on, stuffing another fork of pancakes into her mouth, chewing it hungrily. "I'm glab it's nubbing."
Harry looked up to see Ron attempting to stifle a laugh and it rubbed off on him. Hermione, oblivious, continued stuffing her face.
"Harry!" someone down the table said and Harry leaned back to see that it was Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, five seats down.
"Hey, Ginny," he said as Ginny got up and walked over to him. She had her shoulder-length red hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore her school uniform neatly.
"Harry, I just wanted to let you know that there's going to be Quidditch practice tonight at 6:00."
This caught Harry by surprise. He hadn't been expecting practice until later in the week!
"When did they decided this?" he asked as he glanced across the table at Ron who looked just as dumbfounded.
Ginny shrugged.
"I only just found out this morning. Angelina told me to tell you that you have to be there. Honestly – she's so bossy! I wish someone'd put her in her place."
You and me both, Harry thought glumly to himself. He enjoyed Quidditch, but after all he'd been through the previous year, he'd thought Angelina would give him a break. But, she didn't. She never did.
"Well, anyways," Ginny went on, shaking Harry from his thoughts. "I guess I'll see you then." She looked across the table at Ron and added, "You too, Ron."
"What?" Ron exclaimed, exasperated.
"Yes, Ron, we need you for this game against Slytherin on Sunday. That leaves us only three days to prepare. Be there or I'll be down your throat."
And with that, she calmly walked off.
Harry returned his gaze to his food. Thinking about the events of the previous year made him wonder what was going on now. The Daily Prophet wasn't posting anything involving Voldemort to keep the panic down, and Harry had rarely seen Dumbledore.
Hagrid says things are in our favor, he told himself as he took another bite of his bacon. But that's just for the moment.
It was true that Harry was as safe as he could be at Hogwarts, but now the dread that something may happen returned to him. Hermione had only distracted him so long. The same with the summer. The Burrow could only hold his attention for so many days before his thoughts would slip back to Voldemort and what he was planning next.
No, stop it, he thought to himself. You're safe now as long as Dumbledore's around so quit worrying.
He'd already pestered Ron and Hermione after their last Quidditch match, worried that something would happen. But they both told him not to worry. So, he wouldn't.
It was still misty out when the three of them made their way down to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. The mist made Harry's glasses fog up, so he had Hermione do a de-fog charm on them before class began.
Hagrid stepped out of his hut carrying what Harry recognized as the Erkling cage covered by a cage cover so the creature inside the cage wasn't exposed. Not yet, at least.
"Well, g'morning class," Hagrid started. The Gryffindors all replied with their own versions of 'good-morning' while the Slytherins all sneered.
But there was one Slytherin who Harry noticed wasn't sneering. Malfoy stood off to the side away from the others, arms crossed and a glum look on his face.
Well, it's about time he's the one feeling down, Harry thought as he listened to Hagrid go on.
"T'day we're goin' teh be observin' a neat little creature I call the Erkling." he went on as the class listened intently. Harry knew the Erkling wasn't anything too exciting, so he went back to his own thoughts.
"Now, the Erkling," Hagrid went on happily. "Is branded four stars in Fantastic Beasts, in case yeh didn' know." Hermione smiled, glad he remembered. "This means tha' I can' let you handle the little guy, but yeh can watch me do it instead."
The cage in his hands gave an involuntary jolt as the Erkling within it rammed itself against the cage bars, causing Hagrid to grip it tighter with more effort. Finally, he removed the cloth and revealed the Erkling to the class.
Everyone (except Harry, Ron and Hermione) gasped as the Erkling hissed, opening its jaws wide to reveal the rows of razor-sharp teeth within its mouth. It began to gnaw at the cage but was too inferior to realize it had no effect on the steel.
"Now," Hagrid continued, walking around the semi-circle of students so that each one could get a better look. "One thing yeh have teh know 'bout the Erkling is tha' it lures people, more specifically – children, out into the woods wi' it's high-pitched screech."
Lavender Brown smiled at the Erkling, making a face a mother would make to an infant.
"But, it's so cute!" she said as the Erkling gave a loud belch.
"Cute all right," Ron muttered under his breath. "The teeth are the most adorable part."
Harry chuckled as Hagrid moved on around the class.
"Now – can anyone tell me –"
Parvati Patil raised her hand tentatively, a first in Harry's opinion.
"Yes, Parvati?" Hagrid said as he turned to look at her, Lavender still admiring the chubby build of the Erkling.
"If I might ask," Parvati started slowly. "Why does the Erkling...lure children out into the woods?"
Hagrid stuttered for a moment.
"Well, the...ah...teh eat them, o'course."
Lavender gave a cry as she stepped back in horror.
"Eat them?" she cried. "That poor, helpless thing? It hasn't...eaten anyone, has it?"
"Well no," Hagrid started, but was cut off by Parvati who was just as disgusted.
"What else can you expect from our Hogwarts Care of Magical Creatures Professor? He only gets the ugliest, foulest, grossest creatures on the face of the Earth."
Somewhere inside the crowd of students, someone muttered, "I liked Grubbly-Plank." This made Harry scowl.
"Now – calm down –"Hagrid attempted, but what he hadn't noticed was that as the Erkling continued to gnaw the cage, its teeth went higher and higher until they finally sunk into the hand holding it.
Hagrid let out a yelp as he dropped the cage. It hit the ground with a smash and came apart, the Erkling leaping free of it as the class went crazy running in every direction.
Harry watched as the tiny creature looked from side to side amidst the chaos and spotted Hermione standing feet from him. It snorted and leaped into the air, landing on Hermione's chest as it clung to her robes.
Hermione – now terrified – let out a cry and reached for her wand, but dropped it as the Erkling scampered onto her head and started screeching.
Harry reached quickly into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his own wand, pulling it out as he tried to remember the spell to stun a creature.
Looking up, it appeared Malfoy had the same idea.
Think! Draco thought frantically as he racked his brain for the stun spell. Potter was watching him, meaning he didn't know it either.
Looking up, he spotted Hagrid attempting to stop the bleeding in his fingers. What help was he? He didn't even have a wand of his own.
Finally, Draco decided to take matters into his own hands and lunged at the creature atop Hermione's head, tackling it to the ground where it squirmed and wriggled beneath Draco's weight.
Hermione stood off to the side where Harry soon rushed up to her, checking to make sure she was okay.
Finally, Hagrid took the struggling Erkling from Draco and took it into his hut where he locked it back in his trunk, grabbing a cloth to wrap around his sliced fingers before returning to his class.
"Well," he said with a chuckle. "As yeh can see – Erklings are loads of fun."
Parvati 'humphed' as she looked over at the ruffled Hermione.
Draco got to his feet, surprisingly with the help of Harry, and brushed himself off, thanking Harry – surprising himself!
Hermione caught his eye as Harry went back to comforting her. She looked shocked, as though she'd seen a ghost. Draco looked away as he returned to his Slytherin friends, Goyle giving him a high five and Crabbe slapping him on the back.
Hagrid continued to chuckle.
"Well, tha's all the tine we've go' for today. So – uh – take the res' of the block off."
Care of Magical Creatures
Ron looked up to see Harry and Hermione walking into the Great Hall; Hermione looking very upset while Harry attempted to console her. Her cheeks were wet with tears and her face was red with emotion.
What's happened now? He thought grumpily to himself as he moved his eggs around on his plate.
"Hermione – it's fine. I really don't care." Harry said, as they got closer to the table.
Hermione, emotional, shook her head.
"He's always done this!" she sobbed. "Why can't he just – get along?"
Ron didn't even have to ask to know who had upset her so much.
"Malfoy again?" he stated more than asked as he looked up at Harry.
Harry nodded with an annoyed expression on his face. He mimed a hangman's noose while Hermione wasn't watching and Ron grinned.
Ron hadn't smiled in a while, and it was nice to feel something besides hurt and guilt for a change. Leave it to Harry...
Hermione seemed to have calmed down somewhat and dried her eyes with a napkin. She continued to talk to herself.
"But – you know, I'm not going to let it get to me."
Harry looked relieved.
"Good," Ron said as he raised his eyebrows for a second before taking another bite of his bacon.
"Not today." She began piling heaps of pancakes onto her plate and Harry watched in shock as she covered them with half a container of syrup. After completely drenching them in the thick syrup, she cut out a section of the stack and stuffed it in her mouth.
After chewing it for a moment, she looked up to see both Ron and Harry giving her disbelieving stares.
"W'ot?" she asked with her mouthful.
Ron looked to Harry for something to say, so Hermione directed her attention to him.
Harry, in the spotlight, shrugged. But Hermione gave him a look as if trying to coax him into saying something.
"Nothing – it's nothing, Hermione."
"Good," she went on, stuffing another fork of pancakes into her mouth, chewing it hungrily. "I'm glab it's nubbing."
Harry looked up to see Ron attempting to stifle a laugh and it rubbed off on him. Hermione, oblivious, continued stuffing her face.
"Harry!" someone down the table said and Harry leaned back to see that it was Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, five seats down.
"Hey, Ginny," he said as Ginny got up and walked over to him. She had her shoulder-length red hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore her school uniform neatly.
"Harry, I just wanted to let you know that there's going to be Quidditch practice tonight at 6:00."
This caught Harry by surprise. He hadn't been expecting practice until later in the week!
"When did they decided this?" he asked as he glanced across the table at Ron who looked just as dumbfounded.
Ginny shrugged.
"I only just found out this morning. Angelina told me to tell you that you have to be there. Honestly – she's so bossy! I wish someone'd put her in her place."
You and me both, Harry thought glumly to himself. He enjoyed Quidditch, but after all he'd been through the previous year, he'd thought Angelina would give him a break. But, she didn't. She never did.
"Well, anyways," Ginny went on, shaking Harry from his thoughts. "I guess I'll see you then." She looked across the table at Ron and added, "You too, Ron."
"What?" Ron exclaimed, exasperated.
"Yes, Ron, we need you for this game against Slytherin on Sunday. That leaves us only three days to prepare. Be there or I'll be down your throat."
And with that, she calmly walked off.
Harry returned his gaze to his food. Thinking about the events of the previous year made him wonder what was going on now. The Daily Prophet wasn't posting anything involving Voldemort to keep the panic down, and Harry had rarely seen Dumbledore.
Hagrid says things are in our favor, he told himself as he took another bite of his bacon. But that's just for the moment.
It was true that Harry was as safe as he could be at Hogwarts, but now the dread that something may happen returned to him. Hermione had only distracted him so long. The same with the summer. The Burrow could only hold his attention for so many days before his thoughts would slip back to Voldemort and what he was planning next.
No, stop it, he thought to himself. You're safe now as long as Dumbledore's around so quit worrying.
He'd already pestered Ron and Hermione after their last Quidditch match, worried that something would happen. But they both told him not to worry. So, he wouldn't.
It was still misty out when the three of them made their way down to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. The mist made Harry's glasses fog up, so he had Hermione do a de-fog charm on them before class began.
Hagrid stepped out of his hut carrying what Harry recognized as the Erkling cage covered by a cage cover so the creature inside the cage wasn't exposed. Not yet, at least.
"Well, g'morning class," Hagrid started. The Gryffindors all replied with their own versions of 'good-morning' while the Slytherins all sneered.
But there was one Slytherin who Harry noticed wasn't sneering. Malfoy stood off to the side away from the others, arms crossed and a glum look on his face.
Well, it's about time he's the one feeling down, Harry thought as he listened to Hagrid go on.
"T'day we're goin' teh be observin' a neat little creature I call the Erkling." he went on as the class listened intently. Harry knew the Erkling wasn't anything too exciting, so he went back to his own thoughts.
"Now, the Erkling," Hagrid went on happily. "Is branded four stars in Fantastic Beasts, in case yeh didn' know." Hermione smiled, glad he remembered. "This means tha' I can' let you handle the little guy, but yeh can watch me do it instead."
The cage in his hands gave an involuntary jolt as the Erkling within it rammed itself against the cage bars, causing Hagrid to grip it tighter with more effort. Finally, he removed the cloth and revealed the Erkling to the class.
Everyone (except Harry, Ron and Hermione) gasped as the Erkling hissed, opening its jaws wide to reveal the rows of razor-sharp teeth within its mouth. It began to gnaw at the cage but was too inferior to realize it had no effect on the steel.
"Now," Hagrid continued, walking around the semi-circle of students so that each one could get a better look. "One thing yeh have teh know 'bout the Erkling is tha' it lures people, more specifically – children, out into the woods wi' it's high-pitched screech."
Lavender Brown smiled at the Erkling, making a face a mother would make to an infant.
"But, it's so cute!" she said as the Erkling gave a loud belch.
"Cute all right," Ron muttered under his breath. "The teeth are the most adorable part."
Harry chuckled as Hagrid moved on around the class.
"Now – can anyone tell me –"
Parvati Patil raised her hand tentatively, a first in Harry's opinion.
"Yes, Parvati?" Hagrid said as he turned to look at her, Lavender still admiring the chubby build of the Erkling.
"If I might ask," Parvati started slowly. "Why does the Erkling...lure children out into the woods?"
Hagrid stuttered for a moment.
"Well, the...ah...teh eat them, o'course."
Lavender gave a cry as she stepped back in horror.
"Eat them?" she cried. "That poor, helpless thing? It hasn't...eaten anyone, has it?"
"Well no," Hagrid started, but was cut off by Parvati who was just as disgusted.
"What else can you expect from our Hogwarts Care of Magical Creatures Professor? He only gets the ugliest, foulest, grossest creatures on the face of the Earth."
Somewhere inside the crowd of students, someone muttered, "I liked Grubbly-Plank." This made Harry scowl.
"Now – calm down –"Hagrid attempted, but what he hadn't noticed was that as the Erkling continued to gnaw the cage, its teeth went higher and higher until they finally sunk into the hand holding it.
Hagrid let out a yelp as he dropped the cage. It hit the ground with a smash and came apart, the Erkling leaping free of it as the class went crazy running in every direction.
Harry watched as the tiny creature looked from side to side amidst the chaos and spotted Hermione standing feet from him. It snorted and leaped into the air, landing on Hermione's chest as it clung to her robes.
Hermione – now terrified – let out a cry and reached for her wand, but dropped it as the Erkling scampered onto her head and started screeching.
Harry reached quickly into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his own wand, pulling it out as he tried to remember the spell to stun a creature.
Looking up, it appeared Malfoy had the same idea.
Think! Draco thought frantically as he racked his brain for the stun spell. Potter was watching him, meaning he didn't know it either.
Looking up, he spotted Hagrid attempting to stop the bleeding in his fingers. What help was he? He didn't even have a wand of his own.
Finally, Draco decided to take matters into his own hands and lunged at the creature atop Hermione's head, tackling it to the ground where it squirmed and wriggled beneath Draco's weight.
Hermione stood off to the side where Harry soon rushed up to her, checking to make sure she was okay.
Finally, Hagrid took the struggling Erkling from Draco and took it into his hut where he locked it back in his trunk, grabbing a cloth to wrap around his sliced fingers before returning to his class.
"Well," he said with a chuckle. "As yeh can see – Erklings are loads of fun."
Parvati 'humphed' as she looked over at the ruffled Hermione.
Draco got to his feet, surprisingly with the help of Harry, and brushed himself off, thanking Harry – surprising himself!
Hermione caught his eye as Harry went back to comforting her. She looked shocked, as though she'd seen a ghost. Draco looked away as he returned to his Slytherin friends, Goyle giving him a high five and Crabbe slapping him on the back.
Hagrid continued to chuckle.
"Well, tha's all the tine we've go' for today. So – uh – take the res' of the block off."