I lifted my head as I heard the crunching of grass. I sniffed the air and caught a whiff of Hagrid's stink with a mixture of a couple of dead weasels. Then I squawked to catch Hagrid's attention.
"Aye, everyone be lining up right here," The giant motioned them to scoot back. "And I have the treat for you, Buckbeak here!" There were many "Ohs!" and "Aws!"
"These are very arrogant creatures, yes they are. Do not insult them or you could be in a spot of trouble." Hagrid chuckled. "Anyone want to come on up?"
I looked as the students all stepped back, except for one boy who looked as scrawny as scrawny would allow. Hagrid started whispering into his ear, and soon, the boy bowed.
I decided to give him a chance and I bowed back. He smiled, and it somehow warmed my heart to see that. The boy walked forward and started to scratch my feathers around my beak. I nuzzled his shoulder.
Suddenly, Hagrid lifted the boy (who was now quite frightened) onto my back. I reared up, not expecting the extra weight. Then I felt a hand slapping my backside, and instinctively I ran forward and flew up into the blue, blue sky.
He was enjoying the ride, I could tell. He lifted his hands from my neck and cheered. I zoomed over the lake and went so low my front claw could scrape the water. He looked down and saw his reflection – sitting on my back, such a majestic creature. I stared at the reflection, how free I felt just then . . .
"Tweet!" I heard Hagrid whistling and I flapped my wings and landed side by side to Hagrid. He patted my back and lifted the boy from my back. He looked so wonderfully happy.
"G'job Harry!" A mild round of applause came for him. Then, a boy dressed in green robes with blond hair pushed past the boy who I'd come to like and sneered at me.
"Look at this big lug of an idiot! What can an ugly ball of fur do?" I was enraged. How could he call me a disgusting ball of fur? I reared up for the second time and my claw managed to scratch the boy's right arm. He fell back first onto the dirt ground and started writhing in pain, moaning every few seconds.
Everyone started to gather around the boy and whisper. The first boy with brown hair looked up at me and I saw twinkling in his eyes. I cawed, trying to signal that I understood him. He was appreciating me.
A few days later, I heard from Hagrid that I was sentenced to a death because of the scratching of the boy. I was chained up to a wooden pole in the middle of Hagrid's pumpkin patch. I rested my claws on one pumpkin and lay my head there. I heard footsteps in the distance and saw three men coming. One was a man with a top hat who was also dressed in a purple coat. The second was a wise- looking man with a long beard and a wizard's cap. Finally, trailing behind was a man dressed in black with hood and a large axe.
Then I saw the boy who had first ridden me, a girl with messy brown hair, and a boy with ruffled bright red hair. What happened after was all a blur. The two boys and girl looked at me sorrowfully, but left.
Then, the same boy with messy brown hair and the girl with longer brown hair appeared behind the pumpkins. They rushed up to me and took off the chain. I was tired and didn't want to be disturbed. They pulled and finally convinced me that I should leave. So I escaped death. It was the most wonderful feeling.
