Hermione overslept slightly the next day, chased by dreams of chilling cold shadows that made her teeth chatter and her insides freeze. By the time she got to the Great Hall, most people were already there, and Draco was putting on a bit of a show, swooning and pretending to faint as Harry passed by, Harry's face going red. Annoyed, Hermione went over to join Harry and Neville at the Gryffindor table. She already had her course schedule, so it didn't matter that she wasn't at the Slytherin table this morning.
Harry was scowling at the table when Hermione sat down across from him. The Weasley Twins were talking to him about dementors, seemingly attempting to comfort him.
"They're horrible things, those dementors…" said George.
"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" Fred said.
"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry said darkly.
"Forget it, Harry," George dismissed. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been. He came back all weak and shaking… they suck the happiness out of a place, dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."
"Forgive me is this is a particularly obtuse question to ask," Hermione chimed in. Harry's head shot up, his eyes widening with surprise at seeing her help herself to toast just as normal as could be. "But why do dementors guard Azkaban?"
Neville laughed. "Morning, Hermione," he said cheerily.
Fred and George gave her a funny look.
"Azkaban is the wizard prison, Hermione," George said slowly.
"And they don't want the prisoners to escape," Fred emphasized, "so they guard it."
"I know that," Hermione said, annoyed. "But why, specifically, do dementors guard it? I understand that they need guards, but why not employ people as guards instead?"
Ron blinked at her. "They don't need to. They have dementors."
"But why?" Hermione snapped. "Dementors are evil creatures that suck out happiness. No matter how you look at it, allowing them around people for extended periods of time seems like torture, or cruel and unusual punishment. Why is the Ministry violating the Geneva Conventions, then, if they could just use people?"
"The what…?" Ron looked lost.
"Azkaban has very dangerous criminals locked up in it," George told her seriously. "The dementors help make sure their magic is too weak for them to try anything."
"People aren't sent to Azkaban just for stealing or small crimes, Hermione," Fred assured her. "It's reserved for people who really deserve it."
"I don't know if you could ever say someone really deserves that," Hermione muttered, making a face.
"I think part of it is the dementors themselves," Neville offered.
Hermione turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, no one knows where the dementors come from, really," Neville explained. "And they're Dark creatures, aren't they? By using them to guard the prison, the dementors stay occupied and contained, and they don't go after anyone else."
"So the prisoners are like a sacrifice?" Harry was curious now. "The Ministry offers the dementors the scourges of society so the dementors won't come after the rest of us?"
"I don't know if it's quite like that," Neville said, looking embarrassed. "I think the Ministry just needed a way to make them useful."
"Why don't they just destroy them?" Hermione wanted to know. "They're very evil creatures. It seems a fairly straightforward solution."
"You can't destroy a dementor," Fred told her, bonking her on the head.
"You can only repel it," George said. "And only then if you know a really difficult spell."
Harry was glaring at the table again. Hermione suspected he secretly agreed with her, that the dementors should be destroyed.
It seemed all the students taking electives were taking the class together; after breakfast, a large group of third years tromped down the sloping lawns to Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione was walking with Harry and Neville and Ron, and Susan Bones caught up to them, cheerful.
"All right?" she asked. She grinned. "Are you excited for Hagrid's first class?"
"Yeah," Harry said, cheering a bit. "Hagrid'll be great at this."
"So long as he doesn't bring out giant spiders or something," Ron said. "He already assigned us a biting book…"
Susan was too cheerful to be deterred.
"I had to pick between this and Muggle Studies," she said. "This seems like a lot more fun, doesn't it?" She looked to Hermione. "And I figured if I did ever need to know anything about muggles, I could just ask you."
Hermione laughed. "You'd be better off. I looked at the 'textbook' for that class, and it looks ridiculous."
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with his dog Fang at his heels.
"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
Hagrid led them all around the edge of the forest, the students all following him. Hermione gradually fell back to join Tracey and Millie.
"I've got five sickles on someone getting injured in the first five minutes," Tracey said. "Want to take that bet?"
Hermione scoffed.
"Five sickles on Draco making too many sarcastic comments in the first five minutes for anyone to get hurt," she said, and Tracey giggled. They all turned to look at Draco, who was walking down with Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"Is this all?" Hermione asked, blinking. She glanced around. "Where's Blaise? Theo?"
"Dunno about Theo and Daphne," Millie said, "but Blaise took Muggle Studies instead of this."
Hermione whirled around to look at Millie incredulously, who shrugged.
"Don't ask me," she said. "I just know what was on his schedule."
"Yes, but…" Hermione's mind boggled at the idea. "Why would Blaise want to take Muggle Studies?"
Tracey and Millie exchanged a look, but Hermione didn't catch it. They had arrived outside of a kind of paddock on the edge of the forest.
"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" Hagrid called. "That's it – make sure yeh can see – now, firs' thing yeh'll want to do is open yet books—"
"How?"
Hermione turned. Draco had somehow ended up on her right against the fence, his cold drawl ringing over the open paddock. He had one eyebrow arched.
Hagrid looked befuddled. "Eh?"
"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, tied shut with a length of rope. Hermione got out her own book, bound shut with a belt, and other students were removing theirs, some crammed inside tight bags or clamped together with binder clips. Draco was sneering at Hagrid, and though the condescension in his voice wasn't exactly called for, Hermione had to admit he had a point.
"Hasn't – hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked, looking crestfallen.
The class all shook their heads.
"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world. "Look—"
He took Ron's copy of the book and ripped the rope off of it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.
Hermione rolled her eyes, thoroughly exasperated. Carefully, Hermione stroked her book's spine as she was undoing the belt, trying to get it to calm down before it could maul her hand.
"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Draco sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess?"
"I—I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly. He glanced at Harry.
"Oh, tremendously funny," said Draco. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off—"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said quietly. Though his voice was quiet, there was a note of iron in it, and his green eyes glinted at Draco from across the paddock.
Draco looked like he was going to reply, but Hermione touched his upper arm.
"Don't," she said quietly. "Not now."
Draco looked surprised, though he quickly smoothed out his expression.
"You do agree, though, don't you?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Hagrid was talking about getting Magical Creatures for them and going into the forest. Hermione watched him go.
"Of course," she said, not looking at Draco. "A book enchanted to bite is a horrible idea. Hagrid teaching a dangerous class is also a horrible idea. But making a scene and distracting the one person responsible for protecting us and keeping us safe doesn't seem like it's in our best interest."
Draco considered, before sighing.
"I suppose," he said begrudgingly. "Seems inevitable, though, doesn't it?"
"Oooooh!" one of the Gryffindor girls squealed. "Look!"
Trotting toward them from the other side of the paddock were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Hermione had ever seen. They looked to be some conglomeration of horses and eagles, with giant wings and steel-colored beaks and eyes. Hagrid was leading them over by long chains attached to thick leather collars around their necks.
"They're chained normally?" Millie said. "He's bringing us creatures that literally need chained for our first day?"
"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at the creatures. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"
The creatures were sort of majestic in an abstract, terrifying way, Hermione supposed. It was interesting how the hippogriff's coats changed smoothly from feathers to hair as your eyes went toward the horse back half, but they still looked very large and very dangerous.
"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer—"
Hermione barely managed to stifle her snicker, and Draco smirked at her as she covered her mouth. Across the way, Hermione saw Harry, Neville, and Ron approach the fence cautiously, and she rolled her eyes.
"Gryffindors," she said in exasperation. "Honestly."
"Time," Millie said, and Tracey pouted, handing Millie five sickles. Millie grinned. "Thank you."
"Double or nothing on an injury in the next ten minutes?" Tracey offered.
"Not taking," Millie said smugly. "I see the size of those things."
"—gotta know about hippogriffs is they're proud," Hagrid was saying. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
Draco turned to talk to Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle in a low voice. Hermione watched as Harry bravely (stupidly, in her opinion) climbed the fence and walked toward the hippogriff, holding eye contact. Hagrid walked him through bowing and waiting for the hippogriff to bow back. Just as Hagrid seemed to get worried, the hippogriff finally bowed back, and the breath of relief from everyone around the paddock's edge was palpable.
"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said, ecstatic. "Right – yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"
Looking like he would like to do nothing more than not get closer to the hippogriff, Harry moved toward it and reached out to it, patting its beak. The hippogriff lazily closed its eyes, as though enjoying it. The class broke into applause.
"Right' then, Harry!" said Hagrid. "I reckon he might let yeh ride him!"
Everyone gasped, but Harry was already too invested to back down now. Hagrid guided him up on top of hippogriff, instructing him on where to hold while the class watched on with wide eyes.
"How is he?"
Hermione turned to see Susan, looking at Hermione through turquoise lenses with worried eyes. She was twisting the coven ring on her finger, looking anxious.
"Do you know how he's doing?" Susan asked. "If he falls, is he…?"
Hermione understood.
"If he falls, he should be okay," she told her. "Falling, he's at least got the hang of. It's the rest of it he's still working on."
Susan relaxed, her shoulders loosening immediately.
"Me too," she admitted. She watched as Hagrid slapped the hippogriff's hindquarters, and Harry seized the hippogriff around the neck as the hippogriff abruptly broke into a gallop and took off, twelve-foot wings flapping open on either side of him. She glanced at Hermione. "What do you think would happen, if people saw him fall?"
Hermione bit her lip.
"I have no idea," she said honestly. "It might be very bad."
Susan looked at her sideways. "Bad? That Harry didn't splat?"
"Broken bones can be repaired," Hermione said, her eyes on Harry in the sky. She lowered her voice. "But the only one publicly known to be able to fly unaided was You-Know-Who."
Susan shuddered next to her.
"Well…" her voice was uncertain. "Hopefully we won't have to find out."
To everyone's relief, the hippogriff touched back down to the ground with Harry still aboard. He just managed to hold on and push himself back up again before dismounting – not quickly, but not exactly taking his time about it. Harry looked shaken, but he offered the class a smile, and they cheered, Hermione joining in.
"Good work, Harry!" Hagrid roared. "Okay, who else wants a go?"
Hermione sighed.
Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, spreading them out. Hermione drifted over to the one Harry had ridden, knowing that at least this one wasn't rabid. She managed to bow to it and get a bow back in return, which allowed her to stroke its beak and mane a bit before stepping back, graciously letting Tracey take her turn.
People were soon bowing all over the paddock, taking turns. Neville seemed terrified of his hippogriff, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees, and Ron and Harry were encouraging him. After Tracey and Millie had both taken their turns, they stepped back, keeping a safe distance from the large creatures and letting the next group approach.
"What are these used for?" Millie was curious. "Are these used for transportation?"
"Pretty sure that's illegal," Tracey said. "I think they're not allowed for personal transportation under the Statute of Secrecy, same as carpets – too hard to hide from muggles in the sky."
Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had stopped their whispering and taken over interacting with the one Harry had flown on after Hermione, Tracey, and Millie were done – Buckbeak, apparently. Hermione wondered if Hagrid had named them all, and figured she wouldn't be surprised to learn that he had. Given they'd chosen the same one Hermione had, they were only a few yards away from her place on the fence, and Hermione she could overhear Draco announcing to the others that he would go first.
Crabbe and Goyle looked like they were on high alert, their eyes darting around, and there was a glint to Draco's eyes as he approached Buckbeak and gave him a bow. Pansy had moved over to bow to one with a couple girls from Ravenclaw, and Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"This is very easy," Draco drawled. "I knew if must have been, if Potter could do it…"
It was like a vision flashed before her eyes — suddenly, Hermione knew what was about to happen, and she abruptly launched herself at Draco, pushing off from the fence, hard.
"I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you? Are you—"
Scarcely realizing what she was doing, Hermione had started sprinting.
"—you great, ugly brute?"
Hermione reached Draco just in time, crashing into him and shoving him to the ground, sending him sprawling into the mud as a flash of steely talons came down. Sharp pain tore through Hermione and she screamed, thrown back and to the ground. Her arm was throbbing, blood soaking through her robes.
"She's dying!" Draco was yelling, panicked. "She's dying, look at her! It's killed her!"
Millie and Tracey had moved immediately to intercept Buckbeak, grabbing his chain and pulling him back and away from the commotion. Crabbe and Goyle were doing their best to help, lending their bulk to their cause, both of them shooting panicked looks at Hermione while they did. Hagrid ran toward Hermione, his face very white.
"She's not dyin'!" he said. "Someone help me – gotta get her outta here—"
Hermione felt herself being lifted. Her eyes managed to find Susan and Harry as Hagrid hurried off, carrying her away. Susan looked relieved, and though Harry looked worried, he was holding up his hand, giving her a shaky grin, and Hermione relaxed a bit. If their rings weren't warning them that she was in mortal peril, then the injury, no matter how painful, wasn't life-threatening.
As Hagrid ran up the lawn with her, loud shouts from the paddock chasing Hagrid as he did, Hermione wondered at the look she'd seen in Draco's eyes just a moment before he'd said anything, and she wondered if he'd planned the whole thing, intending to get injured himself.
Madam Pomfrey was able to mend her arm in under five minutes, tutting loudly the whole time. She'd kicked Hagrid out of the Hospital wing right after he'd delivered her, furious with him splattering mud everywhere.
"Does no one understand needing to keep a sterile environment?" she groused. "Here, take this…"
Hermione recognized the sharp, iron-tasting potion as a Blood Replenishing potion. Madam Pomfrey fed her another potion, this one a Pain Relief potion, and she was able to relax back onto the bed a bit, her muscles untensing.
"Will it scar?" she asked, turning to Madam Pomfrey.
"It shouldn't," Madam Pomfrey assured her. "The skin tear was the easiest part, but those talons went quite deep into your muscle, dear." She frowned. "I've set it to heal, but I wouldn't use your arm for a day or so until the muscle fibers repair."
"Can I go, then?" Hermione asked. "As soon as you put it in a sling?"
Madam Pomfrey looked at her incredulously.
"You were just seriously injured, Miss Granger!" she said. "You need to stay and recover, give that arm some time to heal and those potions to work before you try to get up again—"
"But I'm going to miss Defense and Charms!" Hermione protested.
"I'm sure Professor Flitwick will be understanding," Madam Pomfrey assured her. "And Professor Lupin cancelled class today."
Hermione was surprised. "Cancelled it? On his first day?" She looked at the matron, who was fussing with an arm sling. "How do you know?"
"Oh, he mentioned it at the staff meeting." Madam Pomfrey's tone was airy, but Hermione watched her face, seeing something dark flash across it. "Here, dear – try this sling on for size."
Hermione wondered just what Professor Lupin could have done to provoke that sort of expression from one of the kindest women Hermione knew, and what could have led him to need to cancel class his very first day as a professor.