I got up the next morning with the annual wake-up call from Hermione. One of these days, I'mma get you back, Hermione! I warned in my head. Reluctantly, I groaned and dramatically rolled out of bed. I rubbed my eyes to see her rushing to get everyone in our dorm up. "Hermione, this has got to stop. Do ya have to do it so early?" I muttered. "Yes, because we all overslept. Breakfast is in half an hour-" she stressed. "What?!" Lavender, Parvati, Padma, and I yelled. The rest of us rushed to the bathroom for showering, brushing our teeth, getting dressed and gathering our books. I was the first one ready with Hermione and we sped down the staircase. Surprisingly, Ron and Harry were waiting for us with smug looks on their faces. "Well, this is a first. We're here before you two," Ron commented. "What took you so long?" Harry added. Hermione rolled her eyes at them. "I'mma give you three seconds before you two catch the back of my hand," I warned and stomped towards them. That got them up and out of the portrait hole really quick. "Must you threaten them with violence?" Hermione asked as we walked down to the Great Hall. "Hey, it gets the job done" I replied. "Should I ask why your bag looks like it is about to bust open at any second?" I wondered looking down at her book bag. "No," she said with such conviction.
The Great Hall was abuzz with students eating and chatting before classes started. Over at the Slytherin table, you could see Malfoy entertaining his housemates with an overdramatic retelling of Harry's encounter with the Dementor and they all roared with laughter. "That boy is the definition of pathetic," I said as I sat down next to Ron. "Yeah, well tell that to his crowd," Harry mused. Fred and George walked by and asked why Harry looked so down. Ron pointed out the Slytherin table and they had their answer. "That little git. He wasn't so cocky when the Dementors came by our section of the train, right Fred?" George said. "Right, he nearly wet himself," Fred said. "Well, we'll just hafta see how happy Malfoy is after we stomp Slytherin in the first Quidditch game of the season," I mused. "That's the spirit, Ezzy darling," George agreed in delight and Fred ruffled my hair. "What have I told you about callin' me Ezzy?" I groaned. "Just let them go. They won't listen to you no matter how many times you tell them to stop," Hermione said, and reluctantly, I had to agree with her. McGonagall passed out our schedules for the year. "I'll see you guys in Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid," I said, starting to gather my bag. "Why?" Harry asked. "'Cause instead of Divination, I'm taking Ancient Runes," I said. "What made you change your mind from taking Divination?" Hermione asked. "It didn't seem too interesting-" I started until Hermione cut me off, "Don't tell me you still believe those Muggle fortune tellers on the street." "It's kinda hard not to, they're really convincing, okay?" I defended, getting a little embarrassed. "Ron, Harry, let's get going. Classes start really soon, and Divination is in the North Tower," Hermione mentioned. We all said bye to each other and they headed up to the North Tower while I went the opposite way into the eastern wing of the castle.
The first day of Ancient Runes was exciting and riveting. Professor Babbling had us use our textbooks to translate scrolls of antique spells from the Middle Ages. That class happened to go by faster than I expected, and I knew that it was a bit of a ways from Ancient Runes to Hagrid's cabin for Care of Magical Creatures. In my hurry, I didn't pay attention to where I was headed and ran into someone from behind. "I'm so sorry 'bout that!" I apologized, checking to see if anything fell to the floor. "Are you alright?" a male voice asked me, bending down to pick up his book. He stood up straight and I took in the sight of him. This boy was wearing a yellow and black necktie and crest on his robe, signifying that he belonged to Hufflepuff. He was good head taller than me, with bright gray eyes that had a strong and silent look to them and dark brown hair to complement them, with fair skin with a strong build. Judging from those features, I would have guessed that he was a Fifth or Sixth Year, Seventh at the most. "Are you alright?" he asked again. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding until I said, "Yeah, thank you. But the question should be, are you alright?" "I'm fine, thanks," he said. "Where are you headed?" "Care of Magical Creatures. You?" I said. "Potions," he replied. "Ugh, good luck with bein' in the same room as Snape," I said, my voice laced with teasing sarcasm. "Thanks," he replied back in the same manner and asked "You're the student from America, the one who hangs out with Harry Potter and his friends, right?" "Yes, I am. It's funny; you'd think that after being here for a couple of years, I woulda lost my accent and picked up yours," I joked and that got him to laugh. "My mates have seen you around and I've seen you on the Quidditch Pitch. Those are some incredible surprise plays you've pulled off," he complimented. "Thank you! Are you on your house's team? Or do you just love the game as much as Wood?" I asked. "I'm the Seeker for Hufflepuff. Also, I don't think anyone except Wood loves Quidditch that much," the guy replied. "True," I agreed. "But you gonna have to play one helluva game if you want to beat Harry. He ain't never missed the Snitch before." "We shall see, won't we?" he jested. "Yes, we shall," I replied
"May I ask the fair lady her name?" he said in an exaggerated posh voice. I giggled and returned the posh style, "Tis Ezra Redcreek. And you, dashing sir?" "Cedric Diggory; good luck in Magical Creatures," he said before walking towards a near hallway. "Same to you in Potions!" I wished back and waved to him, my face splitting into a huge grin. Little did I know that Fred and George were right behind me and decided to take advantage of my quick reverie. "What's this, Freddie? What's the matter with our little Ezzy?" George asked in mock surprise. Fred pretended to ponder and declared, "She's going mental about Pretty Boy Diggory. Maybe we should transport the pretty bird to the Hospital Wing," and he started to drag me towards them. "Knock it off, you two! I'm fine, just let me go to class," I said swatting their hands away and rushing to Hagrid's before I was late and before they could see the blush spreading across my face from talking to Cedric. Wait…did Fred just call me pretty? And is he jealous of Cedric? I thought for a split second, but put the thought out of my head.
I went outside the castle to meet Ron, Harry, and Hermione for Care of Magical Creatures. "What took you so long?" Harry asked. "I got held up; it's nuthin' major" I said quickly, and apparently a bit suspicious for Hermione and she gave me a look, "What happened?" "I'll tell ya later," I said in a hushed tone. On the way down the hill, they told me what happened in Divination, and how Harry had an image of the Grim, which was a large spectral dog, in his tea leaves. It was supposed to be a dark omen of death. "You don't think that Grim's got anything to do with Sirius Black, do you?" Ron wondered in slight fear. "It's a possibility. He is an infamous serial killer, and the Grim means death…" I was thinking out loud. "Oh, honestly, Ron, if you ask me, Divination's a very woolly subject. Now, Ancient Runes; that's a fascinating subject," Hermione said. "Wait, how many extra classes are you takin' this year?" I asked. "A fair few," she answered. "That can't be right, 'cause I woulda seen you in Ancient Runes just a little while ago," I paused. "Ancient Runes is at the same time as Divination. You have to be in two classes at once," Ron theorized. "Don't be silly, Ron. How could anyone be at two classes at once?" Hermione scoffed at this and proceeded to mock Professor Trelawney, "Broaden your minds, use your inner eye to see the future!"
"Right, gather round ev'ryone! Less talking if you don't mind. I've got a real treat fer yeh, a great lesson! Follow me," Hagrid announced and he led us to a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. "Form a group, over there, and open your books to page 49," he instructed. Malfoy, in all his arrogant glory, asked in a snarky voice, "Exactly how do we do that?" "Just stroke the spine, o'course. Goodness me," Hagrid replied, annoyed by his attitude. We all started to stroke the spine of our monster books, however some were having more difficulty than others. I guess Neville didn't hear Hagrid, because he tried to open the book without stroking its spine, and the book snapped and bit at him. "Don't be such a wimp, Longbottom," Malfoy jeered at his misfortune. "I'm okay. I'm okay," Neville panted, but the book went back to attacking him. "Nev, let me get that for you," I said and watched where I placed my hands, so as not to get bit by the book's sharp teeth. I clamped one of my hands on the bottom part and stroked the spine with two fingers. Immediately, the book calmed down and opened up normally. "Thanks, Ezra," Neville gratefully wheezed out. "You're supposed to stroke it," Ron reminded him and Neville nodded in understanding.
As I stroked my own book and set it down on a nearby stone, Hermione sardonically replied, "I think they're funny." "Oh yeah, terribly funny; real witty. God, this place has gone to the dogs! Wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes," Malfoy said, with Crabbe and Goyle laughing in agreement. "Do us all a favor, 'n shut your trap," I muttered under my breath. I guess Harry heard me, spoke up, and walked towards him saying, "Shut up, Malfoy." Malfoy and some other Slytherins sauntered to him and the boys had a stare off for 10 seconds before Malfoy got a frightened look on his face. "D-D-Dementor! Dementor!" he shouted and pointed behind us. We turned around immediately, but they had tricked us, 'cause there was nothing. Turning back around, we saw that Malfoy and his gang were laughing at our brief gullibility, put their hoods up, and made spooky moans, which imitated the cloaked figures themselves. Hermione and Ron turned us back to Hagrid, but not before she made a face at them. I quickly flipped them the bird in response and paid attention to our professor's creature presentation.
"Dun-duh-duh-daaaa!" Hagrid sang in a presentation style, and out from the trees came a gray creature. The top half had an eagle's head and wings; while the bottom half was a horse's body and legs. "Ain't he beautiful? Say hello to Buckbeak," Hagrid praised and tossed him a dead, furry animal that he ate. "Hagrid, what exactly is that?" Ron asked in bewilderment. "That, Ron, is a hippogriff," Hagrid answered and continued with, "First thing you wannna to know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures, very easily offended. You do not want to insult a hippogriff. It may just be the last thing yeh ever do. Now, who'd like to come up an' say hello?" Everyone stepped back, leaving Harry in the front. I was initially wary, but decided to step up, a bit behind Harry. Hermione and Ron looked at me like I was crazy. Hagrid turned around and saw us. "Well done, Harry. You too, Ezra. Now, yeh have to let 'im make the first move, it's only polite. Then you move and give 'im a nice bow," Hagrid directed. "Then you two wait and see if he bows back. If he does, you two can go up an' touch him; if not…well, we'll get to that later." Harry slowly walked towards Buckbeak and stopped. "Go on, make yer bow," Hagrid said. Harry bowed and eyed the hippogriff. Buckbeak eyed him back and started to caw loudly. "Back off, Harry. Back off!" Hagrid warned. Harry did and I started to feel worried for him. "Keep still," Hagrid instructed. Buckbeak still stared at Harry, but then slowly bowed back at him until his head almost touched the ground. "Well done, Harry. Well done. Now Ezra can have a go," Hagrid said. I nodded and walked towards Buckbeak, who switched his gaze over to me and started to flare his wings. After about 3 steps, Hagrid gently said, "Not so fast, Ezra. A little slowly." I decreased my speed and took two more steps before bowing, keeping my gaze on Buckbeak. The hippogriff looked me for a good five seconds and took two steps to me before he bowed back. "Nice recovery, Ezra. Now you two can go up an' pet him," Hagrid said.
We walked slowly together and Harry held his hand out, but flinched when Buckbeak snapped at us. "Not so fast, now let 'im come to you two," Hagrid instructed. Eventually Buckbeak stepped towards us as we inched closer and Harry stroked his beak and I touched his face. "Well done. Oh, well done!" Hagrid clapped for us. Everyone behind us applauded as well. "I think he may let yeh ride 'im, now," Hagrid proposed. "What?" Harry asked. "Oh no…" I groaned. Then Hagrid picked us up, with Harry protesting, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Hagrid!" "What the heck?! Put us down!" I shouted. "Don't pull out any o' his feathers. He won't thank you fer that," Hagrid said and slapped Buckbeak to get him to go. Harry clung onto the hippogriff's neck, and I put my arms around Harry's middle. Buckbeak sprinted into a run and flapped his large, powerful wings to get us airborne.
Buckbeak's sudden takeoff was surprising, to say the least, and I was clinging on to my best friend for dear life. Buckbeak took us around the castle and high up in the air. My adrenaline started spiking up and I felt excited when I looked down from our position in the sky. Buckbeak dove close down to the Black Lake. He glided over the water and let his talons graze the surface. It was so calming and thrilling at the same time. Harry decided to be bold and hold his arms out. I leaned towards the water and swept my fingers over the surface like Buckbeak did. We were both hollerin' and screaming in delight. "This is amazing!" I yelled in happiness. "Having fun back there?" Harry asked me. "Uh-huh! I bet it's a great view from the front," I replied. "It is! This is better than riding a broom!" he said. I laughed in agreement and let out a few more whoops of excitement. Buckbeak suddenly flew upwards and back to the forest clearing, enough time for us to steady ourselves. Buckbeak landed in front of Hagrid after another minute in the air. "Well done, Harry and Ezra! And, well done, Buckbeak!" Hagrid praised. Everyone, sans Malfoy, cheered for us. After Hagrid helped us down from Buckbeak, he asked us, "So, um, how am I doin' me first day?" "Brilliant, Professor!" Harry said. "Best class I ever had!" I added. Hagrid just smiled and waved us off, bashful of the compliments and his new title.
I guess Malfoy totally ignored Hagrid's directions, because he shoved people out of the way, sauntered up to Buckbeak, and out of sheer stupidity he sneered, "Yeah, you're not dangerous at all, are you? You great ugly brute!" Not only did not bow down, he did the one thing you're never supposed to do when dealing with hippogriffs: insult them. Buckbeak immediately reared up and bucked, scratching that idiot with his talons. Hagrid stepped in between them and fed Buckbeak another one of those dead furry animals. "Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!" Malfoy cried. "If it killed ya, you wouldn't be whinin' right now," I muttered. "Calm down, it's just a scratch," Hagrid tried to reason with him. "Hagrid!" Hermione shouted and came to him. "He has to be taken to the hospital!" "I'm the teacher, I'll do it," Hagrid resolved and picked up Malfoy bridal-style. "You're gonna regret this. You and your bloody chicken," Malfoy moaned. "Class dismissed!" Hagrid called over his shoulder. As Hagrid walked towards the castle, Buckbeak nipped at my hair and nudged me. I began to pet him and Harry stroked his beak, earning a grateful squawk from the hippogriff.