Draco Malfoy didn't generally enjoy Hagrid's class. It wasn't that the man was a halfbreed, though that unfortunately contributed to his lack of general intelligence. To wit: he failed to understand that "'armless critters" weren't necessarily harmless to his students. Still, it was an interesting class, and Draco Malfoy had grown up around a variety of large beasts, courtesy of his father's wealth and his mother's fondness for the exotic (his father only really liked the rare silver peacocks).
His unfocused eyes only pretended to stare at the current curriculum beast, in reality, his entire focus was on Hermione Granger, who was talking with her friends. He frowned inwardly, as he saw that Neville was also there, which would make things more difficult.
In the actual class, they split up in pairs, learning how to groom shugmonkeys, who were surprisingly docile for a creature that Hagrid had managed to lure out of the Forbidden Forest. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy didn't have much time to think about it. Luckily, he wasn't paired with Pansy, who would have talked the entire time, but even with Goyle, Draco had to help remove some of the dung stuck on the beast.
It was nearing the end of class by the time Draco Malfoy was done with the grooming - the Gryffindors also looked to be done. Weasel and Pothead decided to start talking about Quiddich, which would prove to be a bit of a mistake for them, Draco thought, smiling inwardly though it of course didn't show on his face. Their talk attracted Neville Longbottom, and left Hermione Granger still trying to lock the pen with the shrugmonkey in it - an action unhelped by the fact that Granger was clearly trying to think about twenty other things at the same time.
Showtime!
[a/n: I love cliffhangers. Don't you? What do you suppose Draco is up to? Why does it involve getting Granger off where her friends aren't?]