After lunch, Saiph and her friends trudged down the steep hill leading to Hagrid's Cottage. Along the way Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were joking about how Hogwarts had now employed a Half-Giant. Saiph sent them a look of disapproval to shut them up. She felt like nothing could ruin her mood at the moment as she reminisced about the Care of Magical Creatures lesson in the books. She would have to make sure Draco didn't do anything stupid, the poor creature didn't deserve death.
Even if Hermione and Harry saved Buckbeak in the end, he still died because of silly reasons the first time. Saiph heard footsteps behind the group and turned back to find the Golden Trio walking silently behind her. Hermione and Ron were facing away from each other sulkily and if she remembered correctly they weren't speaking at the moment. They did that a lot through the books. It's a wonder how they got together in the end.
As they reached the edge of the forbidden forest where Hagrid's cabin resided, Saiph could see the Half-Giant standing out the front. From his body language anyone could tell he was eager for the lesson to start.
For some unknown reason, Saiph had always gotten an uneasy feeling when she was around Hagrid. Like he was some threat and she needed to stay on guard at all times around him. She didn't know why this could be, he had never done anything remotely close to harming her.
Nevertheless, Saiph always tried to stay calm and polite around the Half-giant. After all, it wasn't his fault she felt that way. Despite what other wizards (mostly purebloods) said about half-breeds, Saiph never thought it right to judge someone based on who or what their parents were. It didn't help that any time one of her friends was prejudiced against half-breeds a tiny sting would appear in her heart, as if the insults were aimed at her.
"C'mon, now,get a move on!" Hagrid called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" He led the class down a small path toward the forbidden forest. Past the tree line Saiph could see a clearing with a large empty paddock occupying the space. "Everyone gather round the fence here!" He bellowed as the students began to crowd around the fence looking for any signs of life in the paddock.
Saiph thought she saw a glimpse of a wing from behind the trees. She sure hoped the hippogriffs liked her, she really wanted to ride one.
"That's it," Hagrid waved for them to come in closer. "Make sure yeh can see. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books –"
"How," Draco cut in coldly, Saiph gave him a nudge.
"What he means to say is we haven't been able to open our books yet. Sorry." Saiph rambled sheepishly, not wanting Draco to anger the Half-giant professor. There goes her irrational fear again.
Maybe Hagrid knew of her fear of him because he replied with a softer voice this time. "That's alrigh' Miss Gray, i'll teach yeh." He said and gently took the tied up book from her, removing the rope she had used to tie it up, and stroked the spine. It shivered for a second then fell open. "There, all yeh go' ter do is stroke the spine." He told the class.
Saiph smiled warmly at him "Thanks professor." She said, This nice moment, however, was ruined by the rather rude Malfoy.
"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 to Hermione, who was standing next to him.
"Oh, tremendously funny!" Exclaimed Draco. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!" He sarcastically remarked.
"Draco!" Saiph hissed. "Stop being rude, and besides, the worst thing that book could do is give you a really bad papercut." Draco gave her a scaving look but shut up anyway.
You see, Saiph and Draco's relationship was a strange mix between love and hate. At first they had even declared themselves as enemies. She didn't like his attitude and he didn't like the fact that she wasn't a pureblood, but as the years went on they became somewhat close. It also helped that they were friends with the same people. Of course Saiph still told him off from time to time and Draco only occasionally listened and there was a shaky balance between them, but as a wise person once said 'there is a thin line between love and hate'. Saiph found that the Malfoy boy was much nicer in the company of friends and often put on a facade in front of others.
"Shut up, Malfoy" She heard Potter speak from behind her and turned to give him an icy glare. He put his hands up in surrender at her narrowed eyes. Seeing as she had defended Hagrid he had no problems with her at that moment. Saiph had also never really gotten along with Harry either. He thought because she was in Slytherin that it must mean she was no good. Saiph despised that about him, quick to judge and quick to play the victim. Regardless there was still an understanding between two to never go too far across the others boundaries.
Hagrid soon went off to fetch the Magical Creatures and silence fell over the class. Saiph had already sorted out the argument between Harry and Draco so now all she had to do was wait for the chaos to unfold and stop it in its tracks.
The silence was broken by a brown haired Gryffindor girl (Lavender) squealing at the sight of the Bird-Horse hybrids entering the clearing. They were bigger than Saiph had expected and were by far the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen.
There were a dozen Hippogriffs in total, each one possessing its own mix of colours and patterns. One of the Hippogriffs on the far left was the first to catch Saiphs attention. It was smaller than the others and was lagging behind quite a bit. Its feathers were a midnight black that shone emerald green and sapphire blue in the light. The creature had shining purple eyes that reflected the light. A voice in the back of mind told Saiph that it was a he, a very beautiful he.
Each Hippogriff was connected to the chain Hagrid was holding by great leather collars around their necks. They were galloping ferociously up the paddock with Hagrid jogging behind them, struggling to keep up. On instinct the class shuffled back and away from the fence. All except Saiph who had on the contrary, moved even further forward. Her friends grew concerned looks at this and tried to get her to join them, but she stood stubbornly in place. She had a feeling they wouldn't hurt her. No matter what.
Saiph had always gotten along better with Magical animals as opposed to non-magical ones. She felt a connection to them. While animals like cats and dogs tended to bark and hiss at her whenever she got close, Magical animals were almost drawn to her in a way, always letting her pet and feed them. She had even gotten a dragon to purr once. Saiph smiled at the memory as it passed through her head.
It was a cold day in Autumn. Her father wanted to give her a treat for her birthday (September 19th) so he took her to the dragon sanctuary in the vast forests of Maine. While on the tour, 8 year old Saiph had wandered a little too far from the guide and had suddenly found herself lost. She looked around frightened. What if a dragon found her and decided she would be its next meal?
Saiph travelled through the forest shaking in fear, not daring to call out for her father. Until she came across a large silver boulder that glittered and shined in the light. To Saiph's displeasure it had started to rain as soon as she reached the large rock. The young girl usually loved the rain, but today she wasn't dressed for it and was worried she would catch a cold. That's another thing Saiph hated, being sick.
For this reason Saiph decided to search the boulder for any sort of cave she could take shelter in. Shivering from the cold she began to circle the overgrown pebble until she found a small opening and climbed in. It was pitch black inside the cave and surprisingly very warm. Then suddenly the walls began to move. Saiph stumbled back and fell to the floor dazed.
She shook her head to clear it then looked up, only to find a great big silver dragon with sharp spikes all over its back. A Hebridean Black. Saiph stared blankly up at the Dragon, slightly annoyed that it had taken away her warmth so soon. The dragon gazed at her with its great yellow eyes before leaning down to sniff the girl. After a few seconds the dragon began to purr, confusing Saiph greatly, but she accepted it as an invitation to scratch under its neck which only made it purr louder and roll onto its side, revealing three grey eggs.
'She,' Saiph thought. 'Roll onto her side.' This dragon was a mother. Saiph stared at the eggs in wonder and stepped towards them. At once, the dragon picked her up gently by the back of her shirt and carried her over to the warm eggs. Saiph was happy to snuggle with the eggs and mother to escape the cold. That's where her father and the tour guide found her, and they had had a hard time getting her away from the mama dragon too.
Apparently the dragon thought she was one of her babies and wanted to keep her safe and warm. Her father Regulus didn't seem very surprised about this when little Saiph had asked him about it later and that still befuddled her.
Saiph smiled and bowed after walking through the gate as the Hippogriffs approached and to her amazement, as well as everyone else's in the area, all twelve Hippogriffs stopped to bow back.
They stayed like that for a couple of seconds before the black Hippogriff that Saiph had been looking at earlier walked forward to greet the girl. Saiph copied the creature's actions and they met in the middle. She reached her hand out and the Hippogriff placed his beak in it, giving her permission to pat him.
"Do you have a name?" She asked the hybrid, he shook his head no. Saiph smiled "So you can understand me, how about I give you a name then, would you like that?" She asked, he nodded his head yes. She thought for a second as the class and professor stood quietly watching the interaction. "How about— Jerry, no, twinky? Double no, Sausages? Now I'm hungry – Ahh I've got it!" Saiph got out her wand and tapped it softly on the Hippogriffs shoulders. "I dub thee, Sir Porkchop of the forbidden forest." She said in a silly accent giggling, the now named Sir Porkchop reared up in approval of the new name, as silly as it may have been.
Saiph turned back to face the class only to see them standing frozen with their mouths wide open. She tilted her head, sarcastically and said "what? Is there something on my face?" With that she turned back to greet the other Hippogriffs, feeding them treats she got from Hagrid, which mostly consisted of dead ferrets and gigantic rats.
Hagrid was the first to break out his trance as he called to the class, "Beau'iful Creatures aren' they?" Harry was the only one to answer. "Yeah, she is," he whispered, staring at the girl in the field. Hermione was the only one to hear him, as her mouth once again dropped in shock.
Once the class had gone back to their usual states Hagrid got their attention again. "So," he said, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer …" No one seemed eager to do so, but after receiving a reassuring look from Saiph the Slytherins took a few steps forward, followed by the rest of the class.
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do." Saiph sent a pointed look at Draco, threatening him not to do anything stupid, otherwise he would have much more to worry about then simply losing his life.
Hagrid continued, "Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, as Miss Gray has already demonstra'ed fer us, an' yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he dosen' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt." He paused then said "Right – who wants ter have a go?" The class shuffled back again, even more this time. Sir Porkchop certainly wasn't helping, he kept tossing his head and flexing his wings trying to gain Saiphs attention back.
The class was soundless before Harry stepped forward, putting on a brave face he said, "I'll do it." Pavarti whispered something to him about tea leaves, but he ignored her and continued to walk forward until he was right in front of the fence.
"Good man Harry!" Hagrid roared "Right then – let's see how yeh get on with buckbeak, an' Miss Gray, I'll assume yer wan'ing to have a ride too?" He asked Saiph.
"Definitely," she replied. Hagrid nodded and gestured to the black Hippogriff she had first greeted, "I'll let yeh go on with Sir Porkchop as yeh've named 'im, yeh know what ter do right?" He said.
Saiph nodded with a big grin on her face before turning to her friends "I'm going on a ride, be back in a bit, okay?" she said, and with that she rushed back to Sir porkchop and mounted him in one go. Her friends tried to protest but she ignored them, already imagining how the wind would feel in her hair as she glided through the sky.
Saiph held onto Sir porkchops feathers as he took to the sky. The view was amazing and the weather was perfect. While Harry was only going to be flown once around the paddock, Saiph had a better idea as the Hippogriff soared up and up towards the clouds. She reached her hand out to feel the cotton candy clouds on the tips of her fingers and relaxed as she held her arms out to the wind and shouted with glee. After a couple of minutes of flying above the clouds Sir Porkchop dipped into a dive as they shot towards the blacklake. Just when Saiph thought they would hit the lake, the Hippogriff suddenly pulled up so they were gliding just over the water.
Sir Porkchop was flying pretty steadily at this point, so Saiph gathered up the courage and let go of the silky feathers she was holding onto once more and reached her hand into the lake. She quickly pulled back, shocked at what she saw. Through the murky water, she had seen a couple of girls sitting on the bottom of the lake, and they had looked up and waved at her. She was soon forced to forget about the mysterious water people though, as she was flying back to the paddocks she saw Draco arrogantly walking up to buckbeak.
"No, no no no!," Saiph panicked, urging Sir Porkchop to land, but it was too late. Buckbeak reared up and brought his talons down upon Draco with great force. The Malfoy boy was knocked back and cried out in pain, holding his bloody arm. As soon as Sir Porkchop touched down on the paddock Saiph jumped off him and rushed to Draco's side. Behind them Hagrid was still trying to get Buckbeak to calm down and stop lashing out.
Saiph turned to give the bird a hard glare, and he quieted down soon after. She then directed her worry and anger back to Draco, who was still rolling around on the ground clutching his injured arm.
"I'm dying!" He cried, rather pathetically, but the class seemed to buy it and started panicking. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"
His whining, however, was answered with no sympathy from Saiph. "Shut up!" She yelled "or I'll make sure you actually die.''She threatened. Saiph lightly grabbed his arm to look at the wound, and saw a large cut extending right across his whole forearm. It was bad, but not too bad. Saiph held her wand to the wound and muttered "episkey." The wound only slightly closed up, but she had managed to stop the bleeding for now.
Saiph moved to the side while Hagrid lifted Draco into his arms. He then began to run up the hill to the castle, Saiph following right behind him. She could hear the Slytherins and Gryffindors arguing behind them over whose fault the accident was. She would have to talk to Draco and the rest of the Slytherins later to make sure parents didn't hear about this.
She was too late to save Draco from getting injured, but maybe she could still save Buckbeak. They soon reached the infirmary where Madame Pomfrey rushed Draco onto one of the beds, hurriedly preparing a potion to dull the pain as well as sleeping draught.
The door to the infirmary opened loudly once more and Pansy bounded in with a worried look on her face. Saiph quickly interjected her so as not to incur the wrath of Madame Pomfrey. "He's okay," She told the girl reassuringly. "It's just a scratch, he's going to be okay." Pansy's eyes welled up with tears that began to fall soon after as she snuck a look at the now unconscious boy. She hugged Saiph and then started to cry into her shoulder. Saiph comforted the girl awkwardly. She had never been any good with emotions but she had to at least try for the sake of her distraught friend.
At dinner, most of the students were gossiping about what had happened in the Care of Magical Creatures lesson earlier that day. The incident with Draco mostly covering up for the fact that Saiph had somehow managed to tame her own hippogriff, which she was thankful for. Saiph and Pansy had skipped their last two periods to comfort one another (though Saiph was doing more comforting than being comforted, not that she really needed it). They stayed in the Slytherin common room the entire time watching life in the Blacklake pass by. Saiph even swore she saw those water girls again.
The Slytherin common room was what you would expect, large, made out of stone, and quite echoey. What most people didn't know though, is that there were also comfy green couches and a great warm fireplace. There were carpets spread around the floor of the room that friends would sometimes sit on to play a game or study. Around the perimeter of the room there were also many study tables that had windows next to them looking out into the blacklake.
Sometimes mermaids or other aquatic creatures would swim by to say hello or just observe the students. For this reason the Slytherin prefects had come up with a communication system (that was a bit like sign language) so students could talk to the creatures.
On the Slytherin table, Saiph tried to control the rumours spreading about the lesson and Hagrid being an irresponsible teacher, but everytime she tried she was met with more questions about how she had gotten to tame her own Hippogriff. Ok, so maybe it wasn't as covered up as she thought. There were also a few complaints about how she had gotten to name said Hippogriff with students saying 'that's totally not fair' and 'why is she so special.' Saiph didn't mind though, this world's version of her was somewhat used to the attention.
Because she had grown up in the United States (As she had moved there with her father when she was still a baby to escape the war) she had gone to a fancy New York Private School where she was constantly the centre of attention. Saiph had never known why that was and never really cared to find out. Maybe it was because of her looks, maybe it was because she was rich, either way Saiph didn't care. All she knew is that whenever she wanted something all she had to do was ask and it was hers.
Of course, she tried not to take advantage of this but it was very tempting, especially when she had asked a teacher for the answers to a test as a joke and they were given to her. Later she was accused of cheating when the teacher denied ever giving her the answers, claiming she had just taken them from her hands. She was expelled from that school not long after for punching that teacher, but it was fun while it lasted.
Eventually, Saiph gave up on trying to control the rumours and simply resigned to eating her now cold dinner. Sighing she used the heating charm she had learned that day on the cold food. She smiled in satisfaction when the charm worked and stuffed her face.
Later that night, Saiph travelled to the Library to research those water girls she had seen in the lake. She looked through books upon books of Magical creatures but found nothing remotely similar to what she was searching for.
'A trick of the mind, don't worry about it' a voice whispered, as if keeping a secret.