Chapter Six: Hagrid's First Lesson
I disclaim everything here recognized.
Enjoy!
"Ah, Great Hall, until we meet again," Ron sighed as we made our way out of the castle, heading for Hagrid's hut.
"Meet again for what? Dinner?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"What else would I meet the Great Hall for?" he replied.
"Honestly, Ron, do you ever not think with your stomach?" Hermione asked.
"Of course I do!"
"When?"
"When I'm not hungry," he and Harry swapped grins while Hermione and I rolled our eyes at each other.
"What d'you suppose Hagrid will be like for a teacher?" Harry asked conversationally as the rest of the Gryffindors from our year joined us.
"I dunno," I answered airily. "Probably enthusiastic, you know how he is,"
"What kinds of animals do you reckon he'll give us to work with?" Seamus asked to no one in particular.
"I hope we do unicorns," Parvati squealed.
"On the first lesson? I doubt it," Dean said, shaking his head.
"And why not?" Lavender asked, folding her arms.
"Too girly," several of the boys chorused.
"Oh no," Neville muttered as we got closer to Hagrid's hut.
"What is it Neville?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Slytherins," Harry replied in a growl of a whisper.
The Slytherins were standing in front of Hagrid's hut, looking sulky and annoyed at the same time. Hagrid, however, looked extremely excited as he stood on the front of his porch. Fang bounded away from Hagrid's side and leaped at Ron, nearly knocking him over and causing many of the girls to squeal and begin petting the excited boarhound.
"Great, now tha' yer all here, let's get goin', I've got a special lesson planned fer yeh today," Hagrid beamed, setting off to the other side of the hut. He led us to an empty paddock near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "Gather round, closer ter the fence so's yeh all can see," The Gryffindors got right up next to the fence, while the Slytherins held back a little. I opted to sit on the fence, preferring not to stand. "Now, if all o' yeh would open yer books--"
"How?" Malfoy called out rudely from the back of the class.
"Stroke the spines," I replied, pulling out my own copy. I had stroked it the moment Snape had began complaining when my books had been delivered early on in the summer.
The Slytherins looked from their books to mine and back again before carefully petting the books while the Gryffindors had pulled off the ropes and belts the moment they had understood what I had meant.
"Now, as I was sayin', turn yer books ter page two hundred and twelve, I'll be righ' back with our special guests," he strode off into the forest while we all turned the pages to find the chapter bearing the title: Hippogriffs, Proudest Beasts.
"Kailey, he's not going start with--" Hermione didn't get to finish her sentence as several oohs and ahhs were made audible as Hagrid led in several large Hippogriffs. Their hind legs were all as glossy as a show horse, their tails, long and elegant. Their fronts were of soft looking feathers, smoothed down to be aerodynamic in flight. Their wings were all large and powerful, their claws, however, looked deadly and fierce. "Oh dear,"
"Hippogriffs," Hagrid stated proudly. "Now, most important thing ter know about Hippogriffs is tha' they're very proud creatures. Don' ever insult one, they may very well kill yeh fer doin' so," There was a shuffling of feet and I looked back to see that I was now the only one remotely close to the fence, though Hagrid didn't seem to notice. "Next, always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move. They value manners an' such, so being polite is always top priority with them. Yeh bow and if he bows back it means yeh can touch him, ride him even if he likes yeh enough. If not, then yeh gotta back away real careful like, cause yeh don' want ter get any nearer ter his talons than yeh need ter," he finished his speech, rubbing his hands and looking around.
I turned to look back and saw that even Harry, Ron and Hermione were a foot from the fence. I jerked my head ever so slightly and they moved forward, cautiously. The rest of the class followed a little more slowly.
"Who wants ter go firs'?" Hagrid asked. Now I hopped off the fence and the class resumed position a foot away. "Kailey, how abou' you?" his tone was too hopeful for me to refuse. I climbed over the fence carefully. "Yeh can start with Buckbeak, here," he suggested, gesturing to the stormy silver Hippogriff closest to me.
I walked in front of him, not blinking, and bowed as I would have in a formal duel. I even held my breath as I waited for him to return a bow.
"Don' move now, let him think yeh over," Hagrid advised.
I held very still, not daring to look up as I heard the beast begin to walk towards me.
"Kailey, stand very still," Hagrid warned, sounding nervous now. Fantastic…
I held my position and saw two scaly legs halt just within my line of sight. They were not bent. It took much of my will power not to run from the sharp, flexing talons, but I held still, waiting. Slowly, the scaly legs began to bend and he bowed so low that I could see his orange eyes, piercing mine. Just as slowly, I stood up and stared at the Hippogriff, though he was not looking at me now and he had retracted his talons ever so slightly.
"Now that's strange, tha' is," Hagrid said as I moved forward to pet Buckbeak.
"What is, Professor?" Hermione asked. Hagrid blushed a little at being called a professor.
"Well, Buckbeak seems ter be recognizing Kailey here as his alpha. Hippogriffs don' normally do stuff like tha'. Only ter those they see as truly powerful an' the like," Hagrid said, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "I think yeh all best take some notes on tha', might be the first time it's happened in over a century,"
The class suddenly began scrambling for their notes, I, however, continued stroking Buckbeak, who slowly stood up.
This takes about a nine on the weird-o-meter I think…Beats out what Trelawney said, that's for sure…Still got to remember to tell this stuff to Dad—er—Snape…Funny though…this sort of thing happened the first full moon we spent with Moony…maybe I'll talk to him instead…
"Yeh know I reckon he'd let anyone yeh say is okay ter come up an' pet him now, Kailey. Want ter give it a go?" Hagrid suggested. I shrugged and nodded. "So, who wants ter try it? Harry, how abou' you?"
"Alright," Harry answered. He climbed over the fence. "Do I just do what Kailey did or do I do something different?"
"Since Kailey is the alpha here, yeh bow ter her and she'll bow back an' then we'll see what Buckbeak here does," Hagrid instructed.
Harry and I bowed to one another and I looked over at Buckbeak. His great orange eyes boar into mine for a moment then he turned and bowed deeply to Harry. The class broke into applause as Harry moved forward to join me in petting Buckbeak.
"Ruddy fantastic!" Hagrid exclaimed as the clapping died down. "I reckon he'd let yeh both ride him!"
"Come again?" Before the words were completely out of my mouth, Hagrid had given Harry a leg up onto Buckbeak (despite protest) and was now offering me assistance.
"Come now, Kailey, he's a natural born flyer," Hagrid said, lifting me onto the Hippogriff's back. "Now, don' pull out none of his feathers, he won' like tha' at all,"
"Hagrid, I'm not so--"
"Go on!" Hagrid cried, slapping Buckbeak's hind-quarters causing the beast to lurch into the air. He reared up causing me to grab onto Harry for dear life before we raced into the air.
I jammed my eyes shut, burying my face into Harry's back. The back and forth motions Buckbeak was making was not helping in the least as I slid back and forth, coming very close to sliding off his back too many times for my liking.
"Kailey, are you okay?" Harry yelled, sounding slightly constricted.
"No," I managed to whisper out. This was nothing like a broom and even those I didn't really care for.
"Well, could you loosen your hold a bit? I can't breathe,"
I loosened my hold, but that only made me aware of how much I was shaking.
"Kailey, are you seeing this? It's an amazing view," I felt Harry shifting around and I opened my eyes a bit to see him staring at me with a small smirk. "Even if you fall, I doubt it would hurt," he added. I frowned and looked down. I was met with a reflection of a pale faced girl on a Hippogriff. We were flying over the lake and it was beautiful.
"Wow," was all I could manage to say. I gripped Harry's robe tightly and slid over so that my hand could brush the water.
"Still afraid?" Harry asked, sounding a little amused.
"This does not qualify as a height because I can touch the water," I replied. He laughed as I swung myself back into a more comfortable sitting position just as Buckbeak took off into the sky again.
We landed back in the paddock a few moments later. We were received by loud applause from the Gryffindors and even a couple of the Slytherins couldn't contain the fact that they were somewhat impressed. Moments later the class had divided itself into small groups and everyone was bowing to different Hippogriffs. Neville had a bit of trouble until he asked me to get the Hippogriff to bow at him. The bronze colored creature looked as though it wished to raise an eyebrow at me but allowed Neville to proceed anyway along with Ron and Hermione. Harry was now sitting on the fence and I was leaning up against it.
"Looks like everything is going well," Harry commented. "If I were going to die any time soon, I'll bet it would've been in this lesson,"
I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Shit, I almost forgot," I muttered, turning to look over at Malfoy, who was stroking Buckbeak.
"Forgot what?"
"Shh," I held up a hand to silence Harry so I could hear what Malfoy was saying.
"—not so bad are you?" he paused and I started running at him. "Are you, you great ugly beast?" I dove into Malfoy, forcing him out of the way of Buckbeak's talons just in time for them to dig into my side.
All of the shouting that followed jumbled together and all I could really focus on was the intense stinging in my side. I bit my lip so hard trying not to scream that I tasted blood in my mouth.
"You idiot, I think you broke my arm! Get off me! You're getting me covered in your blood," Malfoy yelled over the confusion.
I felt a pair of hands pull me off, gently. "You're lucky it's not your own blood, you stupid prat!" Ron shouted back, coming over to help Harry support me.
"Ignore him, for now Ron," I muttered in a strangled whisper. "I think I might like the Hospital Wing," I added. "Where's Buckbeak?"
"Hagrid has him," Harry answered. "Buckbeak is trying to get to you, though,"
"It's because he attacked the alpha on accident," Hermione said, opening the gate as we made our way out of the paddock at a snailish pace.
"Boys, lemme take her, I'll go faster," Hagrid said, though he sounded a little winded from wrestling with Buckbeak. He gingerly lifted me off the ground and began to jog up to the castle.
"What were you thinking, jumping in front of a full grown Hippogriff? It could have gouged you alive! Don't you think before you act? And don't give me any of the foolish Gryffindor bravery treatment either," Snape fumed as he entered the Hospital Wing shortly after my arrival. Madame Pomfrey had sent Hagrid to get Snape from the dungeons after he had finished explaining why I was bleeding so freely.
"It wasn't foolish and I was thinking! If I hadn't've done it, Buckbeak would've got Malfoy instead and you know how much of a whiner he is. Don't deny it," I added fiercely.
Just then the doors banged open to reveal Malfoy being supported by both Goyle and Crabbe, his arm hanging limply at his side, a streak of blood running down his face.
"I don't freaking believe it," I growled under my breath just loud enough that Snape gave me a disapproving look for language.
"Mr. Malfoy, what seems to be the problem?" Pomfrey asked, handing me a thick, purple concoction before conjuring some bandages with her wand. Does she expect me to drink this…?
"My arm…my head…she landed on me…" my jaw dropped.
"Well you'll have to wait a moment while I patch Ms. Snape here up, she seems to have taken the more bitter end of the deal for you," she snapped. "Professor, I'm going to have to ask you to leave us a moment." Snape gave a curt nod and Pomfrey shut the curtains.
I took the opportunity of talking to her while she was wrapping the bandages tightly around my stomach. "Hagrid told us never to insult a Hippogriff and I heard Malfoy start to say something to one, so I dove into him so that he wouldn't get massacred by the thing. He was fine when Hagrid and I left to bring me up here."
"The truth is not what matters with this boy. You should remember that the Malfoys are known for stretching the truth to make it work out in their favor,"
"You can't do anything?"
"Other than tell him that he will live and there is no lasting damage? No, there is nothing," she answered. "Is this too tight?"
"Yes,"
"Good," she flicked her wand and I was wearing a Hospital gown. She opened the curtains and addressed Snape. "She is not to over exert herself; the wound was too deep for me to heal it entirely. You know what sorts of potions she may and may not inhale I believe?"
"Of course I do," he muttered back, his pride sounding hurt more than anything.
"I'm not staying overnight," I grumbled.
Before either could reply, Malfoy gave a loud, obnoxious groan from his bed at the other end of the wing. Madame Pomfrey gave a huff and went over to him, fussing over how he was over reacting. Snape turned back to look at me.
"Explain," he ordered and I did. His look of frustration soon ebbed away into a look of annoyance. "Foolish Gryffindor bravery," he muttered when I had finished. "But I suppose you need not stay here overnight if you truly feel up to sleeping in the dorm."
"I do," I replied, sitting up eagerly.
"Very well, I will talk to Poppy. But you are not to go gallivanting all over the castle!"
"Oh please, why ever would I do that?" I grinned cheekily. He was unable to give me an honest glare.
"Well, I see that you've gotten yourself out of the Hospital Wing once more," the Fat Lady commented as I approached. I grinned.
"You know they can't hold me in there," I replied.
"You know, you remind me of a girl who came here a few years back. Quite a few years, honestly, but it only seems like a few to me," she sighed exasperatedly
"You look as young as ever," I commented politely.
She blushed. At least she would have if she hadn't been a painting. "You see? That is exactly what I mean. Her name is Keena McIntosh. I heard rumor that she worked here sporadically over the past couple of years, perhaps you've met her."
"Nope, although I have seen her around. Though I guess she's fled the country. That's the most recent rumor," The answer came so smoothly from my lips that it scared me a little bit. I wasn't even sure if that was the most recent rumor, though now that the Fat Lady knew it would get all over the school no problem.
The Fat Lady gave a sigh. "She was here back in the years that you didn't need a password to get into the common rooms. All the students had to be was recognized and we would trust them enough to enter. But I suppose those days have by-passed us forever," she gave another sigh.
"That is a pity. But I have to be going in there. Ron, Harry and Hermione are back, right?"
"Oh yes, they came straight from the lesson. The whole of your year did, actually. They were muttering about young Draco Malfoy and how no one could figure out why you saved him." It seemed to be a question more than a fact so I opted to answer it.
"I didn't save him because he deserved it," I replied. "I did it because he was trying to make Hagrid look bad on his first day. I heard him and his friends trying to figure out a way to get him sacked."
"Terrible," she clucked. "I am so glad I was made the guard of the Gryffindors. You lot are so noble, especially when it comes to a threat to one of your own. Well, go find your friends then," she said, though she didn't open until I gave the password.
Without pausing in my step, I headed straight for the couches in front of the fire where I could see Ron's bright red hair. I sat down on the couch next to Hermione, who looked up from her Transfiguration book, gave a squeal and a tight hug.
"Too tight, Hermione," I gasped out as her arm collided with my bandaged side.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I thought for sure that Madame Pomfrey would have made you as good as new," she gave Harry a pointed look.
"I said she would probably be as good as new, I also said that she most likely would not get out of the Hospital Wing today," Harry defended himself.
"The scratch was too deep for her to be able to heal it all right away," I explained. "And she and Snape both wanted me to stay, but I got out of it,"
"Are you certain that's a good thing? I mean, if they both thought you should stay--"
"Hermione, you know how much I hate the Hospital Wing," I said, cutting her off.
"Seems a bit irrational is all," she muttered.
"What's irrational is the amount of complaining Malfoy put up," Ron stated before I could counter what Hermione had said. "Did he go to the Hospital Wing?"
I nodded. "He had those loons, Crabbe and Goyle carrying him. What does he think happened to him anyway?"
"Said you broke his arm when you landed on him and that his head landed on a rock. He started acting all delirious and crap," Ron answered.
"God, I hate his guts," I replied in no more than a growl. "Bet you anything he acts like his arm is too 'weak' to do anything for weeks,"
"You're not serious, are you?" Harry groaned. I shook my head solemnly. "Brilliant,"
We all fell silent for a few moments before a strange noise sounded.
"Sorry," Ron muttered. "I think it's dinner time," he added, rubbing his growling stomach. Harry grinned, but Hermione and I gave each other looks. Boys…they're the same no matter what time period…
We headed down to the Great Hall. There was no surprise to see that Malfoy was not present among his Slytherin brethren. They were, however, gossiping eagerly. Even Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be conversing, which I hadn't known they were capable of doing. We sat down around our own year mates and discussion fell into the topic of Care of Magical Creatures.
"Malfoy is just a git who thinks it all needs to be about him," Dean stated, pounding a fist on the table, earning him a glare from Percy but nothing more.
"I can't imagine what would have happened to him if you hadn't saved him, Kailey," Lavender added. "He deserved to get attacked,"
"Well at least this way he can't complain to his father that it was Hagrid's fault," I shrugged. "It was, technically, mine that anything happened to him at all,"
"True, but what will your father do to Hagrid? I mean, he isn't the nicest of people, no offense," Seamus said quickly.
"My father is as loyal to Dumbledore as Hagrid is," I said after a moment of thought. "I don't think he'll do anything. I've already had a lecture on how stupid I was for leaping in Buckbeak's way. He didn't mention Hagrid at all,"
"I wouldn't be so sure," Parvati said. "Look and see who is missing from the staff table,"
We all looked up and saw that Hagrid was missing from his usual corner seat. Snape, however, was sitting on Dumbledore's left side, glancing frequently around the hall to glare at random students. They probably just reminded him of people from his own school days.
I turned back to where everyone was staring at me as if daring me to contradict the evidence.
"Buckbeak is probably in a state is all," I replied coolly. "Hagrid'll be back to work in no time," I stated confidently.
"You don't think he's upset at all?" Hermione asked. "I mean, it was his first lesson, after all," there were several nods of agreement that accompanied this statement.
"I dunno," I answered with a shrug. "I suppose the end was a bit of a letdown, but I thought the rest of the class was pretty cool,"
The conversation flowed from there and it wasn't very long until we had finished dinner and Dumbledore was sending the school to bed. The four of us held back a little bit to talk amongst ourselves on the way back to the common room.
"I think we should go and make sure he's alright," Hermione said, sounding a little worried. "It is safe for us all to do that, right?"
"Hermione, I'm safe on the grounds," Harry answered, rolling his eyes. "Plus, we've got the cloak. Dementors aren't on the grounds and I'm fairly certain Black can't see through an invisibility cloak,"
"And it's still early," Ron added.
"So go and get it, Harry," I said.
Ten minutes later the four of us were huddled very close together and walking even more slowly across the grounds. It was very tricky shuffling through the grass in the complete darkness, especially considering my side would begin to ache randomly and we would have to halt rather suddenly. We finally made it to Hagrid's cabin, though, and we knocked very loudly. There was shuffling behind the door before it opened revealing a fairly red-faced Hagrid. He squinted at the darkness for a moment and scratched his head.
"Anybody there?" he asked thickly and uncertainly. His breath wrecked of alcohol.
"Just us," Harry said, taking the cloak off of us.
"Oh, alrigh' then," he stood back and gestured for us to come inside.
He fell heavily into one of the enormous chairs that sat around the wooden table. We followed in suite, though all together we only took up two chairs. Fang wandered over and laid himself down on Hagrid's knee and whined. Hagrid didn't seem to notice, though he heaved a heavy sigh when he lifted his tankard to find it empty.
"'S probably a record," he muttered finally after a few moments of silence.
"I doubt it," I replied before he could continue. "Mostly considering you haven't been fired nor will you be,"
"Don' try an' make me feel no better," he said, waving his hand. "With Lucius Malfoy breathin' down everyone's necks…"
"How is Malfoy, then?" Ron asked. "Kailey said he came up acting like he had a head injury or something stupid like that,"
Hagrid nodded. "He says he was knocked in'ter a boulder or somethin'. He's got Madame Pomfrey ter wrap his head up in bandages and the like," he said miserably.
"He's not really hurt." Harry stated. "Remember when Lockhart vanished half my bones? Madame Pomfrey healed that in a night!"
"Don' matter none. The School gov'nors were told and they reckon I started out too big. I just thought it'd be more fun. I mean, Hippogriffs aren' dangerous unless yeh insult 'em, an' I told yeh all tha' firs' thing," he explained, sounding dejected.
"That just makes it all the more Malfoy's fault then," Hermione said confidently. "And he wasn't even the one who got attacked."
"Yeah, and I'm not about to complain," I added.
"S'not yeh and yer father I'm worried abou', Kailey," Hagrid replied. "Malfoy'll take anythin' ter court. I'm worried fer Buckbeak,"
"Well you shouldn't be," Harry said. "We're not going to let anything happen,"
"Yeah, we'll make sure everyone knows that Malfoy was the one who screwed up, not you or Buckbeak," Ron said loyally.
Hagrid gave a giant sob and grabbed both Harry and Ron, pulling them into a huge hug. Both boys looked as though they were struggling to breathe, as they began to turn as red as Hagrid.
"I think you're a little bit tired, Hagrid," I said loudly, hoping to distract Hagrid from breaking the boys' necks. "And it's probably not a bad thing that you're out of whatever it was you were drinking,"
He released the boys, nodding in agreement. "I reckon yer right," he took out his handkerchief and mopped off the tears that were streaking down his face. "An' I'm glad yeh came…" he stopped dead and stared at Harry, a strange expression coming over his face.
"WHAT D'YEH THINK YER DOIN' HERE, HARRY? COMIN' OUT AT NIGHT? AN' YOU THREE JUS' LETTIN' HIM? C'MON, WE'RE GOIN' BACK UP TER THE CASTLE! I CAN' BELIEVE YEH WOULD RISK THA'!" he thundered so suddenly that I had a strong urge to melt into the seat that was behind me.
He lifted Harry up by the scruff and began dragging him up to the school, the three of us scurrying to keep up with them. Hagrid forced open the double doors and continued escorting us up to the tower, growling under his breath the whole time.
As long as we don't run into Snape, I think we'll be just fine…
"Kailey?" an angry voice called out just one floor away from the common room.
That would be my luck, wouldn't it…?
Okay, that's long enough I think. If you didn't realize it, most of the stuff (if not all of it) that can be recognized is from Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling and is, therefore, NOT mine. However, I would like it very much if you reviewed and came back for Chapter 7! Until then!
:-D