Author's Note: Please note that one of the Slytherins who was not yet characterized when JKR had only written her fourth book (i.e., not yet characterized when the draft of this chapter was written) makes an appearance here—and she's definitely OOC according to JKR's canonical books after her first four. Just think of her as the woman this character could have been if only her circumstances had been different...
Chapter 11
GRIFFIN
Abruptly, McGonagall cut across the stubbled remains of last summer's lawn. Rushing after her, Harry felt dew dampening his robe and cloak. As they skirted a tangle of mulberry bushes, he caught sight of Snape arguing with Headmaster Dumbledore.
McGonagall broke into a grin. Then she coughed. As if she'd cast a spell on it, her mouth pulled down into a stern, business-like line.
Closer, Harry heard Snape retort, "A griffin is not a lion."
"It's part lion." Dumbledore's tone was mild, but amusement lurked under his breath. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle behind his half-moon spectacles.
Snape's dark eyes narrowed. "And a roc is certainly not an eagle."
"It's eagle-like," Dumbledore responded.
McGonagall stopped squarely in front of Snape. "A griffin is as much a lion and a roc is as much an eagle as a hydra is a snake."
Snape jutted his pointed chin. "On the contrary. A hydra is a type of serpent—so defined in any dictionary, magical or Muggle, you care to quote. As such, it's a legitimate symbol of Slytherin House."
"As a griffin certainly is of Gryffindor," McGonagall shot back.
"And," Dumbledore added reasonably. "If your two houses are going to be represented by such large, impressive beasts, it's only fair to let Ravenclaw be represented by a roc."
Beside him, Harry heard Natalie suck in her breath. When he glanced at her, he saw her eyebrows knit nervously. "A griffin?"
Just then Harry noticed Professor Sprout bustling up the path. Barden and two more Hufflepuffs trailed her. "What's this about magical creatures representing the Houses? Nobody told me."
When Harry saw what Barden was cradling—a normal-sized, non-magical, black-and-white badger that batted playfully at its wrangler's chin—he grimaced. Poor Hufflepuff. They always did look like duffers.
Barden remained unperturbed. "You'll help us put an engorgement spell on him, won't you? Hagrid said it wouldn't hurt."
Dumbledore stroked his long, silvery beard. "Certainly. Would four yards do the trick? This is going to be one grand charity fete." Humming, he strolled off, ignoring the storm gathering in Snape's black eyes. The Hufflepuffs, students and housemaster, left the opposite way. With an exasperated grunt, the Slytherin housemaster folded his arms inside his black cloak and tramped after them.
Dropping all pretense of nonchalance, McGonagall rubbed her palms in unbridled glee. When she'd finished chortling, she nodded at Alicia and Natalie. "You two come and see the trappings our griffin will wear." She darted a glance at Harry. "You go find Hagrid."
Harry started off in the direction his housemistress had indicated—but slowly so he wouldn't catch up with Snape. In a moment, he saw Malfoy and Avery outside the Slytherin pen, warming their hands at a floating blue flame. Snape scowled at them and stalked on, past Millicent who stood inside the fence, facing the hydra alone.
Seeing the beast, Harry stopped. It was magnificent—fifteen feet at least, sheathed in green and silver scales like sparkling jewels. And just like the legend, it had three heads. But despite its size, the hydra was anything but frightening. It curled placidly in the dust as if trying to sleep.
From a distance, Millicent's heavy face appeared sullen, but as Harry passed Malfoy and Avery, he saw desperation in her mud brown eyes. Her stiff posture said she was aware of him watching. Anxiously, she made more hissing noises through her clenched teeth. To him that's what they sounded like: noises. Evidently, to the hydra as well. The enormous beast continued to lie sluggishly on its side while all three heads cast her dull, disconcerted looks.
Behind him, Harry heard Malfoy snicker. He didn't need to look back to know that Avery was nudging him. Poor Millicent—dismissed by people outside her house as just another of those nasty Slytherins, mocked by those inside her house because (as Cho had told him) she wasn't.
Harry entered the enclosure. The three heads were muttering together.
"She seems nice, but what's she saying? Tra-la-la-la-la?"
"Sounds like baby talk to me."
"Perhaps it's foreign. I have a friend who speaks Amazonian Boa. Maybe he'd know what she's saying."
"Give her a break," Harry whispered.
Immediately, all three heads twisted in his direction.
A sob escaped Millicent's throat.
"Tell me what you want them to do," he told her quietly. "Maybe we can work out some hand signs. These fellows—" He raised an eyebrow at the hydra.
"Demosthenes."
"Erichthonius."
"Ted."
"Uh, Demo, Eric and Ted," Harry repeated in human talk to Millicent. "They think you're nice."
A smile spread across her craggy face, exposing crooked, spiky teeth. She tilted her hand up from the wrist. "When I do this, do you think they could raise their heads?"
Harry began translating gestures between hydra and human. In five minutes, the beast was coiling, uncoiling, baring its three sets of fangs, and pretending to strike at Millicent's prompting. The performance looked exceptionally fierce, but when the Slytherin wrangler invited Harry to bend down to pat the three chevron-shaped heads, it was clear the hydra was just an old sweetie.
Harry had forgotten all about Malfoy and Avery until he complimented Millicent and stood to go find Hagrid. The pair of snoots weren't looking so superior now. In another enclosure far beyond them, he caught sight of a delicate, satin-haired girl. Cho's appreciative smile said she'd seen his session as go-between for Millicent and the hydra. With a little wave, she turned away.
A glow spread over Harry as he watched her stroll towards two wizards in Arab dress. Before them crouched an enormous sapphire bird. When he noticed a saddle on the roc's back, he bit his lip. Would it really be safe for Cho to ride that thing? Then he saw the beast dip its huge head to delicately peck a treat out of one of the Arab's hands.
Of course these beasts are harmless. Hagrid had arranged for them. Since they were symbols for a charity event, not challenges in a tournament, only docile ones would be allowed. He thought of the beast he'd be handling. Like hippogriffs, griffins were known to get testy with rude people, but so long as Malfoy wasn't allowed near it, the creature should be easy to handle.
Hopping the Slytherin fence, Harry saw Barden, the other two Hufflepuffs, Hagrid, Sprout, and Dumbledore squatting inside the Hufflepuff pen around the steadily enlarging badger. How the headmaster could have gone the opposite way and ended up here before him, Harry didn't know. Already the badger had grown six feet.
Noticing Harry, Barden rose and ambled to the fence. After a greeting, he dropped his voice, "She's a hag, you know."
Harry frowned. He'd called Millicent that himself in the past, but now he wanted to stick up for her. As he mentally scrounged for something nice to say, the Hufflepuff's smile broadened.
"A hag in a long line of hags. Famous. In the history books. Her forebears were councilors to Scottish chiefs." Barden sauntered back to the badger, whistling the tune about Loch Lomand.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, the engorging badger let out a boisterous belch. The people surrounding it jumped back. Harry hurried through the rickety gate to see what was going on.
Hagrid jammed his hands in the front pockets of his mangy moleskin coat and gazed down fondly at the ten-foot badger. "Needs a spot o' peppermin' tea. Got some back in me hut." Turning, he spied Harry. Though it didn't look like rain, his disreputable pink umbrella poked out from under his arm. "Ah, there yeh are. Waldo's come. The wranglers jes' hauled his carrier up the hill."
"Waldo?" Harry smiled. That sounded like a friendly name for a griffin.
Hagrid pointed to a stand of pines where Harry could see four wizards unlatching the rear door of a giant trailer. Snape stood a few yards back, glowering. Filch peeked through a crack in the side, then raced towards the Hufflepuff pen. Panting, he called out, "Professor. Dumbledore. It's here. You wanted. To know." Reaching them, the caretaker clutched the fence with one hand and rubbed his ribcage with the other.
"Thank you, Argus." Dumbledore leaned toward Harry, so close his beard tickled his ear. "As headmaster, I mustn't be partial, but sometimes it's hard. After all, I was a Gryffindor."
Barden and Hagrid strolled off towards the gamekeeper's hut. After kind words to Sprout, Dumbledore clapped Harry's back, and the two rounded the fence to head for the trailer. Filch hobbled after them, wheezing.
When the wranglers swung the door down to form a ramp, Harry could see a bird-like creature, twice the size of a hippogriff, lurking in the shadows. When the tall wizard intoned what sounded like old English, the beast snarled. The two short wizards shared worried looks. Then the middle-sized wizard spoke to Dumbledore. "I'm sorry, but this lad just won't take a harness."
The headmaster's forehead lined slightly as he stepped nearer. He said something in a melodic, soothing voice, and slowly the griffin emerged from its box.
Harry sighed happily. Of all the creatures he'd seen, Gryffindor's was the grandest. The patrician face was a dozen times the size of a regular eagle's, and the feathers glimmered like rubies and gold. The jet-black beak looked as long as a scythe, and the talons on its sleek, scarlet-feathered front legs looked as large as grappling hooks.
"Lion. Right," Snape growled.
From what Harry could see, the back looked less noble than the front. The fur on the hindquarters looked sweaty, and flies buzzed around its flanks. Obviously, the journey had not been comfortable. No wonder the griffin seemed disgruntled.
Lifting its beak, the beast strutted down the ramp. At the bottom, it whisked out its mammoth, red-and-gold wings, sending the wranglers scurrying. Dumbledore said some more arcane words, and the creature fixed him with its beady red eyes.
McGonagall strode up. Alicia and Natalie followed, lugging armfuls of black leather straps and red-and-gold trappings.
"I'll ask him to bow his head." Once more, Dumbledore talked to the griffin.
The beast regarded him suspiciously, then did as asked. But when Alicia approached with the leather halter, the animal reared. When Dumbledore spoke again, it shrieked. Enraged, it lunged at Alicia.
Harry's jaw dropped. Then he leapt.
Author's Note: Okay. Millicent is very OOC. But all we knew about her in the first four books was that she had a memorable name, was a hag and she let Hermione taunt her into a cat fight—not enough to assume she'd be hopelessly mean as well as ugly. So... what do you think of this variation? Please review!