I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH IT. I ONLY OWN DEVYN AND HER PARENTS.

Chapter 10

Hagrid let Harry and Buckbeak fly around for a few minutes, and Devyn could tell Harry was having the time of his life, because she could hear him whooping and yelling with glee almost the entire time he was in the air.

Although, considering his Quidditch prowess, it wasn't all that surprising that he was happy being in the air.

Eventually, Hagrid whistled and Buckbeak came soaring back. He landed with a thud back in the paddock and everyone started cheering, simply because it had been really cool that Harry had ridden a Hippogriff.

"Well done, Harry!" one of the students shouted out.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid repeated. "And well done, Buckbeak," he added, apparently in an effort to avoid insulting the gorgeous creature.

"Yeah, that was wicked, Harry!" another student shouted.

Evidently Malfoy was jealous of the cheering because he muttered, "Oh, please," and started sauntering up to Buckbeak while Hagrid's back was turned. Hagrid had just helped Harry down off of Buckbeak's back and asked him, "How am I doin' me first day?"

Harry smiled and said, "Brilliant…Professor."

Devyn smiled fondly when she heard that (sometimes her enhanced hearing was a blessing) but her smile quickly turned to disbelief and anger when she saw Malfoy quickly walking to Buckbeak.

"Yes, you're not dangerous at all, are you?" Malfoy said confidently. Hagrid whirled around and said, "Malfoy…"

"You great ugly brute!"

"Malfoy, no!" Hagrid shouted.

But it was too late. Buckbeak rose up, squawking furiously, and brought his enormous talons down onto Malfoy's arm, which he had put up to protect his face. Malfoy's arm was cut open and blood started staining his shirtsleeve.

Malfoy started whimpering after he hit the ground and he rolled back and forth, holding his arm, nearly crying.

"Buckbeak!" Hagrid shouted and stepped between Malfoy and the Hippogriff in an effort to calm Buckbeak down. Eventually Buckbeak did settle down and Hagrid got him away from Malfoy with another ferret.

"Away, you silly creature…" Hagrid muttered after he threw the ferret. Buckbeak went after it and Hagrid turned to Malfoy, who was still whimpering and rolling around.

"Oh, it's killed me. It's killed me," Malfoy cried out, holding onto his arm.

"C-Calm down, it's just a scratch!" Hagrid told him anxiously. Hermione rushed forward and said, "Hagrid!"

Hagrid looked right up at her and she said, "He has to be taken to the hospital!"

Hagrid nodded and said, scooping Malfoy up and carrying him bridal style, "Right, I'm the teacher, I'll do it!"

Malfoy moaned in pain and said, "Oh, you're gonna regret this…"

"Class dismissed!" Hagrid shouted over his shoulder as he carried Malfoy off.

"You and your bloody chicken!" Malfoy moaned.

And that was that; Hagrid and Malfoy were gone and the other students started milling out of the paddock to go back up to the castle.

Pansy Parkinson tearfully ran after Malfoy and Hagrid to "make sure he was alright". All the Slytherins were muttering about how Hagrid should be fired right away and Devyn snapped. She had been ready to snap the moment that Malfoy sauntered up to Buckbeak, and they had just pushed her over the edge.

"Oi! It isn't Hagrid's fault if Malfoy wasn't listening. He told all of us, specifically not to insult a Hippogriff, and that's what Malfoy did. It isn't Hagrid's fault is Malfoy is too thick to listen to one simple instruction!"

All the Slytherins glared at her murderously and Crabbe and Goyle even made a threatening move toward her and she shot them a look and said, "Try it, you two. I'll rip you limb from limb faster than you can call for your fathers!"

Crabbe and Goyle smirked but then they saw the feral look in Devyn's eyes and they backed off. They had no idea the power she had within her and she doubted, as stupid as they were, that they would challenge a wolf willingly.

Eventually the Slytherins and the majority of the Gryffindors left, until it was only Harry, Devyn, Neville, Ron and Hermione left with Buckbeak, who had just nudged Harry's cheek with his beak. Harry patted him and Devyn edged toward Buckbeak after bowing to him and receiving a bow in return.

Buckbeak made no move to stop her from coming towards him and she eventually made it over and started patting his neck.

"Yeah, that's a good boy…" Devyn murmured. "You're a good boy, Buckbeak."

After a while, they left Buckbeak to his devices and he seemed content to just stay in the paddock. Besides, he could take care of himself even if he did leave the paddock.

"What do you think is gonna happen to Hagrid?" Neville asked her as they walked back up to the castle.

"I don't know, Neville. It was all Malfoy's fault – Hagrid specifically told us not to insult a Hippogriff. It's Malfoy's own fault that he wasn't listening," Devyn replied. Neville nodded and said, "I just don't wanna see Hagrid get into trouble for this."

"None of us do, Nev…"

Later, after dinner, Devyn decided to go up to Moony's office to spend some time with him and see how his first day went.

She knocked on his door and heard a muffled, "Come in!" from inside the office. She opened the door and poked her head in. She saw her godfather standing in the middle of the room, trying to decide where to put one of his trinkets. Evidently, he hadn't had much time to decorate his office.

He looked around and smiled when he saw her. "Devyn! Come on in."

Devyn moved fully into the office and Moony said, "Where do you think this should go?"

Devyn hummed in thought and looked around the room. "Right there," she said, pointing to a spot on a small bookcase. Moony smiled and set the trinket down and looked at it.

"Perfect. Thanks, kiddo," he said. Devyn smiled and said, "No problem."

"So, what's up?"

"Nothin'. How did your first day go?"

"Oh, wonderful. Most of the students were perfectly well behaved. Although, that probably had to do with the fact that the first lesson was hands-on. Every student likes it when they don't have to take notes."

Devyn smiled, glad that Moony's first go as a teacher had been a success.

"That's great, Moony. I'm really happy for you," she said. Moony smiled and said, "So, how did your first day of classes go?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Harry's death was predicted in Divination…I rejected Seamus about three times after he kept asking me out to the first Hogsmeade trip…Neville asked me to Hogsmeade and I said yes…we learned about Animagi in Transfiguration…oh, and Malfoy got his arm sliced open by a Hippogriff in Care of Magical Creatures."

Moony blinked a couple times and then said, "You got asked out by two boys?"

"That's all you heard? Out of that whole thing, that's all you heard?"

"No, I heard the rest, but I don't really care about the Malfoy boy and Divination is a total waste of time. The Animagi…well, I'm sure that was interesting, but you got asked out by two boys?"

Devyn sighed and said, "Yeah. Seamus and Neville."

"And you rejected Seamus and said yes to Neville."

"Yes."

"Well, at least it's Neville. That boy's been enamored with you for a couple years now."

"He has?"

"Yep. Didn't you see it? He did an awful job of hiding it…"

"No, I guess I didn't."

Moony shrugged and said, "Sometimes the things in front of us are the hardest to see."

"So what have you got planned for my class?" Devyn asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously. Moony chuckled and said, "You'll have to wait and see. It's a surprise, love."

"Aww…come on, you can tell me! I won't say anything, I promise."

Moony looked thoughtful for a minute before he said, "…No."

"Fine," Devyn said, pouting playfully.

"Oh, relax. It's won't be long before I have your class."

"Uh, I beg to differ! It's still a week, Moony! An entire week!" Devyn said, sounding as though that week was going to be the longest period of time in her life.

Moony laughed and pulled her in for a hug, which she gladly accepted. It sounded silly, but there was something about her godfather that just made her feel safe (and his hugs were the best). He was always warm and smelled like the chocolate he was constantly eating. Although it was a depressing line of thought, she supposed she loved being hugged by her godfather so much because she couldn't remember being held or hugged as a baby, so, in a way, when she hugged Moony, it was like making up for lost time.

Moony smiled and released her. "You should probably be getting up to Gryffindor Tower. It's getting kinda late, love."

Devyn grumbled and said, "Yeah…"

"You don't wanna get caught by Filch. I remember this one time, I think it was fifth year, Filch caught James and – well, he caught James in the corridors after hours, planning something, and he threatened to hang him upside down in the dungeons by his toes. Crazy old bugger, he is, and he couldn't do that anyway, but the point is, you don't wanna get caught by him."

It didn't escape Devyn that Moony had been about to mention someone else along with James, but she didn't point it out. She was intelligent enough to figure that he had been about to mention Sirius Black.

"Yeah, Moony, I know. Fine, then. I'll see you soon. G'night."

Devyn made to leave but Moony put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a goodnight hug. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. Moony dropped a kiss onto her head and said, "All right, off you go. Have a good sleep. I love you, kiddo."

"Kay. I love you, too, Moony."

Devyn made her way out of Moony's office, down the stairs that led into the DADA classroom and through the door into the hallway. As she walked through the halls, she occasionally passed a student walking the opposite way. Some of them said hello to her, and some ignored her completely, but she wasn't too bothered. Of course, she said hello back to the ones who greeted her, but she wasn't about to waste her breath on the ones who walked right on by.

Luckily, she got back to Gryffindor Tower without running into Filch or his wretched cat, Mrs. Norris. When she got through the portrait of the Fat Lady, she saw Neville passed out cold on the couch in front of the fire.

She smiled to herself and walked over to the couch and leaned over the back.

"Neville," she said quietly, trying to bring him around. She thought it was adorable that he had waited up for her and subsequently fell asleep on the couch. She imagined that the rest of her house mates were either asleep in their dormitories or just goofing around in their dormitories. But Neville, evidently, had been determined to make sure that she made it back all right.

"Neville," she repeated, a little louder, when he didn't respond the first time. She nudged his shoulder a little and his eyes slowly started opening. He blinked a few times groggily before realizing that Devyn was looking down at him, grinning.

"Hello, there, Sleeping Beauty," Devyn joked. Neville sighed and sat up.

"Hi," he said, yawning. "I meant to stay up to wait for you, but I guess classes just took it out of me. I'm knackered."

"Not surprised, honestly. First day of classes always does that."

"Yeah, well, that, and your and Harry's biggest fan was over here earlier, jabbering away like he was interviewing me about you. Wanted to know everything about you, he did. Think he's got a crush on you, or something."

Devyn had to think for a moment before she realized who Neville was talking about. "What, you mean Colin?"

"Yeah. He's got endless energy, that one. But seriously, Devyn, if you don't watch out, Colin will probably be asking for a date next."

Devyn laughed as Neville stood up and stretched. "If you're worried about competition, don't worry Neville. No one is going to come between us. I promise."

"Yeah, well, the last person I'm worried about coming between us is Colin."

"You don't have to worry about anyone, Nev. We should probably get to bed."

"Yeah, I think so, too. Sleep sounds very good right now."

Devyn laughed quietly and they headed for the stairs that led to the dormitories. They came to the point where the girls' and boys' dormitories were split off from one another and they shared their usual goodnight hug before entering their respective dormitories.

When she walked over to her bed, she found Hermione sitting on it, waiting for her.

"Hullo, Hermione," Devyn said tiredly. Hermione smiled and said, "How was your godfather?"

"He's good. Apparently, he was a big hit with the classes he had today."

"That's good. He seems like he'd be a good teacher."

Devyn nodded but it seemed like Hermione was teetering on the edge of asking her about something.

"What is it, Hermione?"

"Oh, um…I just wanted to ask you…" She lowered her voice to little more than a whisper and continued, "Did Neville ask you to Hogsmeade?"

"Shhh!" Devyn shushed her. "They," she gestured to Parvati and Lavender, "could be listening. That's all I need, is them gossiping about us."

"Well, did he?"

Devyn nodded once with a gleeful smile on her face. Hermione grinned and said, "Oh, good…he really likes you, Devyn. I mean…really."

"I like him, too, Hermione. He's my best friend. And, yes, I really like him. However, as for right now, I'd like to go to sleep, so may I have my bed back?"

"Oh, of course. Sorry," she said, looking sheepish. She walked back over to her bed and Devyn drew the hangings on hers so she could change into her pajamas. Once she did that, she crawled under her warm sheets and said a quiet goodnight to Hermione before she blew out the candle by her bed and drifted off to sleep.