Author's Note: How many disclaimers have I done? Quite a few. And do I still own nothing? Yup. All I own is Alex and the plot points you don't recognize.
Chapter 7 A Grim Day Back
By the time Alex came out of the bathroom, there was a line to get in. Smiling apologetically, she stepped out of the doorway just in time to avoid Hermione's mad dash to enter. Once she was dressed and packed her school things, Alex went over to the full length mirror and checked herself over. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her thick black hair and began braiding it. As she watched herself, her eye caught Malfoy's owl perched on her bed. Alex smiled and pulled the cover off her pillow and placed it on the floor next to her bed.
"This'll have to do for now," Alex said quietly as she fixed the material to resemble a nest, "Until we can find better conditions for you."
Finally, Hermione came out and Alex gave her a look that she usually gave so people knew to get a move on.
"About time," Alex said as they headed to the Great Hall.
"I'm sorry that I don't get up and the crack of dawn to get all my things together," Hermione joked, "I use the early morning hours to sleep. Hi boys!"
They had reached the Great Hall and saw both Harry and Ron with their schedules. As soon as they sat down, Professor McGonagall came over and gave Alex and Hermione their schedules too. Alex happened to glance over at Hermione's and cocked her head.
"Hey Hermione? I think there's a mistake with yours, look," she pointed to the first two blocks, "It has you in Divination and Arithmancy at the same time. Let me get McGonagall to fix that."
"No Alex, everything is settled already, don't worry about it," Hermione said quickly, "Anybody want eggs?"
Alex opened her mouth to speak but decided against it. She took some eggs from Hermione and ate. Once everyone had finished eating, they grabbed their bags and headed to the Entrance Hall. When they got there, Hermione let out a groan.
"I left one of my books in the Great Hall. You go on ahead, I'll meet you all in a minute," she said and dashed off.
"Wait, which class are you going to?" Ron shouted after her.
"I guess we'll find out. See you boys later, I have to really run. My class is all the way on the other side of the castle," Alex said and ran.
…...
When she reached the right floor, it took her a few minutes to find the classroom. To her great surprise, she was the second to arrive, but that didn't shock her as much as who was there.
"Hermione! How did you get here before me? I ran the entire freakin' way!" Alex exclaimed loudly.
"I did too, we must have missed each other on the way. Come on and sit down," she said, patting the seat next to her.
The Arithmancy classroom had four circle tables in different areas of the room, and a desk and blackboard at the front of the room. There was no teacher yet but, as the class filled up, an old man with shocking white hair and ebony eyes emerged from a door next to the board. He had just stood before his desk with his mouth open to speak when the door to the classroom opened and Alex's mouth dropped.
"Sorry I'm late Professor, I got lost on the way here."
"No problem Mr. Malfoy, no problem at all. My classroom is particularly hard to find. There's no need to sit," the old man wheezed as Malfoy went to sit with a group of Slytherins, "For, you see, there are so few of you that we have no need for these four tables. Everyone stand up please and pick up your books!"
The professor pulled out his wand and gave it a flick, removing the tables and replacing them with two smaller ones. He smiled at the class, looking at each one intently. There were two Hufflepuffs, one being Ernie McMillan and the other a tall blonde girl, one Ravenclaw boy who Alex only saw in the library, Hermione and Alex, and two other Slytherins boys other than Malfoy.
"All right then, you four," the professor said, pointing to the Ravenclaw boy, the other Slytherins boys, and the Hufflepuff girl, "Over here at this table. The rest of you at this table here."
Alex picked up her bag and went to the table where the old professor pointed to. She made sure she had Hermione and Ernie on either side of her, but forgot that Malfoy would be facing her. It seemed there was no way to win in this situation.
The old professor's name was Professor Nellie and he was an extremely kind man. He handed the class a worksheet that each table had to complete and whoever got the most correct received a prize. When this was told to the class, everyone perked up immediately. Alex smiled at Hermione and knew that prize was theirs.
"You may begin, but talk quietly so the other team can't hear you," wheezed Professor Nellie.
Instantly the entire room was full of chatter. Hermione snatched up the worksheet and began to look it over. Ernie was looking about nervously, obviously not liking the seating arrangement.
"Going to be able to do it all, Granger?" Malfoy said coldly, "I want that prize."
"If you want it so bad Malfoy, why don't you try and find your tiny brain in that oversized head of yours and help us out?" Alex said calmly as she looked at her own worksheet.
Ernie laughed and tried unsuccessfully to cover it with a cough. Malfoy turned his cold grey eyes on Alex and sneered, Alex returning the look with raised eyebrows. He rolled his eyes and took a worksheet and began looking it over too.
"All right then," Alex said, addressing everyone, "Who has number one?"
They spent the rest of the period working the problems out together, with Alex only having to remind Malfoy to help twice. They were the first to finish with ten whole minutes left. All four of them gave the paper to Professor Nellie and returned to the table. When Alex went to her seat, she found Ernie sitting in it. She gave him a death stare that caused the Hufflepuff to shrink back in terror, even though he wasn't even looking at her.
"I'll deal with you later, Macmillan," she snarled as she took her seat beside Malfoy and packed up her bag.
"So Ratcliff, what were you babbling on about before the feast?" Malfoy said.
"Well, to put it as lightly as I can, you're a nitwit, idiot, and a moron. You're owl is not a male as you told me, it's a female. Not only is it a female, but a pregnant female. That's why she had stomach pains and was fainting, although I thought it was your face that made her sick," Alex said, her knuckles white from gripping her bag so tightly to stop herself from hitting Malfoy across the face.
"No, you're lying. The sales person told me it was a male, I asked specifically for one so this wouldn't happen," Malfoy said, shaking his head.
"Well, they were wrong. You'll see in a few weeks when she lays her egg and in months when it hatches."
"How do you know this?" he asked accusingly.
"That's really none of your business, is it Malfoy?" Alex retorted angrily, "And will you stop drilling me like I've done something wrong? I'm just telling you the truth, even if you don't want to believe it."
The bell rang throughout the castle and Alex got up quickly and left, not even waiting for Hermione. As she left, she heard Professor Nellie say that he would have the winners by the end of the day and for them to stop by and see who won. She practically ran to the Transfiguration room and entered to find Hermione sitting there by herself again.
"Hermione, you should go for the Olympics you're so fast," Alex laughed and joined her best friend.
"I'm not fast, I just know where all the passageways are," Hermione said, frowning.
"You'll have to show me then so I can get to my classes in a hurry."
The door opened and in came the others, all silent and worried-looking. Alex gave a questioning look to Harry and Ron, but neither of them spoke. She also noticed how everyone would give sidelong glances at Harry. When Professor McGonagall entered, she didn't seem to notice the tension in the air and began talking about Animagi, the ability to change into an animal at will. Alex would have paid more attention if not for the fact that it was very annoying to watch people stare at Harry and hear their whispering about him. She barely even noticed when McGonagall changed herself into a tabby cat and back again.
"What has gotten into you all today?" she said, "Not that I am trying to brag but I have never had a class who hasn't applauded when I have done a transformation."
"Professor, we just had our first Divination lesson today and Professor Trelawney said that…" Parvati said, but drifted off.
"I see, no need to continue Miss Patil. Who is going to die this year?"
Everyone looked at Harry and McGonagall nodded with a small smile.
"Potter, you should know that every year Professor Trelawney predicts the death of a student. She thinks of it as an exciting way to start of the year with the new students, not that I am criticizing another teacher's methods but…" McGonagall paused and continued, "Anyway Potter, if you happen to die sometime this year I shall not deduct points for any homework assignments you will not be able to turn in."
She turned back to the board while some of the class chuckled, most still looking skeptical. Alex turned around to Harry while the professor was busy and leaned towards him.
"What did the batty professor say that got everyone thinking you were going to die?" she asked in a hushed tone.
"We looked at tea leaves and she said she saw the Grim," replied Harry quietly, "Apparently anyone who's seen it ends up dying. I thought I saw it when I left the Dursley's."
"What is it exactly?"
"A large black dog. Then again, it could have just been a stray or my eyes playing tricks on me. I was rather focused on the fact that I thought I was going to be sent to Azkaban for blowing up my aunt."
Alex laughed and gave him a comforting smile. The rest of the class was normal, except when Neville accidentally transfigured Professor McGonagall's hat into a bat. Alex tried to keep a straight face as McGonagall tried to keep the bat still to transfigure it back, but failed epically.
When the bell rang, Alex and the others headed to the Great Hall for lunch, the boys drilling Hermione about how she got to the room before they did. Hermione decided to ignore them but they were relentless. Finally, when they reached the table, Alex sat down and slammed her hand on the table in annoyance.
"Oh shut up, the both of you!" she cried, "If she doesn't want to talk about it, then she won't with you both drilling her! Now, what's our next class?"
"Care of Magical Creatures-" Harry said carefully, sitting down.
"Halleluiah!" sang Alex loudly.
"-with the Slytherins," finished Ron.
"Hallelu-what?" Alex yelled in mid-song, "You've got to be kidding me, the one class I want to take has a bunch of idiots in green robes! Why me, why me?"
Alex laid her head on the table and gave a very loud groan. Hermione sighed and patted her on the back. Harry and Ron looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Malfoy was in our Arithmancy class and sits at our table," she explained to the boys, "He was being especially annoying today."
The boys nodded in understanding and smiled slightly at Alex's antics. Eventually Alex raised her head and sighed.
"Well, I've suddenly lost my appetite. Are you all ready to go off to our deaths? I hope it'll be swift and painless, but I'm not counting on it," Alex said and shook her head.
Hermione managed to get Alex to eat something before they left. On their way down, Alex saw the white blonde head of Malfoy and tried not to groan. Instead she grabbed her friends and ran to Hagrid's hut. As she was talking excitedly to Hermione about some of the animals she had read about, Hagrid emerged from his hut, looking nervous.
"All righ' then, follow me. I've got a real treat for yeh today," Hagrid said.
Alex put her bag higher on her shoulder and followed right behind him. As they walked nearer the Forbidden Forest, Alex looked back worriedly at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Hagrid, we're not going into the forest, are we?" asked Alex.
"No, o' course not. We're goin' righ'…here," Hagrid said as they turned the corner.
Alex walked up to the fence and climbed up on the bottom ramp, waiting anxiously. She heard the others coming up behind her and looked around. Everyone was looking at her and Hagrid, some with terror and others with suspicion. Smiling slightly, she got off the fence and went over to her friends.
"All righ' everyone, open yer books to chapter one while I get the creatures," Hagrid said happily.
"And how exactly do we open these things?" came the cold voice of Malfoy.
Alex had already taken out her book and whispered to it to let her open it. She looked around her and saw that everyone else had their books bound with belts or rope. She turned to Harry and shrugged.
"I have a way with all animals," she whispered.
"Yeh stroke the spine o' course," Hagrid said to the class as though it were the simplest thing in the world, "Alex, show us how yeh did it."
Alex felt all eyes on her as she closed the book. She ignored the growling remarks from Little Monster for making him close again as she stroked the spine. Unfortunately, Little Monster was sore with Alex and refused to open again.
"I'm not going to keep opening and closing for your entertainment," he growled.
"Come on, please. I'm going to look like an idiot if you don't open. Work with me here!" she muttered under her breath.
"Fine, but this is the last time I'll do it," the book said and opened.
Alex looked at Hagrid and went back to the crowd. She watched as the others opened their books and tried to ignore the loud cursing of the books for waking them up.
"What was going on up there?" Ron whispered.
"My book wouldn't open, he was tired of me opening and closing him over and over again," Alex hissed as Hagrid turned and went to get the creatures.
"Look at that big oaf! I can't believe he even got this job in the first place, he's such a moron," Malfoy said loudly.
"Can it Malfoy!" Alex shouted, "He knows more stuff than you ever could!"
"Oh look, Ratcliff's defending the teacher, how sweet!" sneered Malfoy, "Are you trying to get a few extra points on your final grade?"
"Please, I don't need extra points," Alex laughed coldly, "Maybe you should try sucking up sometime. I've heard Professor Sinistra loves roses and chocolate."
Malfoy's face looked livid. He just opened his mouth to speak when Alex heard hooves behind her. She turned and gasped aloud. Hagrid was coming out with two of the most beautiful and strange creatures Alex had ever seen.
At first, Alex thought they were very large birds of prey but, after looking closer, she saw that they had hooves. They were much larger than a normal horse and as Alex looked into their piercing eyes, she felt quite small and stupid.
"Hagrid, what are they?" asked Alex, awestruck.
"These are hippogriffs," Hagrid said proudly, "They're part horse an' part bird. Now, they're very proud creatures, hippogriffs. Never insult a hippogriff 'cause it'll be the very last thing yeh do. So, who wants a closer look?"
Alex looked around and saw people backing away. She stepped forward and saw Hagrid smile.
"Good, very good. Thank yeh Alex. Anyone else wanna get up close? No one?" Hagrid looked around pleadingly. Finally, Harry stepped forward and joined Alex. There were gasps and whispers among the students, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice. He led the two volunteers over the fence and to the hippogriffs.
"Harry, this is Buckbeak, an' Alex, this is Firefeathers. Now, both of yeh bow and if yer hippogriff bows back, yeh can pet him. If not, well…yeh better back up pretty quickly," Hagrid said and winked at them for good luck.
Alex approached Firefeathers and bowed. She watched as the hippogriff lowered its great orange head and Alex went to pet him.
"You're beautiful," she whispered, "I've never seen such wonderful colors on a creature before."
"I know," Firefeathers said haughtily, "We hippogriffs are known for our wonderful plumage and fur."
Alex shook her head with smile and looked over at Harry. He was nervously patting Buckbeak's head with a shaking hand. He looked up at Alex and shrugged.
"They're huge, I'm not used to them," Harry said quietly.
"Well done yeh two, I think they might let yeh ride them," Hagrid boomed.
Alex saw Harry's face and laughed. His eyes went wide and he looked paler than before. As she went to mount Firefeathers, she told Buckbeak to be careful and try not to let Harry fall. Alex led Firefeathers over to the fence and was able to climb on him using the rungs of the fence.
"Well, here we go! Don't pull out any of my feathers," Firefeathers said.
"Wouldn't dream of it," said Alex and braced herself for the take-off.
Hagrid smacked the hippogriff's hindquarters and Alex wrapped her arms around his neck, shutting her eyes tightly.
"Don't drop me!" she shouted over the wind.
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall. If I did, Hagrid wouldn't give me anymore ferrets," Firefeathers said over his shoulder.
"Thanks, that's real comforting," Alex yelled and held on tighter.
They flew around the forest a couple of times and then Firefeathers began to go downward. On the way down, she saw Harry coming down as well and gave him a small wave. He nodded, obviously too afraid to move his arms from the hippogriff. As the ground came closer, Alex leaned back and they landed inside the fence. She managed to hop off with some help from Hagrid and made a flourished bow to the applauding class. She went over with Harry to the fence and sat on the top rung, watching the rest of the class getting in line to pet the hippogriffs.
"How'm I doing?" Hagrid asked them after he got everyone into lines.
"Wonderful Hagrid!" Harry said with a smile.
"This is awesome Hagrid!" Alex exclaimed, "This is definitely my favorite class yet!"
Hagrid beamed at them and left to walk around, watching the students. Ron and Hermione were with Firefeathers and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were with Buckbeak. Malfoy was patting his beak with a smirk on his pale face.
"This is easy," Malfoy drawled coldly, "I bet you're not even dangerous are you, you stupid animal?"
Alex heard a loud screech and saw Malfoy fall. She jumped off the fence and ran to the hippogriff with her arms up.
"Buckbeak, stop! He's just a stupid idiot who doesn't understand!" Alex shouted.
"Get out of the way human, or I'll make you," Buckbeak said angrily, "No one insults me without dying."
"Listen, he's not worth it," she yelled, "If you kill him, Hagrid will get in trouble."
The hippogriff lowered his head and turned away, joining Firefeathers. Alex turned around and saw everyone staring open-mouthed at her. She felt her stomach drop and looked at Hermione who nodded, answering her unasked question. She looked at Hagrid and saw him pick-up Malfoy and take him toward the castle, everyone following and craning their heads to stare at Alex.
"How much of a freak did I look like?" Alex said gloomily as they went to the castle.
"You didn't look like a freak," Hermione said comfortingly.
"Hermione, I ran at a dangerous animal, shouted at it in a series of incoherent noises, and it walked off. I must've looked like a lunatic."
"Well if I was everyone, especially the Slytherins, I'd be praising you," Ron said in the hopes of cheering Alex up, "If you hadn't run between Malfoy and Buckbeak, Malfoy would be dead. Why'd you do it?"
"If Buckbeak did kill Malfoy, which believe me I wish he did," Alex said shakily, "Hagrid would've been fired on the spot. Now, at least he isn't so likely to. I'm just afraid what'll happen. I don't want people thinking I'm some crazed lunatic like Black!"
Hermione put a comforting arm around Alex and led her to the common room with Harry and Ron following close behind. When they arrived, Alex sat down heavily in a chair by the fire, staring off into the fire and watching the flames flicker and crack.
"Alex? Are you all right?" Harry asked, causing her to jump and look around.
"Yeah," said Alex, "I'm getting there. I guess it won't be so bad, people'll laugh and point but I find they can be really unoriginal. And once something more important comes along, like rumors of Black or something, I'll be forgotten."
"You know," Ron said, looking outside, "Hagrid's lights are on. Let's go and see if he's okay."
Alex nodded and ignored Hermione's protests for Harry and Alex to stay inside and grabbed her cloak. She led the others to the Entrance Hall without meeting any teachers or Filch and out onto the grounds. Harry knocked on the door and they heard Hagrid's boarhound Fang barking or, for Alex, begging for meat. Hagrid opened the door and Alex smelled alcohol drifting off his clothes. The four walked in and saw a large barrel of ale. Alex turned to Hagrid with a raised eyebrow.
"Hagrid, I think you've had too much to drink. Hermione, help me move this outside."
While Alex and Hermione lifted the barrel outside, they heard Hagrid telling the boys about how the school governors had been notified and that he didn't expect to be around much longer.
"I swear, if Malfoy even breathes a word against Hagrid, I'll tell Buckbeak to finish what he started," Alex said angrily.
Just then, Hagrid came out and dunked his head into a tub of water just outside the door, getting water everywhere. The girls slipped by him and sat at the table, Hagrid following a few seconds later with a sopping beard.
"Thanks yeh four, yer the best people-WAIT! WHAT ARE YEH DOIN' HERE, ALEX AND HARRY! YER NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OUT AFTER HOURS!"
Alex jumped so much that she fell out of her seat and onto the ground. Hagrid picked her off her feet and half-dragged, half-carried her outside the door.
"Yeh all should know better than to be wanderin' around the grounds at night. I don't want yeh to do it again, I'm not worth yeh gettin' into trouble." Hagrid scolded.
When Alex climbed into bed that night, she thought over the day's events and concluded that, even though it was the most eventful first day back, it was definitely the worst.
Author's Note: Hello readers! So a lot happens in this chapter and I want to know what you think. Did you like Alex's new professor? How about the Care of Magical Creatures class? And even thoughts about the last chapter are important. How did you like Alex's reaction to the dementors? And how about Professor Lupin meeting Alex? All comments are much appreciated and constructive criticism is always accepted. Thank you to those who have reviewed as well as those who continue to do so, those who put me in their favorites, and those who put me on alert. Don't forget to press that lovely review button! :D