A/N Helloo again, readers! Thanks for the reviews - and I am sorry I didn't update earlier, but I've had lots of stuff going on, like learning French CA Speaking (yay-.-) Head Girl speeches and other stuff! So sorry, but I forgot that the chapters now get very long and take longer to write! Hope you like it - please R&R! :)

Chapter Five

Talons and Tea Leaves

Amara, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall the next day to find Draco Malfoy entertaining a clan of Slytherins with Harry's fainting fit.

"Just ignore him, Harry," growled Amara, steering Harry on. "They're just being stupid …"

"Hey, Potter," shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a pug-faced girl that Amara strongly disliked, and had the 'pleasure' of becoming her for an hour last year. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooo!"

"What a cow," Amara said as they walked down the length of the table.

Harry sat next to George Weasley whilst Amara placed herself next to Fred.

"New third-year timetables," George said, handing them over. "What's up with you, Harry?"

"Malfoy," said Ron, sitting the other side of George.

The twins looked up to see Malfoy pretending to faint.

"That little git," George said. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," said Fred, making Amara choke on her tea. Fred thumped her on the back (smirking as he did so) as she grabbed a napkin.

"I wasn't too happy myself," said George after Fred and Amara had finished. "They're horrible things, those Dementors …"

"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" said Fred.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" said Harry.

"Forget it, Harry," said George. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been. He came back all weak and shaking … They suck the happiness out of a place, Dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Anyway," said Fred, changing the subject. "We'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match. Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

Amara helped herself to some more breakfast, looking at her new timetable, which was propped up by a jug in between her and Fred.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," Hermione said, rather happily.

"Hermione," said Ron, peering over Hermione's timetable. "They've messed up your timetable. Look – they're got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."

"Ten subjects?" echoed Amara, reaching over and grabbing Hermione's timetable and examining it, with Fred looking over her shoulder. "Hermione, this morning you've got nine o'clock Divination, nine o'clock Muggle Studies and nine o'clock Arithmancy! How on earth are you meant to be in three classes, all at the same time?"

"She's got a point," noted Fred.

Hermione scowled. "It's fine, I've sorted it with Professor McGonagall – I won't be in three classes at one."

"Then how are you going to make it, then?"

"Pass the marmalade, Ron," said Hermione.

"But –"

"Seriously –"

"Oh, what's it to you if my timetable's a bit full?" Hermione snapped. "I told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall!"

Hagrid came in then, wearing his moleskin overcoat and swinging a dead polecat from one hand. Amara looked away at this, which made Fred and George smirk at her.

"Al righ'?" he said on the way to the staff table. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five gettin' everythin' ready … hope it's OK … me, a teacher … hones'ly …"

He grinned and walked off for his breakfast.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" said Ron, slightly anxiously.

"Let's just hope for something small," Amara said.

As the Hall started to empty, Ron checked what their first lesson was.

"We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of the North Tower, it'll take us ten minutes to get there …"

They finished their breakfast, said goodbye to Fred and George, who seemed to be eating whatever they found, and walked out of the Hall.

Due to the fact that going to the North Tower was a new experience for the quartet, it took much longer than ten minutes to get there.

"There's – got – to – be – a – short – cut," Ron panted as they climbed up a staircase and found themselves on a corridor they'd never visited before.

"I think it's this way," said Hermione, pointing down to the right.

"Can't be," said Ron. "That's south, look, you can see a bit of the lake out the window."

"Where is it then?" Amara said. "We'd better go this –" she suddenly jumped as a voice in front of her yelled: "AHA!"

It was a fat, short knight that seemed to have fallen off the horse that was in the painting with it.

"What villains are these that trespass upon my private lands? Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!" he yelled.

Amara sniggered as the knight drew his too-long sword and fell over.

"Are you alright?" asked Harry.

"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!"

The sword got stuck in the ground as the knight tried to get back up.

"Look," Amara said, rather impatiently. "We're trying to get to the North Tower, d'you know where it is?"

"A quest!" the knight roared, his rage vanishing. "Come follow mw, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!"

He tried to get his sword and failed, then tried to mount his pony, which was still eating and failed. "On foot then, good sirs and gentle ladies! On! On!"

And off he ran through the left of his portrait and out of sight, the noise of his armour echoing through the halls. The four friends ran after him, spotting him in various paintings.

"Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!" yelled the knight.

Panting, gasping and clutching a stitch, Amara, Harry, Ron and Hermione went up the narrow spiral staircase – up and up, round and round, getting dizzier with each turn. Finally, they heard voices above.

"Farewell!" cried the knight. "Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If ever you need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!"

"Yeah, we'll call you," muttered Ron. "if we ever need someone mental."

They finally emerged where their classmates had gathered on a tiny landing.

"I really need to get used to these staircases," Amara said, trying to get rid of the stitch she had obtained.

She looked up to see a circular trap door with a brass plaque reading: 'Sybill Trelawney, Divination Teacher'.

The trapdoor opened and a silver ladder descended at Harry's feet.

When it was Amara's turn to go up the ladder, she did so with caution, hoping that she wouldn't fall off backwards. She made it into a strange looking classroom. There were twenty small round tables and fat pouffes. The room was lit in a dim, red light, the curtains closed and lamps decorated with scarves. There was a fire which made the room horribly warm, and it was boiling a large copper kettle. The shelves were littered with random things – like teacups and candle stubs.

"Well, at least we'll be warm in winter," Amara whispered to Dean, who stifled a laugh.

"What about summer, though?" he whispered back, and Amara shuddered.

"Welcome," said a misty voice, making Amara jump. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

Professor Trelawney, once in their line of sight, was a thin woman, with huge glasses and lots of shawls

"Sit, my children, sit," she said and Amara, Harry, Ron and Hermione sat themselves in armchairs and pouffes around a table.

"Welcome to Divination," the woman continued. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my inner eye."

Amara raised her eyebrows slightly, which might have looked strange, for Ron shoved his fist in his mouth when he saw her.

"So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so fair in this field.

Amara glanced at Hermione, who looked rather shocked (and oddly hurt) that books wouldn't hold the answers.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are you unable to penetrate the veiled of mysteries of the future." Amara hoped that Fred and George had not taken this subject. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy." She pointed at Neville, who cowered slightly. "is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," said Neville.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, dear," she shot at Parvati. "Beware a red-haired man."

Parvati took a glance at Ron and shifted away. Amara snorted, that could have been deciphered as a scoff.

"In the summer term we shall progress to the crystal ball – if we have finished with fire-omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And one around Easter and one at the end of term, two of our number will leave us forever."

Amara exchanged glances with Hermione, who was still looking rather put-out.

"I wonder dear," Trelawney carried on, talking to Lavender Brown, who was closest. "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

Lavender fetched the enormous teapot from the shelf and handed it to Professor Trelawney.

"Thank you, dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading – it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."

Lavender looked terrified.

"Now I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink; drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside-down on its saucer; wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing. Oh, and dear –" she caught Neville as he was standing up. "After you've broken your first cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink."

As Neville reached the shelf, there was a tinkle of breaking china as the pink china cup fell to the floor. Professor Trelawney swept over with a dustbin.

Amara fetched a blue cup (she liked the pattern) and got it filled with tea. She saw Ron and Harry trying to drink it quickly, but her partner, who was Hermione, was reading the book, not drinking her scalding tea yet. Once Amara and Hermione had finished their drinks, they swapped cups.

"OK," said Amara. "You've got some sort of – what the hell is that? It looks like a – a llama. Hmm, well, that doesn't seem to be on these pages – maybe it's a kangaroo? Ooh, that means 'a journey'. And that's a carpet type thingy – that means 'true friends'. Aw, that's sweet. Wait, it might be a castle … 'expands your horizons'. And that looks like a basket, see? That means 'new baby', which is really worrying, so Hermione – don't do anything stupid OK?"

By the end of Hermione's cup, the two girls were giggling a lot. Professor Trelawney seemed to think it was Harry and Ron, for she snatched Harry's cup off of him.

"The falcon … my dear, you have a deadly enemy."

"But everyone knows that," Hermione said in an obvious whisper.

"Well they do," Hermione continued, when Trelawney looked at her. "Everyone knows about Harry and You-Know-Who."

Amara gaped at Hermione. She had never spoken to a teacher like that before. Trelawney moved on swiftly

"The club … an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup …"

"I thought that was a bowler hat," Ron said.

"The skull … danger in your path, my dear …"

Then, Professor Trelawney screamed and Neville jumped so much he dropped his cup.

"My dear boy – my dear boy – no – it is kinder not to say – no – don't ask me …"

"What is it, Professor?" Dean asked. Everyone crowded around their table, trying to look into Harry's cup.

"My dear," said Professor Trelawney, her owl-eyes huge. "You have the Grim."

"The what?"

Amara had no idea what she was talking about – she glanced at Harry and shrugged with Dean, who didn't know either. Lavender also looked slightly puzzled, but the rest of the class gasped in horror.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Trelawney. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen – the worst omen – of death."

Amara found this all very stupid. A dog, being the omen of death? She rolled her eyes.

"I don't think it looks like the Grim," said Hermione.

"How is a dog an omen of death?" piped up Amara.

Professor Trelawney ignored her and answered Hermione instead.

"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."

"It looks like the Grim if you do this," he said, tilting his head and nearly shutting his eyes. "but it looks more like a donkey from here."

"I think it looks like a horse," said Amara, making Seamus and Dean snort.

"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!" Harry said and Amara saw that nobody made eye contact with him.

"I think we'll leave the lesson here for today," Professor Trelawney said. "Yes … please pack away your things …"

Amara, Harry, Ron and Hermione all left the classroom together and then went off to Transfiguration. Eventhough they had been early, the time it took for them to reach it made them only just in time.

They all sat at the back of the class because everyone was glancing nervously back at Harry, as though he was somehow going to die in Transfiguration.

Amara, bored of the hype of 'the Grim', seemed to be the only one listening to McGonagall's lecture on Animagi. Amara loved the idea of becoming an animal at will. However, she was the only one who clapped when McGonagall changed into a Tabby cat and back. She stopped relatively quickly, blushing hard for the entire class stared at her.

"Thank you Miss Matthews," McGonagall said. "It seems you are the only one truly with us – really, what has got into you today? Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from the entire class."

"We had our first Divination lesson today," Amara explained.

"Ah, were you ready tea leaves, per chance?"

The class nodded.

"There is no need to say any more, Miss Matthews," said Professor McGonagall. "Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

"Me," said Harry, after a while.

"I see," said the Professor. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favourite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues …. Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience for it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney …" she paused. "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Amara and Hermione laughed.

"What about Neville's cup?" whispered Lavender.

"Please," Amara scoffed to Hermione. "She told him beforehand – so he was scared of breaking it, so he obviously did in the end." Ron still looked anxious though, and Amara rolled her eyes at him.

Amara quite happily went into the Great Hall for lunch, and attacked her stew with gusto.

"Ron, cheer up," Hermione said. "You heard what Professor McGonagall said."

"Harry, you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?"

"Yeah I have," said harry. "I saw one the night I left the Dursley's."

Ron dropped his fork.

"Probably a stray."

"Hermione, if Harry's seen the Grim that's – that's bad," Ron said. "My – my uncle Bilius saw one and – and he died twenty-four hours later!"

"Oh come on," Amara said. "You can't blame a dog for someone dying – it happens all the time!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Amara!" Ron said angrily. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"There you are then," Hermione said. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to think to see one and think, right, well, I'd better pop my clogs then!"

Amara snorted into her lunch as Ron looked wordlessly at Hermione.

"I think Divination seems very woolly," she said as she got her Arithmancy book out. "A lot of guesswork if you ask me."

"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!"

"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep."

"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being rubbish at something for a change!"

Hermione slammed her book shut and bits of stew flew everywhere.

"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to my Arithmancy class!"

She stalked away.

Amara looked forlornly at her half-eaten stew and glared at Ron.

"Well done, Ron," she snapped. "Way to get a nerve."

She picked up her bag, slung it over her shoulder and hurried out of the Hall. As she was only seconds after Hermione, she expected her to be hurrying up the marble staircase, but when she went through, Hermione was nowhere to be found.

"Amara!"

She turned and saw Ethan hurrying towards her, with three friends in tow. Two were Eddie and Piper, but the other she didn't know.

"Hi, Ethan, how's your day been?"

"Excellent," grinned Ethan. "We had Charms and Potions – and we're with Ravenclaw for Charms!"

"Awesome – did you like both of them?"

"Yeah, I do like Potions, but Professor Snape is not the nicest," Ethan said. "This is Felicity –"

"Ethan!"

"I mean, Flick Cartright – she's in Ravenclaw with Piper," Ethan said, pointing to the other girl who was with them. She was cute, with her strawberry blonde hair tied in plaits and a flower in her hair.

"Hiya," she grinned at Amara. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," grinned Amara. "Listen – Ethan, you haven't seen Hermione have you?"

Ethan shook his head. "I saw her coming out, but she disappeared soon after. We're going in for lunch."

Amara nodded, frowning. "OK, thanks, though."

The little group of four hurried off and Amara smiled. She was glad that Ethan had found a group of friends like Amara had.

They had Care of Magical Creature after lunch, so they were able to outside, and Amara was glad, because the rain had cleared off from the night before and had been replaced with clear, pale grey clouds.

Hermione had turned up and the four of them headed down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut. Ron and Hermione were stubbornly refusing to speak to one another, which Amara was very irritated about, so she ignored them as well, and only spoke to Harry on their journey down.

When they had reached Hagrid's hut, they saw three familiar heads talking next to it. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were all laughing horribly about something.

"C'mon, now, get a move on" Hagrid called, with Fang at his heels. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

Hagrid strolled around the edge of the Forbidden Forest, with the class trailing curiously behind them. Fed up of Ron and Hermione's behaviour, and annoyed with the fact Harry wasn't doing anything, Amara sped up to talk to Dean, Seamus and Neville instead.

"Everyone gather round the fence here!" he called. "That's it – make sure yeh can see. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books –"

"How?" said Draco Malfoy.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy said again. He showed his The Monster Book of Monsters which had a length of rope wrapped around it. Everyone got theirs out too – some people had shoved them in tight bags, some were wrapped in belts and a few (like Dean's) were clamped with bullclips.

"Hasn' – hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid said. Everyone shook their heads. "Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," he continued. "Look …"

He grabbed Amara's book and ripped the Spellotape and the extra that Amara had put on before running his finger down its spine. The book shuddered, then lay open.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should of stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

Amara hated to say it, but Malfoy was right.

"I … I thought they were funny," Hagrid said to her. Amara put on an apologetic expression on her face.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" Malfoy said. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip out hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Harry.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, and Amara immediately had her heart go out to him. It was his first lesson and Malfoy was messing it up. "so … so yeh've got yer books an' … an' … now yeh need the magical creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on …"

He walked off into the forest.

"God, this place has gone to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him –"

"Why don't you drop this subject, then?" Amara snapped, just as loudly. "It'll do everyone a favour!"

"Oooooooh!" Lavender Brown squealed, making a furious looking Malfoy unable to make a snide comment back.

Trotting their way towards them were about a dozen, strange looking creatures that Amara had never seen before. They were half-horse, with their hind legs, bodies and tail, and half-eagle, with their front legs, wings and head. They looked menacing with their orange eyes and huge beaks. They were all chained together and Hagrid was marching behind them, holding the other end.

"Gee up, there!" he bellowed, and Amara did an involuntarily (but rather voluntarily at the same time) step back. "Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Amara was not at all sure – from her height (which wasn't far off the ground) made the Hippogriffs seem very big indeed.

"So," said Hagrid, beaming. "If yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer …"

Harry, Ron and Hermione all crept to the fence cautiously, Amara following as well.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is they're proud," Hagrid said. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Amara listened to Hagrid's words, still uneasy with the huge animals. She was starting to warm up to them, however, because they didn't seem to be as harmful (yet).

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move, it's polite, see? Yeah walk towards him, and yeah bow, an' yeah wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right – who wants ter go first?"

Amara decided that there was a limit with the Hippogriffs – she was glad that the others also felt the same, because Hermione was looking rather panicked.

"No one?" Hagrid said and it nearly made Amara give in.

"I'll do it," said Harry.

"Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!" Lavender and Parvati said.

Harry climbed over the fence of the paddock.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid beamed. "Right then – let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

Amara watched in interest as a grey hippogriff was untied and trotted near Harry.

Hagrid was talking Harry through what to do, and he seemed to bow, rather jerkily, downwards and back up again. Buckbeak the Hippogriff stared at him.

"Ah," said Hagrid. "Right – back away, now, Harry, easy does it …"

But then, Buckbeak the Hippogriff sunk to his scaly knees and spread his wings in an obvious bow.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said. "Right – yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry moved up to the Hippogriff and patted its beak. Amara clapped along with the rest of them, feeling desperately relieved that Harry did not get trampled on by the Hippogriff.

"Righ' then, Harry," Hagrid continued. "I reckon he migh' et yeh ride him!"

Harry looked rather panicked by this, and Amara's eyes went wide when Harry put his foot on Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto the back of it. Hagrid slapped its hind-quarters and the creature launched itself into the air.

Buckbeak flew around the paddock once before heading back towards the ground again.

The rest of the class, minus Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle cheered loudly at Harry's achievement.

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid. "OK, who else wants to go?"

Amara climbed over the fence with the rest of the Care of Magical Creatures class. Amara, Ron and Hermione got a chestnut one, and as Ron and Hermione seemed hesitant to go first, Amara volunteered. She bowed low for her Hippogriff and it replied, letting her go pat its beak. It even nuzzled into her hand. She was about to let Hermione have a go when a high-pitched scream. Amara jumped and saw Hagrid struggling with Buckbeak and Malfoy covered in blood. Amara gasped as Hermione went and opened the gate.

The whole class was panicking as Hagrid ran away up to the castle, dripping blood all the way.

"They should sack him straight away!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" Dean said.

They all reached the Entrance Hall and Pansy hurried off to see Malfoy, whilst the others went down to their common room.

"D'you think he'll be all right?" said Hermione.

"'Course he will, Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," said Harry as they walked up to Gryffindor Tower.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?" said Ron. "Trust Malfoy to mess things up …"

They had a rather subdued afternoon up in Gryffindor Tower, trying to finished the Transfiguration Essay Professor McGonagall had set. Amara normally whizzed through the work, but she was too worried about Hagrid – even Fred and George's jokes didn't cheer her up.

They entered the Great Hall for dinner early, but Hagrid did not show.

"They wouldn't sack him, would they?" Hermione said.

"No," Amara said, trying to reassure herself. "I mean, it was Malfoy's fault."

"Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back," said Ron, finally eating something.

Once they went back up to the common room, they once again tried to write the essay, but failed miserably.

"There's a light on in Hagrid's window," said Harry.

"We could get there," said Amara, looking at her watch.

"If we hurried," Ron continued. "It's still quite early."

"I don't know," said Hermione slowly.

"I'm allowed to walk across the grounds," Harry said. "Sirius Black hasn't got past the Dementors here, has he?"

They all hurried out of the common room and into the school beyond, hoping not to meet anyone, for they were unsure if they were breaking the rules.

"C'min," came the voice from inside Hagrid's hut, after they'd knocked.

Hagrid had been drinking far too much when they went into the cabin – his tankard was as big as a bucket, and Amara knew that if she or anyone else tried to drink that, then they'd be very plastered indeed.

"'Spect it's a record," Hagrid said thickly, once seeing them clearly. "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who on'y lasted a day before."

"They haven't sacked you, have they?" Amara exclaimed.

"Not yet," said Hagrid, taking a large gulp of the bucket. "But 's only a matter o' time, i'n't it, after Malfoy …"

"How is he? It wasn't serious, was it?"

"Madam Pomfrey fixed him up as best she could, but he's sayin' it's still agony … covered in bandages … moanin' …"

"He's faking it," said Harry at once. "Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She regrew half my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all it's worth."

"School gov'nors have bin told o'course," said Hagrid. "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer later … done Flobberworms or summat … jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson … 's all my fault …"

"It's all Malfoy's fault, Hagrid!" Hermione sai.

"We're witnesses," said Harry. "You said Hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened."

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up."

Hagrid grabbed Harry and Ron into a rib-breaking hug.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid," said Hermione, taking the tankard and taking it outside.

"Ar, maybe she's right," Hagrid followed he outside, and there was a loud splash.

"What's he done?" said Harry as Hermione came back in.

"Stuck his head in the water barrel," said Hermione.

Hagrid's long hair and beard was sopping wet, plastered to his face.

"Tha' better," he said. "Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really –"

He stopped.

"WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?" he roared, so loudly and suddenly, they all jumped a foot in the air. "YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN' YOU THREE! LETTIN' HIM!"

He grabbed Harry's arm painfully.

"C'mon!" he said angrily. "I'm takin' yer all back up ter the school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth that!"