"What do you think Care of Magical Creatures will be like this year?" Hermione asked as they walked across the grounds to their first class of the year.
"It has to be better." Ron said. "I mean, no offense to Hagrid - it was Malfoy's fault that things got bollocksed up last year."
"Right," said Harry. "Do you think that's why Professor Dumbledore asked Professor Lupin and Sirius to help Hagrid?"
"Probably," said Hermione. "Still, why do you think he asked both of them? It doesn't seem to bode well that this year's creatures need three professors to keep them in line."'
They arrived at Hagrid's hut just as the class was starting.
"Gather 'round, gather 'round." Hagrid gestured for the class to come closer and join him in his pumpkin patch for the first Care of Magical Creatures class of the year. Sirius sat on a pumpkin, shivering in the cool autumn air and a bit out of breath from his walk from the castle. He was putting on weight but still quite thin, and the wind cut right through him.
Professor Lupin looked worse than Sirius. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. Harry assumed a full moon must have just passed.
"This class needs three professors now?" Malfoy snorted, drawing laughs from his Slytherin cohorts and glares from the Gryffindors.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy, after your dreadful injury last year, it was decided that Professor Hagrid could use some assistance." Professor Lupin said, his tone clearly communicating what he thought about Malfoy's hippogriff injury.
"Yeah, well, I don't see any magical creatures here." Malfoy replied. "What are we raising this year, magic pumpkins?"
"I expect you'd find a way to get injured by those as well, Malfoy." said Sirius. He held out his arm limply, as if it were injured. "Professor Hagrid! A pumpkin has fallen on my arm! MY FATHER WILL HEAR OF THIS!"
The Gryffindors burst into uproarious laughter. Draco looked ready to commit murder.
"Oh! And thirty points from Slytherin." Sirius said.
Draco opened his mouth and shut it, seething. No doubt he remembered the incident on the train. However, it seemed he had not informed Pansy Parkinson.
"Thirty points?' she shouted.
Sirius regarded her with a placid look on his face.
"Did I not speak loudly enough Ms. Parkinson?" he said. He placed his wand to his throat. "THIRTY POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN!" he repeated.
Pansy shut her mouth. Sirius turned to Lupin.
"Dear me," he said. "I wonder if repeating myself takes the points again?"
Hagrid cleared his throat while grinning into his beard. "Now, we'll be carin' for Demiguises this year. Anyone heard of them before - ah, Hermione, I might have known."
"A demiguise is a primate-like creature from the Far East. It can turn invisible, and has limited precognitive abilities."
"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Sirius said.
"Very good, Hermione." Hagrid said. "Now, we've imported a colony of Demiguises. They're in the Forbidden Forest, which'll be crawlin' with flesh eating slugs this time of year, so-" Hagrid hefted a huge metal canister from behind an enormous pumpkin. It was labeled:
UNCLE ANGUS' KWIK ACTING
FLESH EATING SLUG REPELLENT
"It's like a Repelling Charm, but for slugs!"
A rubber tube ending in a bellows was attached to it, and Hagrid began pumping clouds of it over the assembled students. It smelled like salt and stale beer, and left a metallic taste in Harry's mouth.
Inwardly, Harry groaned. He had managed to avoid the Forbidden Forest last year, and had been hoping to have a go at making it a habit. In his first year it had seemed exciting, but after encountering Voldemort possessed Quirrell, and a colony of carnivorous giant spiders, he had had his full of the place.
"Hey." said Ron as they took their place in the knot of fourth year Gryffindors. "Look!"
They turned to see Magnus and David Tolby approaching the class from another direction.
"Ah, Professor Hagrid!" Magnus said. "Good to finally meet!" He approached Hagrid and shook his hand.
"Likewise, Mr. Tolby, likewise!" said Hagrid, grinning at the man.
"This is my boy, David," said Tolby, gesturing with pride at his son.
"Pleased to meet you, sir." David said, shaking Hagrid's hand as well.
"Good to see you again, Professor Black." said Magnus. "This must be Professor Lupin." He shook both their hands as well. Harry took note that Mr. Tolby treated Professor Lupin with the same respect as Sirius, seeming to take no notice of Lupin's shabbier robes.
There was a moment of awkward silence as Hagrid stood looking nervously at Mr. Tolby, the grin still on his face and sweat beginning to bead on his brow.
Sirius coughed. "Perhaps Mr. Tolby would like to see the demiguises now, Professor Hagrid?" he said.
Hagrid started. "Right! Right! O' course! If you'll jes' foller us, Mr. Tolby…ah, you'll be wantin' some flesh eatin' slug repellent, o' course…"
"Flesh...eating...slugs, you say?" Mr. Tolby said, blanching.
"Yep!" said Hagrid, lugging the Uncle Angus' canister over. "Ol' Uncle Angus'll set you to rights, though!" He unleashed a cloud of the stuff on the Tolbys, and then they began trudging toward the forest.
"How can it be the Forbidden Forest if we keep going to the sodding place?" Ron muttered.
The Forbidden Forest had gained nothing in the way of charm during Harry's absence. The trees had already shed most of their leaves, and their bare branches reminded him of skeletal hands clawing at the sky. The leaves carpeted the floor of the forest and were ankle deep, meaning that any number of nasty creatures - including but not limited to flesh eating slugs - could be hiding in them. The only consolation was that it was daytime.
David and his father walked near them. He seemed at home in the forest, but his father kept glancing around nervously.
"Now, who can tell me the primary use for Demiguise hair?" Hagrid asked from the front of the line.
"It can be woven into an Invisibility Cloak," said Hermione.
"Right you are! Now, part of your assignment this year will be to harvest the hair." Hagrid said.
"You mean we're going to hunt them?" Draco said, a mild tone of interest in his voice.
"No." Hagrid said with a frown. "Demiguises are rare 'cause people hunt them for their pelts," he said. "If this colony works out, people'll see they ain't gotta kill them."
"My company used to buy pelts from hunters," said Mr. Tolby. "But once my son found out, he kept going on about extinction, and cruelty to animals. I tell you, I wouldn't have him to think for himself if I knew he was going to use it against me." he finished with a chuckle.
"Well what are we going to do then, shave them?" Draco muttered.
"Actually-" said David. "-that's exactly what we'll be doing. With a modified Severing Charm, while they sleep."
"'We'?" said Hermione.
David started. "Right, I forgot to mention - I'm attending Hogwarts this year."
"I thought this Demiguise venture that Professor Black cooked up would be an excellent time to teach David the family business." Magnus said. "Of course, he needs to continue his education as well."
Magnus fell back to discuss something with the professors. Draco turned to David and extended his hand with a haughty grin on his face that Harry longed to forcefully remove.
"Draco Malfoy," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts. Stick with me - I can help you get in with the right sort of people." He eyed Harry, Ron, and Hermione as if they were flesh eating slugs. "Why don't you come with me, and I'll introduce you to some of them."
David gave Malfoy a limp handshake without much enthusiasm. His eyes flicked between Malfoy and the trio of Gryffindors.
"Uhh, you know, I think I hear my dad calling me." he said. "If you'll excuse me…"
David jogged forward toward the front of the line. Confused, Malfoy retreated back to the Slytherins. Harry ran to catch up with David, followed by Ron and Hermone.
"Phew. Well, he seems unpleasant." said David.
"Yeah. And you shook his hand." Ron said.
"Ron-" Hermione said. "He was just trying to be nice."
"Nice?" Ron said. "You don't get anywhere being nice with people like Draco Malfoy."
"So you think the rumors about his family are true, then?" David asked.
Ron snorted. "I know they're true. His father almost killed my sister in our second year!"
David's eyes widened as Ron recounted the story of the Chamber of Secrets, and the diary that Lucius Malfoy had given to Ginny.
"-and Draco's just as bad." Ron said. "He believes in blood purity, just like his parents. He was practically giddy when the Chamber of Secrets was opened, wasn't he?" He looked at Harry and Hermione, who both nodded.
"Ugh." said David. "Well, I'll be sure to steer clear of him."
Ron appeared satisfied with David's response, so Harry decided to change the subject, even though he also would have preferred it if David had outright rebuffed Malfoy's offer of friendship.
"So your father's buying the Demiguise hair?" he asked David.
"Not exactly," said David. "The Demiguises belong to him. He brought them in from Thailand. I wanted him to try raising them in captivity, but the hair isn't nearly as effective when you do that, and taking care of them would be very expensive. Professor Black talked to Professor Dumbledore, who offered us use of the Forbidden Forest - and Professor Hagrid and his assistants - for free."
"That's wonderful." said Hermione. "It's so rare to meet wizards that care about things like that."
They smiled at each other, and Ron's scowl returned.
"So, do you like Quidditch?" Harry asked. Surely Quidditch would be a harmless topic.
"Yeah! Well, American Quidditch."
"American Quidditch?" Harry said, intrigued. "I've never heard of that."
Ron guffawed. "Oh, yeah, you'd love it Harry. There's no Snitch!"
Harry's jaw dropped. "No Snitch? Why?"
"Well..." David said. "It makes the goals count for more."
"Here we go." muttered Ron.
"But-I mean, you have to have a Snitch!"
David shrugged. "Why?"
Harry considered this for a moment. "It's..It's just not Quidditch without a Snitch!"
"Well, it should be interesting to see it played differently." David said. "Maybe I could convince you to try American style with me?
Harry grimaced. "I suppose."
They arrived at the colony, which had been placed at the summit of a flat topped hill, drawing complaints from some of the students as they trudged to the top of it. When they were almost there, Hagrid stopped them so that Professor Lupin could cast Silencing and Disillusionment Charms on each of them.
"Demiguises spook real easy, so we'll be using these charms every time we come here." Hagrid said. "Today, we'll just be observin' 'em and taking notes on their behavior."
"Since we won't be able to communicate with each other, listen for this," said Professor Lupin. He flicked his wand and they heard the sound of an owl hooting three times. "Proceed to the bottom of the hill when you hear it."
The Demiguises looked like small apes with long, silky hair and large, black eyes. There were a dozen of them, all performing various tasks. Three of them were stripping leaves off of a tree, four appeared to be grooming each other, and the others were either sleeping or eating.
His study was interrupted several minutes later when an apple fell from a branch directly above one of the Demiguise's. He was surprised to see the creature reach up and catch it without even looking in it's direction, or being aware of it. That must be the precognitive ability Hermione mentioned he thought to himself as the demiguise began munching on the apple.
Harry described the event in his notes, which were rather sparse. He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to be writing down, really. This was normally the point where he would look over at what his friends were doing, but of course the Invisibility Charms made this impossible.
He was glad when he heard Professor Lupin's signal. At the bottom of the hill, when the charms were removed, he immediately sought out Ron and Hermione in the crowd. Ron was looking for him as well, and when they found each other, Ron held up a parchment with a few lines on it and shrugged. Harry held up his, which was slightly longer, and shrugged back. Hermione, of course, was still bent over her parchment, scribbling furiously. David was writing as well, though he stopped before Hermione did.
"So, what house are you all in?" David asked.
"Gryffindor." said Harry. "Are you going to be sorted?"
David nodded. "Yeah. I'm in Horned Serpent at Ilvermorny. It's a bit like Ravenclaw, I think?"
"I was almost in Ravenclaw!" Hermione said, brightening.
"Cool!" David said. "Well, I was hoping for Ravenlaw, but since you're in Gryffindor I might change my mind."
Hermione blushed.
"Er, I mean...you know, since you three are all in Gryffindor." David said as they entered the Great Hall for dinner.
"Wow." he continued, looking up at the ceiling. "I mean, I've seen pictures of this, but they don't do it justice." He sat down with them at the Gryffindor table.
Fred and George sat down across from them.
"Fred, do you see what I see?" George said, elbowing his brother and pointing at David.
"Indeed." George said. "Are you the American?" he said.
"I am. David Tolby." David shook both their hands. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you two are related to Ron?"
"Regrettably for us," said George.
"Luckily for him," said Fred.
"May I have your attention!" Professor Dumbledore stood and clinked his glass with a butter knife. Conversation in the Great Hall ended quickly. "This year, it is our honor to play host to David Tolby, a student from America. He just arrived this morning, and he will be attending Hogwarts for the rest of the year."
He paused to let the inevitable whispered conversations occur.
"As such, he will be Sorted. Would you please come forward, Mr. Tolby."
"Wish me luck." David muttered. He got up and strode to the front of the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall was waiting with the Sorting Hat.
"A sickle says he's a Hufflepuff." Fred said.
But the Sorting Hat said nothing. David's eyes were scrunched shut, and Harry was reminded of his own Sorting.
"Nah. He's a Gryffindor." Harry said.
"He's a Hatstall is what he is." George said.
"A what?" Harry asked.
"A Hatstall is when it takes longer than five minutes for the Hat to sort you," said George. "Hasn't been one in at least fifty years. Granger and Longbottom came close though."
"Whatever." said Ron, heaping steak and kidney pie onto his plate.
The seconds ticked by, and Harry found himself wishing for David to be in Gryffindor. He wasn't quite sure why - American Quidditch sounded appalling, and his handshake with Malfoy was certainly a point against the boy, no matter how limp it was - but Harry just knew he was a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw.
The Hat opened its mouth, and Harry tensed as it spoke.
"SLYTHERIN!"