AN: Guess what everybody? Today is my birthday! Woohoo I (and my twin sister) am 26 today!

And you want to know what a really great Birthday Present could be?

It's a heap load of lovely reviews you people will give this new chapter!

Happy Birthday to me!

As the Gryffindor's made their way to Hagrid's hut, they saw three familiar backs and sadly understood that they would be taking this lesson with the Slytherins.

"Great..." Harry and Jack said together.

Hagrid was waiting for everyone at the door of his hut, standing in his horrible mole-skin overcoat, Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called, as the class approached "Got a real treat for you today! Great lesson planned. That everyone? Right, follow me!"

For a moment, Jack (and he guessed Harry too going my the look on his face) thought that Hagrid might be taking them into the Forest, but no – thankfully, he was taking them to the small paddock just beside it, this time it was Thestral free.

"Everyone gather round the fence here!" Hagrid called happily "That's it – make sure yeh can see. Now firs' thing yeh'll want to do is open your books – "

"How?" came Malfoy's dull bored sounding voice.

"By stoking the spine of course," Jack said rolling his eyes as most of the Gryffindor's and some of the Slytherin's did this "Didn't the bookkeeper at Flourish and Blotts tell you how to do it Draco?"

"For you information Frost," Malfoy said sounding mad "I was first in line for this ridiculous book. My Father and I had to go and collect from the shop because that idiot said he couldn't ship them in case they harmed the postal owls."

"Well Harry's one didn't hurt his postal owl when he had his delivered that way, did it Harry?" Jack asked smiling.

"Well, no, but when I tried to open it the first time it nearly bit off my fingers and wake up my cousin.

Giving Malfoy a smirk, Jack turned to Hagrid, his book resting calmly on the fence.

"Righ' then," Hagrid said sounding a little nervous, "So... So you got yeh books and now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go and get 'em. Hang on..."

He went off into the trees and out of sight.

"God this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy said loudly "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when –"

"When what Malfoy?" Jack said turning around and leaning against the fence. "When he finds another letter from his teenage son who can't handle his own problems? Because that seems to be your fall-back plan whenever something happens here that you don't like. I could give a list of said things, but we're only here for one hour and it will take much longer than that..."

Some of the Gryffindor's and surprisingly a rather pretty looking Slytherin girl, Daphne Greengrass, if Jack remembered correctly, smirked at this all agreeing to it.

Getting mad, Malfoy gave his bag to Crabbe and was about to reach for his wand when...

"Oooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing past Jack making everyone turn and/or look up and see a dozen Hippogriff's all gently being pulled along by thick leather collars around their necks attached to chains all of which were in Hagrid's hand.

"Hagrid..." Jack groaned on a whisper to himself in an annoyed voice "Those aren't suitable for first day Magical Creature students."

Hearing this and taking another look Harry secretly agreed.

The Hippogriffs were large strong looking animals already, but they also had a very sharp looking beak, and just as if not even more sharp claws on their front legs which were tearing up the ground as they walked along beside Hagrid.

"Com'on there," Hagrid said bringing the creatures to the fence, causing nearly all of the class to back away, Jack being the only one who stayed.

He had never met a Hippogriff face to face before but he had read about them in their books and thought, they couldn't be any worse than North's reindeer, right.

"Hippogriff's!" Hagrid said happily, waving a hand at them. "Beautiful aren' they?"

A few people nodded, but stayed silent.

After all it was hard to call something that's half eagle, half horse, with sharp beaks and talons 'Beautiful'.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together beaming around "If yeh wan' ter get a bit nearer..." he encouraged, but no one listened. Although Harry, Ron, Hermione and even Neville came a little closer.

Jack of course was standing on the bottom runner of the fence already locking eyes towards one of the Hippogriff's that was watching the class.

"Now, first thing yeh need to know about Hippogriff's is that they're very proud," said Hagrid "Easily offended, Hippogriff's are. Don't never insult one, because it might be the last thing you ever do."

Of course Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle weren't listening, and instead were talking – possibly about how lame the lesson was, or how to disrupt it.

Jack could tell this, even with his back to them because his wind friend, Gale, was blowing the words they were saying across his ears. He didn't turn to tell them to pay attention though, because the Hippogriff he was looking towards had was now focused on him, and Jack knew how very rude it was for someone to turn their backs on someone else.

"Yeh always wait for the Hippogriff ter make the first move," Hagrid continued "It's polite, see? Yeh walk up to him, and you bow, and you wait." he said making the class look to Jack who had started bowing at the white and brown Hippogriff who had come a little closer towards the class, some students asking among themselves how he was keeping his balance. "If he bows back yer're allowed to touch him. If not, then back away from him quick because those talons hurt."

After a minute or two, the white and brown Hippogriff bent it's front legs in what was unmistakenly a bow to Jack.

Smiling, Jack climbed over the fence and slowly, so not to scare his new friend or the other Hippogriff's held out his hand to pet it gently meeting it half way, smiling at the clapping he was getting from the rest of the class.

"Well done Jack. Well done." Hagrid was saying clapping along with them, before turning and asking "Who else would like ago?"

Most of the class backed further away at this, even Jack's friends took a few steps back.

"No one?" said Hagrid with a pleading look.

"Yeah come on guys," Jack said over his shoulder "As long as you don't insult them, blink too much, or turn your backs to them too quickly, you'll do fine."

"I'll do it then," Harry said climbing over the fence ignoring Lavender and Parvati's comment about his tea leaves.

"Good man, Harry," roared Hagrid "Right then, let's see how you do with Buckbeak." He went to undo one of the chains, pulled the grey Hippogriff away from the others and slipped off the collar.

Jack was about to call out that he shouldn't have done that, that he should have left Buckbeak on his chain until it was established it was safe, but his new friend gently knocked him over and seemed to be sniffing him a curious look on its face.

Baby Tooth came out of Jack's pocket and started looking around for what woke her up and started squeaking loudly and wagging her finger, but thankfully Jack cupped her in both hands, shielding her and muffling her squeaks.

Slowly Jack got up, bowed again to his Hippogriff and went to rejoin the rest of the class so he could let Baby Tooth, who was prodding him with her sharp beak, out and try and calm her down.

While this was happening Harry had managed to get Buckbeak to bow to him, and Hagrid had just set the boy on the creatures back and the Hippogriff took off on a short flight.

Quietly, while gently holding her wings so she couldn't fly off, Jack was talking to Baby while Harry and Buckbeak had their flight and the class slowly started warming up to the Hippogriffs and started practicing their bowing.

"I know knocking someone over is rude Baby," Jack said trying to make her calm down. "But so is saying things like that to them. Especially to a Hippogiff."

A few more squeaks and punching the air later, Baby had settled down and was pouting, her arms crossed.

Thinking it was safe, Jack let her go sighing and turned around just in time to hear Malfoy say:

"I bet you're not dangerous at all are you? Are you, you ugly great brute."

Quicker than a normal human could run, Jack ran towards Malfoy and knocked him towards the ground, out of the way as Buckbeak – offended by Mafloy's choice of words – riled up and started slashing at the boy in front of him, so mad, that he didn't notice it was a different boy, and caught him across the back with his sharp claws.

"AGGH!" Jack screamed feeling pain he hadn't felt since Pitch broke his staff.

Curling up into a ball and closing his eyes and grinding his teeth to the pain, Jack didn't notice Hagrid wrestling Buckbeak into his collar, or Malfoy screaming about reporting him and Hagrid to his father. Nor did he notice when Hagrid came and picked him up and carried him back to the school.

A little unknown fact about Hippogriff talons are that they have a sort of venom in them that makes those scratched by them very sick if the wounds are not treated fast enough.

Thankfully Jack's body was sending what little ice magic he had while he was disguised as a human to said wounds to try and slow the venom spreading.

o0o

Back at the paddock the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's were arguing over who's fault it was that Jack got hurt.

"They should sack him! Straight away!" Pansy Parkinson was saying, talking about Hagrid.

"It's Malfoy's fault! If he had been listening to Hagrid at the start, he would have known not to offend Buckbeak!" Dean Thomas replied, getting nods of agreement from the other Gryffindor's as everyone gathered their things and headed back to the school.

Baby Tooth was with Harry – who was carrying Jack's bag, Ron, and Hermione, a worried look on her face.

"I'm sure he's fine," Harry said gently "Madam Pomfery can make anyone better."

Giving a small nod the fairy just took off towards the castle possible going to see if Jack was alright.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first lesson though wasn't it?" said Ron asked looking worried as they entered the castle and went up to Gryffindor Tower to drop off their things before going to check on Jack. "Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him..."