AN: Hello! Welcome back! Sorry I missed February posting, but this chapter was a nightmare to write, and honestly, I'm really not proud of it, but I can't work on it anymore or it'll never get published. Chapter 32 should come out this month, aiming for the 24th. Make sure to review/comment, I love hearing what you guys think about the story. See you next time!
Settling into his seat on the Hogwarts express was going to be an interesting thing moving forward Harry realized, as his girlfriends piled into the car around him, all vying to be the one sitting next to him. Unsurprisingly, Hermione and Padma had claimed his left and right positions as they always had, leaving Susan, Luna, and Daphne to sit opposite of them.
"I'm really sorry Parvati and I couldn't make it to your party this summer Harry! The ministry shut down the floo for leisure travel, something about an escaped prisoner?" Padma said, cuddling herself into Harry.
Her presence did help to ease the sinking feeling in his stomach at the indirect mention of Sirius Black, although it did not fully alleviate it. Harry hoped his face didn't show any hint of his feelings on the matter, no need for Padma, or any of the girls to worry about that. That was his problem, not theirs.
"It's fine Padma, no sense worrying about things you aren't responsible for. I'm just glad we get to see each other now. How was your summer then?" Harry asked, wanting to catch up with his girlfriend. He had felt quite bad at being unable to include her in any activities this summer, since he had managed to take each of the other girls out on some manner of date, even if it was under chaperone.
Daphne had gotten her requested muggle movie date, and true to her word, spent most of the movie snogging Harry, to the point that he could scarcely remember what movie they had even seen. Nymphadora had found that incredibly amusing, and promised to keep it a secret. Susan had elected to take a trip to Fortescue's Ice Cream parlor, where the pair spent the better part of an afternoon simply making good conversation and enjoying each other's company. Susan had kissed him at the end of her date, which was somewhat uncomfortable for Harry, since he was under the watchful eyes of Amelia Bones. Luna had simply had Harry come over to her house and meet her father, as well as spend some time in her garden. Harry found Xenophilius Lovegood to be a strange man, as well as a tad scatterbrained at the best of times, but he was friendly and seemed to have no issues with Harry dating his daughter. Hermione had elected to simply spend her time at the Tonks house, playing games, working on homework together, and then snuggling on the couch to watch a movie together.
"My summer was pretty boring. I mostly just spent my time at home, although we went to the beach a few times to have some fun in the ocean." Padma said. "I'm glad to be back here though, summer's no fun if you don't have your friends with you."
"Do you not have any friends back in India?" Luna asked, looking at the darker skinned girl.
"Not really, no. We have a few cousins who are roughly our age, but since we spend most of our year here in the United Kingdom, our friends from our prior school have kind of moved on." Padma said.
"That's too bad Padma, I hate that you have to be so alone like that." Harry said, taking her into his arms for a hug. She gladly leaned into it.
"Well, I'm not alone, I always have Parvati, so we can do fun things together. I also know I have you guys here, so it makes it easier." Padma said, snuggling herself deeper into Harry's side.
Conversation remained light for the next few hours, with the girls each talking about what they had done over the summer holidays, as Harry took some time to try and pay special attention to each of them. Suddenly however, the train came to a stop, nearly knocking Harry from his seat.
"What? Why are we stopping?" Susan asked, knowing no one here had the answers.
"Maybe there's just something on the tracks, that happens occasionally at home." Hermione offered.
"Never heard of it happening on the Express though…" Susan said, her tone wavering a bit.
"Neither have I." Daphne agreed.
"Well, I'm sure if there's something wrong they'll let us know. It's not like we'll miss anything by arriving late." Harry joked, trying to ease everyone's worries. Their faces relaxed a bit, so he felt a bit better.
For a few minutes, nothing else happened, before the temperature around them started dropping.
"It's a bit chilly now isn't it?" Padma asked, crossing her arms over her body and starting to shiver. "I know I'm used to it being colder than I'd like in Scotland, but it's September, surely it shouldn't be this cold."
"You're right. I'm sh-shivering." Daphne said, scooting closer to Susan, trying to steal the body heat from her seat neighbor.
"What on earth could be causing this?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms as well. Her teeth were chattering.
Harry's danger sense was running double time. The Hogwarts Express was meant to be a safe place, but something was obviously going wrong here. He turned his mind to his studies, trying to think of magical creatures that could cause such an effect. Cold was associated with a number of magical creatures, Yetis were known to live in cold climates, and could magically expel cold from their bodies. This couldn't be a yeti though, yetis were not native to Scotland, although a few have been brought to the area by wizards for attempted domestication, and a yeti was much too large to fit in one of the train cars. They also aren't subtle creatures, and there weren't any loud noises to indicate anything like that. Yuki-Onna were only native to Japan, and were elusive even there, so no chance of one being on a train in Scotland. Harry's mind raced on and on, thinking of solutions as he rolled his wand in his hand unconsciously.
Then Harry truly felt it. It wasn't a new experience for him, arguably it was the emotion he was the most familiar with. Fear. Harry knew fear, true fear. He felt it when he was young, and Vernon had slammed a belt against the ground in preparation for a strike against the young boy in retaliation for a perceived slight. Harry felt it in his first year, when Voldemort revealed himself on the back of Professor Quirrel's head. And most recently, Harry had felt it when facing down Tom Riddle and his Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets during his last year. All of those times, fear had been drowned out by another thing in his mind. Generally adrenaline, or a simple preservation instinct.
This time though, there was no adrenaline. Nothing to distract him from this fear. Harry's heart sank, and he started shaking although he did not feel the cold. Then other emotions joined the fear. A deep sadness filled his heart. Harry knew that emotion too. He felt it whenever he thought of James and Lily Potter, parents who he could only ever know second-hand. He felt it when he first truly learned of his status as a Parseltongue, and thought that all his friends would leave him. He felt it when he looked at the petrified Hermione in the Hospital wing during the Basilisk incident. Then there was a new feeling for Harry. Something that he hadn't ever really embraced before. True, unadulterated hopelessness. Harry had never truly given up hope. He had believed he would eventually be free of the Dursleys. He had believed he would defeat Quirrell and Voldemort somehow in their duel. He had believed he would somehow triumph over the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Harry had never given up hope about anything. But now? In this moment? Harry could feel no hope. There was no fire inside of him burning, pushing him to move on. All there was was small, little abused Harry. Sitting alone in the cupboard under the stairs at Privet Drive. His only company the spiders in the cobwebs surrounding him.
Harry looked up for a moment and saw a shadow looming over him. A creature of some incorporeal form, looking like a tattered black cloak half-draped over a humanoid frame. Looking into the abyss where its face would be, Harry saw flashes of scenes playing out in front of him, sounds occasionally cutting in past the whispering in his ears. A flash of green light followed by a woman screaming his name. Voldemort's voice yelling for Quirrell to kill him. The hissing sound of the Basilisk as it lunged to attack him. At that moment, Harry went dark.
Waking up, Harry felt very drained. He looked around and recognized that he was in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. The next thing he recognized was the pressure on his right hand, which he saw was caused by Luna, who was currently holding it while reading a book. She glanced up at him and smiled.
"Good morning sleepy-head! Or.. I suppose it is afternoon. You are quite the sound sleeper you know." Luna said, closing her book and turning towards him.
"What happened? How long was I out?" Harry asked, his dry throat causing his voice to be rather hoarse.
Luna handed him a cup of water as she explained. "The train was apparently stopped as dementors swept through. Supposedly the Ministry has them looking for this 'Sirius Black' person. They seemed attracted to you though and one started… doing things to you. Professor Lupin came by and scared it away with some spell, but you were already unconscious. We gave you some chocolate, but you wouldn't wake up. You've been here for a couple of days. The girls and I were quite worried, but Madame Pomfrey said you were good to make a full recovery, it would just take some time. Apparently that time was about 30 hours."
Madame Pomfrey came into the room not long after that to give Harry a quick check-up. Satisfied that he wasn't likely to keel over anytime soon, she allowed him to leave the hospital wing.
"You'll need to get your schedule from Professor Flitwick. The rest of us already have ours. He wanted to see you anyway once you woke up." Luna said, happily skipping along with her hand in Harry's.
"I suppose I should do that. Are you going to come with me?" Harry asked, giving her hand a squeeze, mostly to remind himself that he was holding it. This situation was something he was still processing, but getting better at it all the time. He did enjoy it after all.
"No, unfortunately the girls promised that as soon as you woke up, whoever was with you had to tell the others. I cheated by waiting until you were out of the hospital wing." Luna said, rocking back and forth on her toes. "Don't tell them that though. I'll bonk ya."
"You'll bonk me?" Harry asked, looking at her with a questioningly.
"Yep. I'll go 'BONK'." Luna said, lightly tapping Harry on the head. "Like that, but harder, and with a mallet or something."
Harry laughed, before pulling Luna in for a hug. "I'll make sure not to tell them then. Wouldn't want to get bonked."
"Good. Now go, you have to see Professor Flitwick." Luna said, before skipping off back to the Ravenclaw tower.
Harry made his way to Professor Flitwick's office and knocked on the door. The door opened magically and Harry stepped inside, seeing the diminutive professor sitting at a small chair atop his desk.
"Ah! Mr. Potter! Back to the land of the living I see. Welcome." He said, gesturing for Harry to take a seat. "I'm sure that whichever one of your friends was with you when you woke up has already informed you a bit on what has happened, but allow me to provide some deeper explanation. The creature that you saw on the train was what we call a dementor. I'm unsure how familiar you are with these creatures, but they are normally locked to the island of Azkaban, the Ministry's high security prison. Dementors are incorporeal beings, that feed on the positive emotions of individuals through a process known as the 'Kiss'. Prolonged exposure has led to what the muggles call brain death, where while the body is still alive and functioning, the mind simply ceases to be. The ministry has decreed that with notorious criminal Sirius Black on the loose, it is within their best interest to have Dementors patrol areas looking for him. There is some belief that he may be after you, given his past transgressions against your family. Because of this, they have been stationed here at Hogwarts as well. They are not allowed within the castle itself, and the majority of the outside areas are also protected from them, so the ministry has deemed them safe enough for here. The incident on the train is seen as a bit of an anomaly. Thankfully no one else was injured, though the girls you were with were rather shaken. I would recommend you thank the new Professor Lupin when you see him for class. He thankfully got to you in time to stop any lasting damage from your incident."
"I'll do that. What does this Professor Lupin teach?" Harry asked.
"He'll be our new defense against the dark arts professor. Lockhart wasn't exactly capable of returning this year after his… incident." Flitwick said. "Although I'm sure you know all about that Mr. Potter." A small smirk crossed his face.
"I suppose I do." Harry said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Now, if I'm not mistaken, you have a bit of a reunion with Miss Granger, Miss Patil, and Miss Lovegood waiting. Here is your schedule for this year. I'll see you for Charms class. I'm expecting excellent work from you and all members of the Sphinx Club this year, but I know you will deliver. It does warm my heart to see students as devoted to their studies as you all are." Flitwick said, handing Harry a piece of paper and waving him out the door.
Harry's meeting with the Ravenclaw girls was as expected. Hermione and Padma crushed him with hugs, and were very excited to see him vertical again. They sat themselves in one of the many book nooks in Ravenclaw's common room and took a moment to catch Harry up on what he missed over the last day and a half. Harry had missed the first classes for both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, but thankfully all of his professors had been informed of his presence in the hospital wing, so he wasn't going to be in trouble for that, even Snape bizarrely seemed to understand that.
The following day was Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and Harry was very excited for it. Defense was Harry's favorite subject by a substantial margin, and with a new professor, especially one that had already proved himself decently competent by actually fending off a magical creature, Harry was interested to see what he could learn.
Heading into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Harry and the other students were surprised to see that the desks had been cleared away, and standing in the center of the room was a wardrobe with a small padlock between the handles, and a relatively disheveled man in faded robes standing in front of it.
"Welcome students. I am Professor Remus Lupin. I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. Now, while I would want to spend this first class going over what is expected of you this year, as well as giving guidelines on what classes will look like, we've come across a rare opportunity to actually confront a 'dark creature' in person, in a controlled environment of course. As such, this lesson will be somewhat out of order, but I believe the chance to work with it in person is too valuable to pass up. Now, wands up if you can tell me what a Boggart is." Professor Lupin said, looking around the room. A decent number of wands went up, with only a few remaining down. "Good, now for the uninformed, a Boggart is a creature that is known for taking the form of whatever the target they've selected's greatest fear is. While encounters with Boggarts are not overly common, they have been known to occasionally inhabit houses, especially in dark cramped places like attics, or, in our case, empty wardrobes. Inside this wardrobe is a Boggart, which we will be practicing subduing. The danger level of Boggarts are relatively low, being far more frightening than threatening. This is not to say that they are not at all dangerous though. Aside from the various effects your fears can have on you, Boggarts can occasionally mimic the properties of the things they turn into. Say for example your fears were of skunks, then the Boggart could possibly mimic the smell of a skunk as well. The best way to deal with a Boggart, alongside the spell we will be touching on today, is to encounter it in a group. Since very few people will share the same worst fear, the Boggart can get confused and try to either swap between the fears wildly, or attempt to combine them. In my youth I encountered a Boggart aside two others. They were afraid of headless men, and flesh-eating slugs respectively, and when the Boggart attempted to combine their fears, it managed to turn itself into a headless slug, which diminished its ability to scare either of them. Taking away the fear a Boggart can bring into you is the solution to dealing with one in all cases, and thus is the primary focus of the spell we will be learning. The Boggart-Banishing charm, often called by its incantation 'Riddikulus' is a charm that requires a bit of an imagination to pull off successfully, and works by changing your Boggart into something humorous that you can laugh at. Going back to our earlier skunk example, a way you could make the skunk humorous is by dressing it into some funny clothes, like a tutu, or by reimagining it as just a black and white cat. By removing the fear associated with the Boggart, you remove its power over you, and can dispel it. Boggarts can never be truly killed, as they are not alive in the first place, but you can dispel them for a time. Now, we will practice the incantation in theory for a bit, and then everyone will come up, one at a time and attempt to banish the Boggart. This will be perfectly safe, and I will make sure to intervene if things go too far. Now, I believe we should begin."
The spellwork for the Riddikulus charm was rather simple, being a primarily intent based spell, needing only your imagination and willpower to allow it to come to fruition. Harry imagined it would be harder to accomplish once the Boggart was in front of him, but believed he could handle it. He'd faced down Mountain Trolls, Basilisks, and Voldemort himself, so he believed he was well versed in controlling his fear.
"I believe we will go in alphabetical order, so that will have Ms. Abbot come up first." Professor Lupin said, "Now remember dear, I'll be right here to help if something comes up, and it can only hurt you if you let it. I'll open the door on three."
Hannah nodded, before taking a deep breath and pointing her wand at the door. Professor Lupin gave a three count as a black mist flooded out of the wardrobe before coalescing into a shape. Emerging from the smoke was Susan, although her eyes were a deep red, and her wand was pointed at Hannah, a spell fired from Boggart Susan's wand and Hannah yelped and jumped out of the way.
"The incantation Ms. Abbott, say it!" Professor Lupin urged, and Hannah got up and looked at the imitation.
"Riddikulus!" Hannah incanted, the spell connection with the Susan doppelganger. Her robes began to twist and shift, before turning themselves into a very puffy high collared red dress, and a fruit bowl hat upon her head. The wand in the Boggart Susan's hand also turned into a maraca, and Susan laughed, sending the Boggart back into the wardrobe.
"Well done Ms. Abbot! Thank you for your time. Next would be Susan Bones!" Lupin said.
Susan made her way in front of the wardrobe and pointed her wand at it as Lupin opened the door, and from the inky smoke that poured out, a new figure appeared, one that made Harry's heart drop. In the smoke was a young man, likely still a teenager, with dark brown hair and a piercing gaze. His eyes were red, and he wore Slytherin robes. In one hand was a diary, and in the other was Susan's own wand. This was Tom Riddle, as he appeared in the Chamber of Secrets just a few months prior. Murmurs of confusion fill the room, as only Susan and Harry can truly comprehend who this person is. The Boggart riddle opens his mouth and snake sounds come out, and Susan begins to panic. She freezes, incapable of moving as the imitation Riddle advances on her, taking a step, then another, and another. Susan turns and bolts, and Harry steps in, casting the charm at the imitation Riddle. His diary turns into a bright pink version that wouldn't look out of place in a young girls room, and he folds into a piece of paper inside of it, before being banished back into the cabinet.
Susan, in tears, collapses to the floor, as Harry rushes over and holds her.
"Oh dear… that… didn't go how I expected at all." Professor Lupin said, looking at the incredibly frightened girl. "Ms. Bones… do you need to go see Madame Pomfrey?" he asked.
Susan simply shook her head, calming down slightly as Harry held on to her. "Give her a minute… she just really wasn't expecting that." Harry said, as Susan pulled him closer.
"Yes… quite. Well, I suppose we must move on. Mandy Brocklehurst, I believe you are next." Lupin said, attempting to guide the class away from the crying Hufflepuff.
Padma, Hermione, and Hannah make their way over to the side of Susan and Harry, managing to calm her down as more students faced their fears, although some failed to properly cast the spell, none had quite the same reactions to their fears as Susan had.
Professor Lupin then called Hermione's name, and she made her way toward the wardrobe. She slapped her cheeks slightly as she psyched herself up for what would emerge for the wardrobe and took her stance in front of the doors. The now familiar dark clouds rolled out from the wardrobe before forming into a familiar face for those in the room: Harry Potter. This Harry was different from the one who stood with them though. He was uncomfortably thin, his robes hanging limply from his frame, and his skin was deathly pale, with dark circles under his eyes. He didn't stand long though, as he quickly collapsed to the floor, very obviously dead. Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes as she cast the required spell, the pale skin of the corpse turning a brighter white, like cloth, as the neck turned into a spring and bounced the head up and down like a dummy in a cartoon. The Boggart vanished back into his wardrobe, and Lupin congratulated Hermione on a successful spellcasting. Hermione simply thanked Professor Lupin for his words, heading back to Harry and crushing him into a hug.
Harry did partially enjoy his time as an emotional support wizard, although he wished they didn't have to be so sad to use him as such.
More students confronted their fears, some successfully casting their spells, some not, as Padma's turn came up. With more confidence, knowing that even if she failed, Harry would be there for her, she stood in front of the wardrobe and readied her stance. Unlike before though, no black mist poured from the wardrobe. Instead, a fully formed larger than life green snake appeared, and lunged at Padma, causing her to jump out of the way. Caught off guard, she reacted purely off instinct, and cast the wrong spell. "Flippendo!" she incanted, knocking the snake away from her. Just as she realized her error, she began to ready herself to recast the spell, but the snake turned and set its eyes on a new target, Harry.
The figure shifted, the snake turning briefly into the same inky black smoke the others had seen, before a new figure was formed. A tattered black cloak, with a dark void where one would normally find a face. Harry though, saw differently. Deep in that void, was a face, ever shifting, but recognizable. At first it was the rotund face of Vernon Dursley, red with anger, screaming and fuming silently. Then it was Quirrel, sneering, before his head turned around and the face of Voldemort shown behind him. Then Voldemort's face changed to that of Tom Riddle, and then for a brief moment, there was just a solitary flash of green light from within the figure, as Harry and Padma called out in unison "Riddikulus!" and hit the creature with their spells, shooting it back into the wardrobe.
Harry's breath hitched in his throat, his skin turning pale as he barely held himself up. Harry had been afraid before. He knew that. But at that moment, Harry was more afraid than he had ever been. Harry felt weak. He had stood up to powerful creatures before, but this boggart was what caused all of this? He was jerked from his thoughts as Padma, Susan, and Hermione shook him.
"Harry? Are you okay?" Hermione asked, looking at him. Harry looked at her brown eyes, full of concern, and felt himself returning back to his body.
"Yeah 'Mione… I'm fine." Harry said.
"Oh dear… that was unexpected. I… I think we will avoid using the Boggart for the rest of class. I think it may be doing more harm than good. Maybe we can revisit it later. I'll dismiss class early for today." Professor Lupin said, and a sigh of relief flooded the classroom. Everyone had been on edge about their fears, and while the controlled environment of the classroom was theoretically safe, it provided little comfort to those involved.
As students were packing up their things to make their way to other parts of the castle, Harry approached Professor Lupin. "Excuse me, Professor Lupin?" Harry prodded.
"Yes Mr. Potter? Did you need something?" Lupin responded.
"I had wanted to thank you for saving me on the train. The girls told me that you scared off that… Dementor I think is what they called it?" Harry said, trying to not think about the encounter in question.
"Oh! Well it was no issue. I would be remiss in my duties as a teacher if I allowed harm to come to any of my students, even if you weren't one quite as of yet. I was rather concerned that you didn't wake up on the train ride though. The Dementor's kiss can be quite nasty. I'm simply glad I got to you in time." Lupin said, letting out a sigh. "It's really the least I can do."
"Regardless, I do appreciate it." Harry said.
"Well, you're very welcome Mr. Potter. I'm expecting some great things from you in this class. Professor Flitwick has said that you are quite the savant when it comes to Defense and Charms, and knowing your parents like I did, that's no surprise." Lupin said.
"You knew my parents?" Harry asked, somewhat shocked. He likely shouldn't be, Professor Lupin looked as though he could be the right age for that, maybe a tad older.
"Oh, yes. I was in the same year as both of them. Your father James and I were very good friends. I was good friends with your mother as well, but that was mostly through James." Lupin said. "I was… very disheartened when I learned what had happened to them."
"I see. I don't know that much about them really. I have some pictures that Mom… Andromeda Tonks, had from their wedding, and what she and some of the Professors have told me. Would you be willing to tell me some more about them?" Harry asked.
"I'd be happy to, but it'll have to be another time I'm afraid. I have another class coming shortly, and need to figure out what to do for a lesson plan for today now that the Boggart isn't really an option." Lupin said, scratching the small scruff on his face. "Perhaps this weekend? We can have a chat whilst I work on lesson plans."
"That sounds good, Professor Lupin. Thank you." Harry said as he, Hermione, Padma, Susan, and Hannah walked out the door.
"So… what was with the costume?" Susan asked, looking to Hannah.
"I saw it on a banana at the shops a while ago and thought it was funny looking." Hannah said, as everyone laughed while making their way to the Sphinx Club room.
The following day, Padma convinced Harry, Hermione, and Luna to come with her to Hagrid's hut, since he had apparently brought a Hippogriff in for his Care of Magical Creatures class the prior day, and she wanted to see one up close. Luna of course, required no convincing at all, since she would be taking that class if she was allowed, but being a second year it wasn't on her schedule as of yet. Harry was happy to travel with his two girlfriends to see his old friend, and Hermione was equally happy to see Hagrid again.
Sure enough, as they made their way to the gentle giant's hut at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, a large creature with the head of an eagle and the general body structure of a horse was being kept in a pen outside. Luna excitedly rapped her hand on the wooden door to Hagrid's hut.
"Jus' r' minute!" The accented voice of Hagrid called from inside, before he opened the door, wearing his pink oven mitts. "Oh! It's Harry and company. Come on in. Just made some Rock cakes."
The quartet of Ravenclaws came inside as Hagrid set his rock cakes on the table, picking one up. "So, what brings you lot out here to see me?" Hagrid asked.
"Well, we do like to visit, but Padma and Luna want to meet the Hippogriff." Harry said, as both were busy giving Fang some belly rubs.
"Oh! Yeah, I thought some folks might be interested. Was sad none of you lot decided to take Care of Magical Creatures with me though." Hagrid said.
"It was my third choice, but since I'm thinking about being a Curse Breaker, Arithmancy and Runes had to take priority." Harry said apologetically.
"It's no worries. You do what you want. Critters is what makes me happy, you should do what makes you happy. Come on then, I'll introduce ya to Buckbeak." Hagrid said, raising up from his chair and leading them outside. As he made his way to the pen where the Hippogriff, presumably named Buckbeak, presided, Hagrid made a bowing motion before opening the gate. The Hippogriff stepped out and Hagrid gave it a quick scratch on the head.
"Awright! Now, when approaching a Hippogriff yeh need to bow and maintain eye contact. Wait for him to bow back and then approach. They're proud creatures, and plenty smart. Fiercely loyal if they like ya enough. Harry, why don't you give it a go first?" Hagrid said, moving away from the Hippogriff as Harry began his approach.
Harry bowed to the Hippogriff, keeping his eyes on the creature, and the creature bowed back, before moving over to Harry. "Thas good lad. Give him a bit of a scratch on the head, he likes that." Hagrid said, and Harry did so. The feathers on the creature were surprisingly soft and Buckbeak gave a slight humming sound of content as Harry did so. "Looks like he likes you he does. Might have made a new friend there."
"Pleasure to meet you Buckbeak. Be nice to the girls okay, they're really excited to meet you." Harry said to the creature before stepping back away from it.
"Me next!" Luna said, getting into position before bowing to the Hippogriff. Buckbeak bowed back and came up to Luna, who reached up on her tiptoes to give him a scratch on the top of the head, before wrapping her arms around him in a big hug. "My names Luna Mr. Buckbeak. I hope we can be good friends!" Buckbeak nipped at her hair a little and Luna laughed. It made Harry feel very good inside to hear it.
"See, he's not too scary. Just have to treat him right, unlike Mr. Malfoy." Hagrid said, frowning a bit at the end of his sentence.
"Did something happen with Malfoy?" Harry asked, as Padma followed through with the same bowing gesture to get her chance to pet the large feathery dog.
"Aye, he had Care of Magical Creatures with me yesterday morning. Didn't listen and approached Buckbeak without bowing first. Got himself scratched up a bit. Nuthin' serious, but with the way he yelled about getting his father on it, I worry something is gonna happen to Buckbeak here. Malfoy's father has some high up connections, if he got Buckbeak pinned as some kind of dangerous creature, he could be put down." Hagrid said sadly.
"Oh! That's no good at all! Surely there's something that could be done if that were to happen?" Hermione asked, coming over to stand with Harry and Hagrid.
"I'm not sure really. Ministry's always been a bit against magical creatures, regardless of how smart they are. They usually push for killing something rather than removing whatever the problem is. Had an issue a while back with some Esquilax. They were encroaching on some of the pixie homes, so I asked for some help in relocating them. Ministry decided it was easier to just kill 'em all. Poor fellers didn't stand a chance." Hagrid said.
"Well, surely there's some precedent against it? Maybe we just need to find it." Hermione said.
"Parvati would be the one you'd want to talk to about it. She's got more knowledge about law and history than anyone I know. If she doesn't know it, she knows how to find it out." Padma said, adding in.
"That's settled then. If Malfoy starts to press charges, you let us know and we'll research if there is any way to save him." Hermione said, pounding her fist into her hand.
"Well, I sure thank ya fer doin' that. Ol' Buckbeak here don't deserve to die because of some minor misunderstanding. Hopefully it won' have to come to tha' but ye never know with that lot." Hagrid said, beaming a wide smile toward Hermione.
Luna and Padma were simply petting Buckbeak and saying how pretty he was, and Harry had to smile. If it made them this happy, he was more than happy to do what he could to keep it safe.