Chapter 30: Thestrals
Hagrid returned to the teachers table that Monday morning.
Madeline had forgotten that he'd been on a leave of absence, to be honest. In fact, she wasn't quite sure what had happened to him, but there he was again.
"Great," Blaise moaned as he sat himself down for breakfast, "Back to the promise of near-death in Care of Magical Creatures."
"He's not that bad," Madeline tried to defend, although she knew many of the students preferred Professor Grubbly-Planks lessons. Well, the majority of the students.
"Umbridge won't like that," Daphne mused, twirling a forkful of fruit, "She barely let Professor Grubbly-Plank teach as it is."
And yet that Tuesday, Madeline found herself huddled with her housemates as they made their way through the snow and down to Hagrid's hut for their first lesson back with him. She was apprehensive; they all were. Yet surprisingly; there was no Umbridge to be seen as they approached the edge of the forbidden forest.
Hagrid emerged from the edge of the forest, a few bruises and cuts littering his face. Madeline knew they weren't new, but they hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him. He was carrying a large animal slung over his shoulder; a cow. Or well, half of what looked like a cow.
"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him, "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark."
"What prefers the dark?" Malfoy sharply asked Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did he say prefers the dark-did you hear?"
"What, you scared Malfoy?" Madeline smirked, nudging the boy, "It's only trees."
"Ready?" Hagrid interrupted cheerfully, "Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em."
"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" Malfoy called out, "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?"
Most of the Slytherins murmured agreement, and a few Gryffindors looked as though they thought Malfoy had a fair point, too. Madeline spotted Hermione scowling, alongside Ron and Harry.
"Course they're trained," Hagrid scoffed, "Now, if yeh've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!"
Hagrid turned and strode straight into the Forest. It took a few seconds for the Gryffindors to start following him, lead by Harry, Ron and Hermione. The Slytherins, although reluctantly, followed suit.
As they walked, the trees seemed to grow closer and closer together, obscuring the forest more and more. Chatter seemed to die down as they got deeper into the forest, the dark making more than a few students wary. After ten minutes, they stopped walking in a part of the forest where the trees grew so thickly that no snow could be seen on the ground. It was dark, but not quite dark enough where Madeline wouldn't be able to see where she was going. Truthfully, she found it quite peaceful.
"Gather roun', gather roun'," Hagrid encouraged, dumping the animal onto the ground. Madeline wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Now, they'll be attracted by the smell 'o the meat but I'm going ter give em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me," Hagrid explained. He paused, taking a breath before he gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird.
It was a funny sound. Nobody laughed.
Hagrid repeated the cry a few times. And then he waited. They all waited, looking around the dark forest expectantly. It took a while, but finally, Madeline spotted it.
She saw a pair of blank, white, shining eyes, growing larger through the thick forest as they approached. A few moments later, the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. Madeline held her breath; she'd seen one before.
The creature surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its scarily-pointed fangs.
She looked around, trying to study the rest of the classes expressions, but they all still seemed to be looking for something. The only ones who weren't were Neville, a thin Slytherin boy, and Harry, who watched the creature with the same amount of curiosity Madeline had.
"Oh, an' here comes another one!" Hagrid called as another one emerged from the forest, immediately ducking its head to tear the flesh off the cow, "Now, put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"
Madeline, Harry, Neville and the Slytherin boy put their hands up.
'" knew you'd be able ter, Harry," Hagrid nodded, "An' you too, Neville, eh? An'-"
"Excuse me," Draco interrupted, "But what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"
Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped. Madeline could suppose that seeing tiny bits of flesh tear off and disappear in the air could be rather… Scary?
"What's doing that?" Daphne gasped.
"Thestrals," Hagrid answered proudly. Hermione gave a soft gasp of comprehension, audible over the Slytherins silence, "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows-"
"But they're really, really unlucky!" interrupted Parvati, eyes wide, looking alarmed, "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once-"
"No, no, no," Hagrid chuckled, "Tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky! Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate-an' here's another couple, look—"
A couple more Thestrals appeared through the dark forest lining. Madeline ignored the murmuring around her as one of the Thestrals looked at her dead in the eyes. She felt a shiver pass through her, as if it was looking her dead in her soul. But it soon moved away, paying more attention to the cow carcass.
"Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?" Hagrid asked. Hermione immediately raised her hand, "Go on then."
"The only people who can see Thestrals," she began, "Are people who have seen death."
Madeline froze. She could see a couple of people turn to look at her in confusion, but she ignored them. Because the idea of Thestrals was terrifying in itself, but when had she seen death?!
"You alright?" Daphne whispered, nudging her friend gently.
Madeline nodded, swallowing tightly, "Yeah. I'm fine."
She wasn't fine. Her head was racing, because it didn't make sense. When? How?
"Hem, hem."
The class was interrupted by the shrill sound of Umbridge's cough. Everyone turned to look at the short woman, apart from Madeline, who's eyes were glued to the creatures. She turned slightly to look at Harry, but instead, was met with the eyes of the only other Slytherin able to see the creatures.
The slim, pale boy stared at her for a few moments while Umbridge explained she'd be observing the class. Madeline didn't know how she hadn't noticed him before. He had dark hair, almost as dark as Harry and Theo's, and a littering of freckles across his face. He wasn't on the Quidditch team, nor had she seen him at dinner very often. But, she definitely recognised him.
Umbridge had taken to not only interrupt the class, but to ask students questions individually, so that Hagrid would lose his train of thoughts. It was infuriating to watch, but not nearly as infuriating as Umbridge's questions to Neville.
"You can see the Thestrals, Longbottom, can you?" Umbridge asked.
Neville nodded hesitantly, eyes flitting between his friends gazes.
"Who did you see die?" she asked, her tone indifferent.
Madeline all but threw her hand in the air, "Excuse me Professor, but I don't see how this question is relevant to your observation of the class, as well as it being just plain rude."
All eyes fell to Madeline, but she didn't care. Bravery would come one step at the time, and this was the first step.
"Very well," Umbridge replied through gritted teeth, scribbling something on her clipboard, "I suppose you'd like to be interviewed instead, Miss Bisset?"
Madeline shrugged, "There's not much to say, Professor. I think Professor Hagrid is doing a fantastic job at exposing us to rare magical creatures in a safe, controlled environment. Creatures we wouldn't be able to engage with outside of Hogwarts. I'm sure we're all grateful for Hagrid extending the curriculum in this way."
Umbridge felt her quill snap in her hand.
"I see," she nodded primly, lips pursed, "I think I have all I need to complete the inspection. Professor, you will receive the results of my inspection in ten days time."
And with that, she was gone.
"You've got some nerve," the thin Slytherin boy commented as they all walked back to the castle half an hour later. His hands were pressed deep into his pockets, his gaze on the floor as he continued with a thick Welsh accent, "I'm not that brave."
Madeline shrugged, "She had no right to ask about a student's personal life."
"You're right about that," the boy nodded, "I'm Gabe Birch, by the way."
Gabe Birch. The name was quite fitting. He was rather pretty, too. More Daphne's type than Madeline's, she thought.
"Madeline Bisset," Madeline replied, her hands far too cold to be pulled out of her pockets for a handshake.
"I know," Gabe smirked, "You're kind of well-known."
"Should I be flattered?"
"You decide."
"Maddy!"
Madeline turned at the entrance of the castle, spotting Fred rushing to her side, a grin on his face despite the still-recent sting of the Quidditch ban.
She turned back to Gabe, but he was gone.
"How was the class?" Fred asked as he approached her, hand snaking around her shoulders as he lead her to the Great Hall.
"Alright," Madeline shrugged, "Although I did kind-of shout at Umbridge."
Fred raised his eyebrow, "I'm surprised you lasted until Tuesday to do that."
"As oppose to a Monday Morning beatdown?"
"That's more your style."
Madeline laughed as they entered the Great Hall. It was nice to be like this with Fred again. She'd forgotten how light he made her feel. When things were right and easy, he made her feel like she was floating.
She hoped it would always be like this.
"How's the team holding up?" Madeline asked as they stopped at the head of the Gryffindor table. She didn't miss the wary gazes from some of the Gryffindors, something she thought they'd all gotten past.
"They're okay… Ron's still a little beaten up about it," Fred admitted, "He almost quit the team."
"Then you'd only have three players?"
"If we're allowed to play at all," Fred sighed. He paused, catching George's eye, before turning back to Madeline, "I need to finish homework over lunch. It might be boring for you to sit with me. Do you want to come by the common room tonight?"
Madeline blinked. This was… Odd. "Sure, yeah."
Fred smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek before making his way to his twin. Madeline sighed as the two began whispering, making her way to the Slytherin table once more.
"Raise your standards," Blaise said simply as she slid into her seat next to him.
"Shush," Madeline shrugged, "You don't know anything."
"I know that all the Gryffindors have been walking on eggshells around anyone with a green tie," Blaise replied, "Or, more so than usual. And not just since the game."
"Something's up," Pansy nodded, pointing her fork at Blaise, "And I agree with him."
"Or maybe they just think we're arses?" Madeline tried, "They'd kind of have reason to believe that, you know."
Theo shrugged, "I wouldn't put that past them. Although the badges were genius."
"Why thank you Theodore," Pansy coo'ed.
Madeline glanced over her shoulder, watching the Gryffindor table curiously. She couldn't deny it; something was off. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it felt like she was watching a fake reality. Like everyone around her was hiding something, and they were all in on the joke but her.
The Thestrals were still on her mind, too. She didn't know how she could see them, because as far as she was aware, she hadn't seen death. Unless she'd forgotten, but that seemed like far too big of a detail to simply forget about. Maybe she'd have to ask her mother, or her aunt.
But glancing back, catching George and Fred heated in a quiet conversation, Madeline didn't know what to think. Should she ask him? Would that put her relationship with Fred in jeopardy?
She didn't quite know what to do about it. Yet.