This chapter will have a movie moment in it. I would have to be crazy not to put that moment into this lol.
Chapter 49: Of Gits And Hippogriffs
Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as we set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class.
Hermione and I weren't speaking to each other. I was mad at how she was treating the omen of Harry, as well as my favorite uncle's death.
Hermione was a brilliant friend, but sometimes she had the annoying way of not caring, especially if she wanted to be right. It grated my nerves to no end at times.
Harry walked beside us, more than likely not knowing what to say, as we went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. We spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of us , indicating that we were having lessons with the Slytherins. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were laughing like they were stuffed. We were sure we knew what they were talking about.
Hagrid was waiting for us at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang at his heels, looking impatient to start.
"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as we all approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
For one nasty moment, I thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest. After that bullshit with Aragog and those other whale sized sliders, I had vowed never to step foot in there again. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, we found ourselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.
"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?" asked Malfoy in a bored voice.
"Eh?" said Hagrid.
"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too. Some had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.
"Hasn' - hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid.
We all shook our heads.
"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look -"
He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.
"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"
"I - I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.
"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"
"Shut up, Malfoy." said Harry.
"Righ' then," said Hagrid nervously, "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 strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.
"God, this place is going to the dogs." said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him."
"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry repeated.
"Careful, Potter, there's a Dementor behind you!"
"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.
Trotting toward us were a dozen creatures I had only seen storybooks. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of them had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.
"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. We drew back slightly as Hagrid reached us and tethered the creatures to the fence.
"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"
In a sense, he was right. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the Hippogriffs' coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color.
"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer..."
No one seemed to want to. Hermione, Harry, and I, however, approached the fence cautiously.
"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone, more than likely plotting how best to disrupt the lesson.
"Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right - who wants ter go first?"
Most of the class backed farther away in answer. I backed up slightly, instinctively pulling Hermione back with me. The Hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like they were.
"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.
"I'll do it." gulped Harry.
Lavender and Parvati whispered, "Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!"
Harry ignored them, climbing over the paddock fence.
"Good man, Harry!" roared Hagrid. "Right then - let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."
He untied one of the chains, pulled the gray Hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.
"Easy now, Harry," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink...Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much..."
Harry's eyes seemed locked on Buckbeak, who had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at Harry with one fierce orange eye. "Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Harry...now, bow."
Hermione stood close to me. I could hear her gasping with every movement Harry and Buckbeak made
Harry, extremely hesitantly, did as he was told. He gave a short bow and then looked up.
The Hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him. It squawked at him, causing Hermione to jump and slip her hand down my arm, her hand gripping mine, causing my whole body to tingle.
We both turned to each other, looked down at our hands, and quickly let go, me moving away from her just as awkwardly as she moved from me. It wasn't as if Hermione had never touched me before, but it all felt different, and I couldn't for the life of me think as to why.
"Ah," said Hagrid, sounding worried. "Right - back away, now, Harry, easy does it -"
But then, the Hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow. Both Hermione and I sighed with relief. We looked at each other again, this time giving each other a small laugh.
"Well done, Harry!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right - yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"
Harry moved slowly toward the Hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the beak several times and the Hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.
The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.
"Righ' then, Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!"
Harry gave Hagrid a look of shock.
"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that..."
Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto its back. Buckbeak stood up and Harry looked as if he had no idea where to put his hands
"Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the Hippogriffs hindquarters.
Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry, he just had time to seize the Hippogriff around the neck before he was soaring upward. Harry's facial expression changed from fear to thrill in seconds.
Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground. We all cheered when they landed. Everyone except Malfoy and his cronies.
"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid. "Okay, who else wants a go?"
Inspired by Harry's success, the rest of us climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Hermione and I (myself getting over our argument) practiced on a chestnut covered one, while Harry watched.
"She really is beautiful." said Hermione cheerfully, and the bird allowed Hermione to pet her gently.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking bored of it all.
"This is very easy," Malfoy said, loud enough for us hear him. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it...I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the Hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"
It happened quick as lightning. Malfoy let out a high pitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood oozing over his robes.
"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the rest of the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"
"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me - gotta get him outta here -"
Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. There was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.
Very shaken, we followed behind them. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.
"They should sack him straight away!" said Pansy, who was crying as if Malfoy had been killed.
"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean . Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles as if they were about to try something. Dean didn't look the least bit intimidated.
We climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.
"I'm going to see if he's okay!" said Pansy, and we all watched her run up the marble staircase. The Slytherins headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room. Hermione, Harry, and I went upstairs to Gryffindor Tower.
"You think he'll be all right?" said Hermione nervously.
"Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second." said Harry, shrugging it off.
"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?" I said, worried. "Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him."
After we changed, we rushed down to the Great Hall at dinnertime, hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there.
"They wouldn't fire him, would they?" said Hermione anxiously
"They'd better not." I said, not feeling like eating.
"The simply couldn't." said Harry. "Malfoy provoked Buckbeak, we were all there. We saw it."
"Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back." I said, gloomily.
We went up to the crowded Gryffindor common room after dinner and tried to do the homework Professor McGonagall had given us, but we couldn't help glancing out the tower window for any sign of Hagrid.
"There's a light on in Hagrid's window." Harry said suddenly.
I looked at my watch. "If we hurried, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early."
"I don't know," Hermione said slowly, stealing a quick glance at Harry.
"I'm allowed to walk across the grounds." he said pointedly. "Sirius Black hasn't got past the Dementors yet, has he?"
"Well no, but-"
"Okay then, let's go." said Harry as he gathered up his things.
We put our stuff away and headed out of the portrait hole. We made our way down the stairs and out of the school.
When we reached Hagrid's hut and knocked at the door, a voice growled from inside, "C'min."
Hagrid was sitting in his shirtsleeves at his wooden table. Fang had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told us that Hagrid had been drinking a lot; there was a tankard almost as big as a bucket in front of him, and he seemed to be having difficulty getting us into focus.
"'Spect it's a record," he said thickly, when he recognized us. "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before."
"You haven't been fired, Hagrid!" gasped Hermione.
"Not yet," said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever was in the tankard. "But's only a matter o' time, I'n't, after Malfoy..."
"How is he? Not that I'm very much concerned" I said as we all sat down. "It wasn't serious, was it?"
"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could," said Hagrid dully, "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 miserably. "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer later...one flobberworms or summat...Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson's all my fault..."
"It's all Malfoy's fault, Hagrid!" said Hermione earnestly.
"We're witnesses," said Harry. "You said Hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened."
"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up." I said, confidently.
Tears streamed out of his eyes as he scooped Harry and I up for a bone shattering hug.
"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid." said Hermione as she picked up the tankard and dumped the contents outside.
"Ah, maybe she's right," said Hagrid, letting go of Harry and I, our ribs feeling like they had been crushed. Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair and followed Hermione unsteadily outside. Then came a loud splash.
"What's he done?" said Harry nervously as Hermione came back in with the empty tankard.
"Stuck his head in the water barrel." said Hermione, putting the tankard away.
Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping the water out of his eyes.
"That's better," he said, shaking his head like a dog and drenching us. "Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really -"
Hagrid stopped dead, staring at Harry as though he'd only just realized he was there.
"WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?" he roared, so suddenly that we jumped a foot in the air. "YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN, YOU TWO! LETTIN' HIM!"
Hagrid strode over to Harry, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the door.
"C'mon!" Hagrid said angrily. "I'm takin' yer all back up ter school an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth that!"