pyrrhic, theodore nott

chapter four

"So," said Hagrid, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer-"

The only people who did, of course, was Hogwarts esteemed Gryffindor trio.

"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."

Of course, Draco and his idiotic friends were not paying attention, she wouldn't be surprised if they did some stupid thing to try to get the giant fired.

"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?"

No one stepped forward.

"No one?" Hagrid asked.

"I'll do it," Potter said hesitantly. He climbed over the fence.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid yelled. "Right then-let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulling a gray hippogriff away from the others and taking off its collar.

Hagrid said a few other things to him quieter, but she couldn't hear any of it.

Potter and the hippogriff-Buckbeak-made weird eye contact for a few minutes before Potter bowed to him. There was another silence before the hippogriff bowed back to him. After some urging from Hagrid, Potter petted it a few times.

The class started clapping-for what, she didn't know. When were people not clapping for him?

Potter eventually started riding the bloody hippogriff.

"Good work, Harry!" Hagrid yelled as everyone cheered when Potter landed. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

After Potter successfully avoided being maimed, it gave everyone the confidence to climb over the ledge.

"Salazar, these creatures are ugly." Pansy said when they got close.

"Honestly, how could anyone find these pretty?"

As if on cue, Daphne Greengrass decided to squeal "Oh my, these are beautiful!"

Her and Pansy shared a look.

"This is very easy," Draco said loudly. She looked over to him and saw him standing in front of Buckbeak. "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?"

The next second, the hippogriff attacked him, scratching his arm with its sharp talons. Draco let out a loud screech. Hagrid was immediately there, pulling the hippogriff away from him by the neck.

"I'm dying!" Draco yelled. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Oh, God," Cordelia whispered, horrified. "Oh, God."

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, though he had gone pale. "Someone help me - gotta get him outta here -"

"Oh my god," Cordelia whispered as Granger opened the gate for Hagrid as he carried Draco inside. There was a deep cut in his arm and the deep red blood was spilling out of the wound.

The whole class followed him inside, though at a slower pace.

"They should fire him straight away!" Pansy said, her eyes watering.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" Dean Thomas snapped, like an idiot. What qualified professor would expose them to wild animals on their first day with little to no instruction on how to behave around it? Sure, he shouldn't have insulted it, but how could anyone know that the creature could understand them? Either he didn't tell them that, or she wasn't paying attention. Honestly, it could've been either though.