At lunch after Transfigurations, Ron was still muttering about the Grim.
'Ron, cheer up,' Hermione said, pushing a dish of roast potatoes towards him. 'You heard what Professor McGonagall said.' Ron spooned some potatoes onto his plate and picked up his fork, but didn't start,
'Harry,' he said seriously, 'you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?
'Yeah, I have,' Harry said. 'I saw one the night I left the Dursleys.'
Ron's fork clattered onto his plate.
'Probably a stray,' said Hermione calmly.
'That's what I said,' Gwen said.
Ron looked at the girls as though they had both gone mad.
'Hermione, Gwen-- if Harry's seen a Grim-- that's-- that's bad,' he said. 'My-- my Uncle Bilius saw one and-- and he died twenty four hours later!'
'It's been a lot longer than twenty four hours, Ron,' said Gwen.
'Exactly,' said Hermione. 'Your Uncle Bilius was probably a coincidence.' She poured herself and Gwen some pumpkin juice.
'You don't know what you're talking about!' said Ron angrily. 'Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!'
'There you are then,' said Hermione. 'They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better pop my clogs then!'
Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who continued to eat her food as though they hadn't even spoken. Gwen had an idea, seeing her brother Edward walk into the Great Hall. She hadn't seen him since she'd left for Diagon Alley, but she knew he had taken Divination.
'Hold on, Ron,' she said, then leapt from her place at Gryffindor table to catch up with her oldest brother.
'Eddie!' She called. He looked up, his facing lighting up when he saw her.
'Hi, Gwen, how are you?' he said.
'Alright. Eddie, can you come speak to Ron, please? We've just had our first Divination class and--'
Eddie grinned. 'Oh, right. Is someone dying?'
Gwen smiled sheepishly and nodded.
He joined her back at the Gryffindor table, greeting her friends.
'So who's dying?'
'Me,' said Harry, a lot calmer than he had been when he'd answered Professor McGonagall.
Eddie smiled. 'Yeah, Professor Trelawney does that a lot. She predicted Leah Cartwright in my first class, she's still kicking it.' He pointed to a red haired seventh year Ravenclaw girl. 'Then when Felix took Divination, she predicted it would be Ciara Murphy, and Ciara's still here. She dropped it right after that, though.'
Ron stared at him. 'But did they see the Grim?'
Edward faltered. 'You've seen a Grim, Harry?'
Harry nodded.
'Don't think on it,' Edward said finally. 'You'll be fine. Professor Trelawney has a funny way of introducing her new students.'
'There you go, Ron,' Hermione said. 'So there's two students that we know of that have been told they're going to die, and they're both around, and you've got more, including a teacher, to vouch for it.'
'Thank you, Eddie,' said Gwen.
'It's alright,' Eddie said, then excused himself to get his own lunch.'
When he was out of earshot, Ron said, 'But Uncle Bilius--'
'Oh, for Heaven's sake, drop it, Ron,' Hermione said with rising anger. 'You're just scaring yourself at this point. Anyway, I think Divination seems very woolly,' she went on, taking out her Arithmancy textbook, flicking through it. 'A lot of guesswork, if you ask me.'
'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' Ron said, his voice raised.
'You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep.'
'Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being rubbish at something for a change!'
He'd touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the table that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere. Gwen picked a stray carrot from her steak and ale pie.
'If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to my Arithmancy class!'
She snatched up her bag and stormed away.
'What's she talking about?' said Ron, frowning after her. 'She hasn't had an Arithmancy class yet.
• • •
The rain from yesterday had cleared up; the sky was a clear, pale grey and the grass was damp and springy as they made their way after lunch down to Hagrid's hut for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class.
Ron and Hermione were not speaking to each other. Harry and Gwen walked between them in silence as they went down the sloping lawns and mud steps to the edge of the Forbidden Forest where Hagrid's hut lay. As they approached, there were three flashes of green robes in front of them; Malfoy talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were cackling.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut, wearing his moleskin overcoat with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.
'Come on now, get a move on!' he called as the class approached, 'Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!'
For a nasty second, Gwen thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the Forbidden Forest, however, he strolled round the edge of the trees, the class trailing curiously in his wake, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside of an open field with a paddock at its centre.
It was empty.
'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?' came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.
'Eh?'
'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; most of them had all been bound shut. Gwen's was belted shut.
'Hasn' – hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?'said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.
The class all shook their 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.
'They are funny, Hagrid,' Gwen said. Hagrid was now looking utterly downcast and she wanted his first lesson to be a success.
'Righ' then,' said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, '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 has gone 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, loudly.
'Careful, Potter, there's a Dementor behind you—'
'Ooh!'
Lavender Brown squealed, pointing to the opposite side of the paddock. Trotting towards them were a dozen of the most beautiful creatures Gwen had ever seen. They had the bodies and hind legs of horses, but the front legs, wings and heads of what appeared to be giant eagles, with huge, steel-coloured beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and could easily tear through skin and bone. Each of the creatures had a thick, leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all the chains were held in Hagrid's enormous hands, who followed the beasts into the paddock.
Gwen watched the creatures in awe. She had never seen one in real life before, only illustrations in textbooks and her childhood stories. She found herself smiling, nudging Harry in excitement.
'Gee up, there!' Hagrid roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures towards the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them, even Gwen, who was still processing how big they actually were.
'Hippogriffs!' Hagrid shouted happily, waving a hand at them. He'd tethered them to the fence where the class stood. 'Beau'iful, aren' they?'
Gwen knew exactly what Hagrid meant. Once you'd got over the sheer size of them, you could appreciate their gleaming coats that morphed smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different colour: stormy grey, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, snowy white, inky black, cinnamon...
Her hair turned a brilliant teal, reflecting her excitement.
'So,' Hagrid went on, beaming, 'if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer...'
No one seemed to want to. Gwen, however, approached eagerly, followed by Harry, Ron and Hermione, who came closer a bit more cautiously.
'Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is they're proud,' Hagrid said, 'Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do.' He beamed again. 'Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff teh make the firs' move. It's plight, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed teh touch him. If he doesn' bow then get away sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.'
The class stared.
'Right-- who wants teh go first?'
Most of the class backed away further. Even Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed apprehensive, and now, being faced with the prospect of unknowing whether she'd be allowed to stroke one, as much as she wanted to, even Gwen faltered. More so she hesitated because the Hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their huge, powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered up like this.
'No one?' said Hagrid, with a pleading look.
Gwen opened her mouth, but Harry beat her to it.
'I'll do it,' he said.
Behind Gwen, Lavender and Parvati inhaled sharply.
'Harry, remember your tea leaves,' Parvati whispered.
Harry either didn't hear them or ignored them. He climbed over the paddock fence.
'Good man, Harry!' Hagrid roared. 'Right then, let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak!'
He untied one of the chains, pulled the grey Hippogriff away from the others and slipped off the collar.
With Hagrid as his guide, Harry slowly bowed to Buckbeak, trying not to blink and trying to maintain eye contact. Gwen watched eagerly, almost leaning completely over the fence, wishing she hadn't hesitated and had volunteered herself. For a brief moment, the class held their breaths when Buckbeak didn't reciprocate the bow, then he bent his scaly front knees and sank into what was unmistakably a bow.
'Well done, Harry!' Hagrid roared, ecstatic. There was scattered applause from the class. 'Right-- yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!'
Harry moved slowly towards the Hippogriff, reached out his hand. He finally managed to touch it, patting his beak several times and Buckbeak closed his eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.
The class broke into a full applause, all except Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.
'Righ' then, Harry,' said Hagrid, 'I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!'
Harry looked startled. 'What?!'
The class watched as Hagrid guided Harry on what to do, where to sit, what feathers to not pluck out by accident. Harry, atop of Buckbeak, looked apprehensive and rather scared for his life. Behind Gwen, Parvati whispered to Lavender, 'Those tea leaves are so accurate.'
Gwen shot her a glare, the roots of her teal hair turning scarlet. Parvati shrank back sheepishly.
Gwen turned back just in time to see Hagrid smack Buckbeak's hindquarters; those giant wings spread twelve feet either side of the body, flapped once, then Harry and Buckbeak were soaring upwards, circling the paddock and trees above them. The class gasped in awe as Buckbeak flew twice around the length of the paddock, then came back to the ground, landing gracefully and galloping to a stop. Harry looked very uncomfortable on the back of the beast, but his expression betrayed the adrenaline that was undoubtedly coursing through his veins.
'Good work, Harry!' Hagrid roared, as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle cheered. 'Who else wants a go?'
Gwen was the first to clamber over the fence. She joined Harry as he dismounted Buckbeak, throwing her arms around him in an ecstatic hug. He was looking at her bright hair.
Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously all over the paddock. Neville was running repeatedly backwards from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Hermione and Ron practised on the chestnut one with Harry watching, and Gwen found herself approaching the inky black one.
As she was bowing, and the beautiful Hippogriff bowed back, Theodore Nott approached.
'Mind if I join you?'
Gwen hadn't seen him since they'd passed briefly in Diagon Alley. She smiled at him once the Hippogriff had straightened again and nodded.
'Yeah, of course.'
He took his turn to bow. The black Hippogriff reciprocated, and the two approached, reaching to pat its beak.
'You're hard to miss with that hair,' he said.
Gwen laughed. 'Didn't even notice it. Aren't they lovely?'
Theo nodded. 'I suppose they are.'
'They're beautiful,' she went. 'I've always wanted to see one in real life. Mum used to read us stories with Hippogriffs, I used to want one.'
The Hippogriff made a guttural noise, nudging its head closer to her as though agreeing to her compliment.
'They are intelligent,' Theo said, moving his hand to stroke its glossy, raven feathers. The Hippogriff made the noise again, almost in approval.
'Do you think they understand--'
Gwen's words were cut off by a loud squawking, a high pitched scream, then several cries from around the paddock. Gwen and Theo spun around; Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar and there on the ground before them was Malfoy, blood seeping into his robes.
'It's killed me! It's killed me!' he yelled.
'Oh, my--' Gwen made to move toward him, but Theo held her back, throwing her a look. He nodded toward Buckbeak who was still fighting off Hagrid.
'Yeh not dying!' Hagrid said, finally having placated the Hippogriff. He was very white beneath his great, scraggly beard. 'It's jus' a scratch! Someone help me! Gotta-- get him outta here--'
Hermione ran to open the gate while Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Gwen's hand moved to her mouth as she saw a long, deep gash in Malfoy's arm. Blood splattered the grass as Hagrid ran with him up the slope and toward the castle.
Very shaken, the class followed at a walk. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid, all except Theo, who, knowing that Gwen cared for Hagrid, kept his mouth shut. Despite this, she could see the contempt on his face.
'They should sack him straight away!' cried Pansy Parkinson, tears streaming down her face.
'It was Malfoy's fault!' snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly.
They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted Entrance Hall. Pansy ran up the marble staircase, announcing that she was going to check on Malfoy, while the other Slytherins muttered about Hagrid as they disappeared toward the Slytehrin common room. Theo threw Gwen a half smile as he left. She, Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way upstairs to Gryffindor Tower.
'Do you think he'll be alright?' said Hermione nervously.
''Course he will, Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second,' said Harry.
'What actually happened?' Gwen asked, wringing her hands, worrying for Hagrid.
'Malfoy insulted it,' Ron said. 'Called it 'a great, ugly brute' or something.' He sighed anxiously. 'That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it? Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him.'
They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinner time, hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there.
'They wouldn't sack him, would they?' Hermione said anxiously, not touching her steak and kidney pie.
'They'd better not,' said Ron, who also wasn't eating.
Gwen and Harry were watching the Slytherin table, their plates untouched before them. There were a group of Slytherins huddled together, including Crabbe and Goyle, who were murmuring under their breaths. Gwen and Harry shared a look; no doubt the Slytherins were plotting their own story as to how Malfoy got injured.
'Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back,' said Ron gloomily.
Back in the crowded Gryffindor common room, the four of them sat around a small table in the corner, trying to do the homework Professor McGonagall had set for them, but all of them kept breaking off and glancing out of the tower window.
'There's a light on in Hagrid's window,' Gwen said suddenly, getting to her feet. Ron joined her to peer out, then checked his watch.
'If we hurried, we could go and see him, it's still quite early...'
'I don't know,' said Hermione, glancing briefly at Harry.
'I'm allowed to walk across the grounds,' he said, noticing her look. 'Sirius Black hasn't got past the Dementors here, has he?'
They put their things away and headed out of the portrait hole, pleasantly surprised that they did not meet anybody on their way to the front doors. They weren't entirely sure they were allowed to be out. The grass was still wet, soaking the ends of their trousers and shoes as they ran down the slopes, almost appearing black in the twilight. When they knocked at Hagrid's hut, a voice growled, 'C'min.'
Hagrid was sitting in his shirt sleeves at his scrubbed wooden table, Fang with his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told them Hagrid had been drinking a lot; he was clutching a huge goblet in one hand, a large tankard sitting before him on the table and he seemed to be unable to get them into focus.
''Spect it's a record,' he said thickly when he recognised them. 'Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who on'y lasted a day before.'
Hermione gasped. 'You haven't been sacked, Hagrid!'
'Not yet,' said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever was in the tankard. 'But 'sonly a matter o' time, i'n't it, after Malfoy ...'
'How is he?' said Ron, as they 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 quickly. '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... done 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 he wasn't listening.'
'We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened,' Gwen chimed.
'Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up,' said Ron.
Tears leaked out of the crinkled corners of Hagrid's dark eyes. He grabbed both Harry and Ron and pulled them into a bone-breaking hug.
'I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid,' said Hermione firmly. She took the tankard from the table and went outside to empty it.
'Ar, maybe she's right,' said Hagrid, letting go of Harry and Ron, who both staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair, grabbing Gwen's hand and squeezing it hard as he did, then followed Hermione unsteadily outside.
They heard a loud splash.
'What's he done?'said Gwen nervously, as Hermione came back in with the empty tankard.
'Stuck his head in the water barrel,' Hermione told them, 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 them all. '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 realised he was there.
'WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?' he roared, so suddenly that they all flinched harshly. 'YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN' YOU THREE! 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!'