You’re my Candle

"'Ello, everyone." Came the booming voice of Hagrid, their Care of Magical Creatures professor for this year.

"Oh, how wonderful – we've got this oaf teaching us." Draco sighed loudly. Daphne hit his arm and told him to be nice after Lillian shot him a nasty look of which he missed.

"Are we all here?" He had his hands locked together in front of him – the half-giant looked nervous. "Righ' then. Follow me, eh?"

He wandered off to the right of the Forbidden Forest behind his hut and led them all to a bright clearing, slightly fenced off by a low stone wall. Kayda smiled at how the sun broke its way through the canopy of leaves above it.

Once they were all standing lined up by the wall, at Hagrid's request, she heard a rustling of leaves just behind where Harry was standing with Hermione and Ron. She watched as the bush on the opposite side of the wall shook just before Oliver appeared from within it, calling out quietly to Harry.

"Ok, uhm, I guess yeh shoul' all open yeh books, ter start with." Hagrid's nerves weren't easing up. Kayda's attention was taken by him and she cast one last glance towards her boyfriend and Harry before tutting and yanking the hairy book out of the bag she'd slung behind her back, the rest of her classmates did the same.

Draco coughed loudly. "How?"

"Eh?" Hagrid turned to find the blond boy.

"How do we open our books?" He repeated, bitterly. Then he mumbled under his breath. "Big idiot."

"Draco." Lillian scolded – her own book was open in her hands and not trying it's darndest to eat her.

Almost everyone's book had been bound shut in some way – they had a habit of snapping and biting at whoever was holding it. Kayda had, out of reflex, calmed the book the instant she bought it in Diagon Alley. Draco had used a long rope that he'd clearly shared with Blaise and Theo as their books were bound the same way. Freya had trouble undoing the belt buckle around hers, it appeared Harry Potter had done the same.

"Hasn' – hasn' anyone bin able ter open yer books?" Hagrid seemed to swallow hard, staring at all of their faces.

"I have." Lillian lifted hers for Hagrid to see.

"Atta girl, Jones." Hagrid seemed to relax a little. "Yeh've gotta stroke 'em."

Both Hagird and Lillian proceeded to start showing everyone exactly how to do it.

"How silly of me? I didn't think of stroking it. Why didn't we guess?" Draco spat, after Lillian grabbed his wrist and dragged his hand along the spine of the shaggy book. Crabbe laughed beside him.

"Stop it, Malfoy." Kayda said quietly to him, Crabbe went silent. "It makes sense for a Monster book." She sighed.

"Oh really?" Draco didn't look at her. "And how'd you figure that one out, Black?"

Kayda ignored him, surprised he responded in the first place, she was soon distracted when Lillian came up to her and took the book from her hands suddenly.

"You've already done it–" Lillian's brows furrowed when the book easily fell open in her hands. "Why didn't you say, when Hagrid asked?"

"I've only just done it," Kayda lied with a small smile, "I watched you when you were helping the others, Lil."

Hagrid was holding Hermione's book in his large hands beside Harry, who had Oliver next to him. "I...thought they were funny." The half-giant said uncertainly.

Draco laughed loudly, having heard the Professor. "Yeah, tremendously funny!" He took a step forward, towards Hagrid. "It's really witty, actually."

Harry's face was getting redder with every word that left Draco's lips.

"To give us books that tries to kill us!" He spat. "Truly brilliant."

Harry took a few steps in Draco's direction now. "Shut up, Malfoy."

Crabbe and Goyle went to stand by Draco's side, but after a mere look from Kayda, they never reached it.

"Righ', well..." Hagrid coughed, "Yeh've got yer books – now yeh need the creatures. I'll go get 'em." With that, he walked out of the clearing and into the woods.

"It wouldn't have killed you, by the way." Hermione shook her head at the boy. "It can't."

Draco's face fell. "You, of all people, don't know that."

Kayda sighed and sat down on the wall a few feet away from the commotion Draco was causing. She watched as Oliver squeezed his way through the crowd and knelt down beside her.

"You can't be seen talking to me, Wood."

"Ouch. Surname." He smiled. "Plus, what does it matter? They all know."

She rolled her eyes, forcing her own smile down. "None of them are speaking to me." She didn't give him time to acknowledge that. "Why are you here?"

He glanced around, "to them? I'm makin' sure my Seeker don't get hurt."

Kayda nodded, not looking at him.

"To you?" His voice lowered to a soft whisper. "I was just missin' my girl."

Kayda could feel her cheeks flush with heat. It didn't help that after he spoke, he took her hand gently from where it sat on her leg and squeezed it. Then he was gone, standing beside Harry again.

Draco was still going. "God! This place is going to the dogs." He cackled. "Just wait until I tell my father, he'll have a fit–"

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry repeated, louder.

"Careful, Potter." Draco sneered, a grin plastered on his face as Crabbe and Goyle walked to his side.

"What is taking Hagrid so long?" Lillian said to Daphne, rocking on the balls of her feet nervously.

"Wait, can you see that?" Daphne leant her head closer to Lillian's and pointed into the far treeline. "I think...that's him."

There was a loud sound of hooves approaching, Kayda rose from the wall and scanned the treeline, trying to follow Daphne's finger before the girl lowered it. Both Harry and Draco stopped arguing and everyone's head turned towards the sound.

A herd of Hippogriffs came trotting into the clearing, pushing everyone back towards the stone wall. They had the bodies, hind legs and tails of horses – but the front legs, wings and head of giant eagles. They had beautiful orange eyes, which reminded Kayda of a Fabel's golden ones. Their beaks were the colour of steel, those matched the nasty looking talons on the ends of their front legs.

Each of them had a leather collar wrapped around its thick neck, which attached them to a long chain that Hagrid had tightly in his grip as he ran behind them. He tied the end of the chain to a fence post at the other end of the paddock and turned to the class.

"Hippogriffs!" He thundered joyfully. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

"That's one way of describing them." Lillian laughed softly, her jaw dropped open and her eyes just as wide.

Hagrid began explaining how to and how not to approach a hippogriff – Draco wasn't listening, he was muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle, who both laughed and grinned beside him.

He then pushed past the two of them and stood silently next to Kayda for a moment before he offered her an apple that he'd just taken a bite out of. She declined, she wasn't that hungry.

"What's Wood doing here?" Draco said, blatantly ignoring Hagrid.

Kayda blinked a few times before being able to answer – Draco hadn't even done so much as look at her for the past three days, let alone talk to her.

"He's, uhm, making sure Harry doesn't get hurt."

Draco scoffed, glancing back at the Quidditch Captain and Seeker. "Potter could do with a few more scars."

"Right – who wants ter go first?" Hagrid said loudly, clapping his hands together.

Kayda tried her best to pay attention to what Hagrid was saying, it seemed important, but she couldn't help but get distracted by the crunching aside her. Aside from that, everyone was silent, some even went so far as to take a step backwards to emphasise their answer.

She glanced at him quickly. "Uh, Draco?"

"Hm?"

"You do remember that you don't like the green ones, right?" She whispered to him, her eyes locked on Hagrid and the Hippogriffs, but her ears only heard Draco's hushed laughter.

She could feel his eyes on her as he spoke. "I remember, Black. But thanks."

"Then...why are you eating it?" She looked up again, only for a moment. His eyes darted away when she did.

"Gryffindors eat the red ones." He replied hurriedly. "So, I'm doing the opposite."

"Oh, Merlin." She giggled, covering her mouth and closing her eyes.

Hagrid cleared his throat. "No one?"

"I'll do it." Said the brave voice of Harry.

Oliver coughed, rather loudly, next to him and the small Seeker ignored his Captain by stepping further into the clearing to where Hagrid was standing with a light feathered Hippogriff unchained beside him.

"Righ' yeh've got eye contact – tha's good." Hagrid smiled, glancing at the hippogriff. "Don't blink too much now. Buckbeak won't trust yeh if yeh blink too much."

Draco sighed loudly, having finished his apple and boredly using his fingers to rotate it in his hand.

"I don't care that you're dating him." Draco leant closer to Kayda's ear and whispered.

"Didn't seem that way, Malfoy." Kayda refused to look at him, instead keeping her eyes locked on the, now bowing, hippogriff in front of them all. "Seems like you all give a shit."

"I gave a shit that you didn't tell me– us." Draco coughed. "You didn't tell any of us."

Kayda breathed out slowly, but didn't respond. She didn't think mentioning that his sister knew would help him.

Harry was stroking the beast now, right before Hagrid urged him to mount the hippogriff. Then Harry was airborne and souring around the paddock. He was still fairly close to the ground but a fall would still get Oliver annoyed regardless.

"Right then!" Hagrid clapped his hands and Buckbeak landed smoothly on the ground, almost tipping Harry over his head. "Team up and pick a hippogriff."

Slowly, but surely, everyone made their way to a hippogriff and bowing ensued for the rest of the lesson. Draco immediately went to Buckbeak the second Harry had slid off the animals back and returned to his friends.

"Kay– Miss Black," Hagrid called, beckoning her to him with his large hand. She walked over to him, away from the other students, "hippogriffs ain't too...fond of fabeldyrs, so yeh might not wanna get too close, 'cause they be able teh tell."

She nodded then stood with her friends, taking a small step back when Buckbeak stared at her instead of Theo bowing in front of him.

Once Theo was done petting the beast, Draco stepped up and bowed quickly, not losing eye contact with Buckbeak. The hippogriff bowed back.

"Hah–" Draco laughed as he ran his hand over Buckbeak's head. "I knew if Potter could do it, it couldn't be that difficult."

"Kayda!" Called a voice behind them all. It drew the other's gazes along with her own, to all turn and look at Oliver. He gestured for her to come to him.

With one glance to her friends, and seeing their very unsure looks at the Gryffindor, she gave them a short smile and started walking towards Oliver.

Until Pansy grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving them. Kayda turned to look at the girl, who's eyes were wide and unblinking.

"Pans..." She whispered, tilting her head to the side.

The dark haired girl shook her head. "You can't be serious, Black."

"Let her go, Parkinson." Draco muttered.

If Pansy listened to anyone, it would be Draco. Her hand loosened but didn't leave, Kayda managed to wriggle her own hand from the girl's grip and left her friends with the hippogriff.

"You alright?" Oliver asked when she reached him, turning his back to the Slytherins and taking hold of her hand gently.

She nodded, pulling her hand away from his after squeezing it. She kept walking past him, leading him to an area the class couldn't see so they wouldn't have any eyes on them.

"Yeah?" She said quickly.

"Kayda," he held her face in his hands, lifting it to make her look at him, "it's good that they know, I promise."

"Doesn't feel it." He may be able to lift her face but her eyes were looking everywhere but his. "They've changed, since they found out and–"

There was a sudden scream from the paddock – Pansy was yelling.

"Kayda, c'mon."

She ignored Oliver as she ran out from where they'd hidden immediately.

Draco was laying on the floor, grabbing his arm with Buckbeak rearing and screeching above him. Freya was desperately putting herself between her brother and the beast, her arms raised and waving in an attempt to frighten it.

Kayda didn't think. She didn't stop for even a moment to consider the other options when she saw Buckbeak lift his legs and threaten to bring his talons down into Freya's chest.

With ease, she leapt over the small stone wall in a second and four giant clawed feet landed on solid ground directly beside the shouting blonde.

The roar of a dragon rang through the air and sent the birds from their nests in the trees and into the air, it forced every hippogriff in the clearing to sprint in the opposite direction to get away from the giant creature standing protectively beside and over the Malfoy twins.

Several more screams echoed from the class when the screeching stopped. The dragon turned to look at the small girl beside it – she looked as though she was about to pass out.

Only then, did Kayda actually realise she'd transformed. Luckily, to her classmates, it looked as though the creature had come down from the sky. Everything started coming back, the adrenaline in her blood faded away and the sounds returned to her ears. Every blade of grass brushed against her scales by the wind, every heavy breath from Freya, each babbled word from Pansy and the–

"HOLY FUCK!" From Draco, who was screaming below her.

Hagrid approached her quickly, his hands waving and voice shouting words at her that she failed to perfectly understand.

In another instant, she'd taken to the sky again – disappearing from their view. She flew high into the clouds and deep into the Forbidden Forest. Souring low to the tree line and eventually dipping through them, she hit the ground with her knees.

Kayda gasped and heaved on the floor, her fingers digging into the dirt beneath them. "Fucking hell." She groaned to herself – Remus' lecture was already ringing in her ears, she could almost hear Snape's laughter when he found out how idiotic she was.

There wasn't a single voice in her head telling her that she prevented Freya from getting hurt, when that was what she'd done it all for.