The things that I lost here//the people I knew
Harry remained seated as the Transfiguration classroom emptied. He noted several of his classmates looking at him cautiously as they left, but paid no note. Ron and Hermione made as if to walk over to him, concerned looks on their faces. Harry waved them off.
When the classroom was empty of students, Harry moved towards Professor McGonagall’s desk. “Excuse me, Professor?”
“Yes, Mr Potter?” McGonagall responded. “Do you have a question about Animagi? Because if your question relates to your Divination lesson, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave that to Professor Trelawney.”
“It’s about the children of Animagi actually.” Harry hesitated, “I … er… think I might be one?” Professor McGonagall put her papers down and turned to face him fully.
“What leads you to this idea Mr Potter?” She adjusted her spectacles and met his eyes. Harry shifted, doubt starting to rise.
“Well,” he said, “I’ve always had a really strong sense of smell - like really specific. Ron and Hermione also tell me I have an unusual startle response? And I have a good sense of hearing too. I didn’t realise any of this wasn’t normal until halfway through first year when - “
Professor McGonagall held up her hand, “That’s enough Mr Potter.” Harry shut his mouth with a click, realising now that he had been on the way to a full ramble. “I can help assess whether or not you have this trait. If you do,” She paused, a strange look of fondness coming over her normally stern temperament, “I suspect it may have been your mother, Lily, who completed the transformation.”
Harry was immediately burning with questions about his mother, and his parents in general. He barely heard and agreed with Professor McGonagall’s instructions to come to her office hour the following week to speak further about this. On some level, he had known that several of his teachers had known his parents. They may have even taught them, or been friends- but this was all hitting him in a new light as he rushed to meet Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall for lunch.
“Ron, cheer up,” said Hermione, pushing a dish of stew toward him. “You heard what Professor McGonagall said.”
Ron spooned stew onto his plate and picked up his fork, but didn’t start.
“Harry,” he said, in a low serious voice, “you haven’t seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?”
“Yeah, I have,” said Harry. “I saw one the night I left the Dursleys’”
Ron let his fork fall with a clatter.
“Probably a stray,” said Hermione.
“Actually,” said the unexpected voice of Lavender Brown, “Most signs and omens don’t translate to the physical plane. It’d be one thing if Harry was dreaming about the Grim, but just seeing it isn’t a problem.”
Ron huffed, sounding both anxious and irritated at the same time. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he turned to Lavender, “Grims can kill people! My Uncle Bilius saw one, and he was dead a day later! They scare the living daylights out of wix.”
Lavender and Hermione scoffed at the same time, “Superstitious nonsense!” They cried together, then blushed and turned to each other.
Hermione looked away first, “Besides, dying of fright is not the same as being killed by something. Harry’s going to be fine because he’s not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I’d better go and kick the bucket then!”
Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag, took out her new Arithmancy book, and propped it open against the juice jug.
“I think Divination seems very vague and foggy,” she said, searching for her page, “A lot of room for interpretation if you ask me.”
“You just don’t like it because you can’t learn it from a book!” cried Ron hotly, “You don’t like being bad at something for once.”
He had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere.
“If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see things in a lump of soggy tea leaves, I’m not sure I’ll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!”
She snatched up her bag and stalked away.
Ron frowned after her.
“What’s she talking about? He said to Harry. “She hasn’t been to Arithmancy class yet.”
The day was clear and beautiful for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class. Ron and Hermione weren’t speaking to each other as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid’s cabin. It was only when he spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them that he realised exactly which Slytherins would be in their class. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Harry was quite sure he knew what they were talking about.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang at his heels, looking excited to start.
“C’mon now, get a move on!” he called as the class approached. “Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin’ up! Everyone here?” He did a quick headcount and nodded to himself, “Right, follow me.”
For one nerve wracking moment, Harry thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest. He had had enough unpleasant experiences there to last him a lifetime. Hagrid, however, strolled off around the edge of the trees. A few moments later, they found themselves outside some kind of paddock filled with the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen.
“Gather ‘round folks!” he called, “Make sure they can see yeh proper like!” The third years huddled curiously by the edges of the paddock.
“Take out yer books!” Hagrid called, “Ye’ll want to stoke the spine, that’s how they open.”
The class all rummaged in their bags for a moment before bringing out a collection of bound, tied, taped, and belted books. Hagrid looked immediately chagrined.
“Firs’ lesson in takin’ care of any creature, magical or not,” he said, “is that yeh always want to treat ‘em with care and respect.” Harry felt his face burn with shame, for he knew well what it was to be treated horribly. Hagrid continued, “Yeh stroke the spine of the books, that’s how yeh calm ‘em down and open them to read. I thought it’d be a good firs’ lesson in treatin’ magical things.”
He reached over and grabbed Harry’s belted book. Hagrid ran one enormous finger down it’s spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quietly in his hand.
“These books are like livin’ creatures. They deserve the same care that you lot do.” Hagrid said sternly. Several people, Malfoy excluded of course, took the bindings off of their books. Harry was horrified to hear several of the books whimper and whine in discomfort.
“Righ’ then,” said Hagrid, “now yeh know that lesson, keep that in mind. These creatures are fiercely proud and deserve and demand all th’same respect as those books there.”
“Oooh!” squealed Lavender, who had just noticed the specifics of these creatures.
They truly were the most bizarre creatures, with the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles. They had sharp, steel coloured beaks, and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were easily twenty centimetres long, and deadly looking. Each of the creatures had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain. The chains were all tethered to the fence on the far side of the gate where the class was gathered.
“Hippogriffs” Hagrid roared, sweeping one trash bin sized hand out towards them. “Beau’iful, aren’ they?”
Harry could see what he meant, once you got past the strangeness of them. The hippogriffs had gleaming coats, iridescent feathers in a variety of shades, and a smooth transition from feather to hair. There were many different colours: stormy grey, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.
“Now, firs’ thing yeh gotta know abou’ Hippogriffs is, they’re proud, said Hagrid. “As I said earlier. Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don’t never insult one, ‘cause it may be the last thing yeh do.”
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren’t listening; they were talking in an undertone and Harry had a nasty feeling they were plotting how to best disrupt the lesson.
“Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff to 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.”
Most of the class backed away at this comment, looking warily at the chained animals.
“Now, today yeh won’ be making contact with ‘em. Yer firs’ lesson is about information, not gettin’ yerselves hurt.” There was a collective whoosh as most of the class sighed in relief.
“I’ll be demonstratin how ter approach them today, then the res’ of the lesson is for you ter make a sketch of them.”
Hagrid stepped into the paddock and unchained the grey hippogriff away from its fellows. The class on the other side of the fence seemed to be holding its breath. Harry, Ron and Hermione shifted nervously. Despite having full confidence in Hagrids abilities, those talons did look rather sharp.
“Now class, this is Buckbeak” said Hagrid quietly, “Yeh’ve got to get eye contact, an’ try not to blink… hippogridds don’ trust yeh if yeh blink too much.”
Buckbeak had turned his great sharp head and was staring at Hagrid with one fierce orange eye.
“Once yeh’ve got eye contact,” Hagrid said, still speaking quietly, “now, bow to ‘im.”
Hagrid gave a short bow, then looked up at Buckbeak. The hippogriff was still staring at him, and seemed not to move. Hagrid waited patiently, then the hippogriff bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.
Hagrid and Buckbeak straightened at the same time, and Hagrid approached the hippogriff. He began patting his head as he continued his lecture. “An’ that’s how it’s done!”
The class broke out in scattered applause, and Hagrid seemed to swell at the sound.
“Fer the res’ of class, ye’ll pick one and sketch ‘em out fer yer notes.” Hagrid said. He left Buckbeack and moved through the class. He assigned one hippogriff for three students to work on sketching. Harry was paired with Seamus and Neville, and they worked on sketching Buckbeak together for the rest of class.
Harry could hear Malfoy muttering to Crabbe and Goyle unhappily. Apparently, he had been planning on insulting the hippogriff to get Hagrid in trouble for having them interact with creatures with no warning. Harry grinned to himself, safe in the knowledge that Hagrid was too good with animals to have that be a concern. He did remind himself to warn Hagrid later that Malfoy might be planning to disrupt his lessons.
After classes, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked back up the lawns towards the Great Hall for dinner.
“Well, you can’t say it wasn’t an interesting first day back,” said Ron.