After class ended, the Transfiguration class joined crowd of thundering students towards Great Hall for Lunch.
Hermione sighed heavily when she looked at Ron's ugly face, "Didn't you hear what Professor McGonagall said?" she asked, while pushing a bowl of stew in Lucifer's direction.
Ron played with his food for a moment, "Harry," he said, looking over at him for the first time in about an hour, "you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?"
"Yeah, I have," Harry said nonchalantly, "I saw one the night I left the Dursleys."
Ron's silverware clattered on the table.
"It was probably a stray," Lucifer said calmly, feeling his girl's worried stares from behind.
Ron looked at him as though he'd gone absolutely mad, "Lucifer, if Harry's seen a grim, that's-that's bad, I mean Quirrell level," he said, looking a bit paler than usual, "My-my Uncle Bilius saw one and, and he died 'twenty-four hours later!"
"Coincidence," Hermione said airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.
"Neither of you know what you're talking about!" Ron said, starting to get angry, "Grims scare the living daylights out of most Wizards!"
"Why? It's just a black dog, surely any witch or wizard would be capable of dealing with it, right?" Lucifer asked, now feeling very casual.
"A valid question, but to answer what you just said, Ronald; there you are, then," Hermione said with a superior tone, wizards couldn't even create a device to send messages, and it took a Muggle born to do it, "they see the Grim and die of fright. It's not an Omen, it's the cause of death! And 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!"
Lucifer began to laugh uncontrollably.
Ron on the other hand, 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 woolly," She said, searching for a specific page to continue from, "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me. I mean, where in God's name did she come up with Lucifer's prediction?"
"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" Ron said hotly.
"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep," She replied coolly remembering the exact animal from their conversation, and turned another page to read.
"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being rubbish at something for a change!" Ron half-yelled.
He seemed to have struck a nerve, because Hermione slammed her 'Arithmancy' book down and caused bits of meat and carrots to fly.
"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see Death Omens or Dangerous Omens in a lump of tea leaves, and listen to her talking shit about my Lucifer, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to our Arithmancy class," She began to pack up her things and looked over at Lucifer, "Com-"
His arms were resting below the table, and he was slightly hunched over. She looked at his food and noticed it was barely touched.
Hermione tapped him on the shoulder, "Come on."
Lucifer stood up, took another bite out of something, got another drink from a goblet, and grabbed his bag as well, following Hermione out of the Great Hall.
She turned to look at him after they walked out, "Sorry about that."
"No, no it's okay... but... I don't think Trelawney is that far off with her prediction for me..."
The boy said, looking down at the slightly reflective floor.
"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked, hoping it wasn't serious.
"I'm not dangerous..." Lucifer looked at the girl's face instead, with hurt evident in his eyes, "Am I?"
"Of course not!" Hermione's voice was full of vigor, drowning out any bullshit claims, "McGonagall is right, you are the kindest, most loyal Gryffindor who stands up for his convictions. You are not dangerous, you will not destroy buildings, and you won't turn green fields to grey. Okay?"
"Okay," Lucifer smiled at her, feeling like she told him the answers he so desperately sought after.
Hermione just shook her head, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him around the trees into a secluded spot.
She pressed Lucifer against the tree, and started kissing him. She frowned when he didn't kiss her back, causing her to grab his neck and deepen the kiss. She kept their lips together, only separating for oxygen, until the bell signalling the next lesson sounded over the grounds.
Smirking at seeing Lucifer's red face as he was out of breath,"Come on, we don't want to be late!"
Hermione grabbed his hand and dragged him towards Hagrid's Hut for his first lesson, with her giggling non-stop the whole time as he tried to heal red mark' she left on his neck.
xxxxx
Around ten, under the warm morning sun, Lucifer strolled down the slope toward Hagrid's hut with Daphne who was 'fussing' over writing to her mother about Trelawney
She was busy wettening a handkerchief with her saliva, and rubbed the mark on the boy's neck with a targeted face.
Hermione looked livid, clearly wanted to stop the Slytherin' blonde, and instead make the hickey deeper if she even possible could.
'Care of Magical Creatures', simply put, was a class designed to teach young wizards about magical beasts, creatures they would rarely encounter otherwise.
Don't underestimate its importance.
Ever since Newt Scamander, the renowned expert on magical creatures, appeared, wizards had begun to take this subject far more seriously. The course had long been taught by Professor Kettleburn, but due to certain circumstances this year, Hagrid had taken over as the new professor.
From Lucifer's point of view, there was a clear reason behind Hagrid's appointment. In his eyes, it was the school's way of compensating him.
If last year's Chamber of Secrets incident hadn't proven Hagrid's innocence, showing that he wasn't the one who opened it and unleashed the monster, Lucifer doubted this position would ever have gone to someone with no teaching experience.
"Let's hope nothing goes wrong."
"Hm? Did you say something, Lucifer?"
"No, just a bit worried." He said while glancing at the tightly bound copies of 'TheMonster Book of Monsters' in everyone's hands.
Hermione noticed his gaze to be honest, even she had no desire to open it. The moment you untied the rope, the book would try to bite your hand off. 'Calling it a book is generous---it's more like a mad dog with a book cover....'
Harry was late as he forgot his book.
Ron wasn't speaking to either Lucifer or Hermione, which they were most thankful for, he was clearly avoiding at being labelled with Death eaters.
Daphne walked beside him on the left, chatting happily about how price for ghostwritten essays had suddenly skyrocketed, her voice bright and musical like a little songbird.
She did not care what the subject was, as long as it wouldn't be too much, she had synchronised her electives entirely with Lucifer's schedule.
'How did someone live so free of worry? This girl could have practically glued to him in Ancient runes if not for Davis holding back.' Hermione watched her with open envy.
Hagrid had been waiting behind his hut for the rest of them to show up, revealed himself to students.
"C'mon now, get a move on!" He was yelling out to the slow pokes, "Got a real treat fer yeh today! Great lesson comin' up. Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
From a distance, his massive frame was unmistakable, clad in a mole-skin coat, with the energetic Fang trotting 'faithfully' by his side.
But his disheveled appearance and half-giant stature left many of students speechless, especially those unfamiliar with him.
The Slytherins, in particular, made no effort to hide their disdainful looks. Lucifer, however, could only shrug helplessly. He had no intention of defending Hagrid, it had been his own choice to take this on.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter glared furiously at the Slytherins, completely ignoring equally disdainful expressions coming from his fellow Gryffindors.
Just as Lucifer expected, Hagrid didn't seem to notice the students stare. Whether he truly didn't care or was simply too nervous to realise it, was unclear.
Hagrid led them around the edge of the 'Forbidden Forest' and five minutes of walking, they came upon an empty Paddock.
"Everyone gather 'round the fence here," he called out, "That's it, make sure yeh can see. Now firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books---"
He froze mid-sentence, because what greeted him was a scene straight out of a nightmare. For third-year students studying Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid chose 'The Monster Book of Monsters' as the standard textbook.
But now---
Some students had their books tied up with rope, others had glued theirs shut. One copy looked like it had been through a duel, it was covered in whip marks.
"What've you done to your books?" Hagrid asked, horrified.
Draco sneered in cold, drawling voice, "Tied it up, obviously. Unless you wanted it to bite me again."
Parvati Patil held up her book gingerly, "I glued its mouth shut. Are you sure this is supposed to be a textbook?"
Rosier snorted, "Mine wouldn't behave until I smacked it a few times, it works fine now."
"Same here," Zabini said, giving her, Patil a thumbs-up, which almost made the girl think she had come to the wrong school, "Great minds think alike.'
Nott winced horribly, he had seen enough pain, "You guys sound like trauma survivors, not 'students."
Hagrid stood there speechless, quietly listening to their chaotic explanations. 'This... can't be right,' "This isn't... how you're supposed to handle them," he said helplessly, "it's like a puppy."
Instead of snarling, snapping, or trying to take a chunk out of her robes, Daphne Greengrass's 'Monster Book of Monsters' had flipped entirely upside down. It rolled its furry green spine into the dirt, lolling a thick red tongue out of its jagged teeth. Its four ribbon-bookmarks whipped back and forth against the grass with the frantic speed of a happy puppy's tail, begging for a belly rub.
Daphne stood over it, looking entirely unbothered by the chaos of the paddock. A cool smirk spread across her face as she casually nudged the book's underbelly with the thumb of her finger, as she picked it up.
The book let out a low, vibrating purr that sounded suspiciously like a contented rumble.
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence. Uneasy glances.
It looked like his first class as a professor wasn't going to be an easy one. Lucifer pulled his book out and opened it, causing Hermione beside him to look wide-eyed, more so when Daphne's was behaving like a deflated pygmy-puff, purring into her touch.
It was even worse than a pet.
Even Granger herself struggled to accept a crazed book that bit anyone who touched it, let alone figure out how to calm it down. 'What in Merlin's name, Daphne had done or no feed to her book?'
She burst out, her own textbook was still bound tightly by a thick leather belt that she was white-knuckling. Marching a step closer, eyes darting between Daphne and the panting book, "They are feral texts, Daphne! What spell did you even modify to alter a boo---? You can't just rewrite Ministry-approved educational material into a pet!"
"How do we open our 'books?" Draco reiterated, he couldn't believe either, what on Salazar's grave, he never did understand Greengrass.
Daphne didn't even look up, keeping her eyes on wriggling mass of fur in arms, "It's quite simple, Granger," She replied with easy confidence, "If you treat it like a mindless threat, it behaves like one, just needs a little positive love..."
Harry Potter, who had spent the last five minutes wrestling his own book into submission, stared blankly, "Blimey... look at it," he muttered, dropping his hands to his sides. "It's actually wagging. Why didn't anyone tell us we could just treat them like dogs instead of fighting for our lives?"
"Are you mental?" Ron Weasley yelled from a safe distance, holding his hand protectively against his chest. "Mine nearly took my bloody thumb off two minutes ago, and yours wants a treat? Teach me how to do that Hagrid' before this thing eats my entire school bag!"
Daphne finally looked up, raising an arched eyebrow at the rowdy Gryffindors, "I highly doubt you have the patience, Weasley," she said dryly, a subtle smirk playing on her lips, "It requires a delicate touch, not frantic shouting."
Across the clearing, Slytherins were reacting with a mix of horror and fascination.
"Fawning over a bit of fur, like a blood-traitor, it's unbefitting."
Tracey's eyes flicked over to Graham, her expression turning ice-cold, "If your own incompetence makes you feel threatened by a book, just say that," she countered in place of her crush, her tone cutting right through his bravado, "Some of us prefer our belongings to be useful, not a hazard to our fingers."
Blaise Zabini interrupted with an amused smirk spreading across his face, "It's brilliant. If her book is busy playing dead, it's not ruining my robes... Though I must admit, seeing a book actually drool on the grass is mildly disgusting."
Pansy Parkinson shuddered, crossing her arms tightly and stepping back, "Ugh, look at it! It's shedding all over her sleeves. Honestly, Daphne, if you wanted a pet, you should have just brought a proper kneazle from home. That thing looks diseased..."
"It's perfectly clean, Pansy," Daphne didn't break her stride, "And unlike a kneazle, this one actually helps me pass my exams." She said more to the confused girl beside her whose left eye twitched when Hermione realised the sense of attack.
Theodore Nott's sharp eyes were analyzing the book's rhythmic breathing, "Fascinating..." he murmured, mostly to himself, "Did you use a localized Cheering Charm, Daphne, or is it a variation of the Animating Enchantment? The compliance rate is staggering for a Class Three animated object."
"A bit of both, Nott'," Daphne replied, offering a rare genuine nod of approval, "Combined with a minor loyalty hex to lock the behavior. I can show the wand movements later...."
"Do it again, Daph! Make it roll over!" Tracey Davis squealed, clapping her hands together, "Can it fetch a quill? This is brilliant, much better than fighting the bloody thing. Go on, make it sit!"
Daphne let out a small, soft laugh, "Give it a moment, Tracey. It's still getting used to the crowd..."
Lucifer watched the display with an wicked expression before chuckled, that made a few nearby students look over nervously, "Oh, look at the little darling. It thinks it has a soul," he purred, swirling a small piece of twine between his fingers, "How utterly adorable that a piece of dead parchment thinks it deserves affection. Personally, I prefer my monsters a bit more... 'fiery. But the submission play? Forcing a feral beast to beg? Exquisite, Daphne."
"Sometimes, complete submission is far more satisfying...." Daphne met Lucifer's gaze, her smirk returning, entirely unfazed by his dark demeanor.
"Well, would ya look at that!" Hagrid roared, wiping a tear of sheer delight from his eye, "Bleedin' brilliant, Greengrass! Never seen a Monster Book take to anyone like that in all my days! Standard procedure is jus' strokin' the spine, see, but you—ha! Turned the fierce little bugger right around!" He proudly smacked his giant hands together, "Ten points to Slytherin for exceptional, creative creature handling!"
Daphne gave a elegant, polite nod toward the giant. "Thank you, Professor Hagrid," She said with a light smile, though glint in her eyes remained, "I believe in being thoroughly prepared for your class."
Hagrid looked glad that at least a few knew what to do.
"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy yelled quite loudly, "All you've got to do is stroke the spine!"
"Only freaks could have figured that out," Graham said to the chortling of his Slytherin housemates.
"Easy, Graham," He heard the older Bulstrode say, "Most Slytherin' doesn't like him being insulted, you really do not want to be cursed again..."
"Whatever," Malcolm Graham replied and stroked the spine of his book, as did everyone else.
Draco on the other hand eagerly demonstrated how to soothe the book to 'fellow' Slytherins, what Hagrid saw was wonder, realization, and delight!
However, Pansy Parkinson looked ready to explode, "Then why didn't you say that earlier?! Do you know how many of my new robes this stupid book destroyed?"
"I... thought you knew..." Hagrid mumbled awkwardly. Still, once the rest of the other students tried his method and saw their books relax, they started to believe him again.
Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief, though he himself found it fascinating, but students' reactions were a mix of confusion, amused, only a few with disgust. The sight left him mixed, he'd thought everyone would love these books.
The slightly rough start only made just a tiny bit more nervous, and Hermione, worried for him, grew restless. Not knowing how to help, she could only pace in place.
"Right, wait here, and I'll go get tha Creature we will be lookin' at terday."
Hagrid said, having lost his momentum a bit, as if suddenly remembering something, he bolted without a word, vanishing again. The bewildered students exchanged uncertain looks. Was the lesson already over? It had barely begun.
After the success of last week's class, Hagrid's confidence had inflated to about the size of his body. Teaching didn't seem so hard anymore. The students had listened, nobody had died, and the practical work had gone surprisingly well.
Naturally, Hagrid decided he was ready for the real deal.
He wanted to show them something cuter this time, something that fit the official lesson plan. Hogwarts' grounds were full of magical creatures, and today's pick was one of his personal favorites: the majestic Hippogriff!'
A wave of wild, dangerous energy filled the air. The students immediately backed up several steps. The Hippogriff's eagle eyes gleamed with predatory sharpness; no one dared meet its gaze.
"Don't be scared!" Hagrid said quickly, gripping the chain tighter. "He won't hurt you! Buckbeak's a real sweetheart!"
Lucifer stared plainly, having a fit. 'Why was it that every time it was our year to attend class, Hagrid suddenly lost all sense of proportion?'
"Whoa!"
"Look over there!"
"What is that?"
Before anyone else said or did anything, Lavender had squealed and pointed towards end of the Paddock where Hagrid had gone.
Twelve strange creatures--beings most wizards would never see in their lifetime were striding toward them under Hagrid's lead.
"Beau'iful, aren' they?" Hagrid was beaming just looking at them.
They were peculiar indeed: the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, but front legs, wings, and head of an eagle.
The talons on their forelegs glinted coldly in the sunlight. One wrong move and you could be dead. If not for the long iron chains around their necks, retreating a few steps might not have been enough.
"Indeed they are," Lucifer approached the fence, just as Hagrid said the class could. The majority of them, however, backed off. Both Daphne and Hermione joined him at the fence, "Don't go running off without me...!" she being the eldest, chided the two idiots.
Unfortunately, Hagrid's reputation as an authority figure wasn't exactly solid. His words didn't do much to calm the class. The students didn't stop retreating until they were at least ten meters away.
Hagrid sighed and gave up trying to close the distance, "Alright, we'll do it from here then. Can anyone tell me what this creature is?"
Lucifer raised his hand, and Hagrid beamed.
"Lucifer! Go ahead."
"The Hippogriff is a Class XXX magical creature, it's the offspring of a griffin and a mare. They feed mainly on small animals and birds, have extremely sharp eyesight and talons, and are natural-born hunters. Only 'skilled wizards' can properly train them." He subtly emphasized that last part, though Hagrid didn't seem to catch the hint.
Hermione cheered a small fist to protect herself in the air, then rubbed her cheek on Lucifer's back, knowingly.
"Excellent! Twenty points to Gryffindor!"
Hagrid announced proudly.
A few groans rippled through the crowd. Normally, answering correctly would earn one or two points at most. But everyone had long since gotten used to it, no one even bothered to complain anymore. Ever since Lucifer showed up, the House Cup might as well have been pre-assigned to Gryffindor, only if any kind of 'disaster' loomed over students, the Headmaster would feel like giving his points to Slytherin'.
This was also one of Lucifer's main reasons for taking this class: 'easy points!' He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, 'Ah, the good old days of Quirrell... simpler times.'
The next part of his lesson involved having young wizards ride the Hippogriffs and take a short flight through the sky. The moment he said it, Neville Longbottom looked as though he might burst into tears.
Fortunately, Hagrid didn't insist that everyone participate. Still, even with only a few willing students, one mishap could easily cost him his position as Professor of Care of 'Magical Creatures.'
No one could tell whether Hagrid was being overly confident or if he genuinely believed these creatures were completely tame.
"Harry!" Hagrid called suddenly, "Come up here and show everyone how to approach Buckbeak. It's simple, really." He patted Harry on the shoulder and whispered, "Help me out here, will ya?"
Well, with that kind of plea, Harry couldn't exactly refuse. Following Hagrid's instructions carefully, he managed to win Buckbeak's trust and even got to ride the creature.
The class watched in awe as he soared gracefully over the grounds, looping around the castle under the bright morning sun. Watching Harry fly freely through the sky, everyone's 'fear' started melting into envy and excitement.
To be fair, the Hippogriff was gorgeous-broad wings, gleaming feathers, regal and powerful. Both the boys and girls were captivated.
Lucifer had seen a few of them before in the Forbidden Forest, but since they weren't useful for potion ingredients, he'd never bothered interacting with them.
When Harry landed, several students eagerly volunteered to try next.
Hagrid's grin was wide enough to split his beard as he hurried off into having an animated talk with those ten more Hippogriffs he'd prepared earlier, to be ready.
"See? Nothing to it!" he said proudly.
Draco, watching the others succeed one after another, snorted. "They're just beasts. Why should I have to bow to one?" He stepped forward arrogantly.
"Draco."
Lucifer's calm voice stopped him in his tracks. Draco turned, frowning slightly, "You know what real pride is? It's knowing when not to pretend you understand something you don't. If Hagrid tells you.. to do it this way, there's a reason. Don't be clever for the sake of it, you'll only end up in trouble..."
Draco didn't fully grasp what he meant, but understood the tone well enough. Shrinking his neck a little, he nodded quickly, "Got it, Morningstar."
After that, things went smoothly. Draco obediently followed the steps, earned the hippogriff's approval, and even took a short flight himself.
When he landed, he muttered that it wasn't such a big deal, but his feet carried him right back into line for another turn. Riding a magical creature was far more thrilling than a broomstick, it felt real, like the sky itself had 'accepted you!'
Just as Lucifer thought the class might end peacefully, something went wrong, he was eyeing one in particular, which Blaise went to ride for, who was goofing as if under narcotics.
Zabini had just landed, grinning ear to ear. But in his excitement, he accidentally yanked out a few feathers from his hippogriff's flank.
The beast shrieked in pain, reared up, and flung Zabini violently into the air.
Loud gasps filled the entire field, students could only watch in horror as Zabini tumbled toward the ground, until an invisible force caught him midair and set him down safely.
"Oh, no, Lucifer please be careful. I, we don't want you to get hurt!" Daphne from the side whispered, with Hermione glaring daggers at her as she did.
Lucifer's eyes started to glow red, as he went to calm down the startled beast down, he thought the Hippogriff might have been like Rowena and just had to break its spirit. Unfortunately for him, the Hippogriff named Troymeta didn't seem to register anything else, but the pain of its feather.
Just before he was attacked, Lucifer casually stepped out of the way at the last moment, it turned to look back and let out a sort of roar at him.
His eyes still glowing red, Lucifer tried again to get the Hippogriff to capitulate and calm down, but it wasn't backing down. Troymeta continued his rampage of trying to run down the evil.
Lucifer stepped out of the way again, but it was prepared for that this time and turned much sooner.
"Lucifer!" Hermione yelled as the Hippogriff went to attack again.
Just as the divine creature went to bite off a chunk of her boyfriend's face, Lucifer stuck his hand out and it brushed against Troymeta as he lunged at the young teen. It suddenly stopped his attack and calmed right down, almost immediately.
Lucifer's hand was on the creature's neck, eyes still red, and he had sidestepped a little, staring into one of the creature's eyes. The Hippogriff looked right at him with a near sedated look.
Anyone looking at them could see the wild creature was now finally being tamed. Hermione was just about in hysterics, her hair frizzing a little from how hot she got with worry.
She had clenched two fistfuls worth of hair; if she pulled any harder, she'd start pulling her hair out.
The entire class remained silent, awestruck at what had just transpired, Hagrid himself wasn't entirely sure what to make of what just happened.
Lucifer stroked Troymeta's feathers as his eyes returned to normal.
"That was..." Harry lost his words.
"Utterly stupid of him!" Hermione growled angrily, not believing what just happened, "You could have been seriously injured!" She really wanted to knock some good ol'sense into him.
"Thanks, Lucifer," Zabini said shakily, still pale, he was safely' touching the earth now, "I thought I was about to break every bone I've got."
"No harm done," Lucifer replied, brushing it off.
Hagrid rushed over, panting, his face tight with worry, "Zabini! You all right? Merlin's beard, what happened to Troy? Why'd he go crazy like that?"
Zabini didn't answer, he just opened his palm impatiently, where a few long feathers still stuck between his fingers. He wanted to know more about the Hippogriffs, perhaps even reach out and touch those magnificent wings.
The moment Hagrid saw them, he froze, then let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Ah. Okay. No harm done then, no harm done..." He patted his chest, then glanced at Lucifer with gratitude. "Gryffindor, Slytherin', twenty points each!"
Hermione who was running wild unlike the classmates who looked thrilled at being rewarded, walked right up to him and began hitting him just like she promised, "How utterly dangerous and stupid of you?!"
Daphne was struggling to keep the girl's beatings not hit any sensitive places.
"Hey---hey, easy, Hermione!" Lucifer grabbed her shoulders and saw tears in her eyes as she looked at him, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that to you, make you worry..."
"I know... sometimes it just feels like you seek out danger. I know you don't but the feeling..." she sighed, slowly releasing the air from her lungs.
He patted her shoulders, "I'll try to be more careful, but I can't promise I will be, just that I'll try."
She managed to smile at him through tear stained cheeks. Her expression also looked far from enthusiastic. As for her refusal to ride had more to do with her mild aversion to dirt, there was no way she'd sit on a Hippogriff that was still chewing on a fresh mouse. Just thinking about it made her shiver.
"I think I'll skip my turn too Granger..."
Those thoughts weren't of Hermione's alone, Daphne' interest's lied totally elsewhere, and she kept to having use her magical camera for photos.
"Normally I wouldn't care what happened to Slytherin' but seeing as it was Hagrid's class, his first class..."
Harry lost the words he was going to say about glad at Zabini being saved, then gave Lucifer some kind of glance which indicated, 'you wouldn't raise any complaints to the board of governors, right?'
Ron looked utterly paled.
"Yeah, I feel bad for thinking, it was good that Hippogriff didn't attack other students but Lucifer, otherwise definitely cause trouble for Hagrid....."
Hermione was now busy solving her inner debate, once they made it past to sit on a tree's wooden log.
"Just wonder if it was Malfoy, Hagrid' would have been sacked," Daphne sighed tiredly, wishing if the ferret could just learn better manners.
"Um, Hermione?"
"What's up, Da-Lucifer?" Hermione asked, hurriedly correcting herself mid-sentence, face a little red for the slip of her tongue.
"You've got a bit of er.. well," Lucifer put his hand into her hair and retrieved a large 'fist' full of hair from within.
"Oh, God!" She vanished the hair with her wand and checked hers for anymore loose clumps.
When class ended, Lucifer told Hermione and Daphne to head back to the Castle first. He stayed behind, waiting until Hagrid returned from leading Hippogriffs back to the forest.
The half-giant looked surprised to see him still there, "Lucifer? Something wrong?"
"Not with me," He said, tone dry, couldn't believe the man's sense of logic, "You're the one in trouble."
Hagrid blinked.
"What? Trouble? Didn't you save Zabini, the boy even apologised?Everything turned out fine, eh?"
Lucifer's patience was running thin, and he replied back sharply, "This time, yes. Next time? Maybe not. You're the professor, Hagrid, not me. What if Zabini had fallen and broken his neck today? You think his mother, the 'Black Widow' of the Zabini family, would've just let it go?"
Hagrid's face drained of color.
But Lucifer pressed on, his voice cold and steady, "I am on good terms with him, Zabini too's a nice person, he wouldn't say much, neither will I, however... 'what of others?' If the Ministry got involved, and it would, the purebloods would demand your head. You wouldn't just lose your job, you'd be lucky if Azkaban didn't come calling."
Hagrid stammered, "I-it can't be that serious, can it? He didn't mean to, I didn't mean to, it was all just an accident---"
Again, he was cut off.
"When a student and a creature get into a fight, it's always the creature's fault or yours, if you're the one teaching." Glancing toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where shapes of the Hippogriffs were still faintly visible through the trees, Lucifer again tried to make him see, "Hagrid, neither Zabini nor the hippogriff did anything wrong. The one who messed up is you. You can't run a class safely, and that's your job..."
His voice softened just slightly but it was like a blade pressed against skin, "I helped today because Zabini's working for me. And because you've helped me with materials and the Acromantula colony. But if something like this happens again, especially when I'm not there, you'll be lucky if a prison cell is all you get."
Leaving those words behind, he turned and walked away.
Hagrid stood rooted to the spot, his enormous frame trembling, shirt soaked through with sweat. Fear and shame twisted in his heart.
He wasn't stupid. Slow, maybe, but not beyond saving. The success of last week's class had clearly gone to his head. Now that Lucifer had spelled it out for him, even Hagrid could see how close he'd come to disaster.
And he knew Slytherins well enough: if Zabini had been seriously hurt, neither he nor Buckbeak would've heard the end of it.
Lucifer was a good fella, and a friend, he didn't take offense, but Hagrid shivered, every ounce of false confidence draining away. Without another word, he lumbered back into the forest to 'find' safer, gentler creatures for next time.
xxxxxx
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1 Extra Chapter - 125 Power Stone's!
Tri-wizard Champions are going to Arrive, and First Task will be held. If you can't wait, join me on Patreon! 🎉.