After two days, their schedule finally led them outside for Care of Magical Creatures.
They walked down from the castle carrying their copies of The Monster Book of Monsters, most of them holding the books at arm's length rather than properly carrying them. The covers snapped and growled, some of them wriggling like they were trying to escape.
"Why does it bite?" Ron complained, jerking his hand back as his book snapped at his sleeve.
"Because you're holding it wrong," Hermione said, though she kept a careful grip on hers.
Ahead, Rubeus Hagrid was already waiting near the grounds, waving them over.
"Right, gather round!" he called.
The class moved forward. Hagrid began explaining something, but the books didn't cooperate with the lesson. Several of them snapped shut and reopened on their own, while others tried to wriggle free from their owners' grip.
Then one of them slipped loose entirely.
It dropped to the ground, skidded for a moment, and then sprang open again, pages flapping wildly as it scrambled forward.
Neville didn't react fast enough.
The book leapt at him, clamping shut around his sleeve and shaking violently like it had found its target.
Neville yelped, stumbling backward as it dragged itself up his arm.
"Get it off!" he cried.
A few students stepped back immediately, not helping.
Hagrid turned around at once.
"Yeh've got ter stroke the spine!" he called, moving forward quickly. "It calms 'em down!"
No one tried that at first.
The book kept snapping and growling, tightening its grip while Neville flailed awkwardly.
Victor watched for a moment, then stepped forward, reaching out and running his hand firmly along the spine.
The reaction was immediate.
The book shuddered once, then went still in Neville's grip, settling like an ordinary book at last.
Hagrid reached them a second later, nodding approvingly.
"That's it," he said. "Yeh've got the right idea. Treat 'em properly, they behave."
He looked around at the rest of the class, raising his voice slightly.
"Go on then, all of yeh, try it. Stroke the spine—don't grab it like it's about ter bite yeh, or it will."
There was hesitation at first, but one by one, students began copying it, running their hands along the spines of their books. Gradually, the snapping and growling died down as the books settled.
Hagrid watched, clearly pleased.
"Good, good," he said, nodding. "Now we can actually get on with the lesson."
"Right then," Rubeus Hagrid said, clearly pleased now that no one was being attacked by their textbook. "Now we'll get on ter somethin' a bit more interestin'."
He stepped aside and gestured toward the grounds.
A single Hippogriff stood nearby, tall and alert, its feathers shifting slightly as it watched the students approach. Its hooked beak and sharp eyes made it clear it wasn't something to take lightly.
"This is Buckbeak," Hagrid said, pride obvious in his voice. "Now, listen close. Hippogriffs are proud creatures. Yeh've got ter show respect. First thing—yeh bow. Properly. Then yeh wait. If it bows back, yeh can approach. If it doesn't, yeh back away. Slow."
The class stayed quiet, actually paying attention now, though none of them looked eager. Rubeus Hagrid was patting Buckbeak, clearly comfortable, which only made the rest of them more aware of how not comfortable they were.
"Who wants ter try?" he asked, not even looking at them.
There was no pause.
The entire class shifted back at once.
Ron took a full step, then another, pulling Harry slightly with him without thinking. No one wanted to be anywhere near the Hippogriff. Up close, it was larger than it had looked from a distance, its claws sharp enough to make the point obvious without demonstration.
One wrong move and someone was spending the day in the hospital wing.
"Hah, Victor!" Hagrid said suddenly, glancing up as if the decision had already been made. "I knew yeh had it in yeh. Come on, give it a try!"
Victor blinked once, clearly not expecting to be involved. He had been standing off to the side, not even focused on the lesson, more interested in the surroundings than the creature.
"Me?" he said, mildly.
He looked behind him.
That explained it.
The rest of the students had taken several steps back, leaving him as the closest person to Buckbeak without him moving at all. Even Draco had retreated a noticeable distance, far enough to make it very clear he had no intention of stepping forward.
Victor's gaze flicked toward him for a brief moment.
That idiot didn't even bother pulling me back.
Runs first, thinks later. Consistent, at least.
Victor's gaze then settled back on Buckbeak, his expression returning to neutral.
Rubeus Hagrid didn't give him time to stand there thinking.
"Go on then, don' just stand there," Hagrid said, waving him forward with a large hand, his tone encouraging but leaving very little room to refuse. "Yeh're closest already, might as well do it proper."
Hagrid stepped a little closer, lowering his voice just enough to sound reassuring while still pushing him ahead.
"Listen, it's simple," he said. "Show 'im respect, bow nice an' proper, an' don' rush. He'll know if yeh're hesitatin' too much, so just do it steady."
*****
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