Chapter 87: Chapter 87 "Hermione the Great Prophet"
It seemed that there had been a sudden heavy rain in the early morning of the previous night, but the weather in the morning was very pleasant. The sky was clear and the breeze was gentle, with a hint of light gray. Today, the students of Slytherin and Gryffindor were going to attend a magic biology class together, one that had a new teacher.
"For safety's sake, I'd better stay away today," said Draco, standing on the moist grass and looking up at the sky. He could remember the class where he had died in his previous life. He didn't have the confidence to dodge the sharp paw swiftly, and he didn't like these magical creatures so much. If he could stay away, he would. In his previous life, he had hated cats and dogs the most, and he couldn't understand those who called dogs their sons.
As a normal person, it is difficult to understand the thinking of some dog fans.
"Draco, what are you thinking about?" asked Pansy, tilting her head and staring at him, looking the same as she had the day before.
"Nothing," he shrugged. "I'm just thinking about what courses the big guy will prepare for us," he said, deciding to speak to Pansy in the same tone as usual.
It wasn't that he couldn't see Pansy's affection for him, but he wasn't interested in starting a relationship with a 13 or 14 year old girl. This was too sinful, and even in an open Britain, he couldn't accept it.
"Raising a childhood sweetheart?" He remembered this somewhat evil thought in his mind and remembered that she had been so tall when he first met her. Draco made a gesture in his head.
"Compared to the bear children I've seen before, the child just pretends to cry and coax her parents, and the childjust disassembles her hands. She's not really qualified," he thought of her then "squib" nickname and her pretentious appearance. Parents aren't considered "healthy" for so many years, so it should be considered acceptable.
And it seems he's almost been educated by her now. Even if she deliberately misinterpreted the stories he told before, making him dumbfounded, he still really listened to her.
At least he hadn't heard her say anything like "Mudblood."
Maybe I still think of her as a tsundere sister now.
But who knows what the future holds?
"Well, I think it must be a bunch of disgusting flat-haired beasts," said Pansy, wrinkling her nose.
"If it is, then we'll stand by and watch later," said Draco, not wanting her to take any risks either. He had suffered from the butterfly effect more than once.
"Yeah," said Pansy, nodding obediently.
Can't afford to offend, always can afford to hide.
Hagrid was waiting for his students in front of the hut, wearing a mole-skin coat and looking a little nervous. After all, this was his first time teaching a class. His hound was circling around under his feet, even more anxious than him. "Come on, hurry up!" he cried as the students approached. "I have something to entertain you today! A wonderful lesson is coming soon! Has everyone arrived? Okay, come with me!"
Draco and Pansy had arrived early, and the rest were other students from Slytherin and Gryffindor. Draco noticed that the trio was separated again, with Harry and Ron walking together and Hermione standing alone under a tree, her eyes still looking red. He didn't know what had happened to the trio and didn't bother to care about it.
He had been absent from the previous night's dinner.
Hermione looked over at him as if she had sensed his gaze, which made Draco a little awkward.
"Let's go, let's go," said Hagrid, his loud voice drawing their attention.
"Everyone come up to this fence!" he cried. "That's right – stand where you can see. Now, the first thing you need to do is open the book..."
A Slytherin student asked mockingly, "How should I open this book? Won't the stuff inside eat us?" It was still said in a mean tone.
"Complaining doesn't do any good," said Draco, then loosened the rope tied to his book and swiped his finger across the spine of the book. The book shook and obediently opened.
"Perfect!" said the student who had been taunting Hagrid just moments before, clapping in admiration. The other students followed suit.
"Hmm..." Hagrid was silent for a moment, then said in a rough voice, "Slytherin plus ten points." He was also a little puzzled – had he told the boy in front of him to do it this way?
Harry and Ron both looked surprised. They didn't expect Hagrid to give Slytherin extra points first, but then again, they didn't think Hagrid would favor the students of his own house like Snape. Well, if he did that, he wouldn't be Hagrid.
"You will all control these books, well, now all you lack are magical creatures. I have to go find them," said Hagrid, speaking to himself as he took his generous steps and walked into the woods.
"He won't bring a dragon out, will he?" asked Pansy, pulling on the corner of Draco's clothes.
"If the dragon hadn't been sent away, you might still be able to see it," thought Draco, but he still said, "I don't think so."
"Oh oh oh -!" Lavender-Brown screamed, a girl from Gryffindor, as she looked like she had seen something terrible. Her mouth was wide open and she pointed to the opposite side of the paddock. "Danger" was coming from that direction.
Twelve of the most bizarre creatures that everyone had ever seen were walking towards them. They had horse bodies, hind legs and tails, but their front legs, wings, and heads seemed to be those of eagles. They had sharp beaks of steel-like color and large, bright orange eyes. The claws on their front legs were half a foot long and seemed deadly. Around each beast's neck was a bushy feather collar with a long chain tied to it. The ends of these chains were held in Hagrid's big hand as he ran slowly behind these animals. They entered the paddock.
"Go over there!" he yelled, shaking the chain and calling these creatures to come to the fence where the class was standing. As Hagrid approached and tied these creatures to the fence, everyone backed away.
"Hawkhead, horse and winged beasts!" Hagrid roared happily, dancing a hand towards them. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"
In all fairness, these fantasy-style creatures were quite majestic. The shiny fur transitioned to feathers seamlessly, with various dazzling colors – dark gray, bronze, pinkish sand, maroon, and jet black. Their proud heads were held high and a little rough air could be seen coming from their nostrils, clearly showing their disdain for these little humans.
"Now," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and smiling at all the students, "if you want to get closer..." No one seemed particularly eager to do so. However, Harry and Ron walked towards the fence cautiously. They weren't particularly eager, but they felt like they had to help Hagrid.
"The first thing you should know about eagle-headed, horse-winged beasts is that they are proud," Hagrid said. "It's easy to offend them, so be careful not to. Offending one of these creatures could be the last thing you do. Draco nodded in agreement.
Hermione stood off to the side and watched. She was farther away from the eagle-headed, horse-winged beast than Draco and Pansy. She was alone and now realized that, apart from Ron and Harry, she had no friends to talk to. She regretted what she had said the previous day.
It seemed that these creatures could really bring "blood and light disaster."
"I don't have a halo anyway, so I definitely won't be hit," Hermione reassured herself, even though she was far away. Her eyes kept drifting towards Ron and Harry, and she also noticed that Draco and Pansy were talking not far away.
"Why didn't he dare to step forward?" She was a little puzzled. Friends and enemies, Hermione had to admit that Draco was much better than her when it came to studying, but he didn't seem to want to be in the spotlight during today's class.
Seeing the two of them being so close made her mood even more irritable for no reason.
"Oh, Harry, thank you. Whether you succeed or not, Gryffindor will earn ten points for your courage today," Hagrid's thick voice drew her attention again. There was a mixture of worry and joy in his tone.
Harry was going to be the first to face these "monsters." He took a few steps forward, but immediately heard screams from the students behind him. Several female students said, "Oh no, Harry, think about your tea!"
Hermione also remembered the inexplicable predictions that Professor Trelawney had given to Harry in the prophecy class, so she looked at him worriedly.
Harry obeyed Hagrid's instructions and bowed obediently, opening his eyes wide. It is said that if you blink your eyes when facing this kind of creature, it is rude and will not win their trust. However, the monster in front of him did not seem to appreciate Harry's goodwill, and still looked at him with hostile eyes.
"Ah," Hagrid said, sounding a little worried. "Okay, back off now. Harry, back off calmly."
But at that moment, to Harry's great surprise, the monster suddenly bent its scaly front knees and lowered itself, visibly bowing.
"Good job, Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Yes, you can touch it now! Slap its beak, slap it!"
So, under Hagrid's guidance, Harry successfully rode the eagle-headed, horse-winged beast named Buckbeak and flew a circle above the paddock, which also earned applause.
"Gryffindor plus ten points!" Hagrid said happily, grabbing his beard.
Harry glanced at Hermione and saw her clapping too. He then saw Draco clapping as well.
"Could it be that I was too stingy?" He thought to himself, completely surprised that Draco would applaud his performance after their unpleasant meeting during the holiday.
Many classmates were inspired by Harry and mustered the courage to walk up to the eagle-headed, horse-winged beasts that they liked. Neville ran away from the monster in front of him several times, causing the students around him to laugh. Hermione felt that her quarrel with Ron had nothing to do with Hagrid. She always wanted to support him, so she was also ready to walk through the crowd of students and find one to complete the task.
"Is he not going?" Hermione pushed her way through the students in front of her, but was surprised to find that Draco and Pansy were still chatting with no one else and had no intention of going up.
"Oh, the warriors who dare to control basilisks are afraid of these things?" Ron also happened to see Draco and saw him and his "little girlfriend" whispering to each other. He didn't know what they were talking about. Perhaps it was because of jealousy as a "single dog" or because of his accumulated anger, but he couldn't help but sarcastically say in Draco's direction. The anger he had held inside was also going to vent. This was a good opportunity, in his opinion. Draco in Slytherin only dared to engage in conspiracy and trickery, but now he was afraid of these magical creatures, retreated and stunned. In the past, he was always at a disadvantage, and he was about to let out a fierce breath at this moment. He remembered the endless hiccups in Hagrid's hut and wanted to get back at Draco.
"True courage is not blindly acting," Draco said lightly, then took Pansy to Hagrid's side and said, "I'm not feeling very well today. I've been able to come to class and I'm insisting. I hope you don't mind." He then pulled Pansy next to him.
"Oh, oh, isn't it?" Hagrid was flattered. Except for a few students, it was the first time he was called a teacher. He was honest by nature, or maybe a little foolish, and he nodded. But he remembered how "tough" this kid was in his cabin in the first grade.
"Professor Dumbledore, thank you for your help," he thanked his most respected principal in his heart once again, who had given him the chance to become a teacher.
But soon he was pulled out of his complicated mental activities because he heard the students' exclamation.
"My God!" The girl student named Lavender began to scream, as if she had seen something terrible.
"Smug fool," Draco watched coldly, already guessing the outcome.
This time it was Ron who was in trouble.
He seems to have forgotten that these magical creatures have IQs, even if they can't fully understand what people are saying, they can distinguish between good intentions and maliciousness.
What did he say just now?
"These things?"
The retribution is coming. The trust and good feelings that Ron had just gained from this magical creature by bowing would all become negative numbers. The more intelligent creatures value dignity, and it is especially important now. The eagle-headed, horse-winged beast began to jump up and down violently, desperately trying to break free from Ron's riding. This monster raised its head, its expression began to grow savagely, and its nostrils began to squirt vigorously.
"Oh my goodness, what should I do?" Hagrid looked helplessly at the creature that was starting to go crazy, helpless because even he couldn't find a way to calm the creature under Ron.
"Let's go, I don't think Mr. Warrior would want us to watch his wonderful performance," Draco replied. He was not kind enough to be a babysitter. If it was Pansy or Neville, he might still try to rescue them. The former needs no explanation, and the latter at least has a good impression of him.
As for the person who was punished immediately after mocking him, he didn't have much time to care.
Harry couldn't help but glare at him when he heard what he said, but he didn't have the energy to argue anymore. He had to find a way to save Ron.
At that moment, Ron was shaking and his head was dizzy, but he instinctively knew that if he let go, he would be finished, so he stuck to the neck of the creature under him. However, he didn't expect it to go deeper. Because this eagle-headed, horse-winged beast had a sense of humiliation, it struggled even harder and had to throw this pesky human off.
Just when Hagrid was about to cry anxiously, a light symbolizing a spell shot through the air like a meteor and happened to hit the manic monster under Ron. The monster's body suddenly stiffened and fell from mid-air. Fortunately, the spell only hit its lower body and did not affect its wings. The monster fluttered a few times and actually stabilized its body again, but the stiffness in its lower half still prevented it from staying in the sky for long.
From then on, the only option for this monster was a "crash landing."
It is true that intelligent creatures have dignity, but they are no longer called intelligent creatures when they risk their lives for dignity.
"Thank you, Hermione, I will apologize for Ron first," Harry saw that Ron should be safe for the time being, so he immediately ran to Hermione.
There was no need to ask who cast the spell.
Harry didn't agree with Ron's approach yesterday, but for the sake of appearances, he couldn't say much. When his two friends had a dispute, even if the right or wrong was obvious, it was difficult for him as a male not to side with Ron. However, this does not mean that he does not know right from wrong.
And now that Hermione helped Ron regardless of their previous suspicions, Harry felt that they were both in the wrong.
Only seeing Hermione purse her lips and still not saying a word, it seemed that she didn't want to accept a Ron apology.
Hermione only felt that Ron was too naive now, and nearly killed him in a fit of anger, but the other party only saw it as a joke.
He is still his friend, isn't he?
"Be careful behind!" Hermione returned to her senses and realized that the crisis had not been resolved. She immediately warned out loud, regardless of whether the two of them reconciled or not. It would be considered weak if she took the initiative to speak first.
Ron and the students around seemed to only care about the height of the monster flying too high, and they were only afraid that he would fall from the sky. There was really no way to deal with it. The students collectively used the Levitating Charm to try to affect him, but it had little effect.
So after seeing this big guy seem to give up struggling, they were completely relieved, even Ron was relieved, but he forgot one thing.
Ron had offended the monster itself.
The moment Hermione reminded him was also the moment he went to the ground. He only heard a whirring wind coming from behind his head, and then he received a heavy blow to the head, and he fell straight down.
"This guy's paws are really strong." This was his last conscious thought before he passed out.
All the students present saw Ron being slapped by the silver and bright claws of the eagle-headed horse and winged beast, and he fell to the ground unconscious.
"Oh my God!" Lavender, the girl, was so scared that she fainted, because she saw blood red coming from the ground where Ron was lying.
"Is this the disaster of blood and light?" Hermione looked at the fallen Ron a little dull, not knowing what expression she should make now.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone