A Different Beast
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"Mornin' all!" Hagrid waved cheerfully as the third-year students approached his hut, most of them giving nervous glances at the surrounding area as if expecting SssSthss to pounce them at any instant. "What are ye… Ahhhh! SssSthss is havin' a nap in th'tent, so yeh won't be seein' her."
Over half the students sagged in relief while Harry, Hermione and Neville all struggled not to laugh.
"Anyways, I gotta 'nother treat fer yer all. Follow me!"
Hagrid led the gaggle of students around his hut and paused, motioning to a large animal that was glaring at them, its wings unfurling and refolding as its clawed feet pawed the earth.
"Meet Buckbeak." Hagrid stated proudly. "Bin helping him ter heal up. Buckbeak here's a hippogriff. As yeh can all see, a Hippogriff is part bird an' part horse. Dey eat insects by preference, but small critters an' birds also make part of their diet. When they mate, they build nests on the ground an' lay a single egg which 'atches a day later. By the time a week has passed, the young'un's developed enough ter fly, but it takes several months to build the stamina it needs ter follow it's parents on long journeys.
"Now, as ye can all see, de Hippogriff's feathers cover its head and…"
Harry watched Buckbeak slowly calm down as Hagrid started to carefully scratch him behind one ear-tuft. As the half-giant continued to give his lecture, Buckbeak finally succumbed to the scritching and lay down, grumbling happily.
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"…so there ye have it." Hagrid finished, looking round, then down at the happy Hippogriff. "Now ye're all prob'ly getting' bored jest listenin ter me goin' on, so it's time fer some hands-on. Now, Hippogriffs are proud creatures, they don' like ter be disrespected. Sure, they'll allow those they respect ter touch 'em an' even ride 'em, but yer gotta get their respec' first… Harry! Yer up fer this?"
"Sure thing, Hagrid." Harry stepped forwards, looking at the Hippogriff who had pulled himself back up to his paws.
"Now, approach to about… ten feet an' keep eye contact, then bow. Slowly… slowly…"
Harry walked towards Buckbeak, then paused as Hagrid started to raise his hand. Focusing on Buckbeak's eyes, Harry raised his hands to his chest, cupping his fist into his other hand and bowed as a student bows to a master, never breaking his gaze. Buckbeak's eyes narrowed slightly, then the Hippogriff lowered his head in what was unmistakably a bow, causing Harry to release the breath that he hadn't realised that he had been holding.
"Well done, Harry." Hagrid stepped back a pace, motioning for Harry to take his place. "Now that Buckbeak's accepted yeh, give him a good scratching behind his ear-tuft. He loves that."
Harry carefully worked his fingers into the feathers and Buckbeak grumbled with pleasure as he shoved his head into Harry's hand.
"His feathers are so soft…" Harry marvelled and Hagrid chuckled.
"Aye, that they are. Shed Hippogriff feathers make the best pillows."
"I'm sure they… whoah!"
Harry snatched his hand back as Buckbeak suddenly side-stepped, bumping into him and Hagrid chuckled.
"He wants to give ye a ride. Hop on, tuck your knees under his wing-joints an' lean forwards."
Harry clambered onto the Hippogriff and leaned forwards, reaching out to stabilise himself and Buckbeak galloped forwards, wings extending before the ground seemed to fall away beneath them. Buckbeak's wings rose again, then they surged forwards and Harry let out a whoop of excitement.
"This! Is! Incredible!"
Buckbeak let out a screech as he wheeled round and Harry laughed in delight. For several moments, they soared above the Hogwarts grounds, then Hagrid waved up to them.
"I think he wants us to head back down!" Harry called and Buckbeak pulled his wings in, turning his glide into a plummet. The world grew rapidly as they sliced downwards, then Buckbeak's wings snapped out, throwing Harry against Buckbeak's back as the Hippogriff turned his dive into a swoop which transitioned seamlessly into a landing trot, coming to a halt just beside Hagrid. Harry waited until Buckbeak had stopped before sliding off his back and offering another ear-tuft-scratch which Buckbeak imperiously accepted.
"That was incredible." Harry breathed. "Thank you, Buckbeak."
Buckbeak half-turned and ran his beak gently through Harry's hair, causing Hagrid to chuckle.
"Looks like yer got a friend there, Harry. Okay, Buckbeak, that's enough fer now, let him join the others. Who's next?"
"If Potter can do it, it can't be too hard." Draco sneered as he strutted forwards. "That feather-duster's meant to be scary? Pssssh."
Buckbeak hissed at the Slytherin and Hagrid slowly moved his hand to his belt-holster.
"In fact, you're little more than an overgrown Fwooper." Draco continued and Buckbeak lunged at him with a predatorial screech. Draco jumped back as Buckbeak's claws scythed through the air and his beak slammed shut…
…on Harry's hastily-interposed arm.
For a long moment, everyone froze, Draco sprawled on the ground where Harry had shoved him and Hagrid with his wand halfway out of its holster, then Harry placed his free hand against Buckbeak's chest.
"He's not worth it, Buckbeak." Harry said as Buckbeak tried to push against him. "Leave him."
"Aye, leave him." Hagrid rumbled and Buckbeak finally released his grip on Harry's arm. "As for you, Malfoy, from now on, yer either gonna stay at the back or yer outta the class! If you can't follow instructions, yer gonna end up with less limbs than Perfesser Kettleburn had when he retired!"
Draco swallowed as Crabbe and Goyle pulled him to his feet.
"That… that thing is dangerous!"
"Aye." Hagrid agreed. "Buckbeak can be, iffen yer stupid enough ter anger him. Yer choice, Malfoy. Back row or back out. Either way, ye've just lost yer House ten points fer bein' a moron!"
Draco glared at Hagrid, then turned and strode off, fists clenched while Crabbe and Goyle followed him. Hagrid and the others watched him go, Buckbeak giving a quiet hiss, then Hagrid turned to Harry.
"That was a nasty nip Buckbeak gave yer. I think yer gonna need ta visit Madam Pomphrey… or not?"
Harry raised his arm to show that it was unmarked. "I think Buckbeak realised in time that it wasn't Draco that he was biting."
"Huh. Well, 'ow about that." Hagrid wondered. "Okay, let me calm Buckbeak down a bit, then we can try again. Who wants to be next?"
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"I wonder what Malfoy intended to try to do? Even for him, that seemed stupid." Neville wondered as they made their way back to Hogwarts, Hermione holding a long feather in her hand.
"Not sure." Harry frowned. "I mean, Hagrid's an official Professor and a Wizengamot member these days, so he's got far more political pull than Draco has."
"But Draco's… still only Heir Malfoy." Neville realized. "Huh. Politics is out, so are most of his legal options given he's not a Lord yet and Hagrid is… why did the Wizengamot give him that Lordship anyway? Surely just declaring him innocent and giving him wand-rights back should have been enough… Harry, why are you looking so innocent?"
"Hey, Sirius helped!" Harry protested. "All I did was ask if I should take SssSthss to the Chamber to give testimony. It was my dogfather who pushed for him to get the Gaunt House as recompense… I don't think most of the Wizengamot actually realized that the Gaunts were Hereditary members of the Wizengamot who had simply not claimed their Seats due to their inbred beliefs of superiority and the fact that quite a few members of the Wizengamot were technically halfbloods."
"Bigots." Neville shook his head. "Hey, Hermione? Are you with us?"
Hermione jolted, looking up from her examination of the shed wingfeather that Buckbeak had given her. "Huh? What? What are we talking about?"
Harry and Neville burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Hermione pouted. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"Don't worry." Harry shook his head as Hermione glared at him. "So, why do you think Draco was acting up like that? It doesn't seem as cunning as normal for him…"
Hermione frowned as she pondered the problem, examining it from as many different angles as possible.
"If Draco got injured, his mother would be on the warpath…" She mused. "She might even get Hagrid fired if she tried hard enough… especially with her confirmed link to the Black family..."
"True." Neville agreed. "I wonder who would be next in line to take over the job… Gran said that Kettleburn declared that he was never returning, so… let's see. It would have to be someone with at least a NEWT in CoMC, more likely a Mastery. There aren't that many Mastery-holders outside the Dragon Preserves…"
"I think there's a list of Masteries in the Library." Hermione interrupted. "We can go there and see who is listed."
"Sounds like a plan." Harry agreed. "Let's get a quick meal, then we can check before Ancient Runes starts."
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"The plan failed." Draco growled as he stomped towards Hogwarts.
"That thing cudda hurt ya." Crabbe offered and Draco chuckled, half-turning and opening his robe.
"Dragonskin tunic with a high collar and elbow-length sleeves, Crabbe. All I would have suffered would be a broken arm at worst before Hagrid pulled that beast away and Pomphrey would have fixed me up within a day or so... but it would have been enough to get one of dad's old allies in. Having a teacher I can actually trust would make moving against Potter so much easier…"
"What about Snape?" Goyle rumbled and Draco scoffed.
"Snape's loyalties are… uncertain. The Dark Lord doesn't trust him."
Draco's minions exchanged looks of confusion, then Goyle spoke up.
"Ummm, weren't Lockhart pretending to be Him?"
"No, the Dark Lord possessed Lockhart." Draco sighed. "He's got a new body now and is seeking new allies. When he returns, it will be to claim victory and avenge our fathers!"
"Why did you try to get attacked?" Crabbe asked and Draco facepalmed.
"Because if we can get Hagrid fired, Walden MacNair will be the obvious choice to replace him and he can make sure Snape is loyal… or eliminate him if he isn't. Now, come on! Let's get some food, then I need to write a letter!"
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In the office for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Animals, Walden Macnair sat in his cubicle, cleaning his favourite axe and awaiting his next task. A hoot caught his attention and he looked up.
"Huh, you look like a Hogwarts owl." he mused as he put his axe on his desk and stood up, reaching out to take the proffered letter. As he stretched out, his left sleeve rode up slightly to reveal a flash of a dark tattoo. Retrieving the letter, he sat down again and unfolded the parchment.
To Walden Macnair
I must inform you that the attempt to stain Hagrid's reputation and force him to resign, thus clearing the way for you to assume his position, has failed due to the interference of Harry Potter.
Although I will continue to attempt to cast Hagrid's ability to act as a Professor in doubt, he is now aware of my efforts (although not the reason for them) and will undoubtedly take action to counter my plans. Nevertheless, I shall do my best to ensure that you can enter Hogwarts and do your work as our Master dictated.
Yours respectfully,
Draco Malfoy
Lord Apparent Malfoy
For The Pure.
Macnair slowly refolded the letter and tucked it into his robe as his gaze unfocused and his memory returned to the battle that had marked the sudden ending of the inevitable victory of the Purebloods over those who sought to undo all that was right about the Wizarding World.
Only his oft-mocked insistence on mantaining his physical fitness at peak condition (including small sips of Re'em blood each week to raise his strength) had allowed him to break free of the panicked mob and flee into the woods as forces loyal to that halfblood bastard Potter has massacred most of those who were of superior breeding.
Picking up his axe, Walden stroked the edge, imagining swinging it high and bringing it down to decapitate the one who fairly solid rumour claimed had slain his Master, sending Potter's head rolling into the dirt and sending a message to the Mudbloods and Muggles that they were nothing more than victims waiting to be selected.
He looked forwards to that glorious day.