Year Three - Chapter Four

I sighed as I rested face down in the infirmary bed. Apparently there was something about Hippogriffs' talons that made it hard for the wounds to properly close without a couple of bandages and patchwork. It wasn't like it hurt much afterwards. It had just taken most of the evening to get the sting out of my skin, and the sand too. Squiddie was a great squid, but it needed to learn not to turn people with open wounds around in the sand, because otherwise that sand had to be removed.

The door of the infirmary rattled open, a figure creeping in quietly. I glanced in the direction of the door, and grinned. "Yoh," I whispered. "You look worried."

Amanda winced at the words, and then plopped down on the chair by the bed side. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "It's kind of my fault, isn't it?" she continued.

"Nah," I shook my head slowly. "Throw a rocket in a herd of Hippogriffs, get flocked I say."

"You banished the hippogriff because it was trying to hurt me, didn't you?" Amanda pressed on.

"Well, I also pulled Malfoy back because he insulted one too," I continued. "I was keeping an eye out on everyone, not just you in particular." I made a small smile. "Hagrid's a good teacher, but he's got a different definition of 'safe for work' than most of us. It wasn't even a matter of time; I knew it would happen, so..."

"How do you even do that?" Amanda asked, puzzled. "You just flick your wand without words, or move your hand and things just fly in your hands."

"Practice," I answered. "Anyone willing to waste at least a good month or so practicing can achieve the very same results as I do," I continued in a hushed tone, "But...well, there are more interesting things to do than stare really hard at a rock here at Hogwarts, so..." I took a deep breath. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much," Amanda shrugged, "will you be all right for tomorrow?"

"And miss Potions with Professor Snape? I'd rather break a leg than miss those," I replied. "We're with the Hufflepuffs," I continued with a big grin, "No Mister Longbottom to threaten with a curse if he tries to as much as breathe near the cauldron."

Amanda giggled at that. "Isn't that a bit mean?"

"I value my life above all else, Amanda," I said nonchalantly. "Potions have unpredictable effects when they blow up. I'd rather risk myself on a flock of Hippogriffs. At least the end result is known."

The door opened a short while later, two more heads peeking through. "All clear," Wayne mouthed behind him, "No Pomfrey in sight," and with that he and Megan stepped inside, soon followed by a smiling Luna Lovegood with a butterbeer caps' circlet.

"For Nargle protection," Luna said as she plopped the circlet on the top of my head. "They might strike now that their enemy is down for the count," she continued, gently. "Get well soon."

"I'm already fit for Nargle extermination," I replied, "It's just Madam Pomfrey that doesn't want to let me go," I lowered my voice, "I think she's a bit of a mother hen."

Wayne and Megan's lips twitched in the hint of a smile, the kind you make when there's a secret joke that the guilty party doesn't get. I furrowed my brows as I looked at them both for an answer, "Like you ain't one of those yourself, uh, Shade," Wayne finally answered.

"I am not a mother hen," I grumbled back, "I'm an emperor bear," I continued, huffing and lifting my chin up in pride. "I don't hover protectively, I destroy the enemies of my brood."

"Same thing," Megan shrugged, taking a seat. I soon found myself surrounded on all sides. "They did a number on your back, didn't they?" she continued, since I couldn't turn around to face them all properly, my bandaged back was on display.

"Oh, it will leave some cool scars," I answered.

"What was he even thinking, that professor," Wayne grumbled, "I get it that for him they're just overgrown poultry, but we aren't eleven feet tall and with a rock hide."

I sighed, "Don't badmouth him too much. He's new at the job, he'll do better."

"He should get sacked, that's what," Megan said with a huff. "If you hadn't been there, they'd have attacked other students."

I grimly smiled, "If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't have used magic, and thus wouldn't have riled the entire flock up. Perhaps Amanda might not have averted her eyes, not startled her own hippogriff, and the only one wounded would be Malfoy, who's kick a fuss up with his father to try to get the hippogriff killed." As I nonchalantly said that, the students blinked, and then Megan sighed.

"Guess that's a possibility too, isn't it?" she said. "Still, a hippogriff died all the same," she continued. "The one that hurt you, actually. The giant squid pummeled it into a tree against the Forbidden Forest. I watched professor McGonagall scrape it off the bark of a tree." She shuddered. "The memories, I want a forgetfulness potion to forget them."

I winced at that. "I didn't want any of them to die," I muttered.

Something fluttered just barely out of sight over me. Some kind of strange, leafy contraption with sparkles and glitter. Luna was swooshing it around my head. "The Umgubular Slashkilter may be around," she explained as a matter of cat. "I'm cleansing the air of it."

"Thank you," I said.

Madam Pomfrey unfortunately came back, and kicked everyone out.

Well, on the positive side of things, Buckbeak wouldn't be killed. On the negative, I wondered what hippogriff McNuggets tasted like.

That had to make me a bad person...

...but I couldn't help but be lovin' it.