Chapter 24: Another Fraud? Another Dangerous Creature?

When the four of them made their way to the Great Hall the following morning for breakfast, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, entertaining a group of Slytherin with a hilarious story. As they passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and a roar of laughter followed.

"Ignore them, Harry," Hermione said. She looked back at Malfoy and realized that he wasn't making fun of Jake. It was either because he was afraid to, or Neville didn't tell anyone what happened to him, 'Probably afraid of Jake being angry with him.' "Just ignore him, he's not worth it," she said, urging him forward.

"Hey, Potter!" Shrieked a Third Year Slytherin girl, Pansy Parkinson. She had the face of a pug, but somehow managed to not be anywhere near as adorable, "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Wooooooo !"

They all plopped down into the seats next to the Twin Weasley's, "I swear, all the Third Year Slytherin are either stupid, or childish," Jake said, paying them no more mind.

Fred passed them all some sheets of paper, "Third Year timetables, McGonagall asked us to give them to you four."

"What's up with you, Harry?" George asked.

"Malfoy," Ron said, glaring over there.

George looked up to see Malfoy pretending to faint again in a dramatized manner, "That little git," he replied calmly, "he wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down at our end of the train."

"Nearly wet himself he did," Fred said with a contemptuous glance over at the despicable Slytherin.

"I wasn't too happy myself, honestly," George said, looking back at Malfoy a second longer, "Horrible things those Dementors are."

"Sort of freezes your insides, don't they?" Fred asked them.

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry asked in a low, bitter voice.

"Forget it, Harry," George said bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been. He came back all weak and shaking... They suck the happiness right out of a place... most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Anyway, we'll see how Malfoy looks after our First Quidditch match," Fred said with a smirk on his face, "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

"I can't wait to see them get stomped into the ground. The Quidditch Cup is ours this year, I can feel it," Jake said, enthusiastic about it.

Hermione, sitting beside Jake, was examining their new timetables, "Oh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," she said happily.

"Are we?" Jake asked, looking at his own, "indeed we are."

Ron snatched their timetables from across the table from them when they were busy taking bites of their food, "Hermione... Jake..."

"Give those back, Ronald!" Hermione said, trying to reach over and get them back.

"They've messed up your timetables. Look-" he pointed out an inconsistency, "-they've got you both down for about... Ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time ."

"We'll manage. We've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall," Hermione said in between grunts, still trying to get them back.

"But look," Ron still held them out of reach, and laughed as he did, "see this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, Nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And-" Ron leaned into the paper closer to confirm he wasn't seeing things, "- look , underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock . I mean, I know you both are good, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"

"Don't be silly," Hermione said shortly, still trying to get their timetables.

Ron suddenly had his hands forced open and the papers flew towards Hermione. She grabbed them and sat Jake's down in front of him, "Of course we won't be in three classes at once," Jake said, looking like he did nothing wrong, "That's impossible, Ron."

"Well then-"

"Pass the marmalade," Hermione said.

"But-"

"Ron, what's it to you if our schedules are a bit full?" Jake snapped at him, "Hermione told you, we've got it fixed with McGonagall."

Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absent-mindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand, "All righ'?" He asked eagerly, pausing on his way to the staff table, "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five gettin' everythin' ready... hope it's OK... me, a teacher... hones'ly..." He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table, still swinging the polecat.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" Ron asked, a note of anxiety in his voice.

"Knowing Hagrid, probably something dangerous," Jake said, not really surprised.

After another twenty minutes, the Great Hall started to empty as people went to their first lessons. Ron looked at his timetable, "We'd better get going... look, Divination is in the North Tower, at the Top . It'll take us ten minutes to get there."

They finished their breakfast hastily, said goodbye to the Twins and walked back through the Hall. As they passed the Slytherin table, Malfoy did another fainting fit and roars of laughter followed Harry out of the Great Hall. The journey through the Castle to the North Tower was a long one, but not a bad one, at least not to Jake. Two years, however, was not enough to teach them everything about Hogwarts, and they had never been in the North Tower before.

"There's - got - to - be - a - short - cut!" Ron said, panting horribly as they climbed their seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing. Jake actually knew the way, having caught a glimpse of Hogwarts layout, minus any secret passages, and knew what way to go, but every time he tried to speak, someone else interrupted him.

"There actually-"

"I think it's this way," Hermione said, pointing down an empty corridor.

"I know-

"Can't be," Ron said, still panting, "That's south... look... you can see the lake... out of the window.

"The way to-"

"Aha!" Someone yelled. Jake looked over at the man who spoke, and he was inside a portrait, "What villains are these that trespass upon my private lands? Come to scorn my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!" They all watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in his rage. But the sword ended up being just too long for the Knight; a particularly violent swing made him overbalance, and he landed face down in the grass.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, moving closer to the picture.

"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!" The Knight yelled at him. He seized his sword again and used it to push himself back up, but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though he pulled with seemingly all his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally he had to flop back down onto the grass and push up his visor to mop off his sweating face.

"Listen," Harry said quickly, taking advantage of the Knight's exhaustion, "We're looking for the North Tower, you don't know the way, do you?"

The Knight, looking excited, jumped up to his feet and shouted, "A Quest! Come follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!" He gave his sword another tug, but just tired himself out a bit and then tried and failed to mount his fat pony that Jake just now noticed. He looked back to them and cried out, "On foot then, good sirs and gentle lady! On! On!"

And so he ran, clanking loudly, into the left-hand side of the frame and out of sight. The four hurried along after him down the corridor, following the sound of his armor. Every now and then they spotted him running through a picture ahead. Jake was frustrated; he already knew the way, but here they were, being exhausted by a short and stout knight.

The four of them, or three of the four, were puffing loudly as they climbed the tightly spiraling steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last they heard the murmur of voices above them, and knew they had reached the classroom.

"Farewell!" The Knight yelled, popping his head into a painting of some sinister-looking monks. "Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!"

"Yeah, we'll call you," Ron muttered as Cadogan disappeared, "if we ever need someone mental."

"For the love of Christ..." Jake said, frustrated, "I knew the way, but every time I tried to bring it up, I kept getting cut off..." he climbed the last few steps ahead of them and emerged onto a tiny landing, where most of the class was already assembled, which comprised of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. There were no doors off this landing, which Hermione had quietly pointed out once they had got there with him.

"Sybill Trelawney, Divination Teacher," Jake heard Harry say. He looked over and saw the same thing he did, "How're we supposed to get up there?"

As though in answer to his question, the trap door above suddenly opened, and a silvery ladder descended right at Harry's feet. Everyone went quiet, "After you," Ron said, grinning, so Harry climbed first.

When it was just Jake and Hermione left, he motioned, "Ladies first," he smiled at her.

"How generous of you," Hermione said with a slight sneer, moving to the ladder and climbing ahead of him. He climbed up after her and he had emerged into the strangest looking classroom he had ever seen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all; more like a cross between someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop. At least twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside the small room that could easily have been expanded with some magic to make room for it all comfortably. The tables were surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little pouffes. Everything was lit with a dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It was stiflingly warm, and the fire, which was burning under the crowded mantelpiece, was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silver crystal balls, and a huge array of teacups.

Jake felt like he walked into the Twilight Zone.

"Where is she?" He heard Ron ask.

They suddenly heard a soft, misty sort of voice, coming out of the shadows, "Welcome. How nice to see you in the physical world at last." Jake wasn't quite sure what to expect with Professor Trelawney, but when she moved into the firelight, he saw that she was very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times their natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings, "Sit, my children, sit," she said, and they all climbed awkwardly into armchairs or sank onto pouffes. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jake sat themselves around the same round table.

"Welcome to Divination," Professor Trelawney said, sitting herself down in a winged armchair in front of the fire, "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

Nobody said anything in answer to this extraordinary pronouncement. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued speaking, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts."

'I thought Transfiguration was?' Jake thought to himself.

"I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field..." she said, glancing at them all.

Jake looked at Hermione and saw a distraught look on her face. 'I mean... isn't that true for everything? Without Practical Application, a Book can only teach you so much, right?' he asked himself again.

"Many Witches and Wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy!" She suddenly yelled, looking right at Neville, who almost toppled off his pouffe, "Is your grandmother well?"

"I-I think so," Neville said tremulously.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," Trelawney said, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped audibly, horror sweeping across his round face. Trelawney continued placidly, "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil, "beware a red-haired man."

Parvati gave a startled look at their table, which was right behind her, and edged her chair away from it.

"In the summer term," Trelawney went on, "we shall progress to the crystal ball - if we have finished with fire-omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our numbers will leave us forever."

A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed to be entirely unaware of it.

"I wonder, dear," she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back into her chair, "If you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf and put it down on the table in front of Trelawney.

"Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading - it will happen on Friday the Sixteenth of October," Trelawney said to her. Lavender trembled as she sat back down. "Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink; drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left-hand then turn the cup upside down on its saucer; wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future . I shall move among you, helping and instructing. Oh and dear-" she caught Neville by the arm as he made to stand up, "- after you've broken your first tea cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink."

Sure enough, Neville had no sooner reached the shelf of teacups than there was a shattering sound of breaking China. Professor Trelawney swept over to him, holding a dustpan and brush, asking him to gather a blue patterned teacup.

Jake and Hermione had their teacups filled and sat down across from Harry and Ron. Jake took a swig of tea, and found it to be scalding hot. He choked it down and began to cough a bit, "Are you alright?" Hermione asked him, concerned.

"Fine... just peachy," he smiled crookedly and took another, larger swig, prepared for it this time. When they finally both had their tea gone, they did exactly as Trelawney said, swilling around the dregs and turning them upside down until the remnants of tea was gone. They gave the now emptied cup, except for the dregs, to each other and began to decipher the patterns. "Okay... it looks like... you have something in here that looks like... the Sun... which indicates Great Happiness. And something that looks like a parasol? That means... a new lover? How do I interpret these? Together? Or as separate things?"

Upon the mention of gaining a new lover, Hermione felt her cheeks burn, "I-I don't know... I-I'll go next," Hermione said, looking at his cup, "I-I see... an Octopus, th-that represents danger... I see a-a Cross, which could mean Death, a f-funeral, suffering, or sacrifice... a-and something that looks like it c-could be a Demon, that represents Anger o-or discord." She was surprised she managed to get that out with how stuttered she had just become.

"I have no idea what any of this could mean..." Jake said, sounding troubled.

Hermione looked at him. Like her, he was used to logical thinking and questions that always had definitive answers, but Divination was already proving to be blind assumptions to them.

Professor Trelawney sauntered over to their table and looked at Harry's cup after both he and Ron were being snide about their cups. She went on to explain that Harry's cup was not a happy cup, "Neither is yours, honestly," Hermione said to Jake.

Trelawney then freaked out and said Harry had the Grim , and that it was an omen of death, "So someone's going to die? Is it Harry or someone else?" Jake asked her.

Trelawney, with her enlarged eyes, looked at him, frightened, "Let me see your cup." Hermione handed his cup to her, but the moment she glanced in it, she dropped it, causing it to break.

"What?" Jake asked, wondering how absurd this might be.

"My dear... y-you..." Trelawney had serious trouble speaking, like she was going into shock as she looked at Jake, "You... you're - you're the Harbinger of Destruction !" She tried to pry her eyes from Jake, as though looking at him any longer would cause her own death.

Jake paled. He hadn't heard that since nearly the end of his First Year, when that Centaur, Bane, called him that. Bane said he was foretold as the 'Harbinger of Destruction,' so the planets said. He had hid this from everyone, and now all of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs in his year knew about that.

"What exactly does that mean?" Hermione asked, getting frustrated.

"It means..." Trelawney paused to inhale, "it means he will cause great genocide, cause green fields to turn grey, entire buildings to collapse-"

"Oh, what rubbish!" Hermione said in a loud voice.

"Really, Hermione?" Parvati asked her, "Last year, did his eyes not glow red when he was almost killed by that snake Harry set on him?"

"Exactly," Lavender agreed with her.

"They were definitely red..." Hannah said shyly.

"First of all, Harry did not set the snake to attack him, or Justin," Hermione said, trying her best to hold her temper down.

"It sure looked like it, especially when it lunged right at Jake," Seamus said, agreeing with Parvati and Lavender.

"I don't believe Harry sent that snake to attack me," Justin chimed in.

"So his eyes glowed red when he defended himself, big deal," Dean said in defense of him.

"You don't think it's-" Lavender started.

"ENOUGH!" Windows shattered outwards from Jake's outburst. He was shaking with frustration, looking around at all of them with an expression of anger. His breathing wasn't calming down; before Hermione could even try to calm him down, he grabbed his stuff and exited the classroom.

"Yes... yes I think - this is a good place to stop for today..." Trelawney said meekly, "u-until we meet again..."

Hermione quickly gathered up her things and went straight after Jake. By the time she did catch up with him, he was about to walk into Transfiguration, "Jake!" She quickly caught up with him, "We have to go to Muggle Studies, then Arithmancy, remember?"

"Yeah... you're right..." Since they had rushed out so quickly, they were able to head to Muggle Studies and rewind time for the first time the whole year. They stood in the empty class and Hermione put the Time Turner around their necks, turning it enough times so that class had just started, looking like they were a part of it all along.

Muggle Studies proved to be okay. Neither Hermione or Jake felt like they learned much useful stuff, but it was only the first class, so maybe it'd get better. They went to the empty Arithmancy class afterwards and rewound time again; Hermione liked having to stand so close to him. Just before she turned it, he said, "Maybe taking all of these classes was a bad idea..."

"Well, just stick with them for now, if they prove to be useless, we can drop Divination and Muggle Studies, okay?" Hermione asked with a smile up at him.

"Okay," he smiled back down at her.

They were taken back in time and they each proved to love Arithmancy with Professor Vector. She was a shrewd and strict woman, not unlike McGonagall. They still had two more elective classes to go through, so Jake would reserve judgment for his favorite after Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.

After Arithmancy, they were much closer to Transfiguration, which meant they were able to get there before Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. They walked in and Hermione saw where McGonagall was in her Tabby Cat Animagus form, sitting on her desk. She saw Jake walk straight towards the front right table and sit as far towards the end of it as possible. Hermione sat down, looking over at him with a suddenly hurt look in her eyes, seeing him act this way all of a sudden, "Jake?"

No response. Hermione remembered that Jake was supposed to be feeling heated and frustrated after what Trelawney told him. First Trelawney said Harry was going to die, then she called Jake the Harbinger of Destruction , whatever that meant. Even after the first class, Hermione already didn't like Divination, or maybe she just didn't like Trelawney, she wouldn't ever know.

Since they were coming from Arithmancy, Hermione wasn't surprised they were the first ones in class. She looked and saw Professor McGonagall looking over at her from her spot on the desk.

When the rest of class showed up, McGonagall had turned back into her human form and proceeded to talk to them about Animagi, Wizards who could transform into animals at will. Hermione glanced over at Jake, who was still not paying attention, or maybe he was and just didn't seem interested on purpose.

"Really, what has gotten into you all today?" Professor McGonagall said after giving her Tabby Cat transformation another go, not getting the reaction she expected. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not gotten applause from a class."

Every Gryffindor turned to look at either Harry, who sat at the back of class, or Jake, who was at the front. The Ravenclaws were out of the loop on what was going on, so decided to either stare at Harry or Jake, just because they could.

Hermione raised her hand, "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and-"

"Ah, of course," Professor McGonagall said, suddenly frowning, "there is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

Everyone stared at her like she'd gone insane, everyone but Jake, "Me," Harry said after a moment's pause.

"I see," Professor McGonagall said with a sigh.

"It's not just that, Professor," Hermione said further, "she also called Jake something... the Harbinger of Destruction . What does that mean?"

McGonagall looked at Jake for a moment, "Fernandes? Are you alright?" She asked in a rare moment of sympathy.

"Fine..." Was all he said.

"To be honest, Miss Granger... I have no idea what the Harbinger of Destruction implies, but I assure you..." she trailed off, looking back to Harry, "Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues-" she broke off, and they all saw her nostrils had gone white. She went on, much more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney..." She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Hermione laughed at McGonagall's dry humor. She was sure Harry felt better about that.

McGonagall then looked back at Jake, "Fernandes, I wouldn't take Sybill's words to heart. What exactly did she say when she said this?"

Hermione spoke up, "She said that it meant he will cause great genocide, green fields to turn grey, and entire buildings to collapse..." Hermione finished slowly.

McGonagall then looked back at Jake, "For the record, Fernandes, you are one of kindest Gryffindor I know. Yes, you do have a temper, but so does everyone else," she looked around at the faces of her class; some ashamed at knowing her words to be true, "You put your friends first, are fiercely loyal to them, and you stand up for your convictions. That is most commendable in a student your age," she gave him a sympathetic smile.

He managed to smile back and felt immensely better. He looked at Hermione, who was smiling at him widely, showing him her adorable teeth, which were a little larger than most teens her age.

*******

After class ended, the Transfiguration class joined the crowd of thundering students towards the Great Hall for Lunch. Hermione sighed when she looked at Ron, "Ron, cheer up," she pushed a bowl of stew in his direction, "You heard what Professor McGonagall said, right?"

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," Jake said calmly.

Ron looked at him as though he'd gone absolutely mad, "Jake, if Harry's seen a grim, that's - that's bad," 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?" Jake asked.

"A valid question, but to answer what you just said, Ron; there you are, then," Hermione said with a superior tone, "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!"

Jake began to laugh uncontrollably. He had to cover his mouth to avoid making loud, awkward noises.

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 Merlin's name did she come up with Jake'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.

"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, 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 Jake, who had long since gone quiet.

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."

He 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..." Jake said, looking down at the slightly reflective floor.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked, hoping it wasn't serious.

"Back in First Year... when I had detention and went into the Forbidden Forest... remember those Centaur I told you about?" She nodded, "Well, one of them, Bane, was his name... he yelled at Firenze, telling him he should've let me die, because I was foretold to be the Harbinger of Destruction ."

Hermione gasped, "Jake..."

"I know how it sounds... believing the words of a loon like Trelawney... but the Centaur said it as well... that's not a coincidence..." he trailed off.

Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder, "That explains why you got angry during the class..."

"I'm not dangerous..." he looked at Hermione, hurt evident in his eyes, "am I?"

"Of course not!" Hermione said with vigor, "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," he smiled at Hermione, feeling like she told him the answers he so desperately sought after.

Lunch ended while they were standing there and they quickly hurried out of the Castle for Care of Magical Creatures. The rain from yesterday had almost completely cleared and the sky was a clear, pale grey. The grass was springy underfoot, but still damp from yesterday.

Ron wasn't speaking to either Jake or Hermione, which was fine with them. Jake had noticed after they had already arrived who they had this class with, and it was Slytherin. He saw Malfoy and his henchmen, obviously, but he saw Logan Pendragon talking with Neville, who seemed to actually be enjoying the company. Maybe he was better than the other Slytherin like Jake noticed last year. 'So... Pendragon... if your ancestor is King Arthur Pendragon, and Merlin said he was not a Wizard... you're either lying... or Arthur was a Squib.'

Hagrid had been waiting for the rest of them to show up, "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!"

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-"

"How?" Malfoy asked in a cold, drawling voice.

Jake pulled his book out and opened it, causing Hermione beside him to look wide-eyed.

"Eh?" Hagrid asked, not seeing Jake with his open.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy reiterated.

"You stroke the spine, dumbass," Jake said, looking at page one.

Hagrid looked glad that at least one 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!"

"Was Jake tha on'y one?" Hagrid asked, looking around at them, confirming that Jake was the only one to get his book under control.

"Obviously he was the only one. Only a freak could have figured that out," Draco said to the chortling of his Slytherin housemates.

"Easy, Draco," Jake heard Pendragon say.

"Whatever," he replied and stroked the spine of his book, as did everyone else.

"Right, wait here, and I'll go get tha Creature we will be lookin' at terday," Hagrid said, having lost his momentum just a bit.

"This place is going to the dogs," Malfoy said loudly, "that oaf, teaching classes. When my father hears about this-"

"Oh for the love of God, will you shut up?" Jake turned and looked right at Draco. Crabbe and Goyle didn't even bother to try and intimidate him this time. "All you do is go on about your damn father like he will do something about it. Why is that? Are you incapable of not being a whiny spoiled ass brat?"

The entire class of Gryffindor and Slytherin gasped. "Jake, he's not worth it," Hermione said, placing a hand on his arm.

Before anyone else said or did anything, Lavender had squealed and pointed towards the end of the Paddock where Hagrid had gone. He came back with several creatures that Jake recognized to be Hippogriffs. "Hippogriffs?" Jake asked Hagrid.

"Beau'iful, aren' they?" Hagrid was beaming just looking at them.

"Indeed they are," Jake approached the fence, just as Hagrid said the class could. The majority of them, however, backed off. Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined Jake at the fence.

"Now," Hagrid said, rubbing his hands together, "Firs' thing yeh should know abou' Hippogriffs is they're proud. Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don' never insult one, it migh' be tha las' thing yeh do."

Jake was eyeing one in particular, and it was eyeing him.

"Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff tae make tha firs' move, it's polite, see?" Hagrid looked back to the Hippogriffs a moment, "Yeh walk towards him, an' yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yer allowed to touch 'im. If he doesn' bow, yeh bes' hurry back a few feet. Them talons, they'll cut righ' through yeh. So, who wants ter go firs'?"

No one readily agreed. Even his three friends backed up a bit, but Jake kept eyeing one of the Hippogriffs, and it started to look angry.

"No one?" Hagrid asked when suddenly, one of the Hippogriffs reared back and began to charge, "Buckbeak, no!" Hagrid tried to grab the reins, but Buckbeak didn't let it slow him down a second.

Jake's eyes started to glow red, Hermione noticed as she, Harry, and Ron all scurried away from the rampaging Hippogriff.

Jake thought the Hippogriff might have been like Chloe and he just had to break the Hippogriff. Unfortunately for him, the Hippogriff named Buckbeak didn't seem to care. Buckbeak broke the fence and just before he was attacked, he rolled out of the way and stumbled a bit, getting line of sight on the Hippogriff again. It turned to look back and let out a sort of roar at him.

His eyes still glowing red, Jake tried to get the Hippogriff to capitulate and calm down, but it wasn't backing down. Buckbeak continued his rampage of trying to run down Jake.

He rolled out of the way again, but Buckbeak was prepared for that this time and turned much sooner. "Jake!" Hermione yelled as Buckbeak went to attack again. Just as the Hippogriff went to bite off a chunk of Jake's face, he stuck his hand out and it brushed against Buckbeak as he lunged at the young teen.

Buckbeak suddenly stopped his attack and calmed right down, almost immediately. Jake's hand was on Buckbeak's neck, eyes still red, and he had sidestepped a little, staring into one of Buckbeak's eyes. The Hippogriff looked right at him with a near sedated look.

Anyone looking at them could see Jake's chest heaving, even under his robes. He was practically gasping for breath, but managed to calm himself down to a more even breathing.

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.

Jake stroked Buckbeak's feathers as his eyes returned to normal.

"That was..." Harry lost his words.

"Utterly stupid of him!" Hermione growled.

Hagrid carefully approached Jake and Buckbeak and when close enough, stroked Buckbeak as well, "Well done, Jake," Hagrid said with a smile, "Not at all how I 'spected tha' tae go, but yeh gave us a good show," Hagrid chuckled. He turned to and addressed the crowd of students, "Don' worry, tha' was jus' an isolated case. Everyone, come on up and slowly approach tha Hippogriffs, remember ter bow, and let 'im bow back."

Slowly but surely everyone approached the Hippogriffs, one at a time, so as to not overwhelm and anger them. Seeing how Jake was able to calm the Creatures, they were all less afraid, but still no one was foolish enough to try what he did.

Hermione walked right up to him and began hitting him, "How utterly dangerous and stupid of you!"

"Hey - hey - easy - Hermione!" He 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. "Not bad, Jake," he heard a familiar voice.

He turned and looked at the direction it came from, "Pendragon."

"When are we going to get past the Last Name usage?" Logan asked him.

"For you? Never," he actually managed a smirk, which caused Logan to smirk as well.

"But seriously, nice job with the Hippogriff. That was impressive agility and control over that Magical Creature. How did you do that?" Logan asked him.

"I don't know... honest," Jake looked at Hermione for a moment to let her know he really didn't know.

They all then heard Malfoy, "This is very easy," he said in his now commonplace drawl.

"I wish Draco would stop acting all high and mighty..." Logan looked at Malfoy, "It makes it hard to completely enjoy being a Slytherin. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate him-"

"I very much do," Jake interjected.

"But because of how he acts, I don't have full enjoyment of Slytherin House like I should," Logan looked back at Jake and Hermione, "I'm sorry. I don't believe I've introduced myself? Logan Pendragon, but please, call me Ivan," he flashed Hermione a smile.

She smiled back at him, "Well, nice to meet you, I-Ivan. I never honestly thought I'd greet a Slytherin in that way before-" Hermione was cut off as Draco began yelling in complete agony. They all turned to see that Draco Malfoy had been attacked by Buckbeak. Crimson stained his robes and the grass beside him as Hagrid got control of Buckbeak before going to Malfoy.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy wailed.

"Yer not dyin'," Hagrid hoisted Malfoy up, "Class dismissed," he said and took Malfoy to the Hospital Wing.

Very shaken, the class followed at a walk. Most of the Slytherin were all shouting about Hagrid, especially Pansy Parkinson, "They should sack him straight away!"

Dean didn't take kindly to that, "It was Malfoy's fault!"

Crabbe and Goyle began to flex their muscles threateningly, before they caught sight of Jake giving them both a cold, murderous glare, and backed off.

They all eventually got to the Stone cold steps and made their way into the Entrance Hall, "I'm going to go see if he's okay!" Everyone watched her run up the marble staircase.

"Normally I wouldn't care what happened to Malfoy... but seeing as it was Hagrid's class, his first class..." Jake lost the words he was going to say.

"Draco will be fine," Logan said calmly.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked him.

"Because Draco is a drama queen," Logan smirked and walked in the direction of the Slytherin Dungeon.

"Leave it to Malfoy to ruin everything," Harry sighed and they all returned to Gryffindor Tower. Jake and Hermione both especially had numerous amounts of homework to start off their first day already. Transfiguration, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies, they had been given homework in. They worked until Dinner Time, where they looked for, but didn't see Hagrid anywhere. He wasn't easy to miss, either.

"You don't think they'd sack him, do you?" Hermione asked anxiously, not touching her steak-and-kidney pudding.

"They better not," Ron said, who was surprisingly not eating either.

Jake saw a big crowd over at the Slytherin Table, and he saw Pendragon huddled up with them. With the way he's been acting, Jake would believe that he was trying to convince them to not spin some ridiculous tale.

When they got back to the Common Room, they tried to continue doing their homework, but they just couldn't focus. They kept glancing out of the tower, noticing that Hagrid had a light on in his window. Ron looked at his watch, "It's still quite early, if we go now, we can see him before curfew."

They all looked at each other, put their things away, and hurried through the portrait of the fat lady. They were still glad they didn't run into anyone, because they might think differently about them being out.

The grass was still wet and looked almost black in the twilight. When they reached Hagrid's hut, they knocked and a voice growled, "C'min."

Hagrid was sitting in his shirt-sleeves at his scrubbed wooden table; his boarhound, Fang, had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told them that Hagrid had been drinking a lot; there was a pewter tankard almost as big as a bucket in front of him, and he seemed to be having difficulty in getting them into focus.

"'Spect it's a record..." he said thickly, when he recognized them. "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who on'y lasted a day before..."

"You haven't been sacked, Hagrid!?" Hermione gasped.

"Not yet..." Hagrid said miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever was in the tankard. "But 's on'y a matter o' time, i'n't it, after Mafloy..."

"How is he?" Ron asked as they all sat down, "It wasn't serious, was it?"

"Madam Pomfrey fixed 'im up bes' she could," Hagrid said dully, "but he's sayin' i's still agony... covered in bandages... moanin'..."

"Pendragon did say Malfoy was a Drama Queen..." Jake said at once, "Besides, Madam Pomfrey can mend basically anything. She regrew half of Harry's bones in his arm last year. Malfoy is just milking the hell out of this."

"School gov'nors have bin told, o'course," Hagrid continued miserably, "they reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer later... done Flobberworms or summat... jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson... 's all my fault..."

"It's all Malfoy's fault, Hagrid!" Hermione said earnestly.

"We're witnesses," Harry said, "You said Hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened."

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up," Ron said in agreement.

Tears leaked out of the crinkled corners of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes. He grabbed both Harry and Ron, and tried to grab Jake too, but he was simply too far away for the effort. He pulled the two he did manage to grab into a bone-breaking hug.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid," Hermione said firmly. She took the large tankard from the table and went outside to empty it.

"Ar, maybe she's right..." Hagrid said, letting go of Harry and Ron, who both staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Jake was laughing as Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair and followed Hermione unsteadily outside. They soon heard a loud splash.

"What's he done?" Harry asked nervously as Hermione came back in with the empty tankard.

"Stuck his head in the water barrel," she replied, putting the tankard away.

"You know... I do think I have to agree with the governors on one aspect..." Jake got their attention, "Hagrid did start off too big for the first lesson."

Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping the water out of his eyes, "Tha's better," he said, shaking his head like a dog and drenching them all, "lis'en, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really-" Hagrid stopped dead, staring at them as though he'd only just realized they were there, "WHAT D'YEH THINK YER DOIN', EH?" Hagrid suddenly roared, causing Hermione to jump from the loudness, "YEH'RE NOT TER GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN' YOU THREE! LETTIN' 'IM!" Hagrid strode over to Harry and seized him by the arm, taking him to the door, "C'mon!" He said angrily, "I'm takin' yeh all back up ter school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down teh see me after dark again. I'm not worth tha'!"

"Of course you are, Hagrid, of course you are," Jake said as they followed the giant man back up to the school. He looked down at himself, seeing the wet clothing. 'Good thing I haven't bathed yet...'

When they all got back up to Hogwarts, Hagrid walked them all the way to the Fat Lady, saying thanks again, and leaving, " Fortuna Major ." Hermione spoke the password and they walked into an empty Common Room, "Alright, I'm going to go clean up before bed, I suggest you three do so as well."

"Yes, mom," Jake said in a tone of faux exasperation.

Hermione felt her cheeks burn from embarrassment of two different kinds, "Oh shut up!" She marched right to the girls staircase before turning back around, "Good night, you three," and walked up the staircase. She felt like she should bathe in Holy Water with her impure thoughts.

"Night, Hermione," Jake said and walked himself to the staircase for the boys dorms, "So, who goes first?"