"He refused to drop the case, Cassie," Draco said dejectedly.

***********************

Hagrid sat with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest, while Ron, Hermione, and Harry sat across the table reading the official-looking letter lying open on the table.

"What's this, Hagrid?"

Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter toward Harry, who picked it up and read aloud:

Dear Mr. Hagrid,

Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.

"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" said Ron, clapping Hagrid on the shoulder. But Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one of his gigantic hands, inviting Harry to read on.

However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.

Yours in fellowship...

There followed a list of the school governors.

"Oh," said Ron. "But you said Buckbeak isn't a bad hippogriff, Hagrid. I bet he'll get off."

"He won't, Weasley," Cassie interjected as she entered the hut. Her usually pale face, tinged pink from the cold, a stack of books followed, floating behind her.

Hagrid's wails grew even louder at Cassie's words, prompting a disapproving look from Hermione, which Cassie simply shrugged off as she took a seat opposite Harry.

"I'm positive he will, Hagrid... he isn't dangerous," Hermione insisted.

"Yeh don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" choked Hagrid, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!"

A sudden sound from the corner of Hagrid's cabin drew their attention. Buckbeak, the hippogriff, was lying there, chomping on something that oozed blood all over the floor.

"I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow!" choked Hagrid, his emotions overwhelming him. "All on his own! At Christmas."

"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid," said Hermione, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's massive forearm. "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."

"Won't make a difference, Granger," Cassie interjected indifferently. "Lucius has already bribed the jury and executioner... they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket."

Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, burying his face in his arms.

"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" said Harry.

"He can't do anything in this... he doesn't have more power than Lucius in the Ministry," Cassie remarked bluntly.

"He's done more'n enough for me already," groaned Hagrid. "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around—"

The trio quickly glanced at Cassie, who pretended not to care about the casual mention of her father. Then, they turned to Harry, as though expecting him to start berating Hagrid for not telling him the truth about Black.

"There's no point blubbering, Professor," Cassie interjected sharply. "I've brought all the required materials you'll need to get him off," she said, gesturing towards the stack of books and handing them over to Hermione.

"I, too, have read about a case of hippogriff-baiting," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Where the hippogriff got off. I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."

Hagrid howled still more loudly.

"Er—shall I make a cup of tea?" said Ron.

"Seriously, Weasley?" Cassie spat.

"It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset," Ron muttered, shrugging.

"That's enough for me. I'm not staying back for all the love and heartwarming stuff that's going to happen here. If you need my help, Professor, you know where to find me... and in the end, if we lose, I can always smuggle Buckbeak out or threaten the jury to let him go," Cassie said, walking off.

"She surprises me," Hermione remarked, intrigued, flipping through the pages of the books Cassie had provided.

"Maybe she's just kinder towards animals and not towards humans," Ron remarked snarkily.

"She's a good kid," Hagrid said, sniffing loudly.

****************************

Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside every suit of armor, and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. 

"CASSIE! PRESENTS!" Cassie was woken by Pansy throwing a pillow at her.

"Can't it wait?" Cassie groaned.

"Nope."

Cassie rubbed her eyes, shifting her attention to the large pile of presents.

"I got sweets, a dress from Mom, and jewelry. Hey, thanks for the book 'Useful Spells to Take Revenge on Your Ex,' Cassie," Pansy said excitedly as she rummaged through her pile of gifts.

"Cheers," Cassie mumbled, lacking the same enthusiasm.

"Understanding Crushes for Dummies? Seriously, Pansy?" Cassie scoffed, unwrapping the rest of her presents. Among them was an understanding of dark magic book from Regulus, sweets from the boys, treacle tart from Narcissa, and a book on "Using a Dagger" from Theo.

******************************

The best part about Christmas was the yearly tradition of a mega prank Cassie pulled off every year.

This year Cassie managed to pull off a complex little transfiguration charm on the Great Hall ceiling.

With a flick of her wand and a mischievous grin, Cassie cast a complex transfiguration charm on the enchanted ceiling. Suddenly, the serene atmosphere was shattered as the ceiling transformed into a violent snowstorm, with hail and snow crashing down upon the ground, particularly targeting the Gryffindor and teachers' tables.

Amidst the chaos, Cassie shouted, "Snow fight!" and the Great Hall erupted into an elaborate snowball battle.

Gryffindors and Ravenclaw rallied together, forming barricades of snow and launching volleys of snowballs. Meanwhile, Slytherins positioned themselves behind tables and pillars, and some Hufflepuffs retaliated with precise shots aimed at their rivals.

Even Snape seemed to join in, flicking snowballs at the Gryffindor table with unexpected enthusiasm.

Teachers rushed to stop the chaos, but the snowball fight continued unabated until suddenly, there was a deafening crash, and the entire Hall went dark. Panicked whispers filled the air until the lights flickered back on, revealing Cassie's handiwork.

The food on the tables had been charmed with a tricky spell, causing everyone—students and teachers alike—to be adorned with huge Christmas hats and beards, except for Cassie, of course. Ravenclaws attempted to mutter the counter-charm, but Cassie's prank wasn't going to be undone so easily.

With one last flourish of her wand, everything returned to normal, and Cassie dramatically took a bow.

"Well, well," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. "That was some amazing spell work, Miss Black."

WE ARE ALMOST AT 1K READS. THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE. 

THANK U  SM FOR ALL THOSE WHO READ MY STORY, THIS CHAP IS AVERY DRY IK. BUT I WASNT PLANNING ON UPLOADING FOR 2 MORE WEEKS, AS I AM ON A TIGHT SCHEDULE DUE  TO MY ENTRANCE

I ALMOST FAINTED WHEN I OPENED WATTPAD, I THOT ILL UPDATE A FILLER CHAP FOR ALL OF YA

I THOT WE COULD DO SMTH SPECIAL FOR 1K. LIKE A Q AND A FOR CHARECTERS

if yall want that., u can drop some questions FOR ANY CHARECTER MENTIONED THIS FAR, LIKE EVEN TEACHERS. u can even ask me anything as long as its not too personal

Ill be doing that if we get at least 4 questions so ya, comment away

and THANK U

mx riddle