Hagrid stood waiting eagerly at the door of his hut, clad in his moleskin overcoat with Fang the boarhound at his side. He beckoned for the class to hurry up, excitement evident on his face.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called out, his voice booming. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

For a moment, Cassie thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the Forbidden Forest. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it -- make sure yeh can see -- now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books --"

"How?" drawled Draco.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated, displaying his bound copy of The Monster Book of Monsters.

"Hasn' -- hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look --"

He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Sellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Pansy sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I -- I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" scoffed Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Hagrid was looking downcast and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Right then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so -- so yeh've got yer books an' -- an' -- now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on..."

He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry repeated.

"Ohhhhhh." Draco and the other boys laughed, not finding Harry intimidating in the least. Draco passed his bag off to Blaise and swaggered towards Harry, looking him up and down as if it was ridiculous that this skinny, messy-haired boy was confronting him. Harry did not look a bit intimidated.

Cassie emerged standing next to her cousin, her eyes dark, staring at Potter.

Harry met her eyes briefly, and she saw a small glimmer of worry. It was no secret that she was much more intimidating, impressive, and dangerous than any Slytherin.

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Cassie had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Does anyone know what these are?" he asked.

Cassie remarked, "Hippogriffs," she said.

"Yeah, Black," Hagrid said, surprised. "Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

"More like traumatizing," Draco scoffed. However, Cassie was enthralled by the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan.

But the one that caught Cassie's eyes was an inky black hippogriff on the far left.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer --"

No one seemed to want to. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously.

Cassie nudged Theo, and they went forward too.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Malfoy, Blaise, and Pansy weren't listening; they were whispering in an undertone.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he don' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt."

"Right -- who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Cassie herself was doubtful. As if all of one mind, the students, including Cassie and Theo, took a prompt step back. Potter, however, wasn't that lucky.

"Well done, Harry! Well done!"

The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.

There was an intake of breath from behind him, and both Lavender and Parvati whispered, "Oooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!" Harry ignored them. He climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good man, Harry!" roared Hagrid. "Right then -- let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulled the gray hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.

"Easy now, Harry," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much...."

"Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Harry... now, bow."

Harry gave a short bow and then looked up. The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move.

"Ah," said Hagrid, sounding worried. "Right -- back away, now, Harry, easy does it."

But then, to everyone's surprise, the hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow.

"Well done, Harry!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right -- yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.

The class broke into applause, all except for the Slytherins, who looked deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might let yeh ride him!"

Harry looked uncertain.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that...."

Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto its back. Buckbeak stood up.

"Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.

Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground.

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Slytherins cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock.

Cassie and Theo approached the inky black hippogriff, 'Night.'

Night seemed to immediately like Cassie and bowed, leaning into her touch.

"Good work, Black," Hagrid roared.

Draco, Blaise, and Pansy had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Draco, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Harry to hear him.

"I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

Cassie immediately realized what had happened and ran forwards, but it happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and the next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes.

Cassie had her wand out, shooting binding spells at Buckbeak's feet, tethering it.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me -- gotta get him outta here --"

Cassie ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Cassie saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.

Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.

"They should fire him straight away!" said Pansy, who was in tears.

"Shouldn't trust a bloody oaf to teach," Blaise exclaimed. Theo and Cassie were pretty white at what just happened, but Cassie hid her worry and sauntered forward, her wand still out.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean Thomas.

"Say that again, Thomas, and it will be the last thing you ever say," Cassie said warningly, her wand alarmingly close. Dean, terrified, backed away.

They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" said Pansy, and they all watched her run up the marble staircase.

"I'll go too," Blaise remarked, looking questioningly at Theo and Cassie, who nodded, heading towards the hospital wing.