Charmolypi

Chapter 136

"It's not that bad," Harry mumbled under his breath.

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

"Hold on Harry!" Thea said excitedly.

Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry; he just had time to seize the hippogriff around the neck before he was soaring upward. It was nothing like a broomstick, and Harry knew which one he preferred; the hippogriff's wings beat uncomfortably on either side of him, catching him under his legs and making him feel he was about to be thrown off; the glossy feathers slipped under his fingers and he didn't dare get a stronger grip; instead of the smooth action of his Nimbus Two Thousand, he now felt himself rocking backward and forward as the hindquarters of the hippogriff rose and fell with its wings.

Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground; this was the bit Harry had been dreading; he leaned back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling he was going to slip off over the beak, then felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground. He just managed to hold on and push himself straight again.

"That was one of the best things I've ever done," Harry told his mother, who looked like she was on the verge of passing out.

"We're glad you enjoyed it," Fleamont said, genuinely glad that his grandchildren were enjoying their time at Hogwarts despite everything that had happened to him and his sister.

"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?" Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock.

"This is the best class ever," Thea gushed. Helios chuckled at her excitement, Thea quickly looked away, not liking how natural it felt to be around Helios.

Thea smiled sadly at that interaction.

Harry noticed the look on his sister's face, and his heart broke knowing that his sister was truly hurt by the events that had happened that year.

Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Harry watched. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, 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?"

"I was such an idiot," Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You really were," Thea said.

Draco looked at her, a mockingly offended look on his face. Thea raised her brow at him and shrugged.

"One day, he's going to get what's coming for him," Thea mumbled, shooting a disgusted look towards the Slytherin boy.

It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and 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.

"Draco!" Narcissa yelled alarmed, worried that her son was greatly hurt.

"I'm fine mom," Draco reassured his worried mother, a fond smile on his face.

"Are you sure?" she asked worriedly. She rushed to her son's side and started fussing over him getting hurt. The demigods and the wizards all were holding back their laughter at the embarrassed expression on the blonde's face.