Stay - Mattheo Riddle

Buckbeak

'I see,' said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry and Kirra with her beady eyes. 'Then you should know, Miss and Mr Potter, that 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 favourite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues –'

Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went on, 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 both look in excellent health to me, so you will both 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 and Kirra laughed. Mattheo and Theodore felt a bit better. 

When the Transfiguration class had finished, they joined the crowd thundering towards the Great Hall for lunch. 'come on boys, cheer up,' said Kirra,  'You heard what Professor McGonagall said.'

'Kirra,' Theodore said, in a low, serious voice, 'you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?'

'no of course not,' said Kirra softly, she hated lying to her friends, but for now, it was the only choice. 'I think Divination seems very woolly,' she said, softly. 'A lot of guesswork, if you ask me.'

'There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said Mattheo hotly. 

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Kirra was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale grey and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class. Theodore and Mattheo were still freaking out about the cup.

Kirra walked beside them in silence as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the forbidden Forest.

Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start. 'C'mon, now, get a move on!' he called, as the class approached. 'Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!'

For one nasty moment, Kirra thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the Forest; Kirra and Nott loved the forest when they were in their animagus forms but not so much when they were in their human forms, she had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last her a lifetime.

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 you'll  want ter do is open yer books –' 

'How?' said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

'Eh?' said Hagrid.

'How do we open our books?' Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope.

Other people took theirs out, too; some, like Kirra, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with bullclips. 

'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.