Dark Magic

Professor Hagrid

"Do you really believe what that idiotic woman said!?" Draco spat from beside me, as we made our way down the cobbled steps leading towards Hagrid's Hut. I shrugged, shaking my head as fumbled to get my lump of a book out of my bag. "Who knows? As long as what she said about Harry isn't true, then, why does it matter?"

I grimaced, looking down at the book as a pair of eyes opened, staring back at me. 'Book of Monsters.' A very fitting title for such a lively textbook. Where the lock to the book should have been, a set of teeth clamped the pages shut, preventing me from opening it to read what was inside.

"I care! I care about what you said about my tea leaves! The wealth part, I didn't mind. But the rest; heading in the wrong direction? Difficulty with family? A load of rubbish, if you ask me!" He scoffed, beginning to stroke the spine to the back of the book. I mimicked his motion, as the teeth separated and allowed me to open the book.

"If you say so." I smirked smugly at the blonde boy, trying to force away the urge to burst into laughter at his animosity towards our Divinations Professor. We arrived outside Hagrid's house, as he beckoned us all to gather around. I stood towards the back with Draco and the rest of the Slytherins, as he explained we would be going into the forest; only in the surrounding boarders-besides, it was daytime and nothing threatening would be awake...

"Right, you lot! Less chattering-and form a group over there." I found myself smiling irrevocably at Hagrid as he commanded the class, and we followed his instructions accordingly. "Open your books to page 49." 

I quickly found the page, my eyes widening in disbelief, "Hippogriffs!?" I exclaimed, as I glanced up from my book to find Hagrid, standing a mere few meters away from the beautiful, half-eagle, half-horse beast. Suddenly, a scream sounded throughout the forest behind me, as one of the Gryffindor boys was tackled to the ground by his book as it began chomping at his clothes. 

The rest of the class laughed and pointed at him, along with Draco. However, I found myself quickly putting my own book down on a rocky ledge and running to his aid. The boy continued to scream, as I grabbed the book from his arms, beginning to stroke its soft fur, calming it down within a few moments. 

Although the book was heavy, I used my free hand to help him up from the floor. "Are you alright?" He nodded in response to my query, brushing the dirt from his white school shirt. "Yeah, thanks." The boy forced a smile, and I outstretched my hand for him to shake, "I'm Emerald."

He nodded, letting out a scoff as he took his book from my arms, accepting my handshake with his, now, free hand. "I know who you are; You're Harry Potter's sister. I'm Neville-Neville Longbottom." Neville Longbottom was a tall boy for his age; he had scruffy, brown hair and eyes to match. His teeth were slightly more bulbous than average and his button nose was dotted with freckles; had it not been for his teeth, he could have been a handsome boy.

"DEMENTOR! DEMENTOR!" I gasped, grabbing my wand as I shot around in the direction of the voice and aiming it towards the target. To Hagrid and the rest of the class' horror, my target happened to be none other than Draco Malfoy, as he stood opposite my brother and taunted him. Hermione grabbed Harry by his shoulder, pulling him away from starting a fight as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle erupted into a fit of laughter.

I joined his side, angrily punching him in the arm. "Ow! What was that for!?" Draco exclaimed, rubbing his arm like a child would after being scolded. "Not funny, Malfoy." I spat with venom, causing him to scoff sarcastically in retaliation, "Oh! So you're back to calling me Malfoy, now?"

Ignoring his attempt to warrant a further reaction from me, I averted my gaze back to the forest floor, where Hagrid stood centre-stage. "Isn't he beautiful? Say 'hello' to Buckbeak." The Professor introduced triumphantly.