𝐀𝐈𝐌 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐘┊ᴴᵃʳʳʸ ᴾᵒᵗᵗᵉʳ

38 ✥ 𝙸 𝙱𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝙸 𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝙵𝚕𝚢

ᴅᴇᴅɪᴄᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ:
sage-like-the-herb

࿔₊° ࿔₊° ࿔₊° ࿔₊° ࿔₊°

❝ You hurt me, sweetheart ❞

࿔₊° ࿔₊° ࿔₊° ࿔₊° ࿔₊°

𝕳ARRY 𝖂AS 𝕻LEASED to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday’s rain had cleared; the sky was clear, pale grey, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first-ever Care of Magical Creatures class.

Ron and Hermione weren’t speaking to each other. Crystal was silent. Harry had a feeling he knew the reason for her silence.

Harry and Crystal walked side by side, beside Ron and Hermione in silence as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid’s hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

It was only when Harry spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them that he realized they must be having these lessons with the Slytherins. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Harry was quite sure he knew what they were talking about.

Crystal noticed the guy from the duelling club, away from the crowd of Slytherins, silently leaning his side on a tree trunk. Theodore Nott. He was more messily dressed than usual, his green tie hung low with an open collar. He arrogantly averted his gaze when their eyes met but Crystal was in no mood to pay him any mind.

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, Crystal thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest; Crystal 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. And as the saying goes, one cannot stay at rest until it's known what's to come, it didn't come as a relief to Crystal as she was dreading what she was up against. She comforted herself by trying to pull herself back to her carefree attitude, thinking of a plan to make an excuse and run away if she couldn't take it.

“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?” 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 Harry, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

“Hasn’ — hasn’ anyone bin able ter open their books?” said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads. Crystal though left her book at the bottom of the trunk. She stared at the book for minutes before packing the books for the day contemplating her decision again for the hundredth time in the past month. In the end, she didn't have the guts to touch it and bring it to the class.