The Prophesy of S

Chapter 9

The leaves began changing colors of orange and red in the highlands, and when the sun hits the trees in the day, it was as if the whole land had burst into flames. Not only were the leaves changing, but so was the weather; these days I've taken to wearing my green and silver scarf when I'm out of the castle.

I found relief that since taking the first trial I've been going about my life as a normal Hogwarts student. For the past few weeks, I've been following my schedule of going to classes, doing the assignments, and enjoying my free-time with friends. During Astronomy class, Nerida and I had more time to bond, and she even introduced me to one of her friends, Adelaide Oaks. I've learned that both have an interest in divination. After several weeks of taking Divination class, it has become a subject that I also found intriguing. In that same class, I've also got acquainted with a Ravenclaw boy, Amit Thakkar, who was a huge astronomy buff. I shared Potions with him, but because I've always sat with Sebastian, we never properly met. We were assigned together for a project to chart and research as many constellations as we can find in the night sky. Charting stars was a lot easier to do at Hogwarts than it would be in London since there's so much space to see them and no tall buildings to get in the way.

I arrived at the outdoor classroom hosting the Beast class. The class had to be one of my favorites as an animal lover. I've had no pets growing besides my fish, but my aunt did have a couple cats that I loved cuddling with when I visited.

My tablemate, Poppy Sweeting, was already there with a creature that I've come to recognize as a Puffskien. On the first day of class, Poppy and I have gotten along swimmingly and she would always tell me about the many creatures she knows. Poppy was just as passionate about creatures as Nerida, Amit, and Imelda are with mermaids, astronomy, and flying.

As the puffskien on our table shows, today's class was about caring for one by feeding and grooming them. Poppy ended up having an incident when she was trying to feed it. The puffskien shot its long and thin tongue out to pick at her nose as a better option for food. Apparently, that's a common occurrence when dealing with this creature.

When class was dismissed, she told me that she wanted to show me something.

"Poppy, how far is it we have to go?" I asked when we were walking farther away from the Hogwarts grounds and deeper into the forest.

"It's not too far now. It's just ahead." We continued walking farther until we arrived at a clearing. Looking around, I saw nothing that might seem like something she wanted to show me. That was until she gave out a loud whistle. A strong flap and a squawk entered my ears. In the sky appeared a beautiful creature with the head and front legs of a bird and the back of a horse. The creature flew around above us until it landed in the clearing.

"Selene, I'd like you to meet Highwing. She's a Hippogriff." I felt blown away by the look of her. I've seen some sizable and intimidating creatures, but a hippogriff was not one that instilled fear, but of amazement. "Well, go on, introduce yourself. But you must be very careful. When approaching a hippogriff, you must bow to them as a sign of respect. They are prideful creatures."

Following Poppy's instructions, I took a deep bow, and after a moment, Highwing bowed to me. I slowly walked up to her and ran my hand across her white feathered body. "She is quite beautiful, Poppy. How did you two end up meeting?"

"It's a rather long story, but ended up rescuing her a few years back from a poacher camp. She was fine after that—until recently, that is. I'm sure that you're aware of all the talk about a poacher problem around these parts."

"I have heard some whispers about it. Even Professor Howin mentioned it to me when we first talked. She seems under the impression that we shouldn't expect the Ministry to step up." To be quite frank, I have the same view of them, too. Natty once told me she wanted to take a stand against Rookwood and Harlow because the Aurors didn't look to be doing anything themselves if those men have been around causing problems for so long. And now there's this.