Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

It was strangely silent in the Great Hall for the first few minutes of dinner. Everyone was still trickling into the Great Hall, but the peaceful quiet was interrupted rather suddenly.

"PATRICK!" I heard Teddy scream. I turned around and saw a handful of Hufflepuff first years running into the Great Hall.

"What's happening?" I asked.

Teddy ran up to me and told me everything. "We were walking around near the Forbidden Forest, and this creature with an eagle's head and a horse's body poked me with its beak! It was so scary!"

Esteban laughed. "Are you really scared of Buckbeak, Teddy?" he asked.

"Don't taunt him, Esteban," I said. "There's no need to worry, Teddy. We'll return Buckbeak to Hagrid, so he won't bother you again."

"What's all of this about?" Andy asked as he came up to the Hufflepuff table.

"Teddy found Buckbeak near the Forbidden Forest, and I think he's a little bit traumatised by the whole incident," I explained. "I think we may need to use the flying car to bring him back to Hagrid."

"We're not allowed to use the flying car," Andy said. "Professor McGonagall said that we couldn't fly it on school grounds anymore."

"Professor McGonagall will understand," I said. "We're helping Professor Hagrid."

"I suppose you're right," Andy said. "Let's find the others."

Andy and I went to the Gryffindor table and found Joe, Tyler, Josh, and Pete. I was slightly surprised that Pete agreed to go along with the plan after everything that had happened, but he was my killer king (or more accurately, he used to be my killer king). I wouldn't expect anything less from him.

I quickly ran into the Hufflepuff Common Room, and returned to the Great Hall with the Marauder's Map. Tyler then led the way into the Forbidden Forest, but we changed course when Joe suggested that we stop at Hagrid's hut first.

When we arrived, I knocked on Hagrid's door. "Thank goodness yeh boys are here!" Hagrid exclaimed as he opened the door. As usual, he was making me feel incredibly short. "All o' the creatures tha' I was usin' fer class escaped. Have yeh seen any o' 'em?"

"No, I don't think so," I said.

"How dangerous are these creatures that escaped?" Pete asked.

"Don' worry, all o' 'em are harmless," Hagrid said. "I think it's jus' an Augurey, a Murtlap, tha' baby dragon tha' I was goin' to show the sixth years next week, a few Blast-Ended Skrewts, a Demiguise, all o' the Flobberworms, Buckbeak, one o' the Thestrals, a Niffler, an' a Fire Crab. It's not too bad."

"We need to go right away," I said.

"I have a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them with me," Pete said. "I think that will help."

We ran into the clearing, where we found the flying car. Tyler hopped into the driver's seat, Josh was riding shotgun underneath the purple skies, and the rest of us climbed into the backseat. "Let's find the dragon first," Joe suggested. "It seems the most dangerous."

The dragon turned out to be very easy to find. Just as Joe said that, Tyler spotted a fire burning in the forest. "You can set yourself on fire, but you're never going to burn," he commented as we dove down towards the fire. Joe got out of the car, did a Flame Freezing Charm on the fire, picked up the tiny Common Welsh Green, and placed it in the car.

We decided to look for Buckbeak next, but he turned out to be rather easy to find as well. Tyler saw him flying next to the car, along with the Thestral. "I don't see the Thestral," Pete commented. "Where is it?"