"It tried to kill me!"
Malfoy paid Hagrid no attention at all and just kept yelling.
The students crowded around, watching Malfoy clutch his arm as though it had been broken.
Hagrid lifted him up without the slightest effort.
When Hagrid pried Malfoy's arm away, there was nothing wrong with it.
Sean came over too. He saw Malfoy staring stiffly at his arm—it was completely unharmed, aside from a slight tremor.
"It... it was going to kill me..."
Malfoy's face flushed a little, but he still forced the words out stubbornly.
"We all saw it—that monster raised its claws, it was this close!"
Pansy Parkinson said tearfully, her body trembling slightly.
Sean could tell she was genuinely frightened.
The Slytherins all began loudly blaming Hagrid.
Hagrid's face was growing paler and paler. He looked as though he wanted to explain, but couldn't find the words.
"He's fine."
Just then, a voice—not loud, not soft—cut through the commotion.
The black-haired young wizard stepped forward slowly. He first glanced at the flushed Malfoy, then said in a voice just loud enough for even the students at the edge to hear:
"Hippogriffs are proud creatures. In the wild, this kind of provocation would bring extreme danger... but if a wizard follows their rules... it really isn't that difficult..."
Sean gently lifted a hand, and Buckbeak lowered his great head into it.
The contrast with his savage behavior just moments earlier was striking.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the proud beast brush its head against the black-haired boy's face and let out a low, almost pleased cry.
"In 1750, a seventy-third clause was added to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, and Ministries of Magic around the world still abide by it to this day:
Every magical governing body bears responsibility for concealing, caring for, and controlling all magical creatures living within its jurisdiction.
If such a creature causes harm to society or draws the attention of Muggles, then that nation's magical authority will face disciplinary action from the International Confederation of Wizards."
Sean recited it softly. It was a section from Green Notebook: A History of Magical Creatures.
"The ingredients for wizarding potions, the materials used in wandmaking, all come from magical creatures.
Magical creatures, living within magical civilization, helped shape magic alongside wizards.
And naturally, caring for them became an obligation. In that, weakness is not what obstructs civilization—arrogance is."
So any wizard who had ever read an interesting history of magical creatures would know that line.
Frankly, that passage was nearly as famous as the opening lines of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
"Mr. Malfoy."
It was the first time Sean had addressed Malfoy directly, and clearly not under circumstances Malfoy had ever imagined.
For the first time, he looked lost.
He had the strange feeling that the wizard the Malfoy family wanted to attach themselves to was nothing like the figure he'd built in his head.
"Were you frightened? I mean... class is over. You'd better go to the hospital wing."
Hagrid finally snapped back to himself and hurriedly asked.
"I... wasn't!"
Malfoy forced himself back to his feet and left with the rest of the Slytherins.
"He brought it on himself!"
Dean Thomas said bluntly before they left.
Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles menacingly when they heard that.
Then they looked at the Care of Magical Creatures assistant, who was calmly watching them, and immediately lost their nerve.
The remaining Gryffindors, meanwhile, were already chattering away.
Sean exchanged a look with Hagrid, and Hagrid raised a hand.
"Oh—well, that was a bit exciting... but you all must've learned something, and that's exactly what I wanted!
What lovely magical creatures they are, eh? If you treat them kindly, you'll get kindness back;
but if you come at 'em with arrogance and ignorance, ohhh, then you're in trouble..."
Hagrid said it in an exaggeratedly solemn tone.
"I'm guessing Sean taught Hagrid that bit," Ron muttered in surprise.
Harry wanted to object on Hagrid's behalf, but when he thought about Hagrid's great big head, he had to admit it probably hadn't come from him.
The Gryffindors didn't know Hagrid as well as that. They blinked at first, then started applauding in approval.
"He's actually right..."
"I thought he was just a big clueless bloke."
"Looks like we've got a decent professor after all..."
Hagrid heard them, and his face turned red all over.
He grinned foolishly and made sure every last student got safely back inside the castle.
When he came back, he was jogging, his face as red as a giant apple.
"You did well, Hagrid."
Sean said it encouragingly.
"Oh, blimey!"
Hagrid was practically trembling with happiness.
Sean knew that becoming a good professor had always been Hagrid's dream.
He was loyal to Headmaster Dumbledore—one of Dumbledore's people through and through—and had always admired the greatest white wizard of the century.
Now he had become a proper professor too.
How proud Dumbledore would be of him.
"It's all thanks to you."
Hagrid waved both hands awkwardly, as though embarrassed.
"Headmaster Dumbledore... would be happy for you."
Sean added another quiet word of encouragement.
"Oh, we've got to celebrate properly!"
Hagrid looked so excited he was close to fainting.
He ducked straight into the hut.
Hagrid's hut had only one room, with an enormous bed shoved into one corner and a patchwork quilt spread over it.
In front of the fire stood an equally enormous wooden table and chairs, and from the ceiling above the hearth hung hams and dead birds.
Hagrid started brewing tea and humming while he cooked pumpkin juice for Sean.
Even though the young wizard never admitted he liked it, somehow everyone seemed to know.
Only then did Sean finally have time to look at his newly unlocked title.
[Title: Favored by Magical Creatures]
[Greatly increases affinity with magical creatures, greatly increases understanding of magical creatures, greatly enhances magical-creature talent, and grants a small amount of direct communication ability with magical creatures]
[Advance: Possess seven magical-creature companions at Companion (Master-level) rank to unlock a Master-level title in the Magical Creatures field]
Greatly increases magical-creature talent?
Curious, Sean checked it.
[Wizard Sean, Magical Creatures Talent: Purple (boosted by the title "Favored by Magical Creatures"; original talent was White) Note: the average wizard is Green]
[Evaluation: You are naturally favored by magical creatures and can communicate with them directly to a limited extent.
You are a once-in-a-century genius in the magical branch of magical-creature studies. Given enough time to accumulate wisdom, you are destined to become a master of great significance in the field of magical-creature research.]
Can communicate directly with magical creatures to a limited extent...
Sean focused carefully on that line.
And suddenly realized that he was growing more and more like the wizards he had once imagined.
He could casually Transfigure objects and give them life; he could Transfigure wizards and even Muggles into animals; now he could also speak directly with animals...
But how was he supposed to communicate?
Curious, Sean stepped out of the hut.
Outside, Hagrid—who had just gone to pick pumpkins—was already facing his first problem of the day.
"My poor darling, Buckbeak—how could I forget you?"
Hagrid had his face close to Buckbeak's feathers, his eyebrows bent into the shape of a goose egg.
Buckbeak no longer looked calm or gentle. The whites of his eyes showed clearly, his gaze was stiff and fixed.
He stared at the Hagrid who had angered him, ears and nostrils pointed his way.
His breathing had quickened, his nostrils were round and flared, and the air he blew out came harder and heavier.
He was very obviously angry with Hagrid.
"You forgot him, Hagrid."
Sean stated the fact.
Now that Hagrid knew he had taught a perfect lesson, he'd gotten so carried away that he had hummed all the way home and led the hippogriffs off—
without sparing a thought for Buckbeak, who had been provoked and had still restrained his temper.
Having neglected him for so long, Hagrid was now paying the price—Buckbeak was about to ram his hut with his head.
"Sean... don't say it. I know..."
Hagrid turned around, looking utterly miserable, and muttered it as though on the verge of tears.
Sean looked back at Buckbeak.
His body was leaning back, forelegs lifted off the ground, reared up high.
That was a fairly serious threat display for a hippogriff, meaning he might stamp or strike with his forelegs.
"Screee—"
Buckbeak let out a long, piercing cry.
But the moment the sound reached Sean's ears, he froze.
"Hagrid, Buckbeak wants you to apologize."
Sean said it.
Though in his opinion, he was really just translating.
"Oh, Buckbeak, I'm sorry—"
Hagrid pleaded for forgiveness at once, without even thinking.
"Buckbeak wants the insects from the tree hollow in the southern part of the Forbidden Forest."
Sean added.
"Oh, come off it, Sean, that's the little fellows' territory..."
Hagrid looked torn.
The moment Buckbeak saw that expression, he started pawing the ground.
"Fine—I agree!"
Hagrid decided on the spot.
At this point, he would've marched straight into the Acromantulas' territory if he had to.
Buckbeak let out a loud snort and trotted off.
"Goodbye, Buckbeak! Thanks for your contribution to the lesson!"
Hagrid called after him happily.
"How about eating here, Sean?"
he invited again.
Sean declined to help Hagrid get through his stoat sandwiches and shook his head.
By then, the sky was gradually darkening.
Dusk came down, carrying with it the blurred outline of the distant hills.
Only when they stepped onto the castle stairs did Hagrid suddenly say:
"Sean, that thing just now—with Buckbeak—you understood him..."
The more he thought about it, the more tangled his speech became, until he simply stared at Sean with wide eyes.
"A few little tricks."
Sean said it with a smile.
"Oh!"
Hagrid clearly wanted to ask more, but in the end he only scratched his head and left.
He had always been thoughtful like that. He would never casually pry into another wizard's secrets.
Sean returned to Hogwarts as well. Looking at the empty corridor, he raised his wand and tapped it lightly against his chest.
[You practiced the Disillusionment Charm once at Expert standard. Proficiency +50]
Walking through the intoxicating scent of gardenias at dusk, Sean gradually approached the dungeon.
His Fiendfyre Curse was only three thousand proficiency points away from Master. If all went well, it would happen within three days.
On the way, he passed quite a few wizards. The first group he ran into was Justin and the others.
"Do you think Malfoy will be alright?"
Hermione asked.
"Of course he will. Madam Pomfrey will only find something wrong if she discovers his heart's defective."
Harry said.
"Hagrid's first lesson going like that... that's awful, isn't it?"
Ron sounded worried.
"Malfoy's definitely going to keep causing trouble for him later..."
"Don't worry. Care of Magical Creatures doesn't only have one professor."
Justin said it with a gentle smile.
The closer Sean got to the dungeon, the sooner he ran into Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore.
"Professor Trelawney really is..."
McGonagall didn't look especially pleased, but there was also the unmistakable relief of someone who had narrowly avoided disaster.
"Intriguing? Deliberately mysterious? Every Seer I've ever known is like that."
Dumbledore replied, glancing toward the corner where the young wizard was hiding.
"I hope next time she says things more clearly."
Professor McGonagall said with some irritation.
"On that point, I entirely agree with you, Minerva."
Dumbledore said it to the corner.
"What are you looking at?"
McGonagall immediately sensed something.
"Oh, a wall. A wall that doesn't talk."
Dumbledore replied blandly.
...
On the second day of term,
Sean was about to attend his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
And on that same day, his Expert-level Fiendfyre was about to advance.
When Gryffindor and Ravenclaw arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Professor Lupin had not yet appeared.
Sean sat down beside Hermione.
They had been moving around together quite often lately.
They took out their textbooks, quills, and parchment, and just then Professor Lupin finally entered the classroom.
There was a faint smile on his face as he set that battered old trunk on the desk.
He was still the same as ever, but now he was wearing new clothes, and his complexion looked much better than it had on the train. It seemed he had found work with more meaning in it.
"Good afternoon,"
he said.
"Put your books back in your bags. Today's lesson will be practical. You'll only need your wands."
The students put their books away and exchanged curious looks.
They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson before—unless last year's unforgettable class counted.
In that class, their former teacher had brought a cage full of Cornish pixies into the room and then let them all out.
"Right then,"
said Professor Lupin once everyone was ready,
"follow me."
The students got to their feet, puzzled but intrigued, and followed Lupin out of the classroom.
He led them down an empty corridor and around a corner, where they immediately spotted Peeves hanging upside down in midair, stuffing chewing gum into the nearest keyhole.
Peeves only looked up when Lupin was two steps away. Wiggling his curled-up toes, he suddenly broke into song:
"Loony Lupin, great big loon, Loony Lupin, great big loon, Loony Lupin, great big loon—"
Peeves was always rude and unruly, but he usually showed a bit more respect to teachers.
Everyone hurriedly looked at Professor Lupin to see how he would react.
To their surprise, he was still smiling—and even glanced at Sean.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!