Thoughtform Exposed, Hippogriffs

Leaving the Divination classroom, Harry remained silent, weighed down by his worries.

Others might have had their doubts, but he had seen the "Grim" Professor Trelawney had spoken of—the very night he had run away from home.

He could have kept deceiving himself into thinking it was merely a coincidence, but now he could not help worrying.

Aaron did not look much better either. He had not received a "death notice," but the prophecy concerning him symbolized the thing he hated most—trouble.

Though that future might be several years away, it would come eventually. And he was certain that the prophecy had a one hundred percent chance of coming true.

"Do you think that Grim has something to do with Sirius Black?" Ron asked.

"It definitely does," Aaron said with certainty. "I hate to say it, but Sirius Black is the only one who fits."

"To be honest, I don’t think Divination holds up to scrutiny at all," Hermione said irritably. "Arithmancy is much more interesting."

"You only say that because the Arithmancy textbook is more useful than Unfogging the Future, right?" Aaron said teasingly.

Arithmancy interpreted a person’s fate and character through numbers, using them to predict the future.

Compared to simple numbers, the patterns in tea leaves were far more abstract. Crystal Ball Divination, which they would study later, did not even have patterns to interpret—it depended entirely on personal talent.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Professor Victor’s numerology is based on a series of rules and rigorous mathematical calculations. There’s a method to it."

Aaron shrugged. The methods of studying Divination and Arithmancy seemed somewhat opposed, and Hermione clearly preferred the one that allowed her talent to shine.

"Wait, aren’t Divination and Arithmancy at the same time?" Ron looked at Hermione in confusion. "How are you taking both classes at once?"

"Don’t be silly. No one can take two classes at the same time," Hermione said without thinking, but the moment she finished speaking, her expression turned strange.

She could barely manage several electives by using a Time-Turner, yet Aaron had not used one. But he had also appeared in the Arithmancy classroom that morning.

Oh no! Was the Thoughtform about to be exposed?

Seeing Hermione’s puzzled gaze, Aaron immediately realized what she was thinking.

"Cough, cough… Um, Gryffindor’s next class is Transfiguration. Don’t keep Professor McGonagall waiting."

"Wait." Hermione stopped Aaron at once, then turned to Harry and Ron. "You two go ahead. I have something to discuss with him."

The two exchanged glances and quickly left.

Only then did Hermione ask meaningfully, "Shouldn’t you explain yourself?"

"Explain what?"

"Don’t play dumb." Hermione snorted. "You didn’t use a Time-Turner, so how did you appear in two classrooms at once?"

"Perhaps I did use one?" Aaron put on a smile, trying to gloss over it.

"Is that so?"

Hermione slowly moved closer. Her large, sparkling eyes held amusement, seriousness, and a trace of teasing, like a vicious fox staring at a weak, pitiful, and innocent little rabbit.

She pointed at the Time-Turner around her neck and said pointedly, "I didn’t see your watch."

"Perhaps…"

"Don’t tell me you lost it." Hermione crossed her arms and cut him off. "It’s a magical artifact related to time. If you had lost it, you wouldn’t be this calm."

A trace of helplessness flashed through Aaron’s eyes. He shook his head with a bitter smile. "I was careless.

"I really didn’t expect you to take five electives like I did. And I certainly didn’t expect Professor McGonagall to apply for an artifact like a Time-Turner for you."

Hermione immediately beamed. "Can you tell me now? How did you appear in two classrooms at once?"

"No. It’s my secret.

"And you can’t tell anyone else, either."

"Got it. I promise I won’t tell anyone." Hermione smiled brightly. "How many people know this secret of yours?"

"A few, but you’re the only one who discovered it on your own." Aaron sighed helplessly. To be more precise, she was the only person in this world who knew. Not even Dumbledore or his family knew he had a Thoughtform clone.

"I still feel pretty accomplished hearing that." Hermione smiled smugly. "It’s fine if you won’t tell me. Books hold plenty of answers. I’ll figure it out myself."

Aaron: …

Fine. It was not completely unacceptable for the Thoughtform to be discovered, but his abilities absolutely could not be exposed.

After lunch came Care of Magical Creatures.

Aaron took Abei outside the castle, and boy and dragon freely breathed in the fresh air after the rain.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins who had chosen the elective gradually gathered in front of Hagrid’s hut. Each of them held a strange book—Moste Potente Potions.

"Right, gather closer, and please don’t talk." Hagrid, wearing a moleskin overcoat, looked somewhat excitedly at the twenty-odd students gathered before him. "Today, I’m gonna give yeh a real treat. It’ll be a brilliant lesson. Follow me."

Hagrid led the students to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where a stone fence formed a moderately sized enclosure.

"Everyone, stand together and turn to page forty-nine."

"But how do we open this book?" Draco asked lazily. His book was undoubtedly a collector’s edition, but it was no different from the ordinary version. It would still bite once opened.

"Just stroke it." Aaron casually ran a hand along Abei’s back. "Like this."

"Very good, Gaius." Hagrid looked at Abei excitedly. "Just like petting a dragon—no, like petting a cat."

He walked over to Aaron, wanting to try it himself.

But the moment he reached out, Abei bared its sharp teeth and let out a warning growl.

"Professor Hagrid, personally, I don’t think my cat likes you very much," Aaron reminded him.

Hagrid regretfully withdrew his hand, then took Hermione’s textbook and ran his thumb down its spine.

The textbook trembled, but once opened, it did not bite. Instead, it lay quietly in Hagrid’s hand like an ordinary book.

Seeing this, the other students also stroked their textbooks before opening them with relief.

Everyone except Neville Longbottom. Though an entire Summer Holiday had passed, he still had not overcome his forgetfulness. He opened his textbook without stroking it first and was left in a terrible state by Moste Potente Potions, with several holes bitten into his wizarding robes.

"These books are really ridiculous," Hermione said.

"Yeah! Ridiculous indeed." Draco sneered. "What a clever design. If this school keeps going like this, it’s finished.

"If my father finds out that Dumbledore let Hagrid teach, things will get interesting."

"Draco," Aaron said helplessly, "Hagrid knows enough about magical creatures to be a professor."

"He knows a lot about magical creatures, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to teach!" Draco said righteously. "Don’t forget, this giant has no teaching experience at all."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry could not help saying.

"Watch out, Potter. There’s a Dementor behind you," Draco teased. "Potter, I know you and Rubeus Hagrid are close, but am I wrong?"

Harry opened his mouth, but had no reply.

No one wanted Hagrid’s first class to succeed more than he did, but in truth, even he worried that some teaching mishap might occur. After all, ordinary people did not dare keep those fierce magical creatures as pets.

At that moment, more than a dozen animals appeared in the distance. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, along with the heads, foreclaws, and wings of eagles.

Each wore a collar around its neck, and Hagrid slowly led them into the enclosure on chains.

"Hippogriffs," Aaron murmured in surprise.

"You know them?" Hermione asked. Harry and Ron also looked at him curiously.

"I’ve read no fewer books than you have, but this is my first time seeing this kind of magical creature too."

"No matter how magical they are, they can’t compare to your… cat," Draco said. Abei immediately raised its proud dragon head and gave Draco an approving look.

You do have good taste. I’m the undisputed boss among Hogwarts’ magical creatures.

Dumbledore’s Phoenix used to be barely capable of standing on equal footing with me, but after evolving once, I can definitely crush that bird now.

"Since you know Hippogriffs, then…" Ron stammered, "are they dangerous?"

"Depends." Aaron smacked his lips. "Hippogriffs are the offspring of male Griffins and female horses. Before they are tamed, they are especially fierce, but once tamed, they won’t hurt you."

"So that means…" Harry swallowed. "We have to tame them next?"

"More or less."

"Is it dangerous?" Hermione asked uneasily. Even she was somewhat intimidated by such large magical creatures.

"You should have faith in Hagrid," Aaron said easily. "It isn’t dangerous to me. It’s even quite easy, but for you… it’s better to follow the proper steps.

"To put it plainly, Hippogriffs may be unusual, but they are still animals. As long as you’re strong enough, there’s no need to follow any rules—they’ll submit on their own."

"Strong enough?" Draco stroked his chin, looking eager to try.

"Don’t get any wild ideas." Aaron patted his shoulder. "You’d better do as Hagrid says."

Hagrid led a blue-gray Hippogriff into the enclosure. Looking at its body, which was even larger than a horse’s, everyone felt both curious and nervous.

"Isn’t it beautiful?" Hagrid fed it a dead chicken ferret, stirring it up. "Everyone, meet Buckbeak, a Hippogriff.

"First, yeh need to understand that they’re very proud and they’ve got bad tempers. Never insult a Hippogriff, or it might cost yeh yer life.

"Now then, who wants to say hello to it?"