Chapter 190

Chapter 190

“Good morning, Hermione.” Suer had only just greeted a hurried Hermione on the third floor when he encountered another Hermione eating breakfast in the Great Hall on the ground floor.

Sometimes it left him thoroughly disorientated, meeting two Hermiones within the same span of time.

Only a few days had passed since the start of term, yet faint shadows had already appeared beneath Hermione’s eyes. Including the core subjects, she was taking twelve courses, which meant every day was spent rushing between lessons and homework.

No one possessed limitless energy. If this continued, her health would inevitably suffer. That would not do.

Moreover, the electives were only simple introductory courses for now. As her studies deepened, the material would certainly become more difficult and the workload more demanding. The challenge would lie not merely in the quantity of the work, but in its quality.

Completing even a little work to a high standard demanded far more effort than producing a great deal of mediocre work.

But the single-minded Hermione wanted to earn O.W.L.s in all twelve subjects, and Suer’s attempts to persuade her had failed to change her mind.

Suer chose not to lecture her now. He knew breakfast was one of Hermione’s rare chances to relax.

Hermione hurried away to class as soon as she finished eating. The Hermione on the third floor needed that time to complete her homework, while the one in the Great Hall had another elective to attend. Fortunately, it was Muggle Studies, which counted as a relaxing subject for someone born into a Muggle family.

Suer, meanwhile, leisurely savoured the last piece of apple pie, brushed off his hands and crossed the entrance hall to leave the castle.

He had no lessons that morning and could have enjoyed a lie-in, but he had suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.

It came back to him only when he saw the timetable Justin had left on the table.

The following morning, they would have their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson taught by Hagrid.

The weather was pleasant. The morning sun had not yet begun to show its strength, and the sunlight felt comfortably warm upon his body.

Hagrid was wearing his moleskin coat and working with his head lowered in the vegetable patch beside his hut. He appeared to be crushing slugs into a pulp, then pouring it over several absurdly large cabbages.

“Whine… woof, woof!” Fang was the first to notice Suer approaching along the path. He wagged the short tail behind his enormous rump in excitement.

“Ha… Fang, it’s been a while.” Suer was nearly knocked onto his backside when Fang charged at him. He barely managed to keep the dog’s tongue from reaching his face. Heaven knew what Fang might have licked with it moments earlier.

After two months apart, the great dog was almost delirious with joy. Suer could barely withstand such enthusiastic affection.

Fortunately, Hagrid finally noticed Suer’s predicament. He put down the thick stick in his hand, dusted off his palms and came over to seize Fang by the collar.

“Morning, Suer.” Hagrid beamed and gave Suer’s shoulder a vigorous slap with one hand the size of a fan.

“Congratulations, Hagrid. Your first lesson is tomorrow. How are the preparations going?” Suer rubbed his aching shoulder and grimaced. Few people could remain expressionless beneath a half-giant’s affection.

“Oh, of course!” Hagrid immediately grew animated. “I have Professor Dumbledore to thank for giving me the opportunity.”
He laughed happily and led Suer towards the hut. “I learnt quite a lot while helping Professor Grubbly-Plank prepare lessons last year. As soon as Professor Dumbledore offered me the position, I wrote to her for advice.”

“I’ve already decided which magical creatures to introduce to you. I promise you’ll never forget them. It’ll be brilliant.”

Suer’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that.

He had a very bad feeling about this.

Yet his expression did not change as he played along. “Ha, then I can hardly wait. Any chance I might see what they are in advance?”

“Er…” Hagrid stopped, looking hesitant. “Well, it won’t be a surprise if I tell you beforehand.”

“Oh, Hagrid, you can’t do this. You know how curious I am. I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” Suer immediately pressed him.

“Just let me take one look. What do you say, Hagrid? I only want to know what you’ve prepared, and I promise I won’t tell our classmates.”

Under Suer’s repeated pleading, Hagrid began to waver. He thought for a long while before muttering, “All right, all right. For you, I suppose I can let you have a look.”

“But you must promise not to tell anyone. Harry and the others chose this subject too, and I want to surprise them. I guarantee they’ve never seen creatures like these before.”

Success. Suer had known Hagrid found it difficult to refuse anyone.

Suer nodded repeatedly and thumped his chest. “Of course, Hagrid. You can trust me completely. If there’s one thing about me that’s reliable, it’s my sealed lips.”

“I hope so.” Hagrid nodded. “I was going to let you try the new sticky cake I’ve invented, but wait here instead. I’ll need to bring something if we’re going to see those fellows.”

Suer gave Fang’s ears a few strokes outside the door. Hagrid soon emerged from the wooden hut carrying a large covered bucket, its contents hidden from view.

The faint smell of blood made Suer’s foreboding even stronger. “What’s inside, Hagrid?”

“Oh, meat.” Hagrid made no attempt to hide it. “I added a little something special. The little fellows absolutely love it.”

As he spoke, Hagrid lifted the lid. A much stronger smell of blood struck Suer’s nose. Hagrid proudly raised his eyebrows. “I added chicken blood and some offal. A simple trick.”

“Come on, follow me. You’re going to be amazed.” Hagrid picked up the bucket and gestured for Suer to follow.

That settled it. Unless Suer was mistaken, Hagrid intended to introduce them to carnivorous magical creatures.

Suer’s guess proved correct.

Hagrid led him past a simple paddock–probably the place he had prepared for his lessons–and farther into the woods. Before long, they reached a clearing surrounded by trees.

“Fweee!” Hagrid raised a whistle and blew hard, sending a piercing note far into the distance.

“These little ones come straight over when they hear that. It’s the signal we agreed on,” Hagrid explained.

“Oh, here they come.” He happily pointed Suer in their direction.

Ha. Hippogriffs, just as he expected…

The letter Suer had written to Hagrid over the summer had clearly failed to achieve its purpose.