Chapter 3

On the first day of her third year, Grace followed the other Gryffindor students to their first subject, Care of Magical Creatures. The class was combined with Slytherin and taught by Hagrid.

She actually spent most of her time trying to learn more about every subject, she even tried to use some spells she had learned. Thankfully, nothing’s wrong, her only worry was the trouble that was about to happen.

Hagrid led the students to the Pumpkin Patch near the Castle and Hagrid’s hut. When they arrived, he showed them the magical creature, which amazed her.

Hagrid fed the creature then introduced it to them. ” Isn’t it beautiful? Say hello to Buckbeak!”

Ron frowned and asked, ” Hagrid, what is that?”

” That, Ron, is a Hippogriff. The first thing you need to know about Hippogriffs is that they’re very proud creatures, very easily offended,” Hagrid explained. ” You do not want to insult a Hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do. Now, who’d like to come and say hello?”

Grace listened intently to Hagrid. She had been about to speak up, but then watched as everyone else took a step back, leaving her and Harry confused at the front. Though she felt tempted to step back too to join the others, she noticed Hagrid looked pleased to see more than one student who appeared interested.

Hagrid clapped his hands and laughed. ” Well done, Harry and who’s this?”

He looked at Grace with expectation, leaving her no choice but to bite the bullet. ” Grace Ashworth.”

” Very good! Harry and Grace, now, how about Grace, you try first?”

Grace hesitated for a moment, but reasoned that as long as she acted responsibly, unlike how she knew Malfoy would behave, she would be fine. Bracing herself, she took a step forward and followed Hagrid’s instructions.

” It’s only right to be polite. So first, step up, then give it a nice bow and wait for it to bow back. If he does, you can go and touch him.” Hagrid instructed

Grace gave Buckbeak a polite bow then she saw it slowly bow too. She let out a sigh of relief before standing up. Hagrid looked at her happily and encouraged her to touch it.

She took a step towards Buckbeak and touched him. She only touched him for a moment, but it was enough. Hagrid clapped, and the others, especially the Gryffindors joined in. She gave them a polite smile and rejoined the crowd.

She watched Harry touch Buckbeak and fly off. Then she noticed Hermione grab Ron’s wrist without thinking. Ron got all flustered from it, but Hermione just rolled her eyes again and let go fast. She’d done it without realizing because she was worried about Harry riding Buckbeak.

A few minutes later Harry came back. She saw Malfoy push his classmates out of the way and storm over to Buckbeak like he was looking for trouble. She frowned, she really didn’t like trouble, especially when it could be avoided. Even though she knew she’d be fine just standing there and watching, it was different when you actually saw what was going on.

She hadn’t thought of interfering with what was about to happen, but thinking of how Buckbeak had let her touch him, she thought ‘ Just a minor change won’t affect things too much, right? Anyway, as long as everyone is safe, it should be fine. ‘

After she quickly made up her mind, she quickly pulled out her wand to pull Malfoy out.

Just when everyone thought Draco was about to get hurt, he was quickly pulled out of danger in a second, everyone gasp as they look towards Grace

A glowing cord shot from her wand and wrapped around Draco.

“Carpe Retractum!” Grace pulled Draco towards her, then she quickly put her hand on his shoulder when he was about an arm’s length away to stop him from moving closer.

” You’re reckless, too bold, and very.. very courageous, not like a Slytherin at all,” Grace commented calmly when she saw Draco about to lash out. “Next time, listen to your teacher and stop acting like an idiot.”

“What did you say?!” Draco’s face turned red with anger.

Grace glanced towards Buckbeak and Hagrid, then turned to leave. But Draco quickly stopped her, thankfully, Hermione and the others held him back.

” Malfoy, you should be grateful to her, she just saved your life! And what’s more, she’s only telling the truth!” Hermione said sharply, her brow furrowed with indignation.

” That’s exactly right!” Ron chimed in, beaming with satisfaction as he took in Malfoy’s scowling face.

” Grateful?! Telling the truth?! I never asked for her help!” Malfoy snapped, struggling against the Slytherins holding him back.

” Whether you asked for it or not doesn’t matter, Malfoy,” Harry cut in, stepping forward beside Hermione.

” She did the right thing, Buckbeak was only reacting to how you were acting toward him.”

“Now now, let’s all calm down!” Hagrid boomed, moving between the groups with his large hands held out to keep everyone apart. ” There’s no need for shouting, we’re all here to learn about these creatures, not start fights!”

Pansy pulled Draco away to head back to the castle after the class was over. Hermione watched them walk off, then pulled Harry towards Grace, who was talking to Hagrid.

“Hagrid, you really need to change how you teach this class. If Draco had really gotten injured, do you know what would happen to Buckbeak?”

“Buckbeak’s good! He won’t die even if he was attack” Hagrid said.

“No, he wouldn’t die, but Buckbeak might have,” Grace said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at the half-giant, who clearly still wanted to argue.

“What do you mean, Grace?” Hermione asked when she heard this.

“Are you defending Malfoy?!” Ron asked in shock, as if feeling betrayed.

“Stop it, Ron!” Hermione shouted.

“Grace, why did you save Malfoy? At worst, he’d only have gotten some scratches, doesn’t he need to learn the consequences of his arrogance sometimes?” Harry asked in confusion.

Grace couldn’t help but sigh, these three and Hagrid really were on the same page. Maybe that’s why they’re so close to each other.

” You know how petty Draco is, right? He might have been planning to cause trouble and show off, but think about it, if Buckbeak had really hurt him, he would have made a huge deal out of it. His family is so powerful they could make Buckbeak disappear as in.. dead. Do you really think they won’t dare?” Grace continued, ” Also, Harry, I understand your point, but like I said, this could have cost a life. If saving a little snake can save a life of an innocent creature, then it is worth it.”

” Aren’t you overthinking it?” Ron asked, still a little doubtful.

” No, Grace is right,” Hermione stop Ron as she realized Grace’s train of thought which she understands, she explained  ” As long as Malfoy gets a chance, he’ll definitely make a big deal out of it, even if it doesn’t cost Buckbeak’s life, Hagrid would still be in trouble. It’s his first day teaching, and without explaining things properly, he let students touch such a large creature as a Hippogriff. If anything happens, then the blame would be on Hagrid no matter how you look at it,” Thinking it over, she looked at Grace with admiration.

“Grace, you really think fast!” Hermione said excitedly.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, then joined Grace in convincing Hagrid.

Grace smiled and nodded at them.
‘ Now, I’m definitely the one in trouble, how should I deal with that kid? It’s because my mouth can’t really hold back sometimes’