Though the young witches and wizards were inexperienced newcomers with limited knowledge, this didn't mean they were idiots.
Looking at these magical creatures that clearly weren't to be messed with—I'd have to be completely mad to want to get close to them!
Well, at least some people thought this way. After all, hippogriffs were XXX-classified magical creatures, already considered quite dangerous in the magical creature world.
Although they didn't yet understand much about this type of magical creature, the proud aura radiating from their entire beings made them feel difficult to approach.
Seeing that his words hadn't elicited much response and that the young witches and wizards had all nervously stepped back another pace, Hagrid scratched his head, gave an embarrassed laugh, and began introducing the correct methods for getting along with hippogriffs.
"Right, so the first thing about hippogriffs is that these animals are proud, which means humans can very easily offend them."
Hagrid raised a finger and shook it.
"Trust me, you never want to offend a hippogriff, because the consequences might be the last thing you'd ever want to see."
Everyone remained silent, quietly listening to Hagrid's explanation—after all, this concerned their personal safety.
Wait a minute—why would attending a Care of Magical Creatures class put our personal safety at risk?!
"Next, in the process of approaching a hippogriff, the first step is to bow to it while ensuring your gaze maintains constant eye contact with its eyes. This point is especially important."
"If you don't follow this rule, then the hippogriff will consider you extremely disrespectful, and they'll attack you—so please remember my words and absolutely don't make mistakes!"
Hagrid said this seriously, his usually gentle face becoming more stern, which combined with his words looked particularly convincing.
"Well then, what you need to do is finished. The only thing you need to do next is wait."
"Wait for the hippogriff to respond to your courtesy—it will also bow to you to show it has accepted you. Once that's done, the entire pre-contact process is complete, and those lovely creatures' wonderfully textured fur is yours to stroke. But your movements must be gentle—don't go too far, or they'll turn on you too."
"Of course, there's another possibility: if the subject of your bow doesn't return your courtesy, then you must leave immediately, or you'll be harmed!"
At the back of the crowd, Hermione listened to Hagrid's explanation and couldn't help but hug her arms and nod.
"Mm, not bad. Hagrid's explanation is very detailed and emphasizes the points that need attention. Looks like he's been preparing properly—my efforts weren't in vain."
"Based on my previous impression of Hagrid, he's unlikely to manage such detailed explanations, so from what you're saying, you taught him this through letters during the summer?"
Hermione raised her thumb, closed one eye, and smiled mischievously:
"Bingo! Correct!"
"When I learned that Hagrid would become the Care of Magical Creatures professor next term, I volunteered to start giving him advice. Although all my suggestions were about his speaking patterns when explaining things to everyone in class, and the key points in the information he explained—what needed detailed explanation—the main content of the classes, meaning the magical creatures Hagrid would explain to everyone, were all his choice. But from what I can see now, Hagrid's doing very well."
"I see."
Glenn nodded. No wonder he always felt Hagrid's way of speaking had suddenly changed quite a bit—turns out he had a little strategist behind him.
"Though it's a bit unfair to Hagrid to say this, I always felt that if we left him alone, with the big guy's somewhat insecure personality and rather thick-nerved way of speaking, Care of Magical Creatures classes might have some avoidable troubles."
"So I discussed some methods for teaching people during class with Hagrid. After all, I'm the president of the Study Club, and while I can't compare to the other professors in imparting knowledge, I'm still more experienced than Hagrid, who's just starting as a professor with no teaching experience. But judging from now, Hagrid's doing quite well—he's covered all the key points, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Hermione shrugged. This matter really wasn't much to her—being able to help her friend was what made her happy.
"Right, that's all I'll say about the details of getting along with hippogriffs. So, does anyone want to try first?"
As soon as Hagrid's words fell, a figure squeezed out from the crowd. Everyone looked closely—it was actually Harry.
Draco merely raised an eyebrow at this, said nothing more, and quietly retracted the foot he'd been about to step forward with.
Harry looked somewhat nervous. He took a deep breath and looked up at Hagrid.
"I want to try."
Hagrid laughed heartily, his large palm gently patting Harry's back in comfort:
"Relax, don't be so nervous. Just do as I said and you'll be fine."
"Remember, your attitude must be sincere, and absolutely don't let your gaze wander."
Hagrid said this while walking toward the hippogriff closest to the young witches and wizards among the twelve, bringing it out and unfastening the leather collar around its neck.
All the young witches and wizards on site held their breath, staring unblinkingly at Harry and that hippogriff.
"This is Buckbeak. I hope you two can get along well."
Hagrid introduced, then stepped aside, leaving the space to Harry and Buckbeak.
Harry nodded, then slowly approached Buckbeak while trying hard to keep his eyes open.
"Don't blink—that'll make it not trust you..."
Hagrid reminded him quietly from the side, though his voice really couldn't be called quiet.
Fortunately, today's air was relatively humid; otherwise Harry thought he definitely wouldn't be able to hold on and would close his eyes. But even so, he felt like he was about to start crying.
But luckily, the hippogriff called Buckbeak seemed to notice Harry, gradually turning its head over, its naturally imposing orange-yellow pupils staring at Harry.
"You can bow now, Harry."
Hagrid directed from the side, and Harry complied.
He bowed slightly while maintaining eye contact, then straightened up with movements as small as possible.
The hippogriff in front of him didn't move, and Harry's heart tightened.
"Could it be that I failed?"
But the next moment, Buckbeak suddenly bent its front knees, its body sinking down—it bowed.
"Well done, Harry!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
🤔 Want to know what happens next to the characters?
🤫 Eager to explore the untold secrets of this world?
✍️ Ready to read more of my wildest stories?
✨patreon.com/DarkGolds