Chapter 181: I Think I Know How to Cast a Patronus Charm
"This is Buckbeak." Hagrid led the Hippogriff furthest to the right in front of everyone. After letting them get a good look, he pushed it back.
Immediately after, he released the leading Hippogriff, which had a cool expression. He even removed the collar from its neck. "This is Sequeel." Hagrid stroked this all-black Hippogriff, which was more robust and looked nobler and sharper compared to Buckbeak.
"You'll approach slowly and bow to it. If it bows back to you, you can pet it. If not, leave immediately; it will surely take your lives." With that, Hagrid clapped his hands. "Alright, who wants to say hello first?" Hagrid looked expectant.
In reality, Hagrid had set up a small, seemingly useless fence here. He and the Hippogriffs stayed within the enclosure. However, many students, seeing these creatures for the first time, felt nervous and didn't want to get close. So, upon hearing Hagrid's words, many took a synchronized step backward.
Harry swallowed. He didn't want to see Hagrid's first time as a professor fall flat. But for him to go up and interact with these large creatures... Harry was hesitating.
Suddenly, a figure beside him directly climbed over the fence.
"Hi! I knew you'd be interested, Dylan!" Hagrid's eyes lit up. He knew Dylan's interest in these magical creatures was no less than his own! "Come on, try it, let me see what Sequeel thinks of you."
Hagrid made way—but not too far. He still stood beside Dylan. It was indeed possible for students to encounter danger when interacting closely with these powerful magical creatures. Although he was big-hearted, slow to react, and not particularly good at understanding—he wasn't a fool. He wouldn't let students interact with these magical creatures without any protective measures. As for what those protective measures were? Well, he was already standing there, so did it even need to be said?
Dylan slowly approached, treading on scattered leaves. The sole of his boot crushed dry leaves covered by dappled tree shadows, making a soft sound. He arrived in front of Sequeel.
Sequeel stood in a clear patch of ground, its pure black wings glowing with an ethereal blue sheen under the golden sunlight. The sunlight filtered through the gaps in its feathers, casting intricate shadows on its muscular physique. Unlike the other Hippogriffs, whose eyes were merely amber, Sequeel's eyes were golden. Its golden eyes were sharp, comparable to a hawk's.
The creature lowered its head, meeting Dylan's gaze. Something unexpected happened to Hagrid. This usually fierce Hippogriff uncharacteristically retreated half a step, averting its golden eyes, and its iron-grey beak turned slightly.
This was typically a display of dominance from a predator, but at this moment, it carried a clumsy awkwardness.
Dylan blinked and took another step forward. Sequeel's hind hooves seemed to step on a pebble, its hindquarters slipping. Its flamboyant black wings folded, and it staggered a few times before regaining its balance.
Hagrid's eyes widened: "Merlin's beard, what's wrong with you today? This isn't like your usual behavior! Have you forgotten how you bit three Bowtruckles when you were little?"
Sequeel glanced at Hagrid. Hagrid saw that the creature didn't show any rejection towards Dylan, so he waved to Dylan. "Alright—alright, please begin your bow, little 'uns."
When an ordinary human exposes the back of their neck to a beast like a Hippogriff, it is equivalent to voluntarily offering their fatal vulnerability. This is both a sign of respect for the creature and a dangerous test.
Dylan lightly pressed his left hand to his chest, his black wizard's robe falling naturally as he bowed. His spine tautened into an elegant curve, the back of his neck revealing a healthy complexion under the sunlight.
Dylan disdained maintaining vigilance. If this little fellow named Sequeel were to attack him, it would surely endure pain and torment far beyond its imagination. As he straightened, Dylan's fingertips still needed to rest on his lapel.
"Very good, composed and unflustered." Hagrid nodded repeatedly from the side.
As soon as Dylan stood up, everyone's attention focused on Sequeel. Almost immediately, Sequeel sharply lowered its head and bowed to Dylan. Its head was almost beneath Dylan's crotch.
Hagrid found nothing wrong with this. Seeing Sequeel respond, he grew even more excited. He clapped his hands loudly. "Excellent! I never thought teaching would be this easy!"
It was so successful on the first try! Hagrid quickly said, "Sequeel seems to favor you, Dylan; it's agreed to let you pet it."
Dylan's lips curved into a smile, and he raised his hand. Sequeel wisely lowered its head, allowing Dylan to pet it better. Dylan's palm stroked down Sequeel's head mane; his fingertips could feel that each feather was as hard as thin wire—but not rough.
"Hmm, the feather shaft is sturdy enough, and the feather density is high enough. It's just that the oil secretion is too vigorous. If I want to use these feathers for experiments, it's best to treat them with a drying charm for a while." Dylan mumbled softly.
Hagrid, loudly clapping his hands, couldn't hear him at all. Sequeel, however, heard clearly what Dylan had just said. Its massive body couldn't help but tremble. However, Dylan's palm stroked down its head, then stroked the wattle under its jaw, even pausing for a moment at its gular pouch, feeling the sensation in his hand.
"The vocal cord structure is also good. I wonder if the materials from a Hippogriff can provide any assistance to my experiments." Sequeel trembled even more violently.
"Oh ho ho! That's the little fella telling you to pet it harder, Dylan, harder!" Hagrid yelled from the side.
Dylan took the cue, exerting pressure with his fingers and plucking a few broken feathers. "Hmm?" Sequeel cried out. Dylan withdrew his hand and held the broken feathers up to the sunlight. Looking at the fine pores in the feather shaft, Dylan slightly frowned. "The toughness is a bit lacking, not suitable for Transfiguration charm conduits—Transfiguration experiments can be directly ruled out then."
The students behind him, witnessing Dylan's interaction with Sequeel, found that the latter was so pleased by the petting that it even let out cheerful cries. This piqued the interest of many students. Coupled with Hagrid's shouting and yelling, which stirred up the atmosphere, many students gasped in amazement.
"Very good, the little fella really likes you! It's the first time I've seen anyone pet it and it cries out in happiness!" Hagrid rubbed his large hands together and chuckled, shaking his bushy beard. "Now, try it."
"—Ride it!"
Dylan discreetly tucked the few feathers into his pocket. "I've ridden dragons, I've ridden a phoenix, and now I'll unlock another creature." Dylan approached Sequeel's side. Hagrid also came closer, guiding him on what to do.
"See here? Behind the wing joint, you can step on it—don't worry, it won't hurt, the bones here are very hard. Step here to climb up."
Hagrid mumbled incessantly. Dylan indeed planned to step on Sequeel's wing joint and swing onto its back. However, amidst Hagrid's rambling, disjointed explanations, Dylan's boot tip had just touched Sequeel's flank.
This outwardly haughty Hippogriff suddenly curled its scaly limbs, sinking its spine towards the ground like a domesticated dog. It also lowered its head, voluntarily twisting its neck into a submissive curve.
Hagrid, standing by, was stunned, his mouth agape, his arm frozen in mid-air. All the warnings he was about to shout were stuck in his throat. The observing Gryffindors and Slytherins also raised their eyebrows.
"Professor Hagrid." In the front row, a Gryffindor boy scratched his face. "What does that mean?"
Another Gryffindor student also yelled: "Professor Hagrid, didn't you say these beasts are very fierce?"
"And very proud!"
"Especially prone to losing their temper with anyone!"
"They might take our lives!"
Many students in the crowd spoke one after another, their tones laced with confusion and a hint of amusement.
Hagrid chuckled sheepishly, scratching his shaggy hair: "Well... perhaps it's Dylan's aura; it's more familiar with it—I mean, it likes it."
Dylan glanced at Hagrid. "If that's all it is, then I want to ride this one—" Before the student could finish speaking, the dozen or so other Hippogriffs nearby immediately looked at him, their gazes almost tangible. The student's words instantly caught in his throat.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Hagrid warned.
Dylan ignored them. He didn't need to swing onto its back; he only needed to lightly lift his leg to sit directly on Sequeel's spine. Straddling it. Since Sequeel's collar had been removed by Hagrid, he didn't even have anything to grip. Finally, his gaze fell on the tuft of mane on Sequeel's hind neck.
"Forget it, this hair feels like it'll fall off with a tug." This little fella's behavior towards him was quite good, actually. Dylan didn't need to trouble it so much.
If he really wanted some feathers or something, he could just ask Hagrid to call these Hippogriffs over next time they had a clandestine meeting in the small forest. Then, by taking a few from each, it wouldn't make any single one bald.
Dylan used a charm to steady himself. Combined with his usual flying, whether by transforming himself, riding a broom, or riding Norberta wildly through the air, Dylan had quite stable flying skills.
So, even without holding onto anything, merely placing his hands lightly on Sequeel's back was enough to keep him steady and prevent him from falling from mid-air.
—Of course, the balancing charm he cast was also very important.
Once seated, Dylan patted Sequeel's rump. Hagrid, watching from the side, was stunned again. He had been startled by Dylan's actions just now. He had never even patted the Hippogriffs' rumps before.
No, he had once. And he ended up being kicked away. After that, it took him a tremendous amount of effort to calm that Hippogriff down.
This time, seeing Dylan pat Sequeel's rump, he thought the creature would furiously throw Dylan off and was already prepared to help. But to his surprise, Sequeel only wiggled its rump, then stretched out its limbs and stood up. Dylan remained steadily seated on its back.
"This..." Hagrid opened his mouth. How could this be... It really was different from his experience? And it wasn't like what was written in the book either! For this class, he had stayed up several nights, poring over The Monster Book and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!
"Let's go, go, go!" Dylan patted Sequeel's rump again.
The creature awkwardly shifted its neck, but obediently spread its pure black wings. The combined span of its two wings was a full ten feet. With a single flap, it instantly whipped up a strong gust of wind.
The fallen leaves on the ground were blown away, the surrounding tree leaves rustled, and the nearby small bushes were swayed violently. Then, it pushed off the ground with its hind legs, kicking up a large cloud of dust and shattered leaves.
Man and beast shot into the sky in a blink of an eye. The forest below rustled under the impact of the airflow, the treetops pressed towards the ground by the wind pressure. Dylan, however, was not affected by the strong wind. He sat on Sequeel's back, circling widely in the air.
The fierce wind tore at his cloak as it rushed past his face. Facing the gaze of the crowd below, he felt a unique sensation he never experienced when flying Norberta in his own space.
"This is... joy?" Dylan paused. He quickly drew his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" Dylan straightened his spine on Sequeel's back. The high-altitude winds tore at his cloak. Taking a deep breath, Dylan pointed his wand directly at the rolling clouds. Silver-blue light erupted from the wand tip, flowing like liquid moonlight along the Hippogriff's wings.
The silvery-white substance he summoned this time was noticeably denser than usual! However, as these silvery-white substances tried to outline a creature, they seemed to shatter into a light scattering of stars upon encountering the strong wind.
"Still didn't succeed..." This failure didn't discourage Dylan; instead, it heightened his excitement. He had tried so many times before with no progress. However, this time, for some reason, he felt that flying so freely and happily in front of everyone gave him a joyous feeling.
"Is it because I'm actually a show-off? And I wasn't showing off before?" A thought popped into Dylan's head, then he shook his head.
"No, I showed off in front of Voldemort every day, and I didn't feel anything special."
Or rather... Dylan, clamping Sequeel's body with his legs, looked towards Hogwarts Castle from high in the air. "Perhaps what I truly want to do is show off in front of old Dumbledore?"
"No, no, a more accurate way of putting it is to freely display my abilities in front of old Dumbledore!" Dylan suddenly felt a flash of enlightenment. Was it because he had been constantly thinking about how to avoid Dumbledore, so he had suppressed it for too long and now wanted to release it all at once?
....
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