Very soon, Hagrid brought over a long row of tree stumps to serve as seats for the little wizards, and the students started trickling in as class time approached.
Just as Kasenhis was about to step out, he was stopped by Hagrid, who used the excuse of "going back into the house to grab something."
"Er... I know this might be a bit rude, but Kasen, could you maybe not come outside for now? It's just that... you're really popular, and once you come out, I'll sorta... lose all presence, you know? Please?"
Kasenhis looked at Hagrid's shy and fidgety expression and chuckled, nodding. "No problem. I'm just here to give you a little moral support anyway—me being in here works just as well."
As he spoke, he suddenly pulled a Memory Orb out of his ring. "Oh, right—check this out. Today's your first lesson. I think we have to document it, don't you think?"
Hagrid took the Memory Orb, eyes lighting up. "That's perfect! I'm going to start the class now—wish me luck!"
"Mm-hmm. Good luck," Kasenhis said, giving Hagrid a pat on the shoulder.
Hagrid took a deep breath and stepped out of the room. Kasenhis, meanwhile, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and headed up to the 1st floor. He hadn't visited during the holidays, and now the cozy, lived-in vibe of Hagrid's hut was even more intense.
Leaning on the balcony railing, he watched as Hagrid firmly tethered the Hippogriff to a massive tree stump at least ten meters away from the kids.
The Memory Orb had been placed somewhere with a wide field of view, quietly recording Hagrid's first ever class.
After Hagrid nervously stammered through his self-introduction, the students, led by Harry and the others, gave a hesitant but genuine round of applause.
However, Harry and his friends were clearly dissatisfied with the level of applause, and immediately began clapping more enthusiastically. This finally prompted even the Ravenclaws—who were sharing the class with Gryffindor—to join in with scattered claps of their own.
Encouraged by the applause, Hagrid seemed to perk up noticeably. His lecture steadily hit its stride, his voice shifting from dry and low to loud and confident.
As for the content—it was just the basics of Hippogriff knowledge. These details could easily be found in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but for a completely greenhorn professor like Hagrid, it was already a solid performance.
Certainly far better than those teachers who can't even read their PowerPoint slides fluently.
And when it came to dragging out a class, Hagrid definitely had talent.
Knowledge that could have been summarized in a few sentences was stretched—seasoned and embellished—into nearly half the period. Only when he really ran out of things to say did he finally remember the pocket watch in his coat.
Realizing there were only five minutes left, he didn't let the students self-study or discuss freely. Instead, he doubled down and launched into another round of useful information.
He had already explained the behavioral traits of Hippogriffs earlier. Now, he was moving on to another crucial piece of content: what to do if you encounter one in the wild and want to gain its trust.
Kasenhis stood up on the 1st-floor balcony, listening intently—this was getting good—until Draco Malfoy, ever the bold and outspoken one, asked the inevitable question that everyone else was thinking:
"What happens if you don't do all that?"
"Oh, well, best case, she'll ignore you. But if she feels offended—or worse, threatened—then she won't hesitate to show her claws," Hagrid explained.
Draco just shrugged helplessly at that, though his eyes still sparkled with curiosity as he looked at the massive creature behind Hagrid.
On the other hand, Harry went ahead and made a bold move: "Professor Hagrid, should we give it a try?"
Up on the 1st floor, Kasenhis smacked his palm against his forehead. To be honest, he didn't just want to slap his own forehead—he wanted to slap Harry right in the face.
Seriously though, this kind of behavior—poking trouble for no reason, creating chaos when there isn't any—was such a trademark Gryffindor move it hurt.
At that moment, he could only pray to Merlin that Hagrid still had some clarity left in his head. But clearly, he was hoping in vain.
Hagrid hesitated for all of three seconds before cheerfully stepped aside, letting Harry walk in.
"Hagrid, oh Hagrid, what am I going to do with you..." Kasenhis muttered under his breath as he quietly cast a protective charm from the Mystcraft over Harry. He genuinely didn't believe that an ordinary magical creature would be able to break through it.
But once again, he underestimated things. Turns out, Harry really had some natural gift. After he went through the proper set of etiquette gestures toward the Hippogriff, the big creature actually responded with goodwill—lowering its body and inviting Harry to hop on for a ride.
Kasenhis was dumbfounded. Since when did magical creatures get this politically savvy? Cozying up to the Boy Who Lived in advance?
As Harry soared into the sky, the protective charm Kasenhis had placed on him remained quietly active, never once needing to trigger. Even as boy and beast returned safely to the ground, the charm had no reason to activate.
Hagrid grinned as he helped Harry down from the Hippogriff, then glanced at the watch in his pocket—unfortunately, there were still three minutes left in the lesson.
Just then, another young wizard stepped forward, acting like the bold challenger.
"Professor Hagrid, I think I should give it a try too... You can't possibly be favoring Gryffindor by giving Harry Potter special treatment while denying Slytherin the same opportunity, right?" Draco Malfoy spoke up, his eyes skimming past Hagrid's broad frame to focus on the Hippogriff behind him.
Hagrid was instantly in a tough spot. He was already starting to regret letting Harry have a go earlier in a moment of heat-headed excitement. And now look at the situation.
If he hadn't let anyone near Buckbeak today, this class would've been a perfectly fine one. Maybe a bit dull, but at least nothing would've gone wrong.
But now that Harry from Gryffindor had interacted with the creature, fairness dictated that Slytherin had to be offered the same chance.
And it couldn't stop there—if Gryffindor and Slytherin got a turn, then Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would have to be included too.
In short, Hagrid was absolutely determined to give all four houses equal teaching treatment.
Even Snape, with all his bias against Gryffindor, never allowed it to affect the curriculum. Hagrid certainly couldn't be the one to break that line.
Having thought it through, Hagrid finally nodded and stepped aside."Very well, Mr. Malfoy, go ahead and give it a try. Just remember to be respectful."
As he spoke, he also walked over to the tree where Buckbeak was tied and gripped the reins tightly.
Meanwhile, up on the 1st floor, Kasenhis quickly cast a protective charm on Draco.
He couldn't help but feel a little exasperated. If it had been any other Gryffindor student, things might've gone more smoothly. But of course, it had to be Harry Potter.
Draco firmly believed he was in no way inferior to Harry, and that belief had directly led to this headache-inducing situation.
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