The autumn sun was beginning its slow climb.
Its morning light bathed the vegetable patch at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, painting the plump, mature pumpkins a bright, brilliant gold. Across the fence, Melvin and Hagrid chatted idly. Meanwhile, the young snake, Yurum, coiled around the hound Fang's neck, zipped all over the garden, setting the leaves shaking with a rustle.
"...I'm bloody glad you had me limit it to just two, or we'd really have had some grievous injuries on our hands," Hagrid said, a genuine shiver still running through him as he recalled the previous week's Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
"Oh? Not up for showing off all twelve of your Hippogriffs at once, then?" Melvin teased.
"Heh-heh..."
Hagrid could only offer a sheepish chuckle in response.
It was exactly like Murphy's Law—the one they'd talked about in Muggle Studies—where if something has two choices, and one will lead to a truly disastrous outcome, everyone knows the right thing to do. But when a lot of different people try it, someone is always going to make the worst possible choice.
He had carefully selected all the Hippogriffs, ensuring they were the most gentle ones. As long as the students bowed respectfully and didn't provoke them or offer insults, every student should have been able to take a lap around the school. But leave it to that Parkinson girl from Slytherin to immediately enrage Buckbeak.
Less than a month into the term, the new Care of Magical Creatures professor had very nearly been sacked.
Hagrid plucked a handful of berries from the edge of the patch and gratefully handed them to his kind colleague.
Melvin just smiled, took the berries, and popped one into his mouth. It was a sweet-and-sour flavor, though the sourness definitely outweighed the sweet, and it had a slight, tongue-numbing effect. After just one, he didn't bother with any more, his eyes focusing on the dog and the young snake in the garden.
They were currently on a difficult trek.
In a corner by the fence, there was a thick, dense growth of plants: pumpkin vines tangled with hydrangeas, and what looked like a few parasitic tendrils thrown in. Hagrid had probably just tossed some extra seeds into the corner, left them untended, and let them grow wild.
The pumpkins here were smaller than the others, the hydrangeas hadn't bloomed, and the various unidentifiable plants were all woven together tightly.
When spraying weed-killer, that spot was always avoided, allowing the garden slugs to make it their natural sanctuary. Yurum and Fang sniffed their way right over, successfully locating the slug's nest, and they both wagged their tails excitedly.
They started by scouting the area, but realizing there was no threat, they plunged right in—and immediately got snared. The tangle of vines was denser than they'd thought, and some of the stems had tiny barbs that instantly matted the dog's fur.
The two animals were swallowed up by the leaves and vines, and after struggling, they only found themselves wrapped up even tighter.
Fang dug a shallow hole with all four paws, just deep enough to pull himself out, then shook off the clinging grass juice and dew, which, combined with the mud, left him quite filthy.
Hagrid, getting splashed on the leg, didn't seem to mind, laughing heartily as he watched them wrestle.
Yurum had a tougher time. Escaping without damaging the pumpkin vines was much harder than just darting around the patch. Fortunately, a snake's scales allow for movement, and he cautiously managed to peel half his body out from between the vines. With a little push from his coiled tail, the snake shot out like a spring.
He was a bit disheveled, though, his tongue flicking out in what looked like a pant, like a dog that had completely worn itself out.
After barely three minutes of rest, Fang trotted over and nudged the young snake with his nose.
Yurum immediately livened up. He coiled his tail around Fang's neck, resting his chin on the dog's head. The flat spot on the top of the hound's head, covered in warm, short fur, was apparently a very cozy perch.
Once they had had enough of the vegetable patch, they slipped through a gap in the fence. Just a short way past the hut was the paddock where the Hippogriffs were tethered.
Fang barked a welcome, occasionally pointing a paw toward a specific part of the Hippogriff's body: the robust, muscular frame, the thick, broad wings, and the dense, feathery ruff around its neck—all of which looked invitingly soft and warm. Yurum's eyes lit up.
"Woof woof..."
Hagrid stared blankly at Fang's motions. For some reason, there was a strange, familiar feeling about it, and it wasn't until Fang demonstrated the proper bow that Hagrid realized: "Hold on... isn't that how I teach the lesson in class?"
Yurum watched twice, his tongue flicking out with a hiss, a very human-like look of contemplation in his eyes. He was clearly figuring out how to perform a bow with a snake's body.
After circling the twelve Hippogriffs and choosing the most gentle one, Yurum slowly began his attempt.
The young snake uncoiled from the hound's neck and dropped onto the grass in front of the Hippogriff. His body coiled into a spiral, raising his front half up, and he bowed solemnly, tongue tucked in. It looked remarkably proper.
Buckbeak froze, his orange eyes blinking. This was clearly the first time he had ever seen a young snake offer a greeting of respect.
Looking into those black, beady eyes, he lowered his guard for some unknown reason, stopped eating, bent his two front knees, and returned the bow.
The young snake was delighted. Wagging his tail, he slithered closer, scaled his way up the Hippogriff, and, just like he had on Fang, coiled around Buckbeak's feathery neck.
His body wasn't quite long enough to circle the whole neck, managing only to wrap around one segment of the feathers. Yurum flicked his tongue happily.
The Hippogriff's neck was as thick as a centuries-old tree. Its body was round and solid, featuring both warm, handsome fur and cool, awesome plating of scales. Yurum was extremely pleased with the physical makeup of his new friend and barked twice right next to its head.
Buckbeak was a little unsettled at first, but Yurum's movements were very gentle, causing no discomfort. The sensation of the cool snake against his neck was actually rather pleasant.
Mysteriously, he understood the young snake's "dog-speak," and shook his head, indicating he couldn't take off yet.
"Woof?"
"..."
Buckbeak tapped the chain tethered to the post with his beak.
Yurum adopted a thoughtful expression, wriggled over, and strained to open his mouth wide enough to bite the chain. Snap. The chain immediately broke.
Before Buckbeak could react, Fang let out an excited, loud whine. Before the dog could get any closer, the Hippogriff spread its twelve-foot wings, gave a mighty flap, and soared into the sky with the young snake.
Melvin couldn't help but look up.
The air around the Forbidden Forest perimeter was heavy with moisture, and the morning mist of the autumn day was just beginning to dissipate. Sunlight hit the fog, creating a gorgeous gradient from orange-red to golden-yellow. This color was reflected on the scales and feathers of the Hippogriff and the young snake. The condensed mist turned to dew, scattering a dazzling, multi-colored light.
The Hippogriff let out a joyful cry, and Yurum joined in with a shout of his own.
Fang chased after them on the ground like a goofy idiot, running under their shadow and barking. Buckbeak intentionally slowed down and occasionally dropped lower, letting the wind from his wings ruffle the hound's fur.
"What are you planning to do with these Hippogriffs?" Melvin asked, pulling his gaze back down.
"I'll show 'em off to the other years for two more weeks, and then I'll send them back to their original habitat. The school has Dementors and students, and the forest beyond is other birds' territory. Buckbeak and the others can't fly freely here."
Hagrid was still craning his neck, a huge grin on his face, as if he, too, were running and playing with the three animals. "And actually, an artificial snake-nest isn't really right for Yurum either. He ought to play in the forest more, see more of the animals that live in there."
He suddenly came up with an idea, getting more excited as he spoke: "How about we keep him in the Forbidden Forest? If he gets hungry or thirsty, he can always come to me, and he can play with Fang anytime he likes."
Melvin didn't reply right away. "We'll ask Yurum what he thinks in a bit."
The sun slowly reached its zenith, the mist completely gone. The forest leaves were colored by the light, and the dewdrops hanging on the branches glistened brilliantly.
Thanks to these animals, time seemed to slow down a little.
Hagrid picked up his shovel and went back to turning the soil. While magic could certainly do the same job, and no one would care if he pulled out his little pink umbrella and gave it a wave since no one else was around, he was simply used to doing it by hand. The earthy smell of the mud mixed with the moisture of the morning dew—that scent made him feel safe.
Melvin, meanwhile, scanned the sky for the Hippogriff and the young snake. It wasn't until Fang's barks, which had disappeared for half an hour, began to grow steadily louder again that he saw them return and descend.
The three animals had had a blast and seemed to have become fast friends.
Now, Fang was pawing at Buckbeak's neck, apparently trying to get up there and experience the feeling of flying himself. Buckbeak didn't seem to mind, but the dog's short, stubby paws couldn't hold onto the thick horse-neck, and his attempts ended in failure.
Yurum bid farewell to Buckbeak and slid down to slither toward Melvin. When he heard he could live in the Forbidden Forest, he paused, then quickly shook his head in agreement, affectionately rubbing against Melvin's ring.
Melvin stroked the scales on the top of his head, and was just about to caution him to behave himself in the forest when he suddenly sensed something. He turned to look at the bend in the Forbidden Forest path.
The trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—were approaching.
Hagrid waved and greeted them with a cheerful smile, but when he saw the bottle of what looked like red wine that Hermione was holding, his brow furrowed.