"So what you're saying is that everyone has this special magic from birth?"
"Yup. But learning that talent takes effort. It depends on how deeply the talent is rooted in the person."
"Great," Ron grumbled, keeping his struggling book tucked under his arm. "Mine's probably something to do with the rotten luck I've been having."
"Could be."
Richard replied offhandedly. They were on their way to Care of Magical Creatures, and Richard was quietly waiting to see Malfoy get mauled.
"It's all right, Ron," Neville said, trying to cheer him up. "I mean, even I got something good."
"Speaking of which," Richard turned toward him, "learned anything new?"
"Yeah." Neville brightened immediately.
The next moment, a tiny tree-like creature peeked out from inside his robes.
"I got this little guy."
"What's that?"
They all leaned closer for a better look.
It looked like Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, with a leafy head and bark-like skin.
"I took it from the small grove before I went home," Neville explained while Richard examined it closely. It was definitely magical. Similar to his bishop in some ways, though nowhere near as potent.
"I just kept using the magic we used when we made the grove. You should've seen my grandma's face when it crawled out of the flowerpot."
"You got a name for the little guy?" Harry asked.
"Not yet," Neville admitted. "I've tried a lot, but he doesn't seem to like any of them."
"Give him a good name," Richard instructed while opening The Monster Book of Monsters. "Names have power, Neville."
Bite.
The moment the restraining belt came off, the book snapped at him.
And Richard's instincts kicked in.
Bang.
He whipped his arm sideways and hurled the book at the nearest tree. The hardbound spine struck the trunk so hard it visibly warped.
Bite.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Richard forced himself not to burn the book on the spot.
Calm down, Richard. You do not have enough galleons to waste.
"Neville, can you help me put the belt back on before I burn this thing?"
Richard respected books.
He absolutely hated things that treated him like a fool.
As they struggled to force the belt back onto the snapping book, the others snickered.
"Professor Hagrid," Richard called before anyone else could ask, "how exactly are we supposed to open these books?"
He remembered parts of the films and books, but not every detail.
"Just stroke the spine, o' course," Hagrid replied.
Richard stared at the book.
The book stared back.
It released a low growl.
I am stroking nothing.
Richard glared at it, trying to intimidate the thing into obedience.
He was one of the strongest wizards in the world.
He was physically thirteen.
He was a devil.
A godling in the making.
And he was not going to lower himself to pleasing a book.
He shoved the book back into his bag. He would not be needing it anyway.
Unfortunately, things were never that easy.
"Open your book, Richard," Hermione whispered fiercely, tugging on his sleeve. "This is Hagrid's first lesson as a professor. Do you really want to ruin it for him?"
"It'll be fine," Richard dismissed her, pulling his robe back.
It was not fine.
Hagrid was staring directly at him.
To make matters worse, Malfoy loudly whispered from the back.
"Should've known the big oaf would try something stupid like this. Honestly, they just give these jobs to anyone these days."
Richard could practically see Hagrid's composure cracking.
Despite the giant blood, Hagrid was soft-hearted.
And Richard owed him for the graphorn horn.
"He's looking straight at you," Harry muttered while Hermione tugged harder on Richard's robe.
Tsk.
Richard shrugged her off and reluctantly pulled the book back out.
He disliked owing people.
Grrrr.
The growling softened as Richard reluctantly stroked the spine. Slowly, the book calmed.
And Hagrid's eyes brightened immediately.
Despite the massive beard, the man wore his emotions openly.
With renewed enthusiasm, Hagrid continued the lesson, explaining the magical creatures they would be studying today.
Hagrid clapped excitedly, and several Hippogriffs trotted forward.
"Aren't they beautiful?"
Richard rated them mid.
"So, if yeh want ter come near—"
Yeah, no one looked eager to do that.
Richard couldn't blame them.
Seeing Hippogriffs in movies was one thing.
Standing in front of them in real life was another entirely.
They were huge.
And dangerous.
Not everyone had Hagrid's absurd durability.
"Now," Hagrid continued, "first thing yeh ought ter know is that Hippogriffs are proud creatures. Easily offended, they are. Never insult one. Might be the last thing yeh ever do."
"You let the Hippogriff make the first move. It's polite, yeh see. Yeh walk toward them, bow, and wait. If it bows back, yeh can go an' pat him. If it doesn't..." Hagrid trailed off. "Well, we'll get ter that later."
"I have a question."
Richard raised his hand.
He asked because he was genuinely curious.
"Why do we need to be polite to them?"
Several heads turned.
"Professor, I don't mean to be disruptive, but this is a genuine question."
This was the first lesson since his first year at Hogwarts where Richard had actually wanted to ask something.
"Can't we just tame them the same way Muggles tame wild elephants?"
"Elephants?"
"Muggles do it," Richard explained. "Captured elephants are restrained and isolated. The handler feeds them, washes them, stays near them constantly until the animal bonds with the handler."
Richard looked directly at Hagrid.
"I'm not saying we should do that exactly, but couldn't we do something similar? We have restraining spells. We could keep approaching them until they get used to us instead of bowing every single time."
He frowned slightly.
"And then they'd recognize us as the master."
The whole ritual of bowing felt strange to Richard.
And even after being accepted once, they would still have to repeat the process.
To him, it sounded unnecessarily troublesome.
If it were up to him, he would have just used the Imperius Curse and skipped the entire performance.
"You bow ter show respect," Hagrid explained patiently, demonstrating the motion. The Hippogriff returned it almost immediately.
"If it sees yeh respectin' its boundaries, it calms down. That's the trick ter dealin' with animals. Long as they're calm an' well-fed, they won't hurt nobody."
Clap.
Hagrid rubbed his hands together enthusiastically.
"Now then, who wants ter go first?"
Almost everyone stepped back, leaving Harry and Richard at the front.
"All right then. One at a time. Harry, let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."
Hagrid removed the chain restraining the gray Hippogriff and led it forward.
"Easy now, Harry. Keep eye contact, an' don't blink too much. Makes yeh look untrustworthy."
Richard watched closely.
He knew how devils accepted familiars.
And he knew this process too.
But he had never really compared them before.
"Ah..." Hagrid sounded nervous as Buckbeak ignored Harry. "Back away now, Harry. Slowly."
Richard already knew Buckbeak would bow back eventually.
But that wasn't what fascinated him.
What fascinated him was the fact that a wizard capable of killing the creature instantly still chose this method instead.
Richard believed he could tame the Hippogriff himself without using Hagrid's approach.
Confidence in his own strength wasn't lacking.
But Hagrid's method didn't rely on overpowering the creature.
That was interesting.
A moment later, Buckbeak launched into the air with Harry on his back, flying fast enough to rival a racing broom.
Should he try it?
Richard wasn't sure he saw much practical use for it.
Still, he was curious.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Buckbeak landed heavily, claws digging into the ground as it skidded to a stop.
Hagrid burst into applause, and the others quickly joined him.
"Well done! Well done, Harry! An' well done, Buckbeak!"
Hagrid looked ecstatic.
So did Harry.
His hair was a mess and his robes were disheveled, but the grin on his face stretched ear to ear.
While Hagrid helped Harry down from Buckbeak's back, Richard stared directly into the Hippogriff's large yellow eye without blinking.
The creature stared back.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Richard could vaguely sense its intent.
It was waiting.
Watching to see what he would do before deciding whether he was a threat.
And naturally, at that exact moment, a certain blond idiot decided he wanted to die early.
"Oy, I bet you're not scary at all, are you?"
Richard turned just in time to see Malfoy shoving his way through the crowd toward the Hippogriff.
"You great ugly br—"
His insult cut off abruptly.
Because Richard stepped directly in front of him.
"Get out of the way, idiot."
"Get back in line, dumbass."
Malfoy squared up to him.
It almost felt funny.
The little ferret genuinely thought he could intimidate him.
"You better watch yourself, mudblood—"
Richard didn't let him finish.
He grabbed Malfoy by the collar and lifted him several inches off the ground until they were eye level.
Malfoy struggled immediately, but Richard's grip was like iron.
"Or what?" Richard asked coldly.
"You want to go a few rounds? Or are you going to cry to your father again?"
Just as the fight was about to escalate, Hagrid stepped between them.
"All right, break it up."
He pried them apart with embarrassing ease.
Even separated, the two continued glaring at each other.
"Back ter the class an' read about Hippogriffs while I calm Buckbeak down."
Hagrid approached the irritated Hippogriff carrying several dead rodents.
Buckbeak snapped its tail sharply.
Richard was irritated too.
He stared at Malfoy without even trying to hide the hostility.
"You better start walking around with eyes in the back of your head, Cloverfield."
The fact that Malfoy still had the nerve to threaten him only made Richard angrier.
If looks could kill, Malfoy would have been deader than the rodents Hagrid tossed to Buckbeak.
"You really hate that guy, huh?" Ron asked as he walked over. "Should we be worried?"
Richard dismissed the concern with a shrug.
"If he were even half the man he pretends to be, he would've challenged me to a wizard's duel already."
Richard didn't care whether Malfoy heard him or not.
"If he did that, I might actually respect him."
He snorted.
"That guy's a coward through and through."
Richard returned to the castle that night, his head sunk in thoughts.
He had spent the whole afternoon teaching the trio how to use their magic circuits while also teaching Neville on how to improve and actually make use of his magical totem.
It had been just one day, but he learnt two things. One was the totem. Magical creations themselves can become hosts for further magical growth. Though that should have been obvious.
Ancient magic was not a simple manifestation of the wizards power, but a product of the world made when faced the raw nature of magic in their soul. It was a magic of its own.
The other, was from Hagrid. That man had enough brute strength to kill a hippogriff without a wand. But he chose the way he uses. Not through force alone but through communication.
Force was necessary. He understood that. The Hippogriff won't let an ant ride even if it bowed a hundred times. But Hagrid who is strong, decided to communicate, so it responded.
He also realized how similar he was to Malfoy. That made him want to change.
Relying on power alone to overwhelm others was cowardly.
He had left bishop with Luna yet.
He had lots to do.
Learn observation haki.
Learn patronus
Get the time turner
Create better techniques.
He stepped through the vanishing closet, and then waited a little. There was a crack, and then Tonks appeared with a disgruntled look still etched on her face.
"What!" She asked as her hair turned red in anger."in the world, is so important for you to tell me to get to our old place at the MID of the freaking night!"
" Right." Richard decided to do as Hagrod taught him. When facing magical creatures, the trick is to know how to calm them. "I wanted to talk to you about a time frame need to establish from tomorrow afternoon for my personal training. "
Her hair as well as her face was turning crimson, so he pulled out the butter beer and the ice cream he got from Florean Fortescue Ice cream palor.
"Why don't we talk about it while having a mid night snack? I think you might enjoy my proposal."