Draco leaned casually against the paddock fence and let his eyes wander bemusedly over the mix of Gryffindors and Slytherins. He let his gaze linger on Granger, she was standing off to one side of the large clearing in front of Hagrid's hut with Potter and Weasley. They weren't paying the least amount of attention to the half-giant as they talked in muted voices to each other. From time to time one of them would glance nervously over their shoulder to make sure that no one was listening. Granger looked back and her brown curls caught the bright sunlight. Draco was surprised as the normally deep brown turned light and auburn. Not that he was at all interested in the surprising array of color that Granger's hair had. She seemed to become aware of his interest and looked at him. Granger seemed on the verge of smiling but changed her mind when he sneered at her.
A loud booming voice drew Draco's eyes away from Granger and towards the center of the paddock where Hagrid had some great new monster.
"This 'ere 's a bezekiras. Watch it Finnigan, don' wanna get te close te it."
Draco snorted derisively; the creature resembled nothing more than a rather large lion. Unlike a normal lion though, Hagrid's new 'pet' was brilliant and glowing. It's thick mane shimmered in the light and made looking at it almost painful.
The bezekiras, which was sleeping at the moment, was at least seven feet long, and would probably stand more than five feet tall. The great oaf was listing off all of its magical capabilities but Draco didn't really care. It was the last day of class before winter break and all he really wanted to do was to stay warm and keep an eye on the amazing trio.
Thunderous barks snapped him back to attention as a large black boarhound flashed passed him. The brute that Hagrid liked to call a dog easily jumped the fence and growled menacingly at the sleeping lion. The cat lazily opened one eye and then stretched languidly. It surveyed its surrounding with vague interest. The dog gave a low growl and moved towards the great feline. The cat yawned pleasantly and then swiped the dog across its long snout.
The dog gave a terrible cry and fled back across the paddock. The cat wasn't tired of the little game however, and it quickly followed the large dog back over the fence.
Draco watched with growing interest as the large cat examined the surrounding students.
"Now y' ter all stay calm and don' go runnin around." Hagrid said quietly.
But like most animals, magical or not, the bezekiras could sense fear. It turned its large golden eyes upon Longbottom and hissed. The idiot Gryffindor gave a hysterical shriek and turned to run towards the castle.
Draco felt himself break into a grin as the cat immediately gave chase, nipping playfully at Longbottom's heels. Potter, always the hero, and Weasley bolted after Longbottom with their wands drawn. Hagrid was also in hot pursuit. Draco's grin grew at the uproar. All of the Gryffindors were watching in horror while the Slytherins were nearly overcome with laughter.
Longbottom disappeared over the hill and the class began to follow. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Draco pushed himself away from the fence. He was walking towards Crabbe and Goyle when he stopped; a strange sensation had just come over him. Not quite knowing what it was Draco paused to see if it would happen again. Sure enough, he felt the odd feeling again, it was as if someone was calling out to him. He looked over his shoulder but most of the students had left the clearing now and none of the ones that remained paid him any attention. He felt it again, but it was stronger this time, more urgent. He turned and walked back towards Hagrid's hut. The feeling was familiar but disturbing. He continued past the hut and looked around. Father back, set into the woods was a small shed. He moved towards it slowly, and then stopped, something was watching him. But Draco couldn't see anything except trees. He had just decided that he didn't really need to know what the strange feeling was and that going back to the castle to enjoy a nice lunch would be the proper thing to do when a voice drifted over to him.
