Dark Defense

Yuletide Cheer

Needless to say, Hagrid took Vergil's advice regarding Umbridge to heart, at least more than Hermione's warnings regarding his more dangerous menagerie. Every evening that weekend saw the Blue-Clad professor walking out of Hagrid's hut, long after curfew had been set, to coach the Half-Giant on Umbridge's methods and mannerisms, as he'd gathered from the various professors with the exception of Binns and Snape. The former because, as a ghost, Umbridge could do little to bother the specter, and the latter because rumors had spread regarding the one time Umbridge had sat through the Potions Master's class.

As it turned out, when Monday, and Hagrid's official return to the teaching position rolled round, the trio had been relieved that, rather than something particularly dangerous, like they'd been expecting, Hagrid had introduced the class to the enigmatic, if surprisingly docile Thestral Herd that inhabited the Hogwarts forest.

He was just going into an explanation on how the rumors regarding Thestral and misfortune were simply that, rumors, when Harry caught sight of Umbridge slipping her way towards the back of the class, her smile seeming to grow more triumphant as she eyed the clearing, clearly pleased at Vergil's absence.

Her expression swiftly changed over the course of the lesson, as Hagrid single-handedly shut down her attempts at sabotage with ease that left even Malfoy flummoxed.

When the High Inquisitor had first announced her appearance, interrupting Hagrid's explanation as to WHY Thestrals couldn't be seen save by those that had seen death, with her usual deliberate cough, the half-giant had been courteous and accommodating, but otherwise ignored the woman in favor of continuing his lecture on the spectral horses.

Umbridge, of course, kept trying to make Hagrid look bad, deliberately appearing hard of hearing or asking questions that seemed designed to fluster, to which Hagrid countered by merely repeating his last sentence at a level even Malfoy would be hard pressed to deny understanding, or casually pointing out a flaw in her question and posing it to the class, which more often than not garnered an extra five or ten points for Gryffindor on behalf of Hermione.

Harry actually fought the urge to smile as he watched Umbridge's attempts fail, idly wondering just what Professor Vergil had said to coach the normally coarse groundskeeper, as Hagrid had never been known for his wits. Oh the Groundskeeper was far from stupid, if anything he knew more about the various nasties of the world than possibly even Newt Scamander himself, but Harry would never have asked the giant to represent him in a court…maybe as a bailiff.

Umbridge had, at one point, attempted to trip Hagrid up by pointing out that the Ministry considered Thestrals dangerous. Hagrid had happily pulled out a certificate, signed by the Head of Magical Creatures department, that listed him as a fully qualified tamer of magical beasts, something that had stunned Harry as much as Umbridge, who could only gape at it in disbelief as Hagrid went on to explain the proper method for approaching the invisible steeds.

Apparently, while Thestrals COULD prove dangerous if provoked, they were no more so than their distant cousins, such as the winged horses that the Beaxbatons students had arrived with last year, or even regular horses muggles were used to. The only difference was that Thestrals ate meat, but were scavengers rather than hunters, preferring to pick up the scraps of a hunter's meal than to hunt one themselves.

Umbridge had attempted to change tactics by questioning the students, deliberately heading towards the Slytherins, who looked eager at the prospect of discrediting the Half-Giant, when the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson, one of the shyer Thestrals promptly knocking Umbridge off her feet and into a rather foul smelling puddle of muck.

"Oh thah's too bad…" Hagrid muttered, shaking his head in apparent sympathy as the irate High Inquisitor stumbled to her feet "Thestral Manure's pretty valuable for raising plants you know, but it's so hard the find on account of it being, well, invisible."