dear boy with the green eyes ⁂ golden trio era (UNDER EDITING/REWRITING)

XI

     In one steady movement, she dipped her body, dark hair brushing her cheeks as she lowered herself. Looking up through her lashes she watched as the Hippogriff started to bend its scaly front knees and sink into what was an unmistakable bow leaving Arabella with her jaw basically on the grassy floor. The sound of whispered amazement fluttered behind her as Hagrid boomed,

     "Well done, Arabella!" His voice was filled with excitement as he continued, "Right — yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

     Having risen with the creature in front of her a smile began forming on her lips. She moved slowly toward the Hippogriff, her fingers gently placed onto its beak her heart beating viciously against her chest. The moment her fingers grazed the cool surface tears started to brim at the corner of her eyes. Never in her life did she think this moment was going to be possible for her. She was in utter amazement. She distinctly remembers reading her first book on Magical Creatures. It wasn't a book in the Silvercrest Library, that she knew for sure. So when it appeared suddenly she knew it was her brothers doing. But she never told a soul, because that book had become her lifeline to a dream. One day being face to face with such powerful yet misunderstood creatures. And at this moment, if she died tomorrow she'd be happy with having met Buckbeak, but all she wanted was to face a dragon.

Suddenly she was drawn from her own thoughts as the class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.

     "Righ' then," said Hagrid. "I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!"

     "Are you serious?" She whispered, her back to the class so the only person able to see the tears falling from her grey eyes was the large man before her. In that moment, she didn't mind someone seeing her cry. Slightly taken aback by the girl's sudden emotion Hagrid looked concerned for a split second before his smile grew once more. The large man's expression softened slightly, his eyes still holding their gleam of excitement seeing the fire in Arabella's eyes,

     "Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that..." Arabella put her foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted herself onto its back, her stomach suddenly dropping as Buckbeak stood. Her eyes wandered before her, catching Harry's, her smile brightening. He gave a small wave before she returned it before being caught off guard by Hagrid roaring,

     "Go on, then!" slapping the Hippogriff's hindquarters making Buckbeak open his twelve-foot wings. The gust of them flapped open on either side of Arabella sending her hair flying back as she placed her hands gingerly on either side of the creature's neck. Buckbeak looked back slightly before soaring upward making Arabella exhale the breath she had been holding.

     Arabella was no novice to being in the air, but this was nothing like a broomstick, and she knew that she would never be able to fly the same again. This was exhilarating. The Hippogriff's wings beat in her ears, and the creature's wings grazed her legs as they climbed higher. The glossy feathers slipped under her fingers as she let out a laugh. If only Cetus were here... The emotions she was feeling were becoming overwhelming as the tears continued to fall. She watched as Buckbeak flew once more around the paddock and then headed back to the ground; quickly swishing her hand over her face all signs that she had just been crying vanished removing the slight smudges of makeup. She needed to get prepared to land.

     As Buckbeak lowered his smooth neck Arabella leaned back to fight the gravity of falling forward. Her eyes focused intently on the way the creature moved she slowly adjusted herself as a heavy thud shook her body, the four ill-assorted feet hitting the ground.

     "Good work, Arabella!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by her success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Harry had come up to a white and black Hippogriff his hand nervously placed upon the creature's beak. Arabella walked over her smile small but growing with every step towards the messy-haired boy.

     "You were so brave." He spoke not looking over to her as she approached.

     "Thank you." she said gingerly, "I'm sure anyone would've done it."

     "In all honestly I was going to because no one else had stepped up but I was so relieved when your hand shot up." he chuckled, Arabella's cheeks reddening as she cleared her throat looking away from the boy. She had caught sight of Neville running repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, and Min-a approached an ink-black creature after successfully receiving a bow. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"Arabella?" Harry's voice pulled her back before she pointed over to the three Slytherins.

     "Look."

     "This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for the two to hear him. "I knew it must have been if Potter could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the Hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly bru-" Before Arabella had even realized what she was doing, her body was already moving quickly to her three housemates. 

It happened in a flash of steely talons, she had no idea what made her do it.  Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream as Arabella fell to the ground rolling as she felt a sharp sting implode from her side. In seconds Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass next to Arabella, blood blossoming from his arm from a small but deep cut on his arm. "I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

     "Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me — gotta get him outta here —"

     "Arabella..?" Harry had run over skidding to his knees beside the girl who had now sat up. "Oh my—Hagrid!" 

     "Harry?" Her voice trembled with surprise as she caught sight of the expression in his vibrant green eyes, which widened in disbelief. As she instinctively withdrew her hand from her side, confusion clouded her thoughts. She observed Harry move with surprising urgency, his hands deftly working to loosen the fabric of his robes. With practiced ease, he draped the heavy material over the spot where her hand had just rested. 

     "Hagrid!" he exclaimed again, her heart racing as she tried to comprehend the unfolding situation.     

     "Will you please shut that insufferable git up?" she muttered quietly, her frustration boiling beneath the surface as Malfoy continued to wail and complain, his voice grating on her nerves. She glanced over at Harry, who sat beside her with a furrowed brow and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Honestly, Harry, you're overreacting. It's just a scratch, anyway." She tried to ease the tension in the air, hoping to distract him from Malfoy's incessant whining.

     "Get her to the Castle!" The chaos swirled around her, overwhelming her senses, and she felt lightheaded from the incessant noise. Desperately, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it all out. It's not even that serious, she thought to herself, a weak attempt to reassure her racing mind. 

      "It's just a scratch..." she murmured, barely registering the pain as she felt a warm pair of arms slip under her knees. Her stomach twisted uneasily as she was lifted off the ground, the world around her spinning. "It wasn't his fault..." she managed to say, hoping to defend the creature. 

      "What? Malfoys?" came the startled voice above her, mixing concern with confusion as they dashed forward, the landscape rushing by them in a blur. 

      "Buckbeak... it's not his fault," she replied, her voice faint and tremulous as her eyelids fluttered open for just a moment. She stole a glance at the person carrying her, trying to discern their face, but the flickering light made it impossible to focus. "You're not H—" 

     The rest of her words dissolved into a haze of incoherence, her vision succumbing to the encroaching blackness that swallowed her whole.The muffled sounds of frantic shouting filled her ears, almost like a distant echo, gradually fading away until everything fell silent. Why is everyone always so loud? she pondered in her fading consciousness, drifting into a void where the chaos was replaced by a heavy stillness.