The Kind Hufflepuff

Chapter 63: Augurey

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The Kind Hufflepuff - Year Three

Chapter Sixty- Three: Augurey

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The new year had come quickly, and before Cali even realized it she was back to the full swing of classes. Though, the past week had taken a dark turn as an Augurey had taken residence on the Hogwarts grounds- his loud crying spooking students and professors alike though none of them seemed willing to admit it. Despite the truth of the Augurey, many carried rumors and theorized about who was pending death as they believed in the old rumors that an Augurey's cry meant there was an impending death.

Because of the Augurey, Cali had been spending a lot of time outdoors or near windows furiously taking notes of the Augurey as it cried. He had been going for days, the light sprinkling seemed to make no difference to the other inhibitors of the castle. But Cali had been absolutely enamoured by the creature, the black feathers of the pheonix that stood taller than her had quite a few crude drawings that she feared looked nothing like a feather.

She had been ecstatic when she overheard from a seventh year that Kettleburn was taking the rare opportunity to teach every year about Augurey's and had even managed to convince the creature to sit on a perch a short distance from the students though it was easily spooked and frequently was leaving the groups due to the crowd. 

So when it was time to go to Care of Magical Creatures, she practically raced towards the classroom where she could already see the large Augurey on the perch while Professor Kettleburn fed the creature small insects. "Hi Professor Kettleburn," Cali greeted, smiling widely.

"Hello," he greeted, "I should not be surprised that you'd be so eager."

"Does he have a name?" Cali asked curiously.

"Oh no," Kettleburn shook his head, "He will be gone quite soon, the storm that's been passing through has been causing his cries," Kettleburn shrugged. "Though I suspect you already knew this, yes?"

Cali blushed in response, nodding nervously. "Yes sir."

"Splendid," Kettleburn nodded. "That bowtruckle is still around you, I see." He gestured towards the Bowtruckle who had made his home on Cali's shoulder. He slept in her nightstand drawer at night, but for the most part, if you saw Cali nowadays then you also saw the small creature.

"Oh yes," Cali nodded.

It wasn't long before class had begun, and Kettleburn separated the girl as Cali's eyes locked onto the Augurey. "Now typically," Kettleburn began, catching the attention of the other students. "We would not be covering Augurey's until around 6th or 7th year but considering we have this rare opportunity to hold the class with an actual Augurey around, I figured there would be no harm to hold the class for every year this one time. With that in mind, please be aware that Augurey's are not dangerous beings. They are classified as a XX, meaning that even the ministry has deemed it relatively safe to handle the creatures and even possible to domesticate. While I do not have an Augurey myself, I have a great fondness for these creatures."

He walked around, keeping an eye on the nervous bird that seemed to be trying to make himself smaller now that he had the attention of so many third years. Cali's eyes watched as one particular feather fell from his spot, landing softly on the ground as she made note to grab it after class ended. "Does anybody know what magical abilities the creature possesses?"

Peter Pettigrew nervously raised his hand, and Kettleburn called on him. "They- they foretell death." Cali cringed internally, rolling her eyes at this mundane expectation that was formed years ago but somehow hadn't matured in the years since as they've grown a better understanding of this particular creature. Cali raised her hand excitedly, wanting to correct the boy.

"Well, that was a close attempt. Miss. Higgs, please do explain why Mr. Pettigrew was incorrect in his assumptions."

"Of course professor," Cali smiled. "Augurey's actually cry when rainfall is coming."

"10 points to Hufflepuff. Well done, Miss. Higgs." Professor Kettleburn congratulated before continuing with his lesson.

"Augurey's are actually a type of Pheonix. As you can see here they look a little different than most Pheonix's you might be used to seeing. They are large creatures, typically taller than 4 feet with dark and mournful appearing feathers. Muggleborns have speculated that it appears to be an underfed vulture which is probably why most Muggles do not make note of the creature. As you can see with Mr. Pettigrew's assessment of the creature, there was once this belief that upon hearing the cries of the Augurey, it meant that you were soon to die. A fun fact is that Uric the Oddball once had over 50 Augurey's as pets, and once they all began crying at once that he thought himself death and earned a concussion for attempting to walk through a wall."

There were giggles throughout the classroom when seemed to please the older professor.

"However, it was proven to be a myth in 1824 with the publication of 'Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried' written by Gulliver Pokeby. It was with that book that revealed that are actually crying due to rain coming, and they were used as rain forecasters in Pureblood homes up until quite recently." 

"Do you think my mother would allow me to get an Augurey?" Cali asked Greta who snorted.

The class was interrupted by a strike of lightning as heavy rain began falling causing various girls to squeal as they ran towards the castle, effectively ending the lesson. The Augurey's crying resumed, almost a melody that paired well with the rain.

Regardless of how many people had been taught during Professor Kettleburn's lessons that Augurey's did not cry over death but rather weather, the entire castle had come under the consensus that this could not possibly be the truth the following morning.

The Augurey had left in the early hours before breakfast had even begun, and while everybody was in the Great Hall, a peculiar ghost entered the hall just as it had always done during his tenure as professor at Hogwarts. Except this time, this time he was a ghost.

Professor Binns had been the professor for History of Magic for a long time. He was an old man, far older than even Dumbledore himself with a slow walk and a forgetful memory but he was a staple at Hogwarts. Upon seeing the man that had been alive just the night before, many students were in a state of grief. But despite the sadness that felt heavy that morning, Professor Binns did not even seem to notice that he was in fact a ghost.

He sat at the teacher's table, politely greeting the professors that he had sat beside for the last 10 years and had filled his plate. Even the professors themselves seemed to be at a loss of what to do, watching the man in shock as he attempted to spoon oatmeal through his ghostly figure. The Great Hall was completely silent, nobody even seemed to be breathing as they waited for something to happen. What? Well, nobody really seemed to know.

But everybody was positive that the Augurey had forecasted this very event and despite the few that protested this very nature- they were widely ignored as they continued to gossip about the new death. Another thing that seemed to be widely unclear was the class itself because if Professor Binns has died then who would teach the class? About half the day that gone through with nobody attending his classes, not a single soul within the seats but that didn't seem to stop the professor who taught to an empty room through the day.

During lunch, the heads of houses had made their rounds with the various years as they communicated the decision to continue with the History of Magic class as is. The professor would stay the same despite the healers they had seen earlier in the day who came to dispose of the fresh corpse and the new addition of the Hogwarts ghosts. Nobody really seemed to know for sure if Professor Binns was aware he was dead or not, but nobody seemed willing to break the news to the elderly professor.