One Stone Changes So Many Lives - Book 3/10

Chapter 14 -

I can't believe Sabrina made us get up at dawn! I know we said we would come and see Hagrid with her, but she never mentioned waking up at dawn.

Breakfast was delicious at least. We had it in the kitchens with a house elf, called Blynken. Apparently she has breakfast with him every Saturday before dawn – All's I'm saying is.....How!?

Sabrina told us, over breakfast, that she wanted to show us the sort of work she does with Hagrid at the weekends. She said she wanted us to understand more about it, and then maybe we can see why it is so important.

After breakfast we followed Sabrina out into the grounds, in the direction of Hagrid's hut - I don't mind running after her at the crack of dawn every day if she always looked as amazing as this. The first morning lights was bouncing against her long hair, and her face seemed brighter than anything.

Hagrid was waiting for us, outside of his house, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Allo' Sabrina. Boys" Hagrid beamed at us happily.

"Good morning Hagrid. What's the plan for today?" Sabrina asks happily.

"Well ya see. It's a simple job today. It's a Hippogriff. The one who jus' had her young. She won' come down and eat her food, ya see. I fink somethin's wrong with her. So I need you to find ou' what's wha'. Your job - " Hagrid adds looking at us sternly " – is to watch the babies. Think you can handle tha'?"

We both nod in silence. Hagrid then begins leading us through the forest.

Ok now I can see why we had to wake up at dawn. It's taken us at least until lunch time, to make it the Hippogriff's terrain.

"SQUARK!" – What was that!?

I look up to see a large light brown Hippogriff, sitting in a huge nest in the trees. Her babies are at the base of the tree, flapping their little wings around madly.

"Why don't they just fly up to the mother?" I whisper to Sabrina.

"New-borns can't fly at first. Takes them about two weeks until they have the strength to fly. But without the mother's protection they'll die out here on their own" she whispers quietly, watching the mother sadly.

Hagrid pulls out a couple of dead ferrets, and hands one to each of us – YUCK!

"Boys, Ya need to skin it and take ou' all the bones. We can' risk the babies choking on 'em" he adds looking at us sternly. "Sabrina, you know wha' ya go' to do"

Sabrina nods silently, attaching the dead ferret to her jeans, and turning around to climb up the tree.

"Why doesn't she just turn into a bird and fly up?" Fred asks worriedly, as he begins to skin his dead ferret.

"She don' wanna scare the mother" Hagrid answers quietly. "If she transformed in front of the mother, it would ge' scared and attack her" he finishes even quieter – Attack her!? He never mentioned the mother could attack her!? I look up at Sabrina climbing the tree higher and higher – I'm not seeing the point as to why this is so important, that she has to risk her life for a bunch of animals.

As we begin de-boning the dead ferret's, the babies must have spelt the food, as they begin to make their way over to us. They stumble into eachother and nudge at our legs, flapping their tiny wings happily – I guess they are kinda cute.

One is a light silvery grey colour, another is a dark smokey colour and the third is a dark chestnut colour.

"I've been thinking about names for 'em" Hagrid explains happily. "Brownie is the chestnut coloured one. After Sabrina's Brownie recipe" he adds smiling at the Chestnut one – Sabrina has a brownie recipe?