Hidden Wings - Part I

Small talk

The next day had become cool and breezy, and as Mioha walked down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, she felt the occasional drop of rain on her face.
Professor Grubbly-Plank stood waiting for the class some ten yards from Hagrid's front door, a long trestle table in front of her, laden with twigs. As the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins reached the professor, Mioha could see there was a trestle table set up.

"Everyone here?", barked Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Let's crack on then. Who can tell me what these things are called?"
She indicated to the heap of twigs in front of her.
A second later, the twigs on the table leapt into the air and revealed themselves to be what looked like tiny pixie-ish creatures made of wood, each with knobbly brown arms and legs, two twiglike fingers at the end of each hand and a funny flat, barklike face in which a pair of beetle-brown eyes glittered.
They looked around suspiciously and chattered in high-pitched voices, sounding like little wooden soldiers that marched up and down the table.
Pansy gave a loud shriek and jumped back from the table with a disgusted expression on her face.

"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!", said Professor Grubbly-Plank sharply, scattering a handful of what looked like brown rice among the stick-creatures, who immediately fell upon the food.
"Yumyumyum", they munched, picking the food up with their long fingers.

"So - anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Lince?"

"Bowtruckles", said Mioha quietly. "They're tree-guardians, and usually live in wand-trees."

"Five points for Slytherin", said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Yes, these are Bowtruckles, and as Miss Lince rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"

Padma Patil raised her hand.

"Miss Patil."

"Woodlice", said the Ravenclaw promptly, "But fairy eggs if they can get them."

"Good girl, five points to Ravenclaw. So, whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a Bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of woodlice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will try to gouge at human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a Bowtruckle - I have enough here for one between three - you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body-parts labelled by the end of the lesson."

The class surged forwards around the trestle table.
Luna waved at Mioha to join her and Padma, both squatting on the grass some distance away and attempting to persuade a Bowtruckle to remain still long enough for them to draw it. Mioha hurried over to them and pulled out parchment and quill, and crouched down beside the others.

"Here, hold the Bowtruckle for a moment, just so I can draw its face", Padma instructed and shoved the twig-like creature into Mioha's arms.

The Slytherin stared at the creature in surprise and held it away at an arm's length. The fingers looked even sharper up close.

"Luna", said Mioha quietly, making sure to keep her grip on the Bowtruckle firm yet without hurting it. "Have you heard anything on where Hagrid might be?"

"No", said Luna absentmindedly, her big eyes focused on her parchment. Today she appeared to be wearing earrings made of orange radishes. "But if something would have happened, Professor Dumbledore would have taken care of Hagrid, I'm sure."

"Turn him a bit to the left", said Padma, scribbling furiously down the names of the Bowtruckle's body parts.

"OUCH!"
The Bowtruckle hadn't liked being held for so long and it had just taken a great retaliatory swipe at Mioha's hand with its sharp fingers, leaving two long deep cuts there.
Mioha dropped it and hid her hand in the pocket of her cloak.