Hogwarts : Max Level Unforgivable Curse

After class was over, while eating in the Great Hall, Dylan was fiddling with the Time-Turner in his hand. He was pondering his assessment of how the little contraption actually worked. 

"Even though I haven't used that Pensieve in old Dumbledore's office much, I reckon the Time-Turner and the Pensieve might not be all that different, perhaps," he mused. Both, he figured, relied on some frightfully advanced ancient runes. 

The difference, compared to the Pensieve, was that the Time-Turner employed some kind of alchemy that, frankly, he hadn't a clue about yet. 

"Alchemy, eh... My research in that area is a bit shallow, to be perfectly honest." Dylan took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "Perhaps it's time I applied to old Dumbledore for some lessons?" 

Everyone knew that old Dumbledore's skill in alchemy was quite extraordinary. If he could just manage to nick a few secrets from the old chap... no, not nick, perhaps 'study abroad' for a bit. And whilst he was at it, pick up the secret of the Alchemical Fire. His own mastery of alchemy was sure to reach a considerable height then. 

"Honestly, the content of these classes, you can certainly hear some angles from the professors that I haven't seen in any books, but..." Dylan wasn't keen on spending too much of his time on elective subjects. At the very least, he couldn't possibly finish this term and still not have figured out the true working principles of the Time-Turner, only to have to take the class again next year. That would truly drive him mad! 

Learning flat out like this wasn't proving to be all that helpful for him. Therefore, Dylan didn't want to waste too much time or energy throwing himself into these elective courses. 

After lunch, they still had more classes in the afternoon. This particular lesson was Care of Magical Creatures. Neville wasn't there today. Harry, however, had come to class. Besides the Gryffindors, there were Slytherin students too. 

Hermione sidled up to Dylan, but noticed that the book clutched in his hand wasn't moving at all. It looked just like a normal book, not one that was trying to bite anyone. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. "How on earth have you kept it so still without binding it up?" 

Dylan turned his head and immediately spotted the Monster Book of Monsters Hermione was holding. It was tightly bound by rough bandages, wound around it again and again, looking rather like a restrained wild dog. There was a faint rustling sound from between the pages; it was still trying to wriggle and struggle. 

"Oh, it's quite simple," Dylan said. "I just got rid of the Engorgement Charm that was put on this book. You can try it yourself." As he spoke, he raised a hand and reached towards Hermione's chest. 

"What are you...?" Hermione froze, her cheeks flushing red, just about to back away. However, Dylan's hand had already gently touched the spine of the book she was holding to her chest. The movement was light, but it made the restless Monster Book give a sudden shiver, as if it had been startled. Then, it immediately fell quiet, no longer struggling or shaking, but instead lay obediently in Hermione's arms. 

"Or, if you want it to stay active, but just need it quiet when you want to use it, you can do this," Dylan added. 

Hermione's eyes lit up. "I understand!" Seizing the moment while the book in her hands was quiet, she paused for a moment, cautiously unwinding the bandages wrapped around it. She stayed on high alert, ready to fling the book away at any second. But the biting she expected didn't happen; the Monster Book remained quietly in her hand. Hermione immediately excitedly flipped the book open. 

She had bought this book ages ago, but had never actually managed to read it! The thing was like a lunatic, always trying to bite her whenever she went near it! It had made it utterly impossible for her to do any reading ahead! This was, in fact, the only one of her courses for which she hadn't managed to look at the material in advance! 

Dylan watched her hurried movements and blinked. "Why are you reading it now?" 

"So I can answer any questions during class, of course!" 

"Er... alright, then, carry on," Dylan said, clicking his tongue slightly. 

The students standing near them saw what the two were doing and immediately started mimicking them, looking quite astonished. This was because Hagrid hadn't included any instructions on how to handle the Monster Book in the required reading list. As a result, hardly any students knew how to get the troublesome Monster Books to be quiet. Even many of the Slytherins didn't know, because, well, they never bothered reading books like these. Neither did their parents, for that matter. 

Of course, perhaps some pure-blood wizards had families who knew how to tame a Monster Book, but out of sheer pride, these young wizards preferred to secretly use tape or bandages to tie up their books rather than ask their parents for help. Anything to avoid being looked down upon by their parents for not being able to handle such a small matter themselves. So, it wasn't just the Gryffindors; a great many Slytherin students also resorted to wrapping up their Monster Books like Hermione had, or jamming them into the crevices of their bags. Some even opted to clip them with tweezers or tongs. In short, they were trying every possible method to restrain the movements of these troublesome books. 

They left the castle and Dylan walked with Hermione and Harry towards Hagrid's hut. Since Hagrid was teaching this class, he had decided to hold the lesson right here. 

"Hullo there! Come on, you lot, hurry up!" 

From a distance, they could see Hagrid standing by his hut, his eyes shining with excitement, waving them over. It was clear Hagrid was thrilled. 

When the group of students finally reached him, Hagrid's hearty laugh boomed out. "I've prepared a little something special for this class, you see – trust me, this lesson is going to be absolutely brilliant!" 

Hagrid looked around, pretending to count heads, and then impatiently waved a hand. "Looks like everyone's here! Right then, follow me closely, don't fall behind! Otherwise, I can't be sure you won't run into anything nasty in the Forbidden Forest!" 

Hagrid turned his massive frame, darted a glance at Dylan, and then strode into the Forbidden Forest. Dylan pretended not to see the look, keeping his gaze straight ahead. Only yesterday, Hagrid had sneakily asked Ron to tell him if Dylan would agree to meet him in the Forbidden Forest late one night. But Dylan had immediately thought of how incredibly busy he was going to be, and how Hagrid had only just started his job and likely wouldn't be able to pay much. So, Dylan had simply refused. 

He followed behind Hagrid unhurriedly. Although Hagrid's strides were enormous, Dylan didn't seem out of breath or struggling to keep up like the other young wizards. He looked quite relaxed and composed. 

Malfoy was lagging at the back of the group. He glanced at Harry, who was walking briskly past him. Suddenly, he grabbed the strap he'd been using to bind his Monster Book and whipped it sharply against the book in his hand. The thing had been trying to bite him all this time; now it was finally going to get what was coming to it! 

At the same time, Draco said pointedly, "Honestly, I can't believe Hogwarts would let an utter idiot who knows nothing teach a class!" He whipped the Monster Book again. The book quivered but didn't open its mouth to bite him. Seeing this, Malfoy started lashing it even more enthusiastically. "This school is utterly finished, I reckon. Might as well let the Dementors be the students!" 

"If my father knew about this," Malfoy went on, "he'd be so furious, his blood pressure would skyrocket! He'd have a heart attack!" 

Harry, who had just walked past him, listened to the endless stream of drivel. He stopped, frowned, and glared at Malfoy. "That's enough, Malfoy! You talk far too much!" 

Malfoy immediately curled his lip and looked at Harry with a look of utter disdain. "Well, well, if it isn't Harry, the Saviour, who got scared witless on the train! Those Dementors weren't really going to eat you!" Ever since he'd found out Harry had been terrified by the Dementors on the Hogwarts Express, Malfoy had been looking for any opportunity to taunt him about it. Now, he'd finally caught his chance. 

Harry gritted his teeth and glared back. 

Hermione, walking beside Dylan, shot him a glance. Dylan still didn't look away. He wasn't someone who would just start swearing at people; that was far too impolite. Spitting out insults wasn't something an elegant gentleman ought to do. 

Of course, in reality, Dylan hadn't actually paid any attention to what was happening with Harry. He was currently thinking about the Time-Turner and the Dementors. This time, he had managed to catch seven Dementors, yet he hadn't gotten any decent achievement rewards. This had rather annoyed Dylan. He planned to find some time when he was free to properly teach those Dementors a lesson in his space. He'd torture them mercilessly to see if he could trigger any other achievements. After all, these Dementors couldn't actually die. 

Just then, Hagrid, who was walking in front, stopped. They had entered the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest. 

"Just stand here and wait a moment, I'll be right back." 

The afternoon sun, filtered by the canopy of trees, dappled the ground with golden light. Rough branches twisted out of piles of damp, decaying leaves. The air was thick with a strange scent, a mix of animal dung and damp wood. 

Hagrid told all the students to stay put and then quickly walked behind a particularly large tree. 

"Right then, have a look at this!" 

When Hagrid's towering figure emerged from behind the massive tree, the bushes rustled incessantly. Moss that had rubbed off his shoulders dusted the ground. The group of young wizards stared at Hagrid. In his hands, he was clutching a dozen thick iron chains – these chains were nearly as thick as a person's wrist. The links clanked against each other, glinting coldly and making a great clattering noise. 

Tethered to the other end of the chains was a group of Hippogriffs. Counting roughly, there were at least a dozen of them. These creatures emerged from the tall grass, pawing the ground with their front hooves. Each one had a sharp, hooked beak, covered in a layer of honey-coloured keratin, and when they opened their mouths, you could see the deep red membrane inside. Their horse bodies were covered in sleek grey fur that looked like satin, and their manes exploded outwards in curls like burning copper wire. There were bulging muscles at the shoulder blades of these peculiar creatures. 

"Good heavens, these are...!" Hermione's eyes widened in astonishment. "Hippogriffs!" 

She had only just read about them in a book! She couldn't believe she was seeing them in real life now! 

Hearing her, Hagrid immediately nodded, his face alight with excitement. "That's right! These are Hippogriffs! Aren't they beautiful? Just look at those amber eyes and those fluffy feathers!" Hagrid pointed them out to the group of young wizards. 

"But they're incredibly dangerous!" Hermione frowned, her scattered curly hair seeming to twist with her concern. "I read in the book that these creatures can break a person's bones just by flapping their wings! How can we be face-to-face, this close, with such dangerous magical creatures in our very first lesson?" 

Hermione wasn't exactly a stranger to Hagrid; in fact, thanks to Harry, she knew him quite well by now. So, she felt comfortable voicing her concerns directly. Hagrid, however, simply laughed it off. "But they are beautiful, aren't they?" 

That's true enough, Dylan muttered to himself. He had to admit, while their appearance was certainly odd, these Hippogriffs were rather pleasing to look at. Especially those broad wings; even not fully spread, you could see the powerful muscles in them. 

Really makes you want to catch a few, Dylan thought, almost drooling. He had explored the Forbidden Forest several times at night before, but had never encountered anything particularly rare. This had rather put Dylan out. Besides, if he caused too much of a fuss – attracting Hagrid's attention would be one thing, but if he drew old Dumbledore's notice, that would be truly problematic. 

"No matter how beautiful they are, that doesn't stop them from being dangerous!" Hermione insisted. 

As Hermione spoke, the Hippogriff Hagrid had led closest to them suddenly raised its head, its amber vertical pupils sweeping over the students. Its gaze landed on Hermione, its nostrils flared twice, and it snorted out two puffs of white mist. 

"Whoa there, easy now, little fella," Hagrid said, tugging on the chain. 

Dylan watched these magical creatures. Suddenly, he thought of Newt Scamander. If the professor for Care of Magical Creatures were him... Dylan couldn't even imagine how interesting this class would be. Newt's understanding of magical creatures must be far superior to Hagrid's. And, Newt would be much better at explaining the living habits of these magical creatures in more detail and with greater accuracy. 

Though, there's a good chance you might suddenly be asked to dance during class. Like the Unicorn courtship dance, for instance, or perhaps the Blast-Ended Skrewt dance. Dylan clicked his tongue. 

So... why would humans have to do a courtship dance? 

Hagrid came forward to face the students. "Alright, listen closely now, kids, what I'm about to tell you is very important." 

"About these lovely little chaps – they're very proud creatures, and proud creatures are always more likely to get grumpy." 

"So, absolutely do not insult these little chaps with any nasty comments – that could very well cost you your lives!" 

"After all, their attacks really are quite powerful. I really wouldn't want to see any of you getting a broken bone out here – I might not be able to get help in time." After all, he wasn't exactly skilled in healing himself. 

Keeping a safe distance, Hagrid finished explaining some key points to all the students. Only then did he lead the group of Hippogriffs further towards the students. 

"Remember, you must wait for these little chaps to make the first move – understand? That's the polite thing to do."