The Ominous Thestrals: Anyone Who Has Killed Can See Them

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There was a rapid knocking at the door.

The four turned their heads and saw a short, stout figure swaying on the curtain.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron said, speechless. "That old witch must have arrived right on time!"

"This isn't the time to talk about this," Hermione said nervously. "Harry, I remember you brought the Invisibility Cloak, right?"

"Quickly, get in here!" Harry hurriedly took out the Invisibility Cloak and covered himself, Hermione, Ron inside.

The three of them squeezed into a corner, making room for the middle spot.

Hagrid opened the door, and Umbridge stood in the doorway, wearing a pink blouse and coat, a fake smile on her face, but her eyes flashing with disdain.

"Um... you're Hagrid, right?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Dolores Umbridge." Umbridge entered the cabin, pacing back and forth as he looked around the interior.

Harry and his two companions didn't dare to breathe, afraid that she would notice them.

"I don't mean to be rude, but who exactly are you?" Hagrid asked, his eyes wide.

"The Senior Undersecretary to Minister Fudge in the Ministry of Magic, now Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and also a Hogwarts High Inquisitor," Umbridge said smugly. "As High Inquisitor, I have the right to know the reasons for teachers taking leave, so tell me where you've been for the past two months?"

"Well, I... I actually went to a sanatorium," Hagrid stammered.

"Recuperation?" Umbridge sneered dismissively.

Does this big oaf think she's stupid? The physical abilities of Half-Giant are extraordinary; it's ridiculous to use such an absurd excuse.

"I need to enjoy some fresh air."

"Yes! The gamekeeper must have a hard time breathing fresh air." Umbridge chuckled meaningfully. "If I were you coming back, I wouldn't be used to it. In fact, I might as well not even open my luggage."

After saying that, Umbridge turned and walked towards the door without waiting for Hagrid's reaction.

The door closed, and Harry and his two companions waited a while to make sure she was really gone before removing the Invisibility Cloak.

"That's pretty clear," Hermione said with a grim face. "She wants you to pack your bags and get out of here."

Hagrid, your class is on Tuesday. You need to be prepared. This situation is very serious. You absolutely cannot use anything too dangerous in class...

"I know, I know," Hagrid waved his hand impatiently. "What you said is exactly the same as what Aaron said."

But don't worry, I've reserved some animals especially for your OWL members; they're quite special.

The three men's hearts skipped a beat. Hagrid's confident demeanor made them uneasy, especially since he had acted the same way when he brought out the Hippogriff and the Blast-Ended Skrewt.

"Is it safe?" Harry asked somewhat nervously.

"Of course they are not dangerous. They can take care of themselves and will not attack humans."

"Hagrid, this is no joke," Hermione said very seriously. "You have to pass Umbridge's check. Listen to me this time, Porlock, the Knarl will be in big trouble."

"No, they're not exactly fun."

The things I prepared are far more amazing; I'm probably the only one in all of Britain who has tamed them.

"Oh dear! Why can't you understand?" Hermione said, both anxious and frustrated. "The important thing isn't that it's interesting, it's that it's safe."

If you don't want Umbridge to have something on you, teach them some ordinary animals that will definitely appear in the exam.

Hagrid yawned and gave the three of them a big hug. "Believe me, I've really prepared something amazing this time."

Hearing this, the three of them were at a loss for what to do.

They still felt that this matter couldn't be decided by Hagrid's temperament, but they clearly couldn't persuade him otherwise!

"What do we do?" Ron said dejectedly on the way back. "He doesn't seem to have listened to what we said."

"There are still two days." Hermione took a deep breath. "If possible, try to persuade him to change his mind. If that doesn't work, you can at least help him check things out before classes officially start."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, a hint of conflict flashing in their eyes.

"You hesitated?"

"No, no, no, no, we didn't mean that," Harry said hastily. "But you know our situation."

"The homework is piling up like a mountain," Ron said bitterly. "And then there's the Quidditch Match. Although Harry managed to snatch the Golden Snitch, I wasn't quite up to par as the goalkeeper."

"Slightly?" Hermione looked at him speechlessly. "Are you sure?"

Ron felt utterly ashamed, blushed, and lowered his head. "Fine! That's really bad!"

In short, Angelina gave me a severe dressing-down and made us train even harder.

"Luckily, DA Time Stop because of the Quidditch season, otherwise the two of us really wouldn't have been able to handle it."

Hermione almost laughed out of anger. She hadn't expected these two to be so unreliable, letting her down at the crucial moment.

"Fine! Looks like I'll have to help Hagrid all by myself."

"You can ask Aaron for help," Harry said. "He doesn't have to train, and he doesn't have as much homework as we do."

"The chances are slim. I know him too well. It's already the limit that he can come and remind Hagrid every day."

"You're being a bit unfair. It's fine if he comes over and you just give him a heads-up, but when it comes to the two of us..." Ron said sarcastically, but his voice trailed off halfway through.

"You have a problem with that?" Hermione's smile was warm, but it sent a chill down Ron's spine.

"Uh... no, how could I possibly have a problem with that!"

However, Hermione still found Aaron in the library the next day, saying, "Come with me to Hagrid's place."

"I'm not going." Aaron refused decisively. "I know what you're worried about, but I've already reminded you of everything I needed to."

"Just reminding him isn't enough," Hermione said seriously. "We need to figure out what he wants to teach, and at the very least give him some advice. We can't let Umbridge have any leverage over us."

"Haha!" Aaron couldn't help but laugh. "That's no use. No matter how perfectly you prepare, you can't stop the nitpicking Umbridge."

Besides, we've both warned him; if he still insists on his own way, he's only asking for it.

"But... we have to give it a try!"

"You bastard, I'll show you what's what!"

Hermione's lips twitched slightly. Although she had prepared herself mentally before coming, she still couldn't help but feel disappointed when she was rejected. However, Aaron's next words swept away most of the gloom in her heart.

"However, I will try my best to help him, after all, I don't like owing people things."

On Tuesday, during the Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid arrived at the students carrying half a dead cow, but Professor Grubbly-Plank was nowhere to be seen.

Those who liked Hagrid cheered enthusiastically, while some were quite depressed.

After all, in their eyes, Professor Grubbly-Plank was the truly dedicated teacher, and most importantly, there was no danger in her class.

Hagrid led his students into the Forbidden Forest, saying as they walked, "We have our lessons in the woods because they love the darkness."

"What likes the dark?" Draco asked, somewhat frightened.

"That's a lot," Aaron said seriously, counting on his fingers. "Vampires, leopard cats, nocturnal beasts..."

"Wait, don't say that yet," Draco hurriedly interrupted. "Let me catch my breath."

"I'm not trying to be mean, but you really need to work on your courage."

"How can you blame me?" Draco said dejectedly. "I've never been afraid in Professor Grubbly-Plank's class, but he... look at that half-dead cow he's carrying on his shoulder."

It was just slaughtered not long ago; the meat is still bloody. It can't be for us to eat, can it?

When the students heard Draco say that, they seemed to realize something.

Their faces darkened slightly, and they kept a distance from Hagrid as much as possible.

"You guys." Harry looked at the students who were backing away and was immediately furious, especially since a significant portion of them were Gryffindor.

"Potter, I don't think there's anything wrong with what I'm saying." Draco was unusually serious. "Who knows what kind of carnivorous beast he might bring along."

In my opinion, he's better suited to be a gamekeeper; Grubbly-Plank is far more suited to be the professor.

Harry glared at him angrily, but had nothing to say.

Because he knew that Draco wasn't the only one who thought this way; many people thought the same way, and he even secretly admired Professor Grubbly-Plank. But if he had to choose, he would definitely support Hagrid.

Harry went to Hermione's side and asked worriedly, "Will this class be okay?"

Hermione was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know either."

"No way, didn't you say you were going to help him vet the candidates?"

"I tried my best, but he wasn't in the house when I looked for him." Hermione sighed deeply. "After waiting for him to come out of the Forbidden Forest, he didn't tell me anything, saying he wanted to give us a surprise."

"I didn't see any surprises, but the shock was real," Ron said with some fear. "Malfoy was right. The animal we're going to meet in this class is probably a carnivore, and a big one at that, the kind that can eat half a cow."

Hermione and Harry's hearts sank immediately. Now they could only hope that Umbridge had something come up and couldn't come, otherwise Hagrid would be in danger this time.

Hagrid stopped where the forest was densest. It had snowed heavily the past two days, but there wasn't a single snowflake in sight.

"The animal we are going to learn about today is very rare."

"You've tamed them, haven't you?" Draco asked, somewhat fearfully.

"Certainly."

Many people were skeptical of this claim, and they looked around cautiously, as if on guard against a possible attack at any moment.

"Uh... don't be so nervous." Hagrid put the dead cow down. "They'll be attracted by the smell of meat, but I'll call them anyway."

He tossed his hair aside, cleared his throat, and made a strange sound.

The sound echoed continuously in the dark forest, and many students dared not speak, only feeling fear spreading in their hearts.

A few minutes later, Aaron heard soft footsteps, turned his head and saw a huge black horse with exposed bones and black wings emerge from the darkness.

"Oh, so that's it!" Aaron exclaimed. "Don't be afraid, these Fantastic Beasts become very docile once they are tamed."

"You can see?" Hagrid asked, somewhat surprised.

"Anyone who has killed can see it," Aaron said casually, but he immediately realized he had misspoke. "Well... I might have exaggerated a bit. What I meant was that anyone who has seen a life slip away from their arms can see it."

"What did you see?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

Aaron shrugged and pointed to the half-dead cow on the ground.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin students gasped in shock as they watched pieces of flesh being peeled from the bones, with clear bite marks on them.

Even though everyone here Warlock, they still couldn't help but feel a chill when they saw this eerie scene.

"These are Thestral," Aaron explained. "We're quite familiar with them, since they've been the ones pulling the carriages every time we come to Hogwarts Castle since we were second class."

"But it's unlucky, very unlucky," Parvati said in horror. "Professor Trelawney said it will bring all sorts of terrible disasters to anyone who sees them."

"That's utter nonsense," Aaron chuckled. "If that were true, Hagrid, who tamed them, would have died countless times over."

"Could you please stop using me as an example?" Hagrid said. "But bad luck and such are just superstitions. They are very clever and useful. For example, they help pull the school carriages, Dumbledore uses them to Apparition."

"A mount!" Aaron chuckled and shook his head, the image of Dumbledore riding Thestral flashing through his mind. "I always thought he rode Phoenix!"

"The Fawkes is powerful, but using it for travel is a waste of its potential."

"Perhaps!"

"Besides Aaron, who else can see them?"

Harry was the first to raise his hand, followed by Neville, and then a Slytherin.

"Uh... excuse me for interrupting," Draco stepped forward and said, "You're teaching dozens of people, not just a few. Most of us can't see them."

"Cough! Cough cough!"

A cough suddenly rang out, and Umbridge swaggered over with a writing pad in hand.

"Oh, you idiot," Hagrid said with a forced smile.

"I think you should have received my note. I will come to your class."

"Received." Hagrid nodded. "Today we're talking about Thestral, but I don't know if you'll be able to see it."

"What?"

"It's Thestral, a horse with wings." Hagrid thought she couldn't see him, so he flapped his thick arms like wings twice.

Umbridge raised an eyebrow and then wrote on the writing board, "Use clumsy gestures."

"Hagrid just wanted to explain things more clearly," Aaron said calmly. "He didn't demonstrate anything before you came."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're intellectually challenged and need gestures to understand what he's saying.

Some students couldn't help but laugh, while others struggled to hold it in and turned their faces away so Umbridge wouldn't see.

Gryffindor genuinely disliked the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor sent by the Ministry of Magic, feeling that she was abusing her power and abusing her authority for personal gain. Slytherin, on the other hand, only showed superficial respect, since Defense Against the Dark Arts was the subject that Slytherin House was most interested in, but this professor clearly couldn't teach them anything.

The shrill laughter made Umbridge's face flash with displeasure, but she quickly suppressed it.

She gave Aaron a smile, then crossed out 'use clumsy gestures' from the whiteboard; to keep that comment now would be disrespectful to her own intelligence.