As the candles in the Great Hall slowly extinguished, so did the livelihood of the room. Students from different houses filed out at their own pace, socializing, and getting to know one another.

    I was staring at a copy of The Daily Prophet someone had abandoned on the table. Sirius Black's crazed eyes continued to stare deep into my soul. Just thinking about the man was giving me a headache. I couldn't stop though, something deep inside pushed me to study every inch of his despicable face.

    "Your parents don't define you," a strong, feminine voice said.

    Daphne Greengrass was standing behind me, she smiled softly before sitting down. I knew who she was because she was Cressida's best friend.

    "No, but he is going to follow me around my whole life," I said aggravatedly, I let my head fall into my hands.

    "Only if you let him," she said, flipping the newspaper over, his face disappearing from view.

    "Thanks, Daphne," I said, returning her kindness.

    Kind Slytherins existed, I knew that, Cressida was the kindest person I knew.

    "How's Cressida?" I asked.

    To say I wasn't worried about her was a lie, I was always worried about her. Deep down, I knew she was the stronger one of the two of us, but it was supposed to be me. I was the man, I was meant to protect her.

    "She's okay. I'll watch her, I promise," Daphne said, nodding. She wore a smile that comforted me. 

    "Greenglass, stop flirting with the boy Black," Malfoy said as he grabbed the hood of her robe.

    I just simply shook my head, I was retracting my statement from earlier, I no longer enjoyed the company of Slytherins.

    "Are we there yet?" Ron whined as we climbed up the stairs

    "No, Ronald, now stop complaining," Hermione said sharply, leading the way.

    Ron and I made eye contact and we opened and closed our hands to mimic talking. We continued until Ron ran into Hermione. I started to crack up, but then she glared at me. It was as if she was staring into the depths of my soul. Ron again pointed and laughed at me, this kept going until Harry scolded us for behaving like toddlers.

    The spiral staircase continued on for what felt like forever, each lap we made further up, the darker the room got. It felt very eerie. I scanned the walls for a sign that said something like 'Keep Out' or 'No Trespassing'. It truly felt as if I was crossing into a part of the castle I was never meant to be in.

    As we reached the top, I was confused as to where the classroom was. There was a large open doorway into what seemed like a dark tunnel.

    Hermione noticed that Ron and I had stopped, and Harry too, "This way," she said, pointing to the doorway.

    As I crossed into the room, I was in disbelief that it was even a classroom. There weren't any tables and benches like the other classrooms, instead, there were small, circular tables, and stools. The room was poorly lit, only illuminated by a dim glow from the middle of the room. Every curtain in the room was pulled shut, and the tables were draped with long, red cloths. The only source of light in the room besides the centerpiece was a fireplace in the back corner of the room. There was a silver kettle hanging over the fire.

    "This looks cozy," I remarked, walking into the large, open part of the room.

    "This looks like my attic," Ron mumbled, walking over to a shelf that was home to feathers, candles, playing cards, crystal balls, teacups, and a lot of spiderwebs.

    I smiled deviously.

    "Ron, did you see that spider?" I asked, pointing behind him to the shelf.

    He shrieked before running back over to where Harry was, "Harry is a much better snack, he's the boy who lived after all!"

    "Ouch," Harry said, jokingly. "Is that all I am? Spider bait?"

    I chuckled, and moved close to Harry to whisper something into his ear, "No, you're here to make sure Hermione doesn't beat the two of us to death for our stupidity."

    Ron looked at both of us defensively, "Spiders are horrid creatures, you both have to be afraid of something! Don't act indestructible!!'

    He was right, I was afraid of something, but it sure as hell wasn't a spider.

    As more and more students piled in, we found a place to sit. Each table only housed three students, so I sat at a table adjacent to Harry, Ron, & Hermione. The room was full of whispers, and uncertainty.

    I yawned as I watched the room fill up, and I realized the seats at my table were becoming the only seats left in the room. Was I really that unapproachable? If you were to ask me, I'd say I'm quite the catch.

    The only individual who I hated just as much as my dad looked around the room twice before realizing the only seat he could pick from was the one at my table.

    Great.

    "Great," Draco muttered, sitting down across from me.

    Both of our sulking sessions were interrupted by a faint, and mysterious voice.

    "Welcome to Divination," the ominous voice said from beyond the shadows of the room.

    A small woman with bubble glasses appeared from behind a large banner near the fireplace in the corner of the room. Her hair was frizzled in all different directions, and she was wearing plenty of bangle jewelry and rings. Her hands seemed to be shaky and skeletal, almost as if she had seen and encountered death before.

    "My name is Professor Trelawney, I am unknown to many of the students here since I am such a studious individual. I never venture far from the tower. If you ever need something, or have any questions, you know where to find me," she said, speaking fast, but slowly walking around the room.

    "Ah great, a nut job," Malfoy mumbled.

    I think I was agreeing with him, and that's something I never thought was possible.

    "In this class, we shall explore the future, and the unknown, walking hand in hand with one another to uncover all," she said with large arm motions, her oversized teal shawl moving with her.

    She walked around the room toting the silver kettle that was above the fire when we entered, as she approached the tables, she poured a dark tea into small tea cups.

    "Please drink the tea, but don't disrupt the dregs, once the tea is finished, please exchange cups with your partner."

I downed the glass of tea quickly, even though I hated the stuff, I just wanted to finish before Malfoy.

    He finished not long after me and sat his teacup down on the table, we switched cups without speaking, and both opened our textbooks to analyze the clumps inside.

    "No need to tell me Black, I already know I'm going to become the most powerful wizard," Malfoy boasted.

    I stared at the dregs, although initially I couldn't see anything, the longer I stared, the more a shape started to appear. It looked like a bird carrying an arrow. Before I had the chance to even look up what it meant, Draco started speaking.

    "You will experience large and sudden changes, and you have the need to take caution, this is a bad omen," Draco read to me.

    "Sounds bloody fantastic," I remarked, laughing.

    "Honestly Black, it sounds like you've been cursed with Potter's luck. Maybe he's a bad influence, and you should stray away," Draco suggested.

    "Yeah. Yeah, whatever. I think yours might be worse," I countered.

    "Mine? I know my future, not what this fraud has to say, my father says she's a crazy old hag," he said.

    "A bird symbolizes good luck and journey, but this particular bird is carrying an arrow pointing back at you, the arrow means bad news and destruction for the direction of the arrow," I read, following along in the textbook with my finger.

    "A destructive journey? You read it wrong," Malfoy said, reaching for the cup.

    I didn't argue, in fact, I was too distracted. I looked over to the table where Harry and Ron were sitting and noticed that Professor Trelawney looked shocked, her hand was shaking and she was holding a cup.

"Dear Boy, you have the Grim! The Grim is the omen of death, of darkness. The dog that haunts even graveyards!" she yelled, her tone shaky and disturbed.

Draco rolled his eyes, and started to pack his things, "I'm out of here, this hag is nuts," he looked at me for a moment, "you coming?"

I didn't need to answer, by the time I had managed to decide what to do, the rest of the room had already packed up, apparently, we were dismissed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had already left. Just splendid. I couldn't help but feel a bit left out.

"Sure," I said, grabbing my things, but Draco was already gone too.

    "Harry, are you not worried?" Neville Longbottom asked, his voice was shaky with fear.

    I sat in my bed in the dorm room, as did the majority of the other Gryffindor boys. Even those who hadn't been in our class had heard the rumors of Harry's bad omen, and his future death.

    "Neville, there's no need for him to be worried, it's not real," I said shrugging.

    "Zenith is right," Ron said, affirmatively.

    "The only thing I'm worried about is Draco Malfoy," Harry said as he collected a large book from underneath his bed. The book was hairy, and had four eyes on the top of it, even though he was holding it with both hands, he struggled to keep it still.

    "I don't think Draco is really that big of a deal," I said, leaning against my bedpost. "I think he's just misunderstood."

    Since when was I friends with Draco?

    "Misunderstood, and being a Slytherin are two different things," Seamus Finnigan, a small, blond-haired boy said from the other side of the room.

    "Hey, that's a hasty generalization!" Ron said, speaking up before I could.

    "Agreed. Cressida is the sweetest soul around," I claimed, following Ron's argument.

    "If that's the case, maybe we got the wrong twin in Gryffindor," Dean Thomas, a tall, stalky, dark-haired kid said. He was the best friend of Seamus Finnigan, and overall a jerk to anyone but Finnigan.

    I had to bite my tongue to refrain from saying something I shouldn't, and that wasn't going to be enough either. I grabbed my book of monsters, and stormed out of the room. I always felt like Harry Potter's shadow, the second kid nobody wanted to be alone with. Frankly, I was tired of that.

    I walked through the Gryffindor common room and passed many students studying, or playing wizard's chess. I was in such a foul mood that I even ignored the Weasley twins who were calling my name.

    The rest of my walk to Hagrid's hut was fine, just fine. Mediocre at best, nobody attempted to talk to me, and I kept my head down.

    I knocked on the large door twice, the tops of my knuckles clicking on the wood.

    "Hagrid?" I ask from the outside, announcing my presence to him.

    "Black?" he asked, opening the door inward.

    I smiled as I took his invitation, walking into his quiet hut.

    "Anything I can do for ya?" Hagrid asked, setting an oversized cup on the counter in front of where I was standing.

    I picked it up with both of my hands wrapped around the mug, and they looked small in comparison. I raised the glass to my nose, and I had to fight in order to keep a fake smile on my face. It smelt absolutely horrid and I quite frankly was afraid to drink whatever the mysterious substance was.

    "Hagrid?" I asked. "What is this?"

    He had a cup similar to the one I was holding in my hands, the difference was he was happily sipping, and I was staring into mine as if it was the plague.

    "Dragon's Well Tea," he said proudly, drinking the rest of his cup in one swig.

    "Is it, you know, safe?" I asked, gently stirring the steaming liquid with a spoon while I grasped the cup with the oversized handle.

    "Would I ever give ya something that wasn't?" Hagrid asked sarcastically.

    I looked at him, and I gave him a stare that answered without words.

    "It's harmless, I swear," he said with a chuckle.

    I brought the cup to my lips, and took the smallest drink possible. At first, it was cool, and thin, but the second the drink hit the back of my throat it felt as if it was a burning sludge tearing through my esophagus. I sat the cup down coughing.

    "Harmless," I said in between coughs.

    "Did ya need to talk about something?" Hagrid asked, sitting down across from me at the table.

    "I just needed to get away, to clear my head really."

    "I see," Hagrid said, watching me with interest.

I was one of the few wizards who appreciated Hagrid for who he was. It was difficult to find a professor you could have a conversation with, much less find a professor you could befriend.
   
I stood up abruptly. I saw students walking down the cobblestone stairs to the forest. "Hagrid, isn't it time for class?"

"Yer right," Hagrid said, jumping up with almost as much enthusiasm as I had. "Out ya go, I'll follow," he said, motioning me out the door.

I walked fast in order to safely merge into the crowd unnoticed.
   
Everyone stood around an empty paddock, people talked amongst themselves, gossiping about Harry's Grim. Hagrid walked in front of the group before addressing us all.

"Everyone make sure to gather 'round the fence!" he said, although the majority of us were already there. "And open up yer books to page 271."

We stared at him puzzled until someone spoke up from the crowd. Draco of course.

"How do you expect we do that?" Draco asked, his question sounded genuine.

"You have to stroke the spine," Hagrid said happily. "They're like Fang here," he said motioning towards the large black dog that sat beside him. "They seem intimidating, but they're harmless."

    "A book that has teeth, and tries to bite your hands off? Sounds perfectly harmless to me," Draco mocked.

I rolled my eyes, but I could see Harry getting visibly upset because as Hagrid continued to talk, Draco mocked him.

At some point, Hagrid had disappeared from view, but I was too preoccupied trying to keep Harry from starting a fight.

"Hogwarts has gone to dust, letting an oaf like Hagrid teach us, what's Dumbledore thinking? If they needed money to hire, my dad would have been plenty generous. I'd prefer to learn from someone who had education at some point," Draco rambled to Crabbe and Goyle.

"Shut it, Malfoy," Harry said storming over to him, his fists balled.

"Watch out Potter, there's a Dementor behind you," Draco yelped, pointing behind Harry.

Harry turned quickly and drew his wand, and the Slytherin boys erupted with laughter. There was nothing there.

Before Harry could act again, Hagrid returned, leading the most extraordinary creature I had ever seen behind him.

The creature had the body of a horse, but the head of an eagle. It was beautiful, its white fur bled into features around the base of its neck, and it had large wings that lay folded against its body. Its hoofs clicked against the exposed ground, gracefully prancing throughout the paddock. Entering behind it, many more different colored ones followed.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid announced with a grin across his face. "They are beauties, but mighty proud.  Don't be 'fraid to come up clos'r."

Everyone took a step back, it was like everyone wished to simply watch, not interact with the beasts.

"Anyone?" Hagrid asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

I stepped forward, but the second I did, Harry spoke up from behind me.

"I'll do it!"

Nobody even saw me. It was only ever Harry. It was like I was invisible.

Everything that happened after that seemed completely magical, Harry bowed in front of the beast Hagrid referred to as Buckbeak, and it replicated the move. Hagrid hefted Harry onto its back, and it disappeared from view into the sky.

"Perfect Potter wins again," Draco said, bumping into me.

"Whatever," I said, walking away.

Before long Harry returned, he was safe and looked completely refreshed. His hair had been blown in different directions from what I assumed was the wind.

"Good work, Harry," Hagrid gleamed, patting him on the back.

After that, we all entered the paddock, doing our best to befriend the Hippogriffs. I walked up to one that was mostly black, and hesitantly I bowed in front of it. I could feel my heart rate spike as I heard the beast move towards me, I watched the shadow across from me, and smiled as soon as I saw the beast replicating my bow. I lifted my hand to touch its beak, but it spooked.

My victory was short-lived because of the screaming. Screaming?

"I'm dying! Look at me! It's killed me!" Draco yelled, averting all the attention to him.

There was a dark crimson pool working its way through his dark robes, he coddled his arm aggressively. He hysterically shouted at the Hippogriff which was reared up on its hind legs.

"Yer not dying," Hagrid said, pushing Buckbeak away from Draco. "Someone help me get him out of here," he said as he lifted Draco from the ground. He looked small in Hagrid's arms. I snickered, it looked like a scene from a cheesy romance book.

Pansy Parkinson jumped up immediately, opening the gate for Hagrid, and following close behind him. She continuously questioned if Draco was going to be alright.

I sat down on a rock against the fence as everyone else in the group argued.

"He deserved it!"
    "He oughta be fired!"

"It's Draco's fault!"
    "Who let that oaf teach anyway!?"

The bickering was ridiculous, I stood up and started to walk off toward the castle where some of the group had already started going. There was no point in staying, class was over. As I trucked back up the stairs, my mind raced with frivolous thoughts. I could only imagine how the rest of the year would be if the first day started like this. Maybe Harry's Grim was more than a crazy teacher after all.

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SINCE DADA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE TWIN'S BOGGARTS WILL BE? (answer in comments) --->