Emma practised the spells Fred and George had showed her over the course of the next few days whenever she had the time, which was saying something seeing as there was always loads of homework given almost every week. She had managed to get a good whip up of 'Expelliarmus,' as she so frequently disarmed those who were simply holding their wand.

Both Daphne and Sabrina kept their wands hidden from Emma when holding it since they were so used to their wands flying away whenever she was around. It was only expected that Emma disarm someone right away; it was the very first spell she was taught at her old school but she just hadn't done it in a while.

There were a list of hexes and jinxes down the page, but she felt it'd be better if someone experienced showed her them. Emma didn't want to make any mistake in hexing herself; she trusted herself to do something as silly as that.

At the very bottom, Fred and George wrote that they were hoping to learn how to conjure a patronus, and as extraordinary as it sounded, Emma also felt a little bit envious of the twins. She really wished Harry would trust her character rather than who she was friends with.

When sitting in the common room one morning whilst reading down the list of spells and wand movements, Daphne had huffed loud enough for Emma to glance her way, and she watched Daphne throw on her usual scarf and sit down on the opposite arm chair.

"Is something wrong?" Emma asked slowly, Daphne only stared blankly back at Emma.

"Hagrid's back," she said casually. "He was spotted back here on Sunday and we've got a lesson with him today."

"Hagrid?" Emma blinked. She had heard the name from somewhere and knew that she knew this name, but had forgotten who this was. "Hagrid..."

"You know," Daphne tightened her scarf around her neck, and Emma was reminded strongly of gift wrapping, "the original Care of Magical Creatures teacher...well...he calls himself a teacher, anyway."

"You lot don't seem to like this man very much," Emma noticed. It was evident as students who were pouring out of their dormitories had heard the news and were groaning or cursing quietly.

"We don't. He's dangerous. He showed the class to a Hippogriff two years ago and Draco got hurt. I swear to Merlin every year something is always with Draco. First year he thought he seen Potter with a dragon, second year he was obsessed with the chamber of secrets - don't ask,- third year he was attacked by a Hippogriff and punched in the face by Granger, fourth year he was turned into a sodding squirrel -"

"A ferret actually," came Draco's cold voice as he sobered through the portrait hole with a piece of toast in his hand.

"What are you doing back here?" Daphne asked him, eyeing him curiously.

"Getting my bag, obviously," Draco rolled his eyes. "I'd appreciate it very much if you didn't talk behind my back, Greengrass."

"She wasn't talking behind your back she was just...er..."

"Talking behind my back, yeah, I know," Draco nodded before jogging up to the boys dormitory. Emma and Daphne sat in silence, Daphne's face turning dark red - Emma didn't know what from. When Draco came back down, he said, "Prepare yourselves. We've got that giant oaf today first period. And, Freckles sweetheart..." Draco looked into Emma's eyes. "Please eat something."

A cocky grin formed on his face and he headed out the common room.

"I don't know what my sister sees in him," Daphne said coldly, her eyes narrowing at the portrait door closing behind a set of blond hair. "He's arrogant and he's...I don't even know what the word is but it sounds bloody great in my head. I applaud Granger for that great punch, it's a damn shame I didn't get to see it." Emma smiled at this. "Come on. I presume Sabrina is wondering where you are."

After breakfast, Emma, Daphne and Sabrina tread down through the snow toward Professor Hagrid who was waiting for them at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Draco, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were walking behind them, talking horribly of the Professor and about how much they hoped Professor Umbridge would be there to sack him.

Emma felt a pang of pity at the sight of the teacher. He was a very big man - twice the size of a normal man, to her surprise, and she now understood why Draco called him a giant, - with bruises all over his face, but he still looked very happy to be teaching again. He may have been enormous but he looked quite gentle and kind.

Hagrid did acknowledge everyone but he seemed most cheery with the Gryffindors. Emma didn't really blame him; all the Slytherins either leered at him or didn't bother looking at him. The large man seemed to be searching the crowd of students after greeting a few of his fellow Gryffindors, and when his eyes connected with Emma's, he appeared to have found what he was looking for.

"Are you Emma Baranov?" he asked brightly, a forced smile appeared probably because the bruises on his cheeks hurt. Emma nodded. "A new student, are ya'? There's somethin' we don' get often. I'm Professor Rubeus Hagrid."

"Hi," Emma said dumbly. Though she did notice that Hagrid's voice quavered slightly when he called himself 'Professor' and upon hearing it she knew he was not confident in calling himself one.

"Alrigh' everyone, we're working in here today!" he said happily to all the students, and he gestured to the forest behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark."

"What prefers the dark?" Emma heard Draco demand, and his voice shook slightly with panic. "Crabbe - Goyle, what did he say prefers the dark - did you hear what he said? Pansy?"

"Oh, dear cousin, shut up and pay attention," Sabrina said casually without glancing back at Draco.

"Ready?" the teacher said. "Righ', well, I've been savin' a trip into the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the only person in Britain who managed ter train 'em."

"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" said Draco in a much more panicked voice. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to this class, would it?"

Emma noticed a bunch of her House whispering to each other to signify that they agreed with Draco - even Daphne and Sabrina were whispering. Emma, however, wished Draco would stop being so sour so that they could hurry up and see the creatures Hagrid was going to show to the class; she was excited since Hagrid made them sound so mysterious.

"O'course they're trained," said Hagrid who scowled and hoisted the dead cow, which Emma had just now noticed was there, over his shoulder a little bit higher.

"You didn't kill -" Emma began, but, of course, Draco had spoke, once again.

"So what happened to your face, then?" he demanded, and Emma could not believe how unbelievably nosey and horrible Draco was being. He never usually behaved this way toward a teacher.

Hagrid began to grow angry and told Draco to mind his own business, taking the words right out of Emma's mouth, and he told everyone to follow him into forest. Emma lingered back a bit after all the students began to move after Hagrid and dropped next to Draco.

"How can you be so rude, Draco?" she hissed, feeling the urge to clench her fists and pull a Hermione Granger move on him when he laughed.

"Me? Rude? You do realise I could have died two years ago. He's lucky my father let him off easy and just decided to have the giant chicken executed."

Emma nearly gasped.

"He's right," Pansy scowled at the back of Hagrid's head. "Best stick with us, Baranov. Who knows what kind of creature he has this time?"

Pansy's question was not far from being answered when Hagrid stopped about five minutes later and dropped the cow onto the forest floor with a loud grunt. Emma noticed everyone, including the Gryffindors, casting unsure looks and making sure to stick close by the trees.

"Gather 'round," Hagrid called them all over. "Come on, now, Gather 'round, why're you lot so far away? That's it, c'mon now. Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' this meat but I'm goin' ter give em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's just me."

When Hagrid turned and let out a loud shrieking cry, twice, everyone fell dead silent or huddled further away, looked behind their shoulders for anything that might've come bolting their way. Even Emma was a little bit frightened of what Hagrid was calling for.

After about a minute or so, the class was still peering over their shoulders nervously or glancing around in fear. The sound of swishing and leaves crunching caught Emma's attention, and she noticed Harry pointing something out to Ron, but all Harry seemed to be pointing out was the dirt on the ground.

Everyone appeared to be as confused as Emma was, and they were all craning their necks to look at whatever Hagrid was smiling at. More swishing noises were made and Emma felt something move right past her, like the feeling of someone's body swiping against hers, only it wasn't the shape of a human body, it felt as though it could be as large as a pony.

She staggered back out of surprise and her freezing fingers gripped the sleeve of Draco's robe, who was mirroring most of the classes expression, frowning, and trying to get a look at whatever these creatures were. She continued to search for whatever it was that brushed past her, but she soon found nothing. When she looked up at Draco, he was smirking down at her, his eyes flickering between her face and her grip on his arm.

"Draco," she whispered, searching the forest trees. "Draco, I think these things are invisible."

"You know what, Crabbe?" Emma heard Draco utter to Crabbe. "This is my favourite class so far."

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" cried Hagrid with a sense of pride in his tone. "Aren' they beautiful? Raise yer hands, who can see 'em?"

Emma seen that Harry was the first person to put his hand up without hesitation, and she seen he looked slightly relaxed and relieved.

"Yeah, yeah, I knew you'd be able ter see 'em, Harry," Hagrid said. His eyes moved over to a different Gryffindor who Emma didn't know the name of. He had brown hair that was covering over his ears and his expression was a little bit goofy. "An' you too, Neville, eh? And you -"

"Excuse me," Draco said loudly from beside Emma, when she looked up at him he was sneering, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

This question was probably the only question Emma had agreed with Draco on. But Hagrid simply pointed to the dead cow on the ground, and several people gasped loudly at the sight of bits of flesh stripping themselves from the cow and vanishing into thin air.

"What's doing it?" a Gryffindor girl squeaked. "What - what's eating it?"

"Thestrals," Hagrid answered happily. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here."

"Good, so that means they aren't dangerous, right?" Emma asked anxiously, glancing around and pressing herself closer to Draco in fear she'd feel one of these things brush against her again. For some reason she was reminded of the ocean, as though she were in the middle of it and couldn't see what lurked all around her. "Excuse me, I'm just going to stand here for a moment," she uttered, squeezing in between Draco and Crabbe.

"No, no, no, they aren' dangerous, not one bit an -"

"But they're really really unlucky!" the same Gryffindor girl interrupted, and Emma was growing annoyed really fast with this girl. This girl seemed to interrupt or blurt out all sorts of things in every class they shared. "Professor Trelawney told me they bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who can see them!"

"That's nonsense!" cried Hagrid. "That's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky nor are they dangerous. What do yeh think pulls the students up ter the castle every year, eh? Righ' then. Who can tell me why some o' yeh can't see em and some o' yeh can?"

A girl Emma recognised as Harry Potter's friend Hermione Granger was the only one to raise her hand.

"The only people who can see Thestrals are people who have seen death."

"Tha's exactly righ'," Hagrid said solemnly, nodding her way. "Ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals are -"

"Hem, hem."

"Oh, not again," Emma whispered to herself, and looked over to the left of the tree clearing. 

Professor Umbridge had just arrived to inspect Hagrid's teaching.