Chapter 3! (Of HP!)

"That was the hardest thing to understand in all of the world." Albus said with wide eyes. He and his little group were walking out of the Potions lab, Albus in the lead.

"I rather enjoyed it," Andrea said with a smile.

"That's because your partner had an IQ higher than a loaf of bread." Peter said indignantly.

"I suppose my partner was fine..." Derek said softly. Holly just "humphed" at his side.

"She hates me." Holly said angrily.

"What?" Derek said, not believing his ears.

"She sat down, looked at me, then said 'I hate you'" Holly explained quickly. "She didn't even give me time to speak!" Holly was red at this point, and Derek began searching in his bag for something. He pulled out a small, pink bunny and handed it to Holly. Holly looked at it with softer eyes for a moment then took it from him and stuck it in the inside pocket of her robe. Peter and Albus each gave Derek an odd look and he just shrugged.

The group of them then went outside for their Care of Magical Creatures class. They walked down the grassy slope to Hagrid's hut, looking at everything they could possibly take in at once. Albus enjoyed the fresh smell of the grass and clean pureness of it all...until they got closer to the hut. Then the smell became something of a much more terrible sort. Albus crinkled up his nose and saw the others do the same.

"Well, come on, first years!" Hagrid yelled, waving all of them over. All of the first years reluctantly drew nearer.

When Albus was close enough, he saw that there was a small box in front of Hagrid, and that was what the horrible smell was emanating from. Hagrid was beaming from ear to ear, while everyone else was covering their noses with the collar of their shirts. "I'm frightened..." Holly whispered to her brother. Albus could see him nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Today I've got a real treat fer ya," Hagrid began, beaming. He pulled the lid off of the box and everyone gave their own interpretation of the word "Ew" Albus did what the rest of the group did: he took a large step back. "Blast Ended Skrewts!" Hargrid proclaimed it like they were his babies. Albus saw a hand shoot out of the crowd. It belonged to Andrea.

"Um, not to be rude or anything," she began shyly, "but wasn't there a dreadful disaster with Skrewts awhile ago?" Andrea finished and images of burnt kids began reeling in Albus's brain. He felt his eyes get wider and decided that he didn't really want to stop it. Hagrid seemed to mull the question over for a bit then answered.

"Well, we do Skrewts with all the classes. So, you'll have to do 'em too." Hagrid finished and began looking through the crowd for a student. Albus wanted more than anything at that moment to disappear into the ground. Hagrid spotted someone.

"You, come on over here." Hagrid motioned a small little boy over to the box. That boy was Peter. Peter slowly stepped closer to the box and Hagrid, his body rigid. Albus couldn't see his face, but he imagined a look of pure agony plastered on it.

"Don't be shy, come on, come on," Hagrid said loudly. Everyone watched breathlessly as Peter came right up to the box. Hagrid nodded to him and he bent over. Peter looked into the box and Albus thought he saw his face turn a shade nearer to green. Hagrid began to go over some rules about handling Skrewts, then he told them how to pick them up and hold them and such, then he told Peter to pick one up. Peter gawked at him like the rest of the children and just stood there. Albus thought for sure that Peter was going to throw up. But, suddenly, a voice called out.

"YOU CAN DO IT, PETER!!!" Everyone turned and looked behind them. Albus tried to see who was yelling, because it obviously wasn't someone in their group. Suddenly, through heads, he could see a faint face. He couldn't make out who it was, just the voice yelling "GO ON!! BEAT THAT SKREWT! SHOW IT WHO'S BOSS!!!" and cheering wildly. The other first years turned back around and also began to cheer Peter on, until, slowly, slowly, he reached in, snatched a Skrewt, and cradled it in his arms. The first years went positively bonkers. Albus thought he had lost hearing because Holly was cheering so loudly for him.

"Good job," Hagrid patted Peter on the back then told everyone else to either get their own Skrewt or share one with a friend. Today, they were walking them.