"You know, I talked with everyone in the D.A. and everyone got an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts. You did great Harry," Ginny said, looking right at him.
                              
      "Yeah," he mumbled, not meeting her eyes for some reason.
                              
      "Well, I better get going to class," Ginny said.
                              
      "Alright, see you later," Hermione said for the group, and soon after they headed out toward Hagrid's hut about twenty minutes before class started to visit Hagrid. 
                              
      When they arrived, Hagrid was coming out of the forest. He saw them and walked toward them. Ron's face twisted with fear, because he realized that the next lesson would be in the forest. Hagrid did notice the look and responded to it.  
                              
      "Don' worry so much. It's goin' ter be a great lesson. I can' wait ter show yeh!" 
                              
Hagrid said, glowing with excitement.
                              
      "What exactly are you showing us?" Hermione asked, worried it was an illegal or experimentally-breed creature.
                              
      "Nope, I ain't tellin' yeh. It's a surprise!" he said and started to hum a cheery tune.
                              
      "How is Grawp?" Harry asked, changing the topic, knowing that Hagrid would not be swayed.
                              
      "Fine, bu' lonesome, he wants someone 'is size, but 'em females lose their tempers more than males do. I'd have ter find one tha' wouldn' beat 'im up," Hagrid said clearly baffled on how to solve the problem.  
                              
      "Well, let's go in. Got ter get ready fur the lesson," Hagrid said, squeezing through the door of his hut. They followed Hagrid in and he set out some cups for tea and a few rock cakes, which none of them ate.
                              
      "Well, I finally sav'd up 'nough money ter get some great creatures. This is only the firs'. Dung's helpin' me out. I get good deals. Ah, don' worry. Ev'rythin's alrigh' an' legit, I think," Hagrid said, scratching his head.
                              
      He looked bewildered for a second. He was probably thinking about Mungdungus Fletcher's reputation, but he shook it off and poured them some tea.
                              
      "So, 'ow's Quidditch?" Hagrid asked Ron, who had frozen at the mention of "great creatures", but the sound of Quidditch snapped him out of it.  
                              
      They all talked about Quidditch, until the rest of the Gryffindors and the Slytherins arrived. Hagrid left the hut first, still beaming. The class backed away in fear, for they all knew when Hagrid was happy, it meant that some ferocious monster was nearby. Harry, Ron and Hermione came out behind him and Hagrid swelled up.
                              
      "Alrigh', I gots a'other treat for yeh'll today. Follow me. It's not tha' far," he said turning and heading into the woods.  
                              
      The class followed nervously. Malfoy's pale eyes was looking around as though something would jump out, but then caught Harry's eye. Amazingly, neither one of them had said anything to each other, yet. Malfoy would watch in delight when Snape tore into Harry, but never said anything. Malfoy, who would usually be gloating at Harry's lost, was more vulnerable than Harry was for once. Therefore, Malfoy, in Harry's mind, was acting out of self-preservation.
                              
      They came to the same padlock where Hagrid had showed them Buckbeak. Hagrid raised his arms to direct them to the creature. It was hiding in the shadows of the tree branches, but the morning light gleamed through the leaves and branches of the trees that just lit it up enough. Some backed away in shock. Pansy Parkinson looked as though she was about to take off running if it came any closer. 
                              
      Someone in the back whispered, frighteningly, "It's a sphinx!"  
                              
      However, he was wrong. Harry met a sphinx in his fourth year, but this creature was different. It looked like a mix between a hippogriff and a sphinx. Its head, front and wings were like an eagle and its rear was like a lion.