Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [62]
“Well… um… I don’t know. Maybe-”
“Ha! For once, Hermione does not know the answer!” said Ron happily as he started skipping and jumping.
“Well, what animal did you choose Hermione?” asked Harry.
“Oh, me? I chose a unicorn,” said Hermione. “Even though it’s a magical creature, and will require a little more work to learn to transform into, I think it’s worth it.”
“But what about gryffins, Hermione? Aren’t they magical?” asked Harry.
“No, sorry Harry, they’re not.”
“But, they can fly and-”
“Harry,” said Hermione stiffly, “if a creature can fly, that doesn’t mean it’s magical. To be magical, a creature must have one special property: it can be used in a potion, and there’s not one single potion in the world that requires anything from a gryffin.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that it’s not magical. It can do a lot, fly and bite, and it won’t require any extra effort to become,” said Harry, looking happy. He called down to Ron who was about twenty feet ahead of them, still skipping along merrily.
“Hey Ron!” yelled Harry. Ron turned around.
“What?” he asked as he started to come back.
“You haven’t told us yet, what animal did you pick?” asked Harry.
“Oh, me? I chose an chameleon,” said Ron.
“An chameleon?” asked Hermione surprised. “Why’d you pick that?”
“Well, it just seemed like it was… calling to me… I suppose…” said Ron.
“Really?” said Harry. “Me too. I saw the gryffin and it was like… telling me to pick it. There was like a voice… in the back of my mind.”
“Me too,” said Hermione looking excited. “I guess this proves that the animal chooses the Animagus, and that the Animagus does not choose the animal.”
“I wonder what animal was calling to Malfoy?” said Harry. Hermione and Ron stared at him.
“Well, we’ll find out soon, when he brings a piece of it in,” said Hermione.
“Oh yeah! That reminds me, where am I going to get a hair or something from a gryffin?” asked Harry. Hermione and Ron nodded.
“We’ll all need help getting a piece of our creature,” said Hermione. “But how?”
“I know!” said Ron. “Hagrid! He’ll probably know where a million gryffins are!” Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.
“Let’s go see him now,” said Harry. They all headed out of the castle, and to Hagrid’s house on the grounds. As they were heading to the door, they passed the potions classroom and saw Malfoy talking to Professor Fletcher. They were both talking excitedly. Harry shrugged it off, potions was Malfoy’s best class, even though Snape wasn’t around to give him automatic good grades anymore. He was probably trying to do some extra credit or something.
They soon reached Hagrid’s house, and knocked on the door. They heard Hagrid’s dog, Fang, bark loudly, but they didn’t hear Hagrid coming to the door. Harry opened the door slowly to peek inside, no one was there. Just then, Harry felt Hermione tug on his shirt.
“Oh! Harry! Look!” she said. Harry turned around, and saw a unicorn. It was the most beautiful animal Harry had ever seen. It was pure-white, with a silvery mane going from the top of it’s head all the way down it’s back, and ending in a perfectly white tail. On top of its head there was a single, clear horn that looked as though it were made of crystal. It merely looked at the three of them, as if asking them to come over.
“Let’s see if we can get a piece of its hair,” said Ron.
“Why?” asked Hermione, looking angry.
“Because you need one to be able to transform into it,” replied Ron.
“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry Ron,” said Hermione.
“C’mon, let’s go over!” said Harry. They slowly crept towards it, trying to be quiet, but also trying not to look to intimidating. They didn’t want it to run away. After what seemed like a long time, they eventually reached the unicorn. Since they are more friendly to girls than boys, Hermione put one of her hands out, and stroked the unicorn’s mane. It made a noise, but not a ‘neigh’ like a horse, it was more like a song of a whale. It was long and beautiful.
“That’s a good unicorn,