Professor Hagrid didn't keep the students waiting long.
Just a few minutes later, sounds came from the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
Sherlock's eyesight was excellent, and he immediately saw a large group approaching their direction.
Good heavens, worthy of Hagrid—one man had managed to bring out over a dozen hippogriffs.
Of course, though Sherlock was somewhat surprised, he didn't show it.
He could remain calm, but the others were different.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Some young witches couldn't help but let out sharp screams.
Although they'd seen pictures of hippogriffs in "The Monster Book of Monsters," seeing pictures and seeing the real thing were different matters.
The key point was that these creatures were rather large.
When over a dozen of them charged toward them in formation, it naturally made people feel somewhat frightened.
Not just the young witches—even the boys couldn't help but retreat repeatedly.
No one laughed at them. It was genuinely terrifying.
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you!"
Hagrid said while raising his hand, and only then did everyone see Hagrid behind the beasts.
His massive hands gripped a large bundle of chains.
Following the chains, they saw them attached to thick leather collars around the creatures' necks.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a little easier.
Thank goodness—Hagrid hadn't been mad enough to let these beasts roam free.
Only now did the young wizards have time to carefully examine them.
As their name suggested.
Hippogriffs had horse bodies, hind legs, and tails, but their front legs, wings, and heads were like eagles'. Their beaks were steel-colored, and their bright large eyes were orange-yellow.
But most eye-catching were the talons on their front legs, a full half-foot long, inevitably bringing some cruel images to mind.
In fact, according to "The Monster Book of Monsters," hippogriffs did indeed have records of injuring people.
By this time, Hagrid had brought all these creatures into the enclosure and chained them up.
This action made all the students step back in unison.
Hagrid seemed oblivious to this scene and grinned at the entire class.
"What beautiful little darlings they are! Don't you think so?"
"Beautiful?"
"Little darlings?"
Hagrid's aesthetic had always differed from ordinary people's.
Previously, only those close to Hagrid like Sherlock and Harry knew this.
But starting from this lesson, the entire school would soon learn about this big fellow's preferences.
"They're quite nice indeed."
Seeing Sherlock nod slightly, nearby Gryffindors and Slytherins all looked at him in surprise.
Should they say the Lion King was truly different from others?
"Overcome the fear in your heart, cast aside prejudices against them, and observe carefully," Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "They really are beautiful."
"Cast aside... fear?"
Harry always trusted Sherlock's words implicitly.
So, he tried hard to observe according to what Sherlock suggested.
Initially though he was puzzled, gradually he understood what Sherlock or rather, Hagrid meant.
As Sherlock said, once you cast aside fear of these creatures and looked again, their massive bodies appeared majestic and imposing, filled with powerful aggression, their glossy coats transitioning smoothly from feathers to fur.
More interestingly, each hippogriff was a different color.
Wonderful black, splendid gray, beautiful white...
"Very good!"
Hagrid didn't care whether others could understand his meaning and rubbed his hands together with a smile. "Everyone can move closer to observe."
Despite his words, few people were willing to get much closer.
"Sherlock?"
Seeing Hagrid's somewhat troubled expression, Harry couldn't help but look toward Sherlock.
"Let's go."
Sherlock nodded and took several steps forward first.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron immediately followed.
Neville looked at Sherlock, remembering how he'd trained with him every morning last school year. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he finally overcame his fear and carefully approached the fence.
Once Neville took action, the demonstration effect was extraordinary.
Everyone knew that Neville Longbottom was a badger who'd somehow ended up among the lions.
Though sorted into Gryffindor, he was the most timid person in their entire year.
Even some young witches were braver than him. But now that even he dared approach these creatures, others had no reason to hold back.
Especially for Gryffindor.
The little lions looked at each other, then resolutely moved forward.
After getting closer, they were also surprised to discover the beauty of the beasts.
At this point, mockery from the snakes naturally occurred.
Despite their inner reluctance, facing the challenging looks from the little lions, Malfoy who had been huddled with Crabbe and Goyle whispering—suddenly couldn't stand it.
"Let's go!"
With their three taking the lead, the other little snakes followed suit, all gathering near the fence.
Seeing this scene, Hagrid couldn't have been happier.
Indeed, he did have talent for teaching!
"Remember, the first thing you need to know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud!"
"Whether they're proud or not I don't know, but you certainly are."
Ron couldn't help but mutter a complaint.
Standing not far from him were the Patil twins and Lavender Brown, who couldn't help but smile hearing his comment.
"Hippogriffs are easily angered—never insult them, or you might lose your life."
"If it were me, I'd never bring them to class," Ron couldn't help but mutter again quietly. "You know, some people just can't help being obnoxious."
As he spoke, he glanced toward the Slytherins, his meaning was unmistakable.
"Pfft~"
Lavender Brown couldn't hold back her laughter, and her gaze toward Ron held several degrees more curiosity.
"Although the book already mentioned this, I must emphasize again. We must wait for the hippogriff to make the first move—for them, this is politeness.
You walk toward it and bow. If it bows back to you, then you can touch it.
But if it doesn't bow to you..."
Here, Hagrid's gaze swept over all the students.
This made most people shiver involuntarily.
"Then get away from it quickly, or those claws will hurt—well then, who wants to go first?"
Hearing they were getting serious, the students immediately began retreating—the courage that had just been stirred seemed to vanish instantly.
This was mainly because these creatures had started shaking their heads after hearing Hagrid's speech and spreading their wings toward them, clearly being provocative.
Especially with their aggressive appearance, as if unwilling to be tied up here and just waiting for someone to come up and get scratched.
"Is there really no one?"
Seeing Hagrid's pleading expression, Sherlock couldn't help but shake his head silently.
He could understand Hagrid's position. Although Hagrid had indeed been cleared of crime.
However, as Hagrid himself said, he didn't know how he, a Hogwarts gamekeeper, had suddenly become a professor teaching students.
But Headmaster Dumbledore said everyone had already decided.
So, regarding Hagrid's current performance, he simply hadn't adapted to this role change and was naturally nervous.
But understanding didn't mean agreeing.
This big fellow friend really didn't know how to be a teacher.
Who begged students to cooperate with them?
Since he'd already explained the method, he should simply assign students to go up.
Not going?
Not going meant point deductions!
As long as the procedure was just and he had the ability to ensure student safety, he could just charge ahead.
"I'll do it."
Harry ultimately couldn't bear to watch anymore.
Although he also had doubts about this, this was Hagrid's first class after all.
If there wasn't even one person to cooperate with Hagrid, the blow to his good friend would be enormous.
However, what he didn't expect was that as soon as he said this, a chorus of sharp intakes of breath came from behind him.
Turning around in surprise, he saw the Patil twins say in unison. "No, Harry—don't forget about your tea leaves!"
Harry ignored them. But just as he was about to climb over the fence, a hand settled on his shoulder.
That hand was so strong and powerful that once it pressed on his shoulder, he couldn't move at all.
"Sherlock?"
Harry turned to look at his friend in surprise.
'What was this about?'
"Don't tell me you also think..."
Harry instinctively assumed Sherlock also believed Professor Trelawney's nonsense, but thinking about it, that seemed impossible.
He and Hermione had always been on the same side, dismissing such things.
No, actually Hermione dismissed it.
Sherlock was slightly better—he maintained a skeptical attitude unless evidence could be found.
Indeed, Sherlock shook his head. He looked toward the hippogriffs.
"I just want to ride them through the sky more than you do—Professor, may I?"
"Of course!"
Hearing Sherlock's words, Hagrid was overjoyed.
Though it might not be nice to say, in his heart, Sherlock was indeed more trustworthy than Harry.
Harry stepping up would certainly be good, but if Sherlock was willing to step up, it would be absolutely foolproof.
In fact, if Harry hadn't volunteered just now, he would have planned to call on Sherlock directly.
Seeing Sherlock and Hagrid displaying mutual eagerness, Harry could only step back.
Under the gaze of the entire class, Sherlock slowly walked forward.
Facing the long fence in front of before him, he stopped.
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