"Elaina, do you have a moment?"
As Christmas drew near, the one who called out to stop me as I was about to leave the library on a day off was Hermione, her arms full of books. She looked rather serious.
"I don't mind, but shall we move somewhere else?"
The two of us went into a vacant room nearby and sat down in front of the fireplace. That was when I noticed that all the books Hermione was carrying were related to law.
"Are you suing someone?"
When I asked with a puzzled look, Hermione replied in a weary voice.
"It's the opposite. I'm on the defense side. You've heard that Malfoy is suing Hagrid, right?"
"Yes, at least in general."
Somehow, I could already guess what she was going to say next.
"Hey, Elaina, do you think we can prove Buckbeak innocent?"
Just as I expected, it was about defending Hagrid. She seemed to be searching through collections of precedents involving attacks by magical creatures, but she said she could not find anything that looked usable in court.
"Normally, I think Hagrid himself should be the one to hire a lawyer."
"Professor Dumbledore did defend him, but it seems all he could manage was to keep Hagrid from being fired."
"In that case, to be honest, it's going to be tough."
Although Professor Dumbledore is not a lawyer, he wields enormous influence within the Ministry of Magic and has been involved as an expert in the drafting of several laws. If even he could not do more than that, then a courtroom battle would be far too much for Hermione and the others, who are, after all, just students.
When I said that, Hermione also drooped her head and muttered, "I figured as much…"
"I know that logically, but I just can't bring myself to leave Hagrid like that…"
Is it just my imagination, or does she seem like the type who might get stuck with a hopeless man in the future?
At any rate, from my perspective, having the class consist solely of caring for 'lettuce-eating worms' is a problem as well.
Frankly speaking, it is a waste of time. I would like Hagrid to recover as soon as possible so the lessons can become meaningful again.
To be fair, Hagrid is not entirely without responsibility as the supervisor, but it is not as if Draco bears no fault either.
Above all, the fact that something that should have been resolved between the two parties has escalated to the point where Hermione is researching court cases, and even other students are being affected by the deterioration of classes, is not a very healthy situation.
"…Then how about this?"
I proposed an idea to Hermione.
The final Care of Magical Creatures lesson before the Christmas holidays was held on a freezing December morning. Hagrid gathered the students in one corner of the stables within the castle.
Perhaps because it was an indoor lesson in a subject that usually involved outdoor classes even in the cold winter, and because we were finally freed from the lettuce-eating worms, not only the Gryffindors but even the Slytherins seemed a little more excited than usual.
"Oh? So today it's not lettuce-eating worms?"
Pansy Parkinson spoke in a mocking tone.
"Though there's still a chance it'll be back to that after the holidays."
"Don't worry. We won't be going back to chopping lettuce for a while."
"Elaina, how do you know that?"
"Apparently, they all died. From eating too much lettuce."
"Oh, what a shame."
Despite her words, Pansy was grinning broadly.
"Is everyone here!?"
Hagrid's voice echoed louder than usual inside the building. Considering how withdrawn he had been lately, his voice sounded surprisingly firm, as if he had finally shaken something off.
"Alright, let's get started. Come a little closer."
Hagrid gathered the students in front of a large fireplace in the stable and told us to peer into the big cauldron placed there. The flat-bottomed pot was filled with lukewarm water, and inside were several eggs about the size of small melons.
"These are Diricawl eggs. Does anyone know what a Diricawl is?"
At Hagrid's question, several hands went up.
"Alright then, the first hand I saw was… Elaina, go on."
"The Diricawl, also known as the dodo, is a flightless bird native to Mauritius. Its meat was used for food, and in the Muggle world it is considered extinct due to overhunting. In reality, however, when it senses danger, it can teleport instantly using magic similar to Apparition."
At my flawless answer, Hagrid nodded, awarded ten points to Slytherin, and briefly glanced at the copy of The Monster Book of Monsters in his hand.
"Let's see… just like it says in the textbook… ah, page 27! Ten lines from the top of page 27… as Elaina just said, Diricawls can Apparate, so they're kept in special facilities where Apparition isn't possible."
In other words, they can be kept at Hogwarts as well, thanks to the anti-Apparition magic in place.
"And their chicks can't Apparate yet. That part's the same as with wizards."
After the explanation continued for a while, a sharp cracking sound echoed through the room. Hagrid turned his gaze toward the cauldron and said, "Looks like it's time."
"Alright, everyone, look at the eggs! This cauldron's enchanted to keep them warm. The chicks are about to hatch!"
The students all leaned in at once to get a look. Sure enough, every now and then, we could hear faint tapping sounds from inside the shells.
"These little ones will think the first thing they see is their parent. There's one egg for each of you, so pick one for yourself!"
At Hagrid's command, we each chose an egg and transferred it into a smaller pot he had prepared. The smaller pots were gently warm as well, and after waiting a little while—
Crack.
The shell broke, and a Diricawl chick poked its head out.
"So this is…"
"Well? Cute, isn't it?"
"I suppose so."
It looked like a chick, but slightly larger, with a plump, round body. Its brown down was soft and fluffy, and its chirping sounded exactly like a chick's.
Looking around, it seemed that the other students' eggs were hatching as well, and the stable filled with adorable chirping sounds.
"So cute!"
Daphne was instantly smitten with her chick, and even Pansy, who was trying to maintain her composure, could not completely hide the smile on her lips. Millicent was comparing the size of her chick with Zabini's, and even the Slytherins, who were usually hostile toward Hagrid, were in an unusually warm and relaxed mood today.
"It has quite a nice coat of feathers…"
As I stroked the soft down, it felt surprisingly pleasant. Like the other students who were doting on their chicks, I found my cheeks relaxing into an unguarded smile.
"These little ones've been bred to grow fast. In just three months, they'll be full-grown adults. That's why it's better not to give them names."
Amid the gentle, heartwarming atmosphere, only Hermione and I noticed the slight cloud that passed over Hagrid's voice as he explained this.
"Alright!"
After a while, Hagrid clapped his large hands together and called the students over.
"I hate to interrupt when everyone's having fun, but I've got a Christmas present of homework for you all!"
As groans like "No way" and "You've got to be kidding" rose from around us, Hagrid spoke while carrying over a large wooden crate that had been sitting in the corner of the stable.
"My homework is for you to take care of these little ones over Christmas. Got it? Make sure you look after them properly, all on your own."
With that, Hagrid took small birdcages out of the crate and handed one to each of us.
"I said it earlier, but they still can't Apparate yet. Let them out of the cage sometimes so they can play. Feed them water and softened breadcrumbs in the morning, at noon, and at night."
Inside each cage were two small dishes. One was filled with water, the other with breadcrumbs, and he added that giving them leafy vegetables now and then was also a good idea.
"This is the kind of homework I can really get behind!"
After class, Daphne gazed lovingly at her chick, and the other Slytherins nodded in agreement. Draco and Pansy did not say it out loud, but they also seemed to think that, for Hagrid, this had been a good lesson.
And so, we spent Christmas with the Diricawl chicks.
When we approached them, they chirped adorably. When we fed them, they stuffed their beaks happily full. When we let them out of their cages, they chased after us desperately on their tiny legs.
Even if it was just imprinting, to the Diricawl chicks, we were their only parents. And on our end, we cared for them as best we could, as parents should.
By the time the holidays ended and we returned to school, their down had gradually begun to change color, and their bodies had grown plump and round, giving them that so-called "ugly-cute" look. Even so, among the students who had grown attached, there were those like Daphne who slept with their chicks beside them, and others who personally treated injured Diricawls. You could spot such scenes here and there.
Around this time, the Diricawls began to show individual personalities, and the students could tell one another's Diricawls apart.
For example, my chick inexplicably loved boiled eggs, while Draco's Diricawl seemed to enjoy classical music. I spotted it more than once crouched contentedly in front of the record player in the common room.
"What an elegant Diricawl."
"I don't know why, but it seems to like the piano more than the violin."
He complained that it would not move away from the record player, but the expression on Draco's face as he took care of his Diricawl did not seem entirely displeased.
The Diricawls were shipped off for processing just two months later.
**
As introduced in the first lesson, Diricawl meat is used for food. It is high in fat and notably rich and greasy, often used in soups and stews.
Of course, wild Diricawls in Mauritius are protected. However, in other countries, Diricawls are basically domesticated livestock bred for consumption. They reach slaughter age about three months after hatching.
In class, this was presented strictly as a "breeding experience." After Christmas, Hagrid took back all the chicks, and lessons returned to newly acquired lettuce-eating worms and fire salamanders.
However, for students who wished to continue, Hagrid allowed them to care for Diricawls instead of lettuce-eating worms, after firmly reminding them that "in the end, they will be used as meat." About half the students chose this option.
As the shipping date approached, those who had chosen to care for Diricawls spent their final week in their own ways, most of them clearly reluctant to part, until the last day arrived.
On the day of shipment, we were given two choices.
We could either see them off as they were sent to the meat processing facility, or continue caring for them ourselves until their final day. Even if we chose the latter, because they had been specially bred with magic, their remaining lifespan would be at most one more month.
The students' choices varied.
Some believed that since they were born as livestock, the greatest happiness was to be properly processed at a dedicated facility and enjoyed as clean, delicious meat.
Others, despite raising them with the knowledge that they were meant to be eaten, could not bring themselves to make the decision to kill them. They continued caring for their Diricawls, even as the birds weakened to the point where their feathers fell out and they could no longer eat, until one day their hearts simply stopped.
Everyone thought long and hard, and in their own way, each saw a Diricawl's life through to the end.
As for the changes that occurred around me afterward, there were things like Draco, the plaintiff in the Buckbeak trial, withdrawing his demand for execution and settling the case with a fine, and the pet dispute between Hermione and Ron being resolved by having both pets kept in cages. Things like that.
"…"
Even now, I sometimes wonder whether the approach I suggested to Hermione, and encouraged Hagrid to use in his lessons, was truly the right choice, or whether it was a hasty mistake.
And as winter passed and spring arrived, all of the Diricawls had disappeared from Hogwarts. The stables were thoroughly cleaned by Mr. Filch, as if the Diricawls had never existed there at all.
But no one forgot. There had, without question, been lives there.
(End of chapter)
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