Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and (the rest of) The Beast Within ❯ Snippet: Draco is a knight on a sarcastic griffin ( Chapter 13 )

Far down the line, Harry’s jealousy of Draco living in their home (to teach Faye, remember) boils over. Sapphire, in true teenage drama queen fashion, blows up on him and walks out, only to vanish without a trace; after a night of nightmares, Faye, too, vanishes, intent on finding her. Remus and Peridot trace Sapphire to the coast, near where Crystal was taken years before, and it comes to light that she was taken captive by enemy scouts. Everyone at Sapphire's family home rushes to find her and Faye. Draco, worried that Faye won’t be able to communicate when they find her, runs back to find their dictionary and misses his chance to hitch a ride. He has a stupid idea.

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Draco paced frantically, muttering to himself. “If only I’d paid more attention to that oaf’s classes,” he groaned, dragging his hands down the sides of his face. “...I’d know what to do!” The winged creature stared at him through with dull yellow eyes, trying to figure out what the strange hairless monkey was grunting about. Finally, Draco remembered. “That’s it!” he cried out. He slowly inched toward the resting beast and executed a low, stiff bow. The creature stared a while longer, then yawned and laid its head down on its paws for a nap.

“That’s a Griffin, not a Hippogriff.”

The unexpected voice cause Draco to wheel about to face the woods. Leaning against a tree, smirking, was an unfamiliar face—a man with messy black hair, big glasses, and amused green eyes. “If you want to ride a Hippogriff, I can probably find you a Hippogriff.” Draco’s eyes widened in fear and he shook his head violently; he remembered the last Hippogriff he crossed. “In that case, all you’re doing is boring the poor beastie. I’m amazed he’s still awake. If you want to hitch a ride, all you have to do is ask politely.” Though he felt pretty stupid, Draco stepped toward the Griffin, and asked in a quiet, nervous voice,

“Can you please help me find my girlfriend and her family?” The Griffin looked up at him with what could almost have been a sneer and nodded, lowering its wings to the ground. Draco carefully climbed on its back, remembering to keep his legs behind the wing joints. “What about—” The stranger was gone. “Well...” He reached down to pat the side of the Griffin’s neck. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Bud.” He carefully pulled out the handkerchief he borrowed from Faye last week and held it down for the animal to sniff. “Can you find her?” he pleaded. Suddenly, he felt the animal’s haunches tensing, and without warning, it sprang into the air.

Draco hung on for dear life. Distracting him from hanging on was his memory of last night. Faye had come into his bedroom around midnight, seeking shelter from the nightmares that plagued her. He allowed her to sleep at his side, holding her in a protective embrace, her fear calming his hormones. This morning, when he woke, she was gone. The idea that last night might be the last night with her frightened him more than a whole herd of hippogriffs.