Chapter 461: Sissy

Hagrid waited by the cottage door for his students. He wore a mole‑skin coat, hunting‑dog teeth at his feet, and seemed eager to set off. "Come on, hurry, hurry!" he called, as the students drew near. "Today I have some fine treats for you! We're about to start an exciting lesson! Is everyone here? Good, follow me!" Bai Lang forced a wry smile, realizing Hagrid would never bring a sissy animal for the class.

"Everyone, come to this side of the fence!" he called. "That's right—stand where you can be seen. Now, the first thing you need to do is open your books—" "How do we open them?" Draco Malfoy asked in his cold, drawn‑out tone. "Hm?" Hagrid said. "How do we open the books?" Draco repeated. He produced his monster book, already tied with a rope. Others also produced books; some, like Harry, had their books bound; others placed the book in a sturdy bag or clamped it with a large clip.

"No—no one can open this book?" Hagrid said, looking dejected. The whole class shook their heads. "We have to go through these books," Hagrid said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Watch…" He took Hermione Granger's book, tore off the tape binding it. The book seemed to want to bite, but Hagrid's index finger slid down the spine, the book trembled, then opened, lying quietly in his hand.

As Hagrid demonstrated, Bai Lang snapped his book open—his book wasn't tied with a rope; in fact, it had some suspicious protrusions on its cover. He opened it in a very simple way—clenching his fists together with a snap, and the monster book opened just like any ordinary book. "Right, give it a good beating and it'll obey," Bai Lang said to the Neville Longbottom beside him, "Hit it hard, it's fine."

"Neville, your wand is useless. How about I find you something, something handy, that you'll also need when you practice magical martial arts with me each day." What could Bai Lang find? Of course, without doubt, a Morning Star—real men use heavy weapons, and a Morning Star is perfect for dealing with this monster book. Hagrid, seeing that nobody could open the book, looked a bit dejected, then said he would go fetch a magical creature, and headed into the Forbidden Forest.

"God, this place is doomed," Draco Malfoy shouted, "Such idiot teaching—if I tell my father, it wouldn't be surprising if he lost his temper—" "You dungheap, shut up!" Bai Lang said lazily, "Otherwise I guarantee your father will never see the you of tomorrow." Draco's face flushed bright red, and he charged forward in a furious blaze, "I want to tell…"

"My father," Bai Lang mimicked Draco's tone, "Kid, you're not a child anymore. All you do is whine about my father—how do you expect your father to live five hundred years as an immortal ape?" His wand's tip pressed against Draco's chin, "If you lack courage, stay quiet; that's better for you—at least you'll live a long life." Draco seemed ready to act, but Hagrid arrived, and Draco was pulled back by Goyle and the others.

Twelve strange, bizarre creatures hurried toward them. They had horse bodies, hind legs, and tails, but their forelegs, wings, and heads resembled eagles; they possessed steel‑colored sharp beaks and bright orange eyes. Their fore‑claws were about six inches long, looking lethal. Each beast wore a dense feathered collar around its neck, with a long chain attached; the ends of those chains were held in Hagrid's massive hand as he slowly jogged behind the animals into the arena.

"Over there!" he shouted, shaking the chain, urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. As Hagrid approached and tethered the beasts to the fence, everyone stepped back a bit. "Eagle‑head horse‑body winged beasts!" Hagrid roared joyfully. Waving a hand at them, "Aren't they beautiful?" Bai Lang shook his head, "They're nice to look at, but I guess most of the students are scared."

Hagrid gave a brief introduction to the beasts and explained how to approach them. Draco, with a fierce demeanor, argued with Goyle and Gelabu, apparently contesting Bai Lang's provocation. So when Hagrid asked who would volunteer to get close to the animals, only Harry and Bai Lang stepped forward. Harry did so out of trust in Hagrid, while Bai Lang did it merely to save Hagrid face—though Harry still thought the eagle‑head horse‑body winged beasts were beautiful, he approached with great caution.

"Relax, okay, Harry," Hagrid said quietly, "You must stare at it without blinking—if you blink too much, the beast won't trust you." Harry's eyes welled up, but he didn't close them. Buckbeak had already turned its large, pointed head toward him, staring with a raging orange eye. "That's right," Hagrid said, "That's right, Harry. Now, bow." Harry was reluctant to expose the back of his neck to Buckbeak, but he obeyed. He gave a slight bow, then straightened up to look.

The creature still stared at him with hostility. It didn't move. "Ah," Hagrid said, sounding somewhat concerned. "Alright—step back now. Harry, retreat calmly—" But at that moment, to Harry's great surprise, the beast suddenly bent its scaly fore‑knees, lowered its body, clearly bowing. "Well done, Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed ecstatically, "Right—now you can touch it! Tap its beak, go ahead!"

Bai Lang swaggered toward another eagle‑head horse‑body winged beast called Akbark, "Hey, boy! Let's greet it." He raised his hand in a greeting, and the creature's yellow eyes glared furiously at Bai Lang. "Give Hagrid some face, friend," Bai Lang added, though he didn't step forward further. Bai Lang's eyes locked onto Akbark's, gauging where a single strike could be fatal.

The eagle‑head horse‑body winged beast stared at Bai Lang for a moment, then bent its fore‑paws and bowed respectfully. Bai Lang brandished a staff, "Win people over with virtue, win people over with virtue!" He stepped forward and patted the creature's mouth. Meanwhile, Harry, spurred by Hagrid, had mounted Buckbeak's back; the beast carried Harry in a loop, drawing cheers from the young wizards.

After that, all the young wizards tried to interact with these monsters, and Draco—this idiot, as Bai Lang saw, was directly grabbed by Buckbeak. Even when Bai Lang approached, intentionally or not, the beast, under his intimidation, still gave Draco a five‑centimeter wound on his arm; Bai Lang seized the creature's claw and tossed it aside. "Shut up, you dungheap! That little wound—don't whine like a sissy!"

Draco wept while saying, "I want to tell my father......"