"You will be growing Jupiter Spider Traps for your semester project. Who in the class can tell me the uses for a Jupiter Spider Trap?" To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand went in the air and Professor Sprout called on her.
"It is used as an excellent adhesive, and is used to bond wands with their respective cores." Hermione responded.
"Ten points to Gryffindor. At the end of the term, Mr. Ollivander of Ollivander Wands will purchase everyone's trap, and pay you for what the adhesive is worth. He will also tell me how you did, so that you may have a semester grade. Today, we will plant the seeds. Everyone grab a pot and we can start."
After class, the Gryffindors went to Care of Magical Creatures. The Slytherins were waiting for them at Hagrid's hut.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were silently praying that they wouldn't have to deal with the skrewts like they did in their fourth year. They never knew what would befall them in Hagrid's class. Hagrid came out of his hut and silently led the class to a back paddock. There, tethered to a stake in the ground, was a beautiful bird with red and gold plumage. Fawkes the phoenix was their next animal of study.
* * *
"Phoenixes are strong animals, so come one-by-one and grab hold of his tail feathers and allow him to lift you off the ground. The catch is, he will only lift you if he trusts you. Harry, you go first."
Harry strode over to the opening to the enclosure. he talked to Fawkes for a few minutes in a hushed voice. He grabbed hold of Fawkes' tail, and said, "Let's go, boy."
Slowly, ever so gently, Fawkes rose from the ground and Harry felt as he had only felt one time in his second year. He felt that he was weightless. Fawkes soared upward and skimmed the trees briefly before landing back down with a gentle "Frummp". Harry released hold on Fawkes' tail and left the enclosure.
Each student in turn was allowed to take a short flight. There were no major catastrophes, aside from Neville Longbottom, who had let go when he was five feet above the ground. Neville hadn't been hurt, but he had the wind knocked out of him. Hermione's turn had been coming soon, and she wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She didn't want to make an idiot out of herself, especially with Ron watching, but she knew she had to if she wanted to save her dignity.
"Okay, Fawkes," she said as she entered the ring, "you know me, I promise not to hurt you, I just want to take a little ride. Now I'm going to grab your tail like this," and she took a firm hold on Fawkes' tail, "and you can just go whenever you feel comfortable." Fawkes gradually sailed upward, and Hermione felt more different than she ever had before. She had never flown, apart from in Muggle airplanes, and with much certainty, this was very different. With Fawkes as her pilot, she felt comforted and she knew that she would not fall. If only she felt that she could do this on the ground, when talking to Ron about how she felt.