Lux wasn't sure if she could wait for her turn petting Henry. She was so excited, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she listened to the instructions that Professor Thompson was giving them. Seemed simple enough, all she had to do was be very slow and polite while addressing the Hippogriff.

When it was her turn Lux slowly walked towards Henry, stopping when she was a certain distance from him. The whole time she made sure to keep her eyes wide, scared that she would blink if she didn't.

Hazel took a step closer to Henry and bowed her head. She looked up at the hippogriff and made eye contact. His eyes were sort of intimidating. She wanted to look around, but her eyes stayed glued to Henry. Maybe Henry just didn't like her. He just stared at her. Okay, his eyes were starting to creep her out a bit. She started to stand up, but she could see Henry gently bowing his head. The Hufflepuff stood up happily and skipped over to Henry's side.

Marigold kept her slightly bug-eyed expression as she walked a little closer to the hippogriff. It really was pretty, and interesting, and she wouldn't mind being around it for long periods of time, really. Except now as she gave a bow, she accidentally blinked. She glanced back up at the creature in front of her, waited for a bow in return that never came, and beelined it to the end of the line.

It felt like many minutes (though was probably only a couple of seconds) but the Hippogriff eventually bent its front legs and knelt into a bow. Toby didn't move straight away, however, deciding that it would be best to maybe just give it a moment or two to hold the bow.

But then he did straighten up, allowing himself to blink again as he steadily approached the creature, trying hard not to seem somehow intimidating to the creature.

With a smile on his face, Toby finally reached Henry, and reached out to stroke the soft feathers on the Hippogriff's neck, smiling at how soft they felt.

"Hey Henry," he said softly, grinning up and meeting his eye again. "You're beautiful."

He'd probably have to move on in a moment, but right now Toby was content to chill with Henry, and Henry didn't seem to have a problem with that either.

Kace was nervous and he kept fidgeting. He couldn't keep looking him in the eye. His eyes were watering and plus things were getting in his eyes. He wiped them off and the hippogriff gave him a quizzical look. He smiled and went back to the line. He would need to try again soon. He waited till a few people went before doing it again.

As he went up he bowed yet again, he kept his head down and did not move a muscle. He moved his head to keep eye contact with him. Coommeee onnnn Henry you can trust him! This is Kace after all. Plus he isn't moving too much like last time. That is a start!

As Lux looked at Henry, she couldn't help but notice how beautiful he was. She loved Hippogriffs and this was the first one she had ever seen up close and personal. It was an experience that she would never forget, and hopefully she would get to see more of Henry.

With her wide eyes on him at all times, she slowly and carefully bowed.

Alright. Nothing better than try number two? Hopefully nothing better than a LUCKY try number two.

The line kept moving and this time it seemed to go by a little faster even. Maybe it was because everyone else seemed to be getting the hang of things. So that was perfect because Zander was not patient enough to wait any longer! He had already felt horrible enough about having to restart the whole process. Thankfully, however, he finally reached the front of the line again. Good. Thank Merlin.

Taking a few steps forward-still far away from the creature- Zander made eye contact. He waited for the Hippogriff's attention before taking a couple more steps towards it. Easy now, Henry. Easy.

So with the Hippogriff's undivided attention on her, Sophie was ready to proceed forward. She wondered what the creature was thinking. It was probably sitting there wondering why it had to endure student after student after student just walking up to it and running their hands down its feathers. Sophie would be annoyed by now, but the Hippogriff didn't seem to mind.

Sophie maintained eye contact as she continued to step forward. Her eyes were starting to water over from forcing them not to blink. She wondered why the Hippogriff didn't like blinking. Maybe it thought for that split second, you were considering an attack or something. Maybe it thought that while it was looking at you and you at it, it knew exactly what you were doing at every second.

Sophie thought about all this as she approached the Hippogriff. Pretty soon, she was standing close enough to pet it.

Okay so now for the hard part. The bowing and the not blinking. He could totally do that. Pft. Totally. Second time was the lucky time right? Right. The Gryffindor took one more small step forward, again being extremely watchful of the creature. And then, he bowed his head forward.

As he did so he continued to look up. No blinking. Not this time. Not going to blink. Not gonna blink.

AND THEN WERE HIS EYES MISTAKEN!?! The Hippogriff was granting him permission! Ah, how wonderful! He could just feel himself bouncing with excitement! Yet, no. Remaining calm. Did not need to startle it. That would be even worse than the blinking thing. Right.

The line was interminable and awful. It was no wonder that Mo wasn't able to wait patiently, going quickly from standing still to standing on one leg to jogging in place to flailing a bit from his spot in the line. This was taking forever.

What were they doing up there at the front? Knitting a sweater for Henry?

Granted, Mo didn't want to scare the hippogriff, so he settled for jogging in place again and opted not to shout impatiently at anyone, but HE FELT IMPATIENT, OKAY? He wanted a turn.

Professor Thompson hadn't told them how long they needed to bow, so Lux had no idea if it was supposed to be a short one or a long one. In the end she went for medium length, having it last for a few seconds before she slowly and carefully straightened again.

Lux was having difficulty keeping eye contact and not blinking; her eyes were starting to bother her. Would Henry bow? Or would she be forced to go all the way to the back of the line so that she could try again. It took a few seconds, but Henry finally bowed to her. It worked! I did it!

Excitedly Lux approached him making sure to be slow with her movements in case he got startled. "Hello, Henry. You are so beautiful."

Leah would have completely buried her face in Henry's feathers as if it was a kneazle but she was scared it would cut her in half. So she patted his beak, ruffled his feathers one more time and whispered, "HI Henry. You're one beautiful Hippogriff, aren't you?" The Hippogriff looked straight at the badger and she flinched slightly.

Glancing back at the line behind her, Leah backed away slowly from the creature, bowing again, though she knew that was not necessary. "Bye." she said quietly. He might mistake that for a bad meaning, you know? She walked back to her warm blanket and plopped down, watching the others interact with Henry.

Lucy stayed again on line..
When she was in front of the line she looked at Henry and then she bowed with cared..
She started to wait until the Hippogrif bows back..
..Nothing...
"Maybe Henry didn't like me?"
..she thought...

All right. Time to practice the bow. While in line, Ethan stood straight, and bowed at an imaginary hippogriff while keeping his eyes from blinking. As he did so, in just a few seconds, his eyes started to twitch in a funny way…then he blinked.

Gaaaah!


Again! Standing up straight again and rubbing his eyes, Ethan imagined that he was going to bow to the queen. AH! Why didn’t he think about it in the first place, yeah? It’s time to put the deerstalking hat and BE his favorite detective. He IS an arrogant man, yes, but he exudes confidence, and manners like a nobleman. Ethan inhaled sharply as he got in character, then exhaled slowly as he bowed majestically to the imaginary hippogriff.

There. Better.

You just wait, KingHenry.

When Sophie was sure she had kept eye contact without blinking at all, she began slowly bowing toward the Hippogriff. Waiting...waiting...waiting... Please don't kick me, Hippogriff. She couldn't help but recall the story of Draco Malfoy and the Hippogriff. From what she heard, though, the kid deserved it.

Anyway...that wasn't important right now. What was important was that Sophie was bowing to a Hippogriff and hoping it would see her as just trying to be nice and friendly and pet it. She REALLY needed to blink now, so if the Hippogriff, whatever its name was, could just bow in return, that would be REALLY awesome.

Finally, there was a slight movement from the creature, and Sophie realized it was bowing! Thank Merlin! She stood up from her bowing position and allowed her watery eyes to blink.

She would have actually loved to ride the Hippogriff, like probably everyone else. But surely they had to understand they could not and it was no one fault's. Nothing could be done about it. Well, surely it was going to be figured out eventually but as for now they had to live with it.

Petting the Hippogriff was better than just watching so she was not going to complain.

Standing in the line she peered watching the students one by one taking their time bowing then slowly petting the beautiful creature. She wondered if being with many people in a confined place would have effects. Like it would be easier to gain his trust or something. There was only one way to know, and that was waiting to get get her turn.

And finally her turn arrived! She was getting a bit impatient and for a split second considered hovering over on of the firsties and promising them candy or something to give her their turn. Good thing she did not have to.

She took one step closer to Henry and bowed.

Ian was getting nervous. All these other students had been able to pet the creature, but it didn't seem to keen on him. He just held his hand out, like one would with a dog, hoping that the hippogriff didn't pull it off of him. He was slowly inching forward, waiting for a sign (that wasn't his horrific disfigurement).

She had actually been impatient waiting for her turn that she forgot to decide her moves. She did know everything that Professor Thompson said about the way to approach and touch a hippogriff but it still required some sort of plan. At least to her.

So she just stood there bowing to the proud creature as she tried not to stare at him which was hard since she thought it was one of the most beautiful creatures. She did steal a glance or two to his eyes but no more. She didn't want to scare him and having to go back in the line to try it another time. She was going to bow and wait for a signal that she could step closer and reach out to touch him.

Her neck was starting to feel stiff but it was no big deal. Well, yet anyway. It felt she's been bowing for a long time when she actually hasn't. No rush, no rush at all. Except maybe for whoever was standing behind her waiting for her to finish. They were moving from feet to feet which kinda made her feel rushed. She decided not to turn back and tell them to quit. Better remain silent and still.

OhMYMERLIN.

It’s his turn already?! What? HOW? Breeeeeaaaaaaaaattttthhhheeee. Ethan watched as Henry happily ate his treat while he stood there, trying his best to control his excitement. “Oookay, Mordaunt. It’s now or never.” Simon already patted the beast, and if Watson can do it, so can Sherlock. Uh-huh. Clearing his throat, he popped up his coat’s collar and stood ramrod straight before the Hippogriff. Now…that got Henry’s attention, yeah? Because Ethan saw him dropping his treat at the sight of the boy.

Good.

Now, still in character, Ethan locked his eyes with the Hippogriff with the utmost intention of winning this staring game, and ultimately to win Henry’s trust. The boy gracefully bowed down to the creature, careful not to break eye contact and waited.

He will win this staring game, Henry.

Come on.

Bow!

It felt like forever to the boy, but the beast eventually bowed back, probably wondering who the hell the kid was. Well, Henry will now meet him yeah? Yeah.

Well, now that all the preparation work had been done, and Sophie had had a chance to blink, she was ready to get to the main part of the activity. The Hippogriff was just standing there waiting for here. She had to admire it for not getting annoyed at all the petting by now. Sophie had been pretty far back in the line, after all.

She smiled for good measure then reached out her hand toward the Hippogriff. When her fingers met the feathers, she smiled even wider. The feathers felt so nice and fluffy. She ran her fingers down them again and again. "Hi, Henry," she said. "I'm Sophie, but I doubt you can really understand what I'm saying to you. I just don't want you to bite me, so I guess talking to you makes me feel like you still know we're friends."

Okay, now she felt like an idiot. Heh. She pet the Hippogriff silently for a little while longer. She should really step to the side now. No hogging up Henry's time. "Bye, Henry," she said, and then she pet him one more time before stepping away.

She was almost going to lose hope and stand up fully and go wait for another turn at the very back of the still long line. Almost. Which was not pleasant at all, thinking about it. She'd watched Henry bow to others while she was waiting. So the snake would have been totally bummed that she had to do it again. But it turned out she did not!

Her eyes darted to the Hippogriff's face every now and then as she did not want to keep looking else Henry might get spooked or something. And finally she saw him bowing his head back at her. It almost she didn't register and she at first looked back at the floor then her eyes immediately looked at Henry again. At last! It felt like she's been standing here forever.

Apparently he just needed time to check out her or something. Was he teasing or something? That sassy creature. He surely noticed the line of people waiting to pet him or something. It only made her love him more.

Seeing that she got a bow back, the seventh-year straightened and took a step closer meeting his gaze and not looking away. She could do that, right? He wasn't going to kick her or something.

Hazel felt proud as she walked up to Henry's side. She finally got to pet him! Not wanting to test her luck, she stuck her hand out and pet him as softly as she could. He didn't seem to want to bite her arm off, so she pet him again. His feathers were so soft! "Hey, Henry. I'm Hazel," she cooed. He was so sweet. "Thanks for not biting my arm off."

So she had to start all over again, starting with the waiting for her turn. Meh. Annoying. Maybe it was good that she had to wait again though since it would give her a little time to get over her annoyance. Chances were Henry definitely wouldn't let her get near him if he sensed she was irritated with him.

Penelope took a couple deep, slow breaths to calm herself down, and then she tried to turn her focus on what it was she had to do. Maybe if she just focused on the instructions and process, she wouldn't be as irritated and she would actually succeed this time.

Before she knew it, it was her turn again. Whoa, that was fast.

So she stepped forward again a few steps to wait for Henry's attention to turn to her...which it did relatively quickly this time. Keeping eye contact with him and not blinking, she bowed as low as she possibly could...and waited...

...and waited...

...and waited...

...and...hey, was he...?

He was! He bowed to her too! Finally! Thank Merlin.

Confidently, Ethan walked towards the Hippogriff who seemed to be gawking at his magnificence and gave his salutation. “Greetings, Henry. My name is Ethan Mordaunt. How do you do?” Well, duh. Hippogriffs can’t talk, but he sure was gawking real hard. “May I?” Ethan asked as he showed him his hand. Well, it’s a good sign yeah? Henry just looked at it, like he was seeing a hand for the first time, then back at Ethan. The boy…took that as a yes. YES!

With the slightest grin, Ethan gently placed his hand on top of Henry’s head and stroked it. EEEEEEEP! He was stroking the creature and JSA;LFKJDF;LKJASD;KFJAS;DFJ;D!!! “We should hang out some time, kind sir,” Maybe next term? If the winter’s over? Will it be over? Merlin. “…have tea…and…oh. You don’t drink tea. Right. Well I can have my tea and you can have your…treat.” He was content with just talking with Henry really, but if they get to ride on his back? OH. JOY.

A couple more stroking, because it seems that Henry was loving it...

“I believe my time is up, my friend.” They are…friends now, no? “So long, Henry. I’ll see you soon, yeah?” One last stroke and Ethan stepped back sloooooooowly away from the creature then turned his back to it.

OH. YES.

Mission accomplished!

Reaching out to pet Henry, Lux was slightly surprised at how soft and nice his feathers felt. Beaming, she gently ran her hand across them. "You are so wonderful." Such a pretty Hippogriff and so kind to let her pet him. She gave his beak a few pats before moving back to his feathers.

It was a fortunate thing that they weren't allowed to ride him, because she would have a heart attack if she was required to fly in class. Heights terrified her way too much, and class points wouldn't be enough incentive for her to leave the ground. Sadly it was time for someone else to have a turn. "I have to go now. Thank you for letting me pet you, Henry." With a gentle pat, she was off to let another student have their go with him.