Duggles, even with the time turner Headmistress Hermione gave me, I still seem to have trouble keeping up with my California life, all of the Dogwart’s classes and adventures, and the dog blog. Poodle Day in Carmel was exciting, but nothing compared to what’s been happening at Dogwart’s!
Detention with Madam Pooch turned out to be a goldmine. I didn’t really appreciate it when she revealed my double-crush on Chase and Hairy Pawter, but luckily I was the only one there at the time. It makes me shake in my paws to think about what would happen if she did that reading in front of the class. I’m going to try my best to hide behind the big dogs when she looks for a volunteer for class demonstrations.
Anyway, Madam revealed that Chase and Hairy Pawter have been sneaking out at night to take the Hippogriff for a joy ride. And they haven’t told me or Honey a thing about it. I ran back to the Ravenpaw common kennel as fast as I could. I found Honey lying comfortably on a rug in front of the fire, chewing her bone enthusiastically.
“Honey, I’ve got news,” I barked.
Honey looked at me as if trying to decide whether I had something interesting enough to give up her prime bone chewing spot…and perhaps because I’ve been known to steal a bone or two, she may have been assessing whether I was pulling an evasive maneuver. In the end, she must have smelled my excitement, because she followed me to the dog couch.
I licked my nose nervously. “Chase and Hairy Pawter have been sneaking out without us!”
“What?” asked Honey, incredulous. Ever since Hairy Pawter came to Dogwart’s, we four have been practically inseparable. The other Duggles started calling us the Four Dogateers.
“Uh-huh. And you’ll never guess what they’re doing!”
Honey looked at me patiently. “Should I do a water bowl reading to find out?” she asked calmly.
I wasn’t sure if she was being ironic; sometimes it’s hard to tell. So I blurted it out: “They’ve been taking the Hippogriff for a joy ride at midnight!”
Honey looked defeated. “But why wouldn’t they tell us? Do they think we couldn’t handle a Hippogriff?”
I didn’t know how to answer Honey. I wasn’t sure exactly what Chase and Hairy Pawter were up to. But I did know one thing…Honey and I needed to make a plan, and soon. If Chase and Hairy Pawter could have secrets, so could we. And ours was definitely going to involve a Hippogriff, a joy ride, and a little extra surprise for the boys. Don’t tell.