Hagrid walked alone down the shops in Hogsmeade, his coat pulled tight against the rain. He mused on how it was yet another dark, gloomy day; fitting for the times they were living in and the depressing events unfolding around them – what with wizards turning on one another, the bravest and noblest of them dying left and right, and He Who Must Not Be Named spreading his power throughout all the wizarding world. His dark purposes were threatening the delicate quiet that kept wizards from being noticed by muggles, even threatening the muggle world itself. So wrapped up was Hagrid in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the small woman keeping pace with him, quietly trying to gain his attention until in desperation she kicked him.
"'ere now! That's hardly polite."
"You are Hagrid, yes? You work at Hogwarts?" The questions darted at him like arrows, and her eyes carried a nervous energy. She was watching for something, as if in constant fear that some monstrous wave was about to sweep her away.
At the sight of her slight, trembling figure, all of Hagrid's indignation melted away. "Yes, that's me. Dumbledore himself hired me on to care for the place. What can I do for you?"
She suddenly shoved a bundle into Hagrid's massive hands. "His name is Eric. I need you to keep him for a while. I need to leave, and I can't risk taking him with me."
Hagrid's massive bulk shifted unsteadily. "Well, I don't know now. I got responsibilities, see, and I can't see how's I'm supposed to keep an infant safe; what with everything going on and all."
Her eyes siezed onto his and held them fast in a gaze so intense, Hagrid was lost in them. "Please- everyone knows how gentle you are. I need him safe, and you're the only one I can think of to trust. You must promise me – promise me you'll care for him personally!"
Hagrid looked at the small bundle. He was but a little thing in his massive hands; so helpless and so needing. The woman in front of him seemed almost the same – needing him to agree with all his heart. "Well, I can care for him a while. You are coming back for him, aren't you?"
Relief burst across the woman's face. "Oh, yes! Just as soon as I can. If you could just see that nothing happens to him, just for a little while, I'll be back before you know it."
Looking into the child's face, Hagrid resigned. "All right, then. I'll see the li'l nipper cared for m'self. You don't be long though." However, when Hagrid looked up, the woman had gone, as if the misty air had swallowed her up.
That was the first and last time Hagrid ever met Evelyn Sable.