Author's Note/ Disclaimer: No Sam for my amusement because I have no more college :( depressive... I'll have to stalk her through the holidays. For now i have to amuse you guys on my own... CLEAN SHEET FEELING! *Rolls over bed giggling*
I have to apologise for two reasons... one, I'm sorry that this chapter is 6 days late... it is 6 days now right? And the second apology is for how stupidly long this chapter is (for me anyway)... I almost gave up writing it. Hopefully my next chapter won't be this long or late.
To my gorgeous pumpkin pie, I hope you enjoy your holiday to Holland... can't believe you're leaving me for a whole week! Sherlock! Jawn misses you already... and you haven't even left yet!
If any of this confuses you let me know, because half the time I haven't got a clue on what I'm writing half the time -_-
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :3
P.S- Really couldn't think of a chapter title, I'm not imagnative.
B.F.G: Big Ferocious Giant
Sherlock entered the Gryffindor common room and jogged up the staircase, which led to the boys' dormitory. He opened the door a fraction of the way and peeked into the room. He could hear Ron's snores and the shuffling of Neville Longbottom. Seamus Finnigan's hand dangled limply from the one of the beds and the curtains of Dean Thomas's bed moved slightly. Sherlock slipped through the door and silently closed it before sneaking across the room on tiptoes. He moved quietly between two of the beds; Harry's and John's, to the bedside table where a jug of water resided. He poured himself a cup of water and sipped the water a little as he glanced around the dormitory. He then pulled back the curtains of John's four-poster bed and poured the cup of water over John's head.
'Argh!' John sat up and wiped the water out of his eyes.
'John?' Neville's panicked voice came from the bed to the right of the door; he struggled out of his bed sheets and became tangled up in the curtains of his four-poster bed. With a loud ripping noise he stumbled out of one bed into another; Dean's. Both boys fell onto the floor; Neville, still trying to struggle out of the curtains and Dean groaning in pain.
'Ouch!' A loud thud told Sherlock that Ron; who was quite tall and lanky for his age, had sat up too fast and hit the ceiling of his bed; a softer thud told him that Ron had landed back on his pillow and was now swearing repeatedly. Harry rolled out of bed to Sherlock's left, a menacing glint in his eyes and a wand grasped in his hand; pointed directly at Sherlock's face.
'Put that down Harry, you'll poke someone's eye out.' Sherlock grinned as he glanced around the room, taking in the struggling heap that was Dean and Neville, the sopping wet teenage boy glaring at him, the figure swearing in Ron's bed and the bewildered looking raven haired boy, who stood next to him. 'It really is adventurous being a Gryffindor, isn't it?'
Harry walked over to Neville, released him from the binds on the curtain and helped him up before turning to help Dean.
'Is Seamus all right?' Neville asked as he cast a worried look at the last bed. 'He's too quiet.'
'Probably just had a heart attack.' John replied. 'Can't blame him though.'
Neville pulled back the curtain of Seamus's bed. 'He's still asleep!'
'Lucky him.'
'I just thought you'd like a wake up call.' Sherlock grinned again.
'And tipping a glass of water over me is a wake up call?'
'Well, the result was a little unexpected, but pleasing all the same.'
'What time is it?'
'Six-thirty in the morning.'
'Six-thirty! Sherlock, half the castle is still asleep!'
'With the noise you lot made? Unlikely. How's your head Ron?'
Only a few muffled words escaped from Ron's bed, they strongly resemble "Piss off." John got out of his bed and examined Ron's head.
'It'll be fine.' He assured Ron. 'It'll bruise and you'll have a headache for a while, but you'll live.' He then stood up and approached Dean. 'There's swelling around your wrist, I think it might be fractured, your eyes are really unfocused too, I think you hit your head. Harry, can you take him to Madam Pomfrey?'
The entrance to the Gryffindor common room opened and then swung shut again.
'How is he?' Sherlock was sitting in one of the armchairs before the fireplace; a notebook on one of the arms of the armchair, his violin and bow rested in his hands.
'He seems to be all right.' Harry replied, sitting next to John on the sofa. 'Madam Pomfrey sorted his wrist out but she wants to keep him there until she's sure he's not concussed.'
'Oops.'
'Oops indeed.' John threw Sherlock a chastising look. 'Who's the violin from anyway?'
'Mrs Hudson.'
'Who?' Harry enquired.
'She was my next-door neighbour. Moved away just before our first year. She used to look after Mycroft and myself whenever mother went out. We regained contact last Christmas.'
'Does she live in Hogsmeade then?'
'No. She owns a flat in London. I helped her with a little issue a few weeks ago.'
'Where's Ron?' Harry looked around the room.
'Last we knew he was getting dressed.' John replied. 'We last saw him half an hour ago.'
'And Neville?'
'He's reading.' Sherlock noted something in his notebook and turned then page. '"Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and their Properties" He said that Moody gave it to him a while ago.'
Ron finally descended the stairs from the boys' dormitories and joined Sherlock, John, Harry and Hermione in front of the fire. Another snowball fight could be heard raging outside.
'Have you told them about last night?' Ron questioned Harry.
'Last night?'
'Hagrid!'
'Oh! No, I haven't mentioned anything.'
'Why?' Hermione looked between Harry and Ron. 'What's happened?'
Harry and Ron launched into an explanation about the night before. They told Sherlock, John and Hermione about how they left the ball to walk around outside and over heard Hagrid telling Madam Maxime that he was a half-giant.
'It's not like we wanted to eavesdrop.' Ron concluded. 'We couldn't really go anywhere else and if we moved he would've seen us.'
'You didn't know?' Hermione frowned. 'Well, I thought he must be. I knew he couldn't be pure giant because they're about twenty feet tall. But honestly, all this hysteria about giants. They can't all be horrible... it's the same sort of prejudice people have against werewolves... its just bigotry isn't it?'
'A brilliant deduction, Hermione.' Sherlock commented as he played a low mournful tune on the violin. 'He's much larger than any normal human and you could say he shares a few of their mild interests.'
'I never knew, I thought he had a backfiring engorgement charm or something. Aren't giants supposed to be really brutal though?' John asked.
'Giants don't have a nice stereotype, if anyone else got hold of this information it would destroy him. I wouldn't mention it again if I were you. This piece of news shouldn't change our opinion of Hagrid.'
Lessons started again and the school was busy once more. Professor Grubbly-Plank took their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the term; a stern elderly witch, with short grey hair that was closely cropped and a prominent chin.
The curtains of Hagrid's cabin had been shut tightly.
'Where's Hagrid?' John frowned. 'He's not ill is he?'
'No.' Sherlock clenched in fist and nodded towards the group of Slytherins behind Professor Grubbly-Plank; they were sniggering, tapping the windows of the cabin and it looked like they were whispering to the windows. 'The news must've got out.'
'How? We were the only ones in the common room when Harry and Ron told us.'
'Someone else must've been around when Harry and Ron overheard Hagrid telling Maxime.' Sherlock drew out his wand and pointed it at the group of Slytherins from beneath his robes. 'You might want to move.'
'What?'
'Go and stand with Harry.'
'Why?'
'Trust me.'
John moved away from Sherlock and stood with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
'Hey John.' Hermione piped.
'Hey.' John smiled at her. He watched as her expression fell into a grimace and saw a white flash in her eyes. 'What's wrong?'
'Hello!' Sherlock called out happily.
'What did you do that for?' Hermione whispered in a deadly voice.
'Do what?'
'You hit Malfoy with a stinging hex!'
'Did I really?' Sherlock looked other his shoulder at the platinum blonde haired boy; he could still hear his voice calling out.
'My father will hear about this! Just wait until he finds out who did it!'
Sherlock turned his gaze back to Hermione. 'You'd think I'd remember if I did something like that.' He then shrugged and looked up at the overcast sky. 'Lovely weather we're having.'
The fact that Hagrid was a half-giant was printed out in the Daily Prophet; written by Rita Skeeter. After being taunted about it by Draco Malfoy in Care of Magical Creatures the group decided to try and talk to Hagrid. That evening after dinner the five of them crossed the sloping lawns down to the little cabin on the edge of the forest.
'Hagrid!' Harry called out, knocking on the door. 'It's us! Open up!'
'Hagrid?' John tried. 'We want to talk to you. Can you open the door please?'
The only noise that responded to their calls was the scratching of Fang's paws and the whines he emitted in desperation to reach the guests.
'Please Hagrid?' Hermione asked in a soothing voice. 'We just want to talk to you.'
After ten more minutes they accepted defeat and walked back up to the school.
'What's he avoiding us for?' Hermione asked sadly. 'He surely doesn't think we'd care about him being half-giant?'
'He's just feeling a little insecure at the moment.' Sherlock replied in a somewhat calming voice. 'I don't think he knows who to trust or listen to at the moment. Give him some time and we'll try again.'
Sherlock waited in the Entrance Hall. He had said ten o'clock, it was now quarter past ten. Sherlock sighed and lent against the stone wall, he might as well get comfortable, as he knew he was going to be here until twenty-five past ten.
Ten minutes later Harry ran down the steps two at a time and jumped the last four.
'S-sorry!' Harry spluttered as he stopped in front of Sherlock and clutched a stitch in his side. 'I –'
'Overslept. I knew you would.'
'Where's John?'
'He's with Mary.'
'Again?' Harry and Sherlock headed out of the Oak front doors. 'Are they dating or not?'
'Apparently they're not, but there's definitely something going on. John says they're just good friends. What about Ron and Hermione?'
'They're meeting us in the Three Broomsticks.'
'Are they –?'
'No.' Harry laughed. 'Absolutely not! They're just friends.'
'For now.'
'For now?'
'Surely you of all people would have noticed by now Harry, he loves her. He's always there to defend her and he was jealous when she said that she had a date for the Yule Ball.'
'But they argue all the time.'
'Maybe so, but he still loves her.'
They entered the Three Broomsticks and ordered their drinks.
'There they are.' Sherlock pointed towards a table in front of one of the windows. Ron and Hermione sat in discussion occasionally sipping their drinks. 'Look out.'
'Huh?' Harry gave Sherlock a perplexed look.
'Ludo Bagman's on his way over.'
'Harry!' Ludo called, a grin spreading across his face. 'How're you? Been hoping to run into you! Everything going all right?'
'Fine, thanks.' Harry replied.
'Wonder if I can have a quick, private word, Harry. You couldn't give us a moment could you? Ludo added to Sherlock.
'Not at all.' Sherlock took his drink and wandered over to Ron and Hermione. 'No sign of Hagrid then?'
'No.' Hermione cast a worried glance around the pub.
'Doesn't surprise me.' Sherlock looked down at the notepad in front of Hermione. 'Still going on about S.P.E.W?'
'Yes! I'm not going to stop until they have decent wage and sick days off!'
'Well, give us a badge then.' Sherlock pulled two sickles out of his pocket.
'What? I thought you didn't like the idea of S.P.E.W? You tried to talk me out of it.'
'Did I really? Must've had a change of heart then.' Hermione handed him one of the badges from the small box she carried around in the pocket of her robes. He examined the pin and then attached the badge to the front of his robes, making sure Hermione saw him pin it there. Harry sat down beside Sherlock.
'What did he want?' Ron queried, nodding towards the door that Ludo had just walked out of.
'He wanted to help me with the golden egg.' Harry stared curiously as the badge on Sherlock's chest.
'He shouldn't be doing that!' Hermione burst out angrily. 'He's one of the judges! And anyway, you've already worked it out - haven't you?'
'Er… nearly.' Harry heard Sherlock give a slight chuckle but decided to ignore it.
'Well, I don't think Dumbledore would like it if he knew Bagman was trying to persuade you to cheat! I hope he's helping Cedric as much!'
'He's not, I asked.'
'Who cares if Diggory's getting help?' Ron interjected.
'Those goblins didn't look very friendly.' Hermione continued.
'Goblins?' Sherlock turned to her. 'What goblins?'
'Before Bagman approached you and Harry he was sitting with a bunch of goblins.' Ron answered. 'He looked really frustrated.'
'What were they doing here?' Hermione frowned at the door.
'Looking for Crouch, according to Bagman.' Harry replied. 'He's still ill, hasn't been to work.'
'Maybe Percy's poisoning him,' Ron suggested, a grin spreading across his face. 'Probably thinks if Crouch snuffs it he'll be made head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.'
Hermione threw Ron a disapproving stare before adding, 'Funny, goblins should be looking for Mr. Crouch… they'd normally deal with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.'
'Crouch can speak loads of different languages though.' Harry offered. 'Maybe they need an interpreter.'
'Worrying about poor 'ickle goblins now are you?' Ron teased. Harry heard Sherlock chuckle again, but chose to ignore it. Harry had come to the conclusion that if Sherlock made a deduction that was proved right he would somehow show it, in this case he chuckled each time his judgment was proved correct or if he knew something that the others didn't. 'Thinking of starting up S.P.U.G. or something? Society for the Protection of Ugly Goblins?'
'Ha, ha, ha.' Hermione responded sarcastically. 'Goblins don't need protection. Haven't you been listening to what Professor Binns has been telling us about goblin rebellions?'
'No.' Harry and Ron replied in unison.
'It's quite easy for them to deal with wizards.' Sherlock started before Hermione could beat him to it. 'They're much more intelligent than what we give them credit for. Hermione's thinking something along the lines of; Goblins can use their intellect to stick up for themselves, whereas house-elves do as they are told, when they are told.'
'Exactly!' Hermione smiled.
'Uh oh.' Ron nodded towards the door. Sherlock, Hermione and Harry looked around in time to watch as a woman with curled, blonde hair, wearing bright yellow robes with pink nails, with her crocodile skin handbag clutched under he left arm entered the Three Broomsticks shortly followed by a paunchy photographer.
'- Didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo?' Rita Skeeter flashed a smile at the photographer. 'Now, I wonder why that would be, don't you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Showing them the sights… what nonsense… he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? "Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman…" Snappy start to a sentence, Bozo - we just need to find a story to fit it –'
'Trying to ruin someone else's life?' Harry called out though gritted teeth.
'Harry!' Her eyes landed on the little group at the table by the window. 'How lovely! Why don't you come and join –'
'I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick, what did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?'
'Our readers have the right to know the truth, Harry. I am merely doing my –'
'Who cares if he is a half-giant?' Harry's voice began to rise. 'There's nothing wrong with him!'
Rita surveyed Harry for a moment before unclasping her crocodile skin handbag. 'How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know. Harry? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reason behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?'
'You horrible woman!' Hermione stood up and glared at Rita. 'You don't even care, do you? Anything for a story and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman –'
'Sit down, you silly little girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand, I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl… not that it needs it –' Rita eyes Hermione's bushy hair and turned her nose up in the other direction.
'Let's go.' Hermione stilled glared coldly at Rita as she ushered Sherlock, Harry and Ron out of the pub. Before leaving Sherlock poked his head through the door and looked directly at Rita Skeeter.
'Brainy is the new sexy. It's a shame you lack that quality.' He winked at her, withdrew his head from the pub and caught up with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
'Let her try!' Hermione was saying. 'I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I? Oh I'll get her back for this. First Harry, then Hagrid…'
'You don't want to go upsetting Rita Skeeter.' Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder. 'I'm serious, Hermione, she'll dig something up something on you –'
'My parents don't read the Daily Prophet. She can't scare me into hiding!' Hermione hurried her pace, charging up the road towards the school, leaving Sherlock, Harry and Ron to run behind her. 'And Hagrid isn't hiding anymore! He should never have let that excuse for a human being upset him! Come on!'
They passed through the school gates, ran across the grounds and halted in front of Hagrid's cabin door. Hermione began to hammer on the door with her fist.
'Hagrid!' She shrieked. 'Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that fowl Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being –' The door slowly creaked open. 'About t-' Hermione stopped talking, her face slowly turned pink and she backed away from the door.
'Good afternoon.' Albus Dumbledore smiled down at the four teens before him.
'We – er – wanted to see Hagrid.' Hermione looked at the floor in embarrassment.
'Yes, I summarised as much. Why don't you come in?' Dumbledore stepped to one side and waved his hand towards the door allowing them to pass through.
'Oh… um… okay.' Hermione looked sheepishly at Dumbledore and then passed through the door with Harry and Ron following behind her.
'Sherlock!' The voice was quite distant but audible all the same. John stopped just before Sherlock and Dumbledore. 'I saw you… in the Three Broomstick… Rita… what are you guys doing now?'
'We're talking to Hagrid, come on.' Sherlock smiled encouragingly at John then entered the cabin.
Hagrid's cabin only consisted of one room. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceilings. A copper kettle rested above the flames in the fireplace and in the corner of the room stood a bed with a patchwork quilt. A wooden table stood to the left of the door. Hagrid was sitting at the table with two mugs of tea. His eyes were blotchy and puffy and his hair now resembled something like a wild bush.
'Hello Hagrid.' John smiled at the huge form. Hagrid looked up at John, confusion showing on his face. Sherlock and John had never spoken to Hagrid before, unless they were answering a question in class.
'Lo.' Hagrid replied as he dropped his gaze back to his mug.
'More tea, I think.' Dumbledore said cheerfully as he closed the cabin door. He drew out his wand and conjured up a tray of tea and cakes. He motioned for the children to sit down around the table with Hagrid and then handed tea to everyone. 'Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid?'
'How couldn't he?' Sherlock's mutter was still audible, but he silenced himself with a warning glance from John.
'Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sherlock and John still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break the door down.'
'"Still seem to want to know you…" Barely knew –'
'Shh!'John pressed a finger to his lips and glared at Sherlock
'Oh shush yourself, John.'
Sherlock saw Dumbledore smile slightly before turning his attention to what Harry was saying.
'Of course we still want to know you!' Harry stared at Hagrid with sadness filling his eyes. 'You didn't think anything that Skeeter cow – sorry professor.'
'I have done temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you just said, Harry.'
'I thought that was very mild.' Sherlock sat back and twiddled his thumbs. 'I would've said whore. Much more offensive.'
'Sherlock!' John nudged the other boy in attempt to quieten him.
'Er – right.' Harry continued. 'I just meant – How can you care what that – woman – wrote about you?'
'Woman? I though women were supposed to be strong and independent, she's a foul excuse of a woman.' Sherlock started again.
'I give up.' John sighed.
'Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid.' Dumbledore spoke before Sherlock could continue his rambling about Rita. 'I have shown you letters from countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that, if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it –'
'Not all of 'em.' Tears leaked from Hagrid's eyes and fell into his mug of tea. 'Not all of 'em wan' me to stay.'
'Oh Merlin.' Sherlock sighed. 'Hagrid, not everyone will. Those who judge others are more commonly known as assholes.' Hermione gasped, John glared at Sherlock and Harry and Ron passed their laughs off as coughs then hastily drunk their tea. 'Someone was going to say it.' Sherlock shrugged and picked up his tea. 'Sometimes the truth hurts.'
'You could've said that a little less offensively.' Hermione glanced at Dumbledore, who stared at the ceiling, seemingly oblivious to what was being said.
'Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time.' Dumbledore peered at the half-giant over the top of his half-moon spectacles. 'Not a week has passed, since I became Headmaster of this school, when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?'
'Yeh – yeh're not half-giant!'
'Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!' Harry burst. 'Look at the Dursleys!'
'An excellent point.' Dumbledore beamed at Harry. 'My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practising inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery…'
'Come back and teach, Hagrid.' Hermione looked at Hagrid pleadingly. 'Please come back, we really miss you.'
Dumbledore stood up and looked down at Hagrid. 'I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday. You will join me for breakfast at eight thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all.' His eyes swept past all of the face around the wooden table, he then hesitated to scratch Fang's ear and left without another word.
Hagrid began to sob again and Hermione moved awkwardly around the table to reach and comfort him. 'Great man, Dumbledore… great man…'
'Yeah, he is.' Ron nodded. 'Can I have one of these cakes, Hagrid?'
'You sound like my brother, Mycroft.' Sherlock gave Ron a small smile.
'Help yerself.' Hagrid choked back another sob and sat up straight. 'Ar, he's righ' o' course – yeh're all righ' … I bin stupid… my ol' dad woulda bin ashamed o' the way I've bin behavin' … never shown you a picture of my old dad, have I? Here…' Hagrid rose from the table (ignoring the fact that he knocked his chair over on the way) and opened the draw of his dresser. He pulled out a small-framed picture, dusted it off a little then passed it to Hermione.
The figures in the photo laughed and waved. The smaller man sat upon the shoulder of an eleven year old Hagrid. Beside the two figures stood an apple tree, judging by the picture, Sherlock assumed Hagrid must've been seven or eight feet tall.
'Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts.' Hagrid beamed down at the photo, his crinkled black eyes leaked a few more tears. 'Dad was dead chuffed… thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum… well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really… but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year…'
'That's horrible.' John stared at Hagrid, his face lined with sympathy. Even Sherlock had to admit that he felt a slight twinge of sadness.
'Nah…' Hagrid shook his head. 'Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job… trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances… tha's what sets him apar' from other Heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got talent. Knows that people can turn out OK even if their families weren'… well… all tha' respectable. But some don' understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh… there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say – I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. "Never be ashamed," my ol' dad used ter say, "There'll be some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with." An' he was right. I've been an idiot –'
'That's an understatement.' Sherlock remarked quietly, but no one seemed to have paid him any attention.
'- I'm not botherin' with her no more.' Hagrid's tone had turned harsher, the eyes that were crinkled with happiness were now narrowed to a furious glare. 'I promise yeh that. Big bones… I'll give her big bones.' The teens shared nervous glances around the table. Hagrid seem complete oblivious to the fact that they were still sitting around the table. He suddenly snapped out of his sub-consciousness and turned his gaze to Harry. 'Yeh know wha', Harry? When I firs' met you, you reminded me o' me a bit. Mum an' dad gone, an' you was feelin' like yeh wouldn' fit in at Hogwarts, remember?' Harry's cheeks reddened but he didn't shift his gaze from Hagrid's eyes. 'Not sure yeh were really up to it… an' now look at yeh, Harry! School champion! Yeh know what I'd love, Harry? I'd love to see yeh win, I really would. It'd shown 'em all… yeh don' have ter be pureblood ter do it. Yeh don' have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It'd show 'em Dumbledore's the one who's got it righ', lettin' anyone in as long as they can do magic. How you doin' with that egg, Harry?'
'Great.' Harry smiled up at Hagrid, who returned a watery smile. 'Really great.'
'Tha's my boy… You show 'em, Harry, you show 'em. Beat 'em all.'
'That was interesting.' Sherlock commented. He, John, Harry, Ron and Hermione were now slowly walking up the lawns towards the castle, waving at Hagrid over their shoulders as they went. 'I thought Professors weren't supposed to choose sides.'
'Well, they're bound to anyway.' Ron replied. 'They're just not supposed to voice their opinions are they.' Sherlock nodded.
'I just didn't think Hagrid would express his thoughts in front of John and myself. He only knows us as students.'
'But you came to see him.' Hermione pointed out. 'Hagrid thought the students hated him.'
'Yes…' Sherlock paused in thought. 'I suppose you're right. If you three went alone that would only have given him a fraction of comfort. Seeing students who he is close to will give him encouragement as it may prove that other students want him to teach again too.' He then turned to John. 'What have you done with Mary?'
'Mary?' John gave Sherlock a puzzled look.
'Mary, about this tall,' Sherlock held his hand up so it was roughly eye level with John. 'Brown hair, brown eyes, you took her to the Yule Ball, you was on a date with her until you hunted us lot down…'
'Oh! I have to go!' John turned and ran towards the school gates. 'I'll see you dinner!'
The twenty-fourth of February drew closer. Harry confessed that he hadn't yet worked out the clue for the next task, which led to tantrums and arguments between himself and Hermione ('You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!'). The trio found themselves in the library searching through books for a simple charm that Harry could use to aid him in breathing under water. Their search continued through to the evening before the second task.
'We've come to help.' Harry looked up and saw Sherlock, John and Molly standing before him.
'You don't have to.' A guilty look fell across Harry's face. 'It's my own fault.'
'That's because you're an idiot.' Sherlock fell into the seat beside Harry.
'Hopefully you've learnt your lesson and you'll act wisely next time.' Molly smiled at Harry as she took the seat next to Hermione. John had gone with Ron to collect some more books.
'I wouldn't count on that, Molly.' Harry grinned. 'I'll probably still be disorganised – what is that?' Harry stared at the object that Sherlock had placed on the table.
'It's called a violin, Harry.' Sherlock pulled one of the books towards him and examined the cover. 'It helps me think… this book is useless.' He threw the book on the floor, making Molly jump and Hermione glare reproachfully at him. Hermione continued to read though the pages of Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes.
'I don't reckon it can be done.' Ron returned with John, both of them were empty handed. 'There's nothing. Nothing. Closest was that thing to dry up puddles and ponds, that Draught Charm, but that was nowhere near powerful enough to drain the lake.'
'There must be something.' Hermione mumbled in a frustrated tone. 'They'd never set a task that was undoable.'
'Maybe you should look at potions and plants too.' Molly suggested. 'You're broadening your options so you're more likely to find a solution.'
'But potions take time to make.' John leaned against one of the bookshelves frowning at Molly. 'Besides, how're are we going to get the potions ingredients in time?'
'We could steal them from Snape's private stores…' Molly glanced guiltily around the table before hastily adding. 'It's only a suggestion, I don't approve of theft or anything!'
'I don't think it's a good idea.' Harry replied. 'Snape's already suspicious. Apparently some ingredients have gone missing from his private store.'
'Just go down to the lake tomorrow, right, stick your head in, yell at the merpeople to give back whatever they've nicked and see if they chuck it out. Best you can do, mate.' Ron shrugged.
'I know what I should've done.' Harry said as he rested his head on Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts. 'I should've learnt to be an animagus like Snuffles.'
'Yeah, you could've become a goldfish any time you wanted!'
'Or a frog.'
'It takes years to become an animagus.' Hermione replied, turning the pages of Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions. 'And then you have to –'
'Wait a second.' Molly looked between Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'Who's Snuffles?'
Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a worried glance.
'It's all right.' Sherlock assured them. 'She can be trusted.'
'Do you remember the stories about Sirius Black?' Harry asked. Hermione's eyes were round with anxiety. Molly nodded. 'Well… we found out that he's innocent.'
'But how can he be innocent?' Molly stared around at each of them. 'He blew the street up and killed thirteen people!'
'No!' Hermione started earnestly. 'Peter Pettigrew did it!'
'But Black killed Pettigrew.'
'He didn't.' Ron answered. 'We've seen Pettigrew. He was an animagus, just like Sirius. He cut his finger off, killed the muggles, transformed into a rat and escaped.' Molly turned to stare at Sherlock and John.
'It's true.' Sherlock confirmed. 'Azkaban didn't affect him the way it affected others. He knew he was innocent and that's what kept him from going insane.'
'What about Pettigrew? If he's alive where is he now? Where has he been all these years?' Molly's tone wasn't disbelieving, she was merely curious.
'He pretended to be a rat.' Ron validated. 'He was with my family pretending to be a pet, he once belonged to my brother Percy, but he was made Head Boy so mum and dad got him an owl instead and Pettigrew became my pet –'
'We don't know where he is now.' Hermione cut across Ron. 'We caught him last year but due to some unexpected circumstances he got away.'
'That makes sense.' Molly nodded. 'I believe you.'
Someone cleared their throat from behind one of the bookshelves making the group jump.
'Hello.' Fred grinned, stepping out of the shadows into the candle light.
'Surely you're not studying at this time of night!' George stepped into view next to Fred.
'What're you two doing here?' Ron asked suspiciously.
'Looking for you.' George nodded towards Ron and Hermione. 'McGonagall wants you, Ron. And you, Hermione.'
'Why?' Hermione asked looking surprised.
'Dunno… she was looking a bit grim, though.' Fred shrugged.
'We're supposed to take you down to her office.' George finished.
'We'll meet you back in the common room' Hermione bit her lip nervously 'Bring as many of these books as you can, OK?'
'Right' Harry nodded. Ron and Hermione followed the twins out of the Library in silence, leaving Sherlock, John, Harry and Mary to find a solution to Harry's problem.
'You don't think they're being told off, do you?' John voiced Harry's worry.
'Why would they be told off?' Sherlock asked.
'For helping me.' Harry replied gloomily.
'Of course they're not. Otherwise we'd have been called in too.'
'Maybe they haven't found out that you're helping me.'
'It wouldn't take them long, Harry. They'd only have to ask Madam Pince or watch our behaviour.'
The four of them studied until Madam Pince ushered them out of the doors at eight o'clock, each of them staggering under the weight of books. Molly headed toward the Hufflepuff common room, distributing her share of the book equally between Sherlock, John and Harry.
'Good luck.' She smiled and waved as she left.
'Thanks for the help.' Harry smiled back and began walking towards the Gryffindor common room.
The three boys continued their research until midnight. The common room had emptied hours ago; they had even seen George and Fred go up to their dormitory and questioned them about Ron and Hermione as they strode past them. They had read though all of the book and found nothing.
'We could… go back to the library.' John proposed after flipping the last book shut.
'Sure.' Harry stood up and headed towards the boys' dormitory. 'Wait there.' He came back down minutes later with a silvery coloured cloak in his hands.
'A cloak?' John enquired.
'It's an invisibility cloak.' Harry replied, throwing the cloak over John and Sherlock. 'It was passed down to me by my dad.' Harry ducked under the cloak as well.
They found their previous seats in the Library and continued their search by wand light. They had gone over the egg's song twice to see if it would help them in their search.
'Tell me what the egg's clue said again.' Sherlock demanded while he paced back and fourth in front of the table where Harry and John were sitting. He carried his violin as he went. John had fallen asleep after a while, Harry and Sherlock thought it would be kinder to leave him there.
'Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground –' Harry spoke in a monotone voice, his eyelids drooping lower and lower as he spoke.
'We already know that is definitely implying the merpeople. They can't sing or speak above water, they kind of screech. I can't think of any other creature with the same description.' Sherlock nodded.
'An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took –'
'Obvious what that verse is implying.' Sherlock began to play a rather complicated tune on the violin as he paused in front of the desk.
'Do you mind?'
'Not as all.' Sherlock gave Harry a sweet smile, but did not cease the tune he was composing with his violin.
'It's quite distracting.' Harry said through gritted teeth, glowering irritably at the violin.
'It helps me think.'
'It doesn't help me.'
'That doesn't matter. Your thinking capacity can only go so far, Harry.' Harry gave Sherlock an incredulous look. 'Don't look at me like that. You know it's true.'
'It's hopeless.' Harry moaned. 'We're not going to find anything, we might as well give up now.' Sherlock whacked Harry around the back of the head with the bow of his violin. 'Ouch! What the hell was –'
'You're not giving up that easily! We're going to continue looking, even if it means we have to pull every book off of the shelves!' Sherlock gave Harry a furious glare.
They read through one book after another, reading in silence.
'Harry, are you likely to be able to learn a spell within six hours? I found one, it's called the Bubble-head Charm, it's quite self explanatory, if we start practising now I think you'd –' Sherlock turned and found Harry's head reading upon one of the books, asleep. 'I'll take that as a "No" then.'
Sherlock slid into one of the seats, listened to John and Harry's heavy breathing and watched as John fidgeted in his seat and muttered something about Molly.
Then it suddenly hit Sherlock like a ton of bricks. Molly!
"Maybe you should look at potions and plants too, you're broadening your options so you're more likely to find a solution." Sherlock remembered her saying those exact words mere hours ago.
Sherlock ran over to Madam Pince's desk, grabbed some parchment, ink and a quill then scribbled a quick note for Harry and John:
"Harry – meet me in the Entrance Hall before you go into the grounds for the second task. I have something for you.
John – Could you put my violin in your dormitory please? I'll meet you there, then we can go to the stands together."
He left the note between the two boys on the table and took the invisibility cloak that was draped over one of the empty chairs. He hurried down the corridor, deciding that he would steal from Snape's private stores.
He reached his destination without incident. If Snape had said that his potions ingredient were being stolen then surely he would've put some sort of defensive spell on the door to either keep intruders out or alert him if anyone was attempting to break in. Sherlock drew his wand from his pocket and twirled it threw the air.
'Incantamentum revelio!' He muttered. The frame of the door glowed purple and then faded; this told Sherlock all he needed to know, the door was merely locked, there was no major defensive spells on it.
Sherlock turned away from the door, walked across Snape's empty classroom, up the steps from the dungeon into the Entrance Hall and down the steps opposite the dungeons, down to the corridor where the entrance to the Kitchen and Hufflepuff common room resided. He tickled the pear in the portrait of a fruit bowl; the pear then began to giggle and turned into a door handle, and entered the Kitchens.
Half of the house-elves were still awake, having just finished cleaning the school for the night. He took off Harry's invisibility cloak.
'Dobby?' Sherlock called uncertainly amongst the retiring house-elves. 'Dobby?'
'Yes, sir!' One of the house-elves approached him. He wore a tea cosy on his head; pinned with an assortment of badges, a maroon jumper that Sherlock recognised to be one of Ron's, some football shorts and odd socks. The house-elf bowed down low to Sherlock. 'What can Dobby be doing for you, sir?'
'You're Dobby?' Sherlock had only heard Harry mention the elf's name. He was a little dumbfounded about the elf's appearence but recovered immediately.
'Yes sir.'
'I was wonder whether you could do me a favour.'
'Anything, sir.'
'Harry Potter must be down by the lake at half past nine in the morning. I'd like you to go up to the Library at quarter past nine and make sure he gets there on time.'
Dobby's face brightened up. 'Of course sir!'
'One last thing, I left a note for Harry and my friend John Watson, John's with Harry. Make sure they read it. Wave it in their faces if you have to.'
'Dobby won't let you down, sir!'
'Thank you.' Sherlock smiled gratefully at the elf before pivoting and exiting the Kitchen, putting the cloak back on as he went. He exited the side chamber, strode across the Entrance Hall again, descended the steps into the dungeons and walked across Snape's classroom. He retrieved his wand from his sleeve again and began trying different incantations that may assist in his attempts to unlock the door.
Within three hours and four kicks at the door out of frustration, the door clicked and swung open. With a sigh of relief, Sherlock hurried into the store cupboard and searched for what he was looking for.
Frog's brains… Galanthus Nivalis… Giant Purple Toad Warts…charming… Gillyweed!
Sherlock took as much of it as he could without making the theft noticeable. He turned to leave when a certain jar caught his eye; Lacewing Flies. He turned his attention to the rest of the cupboard; someone had been rummaging in here and carelessly left it in a state. The jar of Boomslang skin was left open as well. Bicorn horns littered the floor and the whole stock of Knotgrass was missing. These ingredients were not usually used together unless someone was making Polyjuice Potion. The door had definitely been locked before Sherlock turned up, the spell used to lock the door had been advanced magic, surely this implied that it had not been a student who broke into the store cupboard.
A beeping noise brought him back to his senses. He glanced at his watch. Seven o'clock in the morning, Snape would be awake any minute now. He closed the door to the cupboard and replaced the locking charm upon it. Now all he had to do was go back to the Entrance Hall and wait for Harry.
