CHAPTER TWELVE
Merlin, This Tastes Like Food!
"'Ello there! Come in, come in, I just finished makin' some tea! An' wait till you see me new creature. Just a beauty!"
Harry and Ron had reached Hagrid's hut, and the massive half-giant was now beckoning them inside. Hagrid closed the door softly as they walked in, and pointed to a pile of cakes that were sitting in a dish on a table.
"Just made 'em." Hagrid, who caught a glimpse of Harry and Ron wincing, said, "An' this time they're much better, 'cause Blossom helped me make 'em."
At this, Ron spoke. "Blossom? As in the creature you were talking about?"
Hagrid sat down, picked up a cup of tea, and gave a curt nod.
"What sort of creature is it, anyway?" Harry asked curiously.
"They're called Whisperers. Darn smart creatures," Hagrid replied.
Ron and Harry cautiously picked up a cake, which, as they were surprised to find out, tasted much, much more like food. Harry wondered what kind of creature could actually help make food. No wonder Hagrid liked Blossom.
"Well then," said Hagrid, taking a sip of tea, "I expect you'll want to see Blossom, then, right?"
And so they headed out towards the pumpkin patch, where it was supposed to be kept. Harry and Ron gaped at him.
There, trotting around the pumpkins, was a horse. A horse that was golden yellow, shimmering in the sunlight. And it had wings, huge wings that looked like fluffy white clouds.
"Woah," said Harry and Ron together under their breath.
Hagrid chuckled from the looks on their faces.
At once, Blossom trotted up to Hagrid, and Hagrid knelt down beside it. It looked like Blossom was trying to whisper something into Hagrid's ear. Hagrid replied "Harry and Ron" then stood back up. "Can that thing talk?" asked Harry in amazement.
"Of course it can talk, why do you think their kind are called 'Whisperers'?"
"What did it say?"
"Wanted ter know who you two were, so I told it."
"Why does it whisper? Why not just talk at normal speeking voice? I want to know what it's saying…?" Ron said.
"Because this creature is very difficult to find and any evil person could identify one if he heard its voice. Its voice is magical and possesses many different powers. The creatures aren't dumb, so they decided to conceal their voice as best as they could. It was to protect themselves. "
Hagrid leaned in closer to Harry and Ron so that they were head level. "If any evil got his hands on this creature terrible things would happen. Evil can force it to use its voice for bad doings. That's why this breed of creatures used to be called 'Melody'. But the Ministry officially changed it to 'Whisperers.'" At that, Blossom walked near Harry. It looked like it wanted to tell Harry something. Harry bent his knees slightly so that Blossom was at his head level.
"Please don't tell anyone about me," she said in a whisper. Her voice was high and low at the same time and Harry found it strangely musical. It sounded like it was echoing over and over. It was the most beautiful thing Harry had ever heard. Harry, upon hearing it's voice, knew he could never, ever tell anyone about this creature if it didn't want him to.
Walking back to the castle Harry noticed something strange. The same three black cloaked figures he had seen at the ball were in a huddle, obviously discussing something very important. They did not seem to notice Harry and Ron, however. Were they Death Eaters? Harry's attention was drawn away from Ron saying something quietly.
"Can you hear all that noise?" He askedanxiously.
Indeed, there was a very loud racket coming from inside the castle. Harry and Ron both sped up there pace. When they entered the Great Hall they noticed Professor McGonagall lowering her magical megaphone as if she had just made an announcement. Harry's heart sank. What was the announcement about? He hated to think.
"Professor, what's going on?" Ron asked in a hurried voice. Professor McGonagall looked very somber.
"You didn't hear?"
They both shook their heads, worried.
"I'm sorry to say, boys, that there have been two more disappearances."
Harry found his voice, looked down at his shoes, not able to make eye contact with Professor McGonagall, and said, "Who are missing?"
Professor McGonagall sighed before replying.
"Ginny Weasley and Cho Chang."
