12: Hagrid's Hut
Hagrid led them to a small wooden hut that sat near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Avery thought it looked much too small to accommodate such a large man, but she politely kept that to herself.
Once inside, a wave of heat washed over them. There was a fire going strong, though perhaps there was a draft at night, and maybe it got chilly. Still, Avery felt a bead of sweat start to trickle down her forehead after only a moment of being inside. She wiped it hastily and hoped the rest of her wouldn't start sweating.
Harry looked more comfortable in the tiny space, and took a seat on one of Hagrid's large chairs. A dog padded over to him and Harry scratched its ears, as the dog drooled happily on his robes. Avery wasn't much of a dog person, and silently prayed that the dog would not come to drool on her as well.
"So, who's yer friend?" Hagrid asked Harry, then, "Ah, g'down, Fang. Yeh lump."
The dog obeyed quietly, and gave Avery a hopeful look, before sulking to a corner in the room.
"This is Avery." Harry said, "She was learning how to fly."
Hagrid looked approvingly at Avery, and she felt shy.
"Merlin, 'Arry! A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, bein' friendly! No' very of'en a thin' like that happens, bu' of course yeh do it! Jus' like yer mum." Hagrid seemed proud for a moment, and Harry's face brightened at the compliment. Then his attention turned to Avery. "'Fraid I'm no' familiar with yer face, though." Hagrid looked thoughtful.
"Um, I'm new." Avery offered helpfully. Hagrid waved his hand dismissively.
"Nah, dun matter. I'd recognize yeh from yer mum or dad... I been here a long time, yeh see." Hagrid explained. He got up from his seat and began to busy himself with a kettle.
"My family never came to Hogwarts." Avery said timidly. "I'm the first one." She wondered what he'd think of this.
She needn't have worried, because Hagrid didn't seem the least bit revolted. "Muggleborn, eh? Well, comin' from Slytherin, tha's a surprise, bu' no' impossible, no' at all! Seen me fair share of 'em, jus' rarely."
"Why is that?" Avery asked. "I mean, for a Slytherin to come from a Muggle family?"
"Ah..." Hagrid was now fetching a rather large tray of cakes, which he laid on the table as an offering. Avery instinctively took one, but noticed Harry trying to tell her something. Whatever it was, she didn't hear it, because Hagrid continued and she was keen to hear what he had to say.
"Yeh see, long time ago, Salazar Slytherin though' tha' magic ought to be strictly in magic families." He explained carefully. "Wasn'a keen on lettin' anythin' less than Pureblood in'ta school. Fer a long time, the Sorting Hat honored tha', but now wha's the point? Pureblood's jus' a load of hogwash, if yeh ask me. Loads of Slytherins now'days has at leas' one Muggle in their family, an' sometimes there's a few Muggleborns let in as well. Jus' how time changes people."
"So..." Avery was making sense of this, but hardly believing it, "Salazar Slytherin, the wizard who found my house... he didn't like Muggleborns?"
"Yeh can say tha'." Hagrid said shiftily. Fang whined.
Avery weighed the cake in her hand (it was rather heavy), and thought. "So... he wouldn't have wanted someone like me in Slytherin? Aren't I unworthy of learning magic, by his rules?"
"Tha' was the past, Av'ry! Dun worry yerself with the past!" Hagrid nearly shouted, but his tone wasn't meant to be harsh. It sort of made Avery feel grateful. "Yer jus' as worthy as any Pureblood, an' besides, tha' ol' Salazar never knew yeh."
"Is Malfoy giving you trouble?" Harry asked. His question was timed to interrupt Avery from taking a bite of her heavy cake.
"Malfoy? No' a single decent wizard was ev'r a Malfoy." Hagrid said darkly. "Big supporters of You-Know-Who, yer bett'r 'en tha'."
"Supporters of You-Know-Who?" Avery said, surprised. She didn't like Malfoy, but hadn't quite chalked him up as evil.
"Whole lot o' 'em. Very inter th' Dark Arts." Hagrid explained a little to them both, and Avery felt rather sick about it. She put her cake down, losing her appetite.
"Are all... well, most Slytherins like that?" Avery asked. Harry seemed interested as well.
"Some say. But don' worry about it, yeh two. I shouldn'a o' told yeh tha'."
Avery quietly reflected on this as Hagrid turned his attention back to Harry. The Dark Arts sounded dangerous, and she wondered if she'd become an evil sort of witch if she ever used it. What was a dark witch or wizard like? Did their skin turn green and warty like in fairy tales?
After enjoying some tea and exchanging rather mild conversation for the rest of the visit, Hagrid suggested they head back to the castle. As Avery joined Harry on their journey uphill, she was overcome with the desire to know more.
"Harry, do you remember what he looked like?"
Harry seemed confused. "What who looked like?"
"Him. That guy everyone is talking about?"
"Oh, er..." He awkwardly touched his scar. Avery felt a pang of guilt for asking. It probably wasn't a welcome memory for him. "I remember a green flash, but that's about it really."
"Oh." Avery said, disappointed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I'm sure I wouldn't want to remember." He paused. "Hagrid's the one who came to find me, you know."
"Really? I bet that was shocking!"
"Yeah, it was." Harry agreed. "I'll have to tell you about it... Avery?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you notice anything weird in this school?"
"Weird? There's lots of weird things, Harry. Everything's magic!"
"Well, yeah, but even for magic, there can be weird things. Have you heard about a man named Nicholas Flamel?"
Avery shook her head. "No, sorry."
"It's alright."
"What do you need to know about him?"
"Oh, a homework assignment, that's all." Harry said. Avery was satisfied with that.
The rest of their walk was rather quiet, though Avery was mostly conserving her breath for walking so steeply upwards. Even after her short stay in Hogwarts, she was rather out of shape.
They parted ways at the Marble Staircase, as Harry made his way up to an unknown floor. Avery slipped into the dungeons, where she saw Dev sitting in one of the armchairs, reading a book.
"Where have you been?" Dev demanded. "I was looking for you!"
"I was at Hagrid's." Avery explained. "The big guy with the beard."
"What were you doing with him?"
"Harry and me were visiting. Harry was just teaching me to fly, that's all." She shot a warning look at Dev. "And I'm good at it."
"That's great!" She smiled encouragingly. "So you're not gonna cheat anymore?"
"That would be un-Slytherin-like of me." Avery joked. Then she looked serious for a moment. "Dev, are Slytherins... evil?"
"No!" Dev said immediately. "Slytherins are amazing! We're smart, and beautiful, and everyone wishes they were us..."
Avery laughed, but shook her head. "You know what I mean. It's just, I hear so many bad things."
"There are bad students from every house." Dev remarked. "Slytherins just get more publicity for theirs."
"I suppose." Avery slumped into a chair across from her. "What are you reading?"
"A book I brought from home." Dev showed Avery the cover, which read Coraline. "Hogwarts library doesn't carry Muggle books."
"That's because nobody really wants to read that trash." A nasty voice. We looked up to see Pansy was in the common room as well.
"Buzz off." Dev said, slamming her book shut.
"Filthy blood-traitor." Pansy sniffed. "I can't believe they make us share a dorm with people like you."
"I thought dogs weren't allowed in school." Dev retorted. "But clearly, someone let in a b-"
"How DARE you?" Pansy shrieked. Before Avery knew what was going on, there was a sound, and Dev fell back in her chair.
"DEV!" Avery cried, rushing to her friend. Pansy laughed.
"Consider it repayment for Draco's TORTURE." She said with a smug look of satisfaction.
Avery nearly recoiled. Dev's face was covered in a large, throbbing boils. Her hands covered her appalled expression.
"I'll get you back, you witch!" Avery shouted angrily. Malice glinted in Pansy's eye.
"At least I AM a witch!" She shot back. "I bet you're barely that!"
"Why you..." Avery's hand flew to her wand, but it was too slow. Pansy's wand was already pointed at her, and with a quick searing sensation on her face, Avery felt painful boils sprout through her skin. She screamed and tried to cover them with little success.
"Learn to treat your superiors with respect." Pansy sneered.
Humiliation burned in Avery's blood. She felt herself choke. No, don't do that here... She thought desperately.
She cried like she'd been holding back. Pansy looked absolutely gleeful about it, and began to laugh cruelly.
"Go cry like a baby." She taunted. "Go back home to your Muggle tribe or whatever."
Avery stormed out of the common room, still blubbering tears. Some other Slytherins jeered at her, while some looked at the scene in silence.
With her hands still covering her face, Avery became lost in the dungeons. She found a quiet passageway that was dark and damp, and leaned against the stone wall hopelessly. Hopefully someone would find her...
"Miss Liddell." A cool voice told Avery that apparently, she hadn't been hard to find. "What brings you to this part of the dungeon? It's a long way from the common rooms."
Avery looked up at the professor who spoke to her. It was Prof. Snape.
"I was lost, sir." Her voice trembled and she blushed in embarrassment. Humiliation swept through her again and she fought back another wave of tears.
Snape examined her more closely. "Who jinxed you?" He sounded unconcerned.
"Pansy Parkinson, sir."
"I see." It wasn't a committed response. Prof. Snape turned quickly and beckoned Avery to follow. She kept up with him, wondering what would happen. Would he confront Pansy, or give her detention for being out?
They stopped at his office, and she followed him inside. There were jars of disgusting things in liquid that lined his walls. It made Avery nauseous, but she put her hands down now that Snape already knew what she looked like. He went into a cupboard and plucked out a small vial of something Avery couldn't identify. He handed it to her.
"Drink." He ordered.
Avery took it in one gulp. It tasted foul and she nearly spit it out, but caught herself in time. She felt something weird happening to her face.
"Cure for boils." The potions master explained. Avery relaxed.
Behind him, there had been a row of other potions in various interesting bottles. She tried to look at them, but Snape stepped in front of them, forcing her to turn her attention to him.
"Now, tell me, Miss Liddell, what caused this interesting attack."
Avery gave a recap of the story to Snape, who listened without much input or reaction. When she was finished, Snape only told her to go to her dorm and he'd deal with it. Obediently, Avery returned to the Slytherin common room, her heart thumping. She hoped no one would stare at her. A few people did, and she kept her eyes down as she hurried to her dorm.
When she got there, Avery was dismayed to see only Pansy and some other first year girls were in the dorm, but not Dev.
"Rat me out, did you?" Pansy asked with a sneer.
"No." Avery lied quickly. Pansy's lips twitched.
"Liar."
Even though the accusation was true, it still hurt to hear. Avery mindlessly picked at her hand and tried to hide in her bed.
"What a freak." She heard Pansy complain. Then the lights were out, and Avery quietly listened for the sound of Dev opening the door to come in. She strained her ears to hear Dev walking to her bed, and for the sound of Dev slipping underneath her covers. She waited in the dark, listening past the gentle breathing of her dorm-mates and past Pansy's obnoxious snores.
Avery didn't hear Dev, and reluctantly fell asleep.