This chapter is shorter then others, but I have finally obtained a life. But not the rights to Harry Potter.

Everybody got up late on Boxing Day. The Gryffindor common room was much quieter than it had been lately, many yawns punctuating the lazy conversations.

Bree, acting on the advice she had gotten from the Doctor, took the egg to the kitchens. She asked the house elves for a big tub of water and she set the egg in it. She opened the egg. Instead of screeching it made a gurgling sound. Bree leaned over the tub to hear it better. She slipped and fell in. While she was under she heard singing. But couldn't make out the words before the house elves had pulled her out. After assuring the elves she was fine, Bree stuck her head in the tub.

"Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you re searching, ponder this:

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour- the prospect's black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back"

Bree popped up excitedly. It was obvious to her that whatever she had to go after lived in underwater, considering that she had had to stick her head in a tub. The lake was the only large body of water in the area.

"Nebby! Is there anything in the lake that can sing?" she asked.

"There are merpeople-" Nebby was cut off by Bree picking her up and hugging her. Bree then ran out of the kitchens excitedly. She came back a moment later to retrieve the egg.

Bree was going to kill Rita Skeeter. No. Death would me to good for the woman. She was going to make Rita's life HELL. Yes, she would destroy Rita just as the reporter had destroyed the lives of so many others. Instead of articles that only held the populaces attention for a few weeks, Bree would drag it out until she begged for mercy, and no mercy would come. Maybe a sick and twisted mind game were she feigned mercy for a moment, but not the actual thing.

Now you might be wondering what has Bree so upset. Well it started with her seeing the headline "DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE" in the Daily Prophet which led to her full body tackling the unfortunate owner of the particular copy so that she could steal it. The Hufflepuff in question never knew who had taken his paper and the hall was rather empty at the time so no one was able to tell him, but if there had been someone there they probably would have said something like "Holy shitake mushrooms! You just got attacked by a Tri-Wizard champion!" And Bree would have gotten detention. But as it was Bree left the dazed Hufflepuff in the hall and suffered no punishment for her actions.

Finding a secluded spot, Bree began to read the article.

Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.

Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.

An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening." 'I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."

"Well Draco needs a lesson as well I see." Bree muttered.

Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manti-cores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.

"I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject. As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror.

While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.

In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power - thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.

Naturally Rita would be forced to print a retraction once Bree contacted Sirius and Sirius contacted his team of lawyers. Bree would handle the Draco problem but she would have to wait for the tournament and the school year to end before she would have time for Rita.

Snow was still thick upon the grounds, and the greenhouse windows were covered in condensation so thick that they couldn't see out of them in Herbology. Nobody was looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures much in this weather, though as Ron said, the skrewts would probably warm them up nicely, either by chasing them, or blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin would catch fire.

When they arrived at Hagrid 's cabin, however, they found an elderly witch with closely cropped gray hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door.

"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barked at them as they struggled toward her through the snow.

"Who're you?" said Ron, staring at her. "Wheres Hagrid?"

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly. "I am your temporary Care of

Magical Creatures teacher."

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated loudly.

"He is indisposed," said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.

"Stupid article." Bree muttered.

Soft and unpleasant laughter reached Harrys ears. He turned; Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins were joining the class. All of them looked gleeful, and none of them looked surprised to see Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, and she strode off around the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were shivering.

"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry said, hurrying to catch up with Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Never you mind," she said as though she thought he was being nosy.

"I do mind, though," said Harry hotly. "What's up with him?"

Professor Grubbly-Plank acted as though she couldn't hear him. She led them past the paddock where the huge Beauxbatons horses were standing, huddled against the cold, and toward a tree on the edge of the forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

Many of the girls "ooooohed!" at the sight of the unicorn. "Oh it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching Harry hard in the chest. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it…"

She and the girls, except Bree, walked slowly forward toward the unicorn, leaving the boys and Bree standing near the paddock fence, watching.

"You're not going with them?" Dean asked her.

"How observant Dean. No. I'm not going with them. Unicorns. It's a thoroughbred with a horn on it's head and magical properties. Whoop- dee- doo. Those winged draft horses of Maxine's that would have been neat, but if I wanted to see a stock horse I can just go to my aunts. Same behavior and they aren't sexist." Bree explained.

"Er- what's a draft horse and what's a stock horse?" Dean asked.

Bree sighed.

"I'll make this simple for you. Draft horses sized for pulling, stock horses sized for riding." Bree explained.

When Professor Grubbly-Plank was finally out of earshot. Harry turned to Ron.

"What d'you reckons wrong with him? You don't think a skrewt -?"

"Oh he hasn't been attacked, Potter, if that's what you're thinking," said Malfoy softly.

"No, he's just too ashamed to show his big, ugly face."

"What d'you mean?" said Harry sharply.

Malfoy put his hand inside the pocket of his robes and pulled out a folded page of newsprint.

"There you go," he said. "Hate to break it to you. Potter…"

He smirked as Harry snatched the page, unfolded it, and read it, with Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville looking over his shoulder. It was an article topped with a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty.

Bree already knew what it said. The boys looked increasingly horrified as they read.

Harry finished reading and looked up at Ron, whose mouth was hanging open.

"How did she find out?" he whispered.

But that wasn't what was bothering Harry.

"What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'?"

Harry spat at Malfoy. "What's this rubbish about him" - he pointed at Crabbe - "getting a bad bite off a flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"

Crabbe was sniggering, apparently very pleased with himself.

"Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career," said Malfoy, his eyes glinting. "Half-giant… and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young… None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all… They'll be worried he'll eat their kids, ha, ha…"

And suddenly Bree thought of a way to solve the Malfoy problem. After all the weight of the debt was still there, it could be used as a threat, or simply acted on to give Bree a more permanent solution… Bree grinned predatorily.

"Draco. I've decided how we can settle your debt to me." Bree stated.

Draco turned to look at her. "Wh-whu-what?" he stammered.

"I am unhappy. You have made me unhappy. Skeeter has made me unhappy. If this works out I can make both you and Skeeter unhappy. That will make me happy." She pause for dramatic effect.

"Draco. I want your fortune."

A/N1: Someone better talk Bree down or Draco will end up in the poorhouse.

A/N2: Unicorns are nice and all, but after hippogriffs it's like "really?"