Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by: dangermouse
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"It was great of you ta' come, Leo," Hagrid said with a jovial grin, holding the door of his hut open for the large gargoyle to enter.
"Ah, it was no problem, Hagrid," Leo replied, bearing his teeth in a feral smile, wrapping his wings around his shoulders as he entered the half-giant's home. "It's nice to get out of the magic shop for a bit. I only wish I could have come earlier in the evening." Hagrid gestured to a high stool for the gargoyle to sit on, then went about getting tea things together.
"Been busy lately, have you?" Hagrid asked, handing his lion-looking friend a plate of rock cakes and a cup of tea before sitting in a large recliner across from him.
"Like you would not believe," Leo said, taking a sip of the extremely bitter drink. "Our clan has been working with the citizens of London as of late. We've finally started protecting again."
"I thought you were tryin' to stay out of ta' public eye," Hagrid said with a slight frown.
Leo sighed. "We were. But, ever since Gryph came back, we realized that we needed to start living in this world, rather than hiding from it as we have in the past."
"Ya' being careful, right?" Hagrid asked with concern. Leo nodded, smiling.
"We are. And while manning 'Into The Mystic' has been good for the wizarding community, it's good to be part of the muggle world again for a change, although..." Leo trailed off, frowning. He set his tea and cakes on the table in front of him, then leaned back a little on his stool, crossing his arms over his chest.
"What's wrong?" Hagrid asked, looking worried.
"Our Clan Leader is worried about the Death Eaters returning," Leo said seriously. "We managed to avoid persecution in the last war only because we had a human friend on the inside who kept us appraised of You-Know-Who's plans. The Death Eaters like gargoyles less than they like muggles, I think. And we're so vulnerable most of the time."
Hagrid sighed, shaking his head. "There are dark times ahead," the half-giant agreed.
"We'll manage when the time comes," Leo said, then brightened a little. "But that is neither here nor there. So tell me, Hagrid. Not that I mind, of course, but why did you invite me down?" Hagrid broke out in his widest grin yet, setting his teacup on the low table in front of him.
"I started teachin' a class - 'Care of Magical Creatures,'" he said with great pride.
"Good for you, Hagrid!" Leo congratulated him, reaching out tap him on the shoulder. "You're definitely the best for the job!"
"Thank ya' kindly," Hagrid replied, clasping Leo's claw in his hand. "I thought for my class, it might'n be good ta' have them meet a gargoyle. You could give 'em a talk or somethin'."
"I'd be happy to, Hagrid," Leo said, sitting back. Fang made his way over to the gargoyle, who reached down to scratch the boarhound's head.
"Great!" Hagrid said, standing up. He walked over to the door of the hut, opening it. Leo could see the sky starting to lighten in the east. "I got a few things I gotta do before classes start, so ya' can stay here, if ya' like."
"That would be fine," Leo agreed. Hagrid smiled and waved good-bye, letting the door close behind him. Leo reached for a rock cake, tossing it to the drooling Fang, whose tail was fiercely wagging. Suddenly, he stood up, eyes widening in alarm. He rushed to the door and ran out of the hut.
"HAGRID!" he yelled to the half-giant, who was already halfway to the castle. "WAIT! WHEN'S YOUR FIRST CLASS?"
If Hagrid replied to his question, Leo was unaware. The sun had just risen over the horizon.
* * * * * *
"I got a real treat for ye' all today," Hagrid told his first class, the combination Gryffindor-Slytherin 5th years, as he led them across the grounds to his hut. "It's a guest speaker!"
"Probably his dog," Draco muttered. The Slytherins snickered and the Gryffindors glared.
"Now," continued Hagrid, not having heard the comment, "he looks a'bit scary, but don' let that worry ya'. His kind are good folk. Well, most of 'em, anyway." They arrived at the grounds to the side hut. Hagrid turned to face his class, his excitement clear.
"All of ye' wait here," he told them. "I'll go get him for ya'."
Hagrid disappeared around the front of the hut, leaving his students milling about.
"I wonder who this guest speaker is," Hermione said, pulling a fresh writing tablet and her favorite quill. "I hope it's someone interesting."
"Maybe it's an expert in Magical Creatures," Harry mused.
"Wow," came Draco's drawling voice behind them. "That would bring us up to a total of one expert on the grounds then?"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Ron hissed, balling up his fist.
"You know, I get more and more intimidated by that line every time I hear it," Draco replied smoothly, the Slytherin's behind him laughing.
"I wonder what's taking Hagrid so long," Neville said loudly, trying to break up the tension.
"Probably got lost on the way," Draco said, not missing a beat. Ron looked about to deck the blond Slytherin, but Hagrid reappeared just then. He looked a little frazzled.
"Well, there's a'bit of a problem with tha' speaker," Hagrid said, his face slightly flushed under he beard. He rubbed his hands together nervously, obviously embarrassed.
"What's wrong, Hagrid?" Hermione asked gently, trying to console the half-giant.
"I guess I could show ya'," Hagrid said with a frown, leading them all towards the front of the hut. The class stopped and there was a nearly collective blink.
"Ah," Draco said simply. "It's a big rock."
Leo stood in front of the hut, frozen in a shouting stance as he had been when calling to Hagrid just at dawn. His clawed hands were reaching out towards the castle, his face frozen in a silent plea. A stone statue. A big rock.
The Slytherins began to snigger.
"He's not always a rock," Hagrid tried to explain. "I mean, they come to life a night."
"Sure they do," Draco said sarcastically, then turned to speak in a rather loud aside to Pansy. "I mean, my chia pet does the same thing." She giggled.
"No! They really do!" Hagrid insisted.
"Riight.." Blaise said, rolling his eyes. "So, how do we take care of this rock? Dust it?"
"Or polish it," Seamus chimed in.
"Seamus!" Ron yelled, glaring at the Irishman.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "It just came out."
"It's not a rock!" Hagrid cried, feeling he was rapidly losing control of the situation.
"He's right," Draco said seriously. "It's actually a lawn ornament."
"It's a gargoyle," Hagrid said quietly, looking at Leo with a pained expression on his face.
"You mean those things that sit on the tops of buildings and spit water?" Dean asked.
"Oh, so that's what we're doing today," Draco mused. "We're making a fountain."
"No, no, no!" Hagrid said frantically. "They're protectors! They protect tha' night!"
"Ooh," Draco said, nodding in understanding. "It's a scarecrow."
"Yes," Pansy added, smirking, "Daddy recently bought a similar piece for our gardens at home."
Hagrid let out a low moan, burying his face in his hands.
"Come on, Hagrid. It's alright," Hermione told him, patting his arm. "Maybe we can do a special class tonight. You could ask Professor Dumbledore."
Hagrid nodded, smiling at her. "Good idea, Hermione." Taking a deep breath, he turned to the class. "Come on, then! We'll let out early ta'day and make it up ta'night." Many of the students groaned aloud, then grudgingly followed the half-giant in the long trek back to the castle.
"You guys go ahead," Draco told Crabbe and Goyle after everyone was out of earshot. "I want to re-tie my boot." The two bulky Slytherins grunted in acknowledgement, leaving Draco behind. The blond crouched down, making as if to do just as he said, but kept checking over his shoulder. As soon as his two henchmen were out of sight, Draco stood and walked over to the stone figure.
"See you tonight, Leo," he told the gargoyle, reaching out to pat him on his cold head. Then, the Slytherin turned and ran back to the castle, leaving the hut far behind.
~The End~
A/N: O_O Well, this originally started out as a joke - my sister and I were laughing about all the puns the Slytherins could make at Hagrid's expense if he tried to show a gargoyle during the day - but it seems to have taken on a more serious tone. If you don't know, I'm in the camp of "Dumbledore is Evil and Lucius May Not Be Such A Bad Guy." Wanna know my reasons for this? Go head and e-mail me. dangermouse42@yahoo.com
As the summery states, this is a HP/Gargoyles crossover. Here's a little Gargoyles background for those of you who may not know:
Leo (who has the head of a lion) is a member of a London Clan of Gargoyles. He runs a Magic Shop in SoHo called "Into the Mystic" with another clan member of his named Una (she looks like a Unicorn). Gryph (who looks a bit like a Griffin), also used to run the shop with them, but he vanished and was presumed dead in The Battle of Britain during WWII. What really happened was Gryph was transported in time by way of the Phoenix Gate to the late 1990's. During the fifty years that they were without Gryph, the London Clan retreated away from humanity, not wanting to concern themselves with "human problems," blaming humanity for the loss of Gryph. Both Una and Leo are practicing wizards and I think this fits quite easily into the Harry Potter universe. Heck, Una and Leo even wear dark wizarding robes when they're running the shop to conceal their winged-bodies (their patrons assume they are wearing ornate masks over their faces).
For more information, visit:
http://www.gargoyles-fans.org
probably the most comprehensive fan-made webpage in existence. Also, "Gargoyles" airs on Toon Disney weekly from 10 p.m. - 11 p.m. CST and sometimes on the weekends. The episode concerning Leo and Una occurs during the Avalon series in an episode called "M.I.A." Hope that helps!
I originally intended this as a sort of one-shot fic and I think that's how'll stay. But any feedback would be welcome!