Chapter 8
The Crup
The next few days, went by quickly. The weather changed from bright and sunny, to dull, and grey. "Hey Harry"? Ron finally said. Ron and Harry were both in the library doing their Divination homework. "Yeah"? Harry said putting down his quill. "Don't you notice that Hermione is never around anymore"? "You noticed that too"? "No duh! She's so grumpy lately, and she looks rather tired if you ask me. I mean, honestly! She should get some sleep and calm down a bit", Ron said. "Well, let's just leave her alone", Harry suggested. "Maybe that'll take some stress out of her". "Maybe", Ron whispered. He turned back to his homework. "You care a lot about her don't you"? Harry said thinking about it. "What do you mean"? Ron said nervously. "Well.it just seems that you care about her". "Well, I don't! I just want to know what's she's up to", Ron said. "I'm getting more books". Ron got up and walked away. But came back with no books in his hands. Harry looked at him while he looked back. It was like one of those moments, where someone has pushed the stop button. Ron looked quite pale, clammy, and nervous. He was biting his bottom lip. "Harry.your right, I do care about her. More then I care about Ginny, and she's the number one person I care for the most"! Ron confessed. He sat back down. "So you like Hermione"? Harry asked quietly making sure no one around could hear. Ron looked at the floor, then the ceiling, and then the floor and sighed. "Yeah.I do like her", Ron confessed. Before Harry could open his mouth and speak, Ron cut him off. "But don't tell anyone or else one day you'll wake up with your tongue cut off, your head in your trunk, your leg in Neville's boxers, and your eyeballs in-" "Okay, okay! I get it Ron, besides, I have no one to tell anyway", Harry laughed, as he watched Ron relaxed a bit. "You know what"? Harry asked. "What"? Ron said. "We haven't visited Hagrid for a long time. Do you want to visit him today"? "Okay, sure! We can go after dinner". "Alright", Harry smiled. The day went by quickly and soon they were at the Great Hall eating dinner. And for once, Hermione finally showed up for dinner. She still looked tired and stressed. "How's it going"? Ron asked nervously. "I'm doing fine", Hermione said, putting some fish on her plate. "You feeling better now"? Harry asked. "Yeah", Hermione sighed. "You sure"? Harry asked again. "Yup", Hermione sighed again pouring some pumpkin juice into her goblet. Time went by again, and before Harry knew it, they had to go back to their common rooms. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in front of the fire. "I'm going to the library", Hermione finally decided. She got up and walked out of the common room. "You want to go visit Hagrid now"? Harry asked. "Yeah, let's go", Ron said. "I think we should bring your invisibility cloak along too Harry". Harry ran upstairs to get his cloak and ran back down again. Making sure no one was around, Harry covered Ron and himself with the cloak and together, they slowly left the common room. They only had to stop when they saw Filch walk past them. Either then that, nothing else went wrong. The pair stepped outside. They walked up to Hagrid's door and knocked. "Who's there"? A voice boomed from inside. "Hagrid, it's us"! Harry whispered. The door opened; Harry and Ron took off the invisibility cloak and stepped inside. "You came ter visit me! I thought you fergot about me", Hagrid exclaimed while patting them on the backs. "Want some tea"? "Yeah", Harry and Ron said. "Here yer go", Hagrid said bringing a tray with two steaming cups of tea, and a plate of rock cookies he made. Harry and Ron only drank the tea, and they didn't dare touch the rock cookies. "So what you been up ter lately"? Hagrid asked. "Nothing.but didn't you notice that Hermione's acting very strange these days? She's seems all stressed out", Ron pointed out. "Stressed out? I haven't err.noticed anything", Hagrid said. "Are you sure? She always seems so tired.is she getting enough sleep at all"? "I'm sure she is Ron, don't yer worry! She'll be back to her normal self in no time", Hagrid beamed. They talked for some more, and finally, they were left with nothing to talk about. "What time is it Harry"? Ron asked. "It's 10:14", Harry replied looking at his watch. "We better get going then". "Yeah, bye Hagrid", Ron and Harry said. "Hey wait, do you want some of these cookies? I baked loads", Hagrid offered. "Umm, no thanks", Harry said. "We ate a lot at dinner", Ron added. "Well okay, bye"! Hagrid waved as Harry and Ron left. Harry and Ron put the invisibility cloak and started making their way back to the castle. Hagrid went back into his "house" and cleaned up the teacups Ron and Harry used. Someone opened the door from the back and walked in. "He's doing better now Hagrid". "Alright Hermione, don't you think you should get back ter your common room? Harry and Ron seemed very worried about you", Hagrid explained. "How do you know"? Hermione asked sitting down at the table and poured herself a cup of tea. "They just left", Hagrid said. Hermione dropped her teacup, and the cup broke. "Oh gosh Hagrid I'm so sorry"! Hermione said. "I'll help you clean it up, and I'll even buy you a new cup". "No it's alright Hermione". Hermione, still looking worried, sat back in her chair. "So they came and they just left? You didn't tell them about the Crup did you"? Hermione asked. "O' course not"! "Okay good", Hermione said looking a bit more relieved. "But you should know that they were extremely worried about yer. Especially Ron", Hagrid went on. "Ron? Why Ron"? Hermione asked. "I don't know.", Hagrid said. "Oh.well the Crup is outside, safely asleep", Hermione explained. "I'm tired now, so I'm going to go back. See you tomorrow Hagrid"! "Bye Hermione! And oh wait", Hagrid said stopping her. "Yes Hagrid"? "Harry and Ron are yer friend 'aite"? "Of course"! "Then maybe yer should tell 'em about the Crup". "But-" "They'll forgive you fer not telling 'em about the Crup", Hagrid said winking at Hermione. Hermione hesitated but nodded and walked off towards the castle. "Clickatick", Hermione said. "MmmHmm, whatever you say dear", the Fat Lady said. She swung herself open and Hermione climbed in. She found Harry and Ron still awake sitting near the fire, in their usual chairs. "Hermione? I thought you in the library", Harry said. "I did.but it was boring", Hermione lied. Harry sensed that she was lying, so he raised an eyebrow at her. He knew that Hermione always gets very annoyed whenever he does that. "I was at Hagrid's", Hermione sighed. "But.we were just there, and we didn't see you there", Ron said. "I know, I told you guys I was going to the library, but I didn't, I went to Hagrid's instead. I was out in his backyard doing something for him", Hermione explained. "Hermione, what's wrong with your lately? All of a sudden you don't come down for meals. Your always late for class, and you always look so tired and stressed out. And.have you even taken a shower? You're always looking so.scruffy and dirty when we see you, but we hardly do now a-days", Ron said. "And we want you to know that you can always talk to us about anything. Family, homework, or OTHER things you want to talk to us about", Harry hinted. Hermione sighed and looked at Harry to Ron, then Ron to Harry. "Fine.but don't get mad that I've been lying to you", Hermione warned. "Okay", Harry and Ron agreed. "That day when we were at the Quidditch match, I looked over at the Forbidden Forest and thought I saw Crookshanks. Crookshanks has been missing, and I had no idea where he is. So I told you guys that I'd be right back and I snuck off towards the Forbidden Forest", Hermione explained. "Yeah, I thought I saw you go there", Harry said. "Yeah.well it turned out it wasn't Crookshanks. It was a Crup", Hermione sighed. "A what"? Ron asked. "A Crup"! Hermione said. "A Crup resembles a Jack Russell terrier, except for it's forked tail". "A Jack Russell what"? Ron asked again. "A type of dog Ron. Honestly, you seriously need to start catching up on your Care of Magical Creatures"! "Whatever", Ron said and rolled his eyes. "So I found a Crup injured in the Forbidden Forest, so I decided to bring the Crup to Hagrid so that he could fix him up. But it was harder then I thought. The Crup fought hard, it bit, scratched, kicked, did whatever it could to get away from me. I think it was an hour later when Hagrid found me at the Forbidden Forest. He was visiting the centaurs again I think. So he helped me catch the Crup. So these past few days, I've been going to the library and checking out library books, and tried learning more about Crups, as well as trying to take care of the one I found", Hermione continued explaining. "No wonder your never around", Harry said. "Yeah, but the Crup is getting better, so you'll see me more often now. I have to catch up on my homework and lessons", Hermione said. "Yeah, you got loads to do", Ron said. "But we'll help". "Thanks guys. Well it's getting pretty late and I'm really tired. I'm going to bed, night guys"! Hermione said walking towards her dormitory. "And Hermione"? Ron said. "Yeah"? Hermione turned around. "Think about that shower I said, because you seriously need one", Ron joked. Hermione surprisingly didn't yell or snap at Ron, but she only laughed, and continued to walk back to her dormitory. Ron and Harry went back to theirs, changed and got in bed. "So Ron.you like Hermione"? Harry asked. "Shh! Harry! What if the guys are awake", Ron hissed. "I doubt that", Harry laughed listening to their snores. "Well now you know who I like, who do you like"? Ron asked. "No one", Harry said instantly. "Okay, whatever you say", Ron yawned. "Night Harry". "Night Ron". With that, the two friends slowly fell asleep.
The next few days, went by quickly. The weather changed from bright and sunny, to dull, and grey. "Hey Harry"? Ron finally said. Ron and Harry were both in the library doing their Divination homework. "Yeah"? Harry said putting down his quill. "Don't you notice that Hermione is never around anymore"? "You noticed that too"? "No duh! She's so grumpy lately, and she looks rather tired if you ask me. I mean, honestly! She should get some sleep and calm down a bit", Ron said. "Well, let's just leave her alone", Harry suggested. "Maybe that'll take some stress out of her". "Maybe", Ron whispered. He turned back to his homework. "You care a lot about her don't you"? Harry said thinking about it. "What do you mean"? Ron said nervously. "Well.it just seems that you care about her". "Well, I don't! I just want to know what's she's up to", Ron said. "I'm getting more books". Ron got up and walked away. But came back with no books in his hands. Harry looked at him while he looked back. It was like one of those moments, where someone has pushed the stop button. Ron looked quite pale, clammy, and nervous. He was biting his bottom lip. "Harry.your right, I do care about her. More then I care about Ginny, and she's the number one person I care for the most"! Ron confessed. He sat back down. "So you like Hermione"? Harry asked quietly making sure no one around could hear. Ron looked at the floor, then the ceiling, and then the floor and sighed. "Yeah.I do like her", Ron confessed. Before Harry could open his mouth and speak, Ron cut him off. "But don't tell anyone or else one day you'll wake up with your tongue cut off, your head in your trunk, your leg in Neville's boxers, and your eyeballs in-" "Okay, okay! I get it Ron, besides, I have no one to tell anyway", Harry laughed, as he watched Ron relaxed a bit. "You know what"? Harry asked. "What"? Ron said. "We haven't visited Hagrid for a long time. Do you want to visit him today"? "Okay, sure! We can go after dinner". "Alright", Harry smiled. The day went by quickly and soon they were at the Great Hall eating dinner. And for once, Hermione finally showed up for dinner. She still looked tired and stressed. "How's it going"? Ron asked nervously. "I'm doing fine", Hermione said, putting some fish on her plate. "You feeling better now"? Harry asked. "Yeah", Hermione sighed. "You sure"? Harry asked again. "Yup", Hermione sighed again pouring some pumpkin juice into her goblet. Time went by again, and before Harry knew it, they had to go back to their common rooms. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in front of the fire. "I'm going to the library", Hermione finally decided. She got up and walked out of the common room. "You want to go visit Hagrid now"? Harry asked. "Yeah, let's go", Ron said. "I think we should bring your invisibility cloak along too Harry". Harry ran upstairs to get his cloak and ran back down again. Making sure no one was around, Harry covered Ron and himself with the cloak and together, they slowly left the common room. They only had to stop when they saw Filch walk past them. Either then that, nothing else went wrong. The pair stepped outside. They walked up to Hagrid's door and knocked. "Who's there"? A voice boomed from inside. "Hagrid, it's us"! Harry whispered. The door opened; Harry and Ron took off the invisibility cloak and stepped inside. "You came ter visit me! I thought you fergot about me", Hagrid exclaimed while patting them on the backs. "Want some tea"? "Yeah", Harry and Ron said. "Here yer go", Hagrid said bringing a tray with two steaming cups of tea, and a plate of rock cookies he made. Harry and Ron only drank the tea, and they didn't dare touch the rock cookies. "So what you been up ter lately"? Hagrid asked. "Nothing.but didn't you notice that Hermione's acting very strange these days? She's seems all stressed out", Ron pointed out. "Stressed out? I haven't err.noticed anything", Hagrid said. "Are you sure? She always seems so tired.is she getting enough sleep at all"? "I'm sure she is Ron, don't yer worry! She'll be back to her normal self in no time", Hagrid beamed. They talked for some more, and finally, they were left with nothing to talk about. "What time is it Harry"? Ron asked. "It's 10:14", Harry replied looking at his watch. "We better get going then". "Yeah, bye Hagrid", Ron and Harry said. "Hey wait, do you want some of these cookies? I baked loads", Hagrid offered. "Umm, no thanks", Harry said. "We ate a lot at dinner", Ron added. "Well okay, bye"! Hagrid waved as Harry and Ron left. Harry and Ron put the invisibility cloak and started making their way back to the castle. Hagrid went back into his "house" and cleaned up the teacups Ron and Harry used. Someone opened the door from the back and walked in. "He's doing better now Hagrid". "Alright Hermione, don't you think you should get back ter your common room? Harry and Ron seemed very worried about you", Hagrid explained. "How do you know"? Hermione asked sitting down at the table and poured herself a cup of tea. "They just left", Hagrid said. Hermione dropped her teacup, and the cup broke. "Oh gosh Hagrid I'm so sorry"! Hermione said. "I'll help you clean it up, and I'll even buy you a new cup". "No it's alright Hermione". Hermione, still looking worried, sat back in her chair. "So they came and they just left? You didn't tell them about the Crup did you"? Hermione asked. "O' course not"! "Okay good", Hermione said looking a bit more relieved. "But you should know that they were extremely worried about yer. Especially Ron", Hagrid went on. "Ron? Why Ron"? Hermione asked. "I don't know.", Hagrid said. "Oh.well the Crup is outside, safely asleep", Hermione explained. "I'm tired now, so I'm going to go back. See you tomorrow Hagrid"! "Bye Hermione! And oh wait", Hagrid said stopping her. "Yes Hagrid"? "Harry and Ron are yer friend 'aite"? "Of course"! "Then maybe yer should tell 'em about the Crup". "But-" "They'll forgive you fer not telling 'em about the Crup", Hagrid said winking at Hermione. Hermione hesitated but nodded and walked off towards the castle. "Clickatick", Hermione said. "MmmHmm, whatever you say dear", the Fat Lady said. She swung herself open and Hermione climbed in. She found Harry and Ron still awake sitting near the fire, in their usual chairs. "Hermione? I thought you in the library", Harry said. "I did.but it was boring", Hermione lied. Harry sensed that she was lying, so he raised an eyebrow at her. He knew that Hermione always gets very annoyed whenever he does that. "I was at Hagrid's", Hermione sighed. "But.we were just there, and we didn't see you there", Ron said. "I know, I told you guys I was going to the library, but I didn't, I went to Hagrid's instead. I was out in his backyard doing something for him", Hermione explained. "Hermione, what's wrong with your lately? All of a sudden you don't come down for meals. Your always late for class, and you always look so tired and stressed out. And.have you even taken a shower? You're always looking so.scruffy and dirty when we see you, but we hardly do now a-days", Ron said. "And we want you to know that you can always talk to us about anything. Family, homework, or OTHER things you want to talk to us about", Harry hinted. Hermione sighed and looked at Harry to Ron, then Ron to Harry. "Fine.but don't get mad that I've been lying to you", Hermione warned. "Okay", Harry and Ron agreed. "That day when we were at the Quidditch match, I looked over at the Forbidden Forest and thought I saw Crookshanks. Crookshanks has been missing, and I had no idea where he is. So I told you guys that I'd be right back and I snuck off towards the Forbidden Forest", Hermione explained. "Yeah, I thought I saw you go there", Harry said. "Yeah.well it turned out it wasn't Crookshanks. It was a Crup", Hermione sighed. "A what"? Ron asked. "A Crup"! Hermione said. "A Crup resembles a Jack Russell terrier, except for it's forked tail". "A Jack Russell what"? Ron asked again. "A type of dog Ron. Honestly, you seriously need to start catching up on your Care of Magical Creatures"! "Whatever", Ron said and rolled his eyes. "So I found a Crup injured in the Forbidden Forest, so I decided to bring the Crup to Hagrid so that he could fix him up. But it was harder then I thought. The Crup fought hard, it bit, scratched, kicked, did whatever it could to get away from me. I think it was an hour later when Hagrid found me at the Forbidden Forest. He was visiting the centaurs again I think. So he helped me catch the Crup. So these past few days, I've been going to the library and checking out library books, and tried learning more about Crups, as well as trying to take care of the one I found", Hermione continued explaining. "No wonder your never around", Harry said. "Yeah, but the Crup is getting better, so you'll see me more often now. I have to catch up on my homework and lessons", Hermione said. "Yeah, you got loads to do", Ron said. "But we'll help". "Thanks guys. Well it's getting pretty late and I'm really tired. I'm going to bed, night guys"! Hermione said walking towards her dormitory. "And Hermione"? Ron said. "Yeah"? Hermione turned around. "Think about that shower I said, because you seriously need one", Ron joked. Hermione surprisingly didn't yell or snap at Ron, but she only laughed, and continued to walk back to her dormitory. Ron and Harry went back to theirs, changed and got in bed. "So Ron.you like Hermione"? Harry asked. "Shh! Harry! What if the guys are awake", Ron hissed. "I doubt that", Harry laughed listening to their snores. "Well now you know who I like, who do you like"? Ron asked. "No one", Harry said instantly. "Okay, whatever you say", Ron yawned. "Night Harry". "Night Ron". With that, the two friends slowly fell asleep.