Reflections of a Gentle Giant
It was pleasantly calm that evening. A breeze was rolling off the water and across the grounds making it a very pleasant time for a walk as I had taken to doing.
Now walking around the grounds of Hogwarts has a strange effect on me. I'm prone to fits of needing to go roaming about; I don't like to be cooped up too much y'know. It's just not the sort of think that I like, being stuck indoors all the time. That's one o' the reasons why I like being gameskeeper; that n' the fact that I can have some fun in the Forbidden forest.
I decided maybe I should pay Grawpy a visit; I hadn't been out to see him for a while now, not since I first got back that is. I marched over to my cabin to pick up my crossbow. It's not safe in there anymore. The bloody centaurs are still insane. Always going my forest this n' my forest that. Drives me almost as crazy as they are. Dumbledore managed to set them straight a bit when he went in to fetch Umbridge, but they were still bloody arrogant if you ask me.
I picked up my crossbow, put on my coat and started headin' for the forest. It was a strange sort of night in there; real quiet it was. But I kept goin'. Tried not to think much of it; the forest is a queer sort of place.
Pretty soon I got to Grawpy's clearing, but he wasn't there. I suppose he'd been out looking for food. I hoped he hadn't been hurt or nothin', usually you could hear him, but it was very quiet.
I thought it might be best if I got going, it didn't seem to be the best sort of a night for a walk in the woods. I started to head back, takin' my time though, nice n' slow. I did like the forest so I thought I might as well enjoy it a bit longer, even if I was leavin' it; that n' if I went slow I wouldn't make so much noise. No sense in wakin' whatever might be asleep.
I did wish I'd gotten to see Grawpy though. He'd been getting' much better; not so violent and even pickin' up some English if you spoke real slowly. He was real important to me. All I had left for family. My mother'd been killed and m' dad'd died when I was just in second year. I thought I was alone til I found Grawpy. He's real important to me now. Gotta take care of family cuz when you boil down to it, that's all we've got left; our friends and family.
Now as I was getting' out of the forest, I saw someone down by the shore. Some student by the look of him. He was too small to be a teacher, unless it was Flitwick, but he usually didn't come out at this time of night.
I supposed that I'd best tell him off and send him up to bed, maybe take a few points off his house. I didn't give out detentions, it didn't feel right to me. You should tell them not to do it again sure, but sometimes they needed to do it, ya know? I knew the feeling so I wouldn't hold it against them.
I was drawing closer to him from behind, he couldn't really see me, or hear me neither; I was still walkin' slow like I did comin' out of the forest. It was only then I realized that it was Harry.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Harry was havin' a tough time I knew, he'd lost Sirius after all. I'd been real broken up when I heard about him. Sirius and me were great friends; Sirius and me and James. I'd been real broken up about James too. It was so bloody sad. I'd known the boys since they were just eleven, fresh off the train. But they were gone, along with Lily. Sad times they were, all you had was family.
But Harry; Harry didn't even have that. He had no one. He'd lost James and Lily when he was just a baby. Sirius was all he'd had for a family. But now Sirius was gone too.
I miss'd them all. James and Lily and Sirius. You just don't forget about them, not even for a minute really. They'd brought so much to all our lives; heck I'd spent what seems like half o' mine just chasing Sirius and James away from the forest. I'd seen them all a hundred times in different people since they'd gone. I saw Sirius and James in Fred and George Wealey, a bit of Lily in Hermione and every bit of James in Harry. Harry was the image of James, all except the eyes; he had his mother's eyes.
Harry was back to being alone again. Thirteen years of being alone. Thirteen years with Dursley. Thirteen years and he'd finally found someone to be his father. I'd tried of course; I've always tried to help him out where I could. I was still going to try, but Sirius was what Harry really needed. Sirius was James' best friend. Sirius was who should be here looking after Harry.
Sirius had been the one who watched out for Harry in the tournament. Sirius had been the one who'd broken out of Azkaban for Harry. Sirius who'd lived in that ruddy small cave and eaten rats for Harry. That was the kind of man Harry deserved to have as a father.
But still he was gone. Nothin's ever right in the world I suppose, but we can still try can't we? There's gotta be a way for the right things to happen, for the good people t' live good lives. I wonder if anybody'll ever see a day like that.
Through all my wondering I'd sort of stopped focusing on what went on around me, but a bit of movement up ahead brought me back. Harry got up and started t' walk back up t' the castle. He hadn't even noticed me; maybe it was for the best. The talk we'd had earlier didn't go so well.
I watched him keep going back t'wards the castle doors, not even a glance back. I suppose he really didn't notice me, not that I could blame him; he did have quite a bit on his mind. I decided I'd best be going back to my cabin; it was getting quite late.
As I stepped up to the door of my cabin I could hear a dull roar in the background. I smiled; so Grawpy was fine after all. Family's important.
It was pleasantly calm that evening. A breeze was rolling off the water and across the grounds making it a very pleasant time for a walk as I had taken to doing.
Now walking around the grounds of Hogwarts has a strange effect on me. I'm prone to fits of needing to go roaming about; I don't like to be cooped up too much y'know. It's just not the sort of think that I like, being stuck indoors all the time. That's one o' the reasons why I like being gameskeeper; that n' the fact that I can have some fun in the Forbidden forest.
I decided maybe I should pay Grawpy a visit; I hadn't been out to see him for a while now, not since I first got back that is. I marched over to my cabin to pick up my crossbow. It's not safe in there anymore. The bloody centaurs are still insane. Always going my forest this n' my forest that. Drives me almost as crazy as they are. Dumbledore managed to set them straight a bit when he went in to fetch Umbridge, but they were still bloody arrogant if you ask me.
I picked up my crossbow, put on my coat and started headin' for the forest. It was a strange sort of night in there; real quiet it was. But I kept goin'. Tried not to think much of it; the forest is a queer sort of place.
Pretty soon I got to Grawpy's clearing, but he wasn't there. I suppose he'd been out looking for food. I hoped he hadn't been hurt or nothin', usually you could hear him, but it was very quiet.
I thought it might be best if I got going, it didn't seem to be the best sort of a night for a walk in the woods. I started to head back, takin' my time though, nice n' slow. I did like the forest so I thought I might as well enjoy it a bit longer, even if I was leavin' it; that n' if I went slow I wouldn't make so much noise. No sense in wakin' whatever might be asleep.
I did wish I'd gotten to see Grawpy though. He'd been getting' much better; not so violent and even pickin' up some English if you spoke real slowly. He was real important to me. All I had left for family. My mother'd been killed and m' dad'd died when I was just in second year. I thought I was alone til I found Grawpy. He's real important to me now. Gotta take care of family cuz when you boil down to it, that's all we've got left; our friends and family.
Now as I was getting' out of the forest, I saw someone down by the shore. Some student by the look of him. He was too small to be a teacher, unless it was Flitwick, but he usually didn't come out at this time of night.
I supposed that I'd best tell him off and send him up to bed, maybe take a few points off his house. I didn't give out detentions, it didn't feel right to me. You should tell them not to do it again sure, but sometimes they needed to do it, ya know? I knew the feeling so I wouldn't hold it against them.
I was drawing closer to him from behind, he couldn't really see me, or hear me neither; I was still walkin' slow like I did comin' out of the forest. It was only then I realized that it was Harry.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Harry was havin' a tough time I knew, he'd lost Sirius after all. I'd been real broken up when I heard about him. Sirius and me were great friends; Sirius and me and James. I'd been real broken up about James too. It was so bloody sad. I'd known the boys since they were just eleven, fresh off the train. But they were gone, along with Lily. Sad times they were, all you had was family.
But Harry; Harry didn't even have that. He had no one. He'd lost James and Lily when he was just a baby. Sirius was all he'd had for a family. But now Sirius was gone too.
I miss'd them all. James and Lily and Sirius. You just don't forget about them, not even for a minute really. They'd brought so much to all our lives; heck I'd spent what seems like half o' mine just chasing Sirius and James away from the forest. I'd seen them all a hundred times in different people since they'd gone. I saw Sirius and James in Fred and George Wealey, a bit of Lily in Hermione and every bit of James in Harry. Harry was the image of James, all except the eyes; he had his mother's eyes.
Harry was back to being alone again. Thirteen years of being alone. Thirteen years with Dursley. Thirteen years and he'd finally found someone to be his father. I'd tried of course; I've always tried to help him out where I could. I was still going to try, but Sirius was what Harry really needed. Sirius was James' best friend. Sirius was who should be here looking after Harry.
Sirius had been the one who watched out for Harry in the tournament. Sirius had been the one who'd broken out of Azkaban for Harry. Sirius who'd lived in that ruddy small cave and eaten rats for Harry. That was the kind of man Harry deserved to have as a father.
But still he was gone. Nothin's ever right in the world I suppose, but we can still try can't we? There's gotta be a way for the right things to happen, for the good people t' live good lives. I wonder if anybody'll ever see a day like that.
Through all my wondering I'd sort of stopped focusing on what went on around me, but a bit of movement up ahead brought me back. Harry got up and started t' walk back up t' the castle. He hadn't even noticed me; maybe it was for the best. The talk we'd had earlier didn't go so well.
I watched him keep going back t'wards the castle doors, not even a glance back. I suppose he really didn't notice me, not that I could blame him; he did have quite a bit on his mind. I decided I'd best be going back to my cabin; it was getting quite late.
As I stepped up to the door of my cabin I could hear a dull roar in the background. I smiled; so Grawpy was fine after all. Family's important.