4. SPROUT

Albus learned something about Adrianna (Addie to her friends)

Sprout that he had not known previously; she could run quite fast.

Normally,Professor Sprout was friendly,kind,a gentle woman whose

knowledge of plants fell second to none. Her students liked her,

and even Snape respected her. She gave Hufflepuff a certain

dignity. Sometimes,she filled the greenhouses with Bach and Handel,

but had also been known to make the windows vibrate with Acid Bath

and Terrorizer.

However,beneath the kindness,there was a woman on fire. When she

was challenged,she challenged right back. When Cedric Diggory had

been murdered,she made sure grief counseling was available; she

ended up doing a lot of counseling herself. She was wonderful with

the children, but was unable to have her own. She had been married

once; she told Dumbledore things about her ex-husband that made his

hair stand on end and also made him angry. He suspected she had

told Hagrid these things,too. Sprout and Hagrid had been together

for a while now. Dumbledore could not imagine a more perfect match.

So,when she sprang out of her seat and ran out of the Great Hall,

there was some applause,as well as cries of "Get him,Professor

Sprout..." and the rest of the staff took off after her.

As she ran to aid the Whomping Willow,she shouted "Stand down,you

MANIAC-" at the man fighting with it. This was,apparently,Willy,

the exchange from Springfield. Dumbledore could just make him out;

he wore overalls over a gray shirt. It had been torn open,revealing

solid muscle. He had very red and scraggly facial hair,except for

the top of his head. His bleeding fists were very busy,and he was

screaming "Auuuuugh! TAKE THAT,YA PANSY-" The rest of the sentence

was unintelligible. The Whomping Willow delivered the equivalent of

a punch to Willy's jaw. "Agh," Willy yelled. He staggered a bit,but

then jumped right back into the maelstrom of limbs.

Dumbledore grabbed one of his legs; he dragged him away from the

tree,dodging and blocking the kicks Willy aimed at him. "A little

help,please?" he asked. Severus caught Willy's leg on its next

convulsion and they dragged him away. For a moment,he resisted,

digging into the grass with his fingers,screaming and cursing

incoherently-until he saw the way Sprout was looking at him.

She watched them drag him into the castle.

Sprout considered the tree.

"Time to break out the bandages," she said.

"Do you need help,Professor?"

Hermione Granger,the dear girl,stood nearby.

Professor Sprout sighed. "I can handle this,Miss Granger."

"All right."

She turned to leave. Then she stopped.

"Do you miss Hagrid yet,Professor?"

Sprout closed her eyes and offered a wordless nod.

"So do I," Hermione said.

Sprout watched her go back into the castle.

A wind kicked up,blowing through her hair. Sprout watched the

willow's limbs twitch in the breeze,stark against the gray,swollen

sky. She knew it was watching her just as warily.