Author's Note: Ooh! Me think Half-Blood Prince is good! I finished reading it in the morning on Tuesday. It's not as good at the previous books, but the ending parts were so much better! Hehe. Now on with the story. Jeesh, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. I'll try to make them longer.
Chapter Six: Hagrid
Hermione backed away slowly, all the time watching those huge, sharp teeth the dog had. She backed straight into the wall and tried to shrink. As if it would make her problems disappear. She held her hands up over her eyes as the dog lunged forward. She was prepared for the attack, but nothing happened. "Yeh all righ' there, Hermione?" A recognizable voice asked her. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw an older Hagrid standing tall above her. His beard was exactly the same and he was as cheerful as ever.
"You okay?" Draco rushed over and helped Hermione up. "Malfoy." Hagrid grunted and turned away to pet the white dog. "What is that thing?" Draco sneered in disgust, which caused the half-giant to face him. "Fer yer information, this thing is Affi. She's Fluffy's mate, she is." He beamed proudly at Hermione and ignored the still sickened male standing nearby. "So why're you here, Hagrid?" She smiled along with her friend. "Oh. Dontcha know where yeh are? It's Hogwarts, Hermione! Though' yeh oughta know tha', seein' as yer came ter see me an' all." It was awkward knowing that Hagrid had thought she'd come to see him.
"Hagrid." She hesitated and glanced at Draco, who was standing at the entrance to the cave, watching them. "We—I didn't come to see you." She sighed at the crestfallen look Hagrid had on his face. "But I was planning to." She added, trying to cheer him up a bit. It seemed to work. "It's just that you, know. You-Know-Who taking over and all. It's been hectic and you know about muggles and muggle-borns being turned into slaves." The corner of Hermione's lips sagged down as she said this. "No!" Hagrid stood up. "No, tha' can't be true!" He shouted. "Poor Hermione! So I take tha' Malfoy bough' yeh?" He glared over at Draco. "Yes."
Draco saw them looking at him and strutted over. "Come on, Granger. We're leaving now." He tugged on her arm and took her halfway back out before Hagrid stopped them. "Not 'fore Hermione tells me wha's goin' on!" He slapped Draco's arm away from Hermione. "BLOODY VOLDEMORT'S AFTER US AND YOU WANT US TO WAIT? COME ON!" He snatched her hand again. Hagrid shuddered slightly from hearing the Dark Lord's name.
"Wait a mo', there! He's after yer lot? I though' yer two were close or somethin'." He gestured toward Draco. "No, no." Draco impatiently said and resumed pulling Hermione with him. "Take Affi an' Fluffy." Hagrid said and went into the blackness of the cave, bringing out the two three-headed dogs. The two former students exchanged looks, uncertain of having the company of the giant, bloodthirsty hounds. "Come on. Yeh 'ave no choice!" The half-giant brightly grabbed them by the waists and lifted them onto the dogs. "Now yeh be good an' listen ter those two!" He said his farewells to the creatures and waved as the dogs happily bounded into the forest. "Bye Hagrid! Thanks!" Hermione waved back.
Soon, they were deep in the Forbidden Forest. "Ron!" Hermione shouted all of a sudden. "We forgot about Ron!" She frantically looked at Draco. "He's alright." He answered quickly. "I helped him out." She found this strange, but grinned at him. "You're much nicer now." Commented Hermione. "I like that." Blushing, she averted her gaze from him and thought that she saw him wink at her before she turned.
The two rode in silence for quite some time before they finally reached the end of the forest. Almost everything looked the same as it had been left. There was a wide grassy field surrounding the Hogwarts castle, and the lake planted near Hagrid's hut. The only thing wrong was the castle. It looked like an ancient fortress falling apart and many signs surrounded it. They consisted of varieties of, "Keep out. Dangerous." All Hermione could do was gape and stare at the ruins. The dogs seemed to be in awe as well, for they stopped and goggled at the sight.
Draco, however, seemed unaffected and he jumped off the giant animal. "Do you think this an enchantment of some sort?" Hermione still couldn't believe her eyes. "Isn't this what muggles see if the stray here?" She snapped around and looked down at Draco, expecting an answer. "Well, I suppose since Dumbledore died…" He looked embarrassed, but continued. "Since he died, and Potter died, they probably closed down the school. So this is what they made it look like permanently afterward."
"Oh." She returned to staring at the wreck that was once a school to many witches and wizards. "Hermione!" Draco shook her shoulder and pointed to the sky. She looked up and saw the Dark Mark hovering clearly over what seemed to be the cave that they had come from. Hermione cried out, and they were both unaware of him saying her first name. "Hagrid!" She started to guide Affi back toward the forest, but Draco stopped her. "No. He can take care of himself. We have to leave now. "Hagrid would've wanted that." He mounted onto Fluffy and they sped across the grass, passing the castle.
The dogs looked as if they knew where they were going, for they turned left after passing the castle, and onto the road that the carriages took at the beginning of the year. Soon, they reached Hogsmeade and were greeted with lonely streets. Every single shop was closed, like the Three Broomsticks, Zonko's Joke Shop, Hog's Head, and the rest. It was completely deserted. Trotting onward, Draco kept his eyes ahead, while Hermione looked around them for some sign of life. All she saw was a fly buzzing about.
"Wow. What happened here?" Hermione questioned to no one in particular. However, she already knew the answer. Draco realized this too, and remained silent. In no time, Hogsmeade had disappeared and they were heading through a wide meadow that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles in every direction. It reminded her of the ocean, except made of only green grass. "Let's stop and rest." Hermione suggested, and brought Affi to a halt. Draco agreed, "Good idea. These big dogs need a break, anyway." He copied her movements and hopped off. Embracing the giant, three-headed dog around his neck, he mumbled something to it. Hermione noticed him take something out of his pocket and slip it into one of the large mouths of the animal.
He turned and saw her observing him. "What?" He looked slightly irritated after they stared at each other for several minutes. "Nothing." Hermione dismounted Affi and taking out her wand, she conjured up a table, two chairs, and a whole feast in the middle of the grass. "Let's eat. I'm starved and I'm sure you are, too." She instantly pulled up a chair and dug in, wolfing down the food. Despite the fact that she was practically shoveling food down her mouth, she didn't do it quite as messily or as animal-like than Ron Weasley. Draco chuckled softly and sat down himself. He took a goblet of pumpkin juice and sipped it.
"I didn't poison it, you know." Hermione had stopped eating and was looking at him. "I know. I always drink this way. Narcissa always forced me to have polite manners at the table. But most of the habits she had taught me went away when she died." His voice was almost quiet, now. Unlike his normal drawl or scoffing.
After they ate, Hermione cleaned off the table with a flick of her wand. "So." Her fingers entwined as she propped her elbows on the table. "Since we have nothing better to do, let's talk, Malfoy." He eyed her warily for a while before nodding. "I'll do this 'talking' you want us to do if you call me Draco. Malfoy reminds me too much of my arrogant father." He looked truly disgusted as he talked about Lucius. "Alright, then. Speaking of our first names, why did you call me Hermione when the Dark Mark appeared?"
Draco stared at her fiercely, although it wasn't exactly a glare. "I guess… I don't know." He shrugged. "Does it really matter?" She shook her head ever so slightly. "I suppose not. And I assume that since I am calling you Draco, you should call me Hermione. Not Mudblood, not Granger. Just Hermione. Got it?" She stretched out her right hand for a handshake. But instead of shaking it, Draco took her hand and brushed his lips against the top. "As you wish, Hermione." He shot her a friendly smirk as she reddened.
Author's Note: I have to stop here because I'm going to be late for swim workout if I linger any longer on the computer. Hoping that this chapter was okay, and review, review, REVIEW!