Chapter Fifteen
The next day Lily and Erica awoke to Alex, who was screaming about something that was crawling near her head.
Lily sat up sleepily. "What's going on here?" She said groggily. She rubbed her eyes to clear them and see Alex more clearly.
Alex was hitting her bed with her pillow repeatedly. While still screaming.
Erica sat up next to Lily, looking very surprised and shaken. "What are you doing Alex?"
Alex threw the pillow on the floor and walked over closer to them. "I woke up and there was a spider on my head. It was so scary." She sat down on Erica's bed.
Erica backed up a bit. Alex noticed.
"What is it?" She asked.
Erica watched her and everything around her. "I hate spiders." Alex laughed with Lily as Emma sat still, not daring to move.
A little while later Lily and Erica met with John in the common room to walk to breakfast. They told John about Alex and the spider on their way down to the Entrance Hall. John laughed with them until they entered the Great Hall.
Teachers were again rushing around the tables. Lily sat down next to a fellow Gryffindor at the table. Erica and John sat on the opposite side of the table.
The owls then began to star arriving, dropping letters and small packages. Lily looked up to find a snowy owl flying toward her. She greeted it as it landed next to her.
"Hey Hedwig." Hedwig gave a short hoot and took off again.
Lily opened the letter and read through it a couple of times then handed it to Erica. "Read this."
Erica took it and started to read it with John on her side reading through it too.
Dear Lily,
Something urgent is going on at Hogwarts. I will be on my way there soon. For now stay face and don't worry everything will be fine. Listen to your professors and understand that they are helping you. So for now please stay out of trouble.
Love Dad
Erica handed it back to Lily. "What is he talking about?"
Lily shrugged. "I have no clue." She turned around to look out the window that faced the forest. The sun was very bright and it was already warm out.
"Lets go see Hagrid at lunch." Lily suggested. Both John and Erica nodded.
At lunch time instead of heading for the great hall they walked out onto the grounds to Hagrid's hut.
Erica knocked on the door and they waited for an answer. The door opened and a smiling Hagrid stood before them.
"Nice ta see ya. Come on in." He said brightly to them.
Lily sat in one of his large chairs while Erica and John sat at the large table. Hagrid sat across from Lily.
"Hagrid, do you know why all the teachers up at the school are so worried?" Lily asked him when he sat down.
Hagrid's faced turned red and he suddenly stood up and walked over to the fireplace. "Anybody want some tea?" He asked.
Lily stood too. "Hagrid, my father sent me a letter today telling me to do what the teachers tell me to. Now what is going on?"
Hagrid sat back down and looked over at Erica and John then back to Lily. "I can't tell ya. I just can't." He hung his head a bit and looked down at the floor.
"Where's Puffy Hagrid?" Erica asked from the corner.
Hagrid looked up. Large tears were forming in his eyes. "He's gone. Someone took him." He sobbed.
Erica looked astonished. "But I thought that maybe Professor McGonagall took Puffy to protect something. That's what you said."
Hagrid shook his head. "No, I never said that. No, he was taken. And I don't even know how."
Lily stood and walked over and sat next to Hagrid. "It's okay. He'll come back. I know he will." She smiled but underneath she didn't feel it.