Chapter 21: Fear
A twig snapped in half, causing Hagrid to jump up at the unexpected noise. Shaking his head, the giant proceeded into the forest. For a moment he thought he heard a nearby bush shake. Clutching his bow a little closer, Hagrid walked a little faster. Though he normally wasn't afraid of the Forest, he couldn't help remember what the centaurs had done to his little brother the year before. Grawp had nearly been killed and had had to be sent to a special hospital in France for his injuries. Hagrid hadn't been to see him in almost six months, but Olympe Maxime had assured him that his little brother was getting better.
Before long, Hagrid came across a familiar path of spider scurrying along the forest floor. Taking a few more large strides, Hagrid pushed back a couple of branches and found himself in the midst of a large gathering of acromantulas in various sizes. Upon seeing a man, a few of the large spiders began to advance. One of the older spiders stopped them.
"Do you not know who this man is?" asked the elder acromantula. The younger ones shook their heads no.
"This is Hagrid," he continued. "He is the reason that we all have a home in the forest. You are not to harm him; understand?"
"Yes," answered the youth, turning and walking off into the forest. The oldest one remained and looked at Hagrid.
"Long time," he said. "What can we do for you?"
"I have ta speak ta Aragog," Hagrid told him.
"What about?" asked the spider.
"Tha's between me an' 'im," said Hagrid. "It won' take but a minute."
"I'll tell him that you're here," responded the spider as he left. After a moment Aragog appeared. As he walked over to Hagrid, the others scuttled out of the way, leaving the two alone.
"Hagrid, what brings you here?" asked the ancient spider.
"Bad business, I'm afraid," said Hagrid. "I s'pose ya've heard about You-Know-Who by now?"
"Indeed we have," replied Aragog, a hint of vehemence in his voice. "What about him?"
"I've come here fer Albus Dumbledore," said Hagrid, attempting to sound as business-like as possible.
"What does he want?" asked Aragog, the anger not yet subsiding.
"He wan's ya to join our side in tha war."
"No."
The ancient spider turned and started to walk away. Hagrid stood for a second, watching him. Then he hurried forward.
"Aragog, please. Ya gotta help us—"
"I don't have to do anything for your people!" snapped Aragog. "Your people are the ones who try to get rid of us. Your people are the ones who want to destroy us. We will have no part in helping you conquer the planet."
"We're not tryin' to!" protested Hagrid. "You-Know-Who's the one who wants ya dead. He's tha one 'at had that basilisk roamin' aroun'---"
"Don't mention it's name," commanded Aragog. "I know perfectly well who he is and what he has done. We won't be helping him either if he ever dares to show up here. We do not negotiate with humans of any kind. We have not harmed you and we never shall. We owe you that much. We owe them nothing and will give them nothing."
"But—" Hagrid wasn't willing to give up easily and let Dumbledore down. Aragog, however, had other ideas.
"You're not going to persuade me," he said firmly. "Now I recommend you get out of this forest quickly. There are those who do not want you around, those who are much more willing to harm you than we are. Goodbye, my friend."
Hagrid watched Aragog leave. That meeting had been much shorter and much less successful than he had thought. Sighing, he turned around and started to walk back around out of the forest. He hadn't gotten more than a hundred feet before an arrow came whizzing out of nowhere and flew into a tree an inch above his head.
Instinctively, Hagrid ducked down and aimed his bow in the direction that the shot had come from. He was not fast enough, however, and a pair of hooves immediately shot out and kicked him in the face, effectively knocking him the ground. Still holding onto his bow with one hand, Hagrid aimed it at the nearest of ten centaurs who had started to gather around him. The centaur was too close, however, and knocked the weapon from his hand before the giant could shoot. With one quick stomp, the bow snapped and lay in little, broken pieces all over the forest floor. Hagrid gulped and looked up into the nearest centaur's eyes.
"Well, well, well...look who we've got here," he sneered, backing away from the giant a little. "I thought we made it clear last time that you weren't to come here anymore."
"I was jus'—" Hagrid began but the centaur cut him off.
"One would think that after seeing one's brother nearly killed he would venture a little farther away," continued the centaur.
"I wasn't lookin' fer trouble," said Hagrid.
"Then what was the bow for?" asked another centaur, kicking the broken bits of wood as he spoke.
"Protection," said Hagrid. "Look, I was just havin' a wor' with a friend er mine, okay? I'll just get outta yer way now..."
Just as Hagrid turned to leave, an arrow came whizzing out of the sky and landed right in front of him.
"I don't think you'll be going anywhere," said the centaur who shot the arrow. "You see, if we let you go, we'll have to let everyone else who wanders around in our forest go as well. And if we let everyone go, how will they ever learn to take us seriously?"
"Look—" began Hagrid but the centaur cut him off again.
"Had this been your first visit into our forest, we might have let you go," he said in a mockingly kind voice. Hagrid noticed that the other centaurs seemed to be forming a circle around him as he listened. "But seeing as how we've caught you here repeated times, and you helped the traitor, Firenze, escape..." The centaur raised his bow and pointed in directly at Hagrid. "I rather think you've run out of chances."
Chapter 22: Doubt
Harry, Ron, and Hermione lay in the shade. This was Harry's favorite spot on the yard. The giant tree protected them from the sun. With the lake only about ten feet away, it was the perfect place to feel the wind as it whipped through the trees of the Forbidden Forest. And speaking of the Forbidden Forest...what was that giant shape moving around in the trees? It was really tall and seemed to be limping. Seeing what looked like blood covering the figure, Harry began to feel slightly nauseous. Noticing their friend turn pale, Ron and Hermione quickly looked over in the direction that Harry was looking. They, too, saw the giant figure: a figure that looked awfully like—
"HAGRID!"
The three teens jumped up and, abandoning their homework, ran over to their friend. Hermione gasped and started to cry.
Hagrid was covered in scratches from head to toe. Blood dripped down his face and arms. His clothes were in tatters. There was a large bruise on the top of his head and the giant looked ready to collapse.
"H-Hagrid, what happened to you?" asked Harry shakily.
"Wenter see Aragog," slurred the giant. "Attacked by centaurs..."
Hermione gasped again and began to cry harder. Ron was still gazing in horrified shock at the giant. Harry seemed to be the only one who hadn't lost the ability to talk.
"We have to get you to the hospital wing—"
"Forget th'ospital 'ing," wheezed Hagrid. "I'm fine."
Harry had just opened his mouth to protest when Hagrid collapsed on the ground with such force that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to struggle to keep standing. Harry looked down in shock for a moment before coming to his senses.
"I have to go get Madame Pomfrey..."
"Shouldn't you get Dumbledore first?" asked Hermione in a small voice.
"You're right," agreed Harry. "I'll go get him; you keep people away from Hagrid."
Sure enough, a small crowd had started to gather around the fallen giant. Harry pushed his way around them, literally cursing anyone who got in his way. He practically flew up the steps into the castle and sprinted all the way to Dumbledore's office. Out of breath, Harry panted out the password and jogged up the stairs. Without even bothering to knock, Harry flew open the door and ran inside.
"Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid—"
"Potter, do you even bother to knock?"
Harry groaned. Of course Snape would be in here now. Through the window, Harry caught a glimpse of the field where Hagrid lay. More people seemed to be gathering.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Hagrid just got back from the Forest and he's covered in blood—"
"I'm sure he'll be fine," snarled Snape. "He's dealt with these things before. Now, if you'll excuse us—"
"He's not fine!" snapped Harry, interrupting Snape's falsely polite behavior and turning to Dumbledore. "Professor, Hagrid collapsed as soon as he walked out of the Forest. Look out your window! There are about twenty kids out there, all dying to see what happened to Hagrid!"
Dumbledore and Snape simultaneously turned to stare out the window. The headmaster rose and began to walk out of his office.
"Severus, I'm afraid we'll have to postpone this meeting."
"Of course," said Snape curtly. "Good day, Albus."
Without another word to Harry, Snape strode out of the office. Dumbledore nodded to the other man before following him out the door. Harry hurried after him.
"Should I get Madame Pomfrey?" he asked.
"That won't be necessary," said Dumbledore. "If I know Poppy like I think I do, she's most likely already out there."
He was, of course, correct. Fighting their way through the ever growing crowd, Harry and Dumbledore spotted Madame Pomfrey leaning over Hagrid, administering potions and healing salves to his wounds. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna had their wands drawn and were attempting to keep the crowd away from Hagrid. Dumbledore walked over to the nurse to see what could be done for Hagrid; Harry walked over to his friends.
"They won't go away!" whined Ron. "You would think that someone else's pain wouldn't be this ENTERTAINING!"
His words didn't seem to yield the desired effect. Instead of feeling ashamed and turning away, the crowd simply ignored the attack on their integrity and kept on craning to get a better look. Ron sneered in disgust and sent a rather nasty jinx at the nearest boy. The boy ducked, causing the spell to hit the girl behind him instead. The girl's friend shrieked and bent to help her friend. Both girls eventually rose and glared at Ron. Undeterred, Ron raised his wand again. Both girls sauntered away. Looking pleased with himself, Ron looked around for somebody else.
xxx
"How is he?" Harry asked tentatively. Miraculously, with a large amount of help and an even larger amount of detentions, they had managed to get Hagrid off the floor and into the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey, Snape, and Dumbledore had been in with him for nearly two hours and still Harry didn't know what was happening. Finally, the professors emerged. Unsurprising, Snape left without saying a word. Madame Pomfrey hurried away to her office. Dumbledore, however, remained to face Harry and his friends.
"We've done the best that we can for him," said Dumbledore.
"What about Fawkes?" asked Harry, thinking of the bird that he couldn't remember seeing in Dumbledore's office.
"I'm afraid that I sent him to help Kingsley on one of his assignments. Neither one of them will be returning for at least another month. There's not much more that we can do for Hagrid now. He was very gravely injured today. Madame Maxime, you remember her, yes?" He waited for their nods before continuing. "She knows of a good hospital in France. They handle all sorts of...people. She will accompany Hagrid there."
"Will he be all right?" asked Hermione tearfully.
"They'll do everything that they can for him," answered Dumbledore kindly. "The best we can do now is wait and see what happens. I think you lot had best get off to bed. We'll let you know if anything happens."
Sure you will, thought Harry cynically, though he nodded just the same.
xxx
"It's not your fault that Hagrid got hurt" were the first words out of Lupin's mouth as soon as he picked up the mirror. Startled, Harry shut his mouth and looked at his professor and friend.
"If it's not my fault then why did you feel the need to make sure that I knew that?" he asked.
"Because I know you, Harry," said Lupin kindly, "and you have a knack for blaming yourself for things that you had no control over. Like this. You are not to blame for the fact that twenty centaurs chose to gang up on Hagrid."
"But I am to blame for the fact that he was out there in the first place," argued Harry. "And how do you know that it was twenty?"
"Dumbledore managed to ask him a few questions this afternoon," Lupin told him. "And don't try to change the subject. It is not your fault that Hagrid was out there and got hurt."
"But it was my idea to ask Aragog," countered Harry.
"And a good idea it was," said Lupin.
"Now who's changing the subject?" frowned Harry. "If I had never suggested going to Aragog—"
"Then we would have missed out on a potentially important ally.," interrupted Lupin.
"But didn't Aragog say 'no' anyway?"
"Yes. But we never would have thought about that possibility had you not brought it up. Hagrid knew the dangers of going into that Forest long before he went in there. Dumbledore wouldn't have let him go alone if he didn't feel Hagrid was up to it. You have nothing to feel bad about. I'm sure Hagrid's going to be just fine."
"I hope so," said Harry. It suddenly dawned on him that Dumbledore had never really answered Hermione's question. As he continued to talk to Lupin, Harry felt that bad feeling in his stomach continue to grow. For some reason, he had the feeling that something very bad was about to happen.
Chapter 23: Unwanted News
A week had passed since Hagrid disappeared. They were told that Hagrid had been badly injured while gathering plants in the Forest for Professor Snape. Only Harry and his friends knew the truth. They harassed Professor McGonagall everyday for any information she might have on Hagrid, but everyday she told them that she knew nothing. Angered by her lack of information, Harry eventually stopped asking her.
What really angered Harry, however, was the fact that no one seemed to care that Hagrid was gone. And this wasn't like the last time that Hagrid had disappeared because everyone had found out that he was a half-giant. This time everyone had seen how badly he had been hurt. And still none of them seemed to care. Professor Grubblyplank returned and things returned to relative normality.
But still, Harry couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that something was wrong. When he tried talking to Ron and Hermione, they told him that he was being paranoid. Neville told him that he was just worried over the dementors.
"Of course you're worried," sympathized Ginny. "Anyone would be. Lupin's gone and now Hagrid is, too. I'm worried. But there's really nothing any of us can do about it. Lupin will be back in a few weeks. And I'm sure they'd tell us if anything really bad happened to Hagrid."
"Yeah, sure," Harry agreed, no feeling behind his words.
"There's nothing to worry about," said Ginny, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as well. If something happens, something happens. All we can do is wait and hope for the best."
Harry nodded. "Thanks, Ginny."
"No problem," she smiled. "Talk to you later."
"Yeah." He watched Ginny walk away. Sighing, he got up and decided to go for a walk. He needed to clear his mind before his meeting with Snape that night. He never saw the pair of gray eyes that had been watching his entire conversation with Ginny. Never saw the pale lips that curved into a smile as Ginny told Harry that there was nothing to worry about.
xxx
Hearing the portrait hole swing open, Blaise Zabini glanced up in time to see Draco Malfoy stride into the room. Zabini frowned at the smirk on Malfoy's face. Putting his quill in his book, he watch Malfoy make his way over to where Crabbe and Goyle were trying to turn each other into snakes. Ignoring both of them, Malfoy sat down on the nearest chair and leaned back, using the table in front of him as a footstool.
Closing his book, Zabini carefully made his way over to Malfoy. Sneering a little at Crabbe and Goyle, he turned his attention to the blonde.
"I couldn't help but notice the look of immense satisfaction on your face," he began smoothly as he dropped into the chair next to Malfoy's. "Tell me, what has you so pleased?"
"Don't you know?" asked Malfoy, feigning surprise. "What a shame. I know something and you don't. Oddly enough, this isn't the first time we've found ourselves in this situation, is it?"
Zabini flushed a little, remembering the last time he had caught Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle lurking near Hufflepuff. He got an odd feeling in his stomach. Malfoy's next statement intensified that feeling.
"It doesn't surprise me that you don't know what's going on. Father told me all about it," Malfoy bragged. Normally Zabini found Malfoy's ego extremely irritating. However, if it helped him learn what was going on...
"All about what?" he pushed.
"All about how Lupin's the next target," boasted Malfoy. "Father told me all about it. And I just heard Weasley tell Potter that he had nothing to worry about." Malfoy snickered.
"He's really going after Lupin?" asked Zabini, a hopeful look on his face.
"Not just Lupin," scoffed Malfoy. "All the werewolves. He's trying to gain the largest army, even larger than last time. Imagine having all the werewolves on our side, not to mention the giants and the Dementors. Potter and the rest of those Mudblood-lovers won't stand a chance."
"When is he planning on doing this?" Zabini sincerely hoped that he sounded eager and not fearful. Since Malfoy answered him, he assumed the former.
"Tonight, of course," sneered Malfoy. "The full moon's not for another two weeks, so there's no chance that anyone will be bitten...yet." Malfoy laughed again. "I wish I could be there. I'd love to be the one to get Lupin."
"Does He think that Lupin will join us?" asked Zabini.
"Of course not," said Malfoy as though Zabini was the stupidest person in the world. "Lupin would never join us. He's too close to Potter. What a shame, really," said Malfoy in a falsely disappointed voice. "He could have been an excellent way to get to Potter."
Zabini nodded his head in agreement. As Malfoy turned to watch Crabbe and Goyle's miserable attempts at magic, Zabini ran through the conversation in his head. The Dark Lord was going after the werewolves now? What was he supposed to do with this information? Was it too late to do anything about it? One thing was for certain: he needed to talk to Snape.
xxx
"Potter," sighed Snape, pinching the bridge of his nose, "you do realize that we've been at this for three days now and you have yet to get this right?"
"Well, Professor," spat Harry, "if this was easy, I wouldn't need your help, would I? Not that I get much of it anyway," he added under his breath.
"What was that?" snapped Snape.
"Nothing," answered Harry, though they both knew that Snape had heard exactly what was said.
"That better have been a 'thank you, Professor Snape, for wasting weeks of your time by attempting to teach my dim-witted self—"
"Professor Snape! Professor Snape!"
Snape's words were cut short by the sound of the door bursting open, quickly accompanied by a screaming voice. Harry and Snape both whirled around to see what had caused the disturbance. Their gazes fell on Blaise Zabini, who slammed the door shut and turned to face his professor. He didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that Harry was in the room.
"Professor Snape, the Dark Lord's going to get the werewolves to join him!"
"What?" snapped Harry and Snape at the same time. Harry was concerned about Lupin; Snape was concerned about Potter hearing this information.
"Mr. Zabini," began Snape coldly, "did it ever occur to you to look around before opening your mouth?"
"N-not really, sir," said Zabini truthfully, his gaze turning to Harry for the first time. "I really had to talk to you."
"Potter, get out," snapped Snape. "We shall finish this some other time."
"But if something's happening to Lupin—"
"Nothing is happening to Lupin!" spat Snape, knowing full-well that the chances that he was lying right now were incredibly high. "I believe I told you to leave."
Harry looked incredulously at Snape, then turned his glance to Zabini. The Slytherin looked like he was trying to keep his expression unreadable but was failing miserably. One look told Harry that Lupin was indeed in trouble. Without a word to either Slytherin, Harry took off out of the room and ran back up to Gryffindor tower.
"Must I remind you to be careful?" Snape hissed as soon as Harry was out of the room. "He wasn't meant to know that you were in any way connected to the Dark Lord!"
Zabini gulped audibly.
"Lucky for you, the boy is probably so concerned about his damn wolf he won't stop to think about you. But what if I had had Malfoy in here?"
"I know you didn't, sir," said Zabini. "Malfoy just told me about it. He's still up in the common room with Crabbe and Goyle."
"Be that as it may," continued Snape, undeterred by Zabini's comment, "I might have had anyone in here. This must not happen again. Next time, if you have something to say to me I expect that you wait outside and knock like you're supposed to. Understand?"
"Yes, sir," said Zabini restlessly.
"Now, what were you saying about werewolves?"
xxx
"The Dark Lord is planning on attacking Bracmoor," said Snape without any preamble. Dumbledore and McGonagall immediately rose to their feet.
"When?"
"They're probably already on their way."
"How do you know this?" asked McGonagall.
"Zabini just informed me," said Snape. "Potter was in the room as well. He heard that the Dark Lord was going to get the werewolves to join."
"I thought we agreed that Harry wasn't to know about Zabini."
"So did I," sighed Snape angrily. "The foolish boy didn't look before he spoke. He didn't see Potter in the room until he had already blabbed about the werewolves."
"Severus, alert the rest of the Order. Minerva, make sure Harry understands that he is not to leave Gryffindor Tower."
"Yes, because we all know how well Potter follows directions," said Snape dryly as he swept out of the room. No one bothered to contradict him.
xxx
"You're back early. I thought you had a meeting with—"
Harry didn't even realize that Ron was talking to him. He ran up the stairs and into his room. After a few moments of digging through his trunk , Harry pulled out the mirror that Lupin had fixed. Holding it up to his face, he said, "Remus Lupin."
Nothing happened. He tried again, a little louder this time.
"Remus Lupin."
He didn't even hear the door open. Nor did he see Ron, Hermione, and Neville enter the room.
"Professor Lupin!"
Harry was really starting to panic now.
"Harry..." started Hermione slowly. Harry either ignored her or didn't hear her; she wasn't sure which.
"Lupin!"
"Harry," Hermione tried a little more forcefully.
"Damn it, Remus, pick up the fucking mirror!"
"Language, Mr. Potter."
The occupants of the room swung around to see McGonagall standing in the doorway.
"Professor, Voldemort's going to try to get the werewolves to join him!"
"What?"
His friends looked alarmed; his professor looked sympathetic.
"Yes, Potter, I know. Professor Snape is alerting the Order as we speak. We are doing all we can to keep everyone safe. You are not to leave this tower. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Professor," said Harry distractedly, still looking down at the mirror in his hand. Don't panic, he told himself. Lupin told you that he might not be able to answer it right away...
So caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't hear anything else that McGonagall had to say. Since she left soon after that, he assumed that she hadn't been talking to him.
"Harry…" Hermione tried again. This time he looked up.
"What?"
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"What kind of question is that? I'm fine; Lupin's the one that's in trouble and I can reach him!"
"What is that?" asked Ron curiously, looking at the mirror that Harry had forgotten to tell them about.
"Oh, this is…something that Lupin gave me to use. If I need to speak to him I'm supposed to be able to say his name—LUPIN!—and he should answer."
"But he hasn't answered yet?" asked Neville.
"Clearly," said Harry, annoyed.
"You've been spending too much time with Snape," commented Ron. Harry ignored him. For the next hour they sat there on the floor. Harry continued to try to call Lupin. Lupin never called back.