Chapter Thirteen:
Hagrid

The attacks continued, though none of them were fatal. Twelve muggle-borns slept peacefully in the Hospital Wing by the end of the next month. Every day, I searched for Tom, but always without luck, though I heeded his warning about not venturing into the Chamber. I had to avoid that lavatory altogether, eventually, so great was the temptation to use the Key. I would not see him until May.

I had taken to walking in the Forbidden Forest during those lonely months. I knew that I risked expulsion by doing so, but it was the only thing that seemed to keep me occupied. Homework and classes were not nearly enough. And although the Forest offered me tranquility, it would never be able to help me purge my mind of Tom. The whimsical, musical calling of the birds calmed me, and the steady crunching of my tread through dead leaves was hypnotic, but they could only do so much for me. They could never shatter his image, or make his voice vanish, or even push the memory of his touch farther than the back corner of my brain. I longed to see him again, my heart aching more and more as the days passed. But on one of those days, I met someone who could relieve the pain while I was in his presence. A friendly giant by the name of Rubeus Hagrid.

That day, I had traveled farther into the Forest than I had ever been before. I could not tell if it was night or day in the outside world, all I knew was that the thick canopy of trees shrouded whatever light–from sun or moon or stars–was shining above. I would not admit to myself that I was lost. Instead, I continued my walk, assuring myself that soon I would rediscover the path. The hem of my robe was torn. I left a loose black thread whenever the fabric snagged on a twig or root. I was not frightened. Hardly anything frightened my anymore. I was only worried. Worried that I would never be free from the looming, dense growth. I could survive the night if I had to, but then what would have been the point of returning to the castle? As soon as I would step foot through the entrance, I would have been sent packing. That would not do, I had nowhere to go. No, I had to get out.

But how?

It was far too difficult to retrace my steps. No doubt I had been wandering aimlessly for hours. Escape seemed as likely as Professor Dumbledore shaving his beard.

Suddenly, I heard voices coming from the undergrowth in front of me. They stopped as I grew near, save for a short set of tiny, muffled squeaks. "Hello?" I called after a moment's hesitation.

"Parmellie?" came a surprised, gruff-voiced reply. I staggered back.

"Who are you?"

A boy, taller than any I had seen at his age, with wild brown hair and small black eyes emerged from a tangled bush. He was twice as wide as I, but he had to be in order to be proportioned with his great height. I knew him instantly. "Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid." He offered me his hand. I shook it.

"Danielle Parmellie." I could hardly contain my joy. The sight of another student, one who undoubtedly knew the Forest better than anyone, was a stroke of luck I had never expected.

"What're yeh doin' 'ere, Parmellie?" His saucer-sized hands were now behind his back as if he were shielding something from me.

"I, er... I have lost my way," I reluctantly explained. I shifted my weight nervously to my right leg.

Hagrid raised a bushy eyebrow. "Yer not s'pose' ter be 'ere."

"I know..." I stuck out my bottom lip stubbornly. "But neither are you."

He shrugged, showing his indifference.

"I was only out for a walk..."

"In th' Fores'?"

"It clears my mind."

"Fair 'nough."

"What have you got behind your back?" I asked, curiousity over coming me.

He made an unconscious movement to hide it further. "Nothin'." As if in response, there came an indignant shuffling from behind his stocky legs. A great, furry head poked its way into view. Pincers clacked open and shut above where its mouth must have been located. I shrunk back and nearly screamed.

"Wh-what is that?" I stuttered.

"He ain't gonna 'urt nobody!" the boy protested.

"I n-never said that... I only asked what it was..." I was feeling unnaturally brave when I talked to him. I did not know why. Ever since my last encounter with Tom, I felt braver. I could not explain it, even then.

"He," he corrected. "Aragog."

"Is it a spider?"

"No' really..."

Hagrid led me, as I had hoped, to the entrance of the Forbidden Forest. Night had fallen; the moon was high over head. "I'll leave yeh here," he told me at the border.

"Are you not coming back to Hogwarts?" I asked incredulously.

He grinned. "No' yet."

I beamed back at him and patted Aragog's fuzzy head. "And what are you and Hagrid up to now, hm?" I cooed at the arachnid.

"I've got ter take 'em back ter th' forest'," Hagrid said. His expression was dark. "He's in a righ' bit o' trouble with Riddle..."

I flinched, then frowned. "What does Tom have to do with this?"

"'E's blamin' the attacks on 'im! Not ter everyone, mind yeh... bu' I've talked ter 'im 'afore... and 'e..." Hagrid sighed and shook his scruffy head. "Ye'd best ter be goin' now, Danielle."

"Thank you for your help, Hagrid," I told him with genuine kindness. But instead of the placidness that I normally left the Forest in, it was replaced with a troubled sense of reality. What exactly had Tom told Hagrid? I wondered. And why? I did not dare ask either one of them, for I knew that one would reveal it to me in due course of time. With another murmur of gratitude, I began to walk to the castle. From then on, I met Hagrid on the outskirts of the Forest each night for one month.

-

One night, I was out particularly late. I did not know of what hour it was, and I could not tell. But I guessed that it was near midnight, though, judging by the position of the moon. At all other costs, I could not be caught by anyone. As silently as mortally possible, I closed the heavy castle doors. I briefly sagged against them in relief, fluttering my eyelids shut with a quiet sigh. I did not believe that anyone would be able to approach me in that short amount of time without me being aware of it, but I was soon to be proven wrong.

"Parmellie," said an amused voice from the shadows. "Whatever are you doing out so late?"