It's somewhere past eleven pm and I can't sleep ...stupid insomnia! Also I checked ...and I'm a glorified Xover writer! Seriously ALL of my stories are Xovers! Weird huh? –D.C.
It was just past dawn when Fang woke to the smell of boiling tea; yawning mutely he slipped down from his hammock in the rafters of Hagrid's pantry and set about getting dressed.
After discovering Fang only owned muggle clothes, Hagrid had quickly shown him to one of Hogwarts many cloakrooms where the school keep a rather large assortment of odd and lost clothes, in it Fang had found a well worn but undamaged pair of chunky brown leather boots, two pairs of black pants a brown moth-eaten woollen tunic, two black button-downs with old fashioned sleeves and a tattered charcoal-stained black travelling cloak.
Opting for the tunic and pants, he brushed a long chunk of hair behind an ear and wondered into the tiny hut's kitchen/living room. "G'morning Fang ...and Fang" Hagrid groaned rubbing sleep from his eyes, bird-kid and boarhound both grunted in reply.
Pouring himself a cup of tea from the kettle floating lazily over the fire, Fang looked to Hagrid.
"What's the work today?" Fang said sitting opposite the drowsy giant,
"Uh? Oh the school year starts t'morrow so the students will be arriving t'night so need you ta help me rig the thestrals to the carriages, then you're to go row Minerva out on the lake so she can place charms on the path the first year's boats pass over so that if someone falls in they won't be eaten by what's in the lake, then if this rain 'olds off you can take those sacks 'o dung by the lake up ta the greenhouses, I advise you take the cliff track its' quicker and you'll avoid angering the dementors at the gate"
Fang nodded to show he understood before sipping his hot tea, it had been interesting for him to discover not only could he see dementors but that he was immune to their affects unfortunately the dementors had been insulted by it and seemed determined to avoid him, Hagrid had said to leave them alone so they could do their job.
It was nearing evening and Fang was dragging sacks of manure towards the herbology greenhouses before the drippy clouds over head dropped their load, when he found it.
Heaving the bag a little off the ground to get over a large rock on the narrow path that lead around the cliff on top of which Hogwarts sat perched, slipping a bit on a loose stone underfoot Fang reached out to lean his hand on the cliff wall.
It was much to his surprise that the stone groaned and shifted forming an archway, with nothing now bracing his hand, Fang and the manure sack fell sideway through the archway and down the steps beyond.
"—and this one guy what's his name –Darnel something anyway he said that..." Ron droned in to Neville and Harry about some rumour Ron had overheard.
"What on earth are you rambling on about now Ron?" Hermione cut in on his story,
"Oh Hermione, I was just telling these two about this strange fight that happened at the Leaky Caldron early in the summer" Ron said proud that for once knew about something before Hermione,
"What was so strange about it, I would have thought Leaky Caldron had seen it fair share of brawls?"
It at this point that Professor Lupin started paying attention to their conversation,
"Ah yes, I heard about that brawl too and I believe what Ron is trying to say is that in the middle of the scuffle, it was revealed that the new busboy Tom had hired was a creature or being known as a Boread, I don't believe Tom or anyone had the chance to even talk to him after the fight him, because the way I heard the boy was gone without a trace the next day"
"What's a Boread sir?" the other occupants of the compartment look to Lupin as Neville garbled this around a piece of chocolate,
"Yes well a Boread is a creature or being of human appearance but with the wings of..." the rest of answer was cut off by the sharp whistle of the train as it came to a stop at Hogsmeade Station.
"Ah it looks like I shall have to tell you another time, perhaps in class some day, hum?" Lupin said before leaving the train.
It was during Dumbledore's speech about dementors that Hagrid felt a tap on his shoulder, turning in his seat slightly he found Fang sitting on the stone floor behind the staff table,
Hagrid wondered how he'd gotten in the great hall unnoticed then again he had a knack for getting around without making a sound and there was that whole invisibility thing he had going that Hagrid had only witnessed twice.
"Where'd you go earlier? I looked for ya before I went to get the first years but couldn't find you"
"Found a door in the cliff wall, tell you about it after dinner" was Fang's stilted reply before disappearing,
Hagrid went back to listening the the headmasters speech. "As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away.
"Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties, for which he has hired a young helper to assist him."
Dumbledore looked around to Hagrid was sitting "I could have sworn the young man was standing behind the staff table and you were talking to him just a second ago Hagrid, well anyway I'm shore you'll all met him at some time" he said to the students, his voice only slightly loader then the cheerful applause that had preceded the announcement of Hagrid as a teacher.
"Well I think that's everything of importance" Dumbledore said when the hall calmed, "let the feast begin!"
That will do for today, I'll have them all meet next chapter, so Review! –D.C.