Chapter Fifteen.
Tea At Hagrids.
Whilst in the Great Hall, the four of us attempt to do some of the homework we had been given but I couldn't concentrate, not with the other members of my house staring at Hermione like she didn't belong. I vow to keep a close eye on Hermione from that moment as Pansy looked like the kind of girl who wouldn't keep her dislike about Hermione to cowardly gossip.
At five to three, we all retreat from the Great Hall and head over to Hagrid's who lived across the school grounds, in a small wooden hut on the edge of a large black forest – or the Forbidden Forest as everyone else called it. Keeping in tune with the rather scary theme, there was a crossbow sat outside.
Harry gathered enough courage first to knock on the door, almost immediately a booming bark echoed through the house making the four of us outside almost jump out of our skins. The barks continued as well as scrapping against wood shortly followed by Hagrid saying, "Back, Fang – back."
Hagrid's face then appeared in the doorway, his right hand gripping the collar of a enormous black boarhound. The dog was nearly as tall as me, it looked dangerous but after Hagrid had said a few words, the hound – who I assumed was called Fang – calmed down.
There was only one room inside the hut however it was very large, hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt. A large table sat in the middle, cabinets of random items cover the walls and in the corner opposite the bed was a bench padded with what looked like home-made cushions and a large arm chair.
"Make yourselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang who bounded without hesitation straight towards Ron and started licking his right ear happily. Like his owner, Fang wasn't as fierce as he looked. Everyone sat around the table on stools that don't allow our feet to touch the floor.
"This is Ron and Hermione." I tell Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large tea pot bigger than my head and putting rock cakes on a large plate. He brought the items over to the table before fetching teacups.
"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid said with a slight disapproving tone, glancing at Ron's freckles and red hair, "I spent half me life chasin' yer brothers away from the Forest." Ron went scarlet and picked up a rock cake, nibbling on it to keep his nerves at bay. Hermione was very polite as she spoke to Hagrid happily drinking tea and eating the rock cakes that almost broke our teeth but we ate them anyway, pretending to enjoy them.
Hermione ignored the boys laughing at her being so enthusiastic about our first couple of days, as well as the lessons, Harry and Ron tried to interject and tell Hagrid about how horrid Snape was towards Harry but how kind he appeared to be towards to myself. It's in the mist of a in-depth conversation about some strange creature I had never heard from, my eyes fall upon a cutting from the Daily Prophet:
GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN
On July 31, believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown, Gringotts' Goblins insist that nothing was taken. The vault in question number 7-1-3 had in fact been emptied that very same day.
Despite my heart race elevating to the point where I was afraid that it was going to burst out of my chest. I quickly folded up the cutting and slipped it into my pocket before my sweating hands could smudge the ink. No one noticed my suddenly white exterior, and I didn't kick up a fuse. I needed to talk to Harry.
My mind wandered back to our birthday, the day Harry and I first visited Gringotts, Hagrid had emptied the vault seven hundred and thirteen, well if you can call taking the one item in the vault 'clearing'. What was in there of value anyway? That grubby little package, had that been what the thieves were looking for?
Soon it became time for us all to leave for dinner, our pockets weighted down with rock cakes as we'd all been too polite to refuse, despite it being only our first week, Harry, Ron and Hermione talked for a suitable amount of time. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? What was it anyway? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry and I?
As we entered the Great Hall, the main bulk of the school had not arrived yet giving us all time to find seats, before Harry wandered off to the Gryffindor table, I slipped the cutting of the Daily Prophet into his hand before walking off to avoid suspicious looks.
Mae and Blaise came and sat with me, shortly followed by Draco and Pansy who looked a little too friendly with each other although it didn't surprise me, if any Slytherins were going to get together quickest, my money would be on them, both pure-bloods and probably known each other before Hogwarts began.
I felt a slight pang in my chest, something I'd never felt before in this situation but it was a similar feeling I got when I saw the food Dudley was given and the mountains of presents he received for his birthday. It was jealously, but that feeling was swiftly washed away when I met Harry's eyes across the hall, he had the cutting firmly gripped in his hand whilst Ron and Hermione attempted to read it at odd angles. We needed to find what was in that package, or better yet, find out why someone wanted to steal it.
A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update a chapter, but here is a short one to account for it. Review, favourite and follow!