A/N Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I meant to but I've been working Friday, Saturday, Sunday & again tomorrow! But this is a 7,000 and a bit worded chapter so I hope that makes up for it hahaha! Thanks for the reviews so far, and I hope you enjoy! Please R&R xxx
Chapter Thirty
Grawp
Fred and George had definitely managed to etch their flight to freedom in everyone's minds - and made sure that nobody would forget it. In fact, Amara was sure that it would probably become a Hogwarts legend and she imagined people in the future talking about the Weasley twins escape. People were talking about it left right and centre - some of the stories being re-told rather fabricated - but fascinating all ye same.
Everyone also wanted to copy them, and Amara couldn't blame them with Umbridge still around. Umbridge herself did not know how to get rid of the swamp the two of them had left - in the end, Filch had to help them cross it every day.
Predictably, there were now open spaces for all to be head Troublemakers in the school now Fred and George had gone. Someone let a niffler into Umbridge's office and it tore the place apart in its desperate search to find shiny objects. Amara and Ron had spent a good afternoon chortling after hearing the it had even tried to take a bite out of Umbridge's leg when she had entered the office.
Dungbombs and Stinkpellets were dropped so much in the corridors many people charmed themselves do they would get fresh air before leaving the classroom. Amara had seen Tessie drop numerous Stinkpellets into a classroom of Slytherins as she walked to her Charms class.
Filch was now able to walk around with a whip in his hands, much to his pleasure, but the disadvantage was that because there were so many people making havoc, he didn't know which way to turn. The Inquisitorial Squad were getting what was coming to them too - Warrington got hit with a skin jinx, Pansy Parkinson sprouted antlers and Rebecca Alderton, much to Amara's delight, was put into the hospital wing after she turned completely purple.
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, every time Umbridge entered the classroom, someone would become faint, puke, get high fevers or get spectacularly disgusting nosebleeds. In response to Umbridge's screeching, they reasoned it was 'Umbridge-itis'. Amara found Ethan and Eddie chortling in the corridor one day and told her Ethan had eaten a Puking Pastil and Eddie was "accompanying him to the hospital wing."
Umbridge put four classes in detention to find the source of madness but couldn't find it. In the end she was forced to let them all go out of her classroom.
If people thought the students were bad, it was nothing on Peeves the Poltergeist. Master of chaos he sped around the school, having taking Fred's words to heart. His cackling soared around the school, and soon it was utter madness. He upended tables; burst through blackboards whilst a lesson was going on; pushing vases, statues, suits of armour and paintings so they crashed to the floor; shut Mrs Norris in the suits of armour so that Filch had to rescue her; he smashed lanterns and extinguished candles. He juggled burning torches over people's heads; threw parchment out of the windows or in the fires, flooded the second floor and dropped a bag of horrible tarantulas into the Great Hall at breakfast so that many people screamed and fainted.
The Slytherin Fred and George had shoved in the Vanishing Cabinet and who'd turned up in a toilet was still in the hospital wing recovering. On Tuesday morning, whilst they were in Charms, they saw his parents marching up the front drive, both looking like they were going to punch something.
"Should we say something?" said Hermione in a worried voice, pressing her cheek against the Charms window so that she could see Mr and Mrs Montague marching inside with deep frowns on their faces. "About what happened to him? In case it helps Madam Pomfrey cure him?"
" 'Course not, he'll recover," said Ron indifferently.
"Shouldn't've annoyed Fred and George," said Amara absentmindedly.
"Anyway, more trouble for Umbridge, isn't it?" said Harry in a satisfied voice.
He and Ron both tapped the teacups they were supposed to be charming with their wands. Harry's spouted four very short legs that would not reach the desk and wriggled pointlessly in midair. Ron's grew four very thin spindly legs that hoisted the cup off the desk with great difficulty, trembled for a few seconds, then folded, causing the cup to crack into two. Snorting, Amara watched her own cup (with willow patterned legs) sprinting around their table, being chased by Hermione's cup and trying to dodge out of the way every time it came near.
"Reparo!" said Hermione quickly, mending Ron's cup with a wave of her wand. "That's all very well, but what if Montague's permanently injured?"
"Who cares?" said Ron irritably, while his teacup stood drunkenly on its thin legs. "Like Amara said: Montague shouldn't have tried to take all those points from Gryffindor, should he? If you want to worry about anyone, Hermione, worry about me!"
"You?" she said, watching her and Amara's tea cups racing around. "Why should I be worried about you?"
"When Mum's next letter finally gets through Umbridge's screening process," said Ron bitterly, now holding his cup up while its frail legs tried feebly to support its weight, "I'm going to be in deep trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if she's sent a Howler again."
"But —"
"It'll be my fault Fred and George left, you wait," said Ron darkly. "She'll say I should've stopped them leaving, I should've grabbed the ends of their brooms and hung on or something. . . . Yeah, it'll be all my fault. . . ."
"Well, if she does say that it'll be very unfair, you couldn't have done anything! But I'm sure she won't, I mean, if it's really true they've got premises in Diagon Alley now, they must have been planning this for ages. . . ."
"Yeah, but that's another thing, how did they get premises?" said Ron, and Amara avoided eye contact. Harry didn't know she knew. "It's a bit dodgy, isn't it? They'll need loads of Galleons to afford the rent on a place in Diagon Alley, she'll want to know what they've been up to, to get their hands on that sort of gold. . . ."
Amara looked up and looked meaningfully at Harry, who's eyes widened. Amara nodded mutely.
"Well, yes, that occurred to me too," said Hermione. "I've been wondering whether Mundungus has persuaded them to sell stolen goods or something awful. . . ."
"Of course they haven't," said Amara, always defending them.
"How do you know?" said Ron and Hermione together.
"Because they got the gold from me," said Harry and Ron and Hermione's heads swivelled around to fixate on him instead. "I gave them my Triwizard winnings last June."
There was silence as this information got into Ron and Hermione's minds. Amara caught Hermione's cup before it fell off the table.
"Oh, Harry, you didn't!" Hermione said.
"Yes, I did," said Harry mutinously. "And I don't regret it either — I didn't need the gold, and they'll be great at a joke shop. . . ."
"But this is excellent!" said Ron, looking thrilled. "It's all your fault, Harry — Mum can't blame me at all! Can I tell her?"
Amara laughed slightly.
"Yeah, I suppose you'd better," said Harry dully. " 'Specially if she thinks they're receiving stolen cauldrons or something. . . ."
Amara knew that Hermione was still against what Harry had done, but she stayed in a strained silence for the remainder of the lesson, just giving Amara little glares because she had known something Hermione hadn't.
Before long Hermione seemed to crack, for at break time she gazed at Harry sternly.
Harry interrupted her before she had even started.
"It's no good nagging me, it's done," he said firmly. "Fred and George have got the gold — spent a good bit of it too, by the sounds of it — and I can't get it back from them and I don't want to. So save your breath, Hermione."
"I wasn't going to say anything about Fred and George!" she said in an injured voice.
Amara and Ron snorted disbelievingly and exchanged raised eyebrows. Hermione glared at them.
"No, I wasn't!" she said angrily. "As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Harry when he's going to go back to Snape and ask for Occlumency lessons again!"
Once they'd gotten over Fred and George's departure, Harry told them about the conversation he'd had with Sirius and Lupin. He seemed to regret that he had told then Sirius wanted him to ask Snape for the lessons back.
"You can't tell me you've stopped having funny dreams," Hermione said, "because Ron told me and Amara last night you were muttering in your sleep again. . . ."
Harry threw Ron a furious look. Ron had the grace to look ashamed of himself, because Amara had already told him Harry would be angry.
"You were only muttering a bit," he mumbled apologetically. "Something about 'just a bit farther.' "
"I dreamed I was watching you lot play Quidditch," Harry said harshly. "I was trying to get you to stretch out a bit farther to grab the Quaffle."
Ron's ears went red and Amara frowned. She knew it was annoying when someone snitched on you to Hermione, but it didn't mean that Harry had to be so harsh to Ron when his confidence hadn't improved in the slightest.
"You are trying to block your mind, aren't you?" said Hermione, looking beadily at Harry and reminding Amara of Professor McGonagall. "You are keeping going with your Occlumency?"
"Of course I am," said Harry, as though he'd been thoroughly insulted.
There was a pause and Amara watched the students milling around the courtyard.
"You know," said Ron, whose ears were still flaming red, and Amara turned back. "if Montague doesn't recover before Slytherin play Hufflepuff, we might be in with a chance of winning the Cup."
"Yeah, I s'pose so," said Harry.
"I mean, we've won one, lost one — if Slytherin lose to Hufflepuff next Saturday —" said Ron.
"Yeah, that's right," said Harry, but his gaze was on Cho Chang. All of them seemed rather preoccupied when they headed off the Transfiguration without talking much.
-OOOOO-
Usually with the final Quidditch match drawing closer the Gryffindors would eagerly be waiting for the match (Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw) but this year they were not getting their hopes up, mainly because Ron had yet to improve in the goalkeeping area of the game. They were still in the running (somehow) because Slytherin had been narrowly beaten by Hufflepuff in the last match, which had improved their chances.
Amara was quite glad that Ron was taking this news rather well, in fact, he was quite optimistic at breakfast before the match. Amara was struggling to get a nervous Ethan to eat some breakfast whilst he held the conversation.
"I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" He said as Amara managed to shove a piece of toast into Ethan's mouth as he was about to reply. "Nothing to lose now, is there?"
Amara nodded in agreement as Ethan glared at her whilst chewing the toast as Eddie laughed. Piper and Flick came over before they'd finished telling them that Ravenclaw would 'beat their sorry asses' and Eddie and Ethan glared at their smirks as they left the table.
Amara walked with Harry and Hermione down to the pitch, all supporting Gryffindor rosettes and flags.
"You know," said Hermione. "I think Ron might do better without Fred and George around. They never exactly gave him a lot of confidence. . . ."
Amara didn't reply; she had been slightly down since Fred and George had left, and didn't like being reminded.
Luna Lovegood overtook them with what appeared to be a live eagle perched on top of her head as they neared their destination.
"Oh gosh, I forgot!" said Hermione, watching the eagle flapping its wings as Luna walked serenely past a group of cackling and pointing Slytherins (Amara resisted to hex them). "Cho will be playing, won't she?"
Harry merely grunted.
"It's kind of my fault you're not speaking isn't it?" Amara said as he looked disgruntled.
"How?"
"Well if I hadn't gone out with Cedric then she wouldn't've been annoyed about it and hate the fact we're friends ..."
"Nah," said Harry. "She took Marietta's side."
They found seats in the topmost row of the stands. It was a good day for a Quidditch match - the sun wasn't too bright and there were no clouds which threatened rain.
Lee Jordan, who had been pretty sad recently because Fred and George had left, was commentating as usual. As the teams zoomed out onto the pitches he named the players with something less than his usual exclamations.
". . . Bradley . . . Davies . . . Chang," he said rather dully and Amara felt rather sorry for him.
"And they're off!" said Lee. "And Davies takes the Quaffle immediately, Ravenclaw Captain Davies with the Quaffle, he dodges Johnson, he dodges Bell, he dodges Spinnet as well. . . . He's going straight for goal! He's going to shoot — and — and —" Lee swore very loudly. "And he's scored."
Amara, Harry and Hermione groaned with the rest of the Gryffindors. Amara had had slight hope Ron's optimism would show through. Predictably the Slytherins on the other side of the stands began to sing once again:
Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring . . .
"Harry," said a hoarse voice next to Harry. "Hermione . . . Amara ..."
Amara and the others looked around and saw Hagrid's enormous bearded face sticking between the seats. He'd shuffled his way along the row behind and was trying to look invisible, but was failing as he was still much larger than the others around them.
"Listen," he whispered, "can yeh come with me? Now? While ev'ry- one's watchin' the match?"
"Er . . . can't it wait, Hagrid?" asked Harry. "Till the match is over?
"No," said Hagrid. "No, Harry, it's gotta be now . . . while ev'ryone's lookin' the other way. . . . Please?"
Hagrid's nose was gently dripping blood. His eyes were both blackened. Amara was immediately worried for him: he looked so sad and scared.
" 'Course," said Harry, obviously seeing his face too, " 'course we'll come. . . ."
Amara, Harry and Hermione edged back along their row of seats, causing much grumbling among the students who had to stand up for them. The people in Hagrid's row were not complaining, merely attempting to make themselves as small as possible.
"I 'ppreciate this, you two, I really do," said Hagrid as they reached the stairs. He kept looking around nervously as they descended toward the lawn below. Amara and Hermione exchanged perplexed, anxious looks. "I jus' hope she doesn' notice us goin'. . . ."
"You mean Umbridge?" said Harry. "She won't, she's got her whole Inquisitorial Squad sitting with her, didn't you see? She must be expecting trouble at the match."
"Yeah, well, a bit o' trouble wouldn' hurt," said Hagrid, pausing to peer around the edge of the stands to make sure the stretch of lawn between there and his cabin was deserted. "Give us more time . . ."
"What is it, Hagrid?" said Hermione, looking up at him with a concerned expression on her face as they hurried across the lawn toward the edge of the forest.
"Yeh — yeh'll see in a mo'," said Hagrid, looking over his shoulder as a great roar rose from the stands behind them. "Hey — did someone jus' score?"
"It'll be Ravenclaw," said Harry heavily.
"Good . . . good . . ." said Hagrid distractedly. "Tha's good. . . ." They had to jog to keep up with him as he strode across the lawn, looking around with every other step. When they reached his cabin, Amara and Hermione turned automatically left toward the front door and stayed there as they watched Hagrid walk straight past them and into the edge of the forest. He figured they'd stopped as he turned around at the
"We're goin' in here," he said, jerking his shaggy head behind him.
"Into the forest?" said Hermione, perplexed. Amara gaped.
"You can't be serious?" She said.
"Yeah," said Hagrid slightly apologetically. "C'mon now, quick, before we're spotted!"
Amara, Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then ducked into the
cover of the trees behind Hagrid, who was already striding away from them into the green gloom, his crossbow over his arm. Amara, Harry and Hermione ran to catch up with him, as his strides were so big he's reached a long way already.
"Hagrid, why are you armed?" said Harry.
"Jus' a precaution," said Hagrid, shrugging his massive shoulders. "You didn't bring your crossbow the day you showed us the thestrals," said Hermione timidly.
"Nah, well, we weren' goin' in so far then," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, tha' was before Firenze left the forest, wasn' it?"
"Why does Firenze leaving make a difference?" asked Hermione curiously.
" 'Cause the other centaurs are good an' riled at me, tha's why," said
Hagrid quietly, glancing around. "They used ter be — well, yeh couldn' call 'em friendly — but we got on all righ'. Kept 'emselves to 'emselves, bu' always turned up if I wanted a word. Not anymore . . ."
He sighed deeply.
"Firenze said that they're angry because he went to work for Dumbledore?" Harry asked, tripping on a protruding root because he was busy watching Hagrid. Amara grabbed his robes and kept him in his feet.
"Yeah," said Hagrid heavily. "Well, angry doesn' cover it. Ruddy livid. If I hadn' stepped in, I reckon they'd've kicked Firenze ter death —"
"They attacked him?" said Hermione, sounding shocked.
"Yep," said Hagrid gruffly, forcing his way through several lowhanging branches. "He had half the herd onto him —"
"And you stopped it?" said Harry, amazed and impressed. "By yourself?"
" 'Course I did, couldn't stand by an' watch 'em kill him, could I?" said Hagrid. "Lucky I was passin', really . . . an' I'd've thought Firenze mighta remembered tha' before he started sendin' me stupid warnin's!" he added hotly and unexpectedly. Amara was startled at this outburst, but didn't comment in it - the deeper they were getting in, the more tree roots and shrubbery were in the way.
"Anyway," Hagrid said, breathing a little more heavily than usual and still scowling slightly, "since then the other centaurs've bin livid with me an' the trouble is, they've got a lot of influence in the forest. . . . Cleverest creatures in here . . ."
"Is that why we're here, Hagrid?" asked Hermione. "The centaurs?"
"Ah no," said Hagrid, shaking his head dismissively, "no, it's not them. . . . Well, o' course, they could complicate the problem, yeah. . . . But yeh'll see what I mean in a bit. . . ."
As they got deeper into the forest it seemed to get darker too, so instead of being in the middle of the day, it felt like they were walking in the dusk of the evening. Amara started to walk closer to Harry and Hermione, but she had to anyway because the trees were getting closer to getter as the path got smaller.
Hagrid stepped unexpectedly off the path and began wending his way in and out of trees toward the dark heart of the forest. This made Amara nervous: where were they going? She struggled forwards through some brambles that stuck to her jacket.
"Hagrid?" said Harry from behind them. "Where are we going?"
"Bit further," said Hagrid over his shoulder. "C'mon, Harry. . . . We need ter keep together now. . . ."
It was alright for Hagrid, who kept swatting the brambles away quickly and easily - but for Amara, Harry and Hermione, they had to fight their way through the thickets and knots, which kept tearing at their skin, making scratches and cuts. There was no path and no light filtering through, but Hagrid kept on marching deep into the forest.
"Hagrid this is stupid - we can hardly see!" Amara hissed quietly.
"Sorry Amara ..." Hagrid said but didn't extend any further.
"Can we light our wands please?" said Hermione quietly.
"Er . . . all righ'," Hagrid whispered back. "In fact . . ."
He stopped suddenly and turned around; Amara stopped in time but Hermione walked right into him and was knocked over backward. Harry caught her just before she hit the forest floor.
"Maybe we bes' jus' stop fer a momen', so I can . . . fill yeh in," said Hagrid. "Before we ge' there, like."
"Good!" said Hermione, as Harry set her back on her feet. All three of them murmured "Lumos!" and their wand tips ignited. Hagrid's face swam through the gloom by the light of the three wavering beams. He had the same sad and worried look on his face.
"Righ," said Hagrid. "Well . . . see . . . the thing is . . ."
He took a great breath.
"Well, there's a good chance I'm goin' ter be gettin' the sack any day
now," he said. Amara, Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then back at him.
"But you've lasted this long —" Hermione said tentatively. "What makes you think —"
"Umbridge reckons it was me that put tha' niffler in her office."
"And was it?" said Harry.
"No, it ruddy well wasn'!" said Hagrid indignantly. "On'y anythin' ter do with magical creatures an' she thinks it's got somethin' ter do with me. Yeh know she's bin lookin' fer a chance ter get rid of me ever since I got back. I don' wan' ter go, o' course, but if it wasn' fer . . . well . . . the special circumstances I'm abou' ter explain to yeh, I'd leave righ now, before she's go' the chance ter do it in front o' the whole school, like she did with Trelawney."
Amara, Harry and Hermione all made noises of protest, but Hagrid overrode them with a wave of one of his enormous hands.
"It's not the end o' the world, I'll be able ter help Dumbledore once I'm outta here, I can be useful ter the Order. An' you lot'll have Grubbly-Plank, yeh'll — yeh'll get through yer exams fine. . . ." His voice trembled and broke and Amara felt immediately sorry for him. She even forgot she was missing the last match of the season (which she'd been thinking about the entire way).
"Don' worry abou' me," Hagrid said hastily, as Hermione made to pat his arm. He pulled his enormous spotted handkerchief from the pocket of his waistcoat and mopped his eyes with it. "Look, I wouldn' be tellin' yer this at all if I didn' have ter. See, if I go . . . well, I can' leave withou' . . . withou' tellin' someone . . . because I'll — I'll need you three ter help me. An' Ron, if he's willin'."
"Of course we'll help you," said Harry at once and Amara half wanted to shush him. It depended on what Hagrid was asking them to do, and considering it was so deep in the forest, she wasn't expecting anything cute and fluffy. "What do you want us to do?"
Hagrid gave a great sniff and patted Harry wordlessly on the shoulder with such force that Harry was knocked sideways into a tree. Amara and Hermione helped him up again.
"I knew yeh'd say yes," said Hagrid into his handkerchief, "but I won' . . . never . . . forget . . . Well . . . c'mon . . . jus' a little bit further through here . . . Watch yerselves, now, there's nettles. . . ."
They walked on in silence for another fifteen minutes. After this little march Hagrid threw out his right arm to signal that they should stop.
"Really easy," he said softly. "Very quiet, now . . ."
They crept forward and Amara saw that the trees surrounding a moving mound had been ripped up by the roots. It left bare patches of ground and some sort of barricade made by the tree trunks. Amara looked at the moving mound and slapped her mouth with her hand as she realised what it was. It was a giant.
It seemed to be sleeping, making earth shattering snores as it slept.
"Sleepin'," breathed Hagrid.
"Who is it?" Amara squeaked. "You - you said no one wanted to come!"
Hermione's wand was shaking in her hand as she watched the giant. Amara was looking at it in a horrified trance. What if it woke up?
"Well — no — he didn' want ter come," said Hagrid, sounding desperate. "But I had ter bring him, Amara, I had ter!"
"But why?" asked Hermione, who sounded as though she wanted to cry. "Why — what — oh, Hagrid!"
"I knew if I jus' got him back," said Hagrid, sounding close to tears himself, "an' — an' taught him a few manners — I'd be able ter take him outside an' show ev'ryone he's harmless!"
Amara gaped like a fish but couldn't make a sound.
"Harmless!" said Hermione shrilly, and Hagrid made frantic hushing noises with his hands as the enormous creature before them grunted loudly and shifted in its sleep. "He's been hurting you all this time, hasn't he? That's why you've had all these injuries!"
"He don' know his own strength!" said Hagrid earnestly. "An' he's gettin' better, he's not fightin' so much anymore —"
"So this is why it took you two months to get home!" said Hermione distractedly. "Oh Hagrid, why did you bring him back if he didn't want to come, wouldn't he have been happier with his own people?"
"They were all bullyin' him, Hermione, 'cause he's so small!" said Hagrid.
"Small?" Amara said squeakily. "Are you kidding?"
"I couldn' leave him," said Hagrid, tears now trickling down his bruised face into his beard. "See — he's my brother!"
Amara and Hermione simply stared at him, their mouths open.
"Hagrid, when you say 'brother,'" said Harry slowly, "do you mean — ?"
"Well — half-brother," amended Hagrid. "Turns out me mother took up with another giant when she left me dad, an' she went an' had Grawp here —"
"Grawp?" said Harry.
"Yeah . . . well, tha's what it sounds like when he says his name," said Hagrid anxiously. "He don' speak a lot of English. . . . I've bin tryin' ter teach him. . . . Anyway, she don' seem ter have liked him much more'n she liked me. . . . See, with giantesses, what counts is producin' good big kids, and he's always been a bit on the runty side fer a giant — on'y sixteen foot —"
"Oh yes, tiny!" said Hermione, with a kind of hysterical sarcasm. "Absolutely minuscule!"
"He was bein' kicked around by all o' them — I jus' couldn' leave him —"
"Did Madame Maxime want to bring him back?" asked Harry.
"She — well, she could see it was right importan' ter me," said Hagrid, twisting his enormous hands. "Bu' — bu' she got a bit tired of him after a while, I must admit . . . so we split up on the journey home. . . . She promised not ter tell anyone though. . . ."
"How on earth did you get him back without anyone noticing?" said Harry.
"Well, tha's why it took so long, see," said Hagrid. "Could on'y travel by nigh an' through wild country an' stuff. 'Course, he covers the ground pretty well when he wants ter, but he kep' wantin' ter go back. . . ."
"Oh Hagrid, why on earth didn't you let him!" said Hermione, flopping down onto a ripped-up tree and burying her face in her hands. Amara, who's legs were trembling, followed suit. "What do you think you're going to do with a violent giant who doesn't even want to be here!"
"Well, now — 'violent' — tha's a bit harsh," said Hagrid, still twisting his hands agitatedly. "I'll admit he mighta taken a couple o' swings at me when he's bin in a bad mood, but he's gettin' better, loads better, settlin' down well. . . ."
"What are those ropes for, then?" Harry asked.
Amara looked up and saw humongous ropes, the size of a tree, wrapped around the sleeping Grawp.
"You have to keep him tied up?" said Hermione faintly.
"Well . . . yeah . . ." said Hagrid, looking anxious. "See — it's like I say — he doesn' really know his strength —"
"So what is it you want Amara and Harry and Ron and me to do?" Hermione asked apprehensively.
"Look after him," said Hagrid croakily. "After I'm gone."
Amara, Harry and Hermione exchanged miserable looks. This was not what Amara wanted a few weeks before their exams: another stress and worry added to their hectic lives.
"What — what does that involve, exactly?" Hermione inquired.
"Not food or anythin'!" said Hagrid eagerly. "He can get his own food, no problem. Birds an' deer an' stuff . . . No, it's company he needs. If I jus' knew someone was carryin' on tryin' ter help him a bit . . . teachin' him, yeh know . . ."
"You want us to teach him," Harry said in a hollow voice. Amara couldn't believe Hagrid wanted them to keep him company. Didn't he realise that if he hit them like he did to Hagrid they'd probably die? Didn't he get how dangerous this was?
"Yeah — even if yeh jus' talk ter him a bit," said Hagrid hopefully. " 'Cause I reckon, if he can talk ter people, he'll understand more that we all like him really, an' want him to stay. . . ."
Harry looked at Hermione and Amara quite desperately. Amara stared back, knowing her face was pale and shocked.
"Kind of makes you wish we had Norbert back, doesn't it?" Harry said and Hermione gave a very shaky laugh in reply.
"Yeh'll do it, then?" said Hagrid, who did not seem to have caught what Harry had just said.
"We'll . . ." said Harry. "We'll try, Hagrid. . . ."
"I knew I could count on yeh, Harry," Hagrid said, beaming in a very watery way and dabbing at his face with his handkerchief again. "An' I don' wan' yeh ter put yerself out too much, like. . . . I know yeh've got exams. . . . If yeh could jus' nip down here in yer Invisibil- ity Cloak maybe once a week an' have a little chat with him . . . I'll wake him up, then — introduce you —"
"Wha — no!" said Hermione, jumping up, "Hagrid, no, don't wake him, really, we don't need —"
But Hagrid had already stepped over the great trunk in front of them and was proceeding toward Grawp.
"Hagrid!" Amara said despairingly but he was already lifting a huge, long broken bough from the ground and poked the giant in the back with it.
Amara watched, horrified, as the giant gave a roar that trembled the ground. Birds shrieked and shot off around him as Grawp rose from the ground and turned to see who had disturbed him.
"All righ', Grawpy?" said Hagrid in a would-be cheery voice, backing away with the long bough raised, ready to poke Grawp again. "Had a nice sleep, eh?"
Amara, Harry and Hermione retreated as far as they could while still keeping the giant within their sights. Grawp knelt between two trees he had not yet uprooted. They looked up into his startlingly huge face; the nose was stubby and shapeless, the mouth lopsided and full of misshapen yellow teeth the size of half-bricks. The small eyes were a muddy greenish-brown and just now were half gummed together with sleep. Grawp raised his gigantic fists and rubbed his eyes free of it with his huge knuckles. Then he hopped to his feet with surprising agility and speed.
"Oh my . . ." Hermione squealed, terrified.
Grawp was definitely sixteen feet tall and Amara, who was small anyway, felt like an ant in comparison. The ropes creaked as he stretched out his hand that could pick up any of them with one swipe and grabbed a birds nest in a pine tree next to him. He let out a roar of annoyance when nothing but eggs fell out.
"Anyway, Grawpy," shouted Hagrid, looking up apprehensively in case of further falling eggs, which had rained down like grenades. "I've brought some friends ter meet yeh. Remember, I told yeh I might? Remember, when I said I might have ter go on a little trip an' leave them ter look after yeh fer a bit? Remember that, Grawpy?"
But Grawp merely gave another low roar; it did not seem likely that he was listening to what Hagrid was saying. Be pulled the tree towards him and pinged it back.
"Now, Grawpy, don' do that!" shouted Hagrid. "Tha's how you ended up pullin' up the others —"
And sure enough the earth around the tree's roots began to crack.
"I got company fer yeh!" Hagrid shouted. "Company, see! Look down, yeh big buffoon, I brought yeh some friends!"
"No!" Amara said helplessly.
"Oh Hagrid, don't," moaned Hermione, but Hagrid had already raised the bough again and gave Grawp's knee a sharp poke.
The giant let go of the top of the pine tree, which swayed menacingly and deluged Hagrid with a rain of needles, and looked down.
"This," said Hagrid, hastening over to where Amara, Harry and Hermione stood, "is Harry, Grawp! Harry Potter! He migh' be comin' ter visit yeh if I have ter go away, understand?"
The giant then figured that they were there, which Amara had been hoping that he'd never do. He lowered his head towards them.
The giant had only just realized that Harry and Hermione were there. They watched, in great trepidation, as he lowered his huge boulder of a head so that he could peer blearily at them.
"An' this is Amara - I dunno if you'll remember that - and this is Hermione, see? Her —" Hagrid hesitated. Turning to Hermione he said, "Would yeh mind if he called yeh Hermy, Hermione? On'y it's a difficult name fer him ter remember. . . ."
"No, not at all," squeaked Hermione.
"This is Hermy, Grawp! An' she's gonna be comin' an' all! Is'n tha' nice? Eh? Three friends fer yeh ter — GRAWPY, NO!"
Grawp's hand had shot out of nowhere toward them — Harry seized Hermione and pulled her backward behind a tree, but Amara didn't manage it and was knocked flat by his gigantic fist.
She blinked at the trees swimming in front of her and heard Hagrid shouting: "BAD BOY, GRAWPY!"
She saw Harry and Hermione over her, helping her sit up and drag her behind the tree they were sheltering behind. Her head was pounding from where she had hit it in the floor. Her vision came back into focus and she blinked a few times, trying to get the throb out of her head.
"Righ'," said Hagrid thickly, getting up with one hand pinching a bleeding nose because if Grawp and the other grasping his crossbow. "Well . . . there yeh are. . . . Yeh've met him an' — an' now he'll know yeh when yeh come back. Yeah . . . well . . ."
He looked up at Grawp, who was now pulling back the pine with an expression of detached pleasure on his face. Amara stumbled to her feet and clutched Hermione's arm for support.
"Well, I reckon tha's enough fer one day," said Hagrid. "We'll — er — we'll go back now, shall we?"
Amara, Harry and Hermione nodded. Hagrid shouldered his crossbow again and, still pinching his nose, led the way back into the trees.
Nobody spoke for a while, not even when they heard the distant crash that meant Grawp had pulled over the pine tree at last. Hermione's face was pale and set. Amara couldn't believe that Hagrid had asked them to look after a giant. He was usually deluded when it came to monsters but this was a step too far. If Grawp managed to get free of his ropes he could knock the whole school dead in ten minutes flat. Amara for one was not coming back into the forest, even though Harry had promised. He'd just have to believe they did.
"Hold it," said Hagrid abruptly, just as Amara, Harry and Hermione were struggling through a patch of thick knotgrass behind him. He pulled an arrow out of the quiver over his shoulder and fitted it into the crossbow. Amara, Harry and Hermione raised their wands gingerly looking around furtively in case there was an attack.
"Oh blimey," said Hagrid quietly.
"I thought that we told you, Hagrid," said a deep male voice, "that you are no longer welcome here?"
A man's naked torso seemed for an instant to be floating toward them through the dappled green half-light. Then they saw that his waist joined smoothly with a horse's chestnut body. This centaur had a proud, high-cheekboned face and long black hair. Like Hagrid, he was armed: A quiverful of arrows and a long bow were slung over his shoulders.
"How are yeh, Magorian?" said Hagrid warily.
Amara watched as four or five more centaurs emerged behind Magorian.
"So," one said, who had a black horses body and a long beard. His voice held a nasty quality as he directed his attention towards them before turning immediately to Magorian. "We agreed, I think, what we would do if this human showed his face in the forest again?"
" 'This human' now, am I?" said Hagrid testily. "Jus' fer stoppin' all of yeh committin' murder?"
"You ought not to have meddled, Hagrid," said Magorian. "Our ways are not yours, nor are our laws. Firenze has betrayed and dishonoured us."
"I dunno how yeh work that out," said Hagrid impatiently. "He's done nothin' except help Albus Dumbledore —"
"Firenze has entered into servitude to humans," said a grey centaur with a hard, deeply lined face.
"Servitude!" said Hagrid scathingly. "He's doin' Dumbledore a favour is all —"
"He is peddling our knowledge and secrets among humans," said Magorian quietly. "There can be no return from such disgrace."
"If yeh say so," said Hagrid, shrugging, "but personally I think yeh're makin' a big mistake —"
"As are you, human," said Bane, "coming back into our forest when we warned you —"
"Now, you listen ter me," said Hagrid angrily. "I'll have less of the 'our' forest, if it's all the same ter you. It's not up ter you who comes an' goes in here —"
"No more is it up to you, Hagrid," said Magorian smoothly. "I shall let you pass today because you are accompanied by your young —"
"They're not his!" interrupted Bane contemptuously. "Students, Magorian, from up at the school! They have probably already profited from the traitor Firenze's teachings. . . ."
"Nevertheless," said Magorian calmly, "the slaughter of foals is a terrible crime. . . . We do not touch the innocent. Today, Hagrid, you pass. Henceforth, stay away from this place. You forfeited the friendship of the centaurs when you helped the traitor Firenze escape us."
"I won' be kept outta the fores' by a bunch of mules like you!" said Hagrid loudly.
"Hagrid," said Hermione in a high-pitched and terrified voice, as both Bane and the grey centaur pawed at the ground, "let's go, please lets go!"
Hagrid moved forward, but his crossbow was still raised and his eyes were still fixed threateningly upon Magorian. Amara gulped nervously, she didn't know what to do.
"We know what you are keeping in the forest, Hagrid!" Magorian called after them, as the centaurs slipped out of sight. "And our tolerance is waning!"
Hagrid turned and gave every appearance of wanting to walk straight back to Magorian again.
"You'll tolerate him as long as he's here, it's as much his forest as yours!" he yelled, while Amara, Harry and Hermione both pushed with all their might against Hagrid in an effort to keep him moving forward and away from the centaurs. Still scowling, he looked down; his expression changed to mild surprise at the sight of them both pushing him. He seemed not to have felt it.
"Calm down, you three," he said, turning to walk on while they panted along behind him. "Ruddy old nags though, eh?"
"Hagrid," said Hermione breathlessly, skirting the patch of nettles they had passed on their way there, "if the centaurs don't want humans in the forest, it doesn't really look as though the others and I will be able —"
"Ah, you heard what they said," said Hagrid dismissively "They wouldn't hurt foals — I mean, kids. Anyway, we can' let ourselves be pushed around by that lot. . . ."
"Nice try," Harry murmured to Hermione, who looked crestfallen at Hagrid's dismissal.
They continued on in silence and slowly the trees thinned as they got back onto the forest path. Amara got the twigs out of her hair miserably. Her clothes were rather torn and she'd have to buy yet another pair of trainers to replace the ones she was wearing because they were very muddy and scuffed. Whenever they went into the forest she seemed to ruin her clothes.
Hermione and Harry were both looking a bit worse for wear as well - their hair had twigs and leaves in them and their arms were scratched. Even Hagrid wasn't unscathed. As they got closer to the edge of the forest they heard the definite sounds of cheering and yelling coming from the stadium. It meant the game was finished or someone had scored a goal.
"Was that another goal?" asked Hagrid, pausing in the shelter of the trees as the Quidditch stadium finally came into view. "Or d'you reckon the match is over?"
"I don't know," said Hermione miserably.
"I reckon it's over, yeh know!" said Hagrid, still squinting toward the stadium. "Look — there's people comin' out already — if you two hurry yeh'll be able ter blend in with the crowd an' no one'll know you weren't there!"
"Good idea," said Harry. "Well . . . see you later, then, Hagrid. . . ."
Amara was eager to get away from everything, and she and Hermione started talking as soon as they were out of earshot.
"This is ridiculous," said Amara.
"I don't believe him," said Hermione.
"Is he seriously supposing we go back in -"
"I don't believe him. I really don't believe him. . . ."
"Calm down," said Harry.
"Calm down!" Hermione said feverishly. "A giant! A giant in the forest! And we're supposed to give him English lessons! Always assuming, of course, we can get past the herd of murderous centaurs on the way in and out! I — don't — believe — him!"
"We haven't got to do anything yet!" Harry tried to reassure her in a quiet voice, as they joined a stream of jabbering Hufflepuffs heading back toward the castle. "He's not asking us to do anything unless he gets chucked out and that might not even happen —"
"Oh come off it, Harry!" said Hermione angrily, stopping dead in her tracks so that the people behind her had to swerve to avoid her. Amara and Harry stopped and watched her too. "Of course he's going to be chucked out and to be perfectly honest, after what we've just seen, who can blame Umbridge?"
Amara's mouth fell open with Hermione's words as Harry glared at her. Her eyes filled with tears.
"You didn't mean that," said Harry quietly.
"No . . . well . . . all right . . . I didn't," she said, wiping her eyes angrily. "But why does he have to make life so difficult for himself — for us?"
"I dunno —"
Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
He didn't let the Quaffle in,
Weasley is our King . . .
"And I wish they'd stop singing that stupid song," said Hermione miserably, "haven't they gloated enough?"
But Amara stopped listening to what she was saying when she started to listen to the words of the song. Something triggered that it was different to the time that the Slytherins sung it and Amara strained to listen for it.
Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King.
"Wait a second," Amara said in a hushed, disbelieving voice. "I think it's ..."
She didn't have to say anything as Harry and Hermione also gasped as they saw a mass of red and gold and a single figure on the top ...
Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
He didn't let the Quaffle in,
Weasley is our King . . .
"No!" said Hermione in the same hushed voice as Amara.
"YES!" said Harry loudly.
"HE DID IT!" Amara beamed ecstatically as Ron came towards them.
"HARRY! AMARA! HERMIONE!" yelled Ron, waving the silver Quidditch Cup in the air and looking quite beside himself with joy. "WE DID IT! WE WON!"
Amara and the others beamed up at him as he sailed past on everyone's shoulders. His head bumped the door as they went inside. But they all carried on singing and beaming up at the red headed boy with glee.
The last words of "Weasley is Our King" filtered away as there was no one left in the sunny grounds. Amara, Harry and Hermione's grins fell off their faces quickly as they turned to each other sadly.
"We'll save our news till tomorrow, shall we?" said Harry.
"Yes, all right," said Hermione wearily. "I'm not in any hurry. . . ."
They walked up the stairs heavily and turned back towards the Forbidden Forest. A few birds took off, twittering madly by the looks of it and flew away. Amara's happiness for Ron had lasted a few minutes only. Her mind was now reeling because Hagrid had given them get another worry to add to the growing pile.