Hagrid didn't say much more as he carried Harry; the man was so big that Harry suspected that he didn't have any trouble carrying Harry along. Harry found himself burying his face into Hagrid's beard; the wiry hair released a tension in his chest that Harry hadn't realized was there. It was nice to know that at least someone in this world cared enough about him to carry him somewhere.
Eventually, they arrived at a small wooden house near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry noticed that the chimney was smoking, and that there was a crossbow and a pair of big rubber galoshes sitting just outside the door.
As Hagrid neared the house, an enormous black boarhound came running towards them from a different part of the grounds.
"Hold," Hagrid barked, his voice booming across the grounds.
With that, the boarhound came to a halt and plopped his rear down on the ground.
Without much fanfare, Hagrid opened the door and stepped through, before setting Harry down in an overlarge armchair.
There was only one room inside the hut. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was hanging near the smoking fire, but not directly over it, and in a distant corner stood a rather over large better with a patchwork quilt over it.
Hagrid added some logs to the fire, before pouring some water into the kettle. Before long the water was boiling and Hagrid poured it into a large teapot, after which he pour Harry a generous cup of tea.
"Al'right Harry, feel better?" Hagrid asked as Harry sipped the tea.
Harry just nodded.
"Now, what's got yeh so out of sorts that yer crying out by the lake?" Hagrid asked kindly.
Slowly, with halting breaths, Harry told the story about everything that had happened over the past three days. He left nothing out, and Hagrid remained silent as Harry told his story. He wasn't crying anymore, but something still felt tight in his chest.
"… and then… Zabini told me all about the divide in our world, and he said that by going into Slytherin, I basically declaring that I agreed with Blood Purity, even though I didn't even know what it was when I was sorted!" Harry finished.
"I don't actually believe in it," he added at Hagrid's continued silence. "I think it's pure rubbish, honestly."
Hagrid gave a warm smile at that, his eyes crinkling. "I believe yeh, Harry. Yeh didn't seem to know much 'bout anything about our world when I met yeh last summer."
"Hagrid, why didn't you tell me about this, back then?" Harry asked minutely.
Hagrid was silent for a long moment. "Truthfully, Harry, I don't know much about it meself. I was never much involved in that kind of thing. I'm just the Groundskeeper of Hogwarts, mind."
After that, a long silence grew in the hut, and Hagrid took the time to busy himself with other things, while Harry just sipped his tea.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Hagrid," Harry said eventually. "I don't know if I can make it in Slytherin."
"Don't worry about tha', Harry," Hagrid replied simply. "Don't worry about living up to other people's expectations. Just focus on yer studies, and if anyone give yeh trouble, let me or Professor McGonagall know. Yeh'll be alright, Harry, don't worry."
There wasn't much more to say after that, so Harry continued to sip his tea, before eventually setting it down on the table and laying back into the armchair. Hagrid didn't request that he leave, instead focusing on other things in his house, before he eventually stepped out and let the boarhound in, which Harry learned was called Fang.
Eventually, Harry fell asleep, and when he awoke, it was dark out.
It had been the sound of loud voices outside of Hagrid's hut that had woken him up, and as he got up and walked over to the door, he could hear the distinct tone of Professor Snape's voice just outside the door.
"Be that as it may, the boy did still miss his Herbology class," Professor Snape was saying. "So he'll be serving detention with me this Saturday."
"I wouldn't have called yeh out here if I thought Harry would get in trouble," Hagrid muttered with a booming voice.
"If you didn't want Potter to get in trouble, you should have made sure he'd get to class on time," Snape bit out. "Now, if you don't mind, go and get Potter so I may return him to the common room."
There was a bit of silence, then Hagrid opened the door to find Harry standing there behind it.
"Mr. Potter," Snape said with a bland tone upon spotting Harry. "come, it's time for you to return to the common room. Curfew will be in place in a few minutes."
Harry just nodded with a frown, before stepping out of the door and walking over to Snape's side. Without another word, Snape turned and began to walk back to the castle.
"Good night, Hagrid," Harry called over his shoulder.
"Good night, Harry," Hagrid called back. "See yeh again soon."
The two of them didn't speak much as they made their way back to the castle, and Harry found himself dwelling on something Hagrid had said: that he should just focus on his studies and let the teachers handle the rest. It wasn't Harry's fault that everyone else in the Wizarding World had such unreasonable expectations of him, so maybe he should stop worrying about it and just focus on what mattered: learning magic, and becoming the greatest wizard he could be.
When they arrived at the Entrance Hall, Snape stopped and turned to face him. "Mr. Potter, as you missed your Herbology Class earlier today, you will be serving detention with me this Saturday. I expect to see you at my office this Saturday at 5 pm sharp. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," Harry nodded.
"Very well," Snape gave a shallow nod back. "You may go, Potter."
Harry made to do just that, before he paused. "Sir, may I ask… why do you hate my father so much?"
Snape gave him an unreadable expression. "Your Father was a bully, Potter. He and his friends did their best to torment me, and others, during my time as a student here at Hogwarts. That is all."
With that, Snape turned and swept away, leaving Harry with a stricken look on his face.
Review Replies:
Gryffindorforever4242: Love it so far.
Author: Thanks!
Ptolemyspyjamas: This is an amazing story. 11 year old Harry being overwhelmed is very realistic.
Author: thank you, i'm glad someone thinks so.
