Hello there, welcome my friends to the next chapter.
Sorry for the late update, got a bit sick over the weekend.
Hope you enjoy and now review time.
mrs. morgan 35: Good idea.
Alex looked around the door to see a quite fuming looking Professor McGonagall and in the corner with a clipboard on her knee, an equally fuming Umbridge.
"Sit down, Alex." Professor McGonagall said tersely. Her hands shook slightly as she shuffled the many pamphlets littering her desk.
He sat down with his back to Umbridge and did his best to pretend he could not hear the scratching of her quill on her clipboard.
"Well, Alex, this meeting is to talk over..." Professor McGonagall said before raising an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"
Alex had been using an imaginary knife to make random cuts in the air. "Sorry, professor." he said lowering his hand, "Just trying to cut the tension in the air."
McGonagall shook her head, but he could have sworn he saw the edged of her mouth move upward. "As I was saying this meeting is to talk over any career ideas you might have, and to help you decide which subjects you should continue into sixth and seventh years." she continued, "Have you had any thoughts about what you would like to do after you leave Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I have actually put a lot of thought into it." Alex said, "I want to get a job at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with the end goal of becoming Minister of Magic."
A loud snapping noise was heard behind him, which he could have sworn was Umbridge her quill snapping, as McGonagall looked at him surprised.
"I'm surprised Alex." McGonagall said, "I never thought you would be this ambitious."
"I'm full of surprises, Professor." Alex said, "I have been thinking about how the world is working. How people of half-blood or less get treated, how we treat creatures like centaurs and house-elf's, or how people have been infected by lycanthropy get shunned by society. It want to chance that."
"And you believe you can actually manage that?" she said.
"I believe so, I mean, I can be pretty charismatic when I want too." Alex said, "I mean, Draco hates Gryffindor's, but at worst I'm the one he hates the least!"
"If that's what you want, you'll need top grades for that." Professor McGonagall said, extracting a small, dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it, "They ask for a minimum of seven N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under 'Exceeds Expectations' grade, I see. It's a difficult path your embarking on, Alex."
"It's one that needs to be done." Alex said, "If I won't do it, who will?"
At that moment Umbridge gave a loud cough, but Professor McGonagall ignored her.
"You'll want to know which subjects you ought to take, I suppose?" she went on, "Defense Against the Dark Arts, always a handy subject. I would also advise Transfiguration, and I ought to tell you now, Alex, that I do not accept students into my N.E.W.T. classes unless they have achieved 'Exceeds Expectations' or higher at Ordinary Wizarding Level. I'd say you're averaging between 'Exceeds Expectations' and 'Acceptable', so you'll need to put in some good hard work before the exams to stand a chance of continuing. Then you ought to do Charms, always useful, and Potions. And I must tell you that Professor Snape absolutely refuses to take students who get anything other than 'Outstanding' in their O.W.L.s..."
"Professor McGonagall, we all know I can accomplish anything when I'm properly motivated." Alex said confidently.
Umbridge gave her most pronounced cough yet.
"Are you alright?" Alex said concerned, "That sounds like a very bad cough."
"Yes, I am fine." Umbridge said, with that simpering laugh, "I just wondered whether I could make the teensiest interruption, Minerva?"
"What do you want now?" Professor McGonagall said through tightly gritted teeth.
"I don't quite understand how you can give Mr. Kent false hope that..." Umbridge said.
"False hope?" Professor McGonagall said, still refusing to look round at Professor Umbridge, "He has shown many times to be a brilliant but lazy student, and during his exams he has achieved high marks in all his tests set by a competent teachers."
Umbridge's smile vanished as suddenly as a lightbulb blowing. She sat back in her chair, turned a sheet on her clipboard, she began scribbling very fast but realized she had snapped her quill back when Alex first told them he wanted to become Minister of Magic.
"I think you'll also find." said Umbridge, her voice very cold now, "That the Ministry looks into the records of those applying to the Ministry. Their criminal records..."
"As far as I know, I don't have one. And are you going to keep interrupting us?" Alex said, "Because I'm going to remember tis when I'm your new boss."
Umbridge stood up. She was so short that this did not make a great deal of difference, but her fussy, simpering demeanor had given place to a hard fury that made her broad, flabby face look oddly sinister.
"The Minister of Magic will never employ you, Alex Kent!" Umbridge said, her voice rising furiously.
"I know your not suppose to correct your enemies when they make a mistake, but I'm going to do it anyway." Alex said with a grin, "Because now I'm motivated, and now I'm going to become Minister sooner than you'll expect."
"Alex, that concludes our career consultation." Professor McGonagall said, giving him a rare smile.
Alex swung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room, sending a cheeky grin at Umbridge.
She was still fuming when she strode into their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson that afternoon. Sending a glare towards Alex, which would have put him six feet under if it could kill.
"What happened?" Hermione whispered, the moment they had opened their books to chapter thirty-four ('Non-Retaliation and Negotiation').
"She took meeting her future boss very well." Alex said with a grin.
The final match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was to take place on the last weekend of May, since Slytherin had been narrowly defeated by Hufflepuff in their last match.
"I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" Ron told Harry, Claire, Alex, Neville and Hermione grimly over breakfast on the morning of the match, "Nothing to lose now, is there?"
When they walked down to the pitch a little later in the midst of a very excitable crowd, Luna overtook them with what appeared to be a live eagle perched on top of her head.
"Hey Luna." Alex called, "What on earth do you think you are wearing on your head?"
"Oh! It's for today's quidditch match." Luna said, "I made it myself. Don't worry, no nargles."
"I see." Alex said, "It's simply splendid and I absolutely adore it!" giving her a thumbs up.
Luna smiled at him before heading to the stadium.
They found seats in the topmost row of the stands. It was a fine, clear day; Harry and Ron could not wish for better.
Lee Jordan was commentating as usual. As the teams zoomed out on to the pitch he named the players with nothing less than his usual gusto.
"And they're off!" Lee said, "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..." Lee swore very loudly, "And he's scored."
Claire, Alex, Neville and Hermione groaned with the rest of the Gryffindors. Predictably, horribly the Slytherins on the other side of the stands began to sing:
"Weasley cannot save a thing
He cannot block a single ring..."
"Claire." a hoarse voice said in Claire's ear, "Alex... Hermione... Neville."
Claire looked round and saw Hagrid's enormous bearded face sticking between the seats. Apparently, he had squeezed his way all along the row behind, for the first and second years he had just passed had a ruffled, flattened look about them. For some reason, Hagrid was bent double as though anxious not to be seen, though he was still at least four feet taller than everybody else.
"Listen." he whispered, "Can ya come with me? Now? While everyone's watching the match?"
"...Can't it wait, Hagrid?" Claire asked, "Until the match is over?"
"No." Hagrid said, "No, Claire, it's gotta be now... While everyone's looking the other way... Please?" Hagrid's nose was gently dripping blood. His eyes were both blackened.
Claire had not seen him this close-up since his return to the school; he looked utterly woebegone.
"Course." she said at once, "Course we will come."
She, Alex, Neville 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 appreciate this, you four, I really do." Hagrid said as they reached the stairs. He kept looking around nervously as they descended towards the lawn below, "I just hope she doesn't notice us going."
"You mean Umbitch?" Claire said, "She won't."
They peer around the edge of the stands to make sure the stretch of lawn between there and Hagrid's cabin was deserted, "What is it, Hagrid?"
Looking up at him with a concerned expression on his face as they hurried across the grass towards the edge of the Forest.
"Ya... Ya'll see in a moment..." Hagrid said, looking over his shoulder as a great roar rose from the stands behind them, "Hey... Did someone just score?"
"Probably." Claire said.
"Good... Good..." Hagrid said distractedly, "That'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, Hermione turned automatically left towards the front door. Hagrid, however, walked straight past it into the shade of the trees on the outermost edge of the Forest, where he picked up a crossbow that was leaning against a tree. When he realized they were no longer with him, he turned.
"We are going in here." he said, jerking his shaggy head behind him.
"Into the Forest?" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"Yeah, come on now, quick." Hagrid said, "Before we're spotted!"
Claire, Alex, Neville 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. The four of them ran to catch up with him.
"Hagrid... Would you care to explain why you are armed?" Alex said.
"Just a precaution." Hagrid said, shrugging his massive shoulders.
"You didn't bring your crossbow the day you showed us the Thestrals." Hermione said timidly.
"Nah, well, we weren't going in so far then." Hagrid said.
On this incomprehensible note he fell silent and forged a little ahead, taking one stride for every three of theirs, so that they had great trouble keeping up with him.
The path was becoming increasingly overgrown and the trees grew so closely together as they walked further and further into the Forest that it was as dark as dusk. They were soon a long way past the clearing where Hagrid had shown them the Thestrals, but Claire felt no sense of unease until Hagrid stepped unexpectedly off the path and began wending his way in and out of trees towards the dark heart of the Forest.
"Bit further.", Hagrid said over his shoulder, "We need to keep together now."
It was a great struggle to keep up with Hagrid, what with branches and thickets of thorn through which Hagrid marched as easily as if they were cobwebs, but which snagged Claire, Alex, Neville and Hermione, frequently entangling them so severely that they had to stop for minutes at a time to free themselves.
"Maybe it best I fill ya in before we go any further." Hagrid said, "Before we get there, like."
"Good!" Hermione said, as Alex set her back on her feet.
"Well... See... The thing is... Well, there's a good chance I'm going to be getting the sack any day now.", Hagrid began, taking a great breath, the group looked at each other, then back at him, "Ya know Umbridge's been looking for a chance to get rid of me ever since I got back. I don't want to go, of course, but if it wasn't for... the special circumstances I'm about to explain to ya, I'd leave right now, before she's go' the chance to do it in front of the whole school, like she did with Trelawney... It's not the end o' the world, ya'll get through ya exams fine... Don't worry about me...", his voice trembled and broke.
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't be telling ya this at all if I didn't have ta I can' leave without... I'll need ya four to help me. And Harry and Ron if they are willing."
"Of course..." Alex said, "What do you need us to do?"
Hagrid gave a great sniff and patted Alex wordlessly on the shoulder with such force Alex was knocked sideways into a tree.
"I knew ya'd say yes." Hagrid said into his handkerchief, "But I won't... never... forget... just a little bit further through here..."
They walked on in silence for another fifteen minutes; when Hagrid threw out his right arm to signal that they should stop.
"Really easy." he said softly, "Very quiet, now..."
They crept forwards and Claire saw that they were facing a large, smooth mound of earth nearly as tall as Hagrid that he thought, with a jolt of dread, was sure to be the lair of some enormous animal. Trees had been ripped up at the roots all around the mound, so that it stood on a bare patch of ground surrounded by heaps of trunks and boughs that formed a kind of fence or barricade, behind which Claire, Alex, Neville, Hermione and Hagrid now stood.
"Sleeping." Hagrid breathed.
Sure enough, a distant, rhythmic rumbling that sounded like a pair of enormous lungs at work could be heard. "Hagrid." Hermione said in a whisper barely audible over the sound of the sleeping creature, looking utterly terrified, "Who is he?"
"Not how I would phrase it." Alex whispered, "I'm more likely to say, what the actual fuck is one of them doing here?"
"Well... he didn't want to come." Hagrid said, sounding desperate, "But I had ta bring him, I had ta!"
"And why would you do that? Is he your brother or something?" Claire whispered amused, but upon seeing the serious face Hagrid was making, she knew she had guessed correct, "Oh... So... He's been hurting you all this time? That's why you have had all these injuries!"
"He don't know his own strength!" Hagrid said earnestly, "And he's getting better, he's not fighting so much any more..."
"So, this is why it took you two months to get home!" Hermione said distractedly, "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 bullying him, Hermione, because he's so small!" Hagrid said.
"Small? Claire is small." Hermione said pointing sleeping giant, "That is not small."
"I'm not small!" Claire protested, "I'm vertically challenged."
"So anyway, Hagrid." Alex said, "He's your brother?"
"Well... Half-brother." Hagrid amended, "Turns out me mother took up with another giant when she left me dad, and she went and had Grawp here..."
"Grawp?..." Neville asked.
"Yeah... Well, that's what it sounds like when he says his name." Hagrid said anxiously, "He don't speak a lot of English... I have been trying ta teach him... Anyway, she don't seem ta have liked him much more than she liked me. See, with giantesses, what counts is producing good big kids, and he's always been a bit on the runty side for a giant, on ya sixteen foot..."
"Oh, yes, tiny!" Hermione said, with a kind of hysterical sarcasm, "Absolutely minuscule!"
"Well he is below average size for Giants." Claire pointed out, raising a finger to her cousin, "Don't you dare make a joke about me and my size."
"What me? I wouldn't dream of it." Alex said with a grin, "I mostly make jokes about your weight, or your grumpiness."
Claire shook her head, before turning her attention back to Hagrid, "Did Madame Maxime want to bring him back?"
"She well, she could see it was right important ta me." Hagrid said, twisting his enormous hands, "But 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?" Neville asked.
"Well, that's why it took so long, see. Could only travel by night and through wild country and stuff.", Hagrid explained, "Course, he covers the ground pretty well when he wants ta, but he kept wanting ta go back."
"Oh, Hagrid, why on God's blue earth didn't you let him!" Hermione said, flopping down on to a ripped up tree and burying her face in her hands, "What do you think you're going to do with a violent giant who doesn't even want to be here!"
"Well, now... 'violent'... that's a bit harsh." Hagrid said, still twisting his hands agitatedly.
"It's not like Giants are know for their violent temperament when slightly angered." Claire said, hands in her jean pockets.
"Yes... Well... I'll admit he might a taken a couple of swings at me when he's been in a bad mood." Hagrid admitted, "But he's getting better, loads better, settling' down well."
"Then why are there ropes?" Alex pointed out, gesturing at the ropes thick as saplings stretching from around the trunks of the largest nearby trees towards the place where Grawp lay curled on the ground with his back to them.
"You have to keep him tied up?" Hermione said faintly.
"He just doesn't really know his own strength..." Hagrid said, looking anxious.
"Right." Claire said, stretching the word out as it dripped in sarcasm, now understanding why there had been such a suspicious lack of any other living creature in this part of the Forest.
"I don't believe you!" Neville added.
"So, what is it you want Harry, Claire, Ron, Neville, Hermione and me to do?" Alex said.
"Look after him." Hagrid said croakily, "After I'm gone."
The four of them exchanged miserable looks, "What... What does that involve, exactly?" Hermione inquired.
"Not food or anything! He can get his own food, no problem. Birds an' deer an' stuff." Hagrid said eagerly, "No, it's company he needs. If I just knew someone was carrying on trying ter help him a bit... teaching him, ya know."
"You want us to... teach him?" Neville said in a hollow voice, "Right..."
"Yeah, even if ya just talk ta him a bit." Hagrid said hopefully, "Because I reckon, if he can talk ta people, he'll understand more that we all like him really, and want him ta stay."
Claire looked at Hermione, who peered back at her from between the fingers over her face. "Now I wish we had Norbert back..." she said, and Hermione gave a very shaky laugh.
"Ya'll do it, then?", Hagrid said, who did not seem to have caught what Claire had just said.
"We'll..." Alex said, "We will try."
"I knew I could count on ya." Hagrid said, beaming a very watery way and dabbing at his face with his handkerchief again, "And I don't want ya ta put yarself out too much... I know ya have got exams... If ya could just nip down here in the Invisibility Cloak maybe once a week and have a little chat with him. I'll wake him up, then, introduce ya!"
"What... no!" Hermione said, jumping up, "Hagrid, no, don't wake him, really, we don't need..." But Hagrid had already stepped over the great tree trunk in front of them and was proceeding towards Grawp.
Some time later, Claire, Alex, Neville, Hermione and Hagrid were standing under the clear blue sky again and, in the distance, the definite sounds of cheering and shouting.
"Was that another goal?" Hagrid asked, pausing in the shelter of the trees as the Quidditch stadium came into view, "Or do ya reckon the match is over?"
"I don't know..." Hermione said miserably. Claire saw that she looked much the worse for wear. Her hair was full of twigs and leaves, her shirt and jeans were ripped in several places and there were numerous scratches on her face and arms.
"I reckon it's over, ya know!" Hagrid said, still squinting towards the stadium, "Look... There's people coming out already... if ya four hurry ya'll be able ter blend in with the crowd and no one'll know ya weren't there!"
"That's the best idea you have had tis day." Claire said, "See you later, Hagrid."
"I don't believe him." Hermione said in a very unsteady voice, the moment they were out of earshot of Hagrid, "I don't believe him. I really don't believe him."
"Calm down." Alex said softly.
"Calm down? Calm down!? What kind of drugs are you consuming Alexander Kent!? Because I sure could use some! A giant! A giant in the Forest! And we are supposed to give him English lessons! I. Don't. Believe. Him!" Hermione said feverishly, at her freak out, Alex couldn't help but give a light chuckle, earning him a glare, "Happy to know this is very amusing to you!"
"It's not that. When you lose your temper like tis, I just find your very adorable." Alex casually mentioned, as they joined a stream of jabbering Hufflepuffs heading back towards the castle, "But we haven't got to do anything yet. He's not asking us to do anything unless he gets fired and that might not even happen."
"Oh, come off it, Alex!" Hermione said angrily, stopping dead in her tracks so that the people behind had to swerve to avoid her, "Of course he's going to be chucked out and, to be perfectly honest, after what we've just seen, who can blame Umbridge?"
There was a pause in which Claire, Alex and Neville glared at her, and her eyes filled slowly with tears. "You didn't mean that." Alex said quietly.
"No... No, I didn't." she said, wiping her eyes angrily, "But why does he have to make life so difficult for himself... for us?"
"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. Haven't they gloated enough?" Hermione said miserably, a great tide of students was moving up the sloping lawns from the pitch, "Oh, let's get in before we have to meet the Slytherins."
"Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King."
"I don't think its the Slytherins singing." Claire said as the song was growing louder, but it was issuing not from a crowd of green-and-silver-clad Slytherins, but from a mass of red and gold moving slowly towards the castle, bearing a solitary figure upon its many shoulders.
"No?" Hermione said in a hushed voice.
"Yes!" they heard Harry shout loudly.
"Claire! Alex! Neville! Hermione!" Ron yelled, waving the silver Quidditch cup in the air and looking quite beside himself, "We did it! We won!"
They beamed up at him as he passed. There was a scrum at the door of the castle and Ron's head got rather badly bumped on the lintel, but nobody seemed to want to put him down.
Still singing, the crowd squeezed itself into the Entrance Hall and out of sight. Claire, Alex, Neville and Hermione watched them go, beaming, until the last echoing strains of "Weasley is our King" died away. Then they turned to each other, their smiles fading.
"We'll save our news for tomorrow..." Claire said, rubbing her hand through her hair, making it even more messy.
"Yes, all right..." Hermione said wearily.
"I agree." Neville said.
"I'm not in any hurry." Alex said as they climbed the steps together.
Ron's euphoria at helping Gryffindor scrape the Quidditch cup was such that he couldn't settle to anything next day. All he wanted to do was talk over the match, with added commentary of Harry.
So Claire, Alex, Neville and Hermione found it very difficult to find an opening in which to mention Grawp. Not that they were trying very hard, none was keen to be the one to bring their friends back to reality in quite such a brutal fashion.
As it was another fine, warm day, they persuaded him to join them in revising under the beech tree at the edge of the lake, where they had less chance of being overheard than in the common room.
Ron was not particularly keen on this idea at first, he was thoroughly enjoying being patted on the back by every Gryffindor who walked past his chair, not to mention the occasional outbursts of "Weasley is our King", but after a while he agreed that some fresh air might do him good.
They spread their books out in the shade of the beech tree and sat down while Ron talked them through his first save of the match for what felt like the dozenth time.
"Well, I mean, I'd already let in that one of Davies, so I wasn't feeling all that confident, but I don't know, when Bradley came towards me, just out of nowhere, I thought, 'You can do this!' And I had about a second to decide which way to fly, you know, because he looked like he was aiming for the right goal hoop, my right, obviously, his left, but I had a funny feeling that he was feinting, and so I took the chance and flew left. His right, I mean, and well you saw what happened." he concluded modestly, sweeping his hair back quite unnecessarily so that it looked interestingly windswept and glancing around to see whether the people nearest to them a bunch of gossiping third-year Hufflepuffs, had heard him.
"And then, when Chambers came at me about five minutes later... What?" Ron asked, having stopped mid-sentence at the look on Harry's face, "Why are you grinning?"
"I'm not." Harry said quickly, and looked down at his Transfiguration notes, attempting to straighten his face, his green eyes exchanging glances with Claire's cloudy grey's.
The two of them knew that Ron had just reminded Harry forcibly of another Gryffindor Quidditch player who had once sat rumpling his hair under this very tree. "I'm just glad we won, that's all." Claire said.
"Yeah." Ron said slowly, savoring the words, "We won. Did you see the look on Chang's face when Harry got the Snitch right out from under her nose?"
"I suppose she cried, did she?" Claire said, laying down on the ground, arms propped behind her head.
"Well, more out of temper than anything, though." Harry said, "But you saw her chuck her broom away when she got back to the ground, didn't you?"
"Well, actually... No." Alex said with a heavy sigh, putting down his book and looking at him apologetically, "As a matter of fact, the only bit of the match we saw was Davies's first goal."
"W-What?" Harry asked as Ron's carefully ruffled hair seemed to wilt with disappointment, "Where were you four?"
"Well... But we didn't want to leave, we had to!" Hermione said, "It was Hagrid."
"He decided to tell us why he's been covered in injuries ever since he got back from the giants." Alex explained, sitting back up, "He wanted us to go into the Forest with him, we had no choice, you know how he gets. Anyway..."
The story was told in five minutes, by the end of which Ron's indignation had been replaced by a look of total incredulity.
"He brought one back and hid it in the Forest?" Harry asked.
"Unfortunately... yes." Claire admitted.
"...Just when you think we had everything happened to us." Harry said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"No." Ron said, as though by saying this he could make it untrue, "No, he can't have."
"Well, he has." Hermione said firmly, "Grawps about sixteen feet tall, enjoys ripping up twenty-foot pine trees, and knows me as... as Hermy."
Ron and Neville gave a nervous laugh.
"To be fair, that was actually pretty funny." Alex said with a chuckle.
"Laugh it up, Kent." Hermione said annoyed.
"And Hagrid wants us to teach him English?" Ron asked, and getting a nod, "He's lost his mind..."
"Yes." Hermione said irritably, turning a page of Intermediate Transfiguration and glaring at a series of diagrams showing an owl turning into a pair of opera glasses, "Yes, I'm starting to think he has. But, unfortunately, he made Claire, Alex, Neville and me promise."
"Well, you're just going to have to break your promise, that's all. I mean, come on... We have got exams and we are about that far." Ron said firmly, "And anyway... Remember Norbert? Have we ever come off better for mixing with any of Hagrid's monster mates? What is he going to introduce to us next?"
"Look gang, Hagrid hasn't been sacked yet. He's hung on this long, and with Dumbledore around, there is no way he's getting sacked." Alex said, "With some luck he will hang on till the end of term and we won't have to go near Grawp at all."
"Knowing our luck, he'll be gone by the end of the evening." Claire sighed.
And that is, hope you enjoyed.
Many thanks to everyone who reads, favorite, follows or reviews this chapter. If you enjoy my work, don't forget to leave a review and I hope to see you beauties next time.
Mischief Managed.