HP-Hogwarts Story So Far

Transcript One

Tea With Hagrid

 

The whole school had been a little confusing at the start of term. Firstly "The Night of Dreams" as it had been nicknamed and then the strange arrangements for lessons. Dumbledore had apologised at the second evening meal, saying that, "I'm sorry. I did mean to tell you all last night, but with everything going on it slipped my mind. Anyway, the teachers are not available to spend as much time for lessons as I have given them extra duties. What this means is that all houses in the same year take the same class at the same time. This effectively halves the amount of time the teachers are required. You will find many of your lessons are in different rooms to accommodate the extra numbers. I must reassure you that although you have smaller classes your study will not suffer. Please be patient with these new arrangements as they are for your continued safety at Hogwarts."

Morticia, as other students, was very angry after that speech and muttered something about "can't do that", "Dad's right, he' always doing whatever he wants" and "write home about this". Generally, however they had taken it in good measure. School had progressed as lessons started to clam down. Various strange things had happened, but that was nothing new here. Prof Trewlaney had predicted a death, Prof Snape had given several detentions and Peeves had overturned some of the dinner tables in a fit of anger. But at least the dreams and the drums they had all experienced on the first night did not happen again, at least, not yet...

Prof Trewlaney, who had looked into a crystal ball at the same time as Morticia and then spent 10 minutes screaming as if she'd been attacked by a boggart, had surprised Morticia. She'd dismissed the rest of the class immediately afterwards, and no one saw Morticia for an hour. She still hadn't talked about that to anyone.

Later that day, Morticia - even paler than usual - had beckoned to all the Slytherins she can find and directs then towards the Slytherin common room. All she had to say to others who asked worried questions was: "Well, she talked to ME, not to you, and if she'd thought you should know about it, she'd have told you. And now excuse me, I've got important things to talk to - with my FRIENDS."

Fresh from the herbology lesson, Arivel followed Morticia, and a few others up to the Slytherin common room. "What's the matter? Has Trelawny said something? Predicted your death, perhaps? My mother says that shes always predicting horrible things that never happen!"

But after that nobody heard much about it.

One boy had been caught trying to get into the forest, and had been given a locator to wear: one that he couldn't remove. Only no-one knew who he was because he wasn't seen by the students and the teachers weren't telling.

Egreen had been seen in the library a lot more than was normal. The librarian had been having a hard time with all the requests for some very strange books.

Kat had received a detention from Snape, although no one really knew why.

Morticia had met Kat afterwards, and smiled comfortably at her. "Ah, don't you take it too hard, Kat. The teachers are quite upset at the moment, what with those huge classes and all. At least he didn't scream at you like he was being cursed or so..." She sighs. "I mean, did she have to do that in public? It was embarrassing!"

It was Friday. Another quiet day. The quidditch trials were tomorrow, lessons were going well. Kat and Joss had just finished their potions lesson. Kat hated potions. But then Snape hated everyone that wasn't Slytherins, so that was understandable. She'd got herself in a mess and mixed a freezing potion that had come out red instead of blue. Snape had shouted at her, but Joss had helped her to sort out the mess.

They left the front door to the school and walked down to Hagrid's hut. Kat glanced towards the forest. Why had it been quarentined? She stopped suddenly. Was that footsteps she'd heard? No, they had stopped. She turned round but there was no one here except her and Joss. They exchanged glances as if to agree that they'd walk quietly. They set off again.

Kat was sure she could still hear footsteps. She was reminded of Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, maybe they were being followed. She stopped again, and then turned round and ran farward about 20 meters. Nothing. She should have bumped into someone. It must just be her imagination. She went back to Joss, and they carried on.

Josslin looked at her friend for a quite moment. Considering the fact that her friend might be a good candidate for the loony bin, then she thought, 'Everyone in this castle would be a good candidate for the loony bin lately, including herself!' And considered that, compared to Trelawny, Kat looked like more than sane.

They stopped at the front door, and knocked. Joss went to peer through the window as she had last time. "No cobwebs this time."

"Whew," said Kat. They waited for Hagrid to open the door...

"Oi! We're back here!" called Hagrid, from behind the cottage.

Walking around to the back of the cottage they saw Hagrid, JB, Fang, a Hippogriff and a unicorn, standing in a circle, looking at a freshly dug hole in the ground.

"Hi Joss. Hi Kat." said JB. "I'm glad to see you. I was hoping to catch up with you both. Look what we found," and JB pointed to the hole. At the bottom of it was something dark and squirming.

"Hey you guys!" Exclaimed Joss, and then looked over at Kat.

"You're back!" exclaimed Kat. "I'd wondered where you'd been all week. Did you have strange dreams on the first night too? What are you doing here with Hagrid? What have you found? What is that down there? How come the Hippogriff and unicorn are here? What's up, did something happen?

Kat looked at Hagrid and JB. She's seen the dark and squirming thing, but had no idea what it was. It didn't appear to do much. Kat wondered whether the thing had anything to do with the Hippogriff or the unicorn. She looked over her shoulder. She still had the feeling she was being watched.

"Ah you know, I don't believe that's natural. Is that natural? I think I'll stay over here!" Joss said as she backed away from the squirming thing and hid behind the Unicorn, who didn't seem to even notice Joss's presence.

Hagrid looked at her questioningly, and lifted his brow. "Joss, it an't gonna `urt ya darlin`. Und this ein't like you!" He seemed to smile and hold back a laugh. "After all weren't it you who 'elped me last year in the forest? Of course not o' ya will," He smiled a little more broadly. "But even if yer were in detention I'd a thought yer a bit more courageous!"

Joss stumbled on these words. It was true, in a way. She had gotten in trouble a couple of times last year and had gone on a couple of patrols with hagrid, she had actually met a very different kind of werewolf once, the kind that does not like to chew on your leg. How come she was cowering at this thing.

In the Grass a small Newt moved. Kat looked again and it was gone. There was another stirring in the grass as the Newt scuttled towards the hole.

"Hey, Hagrid, I see you're cobwebs have gone. What happened there anyway? Can you tell us what happened now? I'm intreagued to know."

"Yeh, well I found this spider in the wood. Only a little 'um, but I 'ad ta look after 'im. He weren't well. Found 'im in the forest."

"What was wrong with him? Was it anything to do with this quarentine thing?"

"I 'eint tellin' yer any more. I already said too much." Kat scowled at Hagrid. She hated it when he was like this, he'd not tell much. Sometimes you could trick him into telling, but today she couldn't think how.

"Eh" says Hagrid "whats that newt doin 'ere, it aint the rieght season for 'em"

Hagrid stoops down and grabs the surprised Newt by its tail. "Summit's not rieght with this ere newt - is this yours?" He shows it to Kat who looks at it unimpressed.

Hagrid dropped the newt and it scurried away across the grass obviously distress at being caught. Hagrid had explained to Kat and Joss that the squirming thing was something he had found in the forest and he did not really know what it was. The unicorn had been standing over it when he found it, either protecting it, of preventing it getting away, he was not sure which. The hippogriff was there merely because Hagrid had been looking after it. A bird had attached it and Hagrid was trying to heal the wounds.

They had all stood around discussing the strange squirming thing for a while. Then Hagrid had taken them in for tea and some slightly too hard rock cakes.