Brighter Than the Sun

Chapter Fifty-Three

Hermione had apparently decided to take the opportunity to tell Hagrid about S.P.E.W. and ask him to join, because she ran to grab her badges.

"What is it with her?" said Ron, exasperated, as Hermione ran away up the marble staircase.

"Don't try to discourage her," I said. "If she's not really interested in this S.P.E.W. stuff she'll get tired of it soon. If she is... Well, let's just hope she calms down about it."

"I thought you were radical like her," Ron muttered.

"First off, she's not radical. Not really. Second, I think S. P. E. W. was originally a good idea, but I thought we'd be doing more than just shoving a box of badges in people's faces and lecturing them about elf rights."

"Like what?"

"Like petitioning to the Ministry. I don't know." I shrugged. "I think that the elves should do what they want. If they want paying, we should pay them. If they want sick leave, we should give it to them. But if they just want to work and they're honestly happy about it... well, we can't force them to accept payment."

"Hey, Ron," said Harry suddenly. "It's your friend..."

The students from Beauxbatons were coming through the front doors from the grounds, among them, the veela-girl. Those gathered around the Goblet of Fire stood back to let them pass, watching eagerly.

Madame Maxime entered the hall behind her students and organized them into a line. One by one, the Beauxbatons students stepped across the Age Line and dropped their slips of parchment into the blue-white flames. As each name entered the fire, it turned briefly red and emitted sparks.

"What d'you reckon'll happen to the ones who aren't chosen?" Ron muttered to Harry and I as the veela-girl dropped her parchment into the Goblet of Fire. "Reckon they'll go back to school, or hang around to watch the tournament?"

"Dunno," said Harry. "Hang around, I suppose..."

"Madame Maxime's staying to judge," I said. "I don't get why they would send the rest of them back without their headmistress."

When all the Beauxbatons students had submitted their names, Madame Maxime led them back out of the hall and out onto the grounds again.

"Where are they sleeping, then?" said Ron, moving toward the front doors and staring after them.

A loud rattling noise behind them announced Hermione's reappearance with the box of S. P. E.W. badges.

"Oh good, hurry up," said Ron, and he jumped down the stone steps, keeping his eyes on the back of the veela-girl, who was now halfway across the lawn with Madame Maxime.

As we neared Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the mystery of the Beauxbatons' sleeping quarters was solved. The gigantic powder-blue carriage in which they had arrived had been parked two hundred yards from Hagrid's front
door, and the students were climbing back inside it. The elephantine flying horses that had pulled the carriage were now grazing in a makeshift paddock alongside it. Harry knocked on Hagrid's door, and Fang's booming barks answered instantly.

"Bout time!" said Hagrid, when he'd flung open the door. "Thought you lot'd forgotten where I live!"

"We've been really busy, Hag —" Hermione started to say, but then she stopped dead, looking up at Hagrid, apparently lost for words. It took every bit of my being not to laugh.

Hagrid was wearing his best (and very horrible) hairy brown suit, plus a checked yellow-and-orange tie. This wasn't the worst of it, though; he had evidently tried to tame his hair, using large quantities of what appeared to be axle grease. It was now slicked down into two bunches — perhaps he had tried a ponytail like Bill's, but found he had too much hair. The look didn't really suit Hagrid at all. For a moment, Hermione goggled at him, then, obviously deciding not to comment, she said, "Erm — where are the skrewts?"