Everybody gets up late on Boxing Day. The Gryffindor common room is much quieter than it has been lately, many yawns punctuating the lazy conversations. Hermione's hair is bushy again; she confesses to Harry, Danny and I that she used liberal amounts of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on it for the ball, "but it's way too much bother to do every day," she says matter-of-factly, scratching a purring Crookshanks behind the ears.
Ron, Hermione and I have reached an unspoken agreement not to discuss our argument. We are being quite friendly to each other, though oddly formal. Ron, Harry and Danny waste no time in telling Hermione and I about the conversation they overheard between Madame Maxime and Hagrid, but Hermione and I don't find the news that Hagrid is a half-giant nearly as shocking as Ron does.
"Well, I thought he must be," I say, shrugging. "I knew he couldn't be pure giant, because they're about twenty feet tall. But honestly, all this hysteria about giants. They can't all be horrible...it's the same sort of prejudice that people have towards werewolves...it's just bigotry, isn't it?"
Ron looks as though he would like to reply scathingly, but perhaps he doesn't want another row.
It is now time to think of the homework we neglected during the first week of the holidays. Everybody seems to be feeling rather flat, now that Christmas is over, though Harry and Danny seem slightly nervous.
Snow is still thick upon the grounds, and the greenhouse windows are covered in condensation so thick that we can't see out of them in Herbology. Nobody is looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures much in this weather, though, as Ron says, the Skrewts will probably warm us up nicely, either by chasing us or by blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin catches fire.
When we arrive at Hagrid's cabin, however, we find an elderly witch with closely cropped grey hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door.
"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barks at us, as we struggle towards her through the snow.
"Who're you?" says Ron, staring at her. "Where's Hagrid?"
"My name is Professor Grubby-Plank," she says briskly, "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."
"Where's Hagrid?" Danny repeats loudly.
"He is indisposed," says Professor Grubby-Plank shortly.
Soft and unpleasant laughter reaches my ears. I turn; Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins are joining the class. All of them look gleeful, and none of them look surprised to see Professor Grubby-Plank.
"This way, please," says Professor Grubby-Plank, and she strides off around the paddock where the hugs Beauxbatons horses are shivering. Harry, Danny, Ron, Hermione and I follow her, looking back over our shoulders at Hagrid's cabin. All the curtains are closed. Is Hagrid in there, alone and ill?
"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry says, hurrying to catch up with Professor Grubby-Plank.
"Never you mind," she says, as though she thinks this is being nosy.
"We do mind, though," says Danny hotly. "What's up with him?"
Professor Grubby-Plank acts as though she can't hear him. She leads us past the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses are standing, huddled against the cold, and towards a tree on the edge of the Forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn is tethered.
Many of us girls "oooooh!" at the sight of the unicorn.
"Oh, it's so beautiful!" whispers Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"
YOU ARE READING
Dawn Rivera
Fanfiction"One is the lock, one is the key, one is the sacrifice the world shall shall grieve." Dawn has wanted to go to Hogwarts ever since she was a little girl, and nothing her older sister Gertrude says will discourage her. Little does she know that the m...
