Magic? || Years 1-5

The Plan: Year 1

The four raced down to Hagrid's hut, Amisty's hair bouncing behind her like a black wing.

As the wooden cabin came into view, Amisty's gaze caught sight of Hagrid lounging in an armchair on his porch, enjoying the sunshine just like she had been doing a few minutes prior.

"Hullo. Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?" He asked, getting up from his relaxed position and a smile glowing on his face.

"Yes, please," Ron replied, an exhausted sigh escaping his mouth.

"No, we're in a hurry," Harry butted in, to Ron's disappointment. "Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno, he wouldn' take his cloak off," Hagrid replied simply, not the slightest bit concerned for the suspiciousness of the situation.

The four of them traded shocked glances, to which Hagrid raised his eyebrows at.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head -- that's one o' the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up," He added on, still keeping the unanxious tone.

Harry slumped down into a chair, a dark look shadowing his face.

"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?" He asked, his hand on his forehead.

"Mighta come up. Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was a gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after... so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..." Hagrid explained, his eyebrows furrowed as he grasped desperately at the muddled memories.

Amisty took a deep breath, struggling to keep from shouting.

"And did he -- did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry questioned.

Amisty sensed the aura of fear around her friend, and her own feet were shifting nervously beneath her.

"Well -- yeah -- how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep --" Hagrid's voice trailed off and his eyes went wide as realization struck.
"I shouldn'ta told yeh that! Forget I said it!" He shook his head furiously, but it was too late, the four were already racing away. "Hey -- where're yeh goin'?"

Amisty skidded to a halt at the entrance hall, running a hand through the tangles of her unruly black hair. As if that would tame it.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore. Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak -- it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?" Harry rambled, speaking a mile a minute.

Amisty glanced around, as did the other two.

No one had ever told the students where the Headmaster's office was. Maybe they assumed the students would never need a reason to know.

"We'll just have to --" Harry started, only to be interrupted by a voice echoing from across the hall.

"What are you three doing inside?" Professor McGonagall's familiar tone dragged the attention of the four to her, a stack of books teetering in her arms.