An Heir

Part Thirty Four- The Curtain Rises

We strolled down to the hut that Hagrid inhabited and I could see the giant half-bird half-horse resting in-between the pumpkins. Its head, which had rested on its front claws rose and turned to us as we got closer, its eyes were sad, and I was sure that it wasn’t merely my imagination, because Hippogriffs were intelligent creatures- it knew what was coming. I saw a glint at the edge of the path just ahead of us as Harry, Ron and Hermione spoke with each other. It was unmistakably snake-like and sure enough I could hear his scales on the dry grass as he slithered up to me, our party stopped.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, “I thought you’d be somewhere inside- warming your scales.” I knelt and ran my hand over his head gently.
“I was resting in a tree and smelt you coming this way.” He brushed my leg gently and I obligingly picked him up, hefting him over my shoulders as he wrapped himself around my slender frame.
“Are you alright?” Harry hissed as we set off- I was breathing a bit more heavily but nodded, switching back to English seamlessly.
“I’m fine Harry.” I looked apologetically at Hermione and Ron and we continued, but I could only carry Sthyss a bit further, he was growing too heavy and I was too weak this close to tonight to heave his six foot long, thick-as-my-arm body down the rest of the path. Instead we adopted for a more suitable arrangement and he slithered along beside me.

Harry was the one we all, eventually, elected to knock on Hagrid’s door, which rang with a hollow song of despair. It took a minute for Hagrid to answer and he actually looked sick, “Yeh shouldn’ve come,” he said quietly, but gestured regardless, for us to enter. I turned to pick up Sthyss and brought him inside after us.
We sat down at the table that dominated the centre of the room, the kettle was whistling and Hagrid offered us a bucket sized cup of tea.
“He looks happy.” Harry lied to Hagrid, gesturing to the window and Buckbeak sitting in the pumpkin patch.
“Yeah, I thought tha’ he oughta see the trees an’ smell the fresh air… before-” He began sobbing and I noticed that his hands had been shaking so violently that he’d spilt tea over the table. Hermione looked at me and I stood. “Hagrid I’ll do that.” I told him gently, taking the teapot from his hand while Hermione cleaned up the spilt tea.
“Can’t anything be done Hagrid?” Ron asked and I watched as the big man shook his head slowly. “Can’t Dumbledore do something?” Harry inquired further, Hagrid turned his face up and replied.
“No, Dumbledore’s done his best, the problem is tha’ the Committee members are terrified o’ Lucius Malfoy, yeh know what he’s like.” He looked down at the table and I could see that he was trying to hide the tears that were running down his cheeks. “Said he’d come down though, Dumbledore did, said he’d be here when… when it happens… great man Dumbledore.” I retook my seat once the drinks were poured and frowned.
I felt so useless; I wished I could’ve been more help.
“Oh my god Ron! I don’t believe it! It’s Scabbers!” Hermione suddenly yelled and Ron shot up, I had to strain not to react violently, internally though I’d just become so much more aware, my hair bristled and my heart quickened in its beat.
“What do you mean?” Hermione came over with the milk jug and tipped it carefully upside down, sure enough, out fell a violently squeaking rat.
I looked down at Sthyss and then back to the rat on the table who was being gathered up by Ron. Sthyss was getting ready to lunge for the rotund rodent.
“Don’t.” I muttered at him under my breath- Harry was sitting quite close to me, and even though I’d tried to be quiet, he’d heard me.
“Imogene-” Sthyss began but I clutched him tightly and cut him off before he could continue.
“Go find something else to eat- maybe a dog.” I said shaking my head, hoping that he knew to which dog I was referring, and that I didn’t want him to eat it. I watched him leave the room through the window, in the direction of the Whomping Willow and internally sighed in relief.
“What was that about?” Ron asked and I thought quickly.
“I didn’t want Sthyss to scare off Scabbers, so I told him to go and find something more constructive to do.” I looked to Harry who nodded seemingly to himself, verifying internally that I wasn’t lying.
In this time though, Hagrid had gotten up and was stood by the window.
“They’re comin’,” he announced, we all got up and gathered around the towering man, where, sure enough, four men could be seen walking down the gravel path- one carrying a large axe.
“Yeh should’ve come,” Hagrid repeated. “Yeh need to get goin’. Now! If someone sees you here- especially you Harry- there’ll be trouble.” He ushered us to the back door and we waited in tense silence as the four men drew nearer to the hut. Once they were at the front door we sprinted out of the house and into the pumpkin patch until we reached the edge of the forest. There was a sudden snap of twigs behind me and I turned expecting to see someone directly behind me, instead I caught sight of a messy black-haired person with glasses and a scar being swiftly pulled out of sight by a girl with frizzy brown hair.  Frowning, I blinked and shook my head, trying to clear it. “What is it?” Hermione asked and I turned to face the Hermione that I knew had been there all this time, and not the one that was hiding behind a tree six feet away. I shook my head in reply to Hermione’s question, dismissing her question but knowing that she thought she’d seen something too, we shared a look of dismay. Harry motioned us then though and we began at a run up, towards the school. I stopped us all at the top of the gravel where the Pumpkin Patch was invisible and we couldn’t see the Hippogriff anymore, which was pretty much what I’d had in mind.