Scarlet Night: A Harry Potter Tale

~ 7 ~

They walked on in steady silence toward the castle with the rowdy box in tow. Hagrid loped on ahead of her, and she watched him move; his gait was strained, like a slow-moving duck. It was such a different stride from Severus's. Every move Severus made was intentional and no breath was left un-calculated; Hagrid, on the other hand, walked as though he never suspected that anyone would ever wish to harm him. 

Several nights ago, Scarlet would have related far better to Hagrid, but since He had come, she understood Severus all too well.  Nothing was safe. A cold chill ran through her as a gust of wind blew her red hair into her face; she tried to return her attention to the giant in front of her, and while she mostly succeeded, some of her worries remained. She supposed that from now on, they would always remain. A little ways ahead, Scarlet noticed a set of mossy stone steps. "Is that where we're headed, Hagrid?" she asked. 

"Sure is." he answered. "Green'ouses this a way." They trudged up the steep steps and the castle came into view once again. Hagrid then stopped and turned to her smiling. "I've got somethin' ter show yeh." he winked and then turned back around and changed direction slightly North, but kept walking. 

Scarlet followed him for what seemed like ages before a large wall came into sight. The structure was round and massive, and Scarlet could just barely catch a glimpse of circular rings above the wall. She recognized this place; it was an arena for a game. But what was that game called again?

"I assume yeh know what Quidditch is, your dad bein' who he is." Hagrid said cheerfully as they approached the arena. 

There was that word! Quidditch. She had heard her father speak of it. But more than even her father, Scarlet remembered hearing it from Sirius. She remembered the small broom he would let her ride around on in his small cottage until she would crash into something and break a dish or a vase. Then he would just laugh and wave his wand, and whatever had been broken would be good as new. 

Hagrid led Scarlet into the arena and said, ""This was pretty much yer dad's home. Hardly ever went anywhere else." he was smiling, looking around the stadium like perhaps he could still see James Potter flying around. 

"Did Sirius come with him?" Scarlet asked. 

"All the time! He an' James, 'ad be down here with their brooms an' they'd go to chasin' each other." It sounded so casual coming out of Hagrid's mouth, but it wasn't too awfully long before Scarlet felt hot tears slipping from her eyes and grazing her cheeks as they raced down. She would never watch her dad racing around on a broom again, or her mum's disapproving - but nearly amused - face when she found out what kind of tricks he'd been performing on it. But where was Sirius? Why had he not come and saved her yet? He knew the way to Hogwarts. Did he not want her anymore? Or worse, had He found Sirius as well? As soon as the thought hit, Scarlet let out a moan and cried harder. 

Hagrid jumped in surprise and looked down at her. "Oh Scarle'!" he exclaimed worriedly. "I didn't mean ter upset yeh! I shouldn'ta said anythin'." he bumbled on a bit more until Scarlet stopped sobbing and looked up at him with red eyes. 

"Hagrid?" she said. He looked pitiful, staring back at her. She sighed. She wanted to ask him why Sirius had not taken them. She wanted to ask him why he had taken her brother away on Sirius's motorbike. She wanted to ask why no one knew that her mum and dad were going to be killed and why no one was there to stop it. But above all, she wanted to know why such a horrible wizard wanted anything to do with the Potter family in the first place. 

But she did not ask any of these things. Instead she said only, "Thank you for showing me this." The giant's eyes had begun to fill with tears, so Scarlet laid a tiny hand on Hagrid's side and forced a smile. "It's alright, Hagrid. It will take some time for me, but it's alright." This seemed to reassure him a bit and he nodded, then turned and began to bumble his way out of the arena. 

"Righ' then, that Horklump." he said halfheartedly. Scarlet felt guilty for making Hagrid feel bad; he was only trying to help. But even as they wandered away from the stadium, Scarlet looked back and felt the emptiness build inside her. She blinked hard and shook her head, refocusing her attention on Hagrid. She decided that the best way to get her mind off of the past was to ask questions. 

"So Hagrid..." she began. "How many different creatures live on the Hogwarts grounds?" 

"Oh, I reckon over 4,000." he replied casually. 

"4,000?!" Scarlet exclaimed. "Where do they all live?"

"Well, some live in the forest, some 'r in the castle, and ya got others in the lake." 

Scarlet shook her head in amazement. She tried to imagine the creatures in the Black Lake - that's what Hagrid called it -, and what they might look like. At last they reached the greenhouse and Hagrid opened the door to release the flurry of sound from within: Chirping birds, gurgling noises, and rustling leaves. It didn't take Scarlet long to spot what they were there for. The Horklumps had completely dominated the far side of the wall; they were round and pinkish, and they pulsated together like a massive heartbeat. 

"Alrigh', Scarlet!" Hagrid boomed. "If ye would, come 'round an hold this box for me." Scarlet nodded and went to Hagrid's side, taking hold of the box in his hands. He let go and the gnome inside began thrashing again. "Hold on!" Hagrid said, and unlatched the lid. He wrenched it open and the movement halted immediately. Scarlet watched Hagrid lift the gnome out of the box gingerly, never taking his eyes off of it. 

"Why's it stopped moving?" Scarlet whispered. 

"Well, see, this breed o' gnome can't move while yer lookin' at it. But it's kept in the box 'cause nobody can be lookin' at it all the time!" Hagrid said, his voice at a normal volume.

"What does it do when nobody's looking?" Scarlet asked, her voice also returning to normal. 

"Nobody really knows." Hagrid replied. "Bu' one thing they do fer sure is eat! Now, I've just got te set this little creature right up here next to that ole Horklump an' it'll be gone come a few days!"

"Shouldn't you chain it's leg or something, so it doesn't get to the other plants?" Scarlet asked.

"Scarlet!" Hagrid cried, looking at her, horrified. "Ye can't just chain up creatures left an' righ' like that. Ye wouldn't want nobody doin' it to you, would ye?" Scarlet shook her head and Hagrid nodded. "Righ' then. Keep yer eyes on it, and back up towards the door, best ye can." She did as he said and shuffled her feet back a few inches at a time, putting her hands out behind her, making sure she didn't bump in to any display pots. There were some lively plants all around her, with long stems and bulbs on the end; they were moving around like snakes, inspecting Scarlet's hair. It wasn't all that easy to keep her eyes on the gnome anymore. One of the bulbs ventured underneath some of her locks and "sniffed" her hair, causing her to upstart and look at the plant.

A rustling from across the room took Scarlet's eyes immediately back to the gnome, and she gasped, seeing that it had moved. Hagrid had now made it to the door, and he called, "Alrigh', you're safe! I'm watchin' it now, come on." Scarlet turned and scurried out the door, then Hagrid shut it with force, then heaved a big sigh. Rubbing his hands, he turned to Scarlet. "Well, tha' was a time, now wasn't it? You'll see, in a few days that greenhouse'll be clean as a pinwheel!" He looked up at the sky, and for the first time, Scarlet took notice that it was darkening quickly. 

"Oh no!" she cried. "Severus's exam! I forgot to study!" she smacked her forehead, then looked up at Hagrid. "Thank you for today, Hagrid. I hope to spend more with you, but for now I have to go!" With that, she ran off toward the main entrance to the castle, not looking back to see Hagrid's response.