jemina // sirius black

twelve

chapter twelve - hagrid's hut

I took Esme's advice about Biscuit. 

My timing for going down to see Hagrid was unfortunate, to a degree. 

Aubrey had told me that Harry didn't know that I was his aunt, but that he was angry with me for having married Sirius Black. She asked that I avoid him, and I agreed. The last thing I wanted was to make a scene about Sirius, especially with Harry. That would only put more strain on his friendship with Aubrey, and that would only further upset her. 

The Tuesday after Sirius attacked Ron, I decided to go down to visit Hagrid and talk about Biscuit for a while. I had been unaware that Harry and Ron were having tea with him, so when I knocked on the door, I hadn't been expecting to see Harry staring at me from behind Hagrid. 

"Oh, it's just yer."

"Hey, Hagrid, are you busy? I can come back tomorrow."

"Well, just having a bit o' tea with the boys. Yer can join us if they don't mind."

"I don't want to impos-"

"C'mon Jemina - Professor, whatever. You never seem to have much fun."

"I don't have a lot of time to have 'much fun', Ron. That's kind of why I'm here."

"Come in, Jemina, sit and drink with us."

"Is that alright with you?"

I had directed the question to Harry, as he was the one that I was worried about making uncomfortable. He did believe that he was the target of my husband's apparent crazed attacks on the castle. 

My nephew shrugged, "I don't mind."

"Alright then," I smiled weakly as Hagrid moved aside. I passed him, giving him a look that I hoped portrayed how weird this felt. One of the few people I was worried about telling Harry of our relation was Hagrid. He had known James and me when we attended Hogwarts and had always been a friend. Albus had assured me that Hagrid knew the seriousness of the situation, but I knew Hagrid had a habit of saying things he shouldn't, "And Ron, you can call me Jemina outside of class. You're not even really one of my students unless I'm filling in for Remus, so it's completely fine. That goes for you too, Harry."

"Wicked," Ron grinned while Harry nodded, avoiding looking at me as much as he could. My heart ached to see him so angry with me. I wanted to tell him, at that moment more than ever before. Ron seemed to see that, as he immediately drew my attention, "What're you here for?"

"I have a snake -"

"Yer still have Biscui'?"

"Yeah, he's still kicking it. Green anacondas have quite the lifespan, he's just over twenty-three years old. I do not look forward to the day that he does pass, the girls will be devastated."

"Is he doing a'righ?"

"Well, technically, he's doing quite well. He is getting quite plump though, which is why I'm here. I don't get a lot of time to allow him to roam, and my personal quarters aren't very efficient for exercise for such a large snake. Esme suggested that you would love to snake-sit at times, allow him to roam your garden as long as you keep an eye on him. Albus insisted that the only way I'd be allowed to have him in the castle is if I kept him supervised at all times."

"Well, o'course, Jemina. Anything fer ya, especially fer that snake. Quite a beauty, isn't he?"

"Esme also said that you may want to use him for lessons, with some of the classes that are learning about snakes. She told me that you aren't allowed to show dangerous snakes to the students after Draco's incident, which is ridiculous. Buckbeak is the sweetest hippogriff I've ever met, though that's not saying a lot. Biscuit is extremely tolerant. I mean, I raised three girls who all went through phases of being overly curious about him. He's never even nipped at them."