SABAISM | H. POTTER

SIXTEEN. | THE LOSS OF TWO FRIENDS

"IT CAN'T BE HAGRID," HERMIONE RENOUNCED, "IT JUST CAN'T BE." The Gryffindor Quartet experienced total disconcert as they sauntered the open grounds. None of them wished to accept what Gemini and Harry had seen, but the memory held so many realistic points. Hagrid was known to harbor an outlandish love for threatening creatures; it doesn't exactly mean he sought out to cause harm, but perhaps he just couldn't tame such a beast.

"We don't even know this Riddle. He sounds like a dirty, rotten snitch to me," Ron Weasley challenged; not wanting to believe the accusation about their colossal friend. "The monster had killed someone, Ron. What would any of us have done?," Harry unwillingly cajoled. Yearning to give the man the benefit of the doubt, because people frequently falsely labeled her, Gemini countered, "Look. Hagrid's our friend. Why don't we just go ask him about this?" Ron scoffed, "That'd be a cheerful visit. Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?" Unapprehended to them; their heated discussion had caused the Gryffindor's to lose focus on surroundings, leading them to bump into the man in question. "Mad an' hairy?," the gamekeeper repeated, "Wouldn' be talkin' 'bout me, now would yeh?" The four wheeled, spotting Hagrid grinning down at them.

Guilt and embarrassment instantly clouded their features; the man had been nothing but kind to all of them, and they despised having to question his character. "No!," they exclaimed in unison, not wishing to trouble him. At their outburst, Hagrid's eyes curiously skittered between each of them. Desiring a subject change; Gemini nodded to a peculiar canister the giant gripped, "What's that you've got, Hagrid?" Thankfully, he took the bait. "Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellant," he explained, "Fer the Mandrakes, yeh know? Accordin' ter Professor Sprout, they still got a bit o' growin' up ter do; but once their acne clears up, we'll be able to chop 'em up, stew 'em, an' get those people in the hospital un-petrified. 'Til then; you four best watch yerselves, all righ'?" They all nodded in response, and watched their main suspect stomp away.

Just then, Neville ran up to the four. Appearing pale with fright; he panted out, "Harry! I don't know who did it, but you'd better come." Briskly walking alongside the easily scared boy; Gemini queried, "What's happened?"

A few moments later; the five stood, alarmed, in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Harry's space was a disaster. His trunk had been trifled through, drawers were flung open, and his bedclothes were strewn on the floor. Attempting to ease the brewing fear; Gemini quipped, "I knew you were disorganized, but this takes it to a different level." Harry granted her with a weak smile; knowing she only meant to cheer him up. "It had to be a Gryffindor," Hermione informed; taking in the mess, "Nobody else knows our password. Unless, it wasn't a student." Ron added on, "Well, whoever it was, they were looking for something." The Lupin-Black girl chuckled, "What gave you that idea, Ronald?" Emerald eyes rolled, "Always the tone of sarcasm. Anyways, they found it...Tom Riddle's diary is gone." Well, that wasn't good.
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Nightfall painted the sky; the sound of Gemini's worn converse occupied the Gryffindor common room, those around her nervous from her pacing. "Gem. I understand you're worried, but bloody marching about isn't going to help," Ron bravely insisted. Harry, who held high regards in relation to the friendships he'd made, had never speculated Ron constructing such a stupid comment. In that moment; the remaining occupants felt as though they were about to become witnesses to a murder. Disregarding the girl's usual lackadaisical nature, the care she held for her group of companions was never questioned. Due to his position in her life; Ron had not yet been on the receiving end of her full anger, but that was about to change.

Gemini rounded on the ginger, who now cowered in a plush armchair, and seethed, "RON WEASLEY! Are you not comprehending the severity of this situation, or are you genuinely that dense? Our friend, Hermione fucking Granger, currently resides in the hospital wing...PETRIFIED! That monstrous creature, which I WILL slowly roast, pulled half-arsed Medusa tricks on one of the brightest students! So, I will 'bloody march about' if I see it fit; it's called a response. You are such an undignified twit! I'm attempting to speculate now that I am classified as the intelligent friend!" The remnant lions harbored no courage as they shrunk back from her stewing fury. Those who questioned her placement should have seen her now; curls messed about, silver madly gleamed, and her stance assured. The Beauty of Gryffindor was unquestionably the pride of lions; as even her own recoiled from the harsh glower. "You idiot," Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth; the flustered Weasley paled in comparison to his typical rosiness. The girl, as an afterthought, added, "You are much more tolerable to handle when I don't have to constantly stress about your next action. You, as well as Harry, are magnets for peril!" Overlooking his prior actions in infuriating the female; Ron scoffed, "What, like you aren't?" Audible gasps resonated from the background; teens not bothering to hide that they listened without permission. Ron Weasley was either incredibly daring to continue this challenge, or blinded by his own budding anger. "I never insisted I wasn't," she retaliated through clenched teeth, "Come off it. Merlin, how does Hermione deal with us?"