𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 | 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚

Chapter 7 - Firewhiskey

"Hagrid," Harry croaked, lifting the neckline of his shirt to wipe the sweat off of his chin. "Hagrid, it's us."

A lantern flickered to life then, lifted up near Hagrid's bushy face, casting a warm, amber glow that penetrated the deep darkness like a beacon. "Blimey, Harry," he breathed, taking in the trio. They must've looked like hell by this point. "What've yeh all got yerself into?"

"No time to explain here, Hagrid," Harry said.

Hagrid glanced up at the castle and then, hesitantly, said, "Well, come with me then."

After sharing looks with one another--a mix of something exasperated, uncertain, and resigned--Helena, Harry, and Neville all began to follow after Hagrid as he stalked away, back towards his hut, lantern lifted up high. In silence they walked, still likely mulling over the incident in the Forest, which Helena felt as if she could not get far enough away from. The way her legs still felt like jelly. . .

"'Mon in," Hagrid grunted, pushing the door of his hut open upon arrival and standing beside the small set of steps. He looked troubled as he cast yet another weary look about the grounds. Helena tried to ignore this as she took up the rear now, following the boys inside and promptly standing beside the fireplace. There was a small flickering of dying flames within it, which warmed her ankles nicely. Harry sat at the table--Neville leaned against the back of the other chair opposite of Harry's, seemingly too antsy to feel as comfortable as Harry was to sit down.

As Hagrid entered the room, it felt as if the hut had marginally sized down. Helena tried not to feel cramped. He surveyed the lot of them, hands on his hips. He took a deep breath, as if unsure of what to say. For a few moments, there was an awkward silence. Then, Hagrid's eyes found Helena again. He leaned forward, wide-eyed and concerned.

"What happened to yer face?" He asked, motioning a hand up near his own cheek to indicate what he was talking about.

"What--oh." Helena felt her cheeks go deeply red--she had not expected to be the first Hagrid would talk to considering Harry was sitting right before him. "It's my ear. Got nicked." She didn't know what else to say--should she add that it had been by a centaur?

"By what?" Hagrid further instigated. Harry sighed and sank back into his chair, running his hand through his wild black hair.

"A centaur shot an arrow at her," he came clean. Hagrid's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"A centaur! Yeh don't mean to say that the three of yeh were poking around the Forbidden Forest?"

Ashamed, Helena looked away. She'd warned them--she knew they should not have gone in there. . .

"What ever could yeh have wanted outta tha' place?" Hagrid seemed genuinely distressed by this information. Helena didn't know what to say. Luckily, Harry was much more adept at explaining things to Hagrid than she or Neville could ever be.

"There was a student, Hagrid." Harry shot a glance at Helena. "One that Helena here stumbled upon in very strange circumstances. We were investigating."

Hagrid narrowed his eyes. "What kinda circumstances?"

"Her arm was broken," Neville spoke up suddenly. All of their attention turned to him now. "Said she'd tried to blast something to smithereens and that's how she ended up injured. But Harry and I have talked, and we both agreed that it was just too suspicious to leave be."

"I see," Hagrid lowered his head thoughtfully. "Here, le' me make us some tea. Looks like we're going to be here for a while."

After sitting through the excruciating silence of Hagrid making tea and finally getting handed a tankard full, Helena and Neville watched on as Harry, for the most part, explained everything that had happened to them, from the moment they'd left the castle to the moment Hagrid had happened upon them on the lawn. Helena and Neville only interjected occasionally. By the time he was done, it was safe to assume his beverage had gone cold--the steam had long wisped away. He paid no attention to this as he took one, long gulp while Hagrid leaned back in his chair sat beside his front door.