¤ ¤ ¤

By Wednesday Janna had been to transfiguration twice where Professor McGonagall showed the class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs a presentation of turned objects in her classroom into creatures like a long legged pink bird with a long neck and a strange beak which had been an umbrella or turning a needle into a bright green butterfly. Potions was strange... Slughorn kept asking Janna, Rose, two other Slytherins and Albus (he had come with the Slytherins, they  shared the class with the Gryffindors) to "show the class" how to perform certain tasks, like cutting a walnut, which Janna just didn't pass if it weren't for her throwing skills, chucking  it on the table where it bounced off and shot between a book and a tight shelf where it cracked down the middle from the pressure between the two tight lay packed books... Janna still couldn't figure out how it bounced so violently.

Charms was eventful, Flitwick, a short man with long white hair and beard, had demonstrated a charm where he had asked the class to throw whatever they could at him. The boys did so enthusiastically, along with a few Hufflepuffs who were wild with aim but none of the objects hit the Professor, not even the sharply shot ones, the air just seemed to hold the objects. Only when a flick of the Professor's wrist happened did the objects drop, with another hand movement the object shot back to their owners...

But one thing irked Janna, the fact that she hadn't seen Snuffles in any of the paintings... She wanted to ask his advice again on which routes were the quickest but he didn't return... If she asked the Poker Dogs whether she had seen him, they wouldn't know what she was talking about, it seems nobody knew what she was talking about.

After classes that day Janna sat with the boys around a dead tree by the lake the trunk was twisted, the branches twirled spreading out into smaller spirals. The grey  under the long gone bark blended with the sky to a deep grey, though this didn't make the sky lower only a little more higher than usual as the branches held up the grey.

Jake practised the new spells on a small pebble while Janna read through her handwriting, trying to make out the squiggles that were either a's or o's. Juno had a few quills on his ears as he held his wand in his mouth attempting to draw a diagram of cauldron for potions. Orion laid behind Janna and Jake, he was awake but his eyes were closed with his arms under his head, his hair spilling onto the rocks lapping a little in the wind when it blew.

A wind blew from the castle she looked upwind where Albus was walking, alone... Janna watched as the wind tossed his hair blowing the smell towards her, the tree broke the wind before the gusts got to the group so their papers wouldn't fly around like swallows in the wind.

Albus' halt made the pebbles pitter into the water, this caught everyone's attention. Orion opened an eye and Janna continued to watch Albus, Juno shook his body wake up while Jake continued to practise after glancing to see who it was.

    "Good Evening—I mean—Good Morning Janna" Albus said, trying not to catch the other boys' attention.

   "Hullo, Albus." Janna stood up holding her parchment to her chest "We wouldn't think anyone else would come out here"

Albus smiled before addressing Janna with his hand to come closer, hopping over the tree's old taproots Janna used them as stairs towards Albus.

   "I... I want to invite you to a tea party" Albus said closely to Janna's ear, when she heard tea party her eyebrows puckered, he flushed "my dad has asked if I can visit the gatekeeper, Hagrid... And I'd like you to come with"

Janna felt a flush in her stomach, she didn't know exactly what Albus was taking about but she was curious "I'll just need to pack up... Wait here for a second. Is that alright with you?". Albus nodded quickly, Janna smiled and trailed around the dead tree to explain to the boys where she was going.

¤ ¤ ¤

Along the outskirts of the castles' green there was a wooden hut Janna and Albus shambled down a slope a pumpkin patch fenced with large branches shone with big orange pumpkins that were waxy with healthy skin. From the slope Janna spotted the the droopy faced dog from the platform the night they arrived on the train was lying by the door of the hut basking in a small patch of sunlight that had crept through the grey clouds. As they reached the door Janna couldn't help but pet the large mastiff who nosed her hand with a large with wet nose, he began to lick her whole hand with a large pink tongue.

Albus was about to knock on the door but he spotted Janna giving the wrinkly dog a belly rub, as she ran her hand on his tummy his skin let him move up and down on his back, this made him wag his large whiplike tail which disturbed a few dandelions that floated away in the air. "Janna, Hagrid's this way" Albus said, Janna looked up at Albus, she patted her leg to show that the dog could come with. Albus watched as the mass of furry folds followed Janna to the steps into the hut.

   "I hope you can come inside" Janna spoke to the dog, massaging his wrinkles, he looked at her with happy blinking eyes that lifted the heavy skin rolls as his tail wagged. Albus knocked.

A large voice bellowed from inside "Yeh, yeh. Come in" Albus then glanced at the door, he then at Janna, he was too short to reach the handle. With a grin Janna reached for the latch and pulled down with her hands, she pushed on the door and it groaned a little.

   "Hello, Hagrid... It's Albus Potter" Albus called, but the giant in the kitchen didn't seem to hear him.

The dog ran in, galloping  to the giant, placing his paws on the table looking for an ort, even nosing the large arm that looked as large as the tree trunk she had been sitting by with the boys. A large hand then patted the dog's head "Ge' off Fang" but the dog still begged so the giant placed a slice of something at the dogs nose. The nose didn't even sniff the slice, the large dog bent down taking a sniff of a dead mouse from the floor after the smell caught his attention, the dog trotted off with it hanging in his drool "Well then, more for me"