CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR;

HAGRID'S RETURN

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Within the next two days, Malfoy had landed in the hospital wing, Harry, Fred, and George had earned themselves a lifelong ban on Quidditch, and their brooms sat chained up in Umbridge's office. It was pitiful, really, how Malfoy had gotten off when it was he that had provoked the fight, but that was how things went nowadays.

   Cassie spent her afternoons in the common room with Neville, both having neglected their studying for O.W.L.s and trying their hardest to catch up to, say, Hermione, who had already revised for all of her classes and still spent her free time in the library (O.W.L.s were not for another few months, so the concept of studying their arses off already was completely absurd to Cassie).

   "Oi!" Ron bellowed, finally rising from his seat and storming over to the window that was currently being pelted by snowballs. He wrenched it open and stuck his head out. "I am a prefect, and if one more snowball hits this window – ARGH-"

   He withdrew his head sharply, his face covered in snow.

   Cassie bit her lip in an attempt not to laugh, though let a small giggle slip as Ron was hit again in the back of the head. He sent her a sarcastic sneer, then returned to his seat, shaking his head to rid it of snow.

   "Come on now," said Hermione a few minutes later, sighing as she stood to toss her schoolbag over her shoulder. "We've got to get to Care of Magical Creatures; Hagrid's back and Umbridge is inspecting him," she said grimly, swallowing as she looked out the window and onto the gamekeeper's property (she barely ducked as snowball whizzed by her head and hit Ron square on the back). The Gryffindors left for Hagrid's and arrived a few minutes later, though the sight before them was.. interesting.

   "He's got a dead cow on his shoulder," Cassie mumbled to Neville as they approached the small hut. "Why am I not surprised?"

   "I wonder what could possibly need a dead cow," said Neville in a wavering voice, shifting his weight between his feet and positioning himself slightly behind Cassie. She glanced over shoulder and reached back with her hand to slide it into his grasp – she squeezed his hand as a form of reassurance.

   "We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his thumb towards the Forbidden Forest behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark.."

"What prefers the dark?" Malfoy asked sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did he say prefers the dark – did you hear?"

Cassie and Hermione snickered and followed Hagrid into the forest. Neville, Cassie noticed, stuck very tightly to her side and tried his hardest to not look in Malfoy's direction.

   They followed Hagrid for a few minutes, each step leading them further into the darkness and shade from the canopy of trees overhead, until he slowed to a stop in a clearing where there was only a sliver of sunlight cascading down through the leaves. Hagrid turned to face the trees and let out the gnarliest shriek Cassie would think could ever come from such a man. A few birds flew from the high branches, but nothing appeared. Nobody laughed, like they would have on a regular basis – they were much too scared. Hagrid, apparently disappointed his screeching did not attract whatever creature he needed, screamed again.

   There was a cracking and a snap, like leaves and twigs breaking beneath one's foot, and suddenly, the same bony horse-like creature that had been drawing the carriages on their first night emerged from behind a large tree. Cassie's eyes widened and she looked to Harry – his mouth had popped open and he stared at the beasts in silence.

   "Now... put yer hands up, who can see 'em?" said Hagrid in a much quieter voice than his shriek from before. Cassie risked a glance around and raised her hand gingerly; only she, Harry, Neville, and Theodore had their hands in the air. Hagrid nodded and looked to Cassie and Harry very seriously, and said, "I knew you two'd be able ter.. But you, Neville, eh? Nott, is it?"

   "Excuse me," said Malfoy in a sneer, looking around expectantly, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

   "Thestrals," Hagrid replied proudly. Hermione let out a soft noise of realization at Cassie's side. "Hogwarts's got a whole lot of 'em in here. Right, who can tell me why some o' you can see them an' some can't?"

Hermione raised her hand; Hagrid beamed and nodded to her. "The only people who can see thestrals," she said slowly, glancing to Harry, "are people who've.. seen... death."

"That's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, thestrals–"

"Hem, hem."

Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet from the nearest thestral, eyeing its general vicinity; the matter of whether or not she could see it was still up in the air. "I trust you received my owl I sent to your cabin this morning? Telling you that I would be inspecting your next lesson?"

"Oh hello!" said Hagrid brightly, smiling. He nodded. "Glad to see yeh found the place alrigh'! Well, as you can see – er, I don't know – can yeh? We're doing thestrals today."

   "Are you aware that thestrals are classified by the Ministry as dangerous creatures?" said Umbridge promptly, beginning her slow adventure in and out of the blobs of students. She peered over their shoulders and made marks on her clipboard regularly, whilst also keeping a side-eye on Hagrid warily as though he were going to attack.

   "Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ' they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them," said Hagrid, chuckling, though his smile faded as Umbridge made a mark on her board and muttered something about 'taking pleasure at the idea of violence'.

   "Vile woman," Cassie muttered, absently stroking the snout of the thestral nearest to her. "She thinks she can come and reform our school until its Ministry-approved, well.. I think she's a load of rubbish."

   "Keep your voice down," Hermione advised in a whisper, still watching Cassie's hand stroking the air. Cassie noticed her wary gaze and quickly withdrew her hand, clearing her throat.

   "Where do you think Hagrid was?" Cassie asked, narrowing her eyes on the short and stout woman in conversation with the large man. "Was it really for the Order?"

   "I'll give you one guess," said Hermione in an even quieter voice than before. "Hagrid's half-giant, his mum.. well, you know.."

   "He was looking for giants?" Cassie's eyes widened; she gaped at Hermione with an open jaw. Hermione closed it for her. "But isn't that really dangerous?"

   "I suppose not, seeing as he is basically one of them," said Hermione matter-of-factly. "Though I do wonder.. You notice the glamour charm on his face too, don't you?"

   Cassie allowed her eyes to travel up to Hagrid's face. She squinted and tilted her head to the side, then nodded. "Yeah, what on earth does he need that for? Surely Madam Maxine isn't coming to visit?"

   "Maybe he's got some nasty bruises and cuts... I'd say we could ask him, but he seems.. erm, preoccupied," said Hermione. Cassie winced and agreed with a nod of her head – as they looked over again, Hagrid was shaking his head frantically and blubbering out incoherent strings of words as Professor Umbridge made multiple marks on her clipboard. "Oh, I hope she doesn't give him horrible results.. Merlin knows he's already under enough stress, what with the giants!"

"Do you find," said Umbridge loudly, to Pansy Parkinson, "that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he speaks?"

"No.. because, well.. it sounds... like grunting a lot of the.. time.." answered Pansy, though her pauses were due to the fact that she was trying vehemently to hold back her giggles. She finished with a snort.

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard, then approached Neville, who seemed very much like he did not want to be questioned. Umbridge smiled in a honeyed way, then said, "You can see thestrals, Longbottom, can you?" The boy nodded, his ears pink. "Whom, may I ask, did you see die?"

"My.. my grandad," said Neville sheepishly.

"And what do you think of them?" she said, waving her stubbly hands to the bunch of thestrals wandering through the class.

"Erm," said Neville nervously, glancing at Hagrid. "Well.. they're– they're okay.."

"Students are too intimidated.. to admit.. they are frightened..," Umbridge muttered as she made another note on her clipboard.

"No!" said Neville, looking upset. "No, I'm not scared of them–!"

"It's quite alright," said Umbridge, patting his shoulder. "I think I've got enough to be getting along with. You will receive the results of your inspection in ten days' time." She held up ten horribly stubby fingers, then bustled from their class and back out the way they had come in.

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" Hermione stormed half an hour later as they made their way back up to the castle through the tunnels made in the snow. "You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again – she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dim-witted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother – I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but the thestrals are fine – in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!"

"Umbridge said they're dangerous," Ron pointed out.

"Well, it's like Hagrid said, they only look after themselves," said Hermione impatiently, "and I suppose a teacher like Grubblyplank wouldn't usually show them to us before N.E.W.T. level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't... I wish I could!"

"Do you?" said Harry quietly – Cassie had averted her eyes very pointedly and instead resorted to showing the snow her attention; Hermione's horrorstruck gasp caused a wince on Cassie's face.

"Oh, I didn't – I'm sorry – no, of course I don't – that was a really stupid–"

"It's okay," said Harry quickly; Cassie could feel his eyes on her. "Don't worry."