xiv. the half-giant

ϟ

Everybody got up late on Boxing Day. The Ravenclaw common room was much quieter than it had been lately, many yawns punctuating the lazy conversations. Everyone was back to their normal selves. Padma sat curled up under a knitted quilt on one of the blue-colored couches in her pajamas, completely unphased by Bentley Morgenstern's presence across the room. He sat with his twin brother, Asher, laughing at him because Matilda had beaten him terribly in a game of Wizarding Chess. 

Luna wanted to know everything about the ball and Padma was happy to fill her in on the night's events. Telling Luna about how it looked as though Cho might explode when Matilda brought Harry onto the dance floor. 

"But I thought you went with Ron?"

Matilda shrugged, "I did."

Padma grinned. She had convinced herself that Matilda had growing feelings for both Ron and Harry, her problem though is that she is new to feelings and can't sort out which one she might have romantic feelings for. Padma knew about the kiss – the only one who knew about the kiss. Matilda didn't know why she had decided Padma was the one to tell, but she did, and Padma about passed out at the news. 

She had a million questions that Matilda didn't know how to answer. It was her first kiss after all. 

"Did you and Ron kiss?" Luna asked hopefully. 

"No – well...." 

"Well?!" Padma questioned, suddenly interested. "Well, what?"

"It was just a peck on the cheek," said Matilda, shrugging. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Maybe to you it wasn't," said Padma. "But to him, that peck probably meant the world, Tilly."

Matilda scoffed. How could a peck on the cheek mean so much to someone, "And why is that?"

"Because he's in love with you, Tilly," said Padma. 

And she spoke as if it were common knowledge – as if the entire castle was in on the secret besides her. 

ϟ

The first day back to lessons finally rolled around and Matilda couldn't have been more happy about it. She missed the scheduled days that provided structure in her daily routine. Spending the days with nothing to look forward to made it drone on and on. She most of her time after Christmas, with Harry and the egg. She begged and pleaded with him to take Cedric's advice but he refused. Matilda knew it had something to do with his ego, and the fact that he hadn't been able to pluck up enough courage to ask the girl he liked to go to the ball with him or ask the other girl before had a date. 

And so, Matilda set off to class, weighed down by books, parchment, and quills, as usual.

Padma pointed out the thick snow that lay upon the grounds, the high, castle windows were covered in condensation so thick that they couldn't see out of them when on their way to Charms. Matilda was not looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures in this weather, though she remembered Ron joking in the Gryffindor Common Room, the Skrewts would probably warm them up nicely, either by chasing them or by blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin caught fire. 

She laughed to herself as she and Padma entered Professor Flitwick's classroom. 

When Matilda arrived at Hagrid's cabin, however, she found an elderly witch with closely cropped grey hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door. The woman smiled approvingly at Matilda, as she was early, one of the first students to arrive. 

Matilda smiled in response but could not mask the growing confusion in her expression. 

"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barked at the last bit of students to arrive – most of them being Gryffindor, as they struggled towards her through the snow.

"Who're you?" said Ron, staring at her. "Where's Hagrid?"

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly, "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Since when exactly?" Matilda questioned, her tone sounding a tad ruder than she meant for it to. 

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated Ron's previous question, but louder. 

"He is indisposed," said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.

Matilda rolled her eyes, "Gee, how transparent of you..."

Soft and unpleasant laughed reached Matilda's ears. Harry's too as he turned his head at the exact moment Matilda did. Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins were standing behind the Gryffindors and Matilda. All of them, but a few looked gleeful, but none of them seemed too surprised or confused to see Professor Grubbly-Plank leading the class. 

"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, and she strode off around the paddock where the huge Beauxbatons horses were shivering. 

Matilda followed closely behind their new professor, she looked back at Hagrid's cabin over her shoulder. All the curtains were closed. Was Hagrid in there, alone and ill?

"Professor Grubbly-Plank, if I may, why exactly are you taking over for Professor Hagrid?" She asked, trying to sound as polite as she could. 

She figured since this Professor hasn't had the chance to witness her in her true form, that she might have a chance in charming some answers from her. If not, she would certainly have a list of questions for Dumbledore at their next tea-time. 

"You must be Miss Winters," she said, as though she'd been told about Matilda, and was trying to dismiss her. 

"Great, you know who I am," said Matilda, quickly dropping the façade she had built. "Now, why is it you're here? I believe as students of the school we have a right to know why there has been a sudden change in the middle of the year." 

"Could be quite traumatic for some students – could affect their course work."

"I'm sure you'll be quite alright, Miss Winters."

Professor Grubbly-Plank walked ahead without Matilda. She led the rest of the class past the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were standing, huddled against the cold, and towards a tree on the edge of the Forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

Every girl and Seamus 'ooooohed!' at the sight of the unicorn. 

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

Lavender wasn't wrong about the unicorn. It was one of the most beautiful and majestic creatures Matilda has ever seen. Its short fur was a bright white, making all of the snow surrounding it look dull and grey, the animal's nervous face glancing at the gathering crowd as its golden hooves shuffled in the snow. Upon Crabbe getting a little too close to it in awe, the unicorn threw back its horned head. 

"Blimey, Crabbe," Blaise Zabini scoffed, tugging the large boy back by his cloak. 

Matilda chuckled just as the professor threw out an arm, catching Harry in the chest, "Boys keep back! They prefer a woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it..."

Hermione and Matilda, together, walked slowly forwards toward the unicorn, leaving a visibly jealous Seamus and the rest of the boys standing near the paddock fence, watching. 

Matilda was the first girl in line to get to touch the unicorn, similar to Buckbeak, most girls took a step back, hesitating, and so, while rolling her eyes Matilda stepped toward the majestic beast with extra caution, holding out her hand so that the unicorn could get her scent and create a comfortableness with her. The unicorn finally bowed its head to Matilda allowing her to take her hand along its mane. 

After seeing Matilda's success with the unicorn, the girls quickly lined back up. Hermione walking up to the creature next, and behind her stood an excited Daisy Morgenstern. The girls remained huddled together, admiring as each girl got a turn with the unicorn, clapping with each success, and encouraging the girls who stood back, still cautious of the creature. 

"What did you say, Leon?"

This couldn't be good. Matilda turned to look over her shoulder and watched as Draco moved from his spot on the fence to face Greyson Leon. Not many students – female students cared for the Slytherin boy. He was exceptionally creepy and scared off any girl he tried speaking to. He had a reputation of possessiveness and not the protective kind. It seemed as though, especially this year, his sights had been set on a certain blond Slytherin girl, and Draco wasn't happy about it. 

"I seem to have hit a nerve."

Greyson seemed uncharacteristically confident in the moment. He normally wasn't so confrontational. He always appeared to be more of a private settings type of person. It was odd that he was speaking to Malfoy in such a manner in front of the entire class. If it were anyone else Matilda would be impressed. But if there was anyone, she despised more than Malfoy it was Greyson Leon. Because while Malfoy was a prat and a bully, he wasn't a predatory creep toward the girls in the castle. 

"You want to continue?" Draco snarled, "Or do you want to keep your teeth?"

Greyson rolled his eyes, "What are you going to do, Malfoy? Hex me?"

The pair only began to get louder with one another, earning more and more stares from the students around them, including Daisy Morgenstern, whose once excited smile and turned into a disappointed frown. 

"You going to do anything?" 

Hermione leaned into whisper in Matilda's ear. 

"No, why would I. Let them off each other for all I care," Matilda shrugged. "Besides, looks like she's beat me to it anyway."

Matilda watched with a proud grin as Daisy excused herself from her group of friends and made her way over to the testosterone-fueled boys. 

"Oi!" Daisy yelled, approaching them from behind. "Stop!"

"Look, 'ittle Daisy saving your arse again, Malfoy," Leon mocked in a high-pitched voice. 

Draco scoffed and went to take another step closer towards Greyson, his hands balled up tightly into fists at his side. 

When Daisy decided to intervene by quickly throwing herself in between the two boys and placing a warning hand on Draco's chest, that's when Matilda decided to start heading for the gates, motioning for Hermione to follow her. She watched as Daisy turned to glare at Greyson. Crabbe and Goyle now stood on either side of Malfoy, while Theodore Nott lingered next to Daisy, waiting for something to happen. 

Matilda stopped on her way to Ron and Harry, holding Hermione's hand to keep her close in tow, "Don't you two boneheads think you've done enough?" 

Greyson and Draco's evil expressions turned to Matilda, softening slightly, as for once she wasn't on either side of the argument. 

"There are better places to have this little argument of yours," she told them. "Perhaps Dueling Club?" 

Draco rolled his eyes, but it seemed as though he was ready to walk away, but Greyson's continued sneer kept him from moving. 

"C'mon, mate," Xander Lofthouse, one of the Slytherin boys being Greyson patted him on the shoulder. "That's enough."

Another one nodded, "Yeah, Grey, you've riled him up enough."

Matilda grinned in Greyson's direction as the brunette boy put his hands up in mock surrender and turned on his heel away from them, "Good riddance."

"Cowards," Draco spat, his face a bright red as he took a step away from his friends and straightened out his robes.

Hermione who had been watching from alongside Matilda finally was able to pull her away from the scene and toward the part of the gate where Harry and Ron sat patiently, talking amongst themselves. Not seeming to have noticed the fight that nearly broke out ahead. 

"Since when do you worry about Morgenstern?" Hermione asked curiously. 

Matilda shrugged, thinking back to the Yule Ball, and chasing a hysterical Daisy to the dungeons, "It's a whole thing."

"What d'you reckon's wrong with him? You don't think a Skrewt –?"

Ron and Harry had been turned away from everyone else, staring in the direction of Hagrid's cabin, both wearing looks of confusion and worry about their friend and former Professor. 

"Oh, he hasn't been attacked, Potter, if that's what you're thinking," said Malfoy who had caught on to Harry and Ron's conversation. "No, he's just too ashamed to show his big ugly face."

"What do you mean?" said Harry sharply, turning around quickly. 

Draco smirked and yanked a copy of the Daily Prophet from the pocket of Goyle's robes before handing it to Harry. "There you go. Hate to break it to you, Potter."

"Hand me that!" Matilda shrieked as she trudged through the snow closer to them, sticking her hand out demandingly. 

Draco whistled teasingly at her, "Always getting involved, Winters, I must say it's impressive seeing as you're taking care of both your boyfriends this year."

Ron shot an angry look towards Malfoy, "Mind your own business, Malfoy."

"Don't mind him, Ronald," Matilda told him as she glared at Draco. "Primadonna here is only bored of being stuck on the sidelines is all."

Daisy yanked Draco back by the hood of his robes while Harry, Ron, and Matilda began to read over the newspaper article:

DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE

Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly, when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.

Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the Headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.

An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons which many admit to be 'very frightening'.

"I was attacked by a Hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a Flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."

Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed 'Blast-Ended Skrewts', highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, it seems, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.

"I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject.

As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not – as he has always pretended – a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring among themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He Who Must Not Be Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle-killings of his reign of terror.

While many of the giants who served He Who Must Not Be Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.

In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought about You-Know-Who's fall from power – thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend – but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants.

The three of them looked between one another, all wide-eyed and red-faced. 

"How did she find out?" Ron whispered, barely audible. 

"What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'?" Harry spat at Malfoy. "What's this rubbish about him..." Harry jabbed a finger in Crabbe's direction. "Getting a bad bit off a flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"

"What did you do now?" Daisy asked Draco in an accusatory tone. 

Ron scoffed, angrily tossing the paper in her direction, "As if you don't know."

"Yeah, well," Daisy sighed as she picked the newspaper up from the snow in front of her feet. "I don't, Ron."

She began to sift through the crinkled paper, finding the article in question. 

"She doesn't, Ronald," Matilda defended her quickly before turning to look at Harry. "Harry calm down."

"Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career," said Malfoy, his eyes glinting. "Half-giant... and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young... none of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all... they'll be worried he'll eat their kids, ha, ha..."

Daisy made sure newspaper met the back of Draco's head, "Enough!"

Her statement ended just as Harry went to leap forwards, Matilda and Ron quickly reaching out to grab onto his arms. Draco only laughed in return, earning forced chuckles from the two boulders behind him. 

"You-!"

"Are you paying attention over there?" The professor's voice carried over to where they stood.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Hermione quickly called over her shoulder, Matilda's and Ron's hands still firmly wrapped around Harry's arms. 

Draco waved his hands, shooing the four away mockingly and ignoring the glares Matilda continued to throw in his direction. How is it that he finds himself on the wrong side of everyone who wouldn't hesitate to kill him? Matilda made a mental note to herself as she and Ron pulled Harry to the other end of the gate to bring up Draco's potential death wish to Daisy some time. 

"I hope she stays, that woman!" said Parvati Patil, when the lesson had ended, and they were all heading back to the castle for lunch. "That's more what I thought Care of Magical Creatures would be like... proper creatures like unicorns, not monsters..."

"Just because something isn't as pretty as you hoped doesn't mean that it's a monster," said Matilda rolling her eyes. 

"What about Hagrid?" Harry said angrily, as they went up the steps.

"What about him?" said Parvati, in a hard voice. "He can still be gamekeeper, can't he?"

Parvati had been very cold toward Harry since the ball and somehow Matilda wasn't in her good graces either. She supposed it was because that she got him to dance when Parvati couldn't. But even without Harry, Parvati seemed to have had a good time all the same. She was certainly telling anybody who would listen that she had made arrangements to meet the boy from Beauxbatons in Hogsmeade on the next weekend trip.

"It was a good lesson," said Hermione hesitantly as they entered the Great Hall. "I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plant told us about uni–"

"Read this again!" Harry snarled, and he shoved the Daily Prophet article under Hermione's nose. 

Hermione's eyes read knowingly, her expression returning to anger, "How did Reeta Skeeter even find out? Hagrid wouldn't have told her, would he?"

"No," said Harry, leading the way over to the Gryffindor table and throwing himself into a chair, furious. "He never even told us, did he? I reckon she was so mad he wouldn't give her loads of horrible stuff about me, she went ferreting around to get back at him."

"Maybe she heard him telling Madame Maxime at the ball," said Hermione quietly.

"We'd have seen her in the garden!" said Ron. "Anyway, she's not supposed to come into school anymore, Hagrid said Dumbledore banned her..."

"Wasn't Sirus barred from getting into the castle as well?" Matilda chuckled as she loaded her plate with fruits, only tuning in to certain parts of the conversation. "He got in. Perhaps, Reeta is using a similar method."

"Maybe she's got an Invisibility Cloak," said Harry, ladling chicken casserole onto his plate and splashing it everywhere in his anger. "Sort of thing she'd do, isn't it, hide in bushes listening to people."

"Like the three of you did, you mean," said Hermione. 

"We weren't trying to hear him!" said Ron indignantly. "We didn't have any choice! The stupid git, talking about his giantess mother where anyone could have heard him!"

"We've got to go and see him," said Harry. "This evening, after Divination. Tell him we want him back... You do want him back?" he shot at Hermione.

"Lay off her, would you?" said Matilda defensively. "She isn't wrong to have enjoyed today's lesson. It was a nice change from the Skrewts. And we can think that and still want Hagrid back."

So that evening after dinner, the four of them left the castle once more and went down through the frozen grounds to Hagrid's cabin. They knocked, and Fang's booming barks answered.

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry shouted, pounding on the door. "Open up!"

He didn't answer. They could hear Fang scratching at the door, whining, but it didn't open. They knocked on it for ten more minutes; Ron even went and banged on one of the windows, but there was no response.

"What's he avoiding us for?" Hermione said, when they had finally given up, and were walking back to the school. "He surely doesn't think we'd care about him being half-giant?"

But it seemed that Hagrid did care. They didn't see a sign of him all week. He didn't appear at the staff table at meal-times, they didn't see him going about his gamekeeper duties in the grounds, and Professor Grubbly-Plank continued to take the Care of Magical Creatures classes. Malfoy was gloating at every possible opportunity.

"Missing your half-breed pal?" he kept whispering to Harry, whenever there was a teacher around, so that he was safe from Harry's retaliation. "Missing the elephant man?"

"Don't worry, Harry," Matilda would whisper as she'd pull him away from Malfoy. "He won't know what's hit him when I finish the spell I've been working on."

There was a Hogsmeade visit halfway through January. Hermione was very surprised that Harry was planning to go even though Matilda had been pleading with him to focus on the tasks. 

"I just thought you'd want to take advantage of the common room being quiet," she said. "Really get to work on that egg."

"Oh, I – I reckon I've got a pretty good idea what it's about now," Harry lied.

"Have you really?" said Hermione, looking impressed. "Well done!"

"He's lying, Hermione," said Matilda, rolling her eyes. "He hasn't the slightest idea of what the next task might be."

"Harry!" Hermione scolded.

Matilda had been trying to get Harry to stop being so prideful for just long enough to take Cedric's advice. But he was so hung up on Cho crushing on Cedric, even though Matilda reminded him that its Harper that Cedric was dating. But that only made him want to impress Cho more, and so he was determined to figure out the egg on his own, despite only having five more weeks left.

Matilda left the castle with Ron, Harry, and Hermione on Saturday, and set off through the cold, wet grounds towards the gates. As they passed the Durmstrang ship moored in the lake, they saw Viktor Krum emerge on the deck, dressed in nothing but swimming trunks. He looked incredibly tough the way he climbed up onto the side of the ship, stretched out his arms and dived, right into the lake.

"It makes sense now – why the girls linger around him," said Matilda, watching the scene unfold before her. She raised her eyebrows as she watched Viktor move along the cold lake. "He is incredibly good looking."

"He's got to be mad though," said Harry as Krum's head bobbed out of the water. "It must be freezing! It's January!"

"Doesn't matter," said Matilda, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. "He's strong like a man."

"He's really nice, you know," she said. "He's not at all like you'd think, coming from Durmstrang. You should get to know him."

"I don't want to get to know him," Matilda giggled. 

"Tilly!" said Ron, his nose scrunching up but his cheeks turning a deep shade of pink. 

She grabbed Hermione by the hand, both girls laughing as they gushed over the newest heartthrob, Viktor Krum, leaving Harry and Ron to linger behind, pouting. 

Hermione burst out into a fit of giggles as Matilda took her by the hand and pulled her ahead quickly, gushing over every girls' newest crush, Viktor Krum. They left Harry and Ron to linger behind, pouting. 

The pub was as crowded as ever, but one quick look around at all the tables told the group that Hagrid wasn't there. Hearts sinking, they went up to the bar, ordered four Butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta, and made their way to a booth where Hermione and Matilda squeezed in beside one another. 

"Doesn't he ever go into the office?" Hermione whispered suddenly. "Look!"

She pointed into the mirror behind the bar, and Matilda saw Ludo Bagman reflected there, sitting in a shadowy corner with a bunch of goblins. Bagman was talking very fast in a low voice to the goblins, all of whom had their arms crossed, and were looking rather menacing.

It was indeed odd, Matilda thought, that Bagman was here at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend when there was no Triwizard event, and therefore no judging to be done. She watched Bagman in the mirror. He wore a strained look but just then Bagman glanced over at the bar, saw glanced at Harry, and stood up.

"Harry!" he said. "How are you? Been hoping to run into you! Everything going all right?"

"Fine, thanks," said Harry.

"Wonder if I could have a quick, private word, Harry?" said Bagman eagerly. "You couldn't give us a moment, you three, could you?"

"Er – OK," said Ron, and he and Hermione stood to find another table. 

Matilda scoffed, making no effort in moving from her seat, "No. Absolutely not. I'll be staying with Harry, thank you."

"I suppose I should have been expecting that," Bagman sighed. 

Matilda hadn't left Harry's side since his name was pulled from the Goblet, and she certainly doesn't plan to start leaving him with Ludo Bagman. 

Bagman led Harry and Matilda along the bar to the end furthest from Madam Rosmerta.

"Well, I just thought I'd congratulate you again on your splendid performance against that Horntail, Harry," said Bagman. "Really superb."

"Thanks, but I had a lot of help," said Harry, glancing at Matilda. 

Matilda had a feeling that Bagman didn't pull Harry away just so that he could congratulate him, because he could have said that in front of Ron and Hermione. Bagman didn't seem in any particular rush to spill the bean, though. Matilda saw him glance into the mirror over at the bar at the goblins, who were all watching him interact with Harry in silence through their dark, slanting eyes. 

"Absolute nightmare," said Bagman to Harry and Matilda in an undertone, noticing Matilda watching the goblins, too. "Their English isn't too good... it's like being back with all the Bulgarians at the Quidditch World Cup... but at least they used sign language another human could recognize. This lot keep gabbling in Gobbledegook... and I only know one word of Gobbledegook. Bladvak. It means 'pickaxe'. I don't like to use it in case they think I'm threatening them." He gave a short, booming laugh.

"What do they want?" Harry said, 

Matilda noticed how the goblins were still watching Bagman very closely.

"Er – well..." said Bagman, looking suddenly nervous. "They... er... they're looking for Barty Crouch."

"Barty Crouch? Really?" Matilda asked suddenly with peaked interest. "Shouldn't they be in London then? At the Ministry?"

"Er... as a matter of fact, I've no idea where he is," said Bagman. "He's sort of... stopped coming to work. Been absent for a couple of weeks now. Young Percy, his assistant, says he's ill. Apparently, he's just been sending instructions in by owl. But would you mind not mentioning that to anyone, you two? Because Rita Skeeter's still poking around everywhere, she can, and I'm willing to bet she'd work Barty's illness up into something sinister. Probably say he's gone missing like Bertha Jorkins."

"Have you heard anything about Bertha Jorkins?" Harry asked.

Bertha Jorkins was a wizard who worked at the Ministry in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Matilda had crossed paths with her a time or two when accompanying her father to his office. She was never thought to be the brightest, certainly not by Matilda. But now she was missing, no one had seen her since her trip to Albania, and all were hoping it was her forgetfulness that is keeping her away. 

"No," said Bagman, looking strained again. "I've got people looking, of course..." This made Matilda roll her eyes because it had only taken months of her missing for him to do so. "and it's all very strange. She definitely arrived in Albania, because she met her second cousin there. And then she left the cousin's house to go south and see an aunt... and she seems to have vanished without a trace, en route. Blowed if I can see where she's got to... she doesn't seem the type to elope, for instance... but still... what are we doing, talking about goblins and Bertha Jorkins? I really wanted to ask you," he lowered his voice, "how are you getting on with your golden egg?"

Harry looked back at Matilda with a panicked expression. 

Matilda gave him a sickening grin, "Go on, Harry, tell the man."

"Er... not bad," Harry said untruthfully.

Bagman seemed to know he wasn't being honest.

"Listen, Harry," he said, still in a very low voice, "I feel very bad about all this... you were thrown into this Tournament, you didn't volunteer for it... and if," his voice was so quiet now, Harry and Matilda had to lean closer to listen. "... if I can help at all... a prod in the right direction... I've taken a liking to you... the way you got past that dragon! ... Well, just say the word."

Matilda glanced up at Bagman's round, rosy face, wearing a sly grin. 

"We're supposed to work out the clues alone, aren't we?" Harry said, careful to keep his voice casual. 

"Well... well, yes," said Bagman impatiently, "but – come on, Harry – we all want a Hogwarts victory, don't we?"

"Have you offered Cedric help?" Matilda interrogated.

The smallest of frowns creased Bagman's smooth face.

"No, I haven't," he said. "I – well, like I say, I've taken a liking to Harry. Just thought I'd offer..."

"Well, thanks," said Harry, "but I think I'm nearly there with the egg... couple more days should crack it."

Matilda wasn't entirely sure why Harry was refusing Bagman's help, but she was proud of him. Bagman was almost a stranger to Harry, and accepting help from Bagman was enormously different than Harry taking advice from his friends. 

Bagman looked almost affronted, but couldn't say much more as Fred and George turned up at that point.

"Hello, Mr. Bagman," said Fred brightly. "Can we buy you a drink?"

"Er... no," said Bagman, with a last disappointed glance at Harry, "no thank you, boys..."

Fred and George looked quite as disappointed as Bagman, who was surveying Harry as though he had let him down badly.

"Well, I must dash," he said. "Nice seeing you all. Good luck, Harry."

He hurried out of the pub. The goblins all slid off their chairs and exited after him. Harry and Matilda went to rejoin Ron and Hermione.

"What did he want?" Ron said, the moment Harry had sat down.

"Offered to help Harry with the golden egg," said Matilda. 

"He shouldn't be doing that!" said Hermione, looking very shocked. "He's one of the judges! And anyway, you've already worked it out – haven't you?"

"Nearly..." Harry lied about the egg again. 

"Well, I don't think Dumbledore would like it if he knew Bagman was trying to persuade you to cheat!" said Hermione, still looking deeply disapproving. "I hope he's trying to help Cedric as much!"

Matilda cackled as she tipped the glass of butterbeer to her lips, "Trust me, he isn't. Said he's taken a liking to Harry. Sounds a bit odd if you ask me."

"Matilda," Ron sighed. "You never trust anyone who wants to help. Moody and Bagman."

"And for good reason, Ronald," Matilda argued. "Those goblins that were with him, they're searching for Crouch. No one has seen him – not even at the Ministry. Apparently, he's still ill. "

"Maybe Percy's poisoning him," said Ron. "Probably thinks if Crouch snuffs it, he'll be made Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation."

Matilda and Ron laughed at his joke but Hermione gave them a don't-joke-about-things-like-that look, and said, "Funny, goblins looking for Mr. Crouch... they'd normally deal with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"Crouch can speak loads of different languages, though," said Harry. "Maybe they need an interpreter."

"Worrying about poor 'ickle goblins, now, are you?" Ron asked Hermione. "Thinking of starting up S.P.U.G. or something? Society for the Protection of Ugly Goblins?"

"As if goblins would need our protection," Matilda snorted. "Study the Goblin Rebellion. They're incredibly clever and capable of holding their own." 

"Uh oh," said Ron, staring at the door.

Rita Skeeter had just entered. She was wearing banana-yellow robes today; her long nails were painted shocking pink, and she was accompanied by her paunchy photographer. She bought drinks, and she and the photographer made their way through the crowds to a table nearby, Harry, Matilda, Ron, and Hermione glaring at her as she approached. She was talking fast and looking very satisfied with something.

"... didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo? Now, why would that be, do you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Showing them the sights... what nonsense... he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Sports, Ludo Bagman...snappy start to a sentence, Bozo – we just need to find a story to fit it –"

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" said Harry loudly.

A few people looked around. Rita Skeeter's eyes widened behind her jeweled spectacles as she saw who had spoken.

"Harry!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come and join –?"

"I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick," said Harry furiously. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"

Rita Skeeter raised her heavily penciled eyebrows.

"Our readers have the right to know the truth, Harry, I am merely doing my –"

"Truth?" Matilda shrieked disbelievingly. "When have you ever been about the truth? You're about drama and chaos. No one cared if Hagrid was a giant or not until you opened that large mouth of yours."

"Half-giant," said Rita, snickering. 

"Who cares if he's half-giant?" Harry shouted. "There's nothing wrong with him!"

The whole pub had gone very quiet. Madam Rosmerta was staring over from behind the bar, apparently oblivious of the fact that the flagon she was filling with mead was overflowing.

Rita Skeeter's smile flickered very slightly, but she hitched it back almost at once; she snapped open her crocodile-skin handbag, pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill and said, "How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know, Harry? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?"

"You snarky b–"

Ron pulled Matilda back down before she could finish saying something that she may come to regret later on. 

"Not, a good idea, Tilly," Ron whispered. 

Hermione stood up very abruptly, her Butterbeer clutched in her hand as though it was a grenade.

"You horrible woman," she said, through gritted teeth, "you don't care, do you, anything for a story, and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman –"

"Sit down, you silly little girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand," said Rita Skeeter coldly, her eyes hardening as they fell on Hermione. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl... Not that it needs it –" she added, eyeing Hermione's bushy hair.

"Let's go," said Hermione. 'C'mon, Harry, Ron – Matilda..."

"You'll get yours Rita Skeeter," Matilda whispered menacingly as she passed by her table. "And be sure to quote me on that one."

They left; many people were staring at them as they went. Ron's grip on Matilda's hand tightened as she turned to look back over her shoulder as they reached the door. Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill was out; it was zooming backward and forwards over a piece of parchment on the table. 

"Are the two of you crazy?" said Ron, in a low and worried voice as they walked quickly back up the street. "She'll be after the two of you next."

He looked between Hermione and Matilda as he spoke. 

"I hope she does," Matilda shrugged. 

"Tilly's right. Let her try!" said Hermione shrilly; she was shaking with rage. "I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I? Oh, I'll get her back for this, first Harry, then Hagrid..."

"You don't want to go upsetting Rita Skeeter," said Ron nervously. "I'm serious, she'll dig something up on the two of you –"

"Do I seem scared to you Ron?" Matilda asked, Ron shook his head. 

"My parents don't even read the Daily Prophet, she can't scare me into hiding!" said Hermione, now striding along ahead of everyone. The last time Matilda had seen Hermione in a rage like this, she had hit Draco Malfoy around the face. "And Hagrid isn't going to hide anymore! He should never have let that excuse for a human being upset him! Come on!"

"Think she might punch someone again?" Matilda turned to Harry with a hopeful grin. 

Harry shrugged, "Seems likely."

Breaking into a run, Hermione led them all the way back up the road, through the gates flanked by winged boars, and up through the grounds to Hagrid's cabin.

The curtains were still drawn, and they could hear Fang barking as they approached.

"Hagrid!" Hermione shouted, pounding on his front door. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being –"

The door opened. Hermione said "About t–!" and then stopped, very suddenly, because she had found herself face to face, not with Hagrid, but with Albus Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, smiling down at them.

"We – er – we wanted to see Hagrid," said Hermione in a rather small voice.

"Yes, I surmised as much," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Why don't you come in?"

"Oh... um... OK," said Hermione.

Hermione led Ron and Harry into the cabin but Matilda hung back by the doorway and looked up at Dumbledore. He looked down at her with a curious grin. 

"Just thought I should warn you," said Matilda with a sigh. "I did threaten Rita Skeeter at The Three Broomsticks."

"Really?" Dumbledore sounded anything but surprised. In fact, Matilda hinted at a bit of amusement in his tone. "Why would you have done that?"

"Well, she's vile," said Matilda. "And the way she released that article on Hagrid. And the way she spoke to Harry–"

"– you were taking up for your friends, yes?"

"Yes, of course, but I—"

Matilda stopped as Dumbledore smiled down at her, "I am the most proud of you, Matilda."

Matilda smiled happily up at Dumbledore before turning to follow her friends into the cabin. 

Hagrid was sitting at his table, where there were two large mugs of tea. He looked a real mess. His face was blotchy, his eyes swollen, and he had gone to the other extreme where his hair was concerned; far from trying to make it behave, it now looked like a wig of tangled wire.

"Hi, Hagrid," said Harry.

Hagrid looked up.

"'Lo," he said, in a very hoarse voice.

"More tea, I think," said Dumbledore, closing the door behind him, drawing out his wand and twiddling it; a revolving tea-tray appeared in mid-air, along with a plate of cakes. Dumbledore magicked the tray onto the table, and everybody sat down. There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore said, "Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid?"

Hermione went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her, and continued, "Hermione, Matilda, Harry and Ron still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."

"Of course, we still want to know you!" Harry said, staring at Hagrid. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow – sorry, Professor," he added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.

"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry," said Dumbledore, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling.

Matilda snorted out a laugh. 

"Er – right," said Harry sheepishly. "I just meant – Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that – woman – wrote about you?"

Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and fell slowly into his tangled beard.

"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, still looking carefully up at the ceiling. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that, if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it –"

"Not all of 'em," said Hagrid hoarsely. "Not all of 'em wan' me ter stay."

"Yes, well, the others are absolute idiots," Matilda rolled her eyes. "And you shouldn't worry yourself over what a bunch of brainless and prejudice people think of you."

"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," said Dumbledore, now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed, since I became Headmaster of this school, when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"

"Yeh – yeh're not half-giant!" said Hagrid croakily.

"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!" Harry said furiously. "Look at the Dursleys!"

"An excellent point," said Professor Dumbledore. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery..."

"Come back and teach, Hagrid," said Hermione quietly, "please come back, we really miss you."

Hagrid gulped. More tears leaked out down his cheeks and into his tangled beard. Dumbledore stood up.

"I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday," he said. "You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."

Dumbledore left the cabin, pausing only to scratch Fang's ears. When the door had shut behind him, Hagrid began to sob into his dustbin-lid-sized hands. Hermione kept patting his arm, and at last, Hagrid looked up, his eyes very red indeed, and said, "Great man, Dumbledore... great man..."

"Yeah, he is," said Ron. "Can I have one of these cakes, Hagrid?"

Matilda looked to him with wide, scolding eyes, "Really? You thought now was the best time for that."

"What?" Ron responded in a whisper yell. "I'm starving. Haven't eaten since morning."

"Help yerself," said Hagrid, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "Ar, he's righ', o' course – yeh're all righ'... I bin stupid... my ol' dad woulda bin ashamed o' the way I've bin behavin'..." More tears leaked out, but he wiped them away more forcefully, and said, "Never shown you a picture of my old dad, have I? Here..."

Hagrid got up, went over to his dresser, opened a drawer and pulled out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was a good seven or eight feet tall, judging by the apple tree beside him, but his face was beardless, young, round, and smooth – he looked hardly older than eleven.

"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," said Hagrid, croakily. "Dad was dead chuffed... thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum... well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really... but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year...

"Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job... trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances... tha's what sets him apar' from other Heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out OK even if their families weren'... well... all tha' respectable. But some don' understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh... there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say – I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. "Never be ashamed," my ol' dad used ter say, "there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with." An' he was right. I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones... I'll give her big bones."

Harry, Matilda, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other nervously; all of them would rather have taken fifty Blast-Ended Skrewts for a walk than admit to Hagrid that he had overheard him talking to Madame Maxime, but Hagrid was still talking, apparently unaware that he had said anything odd.

"Yeh know wha', Harry?" he said, looking up from the photograph of his father, his eyes very bright. "When I firs' met you, you reminded me o' me a bit. Mum an' dad gone, an' you was feelin' like yeh wouldn' fit in at Hogwarts, remember? Not sure yeh were really up to it... an' now look at yeh, Harry! School champion!"

He looked at Harry for a moment and then said, very seriously, "Yeh know what I'd love, Harry? I'd love yeh ter win, I really would. It'd show 'em all... yeh don' have ter be pure-blood ter do it. Yeh don' have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It'd show 'em Dumbledore's the one who's got it righ', lettin' anyone in as long as they can do magic. How you doin' with that egg, Harry?"

"Great," said Harry. "Really great."

Matilda would normally scold Harry for once again lying about the egg, but she figured, in this instance, lying was probably better than telling Hagrid the truth. 

Hagrid's miserable face broke into a wide, watery smile. "Tha's my boy... You show 'em, Harry, you show 'em. Beat 'em all."

The four of them went back to the castle later that afternoon. They hung out in the Gryffindor common room, and Matilda beat Seamus and Dean both at a game of Wizarding Chess. That evening they all went to dinner together, talking about nothing important. Hermione and Matilda busied themselves in talks of their next Arithmancy assignment. 

On their way back to the common rooms Hermione and Ron walked ahead, arguing about Ron's table manners. Matilda hung back with Harry, watching the expressions on his face contort as he argued with his thoughts. 

"I think I need to take that bath..."

Matilda turned to Harry; her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. 

"What?"

"The bath..." said Harry. "To see figure out the golden egg."

Matilda nodded, her mouth forming an 'o' shape. 

"Yes, well, it's about time."

ϟ

AN:// finally, an update. A little uneventful but fun nonetheless.

I hope you all are enjoying. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are so far.

Also, out of curiosity I'd love if you all could tell me how/where you found out about this story. I'd love to hear.