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braveclementine · 18 days

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Chapter 16

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕴 𝖗𝖆𝖓 𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖓 the steps and rushed into the Great Hall. I had to tell Harry and Ron and Fred and George not to attack Draco. I had to. I had to.

Luna was at the Gryffindor table right now, showing them what her lion hat could do before she drifted back over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Harry!" I said importantly, sitting down in front of him. "Listen to me, this is important."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Your going to win- at least I'm foreseeing that. But you don't understand. After the match, Draco is going to insult Mr. Weasley and also your parents. I foresee Fred and you tackling him and then Umbridge is going to kick you, Fred, and George off the Quidditch team. I am warning you now! There will be nothing Professor McGonagall can do to stop it. Umbridge pushed another decree through. I have to go find Fred and George. Keep your temper Harry. Good luck Ron!"

I jumped up, looking for Fred and George Weasley. I didn't see them and tried to leave the Great Hall but Professor Umbridge stopped in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the four Heads of Houses heads turn towards me.

"I've been looking for you Miss Kane." She said, smiling.

I gritted my teeth. "Really, what have I done now?"

She showed me a piece of paper. "Well this is an educational degree saying that I can now override teachers decisions. I've decided that the Hufflepuff team has been-"

"You already remade it." I snapped. "You can't just unmake it for no reason at all."

"I've already told you about my reasons for not letting the Hufflepuff team reform." Professor Umbridge said, holding out her hand. "Give me your badge. Both of them."

"No." I said, narrowing my eyes. "Your prejudices are bullshite." I pushed past her and left the Great Hall. I could feel her eyes on me. I hurried into the Gryffindor locker room where Fred and George were waiting.

"You two listen to me!" I said urgently. "After the match, Draco is going to try and goad you into attacking him. Fred, you and Harry do jump on Draco. Umbridge got this new educational decree and she's going to give you guys a life-long ban. You two cannot attack him. Just get off the field as quickly as possible, okay!" I asked urgently. "I'm trying to change the future here."

"Life-long ban?" George asked incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

I shook my head. "No. And she's going to take yours, Fred's, and Harry's brooms away from you and lock them up in her office."

They looked horrified.

"Please, please keep your tempers!" I begged them.

"We'll try, no promises." Fred said. "Maybe if you warn us ahead of time what he says, I'll be able to keep a better head."

"He's going to insult your mum, dad, and your house."

"Umbridge insults your dad all the time and you get pissed at her!" George pointed out.

"Yes, but those are just detentions!" I cried, exasperated.

George put a hand on my shoulder as Angelina, Alicia, and Katie entered the locker room. "Alright, we'll try to keep a straight head."

I left and found a seat close by the stairs so I could run out onto the pitch if things seemed to get dangerously close.

I mostly listened to Lee's commentary with my eyes closed because my stomach was telling me it was going to throw up if I watched.

"And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me-"

"JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall yelled.

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest- and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's- ouch- been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe... Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and- nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away- dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger- close call, Alicia- and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're signing?"

Lee paused and everyone could hear the Slytherin's singing. "Weasley cannot save a thing, He cannot block a single ring, That's Why Slytherins all sing: Weasley is our King. Weasley was born in a bin, He always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley will make sure we win, Weasley is our King."

"Bloody hell." I muttered.

"-And Alicia passed back to Angelina! Come on now, Angelina- looks like she's got just the Keeper to beat!- SHE SHOOTS- SHE- aaah." Lee shouted as loudly as possible over the Slytherin's singing.

Slytherin scored. I could hear Lee bellowing over the lyrics, "-and it's Warrington again who passes to Pucey, Pucey's off past Spinnet, come on now Angelina, you can take him- turns out you can't- but nice Bludger from Fred Weasley, I mean, George Weasley, oh who cares, one of them anyway-" I grinned. At least Lee could still make me laugh, "-and Warrington drops the Quaffle and Katie Bell-er- drops it too- so that's Montague with the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Montague takes the Quaffle, and he's off up the pitch, come on now Gryffindor, block him!"

But I heard the Slytherins sing louder and then there were cheers from the Slytherin end of the pitch.

My stomach turned again. Slytherin scored twice more and the singing continued to grow steadily louder until no one could call it singing anymore. Instead, it was more like bellowing a riot chant, "WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN, HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN."

"-PUCEY THROWS TO WARRINGTON, WARRINGTON TO MONTAGUE, MONTAGUE BACK TO PUCEY- JOHNSON INTERVENES, JOHNSON TAKES THE QUAFFLE, JOHNSON TO BELL, THIS LOOKS GOOD- I MEAN BAD- BELL'S HIT BY A BLUDGER FROM GOYLE OF SLYTERHIN AND IT'S PUCEY IN POSSESSION AGAIN. . ." Lee was bellowing into the magical microphone but even then, it was hard to hear him.

I opened my eyes, watching Harry dive towards the ground, Draco swooping down after him. They were neck and neck and I crossed my fingers. Crabbe swung his bat and a bludger pelted after Harry. Even from where I was sitting, I saw Harry's hands close around the snitch and I was up out of my seat and dashing down the stairs.

I saw the bludger connect with Harry's back and he flew off the broom and tumbled onto his back, five or six feet off the ground. Angelina Johnson immediately swooped down to help him to his feet. Fred and George landed.

"Locker room- now!" I snapped at them as I ran towards Harry. They ignored me and came over to where everyone but Ron had landed and were shaking hands with Harry.

"Locker room." I muttered to them.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" Draco asked from behind. I grabbed Fred and George's arms tightly. "I've never seen a worse Keeper. . . but then he was born in a bin. . . Did you like my lyrics, Potter."

"Angelina!" I said in a high-pitched voice. "We need to get them to the locker room."

"We wanted to write another couple of verses! But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly- we wanted to sing about his mother, see-" Draco said.

Angelina and I exchanged a glance and she said, "Locker room! Now!"

I sighed with relief as the team started to troop back to the locker room and I had let go of Fred and George's arms. But I stayed behind everyone in case one of them tried to dash back towards Draco. However, he trailed after us.

"We couldn't fit in useless loser either- for his father, you know-" He called after us.

Fred froze. Alicia and Katie grabbed his arms, dragging him back to the pitch.

"-but you like the Weasley, don't you Potter? Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasley's hovel smells okay-"

I turned around and faced him. "Keep it up Malfoy and I'll give you an injury."

"Oh really?" Draco said but he'd stopped walking and it was giving Gryffindor's team a chance to get to the locker room. "I was under the opinion that you can't do anything, Kane. After all, your a werewolf brat and Umbridge might just. . . kick you off the team if you were to attack me."

"Oh, I'm fully aware Malfoy." I said, narrowing my eyes. "I'm not stupid."

"You couldn't even defend yourself if I attacked you right now, could you?" Draco asked gleefully and before I knew it, he'd drawn his wand and I went flying through the air and crashed into Fred. We both tumbled to the ground.

"Ow." I winced. "Sorry Fred."

"That git!" Fred exclaimed, getting to his feet.

I grabbed his arm, "It doesn't matter, alright?" I winced as I stepped backwards, my back hurt. "Come on, please Fred."

The teachers were watching us with tense expressions on their faces. Professor Umbridge was smiling.

I've always wondered why teachers never came down and tried to help students. Maybe they liked taking points away from their own houses. I wasn't sure.

Draco snapped his eyes over to Harry and shouted, "Or perhaps, you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it-"

Harry's shoulder rammed into mine as he ran at Draco. I let go of Fred and pulled out my wand and shouted, "Immobulus."

Harry froze before he got to Draco and Draco burst out laughing. But Fred was running towards Draco now- because I'd let go of his arm and I felt panic burst into me. Bloody hell why didn't they listen to me!

I ran after Fred and tackled him, bringing him to the ground. "Fred stop!" I shouted, trying to keep him down. "It's what he wants! Stop!"

I managed to get my arms around him and yanked him back in the direction of the locker room. "Let me at him! I don't care about a life-long ban!" Fred snarled. I wasn't going to be able to keep my grip on him for long. I pointed my wand at his chest and said, "Damnit it Fred, don't make me freeze you too!"

He relaxed in my arms but I didn't trust him enough to let him go and continued to drag him backwards. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia had gotten George inside the locker room and came out and grabbed Fred's arms and I let go and they dragged him to the locker room too.

Breathing heavily, I approached Harry and tapped him with my wand and grabbed his arm. "Let's go Harry. Now!"

He let me march him back to the locker room.

"Hey Kane!" Draco shouted, "What about the werewolf cave you live in? Is it just about as good as your dead parents house?"

I was shaking with anger but I wasn't giving Umbridge the satisfaction of kicking me off the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Instead, I continued to push Harry towards the locker room, then gave Draco the finger, and headed inside, slamming the door behind me and slumping against it, exhausted.

"Damnit you three! I warned you ahead of time!" I said, glaring at them.

Angelina was just as furious. "McGonagall would've punished you if you'd managed to lay your hands on him."

"Not just Professor McGonagall." I said through gritted teeth. "Professor Umbridge was going to give them a life-long ban."

Angelina dropped her mouth in horror and turned on them, "You were going to risk losing three players for that!"

"He insulted our parents!" George exclaimed, "Harry's mother! Elizabeth's dad and her parents!"

"It doesn't matter." I said sighing, "None of you laid hands on him so you guys shouldn't get into trouble. Let's just hope we don't run into her again."

I left with the entire team and as we were just about to enter the castle, I heard a "Hem, hem!" behind us. We all turned.

Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout were some feet behind her and stopped behind her when she stopped.

"Well then." Professor Umbridge said in a sweet voice. "I think there are some punishments that should be laid out now for that scene on the Quidditch field."

"That would be my job." Professor McGonagall said coolly.

"Well, actually, Minerva. I think you'll find that I now have the authority as well. Cornelius just sent it to me." She pulled out the decree that she had shown me earlier out of her pocket. "Ah yes. . . Hem, hem, 'Educational Decree Number Twenty five. . .'"

"Not another one!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed violently.

"Well yes, as a matter of fact, Minerva, it was you and Pomona who made me see that we needed a further amendment. . . You remember who you overrode me, when I was unwilling to allow the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams to re-form? How you took the case to Dumbledore, who insisted that the teams be allowed to play? Well, now, I couldn't have that. I contacted the Minister at once, and he quite agreed with me that the High Inquisitor has to have the power to strip pupils of privilege's, or she- that is to say, I- would have less authority than common teachers!"

"Common teachers?" I snapped. "They aren't common teachers! They are the Heads of the Four Houses! Professor McGonagall is deputy Headmistress! How can you be so power hungry?"

"That, Miss Kane." Professor Umbridge said. "is a month's worth of detention. I think you should have learned to have kept your mouth shut by now."

I gritted my teeth, avoiding Professor Snape's glares. A crowd was forming on the steps. I could see Heidi, Malcolm, Ernie, and Susan standing behind Professor Umbridge.

"So. . . I really think, Minerva, that I should ban Mr. Potter and both Weasleys from play ever again."

"Why?" I asked before I could stop myself. "They didn't do anything wrong!"

"On the contrary Miss Kane, they were going to beat Mr. Malfoy if you hadn't stopped them which, to be completely honest, wasn't your place to stop them. It was a teacher's place. I think you should be removed from your Quidditch team too for using magic on other students."

"I was stopping a fight from breaking out!" I snapped at her, eyes flashing in anger. "And if stopping a fight results in a punishment, you really need to get your priorities straight!"

"You still-"

"Are you going to ban Draco Malfoy?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Because I know for a fact that you saw that he used magic against me before I ever even had my wand out. So unless you're going to ban him from the Slytherin team, you can't ban any of us. It can't be a one-way street now."

There was silence. The students were looking at Professor Umbridge now who had dropped her stupid smile. The Gryffindor team was immobilized, trying to figure out if they were going to lose half their team members. I'd never seen the teachers look so speechless.

Finally, Professor Umbridge spoke. "Well you see, Miss Kane, unlike you, Mr. Malfoy is a pure-blood who comes from a long history of good wizards-"

"If by good wizards you mean, Death Eaters, then yeah." I said angrily.

"And you-"

"I know what your opinions are of me, but that doesn't mean that I should be punished for nothing wrong while you let others go free just because they have different backgrounds." I said, glaring at her.

We had a staring contest. I felt that a majority of the school was surrounding us.

"Miss Kane has made an excellent point." Professor McGonagall said in a tense voice. "If you're going to get rid of Potter, Weasley, and Weasley, then you most certainly have to get rid of Malfoy as well." I was of the opinion that she wanted everyone to get inside.

Professor Umbridge didn't remove her unblinking, bug like eyes from my face and I didn't either. "I want your badge." she said, ignoring McGonagall completely and she held out a stubby fingered hand. "now."

"No!" But it didn't come from me or a teacher. It came from Heidi. "We already told you the entire team wants her as our Captain! And she's right! They did nothing wrong, she did nothing wrong- she stopped the fight! Your encouraging violence by saying she shouldn't have stopped it! Malfoy was the one who fought, Malfoy was the one who encourage violence! Blood shouldn't matter!"

Professor Umbridge was looking very dangerous. "You'll be joining Miss Kane in detention tonight." But she walked up the stairs and didn't say anything else. As a group, the entire Gryffindor team seemed to catch their breath.

"Everyone inside!" Professor McGonagall snapped. I turned and she said, "Not you, Miss Kane."

I stopped, sighed, and turned back around. She looked furious. Everyone trailed inside leaving me with the four teachers.

"What was that?" She shouted at me.

"I'm not putting up with the prejudices!" I exclaimed.

"Dolores Umbridge is not a woman that you want to piss off!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, exasperated.

"I've already pissed her off since before she even started working here because I exist!" I cried out, throwing my arms up in the air. Snape looked absolutely furious with me. Flitwick looked grim, and unusually serious expression behind his glasses. Professor Sprout's expression was impossible to read. Professor McGonagall was furious as well, her face pinched and pink. "She gives me detentions for breathing! She hates my dad, she hates me, she'll find anything and everything as an excuse to punish me and I'm done with it!"

"And was a month's worth of slicing your hand open every night worth it?" Professor McGonagall asked coldly.

"Yes." I said honestly. "I'm a werewolf brat and I'm proud of it and I'm not going to have things taken away from me because of it."

Without another word or glance, I turned and stormed back into the castle.

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𝕸𝖞 𝖉𝖊𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 night lasted five hours. She was fuming. Heidi's had only lasted 3 hours. I wasn't sure what her line was.

By the time I was done, I felt dizzy from blood loss. But I didn't complain, and got up and headed back to my common room. Severus was waiting outside the door, his arms crossed. He looked down at my hand and said, "Come on."

I followed him back to his office where he bandaged my hand with murtlap essence under the bandages as a sort of ointment.

"Elizabeth, you need to be more careful." Severus said, dropping a huge glob of murtlap essence on my hand. "I get you're angry, alright? I get that it's unfair, but you need to keep your temper in check."

"I can't help it." I snapped. "It's her fault for being such a prejudiced woman."

He smiled wryly. "That as it may be. . ."

"I don't want to talk about it Severus, alright?" I asked. "I just. . ." I hesitated. What did I want? I wanted dad, I knew that. "I just want to know he's safe." I said and then, to my surprise, I burst into tears.

Severus put his arms around me, pulling my face into his chest, his chin resting on top of my head. "He's perfectly fine, Elizabeth." He said quietly. "We'd know if he was in trouble."

"I know. . . I know that. . ." I said, quickly wiping tears away clumsily with my left hand. "I just feel so stressed out about it. I miss him and I can't write to him and he can't write to me and I just wish Umbridge would drop dead and I hate myself for that because no matter how horrible someone is, I shouldn't wish them dead."

"Even the Dark Lord?" Severus asked, sounding a bit amused.

"No, I hope he dies and I don't feel guilty for that." I said, smiling a bit.

"I'm sure Remus is fine." Severus said, rubbing my back soothingly.

I tensed for a second, seeing something and sat up. "What?" He asked.

I smiled. "Hagrid's back."

He rolled his eyes, "Are you going down to see him?"

I nodded, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course I do." He said grumpily. "I'd rather you stayed in here every night. But I know you've probably foreseen something so I guess I'll let you go."

I giggled and kissed him. "I'll be here tomorrow."

"Good."

I exited the classroom and turned into a cat and slipped out of the castle. I turned back into a human and knocked on the door. There was silence for a moment and then Hagrid opened the door and said, "Well I shoulda known!" He exclaimed, "Come on in Elizabeth."

I grinned at him. Harry, Hermione, and Ron emerged from underneath the Invisibility Cloak.

"Blimey Eliza, gave us a heart attack!" Ron said.

"Sorry." I said, sitting down with them.

"Anyways." Hagrid said, obviously starting back on a story. "Went over a ridge one nigh' an' there they was, spread ou' underneath us. Little fires burnin' below an' huge shadows.. It was like watchin' bits 'o the mountain movin'."

"How big are they?" Ron asked in a hushed voice.

"'Bout twenty feet, Some o' the bigger ones mighta bin twenty-five."

"And how many were there?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I reckon abou' seventy or eighty." Hagrid said.

"Is that all?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised.

"Yep, eighty left, an' there were loads once, musta bin a hundred diff'rent tribes from all over the world. But they've bin dyin' out fer ages. Wizards killed a few, o' course, but mostly they killed each other, an' now they're dyin' out faster than ever. They're not made ter live bunched up togheter like tha'. Dumbledore says it's our fault, it was the wizards who forced 'em to go an' made 'em live a good long way from us an' they had no choice but ter stick together fer their own protection."

"So, you saw them and then what?" Harry goaded.

"Well, we waited till morning, didn' want ter go sneakin' up on 'em in the dark, fer our own safety. 'bout three in the mornin' they fell asleep 'jus where they was sittin'. We didn' dare sleep. Fer one thing, we wanted ter make sure none of 'em woke up an' came up where we were, an' fer another, the snorin' was unbelievable. Cause an avalanche near mornin'. Anyway, once it was light we wen' down ter see 'em."

"Just like that? You just walked right into a giant camp?" Ron asked, sounding like he was in awe.

"Well, Dumbledore'd told us how ter do it. Give the Gurg gifts, show some respect, yeh know." Hagrid explained.

"Give the what gifts?" Harry asked.

"Gurg." I said. "Means the chief."

"How could you tell which one was the Gurg?" Ron asked.

Hagrid grunted in amusement and said, "No problem. He was the biggest, the ugliest, an' the laziest. Sittin' there waitin' ter be brought food by the others. Dead goats an' such like. Name o' Karkus. I'd put him at twenty-two, twenty-three feet, an' the weight of a couple o' bull elephants. Skin like rhino hide an' all."

"And you just walked up to him?" Hermione asked, sounding breathless.

"Well. . . down ter him, where he was lyin' in the valley. They was in this dip between four pretty high mountains, see, beside a mountain lake, an' Karkus was lyin' by the lake roarin' at the others to feed him an' his wife. Olympe an' I went down the mountainside-"

"But didn't they try and kill you when they saw you?" Ron asked incredulously.

"It was def'nitely on some of their minds, but we did what Dumbledore told us ter do, which was ter hold our gift up high an' keep our eyes on the Gurg an' ignore the others. So tha's what we did. An' the rest of 'em went quiet an' watched us pass an' we got right up ter Karkus's feet an' we bowed an' pout our present down in front o' him."

"What do you give a giant? Food?" Ron asked in a eager voice.

I snorted.

"Nah, he can get food all righ' fer himself. We took him magic. Giants like magic, jus' don't like us usin' it against 'em. Anyway, that firs' day we gave him a branch o' Gubraithian fire."

"No way!" I exclaimed as Hermione said, "Wow." Harry and Ron simply frowned.

"A branch of-?" Ron asked.

"Everlasting fire." I said quickly.

"You ought to know that by now, Professor Flitwick's mentioned it at least twice in class!" Hermione said irritably.

"Well anyway, Dumbledore'd betwitched this branch to burn evermore, which isn' something' any wizard could do, an' so I lies it down in the snow by Karkus's feet and says, 'A gift to the Gurg of the giants from Albus Dumbledore, who sends his respectful greetings."

"And what did Karkus say?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Nothin', didn' speak English."

"You're kidding!"

I laughed.

"Didn' matter, Dumbledore had warned us tha' migh' happen. Karkus knew enough to yell fer a couple o' giants who knew our lingo an' they translated fer us." Hagrid said with a shrug.

"And did he like the present?" Ron asked.

"Oh yeah, it went down a storm one they understood what it was." Hagrid said and he flipped the piece of dragon meat he had on his eye over. "Very pleased. So then I said, 'Albus Dumbledore asks the Gurg to speak with his messenger when he turns tomorrow with another gift.'"

"Why could you speak to them that day?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore wanted us ter take it very slow. Let 'em see we kept our promises. We'll come back tomorrow with another present, an' then we do come back with another present- gives a good impression, see? An' gives them time ter test out the firs' prsent an' find out it's a good one, an' get 'em eager fer more. In any case, giants like Karkus- overload 'em with information an' they'll kill yeh jus' to simplify things. So we bowed outta the way an' went off an' found ourselves a nice little cave ter spend that night in, an' the followin' mornin' we went back an' this time we found Karkus sittin' up waitin' fer us lookin' all eager."

"And you talked to him?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yeah. Fis' we presented him with a nice battle helmet- goblin-made an' indestructible, yeh know- an' then we sat down an' we talked."

"What did he say?" Harry asked again.

"Not much. Listened mostly. But there were good signs. He'd heard o' Dumbledore, heard h'ed argued against the killin' of the last giants in Britain. Karkus seemed ter be quite int'rested in what Dumbledore had ter say. An' a few o' the others, 'specially the ones who had some English, they gathered round an' listened too. We were hopeful when we left that day. Promised ter come back next day with another present. But that night it all wen' wrong."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, like I say, they're not meant ter live together, giants. Not in big groups like that. They can' help themselves, they half kill each other every few weeks. The men fight each other an' the women fight each other, the remnants of the old tribes fight each other, an' that's even without squabbles over food an' the best fires an' sleepin' spots. Yeh'd think, seein' as how their whole race is abou' finished, they'd lay off each other but.... That night a fight broke out, we saw it from the mouth of our cave, lookin' down on the valley. Went on fer hours, yeh wouldn' believe the noise. An' when the sun came up the snow was scarlet an' his head was lyin' at the bottom o' the lake."

"Karkus's?" I asked.

"Yep. There was a new Gurg, Golgomath. Well, we hadn' bargained on a new Gurg two days after we'd made friendly contact with the firs' one, an' we had a funny feelin' Golgomath wouldn' be so keen ter listen to us, but we had ter try."

"You went to speak to him? After you'd watched him rip off another giant's head?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Course we did, we hadn' gone all that way ter give up after two days! We wen' down with the next present we'd meant ter give ter Karkus. I knew it was no go before I'd opened me mouth. He was sitting there wearin' Karkus's helmet, leerin' at us as we got nearer. he's massive, on o' the biggest ones there. Black hair an' matchin' teeth an' a necklace o'bones. Human-lookin' bones, some of 'em. Well, I gave it a go- held out a great roll o' dragon skin- an' said 'A gift fer the Gurgo f the giants-' Nex' thing I knew, I was hangin' upside down in the air by me feet, two of his mates had grabbed me."

How did you get out of that?" Harry asked while Hermione covered her mouth with her hands.

"Wouldn'ta done if Olympe hadn' bin there. She pulled out her wand an' did some o' the fastes' spellwork I've ever seen, Ruddy marvelous. Hit the two holdin' me right in the eyes with Conjunctivitius Curses an' they dropped me straightaway- bu' we were in trouble then, 'cause we'd used magic against 'em, an' that's what giants hate abou' wizards. We had ter leg it an' we knew there was no way we was going ter be able ter march inter camp again."

"Blimey, Hagrid." Ron said.

"So how come it's taken you so long to get home if you were only there for three days?" Hermione asked.

"We didn' leave after three days! Dumbledore was relyin' on us!" Hagrid said, looking a bit outraged at the suggestion.

"But you've just said there was no way you could go back!" Hermione pointed out.

"Not by daylight, we couldn', no. We just had ter rethink a bit. Spent a couple 'o days lyin' low up in the cave an' watchin'. An' wha' we saw wasn' good."

"Did he rip off more heads?" Hermione said, sounding like she was going to be sick.

"No. I wish he had." Hagrid said grimly.

"What d'you mean?" I asked, frowning. Hagrid wasn't normally a violent person.

"I mean we soon found out he didn't object ter all wizards- just us." Hagrid said a bit bitterly.

"Death Eaters?" Harry and I asked together.

"Yep. Couple of 'em were visitin' him ev'rey day, bringin' gifts ter the Gurg, an' he wasn' dangling them upside down."

"How d'you know they were Death Eaters?" Ron asked curiously.

"Because I recognized one of 'em. Macnair, remember him? Bloke they sent ter kill Buckbeak?" Hagrid growled. "Maniac, he is. Likes killin' as much as Golgomath, no wonder they were gettin' on so well."

"So Macnair's persuaded the giants to join You-Know-Who?" Hermione asked.

"Hold yer hippogriffs, I haven' finished me story yet! Me an' Olympe talked it over an' we agreed, jus' cause the Gurg looked like favorin' You-Know-Who didn' mean all of 'em would. We had ter try an' persuade some o'the others, the ones who hadn't wanted Golgomath as Gurg."

"How could you tell which ones they were?" I asked curiously, storing all the information away for later.

"Well, they were the ones bein' beaten to a pulp, weren' they? The ones with any sense were keepin' outta Golgomath's way, hidin' out in caves roun' the gully jus' like we were. So we decided we'd go pokin' round the caves by night an' see if we couldn't persuade a few o' them."

"You went poking around dark caves looking for giants?" Ron asked, and there was a tone of respect in his voice.

"Well, it wasn't the giants who worried us most. We were more concerned abou' the Death Eaters. Dumbledore had told us before we wen' not ter tangle with 'em if we could avoid it, an' the trouble was they knew we was around- 'spect Golgomath had told him abou' us. At night when the giants were sleepin' an' we wanted ter be creepin' inter the caves, Macnair an' the other one were sneakin' round the mountaisn lookin' fer us. I was hard put to stop Olympe jumpin' out at them. She was rarin' ter attack 'em... She's somethin' when she's roused, Olympe... Fiery, yeh know... 'spect it's the French in her..." He said, his lips twitching behind is large beard. I smiled. That was freaking adorable.

"So what happened?" Harry asked after a few seconds. "Did you ever get near any of the other giants?"

"What? Oh... oh yeah, we did. Yeah, on the third night after Karkus was killed, we crept outta the cave we'd bin hidin' in and headed back down inter the gully, keepin' our eyes skinned fer the Death Eaters. Got inside a few 'o the caves, no go- then, in abou' the sixth one, we found three giants hidin'."

"Cave must've been cramped." Ron commented.

"Wasn' room ter swing a kneazle." Hagrid said.

"Didn't they attack you when they saw you?" Hermione asked.

"Probably woulda done if they'd bin in any condition, but they were badly hurt, all three o' them. Golgomath's lot had beatn 'em unconscious; they'd woken up an' crawled inter the nearest shelter the could find. Anyway, one o' them had a bit of English an' 'e translated fer the others, an' what we had ter say didn' seem ter go down too badly. So we kep' goin' back, visitn' the wounded. . . I reckon we had abou' six or seven o' them convinced at one poin'."

"Six or Seven? Well that's not bad-" Ron started but I interrupted him.

"You said at one point, Hagrid?"

"Golgomath's lot raided the caves. The ones tha' survive didn' wan' no more ter do with us after that." Hagrid said sadly.

"So. . . so there aren't any giants coming?" Ron asked, sounding extremely disappointed.

"Nope, but we did wha' we meant ter do, we gave 'em Dumbledore's message an' some o' them heard it an' I 'spect some o' them'll remember it. Jus' maybe, them that don' want ter stay around Golgomath'll move outta the mountains, an' there's gotta be a chance they'll remember Dumbledore's friendly to 'em. . . Could be they'll come. . ."

Snow was piling up outside. I wished I'd remember to cover our footprints. Luckily, mine would only show up as cat paws. They'd probably be covered by now anyways. Of course, that would leave awkward questions for the others to ask.

"Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"Mmm?"

"Did you. . . was there any sign of. . . did you heart anything about your. . . your. . . mother while you were there?" she asked hesitantly. I got up and crept over to the back door, ready to slip out. Hagrid wasn't paying attention to me.

"Dead. Died years ago. They told me." Hagrid grunted.

"Shh!" I hissed, slipping out the back door and closing it softly and immediately becoming a cat. They were quiet inside and then there was a knock on the front door.

There was a crash as Hermione dropped her mug and Fang barked. I could just barely hear Harry say, "Get under here." But since it was through my cat ears, I desperately hoped that Umbridge hadn't heard her.

"So." I heard Professor Umbridge said very loudly. "You're Hagrid, are you? Get away." She snapped. I sprung up on the windowsill, peering through the curtain. She had hit Fang with her handbag.

"Er- I don' want ter be rude, but who the ruddy hell are you?" Hagrid asked.

"My name is Dolores Umbridge." I heard her say.

"Dolores Umbridge? I thought you were one o' them Ministry- don' you work with Fudge?" Hagrid quickly changed whatever he was going to say.

"I was Senior undersecretary to the Minister, yes. I am now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher-"

"Tha's brave of yeh, there's not many'd take tha' job anymore-" Hagrid said, nearly congratulating her.

"-and Hogwarts High Inquisitor." Umbridge finished, completely ignoring him.

"Wha's that?" Hagrid asked.

"Precisely what I was going to ask." Umbridge said.

"Oh." Hagrid said. "oh, tha' was... was Fang. He broke a mug. So I had ter use this one instead."

"I heard voices." Umbridge said.

"I was talkin' ter Fang."

"And was he talking back to you?"

"Well. . . in a manner o' speakin'. I sometimes say Fang's near enough human-"

"There are three sets of footprints in the snow leading from the castle doors to your cabin." Umbridge said.

"Well, I on'y jus' got back. Maybe someone came ter call earlier an' I miss 'em."

"There are no footsteps leading away from your cabin door."

I hissed.

"Well I. . . I don' know why that'd be. . . Erm. . ."

Umbridge walked around the cabin, opening cupboard doors by the sound of it. Though I was still on the windowsill ledge, I wasn't looking through in case she saw me and tried to open it. It was where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing under the invisibility cloak.

"What has happened to you? How did you sustain those injuries?" She asked.

"Oh, I. . . had a bit of an accident." Hagrid said lamely. I hissed again, closing my large green eyes.

"What sort of accident?"

"I- I tripped."

"You tripped?"

"Yeah, tha's right. Over. . . over a friend's broomstick. I don' fly, meself. Well, look at the seiz o' me, I don' reckon there's a broomstick that'd hold me. Friend o' mine breeds Abraxan horses, I dunno if you've ever seen 'em, big beasts, winged, yeh know, I've had a bit of a ride on one o' them an' it was-"

"Where have you been?" Umbridge interrupted him shortly.

"Where've I. . .?"

"Been, yes. Term started more than two months ago. Another teacher has had to cover your classes. None of your colleagues has been able to give me any information as to your whereabouts. You left no address. Where have you been?"

"I- I've been away for me health." Hagrid said after a moment of thinking.

"For your health." Umbridge repeated.

"Yeah, bit o'- o' fresh air, yeh know-"

"Yes, a gamekeeper fresh air must be so difficult to come by." Umbridge said. Her voice had changed again- back to the wicked sweet.

"Well- change o' scene, yeh know-"

"Mountain scenery?" Umbridge asked in a swift, pouncing voice.

"Mountains? Nope, South of France fer me. Bit o' sun an'. . . an' sea." It wasn't a lie either, he'd been in France.

"Really? You don't have much of a tan." Umbridge finished.

"Yeah. . . well. . . sensitive skin." Hagrid said.

"I shall, of course, be informing the Minister of your late return." Umbridge said in a cooler voice.

"Righ'."

"You ought to know too that as High Inquisitor it is my unfortunate but necessary duty to inspect my fellow teachers. So I daresay we shall meet again soon enough."

"You're insepctin' us?" Hagrid repeated blankly.

"Oh yes. The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, Hagrid. Good night." I heard her close the door behind her.

"She's goin' back ter the castle." Hagrid said after a moment. "Blimey inspectin' people, is she?"

"Where's Elizabeth gone off too?" Hermione asked. I jumped from the windowsill, became a person again and headed back into the cabin.

"Sorry for disappearing like that." I said. "But I knew I wouldn't fit under the invisibility cloak."

"Good thinking." Harry said. "And to answer your question Hagrid, yeah. Trelawney's on probation already. . ."

"Um. . . what sort of thing are you planning to do with us in class, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, don' you worry abou' that, I've got a great load o' lessons planned. I've bin keepin' a couple o' creatures saved fer yer O.W.L. year, you wait, they're somethin' really special." Hagrid said enthusiastically."

"Erm. . . special in what way?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sayin'." Hagrid said happily. My stomach turned. "I don' want ter spoil the surprise."

"Look, Hagrid, Professor Umbridge won't be at all happy if you bring anything to class that's too dangerous-" Hermione started urgently.

"Dangerous? Don' be silly, I wouldn' give yeh anythin' dangerous! I mean, all righ' they can look after themselves-"

"Hagrid, you've got to pass Umbridge's inspection, and to do that it would really be better if she saw you teaching us how to look after porlocks, how to tell the difference between knarls and hedgehogs, stuff like that!" Hermione said earnestly.

"But tha's not very intrestin', Hermione. The stuff I've got's much more impressive, I've bin bring' 'em on fer years, I reckon I've got the on'y domestic herd in Britain-"

"Hagrid. . . please. . . Umbridge is looking for an excuse to get rid of teachers she thinks are too close to Dumbledore. Please, Hagrid, she's put Elizabeth in detention just because her dad's a werewolf. She's going to want to get rid of you. Please, Hagrid, teach us something dull that's bound to come up in our O.W.L. . ." she looked at me for backup. I shook my head.

"Hagrid's right. What he's teaching tomorrow isn't dangerous." I said. "And it really is a fascinating creature. But Umbridge is going to mess it all up. Hagrid, don't get flustered when the Slytherins answer her questions. Just ignore them and pretend not to hear them. Umbridge is going to insult you like she thinks your just some stupid half-giant. That's how she treats me."

"Look, don' you go worryin' abou' me, I promise yeh I've got really good stuff planned fer yer lessons now I'm back.. Now you lot had better get back to the castle, an' don' forget ter wipe yer footprints out behind yeh!"

"I dunno if you got through to him." Ron said as we walked back up to the castle, erasing our prints behind us.

"Then I'll go back again tomorrow. I'll plan his lessons for him if I have to. I don't care if she throws out Trelawney but she's not taking Hagrid!"

"What is his plans Elizabeth?" Harry asked in a concerned voice.

"Thestrals first." I said glumly. "But Umbridge is going to make out that hes' really stupid. The Slytherins of course, are going to be worse than usual and Hagrid's going to stutter a lot which will just make Umbridge make him out to be even stupider. And Thestrals aren't even dangerous. It'll be her bias against half-breeds." I finished bitterly. "I'm going to bed."

I went down a different corridor and turned into a cat when they were out of sight and went past the Hufflepuff common room back down to the dungeons. I closed the office door, locked it with my wand, and then turned back into a cat and hoped into bed. Severus was snoring and I curled up on his chest and fell asleep.

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