Brooklyn and the Boy Who Lived

The Harsh Rule of a New Headmistress

Brooklyn stood on the balcony bridge with his friends, gazing downward at the Black Lake, deep in thought. It had been about a month since Dumbledore fled and Umbridge became Headmistress. She had gotten so much power, even allowing the Inquisitorial Squad to have more power over him, Griff and the Prefects.

The Twins once said Montague tried taking points, but had shove him into a Vanishing Cabinet, not even knowing where he was going. And they also claimed that they would one day soon ditch Hogwarts and Umbridge, because they thought there would be no future for them if the toad was still in power.

Fred and George at last took their chance one week, as they set off a multiple of pranks on Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad before finally escaping on their brooms, asking Peeves to continue their task of keeping Umbridge in misery. Brooklyn wished them luck, wherever they would go.

His right hand still stung, as Brooklyn clenched it, seeing those words from the Blood Quill Umbridge made him use one day, I must not spread lies. It made him hate her even more, especially when she made almost everybody in the D.A. write with a Blood Quill too.

Nobody really blamed Griff, because Umbridge had used that terrible truth serum on him, and Brooklyn had Pomfrey take his friend in to clear his body of it.

Harry was especially down about all this, thinking it was his fault. Plus it didn't help that his Occlumency lessons with Snape weren't curing his nightmares about the locked door. Hermione came over, putting a comforting arm around him.

"I tried so hard to help everybody, and look where it had gotten us," Harry muttered in a dull tone. Brooklyn felt like for the first time he didn't know what to even say.

But then they heard a pst from the end of the bridge, and Brooklyn spotted Hagrid peeking out at them. He looked even worse, with new scratches and black eyes, but his face was urgent.

"Hagrid, what—." Brooklyn started, but he just gestured at them to follow. The foursome followed Hagrid all the way into the Forbidden Forest. Brooklyn was confused as to why Hagrid had pulled them all the way out here.

While they walked, there was a thunder of hooves, and Brooklyn tensed in his tracks as a furious herd of Centaur galloped through the trees. Hagrid frowned at the sight.

"I've never seen the Centaurs so riled like this, they could be dangerous nowadays, with the Ministry restrictin' their territory an' all."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Hagrid, what's going on?" Hagrid shuffled his feet guiltily. "So sorry ter sound mysterious teh yeh four, I wouldn' have pulled yeh out here. But with Dumbledore gone again, I'm likely to get a sack any day now, and I jus' can' leave withou' telling someone about him!"

Brooklyn was still confused. "Who? Who have you been—."

THUMP!

At that noise, the red gargoyle turned his head, and his mouth fell open, as a 16 foot giant appeared; towering over them all. The foursome backed away, and Brooklyn's eyes glowed white with disbelief, that a freaking giant was really here!

Hagrid had tears in his eyes. "I couldn' leave Grawp because... he's my brother!"

"Are you for real?" Yelped Brooklyn as the giant's footfalls made him stagger.

"Well, er, half brother is a better term. Them other giants kept pickin' on Grawp because he's smaller than the others."

Hermione was quite hysterical about it all, and Brooklyn couldn't blame her. Tiny, yeah right!

Grawp had tried snatching one of them, but a rope stopped him in his tracks. Brooklyn noticed he was tied to a tree.

"He-he's still learnin' his own strength an' tryin' ter teach him not ter grab things so roughly. Can' get his own food, but wanted somebody ter teach him English, in case I—."