Midnight In Hogwarts | Harry Potter FanFiction

Capitulum Viginti-duo

As the weeks passed and the Apparition tests approached, Harry was certain of only one thing: Sirius was positively suffocating. Now that Sirius was back at Hogwarts he wanted to know everything. It was understandable at first but now it was down right annoying. Harry had thought that Sirius couldn't be any more overprotective but he was wrong. Sirius was taking his godfather duties to the extreme and no one could convince him that it wasn't justified.

Care of Magical Creatures class was another headache for Harry. Aragog's health was basically nonexistent leaving Hagrid an emotional wreck. The emotional pain from Hagrid and the physical pain from Aragog had become so overwhelming that Harry was unable to be around them for more than five minutes. Thankfully Hagrid was too distraught to notice Harry sneak away and out of sight from Aragog's eager family.

When the day of the Apparition tests arrived, the majority of the sixth years could be found reading a leaflet from the Ministry of Magic titled: Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Ron had read the leaflet so many times that he had memorized every word but he still continued to read it, as if additional information would appear on it any moment. Harry and Hermione had opted to refrain from commenting since Ron had already insisted they tell him everything they knew to help for the test. There was really nothing Harry and Hermione could tell him. Apparating relied heavily on mentality. Fear and hesitation resulted in failure. It was as simple as that.

After lunch, Harry and Hermione opted to take a stroll around the grounds for some fresh air while Ron followed them with his face hidden behind the leaflet. They would be leaving for Hogsmeade soon and security would be even tighter than the practice session. Sirius, Remus and Tonks were serving as Harry's protection while nearly a dozen Aurors would be monitoring everyone else. Harry wasn't sure who had requested the tighter security but had a feeling that Sirius had contributed.

"Harry Potter?" Harry quickly turned around to see a dark haired girl hurrying to catch up with him. She couldn't have been older than a third year and had the Hufflepuff crest on her robes. "I was told to give you this," she added as she handed over a small scroll of parchment.

"Thanks," Harry said with a nod. The girl blushed before running off. Harry rolled his eyes at her behavior as he unrolled the scroll. He recognized the untidy handwriting immediately. There were large blotches all over the parchment, causing some of the ink to run.

Dear Harry, Ron and Hermione,

Aragog died last night. I know you tried to prepare me for this Harry but it's still hard to believe he's gone. I'm going to bury him tonight at dusk, that was his favorite time of day. I already asked Sirius if you could come tonight but he said it'd be too dangerous so I just thought I'd let you know.

Thanks for all your help Harry.

Hagrid

"It's from Hagrid," Harry said as he handed the parchment over to Hermione. She read through it and let out a long sigh as she and handed it over to Ron who scanned it quickly. Ron's reaction was nearly comical. He shuddered as a look of disgust appeared on his face as he quickly handed the parchment back to Harry as if touching it would cause spiders to come.

"Well, I'm glad Sirius said you couldn't go," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "We would be in so much trouble if we were caught."

"I can't believe he even thought we'd go," Ron said in disbelief. "That thing ordered his kids to kill us even after he knew we were Hagrid's friends."

Harry let out a long breath and fought the urge to say something he would probably regret. Yes, Hagrid's choice in pets was certainly unorthodox but Hagrid was unorthodox so it worked out. Hagrid had known Aragog for over fifty years. It was understandable that Hagrid would take Aragog's death hard and would want people there to help him tonight. Harry just wished there was someway he could help Hagrid. No one should have to face death alone even if it was the death of a flesh eating giant spider.