Daylight || Harry Potter

Chapter Seven

"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman?" asked Ginny. "What's she doing back here? Hagrid can't have left, can he?"

"I'll be quite glad if he has," said Luna. "He isn't a very good teacher, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" I protested at the same time as Harry, Ron, and Ginny, though they said it a lot more aggressively.

Harry glared at Hermione, who hadn't spoken; she cleared her throat and quickly said, "Erm... yes... he's very good."

"Well, we think he's a bit of a joke in Ravenclaw," said Luna, unfazed.

"You've got a rubbish sense of humor then," Ron snapped, as the wheels below us creaked into motion.

"Ron," I chastised, smacking his arm.

Luna didn't seem offended by Ron's rudeness. She simply watched him for a while as though he were a mildly interesting TV show.

Rattling and swaying, the carriages moved in convoy up the road. Hogwarts Castle loomed ever closer: a towering mass of turrets, jet-black against the dark sky, here and there a window blazing fiery bright above us. The carriages jingled to a halt near the stone steps leading up to the oak front doors and Harry got out of the carriage first. He turned toward the forest, obviously searching to see any sign that Hagrid was there, but the windows of Hagrid's hut were dark. There was definitely no sign of life from Hagrid's cabin. Hoping we'd eventually see Hagrid, I turned and started walking up the steps with Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.

The entrance hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as we crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast. The four long House tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky outside. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students.

Luna drifted away from us at the Ravenclaw table. The moment we reached Gryffindor's, Ginny was greeted by some fellow fourth-years and left to sit with them, so Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and I found seats together about halfway down the table between Nearly Headless Nick and Parvati and Lavender, who greeted Hermione and I cheerfully.

"He's not there."

I realized Harry was talking about Hagrid and scanned the staff table too, though there was no real need; Hagrid's size made him instantly obvious in any lineup.

"He can't have left," said Ron, sounding slightly anxious.

"Of course he hasn't," said Harry firmly.

"You don't think he's... hurt, or anything, do you?" said Hermione uneasily.

"No," said Harry at once.

"But where is he?" I wondered.

There was a pause, then Harry said very quietly, so that Neville, Parvati, and Lavender couldn't hear, "Maybe he's not back yet. You know — from his mission — the thing he was doing over the summer for Dumbledore."

"Yeah... yeah, that'll be it," said Ron, sounding reassured, but Hermione bit her lip, looking up and down the staff table as though hoping for some conclusive explanation of Hagrid's absence.

"Who's that?" she said sharply, pointing toward the middle of the staff table.

My eyes followed hers. They stopped first on Dumbledore, sitting in his high-backed golden chair at the center of the long staff table, wearing deep-purple robes scattered with silvery stars and a matching hat. Dumbledore's head was inclined toward the woman sitting next to him, who was talking into his ear.