Seventh Time's the Charm

Chapter 7 - What Should've Been

"Don' panic, now, don' panic," Hagrid yelled, stepping around an enormous smoldering box filled with pillows.

Harry and Hermione stood next to Hagrid's cabin, shivering as the chilly December wind all but ignored their robes. Around them, the ten remaining blast-ended skrewts ravaged the icy pumpkin patch, spewing flames as the rest of their Care of Magical Creatures class scattered to seek shelter.

"You really should send a note to Sirius soon," Hermione said, her teeth chattering. She cupped her gloved hands in front of her mouth and blew on them. "He must be worried sick, you haven't written him since before the first task!"

Harry nodded, careful not to dislodge the scarf he had tightly wrapped around himself. "I know," he said. "I would like to stay at Grimmauld Place this summer. Rather that then the Dursleys."

They watched as another box caught fire from a direct blast, the pillows inside igniting almost instantly. Only a handful of students remained outside; most had fled to the safety of Hagrid's cabin.

"Could use a little help here!" exclaimed Ron, who was struggling to restrain one of the man-sized skrewts without getting burned.

With a sigh, Harry drew his wand and stepped forward.

"Remember, we can't use Incarcerous" Hermione warned as she grabbed a length of rope that lay next to the cabin. "Conjuration is NEWT-level material."

Harry looked at his wand with a frown, before reluctantly tucking it back into his robes.

After a rather cold and frustrating half-hour, Hagrid and the remnant of his class that stayed outside to help finally managed to restrain nine of the skrewts.

"One left," Harry said tiredly. The creature scuttled closer to Hagrid, its stinger arched over its body. Harry threw a length of looped rope at the skrewt, which wrapped around the stinger and pulled. Hagrid launched himself at the creature, flattening it.

"Ah Harry, fancy seeing you here."

Harry turned to see Rita Skeeter in a thick magenta cloak leaning against the garden fence, seemingly enthralled with the fiery destruction that had been wrought against Hagrid's pumpkins.

"I thought we had an agreement, Rita," Harry said, visibly irritated. Hagrid took the rope from him and began dragging the semi-squished creature toward an intact box.

She smiled at Harry, her gold teeth glinting.

"You're right Harry, we do," she said. "And you still owe me an exclusive interview."

Harry groaned inwardly.

"Look, I'm really quite busy right now," he said, gesturing to the withered pumpkin plants at his feet. "Maybe after Christmas holidays."

Rita nodded as she glanced around, noticing several students sporting burns and cuts from their recent encounter with the skrewts. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione standing off to his side, looking at Rita with her arms crossed.

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore," Hagrid grunted, making his way back over to the cabin.

Rita ignored Hagrid. "Looks like quite the story happening right here," she said to Harry. "Perhaps I can run a feature in the zoological column?"

Harry glowered at her. "Fine, you can have your interview at the start of next term. Just leave me and my friends alone."

The bell rang up at the castle, and the rest of the class grabbed their bags.