𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝

- 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀 -

BOOM. They knocked again. Ryan jerked awake.

"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Jack came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands — now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!"

There was a pause. Then —

SMASH!

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..." He strode over to the sofa where Ryan sat frozen with fear.

"Budge up, yeh great lump", said the stranger.

Ryan squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Jack.

"An' here's Lucia!" said the giant.

Lucia looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby", said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but you've got yer mum's eyes".

Uncle Jack made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Lewis, yeh great prune", said the giant. He reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Jack's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.

Uncle Jack made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodded on.

"Anyway — Lucia", said the giant, turning his back on the Lewis's, "A very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I might've sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right".

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Lucia opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happee Birthday Lucia written on it in green icing. Lucia looked up at the giant. She meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to her mouth, and what she said instead was, "Who are you?"

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced myself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts".

He held out an enormous hand and shook Lucia's whole arm.

"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind".

His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled crisp packets and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace, they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Lucia felt the warmth wash over her as though she'd sunk into a hot bath.

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy packet of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of some amber liquid which he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Ryan fidgeted a little. Uncle Jack said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Ryan".