The Wrong Slytherin • Draco Malfoy

13 || A visit to Hagrid

The next day everyone had left for the school holidays and with all my Slytherin friends gone I had been left quite alone. Even Ophelia had gone home to spend time with her family, but even though the reason I had told my parents I was going to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas was for my friend, I was also very excited to see Christmas at Hogwart's and also spend some time exploring with less people around. Which is what I found myself doing that morning, exploring the grounds and thinking. 

Mostly about the events of the day before and all that had been said. Harry had left The Three Broomsticks shortly after the Minister and the other Professors without much of a goodbye.

He had clearly been stuck in his head and I couldn't exactly blame him after all that had been revealed, It was enough to leave me reeling and it didn't even affect me.

It also made me think about how The Minister of Magic had mentioned the Black family all being in league with You-Know-Who and about the other families who had sided with Him. 

"Cassie!" I was effectively pulled from my thoughts at the sound of my name being called, looking around I spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione standing on the hill by the entrance to the school, the latter waving both her arms about to catch my attention.

I quickly jogged up the hill to meet them, bending over with my hands on my knees once I got there. It had been pretty hard since I had to drag my feet through the snow.

"Whew, I am so not fit - " I heaved "These brooms are making me lazy, I think I need to start running."

Ron smirked at me. "That's what you get when you live in the dungeons, you don't need to climb up a tower every single day," He gloated.

I playfully glared at him before turning to Hermione. "What's up? Are you headed out?"

"We were actually just heading to Hagrid's when we saw you, and you looked like you were kind of .. lonely, so I thought we'd invite you to come." She gestured down the other side of the hill where a small but homey looking hut lay, smoke billowing out of a chimney. 

"Oh, I'd actually love to!" I beamed at them, "It was honestly getting sort of depressing when everything is covered in snow so  it looks the same."

We stumbled down to Hagrid's, slipping and sliding but not quite falling over. Harry had been quite and sullen the entire time and I decided to let him be to puzzle his thoughts out by himself.

 Ron knocked, but there was no answer.

 "He's not out, is he?" said Hermione, who was shivering under her cloak. 

 Ron had his ear to the door. "There's a weird noise," he said. "Listen — is that Fang?"

We all put our ears to the door too. From inside the cabin there was a series of low, throbbing moans. It honestly sounded like crying.

 "Hagrid!" called Harry, thumping the door. "Hagrid, are you in there?"

 There was a sound of heavy footsteps, then the door creaked open.

Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest. 

 "Yeh've heard?" he bellowed, and he flung himself onto Harry's neck. Worryingly, he looked like he was about to be crushed by the giant man. Luckily, Ron and Hermione grabbed Hagrid by each arm and dragged him back into the hut, then led him towards a chair which he collapsed into before slumping over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed with tears that dripped down into his tangled beard.

Harry and I looked at each other, bewildered, before hurrying into the hut. I looked around to see a fire burning in the hearth with Fang laying in front of it, looking sadly at his owner. There were four wooden chairs surrounding the table in which Hagrid  was slumped over and a letter left opened just next to one of his arms. Hermione was looking at Hagrid aghast.