Thirteen years after The Battle of Hogwarts, two wizarding children are about to embark on their own adventure. They both have been lied to their entire lives, one to protect her from the wrath of the wizarding world, and the other to protect him fr...
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It seemed to Teddy that there was something off about Hagrid during a class in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid seemed distracted, and once told the class that it was best to feed Hippogriffs Venomous Tentacula. It was extremely odd, and Teddy was determined to figure exactly what was wrong. He had learned that when teachers started acting oddly at Hogwarts it usually ended up affecting the students too. James, Victoire, and Teddy headed down the rocky path to Hagrid's hut during their free time after lunch, mainly because of one of Teddy's crazy hunches—sadly, it was how many things they did usually happened, but sometimes it did work out. It was a rather unpleasant day. The sky was grey, with rain threatening to drop from the dark clouds that loomed overhead. The air was muggy with suppressed rain. Teddy was racing ahead, with James struggling to keep up on his shorter legs. Victoire lazily walked down the hill, many paces behind them, ignoring their competition all together.
"Victoire, come on!" Teddy yelled over his shoulder as he neared Hagrid's hut. The pumpkins that grew outside the hut were bright orange with darker streaks, and their vivid green vines waved in the slight breeze at James and Teddy as they approached. James looked curiously at a small bird that perched upon a pumpkin, wondering why, with the oncoming rain, it didn't go back to its nest, which probably sat high in a tree deep in the forest. It was the only creature he had seen on the walk down from the castle as all the others had wisely decided to hide in their respective burrows.
"I don't understand why you think this is necessary, Teddy," Victoire complained as she slowed to a stop next to James. "I have so many better things to do and you're dragging me down here. Not that I don't love Hagrid, but I don't want to spend the few hours I have before dinner pestering him about something that doesn't exist and isn't a problem. So when he denies it the first time, can we just say goodbye and go do something productive?"
Teddy shot her a glare over his shoulder and knocked on the door to Hagrid's hut. "Hagrid, could we talk to you?" he called. The soft thud of footsteps grew louder and louder until the door opened, revealing Hagrid's massive form. His large bushy beard had grey hairs here and there and his face was covered with dirt from his pumpkin patch, but he smiled at Teddy and James, and then back to Victoire, who stood a bit back from the other two with her arms crossed.
"Oh hello, Harry—James, sorry. Yeh jus look so much like yeh father. Teddy, Victoire." Hagrid stepped aside to let them through the doorway. "Come on in ev'ryone, I'm not doing much really."
The hut was just large enough for Hagrid and had barely enough room left over for a small gathering of people. The large round dining table off set from the center of the room with an oversized armchair near the window. It wasn't the most tidy James had ever seen it,—papers were strewn this way and that and plates were stacked on every open surface. Even by Hagrid's standards it was a mess. The fire, while dampened, still had bits of wood and embers that burned brightly in the late afternoon light slanting in through the window. Hagrid walked over to the stove where the kettle screeched to be taken off. "Tea anybody?" Teddy and James declined as politely as possible. James had no idea how his parents had drunk it, because it was completely foul, but somehow Victoire actually liked it.
