Our Secret Marriage: First Year

Chapter 15: Say What?!

 When we knock on the door of Hagrid's hut an hour later, we are surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let us in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.

It is stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Odd...Hagrid made us tea and offered us stoat sandwiches, which we refused.

"So -- yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yea," Harry says as he fans himself. There's no point beating around the bush.

"We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy," I cut Harry off as he hesitates to ask.

Hagrid frowns at me.

"0' course I cant, he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It Was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on around here," Hermione pleads in a warm, flattering voice.

Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really."

Hermione goes on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry, Ron and I beam at Hermione.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout -- Professor Flitwick -- Professor McGonagall --" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell -- an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

WHAT?!