Weasley and Granger

Chapter 33: Hagrids Return

A/N: Happy New Years y'all!

Hermione woke up the next morning to the feeling of someone stroking her hair. She opened her eyes to see Fred was next to her confirming her suspicions. She smiled at him, then realised where she was.

"Calm down Hermione. It's actually really early." He said pulling her back closer to him. They were laying on the couch by the fire still, only differences were that the fire had gone out, there was a blanket on Hermione and the sun was poking through the windows of the Gryffindor common room. 

Fred yawned, Hermione wondered to herself, 'Where did this blanket come from?'. Her eyes had travelled to the blanket making it obvious what she was thinking. 

"It's one of mine, mum sent it with me this year." Fred said reading her mind. "Good old mum always looking out for her kids... even the ones that have been kicked off the quidditch team, and any others in their future." He said sadly at the end.

"No, don't start the morning like that. You said it yourself, it's too early, and in my books, it's too early to think of yesterday's drama." Hermione said screwing up her face. 

She wrapped her arms around Fred more as they sat up on the couch, well it was more of a half slouch while sitting up on the couch. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he laid his head top of hers. "Can the world not move for a while, so we can just stay here." Fred sighed looking into the not existent fire.

"That'd be nice. Then we wouldn't have to deal with anymore problems." The brunette smiled.

Hermione stood up from the couch as she felt her hair was sticking all over the place. She tried to wrangle it all back into place, but like almost always, her hair was uncooperative. The brunette threw her hands up in the air with defeat, she crossed her arms, then her eyes wandered to the window.

She could see smoke in part of it, with interest Hermione strode over to look out of to find answers. Once at the window, her questions were answered. Her eyes widened with surprise and joy, with out hesitation she ran over to the stairway leading to the boys dormitory.

"Where are you going?" Fred yelled from the couch. Hermione made it up a few of the steps then she realised she didn't know which dorm her friends were in.

Returning down the stairs to the common room she smiled sweetly at Fred, "Which dorm room are Harry and Ron in?" She asked him.

Fred shook his head and stood up from the couch, "Follow me." He said walking past her and up the stairs.

———————

"Will you wake up Ronald!" Hermione tried again as she pushed him while Ron pulled the covers over his head and grumbled.

Hermione huffed to herself and went over to Harry, who was sleeping soundly. "Harry Potter this is important!" She tried to wake him.

She saw him frown in annoyance but slowly he lifted himself up from his bed, "What is it Hermione?" He yawned sleepily.

"It's Hagrid! He's back." She explain excitedly. Harry's eyes shot open quickly, and Ron jumped up from his bed.

"Let's go!" The boys said in unison.

The boys then realised that Hermione was in the boys dormitories and sent her out to go back to the common room so they could change. She shook her head, and walked out through the door, which Fred was leaning against and smiling at the sight before himself. "Bring the cloak and the map." Hermione said poking her head back through the door.

Soon the boys were changed and were basically running out of the portal hole, while yelling for Hermione to follow them. She saw that Harry had the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders map in his hands. Again, she shook her head at how clumsy they were. Fred and Hermione kissed each other goodbye as she hurried after Harry and Ron.

"Why did we need these things?" Harry asked as they made their way through the castle quietly, trying not to disturb the paintings.

"I don't know. We just seem to need to use it almost every time we see Hagrid." Hermione shrugged as she ran behind them.

When they made it to Hagrid's hut, they knocked on the door and they heard Fang barking from inside. Hagrid let them in quickly, but with in second's Hermione noticed something was wrong. Hagrid's face was all bruised up, he had a black eye and his matted hair and beard had dried blood with in it.

"What happened Hagrid?" Hermione gasped at the sight. He tried to shrug it off and tell them it was nothing, but the trio of friends knew he was lying. They kept pushing for answers until it dawned on Hermione what could actually cause that kind of harm to their large friend.

"Did the giants hurt you?" The brunette asked, watching Hagrid who was using an oversized large, and um, green steak on his face wounds. The steak slipped a bit, and that obviously had not been what Hagrid had expected her to say.

He sighed a bit, then he went into how he had been on a month-long mission with Madam Maxime, the school's magical nurse, to search for Giants in the mountains somewhere. Hagrid told them, that Dumbledore had sent them there to find help.

Hagrid's tale was full of action, how he and Madam Maxime had travelled to the mountains, presented gifts to the Giant chief (who was later killed), then they tried to persuade the new chief to help them and Dumbledore.

But the new chief wasn't as willing to help, so Hagrid and Madam Maxime had to hide in caves from him, then they found out that Death Eaters were also trying to recruit the Giants onto their side. Worst of all, the new Giant tribe Chief seemed to want to side with the Death Eaters

Hermione's head swirled with thoughts at how Hagrid had risked his life to try and find help, only for the trip to not really be worth it in the end. "Hagrid, did you find anything about your mother?" Hermione asked hopefully.

But her question was almost answered with the grim expression on Hagrid's face, he shook his head, "They said she died a number of years ago. Don't be sad though, she wasn't the world's greatest mother or anything." He shrugged glumly.

Then Hermione saw, in the corner of her eye, was a shadow in the window. She gasped and her mug slipped from her hand. Quickly the three friends dove in the corner under the Invisibility cloak, she was right again, they did need the cloak after all.

Harry hissed for Hagrid to get rid of their mugs of tea that were left sitting on the table, which he simply shoved them under Fang's bed. The half-giant opened the door, and sure enough there stood the person who seemed to make every one's lives a living hell that year. The frog faced, all pink wearing, short woman, Umbridge.

She rudely stepped through the door, and for a while she looked at every nook and cranny of the hut. "I saw three sets of foot prints leading here, it seems very strange that people would come to visit anyone at such an early hour." She said while continuing to search the cabin.

Hermione had to clap a hand over her mouth to stop her from gasping again, it was their foot prints. Even though students were allowed to do as they pleased during the day and out side of school, Hermione was sure Umbridge would find some way to get them in trouble. Especially since she kept interrupting their Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, she didn't believe Harry's stories about You Know Who returning and Ron....

Well Ron, Hermione couldn't think of something that he had been directly told off by her for. But it wouldn't take long before Umbridge put two and two together and him being the brother of Fred and George, and him being closely associated with her and Harry.

Umbridge grilled Hagrid with a constant stream of questions about why wasn't he at school at the start of term, where has he been and then she explained how the Ministry and herself were getting her to sort out which teachers at Hogwarts would be staying and if they weren't up to standards, they would be fired.

When she left, Hermione was concerned about Hagrid keeping his job. In the past his Care of Magical creatures classes weren't exactly... conventional. Even last year, the Blast Ended Skrewts were considered much more dangerous that what fourth years were supposed to be taking care of let alone, learning about them.

"Hagrid, just be careful!" She warned him finally as her and the boys were leaving the hut to return to the castle for breakfast.