The Potter Twins and the Order of the Phoenix {5}

35. Exam Week

"When I was a child I heard voice, some would sing and some would scream. You'll soon find you have few choices. I learned the voices died with me" ~ Arsonist's Lullaby, Hozier

Ron's euphoria at helping us scrape the Quidditch cup is such that he couldn't settle to anything next day. All he wanted to do was talk about the match, leaving Hermione and Harry with very little time to input anything. He's even more excited about our victory than Tay, and she has taken to mentioning it every second sentence. Not that any of us are particularly keen to change the subject, as seeing him proud of his Quidditch abilities is far better than hearing him sulk about it. However, a few days after the match, on a particularly fine, warm day, Hermione and Harry persuade him to join us on the edge of the lake to revise. He's not very keen on this idea at first - he was thoroughly enjoying being patted on the back by every Gryffindor who walks past, not to mention the occasional outbursts of 'Weasley is our King' - but after a while, he agrees that some fresh air might do him well.  

With every intention of continuing to revise for the potions exam, we spread out our books in the shade and sit down, whilst Ron continues to talk them through his first save of the match for what feels like the dozenth time. 

"Well, I mean, I'd already let in that one of Davies's, so I wasn't feeling all that confident, but I dunno, when Bradley came towards me, just out of nowhere, I thought--you can do this! And I had about a second to decide which way to fly, you know, because he looked like he was aiming for the right goalhoop-- my right, obviously, his left--but I had a funny feeling that he was feinting, and so I took the chance and flew left--his right, I mean--and--well--you saw what happened," he concludes modestly, sweeping his hair back quite unnecessarily so that it looks interestingly windswept and glancing around to see whether the people nearest to them--a bunch of gossiping third-year Hufflepuffs--had heard him. I look up from my Potions notes and begin grinning; this scene is all too familiar. "And then, when Chambers came at me about five minutes later--What?" Ron asks, having stopped mid-sentence at the look on my face, and on closer inspection, on Harry's face too. "Why are you grinning?"

"I'm not," says Harry quickly. The truth is that Ron is reminding me very much of another Gryffindor Quidditch player who had once sat under this tree ruffling his hair. "I'm just glad we won, that's all."

"Yeah," says Ron slowly, savouring the words, "we won. Did you see the look on Chang's face when Ginny got the Snitch right out from under her nose?"

"I suppose she cried, did she?" Harry says bitterly.

"She did, actually," I say, laughing. "More out of frustration than anything, though. You must have seen her chuck her broom away when she got back to the ground. She's a dramatic one."

"Er--" Harry says. 

"Well, actually ... no," Hermione says with a heavy sigh, putting down her book and looking at us apologetically. "As a matter of fact, the only bit of the match Harry and I saw was Davies's first goal."

Ron's carefully ruffled hair seems to wilt with disappointment. "You didn't watch?" he says faintly, looking from one to the other. "You didn't see me make any of those saves? You didn't see Haylee make that shot?"

"Well--no," says Hermione, stretching out a placatory hand towards him. "But Ron, we didn't want to leave--we had to!"

"Yeah?" says Ron, whose face is growing rather red. "How come?"

"It was Hagrid," says Harry. "He decided to tell us why he's been covered in injuries ever since he got back from the giants. He wanted us to go into the Forest with him, we had no choice, you know how he gets. Anyway ..."

The story is told in five minutes, by the end of which Ron's indignation has been replaced by a look of total incredulity, a feeling I share entirely. 

"So let me get this straight," I say, totally abandoning my potions revision, "Hagrid brought a giant back and hid it in the Forest?"

"Yep."