Miss Misunderstood

Perfect Couple . . . or not . . . ?

Chapter three

BOOM. They knocked again.

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off the hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, which were glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head brushed the ceiling. He bent down, then stood back up again. "Come on in, Harry. We need to talk with Miss Gryffindor 'ere." He nodded at a boy around my age who was hovering outside. The boy shyly smiled at me, then made his way in, standing in front of the giant man.

"An' here's Cheryl!" said the giant.

I looked into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw the beetle eyes crinkled in a smile.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby." Said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer mum, but yeh've got yer dad's hair."

I blinked, startled. "I-I don't look anything like my parents. I don't know who you are, but I should like you to leave at once, sir. You are breaking and entering."

The boy, Harry, shook his head at me. "We have some information for you, your highness."

I gasped. "Are you savants?"

"What's a savant?" Harry asked.

Hagrid looked troubled. "Nothing you need to know, Harry."

"Why did you call me your highness?" I demanded.

"We'll get to that, Cheryl. Anyway, I got summat for yeh here- I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. I opened it with trembling fingers.

Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday, Cheryl written on it in pink icing.

I looked up at the giant. I meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to my mouth, and what I sad instead was, "who are you?"

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He held out an enormous hand and shook my whole arm.

"What about some tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no to summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

His eyes feel on the empty grate with the shrivelled crisp packet in it and snorted. He bent down over the fireplace, I couldn't see what he was doing, but when he drew back, there was a roaring fire there, and I felt the warmth wash over me as though I'd sunk into a hot bath.

The giant sank back on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of his pockets of his coat: a kettle, a squashy packet of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of some amber liquid which he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was filled with the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing as the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy sausages from the poker, I fidgeted a little. He passed me a sausage, and I was so hungry I had never tasted anything so lovely, but I could still feel Harry's eyes on me.

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Call me Hagrid." He said. "Everyone does, and like I told yeh, I'm keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts- yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."