Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 11: What Awaits Below

Shaye's brain felt as though it had been sucked dry, leaving her barely enough mental functioning to exit the classroom and meet up with her friends. After weeks and weeks of cramming information and answering practice questions from Hermione when she least expected it, Shaye had finally completed her final exams for her first year at Hogwarts.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this six more times." Shaye groaned. "Six more years ... it feels like it's already been six centuries."

Hermione, who seemed completely unbothered by the exams, simply smiled. "I'd always heard Hogwarts' end of the year exams were frightful, but I found that rather enjoyable."

"Speak for yourself," Ron said, his robes hanging off of him lopsided and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. "All right there, Harry?"

Harry, who was clutching his forehead again, winced. "My scar. It keeps burning."

"It's happened before," Hermione pointed out.

Harry shook his head as his face scrunched up with pain. "Not like this."

"Perhaps you should see the nurse," Shaye suggested as the four of them followed the path that led them out of the courtyard and toward Hagrid's hut.

"I think it's a warning. It means danger's coming," Harry said as the beautiful sound of music hit their ears. Following the sound, Hagrid was sitting on his front steps playing a small recorder. "Of course!" Harry exclaimed suddenly.

Hermione cocked a brow as Harry started to pick up the pace. "What is it?" 

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon and a stranger turns up who just happens to have one?" Harry's talking got faster and faster as he continued. "I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pocket? Why didn't I see it before?"

"Why don't I see it now?" Shaye asked, still completely at a loss when it came to understanding what was going on.

Breaking into a run, Harry approached Hagrid quickly and didn't even bother letting him stop playing his recorder before he spoke. "Hagrid, who gave you the dragon egg? What did he look like?"

"I don't know, I never saw his face." Hagrid thought a moment. "He kept his hood up."

"This stranger, though. You and he must have talked."

"Well, he wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after. I told him, I said, 'After Fluffy, a dragon's gonna be no problem.'"

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?"

"Well, of course, he was interested in Fluffy. How often do you come across a three-headed dog, even if you're in the trade? But I told him, I said, 'The trick with any beast is to know how to calm him.' Take Fluffy, for example. Just play him a bit of music and he falls straight to sleep." Hagrid's face suddenly flooded with realization. "I shouldn't have told you that."

Before Hagrid could stop the group of four, they turned on their heels and sprinted back up toward the castle. Hagrid called after them, trying to get them to come back, but they were already long gone. 

Unsure of who exactly to go to with this important information, the group instinctively darted into McGonagall's classroom where she was sitting at her desk.

"We have to see Professor Dumbledore." Harry nearly shouted. "Immediately!"

"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here," McGonagall informed the four out-of-breath children in front of her. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London."