The Hogwarts Gaijin

Chapter 6. Where Harry and Ron Visit Hagrid

Hagrid’s hut greeted them with the familiar smell of woodsmoke and… something else, suspiciously like rotten fish and gunpowder. The sky had closed in completely with grey clouds, and the drizzle had turned into a persistent cold rain that drummed against the greenhouse roofs.

As Harry and Ron approached the hut, Hagrid was outside, bent over several wooden crates from which came strange rustling and popping sounds.

‘Hullo, Hagrid!’ Harry called, raising his voice over the wind.

The giant straightened up, wiping his forehead with a massive gloved hand. His face split into a grin the moment he saw them.

‘Ah, Harry! Ron!’ he boomed. ‘Right on time. Just finished feeding ’em. Blimey, what appetites these little devils have…’

Ron peered cautiously into the nearest crate and recoiled at once, wrinkling his nose.

‘Merlin’s beard, Hagrid! What are those? They look like a cross between a lobster and… I don’t even know, a scorpion without a shell?’

‘Blast-Ended Skrewts!’ Hagrid announced proudly, beaming as though showing off newborn kittens. ‘Just hatched. Bred ’em meself — Care of Magical Creatures project. Aren’t they beauties?’

‘Beauties isn’t quite the word I’d choose,’ Ron muttered as one of the creatures let out a loud pop, sending a shower of sparks from its rear end and slamming into the side of the crate. ‘They’re not going to set us on fire, are they?’

‘Nah, they’re only little yet,’ Hagrid waved a hand dismissively. ‘Come on inside, no sense getting soaked. Kettle’s just boiled.’

Inside the hut it was warm and snug. A huge fire roared in the hearth, and on the table stood enormous mugs alongside a plate of rock cakes that could break teeth. Fang immediately dropped his heavy head onto Harry’s lap the moment he sat down and began enthusiastically slobbering over his robes.

‘Where’s Hermione?’ Hagrid asked, seizing the massive copper kettle. ‘You three usually come together, thick as thieves.’

Ron rolled his eyes, reaching for a rock cake but thinking better of it and taking only a mug.

‘Busy. Fussing over our new boy, Morgan. Been trailing after him all day: “Kieran, are you cold?”, “Kieran, do you remember the way?” As if he’s not a fourth-year but a firstie who’s lost his toad.’

‘Ah, heard about that,’ Hagrid rumbled, setting the kettle on the table with such a crash that the saucers jumped. ‘Dumbledore mentioned it. Boy from Japan. Rare thing. Family name’s a bit… loud, mind.’

‘Loud?’ Harry repeated, scratching Fang behind the ears.

‘Aye,’ Hagrid lowered himself into his chair, which creaked pitifully under his weight. ‘The Morgans — ancient line, secretive. They say they go right back to Morgan le Fay. Live in their own castle up in Wales, hardly ever show their faces. Word is they practise magic the old way, not like the rest of us. Hard folk, if the stories are true. But if Albus let him in, then it’s all right. Dumbledore knows what he’s doing.’

‘That’s what Hermione says,’ Ron snorted, blowing on his scalding tea. ‘“They just have different traditions, Ron”, “You should be more tolerant, Ron”. Dead boring.’

Harry decided they’d had quite enough of Ron’s moaning for one evening.

‘Hagrid, what about tonight?’ he asked, changing the subject. ‘The delegations really arriving this evening?’

The gamekeeper’s face lit up at once, the creases around his eyes smoothing out.

‘Course they are!’ he exclaimed, nearly sloshing tea over the rim. ‘Everything’s ready! You should see the house-elves in the kitchens — running about like their tails are on fire. They’ve prepared a whole wing of the castle for the guests. Polished the tapestries, scrubbed the armour till it shines! Dumbledore wants it done proper.’

‘How are they coming?’ Ron asked curiously. ‘On the train?’

‘Train? Don’t be daft!’ Hagrid chuckled. ‘This is an international event! Beauxbatons and Durmstrang love to make an entrance. You’ll see — it’ll be a proper spectacle! Meeting in the courtyard first, then the feast… Haven’t had a feast like this at Hogwarts in years.’

He suddenly grew serious, his black eyes fixing the boys sternly from beneath those bushy brows.

‘Now listen, you two. Don’t even think about the Goblet.’

‘What?’ Harry asked, surprised.

‘The Tournament, what else!’ Hagrid wagged a sausage-like finger at them. ‘I know you. Always rushing headlong into trouble. But this time it’s no joke. Dumbledore himself put the protections on the Goblet of Fire. That Age Line isn’t just chalk on the floor. No Invisibility Cloak, no Ageing Potion’s going to fool a wizard like Dumbledore. He knows who’s ready to risk their neck and who isn’t.’

‘No chance,’ Harry snorted, leaning back in his chair. ‘I’ve had quite enough adventure, Hagrid. Honestly. I want a quiet year for once. Play Quidditch… oh wait, there isn’t any Quidditch. Then just lessons and watch everyone else suffer. I don’t want anything to do with that Goblet.’

‘I don’t agree,’ Ron protested, genuinely offended. ‘It’s not fair, Hagrid! Eternal glory, a thousand Galleons! Why should seventh-years get a go even if they’re thick as trolls? We know just as many spells!’

‘It’s not about spells, Ron,’ Hagrid said heavily. ‘This isn’t school exams. It needs a cool head and experience. You’re only fourteen — enjoy it while you can.’

He glanced out of the window, where twilight was thickening and mingling with the rain.

‘Right, we’ve sat long enough. You’d best get back. Don’t want to miss the arrival. You’ll be kicking yourselves later!’

Harry and Ron finished their tea, said goodbye to Hagrid — who had begun preening in front of the mirror, smoothing his wild mane with some oily substance — and stepped back out into the rain.

Despite the cold and damp, Harry’s mood had lifted. Hagrid was right — a splendid evening lay ahead, good food and, for once, no mortal peril. At least not for him.

‘I bet they arrive on dragons,’ Ron said dreamily as they splashed through the mud towards the castle, whose windows already glowed with a thousand lights.

‘I hope not,’ Harry laughed. ‘Hagrid would go completely mad with joy and try to adopt one.’

They burst into the entrance hall, shaking off water, and immediately plunged into a swell of excited voices. Hogwarts hummed like a disturbed hive, waiting for its guests.