Year Two - Chapter Four

The Roosters began to die. I knew because Hagrid mentioned it, and he did so because as soon as I had a free morning, I aptly decided to spend it doing what I did best. I was whistling a catchy tune, extending my hand in order to summon forth the tiny pebbles along the paths around Hogwarts, while at the same time bringing Fang for a trip around the castle. I was acting as a dog-sitter, but I enjoyed it, and the large dog did his very best not to be a problem.

Fang was a big animal, and big animals, especially big dogs, could either be brought to heel or left to wander about. He was also trained, somewhat, and quite the coward. He'd run away at the first sign of danger, showing a level of wisdom that most wizards lacked.

"Accio pebble," I spoke, and the pebble launched itself into my eager palm. I launched the pebble in the air, away from me, and then accio'ed it back. It dulled the throw, but didn't bring it back into my palm. Either the object needed to be still, or I'd need some more oomph to my spells to get it right. Fang meanwhile did his business across the grass. The luscious green grass of Hogwarts on which students would sometimes sit and watch the sky or rest.

Well, that was the danger inherent with going to a park and sitting on the grass. One never knew if the place you called comfy was indeed an animal's latrine or not.

Fang stopped by my side, proudly showing a bowtruckle in its fangs. The poor thing shrieked wildly, trying to break free. I sighed, and plucked it out from the dog's mouth before throwing it in the garden. Fang took that as the cue to run after it. The bowtruckle's legs actually ran really fast, its high-pitched screams somehow making me feel bad, and yet also forcing me to hold back my desire to laugh at the scene.

Fang returned with the bowtruckle once more caught in his jaws. "Good doggo, Fang," I said. "But...let him leave now, won't you? Poor thing's a bit scared," I freed it from Fang's mouth once more, but this time I dropped the magical creature on the ground. It hissed and snarled in our general direction, before starting to run away as Fang barked at it. In a matter of minutes, I had a bowtruckle in my hand once more.

"Wingardium Leviosa," I spoke, and then flicked my wand in the direction of the forbidden forest.

The bowtruckle flew in the air, launched straight for the tree tops. Fang whined, waggling its tail. The dog knew better than pursue in the forest without Hagrid by its side. The giant was the one making the dog feel safe, not viceversa. "Leave the poor animal in peace, before the Wizard-equivalent of the Animal Protection Service comes to take us in."

Fang barked, and then accepted my explanation. I brought him back to Hagrid's hut just in time for some tea and rock cake. The tea, I drank. The rock cake, I politely informed him that he had exceeded on the flour and made them nice little bricks. And truthfully, it did hurt his feelings just a little, but truth needed to be told. For without truth, how can someone learn from his mistakes and become a better person?

"It's all right," I said, dipping one into the tea cup. "Just need to stay soaking for a while."

"Never got the recipe right," Hagrid grumbled, his large hand more than enough to make Fang's head look like that of a tiny puppy, rather than the large dog he actually was. "My da used to make them," he added, "He was a great cook, my dad."

"You should write the recipe down," I said. "Maybe I can have a look at it and see where the proportions are wrong."

"Ya would?" Hagrid asked, and then extended a hand to a nearby table. Grabbing a parchment, he scribbled down with a large quill -probably from an ostrich- the ingredients and their list. I glanced at the list for a while, furrowing my brows.

"Hagrid," I said quite amiably. "You forgot the milk, and I doubt the recipe asked for so much sugar and flour to begin with." I gestured for the quill, and make corrections. "There you go," I said, handing it back. "This should make them softer on the teeth."

He grabbed the parchment, and grinned. "Next batch I make, I'll send some yer way."

"I can't wait for it," I said with a bright smile of my own.

My fingers pinched on the incredibly soaked Rock Cake that still had the galls to look hard as rock, and as I bit into it, the surface gave away. Indeed, through the ancient art of dipping, the cake could become something edible. "By the way," I said, "What's the Forbidden Forest like?" I asked, "And what kind of wondrous creatures inhabit it?"

I knew what arguments Hagrid enjoyed speaking about. Thus, as a way to make him happy, after having hurt his feelings with the Rock Cakes, I gingerly drifted the conversation on topics I knew he enjoyed, and that I found interesting too.

When I walked out of Hagrid's hut, I carefully glanced at the Forbidden Forest briefly, and then redoubled my pace in returning to the safety of the castle's fortified walls. I swore in the name of civilization, of which I was a glorious proposer, that I would not stop until the very last tree had become a large island of concrete. I understood the beauty of forests, and loved a lot of nature's tiny critters.

However the Forbidden forest would burn. Concrete would pour and civilization would destroy it. The evil that lurked within those trees, and in that undergrowth...dangerous, truly too dangerous to contemplate. And Hagrid marched every day into it, or nearly every day...he was a real hero. He was the Gamekeeper with the biggest set of iron balls I had ever seen.

There were Cerberus inhabiting the place. Not one, but dozens of the things prowled about, as well as Hippogriffs and, believing Hagrid, a happy-looking cat that was probably a Nundu or something similar.

No, no, no.

The forest had to go. After everything was done, I would bring Fiendfyre and torch the place down.

There could even be a literal Slenderman in the forest.

My shudders grew in intensity as I rounded the corner into the great hall. My right foot struck something, and the next second a fizzling pop exploded upwards. In seconds, I was covered head to toe in some kind of jelly-like substance, a greenish goo of sorts that didn't stink, but that perhaps was my bubblehead charm at work.

"We caught a Ravenclaw!" the voice of one of the Weasley twins had no right to be so incredibly happy, but yet it was. I would have hexed, or perhaps even cursed them, but I was literally stuck inside the jelly-like substance.

I remained there for half an hour, glaring viciously at the empty air, until I was saved by the timely intervention of an angry, snarling Argus Filch and an equally pissed professor McGonagall.

My saviors both wore scowls, if for different reasons.

Mine remained the bigger scowl of them all...

...fine then, Weasley. You will suffer like you've never suffered before.