Chapter 202: Hagrid's Tale

"What happened to you?" Harry demanded.

Other than Hagrid's face, Chris noticed, he was moving gingerly, which made her suspect broken ribs.

"Told yeh, nuthin'," said Hagrid firmly, now limping over to the fire and placing a copper kettle over it. "Want a cuppa?"

"Hagrid, you've been attacked!" said Ron.

"I'm tellin' yeh, I'm fine," said Hagrid, straightening up, took a raw, bloody, green-tinged steak slightly larger than the average car tire and slapped it over the left side of his face. Greenish blood trickled down into his beard as he gave a soft moan of satisfaction.

"You ought to go and see Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid," said Ginny stiffly. "That thing is looking poisonous."

"It's s'posed ter look like that, it's dragon meat," Hagrid said. "Tha's better. It helps with the stingin', yeh know."

"Doesn't matter what feels good, Hagrid," said Chris, who was sitting in a corner. Fang rested his head on her lap. "Dragon's blood is beneficial but I don't think it will help you with your injuries. Just tell us how you got this and I will see if I've got an antidote or something to heal it."

"Can', Chris. Top secret. More'n me job's worth ter tell yeh that." Hagrid said.

"Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?" asked Hermione quietly.

Hagrid's fingers slipped on the dragon steak, and it slid squelchily onto his chest.

"Giants?" said Hagrid, catching the steak before it reached his belt and slapping it back over his face. "Who said anythin' abou' giants? Who yeh bin talkin' to? Who's told yeh what I've — who's said I've bin — eh?"

"We guessed," said Ginny. "It was kind of obvious, Hagrid. We were there when Dumbledore advised Fudge to befriend the giants."

The others nodded except Chris, who was rummaging through her pendant.

Hagrid glared at them, then snorted, threw the steak onto the table again and strode back to the kettle, which was now whistling.

"Never known kids like you lot fer knowin' more'n yeh oughta," he muttered, splashing boiling water into six of his bucket-shaped mugs. "An' I'm not complimentin' yeh, neither. Nosy, some'd call it. Interferin'."

"Oh yes we are nosy and that's a blessing," Chris rolled her eyes and walked towards Hagrid, holding a flask with a turquoise liquid inside it. "Here, take it. If really the giants beat you up then it'll help."

"Where d'you get that from?" Hagrid said taking the flask.

"Made it myself, but don't worry I have tested it before. It will help," Chris said. "Also, I think we're not the only interfering people here. I hope you understood that Umbridge also has a vague idea about this."

"Yeah," Hagrid grimaced opening the flask. "Inspectin' people, is she?"

"Use just a few drops at once," Chris instructed.

"So you have been to look for giants on the mountains?" said Harry.

"Yeah, all righ'," Hagrid grunted, smearing few drops of the potion on the left side of his face. "I have."

"And you found them?" said Hermione in a hushed voice.

"Well, they're not that difficult ter find, ter be honest," said Hagrid and set tea in front of each of them, sat down. "Pretty big, see."

"Come on, Hagrid, tell us what you've been up to!" said Ron. "Tell us about being attacked by the giants and Harry can tell you about being attacked by the dementors —"

Hagrid choked in his mug and a large quantity of spit, tea was sprayed over the table as Hagrid coughed.

"Whadda yeh mean, attacked by dementors?" growled Hagrid.

"Didn't you know?" Hermione asked him, wide-eyed.

"I don' know anything that's been happenin' since I left. I was on a secret mission, wasn' I, didn' wan' owls followin' me all over the place — ruddy dementors! Yeh're not serious?"

Everyone except Hagrid glanced sideways at Chris, who kept her face straight.

"Yeah, I am, they turned up in Little Whinging and attacked my cousin and me, and then the Ministry of Magic expelled me —" Harry answered.

"WHAT?"

"— and I had to go to a hearing and everything, but tell us about the giants first."

"You were expelled?" Hagrid repeated.

"Yeah Hagrid, he was but now he is fine. We all had a funny adventurous summer," Chris said impatiently. "Now tell us about your summer. You went there after the end of the term with Madame Maxime, right?"

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Hagrid glared at Chris for few more moments before sighing in submission.

"Yes, all righ'," he said in a resigned voice.

"Anyone else?" Harry asked.

"No," said Hagrid, and a softened expression appeared on the few inches of face that were not obscured by beard. "It was jus' the pair of us. An' I'll tell yeh this, she's not afraid of roughin' it, Olympe. Yeh know, she's a fine, well-dressed woman, an' knowin' where we was goin' I wondered 'ow she'd feel abou' clamberin' over boulders an' sleepin' in caves an' tha', bu' she never complained once."

"You knew where you were going?" Harry asked. "You knew where the giants were?"

"Well, Dumbledore knew, an' he told us," said Hagrid.

"Are they hidden?" asked Colin. "Is it a secret, where they are?"

"Not really," said Hagrid, shaking his shaggy head. "It's jus' that mos' wizards aren' bothered where they are, s' long as it's a good long way away. But where they are's very difficult ter get ter, fer humans anyway, so we needed Dumbledore's instructions. Took us abou' a month ter get there —"

"A month?" said Ron, as though he had never heard of a journey lasting such a ridiculously long time. "But — why couldn't you just grab a Portkey or something?"

There was an odd expression in Hagrid's unobscured eye as he squinted at Ron; it was almost pitying.

"We're bein' watched, Ron," he said gruffly.

"What d'you mean?" said Ginny.

"Yeh don' understand," said Hagrid. "The Ministry's keepin' an eye on Dumbledore an' anyone they reckon's in league with him, an'—"

"We know about the Ministry watching Dumbledore —" Chris said hurriedly.

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To be continued. . .