Catching Up
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"Hagrid?" Harry called as he, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna approached the hut that Hagrid called home, pausing as the changes became apparent.
While it was still a circular wooden hut, it was at least half-again as big as it had been with bigger windows. The chimney now boasted two chimney-pots while the chimney-stack had been rebuilt and was at the junction between the rebuilt hut and a second circular extension.
"Hey, Harry, come on in!" Hagrid beamed as he opened the door. "I was 'oping to talk to yer about yer Basilisk. Can I borrow her for a lesson or two? I've seen pictures an' she's a real beauty… Where's me manners? Come in, all of yer! Come in! I got the kettle on fer tea."
"Thanks, Hagrid." Harry smiled as the group filed into Hagrid's expanded house. Looking round, Harry saw that the extension was where Hagrid's oversized bed now resided while the fireplace where Hagrid had previously hung a cauldron to cook his stew had been replaced with a large cooking range from which a fiery lizard peered out through the stove grille.
"Wow, Hagrid, this place is amazing!" Luna chirped as she scampered around and Hagrid rubbed at the back of his head.
"Yeah… well, I'm a proper Wizard agin, a teacher and a Lord of all things! A little hut weren't gonna cut it, so I got it extended. It's comfy an' should be warmer in winter now. Yer friend Jorel helped plan it out, made it so I can extend it more iffen I need to."
Harry looked around, seeing the neatly-arranged cupboards and shelves covering almost half of the curved wall. At one side of the doorway to the bedroom was a very familiar table which projected a holographic map of Hogwarts grounds above it, one with various-colored dots and other symbols.
"It's good to see you're doing so well, Hagrid." Luna hugged the half-giant as best as she could (meaning her arms barely managed to get halfway around his waist). "I saw your new wand at the feast, what is it? Mine's Oak and Griffin feather."
"Well, it's Redwood and Thunderbird feather, had it custom made." Hagrid pulled his wand out of his belt-pouch as Luna released him. "Feather's from Frank, the bird that helped Newt Scamander a few decades back."
Luna leaned forwards to examine it and Hagrid placed it on the table so that she could get a better look.
"Thanks fer writing all dat stuff about Riddle down, Harry." Hagrid continued as he opened one of the cupboards to pull down a half-dozen mugs. "Madam Bones said that you were the reason I got my Lordship… still no idea what to do with it. Don't think the Wizengamot was built with me in mind…"
"You could always appoint a Proxy." Hermione mused as Hagrid pulled the kettle off the stove and used it to fill the head-sized teapot. "I know that Sirius has Remus go to all the meetings for him…"
"Huh, never though o' that." Hagrid opened another cupboard, revealing it to be a fridge, and removed a jug of milk. "Wonder if Remus'd accept… good fellow, you know."
"…I don't recall anything against someone Proxying for more than one person." Neville said thoughtfully. "I'd have to check with mum and dad… and gran… but I can't see anything against it."
"Be useful." Hagrid allowed as he started to pour tea into the mugs. "I've got plans and if I've gotta go the Wizengamot every time, some of the lessons'll hafta be cut short. Got a beaut of a Hippogryph fer one of the lessons next week, been nursin' him back to health over the summer. Name's Buckbeak an' I'll show him to yer all once ye've had yer tea, though since 'e's still healing, ye can't get too close. Ah made fresh rock cakes, too."
"Thanks, Hagrid!" Harry grinned, taking two from the proffered plate and biting into one with a loud cracking noise that made all his friends (bar Hagrid) flinch. "Mmm, tasty!"
"We had breakfast just before coming down." Hermione demurred as Hagrid offered his cakes to everyone. "Harry's metabolism is… faster than ours, so it's no wonder he's still hungry."
Harry paused mid-bite to stick his tongue out at Hermione, then he took another chomp.
"So, anything else happen over the summer?"
"Well, Sirius arranged to give Aragog and his children their own island, one of the ones that his family own but never used." Hagrid smiled. "Gave me a clever cupboard to put in me bedroom so I could go there whenever I want to go talk wiv 'im. Means I've got another income as well, Madam Malkin really loves getting Acromantula Silk for her sewing. Got a set of robes outta it."
Hermione and Ginny exchanged shocked glances as they imagined what Hagrid would look like in the volumous robes that were the de-facto uniform of the Wizengamot.
"Who… or what is Aragog?" Neville probed cautiously.
"Oh, he's me pet Acromantula." Hagrid said proudly. "Had him since I was a student here. Grew too big to keep under me bed, so he lived in the Forest until Sirius took an interest."
Neville turned white, as did Ginny while Luna simply looked interested.
"Really? Does he know anything about Crumple-horned Snorkacks?"
"Dunno." Hagrid shrugged after several moments of deep thought. "Tell you what, I'm gonna pop over to see him on Sunday, you wanna come and ask him?"
"Ooh, that'll be great!" Luna chirped. "I've never met an actual Acromantula before."
"We must never tell Ron." Ginny stated flatly. "He's terrified of spiders, if he ever finds out that there was a giant one in the Forbidden Forest…"
"Took a while to move him and alla his children, but we did it." Hagrid continued, blissfully unaware of how Ginny's face had paled further. "Taught him how ta use nets to catch fish, dey ain't gonna run out of food. Aragog always did like fish, now he can have his fill."
"That's… nice." Neville managed.
"Mebbe I'll bring him back to show him off fer a bit." Hagrid mused, then he glanced at the time-display above the table. "Whoah! Time ta feed Buckbeak! Yer wanting to see 'im?"
Harry nodded, then gulped down the rest of his tea. "Yes, please."
.
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Draco Malfoy carefully unwrapped the package that his mother had given him, revealing a mirror. Holding it up, he glanced round, then spoke.
"Narcissa."
The mirror seemed to cloud, then it cleared to show a face that wasn't his.
"Good morning, my son." Narcissa smiled at him.
"Mother." Draco said with a small smile, then he frowned slightly. "I heard a rumour, mother. It would appear that Potter is an Animagus, as is Longbottom."
"Really?" Narcissa tilted her head slightly in thought. "I can check to see if they are registered… what animals are they, if I may ask?"
"According to the one who informed me of this, Potter is a dog and Longbottom is a bear." Malfoy stated.
"That will help, I'll check for you. What do you plan to do with this information?"
"At this time, I do not know." Malfoy admitted. "However, I do not see any issue in having it in reserve should I need it."
"A good Slytherin always seeks out information on others." Narcissa agreed proudly. "Your father, for all his cunning, stopped seeking information whenever he thought he had enough… or when it agreed with what he thought he knew."
"Which led him to where he died." Draco half-growled. "Hagrid has become Lord Hagrid, taking the position of Head of House from someone named Gaunt."
"Interesting." Narcissa mused. "I had heard a few rumours about a House returning, I shall see what I can uncover from my end. Anything else?"
"I don't know where Dumbledore is, McGonogall has taken over as the new Headmistress." Draco shrugged. "Someone named Lupin has been brought in as Deputy Headmaster…"
"You should know who he is." Narcissa said sounding slightly disappointed. "Remus Lupin is the closest friend of Sirius Black and the former friend of James Potter."
"The first cured werewolf!" Draco realized. "I knew that name was familiar. Anyway, I've already sent the list of new first-years and their Houses to you via Owl post. The Shafiq girl ended up in Gryffindor of all places instead of Slytherin with her brother."
"Not entirely unexpected." Narcissa mused, causing her son to stare at her in confusion. "Even though the Werewolf curse is no longer an issue, there is still a great deal of stigma attached to having been a werewolf. She is very brave to be attending Hogwarts rather than asking for home schooling."
Draco grunted. Although he disagreed with his mother on that, he couldn't put just why he disagreed into words.
"Study hard, my little dragon." Narcissa smiled."I love you."
"I love you too, mother." Draco replied quietly, then he tapped his wand to the mirror, deactivating it. Carefully placing it in one of the smaller drawers of his desk, he busied himself with putting his clothes away, ensuring that his robes were hung in just the right way to prevent them from creasing.
"Draco, House meeting." Nott called from the door and Draco nodded.
"I'm on my way."
Pausing just long enough to close his wardrobe, Draco strode out of his room and down the corridor to the Common Room. Passing the newly-installed shelves (with the new reference books), Draco took position on one side of the forming crowd. A moment later, Severus Snape swept into the room, his cloak billowing as he came to a stop.
"A number of you lost your fathers last year when they chose to follow the one calling himself Voldemort." Professor Snape's words echoed in the silent room. "Many of you blame Potter for this. While he was there and was technically responsible for several of the deaths, the ones at fault were those who participated in the plan to kidnap him from Hogwarts so that the one claiming to be Voldemort could kill him. He defended himself far better than anyone anticipated with a technique that no-one saw coming and a skill that no-one expected.
"That was a failure on the part of those ranged against him. They broke the law in order to take action against him, so it should be no surprise that by breaking the law, they forfeited its protection.
"They did not think their actions through and so they paid the price.
"We are Slytherins. While we prize cunning and ambition, both are useless without a foundation of knowledge. Those who died forgot this. They did not seek out the knowledge they needed, about the one they were called to watch die, or the one who called them."
Severus paused, his eyes sweeping across the students who wore the colors of his House.
"Remember. Before acting, think. Do not assume that you will not get found out. As many of you learned last year, casting hexes on others is no longer allowed and you will get caught. If you wish to stand above the others, you must do so without trying to topple them first.
"From now on, you must indeed be cunning. Take all facts into consideration. Ferret out the secrets that others seek to conceal. Plan for the future, both near and distant. The halfblood you scorn today may become the owner of the company you work for in the future, in which case, you will find that you can not progress any further as you have turned him against you. Do not limit yourself to seeking favors, instead you should seek to make others see you as one they wish to help.
"There is an old saying that one catches more flies with jam than with vinegar.
"Contemplate this."
Professor Snape looked round the room again.
"And for those of you who refuse to listen and still contemplate attacking Potter, I would invite you to consider this. He was alone and unarmed, facing a veritable army of Death Eaters, Werewolves, Dementors and Giants, all led by Voldemort. He had no wand and was in chains that prevented him from using magic. He walked away virtually unscathed.
"His enemies did not.
"Learn from this. There are some whom you can fight and some you cannot.
"Potter is the latter."
Severus turned and strode out of the room, leaving the shocked Slytherins gaping after him. Where he was standing against the wall, Draco clenched his fists as he fought to contain his rage.
So, Snape thought that that Potter was stronger than the Dark Lord?
He would prove otherwise.
And when Voldemort returned, Draco would present him with the bound and helpless form of the so-called Boy-Who-Lived.