Not just kissing. Kissing Passionately. As if they were already boyfriend and girlfriend. Harry's eyes grew wide
at first. Then, he felt his heart contract until it exploded in a million pieces, the shattering in his ears. He
couldn't believe this was happening, wouldn't believe it. But there it was, happening right before his very
eyes, and him powerless to stop it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, Neville," Harry said, looking at his schedule. He had just noticed something a little odd.
"What?" Neville said through a mouthful of toast.
"How come we don't have Care of Magical Creatures this year?" Harry asked, puzzled. Neville
shrugged.
"Must be because Hagrid's hut is out of bounds," he answered simply. Harry, however, was not
convinced. He needed a more elaborate answer. As the bell rang signaling the beginning of morning classes, Harry still
mulled it over in his head as he walked to class. As soon as he entered, he looked up to avoid tripping over anything,
and saw Ron sitting at the usual table while Hermione sat on the other side of the room, immersed in a book. His heart
ached as the memory of the two kissing the previous night came back to him in a flash. Oh go on. You missed your
chance. Just…be happy for them, he thought to himself. He casually walked over to Ron's side and sat in
his seat.
"Morning, Ron," Harry said, glancing at his schedule.
"Morning, Harry," Ron replied back, quieter than usual.
"How come you didn't come up to bed last night until 11?" Harry asked in a friendly
Oh-I'm-Just-Wondering tone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ron turn a light shade of pink.
"I was just…studying. You know, just in case Trelawney calls on me again. Don't want to look like a
complete fool in front of the whole class," Ron said, laughing nervously. Does Harry know? Does he
suspect? He wondered. Suspect what? That you were studying a little too much? His brain responded. Ron
agreed. He was being paranoid.
"Yeah. Hey, did you notice how we don't have Care Of Magical Creatures this year?" Harry asked,
changing the subject. As much as he was upset about Hermione and Ron, he didn't want to make his best friend any
more uncomfortable than he already was. Plus, Harry thought, if Ron turned redder, he'd be purple.
"You noticed too? I wonder why," Ron said in a relieved voice.
"Neville said it was because Hagrid's hut is out of bounds," Harry answered.
"Yeah, but Hagrid teaches class OUTSIDE. His hut has nothing to do with it," Ron pointed out.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Harry answered.
"D'you think he's hiding something?" Ron asked cautiously, as if he half didn't want to
know.
"I dunno, but I'm going down to his hut today at 3 with my cloak. Want to come?" Harry asked. Ron
nodded.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At precisely 3 o'clock, Harry ran up to his room, grabbed his cloak and stuffed it in his robe pockets, and ran
back down to meet Ron by the entrance. He noticed that Hermione was also there, and they were talking animatedly. Harry
approached them quickly and said, "OK. Let's go. You coming with us, Hermione?"
"When do I not?" she asked, smiling. He forced a smile in return, and it surprised him how painful it was
to see her beam at him when he knew he had no chance. They quickly left for Hagrid's, throwing the Invisibility
Cloak over themselves as soon as their feet touched grass. They walked swiftly to the old hut by the Forest. Harry
reached out and rapped on the door hard 3 times. There was no answer.
"Hagrid! Open up! We know you're in there!" Hermione yelled.
"We do?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded.
"I heard his kettle go off," she replied. Ron immediately yelled this out also. After a few minutes, the
door slowly creaked open a crack.
"Hagrid?" Harry tentatively called. Instead, Fang peeked out from the crack and immediately jumped on the
three, knocking them to the ground. Harry pushed the cloak off of them and Fang started licking them everywhere. Ron
laughed.
"We're glad to see you too, boy," he said as he got up, brushing himself off. The other two followed,
scratching Fang behind his ears.
"Is Hagrid there, Fang?" Harry bent down and asked. Fang suddenly let out a low menacing growl. Harry
looked up to see the other two shrugging.
"Where's Hagrid, boy?" he asked softly. Fang let out a louder growl and walked over to the hut. Harry
slowly followed, Ron and Hermione right behind him. Harry approached the door and pushed it open, a loud creak breaking
the silence as he did so. He peeked around and was hit with shock. The house was a mess. The bed was unmade, the dishes
were piling in the sink, the teapot had been left on for too long so it had started to shriek continuously, and the
table and floor were dusty beyond reason. Harry motioned for the others to come in. As they did, they also gasped with
surprise. Even though Hagrid was a half-giant, he was the neatest half- giant they had ever known. It wasn't like
Hagrid to leave his house like this.
"Wow," he heard Ron say. Harry walked over to the fireplace, where he saw dying red embers and soft wisps
of smoke coming from it.
"Someone's been here," he stated. Hermione wandered over.
"What?" she asked. Harry pointed to the fireplace.
"The embers are still hot. Someone was here just a few minutes ago, I'll bet," he said.
"Who?" Ron asked, joining. Harry shrugged, then noticed something shiny and dark lying on the dusty
mantel. He carefully picked it up and looked at it.
"Whose is it?" Ron asked with wide eyes. Again, Harry shrugged. Then, he removed his wand and placed it to the tip of the other piece of wood.
"Priori Incantatem!" he said softly. As they watched, a tiny green skull with a black snake protruding
from its sneering mouth appeared over their heads. Harry knew this mark all too well: The Dark Mark.
He heard Hermione gasp. The Mark lingered for a few seconds, then disappeared. Harry took a deep breath and placed
the unknown wand in his robe pocket. Then, he walked to the middle of the hut, pointed his wand, and said,
"Revelatio!"
A pink, transparent version of Hagrid appeared. Then, a pink transparent man in a hood also appeared, holding his wand in front of him. The Hagrid apparition looked scared. As they watched, there was a dull but immense green light, the fatal words were mouthed, and then Hagrid was lying on the floor, utterly still.