How Hagrid Became A Hero -- Part V B

[iago_nyc at yahoo.com]

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No: HPFGUIDX C1117
From: iago_nyc
Subject: Re: How Hagrid Became A Hero -- Part V B
Reply To: [Yahoo! #1116] How Hagrid Became A Hero -- Part V A
Date: 4/21/00 11:25 am  (ET)

Upon landing, Hagrid jumped off Norbert and rang the Weasley's
bell. Mr. Weasley answered, wiping a bit of mashed potato off his chin,
as he had just gotten up from the dinner table.

"Oh, hello, Hagrid. How nice of you to visit", Mr Weasley said with a
somewhat bemused look on his face. "Um, is that a dragon?"

"Yes", answered Hagrid. "Sorry about the roses."

"Hmm. Perhaps you should bring it out back. It does stand out a bit
much. And perhaps you could stop him or her ---- oh, I see, it's a him ---
perhaps you could stop him from munching on the neighbor's hedge." Norbert
had made quick work of the neighbor's finely trimmed hedges, which minutes
before looked like green rectangles and now resembled half-eaten cookies.

Hagrid got Norbert into the backyard although Norbert whined a bit before
stopping his hedge-feast.

"So, Hagrid, what brings you out our way, eh?", Mr. Weasley asked, as
they sat down in the Weasley's front room. Hagrid looked for a moment
as if a rat had climbed into his shorts, since he knew that he couldn't
give the real reason he was there.

"Is Ron about?", Hagrid finally responded, not answering the question
at all.

"Oh, no. I'm afraid you missed him. He's gone off to see his brother
Bill. Just got the owl yesterday and off he went. Strange thing,
though. The owl. I'd never seen the like of it before. It was this small
black owl with the reddest eyes I've ever seen. Come to think of it,
the only red eyes I've ever seen. It wasn't Bill's usual owl. I do wonder
where he got it. And, to tell the truth, it was the most unfriendly and
bad-tempered owl I've ever taken a message from. I hope he got it cheap."

"Oh", said Hagrid. "I'll be off then."

"Really? Are you sure you won't stay for dinner? It's roast beef and
potatoes and brocolli".

Hagrid's stomach just then began to growl, reminding him that it had been
sometime since he'd eaten. "Um, oh. I guess I could stay for a short bit,
but then I really must be going."

Back in the air, after the afore-mentioned meal and a light dessert (mince
pie, apple pie, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sherbert - "light" by
Hagrid's standards), Hagrid's mind slowly began to churn over the facts
as he saw them: Bill was in trouble with Gringott's. Charlie knew about
it and wanted Hagrid's and Ron's help. Only Ron was already sent for by
Bill. Except Bill couldn't have sent any message if, as Hagrid assumed,
Gringott's had locked him up. Once in custody, as everybody knew,
you were allowed only one owl, and that would have been the owl that
he sent to Charlie. Then there was the fact that the owl that got Ron
was a nasty black owl with red eyes. And, reasoned Hagrid, since you can
almost always judge a book by it's cover, a nasty black owl with red eyes
had to be up to no good. Which meant that not only was Bill in trouble,
but Ron was too. The only question was : "What would Hagrid do now?"

"Well", said Hagrid out loud to a seagull he was passing, "I guess it's
off to Africa and Gringott's. It's all up to me now."

------------

All yours, Skimmel.