"I should get going, Hagrid."
Albert took out his pocket watch, checked the time, then rose and said to Hagrid, who was plucking a chicken at the dining table, "I'll come see you again next time."
"You're not staying for dinner?"
"No." Albert had no desire to fish strange things out of his dinner plate. "Don't take what happened earlier too seriously. It isn't worth worrying about."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Hagrid tossed aside the half-plucked rooster and looked up at Albert, who was preparing to leave. "If I'd listened to you and kept my mouth shut, none of this would've happened."
"I've never expected people to carefully listen to and seriously consider my advice." Albert paused at the door of the Hunting Cabin and looked calmly at Hagrid. "Honestly, I'm not surprised you got yourself into trouble. Potter causes some sort of mess every year too."
"You guessed this would happen long ago, didn't you? Maxime was smarter. She said she just had big bones." Hagrid grew rather gloomy whenever the subject came up.
"I thought you'd call her Olympe." Albert bent down and rubbed Fang's head. "Don't dwell on it too much. Trust me, you and Madame Maxime will make up soon enough."
"Why?" Hagrid asked foolishly.
"Because you have a common language. As long as you don't do anything stupid, being friends definitely won't be a problem, at least." Albert said goodbye to Hagrid and left.
During dinner, Hermione came over to speak with him about Winky, the house-elf. Albert had no interest at all in Hermione's suggestion.
After all, he was planning to send Barty Crouch Jr. away as well. Though he would not be the one doing it, Albert was not careless enough to take in a house-elf who might be deeply hostile toward