"Good girl! Nice catch! Beautiful!"
As Pomona passed the playing field, she watched a student playing fetch with her dog nearby.
People sometimes called their pets "she" or "he." After thinking it over, she decided not to dwell on Sirius's slip of the tongue that night.
Shopping list in hand, she headed for Hagrid's Hut at the edge of the woods. Smoke rose from the chimney, so Hagrid was probably home.
But when she knocked, it took him quite a while to answer.
"Good afternoon, Professor Hagrid. Are you busy?" Pomona asked with a smile, looking up at him.
"No, Headmistress, come in," Hagrid said warmly. "I've just made tea."
As always, Hagrid's Hut smelled of animals. Once inside, Pomona glanced overhead. Thank goodness he had replaced the birdcage with wooden boxes. At least she wouldn't have to worry about feathers falling into her tea.
"What brings you here?" Hagrid used a filthy cloth to lift the kettle off the fire and poured boiling water into a rough teapot.
"I'm afraid I need to ask you to make another trip to Diagon Alley." She unrolled her list. "Besides the flesh-eating slug potion, I need Erica Stonelight's Ever-Clean. And could you stop by Mrs Skower's shop? I'm increasing my order of all-purpose cleaner this year."
"Sounds like you're planning a big clean," Hagrid said as he poured the tea. "But I heard Erica Stonelight's a fraud. Her cleaner doesn't clean anything."
"That's true, but it works very well on pests and rats." Pomona rummaged in her velvet pouch and pulled out a bag of cookies. "There. That's our afternoon tea sorted."
"But I made Rock Cakes," Hagrid said.
"Sit down, Hagrid. We have more important things to discuss than biscuits." Pomona gestured to the seat opposite her. "Are you planning to