The Past

Thanks to the miraculous Invisibility Cloak Harry's father had left him, Hermione encountered no obstacles as she slipped out of the castle.

But as they passed the Great Hall, Hermione glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who was chatting animatedly with Hogwarts librarian Madam Pince at the staff table near the front of the hall, then urged quietly,

"Quickly, Harry, Ron. Madam Pomfrey will be back at the Hospital Wing before ten. I don't want her finding out that I wasn't lying quietly in bed!"

"You really don't have to come in person, Hermione. We'll tell you everything we find out from Hagrid."

Ron quickened his pace, staring at the air in front of him as though nothing were there, while Harry nodded in agreement.

"Don't be ridiculous, you two."

The moment she stepped through the castle doors, the sudden brightness and breeze against her face lifted Hermione's mood considerably. Her amber cat eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Before we leave Hagrid's Hut, I'm worried you'll have forgotten every word Hagrid says!"

Halloween had been over for some time. With the vast patch of pumpkin vines behind the hut cleared away and snow covering the ground, Hagrid's wooden cabin looked much tidier than usual. When Harry and the others arrived, Hagrid was chopping up Christmas trees intended to decorate the Great Hall for firewood.

It might have been strenuous work for anyone else, but for Hagrid, who stood nearly ten feet tall and had a waist five times that of an ordinary man, it was the simplest thing in the world. He merely had to raise his axe and lower it lightly, and each Christmas tree as thick as a bowl would snap into several pieces.

The black hunting dog frolicking in the snow spotted Harry and the others first. Standing atop a raised snowbank, it let out a joyful howl at them.

"Don't bark, Fang. You just ate an entire chicken."

When he looked in the direction Fang was barking, a smile appeared on Hagrid's face, most of which was hidden by his shaggy beard.

"Ho, Harry, Ron, it's you two!"

Hagrid happily waved at Harry, who was struggling through the two-foot-deep snow. "Now this is strange, Harry. You usually come to see me in the middle of the night wearing your Invisibility Cloak!"

"That's because I have classes during the day, Hagrid!"

"Ow!"

Harry, supporting Hermione beneath the Invisibility Cloak, accidentally stepped into empty space and sprawled face-first into the snow. Hermione, who was dragged down with him, shrieked as they rolled into a heap.

"Stop standing there watching, Hagrid! Come help us!"

"Oh, heavens!"

Hermione's sudden appearance beside Harry and Ron made Hagrid freeze mid-step.

"You brought me a Cat-Person?!"

After a long moment, Hagrid let out a delighted cry in front of the hut.

Hagrid's room was as cluttered as ever. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling of the cramped wooden cabin, a copper kettle boiled over the fire, and the patchwork quilt on the large bed in the corner had not changed except for its darker colors.

"Please, Hagrid, don't ask why I ended up looking like this."

The moment Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed, she noticed the intense curiosity in Hagrid's eyes and immediately said irritably, "It was a nightmare. I don't want to talk about it again!"

Ron laughed without a care in the world, and even worried Harry's lips curled upward.

"All right, all right."

Hagrid shrugged regretfully.

"I only wanted to know whether it might be possible to breed a species called Cat-Person through experimentation. Since you don't want to share—oh, don't bare your teeth like an idiot, Fang. That's Hermione, not a cat. You ought to be able to smell Hermione on her."

He took out several cups, dropped some black tea leaves into them, and prepared to make the three of them hot tea. But the water on the stove still needed some time to boil, so while they waited, Hagrid enthusiastically brought out some snacks he had made himself.

"You don't look too happy, Harry. Want some toffee?"

"Thanks, Hagrid, but I don't have much of an appetite."

Having experienced the power of Hagrid's cooking many times, Harry politely declined. He exchanged a look with Ron and Hermione, and after their silent discussion, Harry spoke.

"Actually, Hagrid, we came to ask you about someone. We think you might have heard of him."

Hagrid, who was poking at the coals with his fingers, chuckled. Looking at Harry through the handle of the copper kettle, he said teasingly,

"Who are you three asking about this time, Harry? Let me warn you first—there isn't a Philosopher's Stone hidden in the castle this year!"

Yeah, there really wasn't a Philosopher's Stone, but there was an extra Chamber of Secrets!

Harry grumbled inwardly, his mood not improving much because of Hagrid's joke.

"Amosta Breen, Hagrid. Have you heard of him?"

Since Hermione had limited time, Harry got straight to the point.

"Amosta Breen?"

Hagrid blinked, looking surprised. "Why are you bringing him up?"

"So you do know him?" Hermione immediately pressed. "Tell us, Hagrid. What do you know?"

Hagrid did not answer right away. Instead, he looked at Ron in confusion.

"You don't remember anything about Amosta Breen either, Ron?"

"I must have heard that name somewhere, but it doesn't seem like I heard it from Dad. Hagrid, why do you think I know him?"

Ron furrowed his brows in confusion, racking his brain.

"You've definitely heard of him, Ron."

Hagrid smiled, lifted the boiling kettle from the stove, and poured tea for all three of them. "He was a Slytherin student, in the same year as your brother Bill. He probably graduated over three years ago. Anyway, I haven't heard much about him these past few years, though that's not strange. He was very reserved at school and didn't like drawing attention to himself."

"Then maybe Bill mentioned him to me before?"

Ron still could not recover that lost memory.

"Reserved?"

Hermione's tone was equally puzzled. She tried hard to recall every detail of their brief meeting the previous night. If she had to judge, Mr. Breen had been almost excessively friendly, nothing like a typical Slytherin—but reserved? She certainly had not seen that.

"Well, maybe not reserved exactly. In any case, he just didn't like dealing with people much. At least, that's how he was back then."

With three more people in the room, Hagrid had no choice but to stand as he spoke.

"I hardly had any dealings with him myself. Everything I know was heard from others.

"They say Amosta Breen was an orphan and spent his childhood in an orphanage. You know, children from orphanages weren't likely to be welcomed in Slytherin House. So during his first few years at Hogwarts, he got plenty of cold looks. If not for Professor Snape's protection, his situation might have been even harder."

Hagrid truly did not have many memories of Amosta Breen, so he spoke slowly. Yet no one in the room hurried him. Even Ron gave up trying to remember and stared intently at Hagrid.

"I heard from the professors that Breen was a very studious young wizard. He was polite whenever he asked questions, and his grades were fairly excellent too—of course, he couldn't compare with Bill back then, or Percy, or you."

Hagrid looked at Hermione.

"—but there was no getting close to him. It was as if he deliberately kept everyone at a distance. Still, considering he was a Muggle-born orphan, the professors could understand the isolation he showed."

"He sounds like a rather ordinary person?"

Ron frowned.

"And he belonged to Slytherin. Why would I have heard his name from Bill—or maybe Charlie?"

"That brings us to the fight Breen caused in the Forbidden Forest during his fifth year!"

Hagrid drained the basin-sized mug in one gulp, shock glittering in his bell-like eyes.

"Even though that duel happened years ago, I still can hardly believe it when I think back on it!"