Inside the wooden hut, whose walls were covered with objects related to fantastic beasts, Hagrid sat before the fireplace, his eyes wide as he tried to mend his suit as carefully as he could.
It was no easy task for him. His thick fingers were poorly suited to such work.
The door creaked open. Hagrid looked up, rubbed his sore eyes, and rose to peer outside before closing the door again, muttering to himself.
"Blimey, there isn't even any wind."
"Hey, Hagrid!" a voice suddenly called from behind him.
Hagrid jumped and whipped around, only to hit a skeleton hanging from the rafters.
"Oh!" Clutching his forehead, he widened his eyes. "Harry! I know it's you!"
In front of the fireplace, where the light shimmered faintly, Harry's head suddenly appeared, followed by Ron's. The sight was bizarre beyond description.
"You should be studying in the castle, not sneaking out to the Forbidden Forest!" Hagrid said sternly.
Ron spoke first. "There aren't any study periods this afternoon!"
Hagrid scratched his head. "Is that so? Must've remembered wrong, then." In fact, since the professors had all gone to the West Tower that day, most classes had been canceled. Only Transfiguration and potions class required the students to study on their own.
McGonagall was always strict, while Snape never wanted the young wizards to have an easy time of it-or so Ron and Harry believed.
Hagrid soon put the matter out of his mind and lifted a pot of Pumpkin Porridge from the fireplace. "Haven't had lunch yet, have you? I've just made some Pumpkin Porridge."
"We've already eaten, in the Great Hall!" Harry politely declined.
"All right! What a shame." Hagrid took no offense.
Ron had always been straightforward, and he got right to the point. "Hagrid, we were hoping you could