An Unsteady Heart

"All right!"

Ever since Gilderoy Lockhart had said those baffling things the day before, Hagrid hadn't felt like doing anything. But Robin Sear had put it that way, so he got up and followed Fang out of the hut.

Every few steps, Fang stopped and shook his head at Hagrid and Robin, urging them to keep up. Running and stopping by turns, he led them to the Chicken Coop.

"Robin, do you smell that?"

Hagrid asked, twitching his nose.

"The smell of blood is so strong, how could I not?"

Robin stepped forward and opened the Chicken Coop gate. Dead chicks littered the ground—more than ten, by his estimate. Their eyes had rolled back and their tongues hung from their beaks. One look told him they'd been strangled!

Whoever had strangled them had been cruel. She had plucked out all their feathers, and some had been gutted, their innards scattered across the ground. That was where the bloody smell came from.

Robin guessed Fang's strange behavior was probably because he had smelled the blood.

"Who... who did this? Do they know how hard chicks are to find this time of year? Whoever you are, you'd better hope I don't catch you, or I'll punch your nose crooked!"

Hagrid spoke furiously.

While Hagrid gathered up the bodies, Robin quietly pulled a strand of pink yarn from the wire fence. He remembered that Mrs. Molly had sent Ginny a pink sweater by post not long ago.

Woof! Woof, woof! Whine, woof!

Robin's small movement escaped Hagrid's notice, but not Fang's eyes or nose. The dog barked softly at him in puzzlement.

"Shh. Quiet. Don't bark. I need this for something!"

Fang was clever. Once he heard Robin's explanation, he stopped barking!

"Robin, what did you say to Fang?"

Hagrid asked, holding an