Visiting Hagrid

"Harry, aren't you scared of Snape at all?" After they left the Potions Classroom, Ron couldn't help sidling up to Harry and asking, his face full of awe and admiration.

"What's there to be scared of? What can he do to me?" Though Harry was actually panicking inside, he forced himself to look calm.

What else could he do? Parvati and Hermione were right beside him. Was he supposed to admit he was terrified, that his hands had actually been shaking while he chopped the herbs? No chance. He had to bluff his way through to the bitter end!

"But he's the Head of Slytherin..." Ron looked bewildered. Harry's attitude struck him as completely wrong. Was that even a possible reaction? This was Snape, the man who could supposedly stop Gryffindor children crying just by being mentioned!

"Oh, I looked into it." Noticing that Parvati and the other Gryffindor girls-and even a rather pretty girl from Slytherin-seemed to be watching them, Harry certainly couldn't chicken out now. Bolstering his own courage, he feigned composure and said:

"The school rules say professors aren't allowed to punish students with magic. Even without magic, only a house's head can punish students from that house. In other words, if Snape wants to punish me, he has to go to Professor McGonagall. Like you said, he's the Head of Slytherin. Wouldn't he lose all his dignity if he went tattling to Professor McGonagall?"

Harry had only meant to bluff Ron, but the more he talked, the more convincing it sounded. Thinking about it this way, Snape really did seem unable to do anything to him.

"You can... do that?" Ron was stunned. It took him a while to recover before he said with heartfelt admiration, "Harry, you're amazing. You thought of all that on the spot."

By then, they had reached the Great Hall-when no ceremonies were being held, it was simply a dining hall, and outside mealtimes it stood empty.

Noticing there were no girls around anymore, or at least none nearby, Harry let out the breath he had been holding. This time, he spoke quietly. "Not really. I was pretty scared at first too. But then I thought it over, and it seemed like there wasn't much to worry about. Heh."

That was only half true. Harry had indeed been scared at first. The part about thinking it over afterward was debatable, though. He had actually only just worked it out.

"Huh?" Ron paused, then thought for a moment before asking, "What if Snape writes to your family? He can't tell Professor McGonagall on you, but he can tell your parents."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Are you all right? Which parent is he supposed to tell on me to?"

Snape writing to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon to complain about him? Harry nearly laughed himself silly. If that letter reached Aunt Petunia and wasn't thrown into the fireplace within three breaths, it would only be because there wasn't a fire lit.

"Oh, sorry." Only then did Ron remember that Harry had no parents. He hurriedly waved his hands, looking apologetic.

"It's fine, it's fine." Harry waved it off, unconcerned. They had known each other and spent time together for nearly a week now, so he had a pretty good understanding of Ron. He definitely meant no harm, but his mouth often worked faster than his brain.

Harry reckoned that in a different setting, at a different school, Ron would probably be one of those unfortunate kids who got bullied but weren't particularly easy to feel sorry for.

Crossing the Great Hall, Harry and Ron headed outside the Castle together. They had arranged to visit Hagrid that afternoon. Though potions class had been thoroughly unpleasant, it hadn't spoiled their mood enough to put them off visiting him.

Hagrid lived at the edge of the Castle grounds, right beside the Forbidden Forest. Harry wondered whether, besides serving as Keeper of Keys and Grounds and Keeper of Keys, he was also responsible for acting as an outpost between Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest.

In Harry's view, Hagrid's size was very intimidating, making him quite well suited to outpost duty.

Compared with Hagrid's enormous bulk, his home really wasn't very big. It was a hut with a pointed roof, though slightly larger than an ordinary hut, especially the doorway. That made sense; an ordinary doorway would hardly make it easy for Hagrid to get in and out.

A crossbow and a pair of rubber overshoes sat outside the door.

Ron was very interested in the crossbow, but he was certain that even if he and Harry worked together, using both hands and feet, they couldn't draw it. Harry wasn't sure whether it would be enough to kill a dragon, but he thought it would be more than enough for a rhinoceros.

As for the shoes, Harry thought a five- or six-year-old child could definitely play with one as a little boat.

Harry's small hand knocked against the thick, solid wooden door, producing a muffled sound. Still, whoever was inside had clearly heard it, because Harry heard a low bark coming from within.

A moment later, Hagrid opened the door, revealing his great, hairy face, which was nevertheless beaming brightly. Beside him stood a...

Well, at first Harry thought it was a small black bear, but a closer look revealed an excessively large black hunting dog. Harry suspected it must have some magical creature ancestry, because he had never seen a dog that big, not even on television.

Hagrid held the huge dog firmly and turned sideways to let Harry and Ron into the hut.

Just as it had appeared from outside, it was a very large hut. There was only one room inside, containing everything from a bed, table, and chairs to smoked meat hanging from the rafters and a wood-burning stove on the floor.

"Make yourselves at home. Sit anywhere, anywhere." Once Harry and Ron were inside, Hagrid shut the door again and let go of the huge dog.

The dog immediately pounced on Ron, who was closer, giving him a fright. But like Hagrid, the huge dog wasn't nearly as frightening as its size suggested. It merely licked Ron's ears.

"This is Ron. You met him on the first day of term." Seeing Ron still smiling happily with half his face covered in dog slobber, Harry couldn't help shuddering.