A Professor Was Gored to Death by a Boar!

"Sorry I'm late."

The giant apologized and bent down as he came in, his head brushing the ceiling and nearly hitting the chandelier.

The giant scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "I was supposed to be here at nine, but I ran into a little trouble on the way."

That scratch sent his already peculiar ponytail into complete disarray.

His father, Roy, swallowed and asked stiffly, "Are you the professor from Hogwarts?"

There wasn't a trace of impatience in Roy's voice. It was as if he hadn't been the one complaining about the visitor's lateness moments ago.

Roy wasn't short himself, standing nearly six foot three, but beside the giant, who was nearly sixteen feet tall, he looked like a hobbit.

The difference in their size was enormous, and the intimidation was very real. At a time like this, Roy could only follow his heart.

Hearing Roy's question, the giant hurriedly replied, "My name's Rubeus Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and groundskeeper at Hogwarts.

"Professor Snape was supposed to come and meet the new student, but there's been a little trouble at Hogwarts recently.

"Professor Robert, who taught Defence Against Dark Magic, was wandering around the Forbidden Forest during the day and got gored to death by a Tebo.

"The school's a bit short-handed for the moment, so they sent me to help..."

No one heard much of what Hagrid said after that. Everyone's attention had been caught by the words "the professor died."

Roy drew a sharp breath and exchanged a glance with Lyanna. "I told you he shouldn't go," he said uneasily. "That school is too dangerous.

"My God! Even professors can die..."

"That's not how it is. With Professor Dumbledore there, Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world."

Hagrid flushed and stammered in defense, "It's just that there's something uncanny about the Defence Against Dark Magic position. Every year, the professor who takes the job runs into some kind of problem."

"What did you say? This kind of thing happens at Hogwarts every year?!" Lyanna's voice grew sharp. She was beginning to have doubts about the school's security.

"That's not-" But Hagrid couldn't go on. He realized that what she'd said... didn't seem wrong.

"Hey, I'll write a letter to Holmes and ask him to investigate Hogwarts."

Seizing the opportunity, Anne gave an excited shout and raced all the way to her bedroom.

Hagrid kept scratching his head, his hair now almost as messy as a bird's nest. He realized he'd messed up today's job.

He stared, at a loss.

Meeting new students was a teacher's job, and Hagrid wasn't a teacher. He had asked Dumbledore to let him make this trip.

The reason was simple: he hoped he could do a good job and ask Dumbledore to let him pick up Harry next year!

This was only the first Muggle family, and he'd already ruined everything. Not only had he been late, he'd also caused the Muggle family a bit of a misunderstanding...

Hagrid would rather deal with a cute little Hungarian Horntail!

The living room was as noisy as a marketplace when a childish voice rang out.

"Hey, since you're a wizard, could you show us what you can do?"

William tilted his head back, his beautiful dark green eyes fixed on Hagrid.

William's words finally rescued Hagrid from his embarrassment.

He gave the boy a grateful look and asked cheerfully, "You're the new student this year, aren't you? I know you. Thanks for looking after Milia for two days."

"Milia?"

"Yeah, Milia's the owl," Hagrid explained. "Thanks for the fish balls you gave her. She loved them."

William glanced at Bobocha. He was more inclined to say that the owl had stolen them herself, but the silly orange cat was still licking his paws and wasn't paying attention.

"Then, could you-"

"Just call me Hagrid."

"Hagrid, could you do some magic and let us see it?" William asked.

The best way to dispel his parents' doubts was with the extraordinary power of magic. Any ordinary person who saw it would be astonished and yearn for it.

"Oh, strictly speaking, I'm not supposed to use magic, but..." Hagrid winked slyly. "This is for work, so Professor Dumbledore will understand."

As he spoke, he reached a large hand into his shaggy brown suit and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a battered pink umbrella.

Wait... why was it pink?

Who would have thought that beneath Hagrid's towering, imposing exterior beat the heart of a cute little girl?

Hagrid held the umbrella in his enormous hand as though it were a toothpick. "Don't blink," he said excitedly. "Now it's time to witness magic..."

He swished the umbrella fiercely through the air, then pointed it straight at a goldfish in the tank.

There was a flash of violet and a bang like a firecracker, and the little goldfish turned into a monster whose left half was fish and right half human.

Though the monster was only as long as a finger.

"Oh, wrong. Not left and right, but top and bottom," Hagrid muttered, waving the little umbrella again.

This time it became a monster with the upper half of a fish and the lower half of a human.

William's eyelid twitched. Was this the legendary mermaid?

Hagrid scratched his beard, his face red as though he'd been drinking bad liquor.

He lied, "That's what the Merpeople in the Black Lake look like!"

William gave him a skeptical look.

Hagrid tugged at his beard and muttered in his defense, "I'm not very good at Transfiguration. That's Professor McGonagall's field. You can't expect me to be as good at it as she is.

"I'm actually a master at raising Magical Creatures!"

William was very skeptical, but Hagrid's half-baked bit of Transfiguration had left Roy and Lyanna utterly dumbstruck.

As people who had received decades of social... bah, decades of corrupt capitalist education, their view of the world had been completely overturned today.

If Hagrid hadn't been so large, Lyanna, a professor herself, would probably have sent him straight to a Cambridge laboratory to be sliced up and studied.

Roy, with twenty years of medical experience, also wanted a look at a wizard's teeth to see how they differed from those of ordinary humans.

In an instant, Hagrid became the most popular person in the Stark household.

Even Anne pestered Hagrid, wanting to see a trick that made a living person disappear.

Anne swore that from now on, she would write Dumbledore seven letters a week to ask if she could enroll!

As for Holmes... he could stay in the Himalayas playing in the mud.

Hagrid spent a pleasant afternoon having tea at William's house.

In that short time, the Stark family became his "dear old friends" in the Muggle world.

It wasn't until evening that Hagrid left for Diagon Alley with William, a smile on his face.

Neither Lyanna nor Anne went with them. Hagrid was simply too big; he took up the entire back seat by himself.

Even then, he had barely squeezed in.

Anne pouted and quietly suggested, "Anne can squeeze into the trunk with Bobocha."

But her father, Roy, flatly refused.

The little girl started asking for presents again, and only settled down a little after William agreed.

Bobocha, the cat of the house, found a comfortable position in William's arms, raised his chin, and glanced at Anne.

Ever since she had knocked him off the couch, Anne had completely lost the right to pet him in Bobocha's eyes!

Now that William could go to the wizarding world, he was Bobocha's designated litter scooper.

What a supreme and noble honor!

(Just bookmark and recommend, and Hogwarts will give you an owl. Plump and delicious, first come, first served!)