The First Step to Becoming Friends

The days flew by like running water, and Evita had been at school for nearly two months. One day, she borrowed a few books from the library and, on her way back, ran into Hagrid, who looked as though he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Lorand," Hagrid called, beckoning to her, "could you come here a moment?"

Evita thought it over, but the only thing she could think of was that she had borrowed the books Hagrid wanted before he could get to them. She held up the three thick books in her hands. "Are you here to borrow these?"

"No, no," Hagrid said, looking a little awkward. His face, hidden beneath his unruly black hair, looked exceptionally guileless. "I just wanted to ask if you'd like to come over this weekend."

"Of course." Evita readily agreed.

Hagrid's eyes wandered. "Perhaps I could help you with a little problem, too?"

"Huh?" Evita was puzzled. What problem could she have? Had she been caught sneaking out at night or trespassing in the Forbidden Forest? Surely not. If that were the case, a professor should have come to deduct her points.

After thinking for a while without figuring it out, she simply waited patiently until Sunday and went to the hut.

"Would you like some Rock Cakes?" Hagrid asked warmly. Then, watching Evita shuffle slowly inside, he lowered his voice a little. "Is your furry friend having a little problem?"

Evita, who was struggling to gnaw on a cake as hard as a stone, immediately narrowed her eyes. Then her expression turned blank.

A furry friend? Could he mean-

Hagrid held out both hands, opening and closing them like pincers. "Perhaps I could help you sort it out?"

So it's not Lupin. Evita tossed her hair and looked him in the eye. "Thank you, but I don't need help."

There's nothing wrong with Heloise!

"Aragog told me," Hagrid went on, lowering his voice further, though it was still loud.

Evita remembered the spider she had encountered when she ran into the Forbidden Forest at the start of term. Her eyes widened. "Aragog?"

"Yes." Hagrid looked very proud. "He's a good friend of mine."

Realizing she had exposed the fact that she had trespassed in the Forbidden Forest, Evita lowered her head and spoke in a small voice too. "Did Aragog notice some kind of problem?"

Hagrid's face grew serious. "Aragog said your friend is missing a bit of instinct."

"Don't slander Heloise," Evita said, frowning and puffing out her cheeks. "I'm going to settle the score with him."

"No, that's not what I meant," Hagrid explained. "Aragog thinks an Acromantula ought to live among her own kind."

Evita somehow understood what Aragog meant, though she didn't know whether she had misunderstood. She merely said with the air of someone much older and wiser, "Hagrid, don't just take Aragog's word for everything. He's an Acromantula, and a ferocious Acromantula is different from my Heloise. They all like to have a taste of their own kind for nourishment, but Heloise only likes raw meat."

Hagrid said, "But..."

"No buts," Evita said as though it were only natural. "When Aragog dies, would you want his body to be eaten too? But he actually wants to eat my Heloise."

Her voice grew agitated. "Heloise is still so little. She isn't even an adult yet, but that scoundrel Aragog is scheming to defeat a dangerous member of his own kind..."

"That must be what he's thinking, because he definitely wants to fight Heloise and see which of them wins. Otherwise, why would he tell Heloise to leave me? And go to the Forbidden Forest, where she doesn't know a single spider or place."

"Do you want to leave me?" Evita lowered her voice again and asked through the message function between the system and the suitcase.

Heloise snorted. "You probably didn't understand what he meant." But she said no more.

"Oh, I'm very sorry," Hagrid said. "I never had any such thought. Would you still like to come and visit?"

Evita nodded reservedly.

"Of course." She smiled. "I've wanted to be friends with you for a long time."

By the end of October, with Halloween approaching, the students were growing restless. Evita was no exception, though she could still settle down enough to keep studying and earn points for her house.

Most Hufflepuff students were on good terms with one another, and her life at Hogwarts was going very smoothly.

With that thought, Evita kept working, deftly tossing the ground powder into the cauldron. Her thoughts wandered, and she found herself wanting hot pot.

Hot pot! Winter absolutely can't do without hot pot! Back in Dorset, she had experimented with it alongside Adele, Tina, and Newt, though they had only made milder versions.

Unaware of what was going through Evita's head, Professor Slughorn inspected the finished potion and, pleased, awarded Hufflepuff five points.

Potions Class happened to be her last class of the day. Evita packed her bag and headed out, then slipped into the kitchen under her Invisibility Cloak that evening and handed the House-elves a roll of parchment.

"Does the school have these ingredients?" she asked, her eyes full of longing.

"Of course," the House-elves said, thrilled. "These are all common ingredients. We'll definitely get them for Evita!"

Evita was puzzled. Did people in Britain eat doubanjiang in the eighties too? But House-elves were exceptionally skilled at household magic, so perhaps she could safely look forward to it? She left, looking back every few steps, and didn't forget to press a handful of fudge into every House-elf's hands.

When she returned to her room, Evita suddenly remembered that although she couldn't have hot pot anytime soon, she could have barbecue!

Once again grateful for her single room, she quietly entered the space, chopped down a few branches, and bought herself some meat from that enormous feeding machine. Then she racked her brains to remember where the seasonings were kept. Finally, struck by inspiration, she decided to add some red wine and herbs to marinate the meat.

Using two branches to make a rack, Evita waved her wand at the remaining branches. "Incendio."

Flames shot skyward. Realizing she had poured in too much magic, Evita instinctively looked for a fire extinguisher. Then she remembered she was a witch and hurriedly tried to remedy the situation. "Aguamenti."

The fire went out. This time, she cautiously chose stones for the stand and covered them with a thin stone slab, turning it into something much like a barbecue grill.

Mutton, beef, chicken... Evita spoiled every kind of meat equally. She hummed as she turned the skewers, then put them in her mouth.

Undercooked, undercooked, undercooked... Overcooked, overcooked... Awful, awful, really awful... Evita's face froze. Ariela the Wampus Cat, who had come over to join in and carried off a piece of meat to chew, also left without a sound, as though fleeing from something.

Processed aconite, daisies, nettle leaves... None of those taste bad on their own, do they? Evita was puzzled. She had only had a little inspiration, so why had they become so terrible together? Still bewildered, she finished the rest of the meat, brewed herself a bottle of antidote, and went to sleep feeling aggrieved.