Chapter 212
Everyone woke up late the next day, and the Gryffindor common room was quieter than it had been recently. Idle conversations were interspersed with many yawns, and Hermione's hair had returned to its previous state. She confessed to Harry that she had used a potion to make her hair so smooth during the ball, but it was a difficult method to use daily.
Harry, in turn, did not keep what he and Ron had heard the night before about the conversation between Hagrid and Madame Maxime, and he told her about it. However, Hermione did not show the same astonishment as Ron when he learned that Hagrid was a half-giant. She said, "I always thought so, but I knew he couldn't be a pure giant because a real giant reaches about twenty feet tall, but the fact is that giants are not all that terrible. People treat them with the same condescension they treat werewolves... it's just blind prejudice, isn't it?"
It was time for them to think about the homework they had ignored during the first week of the holiday, and everyone felt a sense of relief and calm after the Christmas celebrations, except for Albert, who felt tense again.
The reason for his tension was not the approaching twenty-fourth of February, but his constant feeling this day that the fake Professor Moody was looking in his direction the whole time, as if waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on him.
But Albert ignored that and took out the golden egg he had obtained in his first task of the tournament from the box, opened it, and began listening to the sound coming from it in an attempt to understand anything, but he was closing it in order to be able to see that clear light coming from the egg, but to no avail.
In any case, as soon as the new term began, Albert was immersed in books and parchment, so he temporarily forgot about that matter, although he did not forget the egg that he had to find a solution for.
The ice still covered the courtyards and the greenhouse, and when they gathered inside it for the Herbology lesson, they saw the same ice piled up on the window sills, so they knew it was impossible for the Care of Magical Creatures lesson to be held in such weather. However, despite that, they headed to Hagrid's hut to find a witch standing in front of the door and shouting at them.
"Hurry up... the bell rang five minutes ago," Ron asked, "Who are you? And where is Hagrid?!"
She said, "My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank, and I am the temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher!!"
Harry repeated Ron's question, shouting, "Where is Hagrid?!"
Professor Grubbly-Plank said curtly, "He is sick!!"
A laugh reached Harry's ears, so he turned around to find that Malfoy and the Slytherin students had caught up with them without any of them appearing surprised to see Professor Grubbly-Plank.
Professor Grubbly-Plank headed towards the Beauxbatons carriage's horses, saying, "This way... follow me," and Harry, Ron, Albert, and Hermione followed her, looking towards Hagrid's hut to find all the curtains drawn. Was Hagrid inside alone and sick?
Albert rushed to catch up with Professor Grubbly-Plank, asking, "What is wrong with Hagrid?"
She answered him as if she knew he was trying to pry, "Don't worry yourself."
Albert said sharply, "But I do care... what happened to him?"
Professor Grubbly-Plank pretended as if she had not heard him and led them behind the Beauxbatons carriage's horses to find a unicorn standing there at the edge of the forest. Lavender Brown whispered, "He is beautiful... how did you get him? I know it's difficult for anyone to catch him."
The unicorn was so white that the ice it was standing on looked gray, and it was nervously pawing the ground with its hooves and raising its horned head backward.
After Albert saw the unicorn, he immediately remembered the events that occurred in his first year at Hogwarts when Quirrell, with the help of the weak Voldemort, attacked one of the unicorns to take its blood, and all the Centaur tribes, which made Albert feel warmth and pleasure flow through his heart after all those experiences.
Professor Grubbly-Plank shouted, "Boys, stay away. He prefers the touch of girls, so let the girls advance carefully... it's a simple matter."
She and the girls of the class approached the unicorn, leaving the boys behind to observe what was happening from their place, and as soon as Professor Grubbly-Plank was far enough away from them, Harry turned to Ron, asking, "What do you think is wrong with Hagrid? Do you think those creatures have harmed him?"
Malfoy, who was close to Harry and Ron and far from Albert, intervened, saying, "He didn't get sick as you think, Potter... he is just afraid for us to see his face after what he did."
Harry said sharply, "What do you mean?"
Malfoy put his hand in his pocket, then pulled out a folded newspaper, saying, "Here it is."
He unfolded the newspaper in front of Harry, who took it to read it with Seamus, Ron, Neville, and also Albert, who came towards the place after seeing his friends gathering around a newspaper. It was an article with a picture of Hagrid.
> "Dumbledore's Giant Mistake"
> By Rita Skeeter
> "In September of this year, Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, chose Alastor Moody after his retirement from working in the Ministry of Magic to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that raised many question marks in the Ministry because of Moody's nature, which makes him suspect anyone and even attack them because of this suspicion, but Moody accepted the responsibility and took up teaching despite all these questions."
> "As for Rubeus Hagrid, who admits that he was expelled from Hogwarts when he was a third-year student, he enjoyed the job of Gamekeeper of the school, a job provided by Albus Dumbledore. Last year, Hagrid used his great influence on the Headmaster to add a new responsibility to himself, which is teaching the Care of Magical Creatures subject despite the presence of more qualified people to take on this responsibility."
> "Hagrid, with his huge size and harsh face, took on the task of terrifying and frightening students by choosing a terrifying group of creatures, while Dumbledore left him to do as he pleased, to the extent that he caused more than one student to be injured during his terrifying lessons."
> "In a conversation with the Daily Prophet correspondent last week, Hagrid admitted that he keeps creatures called Blast-Ended Skrewts, which can sting and burn any student, and surprisingly, he knows nothing about these creatures that have become giants now, but he is trying to introduce them to the wizarding world, although there is a department in the Ministry that specializes in controlling and regulating the life of these creatures, and Hagrid apparently considers himself above all these authorities, saying:
> 'It was an attempt to have a little fun!'"
> "And if all that is not enough, the Daily Prophet has reached wonderful evidence that Hagrid is not a pure-blood wizard as he always claims, but in fact, he is not purely human. His mother was one of the giants, Fridwulfa, whose traces have now disappeared, and everyone knows the extent of the voraciousness of these creatures for violence and killing and the number of accidents they caused during the last century, among which was their being one of the most important assistants of He Who Must Not Be Named ----"
>
Albert felt overwhelming anger sweep through his being when his eyes fell on the newspaper in his hands. His words stammered in his mind before erupting like a raging volcano, and his face turned red with anger as he contemplated the letters that conveyed the precise details of what Rita Skeeter said about Hagrid.
Albert spoke, saying, "How could things reach this point? How dare that damned journalist violate his privacy in this impudent manner?"
He gripped the newspaper with trembling hands from the intensity of his anger, then tore it to shreds, shouting in a muffled voice: "Damn her! She heard everything! Everything! In that place!!"
Albert stood in his place, panting from the intensity of his anger, as if his breath had become heavy and he could not control it. Memories came back to him about the lesson he had taught her previously when she overstepped her boundaries, but now he realized that was not enough. She had crossed all boundaries this time, and the matter of his dear friend's dignity and reputation in front of everyone was at stake. He began to mutter in a low but sharp voice:
"I think my patience has run out... this time I won't let the matter pass like this. Her fate will be prison! I will make her pay for her audacity!"
Albert took big strides towards the castle, his mind boiling with thoughts, as he set his plan to corner her. The time had come to stop this madness.
Inside the castle, Professor Moody was walking with heavy steps on the long corridor floor, leaning on his old, time-worn cane, limping with a slow but steady step, as if he were weighing every movement with precise calculation. His eyes – one natural and the other magical spinning in its socket – were preoccupied with deep thought. Thoughts were raging in his mind like a whirlwind, but he was focused on one goal: obtaining Albert's blood. That blood was not just an ordinary thing, but it was the key to achieving a deeper and more dangerous goal than anyone could imagine.
As he walked, Moody recalled all the information he knew about Albert, trying to find a loophole he could exploit. Suddenly, he remembered an important matter, and a malicious smile appeared on his lips. The school's private hospital wing... Yes, it is the place managed by Madam Pomfrey. The hospital wing was always a refuge for students and teachers who suffered any harm, and the most likely possibility was that Albert had entered it at some point, perhaps because of a minor injury or a random accident. And if that had indeed happened, a sample of his blood might be kept there within the patient records or medical examinations.
Moody continued walking, sinking deeper into his thoughts, muttering in a low voice: "If Pomfrey kept his medical records, this will be my key. But... has he ever been harmed? Did luck favor me that his feet had stepped into that room full of secrets?"
He raised his head slightly and looked ahead, then narrowed his eyes as he imagined the possible scenarios. Inside, he hoped that luck had favored him, that Albert had suffered, even for a moment, from an injury or illness that made Pomfrey deal with him. His plan depended entirely on this hypothesis, and if it proved true, the game would take an entirely new turn.
His steps were still slow, but his resolve was escalating with every step. Moody did not know the taste of surrender, and if there was one chance to get what he wanted, he would do the impossible to achieve it, even if he had to confront Pomfrey herself.
To be continued....