Chapter 213
Harry looked at Ron, whose mouth was open in astonishment before he whispered, "How did you know?"
But that was not what was bothering Harry, so he turned to Malfoy, shouting, "What did you mean by that we all hate Hagrid?! " Then he pointed to Crabbe, "And you... were you injured in his lessons, you liar?"
Crabbe laughed before Malfoy said, "I thought we should put an end to the matter of taking responsibility for teaching... No parent would accept the presence of a half-giant among the ranks of Hogwarts teachers! Such a matter would worry them, perhaps he might eat their children... ha ha."
Then the voice of Professor Grubbly-Plank arrived, shouting, "You... will you focus your attention?"
Harry was very angry because of the Daily Prophet's article, and he was not the only one who was angry, even Albert.
After Albert knew that the lesson would only be for girls, he headed towards the castle to think about what he would do about Rita Skeeter.
When the lesson ended, Parvati Patil said, "I wish she would stay... she gives us more than I had hoped for from a Care lesson... the unicorn is not a wild creature!"
When Harry heard her, he said, "What about Hagrid?!"
Parvati turned to him, and they had reached the front staircase of the castle: "What about him? He can remain as the Gamekeeper, can't he?"
Harry realized the reason for Parvati's treatment and knew that he should have given her more attention during the ball, and even though she had a good time despite that, she told everyone she could that she would meet that boy from Beauxbatons in Hogsmeade next weekend.
Upon entering the Great Hall, Hermione said, "It was a good lesson indeed, I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plank told us!"
Harry held up the Daily Prophet in front of her, saying, "Look at this!"
Hermione began to read, her mouth opening in astonishment with every word she read until she asked, just like Ron, "How did this so-called Skeeter know this? Hagrid couldn't have been the one who told her!!"
Harry replied, leading her and Ron towards the Gryffindor table, "Of course not... he didn't tell us, I think she did that because he didn't tell her anything that would offend Albert, so she went looking until she attacked him instead of Albert!"
Hermione said, thinking about Harry's words, "Do you mean that this happened because of Albert?"
Harry said, "Possibly!"
Hermione said quietly, "Maybe she heard him talking to Madame Maxime!"
Ron said, "We didn't see her in the garden, and in any case, she is not allowed to be present at the school anymore, Hagrid was saying that Dumbledore banned her..."
Harry said, having started eating his food, "Maybe she has an Invisibility Cloak!"
Hermione said, "And she disappears among the trees to hear her, as you and Ron did... isn't that right?"
Ron objected, "We weren't trying that, but he was the one who chose a place where any person could hear him talking about his mother."
Harry said, "We should go visit him this evening after the Divination lesson and tell him we want him to come back... Don't you want that?"
Hermione said hesitantly, "I... well... I won't pretend that I don't want to get a good lesson about magical creatures, but of course, I want Hagrid to come back!"
But Ron spoke, saying, "I don't see Albert here, where could he have gone?"
Harry put the last bite on the plate into his mouth, saying, "I saw him in class tearing up the newspaper after he heard the news, and finally he headed towards the castle, very angry."
Ron finally spoke, saying, "So how did you get this second newspaper?"
Harry said, "I took it from Crabbe, he also had a second newspaper!"
After dinner, they headed through the ice to Hagrid's hut until Harry wanted to knock on the door, to hear two people talking inside the hut!!
Both Ron and Hermione came forward and began eavesdropping in turn, as Harry did.
Inside the hut, Hagrid and Albert were talking about the issue that Hagrid was facing.
Albert sat next to Hagrid in his small hut near the Forbidden Forest, trying to calm him down while sadness was evident on Hagrid's large face. Hagrid was holding a small teacup in his large hands, which barely fit his size, but his hands were clearly trembling. Rita Skeeter's words in the newspaper weighed heavily on his chest, as she wrote that Hagrid was a half-giant and that the half-giant race was known for cruelty and wickedness. These words not only hurt his reputation but also made him feel ashamed of himself, which made him say in a choked voice: "I no longer have the face to stand in front of people!! How can I look at them after all that has been said about me?"
Albert, who was looking at Hagrid firmly and calmly, put his hand on his large shoulder and said in a reassuring voice: "Hagrid, you know the truth, and everyone who knows you knows very well that you are far from anything cruel or wicked. Rita Skeeter wrote these lies not because she is interested in the truth, but because she couldn't get information about me. I was her original target, and when she failed in that, she decided to attack you to stir up controversy. Don't worry about what she says, because she is just a journalist looking for excitement and not interested in facts."
Then Albert continued in a tone full of determination: "Don't worry, my friend. All you have to do is be yourself in front of everyone, and let your actions speak instead of words. I will handle the matter. I will stand by your side, and I will not allow anyone to harm you. You are my dear friend, and anyone who tries to hurt my friends will pay the price. I will not let Rita or anyone else use these lies to tarnish your reputation."
Hagrid felt some relief as he listened to Albert's words. He knew he had a loyal friend standing by his side in the darkest moments. For the first time in days, a shy smile appeared on his face, and he felt a glimmer of hope that things might improve thanks to his friend's support.
Here, the trio stopped knocking on the door, and they thought that Hagrid no longer needed them to help him, as Albert had already calmed him down and brought him out of his depression.
Then the trio returned to the school, feeling relieved.
Early in the morning, Professor Alastor Moody, with his magical cane that always accompanied him, headed towards the school hospital wing managed by Madam Pomfrey. He had a strange feeling when he entered through the large doors of the hospital wing, as the hallway was completely quiet, which was unusual.
Usually, the hospital wing is full of movement and whispers, whether from students suffering from minor injuries due to their training or from magical skirmishes, or even from visitors coming for treatment. But this time, the hospital wing seemed completely deserted.
Moody stopped for a moment, and his eyes - one natural and the other magical spinning in its socket - scanned the place accurately. There was no trace of any nurse, not even Madam Pomfrey herself. However, he noticed a student sitting on one of the beds in the corner, seemingly busy bandaging a slight wound on her hand.
Moody approached her with heavy steps and said in his rough voice, "Where is everyone? Why does the hospital wing look like it has been hit by a plague?" The student raised her head and looked at him with slight fear - as it is known that Moody is not the person students can deal with easily - then she answered shyly, "Oh... Professor Moody, all the nurses, including Madam Pomfrey, have gone to help everyone clean the Great Hall. The ball that was held yesterday left a lot of mess, and it was difficult for the cleaning team alone to deal with it."
Moody raised his eyebrow, or at least the part that was supposed to contain an eyebrow, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Is that the reason? They left the hospital wing empty just for a party? Isn't the hospital wing supposed to be a priority?"
The student smiled shyly and replied, "The ball was very big, sir, and everyone participated in it. The mess left behind was huge, and since emergencies are few today, Madam Pomfrey and the nurses decided to help."
Professor Alastor Moody felt immense happiness when he entered the school hospital wing and found it completely empty. No patients, no nurses, and even Madam Pomfrey herself was not here. It was a golden opportunity for him, as the absence of everyone meant that the path to Pomfrey's office would be open without any obstacles. He muttered to himself in a tone full of satisfaction: "It seems that luck is finally on my side."
With careful and steady steps, he headed towards the door of Pomfrey's office. He slowly pushed the door open, only to discover that the office was larger than he expected. There were four huge cabinets lined up along the walls, each one filled with carefully organized boxes. The boxes carried the names of the students, and each name was written in clear handwriting on the face of each box. Moody looked at this enormous number of boxes and felt a slight challenge, but he was confident that he would find what he was looking for.
Moody began walking among the cabinets, his eyes - one normal and the other magical spinning incessantly - scanning the place with focus. He was carefully searching for a specific name: Albert Black. The moments passed slowly, and his patience began to run out a little, but he did not give up. He opened many boxes and carefully checked the names. Then, suddenly, his eyes stopped at a box written with the name he was looking for.
Moody stood in front of the box, and a wide smile appeared on his face. He muttered to himself: "Finally... I found it." He could not contain his happiness, and a short laugh escaped him as he looked at the box as if he had found a precious treasure. He felt the exhilaration of victory, and he began to think about his next step as he carefully opened the box to take the blood sample he needed.
To be continued...