#7 - Hanging with Hagrid

She heard Fang's barks first, then Hagrid telling him to settle down. The door was pulled open, and Hagrid beamed at the company he noticed on his doorstep. It was getting close to lunchtime, but Grace's arrival was no less welcome. Fang even nudged into view to say hello, before retreating back into his favourite corner for a nap.

'Hello, Grace,' Hagrid said. 'How can I help yeh?' He noticed she looked a bit upset, so opened the door fully to invite her into the hut. Seeing this, Fang abandoned his hopes for a nap and wandered over to drool on Grace's shoe.

Fang whined, sensing her upset. His drool soaked her clothes where he leaned to her, insisting Grace kept giving him pats. He offered her hand a very gross, slobbery kiss in return. If only she had the experience in collecting certain ingredients; she could have put some of that drool to good use. Maybe next time.

'Herbology Kit, eh?' Hagrid nodded. 'Reckon I've got a garden pot around here that yeh can use. Won't be a moment.' He went to a cluttered corner of the hut in search of one, and filled it up with fresh soil.

Fang whined at Grace again, giving her his puppy eyes anytime she paused the pats.

'Here yeh go.' Hagrid handed her a garden pot. 'Anything else yeh need? A cup of tea, perhaps? Yeh look like yeh could use it.' He said is casually so she knew there'd be no hard feelings if she declined - students were often rather busy and he understood that. Hagrid's expression was warm though, showing his concern as he noticed she wasn't in the happiest of moods.

Hagrid wanted to apologise for Fang's excessive drooling, but Grace didn't seem to mind too much. Even if it was just Fang being himself, most students didn't often appreciate getting drool all over their clothes.

He headed to the small kitchen area and prepared a huge pot of water, which was put over the warm fire to boil. While waiting, Hagrid sat in his huge armchair across from another at the table - where he expected Grace to get settled, as that was the guest-allocated space he always kept cleaan and comfy. It was large enough to fit several students.

'Yeh looking forward teh yeh first Halloween feast?' Hagrid asked. 'Highlight of the year for many, it is.' He wondered what was bothering her, but didn't want to push. It wasn't rally his business and they weren't friends in the sense of sharing more day-to-day conversation topics yet. He hoped he would come up in casual conversation though, so maybe he could help or reassure her. Was Grace homesick?

Fang enjoyed the attention but got bored of being awake. He lazed at her feet instead, which dangled above him due to the sheer size of the armchair the first year sat in. He dozed off rather quickly, making an adorable snoozy sound.

'She's right,' Hagrid said, about Grace's mother. 'Hope yeh not afraid of ghosts though. They sometimes try teh join in on the celebrations, in ways not everyone appreciates. Nothing like having a head pop up while yeh trying to eat, eh?'

He fussed with the hot pot when it boiled, then worked on serving them large teacups of tea. It was practically a small bowl to Grace, but smelled of sweet honey and something herb-like that was very soothing.

'It's hard to tell with that lot,' Hagrid answered honestly. He imagined they mus get bored after being ghosts for so long. They weren't beasts, so it wasn't something he knew more about, but still considered them rather misunderstood. They were people once.

'Blimey, is that the time?' He cleared away his empty tea cup, having noticed a nearby clock. 'It'll be lunch soon.' There was no effort to usher her out of the hut though, as Hagrid let her finish her tea - or as much of it as she wanted. Though he was mindful of the trek back to the castle and didn't want to cause her being late to lunch.

Fang whined, knowing the visit would be coming to an end soon.