Chapter 620: Hagrid's Story (Edited)

It was getting dark early, and outside, there were gusts of snow.

After dinner, Fish and Hermione returned to the common room and told Harry and Ron that Hagrid would be back tonight, so they decided to go with Fish to see Hagrid.

"I wish my Animagus form were a smaller animal..." sighed Harry, wrapped in his invisibility cloak alongside Ron, while looking at the two cats in front of them.

Harry's initial wish had been to become an Animagus form like his father, and he had been glad to achieve it, but once he turned into a stag, Harry discovered that his Animagus form was almost useless...

In terms of camouflage, a stag is not a very common animal, and if someone saw one, it would undoubtedly attract attention. In terms of fighting, it was not Fish, and his fighting skills were definitely better.

He didn't have any werewolves among his friends to keep him company, not to mention the fact that now that there was a potion for werewolves, he no longer needed a large Animagus to keep them in check.

So... Harry actually felt a bit of regret.

"I'm going to become a smaller animal next year, or at least one that is more common," Ron proudly declared.

Then he received a couple of blank stares from Harry. "You've been talking about becoming an Animagus since our second year."

Ron opened his mouth to defend himself, but after a half-hearted pause, he fell silent...

After all, Harry had achieved it, so it was hard to justify his excuse of "too much studying."

So, after a few moments of awkward silence, Ron decided to change the subject. "Did Professor McGonagall say that Hagrid needed Fish's help with something? What do you think it could be?"

"Has he gone to visit the giants? Do you think he might have brought the giants back with him?" Harry guessed.

"No way..." Ron waved his hand at first, but after thinking it over, his face paled.

This was definitely something Hagrid would do!

And he needed Fish's help, apparently to utilize Fish's affinity to appease the irritable giant.

"Aren't you afraid the Ministry will find out?" Ron asked anxiously.

There was no danger with Fish around, but like Voldemort and werewolves, Ron had grown up in a wizarding family hearing stories of fierce giants.

"Maybe it's not a giant, but some 'cute' animal... like a fire-breathing dragon or something," Harry dryly laughed, reversing his previous assumption. "I thought giants and wizards had a bad relationship... They shouldn't be easy to handle, right?"

With Harry and Ron worried and speculating, the two of them and the cats arrived at Hagrid's cabin.

Almost as soon as they knocked on the door, Fang's cheerful bark and the sound of his paws scratching the door came from inside.

"Move aside, Fang, I'll open the door!" Hagrid's gruff voice sounded, followed by the sound of him pulling the latch.

The door creaked open with a snap, and Fish entered first, followed by Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

"Ah!" Hermione exclaimed as soon as she entered.

"Merlin's beard, lower your voice!" Hagrid hurriedly said.

Harry and Ron, after lifting the invisibility cloak, understood why Hermione had screamed.

Hagrid's hair was a mess, with blood clots, his left eye swollen and bruised, and his face and hands were bruised, some wounds still bleeding, and he moved so cautiously that Harry suspected he may have broken some ribs.

"Did you fight with giants? Are they powerful, nya?"

?(?ω?)?

Fish asked excitedly immediately after giving Hagrid a rejuvenation injection.

"Oh, thank you, Fish," Hagrid thanked him while quickly closing all the curtains, and instead of answering Fish's question, he asked rhetorically, "How did you know I went to see the giants?"

"Fang told Fish. He said you went to the giant with Olympe."

?(ΦωΦ)?

Fish didn't hesitate at all, simply identifying the blabbermouth dog.

"Well..." Hagrid looked at Fang, who was circling Fish, and finally let out a long sigh, helplessly murmuring, "Well, I wasn't going to hide it from you..."

He served tea for the four of them and then tried to tell them what he had been through all this time.

But while Hagrid was serving tea, Fish's attention was fixed on something else on the table.

Fish approached and lifted the kitchen towel from the table, underneath which lay a piece of raw meat slightly larger than a regular car tire, a greenish piece of meat that didn't look very appetizing.

"This is... Welsh Green Dragon meat?" Fish leaned forward and sniffed, asking uncertainly.

He had smelled something similar during the Triwizard Tournament, something resembling the dragon Fleur had faced back then.

"Ah... yes," Hagrid replied. "Fire dragon meat has analgesic properties," he pointed to the blood clot in his hair. "I've used it before to put it on my face."

"It's analgesic... so it must be good to eat?"

?ω?

No one knew what kind of logic Fish was using, but it was clear that the little glutton had his eye on that piece of fire dragon meat...

Anyway, Hagrid wouldn't need it now, so he might as well give it to Fish!

Fish thought as he looked at Hagrid with a burning gaze.

"I don't know, I don't think it's too good." Hagrid shook his head and said, "If it were, fire dragon meat would already be on the wizards' table."

He wasn't deceiving Fish, but he was right.

There were times when there were so many fire dragons that the International Confederation of Wizards had to send dragon-slaying teams to hunt them, and during those times, dragon blood and scales were much cheaper in the market. However, fire dragon meat still didn't appear on wizards' tables.

After hearing Hagrid's explanation, Fish remained unconvinced.

"Maybe they don't like it? Or perhaps they don't know how to cook it... anyway, you don't need it, so why don't you let Fish try it with Comey?"

(Φ﹃Φ)

Fish, who had been pushed aside, continued to gaze at the fire dragon meat on the table.

Hagrid shrugged helplessly and said, "Fine, you can eat it later, but you'd better ask Dumbledore or Snape before eating it because I don't know if it's edible or not."

"It's not poisonous, probably edible, nya."

(`´)

Fish had confirmed it with a spell as soon as he lifted the kitchen towel.

"Well, let's listen to Hagrid first talking about the giants." Hermione pulled on Fish's robe and resumed the topic.

Then Hagrid talked about what he and Madame Maxime had been up to, and what had happened to them with the giants, while Hermione and the others asked for details from time to time.

And Fish listened attentively, still interested in the giants, especially because he knew they also liked to fight...

"Oh, really, if you had taken Fish with you, you wouldn't have had to fear the Death Eaters at all... Fish had to spend the summer planting flowers at Sirius' house!"

(〃｀3〃)

After hearing Hagrid's story, Fish pouted and grumbled angrily.

If he had gone, he would have fought not only against the giants but also against the Death Eaters, and Hagrid had mentioned having some trouble with trolls and vampires along the way, not to mention the Ministry of Magic's stalkers!

Fish counted the fights on his fingers, swiftly wagging his tail.

Hagrid smiled and said nothing because he thought he should take Fish along too, but Professor McGonagall would never allow it.

Just as Harry and the others were about to ask how Hagrid got injured, Fish suddenly turned his head to look through the door.

"Hide, guys! Umbridge is approaching nya!"

∑(ΦДΦ)