Time Is Life

Halloween

"If you're looking for the angry idiot he's most likely venting to Hagrid over at his hut. That half giant is a surprisingly great listener even if he is simple minded at times."

Cedric nods and just lets the Slytherin drag him over to the hut in front of the forbidden forest. The gigantic powder-blue carriage in which the Beauxbatons students arrived was parked two hundred yards from Hagrid's front door. The elephantine flying horses that pulled the carriage are now grazing in a makeshift paddock alongside it.

Theo knocks on Hagrid's door, and Fang's booming barks answere instantly. Hagrid opens the door and looks curiously at the Slytherin and Hufflepuff duo. "Is Harry here?"

Hagrid looks back inside. "If it's Theo and whoever it is with him then let them come in, if its Hermione and Ron tell them to leave." Comes the young wizard's voice from inside the cabin. The half giant nods and steps out of the way to let them inside. Theo takes Cedric and pushes him in front of him inside. "I can walk you know!"

Theo rolls his eyes and walks over to Harry with a scowl, takes the black haired boy's arms and inspects them closely. "They hurt you! When I get to them I will kill them very, very, very slowly."

Harry laughs dryly and looks at Cedric with pain filled eyes. "Usually i would tell you not to be stupid, but honestly i dont care. Just do what you cant leave undone."

Harry looks so very tired.

Hagrid's cabin comprises a single room, in one corner of which is a gigantic bed covered in a patchwork quilt. A similarly enormous wooden table and chairs stand in front of the fire beneath the quantity of cured hams and dead birds hanging from the ceiling. Cedric sits down at the table next to Harry while Hagrid starts to make tea, and Harry soon immerses Theo and Cedric in yet more discussion of the Triwizard Tournament. Hagrid seems quite as excited about it as Cedric is.

"You wait," he says, grinning. "You jus' wait. Yer going ter see some stuff yeh've never seen before. Firs' task...ah, but I'm not supposed ter say."

Cedric quirks up then looks at Harry and Theo in question. "Don't look at us, I for my part won't give anything prize, except for the fact that you'll be the Hogwarts Champion."

Hagrid looks up from the cattle. "Yeh don't know that yet, Harry."

Cedric and Harry share an amused glance, Theo just rolls his eyes with a smile. Of course Harry knows and Cedric fully believes him.

"But I can be confident, can I not? It won't hurt a fly if I'm confident in Cedric's abilities as a candidate for champion."

Hagrid pours each of them a cup of tea and thinks for a bit, contemplating Harry's words. "I suppose yer right 'bout that."

"Of course I'm right, I always am."

Theo chortles. "Yeah right." Harry just smirks around the brim of his cup. Hagrid eyes Harry with slight suspicion. The resident Hufflepuff feels the tension rising around him and from the looks of it Theo can too.

"Harry, what happend between yeh and the other two? I haven't seen yeh hanging 'round that lot much. Ter tell yeh the truth I'm gettin worried."

"Well there is nothing to be worried about, I simply don't appreciate their company any longer and I want to keep them at a safe distance. Now before you say anything Hagrid I'd keep shut about this, seeing as I no longer want to talk about Granger and Weasley."

The half giant sighs and nods as he drops the topic.

They end up having lunch with Hagrid, though they don't eat much - Hagrid made what he said is a beef casserole, but after Cedric unearths a large talon in his, he, Harry, and Theo rather lost their appetites. However, they enjoy themselves.