Chapter 5: Chapter 5: A New Visit
Rain.
England could be considered the driest in all of the UK. Does that mean it was dry? No, for most it would be a wet place.
Then how about Scotland?
"Fucking mush lands!"
The boots I got from the fine gentleman of Diagon Alley —although he did seem slightly reluctant to give them to me at first— were now stained brown and black in the mud.
Umbrellas were bloody useless and my jacket wasn't waterproof.
So, did I use some magic to keep me dry? Keep the rain away from me?
No, none at all.
I had no magic for that, I knew not a single spell.
I even tried the one spell that I recalled, 'Wingardium Leviosa' with the extended 'aaa' at the end.
But guess what? Nothing worked.
"Darn this umbrella!"
It was absolutely useless, pushing me from one direction to the other —pulling and tucking me against the wind and the hail, drenching my clothes entirely.
I could use elemental magic to maybe not cause the rain to hit me, but it was far too late for that. I would rather reach my destination and then try to get the water off my clothes.
"I left Hogsmeade a while ago so it shouldn't be that far."
After the sad story of being robbed and losing my wand, being left with no money and no hope —Ollivander decided to help me and give me the way to a certain place.
Mostly the place was hidden, but for a man like Ollivander who supplied wands to even the ministry, this wasn't a very difficult place to find.
But it was for me.
I was stuck near the outskirts of Hogsmeade, the purely magical village near my destination.
"Though how do I cross this?"
It was a massive water body, probably deep enough to drown tens of me. And the heavy rain, my heavy soaked clothes and the thunder above me had been continuing for a while.
For hours now, since I landed naked, I had only used one form of magic —the mind arts. But given the river-like water body in front, I had to try the other forms of magic.
Now, I could split the water like Moses and maybe change the composition to wind and play Jesus. But I wasn't stupid to draw that much attention.
I was still near a settleman. I would be made a target for a witch hunt, or a dark lord in this case if I tried something like that.
Wizards were strong, capable of exploding buildings but I do not recall them splitting rivers or seas.
"Can I float on water?"
I could, I know that. I could control the water to change the density and the buoyancy —but I didn't.
Why?
Well, I just didn't.
"Here we go."
Instead, with each step I took over the river —the water under my feet turned white and froze.
I was walking on thin ice, literally, and it was fun. The moment I put my feet on the water, it froze and the moment I lifted it —it broke from the hail pieces striking it and melted into the water under it.
Doing so, while still taking the hit of the rain from above, I walked straight. Those were the directions, go straight from the river near Hogsmeade.
As for how straight and how long, I had no idea. I just walked, walked till I could see something nearby.
…
…
{Rubeus Hagrid}
Bein' a man of me size ain't easy, ya know? The ground always feels like it's too soft and slippery, but that's just how it is around here.
Them umbrellas they sell in shops are like toothpicks to me. So, I took a branch from a tree, got a piece of tin hammered onto it good and proper. Big enough to cover me and tough enough to stand up to hail and rain.
Life was tough without magic, havin' to do everythin' with me hands, which seemed a little too big and thick for most tasks.
"It'd be daft ter be walkin' 'round in this rain."
Neela and Beels 'ave been fed, the two orphaned rabbits and the one rare little mooncalf that I saw yesterday won't be comin' out soon.
Though in this rain, the day and night blend together for us, but for them, night is much more precise.
"Thank the founders fer this roof!"
The smaller watch houses weren't made fer giants, not even a half giant like meself. So, the roof next to it that the founders built as a shelter fer sudden visitors—creatures, not wizards in their mind—was good enough rain protection fer me.
Putting the tin umbrella to me back, preventin' any rain and mud from splatterin' me back—'cause, mind ye, it's just a roof—I sat starin' outside the hill and to the loch outside.
The Black Lake, not that it was black or a lake, yeh see.
But I saw the loch bein' draped by the rain, coverin' it with more water than it needed.
The rain got heavier, at this hour it felt melancholic—scary even as the sun was about to drown soon, if it was visible—and the creatures of the night would soon be out.
It would be time for a night trip soon, difficult in this rain but required for the children's safety.
So, jus' till then.
I'd rather sit and take the droplets o' rain on me face, fallin' and strikin' from the front and the sides.
An' I did, spreadin' me legs, not worried 'bout the feet stainin' in dirt—it's always stained—and enjoyin' the rain, strong but enjoyable.
"But wha's that?"
It moved through the lake, jus' like a creature o' the waters, but its shadow, it did, looked like somethin' from the land.
A black shadow, all dressed in black, not black itself, mind ye, moved through the water.
"It's comin' this way…"
It didn't look like no animal, nor even a bird. The closer that shadow got, the more it started lookin' like a human.
And humans, they ain't supposed to be here, not without some proper permission.
So, I grabbed that tin umbrella quick, hoppin' off the stump where I was sittin'—nearly slidin' and glidin' toward the gate. But I caught meself, as I always do.
And with that, I dashed fer the gate! After all, I'm the keeper o' keys, it's me duty to keep them pesky intruders at bay. That's me role at Hogwarts, it is.
…
…
"Stop!"
Hogwarts was just a few steps away. After crossing the river and climbing half the hill to it, I was made to stop by a shout.
And looking up, still drenched and still not willing to dry myself —I saw the man, or well, the giant.
"Yer not allowed ter enter the premises without permission!"
I was tall, but he was taller and thicker —not muscular, but thicker— as in fat. Fat enough that his shadow surrounded me.
"I am not here to cause trouble, good sir." I assured the man. "I am here seeking a job."
Ollivander said that Hogwarts recruited staff at this time for the year for the next batch of students, although it was rare for them to select a professor as most professors stayed in the school till they grew old to retire or dropped dead from the stress.
"We ain't hirin'." The giant said sternly, almost with enough authority to persuade me.
And I recall he had power, like authority of whom he would allow inside. But I needed to be inside, and no magicless giant could stop me.
Not when I came here drenched in rain.
"But sir, I heard that the school hires at this time of the year." I told what Ollivander told me. "At the end of the first half of the year."
New semesters started in September and by July they would hire all the necessary staff. I doubted they needed any professors at the hour, but I could definitely do something to persuade them into keeping me.
"Did ye get an invitation from the headmaster?" The giant asked, not coming out of the gate nor letting me inside.
"No."
"Then ya will go back the same way ya came from." He said, sternly. But I could still see some sort of interest on his face.
Probably curious about why a man would be this desperate to soak in the rain and come for a job.
"I do not have an invitation from the headmaster, but I do have a referral from a man."
"We don't do referrals." Hagrid, the giant —undoubtedly it was him— said.
"It is from Ollivander, Garrick Ollivander."
"We—" He suddenly paused for a second, before a look of surprise took over his face. "The old wandmaker, eh?"
"The very same." I answered with a nod. The old man was very sympathetic towards my story, and my 'love' for wands had him write me a referral with no hesitation.
If not that, then I would have found some other way.
Just like if the giant did not let me in, I would not have worried about prying into his mind either. Something told me that I could win against him in the mind section.
"How did ya' get a referral from old Ollivander?" The giant seemed curious, moving closer to the gate. "Never had I seen him hand out referrals."
He looked at me from head to toe, "Yer too good lookin' to be a relative o' the old wriggly-haired man."
"He is someone that decided to help me out." I didn't lie here, "And he does know that I am capable of this job." This I lied about.
The giant was a tad bit suspicious, wondering if I was lying to him in any way. I was, but not enough to cause a ruckus.
"Show me the letter, would ya?" He asked, and in most cases I would have denied. This was meant for the headmaster, but the giant seemingly had enough authority to throw me off the campus —although I was still out of it— and I could not risk mind magic just yet either.
There was a point one percent chance that he might resist and that would be disastrous.
"That does seem fine."
I doubted if he could truly understand the authenticity of the letter, maybe he was just checking it for the sake of checking it. He had the job of making sure that no suspicious men got inside campus, and me, drenched in rain, walking over water and coming in the dark would have been a prime suspect.
Truth be told, I am curious why he hadn't asked me about my walk over water yet.
"Would ye mind waitin' till I inform the headmaster?"
I shook my head, "I don't. But I would appreciate it if you could inform him a little quickly. I am soaked and shivering from this rain. My umbrella flew off in the hail and I have to go back in case I am rejected before the wolves and the nocturnal beasts come out."
To fool others, you have to first fool yourself.
And in my case, to convince others —I had to first convince myself.
Because no matter how good of an actor I might be, there is no denying that being soaked and shivering for real had a much better effect than lying and faking the cold.
"Yer can stay under this post, right 'ere. It'll keep yeh nice and sheltered." He pointed at the roofed guard post. "Blimey, but ye seem almost sickly, ya do! Yer'll catch pneumonia if ya stay soaked like that. Even wizards can get poorly, and those potions'll burn a hole in yer pocket, mark my words!"
Did they? They did, didn't they.
"Come 'long with me." He suggested, "Yer'll find a towel inside, and maybe some spare dry clothes in me shack. Then, we'll be off to see the headmaster."
That was nice of him. I would still need to carry these clothes, I liked the jacket a lot and I could just dry them whenever.
The giant had difficulty walking the muddy grounds, while I had to harden the ground a little wherever I kept my feet to not slip. Elemental magic was the most fun one till now, although I had only used two elements yet.
And by God was this campus big. We were not even inside the school yet, walking just outside and near the forest to reach his sack.
It took half an hour, maybe twenty if it wasn't rainy, but twenty minutes of walking just to reach a shack and Hagrid told me on the way that the entire campus is much bigger than that.
Were the founders that rich to buy this big plot of land when they made the school? Or did they just take the land and claim it as their own, which over the years became the truth.
"'ere we 're." He said, walking towards the most uncomfortable looking stone hut that I had ever seen.
"It's a wee bit snug, ain't it?" He said, "But ye'll fit."
It was ugly, rough, but it was big for its simple design.
Well, It was obviously big, a giant lived here.
"You are a giant, aren't you?"
Might sound like an offensive question, but he seemed a little smaller than what I would expect from a giant.
"Half-giant." He corrected, "Well, ya see, it were a giant mother and a wee human father. Mother, uh, she up and left my dad when I were just a sprout."
Seeing me opening my mouth, he shook his head.
"Don' ask. 'orrible mother, weak but nicer father."
I wasn't going to ask that to be fair.
"Can I get a towel?"
A towel was more important than his story to me. I was freezing, scotland rain was no joke.
"Ah, silly me." He scratched his head. "A moment."
He rushed around his hut. It had no multiple rooms, no kitchen, no proper ventilation —there was a hole on the wall in the name of ventilation— and yet he had difficulty finding where he kept his towel.
"'here it is."
There it was. Stuck inside a pile of unwashed clothes, almost black from dirt.
"'ere." He passed me the brown, almost black towel. "Use it, ye?"
I did take it, I could not say no. But I don't think I could use it.
"Can I get some water?" I asked, trying to get the giant away from my face.
"Just another moment." He said, rushing again to look for water in his unorganized hut.
As for me, I had been finally left with no choice but to use my magic to get rid of the water.
Instantly vaporizing the water, without boiling it and burning my skin or ruining the fabric of my cloth, I dried myself and the clothes.
By then Hagrid had returned.
"Blimey, I've never seen a towel do the job of drying someone off so quick!" He said, amused.
"I could not use magic back there because I would have been drenched anyway. But here under the roof, drying myself was easier."
I did wet the towel with my magic though, couldn't show that it was unused.
"Thank you for the towel." I said, returning the towel which he once again threw over the pile of clothes. "The magic only dries clothes, not skin and hair."
Nodding at me, he passed me a glass. I expected it to be dirty like the towel and the hut, but both the water and the glass were quite clean.
So, gulping down the water as I was indeed thirsty, I looked at the giant.
"When may I meet the headmaster?"
Dumbledore, the 'it-is-all-for-the-greater-good' wizard, would be a much bigger challenge than Hagrid to convince.
"There's a special class goin' on about herbology, I've heard tell. Bit late for it, mind you, but they're holdin' extra classes after hours here at Hogwarts."
Quite unfortunate for the students I would say.
"So, we can pop over to him after class hours are done. Can't be disruptin' the students with our wanderin' about during their lessons, now can we?"
I would argue that students were always distracted and this would cause them no issue, but better to go by his rules for the time.
There was no hurt in resting for a bit after such a long journey.
"Ya' want some ale?"
"I am fine."
Cannot risk alcohol in the system when in front of the old wizard.
"Suit yerself then, I'll have some." Hagrid said, taking a seat in a massive wooden stool. "The class'll be takin' a fair bit o' time, ya can 'ave a look 'round 'til then, if ya fancy."
I wasn't that interested in his hut.
"I am fine." I said again, "I would just look at the view. It's quite pretty."
He grinned, "I know just the spot for a cozy little shack, don't I?"
That, he sure did.
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