Chương 736: Frost Moon Ⅲ

The orange flames flicker across the empty Slytherin common room. The Slytherins had cleared rather quickly from the common room leaving Rowan and Severus to check up on each of the dorms. Finished checking on the entire dormitories, Rowan and Severus returned with several board games to put away, which had sheepishly been handed over to them. Closing the cupboard shut, Severus frowns as he glances at the time on the golden watch inherited from their father. "It's late," he flatly said.

"Yes, well, I promised Hagrid that I would stop by and visit later tonight," Rowan truthfully replied.

Severus's frown deepened. "It is rather late. You can always visit Hagrid, tomorrow, Rowan."

"I doubt it," Rowan truthfully objected. "There are plenty of things to do and catch up on. And besides, I have never protested when I regularly cover for the Marauder's monthly full moon run and which just so happens to be tomorrow night might I point out."

Severus flushes a bit pink with embarrassment at being caught out. What his twin sister had said was all true, but still, he worried. She was a girl and all, and he didn't want anything to happen to her. Not that Rowan couldn't take care of herself if anything the boy who dared try such a thing would be the one in danger. Still, he worried not that he would ever tell Rowan that. She'd no doubt smugly hold it over his head for the rest of their lives!

"Don't be up to late!" Severus harrumphed, before stomping quite loudly up the boy's staircase to complain to Terry about annoying sisters. Not that Severus had much right to complain considering that Terry had four older sisters, more than half a dozen nieces, countless female cousins to deal with not excluding his innumerable aunts and great-aunts.

Shaking her head wryly Rowan smiles helplessly to herself, before pulling on a warm fur-lined cloak and wrapping a dark scarf around her neck. With her hood pulled up, she emerges into the bitterly, cold dungeon air. Her warm breath leaves smoky clouds of air. With her nose feeling bitterly cold, she snuggles her face deeper into her scarf leaving only the tips of her eyes peeking out. Through the frigid, stone passageway she quietly makes her way underneath the gloomy light of the flickering, burning touches.

Up the winding staircase, Rowan emerges into the dark, empty hall of the entrance hall. Cautious, she makes her way past the Great Hall and out through the front entrance. The air is bitterly crisp as the chilly night sky is clear of any clouds. The stars glitter overhead and the large full moon brightens the chilly night.

The brisk cold air caused Rowan to shiver as she ducks her head down low and trots across the frozen ground. There is a thin layer of snow power on the ground not enough to cover the top of one's boot, but enough to freeze over. Her every footstep sounds rather loud to her ears as she trudges across the crunching, thin layer of snow.

The black lake in the distance had neatly frozen at the edges, but the middle of the lake has yet to completely freeze over. As a result, Hagrid's wooden post regarding ice skating is still up. Once the lake completes freezes over Hagrid will remove the post, but until then the warning sign will stay up. Although that does little to dissuade reckless younger years especially that of wild Gryffindor's. More than a couple of students had fallen through the ice despite the warning sign only to be saved by fellow students and up to end up in the infirmary with a loss of over a dozen house points and more than a week's worth of detention's.

Near the edge of the woods is a large hut with smoke trailing from the chimney. Hagrid's windows glow warmly with light as a layer of mist and frost cover them. Seeing the end in sight, Rowan hurries forward finishing the last stretch. Stomping her feet against the doormat, she raises her hand and knocks loudly on the door.

Fang's excited booming barks can be heard from inside the cottage as he recognizes the scent. "Bout time!" said Hagrid, when he flung open the door looking rather muscular and attractive wearing a well-fitted red logger button-up shirt. "Thought you'd forgotten where I lived!"

"Being a Prefect is an exhausting and rather time-consuming business, Hagrid," Rowan muttered as she stepped into the toasty, warm cottage. "That and ignoring the fact that I am an apprentice, Severus and I are taking O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s, this year as well."

Hagrid looks rather sheepish at the reply as he tugs on his shiny, glossy hair that is neatly pulled back with a hair tie. Rubbing a hand across his perfectly trimmed short beard, he flashes Rowan an attractive smile. "I guess it slipped m' mind with m' ma 'ere and all," Hagrid ruefully apologized. "Sorry, Rowan, I didn' mean to call ya out."

"It's alright, it happens to the best of us," Rowan replied, before taking a seat on of the wooden seats.

Fang, who had eagerly been waiting jumps forward and tries to lick Rowan's face. With great haste, Rowan dodges and firmly pats the slobbering dog drooling all over her robes. She shudders hiding her distaste for slobber over her robes. Quite happily, Fang curls up at Rowan's feet and slobbers all over her boot. At least, they were dragonhide, so they would keep the slobber out and keep her feet dry.

Pointedly ignoring the fact that Fang is slobbering all over her boot, Rowan glances around the cabin that is much neater and now houses a bookcase full of books. "And how has your tutelage under Professor Kettleburn been going Hagrid?"

"Real good!" Hagrid replied as he returned from the stove with a piping hot kettle, teacup, plates, and a plate full of rock-hard cookies. "Professor Kettleburn reckons that I'm nearly as good as Mister Newt Scamander when it comes to taming beasties. Olympe is so proud, and she's even gonna come down to meet m' mum and family for Christmas! It'll be right nice. I got it all planned out! It's just, well-."

Rowan arched her brow a bit in surprise at suddenly seeing Hagrid lose some of the wind in his sails as he rather quietly pours her tea a cup of tea and a rock-hard raisin cookie. "Hagrid, you seemed quite excited up until just a moment ago," Rowan paused to take a sip of her tea to only make a face at the strong taste. Carefully setting the tea aside she grabs the raisin cookie to attempt to break into pieces to feed Fang residing underneath the table.

"So, what is really bothering you, Hagrid?" Rowan asked as she was unable to even make a dent into the rock-hard cookie. "You have a family now and a girlfriend, a sweetheart if you prefer."

Hagrid flushes pink rather shyly causing Rowan to let out a huff, and then frown at finding that she can't even break off a piece of the rock-hard cookie. Giving up, she drops the cookie onto the floor and kicks it underneath the table to Fang, who happily chews on the rock-hard raisin cookie. At least, someone would be able to enjoy it, if it not, Hagrid's cookies would make excellent weapons.

"Well, ya see 'ere, Rowan," Hagrid muttered in embarrassment. "What if Olympe is embarrassed by m' family. Mum's, a giantess, and I got a stepda' now, and a full giant liddle brother. We're not the fanciest folk, and Olympe, she's real pretty and brilliant! I don't want 'er to be embarrassed dat's all."

"What is there to be embarrassed about, Hagrid?" Rowan pointedly retorted with an arched brow. "So, what if you're a half-giant. Look at Severus and I, we're half-bloods even if we're the descendants of the three founders of Hogwarts. There will still always be those who will frown at us for being less than purebloods. If we defined ourselves by their standards, well, we would never have any right to be happy much less exist."

"I guess," Hagrid uncertainly replied not sounding very confident.

Seeing Hagrid's still gloomy expression, Rowan ventures to say, "Hagrid forgive me if I am speaking out of turn here, but I sense that you are worried that if you remain at Hogwarts with your family that you fear that Madam Maxime will think that you are choosing your family over her?" Hagrid flushes terribly and pales rather ghastly, all at the same time in reply.

"Well, the solution is rather simple, Hagrid," Rowan matter-of-factly stated. "If Madam Maxime should worry about your priorities explain to her that you will remain at Hogwarts until you finish your mastery with Professor Kettleburn in Care of Magical Creatures. In the meanwhile, during the winter holidays ask her to marry you, but with the condition that the wedding will be held after the completion of your mastery. You will single-handedly quell her fears in this manner and leave you plenty of time for any future decision-making."

"Marriage!" Hagrid gasped as he flushed bright red with a rather goofy expression on his face as he imagined a white wedding with his Olympe.

"Mm, yes," Rowan muttered with a bit of sarcasm. "And I might even suggest Hagrid that you become a Professor at Beauxbaton's remain close to Madam Maxime. Besides, I can certain that you can take your family with you, if not at least be nearer to them when they decide to relocate in the future."

Hagrid's excitement dies down at Rowan's logical statement. "But I don't want them to go away, Rowan," he quietly rumbled. "And I don't want to leave Hogwarts. It's been my home for so many years!"

Rowan stares at Hagrid silently for a moment, before her expression softens saying, "Hagrid, the people that we love and cherish at some point will all leave us. But that does not mean that is the end only the beginning of something new. As long as you remain near and dear to them, Hagrid, you will not have lost anything, but gained that much more."

"And as for Hogwarts," Rowan sighs softly. "Home is where the heart is Hagrid. And if Olympe is where your heart is then don't be afraid to follow it. Besides I am certain that you have more than ample opportunities to regularly visit Hogwarts especially during the summer months, and I am certain that Professor Kettleburn will expect it."

"Yeah!" Hagrid excitedly said with a loud sniff. "Dat's exactly what I'll do, Rowan!" He eagerly leaped from his chair with joy and wiped the moisture from his eyes, before grabbing Rowan from her chair. Greatly startled, Rowan was crushed into Hagrid's muscular chest unable to breathe and swung in a dizzying circle. At this rate, she really was going to throw up!