Hagrid a Hero?
“Yer wrong,” Hagrid insisted as Aragog sped down the corridor and out of sight.
“Am I?” Tom asked smugly. “I think not.”
“Yeh don’ know him like I do. He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Hagrid declared, defending the creature that had become his only friend. Hagrid watched Aragog carefully, noting that he stopped just out of sight around the first corner.
“That thing,” Tom said, placing a delicate emphasis on the word ‘thing’, “has already attacked several Muggle born students. It needs to be destroyed before someone is seriously hurt. Before someone dies.” Tom turned to leave, calling out an ultimatum over his shoulder as he strode away callously. “Get rid of that thing by tomorrow, or I’ll be forced to go to Headmaster Dippet.”
Hagrid watched Tom’s retreating back, a deep scowl creasing his smooth face. His normally bright eyes were wary and clouded by a look of distrust. He’ll not wait until tomorrow. He stood there, his shoulder shaking with silent sobs as the time flew by. His mind raced in every direction as he weighed the options before him. He had no idea what would happen to his one true friend if he didn’t make the right decision. After an hour, after Hagrid had been down every possible path in his mind, he made the hardest decision of his thirteen-year-old life.
His mind made up, but his heart heavy, Hagrid leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. The coldness from the unforgiving tiles seeped into his legs. The roughness of the wall pressed into his back uncomfortably. He brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them tightly. He allowed his forehead to drop to his knees and he began to rock back and forth. With each backward rock, his shoulders bumped against the wall of the corridor painfully. His shoulders smarted and he knew that there would be severe bruising the next day, but he ignored the pain and continued to rock.
He choked back a loud sob, hoping that no one would wander down this particular corridor and find him in this embarrassing position. Tears flowed from his glinting black eyes. His nose had started to run and he could barely breathe without hiccoughing. He continued to rock steadily for many long, agonizing minutes.
Suddenly, Hagrid released his legs and sat up straight. His back was once again pressed against the unevenness of the wall. He swiped at his nose and eyes, attempting to dry his face. He pushed back his bushy hair with both hands before leaning his head against the wall. Using his left hand to keep his hair out of his eyes, and his right hand to cover them, Hagrid began to bawl.
The quiet tapping of eight legs on the floor reminded Hagrid of his decision. He began to waver, trying frantically to come up with an alternative to losing his best friend. He agonized over the options before him. Again, he came to the same conclusion. The only choice he could make was to set Aragog free.
If I don’, they’ll kill him.
Hagrid rose clumsily from the floor, his leg asleep from sitting against the wall awkwardly. He half hobbled, half hopped across the corridor to Aragog’s hiding place. He reluctantly approached the corner where he knew Aragog would be hiding.
Aragog watched him carefully as the approached. He knew that this was no ordinary visit. He had heard Hagrid speaking with that other boy, followed by Hagrid’s noisy hysterics. Aragog did not know what it meant, but he knew that his time in the castle was over. As soon as Hagrid was close enough, he scurried out of reach and took off down the corridor.
“Aragog!” Hagrid bellowed. “Wait fer me.”
Hagrid tore after him. He was quick enough to keep him in sight, but not quick enough to catch him. After the first turn, Hagrid lost Aragog. He chose to continue on the path that led to the grounds outside of the castle.
Hagrid remembered the times that he had taken Aragog outside to play in the sunshine. Hagrid hoped that’s where Aragog was heading now. He would be safe in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid slowed down temporarily, making sure that he was still on the shortest path out of the castle. He rounded a corner and increased his speed. The last thing he wanted was for someone to run into Aragog at this hour. No one should be out of bed.
“’Course tha’ don’ mean much. I’m out of bed.”
Sure enough, as he reached the final turn before the entrance doors, he heard a terrified scream. Hagrid’s eyes went wild with fear. He didn’t want Aragog to hurt anyone, but more importantly, he didn’t want anyone to hurt Aragog. He moved as fast as his body would carry him in the direction of the scream, which had stopped suddenly.
“Kim?” Hagrid exclaimed. “Wha’ are yeh doin’ here? Why aren’ yeh in bed?”
She turned to Hagrid, her eyes wide with fear. “Save me,” she whispered, afraid to raise her voice and upset the creature before her. She was pressed into the corner, her arms flat against the wall behind her. She was shaking with fear and Hagrid could see that she was on the verge of fainting with fright.
“Don’ worry,” Hagrid said soothingly. “Aragog won’ hurt yeh.”
“Aragog,” she shrieked. “This thing has a name?”
At her emotional outburst, Aragog reared up in front of here, clicking his pinschers madly. He advanced on Kim, poison dripping onto the ground as he inched closer. Kim shrunk against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible.
“Aragog! No!” Hagrid bellowed. “Don’ hurt her. She didn’ do anythin’ wrong.”
Hagrid stepped in between Kim and Aragog, momentarily shielding her. Aragog quickly knocked him out of the way, advancing on Kim. Hagrid leapt to his feet and, without thinking, threw himself at Aragog. He cradled Aragog’s body gently in his large arms as they tumbled to the floor.
“Run! Get out o’ here.” Hagrid, struggling to contain Aragog without harming him, looked up and saw that Kim had not moved. “Kim. Yeh need teh leave. Yer in danger if yeh stay.”
One of Aragog’s legs managed to get free from Hagrid’s grasp and kicked out in Kim’s direction. That was all the prodding she needed to move. She broke away from the wall and fled down the corridor.
“Now,” Hagrid said, breathing a sigh of relief. “We need to get out o’ here. It will all be fine, s’long as no one sees us.”
He slowly got to his feet, taking careful measures to make sure he didn’t injure Aragog as he stood up. He carried him down the corridor and used his back to force the front doors open. He nearly tripped going down the stairs, but regained his balance just in time. He crossed the grounds quickly, hiding behind the empty hut before finding his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
He continued to carry Aragog, fearing that if he let him go in the unfamiliarity of the Forbidden Forest, he would never see him again. He made his way to a clearing that he had visited before, when he had the opportunity to wrestle a Troll. He found a nice area, where the rocks and trees were plentiful and set Aragog down carefully.
“Stay here,” Hagrid commanded. “I can’ stay with yeh. Yeh know tha’. I want to, but I can’”
Aragog clicked his pinschers in acceptance, but said nothing.
“I promise teh come see yeh as much as I can,” Hagrid said, his massive shoulder shaking and his voice on the verge of breaking.
“Very well, my friend. I will miss your company.” When Aragog spoke for the first time that night, his eyes were dry, but his voice shook slightly. “Thank you for everything, Hagrid.”
Hagrid was incapable of saying anything further. He turned to leave the Forbidden Forest and return to the castle. He was sure that he would be punished for what had taken place that night, but he knew he had to return and face the consequences. Aragog was safe, which was all that mattered. Hagrid would accept whatever punishment they chose to dole out.
He was nearing the border of the forest when he heard a low whine. He looked to his left, then whipped his head to the right, searching for the source of the sound. He searched for a moment before continuing on. A few steps later, he heard the strange, sad noise again. This time, Hagrid caught sight of the source of the noise.
A large dog, looking scared and extremely emaciated was crawling across the ground toward Hagrid. He stopped several feet shy of Hagrid and started to whine loudly.
“Don’ worry,” Hagrid said softly, kneeling in the dirt of the forest floor. “I won’ hurt yeh. Come here and let me look at yeh.”
Hagrid reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out some dog biscuits. He held out his hand to the dog, with a piece of the biscuit resting on his fingertips. The dog inched closer, his eyes searching for any movement. Hagrid held perfectly still and continued crooning to the dog as it approached. The dog snatched the biscuit out of his hand and ate it hungrily.
“Was tha’ good?” Hagrid murmured.
He reached into his pockets and took out the rest of the biscuits. He laid them on the ground for the dog to eat.
“Yeh look like a boarhound the me,” Hagrid said, more to himself than the dog. “Wha’s yer name?”
The dog gobbled up the biscuits, wagged his tail, and looked at Hagrid hopefully.
“Yeh look like a…” Hagrid paused while he thought of a fitting name for the dog. “Fang. Tha’s it. I’ll call yeh Fang.”
The dog’s tail thumped on the ground and Hagrid scratched him behind the ears.
“Do yeh need a place to stay?” Hagrid asked. “I think I know jus’ the place.”
Hagrid scratched the dog behind the ears once more before leading him toward the school. He stopped just outside of the empty hut. It had stood empty since Hagrid had come to Hogwarts. It would be the perfect place for Fang to stay while Hagrid was in school. Since his dad had died the year before, Hagrid had nowhere to go during the breaks, so he stayed on the grounds with Professor Dumbledore.
Hagrid opened the door to the hut and saw that it was empty. The only furnishing in the entire place was a small pile of rags in the corner. Hagrid watched happily as Fang crossed the small room and curled up on the pile of rags, falling asleep instantly.
“I’ll be back to bring yeh some food.” Fang opened a sleep eye in appreciation as Hagrid closed the door to the hut.
Realizing what time it was, Hagrid crossed the grounds quickly, trying to make as little noise as possible. When he reached the front doors, Professor Dumbledore met him.
“Hagrid,” Professor Dumbledore said conversationally.
“Professor Dumbledore,” Hagrid acknowledged.
“Where have you been?” Dumbledore asked gravely. “You promised me that you wouldn’t go back into the Forbidden Forest.”
“I had teh, Professor. I couldn’ let Aragog get hurt.”
Dumbledore looked deeply into Hagrid’s eyes, giving him the strange feeling that Dumbledore knew what he was thinking.
“And Fang?” Dumbledore asked with a twinkle in his eyes. “How do you intend to keep him a secret?”
“I…I don’ know.”
“He’s probably half starved. You should take him some food straightaway in the morning. I will allow you to keep him in the gamekeeper’s hut for the time being. We will discuss the matter further during your detentions.”
“Detentions?” Hagrid whispered incredulously. He had been expecting to be expelled. He had honestly wondered what would happen to him if he was expelled. Where would he go? What would he do? He had no family and nowhere to stay. Just thinking about it was making him go cross-eyed. “Tha’s it?”
“Kim told me that you rescued her. She also told me that you protected Aragog in the process. You showed incredible strength and good judgement.”
Hagrid snorted unintentionally.
“No, Hagrid, keeping Aragog was not good judgement. It is a decision I hope that you will not repeat anytime soon.”
“I won’,” Hagrid promised.
“Then, I shall see you tomorrow night for your first detention,” Professor Dumbledore announced. “You should get some sleep, for you will have a long night tomorrow night. Don’t forget to feed Fang in the morning.”
Hagrid nodded gratefully and turned to go to the Gryffindor tower.
Hagrid a Hero? by Khrys
Chapter Notes: Author’s Note: J.K. Rowling created the world in which I work. Everything Harry is hers alone.