Black [Ron Weasley]

( Grawp )

Chapter 18

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  After an uneventful day full of O.W.L. exams the four went for a walk outside. Harry was blaming himself for everything and moped, his head hanging low.

"Harry, this isn't your fault, if anything it's ours." Hermione said and both Ron and Nevaeh nodded in agreement. "We talked you into it."

"But I agreed. I tried so hard to help and all I did was make things worse. Anyways, it doesn't matter anymore cause I don't want to play anymore, all it does is make you care too much. The more you care the more you have to lose, so maybe it's better to—"

"To what?"

"To do it alone."

"Psst!" the tall giant made himself known, sneaking up to them but cautiously as if trying not to get caught by Umbridge.

"Hagrid?"

"Follow me." was all Hagrid said. The four obeyed but questioned Hagrid's suspicion confused to his mysterious behaviour. Hagrid led them into the dark forbidden forest.

Ron squeezed Nevaeh's hand even tighter than she herself did. The memory of giant spiders crawling through the forest didn't exactly ease his mind.

"Hagrid, why can't you tell us where you're taking us?" Harry asked but Hagrid ignored his question and continued walking.

The forest was dark and the air thickened the deeper they got. There was an uncomfortable silence until suddenly the ground started shaking. Nevaeh's head perked up in amazement when a group of centaurs ran past them, oblivious to their presence. She had seen centaurs before, in the highlands of Bulgaria, wild and cautious creatures until she kept visiting them and she earned their trust finally.

"I've never seen the centaurs so riot, they're dangerous at times." Hagrid spluttered. "The ministry restricts their territory much more, they're gonna have a full uprising on their hands."

"Hagrid, what's going on?"

"Sorry to be so mysterious, yer four. I wouldn't be bothering yer at all with it but with Dumbledore gone, I could be getting in a sack any day now. I just couldn't leave without telling someone about him."

The ground began shaking again but this time it weren't wild centaurs. A giant even bigger than anything they had ever seen stepped in sight. Two gloomy eyes peered down at the four intruders.

"Grawp, I brought you some company." the sixteen feet tall giant stepped closer. The golden trio took an instant step back but Nevaeh held her stand. As much as she could be shy around others she was never shy around any magical creature.

"I couldn't just leave him, because.. he's my brother." said Hagrid. Nevaeh felt like an ant compared to the giant and held her head up to look at its face. Even though he was gigantic an innocent look laced in his eyes.

"Blimey.."

"Well, half-brother really. He's completely harmless." Hagrid said but his words didn't sound much like the truth when Grawp leaped forwards and wrapped his fingers around Nevaeh. Gasping and unwillingly letting go of her hand Ron yelled for Hagrid to do something.

"Grawp, that is not polite!"

Nevaeh on the other hand merely stared into its gloomy orbs. Although his fingers nearly suffocated her she wasn't fearful because she could see he didn't mean to harm anyone.

"Grawp, we've talked about this, you do not grab! It's Nevaeh, your new friend." Hagrid shouted but Grawp kept staring at the small girl, studying her in awe.

Ron grabbed rocks from the ground and angrily threw them at Grawp's face, shouting for him to put his girlfriend down. Nevaeh let out a breathy laugh and waved for Ron to stop.

"Ron, it's fine, stop throwing things."

Ron furrowed his eyebrows and got ready to slam a tree branch against Grawp's leg but the giant wasn't having any of it and slight kicked the redhead back with his foot.

"Grawp! Let go of her!"

  "It's ok, Grawp, put me onto the ground." Nevaeh said and although she tried to use polite words It was said in a firm tone. Grawp seemed to understand and reluctantly set her onto the dirt. She stumbled backwards a little but Ron kept her standing, firmly placing his hands on her hips.

  "Bloody hell, are you ok?" he asked in a deep tone and Nevaeh nodded smilingly.

  "I think you have an admirer." said Harry, grinning as the giant rummaged through his belongings and came walking back with the handle bar of a bicycle. Stretching his hand out towards the small brunette she grabbed ahold of the rusty handle bar. Unsure but interested in the giants will she rang the bell attached to it and smiled at his blissful reaction.

  Eventually she ended up interacting with the giant for the rest of the night. She liked Grawp and the feeling seemed mutual. It came natural to her. She was more than willing to look after Grawp and spent time with him in case Hagrid was forced to leave Hogwarts.

  "You're crazy, did you know?" Ron chuckled, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder. They were seated in their common room.

  "Why thank you, Weasley. But how come?" she asked, resting her head back against his chest.

  "Grawp nearly crushed you to death and you just sat there with a grin on your face." Ron chuckled.

  "But he wasn't scaring me, he looked so innocent with those big gloomy eyes." Nevaeh said, pouting her lips thinking back about Grawp who she was quite font of.

  "Maybe you should dump me for him since we're not allowed within eight inches standing away from each other."

  Nevaeh was about to laugh when she sat up straighter and looked him into his eyes with a surprised expression. "Are you serious? Umbridge established that pathetic rule?"

  Ron looked at her in awe, listening to her addictive voice. The words rolling off her tongue with that Bulgarian accent was one of the things he liked the most. "Say that again." he said.

  "What?"  

  "Established." he mouthed exaggeratedly with an evident smirk on his face.

  "No." said Nevaeh, crossing her arms over her chest and knitting her eyebrows together like a little kid.

  "Please, say it again." Ron begged, jutting his lower lip out and giving her puppy eyes. Nevaeh let out a breathy laugh and playfully pushed his shoulder.

  "Fine!" she leaned closer, holding onto him while whispering in his ear "Established." She giggled at the sight of his satisfied smirk and leaned back against his chest.

  "But seriously, why did she make such a stupid rule?" Nevaeh sighed.

  "I dunno, but I don't think I'm capable of staying away from you." Ron muttered. Nevaeh's heart jumped and she smiled kissing him on the lips, lovingly.