Phoenix|| A Harry Potter Love Story

12

Rosie, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were on their way to Hagrid's Hut. They were worried about him. He had not be seen for a long time, and some old, weary lady filled in for him in his class of Care of Magical Creatures. She was not a good teacher and loved long lectures; something that Hagrid has despised. They dearly missed Hagrid in more ways than one.

Harry stepped onto the terrace in front of his door and knocked on it, "Hagrid?"

No answer.

"Hagrid!"

There was no answer, but they heard some strange noises coming from inside, so they opened the door anyway. This was the kind of situation where you could get away from something like that, for someone's safety. 

Hagrid was in the corner of his hut, as they walked closer they saw that he was not the usual go-lucky large man he usually was. He had bags under his eyes, and his eyes were a deep bloodshot around his eyes. 

Hermione rushed towards the half-giant, crouching toward him, "H-hagrid, W-what's wrong?" 

"I-uh," He took a breath and handed the newspaper to the bushy-haired girl, "Read it." 

Hermione grabbed the paper, held it in front of her face, with shaky hands and she began to read, "Rubeus Hagrid, the keeper of Keys at Hogwarts is not who he says. Hagrid has a secret, or rather a lot of doors that need to be opened. The first secret is, he is a half-giant. He has been hiding this for a long time, and this is not the only piece of information that I know. What is the reason that he was expelled from Hogwarts..." 

At this point, Hermione stopped reading. It got much worse from there, and some of the things that were said were not at all, or remotely nice. She couldn't read anymore. 

"Hagrid," Harry replied, taking a few steps closer to the man, "Rita Skeeter is a terrible woman. She is a no-good, ba-" 

Hagrid cut him off, "I know, I know, yer tried to warn me 'bout her. I shoulda listened to ya 'arry. I'm sorry." 

Harry nodded his head, "Yea, but what's done is done, Hagrid. Come back to class, please come back." 

Hagrid shook his head, "No." 

"But Hagrid, we all need you!" Ron bartered, "This other woman is an absolute drag. She just wants us to take notes, please Hagrid!"

Hermione stepped in front of Ron, deciding to take a different approach to it, "Hagrid, what Ronald,  was trying to say that you are more loved in that class than you know. We all look forward to the class."

Hagrid turned up and looked at them, "Thanks Hermione, thanks all of you. But, I'm goin' to er- take a break. I think I need that." 

"Are you sure Hagrid," Rosie asked, "Is there nothing that we can do to change your mind?"

Hagrid shook his head, "No. Um- at least not now, anyway." 

--

"That miserable woman!" Rosie exclaimed, flaring her arms in the air while she walked with three friends, "How could she write something.. like that? That is totally rude, and an extreme invasion of privacy. She is just... arghhh!" 

Harry agreed, "I mean, I don't mind her writing stuff about me, but Hagrid? The same Hagrid that brings in the Christmas trees each year, the same Hagrid that helps people feel welcome? That Hagrid? He is the farthest from a terrible guy." 

"It is completely wrong," Hermione interjected, "I feel as if I should write a complaint to the Daily Prophet. But it wouldn't do any good. She's their best reporter, they would never let her go."

The four of them; Ron, Hermione, Rosie and Harry; fell silent as they walked through the castle, all the way to the common room. None of them uttered a word as they got there. Hermione made her way up to the dormitory, probably to have a quiet place to think, and Ron made his way up to his room as well, but to do what, that was the question. Harry was up in his dormitory for a while, but before long, he made his way out of the dormitory unto the castle. 

Rosie, on the other hand, made her way to her favorite place in the common room. Next to the fire. She sat all alone by the fire, but it wasn't lonely. It was peaceful. She put a warm blanket over herself, and she stared out, not thinking of anything, but everything at the same time. That was until she was taken out of her fateful bliss. 

"Rosie," a male voice uttered behind her. She turned around and her gaze hardened. It was Seamus Finnegan. 

"Hi Seamus," She replied, feeling the air cool around her. 

He stood in front of her, in a soft voice he said, "I came to talk to you, Rosie. I-I know that what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry for that, I am. But, I had to, I didn't want to have bad words spread about me. I couldn't have myself looking like some lovesick crybaby."

Rosie breathed in, letting her anger spill out a bit in her words, "Well now you look like a stupid git, is that any better?"

"Actually..... yes, it is," He replied to her, puffing out his chest in pride, "But you didn't need to yell everything to the entire bloody school! Even me Mum has sent me a letter about it! Me Mum!"

She stood up, and put a finger on his chest, "You brought that on yourself."

He shook his head defiantly, and took a step back, "No, I did not. I was protecting myself! You were going to tell e-" 

"I only told Hermione," She replied in a weak voice, looking at everywhere but at him, "I only told Hermione. And I was only going to tell her. No one else." 

Seamus looked stumped, "I- uh, I-I, Oh wow. I really screwed up, didn't I? I've blown any chance with you now, haven't I?"

"Seamus," She said, now looking at him and not anywhere but, "there was never going to be an us. I don't like you. I don't mean that as an insult. But I don't. I just want to be your friend, a good friend. 

His eyes hit the floor for a second and then he looked up at her with sad eyes, "I don't think that I can do that Rosie. I care about you. I really, really care about you, but I can't. I can't do that." 

She nodded, "What if we are friendly, will that work?"

"Yea, I think that would be okay," Seamus replied, "I think that I would be okay with that." 

Nothing more could be said. The moment that followed was very uncomfortable, as they both avoided the eyesight of one another. Seamus took this as a cue to leave and he turned around and made his way up to his dormitory, leaving Rosie with her thoughts. Thoughts of reflection and realization entered her brain. She felt guilty for not taking him on, but she knew that if she had, it would be a lie, and a lot more guilt would make its way into her thoughts. She couldn't do that to him, and more importantly, she could not do that to herself. 

After she had resolved all of these issues in her head, it was a while past the time she should have been sound asleep. She walked up the steps, not making a sound, and she climbed into bed, falling into a peaceful sleep. 

Little did she know, a little while away, another boy was thinking about her. 

~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, so sorry about the wait. I am currently in my exam season, so I'm not going to stick to a specific day to post this story, but I can promise there will be a chapter every week. I tried to make this one as good as it could be, so I hope you enjoyed it.