The article was about Hagrid being a half-giant, though it was a little different from the usual pieces Rita Skeeter was known for. It was rather tame in comparison.
She had only mentioned the fact that Hagrid was a half-giant, then went on to discuss why giants were hated by the wizarding world.
Maybe she had taken my warning seriously, sticking to the facts because she probably knew how close Hagrid and I were.
Though it didn't change the fact that, now that she had published Hagrid's heritage as a half-giant, and with the discrimination wizards were known for, it was bound to affect him enough to take some time off.
Ron, who had been silent until now, spoke up, his tone slightly bitter. "That woman's always making trouble. Hagrid's going to have a hard time with this."
With that, the lecture continued, and the unicorns proved to be quite effective at capturing the students' attention, making them quickly forget about Hagrid.
After the lecture ended, Hermione joined me, looking particularly pleased about the lesson." That was a really good lesson," Hermione said as we entered the Great Hall. "I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plank told us about unicorns."
I nodded. "Yeah, it was interesting. Though you're not going to like the reason we got her as a professor."
Hermione gave me a look. "What is it? Do you know why Hagrid is absent?"
"Well read this." I said while handing her the daily prophet article.
Hermione's mouth fell open as she read. Her reaction was exactly the same as Ron's.
"How did that horrible Skeeter woman find out? You don't think Hagrid told her?"
"No, of course not. I don't think it's something that he would willingly tell anyone, much less Reeta Skeeter." I told her calmly.
Hermione frowned, gripping the newspaper tightly. "Then how did she get this information? It's not something she would just write about without some proof."
"I did see Hagrid and Madam Maxime together at the yule ball. It could be that Hagrid shared this with her and Reeta somehow managed to hear this." I told her, as that was what happened in the cannon.
Though, I was too focused on Hermione to really pay that much attention to anything else in the yule ball.
Hermione's frown deepened as she considered my words. "Its possible. Hagrid must be devastated."
I sighed. "Yeah. That's why he hasn't shown up. He's probably avoiding everyone."
Ron, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "We should go see him. Let him know we don't care about what that old hag wrote."
Hermione nodded firmly. "Exactly. He needs to know he still has friends who support him."
That evening, after dinner, the three of us left the castle and made our way down through the frozen grounds to Hagrid's cabin. The cold winter air greeted us as we left the castle gate.
We knocked on the door, and Fang's booming barks answered immediately.
"Hagrid, it's us!" I called out, giving the door a few firm knocks. "Come on, open up!"
Hagrid didn't answer. Fang scratched at the door, whining, but Hagrid didn't respond. We waited a few moments before knocking again.
Then again. After a few minutes passed with nothing. Ron even went around to bang on one of the windows, but there was no movement inside.
"What's he avoiding us for?" Hermione asked, clearly upset. "He surely doesn't think we'd care about him being half-giant?"
I sighed. "Maybe he does. Or maybe he just doesn't want to face anyone right now."
Hermione's expression softened a little. "We'll try again. Maybe he just needs some time."
She looked at us both, determination in her eyes. "We just need to remind him we're here for him."
A week passed, and still, no one had seen Hagrid. He'd shut himself in his hut and hadn't left it at all.
It was a bit worrying, but I couldn't say I blamed him. With Rita Skeeter's article out there, it must have felt like the whole world was judging him.
Professor Grubbly-Plank continued to teach us Care of Magical Creatures, and honestly, she was doing a pretty good job.
More and more students started to warm up to her, especially since she kept bringing in mostly harmless creatures for us to work with.
It was a bit of a relief for them after some of the more dangerous beasts Hagrid liked to bring around.
Hermione and I tried to reach out to Hagrid, but he didn't want to meet with even us, so we stopped and focussed more on the second task.
After spending more time in the Room of Requirement, reading books and practicing spells, I finally settled on the method I'd use to tackle the task.
I also jokingly suggested another method. I had been thinking about using a spell that would part the lake like Moses, creating a clear path to get to her easily.
Hermione, of course, didn't miss a beat and actually believed I could do it (which, to be honest, I totally could). But she quickly shot it down, saying it would draw too much attention, especially after the first task.
"Do something more subtle and ordinary," she said. I couldn't argue with her logic, even if parting a lake would've been a pretty cool way to handle it.
So I settled for a more ordinary solution and decided to use that in the second task.
I also ran into Cedric one day, and he tried to give me a hint about what the next task was going to be.
He pulled me aside after class, looking a little hesitant. "Listen, Harry," he said quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening." Did you figure out the clue from the egg?"
"I figured it out some time ago," I replied. "Why, are you still stuck on it or something?" I asked teasingly, though I knew he wanted to return the favor after I'd helped him with the first task.
Cedric let out a small laugh, clearly relieved. "Well, I'm glad you figured it out. I wanted to tell help you if were stuck on it." he said.
"I wanted to ask you during the yule ball, but it looked like you were having too much fun with Hermione, so I didn't bother you two." he said teasingly to me.
I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, we had fun," I said.
Cedric grinned. "I noticed. But seriously, if you ever need any help with the tasks, you can ask. You helped me in the first one, after all."
"Thanks, Cedric," I replied, appreciating his offer.