Chapter 554: Abnormal Hagrid

Ron seemed to want to go back to Angelina for help, but no one else had any intention of moving.

"If you're going to ask Angelina for help, Fred and George will know the way. No need to wait until noon, everyone in the school will know," Hermione said. "Dumbledore will know that Ivan has told us about this method, and we'll be in big trouble."

"But..."

"I think Hermione's right, Ron!" Harry sighed and said, "Although this sounds really frustrating, we should obey the rules and not put our names in the Goblet of Fire."

"But..."

"I mean, it's best not to think about this again. The Triwizard Tournament trials are more dangerous than you can imagine," said Ivan. We'd better be quiet as an audience or we'd better help the champions..."

He looked at Harry, thinking about how to help him overcome the three difficulties.

"If Angelina becomes champion, I'll help her."

"Yes, I will too!"

"Well, what are we going to do today?" said Ron angrily, apparently finally giving up on the idea of putting his name on the Goblet of Fire.

"I'm going to go see Hagrid, we haven't visited him this week," said Harry.

"We should all five of us go and stay there until the dinner feast starts, that way we can make sure no one can put his name in the Goblet of Fire." Hermione said cheerfully, "And, I just realized, I haven't asked Hagrid to join the S.P.E.W. yet!"

Colin said he had no objection, as Ivan told them what Hagrid looked like this morning.

Hearing Ivan's description, Harry was very surprised and wanted to go over and take a look.

"The Scripps are really mean." Ron sighed and reluctantly followed them outside. "Well, let's go to Hagrid. I just hope he doesn't ask us to donate some fingers to the Scrygotes."

They left the castle and arrived at Hagrid's hut.

The Beauxbatons students seemed to have finished breakfast and were getting out of the carriage.

Ivan saw Gabrielle smiling at him, while Fleur and the other girls pretended not to see him.

Thinking about Gabrielle's words in the morning, he found it hard to imagine that they had talked about him for a long time the night before.

From their current attitude, Ivan also thought they were indifferent to some of their own.

Ron stared at Fleur's back until she and Madame Maxime entered the castle.

A few minutes later, the five of them arrived at Hagrid's hut. Harry knocked on the door, and Fang's thunderous barking answered instantly.

"It's about time!" Hagrid opened the door. "I thought you'd forgotten where I live!"

"We've been so busy!" said Hermione.

She looked at Hagrid in astonishment, and although she was prepared, she was still surprised by his attire.

Harry, Ron and Colin kept looking at Hagrid's strange hairstyle, as if they were frightened.

It was a shame, but they all avoided saying anything so as not to hurt Hagrid's self-esteem.

They entered and Hagrid's hut consisted of a single room, in one corner of which was a gigantic bed covered with a patchwork quilt.

An equally huge wooden table and chairs stood in front of the fire, beneath the number of cured hams and dead birds hanging from the ceiling.

They sat down at the table as Hagrid began to prepare tea, and soon found themselves engaged in a new discussion about the Triwizard Tournament.

Hagrid seemed as excited as they were, more so than they could have imagined.

"Wait," he said, smiling. "You're going to see things you've never seen before. The first task is... ah, but I mustn't say."

"Come on, Hagrid!" Harry, Ron, Hermione and Colin urged him, but he just shook his head, smiling.

Ivan was drinking tea. He didn't know if Hagrid was so happy for the fire dragon or for Madame Maxime, or for both.

"I don't want to spoil it for you," Hagrid said. "But it's going to be spectacular, I assure you. Those champions are going to have their work cut out for them. The truth is, I never thought I'd see the Triwizard Tournament again."

They ended up having lunch with Hagrid, although they didn't eat much. Hagrid had prepared what he said was a meat casserole, but after Hermione dug up a large claw in hers, the five of them rather lost their appetites.

They were still enjoying themselves, however. Harry, Ron and Colin tried to get Hagrid to tell them what the tournament tasks were going to be, and speculated on which of the participants had a chance of being selected as champions.

Looking at Ron, he seemed to have forgotten to put his name in the Goblet of Fire.

By three or four o'clock in the afternoon, a light rain had begun to fall.

It was cozy sitting by the fire, listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, watching Hagrid darn his socks and arguing with Hermione about house elves, as he flatly refused to join S.P.E.W. when she showed him his badges.

"It would be doing them a disservice, Hermione!" he said gravely, threading a huge bone needle with a thick yellow thread. "It's in their nature to take care of humans, that's what they like, see? You'd make them unhappy if you took their work away from them, and you'd insult them if you tried to pay them."

"But Harry and Ivan freed Dobby, and he was delighted about it!" said Hermione, "Ivan paid him too..."

"Yeah, well, there are weirdos in every race. I'm not saying there isn't the odd elf who will accept freedom, but you'll never convince most elves to fight for it. Really, this is impossible, Hermione."

Hermione made a disgusted face as she listened to him, and stuffed the box of badges back into the pocket of her cloak.

By half past five, it was getting dark.

Ivan, Harry, Ron, Colin and Hermione decided it was time to go back up to the castle for the Halloween party and, more importantly, the announcement of the school champions.

"I'll come with you," Hagrid said, putting away his darning, "just give me a second."

He got up, walked over to the dresser next to his bed and started looking for something inside it.

They didn't pay too much attention to him until a truly awful smell hit their nostrils.

They all couldn't help but cough and looked curiously at Hagrid.

"Hagrid, what is that?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"Huh?!" said Hagrid, turning around with a large bottle in his hand. "Don't you like it?"

"Is that aftershave?" said Hermione, her voice slightly choked.

"Er... Eau de cologne!" muttered Hagrid, suddenly realizing something, blushing. He said gruffly. "Maybe that's too much, I'm going to take it off, wait..."

He stumbled out of the hut, and they watched him wash vigorously in the barrel of water outside the window.

"Eau de Cologne?!" said Hermione in astonishment, "Hagrid?!"

"What's wrong with him?!"

"And that hair and that suit!"

"You'll find out soon enough!" Ivan lowered his voice and told himself he was going to send Hagrid a nice bottle of perfume this Christmas.