Chapter 115: Release

The next afternoon, Harry, Hermione, Orli, and Ron stood outside Hagrid's hut, their eyes fixed anxiously on the far end of the grounds. The clear blue sky above the lawn signaled the arrival of summer, and the warm sun quickly turned their cheeks rosy.

"Are you sure Hagrid's coming back this afternoon?" Harry asked, standing on tiptoe to peer into the distance but seeing nothing.

"Dad sent an owl this morning. The trial's over," Ron said, a touch of pride in his voice. "At the last moment, Dumbledore brought out the Basilisk's eyes as evidence! I wish I'd been there to see the looks on their faces."

Hermione shaded her eyes with her hand, squinting into the sunlight. Suddenly, she let out an excited cry.

"Look over there!"

At the far end of the grounds, a massive figure appeared, running toward them with such force that the ground seemed to tremble with each step. Orli had never imagined that Hagrid's enormous frame could move so quickly!

"Harry!" Hagrid's booming voice carried across the grounds. He sniffled loudly, his giant strides eating up the distance in no time. Before they knew it, he had enveloped all four of them in a bone-crushing hug.

"Bless yeh, kids, bless yeh! Dumbledore told me everything..." Hagrid sobbed, his chest heaving like a bellows. Orli felt like she was being tossed about on a tiny boat in a stormy sea.

"How are you, Hagrid? Did they declare you innocent?" Harry asked, struggling to extricate himself from Hagrid's wild beard, which had left a few mysterious feathers stuck to his face.

"Oh, yes, yes! Once Dumbledore showed them the Basilisk's eyes, they didn't have a word to say..." Hagrid finally let them go and pulled out a massive, spotted handkerchief to blow his nose. Ron, who looked on the verge of suffocation, inhaled deeply.

"What about your wand? Did you get a new one?" Hermione asked. Expelled wizards always had their wands snapped in half, and Hagrid had been no exception.

"Dumbledore asked me, but I'm too used to my old pal," Hagrid said, pulling out a pink umbrella and giving them a conspiratorial wink.

"But now I'm cleared, innocent as can be—me and Aragog both. I'll take yeh to see him sometime; he's in the Forbidden Forest. You'll love him," Hagrid said.

"Aragog is..." Ron took an instinctive step back.

"An Acromantula," Hagrid said in a hushed voice. "I've been keepin' him hidden in the Forbidden Forest. He's doin' great—grown huge, bigger than a cow."

Ron's face contorted in horror as he glanced toward the Forbidden Forest, looking like he'd rather face a Basilisk than set foot in there again.

"Now that you've been cleared, maybe you could take on more than just being Keeper of Keys and Grounds?" Orli suggested, clearly uninterested in discussing spiders.

"Oh, Orli, that's a secret—for now, at least," Hagrid said with a grin. "But if any of yeh take Care of Magical Creatures in third year, yeh might be in for a surprise."

"All four of us signed up for Care of Magical Creatures! Are you going to be the professor?!" Harry exclaimed, his excitement barely contained.

"Not yet, Harry, not yet. Professor Kettleburn's finishin' this term before he retires. Don't want to upset him," Hagrid said, patting Harry's shoulder with a massive hand.

"All right, kids. We'll chat more later. For now, yeh need to head to Dumbledore's office. He's waitin' for yeh there."

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