Chapter 46: Sights in Diagon Alley
"Phew!"
Clutching the potion ingredients, Lyra let out a long breath... her luck this morning was truly terrible.
First, she had run into a huge crowd... then she bumped into Mr. Borgin... who actually tried to attack her just because his shop had been sealed.
Even though she had defeated him, she had been seen by a student...
That definitely was a student, right? Why was there a student in a sealed shop! Is the Ministry even doing its job properly?
I wonder if he understood my gesture... Please don't tell the Ministry about my unauthorized duel...
Lyra felt that if the Ministry found out, she would definitely be invited in for "tea"... and she might even run into Mr. Parkinson again.
But it was all over now. She just needed to take these Mandrakes back to the tavern... back to her quiet room, where she could be alone...
"Ah!"
Just as she was thinking this, she slammed headfirst into a wall... or rather, a man who was built like a wall.
"H-H-H-H-Hagrid!" Seeing who it was, Lyra stumbled back several steps, trembling.
It was the man-eating Mr. Hagrid!
Why are you... why are you in Knockturn Alley... Are... are you hungry?
"Eh?" The giant was stunned when he saw Lyra, then broke into a wide, toothy grin. "Miss Hamilton! Mornin' to yeh!"
"Ah... m-mornin'... morning." Lyra pressed her lips together and shrank back, tightening her grip on her wand. If Hagrid really was hungry, she would suggest he eat Mr. Borgin, who should still be unconscious.
"What've yeh bought there?" Because Lyra was wearing a mask, Hagrid didn't know she was already pale with fear. He smiled and said, "Stuff fer class?"
"N... No..." Lyra shook her head carefully. "These are for... brewing Wolfsbane... Wolfsbane Potion."
"Wolfsbane Potion?" Hagrid paused. He looked at Lyra thoughtfully and muttered, "Professor Dumbledore never said Miss Hamilton was a werewolf too..."
"T... Too?" Lyra froze. Does Hagrid know about Mr. Lupin?
"Ah... right, I got a friend, Lu... I shouldn't say that! I shouldn't say that!" Hagrid realized his slip and shook his head rapidly, but Lyra had already heard him.
"Do you know Mr. Lupin?" she asked, surprised.
"Ah... yeah." Hagrid scratched his head. "Remus an' I go way back. We're sort of friends."
Friends with Mr. Lupin! That means... Hagrid at least doesn't eat werewolves, right?
That should be good news...
"I... I see." Lyra nodded. "I... Mr. Lupin and I... are friends too."
"So please... please don't eat... eat me... I probably don't... taste very good."
Her timid statement left Hagrid stunned. He shook his head, his somewhat grimy face full of hesitation.
Then, he let out a hearty laugh. "Hahahahaha! Yeh sure got a sense of humor, Miss Hamilton!"
"Eek!" His laughter made Lyra scramble back several steps in fear. What do you mean I have a sense of humor... Does he mean asking him not to eat people is a humorous joke? Or is the fact that I don't taste good funny...
Either way, I'm not laughing!
Seeing Lyra retreat further, Hagrid finally seemed to understand. He quickly said, "Miss Hamilton, what I meant was... I don't eat people."
"Is... is that so?" Lyra asked in a small voice. "Really?"
"Even if you do... I... I won't tell the Ministry."
"Hahahahaha." Hagrid laughed again. "Giants haven't eaten people in ages."
"Besides, I ain't a pure giant. I'm a half-giant," he said, using his hand to compare his height to Lyra's. "If I was a real pure giant..."
"Yeh'd probably only come up to his knees, Miss Hamilton."
I shouldn't be... that... short, right?
But a half-giant... Lyra looked at Hagrid in surprise. It seems Hagrid is just like me...
Wait, did Hagrid just say he doesn't eat people?
Lyra's body trembled. Her pale face instantly turned red, and even her pointed ears flushed crimson.
I actually just said all those rude things based on my own assumptions!
"Sorry... I'm sorry, Mr. Hagrid! I didn't... I didn't mean to..."
"If you're angry... just go ahead and eat me..."
"Ah! No... that's not what I meant..."
This stupid mouth!
Whenever it matters, I can't say anything coherent!
Seeing the stammering Lyra, Hagrid laughed even louder. His booming voice echoed far down Knockturn Alley.
"Yeh really are an interestin' person, Miss Hamilton." He reached out and patted Lyra on the shoulder. With each pat, Lyra seemed to shrink a few inches.
"Sorry... sorry." Lyra, knees buckling under the force, was still muttering apologies.
"No need fer that, Miss Hamilton." Hagrid shook his head. "Professor Dumbledore told me all about yeh."
"About... me?" Lyra froze, looking at Hagrid. She remembered that Hagrid had almost blurted out her name when he first met Parkinson.
Dumbledore, you actually told Mr. Hagrid everything about me?
Ah... my story isn't actually anything special in itself... After all, Dumbledore doesn't know about Lord Grindelwald and me...
"Yeah." Hagrid shrugged. "About the fifty years..."
"Ah! Should we be talkin' about this here?" He suddenly realized something, looking around at the hurried wizards passing by.
"Probably... not?" Lyra said awkwardly. "There are... a lot of people here..."
"Then we'll talk about it at Hogwarts."
Shouldn't we talk about it even less at Hogwarts? If anything, we should talk about it at Nurmengard...
But hearing Hagrid say something that sounded like a conclusion to the conversation, Lyra nodded slightly. "I... I have things to do..."
"I'll go fir—" Before she could finish, she hurried away.
Hagrid watched her retreating figure, nearly tripping on the steps in her haste, and chuckled.
It's really hard to imagine that a girl the size of a student is actually over sixty years old... Is that what Veela are like?
Hagrid shook his head and walked toward Diagon Alley. He was planning to buy something to feed his spider friend, but he hadn't gone a few steps when he felt a tug on his sleeve.
"Harry?!" Seeing who it was, Hagrid's eyes widened. "What are yeh doin' here?"
"This ain't a place fer young wizards like yeh."
"Who... who was that just now?" Harry seemed in no mood to explain. He asked quietly, "The person you were talking to."
"Eh?" Hagrid paused. "Yeh mean Miss Hamilton?"
"I don't know his name... Wait, was that a 'Miss'?" Harry was stunned too.
"Yeah, Miss Hamilton is a half-breed..." Hagrid cleared his throat. "She's the new professor at Hogwarts."
"Have yeh met?"
"I think so?" Harry thought for a moment, then recounted what had just happened. When he mentioned the sickly green spell, Hagrid's expression instantly turned serious.
"Harry!" he interrupted. "Don't tell anyone about this..."
"I'll ask Miss Hamilton about it." He pressed his lips together, frowning. "Old Borgin must have gone mad..."
"Using the Killing Curse..."
"What's the Killing Curse?" Harry asked immediately upon hearing the term.
"Nothin'!" Hagrid realized he had slipped up again. He frowned and said, "Yeh'd best get out of here quickly!"
"It's better fer young wizards not ter know about this..."