'It's just... it's just too embarrassing!' Walking along the path outside Hogwarts Castle, Lyla covered her face with her hands.
She wished she could cast the Cruciatus Curse on herself for her recent behavior. 'If I keep overthinking like this... even all three Unforgivable Curses wouldn't be enough to punish my stupidity.'
She recognized Miss Granger, of course. They had crossed paths on the Hogwarts Express, and the Gryffindor girl was easily her most inquisitive student.
But to be a Hogwarts Professor and get lectured—or rather, helped—by her own student? Lyla couldn't be happy about it either way!
However, Miss Granger had pointed her in the right direction.
'That's right, Hagrid...' she realized. 'If I can just ask Hagrid for help, I won't have to go to Hogsmeade at all!' The thought of not having to squeeze through crowds of students made Lyla feel immensely relieved. She gently raised her wand and stepped behind a large bush.
A moment later, the hooded and masked Professor Hamilton reappeared. She couldn't ask Hagrid for help while disguised as a student, after all. Hagrid didn't know any third-year girl named Lyla.
'According to Miss Granger's directions, it should be here, right?' Looking at the small cabin near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Lyla pursed her lips beneath her mask and took a deep breath. Asking someone for help was a monumental, terrifying task for her.
It didn't help that the person she was asking was Hagrid. Although she knew he was kind, his enormous half-giant stature was objectively terrifying.
Hagrid's sheer physical presence was almost as panic-inducing as three-quarters of Professor Snape's gloomy aura.
"Oh? Professor Hamilton?"
"Ah!" The sudden booming greeting from behind made Lyla flinch violently. She instinctively drew her wand and stumbled several steps back.
"It's just me, Hagrid." The half-giant offered a friendly smile. Seeing his towering figure, Lyla nervously pursed her lips and carefully lowered her wand.
"Ha... Hagrid..."
'Did you learn Headmaster Dumbledore's terrifying trick of appearing out of nowhere whenever someone thinks about you?' "Were you looking for me?" Hagrid asked. He was carrying a massive package over his shoulder, looking as if he had just returned from an errand.
"Ah... yes..." Hagrid's question snapped Lyla back to reality. She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart.
"I wanted to ask you for a favor, Hagrid... I heard you were heading to Hogsmeade today. I was hoping you could bring back some ingredients for the Wolf—oof!"
"Ah, no... it's the Wolf... the Wolfsbane Potion's..."
"...ingredients," she finished weakly. Her request, which had started out surprisingly smooth, dissolved into a soft stammer after she accidentally bit her own tongue.
"Wolfsbane Potion ingredients?" Hagrid paused, scratching his tangled beard. "I am heading down to Hogsmeade... but I don't rightly know what goes into a Wolfsbane Potion."
"I... I can write the list down... and then..." Lyla stammered desperately. "And then... can you just buy them for me..."
'My face must be bright red under this mask,' Lyla thought miserably. 'I've made a complete fool of myself in front of him... biting my own tongue like an idiot. How can a sixty-eight-year-old Hogwarts Professor act like this?'
"The thing is, I wouldn't know how to pick out the good quality stuff," Hagrid admitted with a heavy sigh. "I'm no good at Potions."
"Brewing Wolfsbane must be mighty complicated, right?" he added. "If I buy the wrong roots or stale leaves, I could ruin the whole batch."
"Ah... that... that does make sense..." Lyla replied, a pit forming in her stomach. If Hagrid accidentally bought subpar ingredients, the entire cauldron of Wolfsbane Potion would be ruined.
'And I definitely don't have enough Galleons to replace a ruined batch... even with Mr. Lupin's brewing subsidy helping me out.' "Say, Professor Hamilton, are you busy this morning?" Hagrid asked suddenly, looking a bit confused. "Why don't you just come with me?"
"Because... because I..." Lyla nervously picked at the hem of her robes.
She absolutely could not admit that she didn't know the way to the village. That would be completely mortifying. She had already embarrassed herself in front of Hermione; she refused to do it again in front of Hagrid.
"I'm not... not busy... later," Lyla stammered, entirely failing to provide a solid excuse.
"Brilliant!" Hagrid beamed. He walked over to his front door and dropped his heavy package on the porch. "We can walk down to Hogsmeade together, then. It's not far. We'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"Ah! To... together?" Lyla squeaked, rapidly backing away and waving her hands in a panic. "No... no... there will be far too many people there..."
"I..."
"It won't be nearly as crowded as Diagon Alley," Hagrid said dismissively, shrugging his massive shoulders. "Besides, if we go together, I can carry your shopping."
He eyed her slender frame. "No offense, Professor, but you don't look like you can haul a month's worth of Potion ingredients on your own."
'Actually, I don't even have enough money to buy that many ingredients to begin with,' Lyla cried internally. 'And I have my Spatial Storage Book! But that isn't the point, Hagrid... the point is that I'm terrified of crowds!'
"Let's get going, Professor!" Hagrid said, completely oblivious to her internal panic. He laughed heartily, opened his front door, and whistled for the dog inside.
"This is..." Lyla trailed off, instinctively drawn to the massive boarhound that bounded out. Despite her anxiety, she had always loved animals.
In fact, she preferred the company of magical creatures over humans.
'Animals are smart, and more importantly, they don't talk,' she reasoned.
'They are infinitely easier to get along with than judgmental wizards or Veela-eating Muggles.'
'Mainly because they just don't talk.'
"This is Fang," Hagrid introduced, bending down to give the boarhound a heavy pat on the head. "He looks fierce, but he's actually a bloody coward."
'Is... is that so?' Lyla wondered.
Watching Hagrid, Lyla felt an overwhelming urge to pet the dog too. However, her anxiety held her back.
'What if he doesn't want to be touched?' "Do you want to pet him?" Hagrid chuckled, noticing Lyla staring eagerly at the hound. "Go on, Fang won't bite."
"Then... excuse me... Fang... Mr. Fang..." Lyla whispered. She slowly crouched down and reached out a trembling hand to stroke the dog's large head.
"Woof!" Startled by her sudden approach, Fang instinctively backed away.
However, seeming to sense Lyla's gentle nature, he cautiously stepped forward and raised his head.
'He's so... so warm...' Lyla thought as her fingers finally brushed against his fur. She gently stroked his head back and forth.
'So cute... he's so cute...' "Ah!" Lyla yelped. Fang, thoroughly enjoying the attention, had suddenly lunged forward and swiped his massive, wet tongue across her hand.
The slobbery surprise made her shriek and stumble back.
"Oi! Bad Fang!" Hagrid scolded, grabbing the dog's collar. "You really are a bad dog!"
"Sorry about that, Professor," Hagrid apologized, scratching his beard awkwardly. "He's just like that. Always slobbering all over cute girls..."
'Am I a cute girl?' Lyla stared blankly at her damp hand. 'I think Fang might just be a little hungry.' 'Besides, I'm not a girl... I'm already a sixty-eight-year-old adult!'
Still, having Fang accompany them made Lyla feel significantly more relaxed about the trip.
'At the very least, if Hagrid gets truly famished, he can eat Fang before he eats me, right?'
'Ah, that's just a joke, of course,' she quickly corrected herself. She didn't actually believe Hagrid ate people anymore. 'Of course not!'
'However...' she thought wistfully, glancing at the slobbering hound. 'It would be so much better if Fang could just walk me to Hogsmeade by himself.'