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Chapter 991: Woo woo woo
🕑 Added 2024-01-14 18:58:43 +0000 UTCNo matter how to look at it, that place was perfect for Grawp to use as his lair.
According to Hagrid's character and past practices, he might even find a mate for Grawp.
Fall in love, mate, reproduce, fall in love again, mate again, and reproduce again.
Just like this, in a few decades, a brand new tribe of giants would appear in the forest near Hogwarts...
Following this topic, Evan hoped Hagrid would help him find a few animals as fighting practice objects, including Acromantulas.
Hagrid agreed, saying that Aragog had always been thinking about Evan and would definitely be willing to help him with this small favor.
Without the support of the evil god's power, the old spider was close to the end, likely to die at any moment.
This might not be a bad thing for him; after all, the price paid for the extended life span was to be dominated by the evil god.
Looking at his descendants, the ordinary ones were okay, but the larger ones had been twisted into something else.
Things were going well here for Evan, and Hagrid was willing to provide them with animals for combat training.
But Hermione's suggestions to persuade Hagrid to give up showing dangerous animals in class and to help him plan lessons made little progress and received no response.
Hagrid always emphasized that he wanted to give them a surprise.
Hermione wanted to explain Umbridge's situation to him, but Hagrid just wouldn't listen.
He kept telling Hermione that no one in their right mind would be willing to study thorns instead of Chimaeras.
Of course, he was giving an example!
He didn't have a Chimaera, not because he didn't want to raise one, but because it was hard for him to get Chimaera eggs.
Soon, everyone knew what his so-called surprise was: Thestrals.
Umbridge did not inspect Evan’s class, but she appeared in the fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures class, which was the class where Hagrid showed everyone the Thestral.
Evan later learned about the situation from Hermione and what she said about Hagrid.
In the forest, the students gathered around the Thestrals. They couldn't see them, but they could feel something moving.
"These Thestrals … who can tell me why some o’ you can see them an’ some can’t?" Hagrid said.
Hermione immediately raised her hand. After learning about Thestrals with Evan’s help on the first day of school, she had researched a lot.
“Go on then,” said Hagrid, beaming at her.
“The only people who can see Thestrals,” she said, “are people who have seen death.”
“Tha’s exactly right,” said Hagrid solemnly, “ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals have a kind of unique magical power..."
“Hem, hem.”
Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready.
Hagrid, who had never heard Umbridge’s fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest Thestral, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound.
He felt a bit worried; could this Thestral be sick, making such strange sounds?
“Hem, hem." Umbridge faked another cough.
“Oh hello!” Hagrid said, smiling, having located the source of the noise.
“You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?” said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she was addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. “Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"
“Oh yeah,” said Hagrid brightly. “Glad yeh found the place all righ’! Well, as you can see — or, I dunno — can you? We’re doin’ Thestrals today..."
“I’m sorry?” said Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. “What did you say?"
Hagrid looked a little confused about Umbridge's reaction.
“Er — Thestrals!” he said loudly. “Big — er — winged horses, yeh know!"
He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully twice, trying to show Umbridge what Thestrals looked like.
Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard, “‘has … to … resort … to … crude … sign … language …’"
She raised her head and smiled, "You continue with the class, don't worry about me."
“Well … anyway …” said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered. “Erm … what was I sayin’?"
“ ‘Appears … to … have … poor … short … term … memory …’ ” muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her.
The Slytherins looked as though Christmas had come two months early; Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage.
“Oh yeah,” said Hagrid, throwing an uneasy glance at Umbridge’s clipboard, but plowing on valiantly. “Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an’ five females. this one’s called Tenebrus…"
He patted the first horse to have appeared, even though many couldn't see it.
"Woo, woo, woo!" Tenebrus made a series of calls, nuzzling affectionately against Hagrid.
"… he’s my special favorite, firs’ one born here in the forest. Everyone can come over and touch Tenebrus, or ride it!"
"Sorry, are you aware,” Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, “that the Ministry of Magic has classified Thestrals as ‘dangerous’?"
“Thestrals aren’ dangerous! All righ, they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them, just like dogs..."
“‘Shows … signs … of … pleasure … at … idea … of … violence … ‘” muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again.
“No — come on!” said Hagrid, looking a little anxious now. “I mean, a dog’ll bite if yeh bait it, won’ it — but Thestrals have jus’ got a bad reputation because o’ the death thing — people used ter think they were bad omens, didn’ they? Jus’ didn’ understand, did they?"
Umbridge did not answer; she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, “Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk among the students and ask them questions about your past performance."
As she spoke, Umbridge gestured to make sure Hagrid understood. When she said "students," she pointed around at individual members of the class, when saying "walk among," she mimed walking, and for "ask questions," she pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.
Clearly, Umbridge wasn't evaluating Hagrid's teaching abilities; she was questioning his intelligence, treating him as if he were an unintelligent giant with whom communication was impossible.
Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as though he did not understand normal English.
Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now, and she still hated her terribly when she told Evan about it later.
“You hag, you evil hag!" she said angrily, "you awful, twisted, vicious toad!"
Umbridge finally asked Pansy Parkinson, having figured out the situation at Hogwarts over the past few days. She knew whom to avoid, whom to rely on, and whom to suppress. Most Slytherin students were on her side.
"My dear, do you find,” said Professor Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, “that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?"
Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter.
Her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles.
"No, I can't … because … well … it sounds … like grunting a lot of the time … I don't understand what he’s saying … or what those sounds mean." "
“Very well … ‘Unable of correct expression … can only make grunting sounds’." Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.
The few unbruised bits of Hagrid’s face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy’s answer.
