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Chapter 34: Such White Teeth
If any other wizard were to visit, most would find the house before them dilapidated and small, with nothing praiseworthy about it.
It was simply pieced together from ordinary wood, so cramped that the entire house consisted of a single room.
The decor inside was far from high-class. A bed was placed in a corner of the room, and there was no separate kitchen, only a brazier that served the dual purpose of heating and cooking. Cured hams and pheasants hung on the walls as smoked food—it was the standard setup for a hunter's cabin.
If not for William's former profession, which had made him overly sensitive to most magical raw materials, he would have thought the decor of this room and the clothes Hagrid wore were not worth much.
But the bunch of silver hair hanging from the ceiling alone was enough to leave him completely stunned.
A whole large bundle, several hundred strands at the very least—William's own wand core was made of this.
Although the price had been fluctuating quite a bit recently, even at its lowest point in the past few years, this entire bundle was valuable enough to trade for a detached house with its own yard on most streets in the Wizarding World.
And yet, this bundle of unicorn tail hair was just hanging there, as if it were a length of rope or some other trifle, clearly not given a second thought by its master.
William couldn't help but swallow, beginning to survey the room with newfound seriousness.
Before long, he discovered even more—on the wall hung a seemingly crudely made bow and arrow. The sheen from the arrowheads was clearly that of the metal Goblins often used to craft magical treasures. As for the fletching, it was simply the finest raw material for magical shorthand quills.
Although William's appraisal wasn't very precise, in terms of material price alone, a single one of those arrows was worth far more than a wand.
Using wands as ammunition—what was the difference between that and using gold for slingshot stones?
William couldn't help but grip his own wand.
He'd had drinks with Hagrid at The Leaky Cauldron two or three times, and Hagrid had boasted when he was drunk, but William had never imagined that the Hogwarts gamekeeper before him was a master of the humblebrag, a genuinely loaded individual.
While William was sizing up the room's furnishings, Hagrid hurried over to the owl by the window. He pulled some owl feed from a bag near the window and hastily tried to find a letter tied to the owl's leg.
But he was soon disappointed—there was no reply. The owl hooted as it ate its feed, even extending its leg to show that it hadn't brought back any letter.
"It's been a month," Hagrid said to William, disappointed.
"A month?"
"A month. Harry hasn't given me any response for a month. I sent him Rock Cakes for his birthday, hoping for a reply, but there's still nothing."
Hagrid's voice was filled with sorrow.
William could feel his sorrow. Judging from the look on Hagrid's face when he mentioned Harry, his friendship was not the least bit false. Having such feelings trampled upon was enough to make anyone miserable.
"Alright, Hagrid, don't be sad. Maybe something has happened on Harry's end."
William's mind raced as he tried to comfort the Big Guy before him, who was taller by half a body even when crouching. After hearing his story, it was hard for any normal person not to feel sympathy for this warm-hearted Big Guy.
At the same time, he mentally began to blame the Harry he had yet to meet.
*It's been a month, someone went out of their way to send you a birthday gift, and it's too much trouble to say thank you?*
"I figured as much. Those Muggles are abusing him. I gave them a proper warning, but I can't just go using magic—"
Hagrid held back his emotions, using the motion of pouring tea to wipe the corners of his eyes. Then he brought over the tea and a plate of dessert.
"Have some Rock Cakes first. We have to go to the castle later. I need to ask Professor McGonagall. Maybe those Muggles really are abusing Harry and not letting him reply to me."
*It's good that you can think that way...* William thought, casually picking up a Rock Cake. He tried to recall his memories of the boy named Harry.
He didn't have many related memories, but if his memory served him right, Harry and Hagrid's relationship seemed to be quite good later on.
*Perhaps he really is being controlled by the Muggles?*
*That's good, then. It's much better than coldly ignoring a friend,* William thought, relieved, and took a bite of the dessert in his hand.
He couldn't bite through it.
Refusing to believe it, William applied more force, and his teeth began to protest.
Afterward, he resignedly took a sip of tea and, with its help, barely managed to choke down one of the Rock Cakes.
*Heh...* If he remembered correctly, Hagrid had said he sent Rock Cakes as a birthday gift on Harry's birthday.
He looked up at the ceiling, speechless. If someone sent him a gift like this for his birthday, he would seriously consider ending the friendship.
"Shouldn't we be going soon? My appointment with Professor McGonagall is at ten. If we're slow on the way, we might not make it in time, right?"
William asked tentatively, trying to escape the remaining dessert.
"Good idea," Hagrid replied in his rumbling voice.
The two of them left Hagrid's hut and headed directly for the school castle.
Perhaps driven by the idea of getting there faster to ask if Harry was under house arrest by the Muggles, Hagrid's pace was much quicker than before. This left them with almost no time for conversation during the rest of the journey. Although Hagrid was considerate of William and didn't go at his top speed, the near-jogging pace left William with little mind to observe his surroundings.
*Forget it. I'll ask Hagrid to give me a proper tour after we're done. Right now, his mind is completely focused on Harry; he's probably in no mood to answer my questions.*
Passing one after another through the Greenhouse, the castle gates, the moving staircases, and past the living portraits, the two of them, moving at twice the normal walking speed, arrived directly outside Professor McGonagall's office.
Just as William thought Hagrid would knock and enter immediately, giving him no time to rest, the taciturn Big Guy who had been silent the whole way began to hesitate at the professor's office doorway.
Once William caught his breath and realized the other man wasn't waiting out of consideration for him but was simply caught up in his own turmoil, he found the whole situation amusing.
He figured the man was afraid of getting some bad news and had simply frozen at the doorway.
Without a word, he reached out and patted Hagrid's waist, gave him a resolute look, and then stepped forward to knock on the door of Professor McGonagall's office.
Although it was a bit earlier than their scheduled time, with Hagrid present, it couldn't be considered rude.
"Come in."
Professor McGonagall's voice came from within.
Hagrid hesitantly followed William into Professor McGonagall's office. Before William could explain why they had arrived early, another person in the office greeted him in a slightly surprised voice.
"Ah, Professor William! I didn't expect you would also choose to arrive early. It seems our discussion this morning will be a very pleasant one!"
*Who is this guy? Why are his teeth so white?*
(end of chapter)
If any other wizard were to visit, most would find the house before them dilapidated and small, with nothing praiseworthy about it.
It was simply pieced together from ordinary wood, so cramped that the entire house consisted of a single room.
The decor inside was far from high-class. A bed was placed in a corner of the room, and there was no separate kitchen, only a brazier that served the dual purpose of heating and cooking. Cured hams and pheasants hung on the walls as smoked food—it was the standard setup for a hunter's cabin.
If not for William's former profession, which had made him overly sensitive to most magical raw materials, he would have thought the decor of this room and the clothes Hagrid wore were not worth much.
But the bunch of silver hair hanging from the ceiling alone was enough to leave him completely stunned.
A whole large bundle, several hundred strands at the very least—William's own wand core was made of this.
Although the price had been fluctuating quite a bit recently, even at its lowest point in the past few years, this entire bundle was valuable enough to trade for a detached house with its own yard on most streets in the Wizarding World.
And yet, this bundle of unicorn tail hair was just hanging there, as if it were a length of rope or some other trifle, clearly not given a second thought by its master.
William couldn't help but swallow, beginning to survey the room with newfound seriousness.
Before long, he discovered even more—on the wall hung a seemingly crudely made bow and arrow. The sheen from the arrowheads was clearly that of the metal Goblins often used to craft magical treasures. As for the fletching, it was simply the finest raw material for magical shorthand quills.
Although William's appraisal wasn't very precise, in terms of material price alone, a single one of those arrows was worth far more than a wand.
Using wands as ammunition—what was the difference between that and using gold for slingshot stones?
William couldn't help but grip his own wand.
He'd had drinks with Hagrid at The Leaky Cauldron two or three times, and Hagrid had boasted when he was drunk, but William had never imagined that the Hogwarts gamekeeper before him was a master of the humblebrag, a genuinely loaded individual.
While William was sizing up the room's furnishings, Hagrid hurried over to the owl by the window. He pulled some owl feed from a bag near the window and hastily tried to find a letter tied to the owl's leg.
But he was soon disappointed—there was no reply. The owl hooted as it ate its feed, even extending its leg to show that it hadn't brought back any letter.
"It's been a month," Hagrid said to William, disappointed.
"A month?"
"A month. Harry hasn't given me any response for a month. I sent him Rock Cakes for his birthday, hoping for a reply, but there's still nothing."
Hagrid's voice was filled with sorrow.
William could feel his sorrow. Judging from the look on Hagrid's face when he mentioned Harry, his friendship was not the least bit false. Having such feelings trampled upon was enough to make anyone miserable.
"Alright, Hagrid, don't be sad. Maybe something has happened on Harry's end."
William's mind raced as he tried to comfort the Big Guy before him, who was taller by half a body even when crouching. After hearing his story, it was hard for any normal person not to feel sympathy for this warm-hearted Big Guy.
At the same time, he mentally began to blame the Harry he had yet to meet.
*It's been a month, someone went out of their way to send you a birthday gift, and it's too much trouble to say thank you?*
"I figured as much. Those Muggles are abusing him. I gave them a proper warning, but I can't just go using magic—"
Hagrid held back his emotions, using the motion of pouring tea to wipe the corners of his eyes. Then he brought over the tea and a plate of dessert.
"Have some Rock Cakes first. We have to go to the castle later. I need to ask Professor McGonagall. Maybe those Muggles really are abusing Harry and not letting him reply to me."
*It's good that you can think that way...* William thought, casually picking up a Rock Cake. He tried to recall his memories of the boy named Harry.
He didn't have many related memories, but if his memory served him right, Harry and Hagrid's relationship seemed to be quite good later on.
*Perhaps he really is being controlled by the Muggles?*
*That's good, then. It's much better than coldly ignoring a friend,* William thought, relieved, and took a bite of the dessert in his hand.
He couldn't bite through it.
Refusing to believe it, William applied more force, and his teeth began to protest.
Afterward, he resignedly took a sip of tea and, with its help, barely managed to choke down one of the Rock Cakes.
*Heh...* If he remembered correctly, Hagrid had said he sent Rock Cakes as a birthday gift on Harry's birthday.
He looked up at the ceiling, speechless. If someone sent him a gift like this for his birthday, he would seriously consider ending the friendship.
"Shouldn't we be going soon? My appointment with Professor McGonagall is at ten. If we're slow on the way, we might not make it in time, right?"
William asked tentatively, trying to escape the remaining dessert.
"Good idea," Hagrid replied in his rumbling voice.
The two of them left Hagrid's hut and headed directly for the school castle.
Perhaps driven by the idea of getting there faster to ask if Harry was under house arrest by the Muggles, Hagrid's pace was much quicker than before. This left them with almost no time for conversation during the rest of the journey. Although Hagrid was considerate of William and didn't go at his top speed, the near-jogging pace left William with little mind to observe his surroundings.
*Forget it. I'll ask Hagrid to give me a proper tour after we're done. Right now, his mind is completely focused on Harry; he's probably in no mood to answer my questions.*
Passing one after another through the Greenhouse, the castle gates, the moving staircases, and past the living portraits, the two of them, moving at twice the normal walking speed, arrived directly outside Professor McGonagall's office.
Just as William thought Hagrid would knock and enter immediately, giving him no time to rest, the taciturn Big Guy who had been silent the whole way began to hesitate at the professor's office doorway.
Once William caught his breath and realized the other man wasn't waiting out of consideration for him but was simply caught up in his own turmoil, he found the whole situation amusing.
He figured the man was afraid of getting some bad news and had simply frozen at the doorway.
Without a word, he reached out and patted Hagrid's waist, gave him a resolute look, and then stepped forward to knock on the door of Professor McGonagall's office.
Although it was a bit earlier than their scheduled time, with Hagrid present, it couldn't be considered rude.
"Come in."
Professor McGonagall's voice came from within.
Hagrid hesitantly followed William into Professor McGonagall's office. Before William could explain why they had arrived early, another person in the office greeted him in a slightly surprised voice.
"Ah, Professor William! I didn't expect you would also choose to arrive early. It seems our discussion this morning will be a very pleasant one!"
*Who is this guy? Why are his teeth so white?*
(end of chapter)
