The Half-Blood Prince

by J. K. Rowling

  The second group comprised ten of the silliest girls Harry had ever encountered, who, when he blew his whistle, merely fell about giggling and clutching each other. Romilda Vane was amongst them. When he told them to leave the pitch they did so quite cheerfully and went to sit in the stands to heckle everyone else.

  The third group had a pile-up halfway around the pitch. Most of the fourth group had come without broomsticks. The fifth group were Hufflepuffs.

  ‘If there’s anyone else here who’s not from Gryffindor,’ roared Harry, who was starting to get seriously annoyed, ‘leave now, please!’

  There was a pause, then a couple of little Ravenclaws went sprinting off the pitch, snorting with laughter.

  After two hours, many complaints and several tantrums, one involving a crashed Comet Two Sixty and several broken teeth, Harry had found himself three Chasers: Katie Bell, returned to the team after an excellent trial, a new find called Demelza Robins, who was particularly good at dodging Bludgers, and Ginny Weasley, who had outflown all the competition and scored seventeen goals to boot. Pleased though he was with his choices, Harry had also shouted himself hoarse at the many complainers and was now enduring a similar battle with the rejected Beaters.

  ‘That’s my final decision and if you don’t get out of the way for the Keepers I’ll hex you,’ he bellowed.

  Neither of his chosen Beaters had the old brilliance of Fred and George, but he was still reasonably pleased with them: Jimmy Peakes, a short but broad-chested third-year who had managed to raise a lump the size of an egg on the back of Harry’s head with a ferociously hit Bludger, and Ritchie Coote, who looked weedy but aimed well. They now joined the spectators in the stands to watch the selection of their last team member.

  Harry had deliberately left the trial of the Keepers until last, hoping for an emptier stadium and less pressure on all concerned. Unfortunately, however, all the rejected players and a number of people who had come down to watch after a lengthy breakfast had joined the crowd by now, so that it was larger than ever. As each Keeper flew up to the goalhoops, the crowd roared and jeered in equal measure. Harry glanced over at Ron, who had always had a problem with nerves; Harry had hoped that winning their final match last term might have cured it, but apparently not: Ron was a delicate shade of green.

  None of the first five applicants saved more than two goals apiece. To Harry’s great disappointment, Cormac McLaggen saved four penalties out of five. On the last one, however, he shot off in completely the wrong direction; the crowd laughed and booed and McLaggen returned to the ground grinding his teeth.

  Ron looked ready to pass out as he mounted his Cleansweep Eleven.

  ‘Good luck!’ cried a voice from the stands. Harry looked around, expecting to see Hermione, but it was Lavender Brown. He would have quite liked to have hidden his face in his hands, as she did a moment later, but thought that as the Captain he ought to show slightly more grit, and so turned to watch Ron do his trial.

  Yet he need not have worried: Ron saved one, two, three, four, five penalties in a row. Delighted, and resisting joining in the cheers of the crowd with difficulty, Harry turned to McLaggen to tell him that, most unfortunately, Ron had beaten him, only to find McLaggen’s red face inches from his own. He stepped back hastily.

  ‘His sister didn’t really try,’ said McLaggen menacingly. There was a vein pulsing in his temple like the one Harry had often admired in Uncle Vernon’s. ‘She gave him an easy save.’

  ‘Rubbish,’ said Harry coldly. ‘That was the one he nearly missed.’

  McLaggen took a step nearer Harry, who stood his ground this time.

  ‘Give me another go.’

  ‘No,’ said Harry. ‘You’ve had your go. You saved four. Ron saved five. Ron’s Keeper, he won it fair and square. Get out of my way.’

  He thought for a moment that McLaggen might punch him, but he contented himself with an ugly grimace and stormed away, growling what sounded like threats to thin air.

  Harry turned round to find his new team beaming at him.

  ‘Well done,’ he croaked. ‘You flew really well –’

  ‘You did brilliantly, Ron!’

  This time it really was Hermione running towards them from the stands; Harry saw Lavender walking off the pitch, arm in arm with Parvati, a rather grumpy expression on her face. Ron looked extremely pleased with himself and even taller than usual as he grinned around at the team and at Hermione.

  After fixing the time of their first full practice for the following Thursday, Harry, Ron and Hermione bade goodbye to the rest of the team and headed off towards Hagrid’s. A watery sun was trying to break through the clouds now and it had stopped drizzling at last. Harry felt extremely hungry; he hoped there would be something to eat at Hagrid’s.

  ‘I thought I was going to miss that fourth penalty,’ Ron was saying happily. ‘Tricky shot from Demelza, did you see, had a bit of spin on it –’

  ‘Yes, yes, you were magnificent,’ said Hermione, looking amused.

  ‘I was better than that McLaggen anyway,’ said Ron in a highly satisfied voice. ‘Did you see him lumbering off in the wrong direction on his fifth? Looked like he’d been Confunded …’

  To Harry’s surprise, Hermione turned a very deep shade of pink at these words. Ron noticed nothing; he was too busy describing each of his other penalties in loving detail.

  The great grey Hippogriff, Buckbeak, was tethered in front of Hagrid’s cabin. He clicked his razor-sharp beak at their approach and turned his huge head towards them.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said Hermione nervously. ‘He’s still a bit scary, isn’t he?’

  ‘Come off it, you’ve ridden him, haven’t you?’ said Ron.

  Harry stepped forwards and bowed low to the Hippogriff without breaking eye contact or blinking. After a few seconds, Buckbeak sank into a bow too.

  ‘How are you?’ Harry asked him in a low voice, moving forwards to stroke the feathery head. ‘Missing him? But you’re OK here with Hagrid, aren’t you?’

  ‘Oi!’ said a loud voice.

  Hagrid had come striding round the corner of his cabin wearing a large flowery apron and carrying a sack of potatoes. His enormous boarhound, Fang, was at his heels; Fang gave a booming bark and bounded forwards.

  ‘Git away from him! He’ll have yer fingers – oh. It’s yeh lot.’

  Fang was jumping up at Hermione and Ron, attempting to lick their ears. Hagrid stood and looked at them all for a split second, then turned and strode into his cabin, slamming the door behind him.

  ‘Oh dear!’ said Hermione, looking stricken.

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Harry grimly. He walked over to the door and knocked loudly.

  ‘Hagrid! Open up, we want to talk to you!’

  There was no sound from within.

  ‘If you don’t open the door, we’ll blast it open!’ Harry said, pulling out his wand.

  ‘Harry!’ said Hermione, sounding shocked. ‘You can’t possibly –’

  ‘Yeah, I can!’ said Harry. ‘Stand back –’

  But before he could say anything else, the door flew open again as Harry had known it would, and there stood Hagrid, glowering down at him and looking, despite the flowery pinny, positively alarming.

  ‘I’m a teacher!’ he roared at Harry. ‘A teacher, Potter! How dare yeh threaten ter break down my door!’

  ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ said Harry, emphasising the last word as he stowed his wand inside his robes.

  Hagrid looked stunned.

  ‘Since when have yeh called me “sir”?’

  ‘Since when have you called me “Potter”?’

  ‘Oh, very clever,’ growled Hagrid. ‘Very amusin’. That’s me outsmarted, innit? All righ’, come in then, yeh ungrateful little …’

  Mumbling darkly, he stood back to let them pass. Hermione scurried in after Harry, looking rather frightened.

  ‘Well?’ said Hagrid grumpily, as Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down around his enormous wooden table, Fang
laying his head immediately upon Harry’s knee and drooling all over his robes. ‘What’s this? Feelin’ sorry for me? Reckon I’m lonely or summat?’

  ‘No,’ said Harry at once. ‘We wanted to see you.’

  ‘We’ve missed you!’ said Hermione tremulously.

  ‘Missed me, have yeh?’ snorted Hagrid. ‘Yeah. Righ’.’

  He stomped around, brewing up tea in his enormous copper kettle, muttering all the while. Finally he slammed down three bucket-sized mugs of mahogany-brown tea in front of them and a plate of his rock cakes. Harry was hungry enough even for Hagrid’s cooking, and took one at once.

  ‘Hagrid,’ said Hermione timidly, when he joined them at the table and started peeling his potatoes with a brutality that suggested that each tuber had done him a great personal wrong, ‘we really wanted to carry on with Care of Magical Creatures, you know.’

  Hagrid gave another great snort. Harry rather thought some bogies landed on the potatoes, and was inwardly thankful that they were not staying for dinner.

  ‘We did!’ said Hermione. ‘But none of us could fit it into our timetables!’

  ‘Yeah. Righ’,’ said Hagrid again.

  There was a funny squelching sound and they all looked around: Hermione let out a tiny shriek and Ron leapt out of his seat and hurried around the table away from the large barrel standing in the corner that they had only just noticed. It was full of what looked like foot-long maggots; slimy, white and writhing.

  ‘What are they, Hagrid?’ asked Harry, trying to sound interested rather than revolted, but putting down his rock cake all the same.

  ‘Jus’ giant grubs,’ said Hagrid.

  ‘And they grow into …?’ said Ron, looking apprehensive.

  ‘They won’ grow inter nuthin’,’ said Hagrid. ‘I got ’em ter feed ter Aragog.’

  And without warning, he burst into tears.

  ‘Hagrid!’ cried Hermione, leaping up, hurrying around the table the long way to avoid the barrel of maggots, and putting an arm around his shaking shoulders. ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s … him …’ gulped Hagrid, his beetle-black eyes streaming as he mopped his face with his apron. ‘It’s … Aragog … I think he’s dyin’ … he got ill over the summer an’ he’s not gettin’ better … I don’ know what I’ll do if he … if he … we’ve bin tergether so long …’

  Hermione patted Hagrid’s shoulder, looking at a complete loss for anything to say. Harry knew how she felt. He had known Hagrid to present a vicious baby dragon with a teddy bear, seen him croon over giant scorpions with suckers and stings, attempt to reason with his brutal giant of a half-brother, but this was perhaps the most incomprehensible of all his monster fancies: the gigantic talking spider, Aragog, that dwelled deep in the Forbidden Forest and which he and Ron had only narrowly escaped four years previously.

  ‘Is there – is there anything we can do?’ Hermione asked, ignoring Ron’s frantic grimaces and head-shakings.

  ‘I don’ think there is, Hermione,’ choked Hagrid, attempting to stem the flood of his tears. ‘See, the rest o’ the tribe … Aragog’s family … they’re gettin’ a bit funny now he’s ill … bit restive …’

  ‘Yeah, I think we saw a bit of that side of them,’ said Ron in an undertone.

  ‘… I don’ reckon it’d be safe fer anyone but me ter go near the colony at the mo’,’ Hagrid finished, blowing his nose hard on his apron and looking up. ‘But thanks fer offerin’, Hermione … it means a lot …’

  After that the atmosphere lightened considerably, for although neither Harry nor Ron had shown any inclination to go and feed giant grubs to a murderous, gargantuan spider, Hagrid seemed to take it for granted that they would have liked to have done and became his usual self once more.

  ‘Ar, I always knew yeh’d find it hard ter squeeze me inter yeh timetables,’ he said gruffly, pouring them more tea. ‘Even if yeh applied fer Time-Turners –’

  ‘We couldn’t have done,’ said Hermione. ‘We smashed the entire stock of Ministry Time-Turners when we were there in the summer. It was in the Daily Prophet.’

  ‘Ar, well then,’ said Hagrid. ‘There’s no way yeh could’ve done it … I’m sorry I’ve bin – yeh know – I’ve jus’ bin worried abou’ Aragog … an’ I did wonder whether, if Professor Grubbly-Plank had bin teachin’ yeh –’

  At which all three of them stated categorically and untruthfully that Professor Grubbly-Plank, who had substituted for Hagrid a few times, was a dreadful teacher, with the result that by the time Hagrid waved them off the premises at dusk, he looked quite cheerful.

  ‘I’m starving,’ said Harry, once the door had closed behind them and they were hurrying through the dark and deserted grounds; he had abandoned the rock cake after an ominous cracking noise from one of his back teeth. ‘And I’ve got that detention with Snape tonight, I haven’t got much time for dinner …’

  As they came into the castle they spotted Cormac McLaggen entering the Great Hall. It took him two attempts to get through the doors; he ricocheted off the frame on the first attempt. Ron merely guffawed gloatingly and strode off into the Hall after him, but Harry caught Hermione’s arm and held her back.

  ‘What?’ said Hermione defensively.

  ‘If you ask me,’ said Harry quietly, ‘McLaggen looks like he was Confunded. And he was standing right in front of where you were sitting.’

  Hermione blushed.

  ‘Oh, all right then, I did it,’ she whispered. ‘But you should have heard the way he was talking about Ron and Ginny! Anyway, he’s got a nasty temper, you saw how he reacted when he didn’t get in – you wouldn’t have wanted someone like that on the team.’

  ‘No,’ said Harry. ‘No, I suppose that’s true. But wasn’t that dishonest, Hermione? I mean, you’re a prefect, aren’t you?’

  ‘Oh, be quiet,’ she snapped, as he smirked.

  ‘What are you two doing?’ demanded Ron, reappearing in the doorway to the Great Hall and looking suspicious.

  ‘Nothing,’ said Harry and Hermione together, and they hurried after Ron. The smell of roast beef made Harry’s stomach ache with hunger, but they had barely taken three steps towards the Gryffindor table when Professor Slughorn appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

  ‘Harry, Harry, just the man I was hoping to see!’ he boomed genially, twiddling the ends of his walrus moustache and puffing out his enormous belly. ‘I was hoping to catch you before dinner! What do you say to a spot of supper tonight in my rooms instead? We’re having a little party, just a few rising stars. I’ve got McLaggen coming, and Zabini, the charming Melinda Bobbin – I don’t know whether you know her? Her family owns a large chain of apothecaries – and, of course, I hope very much that Miss Granger will favour me by coming, too.’

  Slughorn made Hermione a little bow as he finished speaking. It was as though Ron was not present; Slughorn did not so much as look at him.

  ‘I can’t come, Professor,’ said Harry at once. ‘I’ve got a detention with Professor Snape.’

  ‘Oh dear!’ said Slughorn, his face falling comically. ‘Dear, dear, I was counting on you, Harry! Well, now, I’ll just have to have a word with Severus and explain the situation, I’m sure I’ll be able to persuade him to postpone your detention. Yes, I’ll see you both later!’

  He bustled away out of the Hall.

  ‘He’s got no chance of persuading Snape,’ said Harry, the moment Slughorn was out of earshot. ‘This detention’s already been postponed once; Snape did it for Dumbledore, but he won’t do it for anyone else.’

  ‘Oh, I wish you could come, I don’t want to go on my own!’ said Hermione anxiously; Harry knew that she was thinking about McLaggen.

  ‘I doubt you’ll be alone, Ginny’ll probably be invited,’ snapped Ron, who did not seem to have taken kindly to being ignored by Slughorn.

  After dinner they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was very crowded, as most people had finished dinner by now, but they managed to find a free
table and sat down; Ron, who had been in a bad mood ever since the encounter with Slughorn, folded his arms and frowned at the ceiling. Hermione reached out for a copy of the Evening Prophet, which somebody had left abandoned on a chair.

  ‘Anything new?’ said Harry.

  ‘Not really …’ Hermione had opened the newspaper and was scanning the inside pages. ‘Oh, look, your dad’s in here, Ron – he’s all right!’ she added quickly, for Ron had looked round in alarm. ‘It just says he’s been to visit the Malfoys’ house. “This second search of the Death Eater’s residence does not seem to have yielded any results. Arthur Weasley of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects said that his team had been acting upon a confidential tip-off.” ’

  ‘Yeah, mine!’ said Harry. ‘I told him at King’s Cross about Malfoy and that thing he was trying to get Borgin to fix! Well, if it’s not at their house, he must have brought whatever it is to Hogwarts with him –’

  ‘But how can he have done, Harry?’ said Hermione, putting down the newspaper with a surprised look. ‘We were all searched when we arrived, weren’t we?’

  ‘Were you?’ said Harry, taken aback. ‘I wasn’t!’

  ‘Oh no, of course you weren’t, I forgot you were late … well, Filch ran over all of us with Secrecy Sensors when we got into the Entrance Hall. Any Dark object would have been found, I know for a fact Crabbe had a shrunken head confiscated. So you see, Malfoy can’t have brought in anything dangerous!’

  Momentarily stymied, Harry watched Ginny Weasley playing with Arnold the Pygmy Puff for a while before seeing a way around this objection.

  ‘Someone’s sent it to him by owl, then,’ he said. ‘His mother or someone.’

  ‘All the owls are being checked, too,’ said Hermione. ‘Filch told us so when he was jabbing those Secrecy Sensors everywhere he could reach.’