chap8pg1

The next few weeks went quickly for Harry. Surprisingly enough, he hadn�t had any classes with Slytherin yet, and he was hoping that he wouldn�t for a while. In Divination, Professor Trelawney hadn�t even predicted his death yet, and he had already been to her class three times. Hagrid�s lesson on Diricrawls was less than exciting, but since no one was hurt, the lesson was successful.
Even Snape, who seemed rather unpleasant, hadn�t given anyone detention yet, although he had subtracted a total of forty points from Gryffindor in one lesson. In his class, they were learning about the uses of Billywig stings for different potions. Most of the time, instead of teaching, he had been writing endless amounts of letters to different people. Harry wondered who they were for, but decided not to risk trying to find out.
During Quidditch practice, Ron did remarkably well for his first practice. Out of fifty shots on him by the different chasers, only eight made it through the hoops.
�See?� said Harry. �If you could play against a giant chess board and win, I knew being a keeper would be easy for you!� Ron grinned enormously, and Harry could tell that he was excited about being keeper.
Halloween was drawing nearer, and the students were getting more and more excitable every day. But many of the teachers seemed worn out, although Harry couldn�t understand why. Their lessons hadn�t been that tiring, so he didn�t see how they could all be so exhausted. Hagrid seemed very tired as well, and he wasn�t as eager about his lessons as he used to be. Harry noticed this, as did Ron and Hermione.
�D�you think we should go see �im?� Ron asked.
�I think that�s a good idea,� said Harry, �We should find out what�s troubling him.�
�We should go before dinner tonight,� Hermione suggested. The boys agreed, and after their Potions class, they set off to Hagrid�s cabin. When they went inside, they saw him packing a enormous suitcase.
�Oh, �ello there,� he said blankly. The three stared at him in disbelief.
�Are you� leaving?� Ron asked.
�Have to,� said Hagrid, �I got important business to do, and it�s got to be done soon.� He sighed, then zippered up his suitcase.
�You can�t leave,� cried Hermione, �You�re our favorite teacher!�
Hagrid smiled for a moment, but then frowned. �I told ya�, I�ve got important business ta� do, and it needs ta� be done quickly.�
�Can you at least tell us what this business is?� Harry asked.
Hagrid looked sternly at them. �Well,� he said, �I�m not supposed ta� tell you anything, but as long as ya� promise not ta� tell anyone��
�We promise!� they said in unison.
�Alright,� he started, �You know that You-Know-Who is tryin� to get everyone on �is side that he can, right? An� one group that we know he�s gonna try ta� persuade is the giants. Now, Dumbledore�s asked me to try to get the giants to join the wizards, before You-Know-Who can get to them. Understand?� he said. They nodded. �Good, now I�ll have you know, I�m not leavin� fer good, I�ll only be gone fer about a month �er so,� he said, �So, if ya� don�t mind, I�ve got ta� finish packin� my stuff before I leave, so I�ll see ya t�night at dinner, ok?�
�Ok,� said Ron. He frowned, and then opened the door to leave.
�See you later then,� said Harry sadly.
They left Hagrid�s hut and trudged back up to the castle. They didn�t say anything until they got back to the Gryffindor commons room, too stunned to speak. Finally, Ron broke the silence.
�I can�t believe it, he�s actually leaving,� he muttered.
�Well, he said he�s coming back after a month or so,� Hermione reassured him. Harry was upset about what Hagrid was doing, but he decided that it was for the best. The last thing they needed was a horde of giants on Voldemort�s side. Sadly, they all left for dinner.
When they got to the Great Hall, they saw that Hagrid was sitting in his usual seat, but he looked very dismal. They sat down at their table, looking worriedly at each other.
Suddenly, about a hundred owls flew in through the openings in the ceiling. They began dropping different things in the student�s laps. A letter dropped onto Neville Longbottom�s head. The Daily Prophet landed on Hermione�s plate. She looked at the front page. Suddenly, she smiled.