Harry Potter: The Gryffindor Warrior - HP / Hogwarts

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]

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"Harry, aren't you afraid of Snape at all?"

After leaving the Potions classroom, Ron couldn't help but approach Harry and ask, his face filled with both awe and disbelief.

"What's so scary about him? What could he possibly do to me?" Harry asked, trying to stay calm, even though, deep down, he was actually panicking.

"What else could I do? Parvati and Hermione were right beside me. Was I supposed to admit I was scared at that moment? Sure, my hands were trembling while I was cutting the herbs, but that's beside the point. No way, I have to keep my composure until the end!" thought Harry.

"But he's the Head of Slytherin..." Ron still seemed uneasy. Something about Harry's attitude didn't sit right with him. How could someone react like this? This was Snape, the legendary man who could make Gryffindor students stop crying just by looking at them!

"Hey, I noticed."

Seeing that Parvati, a few other Gryffindor girls, and even a pretty Slytherin girl were paying attention to their conversation, Harry knew he couldn't appear weak. Pulling himself together, he forced a calm demeanor and said:

"The school rules clearly state that professors can't punish students using magic. Even if it's a non-magical punishment, only the Head of House has the authority to discipline their own students. In other words, if Snape wants to punish me, he'd have to go through Professor McGonagall. And as you just pointed out, he's the Head of Slytherin. Do you really think he'd have the nerve to go whining to her about me?"

Harry had initially said this just to mess with Ron, but the more he spoke, the more sense it seemed to make. Thinking about it logically, Snape really couldn't do much to him after all.

"Could... that actually be true?" Ron was dumbfounded. It took him a moment to process before he finally responded with genuine admiration: "Harry, that's brilliant. You managed to think of all that so quickly."

By this time, the two had reached the Great Hall, when there was no feast, it was simply a dining hall, empty during off-hours.

Seeing that there were no girls nearby, at least, none close enough to hear, Harry finally exhaled the breath he had been holding. This time, he whispered: "No, I was actually pretty panicked at first. But then I thought about it, and honestly, it seems like nothing really happened, hehe."

That was only half true. Harry had been panicked in the beginning. But later, he started questioning his own fear, and in the end, he had simply bluffed his way through it.

"Huh?" Ron blinked, momentarily confused. Then, unable to help himself, he asked, "But what if Snape writes to your family? He might not be able to complain to Professor McGonagall, but he could always write to your parents."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? Which parent exactly would he be writing to?"

Snape, writing to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon to complain? Harry nearly burst out laughing. That letter would be tossed into the fireplace and burned within three seconds of reaching Aunt Petunia's hands, if there was even a fire going at the time.

"Oh... right. Sorry." Ron suddenly remembered that Harry didn't have parents and quickly waved his hands apologetically.

"It's fine, really." Harry shrugged it off, unconcerned. They had known each other for almost a week now, and he understood Ron well enough. He didn't mean anything bad, his mouth just tended to work faster than his brain.

Harry figured that if he were in a different environment, or at a different school, he'd probably be one of those unlucky kids who got bullied, but not in a way that made people sympathize with them.

After passing through the hallways, Harry and Ron stepped outside the castle. They had arranged to meet Hagrid that afternoon. Even though their Potions class had been unpleasant, it didn't dampen their excitement about seeing him.

Hagrid lived on the edge of the castle grounds, near the Forbidden Forest. Harry couldn't help but wonder, aside from being the Keeper of Keys and Grounds, was Hagrid also responsible for acting as a watchman between Hogwarts and the forest?

From Harry's perspective, Hagrid's sheer size was intimidating, making him a perfect choice for an outpost guard.

Compared to Hagrid himself, however, his house wasn't all that big. It was a small, pointed-roof hut, though slightly larger than a typical cottage, especially the door. Which made sense, considering a regular-sized door wouldn't be very convenient for someone like Hagrid.

A crossbow and a pair of large rubber boots sat by the doorstep.

Ron seemed very interested in the crossbow, but he was fairly certain that even if he and Harry used both hands and feet, they wouldn't be able to pull it open. Harry also doubted the crossbow was meant for hunting dragons, but it was probably strong enough to take down a rhino.

As for the boots, Harry figured that if he had been a five-year-old child, he could have easily used one of them as a boat.

Harry knocked on the thick, solid wooden door, producing a muffled sound. But it was clear that someone inside had heard, as Harry picked up the sound of a low bark from within.

A moment later, the door swung open, revealing Hagrid's large, bearded face, grinning as usual.

And beside him was a.

Well. At first, Harry thought it was a small black bear. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was actually a very large black dog. He suspected the dog had some kind of magical lineage, because he had never seen one that big, not even on television.

Holding the massive dog back, Hagrid stepped aside to let Harry and Ron enter.

Just like it appeared from the outside, the hut was a single large room. Everything was in one place, bed, table, chairs. Strips of bacon hung from the rafters, and a large stone stove sat on the floor.

"Relax, sit anywhere you like," Hagrid said, shutting the door behind them before finally letting go of the giant dog.

The dog immediately lunged at Ron, who happened to be standing closest, startling him. But, much like Hagrid himself, the dog turned out to be far less intimidating than its size suggested. Instead of attacking, it simply started licking Ron's ears with its massive tongue.

"This is Ron, the one you met on the first day of school."

Harry couldn't help but shudder as he glanced at Ron, whose face was still covered in drool from being licked but who, somehow, still looked ridiculously happy.

"A Weasley, I could tell at a glance." Hagrid chuckled heartily. "Your brothers, George and Fred, are easily the most mischievous students I've seen at Hogwarts in over fifty years. I swear, they've spent more time in the Forbidden Forest than I have! Anyway, this here is Fang."

Hagrid introduced his enormous dog and gestured for Harry to pet him, but Harry politely declined.

It wasn't that Harry disliked dogs or had a problem with petting one. But if there was even a slight chance of getting licked in the face the way Ron had been, then no, absolutely not.

Hagrid then asked Harry how his first week had been.

Before Harry could answer, Ron had already launched into the story of his legendary performance in Potions class.

"Well, Snape's always hated anyone who isn't in Slytherin, but I'll admit, he went a bit too far this time." Hagrid shook his head and hesitated before adding, "But, Harry, talking back to a professor still isn't the best idea. Especially since Potions is a required course. You won't be able to skip it until at least your fifth year."

"Wait, so you don't have to take Potions after fifth year?" Ron perked up at that revelation.

He might not have the nerve to stand up to Snape the way Harry had, but if he had a legitimate excuse to skip Potions, he would seize the opportunity in a heartbeat.

"Well, actually, a lot of students want to take Potions in their sixth year but aren't allowed to." Hagrid spread his arms wide. "Snape's quite strict when it comes to advanced classes."

And that was how Harry and Ron learned, for the first time, about the existence of the O.W.L. exams.

Technically, Ron should have already known about them, he had two older brothers who had taken them, and his third brother, Percy, would be sitting for his Ordinary Wizarding Level exams this year.

However, since there was a big age gap between Ron and his eldest brothers, and since he and Percy didn't exactly get along, he had never really paid much attention to the subject.

When Ron learned that only students who received an Outstanding on their O.W.L.s were allowed to continue Potions in sixth year, he immediately decided to intentionally lower his score on the exam.

The poor kid had no idea how difficult the test actually was. He'd realize soon enough, probably by the end of the year at the latest.

Surprisingly, Ron and Hagrid got along quite well.

It was probably because Ron had three older brothers, two of whom, Fred and George, were Hagrid's favorite troublemakers. Though, with twins, it was likely a love-hate relationship.

But the Weasley brother Hagrid truly liked was the second eldest, Charlie.

Harry recalled Ron mentioning that Charlie Weasley was studying dragons in Romania. Hagrid, on the other hand, had once said he had always wanted a dragon.

With that in mind, it wasn't surprising that he and Ron had common ground.

The water in the kettle had started boiling, so Hagrid poured each of them a cup of tea.

Harry didn't know much about tea, neither did his aunt and uncle, who were much more partial to coffee. He had drunk tea before, though. Once, a senior executive from some multinational company had visited their home, and Uncle Vernon had prepared tea to suit the guest's preferences.

Harry had taken a sip as well. He never understood why anyone liked the taste of what were essentially bitter leaves floating in hot water. It seemed to be one of those things that only so-called "elites" enjoyed.

In Harry's opinion, tea wasn't as good as coffee, coffee wasn't as good as a milkshake, and a milkshake wasn't nearly as good as a Coca-Cola.

Of course, if it was the pumpkin juice from Hogwarts, that was a different story. That stuff was delicious.

Tea usually came with snacks, and Hagrid was no exception. Unfortunately, the rock cakes he had prepared were, not exactly the best choice.

After struggling for quite some time without being able to break through the cake's impenetrable defenses, both Harry and Ron decided to give up.

When Hagrid set the tray of rock cakes on the table, Harry noticed a newspaper lying underneath.

It was the Daily Prophet, the most widely circulated newspaper in the British wizarding world, and possibly even all of Europe.

The headline on the front page caught his attention:

"Latest Report on the Unauthorized Break-in at Gringotts."

The Gringotts break-in had been a hot topic in the wizarding community lately.

Harry didn't have a newspaper subscription yet, but he had already paid for one and planned to start receiving it next month. The Weasley family, however, did have a subscription, probably because Percy needed to stay informed on current events. Even though Harry had only known him for a short time, he could already tell that Percy definitely planned to work at the Ministry of Magic someday.

The break-in incident had been covered extensively in the news.

But after skimming through the article, Harry realized there still weren't any major updates, the culprit had yet to be caught.

Looks like even goblins aren't as good as they claim to be. Harry thought to himself, though at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried about his gold in Gringotts.

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