harry! what d'yer think yer doin' down 'ere?
yer a mess! skulkin' 'round knockturn alley. dodgy place, harry. don't want no one ter see yeh down there. people'll be thinkin' yer up ter no good.
i was lookin' fer a flesh eatin' slug repellent. they're ruinin' the school cabbages.
ignore 'im, arthur. mr. weasley backs away. lucius malfoy tosses ginny's battered textbook back into her cauldron.
no malfoy's worth listenin' ter. rotten ter the core, the whole family.
got jus' the thing. set 'im down on that chair o'er there. as ron sits, hagrid pitches a bucket between his knees. harry and hermione glance up questioningly. hagrid shrugs.
better out than in. who was he tryin' ter curse anyway?
he didn'! harry looks confused. hermione glances at him, then away, obviously pained by this.
yeh see, harry. there are some wizards -- like malfoy's family -- who think they're better than everyone else 'cause they're what people call pureblood.
an' it's codswallop ter boot. dirty blood. there's 'ardly a wizard today that's not half-blood or less. if we 'adn't married muggles we'd've died out long ago. besides, they haven't invented a spell our hermione can't do.  don' you think on it, hermione. don' you think on it fer a minute.
gallopin' gorgons! slytherin's flyin' like they got dragon fire in their brooms.  ron fumes, looking as though he takes slytherin's dominance personally. taking hagrid's giant binoculars, he trains them on the faculty box -- where lucius malfoy sits next to snape. harry circles high above the pitch, searching for the golden snitch. suddenly, malfoy streaks by overhead.
blimey, harry's got 'imself a rogue bludger!
look fer yerself! it's bin' tampered with! harry executes a series of zigs, zags, loops and rolls, trying to shake the bludger, but the bludger is relentless. ron instinctively draws his wand, begins to point it toward harry and the bludger, when.  hermione's hand intercedes. she glances knowingly at his fractured wand.
brok'n? he doesn't 'ave any bones at all! harry looks: his arm looks like an empty rubber glove.
all righ', harry?
second one killed this term. reckon it's either foxes or a blood-suckin' bugbear. need dumbledore's permission ter put a charm round the hen-coop. yeh sure yeh're all righ', harry? yeh look all hot an' bothered.
it wasn't harry, professor dumbledore!
i was talkin' ter 'im jus' before that kid was found. it can't've bin 'im!
i'll swear ter it in front o' the ministry o' magic --
oh. right. i'll wait outside then. as hagrid exits, harry looks hopefully at dumbledore.
mad an' hairy? wouldn' be talkin' 'bou me, now would yeh? the trio wheels, spots hagrid grinning at them. they instantly look guilty.
flesh-eatin' slug repellent. fer the mandrakes, yeh know. accordin' ter professor sprout, they still got a bit o' growin' up ter do, but once their acne clears up, we'll be able to chop 'em up, stew 'em, an' get those people in the hospital un-petrified. 'til then, you three best watch yerselves, all righ'? they nod, watch hagrid lope away. just then, neville comes running up. he looks pale with fright.
who's there?
nothin', nothin'. i've been expectin'.  doesn't matter. sit down.  i'll make tea.  hagrid nervously takes the kettle, spills the water.
oh, yea. i heard, all righ'.
c-come in. the door opens. a grim dumbledore enters, followed by a portly man in a pin-stripe suit and bowler: cornelius
i never.  you know i never, professor dumbledore, sir.
take me? where? not azkaban prison.
what're you doin' here! get outta my house!
an' how many did yeh have ter threaten before they agreed!
yeh can take dumbledore! take him away an' the muggle-borns won' stand a chance! there'll be killin's next!
if anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have ter do is follow the spiders. that'd lead 'em right! tha's all i'm sayin'. fudge stares at hagrid in amazement, then follows him out. as the door slams shut, fang starts to howl, scratching at the closed door. harry and ron emerge from the cloak.
sorry i'm late. the owl deliverin' my release papers got all lost 'n confused. some ruddy bird named errol.
i jus' want to say.  that if it wasn't fer' you, harry.  you an' ron.  and hermione.  well, i jus' want to say.  thanks.