'Yes, ma'am,' Harry whispered.
'What did she do?' Mrs. Weasley's voice was as soft as his.
'Was a long time ago.'
'You can still tell me.'
Harry looked into her eyes, and she didn't yell, or hit him and didn't tell him he was a good for nothing, worthless whelp that shouldn't be allowed to live or should've been drowned at birth. She didn't ever call him Freak or Boy, and he liked that. And she had helped him, when he asked her to. Gathering his courage, he squared his shoulders and said, 'She burnt me, Mrs. Weasley. Burnt my hand.' He held it up so she could see the palm and the shiny patch of skin that covered it. ''Cause I was bad. So she grabbed my hand and put it on the stove.'
Mrs. Weasley gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes were suddenly wet, but she blinked her tears away. Harry could understand that. 'That foul creature! How dare they treat you like that!'
Harry didn't know how to answer that question, so he didn't, just hung his head and looked at Treacle, who was rubbing the side of her face against the top of his trainers.
Then, at a gulping sound behind him, he turned to see Hagrid, sitting on the edge of his bed, and mopping his face with a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth. 'Ach, 'Arry,' he moaned, wiping away the tears that fell unashamedly down his cheeks. 'I'm so
Harry shook his head. 'You didn't burn me,' he pointed out.
'But I helped bring ye to 'em, to those awful Muggles. The night yer parents d-died, Dumbledore had me pick ye up and bring ye to Surrey, and I'd no idea . . .'
When the big man trailed off in another round of weeping, Harry went to him, and climbed awkwardly up on the bed. Even as Treacle Tart leapt up beside him, Harry patted the man's shoulder. ''S'okay, Hagrid. I'm okay now, really.'
Hagrid wept some more, but one of his arms snaked around Harry's back, and the giant squeezed Harry close in a half hug. Though he knew Hagrid could squish him to death if he wanted to, 'cause he was really strong, this hug wasn't even hard enough to squeeze the breath out of him, and Harry kept patting his shoulder and telling him that everything was just fine.
After a few minutes, though, when Hagrid was down to just sniffles, Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. Her face wasn't so pasty now, but her eyes looked a little red. 'I think it's time to go back to the castle, Harry. I had Ginny and the boys stay on the front steps to wait for us, when I saw you running down here, but I don't think they'll be patient much longer.' She cast a look over her shoulder at the castle, as if wondering what mischief they'd gotten into without her constant scrutiny.
'Yes, ma'am,' Harry said. He slipped down off the bed, and faced Hagrid. 'Thanks for the tea, Hagrid.'
'Yer welcome, Harry. See ye soon?'
'Yeah, okay. Oh! I a'most forgot. What does Tree eat, 'cause my father doesn't want her eating from my plate.'
Hagrid stowed his handkerchief away after blowing his nose a final time. 'Oh, any kind of meat, kneazles like that, rats and mice're good. Iffin ye let her roam the castle a bit, or spend time outside, she can catch 'er own feast of mice. Ye can give 'er milk, but water's fine for 'er, too.'
'Great! Thanks, Hagrid!'
'Any time, Harry. And come see me, any time, too.'
Harry nodded, and left with Mrs. Weasley. They were trudging back up the
