A Touch of Style for Hagrid
Einar arrived early to train and then headed to the Great Hall, just in time to see Fred and George attempt to use an aging potion to put their names into the Goblet of Fire. However, their attempt failed spectacularly, and both ended up with long white beards while grinning with interest.
"I told you. It will be difficult to break the age line I drew," Dumbledore commented with a smile. "I recommend you go to the infirmary, where the other students who tried the same thing are waiting to get rid of their beards. Although I must say, yours look much better."
The students laughed at his remark as the Weasley twins hurried off to the infirmary.
At that moment, Einar felt an intense gaze fixed on him from the Ravenclaw table. Turning around, his eyes met those of an extraordinarily beautiful young woman. Her aura had something special, a mix of blood that seemed to naturally attract anyone who saw her.
She offered him a charming smile, but Einar paid little attention and continued his breakfast calmly. He had other plans for the day"he had agreed to meet Hagrid, taking advantage of the free class day.
After finishing his meal, he got up from his seat and walked at a relaxed pace toward Hagrid's hut.
"So? What do you need help with?" he asked upon arrival, noticing the mess in the place. Clothes scattered everywhere gave the impression that a small earthquake had hit.
Hagrid turned excitedly to see him, as if he had just found his savior.
"Einar, my friend! I need your help."
Einar raised an eyebrow.
"If you need help cleaning up, it would be better to ask the house-elves."
"No, it's not that. I need help with my outfit. You have good style, so you could give me some advice," Hagrid explained hastily.
"Outfit?" Einar repeated in confusion until he looked out the window and saw the massive Beauxbatons carriage. He immediately understood what was going on. "I see," he said, smiling.
"Look at what I have!" Hagrid began pulling suits from his wardrobe.
Einar watched the clothes with curiosity, surprised to see that most were made from high-quality materials, almost like armor.
"What are these made of?" he asked while stretching out a coat larger than himself.
"Oh, that one's made of giant spider silk," Hagrid responded proudly.
Einar finally noticed that, scattered around the room, were extremely rare and interesting materials. Some he recognized from books, while others were unfamiliar but emanated great power.
He picked up a carved spoon that was lying on the table and examined it with curiosity.
"Is this… a unicorn horn?"
"Oh, yes. When they shed their horns, they sometimes leave them lying around. I have several," Hagrid replied casually while continuing to search through his suits.
Einar also noticed huge pillows with giant feathers wrapped in fabric. When he touched one, he felt a powerful surge of electrical energy.
"Thunderbird feathers?"
"Exactly! One passed through here a while ago, seemed lost. But a friend of Dumbledore came to take it away. Those feathers were left in the nest it had built. It looked like it was about to lay eggs… too bad I didn't get to see them," Hagrid said with nostalgia.
Einar glanced at him with interest but decided not to press the subject and focused on the task at hand. However, he couldn't help but notice that Hagrid's clothes were… far too furry.
"How about I give you one of my suits?" he suddenly suggested.
"Einar, I don't think your clothes would fit me," Hagrid said, patting his stomach.
"Don't worry. All my clothes are enchanted to adjust to the wearer's body," Einar explained with a smile while pulling out two suits that might fit him.
One was a Nordic outfit with blue and gold fabrics, a matching cape, and a fur coat draped over the shoulders. It even included a helmet.
The other was a black suit with a cloak made of white bear fur, the head included as a hood.
Hagrid studied them carefully and, after a few seconds, pointed at the first one.
"I'll take this one, but without the helmet," he quickly said. "I don't want to scare the kids with the other one…" he murmured, eyeing the second suit's hood, which resembled the bear's open mouth.
He stepped inside the hut to change while Einar curiously examined a bucket with a lid sitting next to the wardrobe. A strange scent emanated from it, so strong that it caught his attention.
He approached and lifted the lid slightly…
A stench so powerful hit him that, for a moment, he felt like it might knock him out.
Just then, Hagrid emerged fully dressed in the blue suit. With his long beard and hair, he now looked more Nordic than Einar himself.
"Oh! Just in time! That's my cologne," Hagrid said enthusiastically as he approached the bucket.
Einar blinked a few times, staring at him in disbelief.
"Cologne…?" Einar looked at the thing that had nearly knocked out the most powerful Dragon-Blood.
Hagrid grinned proudly as he lifted the lid and dipped his hand into the viscous liquid.
"Wait!" Einar said quickly, leaving Hagrid confused by his sudden outburst. "Don't you think using cologne might be a little too strong? How about something more natural, like pine or lavender?"
"You think so?" Hagrid asked, puzzled. "But I don't have any perfume like that," he added quickly.
"Don't worry, I have lavender flowers for potions. You just need to crush them with a bit of oil or water," Einar explained as he took out the ingredients.
"That's true, it smells nice. I'll do that," Hagrid said cheerfully as he headed to the kitchen to make his own perfume.
After all, he had some time, and it wouldn't take long. While it obviously wouldn't have as much scent as if he left it to macerate for days, it would be better than that cologne.
Einar eyed Hagrid's bucket cautiously once more before sitting calmly at the table to wait.
Hagrid finished quickly and took the opportunity to comb his hair, trying to tie it into a ponytail. Maybe he wanted to look like Charlie, but he ended up with two rather odd pigtails instead.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Hagrid went to open it and found Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
When they saw Hagrid, they were surprised by his outfit and the elegant presence he now carried.
"Wow, Hagrid, you look great!" Hermione quickly said, while the other two, still shocked, nodded.
"Thanks, Professor Einar lent me one of his suits. Come in," Hagrid said, pleased that the kids liked his style.
Once inside, the trio bombarded him with questions, trying to get information about the Tournament's tasks. However, Hagrid managed to keep his mouth shut.
Seeing that, Hermione took the chance to tell him about her organization, S.P.E.W., thinking Hagrid would happily join. But she was in for a great disappointment.
"Sorry, Hermione, but house-elves are happy doing their tasks. If you took them away, they'd get depressed. And if you tried to pay them, they might even take it as an insult," Hagrid said, gently rejecting her proposal.
"But Harry freed Dobby, and he's more than happy to be free. He even says he likes getting paid," Hermione quickly argued.
"Well, there's always a black sheep somewhere. No doubt there are a few odd elves who'd want to be free, but I don't think you'll convince the majority. Not at all," Hagrid replied swiftly.
A bit annoyed, Hermione put the badge-filled box back into her pocket.
It was getting late; the sun was setting, and everyone had to return to the castle for the tournament's opening ceremony.
The trio decided it was time to head back.
"I'll go with you," Hagrid said quickly. "Wait a moment, I'll wash my face, just in case."
He stepped out of his hut and washed up in a water barrel by the window.
"But there was nothing on his face," Hermione said, confused.
"What about his suit and hairstyle?" Harry quickly pointed out.
"Look!" Ron suddenly said, pointing out the window.
They saw Hagrid walking quickly toward Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students, who were leaving their carriage to head to the banquet.
Though they couldn't hear what was being said, they saw Hagrid grinning broadly as he guided Madame Maxime with his hand.
"Do you think he'll go to the castle with them?" Hermione asked, noticing with a hint of indignation that Hagrid had forgotten about them.
As they watched Hagrid walk off with Madame Maxime, they also saw the Beauxbatons students rushing to keep up.
"He obviously likes her," Harry quickly stated.
"Oh, really? And what makes you think that?" came a sarcastic voice behind them, startling them.
They turned around quickly and saw Einar sitting calmly at the table.
"Einar! Professor… How long have you been here?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Me? Since the beginning," Einar replied with a smile as he stood up. "If I were an assassin, you'd all be dead. But I'll let it slide this time and spare you from walking around with 'corpse' written on your foreheads today," he added with a smirk before strolling out.
"Well… thanks for that," Ron muttered, thinking how embarrassing it would be to go to the Great Hall with two other schools while having something written on his forehead.
"Are you staying here?" Einar asked, stopping for a second to glance at them.
"No, we're coming with you," Hermione quickly said, rushing out of the hut to catch up with Einar, while Harry and Ron closed the door and followed after her.