He'll Never Be Normal

He'll Never Be Normal

There had always been something that set him apart from everyone in the world Hagrid lived in. It wasn't his fault that he was part giant. It was a part of him, just like these bottled-up feelings were part of him.

They were building up inside him, but he wouldn't let them escape. Not until the right moment anyway. He'd never felt so helpless before and he didn't like feeling that way. It was good he was setting them loose soon. At the time, though, it didn't feel that way.

Watching her move across the grounds, a conjured daisy propped sweetly behind her ear, her white teeth glistening in the sunlight as she laughed with her friends, Hagrid felt his heart race. She looked so...perfect. Beautiful and perfect.

Hagrid looked down at his feet and shifted his weight. He felt silly to just be watching her from so far away. And the feelings--they were ready to spill out of his mouth. Sweat began to form in his palms as he took a step forward, away from the shade of the beach tree.

Another step.

More sweat. He slid his hands into his pockets.

Three steps.

Eight steps.

Twelve steps.

Sigh.

"Jenny?"

Who said that? He barely recognized the shaky word that his vocal cords had just produced.

She turned around and smiled politely. "Hi, Hagrid."

"I--I was just wondrin' if," he said, fumbling through his words, "if maybe ya wanted ter go, uh, ter Hogsmeade with me...this weekend."

The girl's smile quickly faded as her four friends giggled into their shirt sleeves. Jenny played with the daisy in her hair, her eyes half closed, searching for an answer. Hagrid felt his heart pounding unnaturally against his chest, making the task of breathing much more difficult than it should have been.

"Hagrid, I'm really sorry," she said looking up at him with a frown. "I wasn't...I wasn't planning on going to Hogsmeade this time around."

All of the sudden, his chest fell. His pumping heart slowed significantly and he felt the hands in his pockets were no longer soaking wet. When he realized he had been left alone, he looked around quickly and retreated back to the shadows of the beach tree.

So, she didn't want to go. That didn't mean she hadn't wanted to go because he had asked her. It just meant that she didn't want to go at all.

The remainder of the week, he kept his mind on different things, trying to forget the fact that once again he would be going to Hogsmeade alone on Valentine's Day.

- - - - -

It was February 14^th and Hagrid sat in the Three Broomsticks, which had a girlish display of hearts and roses set about the insides of the tavern. He sat in a booth by himself, sipping a pint of Butterbeer slowly.

Glancing, around the room, he spotted various couples eyeing each other playfully, holding hands and exercising other intimate gestures. He looked at the empty seat across from him and sighed.

After ten minutes of people watching, he spotted a familiar pair of eyes, but they were not staring at him. Jenny was sitting across from Patrick Golding, a tall, lean Hufflepuff Quidditch player. It wasn't long before they started imitating the actions of other couples in the tavern.

Hagrid placed his mug on the table and stood up, making a bee-line for the exit.

She had lied to him. He had been expecting rejection, but not to be lied to.

"What's the matter, Hagrid?" a ruthless voice called from behind him. "Going to find a date up in the mountains?"

An earthquake of laughter erupted from the tavern as the half-giant slammed the door closed behind him.