The Simple Things

I ain't had nothing to drink,

I knew that's prob'ly what you'd think

If I dropped by this time of night.

Harry woke up one night from a bad dream, which he'd done almost every night since the fourth year had ended, and they had only become worse since the fifth year's events. He sat up in bed, shaking and sweating. That's when he noticed the smoke.

He propped himself up and raised his nose. "Ron!" he called. "Ron!"

Ron rolled over. "What?"

"D'you smell that?"

Ron sat up and sniffed. "Smells like--hamburgers, or--"

"Marshmallows," said Seamus, who also had sat up.

"Or hot dogs," offered Dean.

Neville sniffed too. "Smells like camping."

"Hamburgers, marshmallows, hot dogs, camping--" Harry felt his heart stop. "It's a fire!"

Ron bolted upright. "Where?"

Harry glanced out the window and felt his heart start beating again. "Relax, guys. It's just Hagrid's hut. He must've set his bed on fire again." He sighed and picked up his jacket. "I guess I'd better go tell Professor Dumbledore."

"It's my turn to go with you this time," groaned Dean, getting up as well. The other boys just went back to sleep.

Dean and Harry went out to Professor Dumbledore's office, spoke the password, and went upstairs. Harry knocked on the door. "Come in," called Dumbledore.

The boys went into the room. Dumbledore took one look at their faces and sighed. "Hagrid has set his hut on fire again, I presume?"

Harry nodded. Dumbledore sighed again and swept out of the room. The boys returned to their dormitory and collapsed.

~~~

Remember way back when

I promised you I'd drop in

At one of those meetings down at the Y?

The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to see Hagrid.

"Hagrid," said Harry when they had been seated, "what were you doing last night?"

Hagrid sighed. "I got drunk an' tried to do magic..."

"Hag-rid..." groaned Ron. "That's the fourth time this year!"

"I know," said Hagrid miserably. "Professor Dumbledore wants me to stop. I've tried, I really have, I jus' can't do it."

Hermione spoke up. "Hagrid, if you go down to the village, I know they have Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. They can help you stop in twelve steps instead of trying to do it all at once."

Hagrid brightened. "I'll stop in at those. Thanks, Hermione."

~~~

Well, they started talkin' 'bout steps you take,

Mistakes you make, the hearts you break,

And the price you pay.

I almost walked away.

About a month later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were working in the library. Harry glanced out and noticed Hagrid slogging about with a large tree. Christmas was fast approaching, and though it was extremely cold there was no snow. It had been a long time since it had rained, too, which was unusual.

"Hermione," Harry said quietly, "do you think Hagrid ever went to one of those Alc-Anon meetings you suggested?"

"I hope so," she said ferverently. "I don't know, but I hope so."

None of them knew yet what that night would bring.

You could hear a pin drop when this old man

Stood up and said, "I'm gonna say it again

Like I do every week,

For those who don't know me:

~~~

It's the simple things in life

Like the kids at home and a lovin' wife

That you miss the most

When you lose control,

And everything you love starts to disappear.

Harry sat upright in bed, just as he had a month before. He smelled smoke, he was sure of that.

"You guys!" he said loudly. "Smoke!"

Dean moaned and rolled over. "It's Ron's turn to go with you again," he murmured.

Harry glanced out the window. "It's not just Hagrid's hut this time," he said, struggling to keep his voice even. "The fire caught a path up the grounds on the dry grass. It's just about reached the castle doors."

"The castle is made of stone, Harry," said Ron, sounding a bit peeved at being woken up again, but swinging his legs around to go with Harry.

"The door is made of wood," Harry pointed out. "The floors are carpeted. There's wooden furniture everywhere."

The devil takes your hand and says, 'No fear!

Have another shot.

Just one more beer.'

Seamus bolted upright. "We've got to get everyone out of here!"

The boys threw open the door to their dormitory. Harry pointed at his throat with his wand. "Sonorus!" he muttered. Then, at the top of his lungs, he yelled, "FIRE! EVERYBODY GET OUT!!!"

Yeah, I've been there,

That's why I'm here."

Dormitory doors flew open up and down the corridor. "Quietus," muttered Harry, pointing at his throat again. The boys ran into the common room. Girls poured out as well. Harry held the portrait until the common room had cleared, then followed the rest of the Gryffindors.

This old boy stood up in the aisle,

Said he'd been livin' a life of denial

And he cried

As he talked about wasted years.

Ravenclaws, Slytherins, and Hufflepuffs had heard Harry's yell, fortunately. They joined the Gryffindors out on the lawn by the lake, where it was always damp, where it was safe. Hermione, who was a prefect, and Harry, who was not but was just as concerned as Hermione, quickly began counting the students.

"We're missing one," said Hermione when she'd finished.

Harry counted the first years. Sure enough, one was missing. His heart stopped and leaped into his throat as he realised who it was. He turned back to the castle. "Cali!"

I couldn't believe what I heard--

It was my life word-for-word,

Cali Berger was an incredibly precocious child. She was a first year who had been accepted even though she was only six years old. She and Harry had formed a close bond, though they were unsure why. It may have had to do with the fact that she, too, had lost her parents at an early age, although hers had been in a horrific car accident. She, too, bore a scar--a kind of heart-shaped squiggle where a piece of molten metal had burnt her skin, possibly her mother's locket. Somehow, Cali had survived.

Now, though, she was trapped in the castle. Without a thought to his own safety, Harry rushed back towards the castle. "Harry! Stop!" wailed Hermione, but to no avail.

Harry ran up to the door, hesitated briefly, then covered his face with his arms and plunged straight through the fire.

He ran up the stairs, taking a back staircase to avoid the flames. He ran up to the common room. The Fat Lady still rested in her portrait, and she seemed surprised to see Harry. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Never mind that--catweazle," Harry coughed. The portrait swung forward, and Harry flew through.

The fire had not spread into the common room, yet. Undaunted, Harry climbed the railing of the stairs to the girls' dormitory, since the stairs had formed a ramp already. Forget the rules--he had to get to Cali. He opened the door labelled First Years and found Cali huddled in a corner in her thin nightgown, crying.

"Cali!" he shouted, coming in.

"Harry!" she cried, holding up her arms to him. Harry scooped her up and flew downstairs, out the portrait hole, and to the top of the steps he had used. The flames had spread and now engulfed the staircase. Harry hesitated briefly, then made a decision.

And all of a sudden,

It was clear:

"Cali!" he said frantically. "Cover your face!"

Cali buried her face in Harry's shirt. Harry covered her head with one arm, using the other to support her. Ducking his own head and squinting his eyes shut, he ran straight into the fire.

~~~

It's the simple things in life

Like the kids at home and a lovin' wife

That you miss the most

When you lose control,

And everything you love starts to disappear.

Down at the lakeside, where the students were still standing, was a very worried Hermione. Ron had his arm around Ginny. Fred, who had come for a visit with George, was clutching Ron's shoulders very tightly. The three of them were simply glad they were alive, and hadn't quite noticed Harry's absence yet. However, George, who was worried, came over to stand with Hermione.

"Any sign of him?" he asked anxiously, scanning the orange-red windows.

Hermione shook her head nervously. "He should be back by now. You don't think..."

"I don't know what to think, Hermione," said George, putting his arm around her in a very brotherly way.

Hermione scanned the front of the castle. Suddenly...

"What's that?" asked George, pointing.

A dark shape was coming out of the wall of flame connecting the front door to Hagrid's hut.

"It's Harry!" shouted Hermione, relieved.

Suddenly a lick of flame caught the grass between the lake and where Harry now stood. Hermione screamed.

~~~

Harry stopped like a startled horse when he saw the flames spring up. Cali hugged him tightly around the neck. They were trapped.

The devil takes your hand and says, 'No fear!

Have another shot.

Just one more beer.'

Or would be, if Harry didn't have a streak of recklessness as well as one of determination. After making sure Cali had her face covered, he plunged straight into the flames.

~~~

Hermione began to cry when the flame surrounded Harry and whatever was in his arms. George gripped her shoulder tightly.

Yeah, I've been there,

That's why I'm here.

A minute later he shook her. "Hermione, look!"

Harry had leapt through the flames. He was running back over to them.

Hermione looked up and gave a glad cry. "Harry!" she cried, running to meet him. Harry stopped when she reached him, panting.

"Are you all right, Harry?" she asked him anxiously, brushing one of the burns on his face. He nodded and looked down at the little girl in his arms.

"Are you OK, Cali?" he asked her, just as anxiously as Hermione had asked him.

She nodded and smiled, giving him a big hug. "Thanks, Harry."

~~~

Hagrid stood with a frightened gaze, watching the other teachers put out the castle. Harry and Cali stood nearby, also watching, but that was a coincidence.

Dumbledore strode over to where Hagrid was watching, his face solemn.

"Hagrid," he said gravely, "this is the fifth fire you've set this year. I'm sorry, but this is too much. You are a danger to yourself, not to mention the students. I am forced to relieve you of your duties until you can prove that you are no longer a hazard." He turned on his heel and walked away.

Hagrid gaped. He moved a few steps closer to Harry. "Harry, I need ter--"

"Come on, everybody," said Harry, avoiding Hagrid's gaze. "The fire's out. It's time to go back to bed."

The Gryffindors filed inside, still discussing the fire. Harry was the last to go. He glanced up at Hagrid, just once, arms still protectively around Cali, then lowered his gaze and followed the others.

~~~

As Harry (with Cali), Ron, and Hermione walked up the stairs, a few steps behind everybody else, Cali looked up at Harry and asked timidly, "Harry, is--is Hagrid a bad man?"

"Of course not, Cali," said Harry, though very deep in his heart he was unsure.

Cali's blue eyes filled with tears as she asked, "Then why did he burn the castle up?"

Harry looked down at the tiny girl in his arms. "Cali, I don't think it was on purpose. I think he was drunk."

"Oh," said Cali. "How do you know he was drunk?"

"Because," said Hermione, "he tends to get drunk, try to do magic, and end up setting fire to his bed."

"That wasn't the first fire he set this year," Ron told Cali. "He's set four others that just burnt his house. If it weren't for the fact that Harry looks out the window every time, no one would've woken up. As it was, the boys in our dormitory didn't believe we were in any danger at first."

Cali was silent for a minute. "Did he get drunk on purpose?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, Cali. Somehow, I doubt he did. But actually, maybe you're right. Maybe, if it wasn't on purpose, it wasn't quite an accident that he set his bed on fire."

"What?" gasped Hermione, not believing Harry would say something like that.

"She's right, Hermione. When Hagrid picks up a drink, he knows he takes a risk of getting drunk. If he takes that risk, he knows he takes the risk of setting his hut on fire. With all this dry grass, he probably knew it would spread. I think the legal term is 'malice aforethought'. Basically, it means he thought about it beforehand and did it anyway."

The foursome was silent as they entered the common room.

~~~

Hagrid stared at the charred remnants of his home. The look Harry had given him still weighed heavily on his mind. The look had been neither accusing, nor forgiving. It had neither said This is all your fault, nor had it said It's not your fault. It had been worse than either of them. It had been a look that said, very simply, that Harry was giving up. He knew Hagrid hadn't made those meetings, and that he had no intention of going. All it had said was I'm sorry, Hagrid. I guess it was wishful thinking.

I know for us it might be too late,

But it would mean the world to me

If you were there when I stand to say

Hagrid realised that he really had endangered the students. That little girl Harry had risked his life to save--if she'd died, what would've happened to Harry? What would've happened to him if Ron or Hermione or Dumbledore or even Malfoy had died? For that matter, what if Harry had died?

Fang crept over to Hagrid's side. He looked up at him and whimpered.

It's the simple things in life

Like the kids at home and a lovin' wife

That you miss the most

When you lose control,

And everything you love starts to disappear.

The devil takes your hand and says, 'No fear!

Have another shot.

Just one more beer.'

Yeah, I've been there,

That's why I'm here.

Oh, I've been there,

That's why I'm here.