The Hound's a Bloody Coward
Daeneryshums back at the curly headed girl softly, as she slips on her black gloves and dark winter coat.
Meera glares at her from across their bedroom. "Hmm? What do you mean, hmm? Are you even listening, Dany?" She falls back on top of her bed, her face scrunching up with worry. "He was supposed to meet me before class to give me his notes, this morning. No one has seen him all day."
"Meera." Dany calmly turns around to face the stressed out girl in her pajamas. "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably in his room with a cold or like the infirmary or something?"
"I already went to the hospital wing and he's not there," Meera stands up and crosses her arms, "Dany? I was the reason he got detention. What if something happened to him out there?"
Shit.
Dany bites her lip, running her fingers through her silvery white waves, then pulls back two braids with a tie behind her head. "His detention was not your fault," she reassures her, "And I'm sure he's fine, don't be upset, this is nowhere near your fault?"
Meera sniffs quietly with a nod, accidentally leaning back on her fluffy black cat, pulling her tail. "Ah—" she jerks, as it mews angrily. "Sorry Raven."
"Alright," Dany walks across the room to grab her wand. "I need to get going."
Meera sighs loudly, suddenly sitting back up again, "Ugh. You can't go out there tonight, Dany. I really don't think it's safe."
Dany wraps her Gryffindor scarf around her neck warmly. "Meera." She smiles back at her roommate sympathetically, "Arya and Gilly will be back from the library soon." She pauses, giving her a saddened look. "Please don't sit here... blaming yourself. You should go hang out in the common room? You know, somewhere to get your mind off him, okay? I'll be back soon."
She scoffs at that , "I don't feel like talking to anyone right now..." Then she shakes her head more sincerely, "Just be careful please?"
"I will, I promise." Dany nods back with confident honesty, "Now stop worrying about everyone else and get some rest okay? It will be okay."
"Okay... night, I'll see you later."
•
Dany strides alongside Brienne on the dusty dirt path to the Forbidden Forest. Stray strands of silver wisps fly out from under her dark hooded cloak, rippling in the bitter wind.
And behind her, a brooding Jon Snow briskly follows her steps, alongside with another quietly dark haired boy. The other boy trailing behind bravely in their path, with his Hufflepuff scarf, snuggled up so innocently around his neck that Dany couldn’t even see his face.
"Now," Brienne orders, leading the trio, "I will be taking you three to the game keeper first. And then, you will fulfill whatever duties he has for you tonight. And then... you will staywith him for the entire time," she cocks her head around serious, basically only talking to Dany, "At all costs, you stay with him, do you hear me?"
"Yep." Dany nods shortly in acceptance, while Jon side-eyes her carefully.
•
After making their way all the way out past the castle, they finally began to approach a shadow of a man, that was waiting for them out in the distance. His figure was tall, and even contrasting in front of the majestic, dark swaying trees behind him, he still seemed gigantic. As they got closer, Dany could now indeed see the very large, very angry looking man. A man Dany has seen many times before, with his choppy beard and wind-frayed locks. Locks that poorly hid a terrible burn-scar covering half of his face.
Clegane. Her pal. Though he would probably argue otherwise.
Gentle smoke rings puff out the top of the bricked cozy hut, while Sandor Clegane stands there impatiently, leaning against his giant serpent umbrella, his silver black hound growling at his side.
A crow swoops down and flaps her wings towards him as he smacks it away with a hiss, "—Goddamn stupid birds..."
Brienne slows her steps, meeting the man to hand him the book she was carrying, acknowledging him to the students, "Dany, Pod, I trust you know who this is by now. And erhm..." she leans over secretively to Clegane.
Dany could hear her whisper to the game keeper, glancing down at the book. “Dumbledore said to give you this.”
Clegane looks at it a moment, then glares back at her gloomily, putting it in his pocket.
What was that about?
"Jon, this here is Sandor Clegane, Hogwart's game keeper." Brienne motions over to him, "And Clegane, this here, is Jon Snow."
"Well, I'll be damned, Jon Snow?" he grunts thickly. Then he notices Dany, "Oh and lucky me, I got the dragon girl, too?"
Ha- ha...
Clegane slowly peers over at Pod, "I don't know this one, though... What's your name, boy?"
Brienne smiles back, proudly answering for him, "This, is Mr. Podrick Payne, a dedicated, reliable seventh year student. And he's interested in game keeping... So I told him I'd let you show him, some of the job's responsibilities."
Clegane chortles out in shocked disbelief. "I beg your pardon?" he scorns her bitterly, "You are sorely mistaken, Tarth, if you think I would take on a bloody apprentice?"
"Oh, he would be of no bother," she crosses her arms. "Just let him follow you, that's it."
The gamekeeper suddenly points out his enormous umbrella towards his hut. Shooting searing gold sparks out from the serpent mouth tip, sending his open front door slamming shut with a loud bang. Podrick flinches at the intimidating sound, squinting a new slight uncertainty towards Brienne.
"This is Illyn Payne's boy, Clegane," the Head Girl warns sharply. "Take him out with you and be nice. He's a good egg," she smirks back protectively at Pod.
"Illyn Payne? Really? Oh— That's funny." He eyes the boy up and down, scrutinizing his size, "So your the son, of the famous Azkaban torturer— sorry, I mean prison guard." He chuckles darkly, laughing between his words, "...though you don't look like you could hurt a fly, do you?"
Dany cautiously squints over at the harmless Hufflepuff, expressing a small hint of judgment. Wondering if his father's tortured hers. Probably.
"Alright, you three, have fun," Brienne waves goodbye, setting off back towards the castle.
Then with a loud grunt, Clegane walks with a slight limp and his umbrella as a cane, motioning the three young wizards to follow him.
"Come with me."
Dany, Jon and Pod all lean around him, staring beyond Clegane, and out into the unknown forest with unease.
"Come on..." the tall man barks. "Let's get a move on, we've got things to do."
•
Clegane hands each Dany and Podrick a glowing lantern, and then splits them up, explaining their jobs.
He hands Jon an empty bucket. "So... 'Incendio' and 'Aguamenti', got it?" he scruffs his beard, "I don't need you settin' the whole goddamn woods on fire."
What in Merlin’s name were they setting on fire though...
"Got it? That's rotting meat out there, so we need to burn it before it brings over more scavengers... So that means more than just the bloody birds. Okay?" he warns. "So char the flesh up good, and then ya can put the pieces in the bucket if ya need."
"So..." Dany frowns sadly, unsure if she wants to know the answer, "What kind of rotting meat are we looking for, may I ask?"
Clegane scrunches his nose, bending down to her height, "I dunno, follow the smell and you'll find out," he mumbles with a smirk. "Cause that stink's got to go. Or it's gonna bring in the werewolves lookin' for more of it."
Werewolves? Uhm... this wasn't part of her plan.
The burly gamekeeper points his umbrella, motioning to Jon and Dany, "Arrite, so we're clear? You and you, go together..." Then he gestures towards a brow-arching Podrick, "And you, Payne, you come with me,” he snickers, "You've got a lot to learn, boy."
Dany watches Jon's somewhat nervous reaction, and then bargains for him, demanding, "Fine, then we get Lady."
Clegane chuckles at her naive audacity. "That's fine, little bird, be my guest..." He shrugs at them shamelessly, "but just so you know... the hound's a bloody coward."