Deciding to forgo the possibility of a broken tooth, Harry had brought a cake of his own. Not that he had made it himself - Ginny and her mother had done, earlier that morning. He'd offered to help, but they'd sent him out of the kitchen, shouting down his protests.
It would probably taste better this way.
The familiar sound of barking struck up as Harry knocked on the door. The little house looked as good as new - it was impossible to tell that it had been set on fire just over a year ago. Briefly, Harry wondered who had fixed it - Professor McGonagall? Flitwick? - before the door was yanked open.
"Harry!"
"I brought a cake," Harry said, when Hagrid had set him back on his feet. "I don't suppose the kettle's on?"
"Might be," said Hagrid, eyeing the cake with some suspicion as Harry set it down on the table and took a seat. Fang sniffed eagerly at his trainers. "Wha's tha' for, eh?"
"What, the cake?" said Harry. "I just thought you might fancy it. Ginny and Mrs Weasley made it."
"Well, I'm not goin' ter say no ter tha', am I?" Hagrid grunted, pouring tea into two bucket-sized mugs. "There yeh go. Down, Fang."
He cut two large slices of the cake and slid them onto plates and shoved one in Harry's direction. He still looked suspicious.
"You know," Harry said, taking a sip of tea, "the first real present anyone ever gave me was that birthday cake. Remember? The one you gave me."
"'Course I remember," said Hagrid gruffly. "Doesn' explain why yeh're givin' me one, though, does it? 'S'not my birthday."
Harry, brushing crumbs off his fingers - it was good cake - thought about how to say exactly what he wanted to. He'd had so much to say, to so many people, after the battle, and Hagrid was no exception.
"We never really got a chance to talk right after it all ended," he said eventually. Hagrid's beetle-like eyes were surveying him kindly. "I ... I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry you had to be there for - you know. I didn't want to you to see that."
"I didn' really want ter see it either," Hagrid chuckled, but his eyes had taken on a watery look. "Blimey, Harry, I thought I'd had it when them Death Eaters got me, didn' know wha' they were goin' ter do to me, but then who shows up? An' I had ter ... had ter see you ..."
His voice trembled and cracked; tears were flowing into the great bushy beard. Harry reached over and gingerly patted his arm. "But yeh did it, Harry! Yeh beat him! I knew yeh would! An- an' I reckon yer mum and dad, and Sirius and Dumbledore, they'd be right proud of yeh, jus' like I am!"
He offered Harry a very watery smile, which Harry returned. "I know yeh're sorry, Harry, but yeh did what yeh had ter do. An' it's worked out all righ', hasn' it?"
Harry thought of Ginny, of Ron and Hermione, together at long last. "Yeah," he said. "I suppose it has."
He looked up at Hagrid, who was now beaming at him, tear tracks still glistening on his cheeks.
"Hagrid - thanks."
"Haven' done nothin'," said Hagrid, looking pleased.
"You were my first friend," Harry said firmly. "You gave me my first birthday present, and you've always helped -"
He thought back to his eleventh birthday, to that little hut on the rocks, when the door had come crashing down ...
"Besides," he added, grinning, "you were the first person to jinx Dudley. I really can't thank you enough."
OK, so there is NOT enough Hagrid love out there. Seriously.
Yet agaiiiiin I fail at an ending. But I was watching the end of Philosopher's Stone, when Harry says goodbye to Hagrid, and it just got to me and I started writing this tiny little thing. Isn't great, but I like it. Hope you do too.