Prologue
Hagrid his walk-through of Hogwarts' grounds thinking over what had just happened. Harry Potter had just ended the Second War by defeating you-know-who. Even in his head he couldn't bring himself to say the name. The name meant pain and suffering. It meant children growing up with no families, or families losing their children. It meant loneliness.
The castle was severely damaged, along with large parts of the green houses and the Quidditch stadium. Rebuilding was going to take some time.
Dusk had set and the weight of the world felt as though it had been placed on Hagrid's shoulders. He wanted sleep, but more so he wanted peace. It was because of this want that he couldn't stop until he was sure there were no more death eaters were on the grounds. Harry had sacrificed himself for the well-being of everyone, the least he could do is force himself to stay awake long enough to check the grounds.
A tear ran down Hagrid's cheek as he thought of Harry. He was the one to take him to those damned Dursleys the day you-know-who killed his parents. He had also been the one to rescue him from the Dursleys on his eleventh birthday by providing him with his Hogwarts letter. Finally he was the one to carry Harry back to the castle after he had been killed by the killing curse from Voldemort. Even though he saw it happen, he still couldn't believe Harry was still alive. It was a miracle, one that he would have given his own life for.
Harry was like his son that he would never have. Hagrid thought at one point he might be able to have a relationship, maybe even a family, but even his own kind did not want him. Madam Maxime had denied him even the simplest request of a kiss while they were on a mission from Dumbledore to try and gain the giants alliance.
Out of everything that would seem to the untrained eye as unfair in Hagrid's life, the only one he cared about was the loneliness. Never had he been kissed. The last person to ever hold him was his father. Being half giant the parental caring didn't last too long as he grew too big for his father to hold, or even get his arms around for a hug. A father's hug was not what he wanted though. He wanted to be held, to be needed. He wanted to protect and be protected.
Finally his search was over; the only sounds to be heard were the celebrations coming from the castle. The torture he had endured earlier that day finally took its toll. The distance to his hut seemed a lot farther than he remembered. With a hard thump he lay on the grass looking towards the stars.
As he lay pondering, he noticed the Whomping Willow had been damaged. Someone had set it on fire and several of the branches were broken as though something giant had crushed it, which of course a giant probably did try and crush it as the Whomping Willow would try to hit anyone or anything that gets near.
Suddenly a movement at the bottom of the enormous tree caught Hagrid's attention. Holding his breathe, he started at the base to try and discern what was there. He couldn't tell if the black figure was part of the shadows or if it was an abnormality. Painfully pushing himself up, he crept closer to the enormous tree.
Usually the tree would sense his presence; it would allow the man that had nurtured it from seedling access to its base. Tonight however it seems as though this magical relic was too unbalanced from the war to recognize Hagrid. Limbs were twisting and turning everywhere, trying to defend itself. Hagrid backed off and tried to focus his eyes on the black lump and he heard a groan. It wasn't just part of the shadows, it was a man.
It wasn't in Hagrid's nature to leave someone hurt, no matter if he put himself in danger. It was what Dumbledore would do, it was what Harry had done. Making a dash for the base, broken limbs whomped on his back and side; each one bringing intense pain to an already damaged body. After several frantic moments of dodging and weaving, Hagrid picked up the unconscious man and made it back outside the Whomping Willows reach.
As soon as Hagrid lay the man down his own injuries made themselves known. The last thing Hagrid knew before he fell into a deep reverie was that the man he just saved was none other than Severus Snape.