James always humoured Hagrid about how much he loved his cooking, eating dinner with him every Friday, rather than attending dinner in the Great Hall. For dessert, he even ate Hagrid's rock cakes, telling Hagrid that they were the finest cakes he'd ever had, he always ate six of them, just to reassure the half giant that he truly did like them, this always caused Hagrid to smile his biggest smile, his beetle black eyes to crinkle and tear up with true happiness, someone wanted his company and his cooking which he loved to do.
Hagrid always had so much joy from having a friend to visit him and dine with him, in all of his years as groundskeeper his only visitor had been Dumbledore and even then very rarely for tea, always politely declining his cakes and offers of dinner.
Then, he met this lovely first year, well I say met, James more bounded into his life with a massive grin and a joke on his lips. They became fast friends, which developed stronger over the years with James always, always accepting his food enthusiastically and eating every last bite, Hagrid's heart had truly been warmed by this boy, who always seemed to be in the hospital wing on the weekend, unbeknownst to him, getting his teeth fixed, his stomach healed and being internally cleaned from his severe constipation, James did this, because he never wanted Hagrid to be alone...
James saw the same look of loneliness on Hagrid's face as he did on the young Sirius Black's face when he first met the boy on the train to school. James noticed, every time he looked up from his friends to the teachers table, how Hagrid had always looked so sad and lonely, even though everyone who knew of Hagrid knew how much he loved Hogwarts and Dumbledore, James's observation was that no one really gave Hagrid the time of day, he sat at the end of the staff table eating in silence mostly. It only took James three days to go to Hagrid, to speak to him, not intimidated at all by his size, he approached and cracked a joke, one his father had told him once about a Goblin a Hippogriff and a Veela, just to break the ice, not needing a 'hello'. Hagrid, immediatly laughed, and that laugh lit up his whole face, and James decided to never let this man be lonely ever again, just like his new friend Sirius, who occasionally joined the visits to Hagrid's Hut with James, not always present like James, and every now and then the odd new face was welcomed into his home, Remus, and Peter, and then much later Lily, who was a very pretty young girl, who loved his garden and helped him with his flowers, her favourites, being the wild flowers closer to the forest trees.
When James got on the Quidditch team as chaser, Hagrid, baked him a huge chocolate Quaffle cake, which, when he visited the very same day, he ate an entire half of it, even though he had already celebrated with his housemates with plenty of food. James, even helped Hagrid start to get the pumpkins, which Hagrid grew for the Halloween feast, to grow even larger, whilst teaching Hagrid, with his pink umbrella, how to do so himself.
Hagrid, being the first person James came to when his father died for comfort, Hagrid immediately told James the very first joke James himself told Hagrid, making James laugh uncontrollably, but sobbing at the same time as Hagrid embraced him, not letting him leave until he was certain James was okay, and more importantly able to face anyone else outside his door.
Then, a few years later, Hagrid hears of James's death and is sent to go the the very place of the murder to save James's little baby, from the wreckage of his friends home. He enters the darkened house, he nearly breaks, as he has to force himself to pass the broken body of James Potter at the base of the staircase, as he has to get to the screaming baby upstairs. James's baby, is who needs him desperately now, it's what his friend, James, needs him to do, he tells himself. There is nothing he can do for the shell downstairs that was once his only true friend. He gathered Harry in his arms, also forcing himself not to see the body of beautiful Lily, not wanting it to be his last memory of the lovely bubbly girl, and carried Harry back downstairs, who was already starting to calm in the warm hold of the half Giant. He stopped briefly by James's body, not able to look directly at him, even though he tried he just could not bring himself to look, instead, he stared straight at the wall ahead, James in his peripheral vision, he spoke in a gruff voice, "Don' you worry, I... I'll take good care o' 'im, I won' let 'im be lon'ly," he had more he wanted to say, but he could no longer speak past the tears pouring down his face, with a strangled, choking sound, he strode out of the once homely house, leaving two dead parents behind, as he got into the fresh air he steeled himself, hushing the baby further in his arms by rocking him, tears sprang once more in his eyes as he looked at the poor infant with a nasty cut on his head, poor little tyke, he thought and he gently ran one massive finger down Harry's cheek, he immediately stopped crying as the baby boy grabbed his massive finger making his heart jolt in sorrow for the little orphan. Harry giggled up at Hagrid, grabbing his bushy beard in his other hand, making Hagrid give the little boy, who looked so much like his father already, a watery smile.
Suddenly a rumble broke the air and Hagrid tensed, he knew the sound of course, he watched as a large motorbike descended from the sky, and Sirius Black landed smoothly, and immediately dismounted roughly from the bike, he looked broken as he looked at the wreckage, his eyes shined with tears as he saw the truth of what happened. He stepped towards Hagrid, and teary eyes met teary eyes, it was Sirius who spoke first, "give him to me Hagrid, I'm his Godfather, I'll take him, get him somewhere safe," Hagrid shook his head sadly, "I can' do tha' Sirius, I have orders you see, from Professor Dumbledore 'imself, I'm t' take 'Arry to 'im".
Sirius now went from shock and sadness, to anger, and puffed himself up a little, and angrily said "Hagrid, give him here, I'm his rightful guardian now, you can't keep him from me, James and Lily they both would want me to look after him, I don't care who your orders came from, you won't stop me from for-filling their wishes about Harry's care!" and, deflating slightly, he quietly said "I... I need him please... my Godson, please, Hagrid, I... I don't want to do something stupid..." Hagrid, however, stood firm, "No I will do as I was asked an' take 'Arry t' Professor Dumbledore, after, if you want the lad you can go through 'im, but I 'ave my orders and I won' let anyone but the Professor 'imself take 'Arry from me, it's wha's best for the little tyke righ' now".
Sirius, knowing defeat, and doubting that he could stun the massive man before him, dropped his head in acceptance, " Very well Hagrid, then take my bike, get Harry there quickly and safely, don't you dare stop... I'll come back and see Dumbledore in the morning, and I'll get Harry then... I'll see you, there's some vermin I need to see too".
Without another word Sirius drew his wand and ran off down the street with purpose. Once he was out of sight, Hagrid, looked down at baby Harry once again, he had been dozing off in his beard and sighed, the pain he felt in his heart looking at the miniature James was great, but, he mentally shook himself, he had a job to do.
He strode to the bike with its engine still running, and carefully mounted it so as not to jostle baby Harry too much, he was silent in his dozing, not even babbling like most babies his age. Hagrid took one last look back at the home of James and Lily Potter, Hagrid whispered "Until the very en' James, I promise" and with that, he flew away.
It only took one week for them to be buried, and even less for Sirius, to be thrown into Azkaban. Hagrid, would think about Harry everyday after that night and James and Lily of course.
Hagrid went down to their grave the day after their funeral, obviously he attended their funeral too, but this was his goodbye to them, and this was private. He stepped forward to their grave, and on what he knew to be Lily's side of the grave, he lay his home grown wild flowers, assembling them the way he knew she used to, and, shifting his gaze to James's side, sobbing, he carefully pulled out of his pockets, six homemade rock cakes and stood each and every one of them on the grave, in a neat Quaffle shaped circle, and there he stayed crying his heart out for hours once again alone, whilst Sirius Black did the same In Azkaban.
James, where ever he was in the afterlife with Lily, was also crying, all he would say was four words "I failed them both"...
(Author's note: Please review, this is my first ever story and I'm extremely nervous).