House: Gryffindor

Position: Prefect

Category: Additional

Prompt: [Event] St. Patrick's Day

Word Count: 1203

Beta: Tiggs

A/N: AU. Some misspelling to account for accents. This was written for The Houses Competition: Y3R10.

One Night Only

Hagrid walked through the door of the tavern and the whole bar saluted him and cheered before taking a shot. Hagrid grinned at the festivities before scanning the crowded bar for a familiar face. His eyes landed on tall brunette man who was sitting in a corner table.

"Seamus!" Hagrid bellowed, making his way towards the man. "I am so happy to see ya!"

He clapped the young man on his back and quickly gestured to the barmaid for a pint. He thumped down on the seat and began to thump his leg to the lively beat that was being played.

"I must say, Hagrid, I was a little surprised you reached out to me, and on this night of all nights." Seamus joked and took a sip from his whiskey.

"Why would you say that?" Hagrid asked, nonchalantly trying to avoid looking at Seamus's eyes.

"Well, we haven't talked since I left Hogwarts five years ago, and I've never known you to be a fan of St. Paddy's Day."

"Any holiday I can drink, is a holiday I want to celebrate!" Hagrid laughed. "There was something I was hoping you could help me with though."

"What is it you need, Hagrid? I would be more than happy to help you."

Hagrid quickly glanced around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation, but everyone was shouting, drinking, and dancing merrily. They were too focused on celebrating that no one even glanced in their direction. Hagrid was sure that they would be too drunk to remember what they might have heard in the morning anyway, but he bent his head down anyway and lowered his voice.

"There is a rumor that on St. Patrick's Day and only St. Patrick's day, that Ireland becomes riddled with magical snakes." Hagrid's eyes grew wide. "I was hoping to see them for myself, maybe even capture one or two for a pet! I've heard they have green glowing eyes and they can eat a human whole!"

Seamus laughed. "Yeah, there be magical snakes out tonight."

Hagrid grinned and slammed his fist onto the table. "I knew it! I knew it! What do they look like?" he asked eagerly.

"How about I show you?"

Seamus gestured for Hagrid to follow him. They weaved through the crowd of rumbustious guests and stumbled out the door.

Seamus chuckled. "Most people are trying to get into the bar tonight, not out of it!" He glanced up at Hagrid. "It's going to be quite a trek and we will have to be fast about it. You okay with that?"

Hagrid nodded enthusiastically. "I have been waiting to see these for years since I first heard about 'em."

"St. Patrick apparently banished them all from Ireland but each year they emerge on St. Paddy's day for one night only; seems like powerful magic to me. There are rumors you know," Seamus started, "that St. Patrick was a wizard. There are legends which say he could transform into a deer, that was how he escaped an ambush; he turned into a deer and fled. He started a ritual fire that couldn't be put out and he fought off blackbirds and snakes. Legend says they were demons, but what if they weren't, what if they were just dark wizards?" Seamus asked, ducking under a tree branch. "Him being a wizard makes a lot of sense to me."

"I would think he must have been, if those rumors were true," Hagrid commented.

They continued along in silence. The noises of the tavern and the rambunctious villagers faded with each step they took away from the village. The moon was shining brightly, lighting their path through the forest.

Hagrid still tripped over multiple tree roots and he was amazed that Seamus hadn't stumbled once; the man had much more to drink then Hagrid but he was navigating just fine.

After two hours of walking through the dense forest, they came to a clearing.

"It's just over that hill." Seamus pointed. "We have to be quiet though."

Hagrid nodded his understanding and tried to quench his excitement. This was it! He was finally going to be able to see these magical, St. Patrick's Day snakes that he had heard about for so long.

Seamus moved soundlessly through the field and Hagrid tried to mimic his movements, but he still sounded like a bear barreling through the woods. He just hoped it wouldn't scare them away.

Once they crested the hill, Hagrid looked down in awe at the scene playing out in front of him. There were snakes about one metre long diving through the grass, each glowing a different color. Hagrid watched in amazement as they chased each other around. He could feel tears prick the corner of his eyes.

"They are so beautiful, ain't they?" Hagrid asked.

Seamus grinned up at Hagrid. "You haven't even seen the best part yet."

About thirty seconds went by and a neon orange snake threw its head back and a wall of flames erupted from its mouth and into the air.

"That's why these are my favorite!" Seamus exclaimed. "These and dragons! How cool would it be to blow fire?"

Hagrid nodded before shifting from one foot to the other. "Seamus? Do you think, we could, you know, capture one or two?"

Seamus squinted at Hagrid for a long moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't see why not."

Hagrid dug out his umbrella from his coat pocket and quietly murmured a spell under his breath, stunning two snakes that were near him, a pink and a blue one. Hagrid quickly ran out into the field and scooped them up into his messenger bag.

Seamus patted Hagrid on the arm.

"Let's go celebrate your new pets, Hagrid!"

"Aye," Hagrid cried, "Lets!"

Hagrid was mumbling to himself in a drunken stupor. "I'm going to name them Puck and Tia and I am going to give them the best home!"

"I'm sure you are." Seamus groaned, trying to support the half-giant's weight. "Maybe we should take this party back to my house though. Wouldn't do you any good to pass out here." Seamus managed to drag Hagrid back to his house where he promptly passed out.

Hagrid woke up with a throbbing headache. He normally could handle his alcohol but yesterday had been crazy; that would teach him to try and keep up with the Irish. His mind flashed to the night before. He grinned when he remembered their excursion. He ran to his pack on the ground and quickly opened it, eager to play and feed his new friends, but it was empty. He stared at it in disbelief. Had they escaped? They should still be stunned.

Seamus walked into the room at that moment and noticed Hagrid frowning into his bag. "What's wrong, mate?"

"They're gone." Hagrid replied sullenly.

Seamus chuckled. "Well of course they are. I told you they are only here for one night."

Hagrid's shoulders fell.

"I'll tell you what, you can come back every year and I will take you to them! We can watch them together before we go and celebrate properly."

Hagrid nodded and grinned, already looking forward to next year.