Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or their world. I just made cheap photocopies of them down the hall. (Cheap as in free. Whoohoo!)

A/N: Thank you for everyone who was waiting for this, (I'm really sorry for the delay, school and all the usual suspects kept me from my writing) ,and a BIG thank you for everyone who reviewed! I'm trying really hard to have an interesting balance of references to past characters and events, and new material, without it being "Harry Potter, Part 2". So I hope you all enjoy! Let me know how you think it's going, and yes, I do have a plan. A vague one...but a plan.

Groups of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were clustered together outside on one of the large, open green fields of the Hogwarts grounds, chattering excitedly before their flying lesson. The new flying instructor, Signore Ventosa, was by now several minutes late and the anxious first years were using the opportunity to swap their glory stories or confess secret fears; several of which applied to the instructor himself. He had replaced Madame Hooch the previous year due to her early retirement, when after many years of private tutoring from Professor McGonagal she had finally mastered the art of self-transfiguration enough to pass the Animagus test. Now, freshly registered and eager to fly without a physical support for once, Madam Hooch had given her position up to its first applicant without any further adieu, and was currently traveling the world with, shall we say, a bird's eye view.

"I hear that he's a direct descendent of the famous flyer Leonardo da Vinci himself!" Exclaimed a Ravenclaw boy by the name of Terrence Neil. "And that he's even built the flying machine, and takes it up on Sunday nights!"

Rose scoffed at this. "That would be impressive, since as far as anyone knows da Vinci never had any kids. Most of those flying machines don't work anyway, unless I suppose you decide to enchant them or something."

Terrence glared at her. "Just because we don't all have a famous lineage doesn't mean that other people can't. There's no need to get all prissy."

Rose gaped at him, her face turning as red as her hair. "Excuse me? I'M getting prissy? So what, you prefer to ignore the facts of history in favor of something that sounds cooler? What kind of cheap argument is-"

"It's really pretty out today." Maeve interrupted loudly, closing her eyes and tilting her head up to catch the sun. "I think that I would just like to stay out here and read." Albus nodded enthusiastically next to her. "Yea, it is huh? I want to go down to the lake later, I bet it must be nice this time of year. Besides, you never know, we might catch a glimpse of the merpeople ... I've kinda been wanting to do that."

Bridgid waved her hands impatiently. "Whatever! There's time to talk about that stuff later. Listen; I hear that this Ventuba guy, or whoever, is Quidditch obsessed. I mean big time. Like, all he cares about are players stats and stuff, and he thinks that if he finds some future big names here, then that will help him gain access to the teams out there, if you know what I mean."

Suddenly interested, Albus turned away from the lake which he had been gazing fondly at and back towards the group. "I think James mentioned something about that. He said that a lot of the Quidditch captains have been complaining recently, because some teacher keeps trying to tell them who to pick for their teams, and what plays to use, and that sort of thing. Most of them are completely fed up...although now that I think about it, I wonder if that's why Hufflepuff suddenly came in second last year."

Now it was Terrence's turn to gape. "Hufflepuff came in second? No way! That bunch of badgers is way too wimpy and polite to play a proper game of Quidditch."

"And what would you know about a 'proper game' of Quidditch?" asked Rose, still miffed.

Gregory MacMillan, a boy from Albus' dorm, pointed past them and down the hill towards the Quidditch pitch. "I don't know about a 'proper game', but if what you all are saying is true, I guess we'll find out soon enough." Everyone turned to see where he was pointing, just as a very tall, lanky man with a dark tan and expensive looking sunglasses came into view. Ominously, he had enchanted a very large, lumpy sort of canvas bag to follow along behind him, bobbing up and down in the air.

"Good morning, my little bambini!" Their instructor cried, waving at them all cheerfully. A couple of students waved back apprehensively, more concerned with what was in the bag then with what the teacher was saying. "Un bel giorno, is it not? A beautiful day!" Clapping his hands, Signore Ventosa brought the students to attention, broadly smiling with teeth so white that Rose thought she finally understood what her father had meant when he had complained about some old professor named 'Lockheart', whose teeth could blind a mandrake into stunned silence. Her thoughts were interrupted as Signore Ventosa addressed the class and she brought herself back to attention.

"Now then, my brilliant pupils, all of you find the broom which sings out to you the most, and claim it for your own! As your own dear friend...You two, over there, do not fight! Do you think I do not see you? Your brooms will not listen to you if you are fighting now...see here, here is a perfectly fine friend, I think that you two will do wonderfully together. Magnifico! Now then, do you all have your brooms?"

Rose glanced down at hers, a neat little Shooting Star 5,000. Her Uncle Harry had made numerous charitable donations over the years; however he had waited to replace the Hogwarts school brooms until the year James was to attend, admitting that he wanted to make sure that his own children got to them before they had become properly destroyed again. Silently, Rose gave thanks that she therefore was able to avoid using an antique broom as well.

"What are you all waiting for then? Line up, line up! Into nice, neat little files, si si, there you are, and we will begin!" Albus stood to Rose's right and Maeve was on her left, a little farther down was Bridgid. MacMillan stood across from her and nodded politely, and she smiled back.

"Now then, we shall do this the traditional way, yes? Put your hands out over your brooms, and with great energy, shout 'up!'"

A chorus of roughly three dozen voices carried into the air, each one shouting 'Up!' with as much vigor as they could muster, as though the greater their force the more willingly their brooms would respond. At this point, logically, chaos broke loose: While Rose's broom rose up slowly, as though it was some sort of tired dog responding to its master's voice, surprisingly both Maeve and Terrence's brooms leapt straight into their hands, to Maeve's mild mannered amusement and Terrence's obvious pride. To Bridgid's great disappointment, her's at first refused to budge, until she gave it a vengeful kick in the handle, and suddenly it seemed much more responsive. All up and down the lines came roars of frustration or exaltation. Inwardly, Rose rolled her eyes. They hadn't even gotten off the ground yet. How would this lot respond then?

It wasn't until this point that, with horror, Rose finally noticed that Albus was standing with his nose clutched between both hands, blood pouring out from between them. He had been busy observing how his classmates faired with their brooms out of the corner of his eye, while at the same time critically neglecting his own. It had leapt into the air with as much vitality as Maeve's, however his inattention caused him to catch the broom with his face instead of his hand. Now he was trying desperately to stem the torrent which was staining the front of his robes, while at the same time doing his best to hide his humiliation from those around him.

Dropping her broom without another thought, Rose dug into her robes and found her wand, using it to siphon off the worst of the mess, all the while doing what she could to comfort him. Bridgid ran and got Signore Ventosa, much to Rose's relief, because while she didn't want to leave Albus, at the same time she was painfully aware that she didn't know how to mend broken bones just yet.

"Poor bambino, what have you done?" exclaimed the teacher, moving Rose to the side so he could properly see Albus' face. With a sharp rap on the nose (which Albus bravely resisted wincing under) the bleeding stopped, although it was apparent that the break had not yet been healed. Signore Ventosa shook his head. "I am not so good with the little magic, yes? The delicate parts you know...you go now to the hospital wing please, they will make it right, much better than I could! But do not worry, you shall make it up next time! Your broom was very happy to see you, you will make it up next time with no trouble, I am sure of it."

Shoulders hunched, Albus nodded, and gingerly holding his nose started to make his way back up to the castle. Rose wanted very much to go with him; he looked upset, and moreover she felt that since she had promised James, she ought to do something. Still, Signore Ventosa had not asked anyone to accompany Albus, and he was quite capable of making it to the hospital wing on his own, so she resolved to find him afterwards and turned her attention back to the task on hand.

Signore Ventosa then had them all mount their brooms, and do several repetitions of take offs and landings, while occasionally making small circles in air or trading sides with their partners as they flew. Kicking off from the ground yet again, Terrence groaned. "This is kid stuff! I mean, sure, it's good for the muggle borns, but the rest of us should be doing something else. Maybe I should fake a broken bone too, and go do something fun."

"He didn't fake anything Neil, there was an accident and he got hurt! Why do you have to be such a jerk?"

"I'm not a jerk! Potter's pretty clever really, there are loads of better things to be doing than this, like reading up on Occulmency for example...unless what you were saying is right, and Potter really just sucks on a broom."

Before Rose was able to gather her fury to respond, with a whooshing sound Terrence's broom suddenly shot out backwards from beneath him, and with a cry he fell nearly fifteen feet to the ground. Rose watched him fall, shocked, and hurriedly spun around to see Bridgid tucking her wand back into her robes. Bridgid gave her a mischievous wink as together the remaining students tilted forward on their brooms to return to the ground, just as Signore Ventosa reached Terrence, who was sitting up shakily.

"Bambino! Are you alright? You all must be more careful, two accidents in one day is not so good, yes? Do you want to go see the Healer too, Neil is it?"

Terrence stood up angrily, brushing dirt off his robes and wincing slightly at a cut on his palm. "No thank you professor," he said, grabbing his broom from where it fell. "I'll finish the lesson."

"Good! Very good! So now then children, we practice coordination and balance, yes? I have surprise for you all." So saying, Signore Ventosa summoned his lumpy burlap sack, and to the hushed expectation of the students watching, pulled out...a white quaffle sized ball. Rose groaned. "Good grief, he really is obsessed, isn't he?" Bridgid nodded at her and mouthed 'I told you so' as Ventosa gave them all their instructions.

"Now, you all have your partners...so bambinos, you each get a ball from my bag, you see, and fly up, but not too high now, and practice playing this, this catch game, yes? You all understand now? Very good! Stay in your rows please students, and I will hand you the balls.

Two minutes later Rose and Gregory were facing each other in mid-air, tossing the quaffle back and forth to each other lightly. It was kind of fun really, to be sitting up on a broom in the warm sunlight, playing a simple game in order to 'improve their coordination'. Gregory was a calm lad and a decent thrower, and the one time Rose dropped the ball he insisted that she let him fetch it for her, so all in all Rose decided that she was glad there was someone so nice in Albus' dorm, and she hoped that the two boys would become friends. Bridgid was having a worse time of it. It wasn't that the Gryffindor girl that she was partnered with was a bad sort, however neither of them seemed to have an ounce of skill at sports, and they spent as much time chasing the ball as it flew past them as they did trying to throw it. It seemed that the more this happened, the more frustrated Bridgid became, and the worse she threw, so that while Rose was trying her hardest not to laugh, it was starting to resemble an old slapstick comedy.

Being throughly distracted by this, Rose failed to notice at first that Signore Ventosa was watching rather intensely as Maeve and Terrence threw the quaffle back and forth behind her. Terrence, still livid at his 'inexplicable' fall from earlier, was using their exercise to take it out on Maeve, hurling the ball with the physical force of a stunning spell, and in as many different directions as he chose. What was eerie about this was that, no matter how hard or how far he threw it, with a perfectly calm expression on her face Maeve would suddenly rocket towards the ball, catch it, and then toss it back to Terrence lightly, which was not helping his mood.

The expression of greed on Signore Ventosa's countenance was apparent as he watched them, and it was only when a pair of Ravenclaws dropped a quaffle on his head that he snapped out of it enough to check his silver pocket watch. "Mio mio! Look at the time! We must get you all to your classes! Now then, my little bambini, come back down, and put your balls back in the bag... grazi. Next time, we fly across the grounds, yes? You get a tour of Hogwarts from air! And soon, we go to pitch, where we will focus on speed. Now off you go to your classes. Ah! But you three-" and here he beckoned to Maeve, Terrence, and one of the Gryffindor boys, "you three are, how do you say, very interesting indeed. We shall talk more later, si? So, classes now, talk more later. Goodbye bambini! Until next week!"

Gregory offered to return the quaffle for Rose and she thanked him, hurrying back towards Bridgid and Maeve, who by the sounds of it were discussing the sudden turn of events.

"Oh my God Maeve, that's totally awesome! I bet he wants you to try out for the team! You'd be an incredible Keeper...You've got to do it!"

"But Bridgid, you know that first years can't try out anyway, so it really doesn't matter. I'm tired now, aren't you? It seems like we were flying for a long time, doesn't it? Maybe we shouldn't have gotten up so early..."

"No way, c'mon Maeve, you've GOT to promise me you'll try out next year! Come on, promise?"

"Hey, do either of you know what class we've got next?" asked Rose loudly, interrupting. Bridgid gave her a confused look, but Maeve pulled out a schedule from inside her bag and checked it. "History of Magic before lunch." she said, showing it to Rose. Rose bit her lip, thinking.

"Um...listen, would you two mind taking notes for me? I really want to try finding Albus, make sure he's ok and all."

Bridgid laughed, taking Rose by the arm. "Skipping classes already? I mean, I know it's a boring class, but you don't seem like the type to ditch such a historic lecture...just imagine, every first year class for the last 50 years has gotten to hear Proffessor Binns mumble about the ancient Greek wizards in the exact same way...it's got to be a record!" Suddenly Bridgid stopped, and gave Rose a hug, which startled her. Bridgid pulled back and grinned. "But I also know better than almost anyone the importance of looking out for family, so you go find him and tell him 'hi' for us, you hear? Maeve will show you her notes later...I doubt I'll make it past the first twenty minutes."

They parted ways at the fourth floor, Bridgid and Maeve going with the rest of their class to History of Magic while Rose ran up the steps towards the hospital wing.

She was running down a deserted stretch of corridor right before the hospital wing when she heard a shout coming from just up ahead.

"No, wait Peeves! Not her! Hold man! ...You...It...what are you anyway?"

Rose spun around to see her cousin Fred cleverly using a disillusionment charm to better hide behind a suit of armour, addressing none other than the poltergeist himself. Ominously, Peeves was floating just above Rose's head and holding what appeared to be a rather filthy looking bedpan, full of something emitting a faint greenish glow. He was scowling at Fred, apparently not too happy to have be given away.

"What's wrong with the ickle first year, hmm? Everyone is equal in the eyes of old Peevisie, she's got to learn that at some point or another. Don't tell me little Freddy is getting weak-kneed now and is turning into a sod...I thought you were going to be fun!"

Fred waved his arms impatiently at his fellow prankster. "I might be in Gryffindor mate, but I'm not stupid; that 'ickle first year' of yours is my cousin, and more to the point, she's that particular cousin who would go straight to my dad and tell him what we had done...or worse, my grandmum." Fred suppressed a shudder. "But besides, I still say we need to find some pompous bloke to try this on. We can't waste it on a girl, they scare too easy like, it would ruin the experiment."

Torn between relief at her sudden escape and outrage at this comment, Rose jabbed her finger into Fred's chest, not intimidated even though he was a full head taller. "What do you mean 'scare too easy' Frederick Julius Weasley? To heck with Grandmum, I'd like to see what Aunt Ginny would say to you if she heard that come out of your mouth. How would you charm your way out of that one?"

Putting on his best grin and sidestepping Rose's accusing finger, Fred put an arm around her shoulders as Peeves made perfectly audible retching noises above them.

"Dearest little cousin, haven't you learned yet that I can charm my way out of anything? Even McGonagall couldn't bear to place me in detention more than once a week before she retired...ah, so sorry dear Daisy, I do carry on don't I? The point of the matter is, think of it more like this: neither you, nor any of your delightful little girlfriends, have anything to fear when it comes to that particular potion." To emphasize his point, Fred nodded towards the grotesque image of Peeves balancing the glowing bedpan above them.

Rose grimaced; he had a slight point. If nothing else, she was grateful to not currently be covered in green goo. She wrinkled her nose at Fred.

"I really hate to ask this, but what is that stuff? And, on top of that, when are you going to start using my proper name?"

Fred chuckled, and shook dark brown hair out of his eyes. Taking after his mother in appearance, there was still no mistaking Fred for anything other than a Weasley after you had met him. "Ah my sweet Buttercup, as soon as I run out of alternative flowery names for you, of course. However, if you must know- and obviously, you must- that is a little something which I whipped up, with a teensy bit of help from James of course, called 'Paranoia Potion'. I know, it's so brilliant, that you can't help but to lavish me with praise and any class notes you take for the next five years, so I won't stop you."

"Why would I give you my class notes? You've already passed the classes I'm going to be in!"

"To sell of course, silly Sweetpea. 'Come one, come all, now's your chance to bid on the official notes taken by the only daughter of the famed Hermione Weasley, formally Granger, who holds the school's record for top marks in every year for the last century! Including seventh year, even if it took her a while to come back and finish it, but hey, that's understandable. Better than me own pop...and your's too, for that matter."

"Ok, ok I give up! Just, I don't know, use it...um...does it really make people more paranoid?"

Fred shrugged. "That's what this little test is for, 'innit? Don't worry so much Marigold! Just think: Halloween is coming right around the corner. We set up a 'Wicked Weasley's Haunted House' in some old classroom, or the Room of Requirement maybe, and charge three measly knuts to get in. We'll even offer a pot as a prize, any man brave enough to not run out screaming like a little girl gets the whole nights take. That's entrepreneurship, that is. We'll be rolling in Galleons by the time the night's over!"

"You mean because you're going to douse the participants in Paranoia potion first, so that none of them will make it to the finish line to claim your profits! It's a good idea Fred, even if it is a bit underhanded, but you know it won't work. Even if it's Halloween, we still won't be allowed out of bed at night. You're going to get caught."

"It's true that you might be brilliant Bluebell, however perhaps you would have come to a different conclusion if you had noticed...this."

With dramatic flair Fred produced from his robes an old, blank, rather worn and torn piece of parchment. Spitting indignantly, Peeves flew at them hissing "What are you doing? Horrible, horrible Freddykins! Nasty first year girly will give us all away!"

"Oh no she won't Peeves, you great giggling ghost. 'Sides, she's got just as much right as me to see this anyway, flesh and blood and all. Now that Teddy's done with it, I'll savor it in my time and pass it on when I go too. That's the way it's meant to be."

Rose stared at him, awed. "Teddy used it? Fred, where did you get this?"

"Me dad nicked it, at some point, from Uncle Harry's house. To be honest, I think he knows, his eyes twinkle all annoying like whenever he asks me how school's going. And yea, I let Teddy use it first while he was here, 'cause of his dad and all, but he only used it to sneak off and meet Victoire, the slimy git. Waste of good time, if you ask me. Actually...Oi Peevesie, check this out. Map says the Slytherin prefects are having a meeting in the dungeons, I think we just found our first group of targets."

As Peeves cackled joyfully above them a knowing look came upon Rose's face, and she found it difficult to suppress a grin. "I heard that Filch resigned the year Weasleys started coming back to this school...that parchment wouldn't have anything to do with that, would it?"

"Funny you should ask that really, because in fact-"

Rose held up her hands and backed away. "Never mind, I don't want to hear it anymore, I don't think I could deal with it. Anyways Fred just...be careful with that stuff, will you? I'm going to go now, I need to find Albus, he had to leave for the hospital wing during class."

"Oh? Well he's not in there anymore."

"What? How would you know that?"

Fred pointed up above them, to the bedpan floating dangerously just above their heads. "I didn't really feel like conjuring one, so, well I nicked it. Figured if we were trying to make people paranoid, we might as well give them something to be paranoid about, and getting drenched by one of those things makes a good start. Anyways, mini-Potter wasn't in there when I was, and that was just a couple of minutes ago."

Rose bit her lip, wondering where on earth Albus could have gone to. Gazing absentmindedly out of the window, she could just see the edges of the lake lapping on the shore. Recalling suddenly the conversation before class, she decided that was as good a place as any to start. "Ok, I'll try somewhere else then. Thanks Fred. Um...good luck."

Fred smacked his hand over his heart, feigning shock as Rose ran back towards the staircase. "Did you hear that Peevsie? I swear the bookworm's got a soft spot for us! OI! GLADIOLA! TURN LEFT AT THAT TAPESTRY THERE, YOU'LL GET THERE FASTER! I swear, kids these days..."

Rose slowed down when she saw Albus, who had his arms wrapped around his knees as he watched the recently hatched baby squids follow their mommy just under the surface of the lake. His green eyes were very slightly red, and his whole appearance suggested depression and misery. Taking a deep breath and reminding herself to be cheerful, she went up and sat down next to him, smiling. "You know, I think I saw a picture of Albus Dumbledore once...his nose was kinda crooked. Maybe you'll look like him when you're older and the whole wizarding world will look up to you as this wise old man."

Albus snorted. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but my nose isn't crooked. They just fixed it right away. See?"

She nodded her approval. "Mrs. Papadopoulos did a good job on it. I'm glad you're better now. It didn't hurt too much did it?"

He shrugged stoically. "Naw, not really. I mean, it did a little at first of course, but mostly I was just...you know." Rose understood. He had been embarrassed, which hurt a lot on its own, but he didn't want to admit it. "It's ok, you heard what Signore Ventosa said. He knew you would be a good flyer, there had just been an accident, that's all."

Groaning, Albus flopped backwards onto the grass, staring up at the sky above him. "Sure, that's what he says, 'cause he's trying to be a nice teacher and all, but he was probably thinking 'Wow, what a klutz, remind me to tell the Quidditch captain not to let him anywhere near a bludger'." Rose laughed. "No he wouldn't! I mean, first of all, if he did say that, he would say it in a really, really heavy Italian accent." Encouraged by the small smile she saw on Albus' face, Rose went on: "Anyways, even after Neil mysteriously lost complete control of his broom, he still wanted to see him afterwards. Oh yea, you weren't there for that bit huh? Neil was being a jerk, and Bridgid did something...I think she just flicked her wand at him, to be honest, but he ended up falling to the ground. It was pretty funny." Albus frowned. "He doesn't seem like he's a very good guy, does he? I'm sorry you're stuck with him."

Rose shrugged. "It's ok, that's just life. Besides, Bridgid and Maeve are really cool, and I still get to hang out with you when we aren't in class or asleep. It's kind of like we get to go over to each other's houses now, whenever we want!" Albus laughed. "We mostly got to go over to each other's houses all the time anyways, you know."

"Well, yea that's true."

He sat back up and smiled, patting her hand. "I'm really glad you found some friends in your dorm Rose. They seem really nice."

She nodded. "They are, even if Bridgid can be kind of scary sometimes. And Maeve is really really quiet. But I think she'll grow out of it, you know? They say 'hi' by the way. You know, we all need to hang out sometime. You, me, Bridgid and Maeve, and anyone that you want to bring from your dorm. We'll come out here by the lake and drink butterbeer and play exploding snap and just, I don't know, have fun."

"You mean before you lock yourself in a dark closet somewhere and study yourself to death."

As grateful as she was that Albus had already brightened up, that didn't keep her from poking him violently in the ribs. "Oh, like you aren't going to join me half of the time? Just because you've recently recovered from being attacked by an overgrown twig doesn't mean...did you hear something?

Albus didn't get a chance to respond as he was suddenly tackled back to the ground by an overly large, furry, black, wiggling thing. Albus tried to fight it off, but to no avail, the puppy was enthusiastically licking every bit of Albus' skin that it could reach, including his newly mended nose. Albus was laughing uncontrollably, unable to shake it off. "Rose, help! Save me!" he yelped. "No more, please! It tickles!"

Rose stared at the dog in shock. "Where did he come from?"

"How should I know?! Get 'im off me!"

"What are you doin' up there, ya mangy mutt? Back boy, back! Leave poor Albus alone!" came a booming voice from behind the children, and Rose turned to see Hagrid strolling up the grassy slope towards them, just as the puppy leapt joyfully off of Albus' chest and ran towards the giant of a man. Hagrid's beard was liberally streaked with grey, and sometimes after a particularly active day he could be seen wandering the grounds at twilight and using an oaken staff the size of a small trunk for support, otherwise however was aging well, as was to be expected from his heritage.

Jumping up and hastily brushing grass off of her robes, Rose ran down the hill to give Hagrid a hug. She had heard her dad complain before that Hagrid was 'a might more gentle with the children' than he had been with her own parents, and indeed although Hagrid lifted her into the air as he planted a hairy kiss on the top of her head, he set her down again as though she were a delicate wisp of a girl, smiling at the two of them. "Alrigh' Rose, Albus? Didn' think I'd be seeing you two until tomorrow. Whatcha doin' over here?"

Albus turned pink and muttered something incoherent, but Rose responded quickly; "We were wondering if we could see any of the merpeople from here. We haven't seen any yet though, I bet they prefer to stay where the water is really deep. But Hagrid, where did the puppy come from? Is he yours?"

The animal in question was now playing a one-sided tug-of-war with Albus' robes; Albus searched on the ground until he found a sizable twig and threw it a few feet instead, with the puppy bounding happily after it. Hagrid watched the dog go, and though he was trying to appear stern it was quite apparent from the way his large eyes were misting over that he had already developed an intense fondness for the creature.

"It's not mine at all...I found the poor pup over in London I did, in an alleyway. Nasty one too, all full of trash and stuff. I couldn't leave him there, so I thought I'd just bring him back over to Hogwarts, give him a good meal, you know, he was so scrawny. I promised myself, after Fang and all, no more dogs...Fang was such a...good dog." Hagrid brought out a spotted red handkerchief and blew his nose, making it sound as though a foghorn were being sounded across the grounds. A few great tears rolled down his face and got lost in his beard, which Hagrid dabbed at with his handkerchief. "But ye know, it's been a few years since then and all, and I thought that it wouldn't hurt none, to feed him a bit, him being just a pup." At this point the dog bounded over to Hagrid, looking quite pleased with itself as it deposited the twig at Hagrid's feet and gave a small bark, wagging its tail enthusiastically. Hagrid bent down and picked the stick up, absentmindedly throwing it clear across and into the lake. With a little whine the puppy looked up at him with large brown eyes, hoping for a new stick. Giving in, Hagrid started searching the area as he spoke.

"The trouble is, now that he's a bit better and all, he just won't go on home. I've tried to take him to town a couple of times, I have no idea how he manages to get back through the enchantments and all but he's followed me back here again, every time."

Rose bent down to rub the puppy behind his ears, smiling as he turned his head into her hand, clearly enjoying it. "Well, Hagrid, why don't you just keep him? I know that you've got to get lonely down there by the forest sometimes, and he certainly likes you, so why not?"

Hagrid looked a bit uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his head with his bucket sized hand. "Well, I kind of feel like it isn't fair, ye see, to Fang's memory and all...havin' another dog in his spot, meybe even sleepin' in his old bed. It just ain't right to me."

Albus stood up now, placing a hand on the gamekeeper's arm. "Hagrid, you can't think of it like that. I don't think Fang would want you to think of it like that. If we know anything about Fang, we know that he loved you, and if he could have said so, he would have told you that he wants you to be happy."

Jumping back up, (much to the puppy's disappointment), Rose nodded vigorously. "That's right! You can't think about it like you're replacing Fang. Instead, think about it like Fang's the puppy's godfather, helping you to look after him until he's full grown."

"Or dogfather." said Albus, snickering.

"That was a really bad pun Albus."

"Sorry Rose."

Hagrid was looking contemplative, and after a few moments, he broke into a grin. "His godfather, yea, I like that. It does sound like something Fang would do, lookin' out for the little one and whatnot. You two remind me of your parents sometimes...they always knew jus' the right thing te say too, te help a poor bloke out. Alrigh' then, so what'll be his name?"

"You haven't named him yet?" asked Albus, sounding stunned. Hagrid shook his head. "I couldn'ta dun that now, could I? Ye name somethin', ye get attached to it, and I couldn't do tha'. So help me come up with somethin'."

"Er...alright then, how about Jaws?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Does he look like fish bait to you? Naw, something else."

"Fido?"

"Too common."

"Fluffy?"

"Already taken."

"You mean you've still got Fluffy?!"

Rose was hardly hearing Albus' and Hagrid's discussion in the background, too absorbed in watching the puppy chase a cricket through the tall grass. Just as it seemed like the puppy might catch it, he would trip over his huge paws and go crashing into the grass, only to jump up moments later while yelping at the cricket, as though it were the poor insect's fault. Rose smiled.

"How about Padfoot?"

Hagrid and Albus stopped arguing, and Hagrid thought it over for a bit. "Padfoot, yea I think that will do it alrigh'. He does look like a Padfoot, don't he, and when he gets a bit bigger he might not look that much different from when your great-uncle Sirius was in his dog form. Alrigh' then, Padfoot it is! We ought to get you kids back up to the castle, it's just about lunch time and we don't wanna miss that. Come along now Padfoot, time to go...and maybe sometimes I'll call you Snuffles for short."

Whew, oh my gosh that was long! By the way, I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter myself. There's going to be a lot more stuff happening in it, (as in events I guess, this one is somewhat quiet compared to what I have planned), and I hope that you all really enjoy it! I know sometimes there are some typos or misspellings in Hagrid's words...that's me trying to do an accent. I hope it kind of worked at least. That bit too, with the kids comforting Hagrid is kind of personal for me, my cat died not that long ago and I'm still not exactly over it. And finally, for this chapter's trivia: Guess where I got Fred's middle name from. That's insanely hard, I know, so I'll give you a hint: Old American movies. So, if you have any thoughts, comments, criticisms, or compliments, then please feel free to share! It always makes me really happy to know that people are reading my work :)