Harry sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands.

His dream of a normal life seemed laughable since he was eight, but this?

He absently looked over the documentation. Some quick letters to Nagnok, a VERY substantial and anonymous bribe, and he now had permission to own Dark Creatures up to class XXXX. It was SCARY how easy it was to do with a bribe. One more level and he could theoretically breed dragons.

Harry looked around at the extension to Hagrid's Hut. With Professor McGonagall's permission (Debatable, she basically was saying 'Just go away and let me get my bearings' but that was close enough for him) He had created a stone building that looked like an over sized apartment.

The floor was raised to prevent water seeping in, and he had pulled the bedrock up and firmed it around the base. A thick layer of wood was on top which acted like insulation (He harvested a tree from nearby, which was probably fine. Yeah.) Harry had used up a good amount of his personal raw material resources to get the metal, plastic, cloth and such to make a mattress, pillow, and some REALLY thick covers.

Goran was 12 feet tall after all, and the boy needed room to stretch out. Right now Harry was creating a basement, using the dirt to compress the ground around the building and the stone to build furniture upstairs. Well, he was supposed to be doing that.

Honestly he was sitting against the new wall feeling sorry for himself.

What else could he have done? Just killed Goran like the others? He looked so alone, he looked... it felt like he had seen himself, back under those stairs. Even though the boy didn't feel any anger at Harry's actions, he felt a certain amount of guilt.

He would do it again, if creatures or people threatened his friends... but the guilt still lived.

At some point he felt the ground shiver as Goran sat next to him. Harry gave a shaky grin up at the boy. "Never expected to be a dad at eleven. You ever imagine having a dad younger than ya?"

Huge shoulders shrugged. "Never thought before you helped me Da. We just... existed. Ate and squished and roamed." Dark brown eyes looked down at his green ones. "You didn't just give me a new language, or memories and stuff. You made me... more. I am not really a Troll anymore. Too smart by far."

Harry gave a sad nod. "Between you and me, I am not sure I am human anymore. Most of my body has been healed or replaced by magic at some point, if not all of it. I have to remember to age. I sometimes feel... scared about it."

There was a deep chuckle from his son. "Well, I think anyone wanting to argue with Da will have quite a time at it. Forcing you won't work well, I know that." He shivered. "Da, you... you were scary when you fought."

Harry nodded. "Fighting is a scary thing." He grinned. "However, your friend took my arm off! And that was WITH me strengthening my body! Trolls are bloody AMAZING!"

Goran gave a strange grin. "And that is what we are like without training, without practice. Imagine if they could actually work in groups."

The two boys laughed. There was a bit of an edge to it, but it still helped them both find some sort of calm.

Harry stood, stretching his arms. "Well, enough rest for me. You've got a bed, table, some chairs, some shelves, one HEAVY stone door... can you handle it fine?"

Goran held up one of his massive hands. "I like something with a bit of heft to it."

"Fair enough. I owl ordered some raw materials from Nagnok, apparently my broom design did fairly well so far and he felt we could afford some extra materials thanks to the bonus. He also seems to find my new family humorous to some extent."

Goran stood, following Harry upstairs. "So... what am I going to do?" The nervousness was clear.

Harry gave him a huge smile. "Well, I will be stopping by often with friends, of course. I will be setting up downstairs as a new Magical Research Project room, so... Merp 2 or something. As for work, I believe Hagrid would LOVE your assistance. He has to handle all kinds of creatures that find weaklings like me tasty."

Goran snorted. Weak. Sure. "Well, if your friends want to come by. I... well, Trolls are not normally friendly, as one would say."

Harry rolled his eyes. "They normally don't talk English either. I will bring some people by later, just take a good nap and I will see you after lunch. The food on that bottom shelf is all locked down in Stasis, and I tied it to the shelf, so moving it off that shelf should release the charm." He grinned. "I mostly stuck with LARGE food, easy to handle. There is a grilled whole pig, for example, and a bowl of pineapples, uncut. Don't forget veggies and such."

He paused as he was about to exit. "In fact, I will bring by a bunch of dishes later, and we can find out what you like to eat. I assume raw food isn't the best thing you will ever taste, especially after you try bacon."

Goran laid on his new mattress. The springs were HUGE inside, but it still felt more soft than any ground he had slept on in his life. "Good night, Da."

"Night son. If you need me, just call me in your mind. I will be right here."

Goran nodded, already falling asleep. It had been a bit of a struggle getting him to walk this far to begin with, apparently Trolls tended to wander pretty randomly for long periods of time normally.

Harry waved a hand, opening the huge stone door so he could exit. Turning, he waved again to put a small label on the outside: 'Welcome to Goran Potter's Home'.

He smiled and headed back toward the castle. Harry knew this was odd... but when did Potter do normal?

~~~Core Threads~~~

There were a LOT of angry eyes when Harry entered the castle.

"Uh... Good morning everyone!"

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" A Brown Haired Avenging Angel Strode up to him... and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Don't you EVER fight like that again. I had the WORST nightmare that you had been hurt!"

Harry coughed. "Uh... no, of course I wasn't."

Hermione froze, then began poking his left arm. "You... You were. And you are a bad lier." Her anger was starting to fight her natural urge to both hug him to death and pester him about how on earth he had reattached an ARM.

"Potter... are you feeling all right?" Daphne's hesitant question made him give a big smile, sharing it to the other girls and few guys who had been waiting in ambush.

Harry grinned, shifting Hermione to be beside him instead of in a choke hold. "Of course I feel fine. Last night there was a... a bit of a tussle."

Terry snorted. "Tussle? Five seconds after Daphne runs in, claiming some monsters entered the castle, Professor Quirrell barely stagers in and starts yelling about TROLLS. By the time we all got settled down there were Aurors everywhere and no one was allowed to know anything, we were stuck in that hall for hours. Not even the teachers got to go to bed."

Neville gave a hesitant nod. "I heard that there were Dragons, and the Troll was a cover up."

Tracey threw a hand up, eager to join in on the rumor train. "I heard it was an army of inferni, zombie warriors."

Hannah stared at Tracey and took a slight step back. Turning to Harry, who seemed quite bemused by the rumors, she grinned. "So, where were you? I heard Madam Pomfrey was... annoyed that you had left early this morning."

His face paled. "Oh... I had never been in the Hospital Wing before, I didn't know we had to check out."

Padma stopped wringing her hands and jumped into the Hug Harry campaign (Currently ongoing, join today). "Harry, all they said was that you and Hermione were in the Hospital Wing, and we didn't know what was happening!"

Harry pretended to ignore the sniffling from Mione and Padma, giving them small squeezes. "Everything is fine, there was a small... scuffle at the front of the school. Daphne helped keep all the students safe, and Hermione got me backup to make sure they STAYED safe. And the rest of you also stayed safe, which is vital."

Hermione slapped his shoulder. "Harry, YOU need to stay safe too, you berk. We don't want you hurt."

Harry honestly felt... touched. It felt good, having someone... SEVERAL people, as he saw all the nods, want him to be protected too. He gave a grin. "WELL, enough mushy stuff. Anyone want to skip lunch and go on a picnic to visit my new son?"

Oh, these expressions were PRICELESS.

~~~Core Threads~~~

Neville and Susan were wandering slightly behind the group toward a stone building they had never seen before. It looked nice, if a bit cubeish... and HUGE. It was about double the height of Hagrid's hut.

Susan leaned against Neville, pitching her voice low. "So... his new son?"

Neville shrugged. "Obviously not genetic, but then again it IS Harry. For all we know, he time traveled and gave birth to Merlin or something."

She nodded. Being Harry's friend was a bit like riding a roller coaster that never stopped, but doubled in speed. She grinned. That said, they were all now coaster junkies.

Neville read the door as Harry wandered to go get Hagrid and introduce him to his new neighbor. "Goran Potter? Probably a guy, don't you think?"

The stone slab moved... Oh. Troll.

It smiled. "Hi!"

In their defense, no one screamed. Hermione DID get pretty close to fainting again though. Neville of all people stepped forward. "Hello. Are you Goran Potter?"

The smile got bigger. "Yes! Are you Da's friends?"

Hermione seemed to feel much better since the HUGE creature seemed to have a firm grasp of the English language... and a massive stone door. "If your Dad is Harry Potter, then yes. I am Hermione, and this is Hannah, Susan, Terry, Neville, Tracey, Daphne... uh. Padma seems to have followed Harry to get Hagrid..."

Goran smiled, and held the door wide open. "Well welcome everyone. Da's just finished something downstairs he called the Merp 2, whatever that means."

As everyone hesitantly walked in, they viewed the stone house with awe. Everything felt like a normal room... just BIGGER. The windows were nice although they had stone shutters, and they were tall. There was a thick green carpet on the floor, a couple of inches thick that looked a bit like grass. The walls were stone... but it looked tinted, like it was sky.

Everyone jumped a little at a knock at the door. There was a stone hanging that could be used to knock without hurting one's hands, but clearly this was just a large fist.

Harry pulled Hagrid in. "Now now Hagrid, no need to knock."

Goran seemed to some how soften... oh. Neville realized he had been tense, and he had finally relaxed. "Da told me a lot about you, Mr. Hagrid. My name is Goran Potter."

Hagrid had a huge smile. It had been a LONG time since he had to look UP to someone, and Goran was four inches taller. "Now Goran, feel free to just call me Hagrid." They shook hands, causing a small shudder to go through the room. "Do you care for interesting creatures at all? Harry said ye may be interested in helping me with my duties around the forest."

Goran offered a stone chair to the man, while most of the children sat on the HUGE bed. Harry was pulling a WIDE eyed Padma over to another chair so they could sit at the table. The Troll turned his attention to Hagrid, his huge hands relaxed on the smooth table. "Now when you say interesting creatures..."

~~~Core Threads~~~

Professor McGonagall took a calming breath. It seemed Mr. Potter had... eased over a lot of the issues arising from last night. Well, it was most likely him... who else would 'donate' at such a specific time, so that all the paperwork that she was working on just sort of... vanished.

She had a small smile. As corrupt as the wizarding world was becoming, being on the OTHER side of the corruption was... well, an experience. Maybe a wealthy corrupting jerk who corrupted for the RIGHT causes... oh well. Too easy to go wrong, really.

Minerva called for one of the House-elves, and instructed that they should contact Harry Potter about what kind of food his new... son? Merlin she was not old enough to put with this kind of thing.

Thankfully Harry had suggested a working compromise, really. Hogwarts couldn't afford easily to construct a new home, but if Goran lived with Hagrid for a short while, maybe worked with him as Grounds keeper... Nothing in the forest would be able to do much to an INTELLIGENT troll. Frankly the thought frightened even her slightly. Trolls were so strong and magic resistant, they didn't NEED to know what was dangerous, or how to fight, or anything. They just... smushed anything that got in the way.

Put a mind behind that, and... well, Goran could handle the forest without issue.

As she headed toward Hagrids hut, she almost tripped.

There was a stone building behind it. Not a bad looking one either, if a bit basic. Most certainly water-proof... in fact, it looked a bit better than Hagrid's Hut. Better constructed at least.

As she reached the... wow, this was a tall door. She picked up a stone hung by some cord with the words "Use to Knock" etched above it.

The stone door swung open... She kept looking up. Well, he was smiling. "Good afternoon Mr. Potter. May I come in?"

He smiled more, letting her enter where she paused. There were quite a number of students here, a gathering of 'Harry's troop' as they were unofficially known. They were chatting idly, with Harry and Ms. Patil sitting at the table. Harry seemed to be talking to a small house-elf, giving large hand gestures.

She was shook from her thoughts as the large door swung closed... on stone hinges? Some sort of plastic layer inside them too. "This house is Amazing Mr. Potter."

"Thanks". The two vastly different Potters answered with matching grins. Goran offered her a chair so she could sit next to a happy looking Hagrid.

Hagrid leaned back. "So like I was saying see, Cerberus's are WAY misunderstood. Like soft pillows of fur they be, make no mistake. If you get a chance, play one some music and they be the most cuddly friends you ever met." He paused. "Ah, but smaller people get chewed on. Watch that, almost got in trouble once."

Goran's deep chuckle vibrated the floor slightly. "Back in my tribe, we ran into a Cerberus once. You would think it would learn to run after losing the first head, really."

Hagrid nodded. "I always thought it came from the voting, you know? Like, one head goes and the other two are stuck in a tie. Can't decide if he wants to run or stay."

Goran sighed. "They taste burned. Even raw. Daemon hell hounds, don't suggest it. Now, if you ever get to eat a Giraffe!"

Hagrid had a shocked look. "Where did Trolls see a Giraffe?"

He shrugged. "We didn't know that is what they were called, we just labeled them 'Long Necked Tasty Ones'. Now that I think about it, we must have eaten our way through a zoo at some point. Zebras also, really worth the effort."

Hagrid was about to continue this slightly horrifying discussion about eating anything that walked when Harry popped into the conversation. "So son, see my friend Doreen here?" There was a small eep from the tiny creature. Harry pressed a hand on her shoulder. "Doreen has offered to handle your food needs, and help keep the house clean from mud and stuff. She normally works in the castle, so you have to be very nice to her, all right?"

Goran nodded, leaning down on his hands and knees to see the elf better. "Hello Doreen. My name is Goran Potter. It is nice to meet you."

Doreen looked almost unusually young to Professor McGonagall, but she supposed there were problems trying to find elves willing to help the large Troll. The tiny one stood tall. "Hello, Master Potter. I be taking care of food and cleaning."

Again, the Troll nodded. "Well Doreen, could you bring snacks for my friends? And some tea? Harry has told me much about tea. A large container, preferably."

Harry raised a hand, his eyes glowing. Not really focusing on the gasps from around the room, he focused as a mug the size of a small barrel formed from stone with a polished surface formed. With a grin, he waved a hand and "Number One Son" was etched on the side.

If Harry was going to do this, why not go nuts?

Goran picked up his new mug... it was almost perfectly the size of his hand. His smile almost seemed permanent right now. "Th... thanks Da. I love it."

With a soft Pop there were sandwiches, plates, cups with pumpkin juice, and a small cup of tea in front of Harry. The boy grinned as well as he saw tea begin to fill Goran's huge mug. "I may drink more cups than you son, but I have a feeling you will STILL drink more tea."

Minerva just... it felt... the whole room, it felt like a family. Some of it had to be Harry's Aura, but it just felt like home. She relaxed and enjoyed a cup of tea while listening to a half giant and a troll talk about strange beasts they had encountered (And in most cases, eaten) over the years, while the children talked about assignments and whether or not they could convince Harry to make THEM some cool stone mugs.

~~~Core Threads~~~

In an abandoned classroom, a slightly twitchy man with a turban was being yelled at... by said turban. And losing, apparently.

"But I got SO MANY TROLLS! How was I to know it would be handled so quickly?"

Oh, that did NOT help his case.

Sometimes selling your body to evil spirits of dark lords of destruction and torture just didn't seem worth it.