Chapter 1

With the school year ended and the students returned home, Hogwarts was unnaturally quiet. Most of the professors had also left, either for home or a well-earned holiday. Hagrid, however, remained. He lived on the grounds, and though there weren't any students to mind, his work as groundskeeper was never over. Someone had to maintain things over the summer while everyone else was away. Hagrid didn't mind; this was his home and it was a good one, he just got a little lonely sometimes.

Fortunately, there was plenty of company to be had in other forms, such as the creatures in the Forbidden Forest Hagrid had befriended. He was just on his way back from visiting an old hippogriff and sharing half of his catch from his traps when he spotted the most unusual thing in the forest—a boy. Dressed in filthy rags, the young child was crouched in front of the stream and cupping water in his palm to drink. Hagrid could only gape in disbelief. What was a child doing in the Forbidden Forest?

"Hey there," he called.

The boy whipped his head up, eyes blowing wide. Then he was on his bare feet and bolting the opposite direction.

"Wait!" Hagrid shouted, jogging after him. But the lad was quick and had completely disappeared.

Hagrid turned in a few circles, scanning the underbrush, but the boy was gone. Instead of resuming his trek home, Hagrid changed direction and headed for the centaur colony deep inside the forest.

He came upon some youngins playing just outside the village, and they happily abandoned their game to trot alongside him and ask a barrage of questions about the outside world. Hagrid smiled and tried to answer as many as he could, though he barely finished one before two more were asked.

The young centaurs scattered as the leader of the colony made his way toward them.

"Hagrid," he greeted.

"Magorian," Hagrid returned.

"What brings you all the way here?"

"I was wonderin' if you've seen a boy in the forest and knew where he came from."

"Yes, we have seen him the past several weeks," the centaur replied. "He is skittish and flees at first sight."

"Weeks?" Hagrid repeated. How had a young child survived in this place for that long? "Is he alone?"

Magorian nodded. "The boy is a werewolf."

Hagrid's brows shot up to his hairline. "You're joking."

"I do not joke," Magorian said tersely.

"Right, sorry. It's just…he's so young. Did a pack come through here recently? But hang on, you said he was alone."

"No pack came through here," Magorian replied. "I do not know where the boy came from."

Hagrid exhaled with a low whistle. "Alright, thanks."

Magorian inclined his head in farewell, and Hagrid set off for home since it was getting late.

But the next day he was out scouring the forest for signs of the child. He caught no sight of him, but after several hours of following tracks both recent and old, he had at least determined the area the boy seemed to favor. Hagrid set some food in a drawstring pouch out on a rock—some bread and an apple—and hoped the boy would find it before any other critters came poking at the bag.

He went back the next morning, and the pouch was empty. Hagrid roved his gaze around, but everything was quiet. So he refilled the bag with some cheese and nuts and tied it closed, then left again. He knew patience and time were required for gaining the trust of a wild animal, and while this was a human boy he was dealing with, the child was as skittish as a wolf.

Hagrid grimaced as he remembered what Magorian had said about the child being a werewolf. He still couldn't believe it. The boy was so young. How long ago had he been bitten? Did he even understand it?

One thing at a time, Hagrid reminded himself.

He went morning and evening for a couple of days, dropping off food and leaving without hanging around. Then, on the third morning after setting out the food, he didn't leave, but moved a good distance away and took a seat on a log to wait.

It wasn't long before he heard the rustle of leaves and caught a glimpse of movement in some bushes. The boy had learned what time to expect the food. But Hagrid's presence gave him pause, and for a long while the two of them just sat in their respective places. Hagrid acted casual, not staring in the boy's direction but pretending to admire the scenery while he watched out of the corner of his eye.

Eventually the boy slinked out from the bushes, wide eyes fixed on Hagrid as he slowly approached the food. Upon reaching it, he grabbed the bread and scarfed it down. Hagrid still didn't move. One step at a time, that was the key.

The boy's gaze flicked to the crossbow propped against the log, and then he turned and fled. Hagrid pursed his mouth as he glanced at the weapon. He only carried it for protection from some of the nastier inhabitants of the forest, but apparently the boy thought it might be used on him.

So when Hagrid went back the next morning, he left the crossbow at home. This time it took longer for the boy to come out, but his hunger was more persistent than his fear, and he eventually crept over to the rock to snag the bacon and cheese.

"Would you like some chocolate?" Hagrid asked, keeping his voice low and calm as he held up the chocolate bar.

The boy tensed and looked ready to bolt again, but the chocolate had apparently caught his interest. Hagrid began pulling away the wrapper.

"My name's Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid, but everyone jus' calls me Hagrid. I know I look a bit intimidating, don't I? I'm half giant, you see. My mother was a giantress. Can't remember much about her. She wasn't a great mother. But my dad was human and he was a good man. Passed away about thirty years ago now, rest his soul."

Hagrid continued to mildly ramble on as the boy gradually came closer.

"Really, I'm more like a giant teddy bear," he said, breaking the chocolate bar in half and offering a chunk to the boy. To his delight, the child reached out to take it, though he scooted back a few feet to remain out of immediate reach.

"So what's your name?" he asked.

The boy hesitated, then said in a subdued voice, "Remus, sir."

Hagrid smiled, pleased to find the boy could talk, and rather politely too, which suggested an upbringing before he'd ended up here.

"You don't have to call me 'sir,' Hagrid is just fine." He took a bite of his own piece of chocolate, prompting Remus to do the same. He waited until they'd both swallowed before continuing. "How long have you been out here?"

Remus shrugged, dropping his gaze to the ground. Right, how would he know?

"Do you have parents?" Hagrid asked carefully.

Remus's expression twisted with anguish and he shook his head. "Not anymore," he whispered.

Hagrid decided not to push right then. "Why don't you come back to my hut with me?" he suggested.

Remus immediately looked wary at that.

"I have more chocolate there," Hagrid quickly said. "And I can try to mend those clothes."

And calling them clothes was a bit generous at this point. There was no telling what color they had been originally, since they were covered in dirt and grime now and had several rips in them.

"I'm not a tailor," Hagrid went on. "But I've patched up me own stuff well enough. And maybe you'd like a nice hot bath?"

Remus nipped at his bottom lip, obviously torn between need and fear. Hagrid waited patiently for him to work up the nerve to agree on his own and was finally rewarded with a tentative nod.

Hagrid smiled broadly and stood up. His heart twinged when the boy flinched at the movement—or Hagrid's size, but he kept that smile on and held out his hand. It took another few moments for Remus to reach up and take it. Hagrid winced at the boy's bare feet as they trekked through the forest. He'd have to do something about shoes.

They reached the end of the forest and stepped into the open garden outside Hagrid's hut. The castle rose up on the hill, and Hagrid noticed Remus eyeing it fearfully.

"Most everyone's gone for the summer," Hagrid told him. "I get my privacy down here."

He opened the door to his humble abode and left it open so Remus wouldn't feel trapped. He guided the boy over to a chair to sit and then went to grab his wand from the corner. With a subtle wave of the magically disguised pink umbrella, the water pump started spurting water into a bucket, which then floated over to dump in the tub. There was still some water left in the pitcher, so he poured a cup for Remus and set it in front of him. The boy watched him curiously as he puttered around the room, looking for spare fabric he could use to patch the kid's clothes.

"Oh!" Hagrid suddenly exclaimed and snapped his umbrella at the tub to stop it from filling further. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm used to filling it for me, but you'd be swimming in that thing if I filled it all the way."

He went over to heat the water up until it was a nice, soothing temperature. Then he turned back and faltered.

"Right, uh, I'll just be over here. Towel's hanging off the hook right above the tub. If you toss your clothes over, I'll get to work mending them."

Remus slid off the chair and nervously went to the back of the room and the massive tub. Hagrid pulled that chair over toward the door, facing away from the back. He waited until he heard the swishing of water to glance over his shoulder. With Remus in the bath, Hagrid magicked his dirty clothes across the floor, then picked them up to examine. He wrinkled his nose at them and cast a quick cleaning spell, then an odor canceling spell. He couldn't get the stains out, though, so even though the garments were technically clean, they still didn't look it. He'd have to find some replacements for the boy. There was a lost-and-found in the castle that might have something his size.

In the meantime, Hagrid used his wand to mend some of the tears and magically attached some patches to the larger gaps. Once done, he levitated the clothing back toward the other side of the room so Remus could grab them easily when he got out of the tub. Hagrid went over to the cauldron to start cooking supper.

A little while later, he noticed the sudden silence and turned around to find Remus standing in the middle of the room, dressed in his rags, his wet brown hair dripping onto his shoulders and the floor.

"Thank you," the boy said quietly.

"You're welcome. I have a spell to dry your hair, if you want."

Remus hesitated, then nodded.

Hagrid was careful to wave the umbrella gently as he cast the spell.

Remus furrowed his brow. "How can you do magic without a wand?"

"Oh, well, er…" Hagrid shifted his weight awkwardly. "Actually, this here is my wand, just disguised so no one knows I have one. You see, I'm not allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts. Not even supposed to have a wand, either. Let's just keep that between us, yeah? Now, I bet you're still hungry, even after that chocolate bar. Supper will be ready soon."

He saw Remus's gaze flick to the open door, and he dearly hoped the boy wasn't going to make a run for it.

"Bet you haven't slept in a bed for a while either," Hagrid went on as casually as possible. To his relief, Remus went and sat quietly at the table. He didn't say much to Hagrid's one-sided conversation, but at least he was still there.

Hagrid served them both helpings of stew and sat at the table with him.

"Thank you," he said again.

Hagrid smiled. "How old are you, Remus?"

"Ten. Or…I'll be eleven this summer, but I don't know what month it is." He ducked his gaze abashedly at that.

"Almost the end of June," Hagrid said without judgement.

"Oh. Next month, then."

"Eleven's an important birthday," Hagrid said.

Silence fell between them as they ate their stew.

"How'd you end up in the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid asked carefully, but Remus didn't answer and kept his gaze fixed on his supper, so Hagrid let it drop again.

"I promised you more chocolate," he said after they'd finished supper, and he dug around for that other candy bar, which he offered to the boy with a smile.

Remus smiled shyly in return as he accepted it. There were still many unanswered questions, but it was a start.