Harry and Ron met early to go out to meet Hagrid's (Ron had already asked Percy for directions), and they strode out into the impossible green of a Scottish September - the sky was blue, with hints of cirrus white - manes and tails, as they were called. They went towards the only physical building outside of the castle - it truly was hard to miss, once you were pointed in the right direction.

Few other people were outside, despite it being a wonderful Saturday. Harry figured they were either off playing with brooms, or on the gardens and greenhouses on the Lakeward side of Hogwarts. Hagrid's hut loomed, wooden with a thatched roof - somehow seeming a piece with the castle, though vastly lowerborn. Harry stared out at the Forbidden Forest as they drew near the hut, wondering what matter of creatures lived inside.

Ron, meanwhile, babbled pleasantly - ever so pleasant, so long as you heard but didn't listen. Harry absently nodded along, as if he was actually paying attention, his face schooled to an attentive rictus that flowed over his actual thoughts and expressions.

Ah! Here they were! Harry brought his attention back from dreams of dragons and manticores, as Ron looked up at the door. "D' y' think ya could knock?" Ron asked, and Harry resisted the temptation to call him a coward (no need to have faces beat bloody for no reason at all). "Only, the invitation was for you..."

"Of course." Harry said, his back straight as a knife as he knocked at the door. Rubeus Hagrid pulled the door back with a toothy grin, "Harry! How are ya?" He said, his arms around Harry before Harry could even think about being uncomfortable - or even slipping away. Remember, he's quick for a big guy, Harry thought, committing it to memory.

Harry was finally set down (letting out a hiss at having to spend a full minute and a half being Not Scared that Hagrid was going to break his back.), and Hagrid peered behind Harry.

Harry blinked, revising his thought - Hagrid bent down slightly, peering out under the door's lintel at Ron Weasley. How did Hagrid get in and out of this hut anyway? Harry wondered. Maybe sideways? "Hey, you've made a new friend! Come on in!" Hagrid bellowed, and Ron, looking small against Hagrid's girth, ambled inside. Harry could tell he was trying not to act scared... and mostly succeeding.

"Here, have some tea and cauldron cakes!" Hagrid said, turning around as the two kids sat where there were normal (adultsize) seats. Ron was leaning forward, of course he was, lazy sod was bound to be as big as his cousin Dudley if he didn't learn how to work out a little. Maybe Hogwarts had bells?

Then the entire room exploded with fur, as Harry fell to the floor beside the chair, and then crawled behind it. He hadn't a clue what that was, and that bothered him. Still, assuming it wasn't firebreathing, behind a chair was a very imperfect shield, but it was still better than nothing at all.

"Fang!" Hagrid exclaimed happily, as the dog leaped on him. Harry finally understood what he was seeing (more obscured by the immense quantities of fur than the chair itself).

"'Scuse Fang now, boys." Hagrid said, "He don't know he's shedding." Hagrid looked the boys up and down (Ron nearly curled catatonic in his chair, and Harry ducked behind his, his wand tight in his hand. "Aww, don't be like that, he won't hurt you!"

"How do you know?" Harry asked, climbing smoothly to his feet (practice practice practice), before seating himself charily.

"Why he's a coward!" Hagrid said, chortling, "Good nose on him, but if he ever treed even a moggie cat, he'd be out of there before you could say Merlin!"

"Is he really?" Harry said, "but he looks so big!" He was feeding the dumb lout softballs, but that didn't really matter.

"Harry, you've got to understand - a coward's got more courage than most with his back against a ever find one of those? Best to back up and fight another day." Hagrid's eyes seemed to show an uncommon amount of wisdom, for just a moment.

"So how are your classes going? Well, I suppose!" Hagrid asked, his needling for gossip just too affable (and unprying) to be offensive.

Harry piped up, as Ron continued to try and eat the caudlron cake. "Yeah, everything except for Potions."

"Why, what'sa matter there, Harry?"

"Snape hates him, and that's that." Ron spat, seeming upset for his newfound friend.

"I dinna see how that could be," Hagrid said, pausing and looking at the both of them, "Yeh didn't do nothing to make him upset, did ya?"

There was a duet of "no sir"s and the man continued. "Then I don't think he hates either of you, the old grumpy guss does get cross, you know?" Harry had to fight down a sudden, warm smile at the thought of the Groudskeeper, of all people, calling Severus Snape grumpy.

"I thought you'd be taking our side," Harry said, pausing to choose his words with care, "Weren't you the one that said Slytherins was bad wizards?"

Hagrid nodded, saying, "Sure you've heard the saying, about one bad apple in a mess of good ones?" Harry nodded, though it was obvious that Ron hadn't seen. "Well, Imagine it the other way. That's Snape - I trust the man with my life, and Dumbledore himself trusts him too." Hagrid said, pausing, and said in a lower voice, trying to get his cords modulated so only Harry would hear. "He's got soft hands."

Harry had to close his eyes to keep them from bulging out of his head. If there was something that Hagrid was going to say, he hadn't been expecting ANY of that... And to end the whole thing with that perplexing line...

There was a high pitched squeal outside, and Hagrid said, "If'n you can excuse me a moment..." and without waiting, he exited the hut. Ron quickly shoved his cauldron cake into Harry's hands, whispering frantically "go ahead put it under the paper."

Harry did, quickly, as he saw something completely unexpected on the paper's front page. He paused to read, and it was only the clomping of Hagrid's stoneish feet that woke him out of the daze.

"Oh, you're done with your food, are ya?" Hagrid said with a smile, "Well, off you go, then." The boys seemed only too happy to leave before he started feeding them again.

[a/n: Can I get a review?]