A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, means a lot to me, a couple of people in Real-Life want me to stop writing this fic, but if you guys want to keep reading I'll keep writing. [P.S. More reviews = More writing, just a tip]
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The second kiss lasted longer than the first, and was only slightly more passionate. Hermione had her arms looped around Rags' neck while his left hand gently circled her slim waist holding her close, and his right was resting on her hip, no words were spoken, for none needed to be spoken, the two kisses represented an affirmation of feelings that had been denied for the sake of a friendship that was now so much more. The kiss came to an end and both young people were holding each other tight and just revelling in the shared feeling of being with someone, Hermione pulled back and looked into Rags' stormy eyes and said "I thought I'd lost you."
Rags looked back at her and whispered softly "For a while, I think you did" at her look of surprise he pulled her closer and said "while I was reliving my memories" she felt him shudder slightly as his memories came to the forefront of his thoughts, she just held onto him tightly as he said what he needed to say "I could feel myself slipping into madness as every terrible scene was replayed over and over again, as though I was actually reliving everything first hand. Until I felt someone there, although I think I only realised it truly when I woke up, when it all came together with a little help from Dizzy, who I will have to introduce you to later, who pointed me in the right direction, I realised that it was you. You brought me back, you saved my life Hermione."
Hermione blushed slightly and said "Well you did save mine first" she became serious after her first statement and said "why did you do it? Save me I mean, we had done the unthinkable to you; the time that you needed your friends there to support you we abandoned you and threw your friendship back in your face, why would you risk yourself for me?" She reached up and almost hesitantly touched the fresh scar on his face, it was barely a touch; she only used her fingertips so it was as light as a feather, but she did notice that he was leaning into the touch ever so slightly.
Rags decided to address the first part of Hermione's question first, considering he thought that he deserved what had happened in relation to the second part. He released Hermione from his embrace, and both immediately missed the contact and comfort the other could provide, he moved over and stood by the cold, empty fireplace and said "Because no matter what anyone else thought on the matter or even what you thought of me, what I felt and thought mattered. I couldn't let someone else that…that I cared about be hurt or even killed" he turned to face her and she saw the unshed tears make his eyes shine "if anything had happened to you I don't know what I would do? I care about you Hermione, and even though at the time I thought you hated me, despised me for who I was and what I told you in Dumbledore's office, I couldn't stand by and see you get hurt, I'm not strong enough to do that."
Hermione stepped forward and hugged him again, they appeared to be doing that a lot at the moment, but neither of them was going to complain about it. "Rags I don't know what we would ever be able to do to make this up to you, but it's in the past; can we try to move on and look ahead, and I care about you too, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to put any strain on our friendship." She felt him shudder, and she realised that he was suppressing his tears; she had seen him do it countless times in his memories.
Rags looked her in the eye and said "I know, that was my reason too" he looked thoughtful, and nervous, Hermione thought, for a moment, before saying "Hermione, um when the next Hogsmeade visit come along, I was wondering if you would like to go with me, as a couple, not just as friends?"
The grin that broke out over Hermione's features made Rags smile as well, properly this time not one of his little quirky ones, a couple of kisses was one thing but this would make them official "Yes Rags I would love too" she reached up and kissed him again, a kiss that Rags eagerly responded to, another thing that they were doing more an more of, but again neither had any problem with, and said "Now hurry up we should be getting down to breakfast" she saw him stiffen and the smile slip from his face, and she realised although the two of them had patched up their friendship, so that it was now an actual relationship, he still had an innate insecurity of what the others in the group would think, and even if he had a place within said group. "Rags please" she looked him in the eyes and said "please come with me down to breakfast, and lets treat this day as if it was any other, later on we can talk, all of us, will talk and hopefully we can put this experience behind us. Please do this, for me?"
Rags seemed to be struggling with his thoughts and feelings; and Hermione thought that she might have pushed him too far too fast, she watched the emotions play across his features, too fast to count. Finally he took a deep breath and looked Hermione in the eyes, and she feared the worst until he said "Can I change first? My shirt is a little damp" he plucked at the damp patch on his shirt where Hermione had been crying a short while ago.
Hermione smiled and said "Go on just don't take for ever alright." Rags returned the grin and went upstairs to get changed, while Hermione sat on the couch and contemplated how radically her life had changed in the last half hour, she had woke up feeling depressed and unhappy and now, Rags was back and he was her boyfriend. "Boyfriend" she whispered "I like the sound of that, I wonder what my parents will say?", she looked up to see Rags coming down in a grey long sleeved shirt, trainers and jeans, the clothes were not a perfect fit, and looked like they had been chosen out a necessity to get him something, and she realised that it must have been done before he came to Hogwarts, as he would have stood out even more if he had worn either his dark silky robes, or his grey training robes. When she thought back, most of his clothes appeared to be plain unimaginative and rather dull and she thought that when she could she would see about getting him some better fitting clothes.
"Do I meet with your approval?" Rags asked, Hermione was jerked back from her contemplations and realised that she had been staring at Rags for a few moments longer than was completely necessary, she rationalised to herself that he was her boyfriend now, so she was allowed to look.
She grinned and said "For the moment, I may need to indulge in my little used fashion sense at some point, but for the moment you'll do" she burst out laughing at the grimace that appeared on Rags' face, he may have been brought up in terrible circumstances but like most men, he had an inborn distrust of anything to do with clothes, shopping or fashion.
She got up from the couch and held out her hand to him "Come on lets find Harry and Ginny" she noticed that he still looked a little apprehensive, and as much as it hurt her to see it, she knew that he had a pretty good reason for behaving that way, especially given how he was raised and how his last meeting with his 'friends' had gone. Hermione smiled a little when Rags gave on of his quirky grins and took her smaller hand in his large strong one, and together the new couple made their way down for breakfast.
--
Harry was sitting with Ginny in the Great Hall, he picked at the sausage, bacon and eggs on his plate, he hadn't had much of an appetite since Rags had been hurt, none of the group had. Ginny looked at Harry concerned, it hadn't bee long since she had helped Harry get over the loss of his beloved Godfather so she hoped Rags woke up soon, she didn't want to have to deal with another loss so soon after the first. The whole situation felt as though there was a hole in the group, at times they caught themselves almost waiting to hear his voice on an issue, or his laugh or quirky smile at a joke.
Ginny heard the doors to the Great Hall open, and the chattering of the students slowly begin to fade and eventually fall silent. She looked up and saw who was entering the hall, and a huge smile spilt her face, she nudged Harry with her elbow he looked at her with a questioning look on his face and she indicated the doorway, he too glanced up and a grin appeared on his face as he saw who was entering the Great Hall.
--
Rags was still holding Hermione's hand as they neared the Great Hall, and even without looking at him Hermione could tell that he was nervous and apprehensive, and if she wasn't with him, he probably would have just gone down to the kitchens to get something to eat. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze; he looked at her and asked "Am I that obvious?"
Hermione nodded her head "Unfortunately, look I know you have every reason not to trust us, but please give us a chance to earn your trust and friendship back." That last part was said in an almost pleading tone of voice.
Rags looked at her sadly, and she was afraid that he would say that there was no hope of getting their friendship back, even though she was now 'with' him. "Hermione it is I who has to earn your trust back, not the other way around."
Hermione was sick of the way that he constantly put himself down and believed that he was the cause of all their problems, she had to find a way to help him break through his pain, like Ginny had done for Harry during the Summer. She decided to drop the topic and bring it up when they had more time to talk, hopefully tonight, 'I just hope everything works out for the best' she thought to herself as they reached the bottom of the great spiral staircase.
Suddenly Rags stopped, she looked at him and he seemed to be thinking to himself, and his eyes flickered around as though making sure that there was no one watching them, he looked at Hermione and pulled her into a gentle embrace, she returned the hug trying to show him support and affection, two of the things that had been missing for most o his life, he used one finger to tilt her head up as he leaned in a gave her a passionate kiss.
After the toe curling kiss ended Hermione, only slightly out of breath, looked up at Rags and said "Feel more confident now?"
"Definitely, I think I could face just about anything now, and I'm confident I could do it at anytime and anywhere, just as long as you were there with me" she looked at him surprised, she didn't know that his feelings for her ran so deep or so strong, but she was glad that they did nevertheless. She gently cupped his face with her right hand and kissed his cheek once.
"Come on, let's get something to eat, you have been unconscious for a week you must be hungry" it was at that precise moment that Rags' stomach gave an embarrassingly large growl, at his shocked look Hermione couldn't help but laugh, she tugged on his hand and pushed the Great Hall doors open.
Rags and Hermione walked into the Great Hall of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry to almost complete silence, nearly the entire student body had heard about the incident involving Hermione, Rags, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, and they had all been sure that the day in question would be the last time that anyone saw the big Norwegian alive. But here he was walking into the Great Hall holding Hermione's hand as though he had been doing it all year, suddenly before Ginny and Harry could get up and welcome their friend back properly, a piercing shriek filled the air.
Most of the younger students screamed, or yelled in a manly way for the male students. Harry pulled Ginny behind him and quickly scanned the room to see where the noise had come from, Hermione just about jumped out of her skin and grabbed Rags' arm for reassurance, but it was Rags who had the strangest reaction of all, he just grinned, raised his powerful right arm in the air and roared out in a voice that Professor Bins most likely heard up in the History of Magic Classroom, "AESIR".
The bellow echoed around the now silent hall, another shriek pierced the air and the entire student body, as well as many of the staff, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry got whiplash in their necks at the speed at which they all looked to the rafters of the Great Hall, the normally clear sky that showed on the ceiling of the Great Hall became a mighty rolling storm, and from this storm shot a young Midnight-Falcon, it was nowhere near full grown, but he was certainly larger than the last time Rags, or even Dumbledore had seen him, but still everyone in the Hall couldn't hep but be gob smacked at the majestic bird, especially as it settled itself comfortably on Rags' outstretched forearm and nuzzled its head against his cheek.
Rags chuckled slightly, he hadn't been surprised by Aesir's surprise appearance as he had felt the Falcon roosting in the Great Hall long before he and Hermione had reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, it was one of the many perks of the bond that they shared, they could always tell where the other one was. "Hey there you, did you miss me?" he spoke out loud mainly for Hermione's benefit, and Aesir himself had managed to get him to comprehend that he understood words and phrases better if he actually heard them spoken, rather than heard them with his mind.
[Yes, Aesir missed bonded one, Aesir couldn't enter mind and protect bonded one from the demons of his past and his dreams. But Aesir stand guard over sleep, no one hurt bonded one with Aesir there] the falcon was something between looking sad at not being the one able to help Rags, and being proud that he had protected the physical form of his 'bonded one' while he was unconscious.
Rags' eyes widened in surprise, he had never heard Aesir speak even remotely fluently before, but from the sounds of it he was progressing well and would probably be talking properly soon. He brought his arm around; still completely ignorant of the open mouthed stares he was getting from everyone in the Great Hall, including Hermione. "Hermione I would like you to meet Aesir, my bonded Blahdress companion. Aesir this is Hermione Granger, my girlfriend." Hermione beamed at him, he had just said that she was his girlfriend in front of the whole school; admittedly he had said it in a soft enough voice that the people sitting nearest them would have had trouble hearing what he said, but it was still close enough to a public declaration that she appreciated the sentiment.
Hermione wished that the girls that had teased her when she was growing up, and even when she came home from Hogwarts for the summer, could see her now, the girlfriend of a wonderful young man who truly cared for her, and didn't just want to use her for a quick shag. "Pleasure to meet you Aesir" she said looking the Midnight-Falcon directly in the eye, no mean feet considering that Albus Dumbledore himself had difficulties meeting the piercing silver gaze of the falcon when he appeared in the Hospital Wing after Rags had been injured.
The falcon stared resolutely back at Hermione, it was unnerving the way that he just kept on staring, then she felt a strange caress, somewhere in her subconscious, then she heard the voice. [Greetings friend of bonded one, Aesir knows you were one of the three that hurt the bonded one, but Aesir understand that you also care for the bonded one, as long as your care outweighs the pain that you have caused. Aesir and Hermione will get along in peace]
Hermione turned her shocked face to Rags who just looked at her, and she realised that the conversation that she had just had with Aesir was a private one, he hadn't broadcast the thought out to his 'bonded one'; a fact she was extremely grateful for. "He spoke to you, didn't he?" Rags' voice cut through her musings, she nodded her head mutely, still trying t get over the shock of having a bird, a magical bird, but a bird nevertheless speak into her mind "he must like you, usually he only gives impressions or talks to me, Hagrid couldn't get a word out of him" said Rags with a small smile on his face, especially seeing as Hermione had started to revert back to when he initially knew her, and everything that he told her got a goldfish expression from the attractive brunette.
Aesir looked quizzically at Rags for a moment, and when the large young man nodded his head, the bird waddled down his arm and looked pointedly at Hermione, who had absolutely no idea what the magical creature wanted, until Rags spoke. "Hermione he wants to sit on your arm, hold out your right arm and he'll do the rest."
Hermione, still slightly shocked at her brief foray into the realm of mental conversation, gingerly held out her right arm for the magical bird of prey to step onto. Aesir looked at Rags and he again nodded his head, and the bird stepped onto Hermione's arm, she grinned a little nervously at the bird, who rubbed her cheek with his own feathery head, she smiled more naturally, and she thought that he nodded his head in approval. Hermione's attention was grabbed by the patter of feet on the stone floor of the Great Hall, suddenly a small dark haired blur hurled itself at Rags and, had the little girl been a little taller, Hermione would have had serious concern for the condition of Rags' ribs, as he was engulfed in a great hug from little sobbing Emily Vakley.
"Rags, the Slytherin's were saying some awful things about you, about how you were not going to wake up. I even sat with you a few times this week, just to try and help you, seeing as you helped me, but I couldn't, I was so scared" then she broke down in a fit of tears. Rags was still standing there mostly in shock, it wasn't everyday that he was pretty much spear tackled by a little girl in the Great Hall.
He pulled the girl into a hug and said "Emily, it means so much to me that you tried to help me, not many people have done that during my life. I'm sorry I scared you, and I can assure you that I have no plans to be going anywhere anytime soon."
Emily sniffed a little and managed a weak smile at the half joke, she looked up at Rags and said "Sorry for grabbing you like that in front of the school, I just want to say welcome back" after another quick hug she dashed off to join her friends, who were anxious for any gossip or news on the handsome Norwegian sixth year, as were some of the older girls who moved closer to the chattering first years.
Rags turned and raised an eyebrow at Hermione "What was all that about?" Hermione just smiled faintly, Rags had no idea that he had affected so many people during his short stay at Hogwarts. Aesir just hopped off Hermione's arm and onto Rag's shoulder and made himself comfortable, Rags sent a mock glare at the bird and said "Make yourself at home", Aesir preened himself a few times and settled himself securely on Rags' shoulder, digging his talons into the grey fabric of Rags' shirt so that he could keep his balance.
Hermione tugged on Rags' arm to get his attention, as he had finally noticed that all the people who were currently in the Great Hall, which was most of the students, some were still abed like a certainly Weasley boy, and all the staff were watching them intently. "Rags you are Emily's hero, you saved her on her first night here, she probably thinks that nothing bad would happen as long as you were around, seeing you hurt probably scared her to death. You really mean a lot to a great many people here; you should try to remember that."
Rags flashed a smile at Hermione, she thought that she saw his eyes moisten but it could have been her imagination, for the next moment he was just standing their smiling, he indicated with his head and Hermione, for the first time, noticed that no one else in the Great Hall had uttered a sound since the pair had made an appearance.
Hermione's face flushed in embarrassment that everyone in the Great Hall had heard everything that was said. She glanced up at Rags and was shocked to see him smiling broadly, and struggling to hold in a laugh. Hermione's face broke out into a small smile too, and soon after that the Great Hall of Hogwarts rang with the sound of laughter and merriment.
Hermione took Rags' hand again and pulled him toward where Ginny and Harry had been sitting, Harry and Ginny stood up before the new couple got to them. The Great Hall's level of conversation had gone up to about normal levels, as people got less interested in what was going on between the four Gryffindor's, except those in their own House, those who knew that there had been some form of altercation between the four friends and that before Rags had been injured they had not been speaking to each other.
Rags looked nervous, Ginny and Harry thought he looked ready to bolt out of the Great Hall like a startled horse. Hermione released his hand and Rags looked like he was about to say something, but Ginny took the initiative. She stepped up and embraced the taller young man and said "Welcome back Rags", it was strange this simple action, and an even simpler statement, was all that was really needed to break the tension that had surrounded the four students.
Ginny was only slightly shocked when rags actually returned the hug, she could count the times that she had hugged her big friend on one hand, and normally he would stand their and give a gentle squeeze, and that would be the end of it, but to actually have him return the embrace was something new, and like Hermione before her, she could feel the thick ridges of muscle and scar tissue on his body, and tried to keep her tears in check, so much so that she nearly missed him saying "Thanks Gin, its good to be back." She then realised that Hermione had either gotten him to open up a little, or he had missed them as much as they had missed him during his isolation from the group. 'Or both' the red head thought to herself as she stepped back and hid her moistened eyes from her friend, but fortunately he had turned his attention to Harry, and seemed to be waiting on the other's reaction.
Rags looked at his shoes for a moment, took a deep breath and held out his right hand to Harry and said "Hey Harry", he knew that it wasn't exactly the best thing to say at the time but it was all he could think of. Harry looked at Rags' outstretched hand, gave a small smile and took it in his own giving it a firm shake, without letting go he pulled Rags into a quick man-hug with the other hand. Both young men patted each other on the back a few times before letting go, they didn't say anything, mainly because they were kindred spirits, individuals that had gone through a great deal of pain in their young lives and lived to tell the tale, and secondly because guys didn't go in for all that mushy stuff anyway.
The four sat down to breakfast together, and after some initial awkwardness were soon chatting like nothing had ever come between them. The rest of the students at the Gryffindor table all seemed to glance at the four students from time to time, jus to make sure that they all really were there and that this wasn't some magically induced hallucination.
After a suitable introduction to Aesir breakfast went as usual, with Neville, Dean and Seamus coming over to talk to Rags about what happened in the incident involving Hermione and the curse. They were also the ones that told Rags that Draco, Crabbe and Goyle hadn't been expelled, and that it was Draco's father, fresh from Azkaban, that had pulled some strings and had the Headmaster stopped from removing his son and his goon like friends from the school, for although the Headmaster had a lot of power within the school, he was still bound to follow the directives of the school board of governors. Strangely enough the young man didn't rant or rage, he didn't; even swear, unlike another green eyed member of Gryffindor House had when he had found out that the only punishment that the Slytherin's were going to get was a deduction in house points and detentions for a month, Rags just smiled, not an overly pleasant one and said "Oh well, can't win everything I guess" before he turned to conversation back towards the things he had missed while he was unconscious.
--
Albus Dumbledore watched the four close friends chatting to the students around them and couldn't help but smile; it was one of the most rewarding things about his job, being able to see the interactions of young people and the friendships and relationships that blossomed from such contact. He realised that this was the perfect time to announce his surprise for the school year, standing up in front of all his students he got their attention by shooting some sparks form his wand, when all their eyes were upon him he smiled his patented grandfatherly smile, and he was secretly forced to admit to himself that he liked having the schools attention at times like this, well any attention really 'Something that Minerva is constantly reminding me about' he thought to himself before beginning to speak.
"Good morning to you all" he said in a voice that easily reached the back of the cavernous hall, "now that I have you attention there is an announcement that I would like to make, but first Mr Valerian when you have finished your breakfast could you kindly return to the Hospital Wing so that Madame Pomfrey can check you over once more, it appears that she forgot to do it before releasing you this morning" take the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes and Rags' slight flush of embarrassment, and everyone knew that he had left the Hospital Wing without permission from the school nurse, and that the Headmaster had called him on it in front of most of the school.
"Now for my official announcement, I have discussed this with the Heads of House and we have decided that this Halloween we shall not be holding a celebratory banquet" he raised his hands to shush the students that had set up the groan of disappointment, the Halloween feast was one of the larger dinners of the school year, and the food was usually more interesting to boot. "Instead" the elderly Headmaster continued "we shall be holding a Halloween fancy dress ball, to which the whole school is invited, anyone in third year or above may come as a couple, thank you that is all."
The old man couldn't help but smirk to himself at the excited chatter going on amongst his students, the fast paced chatter of the girls, talking about getting a date and what they were going to wear, and the low mumbles of the boys, wondering what the hell they could wear without looking like a complete berk, and how they were going to get a date, especially since everyone knew that the girls travelled in packs.
--
Rags quickly excused himself from the others after agreeing to meet them in the Common Room after he was done in the Hospital Wing, he gave Hermione's hand a quick squeeze before he left, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ginny, or any of the other girls sitting at the Gryffindor table, but until they had conclusive evidence to the contrary then they were going to assume that Ragnar Valerian was still on the market.
It had only been a few moments since Rags had left the Great Hall and he was taking the long way to the Hospital Wing, he had been lying down for a week so he had a fair amount of excess energy to burn off, and after rounding one of the many corners in Hogwarts he saw the perfect opportunity to release some of it.
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had rounded the corner and were coming towards him, the three Death Eater try-hard's hadn't noticed the big lad at the end of the corridor as they were so deep in conversation, a conversation that Rags noted included the words "Mudblood" and "Put her in her place", he deducted that they were talking about Hermione, and a dark smirk filtered its way across his face.
Draco Malfoy was at the moment rather unsure how he felt; he was immensely pleased that his father still had the political power to shield him from whatever flak he may incur by Dumbledore and the rest of his goody-to-shoes side, but he was also incensed that the Mudblood's had started to loose their respect, in reality fear, of him and the rest of the Slytherin Purebloods. His internal monologue and planning conversation with his goon squad was interrupted by a voice that would have frozen helium, and because the blood in the most powerful of Dark Wizards to freeze where they stood, the same thing happened to the three Slytherin's when they heard the voice say.
"Hello lads, so glad to see you again", the looked up into the smirking, freshly scarred face of Ragnar Valerian. They were frozen in mid stride at the sight of him, it wasn't the way he was standing, he was standing rather normally and unthreateningly, it wasn't surprisingly, the tone of voice. It was the eyes, his eyes were an almost solid block of viridian, and you could barely discern the pupils in the eye, the three Slytherin's were terrified.
"Wands" Malfoy screamed in an uncharacteristically loud squeaky voice, as he and his three goons were trying to get their wands, a shroud of grey mist surrounded Rags, so much that only his body outline and his viridian eyes were visible, and he moved with a speed that the three Slytherin's found hard to follow. Within a second he had moved from the end of the corridor and was standing before them, he snapped his face forward and for the second time that year shattered the heir to the Malfoy line's nose, he sent a stunning right hook into Crabbe's face breaking his jaw, and using the elbow of the same arm to crack Goyle's cheek bone, who was standing on the other side of Malfoy.
Rags grabbed Crabbe by the throat with his left hand, and Goyle with his right, and placed his foot on the fallen Malfoy's chest and said "You know Malfoy, I am so glad that your father was able to keep you three in this school, you see you saved me a lot of trouble" he glanced down and saw Malfoy struggling to stop the blood flowing from his nose, while reaching around Rags' foot, he got one of the dark smirks for his efforts.
"You did really did Draco so you have my thanks, by having your father keep you three here" he leant down pulling Crabbe and Goyle with him, the two of them who were slowly turning blue, he supported them with the massive muscles of his arms, and got close to Malfoy, who couldn't help but notice the incredible strength and flexibility of the Norwegian young man, it was strange what you noticed in times of stress, Rags' voice snapped Malfoy's attention back, the fact that he kept repeating himself slightly was all the more spine chilling "by keeping you three here, its just made it that much easier to find you."
Malfoy was terrified, and couldn't stop the sigh of relief when it looked like Rags was leaving, a sigh which died in his throat when the viridian gaze was again lowered close to his face and he whispered in a voice that was more a hiss than an actual speaking tone "Oh and by the way Draco, if you ever try to hurt Hermione again, I'll bury you and your little friends in the grounds of this very castle. Understand?" at Malfoy's shaky nod Rags let them up and said "Now get out of my sight", once the terrified boys had rounded the corner at a full sprint, Crabbe and Goyle a little slower than they normally would have been, but they were still catching their breath after nearly being choked into unconsciousness, Rags felt a little dizzy, he put his hand on the wall to steady himself, but it soon passed, and he smiled to himself, now that he had laid down the law, he might be able to ignore the annoying Slytherin students from now on, although he did wonder why they were so terrified of the Umbra Intentus, or The Shading Stride, all it did was surround you in mist and allow you to move at incredible speed, the looked like they had seen some form of monster.
With that thought he strode down the corridor at his previous relaxed pace, making his way unhurriedly back towards the Hospital Wing, a room that was quickly becoming one of his least favourite rooms in the whole castle. 'I know that my childhood was terrible' he thought to himself 'but sometimes all that dark magic that I was taught, really comes in handy'
--
After being admonished by Madame Pomfrey for leaving early, he was given a clean bill of health, even if she as reluctant to do so. Rags was just leaving the Hospital Wing and was looking forward to a lazy afternoon with Hermione, Harry and Ginny, although he would be lying if he still didn't feel a little odd around them, knowing everything about him that they did, but he supposed that it would pass with time.
He walked down the corridor towards the entrance hall and quite literally bumped into Professor Dumbledore whop was coming the other way. "Excuse me Professor, I didn't see you coming" said Rags, quite shocked that he had nearly been responsible for knocking down the greatest wizard of the modern age.
Dumbledore chuckled, it had been quite a while since someone had bumped into him, most people tended to flow around him when he was in anyplace that could possibly knock him, but that obviously didn't protect him from the corners of corridors in Hogwarts 'One of the perks of being 'Greatest Wizard of the Age' he though to himself with no small amount of humour, without realizing that he had echoed Rags' thoughts. "No harm done Mr Valerian, although it is fortunate that we happened to 'bump into each other' as we did. I was just coming to find you, these were delivered to the school on the day of your accident, they would have been delivered to you personally but by the time the owls arrived you were already in the Hospital Wing."
He handed Rags two extremely thick, top quality, parchment envelopes, the larger bearing more than one seal adorned with crest's that Rags didn't recognize, he knew some of the major wizarding families crests, it was part of his 'education', but theses were not any of the ones he was familiar with, where as the smaller one bore the distinct seal bearing the crest of Gringotts the Wizard Bank. "Thank you sir, but I don't know anything about either of these letters, I recognize the Gringotts seal, but that's it." He looked at Dumbledore, and his eyes communicated his confusion far better than his words could.
Dumbledore looked at the young man in front of him and said levelly "I recognize all the seals Mr Valerian, but is not my place to speculate what is contained within those letters, but I would appreciate being informed about any changes that may need to be made to your school files, if there are any, once you have finished reading them. Good day Mr Valerian." With that Dumbledore strode off down the corridor the way he had come, presumably back towards his office, leaving a confused young wizard behind him, and anyone who might have had the gift of sight and had looked at Rags at that time would have probably seen about a dozen question marks dancing around his head, he really had no clue as to what was going on.
--
Almost as soon as Rags was out of the Great Hall Ginny jumped up and grabbed Hermione's hand and started pulling her towards the door, as Harry moved to go with them Ginny whirled around and said in a voice, not that she would admit, that sounded very similar to her mother "You sit and finish your breakfast, Hermione and I need to have a girl chat" with that Harry sat down very quickly at the dreaded words 'girl chat' and resumed eating his scrambled eggs and talking with Seamus and Dean.
Hermione was shocked and more than slightly glad that she had managed to eat her breakfast before Ginny decided she wanted to use her arm as a pull toy, "Ginny what are you doing?" she couldn't keep the small chuckle out of her voice at what was going on, Ginny was like this most of the time, rather spontaneous and passionate, Hermione and Harry joked that it was because of her vibrant red hair, Rags said that Harry had driven her batty, she wasn't sure who was more accurate.
Ginny threw her a grin and said "You girl need to spill the beans, what was that all about when you came in with Rags this morning? You were practically bursting with happiness, not to mention splitting your face with that smile, and don't think I, or many of the other girls, missed you two holding hands, although they probably think that it was a friendly gesture, and that little hand squeeze you two had going on." It quickly became apparent to Hermione that she was not going to get a work in edgeways with Ginny acting like she was at the moment, so she decided to just go along with it, 'And apparently get dragged all the way to the Gryffindor Common Room' she thought to herself.
Once the two girls had reached the Common Room, Ginny plonked Hermione down on the couch and plopped down onto one of the nearby squishy armchairs and said "Ok Hermione, talk to me, tell me all about you and Rags, and no dodging the question now, I told you about Harry and me so fair is fair."
Hermione smiled and said "Well if you insist" Ginny's bobbing head looked like one of the muggle bobbing dog head figurines that they put in their cars, that Hermione had to consciously stop herself from laughing out loud. Then Hermione told Ginny everything that had happened that morning, from how she had woken up feeling so depressed and down, to walking dejectedly down the stairs and having Rags surprise her by being their waiting for her, when she told Ginny about the kisses the two of them had shared she blushed a little bit, but Ginny just grinned at her, once the whole tale had been told Hermione just sat back and waited for Ginny's reaction to the news.
Ginny didn't disappoint "ABOUT BLOODY TIME" the pretty red head yelled, shrieked according to a Hermione who wondered if all Weasley women could scream like a banshee, "Its only taken the two of you a month to finally get to the issue that you like each other" Ginny went on in a slightly teasing tone.
Hermione couldn't let that one slide, in a teasing tone of her own she said "Well I have a better track record that you in that regard" at Ginny's confused look she started to giggle uncontrollably, but managed to get out "How many years did you moon after Harry before the two of you got together? And I didn't stick my elbow in the butter when I first met him" that was the end of any serious conversation on Hermione's part as she descended into raucous laughter at her friends expression.
Ginny mock glared at her friend and poked her in her midriff, which she new was very ticklish and poked her to punctuate her words "That. Is. Not. Funny. Hermione. Jane. Granger." But soon the red haired girl couldn't contain her own laughter much longer and quickly joined her friend laughing hysterically, that is until the portrait opened and Harry stepped through.
He took in the laughing forms of his girlfriend and best friend/ sister and muttered "I don't want to know", which only made the two girls laugh harder "Ok I really don't want to know."
The three were sitting, Ginny now sitting on Harry's lap as he had taken her place on the armchair with his arms wrapped round her middle, around chatting, planning on the best time to give Rags his belated birthday presents when the man in question walked in through the portrait hole, holding two rather thick letters in his hands and with a thoughtful look on his face. He took both letters in his right hand and scratched the back of his head with his left, as if pondering something, he looed up when he realised that he wasn't the only one in the room. He gave a small quirky smile and said "Hey guys, I didn't think you would all be here yet" he walked towards the couch and sat down next to Hermione who, much to his surprise, lifted his left arm up and snuggled in next to him, placing the large arm around her shoulders and hugging him.
The simple gesture brought a smile to everyone's face, Harry smiled because he was happy to see Hermione so happy, and he had managed to work out for himself that Rags and Hermione were together now 'I'm not as thick as everyone things' he thought to himself with another smile, Ginny smiled because it was romantic and mushy, and she really liked romantic/mushy stuff, Hermione smiled because it made her feel content and happy in a way that she hadn't felt before, and Rags smiled for two reasons, firstly he was sitting with his friends again after fearing that he had lost that friendship forever, and secondly Hermione snuggling up next to him made him feel special and needed.
Hermione hugged the large warm body sitting next to her and looked at the letters in Rags' hand and said "Rags, what are the letters for? And why didn't they come this morning with the rest of the post?"
Rags handed the letters to Hermione, who was still snuggled up against him, and she began to look at them intently, and found that she couldn't break any of the seals on either of the letters. "Well they actually arrived on the same day that I ended up in the Hospital Wing" he felt Hermione stiffen next to him so he gave her a gentle squeeze until she relaxed "but as I was leaving that very same place a few minutes ago I literally bumped into Dumbledore who gave them to me, although as to what they are for, your guess is as good as mine, but Dumbledore seemed to know what they were on about."
He was actually finding it hard not to laugh at Hermione, not a good thing to do on the best of days, she was still trying to, unsuccessfully, open the letters which Rags had handed over to her. "You know it might be easier if you used your teeth" said Rags causing Ginny to clasp her hands over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud, and Harry took the cowards way out and buried his face in Ginny's flaming red hair, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Hermione on the other hand simply glared at Rags, noting his face which was rather too innocent for her liking, but like in the Great Hall earlier that morning she found it hard not to laugh at the situation, soon after that the two couples were laughing together. When they had sufficiently calmed down Hermione said, with as much dignity as she could muster with her face flushed from laughing, "Alright then you open them" she then thrust the letters back into Rags' right hand, and grabbed his left one securely, so that it served the dual purpose of keeping her in his embrace and from using the hand to open his mail.
Rags just smirked and used his telekinetic abilities to hold the many sealed letter in front of him, and then wiggled his fingers in Hermione's general direction, which caused her to mock frown at him as he had easily spiled her plot.
As Rags and Hermione continued to act silly, Harry and Ginny had been plotting away in their own little corner, trying to figure out how they were going to surprise Rags with his belated birthday.
After a bit of wheeling and dealing on the part of Harry and Ginny, Rags and Hermione had headed off on a walk around the grounds, seeing as they had only just gotten together as a couple they would want to spend some time away from the inquisitive, and in one case hostile, eyes of Gryffindor House, and Rags still hadn't opened his mail, he had just stuffed it into his trouser pocket out of the way until he had a free moment to look at them. When the pair had disappeared out of the portrait hole Harry and Ginny bolted for their respective dorms, and moments alter came down clutching some brightly wrapped parcels, Ginny fortunately knew where Hermione had put her presents for Rags so that was covered, and they both left for the Room of Requirement with the presents clutched in their arms, they knew they had about forty minutes before Hermione said they would be back, if they hurried they might be able to get a snog in before the other couple returned.
--
Hermione looked at Rags a content smile on her face, he actually looked happy, he was smiling broadly and watching as Aesir soared above them as they walked around the Black Lake. He was still wearing the same long sleeved shirt that he had worn to breakfast; he wasn't wearing a cloak as he had insisted that he brave the cooler weather as he had been cooped up inside, specifically lying in a bed, for a week and he wanted to feel some fresh air on his face.
She pulled him over to a large tree and sat him down; she then settled herself between his legs and leaned back against his chest pulling his arms around her tightly. She expected and wasn't disappointed when she felt him stiffen behind her 'He really isn't very comfortable with physical contact is he?' she thought to herself and was about to move so that she was sitting next to him, rather than practically on him, when again she was surprised. As she began to move the arms around her tightened and brought her back to Rags' chest, she smiled and felt Rags rest his cheek on the back of her head and thought she felt him smile.
"What do you think the real reason for getting us out of Gryffindor tower is?" Rags asked Hermione after a few minutes of just enjoying the peaceful quiet of where they sat.
Hermione grinned, she offcourse knew the real reason for Ginny and Harry wanting Rags out of the tower, and turfing him out on his own would have probably hurt his feelings and have the side affect of causing him no end of confusion. "Well, they probably want a snog without the two of us sitting there" she replied, and it wasn't; really a lie she told herself.
She felt a rumble behind her and realised that Rags was chuckling to himself, and in the position that the two of them were in she felt the deep bass rumble deep in his powerful chest, and smiled to herself, her boyfriend was quite a catch, if she said so herself.
The sat comfortably enjoying each others company, talking about anything and everything, except the topic of Rags' memories, but Hermione did manage to get a promise out of him that they would talk at a later opportunity, whether it be later that evening or in the next few days.
Their enjoyable conversation was interrupted by a faint voice echoing across the lake "…", Rags and Hermione looked up slightly confused, as neither of them could make out the fait words, or word.
Suddenly Hermione felt Rags' arms tighten around her slightly "Shite how many bones do I have to break today to get some peace and frigging quiet" Rags muttered to himself, and without realising drawing a slightly shocked and confused look from Hermione, until she noticed that voice was coming from a tall red haired sixth year student, one Ronald Weasley, who appeared to be looking for someone and was heading their way. Before Hermione could blink Rags had let go of her with his right arm and whipped his wand out from its sheath on his left forearm, under his shirt, and made a complicated gesture surrounding them followed by a muttered incantation.
Hermione didn't feel any different but when she looked down at herself, she saw what she expected to see, both of Rags' arms around her, as he had replaced his wand after his spell, and her own body lying on the ground and she could feel Rags' powerful chest behind her, but something was different. The difference was with her outline, she was slightly fuzzy, and by fuzzy she meant that there was a strange blur surrounding her, she leaned back and looked up into Rags' stormy eyes with a confused look on her face.
She got a grin for her troubles an he said "Modified Notice Me Not charm, he won't notice us an if he gets within two meters of this spot he'll remember something that he should be doing right now and forget that he was looking for us, or more specifically you."
She frowned at him, a Notice Me Not harm was a fairly complicated bit of magic, and combined with a Confundus charm was practically unheard of, but using Arithmancy she could conceive how it would be done. Hermione couldn't keep frowning at Rags when he was sitting there grinning at her like a loon and was soon forced to return the grin. Hermione had just leant back against Rags before she remembered what he had said moments before casting his spell.
"Rags?" she got a grunt like noise out of him which she assumed meant that he was listening, "what did you mean about breaking bones today?" she wondered what he had meant, he obviously wasn't talking about himself as he was in perfect health, well she assumed he was.
"Well…um…I sort of ran into Malfoy and his gang of premature Death Eater Try Hard's, and there was a repeat performance of what happened on the train except Crabbe and Goyle were included." He paused after that statement, waiting for her response.
Hermione gently extracted herself from his grasp and turned to face him kneeling between his legs, looking at his face she noticed that he wouldn't meet her gaze, and was actually looking at his hands that rested in his lap. 'He thinks I'm going to berate him or something worse' she thought to herself. She reached out and grasped his large hands with her own running her thumbs over the large knuckles "Why?" she asked gently, not wanting to make him any more uncomfortable than he obviously already was.
Rags looked up for a moment, before he once again looked down; surprise registering clearly in his stormy eyes, Hermione noticed that they had dulled down to a more moderate grey, "You ask why? The only answer that I can give is that they were not punished for their actions. They attacked you, without provocation, took away your wand and attempted to curse you with a spell that could have very easily ended your life; I couldn't allow that to go unpunished. I know I do not have any authority to punish them, and I apologise if I have overstepped my bounds" his Norwegian accent was more pronounced now that he was flustered "I had to do something, they should not be allowed to get away with something like this because Malfoy's Death Eater father payed some corrupt government official a ridiculous amount of gold to keep them here with nothing more than a loss of house points and detention."
He was breathing a little heavily showing the amount of passion, and in some ways, distaste he had for the subject, and he still wouldn't meet Hermione's gaze. Hermione, who was a little shocked at the revelation, used her hand to tilt his head up so she was looking him in the eye, and she could see the fear in his eyes, fear that she would reject him and no longer want to be with him, so she didn't say anything, she just leant forward and hugged him. Holding him close she felt his arms circle her and a breath that neither of them knew he was holding escape him in a ragged sigh, resting her cheek she whispered "Thank you, I don't want you getting in trouble over me, but again thank you for standing up for me" she felt his cheek move as he smiled and said.
"Anytime Hermione anytime" the two of them stayed like that for a few minutes before Hermione broke the silence by saying that they had been away long enough and that they should go and meet up with Harry and Ginny.
The two were walking back to Hogwarts hand in hand when suddenly Rags stopped pulling Hermione to a stop as well, she looked up at him, she was a little confused surely he wasn't having second thoughts about the friendship the four of them shared, well she admitted to herself that it would probably take a few days for everything to go back to the way that they were a week ago.
"Hermione I would like to ask you a question if I may?" said Rags in his deep rumbling voice, Hermione looked up at him and nodded her head, curious as to what he wanted to say that would involve them standing still and not continuing on their way to the Room of Requirement.
Rags took a deep breath and again took her hands in his and said "Hermione Granger would you do me the honour of being my date to the Halloween Ball?" he held his breath after that, although unlike the first time he knew he was doing it, and he freely admitted to himself that he was terrified that she was going to say no.
The squeal that escaped Hermione's lips however seemed to put most of his worries at ease, as he was engulfed in the most rib-crushing Hermione Granger hug, that eh thought, anyone had ever experienced, and that was saying something. "Rags I would love to go to the Ball with you" she then grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him for the most passionate kiss the two of them had shared so far, and then proceeded to drag him towards Hogwarts, now with the duel intention of telling Ginny about her new date, and get some costume ideas, but also for Rags' surprise birthday celebration. It was a good thing that Hermione had all of this planned out in her head, as at that exact time Rags was having trouble walking, let alone thinking, the goofy grin on his face wasn't helping much either.
--
Rags was only slightly goofy looking when the two of them got to the door of the Room of Requirement, a room he was intimately familiar with, for reasons as of yet unknown to his friends, but he would tell them, he had mad a promise not to keep secrets from them again and he meant to keep that promise. He realised, on a subconscious level, that there already was a door in place, which meant that someone was already using the Room of Requirement, but the majority of his attention was directed towards the girl who was holding his hand and pulling him into the room.
"SURPRISE", Hermione couldn't help but give a face splitting smile, whereas Rags almost had a heart attack. He was usually observant, but today he was pretty sure he deserved a little bit of slack so he hoped people would forgive him for his lapse in concentration, especially Hermione as he ahd drilled into her the need to be aware of your surroundings enough times in their training sessions, and having your best friends jump out from behind a couch in a generated room that looked similar to the Gryffindor Common Room, for someone who wasn't used to surprise gatherings the fact that he had neither cursed or started swearing profusely was, he thought, quite an accomplishment.
When Hermione, Harry and Ginny had stopped laughing at the 'Eeep' that had escaped Rags' mouth, a very manly 'eeep' in Rags' opinion, and his startled expressions the four friends settled down on the two couches that were available with the decent sized coffee table between them, and they decided to tell Rags the real reason for meeting there.
"Rags we three have asked you here today to rectify something that shouldn't have happened" said Ginny, Rags raised an eyebrow indicating that he was confused as to what they thought that they needed to put right.
"Rags, what Ginny is trying to say is that we're sorry we turned on you that day in Dumbledore's office" Rags looked like he was about to say something contrary to what Harry and Ginny had been saying but Harry held up a hand and continued "Rags please let us finish, whatever way you look at it we did turn on you and betrayed the friendship that you offered so freely, and this wasn't the worst thing that happened. You had just told us something terrible about yourself and it was a time that you really needed your friends to be supportive and stick with you; instead we turned on you like you were Voldemort and not his unwilling son. Also we hope that what we are going to do here today will go someway to showing you how sorry we are."
Harry nodded to Hermione and Ginny who both reached forward and appeared to grasp thin air, and then jerking upwards with their hands they revealed that they were in fact holding Harry's invisibility cloak, but what was underneath was what really drew Rags' attention, several brightly wrapped parcels stood out on the tabletop, and he then heard his friends say words that he hadn't heard addressed to him before in his life "Happy Birthday Rags."
He sat practically open mouthed staring at the brightly wrapped packages on the table, his right hand fumbled quickly and grabbed Hermione's hand in an almost vice like grip, not enough to cause her any pain but certainly enough to get her attention. She looked at him and thought to herself 'He doesn't know how to react, he has never really had a birthday celebration before, it's a good thing we didn't go with Ginny's idea and include the whole of Gryffindor in this plan.' She decided to draw attention away from the fact that Rags was wholly out of his depth and said "The blue ones are from me, the black and orange ones are from Ginny and the red and gold ones are from Harry."
Harry was a little shocked, he remembered that Hermione had said that Rags' childhood was terrible, but she hadn't gone into too much detail as she said that it wasn't her business to reveal Rags' secret past, but he had assumed that it must have at least been as bad as his own time with the Dursley's, and the small amount of moisture in Rags' eyes confirmed his suspicions that in fact much worse. He was about to say something when Rags beat him to it by saying "Guys…you didn't have to…I mean" he closed his eyes and took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts and when he opened his eyes again he continued.
"What I am trying to say is, thank you, I think this is the nicest thing that anyone has done for me in a long time and I really don't know what to say" Hermione's gentle return squeeze on his hand, and the idea that he had friends, friends willing to buy him birthday presents, brought a real smile to his face, not his usual quirky grin that could mean anything from amusement, hope, or humour, but an actual full-blown happy smile.
"Well that only leaves one thing then doesn't it?" said Ginny, with a none too small secret like smile of her own. Once everyone's attention was on her, her smile became a mischievous grin and she said "You have to open then don't you?"
Everyone had a good chuckle at that statement, and it confirmed in Harry and Hermione's mind that Fred and George Weasley were not the only members of their family that were good at raising people's spirits, Ginny may not be in their league when it came to pranks, but in terms of getting people to laugh, she was their equal.
"Here you go mate these two are from me" said Harry, who handed Rags two rather large packages wrapped in red and gold paper, Rags with a grin still on his face tore into them with gusto. It only took him a few minutes to realise what was actually in the package, it was a broomstick, gleaming and new.
Rags sat back stunned, here in his hands was perhaps the most expensive thing that anyone had ever given him, he ran his hands over the sleek, shiny, highly polished wood and noticed some words engraved in gold at the top of the handle, they read Nimbus 2000, he blinked back a few tears, refusing to let his friends see him cry. He instead looked up at Harry and said.
"Harry this is incredible I don't even know how to begin to say thanks", Harry just grinned at him and motioned that he had another present from him to open. Rags picked up the second package and examined it for a moment before he began to unwrap it, at first glance it looked like the box that he used to keep Matsuro in, and except for the fact that this one was slightly deeper the could have been the same. He pulled off the wrapping paper and saw a fine looking chest emblazoned with the logo of 'Quality Quidditch Supplies', opening it up he saw a new set of Beater armour and a Beater club with his initials stencilled on in silver so that they stood out more against the dark wood.
He was speechless, in one single moment he had been given more gifts than at any other moment of his life. He placed the chest down reverently and moved the broom from where it was leaning up against the couch next to him and placed it on the box, Rags then got up and pulled Harry into a rough man-hug, he didn't know what else to do, he did whisper in a hoarse voice "Thanks Captain, I'll put them to good use."
Harry grinned and gave Rags a friendly slug in the arm and said "You'd better, the first Quidditch match of the season is against Slytherin" he got an answering grin in return and the two of them sat down again, both of them pretending that they didn't see Hermione and Ginny wiping their eyes as they did so.
"Mine next" piped up Ginny before Hermione could say otherwise, at the slight frown from the older girl she just grinned mischievously and said "what don't you want to give Rags your presents in private?", Hermione flushed the same colour as Ginny's hair and Harry had to clamp both hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud, Hermione knew more hexes than most of their year put together and he didn't want to get on her bad side, but it was hard when Rags was sitting their completely missing the point of the conversation, and the sudden change of direction that it had taken.
Ginny pushed one of the brightly wrapped packages that was in front of her towards Rags and said "Ok you should open this one first, I think you might be able to find a use for this one", rags raised an eyebrow and opened the package and burst into raucous laughter, because inside the package that he had just opened were the latest versions of the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes Skiving Snackboxes, he was soon joined by the others as they realised what was in the present.
Hermione managed to get her laughter under control and said "Not that you'll be using those will you Rags?" the mock glare that she sent her boyfriend's way was a toned down version of the one that she had been using fro six years to get Harry and Ron to study, or their version of studying.
She got a quirky/ cheeky smile for her efforts and he said "Well I don't know about that" at her slightly shocked expression he said "maybe getting out of Snape's class might be good for an hour or two some times, or I could put it in his morning tea at breakfast, the I wouldn't be the one missing class" Hermione's frown became a fraction more realistic at his semi serious tone until he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the nose and said "just kidding, but it is a pleasant fantasy."
Harry and Ginny were holding their sides with laughter as embarrassment, surprise, annoyance, and a little bit of pleasure all warred for dominance on Hermione's face, eventually she was forced to give in and laugh like the rest of them, this was how school was supposed to be fun and laughter with good friends, not fighting for their lives every year she thought, her attention was brought back to what was going on around her by Ginny giving Rags her second present.
He opened it up and a jacket fell out into his lap, but what a jacket, it seemed to be a mix of both leather and thousands and thousands of scales that seemed to shift between black and dark red depending on how the jacket caught the light Rags said "Ginny, this is a Dragon-Skin jacket, its' magnificent, how did you get it?"
Ginny just smiled "Well with my brothers joke shop now starting to outstrip Zonkos in terms of profits, all I had to do is call in one of the many favours that they owe me and presto I was able to get a great present for a great friend. Now do I get a hug too?"
She stood up and caught Rags up in a very Weasley hug, one which Rags returned "Offcourse you can get a hug Gin" he then added in a teasing tone "do you really need to ask?"
The younger girl giggled and said "Well go on then try it on", Rags then settled the impressive jacket over his shoulders and admired the fit, the dragon scales allowing him to cut quite a dashing figure, if he did think so himself, unknown to him so did Hermione and Ginny, both girls were admiring the way that the Dragon-Scaled jacket enhanced his rather obvious physical attributes, Harry just thought the jacket was 'Wicked'. Rags then took the jacket off and placed it with the Nimbus on top of his Quidditch chest.
"I suppose you have mine to open next" said Hermione with a small smile and handed over a small rectangular package expertly wrapped in blue paper, which drew a small smile from both Harry and Ginny, trust Hermione to take something as simple as wrapping paper and excel at it, they also noticed that Rags opened this present a little bit more carefully than the others.
He un-wrapped a shining silver rectangle; he looked confused for a moment until he turned it around and saw that it was a picture frame. The picture he saw inside brought a smile to his face, something that was happening a lot now that he had 'woken up'. The picture was one that Colin Creevey had taken on the day that the four friend had gone down to visit Hagrid and had received their Blahdress eggs, the photo was a wizarding one, and the four figures within the frame constantly moved with the photographic Rags having one arm slung around Harry's shoulders, the other had a smiling Hermione pulled against his side, where as Ginny was pulled against Harry's, the four friends were smiling with youthful happiness.
"It's perfect" Rags whispered as he gently ran his fingers over the etched and engraved silver frame, and smiled as his and Harry's picture selves pulled out their wands and pretended to duel with the real Rags' fingers, causing the photographic Ginny and Hermione to hold onto each other with laughter.
Hermione, who had once again finally gotten control of her giggles, looked at the happy expression on Rags' face and felt glad that Harry, Ginny and herself had been able to give him a semblance of a real birthday celebration. "Here last one" she said and handed over another expertly wrapped blue parcel.
"Fantastic" Rags said as he finished unwrapping the final parcel, within its bright blue exterior was a set of magnificent books, these were not spell books, or even wizarding books, this was a true Hermione Granger gift, they were stories, some of the best that the muggle world had ever produced. Including 'Sherlock Holms', 'The Phantom of the Opera', 'The Count of Monte Cristo', and Hermione's personal favourite 'The Lord of the Rings' which offcourse included 'The Hobbit'.
Hermione then found herself in the most rib-crushing hug she had ever received, with Rags' head buried in her hair and she heard him whisper "Thank you so much", all she could do was hug him back tightly and say.
"Your welcome" she straightened up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said "Happy birthday, may the rest be as good as this one."
With that the four friends fell into a comfortable silence, with Ginny sitting comfortably in Harry's lap, and Hermione leaning comfortably against Rags' side as he read the blurbs on the new books he had been given, when suddenly Harry spoke up "Oi Rags mate, what were those letters all about?"
Rags looked up and said "I don't know, I guess I forgot all about them, seeing as you guys masterfully sprung this on me" that drew more than one satisfied grin from around the room.
"Well go on then open them" said Ginny, who was apparently as curious as her boyfriend about what was in the letters. Rags dug around in his pocket for a few moments before he pulled out both letters, letters that to the surprise of everyone immediately flattened themselves out and returned themselves from their previously crumpled appearance, it was obvious that Rags' trouser pocket was not the safest place for mail.
"Huh handy that" muttered Rags to no one in particular as he looked at the letters in his hand, one bearing the crest of Gringotts, the other many crests that he didn't recognise. "Which one should I open first?" he asked his friends, hoping one of them would have a suggestion.
--
AN: FINALLY, whew sorry bout that but RL caught me by surprise, add in some UNI essays, crazy relatives and hey presto you have a long wait for the next chapter. But this one is a bit longer than the others, almost a quarter of the length of the total story so far lol. Please read and review, like I said 'more reviews = more chapters' cheers all. TBK