Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter or Oh My Goddess.
The weeks leading up to Christmas saw the arrival of a winter the likes of which Harry had not seen before. It started snowing regularly in December, until the school and its grounds were covered by several feet of it. The cold weather made the unheated and draughty corridors of Hogwarts so cold that the Weasley twins claimed that they had seen one of their potions freeze solid during their walk back from the Potions classroom in the dungeons.
The general level of anticipation amongst the students was almost palpable, though Harry had noticed that Ron was not quite as enthusiastic as some of the others.
"It'll be my first Christmas away from home," Ron explained when Harry asked him about it, "Mum and Dad are taking Ginny to Romania to visit Charlie, so we're all staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. Percy and the twins have done it before, but I think I'm going to be the only Gryffindor first year who is staying."
Harry nodded once Ron had finished. He knew that Neville was keen to go back home for Christmas, as he had spent most of them up until that point without his parents. Dean and Seamus were also going back home, and none of the girls were staying.
"Well, I'll write to you while I'm at home," Harry said, making a snap decision, "I know it won't be for long but I'll let you know what's going on."
"Thanks Harry," Ron said sheepishly, "though you just reminded me of something. Can you please send mum your address? I've mentioned you a few times in my letters home and I think she wants to send you a gift at Christmas."
"Sure, I'll let Aunty Bell know. Though you know this means I have to get you a present as well." Harry replied with a small smile.
Ron grinned back. "Sure, go ahead. I'll be looking forward to my own Nimbus 2000..."
"Prat." Harry retorted as he gently slapped Ron on the shoulder.
"Sirius? Can you please give me some advice?" Belldandy asked through the Floo. Sirius looked up from his ever-present mound of paperwork with a smile.
"Anything to get me away from this lot. What do you need?"
"Harry wrote to me to say that the Weasleys want to send him a Christmas present this year," Belldandy explained, "he wants to give one to Ron. Do you know what would be appropriate?"
Sirius rubbed his chin as he thought. "Well, you don't want to go over the top. The Weasleys are known for turning down anything they see as charity. How about something Ron really needs rather than something that is frivolous?"
Belldandy looked thoughtful. "What would he really need that I could give him as a gift?"
Sirius scowled as he considered what he knew about the Weasleys. He looked at his inkwell as he began to think out loud, "Well, if I know the Weasleys, Ron is probably using a wand that he inherited from somebody else in the family. That's never a good idea, you should always use a wand that is suited to you. But we'd have to get Ron to Diagon Alley for Ollivander to fit him properly."
"What about a gift certificate?" Belldandy asked innocently.
Sirius just looked puzzled. "What's a gift certificate?"
Belldandy briefly explained the muggle concept, using a few of the stores she knew Sirius was aware of as examples. Sirius was soon nodding.
"Sounds good to me, but you'll have to explain it all to Ollivander first. I'm sure he'll figure something out. As for the rest of the family, I'd suggest sending something simple but personal. Remus mentioned that Molly is known for sending hand-knitted jumpers and home-made fudge to people as presents, maybe something like that?"
"I can handle that easily!" Belldandy said with a beaming smile.
The Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade on the 21st of December, taking those Hogwarts students who were spending Christmas with their families back to London. Harry wondered if it was inconvenient for those students who lived closer to Hogwarts than they did to London, but when he mentioned it to Hermione she had suggested that those students might have other arrangements.
The train was smaller than it had been on the 1st of September, and the carriages were not nearly as full. Harry quickly claimed a compartment in the middle of the train, where he was joined by Hermione and Neville.
"Do you have any plans for Christmas?" Harry asked as the train started to move.
"Not really, beyond the usual family get-together," Hermione replied, "the holiday isn't really long enough to go on any big trips so my parents usually don't bother until the summer holiday."
"I have the usual family celebration," Neville said, "apart from the fact that my parents will be attending. A few of my relatives still cannot seem to cope with them being around."
"It must be nice to have them back." Harry commented, shifting slightly to get more comfortable.
"It is," Neville agreed, "though their presence means some parts of the family won't be around."
"What? Why?" Hermione asked, looking puzzled.
"Well," Neville began as he gathered his thoughts, "for a while my relatives weren't sure if I was a wizard or a squib, as I didn't have any bouts of accidental magic. So they kept trying to force it out of me."
"How?" Harry asked.
"One time they pushed me off a pier. I almost drowned." Neville replied, glaring out of the window. "My parents were not happy about any of it when they were told about what had been going on, so now some family members are off the invitation list."
"I should think so! To think that anybody would endanger a child's life just to force accidental magic! It's horrible!" Hermione stated, looking quite angry.
"I think we'll be having a family gathering again," Harry said quietly, looking to defuse the tension, "it'll be nice to see everyone."
"Do you usually have big family events like that?" Hermione asked.
"Only since I started living with my Aunty Bell," Harry replied, "not before that."
"Where were you before that?" Neville inquired, looking curious.
"Well..." Harry began, wondering just how to explain it.
Keiichi gently rocked his children in their baby buggy as he waited for the Hogwarts Express to arrive. He had originally thought to drive down from Hinckley but Sirius had insisted that they use a portkey to save time. Keiichi had worried about whether it was safe for his children to travel by a portkey, but Belldandy had assured him that all would be well.
Belldandy was chatting to Remus with half an eye on her children while Sirius seemed to be busy watching the crowd. It was mostly comprised of parents waiting for their children to arrive from Hogwarts, with a few staff members and Aurors mixed in. Sirius and Remus had already arranged to celebrate this Christmas with Keiichi's family, as they had every year since they had reconnected with Harry.
Keiichi glanced around the rest of the platform. He was feeling a little self-conscious, as he was the only person present who was not wearing robes of one sort or another. Well, he was the only man present who was dressed "muggle" at least, Belldandy had elected to wear one of her favourite outfits.
Sirius suddenly stirred, and took a small step in Keiichi's direction. Keiichi looked up at the taller man, a questioning expression on his face.
"Don't worry, I'm just being cautious," Sirius muttered, just loud enough for Keiichi to hear, "that's Malfoy over there. He's been glaring in our direction ever since he arrived. He probably won't try anything, but I'd rather be prepared."
"Should I be worried?" Keiichi replied, matching Sirius' volume. Keiichi was not worried about his children, as he knew that Belldandy had spent several hours carefully applying protective spells to the baby stroller.
"No." Sirius answered shortly. "Malfoy and I have a history going back to his days as a Death Eater. He also doesn't like the fact that I've taken the Black money and Wizengamot seat away from him. If he makes trouble, he'll be focusing on me." Or at least I hope so, Sirius thought to himself, I'd rather not see Belldandy vaporise Malfoy in front of everybody if he threatens her babies. It would be hard to explain to the DMLE afterwards.
The sound of an approaching train attracted everybody's attention, though Sirius was careful to keep the Malfoy family within his line of sight. He noted that Narcissa was looking slightly apprehensive while Lucius had schooled his expression to an almost perfect Poker face. Narcissa will be hoping that her attempts to turn Draco into a human being have not gone to waste, Sirius mused, so much can happen while he's away with a bunch of Pureblood heirs.
Eventually the train came to a halt and students started to emerge from the carriages. Harry emerged with a girl Sirius did not know and a boy Sirius recognised as being Neville Longbottom. As soon as Harry spotted his family he pointed them out to his friends. The trio started to walk in the general direction of Harry's family, though Sirius noticed the Longbottoms and a married couple he assumed were the Grangers were moving towards the three students.
Neville and Hermione had already met and greeted their parents by the time the group reached Harry's family. Sirius took it upon himself to carry out the introductions, in part due to his status as Lord Black but also thanks to his urge to be the centre of attention. The Grangers were pleased to meet another set of "muggle" parents in Keiichi and Belldandy, or at least parents who lived in the non-magical world. The Longbottoms were just happy to see Neville again, though meeting the girl who had featured in a number of Neville's letters home was a bonus.
Eventually the three families separated to make their way to their respective homes, after some business cards were exchanged and promises made to stay in touch. Harry was looking at his siblings as the rope-turned-portkey activated to take them all back to Hinckley.
Ron Weasley woke up on Christmas morning to an empty room. He was the only first year Gryffindor boy to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday, and while he tried to put on a brave face the empty room drove home the fact that his friends were gone.
Not that it was too bad. With most of the student population gone and no classes scheduled, the staff were more relaxed and inclined to socialise with their students. There were obvious exceptions - Snape probably did not know what "social" even meant while Filch seemed to be determined to become the dictionary definition of "anti-social." But Ron had discovered that Professor Sprout was more than happy to chat with any student who approached her, provided that at least half of the conversation related to plants in some way. Professor Sinistra turned out to be a good chess player, good enough that Ron had to really concentrate. So far they were tied, which made the Astrology Professor the best chess player Ron had ever played against.
As Ron got up, he noticed a small pile of presents at the end of his bed. After putting on his slippers to guard against the cold floor, he approached the pile and began to sort through them. For the most part it was the same sorts of gifts from the usual family members. There was one addition to the usual collection, however, an envelope that was addressed to Ron in Harry's hand-writing.
Puzzled as to what sort of present could fit into an envelope, Ron carefully opened it and pulled out a Christmas Card that was decorated with kittens wearing Christmas hats. Inside the card was a piece of folded parchment which Ron put to one side as he read the message inside.
Merry Christmas Ron! I hope you find the gift certificate useful.
Harry Potter
Ron noticed that there were several other signatures under Harry's name, which he assumed were from the rest of Harry's family. He unfolded the parchment that had been inside the card and read the message it contained.
Ollivanders
Gift Certificate
This certificate may be exchanged for one fitted wand from Ollivanders
At the bottom of the parchment was an illegible signature and an elaborate wax seal. Ron tried to read the text on the seal but it looked to be in Latin, which Ron was not at all familiar with. He returned his gaze to the main message.
Ron blinked as the message sank in. "Best. Gift. EVER!"
Dumbledore sucked on a lemon drop as he stared out of the window of his office. The buildings and grounds of Hogwarts were covered in a blanket of snow, which looked deceptively soft and comforting. Normally the Headmaster would have taken a moment to appreciate the view and marvel at how the snow changed the appearance of the school he had long considered his home.
Today, however, he was not in the mood. This was Christmas morning and the day was reminding him of just how badly his plans had been derailed. He had wanted to gradually move into a mentor role for Harry Potter, easing the elder wizard into a position where he would be able to guide the Prophesied Boy. With the Boy-Who-Lived looking to the Headmaster for advice, Dumbledore would have been well-positioned to finish off the threat of Voldemort and his followers for good.
Harry's family was being an obstacle to that goal. A lot of it was unintended - Harry had no reason to go to the Headmaster for help when he had a proactive Head of House and supportive family behind him. Sirius Black, on the other hand, had made it very clear that whatever trust had once existed between the Marauders and the Headmaster was gone. As Harry's Godfather and a newly appointed member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, Sirius could and had created large barriers between Dumbledore and Harry.
Still, there were still things he could do. He had followed the advice of Urd Odinsdotter and had investigated the methods of avoiding death that Tom Riddle might have been able to discover. Dumbledore was fairly certain that Riddle had not engaged in any creative ventures of his own - as a student Tom had been far more interested in rediscovering "forgotten" Dark Arts. Dumbledore had narrowed down the possible methods used by Voldemort to a short list of three types of magic. All three were horrifying in every aspect and were frustratingly obscure as a result, at least in Britain. Albus had entered into negotiations with the Headmaster of Durmstrang to gain access to their library over the summer holidays, as the Scandinavian school's library of the Dark Arts was more extensive than Hogwarts'.
As far as Harry was concerned, Dumbledore had taken a small step towards establishing a closer relationship. Sending the boy his father's Invisibility Cloak would be a good way to start to establish trust.
For Molly Weasley, Christmas started with her waking up in a room she did not recognise. It took her a moment to remember that she was not at home, as she was in Romania to visit her son Charles.
Being away from the Burrow for Christmas was a fairly strange experience. As such Molly was distracted enough that she did not notice the Christmas presents that had somehow appeared at the foot of the bed she shared with her husband until breakfast was well and truly over. She was puzzled by their appearance as she had not expected any more gifts to arrive - everything in that regard had been organised before the Weasley family had left the UK. It was only after opening the first card that she realised who had sent the presents.
With her husband and only daughter gathered, Molly started things by opening the present that was addressed to her. She had sent Harry a hand-knitted jumper and some home-made fudge, but as she did not know the full extent of his family she had only sent a card for everybody else. Harry's family, represented by somebody called Belldandy, had sent the Weasley family members a hand-knitted scarf each. In addition to that, Molly's present had included a number of carefully crafted marzipan pigs. Belldandy had included a note that explained that marzipan pigs were a Christmas tradition in Norway.
Molly smiled as she read the note, already planning on sharing the pigs amongst her family. It was nice to see that Harry's family were good people.
It was Harry's third Christmas at Hinckley, and he was now familiar with how the day went with a loving family. He had managed to lose his habit of waking up early before he went to Hogwarts, but on Christmas he set his alarm clock to go off at the time that Aunty Bell usually got up. After helping his Aunt prepare breakfast, the whole family gathered to take their time over the morning meal. The conversation was kept light and everybody made a point of ignoring the pile of presents that were under the Christmas Tree.
Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were due to join the family at midday for lunch, and it had been agreed that nobody would touch the Christmas gifts until then. Harry spent the morning playing video games with Skuld and Urd, though this was complicated by the sisters arguing about which gaming system to use. Keiichi had caved in to the demands of Skuld to acquire the new Sega console, while Urd had purchased a Nintendo for herself. As there was only one TV and three consoles in the house, Skuld and Urd clashed over what to play first. Belldandy ultimately intervened left the choice to Harry, who decided to see just what the Nintendo was like.
Sirius and Remus arrived a good half hour before lunch, arriving through the Floo with a bag full of magically shrunken presents. Lunch was a joyous occasion, with plenty of banter around the table. When it finally came to opening the presents, Harry noticed that there were three packages he had not expected.
The first was from the Weasley family, and contained some fudge and an emerald green woollen jumper. Remus commented that Molly Weasley had probably made both items herself. The next was from Hagrid, and contained a hand-carved wooden flute. The last present did not name the sender, and contained a mysterious object that seemed to be made of a silvery material. Sirius' eyes lit up as he saw it.
"That's James' old invisibility cloak! I was wondering where that went. That's an old Potter heirloom, and we used it for all sorts of fun when we were at Hogwarts."
"I'm guessing that he leant it to a friend before he went into hiding," Remus said softly, "and they've decided to return it now that you're at Hogwarts."
Nobody mentioned out loud that the hand-writing in the attached card was recognisably that of Dumbledore. Harry spent some time looking at himself in a mirror as he covered himself in the cloak in various ways while the adults talked about the cloak and what it could do.
"OK, it is time to clean up! Once we're done we've got some new board games to try this afternoon. Who wants to help me clear the table?" Belldandy finally said, getting things back on track. Harry put the robe away carefully before he joined his Aunt in clearing the table.
Harry Potter and his extended family all gathered at King's Cross Station on the 5th of January for Harry's return trip to Hogwarts. The holiday had been a welcome respite for Harry, giving him plenty of time to relax in the company of his family. Sirius and Remus had been regular visitors during his break from school, even if the weather had not really allowed for any of the outdoor activities that Harry usually enjoyed with his Godfather and pseudo-uncle.
Harry was surprised to find himself looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. He had been puzzled by this until he realised that it was more that he was looking forward to seeing his friends again. He had been able to catch up with his local friends around Hinckley during the break and had sent several letters to Ron, Hermione and Neville. All three had replied with varying degrees of detail, with Ron mostly commenting on the Christmas celebrations at Hogwarts while Hermione and Neville wrote about their own family events. Hermione's letters were usually several pages in length, which had prompted Skuld to comment about the excessive detail.
As Harry's family walked up Platform 9¾ Harry saw Neville and Hermione with their families gathered by a carriage. Neville noticed Harry's family approaching and said something to Hermione, who promptly looked around and waved. Harry waved back and sped up his pace, the rest of his group matching him.
The three families were soon gathered into one large group that had several conversations going on simultaneously. Eventually the three Hogwarts students boarded the train after many hugs were exchanged. Harry settled down in their chosen compartment while Hermione pushed her trunk around, trying to get it to sit evenly in the overhead rack.
"So, good Christmas?" Harry asked Neville, who was sitting across from him.
"It was very good," Neville replied with a small smile, "thanks for the present by the way."
"It was nothing," Harry said with a small shrug, "just a small certificate for that gardening shop in Hogsmeade."
"It was well appreciated though," Neville said earnestly, "thanks very much."
Harry smiled back. "Come on, you already sent me a thank you note. Don't make too much of a big deal out of it."
"It was very thoughtful all the same," Hermione said as she sat down, "thanks for the gift certificate for Flourish & Blotts. I didn't even know that wizarding shops did certificates like that."
"They didn't until Aunty Bell suggested it," Harry commented as the train started to move, "though I don't know if this will be something permanent or not."
"It makes sense to me," Neville replied, looking out the window as the scenery started to move past the window with increasing speed.
"So, you both did your homework during the break, correct?" Hermione said as she pulled out what looked to be five foot long essay.
When the three first year Gryffindors returned to their dormitory, Harry found himself engulfed by an enthusiastic hug from Ron. Naturally this garnered some commentary from Ron's brothers.
"Merlin's balls, George, do you remember the last time Ron hugged anybody like that?"
"Not since he was given that signed poster of the Chudley Cannons, Fred."
"Maybe Harry bought the team and gave it to our little brother."
"That would be a great present! How much do you think it would cost, maybe ten Galleons?"
"Nah, eleven Sickles should be enough."
"We could afford that! Right, that's Ron's next birthday sorted out."
"Shut it, you two," Ron said as he released Harry, "no bad-mouthing the Cannons! Sorry about that Harry, but that was the best Christmas gift you could have given me."
"What did he give you?" Hermione asked, clearly curious.
Ron reached into his robe and pulled out a wand. It was noticeably newer than the one he had before the Christmas break.
"Harry got me a certificate of some sort from Ollivanders. One new wand and fitting. Professor McGonagall took me to Diagon Alley a few days after Christmas to get it after I told her about what Harry had given me. She said I needed a new wand as my old one wasn't a good fit."
"That was thoughtful of you, Harry," Hermione said, "but are you going to make a habit of giving out gift certificates for everything?"
"Is that what you call them?" One of the twins asked.
"We got one each for Zonko's, we've already traded them in for some useful stuff." The other added.
"Never seen anything like them before, even the bird at the counter looked surprised."
Harry decided to cut the twins off before they went off on a tangent. "Actually, Hermione, I only sent them this year because I had a hard time trying to figure out just what to get all of you. I hope that by next year I'll know you all a bit better so I can pick something a bit more personal."
"That sounds very kind of you, Harry," Percy interjected, "my apologies for not giving you anything this year. My thanks for the certificate to Scrivenshaft's, it will be very useful the next time I visit Hogsmeade."
"Don't worry about it, Percy," Harry replied, "I didn't really think of giving any presents this year until fairly late."
"Well, time for dinner," Neville said as he glanced at the clock, "let's get our trunks back up to our rooms before we go down."
Hogwarts quickly went back to normal once the students had returned from their Christmas holiday. Harry found himself in the now familiar routine of classes, homework, Quidditch training and interacting with his friends, fellow students and the occasional member of staff. Chief amongst the latter was Hagrid, who had struck up a rapport with Harry and his friends before the Christmas break and had given them all a standing invitation to visit him in his hut. Harry's debates with Draco Malfoy resumed as well, where Hermione's background in debating proved valuable. Harry was not sure if Draco was ready to have a muggleborn turn up and participate, but he made sure that Hermione was kept as involved as possible. Ron was also able to make some valuable contributions, mostly by providing an alternative view on magical society. Ron was also able to provide Hermione with useful avenues of research, chiefly by relating work stories he had heard from his father. The tales of Arthur Weasley's struggles with "muggle toys" and the wizards and witches who got mixed up in charming muggle objects revealed a lot about how badly the magical world misunderstood the muggle one.
It seemed like no time had passed at all before the Quidditch game against Hufflepuff was upon them. Oliver Wood had gone into overdrive, scheduling training sessions for every spare moment the team members had. Eventually Professor Sinistra had gently reminded the team captain that an exhausted team would not perform as well as a rested one, and that students still had to get homework done. The training schedule eased up slightly after the intervention, but Wood was still keen on training every waking hour of the day.
Oliver Wood's determination only increased after he learned that Professor Snape would be the referee for the game against Hufflepuff. Most of the Gryffindors felt that Snape would use this as an opportunity to get back against House Slytherin's chief rivals, even if it meant helping the Hufflepuffs. Wood decided that the best way to handle this was to end the game as quickly as possible. To this end, he told Harry to concentrate on finding and catching the Snitch to the exclusion of everything else, rather than fly interference as he had in the game against Slytherin.
When the day of the Quidditch match finally arrived, the weather was cold but mercifully clear. Wood had been worried about having to play in a blizzard, as cancelling a match due to bad weather was uncommon. Harry was amazed at how full the stands were, it seemed that the entire school had turned up for the game. The Gryffindor Seeker even saw Headmaster Dumbledore in the staff section, resplendent in a bright purple set of robes.
The game had only been in progress for a few minutes when Harry spotted a golden flash of light near the ground. Focussing his attention he spotted the Snitch flitting about just above the grass. Determined to end the game quickly, he pushed his Nimbus 2000 into a dive and headed directly for the Snitch. Pulling up just above ground level, he grabbed the Snitch just as it seemed to try and dart out of his reach. Soaring back up into the sky, he held the Snitch aloft as Professor Snape reluctantly blew the whistle to end the match.
In the weeks that followed, Hermione decided that the end of year exams were too close for comfort and pushed her friends into intensive study. This meant that she pushed them to be in the library whenever Harry, Hermione, Neville and Ron had spare time.
Many of the teachers had increased the quantity of homework they set at this time, so Harry found that the time in the library was quite useful. Ron and Neville found these study sessions to be tough going at first, so Harry took the time to pass on some of the methods that he had learned from his Aunt Belldandy. Neville found these very useful, but Ron had a harder time to be enthusiastic.
"Can't we take a break for once? It seems like we spend all our time in here." The red-head complained one day.
Harry was used to hearing comments like this from Ron, so he kept his attention on his textbook until he heard Neville speak up. "Hey, it's Hagrid. I haven't seen him in the library before."
Harry looked up to see the Keeper of the Keys hovering by a set of shelves devoted to magical creatures. Hermione spoke up in a slightly surprised tone. "Hello Hagrid! What brings you here?"
"Jus' lookin' up some stuff." Hagrid replied, looking slightly shifty.
"Anything in particular?" Harry asked, noticing that the Groundskeeper seemed to be hiding something behind his back.
"Oh, ye know, stuff. Still, gotta get going." The large man answered, his actions matching his words as he shuffled out.
"That was odd. Did he have a book with him?" Hermione commented. Ron nodded.
"I think so. He was hiding it behind his back for some reason."
"Weird," Harry commented, "I wonder what he's up to."
"Maybe we should visit him later, see what he's up to." Neville suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Ron replied.
Hermione stared at the egg. She had a strange look on her face, as if she could not make up her mind as to whether she should be shocked or angry. Resigned acceptance looked to be winning.
"Really, Hagrid? A dragon's egg? Do you know just how many laws you've managed to break with this?" Neville asked, sounding slightly incredulous.
"I've always wanted a dragon," Hagrid said firmly, "met a bloke down at the pub who had an egg for trade."
"That's beside the point," Hermione answered hotly, "you can't raise a dragon at Hogwarts! It's too dangerous! And this hut of yours is completely inadequate for it!"
"I'll manage," Hagrid replied, looking hurt, "I know a few things about dragons."
Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Hagrid, we're just worried for you. And about you. I really don't think that raising a fire breathing dragon in a wooden hut is a safe thing to do."
Hagrid just looked determined as he prodded at his fire, raising the temperature inside the already over-heated hut.
"C'mon guys, Hagrid just wants a dragon." Ron said, tugging on Harry's sleeve. "Let's check back when it's hatched."
As the four students walked back up to the castle, Hermione was still ranting. "I just can't believe it. Has he no sense at all?"
"Not when it comes to dangerous animals," Ron said, "the twins told me he once asked Dumbledore if he could have a pet Sphinx."
"We have to do something about this," Harry said earnestly, "if that egg hatches the whole school could get into trouble."
"My brother Charlie works on a dragon preserve," Ron suggested, "maybe we could owl him and get him to take the egg?"
"If he turned up at the front gate asking for Hagrid's egg it would kick up a storm." Hermione replied. "We need to keep this quiet."
"Charlie is great on a broom," Ron tried, "maybe we could sneak the egg out."
"No. Just no." Neville said with some heat, surprising his friends. "We're first years for Merlin's sake. We shouldn't be doing stuff like this, what if we get caught?"
"But we have to help Hagrid, what kind of Gryffindors would we be if we let him down?" Ron answered angrily.
"I think that kind of loyalty is more Hufflepuff, Ron," Harry joked, trying to relax the atmosphere, "maybe we should bring this to Professor Sinistra?"
"That'll just make it public again," Hermione said wearily, "if we're going to get help they have to be discreet about it."
"I'll write to my father," Neville said firmly, "he used to be an Auror and he'll know how to handle this."
"Won't that make it public? We want to avoid that." Harry inquired.
"Hagrid was a friend of my father when he was here," Neville explained, "he'll try to keep things quiet so that Hagrid isn't arrested."
"OK, if you're sure," Harry answered, looking a little unsure.
Dumbledore let out a small sigh of resignation as the door to his office opened. Yet another parent had written to him about some unidentified "issue at Hogwarts" that could only be resolved in person. It was bad enough when Harry's family arrived. Still, at least I was given plenty of advance notice this time - a whole day, rather than a quick Floo call in the morning followed by a lunch I'd rather forget.
Frank Longbottom entered the room in a practiced manner - Dumbledore could see the tell-tale signs of Auror training and hard earned experience as his guest automatically stepped to one side of the doorway and scanned the entire room for threats with a quick glance. Habits such as those had kept Auror Longbottom alive during the war against Voldemort, and a decade in hospital had not dulled his edge.
"Welcome, Lord Longbottom. I believe we have a matter to discuss?" The Headmaster said as he rose to greet his guest.
"Indeed, Headmaster, my son has informed me of a problem here at Hogwarts that needs to be handled carefully." Frank replied, eyeing the portraits of former Headmasters hanging on the walls.
"Oh? I am surprised that he went to you first, he normally approaches a prefect or his Head of House first." Dumbledore said with a small degree of surprise as he gestured for Frank to take a seat.
"Thank you," Longbottom said as he settled down, "and you're right. But in this case he felt that going through official channels would create problems. I have to agree with him."
"So what is the issue?" Albus asked as he resumed his seat.
Frank Longbottom pursed his lips for a moment before he spoke. "Hagrid has managed to acquire a dragon egg. Apparently, he's trying to hatch it in that hut of his."
Dumbledore stared at the man in front of him, before he lowered his head slightly and put a hand over his eyes. "Honestly, just when you think he's tried everything..."
"I know, I remember Hagrid's pets when I was a student here," Longbottom said with a wry grin, "so I shouldn't be too surprised. Still, a dragon must be a new record."
"At least he started with an egg," Albus replied, chuckling slightly, "given the chance he would try to smuggle a full sized Horntail onto the grounds."
"I can see that happening," Frank said, "still, I don't want to see Hagrid get into any trouble over this. Got any ideas as to how we can nip this in the bud?"
Dumbledore stood up again. "First, I'm going to go and visit my old friend and ask him about the Keys he keeps for me. I'm sure our conversation will move to the topic of his pets, he does love chatting about them."
"Say no more," Longbottom replied with a small smirk, "I'll just see myself out. Do let me know if there are any more problems with Hagrid's menagerie, he was a good friend of mine when I was a student here and I'd hate to see his enthusiasm get him into trouble." He paused as he stood up. "Or at least, more trouble than normal."
"We can but hope." Dumbledore intoned as he opened the door and paused to let his guest go. "Do give my regards to Alice."
"Certainly, Headmaster." Frank Longbottom said as left the room.
A few days after Neville had written to his family to tell them about Hagrid's latest pet, an owl arrived and presented itself to the Longbottom heir. Neville took the letter while offering an owl treat , doing his best to look normal while his friends stared at the missive intently. After the owl took wing, Neville opened the letter and read through it quickly. After a few seconds he looked up again.
"Father says that the matter has been handled, and that we shouldn't talk about it. He didn't put in anything more, so I guess it is meant to be secret."
Harry nodded, while Hermione looked around to see if anybody was eavesdropping. "It makes sense to me. Poor old Hagrid, he'll be upset after all of this." The Boy-Who-Lived commented.
"Do you think we should get him a gift, try to cheer him up?" Ron asked.
"We might also think about apologising. While he should never have brought it here, it doesn't alter the fact that we played a role in having it taken away." Neville replied.
"That won't be necessary," Dumbledore said, having come up to the Gryffindor table unnoticed, "Hagrid understands that you did what you had to in the circumstances. I explained it to him, and he isn't the type to hold a grudge. Still, giving him another pet would not go astray."
"Any suggestions, Headmaster?" Harry asked, thinking of what the Keeper of the Keys would want.
Dumbledore paused, before he smiled gently. "May I suggest something smaller and more manageable, like a puppy?"
Author's notes: Gift certificates are at once a great and terrible present. Great in that you don't really have to think about what to get somebody, terrible in that they show a true lack of imagination and also lock the recipient into one shop (or chain). I prefer to give cash when inspiration fails, being a universal "gift certificate" that has no expiry date.
Many thanks to everybody at Caer Azkaban for their help with this chapter.