The Half-Giant Family
Chapter 6: Gardening with Harry
Hagrid smiled as Harry's bright laughter filled the pumpkin patch. The little tyke was thoroughly enjoying his time in one of the many gardens around Hogwarts if the joyful sounds were anything to go by. As well as the beaming smile on his face as he toddled or crawled around the grass, patting pumpkins and other vegetables.
"Papa, 'ook," Harry said excitedly and Hagrid looked over, smiling as he saw Harry sat on the grass with a beautiful Siamese cat purring in his lap as Harry gently pet the little head.
Hagrid smiled at the two of them and walked over, kneeling in front of them and taking a look at the little collar around the cat's neck.
"Oh, isn't she beautiful?" he said as he stroked the fur along the cat's back, "Her name is Luna,"
"Oona," Harry squealed, clapping a couple of times before going back to his stroking, "Keep 'er?"
Hagrid shook his head sadly, "She belongs to someone else, Harry, one of the students at the school,"
"Oh," Harry pouted and Hagrid smiled sadly at him, kissing the top of his head.
"It's okay, Harry. There are a lot of cats and other animals around Hogwarts and her grounds. I am sure that they will all love to play with you one day, just like Luna is now. And we have Fang, and I know Severus has an owl, too. And maybe we can get some more animals for you, also, one day. How does that sound? Good?" Hagrid said, and he smiled when Harry beamed at him, nodding his little head, hair flying in every direction.
"Good," Hagrid said, "Now, you keep playing with Luna, I just need to pull up a couple more pumpkins, then you can ride with them in the wheelbarrow all the way to the special entrance of the castle that the House Elves use for kitchen deliveries,"
"Yay!" Harry cried out in excitement, bouncing slightly.
And so that is what they did. Hagrid went and pulled the last few pumpkins out of the ground, washing them slightly with the water in the bucket he had prepared to clear off the excess dirt, and placing them gently into the large wheelbarrow that was custom built so someone as tall as him could use it.
Then Harry was sitting, bouncing slightly, amongst the pile of large pumpkins, Luna still in his little lap, and he squealed occasionally as Hagrid pushed him, a beaming grin on his face, up the hill towards the castle.
Classes were in session so they wouldn't have to worry about any staff or students finding Harry just yet, they wanted him to settle in a bit more before he was introduced to everyone.
Of course, though, they did run into someone on their trek.
"Ah, Hagrid, my friend, how wonderful to see you, and little Harry, of course," Dumbledore said cheerfully, smiling at the two with a twinkle in his eyes that Hagrid could now see held a vastly different meaning to what he used to think it held.
"'Eadmaster, sir, how can I 'elp ya?" Hagrid said as kindly as he could, whilst stopping in his journey and moving to stand between Harry and the Headmaster.
"I just wanted to come and see how you were doing. And how the little one was settling into his new home. It must be difficult for him after his parent's deaths, of course. He must be rather upset. Which is why I had thought him being with his family would help, because they could understand his pain," Dumbledore said.
"Based on everything Lily told me about 'er sister, I can imagine there won' be much pain on 'er end. That is if you actually told her Lily has passed?" Hagrid said, raising an eyebrow slightly at the man.
"Does she really need to know, my boy? Especially now that she isn't going to be looking after Harry for us?" Dumbledore said benignly.
"I don' know, sir. But isn't is common courtesy to tell someone their sibling is dead, even if they didn't get along? She may not be a good woman, but she deserves to know what has happened, and to mourn if she needs to, and she deserves to know that her nephew is safe, even if she doesn't particularly care for him," Hagrid said gruffly.
"Well, perhaps then we ought to take Harry to see her so that her worries can be assuaged, and maybe leave him there for a little while to sort out the protection wards for him," Dumbledore said, smiling as if he had just come up with the most genius idea ever.
"I don' think so, sir," Hagrid said as he moved to the head of the wheelbarrow again and started moving back up the hill, much to Harry's delight.
"You just said, yourself, that she deserves to know what happened and that Harry was safe. How better to tell her the news of her nephew being okay than him being there?" Dumbledore said, following along.
"Yes, she does deserve to know. Anyone deserves to know that their family members are dead. They deserve the right to mourn that loss. But she doesn't deserve Harry. She doesn't deserve to see him at all unless she can show us that she has changed her views on magic, and I rather doubt that will ever happen. In any case, sir, the wards of Hogwarts, myself, Severus, and Kingsley, are all perfectly capable of protecting Harry. Along with yourself, the other staff members, the students, Peeves, and the House Elves. We are all capable of keeping him safe from everyone and everything. Why can't you see that? Why do you need to give him to someone who won't love him?" Hagrid almost demanded, though he felt like he already knew the answer, and he didn't want to know it.
He couldn't know it.
He had loved and trusted Albus Dumbledore for decades, and to think that he could, or would, do something like that to a child, an innocent child, just twisted a knife deep into his heart.
"Hagrid, he will be safe there, from the Death Eaters. And he will be free to be a normal child, away from the fame that people have loaded onto his young shoulders,"
"Yet he won't be safe from his own family. And yes, he will be a normal child, but only until he enters this world again. You just want to throw a child into fame like that? You really think he will be able to adapt to the pressures will put on him that quickly? At least this way he will know what to expect as he gets older, he will be used to it, he won't be chucked in at the deep end at the age of eleven after receiving nothing for ten years. He will be a child, and he will know love, and he will understand and at least partially accept his fame. He won't be chucked into it with no one to help him through. He won't be alone," Severus said from behind Dumbledore, causing the man to jump and turn to look at the Potions Professor with wide eyes.
"Severus, my boy, shouldn't you be in class?" Dumbledore said.
"Class ended ten minutes ago and it is my free period," Severus said with annoyance on his face as he moved around the headmaster to walk next to the wheelbarrow which Harry was thoroughly enjoying his ride in.
"Mummy, 'ook, 'Oona,"
And Severus froze, as did Hagrid, and Dumbledore who looked between the three shocked, and confused.
"He calls you 'mummy', Severus? Are you trying to take over from Lily?" Dumbledore asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course not, Headmaster," Severus snapped, "I keep trying to get him to stop, but he won't,"
"This is why he needs to be with his family. So they can instill in him the correct values, and the qualities he needs to have," Dumbledore said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"You mean beat them into him, right? And what do you mean the correct values and qualities?" Severus said, also raising his eyebrow.
"He can't be thinking of others as his parents, not when he needs to know how much his parents' sacrifice has given him. He especially can't be thinking of you as his 'mummy'. How would James feel about that? How is he supposed to do what he needs to do if he thinks of you both as his parents?"
"We will, of course, tell him of Lily and James. We will show him pictures. And we will tell him stories. And we will make sure he knows what they did for him. We aren't that cruel. And as I said, I have been trying to get him to stop, but he won't. There is, however, no problem with men being mothers. Or are you trying to tell me something? That homosexuality is wrong? I was under the impression that you were, in fact, gay. But if I am confused feel free to correct me. And if you are referring to him sacrificing himself for everyone then you are sorely mistaken if you think any of us are ever going to let that happen, even if you somehow find a way to send him to Petunia. We will do everything we can to remove the parasite in him without killing him," Severus said, his voice stern even as he tried to hide the wobble that threatened to spill.
Dumbledore's eyes widened and he looked at them in shock.
"We shall see," the old man muttered, looking between them quizzically before storming off.
Severus took a shaky breath, his heart fluttering a little in panic as his magic fizzled under his skin.
"Sev, are you okay?" Hagrid asked gently as they started their trek back up the hill.
"I… No. I-I think I need to go and speak to someone. I will see you both later," Severus said and normally as he could, placing a kiss on Harry's head and saying goodbye before stalking back towards the castle's main entrance as quickly as he could.
"Mummy o-kay?" Harry asked, a cute little pout on his face.
"He will be, little one. He jus' needs some help from a friend," Hagrid said gently.
"Kingey?" Harry said excitedly.
"Ye', Kingsley," Hagrid said with a grin.
"I 'ike Kingey," Harry nodded.
"Hm, I think Sev does, too,"
Harry nodded again, grinning.
Soon the pumpkins were all dropped off and Hagrid was pushing Harry back down the hill in the otherwise empty wheelbarrow. Luna had hopped out and ran back into the castle, which had left Harry pouting again, until they started moving again and it was back to squeals and giggles from the little boy.
"Thi' fun," Harry said as Hagrid carefully picked him up out of the wheelbarrow and took him inside the hut, greeted by a happily barking Fang.
"Good. I'm sure we can do it again some time," Hagrid said, beaming as he placed Harry gently on the floor and let him lean against Fang.
"Yay!" Harry squealed.
Hagrid chuckled and set to work on making some food for himself and Harry, making sure to use the stuff the House Elves had given him for Harry and preparing it just the way they had told him, too.
It had been a good day, mostly. But he really hoped that Severus would be okay.
Hiya, how are you all?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry if it isn't that great, I am more tired than I thought I was. But yeah, I hope you liked it. But what's going to happen next, I wonder? Let me know your thoughts.
Anywho, I posted an essay/petition where I (un)officially explain why I think I should be cast as my favourite character, Severus Snape, in the new HBO series, despite the fact that I am a woman. It would mean a lot if you went and read it, but no pressure. It isn't going to lead to anything, unless, by some miracle, it goes viral, but it was fun to write. It is on my AO3, Maraudering_Paige. Feel free to go and check it out.
Also, I am working on some Spotify playlists for my fanfics, so if you can think of any songs you think work with the stories as they are so far, or where you think they are going, or songs that give you the vibes you get from the stories, then please do let me know and I will give them a listen, then potentially add them to the playlists. I will let you know as soon as they are ready, though it may take a few weeks because life.
I have a Facebook group called Maraudering_Paige which you are all welcome to join if you would like to and are able to. It is where we can talk about Harry Potter, fanfics, life, share memes and more. It is also where I have somewhat of an update schedule for my fics and will be keeping you up to date on what I am working on, in regards to fanfics, original works, and more things. So if you are interested in joining then I am more than happy to accept you all.
Also, would anyone be interested in perhaps and Instagram or a TikTok, or both, specifically for my writing? This would be perfect if you can't join the group as I can keep you up to date on everything on them. I won't be able to do too much on there at the moment given my situation, but I can keep you all posted on what I am working on and such on platforms that more of you may use? I don't know. It is just a thought I have been having lately. Let me know what you think.
I hope you are having an amazing day!
Kind regards,
Paige xx
