Author's Note: There were several comments and private messages on if I made a mistake on the distance of "7 fall" Fall is a Scottish measurement which is equal to about eighteen feet.
A couple days after Gregory Goyle arrived back in Skye, he took his place at the bellows of the forge. It was a bit annoying that everyone went from Hogwarts back to London. It would have been only three hours by broom from Hogwarts to Skye, not that his family would let him do that. Nor would Gregory have forgone the pleasure of riding home with his friends. That was a word that as late as Yule he didn't think he would have used, or at least wouldn't have used properly.
The forge was hot. It always was hot. Which was why Gregory only had on some shoes, a pair of gloves and a loincloth. If he'd been working the metal, he'd have worn a heavy protective apron with protective sleeves, but he didn't expect a turn doing that for another week. Uncle Aodh believed that you had to adjust to back to the heat of the the forge after spending so much time away. Gregory wasn't going to disagree. It bared repeating that the forge was hot. It made the heat of London feel like the winter wind from the coast of Skye.
At least the Forge was dry heat.
Gregory had stoked the forge nearly up to where it should be for forging steal by the time his Uncle Aodh entered the forge, attired in the heavy apron, thick gloves and leather sleeves required to protect oneself as a blacksmith. "Good morning, Gregory. I missed you yesterday," Aodh said. "Your father tells me that your last term at Hogwarts was much better, but if I know me brother, he was speaking solely academically, the bloody accountant he is."
There was a bit of rivarly between his uncle Aodh and Gregory's father. His father was the first son, and was expected to be able to run the house of Goyle, not just the forge. That had left Aodh to prefect his work on the forge. His father had to split his attention, but still had managed some really excellent pieces when he could spare the time. Aodh on the other hand resented what he called 'his brother's penny pinching.'
Gregory was also the first son, but his Uncle Aodh had pinched him for the forge. Gregory had been working the bellows since he was five, and his first dagger had been made when he was eight. His first work sold had been when he was ten, a year to the day before he entered Hogwarts. He practically had lived in the forge with his uncle before Hogwarts, save times when his father had insisted that he visit the Malfoy's, Crabbe's, and Bullstrode's. He hadn't known about Millicent back then. He'd known Bastian and Caspian, of course, the former was also the heir to his house like Gregory, though a lot closer to ascending to the role of Lord Bullstrode than Gregory was as Lord Goyle. Gregory's great-great-grandfather was Lord Goyle where Lord Bullstrode was Millicent's father.
"It was Uncle Aodh," Gregory said, as Aodh began to select his ore for the day. "I got help in my classes. Draco kind of turned around after Yule. Vincent and I both raised all of our classes up. I'm at Exceeds Expectations in every class but History of Magic and Charms. I got an Outstanding on my last Transfiguration exam!
"We got challenged to this muggle game called football by one of the Gryffindor first years, Thomas, we kind of couldn't accept our loss. Kept challenging him and some of the other first year houses, not to mention the year above us in our house. Second Year Slytherins were pushovers in football. I don't think they could even pass. It took us five tries to beat Thomas's five and by that point, well football's fun. I'm going to have to see if I can get my own ball.
"You might have heard that Professor Snape got rid of the existing Quidditch Team, well, Draco's older half sister Victoria, the one that Grandmother thought was bringing shame on the Malfoys, was made the new Quidditch Captain for Slytherin. Draco and Pansy made the team, which left a bit of a hole in the football team. Pansy has an amazing curved shot, but Daphne put me in her place, and well, I had so much fun as a forward with Milli. We might have lost against those Hufflepuff third years, in that first game, but we made them sweat for it!"
"Sounds like the second half of your first year was a lot better that the first," Aodh said. "And that would that Milli be Millicent Bullstrode?"
"Yeah, why?" Gregory asked, a bit puzzled.
"Ah, well," Aodh said. "I might have just encountered someone on the way over." Aodh opened the door that led via passages to the entry hall of Neach-gleidhidh Caisteal Goyle.
Through the door practically ran Millicent Bullstrode, with her hair done in braids, with a spring of heather tucked behind her ear. She wore a robe with a dagger tucked into it's belt. This was not the Millicent who had been depressed about going home, thinking that she was going to be hidden the nursery again, seen as nothing more than her young brothers, less even. This was not the Millicent who had been sent to Hogwarts with her brothers' hand-me-down robes. This was Milli, happy. This was the Milli he'd only been able to see a couple of times, the young lady.
Gregory barely had time to lower his arms and turn before Milli collided into him, bringing him into a hug. Gregory look right into her eyes, up from that big smile, he couldn't look away. Her hug was tight, as she smiled.
"Thank you Greg," Milli said, not letting go, but loosening her hug just a bit. "Last night I got to sleep in my own room first time. You got my brothers on my side. You made my father listen to me for the first time. He saw me, he talked to me. He saw me as young lady not just another cast off in the nursery, not just toddler, a prepubescent entity not worth anything. When you tossed this dagger to me before you flued home ..."
He saw the look in Milli's eyes, and there was only one response, as the gap between their faces closed. He kissed Milli. He'd never kissed on the lips before but it some how was natural to kiss Milli.
"It seems you have found plenty of friends at Hogwarts," Uncle Aodh said.
"Thanks to you, Uncle Aodh," Gregory said once the kiss was over. Milli briefly tightened her hug. "Thanks to you."