"Mama, where are we going?" Snappy hissed from his baby carrier and Harry leaned over to kiss his head.
"We're going to see Hagrid." The giant had caught him after class the day before and offered him tea and cookies. Harry would never turn down cookies so he was walking across the grounds. Tomorrow was the last day of school before summer break. Harry couldn't wait to go home. Sirius said he had a surprise for him and he hoped it was a dragon.
"Harry! There ye are!" Hagrid pulled his door open and ushered him inside.
"Hi Hagrid! Thank you for inviting us." Hagrid's eyes hadn't left Snappy and he could see adoration in his gaze.
"I hafta say, you and Malfoy are raising a mighty fine lad. I heard he helped some lost students just last week." Harry gently took Snappy out and set him on the table. He instantly started licking the cookies laid out.
"It's hard, mama! Snappy likes them." He used his tail to roll them around and Harry giggled at his playful nature.
"Thank you Hagrid! We're lucky that he's such a good boy." He said proudly. Snappy was growing up to be an excellent son. The petition to change the Hogwarts mascot was approved by the Board. The HFC was selling merchandise to pay for a field trip. They wouldn't tell him where they were going.
"I actually wanted to apologize." Hagrid said and Harry looked away from Snappy to see the giant already had tears streaming down his face.
"If I had known how those muggles would treat ya, I would have brought ye home myself!" He blew his nose loudly and Harry reached over to pat his hand.
"I forgive you, Hagrid." He knew how indebted the man was to the Headmaster. It was only natural he would trust Professor Dumbledore to do the right thing. He had saved Hagrid from Azkaban, why would the half giant doubt him? Harry couldn't blame him for taking him from the rubble of Godric's Hollow to dump him on his Aunt's doorstep. He was just a pawn in the Headmaster's chess game.
"Please be careful with the Malfoy boy though. I would hate to see Sirius murder him. The boy seems to really care about you." Harry gave a loud laugh.
"Don't worry Hagrid! I won't let anyone hurt Draco."
~~~~~~
Ron sighed as he packed his trunk. It's not that he didn't want to go home, he just felt noticed at Hogwarts. His friends always invited him to tag along and his Housemates liked playing chess with him. At home, he was the forgotten sibling.
"Cheer up Ron! You can come over anytime." Neville offered and he smiled at him. He and Nev had gotten close this year.
"Thanks mate. Right back at you." They walked towards the Great Hall when he stopped abruptly.
"Is that Draco?" The blonde boy was looking furious as he walked back and forth, muttering to himself.
"Uh mate, you okay?" His feverish eyes focused on them and he asked "do you think I'm attractive?" Ron shared a look with Neville and he shook his head quickly. They liked Draco but they were not about to get on Harry's shit list. They heard about the France Incident last summer and they liked their heads where they were, thanks.
"What's brought this on, Draco?" The Slytherin looked around quickly before dragging them to a nearby classroom.
"Harry met Viktor Krum last summer and he asked to meet up! That bushy unibrow menace-"
"You met Viktor Krum?" Ron shrieked. Viktor was an upcoming Quidditch star. Ron was straight but he would let Viktor Krum do unspeakable things to him. The older boy was a Quidditch prodigy! He had heard he was already getting offers from several professional teams.
"Ugh, yes. Harry got lost and Viktor found him." Draco looked like he had sucked on a lemon.
"I wish he would find me." He said dreamily and the other two boys gave him surprised looks.
"Ron, I didn't know you had a crush on Viktor Krum." He stared at them.
"Have you seen him? I read an interview with him and he said he loves gingers. I think it might be meant to be!" Draco shook him and said "bad Ron! We do not fall in love with enemies of the HFC!" Ron briefly thought of committing treason before wistfully saying "it would never have worked between us. He was like the moon and I am simply a star in the sky."
"That was actually very romantic, Ron. Ten points to Gryffindor." Nev said and they finally made it to the Great Hall for the End of Term feast. Ron decided he deserved an extra slice of pie to overcome his heartbreak.
~~~~~~
Hermione held Snappy in the air as she stood on the Gryffindor table.
"Alright students, I think we should sing the school song. You will find lyrics under your plates." Everyone rustled their papers before starting. She could see the teacher's confusion and hid her grin.
"We love Snappy, yes we do! We love Snappy so you should too! He's the best, nothing can compare so throw your hands up in the air!" It went on for another five minutes before everyone cheered for their new mascot. Ron had knitted him a little sweater with the Hogwarts crest on it and the other children were eating it up. She would have to compliment him on his talent again.
"Ahem, what a nice little song. I would like to announce the winner of the House Cup." The Headmaster said importantly and she rolled her eyes. The old man couldn't stand to share the attention. He was just like Lockhart, maybe they were related.
"In the lead, we have Hufflepuff!" Professor Dumbledore continued and the decorations turned yellow and black. Everyone cheered for the badger House.
"Well done, my precious boy! Daddy is so proud of you." Mr. Malfoy called out from his chair as he blew his nose.
"Well I'm even prouder of you, darling! You and your House have done an excellent job this year." Draco shouted from his spot at the Slytherin table. Tonks had kidnapped Harry again and she gave Draco a smug look from Harry's side.
"I hope everyone will enjoy their meal. Just a reminder that the Sorting Hat is still missing and the reward is now 200 points and two get out of detention vouchers!" She was ninety percent sure Harry had something to do with the Hat's disappearance but it wasn't any of her business.
"Here, Herm! We made you a plate of all of your favorite foods!" Fred said before George continued "Yeah! We noticed how you didn't eat a lot during exams last week so we figured you must be starving." She flushed and took the plate.
"Thank you. I am hungry." They watched her as she ate and she couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach. It was very flattering that they knew her well enough to pick out her favorite things on the table. She thought of her talk with Harry and Neville before coming to a decision.
"Would you like to take a walk with me after dinner?" She was a Gryffindor, wasn't she?
~~~~~~
Draco shoved Tonks as they raced down the hall.
"You better run faster, Cousin. Harry will be sitting on my lap the whole train ride home!" Tonks taunted him and his eyes flashed in anger.
"Well I'll sell Diggory to Moaning Myrtle!" They rounded the corner and both stopped when they caught sight of Harry talking to Cho Chang. Draco saw red when she saw the girl reach his beloved's palm. He was all about supporting women, his mother raising him right but he couldn't stand other people flirting with his darling.
"Ugh Cho Chang! She tried to date Cedric last year and I can't tell if she hates me or wants to join us!" Tonks complained as they walked closer.
"Oh my, Harry! Your love line is really long! Whoever you end up marrying will be lucky." Draco wrapped himself around his husband and declared "Thank you, Chang. I'm glad you can recognize that our bonding is blessed by fate." The girl just gave him a half smile, her eyes drifting past him to land on Tonks.
"Oh hello Tonks! I'm glad to see that your arm has healed. It was a shame I wasn't able to sign your cast. Did you pass your History exam? Cedric helped me study for it." Draco left his Cousin to deal with the Ravenclaw seeker and dragged Harry away.
"Please tell me you didn't pay her, darling." Harry just grinned and said "I gave her a forty percent tip!" His sweetheart was so kind by helping out the needy.
"Let's go find a good compartment." Harry said and he followed along.
"Where's Snappy?" He was surprised to see Harry's baby carrier missing and was worried something had happened to their little boy.
"Ron has him. He seemed rather down about something so Snappy said he'd cheer him up." Harry said softly and Draco rolled his eyes. Ron would get over Krum. He was sure once Fleur heard about his infatuation she would march to Durmstang to challenge him to a duel. It was obvious that she liked the red headed boy. They found an empty compartment and Harry flopped down on his lap.
"I can't believe second year is already over! Cedric and Tonks said there's a super secret initiation third years go through in Hufflepuff."
"Flint told me I might have to be a part of the buddy system." He said distastefully. It wasn't his fault Slytherin didn't have enough students to volunteer! He didn't want to babysit a first year when he could be snogging Harry in some dark corner. The door slammed open to reveal Herm and the twins. The twins seemed starstruck as Herm sat down and buried her head in an enormous book.
"Hermione kissed the twins." Harry whispered in his ear. Draco couldn't help his pleased smile. How wonderful! They could all go on double dates.
"I think you did a wonderful job, Luna!" Ginny said as she and Luna sat on the floor. Her hair was in an elaborate braid with flowers twined around it.
"Thank you, Ginny. I'm pretty sure I saw Daphne Greengrass ogling at you."
"All I'm saying is he looks cute!" Ron came in carrying Snappy with Cedric right behind him.
"And all I'm saying is that red would look better with his skin tone!" Ron gave him a dirty look.
"He would look like a slag with red nails and no godson of mine is going to look tacky!" Draco looked at Snappy's feet and saw that someone had painted his nails a light blue color. How pretty. He snatched his darling boy out of Ron's hands and cooed "did you have fun, baby? Daddy missed you and so did mama. I have a little treat for you!" He pulled out a fish plush and gave it to him, watching as he rolled around with it.
"Draco! I can't believe you left me with her." Cousin Tonks hissed as she stomped in the compartment.
"I almost missed the train because she wanted to know how I kept my skin so shiny! I can't tell if she's making fun of my greasy t zone or not!" The girl huffed and pulled Diggory on to her lap. The train gave a sharp whistle before pulling away from the school.
"Let's make this the best summer yet!" Harry shouted and the whole compartment cheered.