After

Hagrid had left the castle not too long after Harry left. He had to take Grawp back to the mountain colony, that was clear enough, but nothing else was clear. He couldn’t even divine what he felt. Anger, which is a slow-coming emotion in him but always strong when it does well up, sadness and grief at the many losses they had suffered, pain both physical and otherwise, relief that Harry was still alive, fear that none of them would ever be the same again, worry over Fang who he hadn’t found yet. About the last thing on his mind was his house. Then he came to the crest of the hill and saw the burned-out shell of it. 

Reality set in, he had lost everything. 

He felt tears coming on, stinging in the back of his eyes, but then Fang came bounding up to him, a little worse for wear after hiding out during the fighting, but alive and well enough.  “Ah ya mangy beast,” He said joyfully as Fang jumped on him, just as happy to be reunited.  Hagrid couldn’t help but smile, he hadn’t lost everything. Fang was alright, Harry, Hermione, Ron, most of his colleagues, he still had friends. But now he just needed someplace to stay. 

That posed a few problems. He thought about turning right back around to the castle, but when he looked at it over his shoulder he realised he couldn’t think of a place he wanted to be any less right then. So he turned back toward the gates, with Fang at his side, bounding along happily, maybe Aberforth had space enough. 

So he spent his weeks in the Hog’s Head pub, and going to funerals, and meeting the trouble trio for butterbeer in the Leaky Cauldron, and going to memorial services. He took Grawp back to the mountain colony, though it was noticeably fewer in number than there had been, and said a tearful goodbye. Grawp seemed to fit back into the group easily, there wasn’t a lot of infighting going on now that so many of their number had left. Hagrid left too, went back to the Hog’s Head and tried to figure out what he was going to do now. 

He didn’t want to leave Hogwarts, not really. Once things were put back in order, once there were students again, it wouldn’t be so bad. But until he got the call from Minerva to come back to the grounds he was going to ignore the lights on in the Entrance Hall, and the third floor, and the Great Hall, and everywhere else he knew she was working. He knew he should probably go and find her, not that she would listen to him, but he did have the advantage in the fact that he could pick her up with one hand. Still, he stayed put, at first he couldn’t bring himself to pass the open gates, and later the gates were sealed against him. 

When they did open again, when the repairs were set to begin, he waited in Hogsmeade until he saw Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley’s coming along the lane and walked up with them. He was going to head straight for his house, in hopes that he could get things cleaned up at least. He looked down the hill and stopped in his tracks, George running right into him.

“Tha’ woman’s stark ravin’ mad,” He said, shaking his head, “She’s gone right outta her head.” 

Harry looked over the hill too and saw the house standing again. “Come on, Hagrid, we all know that already.” 

“She replanted the garden, ‘Arry,” Hagrid answered, nearly dumbfounded, “What else ‘as she got up to?” 

“Only one way to find out,” Hermione answered with a sigh, putting a hand on his arm. 

Molly came up beside him and asked gently, “Do you want to go and investigate your house first?” 

Hagrid was quiet for a moment, then shook his massive head and said, “Nah, let’s go on up te the castle.” He tore his eyes off the newly restored house and turned back up the path. “C’mon, you lot.”

Hagrid had every intention of yelling at Minerva for her reckless overworking despite being eternally grateful to her, but upon walking into the entrance hall, which had been half way caved in when he left it, he and the rest were struck dumb. Not a stone was out of place. The main corridor was the same. Of course, some things were missing, trophy cases, paintings, but the place itself was standing and in good repair. They followed the crowd, which was quite sizable already, into the tableless but whole Great Hall. 

He spotted her across the hall, talking to Kingsley and looking quite serious, so he didn’t barge up, though he’d have liked to. In fact, he didn’t get a chance to talk to her at all that first day of repairs, he and Charlie Weasley went to the forbidden forest to assess the populations and meet the centaurs and try to round up some of the thestrals. Then, when they came back out just before dark, he didn’t go back to the castle, but stopped by the house that stood in the stead of the house he had built. Charlie went on to meet up with the rest of his family. 

Hagrid stopped before the door, which looked just like his door, and shook his head muttering to himself, “Now how did she do tha’?” 

Eventually he lifted the latch and pushed the door open. The place was almost empty, but it was already so much more than he had expected. There was a table and chairs, and a few teacups that had all been resized for him. He felt tears of relief come to his eyes, then he saw the other thing she had left for him, a little framed cross stitch of a dragon at rest and he began to really weep.

He sat down and sniffed loudly, just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared at his new door. “Hagrid?” Harry called out, opening the door. 

“Wow,” Hermione said softly, walking through the door behind him. 

“Aye, ain’t tha’ right,” Hagrid said, wiping his eyes and smiling. “She might be jumpin mad, but I can’t help but love ‘er fer et.” 

“And with a little work and some new things it’ll be just as good as before,” Hermione said reassuringly, as she looked around the nearly-empty room. Harry and Ron took their usuals seats at the table.

Hagrid sniffed again, drying his eyes, “Ah, tha’ stuff doesn’t really matter, ye can replace stuff, and houses and alla tha’,” they could see a sort of sad smile behind his bushy beard when he said, “What ya cannae do without is gud friends.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right, Hagrid,” Harry said with a pensive expression.

“I know you’re right,” Ron said with a confident nod and a slight grin, “By the way, Mum’s been making stuff again, and she wanted you t’have this one,” He pulled a blanket from a bag that was far too small to have contained it. It was large by normal standards and normal by Hagrid standards, made of beautiful alternating squares of gold, maroon, forest green, and dark blue.

“Ah, she oughtn’t’ve,” Hagrid said, accepting the gift with an awed expression, He was tearing up again when he said, “She’s a damn gud woman, yer mother. One O the best.”

“Yeah, she’s not all bad,” Ron said, grinning. 

“I spect she musta felt like we’re all in the same kinda situ-ation, I spect you lost a lot too - in the fire,” Hagrid said, shaking his head and running a hand over the folded blanket.

“Yeah,” Ron answered shortly, he hadn’t really talked about the house since it burned. He brightened up a bit when he said, “But the ministry paid out for some of the rebuilding, so Mum and Dad really went all out. I think the kitchen’s gonna be three times the size it used to be, Mum’s elated.”

“Don’t forget about the attached garage,” Hermione giggled, “Your dad insisted.”

Hagrid’s expression brightened and he said, “Ah, and right too, they deserve et.” 

“And get this,” Harry said with a lopsided grin, “There’s still going to be rooms for everyone and they even added some guest rooms for me and Hermione.” 

That made Hagrid laugh “Oh, o’course they did, yer just as gud as theirs now. Might as well get used to et.” 

“I don’t think they’re going to stop there either,” Hermione said with a smile, looking significantly at Hagrid, “I think you’re going to have to get used to it too.” 

“And don’t you think I’ll mind et one bit,” Hagrid answered with a smile. “You three are as close te family te me as I’ve got left.” He said that as if it were the most obvious thing in the world but it made all three of them look up with surprise and delight. Hagrid looked at Ron in particular, “And yer parents are some o’the best folks I ever knew. If they care te ‘ave me around, I’ll be glad t’oblige.” 

Harry was surprised to find tears pricking the back of his eyes, “Well, as Mrs. Weasley says - time and war and trouble makes families out of strangers, it's even easier when you’re already friends.” 

“Aye, and I’d drink te that if I had a bottle,” Hagrid agreed.

Hermione, leaning on the table between Harry and Ron’s chairs, spoke with a gossipy tone when she said, “And… we don’t think they’re gonna stop their adoptions there either.” 

“Oh? And jus’ who d’ye think they’re tryin’ te collect next?” Hagrid asked, amused and leaning forward slightly.

“Well, I have my theories, but so far the three of us have agreed that they’re definitely going after Andromeda and Teddy,” Hermione began.

“But O’course,” Hagrid agreed, then explained the reasoning they had all settled on, “They’re family t’ Harry, so they’re family t’ the Weasleys.”

Harry grinned at the thought of little Teddy and just how lucky he’d be to have Molly as a stand-in grandma. Then he added, “And then we know they’re going after Neville and Luna.” 

“Sure, why wouldn’t they? Two kids who need s’more family in their lives,” Hagrid said, nodding at the thought. He was all too amused at the thought that the Weasleys were about to make their big family even bigger. “Who else, then?”

“Well, Hermione’s got some crackpot theories, but she has yet to convince us that it’s possible,” Ron answered with a grin, looking to Hermione, “Go on then, run them by Hagrid, he’ll tell you. It’s nuts.” 

Harry laughed a little and Hermione rolled her eyes. Hagrid looked at her for answers, curious now. “Well, what’s this then?” He prodded.

“Okay, but promise you’ll let me tell you the whole theory before you start laughing,” Hermione answered, “These two didn’t listen past the name before they cracked up.” She cast a sharp look at each of them.

Hagrid chuckled a little, sat back in his chair, and said, ‘Go on then, I’ll ‘ear ya out.” 

“Okay, well, just based on how they act to each other, and the way they seem to gravitate together, I think Molly’s trying to adopt Madam Pomfrey.” Harry and Ron snorted with laughter on either side of her. Hermione amended, “or rather trying to get Madam Pomfrey to adopt her. They just seemed to get on really well, and Molly gravitated towards her today, they spent the whole morning and into the afternoon taking inventory in the hospital wing. They were still talking together at lunchtime, I just think something happened after the.. Well, after everything, that made them good friends.” 

Harry and Ron may be laughing, but Hagrid just smiled and shook his head, “Hermione, ye’r the brightest witch o’yer age fer a reason,” He nodded and then gestured to the other two and joked,  “don’ let these two jokers fool ya. I think yer dead on.” 

Hermione brightened up considerably at that while Ron and Harry looked shocked. “What?” Ron asked, dumbfounded.

“Aye, yer mother’s just the kind of woman te adopt herself a new mother,” Hagrid laughed, “And Poppy’s awful fond o’her.” 

“HA!” Hermione cheered, “What did I tell you?” 

“Unbelievable,” Ron sighed, then complained, “I’m gonna have Poppy Pomfrey as a surrogate grandmother? Come on, surely she could do better.” 

“It’s not just you mate,” Harry said, gesturing to himself and Hermione, “it’s all of us.” 

“I think she’s probably a lot nicer to be around than you think,” Hermione defended their school medi-witch. 

“Oh well, I think we can handle that,” Harry said, shaking his head, “Unlike your other mad theory about who she’s trying to collect.”

Hagrid sensed a pattern here and began to suspect who Hermione saw becoming part of the family but he asked anyway, “Oh, an’ who’s tha’?”

“Again, no laughing,” Hermione prefaced, “I’m just basing this on Molly, as a person, and who she likes to adopt. The people she collects are sort of lonely and usually broken in one way or another, I mean, look at Harry,” She joked, poking him in the shoulder.

“Hey,” He pretended to be upset.

“And I just think this person fits the mold. Plus they’re important to all of us, in a way, and they’re not nearly as mean as they pretend to be…”

“It’s Professor McGonagall,” Ron said, cutting to the chase. Hermione sighed irritatedly as he said, “Tell me that’s not insane.”

“Tha’s not insane,” Hagrid answered sagely, “Far from et I think.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said emphatically.

“Not that I’m sayin’ et’ll work, Minerva’s not an easy un the get through to,” Hagrid added, and Hermione’s triumphant smile fell a little.

“Exactly,” Harry exclaimed back at Hermione, “I never said Molly wouldn’t try, I just said I don’t think there’s any way it could possibly work on Professor McGonagall.” 

Hagrid shook his head and answered that too, with a chuckle, “I dunno, et seems dangerous work te underestimate Molly Weasley.”