A Rider's Legacy

The weeks went by quickly. With his schedule filled by continued magic lessons, swimming lessons, and Sirius' attempts at dancing lessons, Harry hardly noticed the passage of time until suddenly, Christmas was upon them.

Hogwarts was unusually full this year, due to the yule ball. So their dormitory was fully occupied when Harry woke that morning. He quickly hid the giant pile of presents at the end of his bed, before doing the same to Ron's. The three of them had decided to open their presents in the clearing with the other Riders Remus and Sirius. The Riders had been curious about the holiday, asking Harry about its origins. Which of course led to some very awkward stuttering on Harry's part. He knew they would ask for the full story, and Harry only knew the basics; a virgin giving birth to the Messiah and so everyone celebrated the day. The Dursleys only really went to church because "That was what good respectable people did.". Of course, they had never taken him with them.

Thankfully, he had Hermione, the seemingly endless source of information. And somehow the resulting rant about Christianity did not seem overly preachy.
**
The two boys met Hermione in the common-room, also holding her camouflaged presents, and they all went down into the clearing.

The sixteen of them had quite the party. Wrapping paper ended up flying everywhere, Remus brought a giant gingerbread house that did not last very long. By the early afternoon, Sirius was already drunkenly singing Christmas carrels.

Harry smiled at his family while he sat against a tree. His father soon joined him, a rare smile on his face.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" The man asked.

"Yeah." Harry replied. "How about you?"

His father looked down.

"This is the first time I have properly celebrated Christmas since your mother was alive." He confessed.

"Huh?" Harry asked, turning to properly face the man. "You used to celebrate Christmas?"

"Your mother got me into it." Murtagh replied. "I can still remember the first time she convinced me to enter her local church..."

"Hang on one minute." Harry cut in. "You guys went to church?"

His father nodded.

"She may have been a witch, but your mother was not about to abandon her faith, despite what may have happened in the past."

Harry blinked.

"So Mum was a Christian." He said slowly.

His father nodded.

"She did not try to force her belief onto me or anyone else. However, she still did go to church when it was safe enough, and I did catch her praying many times when she was troubled by the war."

Harry stared down at his hands.

"Do you... Do you think that maybe, there is something after death, like what the Christians say?"

Murtagh sighed.

"I do not know." He began. "But if there is a heaven or something similar, I do not doubt that your mother would be there. If there was a place where those who had been good go when they die, then she would definitely be there. For she was truly an angel... She was my angel."

Harry clutched his knees to his chest.

"I hope there is." He muttered. "I hope there will be a way for me to see her one day."

He felt a weight on his shoulder, and looked up to see his father.

"There is a way you can see her." He said quietly. "The stone..."

Harry shook his head.

"I do not feel I am emotionally ready. Not now." He said shakily. "Have you tried..."

His father shook his head.

"Not since that one time." He replied in barely a whisper.

They both bowed their heads, remembering the woman they had both lost. After a few minutes, his father sighed.

"Come, let us return to the party." He said. "She wouldn't want us to be upset, especially not on Christmas."

Harry managed a smile as he got to his feet. Murtagh was right, his mum wouldn't want him to be sad. She would want him to have fun. And that was what he was going to do.
**
Harry shifted from foot to foot nervously. He was wearing his dress robes, and standing in the common-room waiting for Hermione. Ron had gone ahead, as his date was in a different house.

Hermione had gone up to get ready several hours before, and neither he, nor Ron, could understand why it would take over three hours for her to get dressed for the ball. How long did it take to get changed?

As he watched couples and friends meeting and leaving the portrait hole, he wondered when Hermione would come out. He was not left waiting much longer, as a figure soon appeared at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories. It took several seconds for Harry to realise it was Hermione. And when he did, he felt his mouth fall open.

She had managed to style her hair so, instead of the large bushy mane she usually had, her hair was partially tied up, and fell in very tight ringlets around her face. She wore robes of a deep forest green, and they really helped to emphasise her curved figure. And oh Merlin, she was even wearing makeup. Not much, only a bit on her eyes and lips. But it really completed the look. Harry was left speechless.

"Harry? Harry."

He was broken from his trance by Hermione, who had come closer to him and had a look of concern on her face.

"Huh?" He said dully. "Oh ummm... Hermione you look... Wowww... You look..."

He sucked in a breath.

"Beautiful." He breathed. "Not that you didn't before, but now... Well..."

Hermione laughed.

"Wow, you act so mature all the time, it's easy to forget that you're still a boy."

Harry blushed.

"Should we umm... Go down now?" He asked.

Hermione looped her arm in his and they went down to the Great Hall.
**
Harry sucked in a nervous breath. The last people had just entered the Great Hall, and soon it would be time for the champions and their dates to enter. Cedric smiled at him encouragingly, while Fleur Delacour stood passively with her date, Roger Davis of all people. Chrum as usual looked rather bored, with his date, a Durmstrang girl who looked equally as bored, hanging off his arm.

Hermione squeezed his arm.

"It's okay." She muttered.

Harry nodded at her, smiling.

"Just wait until everyone sees you." He muttered.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well, they'll finally see you the way I've always seen you." He replied.

"And that would be?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The most beautiful witch ever." Harry replied, grinning.

Hermione slapped his arm playfully.

"Have you been taking your flirting advice from Sirius?" She demanded jokingly.

Harry snorted.

"No of course not." He said, still grinning. "But it's true. Parkinson and the rest of them can never make fun of you for your looks after they see you tonight."

"You know that doesn't matter to me." Hermione muttered.

"I know." Harry said quietly.

Before they could continue, Professor McGonagall arrived and told the champions that it was time for them to enter the hall.

Harry tried to focus on Hermione, and not the hall full of people staring at him. Just focus on Hermione. Focus on the witch whose hand is currently laced with yours. Hermione gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and Harry returned it.

Finally they reached the head table, and Harry was met with quite the surprise.

"Percy?" He asked in shock when he saw Ron's third-eldest brother at the table.

"Good evening Harry, Hermione." Percy said, smiling at them.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked as the two of them sat down.

"Mr Crouch was ill, so I have come here in his place." Percy replied, slightly pompously.

"Right, Ron did mention you managed to get a job at the Ministry." Harry said. "How is that going for you?"

Harry soon came to regret his question, as Percy launched into a rant about his job and "All the important work he was doing for Mr Crouch.". Honestly, he was happy that Percy was doing something that made him happy, but he didn't need to hear so much about cauldron bottoms. Thankfully, the tangent was somewhat slowed when the food appeared.
**
During the meal, Harry was able to talk more with Cedric, while Hermione somehow got into a discussion with Fleur Delacour, both speaking in rapid French. Because of course Hermione somehow managed to learn an entire language in a year and a bit, thanks mostly to her holiday in France the summer before last.

Finally, it was time for the dancing. Harry began to fiddle with his hair. Hermione gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"It will be okay." She said gently. "Just be careful not to start glowing, and we'll be fine."

Harry snorted.

"Yeah, same to you." He replied as they got to their feet.

As the music started and he got into position with Hermione, Harry sucked in a deep, calm breath. He closed his eyes and forgot about the large audience. He focused on his breathing, the music, and Hermione. In... Out... In... Out... One foot after the other.

Harry was pretty sure they didn't glow this time, though he would have to ask Ron about it later.

Once the first song was finished and the other students started coming onto the dance floor, he and Hermione walked off to find Ron. They found their friend sitting at a table with Neville.

"Hi, how are you two liking the ball?" Harry asked as they both sat down.

"It's fine." Neville replied. "But I've never been one for dancing, for obvious reasons."
The four of them chuckled at the thought of Neville, one of the clumsier wizards in their year, trying to dance.

"So where are your dates?" Hermione asked.

"Dancing with each other." Ron replied, nodding his head at the two third-years currently on the dance floor.

Harry smiled at the two and their wild dancing, causing many people to stand a slight distance away from them.

"Well at least they're having fun." Harry said, smiling.

"Pretty sure they only used us as a way to bypass the age restriction." Ron muttered.

They all laughed again. The four of them spent most of the evening talking and watching couples dance. Eventually however, the large amount of noise and people got too much for Harry.

"Errr, I just need to go out for some air." He said, standing.

"I'll come too." Hermione added, also standing.

"Be careful you two." Ron joked. "Don't want McGonagall catching you doing anything... Oww."

He exclaimed as Hermione swatted the back of his head.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Ron." She muttered.

They both snickered as they left the hall and walked out onto the grounds.
**
"They really went all out this year." Harry gasped in awe as he looked around in wonder at the decorations.

"Ron's dad says that when witches and wizards get together, we like to show off." Hermione replied. "You should have seen everyone at the world cup. What with the clearly magical additions to their tents and most people's attempts at dressing like muggles, it's a miracle the statute wasn't broken."

"Oh?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow. "How did everyone dress?"

They both laughed as Hermione told him of the many poor attempts at dressing as muggles which she saw at the world cup, such as one man who was wearing a woman's nightgown of all things. Finally, they reached a bench, and they sat down.

They sat in silence, admiring the scene around them.

"It is truly beautiful, what magic can do." Hermione said in wonder.

"Yeah, magic is bloody brilliant." Harry agreed as he subconsciously wrapped an arm around Hermione. Then, all of a sudden, Hermione was leaning towards him. And before either could think, they were kissing and the entire world seemed to fade.

Harry ran his fingers through her hair, and breathed in her scent, feeling her body against his. In that moment, they were the only thing that existed. Everything else just melted away. He was deeply entranced... Until they were rudely interrupted.

[Okay, slow down there.]

Harry shot up in surprise, the world coming back to him.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Colaen." He growled.

[What the bloody hell are you doing?]

He demanded. He was not happy that he was interrupted, and the amusement thrumming through his bond was not helping the matter.

[Playing chaperone.]

Colaen replied.

[You know, making sure the two of you don't get up to something inappropriate.]

Harry glared in the general direction of where he could sense his dragon.

[Is this really necessary?]

He asked.

[It was either me, or Murtagh, hover-parent extraordinaire.]

Colaen retorted.

He lent his head on Hermione's shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"How did I go from basically being neglected by all the adults in my life, to having both a hover-parent and a hover-dragon?" He muttered.

Hermione chuckled.

"Poor you."

They were interrupted from further conversation by approaching voices. Harry's eyes widened as he heard rather loud footsteps coming from the other side of some bushes.

"I think that's Hagrid and Madame Maxime." He muttered.

"Oh, do you think we should go?" Hermione asked.

"Nah, let's just try and drown them out."

They were about to get back to what they were doing before Colaen interrupted them, when they heard a small snippet of conversation.

"I jus'... Feel so happy ta have met someone like me."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look.

"What do you think he means?" Harry asked. "You don't think Madame Maxime likes dangerous creatures too?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Fleur never mentioned it." She replied.
Clearly, they were not the only ones who were confused.

"What do you mean, Agrid?" Madame Maxime asked.

"So who was it fer you?" Hagrid asked. "It was me Mum fer me."

"What do you mean?" Madame Maxime asked again.

"I mean, what parent was the giant fer ya?" Hagrid elaborated.

Hermione gasped, and Harry stared at the bushes where he could hear the voices.

"I beg your pardon?" Madame Maxime demanded. "What are you implying?"

"I know ya are like me," Hagrid said. "Half giant."

"Well I never." Madame Maxime said indignantly. "How dare you. I am... I am big boned!."

And with that, Harry heard a pair of very loud footsteps stomping away. Hagrid followed the woman, calling after her desperately. Harry stared at Hermione in shock.

"Okay, what just happened?" He muttered.

Hermione only stared at him open mouthed.

"I... I didn't think." She muttered. "I thought that it must have been a potions accident or something..."

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Harry demanded.

"Harry, Hagrid just confessed that his mother was a... A giant." Hermione replied shakily.

Harry merely shrugged.

"Well, that at least explains why he's so errr... Big. But it does raise the question of..." “Harry, you don't understand." Hermione cut in. "The giants, they are a bloodthirsty race. They enjoy killing and violence. They supported Voldemort in the war."

Harry frowned at Hermione.

"And?" He asked. "Does this change your opinion of Hagrid?"

"Well, no." Hermione replied hastily. "But it would explain why he is fond of such violent creatures."

Harry abruptly got to his feet.

"Hermione, he is still the same Hagrid we've known for years." He said firmly. "Him being half-giant changes nothing. I thought you were better than to judge someone for their heritage."

"That's not what I’m doing at all!" Hermione retorted.

"Doesn't look that way from where I'm standing." Harry snapped back.

"It's just surprising." Hermione said, also standing. "But of course this doesn't change how I view Hagrid. He's still my friend, no matter what."

Harry let out a shaking breath.

"Sorry." He said, staring at his feet. "It's just that I'm very sensitive about this sort of thing."

Hermione sighed and wrapped her arms around him.

"I know." She muttered into his shoulder.

They stood there for a long time, their minds reeling with what they had just learnt. But then, they were broken from their thoughts.

"And what exactly is going on here?"

They both jumped apart, startled by the voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Nothing Professor." Hermione said quickly, her voice several octaves higher than usual.

Professor McGonagall shot them a suspicious glance.

"Well, the ball is wrapping up. I suggest the two of you go to bed. Your own beds." She added, which caused the two teens to turn crimson.

They quickly went back inside, not wanting to get in trouble.

"Did Professor McGonagall just...?" Harry began.

"Yeah." Hermione replied. "Let's not tell Ron that we actually did get caught by her."

"Yeah, I don't want to hear his "I told you so."."

They both laughed. Harry could not help but smile as they went up to the common-room. Despite his nervousness, he really did have fun.