The Old, Tail and Snout Trick
Oct. 20th, 2015 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: The Old, Tail and Snout Trick
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Harry Potter
Character/Pairing: Ron Weasley (implied Ron/Hermione), Rubeus Hagrid, OFC
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fan_flashworks #134: Dirty
Warning(s): Slight AU, Future Ficlet
Word Count: 1,992
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters except Lily Weasley within belong to Rowling, not the author, and are used without permission. Lily and everything else belongs to the author.
He stops the car once the little hut comes into view and begins to walk the grounds he used to tread every day. Has it really been almost two decades since he and his two best friends, one of whom is now his wife, shared so many adventures here? The times were not always good. They were dire and dangerous, and they should have died a hundred times over, but somehow, because of the greatest magics of all, friendship and love, they had managed to not only survive but to save each other, their family and friends, and both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds in the process.
He'd like to think that those were the times. He misses those days truthfully. He misses seeing his friends every day and the constant surprises that the classes at Hogwart's brought. He even misses the old beans. But he doesn't miss the constant danger. He doesn't miss the bullying from Malfoy and the other Slytherins. He doesn't miss the howlers or Severus Snape's glowering form always lurking in the shadows, even if he had turned out to be a good guy in the end.
He glances back to his car, remembering that flying cars were not the norm during his childhood or even later and cringing at the memory of the Whopping Willow. It had taken quite some time for them to become a standard mode of transportation. Still, there were many families who either could not afford them or simply and honestly preferred more traditional means, like Floo powder. That's another thing Ron doesn't miss: always having to be so bloody careful with his pronunciations lest he end up in the wrong place.
A shiver passes through him as he recalls some of the back alleys in which he and Harry had found themselves, and a few worse places, too. Then he turns around and shakes his red head. He's not here to reminisce. He's not here to remember the old days or to look for friends he hasn't seen in years. He's here for a much more important reason.
Gathering his cloaks around him, he steps up to the door of the old cottage in which he'd once spent so much time. He's certainly seen a lot of strange magic at this place, but again, he reminds himself sternly, that's all in the past. It's not magic that's brought him here today, not really -- well, perhaps technically, but there's something far more precious waiting for him inside the old, friendly abode.
He lifts his fist to knock, but the door swings open before he can touch the wood. He's greeted by a huge man, a seemingly wider grin, and two massive arms, each easily the size of a full grown tree, reaching out and pulling him into a crushing hug. "Hagrid," he wheezes out, patting the Giant on the back, "it's g-good to see y-you, too, bu-but I-I c-can't breathe . . . "
He can hear his old friend's blush in his voice as he steps back, releasing him and sheepishly tucks his ham-sized hands behind his back. "Sorry," he says, but Ron just smiles. It seems odd, almost, that he used to be scared of this mountain of a Wizard. He is now, and has been for many years, one of his greatest and most trusted allies, right after Harry, Hermione, and his own blood family. In truth, he'd rather have Hagrid at his back than George or Ron any day.
It's odd not to get lost in his memories as he looks around the cabin. Dinner is brewing in a cauldron over the fire, and there's a three headed dog sleeping in front of it. Even those beasts no longer scare him. It's still with apprehension, however, with which he edges slowly further into the cabin. "Where is she?" he asks, blinking as his eyes adjust to the darkness.
"Dad -- "
He smiles. There's his girl now. He starts to turn toward her, but Hagrid steps before him. "It's not what you think, Ron."
He's not mad. He, his brothers, and Harry all got into far more trouble with good intentions than with which he believes his cherished daughter will ever become involved -- at least, he hopes not. And even if she had caused the trouble, there's nothing she can do that his brothers haven't already done. There's no ill she can do to surprise him and little she can do to upset him. Warmth nonetheless washes over him as he watches Hagrid coming swiftly to her defense as he always did for himself and his friends.
"What happened?" he questions, edging around Hagrid and continuing toward his child.
"Malfoy," Rubeus starts, and Ron almost laughs.
"Isn't it always a blo -- a Malfoy?"
Hagrid does chuckle, and his deep voice resonates cheerily in this special place that holds so many fond memories for them.
"What did Draco's son do this time?" Ron questions. The amusement is gone from his voice for now he can see his daughter and he sees the wet tears shining in her green eyes underneath the mop of brown hair that hangs down in her face. His mind again flashes back to another time, this moment not so happy. His youngest child has his eyes and her mother's hair, and she looks so much like her mother when she cries that, now seeing her so distraught, his heart breaks twice.
And he remembers, his hands curling into tight fists by his sides at the memory. "Don't tell me," he grinds out, "he called her -- "
He feels, rather than sees, Hagrid's grave nod. His daughter breaks into tears again, and he's there by her side in a flash. His arms wrapped tightly around her, he rocks her gently back and forth there on Hagrid's couch. "There, there," he says. "That scum doesn't know what he's talking about. His father called your mother that once, too, and there isn't a spell our Hermione can't do." His eyes meet Hagrid's, and the Giant's kind smile at the memory causes his own to flash back across his dark face. "There's no Wizard as smart as our Hermione, and you're just like your mother."
"Th-That's not all, Dad." His heart cinches as his daughter's voice wavers and creaks.
"What else did he do?" he demands. His voice sounds as icy as his gut feels, but his hand remains warm and comforting as it slides soothingly down her back.
"N-Not h-him. M-Me."
Concern again etches plainly across Ron's freckled face. His daughter is now crying too hard to be able to speak clearly, but he's pretty certain he understood her words accurately nonetheless. After all, he used to stammer as badly as she does now. He glances searchingly up at Hagrid for confirmation and is surprised to see the Giant grinning again from ear to ear.
"Our little Lily definitely is like her mum, she is. And like her da."
Ron's eyes narrow at Hagrid. "Hagrid," he starts warningly, but the Giant's still talking and is thoroughly, truly pleased.
"That's why Professor McGonagall called you here today, it is. Her bravery and her wits, too."
"Hagrid. What. Happened?"
"She gave him a tail -- "
Ron's mind once more flashes back at those words, this time to another fat, little bastard who thought he was so very special but was instead one of the worst Muggles Ron's ever had the misfortune to encounter. He barks out laughing, and his daughter pulls back out of his arms to look up at him in surprise. "Daddy?" she asks.
Ron tries to calm the laughter shaking his insides. "You tell that bully that if he ever calls you . . . that again -- " He won't even say the word. He won't speak it, not for Malfoy, not for Lily, not for any one. Dirty blood, indeed! The Malfoys and what's left of Harry's blood family, Remus excluded, are, without a doubt, the absolute worst families to ever darken the world with their prejudice, hatred, and just plain cruelty! " -- I'll give him the snout to go with that tail."
Lily wipes at her eyes and giggles. Ron cocks his head to one side, watching her, and smiles again, but it takes Hagrid to explain. In a quiet but gruff voice, the Giant supplies, his eyes twinkling with merry approval, "She already did."
Ron once more bursts out laughing. Lily falls into his arms, her tears subsiding as she laughs, too. Her father understood! He isn't angry at her; he's proud of her! Ron and Lily roll together on Hagrid's old, tattered couch, laughing as hard as they can, but it is their friend's laughter that truly raises the roof of his cottage.
None of them know how long they stay there, just sharing that laugh and another moment that is going to stay in Ron's memory forever. It's one he'll never floss out and will instead always cherish. It's dark outside by the time they finally calm, and Ron, taking Lily by her hand, stands. "Now let's go get you out of trouble with Professor McGonagall."
"I can tag along if you think it'll help," Rubeus is quick to offer, but Ron shakes his head.
"Thanks, Hagrid, but we won't need backup on this one. By the time I'm doing explaining things to McGonagall, it'll be Malfoy who's in trouble again."
Hagrid smiles, his eyes twinkling, and is then taken by surprise as Ron throws his arms around, releasing his daughter's hand to do so, and hugs him tightly. "Thanks," he tells him, "for always being there for us and for them."
"You'll always have backup, Ron," Hagrid vows, "even if you don't want it." He totters back just slightly as Lily rushes him and throws herself onto his leg. She hugs him tightly, arms and legs wrapping around him, and Hagrid laughs, once more literally lifting the ceiling of his home. He needs to fix the roof, but he doesn't care. They've fixed what's most important, after all. He pats Ron and Lily on the back, careful not to hurt them, and leads the way, escorting them both back up to the school as once he did three other students.
Ron lets Hagrid carry his daughter and stays near to his side himself. The dangers of the past have gone, but there's no telling what new dangers may be just ahead of them in life. Today, however, has given him several important reminders. The past repeats itself in the present, but it doesn't matter what dangers will come. What matters is the friends he has and will always have. Together, they can master anything, rather it's beating Malfoys, stopping He Who Must Not Be Named from destroying the worlds, or raising the new generation.
Ron smiles over at Lily, cuddled safely in the arms of her godfather. He remembers how concerned Hermione was when they first left her alone here at the school. He wasn't exactly unafraid of it, knowing what all had transpired while they had been here before, but they had wanted the best schooling and life for their children possible. There was definitely only one place that could be achieved -- Hogwart's --, and it's here, too, where the best of friendships are made, friendships that last lifetimes and against which nothing can compete.
Lily has drifted off to sleep as her father steps closer to Hagrid. He lets his cheek brush his arm. "Thanks, Hagrid," he whispers, but Rubeus just nods. He doesn't want to wake the child, and besides, he's as grateful to Ron and the others for their friendships as they are for his. They've shared each other time and again, after all, and he knows there will be many more times when they save each other still in their futures spent together. His grin widens. Dumbledore, he knows, is proud as he watches them now.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Harry Potter
Character/Pairing: Ron Weasley (implied Ron/Hermione), Rubeus Hagrid, OFC
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt:
fan_flashworks #134: DirtyWarning(s): Slight AU, Future Ficlet
Word Count: 1,992
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters except Lily Weasley within belong to Rowling, not the author, and are used without permission. Lily and everything else belongs to the author.
He stops the car once the little hut comes into view and begins to walk the grounds he used to tread every day. Has it really been almost two decades since he and his two best friends, one of whom is now his wife, shared so many adventures here? The times were not always good. They were dire and dangerous, and they should have died a hundred times over, but somehow, because of the greatest magics of all, friendship and love, they had managed to not only survive but to save each other, their family and friends, and both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds in the process.
He'd like to think that those were the times. He misses those days truthfully. He misses seeing his friends every day and the constant surprises that the classes at Hogwart's brought. He even misses the old beans. But he doesn't miss the constant danger. He doesn't miss the bullying from Malfoy and the other Slytherins. He doesn't miss the howlers or Severus Snape's glowering form always lurking in the shadows, even if he had turned out to be a good guy in the end.
He glances back to his car, remembering that flying cars were not the norm during his childhood or even later and cringing at the memory of the Whopping Willow. It had taken quite some time for them to become a standard mode of transportation. Still, there were many families who either could not afford them or simply and honestly preferred more traditional means, like Floo powder. That's another thing Ron doesn't miss: always having to be so bloody careful with his pronunciations lest he end up in the wrong place.
A shiver passes through him as he recalls some of the back alleys in which he and Harry had found themselves, and a few worse places, too. Then he turns around and shakes his red head. He's not here to reminisce. He's not here to remember the old days or to look for friends he hasn't seen in years. He's here for a much more important reason.
Gathering his cloaks around him, he steps up to the door of the old cottage in which he'd once spent so much time. He's certainly seen a lot of strange magic at this place, but again, he reminds himself sternly, that's all in the past. It's not magic that's brought him here today, not really -- well, perhaps technically, but there's something far more precious waiting for him inside the old, friendly abode.
He lifts his fist to knock, but the door swings open before he can touch the wood. He's greeted by a huge man, a seemingly wider grin, and two massive arms, each easily the size of a full grown tree, reaching out and pulling him into a crushing hug. "Hagrid," he wheezes out, patting the Giant on the back, "it's g-good to see y-you, too, bu-but I-I c-can't breathe . . . "
He can hear his old friend's blush in his voice as he steps back, releasing him and sheepishly tucks his ham-sized hands behind his back. "Sorry," he says, but Ron just smiles. It seems odd, almost, that he used to be scared of this mountain of a Wizard. He is now, and has been for many years, one of his greatest and most trusted allies, right after Harry, Hermione, and his own blood family. In truth, he'd rather have Hagrid at his back than George or Ron any day.
It's odd not to get lost in his memories as he looks around the cabin. Dinner is brewing in a cauldron over the fire, and there's a three headed dog sleeping in front of it. Even those beasts no longer scare him. It's still with apprehension, however, with which he edges slowly further into the cabin. "Where is she?" he asks, blinking as his eyes adjust to the darkness.
"Dad -- "
He smiles. There's his girl now. He starts to turn toward her, but Hagrid steps before him. "It's not what you think, Ron."
He's not mad. He, his brothers, and Harry all got into far more trouble with good intentions than with which he believes his cherished daughter will ever become involved -- at least, he hopes not. And even if she had caused the trouble, there's nothing she can do that his brothers haven't already done. There's no ill she can do to surprise him and little she can do to upset him. Warmth nonetheless washes over him as he watches Hagrid coming swiftly to her defense as he always did for himself and his friends.
"What happened?" he questions, edging around Hagrid and continuing toward his child.
"Malfoy," Rubeus starts, and Ron almost laughs.
"Isn't it always a blo -- a Malfoy?"
Hagrid does chuckle, and his deep voice resonates cheerily in this special place that holds so many fond memories for them.
"What did Draco's son do this time?" Ron questions. The amusement is gone from his voice for now he can see his daughter and he sees the wet tears shining in her green eyes underneath the mop of brown hair that hangs down in her face. His mind again flashes back to another time, this moment not so happy. His youngest child has his eyes and her mother's hair, and she looks so much like her mother when she cries that, now seeing her so distraught, his heart breaks twice.
And he remembers, his hands curling into tight fists by his sides at the memory. "Don't tell me," he grinds out, "he called her -- "
He feels, rather than sees, Hagrid's grave nod. His daughter breaks into tears again, and he's there by her side in a flash. His arms wrapped tightly around her, he rocks her gently back and forth there on Hagrid's couch. "There, there," he says. "That scum doesn't know what he's talking about. His father called your mother that once, too, and there isn't a spell our Hermione can't do." His eyes meet Hagrid's, and the Giant's kind smile at the memory causes his own to flash back across his dark face. "There's no Wizard as smart as our Hermione, and you're just like your mother."
"Th-That's not all, Dad." His heart cinches as his daughter's voice wavers and creaks.
"What else did he do?" he demands. His voice sounds as icy as his gut feels, but his hand remains warm and comforting as it slides soothingly down her back.
"N-Not h-him. M-Me."
Concern again etches plainly across Ron's freckled face. His daughter is now crying too hard to be able to speak clearly, but he's pretty certain he understood her words accurately nonetheless. After all, he used to stammer as badly as she does now. He glances searchingly up at Hagrid for confirmation and is surprised to see the Giant grinning again from ear to ear.
"Our little Lily definitely is like her mum, she is. And like her da."
Ron's eyes narrow at Hagrid. "Hagrid," he starts warningly, but the Giant's still talking and is thoroughly, truly pleased.
"That's why Professor McGonagall called you here today, it is. Her bravery and her wits, too."
"Hagrid. What. Happened?"
"She gave him a tail -- "
Ron's mind once more flashes back at those words, this time to another fat, little bastard who thought he was so very special but was instead one of the worst Muggles Ron's ever had the misfortune to encounter. He barks out laughing, and his daughter pulls back out of his arms to look up at him in surprise. "Daddy?" she asks.
Ron tries to calm the laughter shaking his insides. "You tell that bully that if he ever calls you . . . that again -- " He won't even say the word. He won't speak it, not for Malfoy, not for Lily, not for any one. Dirty blood, indeed! The Malfoys and what's left of Harry's blood family, Remus excluded, are, without a doubt, the absolute worst families to ever darken the world with their prejudice, hatred, and just plain cruelty! " -- I'll give him the snout to go with that tail."
Lily wipes at her eyes and giggles. Ron cocks his head to one side, watching her, and smiles again, but it takes Hagrid to explain. In a quiet but gruff voice, the Giant supplies, his eyes twinkling with merry approval, "She already did."
Ron once more bursts out laughing. Lily falls into his arms, her tears subsiding as she laughs, too. Her father understood! He isn't angry at her; he's proud of her! Ron and Lily roll together on Hagrid's old, tattered couch, laughing as hard as they can, but it is their friend's laughter that truly raises the roof of his cottage.
None of them know how long they stay there, just sharing that laugh and another moment that is going to stay in Ron's memory forever. It's one he'll never floss out and will instead always cherish. It's dark outside by the time they finally calm, and Ron, taking Lily by her hand, stands. "Now let's go get you out of trouble with Professor McGonagall."
"I can tag along if you think it'll help," Rubeus is quick to offer, but Ron shakes his head.
"Thanks, Hagrid, but we won't need backup on this one. By the time I'm doing explaining things to McGonagall, it'll be Malfoy who's in trouble again."
Hagrid smiles, his eyes twinkling, and is then taken by surprise as Ron throws his arms around, releasing his daughter's hand to do so, and hugs him tightly. "Thanks," he tells him, "for always being there for us and for them."
"You'll always have backup, Ron," Hagrid vows, "even if you don't want it." He totters back just slightly as Lily rushes him and throws herself onto his leg. She hugs him tightly, arms and legs wrapping around him, and Hagrid laughs, once more literally lifting the ceiling of his home. He needs to fix the roof, but he doesn't care. They've fixed what's most important, after all. He pats Ron and Lily on the back, careful not to hurt them, and leads the way, escorting them both back up to the school as once he did three other students.
Ron lets Hagrid carry his daughter and stays near to his side himself. The dangers of the past have gone, but there's no telling what new dangers may be just ahead of them in life. Today, however, has given him several important reminders. The past repeats itself in the present, but it doesn't matter what dangers will come. What matters is the friends he has and will always have. Together, they can master anything, rather it's beating Malfoys, stopping He Who Must Not Be Named from destroying the worlds, or raising the new generation.
Ron smiles over at Lily, cuddled safely in the arms of her godfather. He remembers how concerned Hermione was when they first left her alone here at the school. He wasn't exactly unafraid of it, knowing what all had transpired while they had been here before, but they had wanted the best schooling and life for their children possible. There was definitely only one place that could be achieved -- Hogwart's --, and it's here, too, where the best of friendships are made, friendships that last lifetimes and against which nothing can compete.
Lily has drifted off to sleep as her father steps closer to Hagrid. He lets his cheek brush his arm. "Thanks, Hagrid," he whispers, but Rubeus just nods. He doesn't want to wake the child, and besides, he's as grateful to Ron and the others for their friendships as they are for his. They've shared each other time and again, after all, and he knows there will be many more times when they save each other still in their futures spent together. His grin widens. Dumbledore, he knows, is proud as he watches them now.
The End
