TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THE NEW UPDATE: THIS IS THE NEW UPDATE. I SPLIT A CHAPTER IN TWO. THIS IS THE NEW UPDATE.

AN: Heyo! I know I'm LATE.. By like ha;f a year really. The excuse involves a good portion of my life story so . . . no. However, if all goes as planned I'll have like triple the amount of time to write as I do now, at least.

Disclaimer: Sadly, not even close to mine.

Hermione sighed, waiting just outside the entrance of the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Gabriel were late. Not that there was anything unusual about that, however she had been waiting for a solid quarter of an hour for the two to arrive. Usually they weren't this late. Letting out a second sigh, the young witch reached into her bag and pulled out a thin, worn book. She had borrowed it from her friends, apparently Gabriel's library was huge. Though, seeing how little the jokester actual read, she suspected it had been mostly for show until Harry came along.

Quick, pattering footsteps burst through the silence, startling Hermione. A young Hufflepuff burst around the corner, spotted her and changed direction towards her.

"H-hide me" the boy panted out, looking around worriedly.

"What?" Hermione blinked

"P-please" He begged, eyes widening as the faint sound of other footsteps could be heard growing louder.

"Okay, just" Hermione looked towards the Gryffindor portrait, damn, the Fat Lady was out "Erhm, just uh . . ."

"Please!" The boy asked, even more panicked now.

Hermione grabbed her wand and tried to think of something, mind finally stopping on a spell they had learned a week earlier. Sure, it was a Bad Idea but with the desperate look on the boy's face and the now thundering footsteps Hermione ignored that and pointed her wand at the Puff, muttering and concentrating and hoping with all she had that it would work.

Then the boy started to shrink and she let out a sigh of relief. The boy, stared at her wide eyed in shock. Hermione, hearing the footsteps about to round the corner threw a spare coat she had draped on her arm over the six inch tall boy and hissed at him to say still and quiet.

Not a second later three upperclassmen, not wearing anything that could identify their house, skidded around the corner, glanced in her direction and continued running down the passageway. With a blink the young witch realized that one of them was sporting a pair of neon orange floppy rabbit ears.

With a relieved sigh, Hermione crouched down and lifted her coat off the tiny boy and, after a moment's pause to remember the counter spell, turned him back to his original size. They stood staring at each other for a moment before the Hufflepuff launched himself at her, wrapping her in a hug. Hermione, not entirely sure what to do, returned the hug awkwardly. Something seemed to break in the boy and he started sobbing, muttering thank-yous as he clung harder.

Lowering them both to the ground, the young witch rubbed his back comfortingly. More than a little lost and not entirely comfortable with the situation but she knew that if their positions were reversed she would want someone to be there for her and she was more than willing to be there for whoever this boy was.

Harry and Gabriel, masters of dramatic timing, took that moment to enter the hallway, snickering quietly to each other. Harry raised his eyebrows and blinked slowly when he saw Hermione and the boy, who was still sobbing quietly and clinging to her.

Gabriel sent her a quizzical look, getting a matching one and a small shake of the head in return. Next to him Harry sighed nearly inaudibly and approached the two sitting on the floor, plopping down next to them.

"Neville?" Harry queried.

The boy, Neville, tensed for a second before slowly turning to look at the other young wizard. After a moment, Neville's eyes widened and, obviously realizing he position he was in, catapulted himself back and away from Hermione, stuttering apologies.

The other three traded looks, trying to decide what to do. Eventually, Hermione straightened her back and turned towards the blushing boy.

"Why were you being chased?" She asked softly.

Neville up for a second, surprised "W-well, uh" he muttered "Th-they were saying th-that H-Harry was . . . ah"

"It's okay Neville" Harry reassured

"Th-they said you were e-evil and a bad p-person and w-weak all b-because you weren't what th-they expected you w-would be" Neville said in a rush, looking at them nervously.

"Well, it wasn't your fault" Hermione stated firmly "we know you aren't the same as them."

"Yup" Gabriel pitched in for the first time in the conversation "but they didn't chase you just 'cause you walked by did they? What happened after that?"

"W-well, uh . . . w-what they said was w-wrong so I k-kinda . . . uh" Neville stuttered slightly, fiddling with the hem of his shirt nervously.

"Does this have anything to do with the rabbit ears I saw on the tallest one?" Hermione asked slowly.

Neville's deep blush answered that one.

"Way to go Nev!" Harry grinned.

"W-well, uh, I couldn't j-just let them say th-those th-things about you." Neville muttered, a small smile on his face.

"We're proud of you kiddo!" Gabriel smirked, it was nice to see they boy could take a stand when he needed to.

"You're a k-kid t-too" Said boy murmured petulantly, though he was visibly happier at the complement.

Hermione choked on air trying to contain a laugh. Neville looked at her for a second before he shrugged and visibly let go of his curiosity.

"By the way Neville, we'd been meaning to ask you about something." Harry turned to the other boy curiously "How'd you know that we weren't, uh, us a while ago?"

"Oh, w-well, uh, you j-just didn't feel th-the s-same." Neville answered, though it was obvious he didn't really understand it himself.

Harry shrugged. Hermione looked to be in serious thought. After a minute the witch turned to look at the timid boy again.

"What do I feel like?" She asked.

"W-well, uh, like . . . birdsong and old books . . . and h-hot chocolate." Neville blushed again, looking at her briefly before turning away.

"What do I feel like?" Harry asked, catching on. Gabriel just stared long and hard at the boy.

Neville bit his lip "like . . . like, uh butterscotch a-and fire and s-snakeskin."

"And me?" Gabriel asked quietly, intensely focused on the nervous boy.

"S-sweet butter and icy deep l-lakes and s-scorching f-feathers and s-smooth copper." Neville was quieter now, starting to curl in on himself a little.

"And the doubles?" Gabriel stared harder. Harry began to fidget nervously, he wanted to know but could tell his sorta-friend was getting uncomfortable.

"Cheap candy" Neville muttered, smiling a little.

Gabriel grinned wide, trowing an arm around his year-mate's shoulders "That's one interesting gift you've got there Neville old buddy old pal."

Neville smiled, perking up a little. The four stood, gathering their belongings, and headed to dinner. Hermione was a bit disappointed her two friends didn't have the time to give her a lesson on some of the easier secret passages, but was more than happy with the conclusion to her afternoon.

~)0(~

"What are your Christmas plans Neville?" Hermione asked eagerly, nearly bouncing up and down in her butter yellow chair. The date students left for Christmas break was less than a week away. Hermione was the most exited of their little group, now even paying any attention to the book sitting unopened in her lap.

"My Gran probably h-has s-something planned. I really h-hope it isn't another gala." Neville, who had been adopted into the patchwork group, answered. His voice sounded much quieter in the noisy Hufflepuff Hideaway.

"Harry?" Hermione turned to her first friend.

"We're staying here at the castle." Harry commented absentmindedly, staring at a brightly colored flower that was tormenting one of the prefects. It was brilliant. The amorous flower was almost cooing at the boy.

"What about your relatives?" Hermione nagged, concerned.

Harry shrugged "they don't really care." It still stung, but hey, you can't win them all.

Hermione frowned at him, but let the subject drop.

Neville noticed nobody had said anything about Gabriel's relatives, but didn't mention it. He figured that if they wanted to tell him about it, they would eventually.

A loud yelp cut off any further conversation, all four turned to the entrance to the room. An upper year Gryff was held aloft and immobilized by the vines surrounding the door.

"Carter?" The only prefect in the room asked, trying to untangle himself from the attacking flower.

"Little help?" The Gryff, Carter, responded weakly, tugging one arm.

"How did you get stuck, they're only supposed to react to impure intentions? What are you even doing here anyway?" The prefect asked, finally shoving off the difficult plant. The flower drooped disappointedly.

"I was just here to pick up my girlfriend." Carter muttered. Everyone heard. The prefect started laughing first and was soon followed by the vast majority of the room. The rest watched embarrassed or appalled. Hermione was stuck between all three, her face contorting in a way that set those around her off even more.

"Grace!" One girl announced loudly "Your boyfriend's here!"

"What has he done this time!" Carter's girlfriend shouted back from the girls dorms.

"He came in with 'impure intentions'." Another girl yelled up, this was followed by another round of laughter.

Grace, a pretty blonde upper year, came trotting down the stairs into the common room, grinning at the, now burningly red faced, boy in the doorway.

"Zak?" She turned to the prefect "Can you let him down now?"

"Yeah!" Came a voice from deeper in the corridor behind the Gryffindor "I have plans today too, you know."

Gabriel, who was picking himself off the floor, winded from laughter, collapsed in snickers. Neville clamped his hands around his mouth to smother the sound.

The prefect drew his wand, pointed it at the dutiful vines, and muttered something. Carter was dropped unceremoniously in a heap on the floor. The second year behind Cater in the passageway gave the older boy a vicious kick as he stepped over the Lion and continued, dignified, to his dorms. Harry, who was still in stitches on the floor, began to gasp at the lack of oxygen as he laughed harder.

Grace laughed good naturedly, picked up her flushed boyfriend, and dragged him out into the hall. The four friends, pulling themselves together, continued their discussion of Christmas plans. Nobody mentioned the occasional snicker that interrupted the chat.

~)0(~

"Who's a good puppy?" Harry cooed, petting the belly of the giant dog with both hands "You are! You are!"

The students had left earlier that morning, unfortunately waking those staying behind with their bustling. Hufflepuffs weren't known for subtlety for a reason. After a respectable amount of good natured morning grumbling, the last fist year Hufflepuffs left in the castle decided to visit their favorite gigantic dog-friend.

Gabriel was scratching under two of the head's chins. For the third head he had conjured a large, meaty bone. Fluffy was thoroughly enjoying the company of the pair of Puffs.

The door swung open. Wide, innocent eyes fixed on the figure dominating the doorway.

"What're you two doin' in 'ere?" Hagrid's voice cut through the guilty silence.

"Er . . ." Harry articulated intelligently. Luckily, he was saved having to answer by the giant dog yelping happily and bounding over to the giant man.

After a bit of rearranging, Hagrid was sitting on the ground with one guilty faced boy and one far-too-innocent boy shaped being of celestial intent.

"Sorry Hagrid" Harry spoke first "He was just so cute and sweet. You can't expect us to stay away from that."

Hagrid was torn. On one hand, he agreed completely. Fluffy was a gentile, playful soul. He wouldn't hurt the boys. Harry was right, he was cute. On the other hand . . . Professor Dumbledoor said it was dangerous for students to be up here. After much internal deliberation Hagrid decided that really, who was he to deny the two young'uns a puppy?

"You boys wanna see sumthin' else?" The kindly man asked.

"Can we stay with Fluffy a little longer first?" Gabriel begged with wide eyes.

"Pleeaase" Harry added.

"'Course!" Hagrid boomed happily.

~)0(~

Christmas Eve came fast. The two friends had joyously spent their time exploring the castle, setting up prank booby traps as they went. No one had triggered one yet, but they had high hopes for once school stared back up again. While they had yet to break into the Hufflepuff Map Room, they were familiarizing themselves with every nook and cranny of the castle they could get their hands on. Honestly, finding a room you had never been in and didn't know the location of in relation to other rooms in a magic castle that switched its floor plan on a whim was way harder than it was made out to be. Which was saying quite a lot given how hard that sounded.

They had run into the Terror Twin a few times, exchanged silent acknowledgment, and continued on. It was surprising, that the Weasleys were staying in the castle, but it didn't really matter all that much.

"Ki" Harry called quietly as they entered the first year dorms after a day of exploration. He still used his friend's old nickname at times.

"Yeah kiddo?" The Trickster responded, sitting on the trunk placed at the end of his bed.

"I know things have been different lately" Harry started, clasping his hand around the small wrapped box in his pocket "but I thought we could exchange presents tonight. Like we always do."

Gabriel quirked a grin and stood, fishing around under his bed for a large, thin box. When he turned around, Harry had the archangel's present in his hands. In silent accord, they bot maneuvered to sit facing each other on Harry's bed.

Harry held out his box first. It was a cube barely a few inches tall wrapped in bright green shiny paper with a gauzy golden bow on top. Gabriel, setting his present for his younger brother beside him, ripped into the present. Green wrapping paper confetti erupted around the two and the bow slowly drifted back towards the ground. Inside was a box of thin, pale wood. Gabriel opened it carefully and gasped.

There rested a ring. In the front center was an open circle. Stretching from the circle were three pair of delicate wings, descending in size. The top pair, the largest, was a brilliant apricot gold. They were long enough so the tips crossed in a small x. The next pair a deep, glinting bronze which stretched so they were only separated by a few scant millimeters. The last and smallest pair were practically glowing in the low light, an iridescent copper that made it barely half way around the curve of the ring. The item itself was maybe half an inch tall and made for an adult hand. As Gabriel slipped it on reverently, it resized itself with a swish.

"How?" Gabriel whispered still staring at the gift.

"I had some lessons from Hephaestus when he made my glasses. It was hard, but worth it I think." Harry answered with an awkward shrug.

Gabriel looked up and launched himself at the boy across from him, enveloping Harry in a crushing hug. If the archangels eyes were suspiciously bright, Harry never mentioned it.

After a moment, the elder regained himself and pulled away, presenting Harry his gist with a grin and a flourish. Harry reached out and took it with a theatrical half bow. The boy opened the present slowly, taking care not to rip the silver paper. Under the paper was box made of thin cardboard, which he opened slowly. Harry set the lid aside before he looked in and grinned.

The box contained a dreamcatcher. The frame was carved of fragrant cedar wood and woven through with thick, rugged twine to form a pattern like a spiderweb in the center. Three leather cords hung from the main piece. On the left was a bundle plumage from a dark, shiny raven, on the right were three colorful feathers from some kind of tropical bird. Upon the center string hung a single, tall quill. It was a beautiful gold edged in brilliant white. Harry smiled softly. He had seen those colors before, protecting him from malicious vines.

"I know you still have nightmares sometimes so I figured -" Gabriel babbled before cutting himself off abruptly.

"Its perfect." Harry responded, standing on the bed and using the barest trickle of magic he could form without a wand or an open wound to coax the sandstone walls into forming a small jutting spike where he hung his gift.

"See you in the morning." Gabriel called softly as he made his way to his own bed.

"Yeah" Harry responded, settling under his bed's soft quilt.

~)0(~

Christmas morning, unlike most of the year, was rather cheery. Harry and Gabriel, having gotten up a bit late, decided to head down for breakfast before opening the mountain of presents under the tree in the Puff's common room. Being two of three in their house still here for the break, they assumed rightly most of the presents were for them.

In the great hall they stuffed their faces full of good Christmas food as fast as possible before rushing back up to the Hideaway. They were alone in the room, although the pile of wrapping paper indicated that the only Puff other than them staying had finished up and left.

The two friends shared a conspiratorial grin and dove headfirst into the pile, metaphorically (though it was a near thing).

A few nicknacks and candy from their dorm mates were the first to go. Hermione had given them both books, unsurprisingly. Harry had received a book on hairstyling, which was only half a gag gift and Gabriel a book of Norse myths about him, which was, again, only half a gag gift. By this time Harry had either heard or read most of the ancient stories about his friend and laughed at the gift instead of trying to steal it like he would have a few year ago.

Neville's gift was surprising. Even though Harry knew he had talked to the boy a few times about gardening, which Harry enjoyed as a hobby and Neville as a lifestyle, the paper seed packet surprised him. Reading what looked to be the Neville's writing on the small paper case, he found it was a bag of the other boy's favorite lettuce. Harry was glad of the gift, but unsure if the estimation of his growing skills, or lack thereof, was just his imagination. After all, you have to have a very particular set of talents to kill lettuce. Gabriel had received a plastic jack o' lantern. He loved it.

The Weasley Twins had spring loaded paint into a pair of boxes. Great minds think alike.

Other than the gifts from their friends here at school, they received a few from other gods and goddesses. It was funny, the story of how that had started.

Harry had been his small, eight year old self, with the most pitiful set of puppy dog eyes you'd ever seen. Gabriel, though he knew him as Loki then, had brought a few friends over for cake. Somehow, the subject of Christmas had come up and Harry, looking spectacularly beaten down (or so he had been told), had announced that he'd never had a Christmas before. Apparently, everyone at the table had felt so bad that when Christmas came around not even a month later, every single one of them plus a few had shown up, presents in hand.

Harry remembered crying he was so overwhelmed. After he had been consoled and eaten a healthy breakfast of eggnog pancakes, everyone had settled down to open presents. Not seeing any presents for his first friend, the little boy had asked Gabriel innocently where his presents were. When he was told the story later, Gabriel had mentioned how hard it was to keep from laughing as he distracted Harry long enough for the sweating gods to conjure or cobble together extra presents for the Trickster. The tradition had never stopped. It was one of his fondest memories.

Now, however, it meant extra loot. LOOT!

Hephaestus had made him a little bronze snitch, which chirped and followed him around cheerfully. Hecate had given him chocolate. Gwydion had sent a falconry lure so he could play with Hedwig. Gabriel's children, who considered him something of a little brother, had given him something in a skull bottle that Gabriel had snatched away as soon as he opened the box. Harry figured it was probably alcohol. They had all gotten their father's sense of humor.

Anansi, a spider god, had given him a handwritten book of legends, which smelled like the smoke and home. Olivander had written a little book on wandlore. He has sure Hermione would want to borrow it. There were a few others too, notably a jug of glitter from Puck. Harry would say he had gotten a pretty good haul.

Standing up quietly, he crept over to his friend and tacked the archangel to the floor in a hug. The Trickster laughed and snapped their presents up to the dorms. He'd worm what the archangel got out of him soon enough.

They had some havoc to wreak.