Hagrid Saves the Day
by Roff

It was the spring of 1998. This should have been Harry Potter's seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but the second war with Voldemort and his death eaters was in full swing. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger had just spent almost a year hunting down and getting rid of Voldemort's soul anchors so Harry could finally be able to kill him once and for all.

Harry wasn't sure he was up to the task but he certainly wasn't going to run and hide at this point. He had already faced Voldemort a half a dozen times at least and was still alive and well. There was no one else Voldemort wanted dead more than Harry Potter. Now it was certain Voldemort was planning an attack on the school to bring it under his control but more importantly, he knew Harry was there and he planned to kill Harry as soon as possible.

However, the fact that Voldemort was planning to attack Hogwarts next was not as big a secret as he thought it was.

There had been a lot of noise coming from behind Hagrid's hut for a several days now and most of the students were too afraid to even go see what was causing it. They knew the half-giant was working on something big but were afraid it would have something to do with another dangerous creature Hagrid was mothering and tending to. He loved to say they were all just misunderstood creatures but there was never a doubt in most of the student's minds that those 'misunderstood' creatures would gladly kill you before Hagrid could prevent the carnage in time.

Naturally, no one appeared to be curious enough about the noise to actually go down and check it out.

However, had they known that Harry Potter knew exactly what Hagrid was working on they simply could have asked him instead. The fact that Harry was headed down to Hagrid's at that very moment should have given them a clue. But, apparently, no one was anxious to bother Harry either since he constantly looked like a man on a mission. There were also rumors going around about you-know-who planning to attack the castle. According to the rumors, it was Harry himself who had given the warning.

Hagrid definitely took Harry very seriously when he issued that warning a few weeks ago. In fact, he originally asked Harry to help him with some magic so he could get started on the project he'd planned. Harry gladly helped his friend and between the two of them, they created a large forge and some molds so Hagrid could make swords, shields, and armor for himself and his half-brother Grawp who was a regular giant and not a half-giant like Hagrid. Consequently, he was more than twice as big as Hagrid too.

When Harry arrived behind Hagrid's hut, he could feel the heat coming off the hot forge. Hagrid was banging away with a large hammer on an enormous sword to shape it the way he wanted. Hagrid's brother Grawp was sitting back there as well making sure the fire in the forge stayed as hot as possible for Hagrid while he worked.

Hagrid and Grawp were both shirtless. This was normal for Grawp but for Hagrid it was all due to the heat. Sweat was pouring off of him as he heated the sword, banged on it for a bit, then cooled it off in some water before starting the process over again in another spot. His huge muscles were glistening in the sun and the fire light as well from the massive forge as he banged away at the sword. It looked like very hard work. Harry had offered to do more magic for Hagrid to make the swords, shields, and armor faster for him but Hagrid insisted on doing it this way.

He told Harry that he would let him use magic to make the swords extra sharp and unbreakable, along with the shields, once he had them made. Harry offered to make all the items lighter as well so they would not be slowed down carrying all that extra weight. After all Hagrid was using some very heavy metal to make the items.

Harry was checking on Hagrid's progress because as soon as Hagrid was finished with his own weapon, shield, and armor, then Harry was going to enlarge the forge and molds more so Hagrid could make the same items for his brother Grawp.

Hagrid saw Harry when he walked up so after he cooled the sword down again he took a break.

"How's it going, Hagrid? Making good progress?"

"Aye, Harry. It's comin' along quite nicely, eh Grawpy?" Hagrid smiled at his brother. "I already have my armor and shield done. Jest workin' on my sword now. I should be ready by tomorrow to have yeh make ev'rything bigger for Grawp."

"That's great, Hagrid. I'll come back around tomorrow and do that for you. I can also cast the needed spells on the items you've completed for yourself so they'll be ready to use."

"I 'ppreciate this Harry, I really do."

"No problem, Hagrid. I'm happy to help. See you tomorrow. You too, Grawp." Harry waved as he left to go back to the castle.

"Bye Harry" replied Hagrid while Grawp just grunted and waved.

Harry made his way back to the castle for his regular meeting with the headmistress. There was still a lot to be done and planned out. The logistics for getting all the younger students out of the castle in time was still being worked out so they could send them on their way at the last minute, but not too early, so anyone on Voldemort's team discovered that they were preparing for the coming attack.

Harry was wishing that Dumbledore were still alive. They could really use him when the fighting started. However, since he was killed at the end of Harry's sixth year Headmistress McGonagall and Harry had to settle for counsel from his portrait in the Headmaster's office. The Order of the Phoenix was trying to lend a hand as well, discreetly gathering as many volunteers as they could find who were willing to help in the coming attack.

The D.A. had already informed Harry that they would be staying and helping with the fighting so Harry instructed them to start training extra hard and helping to train any older students not in the D.A. who were wanting to stay and fight. He had Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny take over that task while he worked on the preparation with McGonagall for the school. This was in addition to the preparation he was making for himself to face Voldemort, hopefully for the last time.

According to the reports coming in Voldemort was going to be bringing more than his death eaters. They were expecting to see giants, trolls, werewolves, and acromantulas. The vampires were apparently not interested and everyone preparing at the school was hoping they stayed that way. Werewolves would be a worse threat if they attacked on a full moon. Harry imagined that if Voldemort decided to do that then he would have to supply them all with Wolfsbane potion to keep them from attacking his own death eaters. If not on the full moon then they would still be stronger and likely extremely vicious.

Harry was wondering if he could convince Remus into fighting in his werewolf form, under Wolfsbane of course, if they happen to attack on the full moon. They would likely need him if that were when it happens. Somehow, he would have to make Remus identifiable as the only good werewolf on their side so no one from the school mistakenly attacked him.

Harry didn't tell anyone but he had already contacted Fred and George so they could bring some of their inventions to help out. According to what they were reporting to him concerning their progress, the results were going to be nothing short of spectacular. They said they would make plenty to go around.

The centaurs refused to join the cause but said they would attack any death eaters who entered their forest. Harry thought that was better than nothing and expected no less of a reaction from them. The goblins stated they were staying out of it too.

After three more weeks, all the banging and noise came to an abrupt stop behind Hagrid's hut. The silence was almost strange after hearing all the loud sounds for so long from the forge and the hammer. Harry made his usual trip down to see Hagrid after that and his regular visits stopped just as the noise did at about the same time.

What the curious ones didn't know was that Harry had completed his part of the project just like Hagrid had completed his. When Harry saw the armor and sword for Grawp his eyes nearly bugged out at the sheer size of the items. How Hagrid had managed to make all that with little magic was amazing. Hagrid even managed to make a leather sheath for both of their swords with straps so they could carry them easily.

Harry provided the magic to make the armor, shields, and swords the right weight for the giant and half giant. All the items were spelled to never break and the swords were spelled to always remain razor sharp. The two large brothers were thankful for his help.

Grawp acted as if he had new toys to play with but Hagrid made sure he understood how dangerous the items were and how they were to be used in the coming days. Hagrid spent a lot of time with Grawp in a forbidden forest clearing training him on how to use the shield and sword and even drafted Harry to help them both practice blocking against spells.

With the shields, they were able to block any spell that was thrown their way. They expected to even block the killing curse since their shields were made out of heavy metal and both men were strong enough to withstand powerful spells. If a spell managed to get by their shield, they still had on body armor that would take the blow. And, even if the spell managed to hit where a small part of the body is not covered by metal then their thick giant skin would help them, Grawp more so than Hagrid since he's a full giant.

Harry even conjured some large dummies for Hagrid to show Grawp where to cut them with his sword. Harry enlarged the dummies to Grawp's size so they could practice and be ready for the real giants that were expected to show up with Voldemort. These not only helped Grawp but Hagrid as well who could hack away at their legs, which would bring the more vital parts of the body down so he could finish them off.

Grawp was slicing the giant dummies completely in half with ease with that overly sharp sword and his inhuman strength but Harry could easily repair the dummies when he was done so they could be reused for more practice. Normal, man-sized dummies were conjured as well to represent the death eaters and werewolves so they could get a feel for how to swing against much smaller opponents too.

Overall, the practices went well and Hagrid and Grawp were getting used to their shields and swords more and more each day, handling them with ease as they practiced more. Harry also kept in mind how he might fight against the giants if it became necessary. He was hoping Grawp and Hagrid would scare them off quickly but you never knew if one might get through and have to be handled without their help. So their practices helped prepare Harry too. Just in case.

One thing he noticed with the dummies and Grawp, they were so large that it would be nigh impossible to miss them with a spell. The problem was the giant toughness to their skin that was resistant against magic. The same could be said for werewolves if the attack comes on a full moon. Harry still doubted Voldemort would choose a full moon. Depending on how many werewolves he had, that would be a lot of expensive Wolfsbane potion. He would have to have Snape brew it in very large quantities just for that night, especially since it doesn't really have a shelf life. That would not make any sense to do that.

That rules out the full moon and a few days before and after, probably about a week's time frame can be eliminated from the month. He won't want to bring tired werewolves due to their lunar cycle. However, any other time during the month was fair game. Hopefully the alerts that were in place would give them enough time to get set and send the kids to safety. All were prepared as best they could and the plans were in place. They would be executed as soon as the first sign of the attack was spotted.

Spotters were on a rotating schedule and were told to look for giants, as they would be the easiest to spot. If giants were seen on their way to Hogwarts then the plans could be executed and the young students could be sent to safety even before the attackers arrived. They were also told to watch for large groups arriving by portkey or apparating into Hogsmeade. At the first sign, plans were to execute.

Fred and George were going to be on brooms and they had a team of helpers who were also going to be on brooms. Most were players on the Quidditch teams and very good flyers. They had it worked out that they could all fly at maximum speed over the attackers far enough up to be safer and drop some surprises donated by the Weasley twins from their shop in Diagon Alley.

One of the surprises was an improvement on their portable swamp that they showed Harry. Now, each one included three large and very hungry alligators to make the experience even more memorable. They told Harry they couldn't wait to see the facial expressions on all those death eaters when they dropped those swamps on them.

On Thursday morning just before sunrise on May 21 of 1998, the alarms woke everyone from their slumbers. Giants had been spotted a few miles outside of Hogsmeade and there was a large group of death eaters gathering in Hogsmeade, coming by portkey and apparition.

All the youngest students slated to leave were quickly gathered up and sent on their way in large portkey groups while various fighting groups were sent to their stations. The Hogwarts elves popped around the castle with quick breakfast foods and drinks to bring all those in position something to eat before the battle started. They knew everyone would need their strength before the day was done.

The castle protections were activated bringing the armored knights and stone statues to life in defense of the castle. Several marched out the front entry and stood guard on the lawn in front of the castle. Others prepared for invasion of the castle and promised retribution should that happen.

Grawp had been sleeping close to Hagrid's hut of late so he would be nearby when the time came. Once the alarms sounded, they both went up to the castle and stayed out of sight slightly behind it until they could see where the giants were coming from. Harry assigned them to be the main deterrent to the giants then once successful they were to deter the trolls, werewolves, and acromantulas. Hopefully the giants would give up and leave once they met up against Hagrid and Grawp with their armor and swords.

The werewolves and acromantulas should be less of a challenge for the giant and half giant once the enemy giants and trolls were routed. Meanwhile Fred and George's group would be wreaking havoc on the death eaters from the air. The swamps were set to activate on contact with the ground so they could toss them from pretty far up and they brought plenty of them.

After the last of the kids were gone via floo or portkey and everyone else was in position, a loud blast sounded indicating the lockdown of the castle. There was nothing left to do but wait and maybe say a little prayer.

Voldemort and his large army of death eaters, werewolves, and trolls arrived at Hogwarts. You could just make out the acromantulas coming through the forest at another angle. Voldemort seemed to be waiting on something. They were just standing in front of the gates.

Suddenly five massive giants crashed through from the side and stopped not far from Voldemort and his group. With a simple flick of his wand, the gates of Hogwarts exploded in toward the castle and he motioned for the giants to move forward and tear down the castle walls. As soon as they took off toward the castle the trolls followed the giants, then the unchanged werewolves followed next with the large group of death eaters bringing up the rear.

Voldemort stayed back to direct his troops.

The shock came when Grawp and Hagrid came tearing out from around the castle whooping and hollering while armed to the teeth. The unexpected appearance of the two only slowed the giants and trolls slightly before they continued on.

Grawp and Hagrid were waving their swords around threateningly. Some of the werewolves cast spells at them before they could reach the front line and the giants but the shields held and blocked them all.

Meanwhile the distraction by Grawp and Hagrid allowed Fred and George to fly their group high above the death eaters dropping enhanced portable swamps and other surprises on them. Pandemonium was soon the norm. Death eaters were being bitten and eaten by huge alligators, while swamps were swallowing up others.

The death eaters did not know what to do with this sudden surprise. Plus, they could not see where these things were coming from. They were all scrambling to get away from the swamps and the alligators since spells did little damage to the magically enhanced meat eaters.

While all this was going on Grawp and Hagrid had reached the giants, cutting them off from the castle. The giants were even bigger than Grawp and did not expect much resistance. Hagrid was not even considered a threat, that is until they felt his sword.

The first giant that tried to take out Grawp swung his big club but came back with a nub. Grawp's first strike took off the arm of the giant and his second one cut his head off. The giant that went after Hagrid missed when Hagrid slipped between his legs and cut his left thigh with his sword severing the major artery in his leg. Hagrid spun around and did the same to the other leg, essentially hobbling the giant who began to bleed out quickly.

The other three giants just stopped and stared at Grawp and Hagrid then watched as Grawp cut a troll cleanly in two pieces that had come too close. With a grunt and a look at each other, they turned and took off running the way they came in. Grawp sliced through several more trolls as he took off after the fleeing giants. A few werewolves were not so lucky either.

The trolls decided to leave too so Hagrid waded through the werewolves slicing left and right and blocking spells with his shield. If a werewolf got too close on his shield side then he would get walloped with it, crushing their skull. A few swamps were dropped on the werewolves as well so Hagrid took advantage of their distraction and took a few heads off.

Once Grawp and Hagrid had everyone's attention and the flyers had left their mark, the fighters from the castle made their play. Picking off death eaters who were distracted by the swamps and alligators made the job a little easier. However, fighting the ones not distracted proved more difficult and a few from the castle lost their lives.

Eventually the death eaters realized that freezing charms worked against the swamps and alligators so began their come back. Fortunately for them Grawp was busy killing acromantulas after giving up his chase of the giants. Unfortunately, Hagrid was focused on the death eaters and he had help from the castle. They kept Hagrid at bay somewhat with a lot of spells that he had to block, especially the unforgivables. This made it more difficult to use his sword.

Moreover, Hagrid was blocking the killing curses when they were cast at any of the students near him. The death eater who cast it usually died quickly by sword.

Harry had flown over the chaos until he reached Voldemort. He had his invisibility cloak on so set down far enough away so he could dismount and prepare properly. He had spotted Nagini from the air so took off her head before he landed. He tried to sneak up on the murderer of his parents but Voldemort somehow knew he was there before he could get close enough.

"Nice of you to join me, Harry. I was wondering when we would meet tonight."

Harry took off his cloak and stuffed it in his pocket.

"This will be the last time we meet, Tom. Today one or both of us is dying."

"You think you even have a chance against me? I am Lord Voldemort! There is no one who can defeat me, Harry. I am immortal."

"Not anymore, Tom. All those horcruxes you made? All gone. Yep, I destroyed them all. Whoops! Didn't see that coming did you?"

"Nagini?" he called.

"She won't come. She lost her head a little while ago."

"How dare you!"

"Oh, don't give me that crap, Tom! HOW. DARE. YOU? You murdered my parents and my friends. I'll kill anything of yours that I want, including you. You earned it, you git."

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry saw the green curse headed his way but he quickly stepped out of the way while sending a strong blasting curse back at Voldemort who just batted it away with his wand.

"Did I touch on a nerve there, Tom?"

"Don't call me that."

"Why not? That's your real name. You just made up Lord Voldemort and you're not even a real lord. You may be a descendant of Slytherin but you're definitely not a pureblood, no matter how much of that nonsense you spout."

"Watch your tongue, young Harry. I am not to be trifled with."

"Let me ask you this, Tom. How is it that you spent all that time creating horcruxes, trying to make yourself immortal, and then I come along and easily undo all that work? How does that make you feel, especially since I can survive a killing curse without a horcrux? You have to work so hard and yet it seems that it just comes naturally to me."

Voldemort looked like he was about to burst. Harry smiled at him.

Suddenly a barrage of spells, a long chain in fact, came out of Voldemort's wand and headed toward Harry. It was all he could do to block and avoid the spells. He had never seen anyone able to cast spells so fast. Just when he was getting a bit winded, the killing curse came flying his way again. He only had time to dive out of the way and straight into a cutting curse that grazed his shoulder. Harry cried out in pain as his blood sprayed the ground.

"Harry, Harry, Harry. Do you not see now? There is no way for you to win. I'm not even breathing hard. Look at you out of breath and bleeding all over the ground. Stand still and I will make this quick."

"You wish. I wouldn't give you the satisfaction. And this cut? Meh, I've had worst cuts on my eyeball. Don't get your hopes up."

Taking a steady breath, Harry sent his own chain of spells toward Voldemort who batted several away at first but had to start using a shield after a while. The last one clanged on his shield and pushed him back a couple of feet.

Voldemort smiled.

"Do you think that little show of power is suppose to impress me?"

"No. Not really. That was just to get your attention. I'm not even trying yet. You know, I think that I could probably live through another killing curse if I had to. I just don't see where you have enough magic to kill me. Face it. You've tried. You couldn't even kill me when I was a baby. We've faced each other…what...six times now, before today? Why am I not dead yet? Why can't you kill me? Do you even know how?"

Harry was trying to get him flustered and it appeared to be working but Harry wasn't sure if it was in his favor or not.

Suddenly Voldemort yelled and let out a burst of magic, not from his wand but his body that sent Harry flying about thirty feet toward the castle. A few trees were also felled from his burst. Harry managed to get back up to his feet as he made his way further onto the grounds with Voldemort slowly stalking him. He was beyond ready to kill Harry now. He had never been so insulted in his entire life.

The other fighters had pretty much gained control over the death eaters, especially since Grawp had finished with the acromantulas and was lending a hand sending parts of death eaters flying all directions. They soon decided to stop fighting and quit. Some took off running to escape and Grawp took off again chasing after them. Then the explosion from close to the gates got everyone's attention.

They saw Harry flying toward them and everyone was quite worried but he got right back up although a bit unsteady. Then Voldemort stalked toward Harry, his red eyes blazing with fury. Gasps were heard all around as they saw the visage on Voldemort's face. His deformed features just made it that much worse.

The fight between Voldemort and Harry started up again as they watched. Spells were going back and forth but Harry had to do a lot of dodging from all the unforgivables. He still fought better than most believed he could against the more experienced Dark wizard. Voldemort no longer tried the Imperius curse since he knew it didn't work on Harry, but he favored the Cruciatus and the Killing Curse a lot.

It was tiring to Harry to have to keep moving. His body was bloody and banged up. His shoulder was still bleeding although a little less now. He was sure he had a broken rib or two. He was keeping up with Voldemort but just barely. He was seriously wondering how he was going to come out of this alive. Voldemort was just too good and too powerful. He had to figure out a way to at least take Voldemort with him.

He tried every spell he could think of, every trick in the book but nothing seemed to get through to the Dark Lord. Dodging another killing curse, Harry wasn't quick enough this time for the follow up cutting curse that grazed his side. This made him falter and run headlong into the next killing curse. The curse hit him square in the chest and he was suddenly thrown to the ground on his back where his body laid perfectly still.

Many people gasped and cried out at the sight, but Voldemort had been knocked over too somehow, even though he wasn't hit with a spell. He stood back up slowly after a minute and just kept watching Harry to see if he would get up. After a few minutes more and Harry still hadn't stirred, he decided that he had won.

"Harry Potter is dead!" he said laughing. "Your hero is gone forever. I am Lord Voldemort and no one can defeat me!"

Voldemort turned quickly when he heard a roar from behind him. He saw Hagrid with a shield and sword coming at him as fast as he could run.

"Ah, Hagrid," he said.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Voldemort cast a strong killing curse but Hagrid just blocked it with his shield and kept coming. Voldemort fired several other spells, more powerful ones, and even a blasting curse but they all bounced off Hagrid's shield. Just when Hagrid was almost on him, he sent a very powerful blasting curse at the ground in front of Hagrid that sent him flying back several feet away from him.

Hagrid landed hard on the ground, winded from the fall. Someone yelled "Hagrid!" They were afraid he was hurt.

"Is that the best you've got? A half giant?" he asked the crowd.

Voldemort turned back to Harry's body.

"Look at your savior. Dead. What are you going to do now?"

Voldemort heard a grunt from behind him so he whipped his body back around only to be met by a large sword coming at him. He did not have time to move and the sword went right through his stomach and stuck out his back, buried to the hilt. All the breath left Voldemort's body and he fell to his knees.

Hagrid stood back up with his shield still in place. He was pleased with his throw from a sitting position that nailed Voldemort. Everyone watched as the Dark wizard just stood there on his knees then suddenly he grabbed the sword on both sides of the blade and started inching it out, little by little. When he finally had it extricated fully from his body and it fell to the ground, he sagged a little then took his wand and cast a healing charm on his body before standing up again slowly, since it still hurt.

Everyone was in so much shock to see Voldemort not die and actually be able to do that. They just stood there watching the whole scene. In fact, they were so scared and engrossed in what Voldemort was doing that they completely missed Harry stirring behind him and then raising up watching the last part from where Voldemort finished removing the sword.

"Good idea," said Harry quietly to himself while standing up.

Suddenly Harry took off running toward Voldemort then put his hand in the air above him. Just before he reached Voldemort, the Sword of Gryffindor appeared in Harry's outstretched hand. No one noticed him until he was halfway to Voldemort. Harry was moving very fast and their reactions were too slow to alert the dark lord that anything was amiss.

"You were saying, Tom?" Harry asked loudly.

Voldemort tried to turn quickly but he was still hurting some. When he did get turned, he saw Harry with a smile on his face and his eyes grew big in their sockets at the sight of him.

Harry swung the sword just as Voldemort completed his turn and sliced his head clean off. He ended up with his back to Voldemort when he finished his swing so when he turned back he saw this shocked look on Voldemort's face as it fell, beating his body to the ground.

"Good-bye, Tom."

Everyone erupted in cheers and noise all around him. Harry picked up Hagrid's sword and dragged it back over to the half-giant, still carrying the Sword of Gryffindor in his other hand.

"You might want to hang onto this, Hagrid."

"Yeh might be right, Harry," he said taking it.

"Oh, and Hagrid?"

Hagrid looked at him.

"Thanks."

"Weren't nothin', Harry. Nothin' a' tall. B'sides, I reckon I owed Tom one too."

"That you did, Hagrid. That you did."

"But, Harry how'd yeh do it? I mean he hit yeh with a Killin' Curse an' all."

"That's a long story, Hagrid. Maybe some other time? I have a date with Madame Pomfrey and I mustn't be late."

"Right, best get yerself patched up, Harry. Here, let me help yeh."

Hagrid reached out a hand and steadied Harry who was swaying on his feet. They started a slow walk to the castle with everyone watching them in awe.

"Thanks Hagrid."

The End