Pomfrey shared her glare between Draco and Harry, her mouth set in a firm line. She hadn't spoken since learning what had happened. Hagrid had needed a calming draught and he was happily snuggled up in a bed, sucking his thumb between light snores. Harry and Draco's friends were currently being questioned by the headmaster which left them together in the infirmary. With one last scathing look, Pomfrey retreated to her office and shut the door.

Draco studied his hands with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut. His whole face felt like it had been ran over by the Express Train. Harry refused to look over at the blond boy and instead stared at Hagrid's sleeping form as if doing so would somehow turn him back to his adult self.

"Why that spell?" Harry asked finally. "It's a stupid spell. I'd of only turned into a kid and you would have gotten into loads of trouble anyway."

Draco gently probed a dark purple bruise on his chin and grimaced painfully. "Well, I wasn't thinking clearly now was I? Someone had knocked the sense out of me. Prat."

"Bitch."

They fell silent once more and remained that way, looking anywhere but at each other, until Snape returned half an hour later. His glare had turned into an obsidian smolder behind half-lidded eyes.

"I've gotten the story from your little friends. Now it's time to, as they say, face the music."

Both boys tensed.

"Draco, you will stay here for the night and get your wounds healed, but starting tomorrow you will be grounded and taking your meals from the great hall."

"Classes-" Draco started to protest.

"Yes, you still have to attend classes, but then immediately back to your dorm. You will also have detention with me every night for a month." Here Snape paused and searched Harry with a penetrating look. "Son, you will come with me. We will talk about this in our quarters."

Stomach curling into knots, Harry nodded and followed his father out of the infirmary. It did not take long to reach the headmaster's quarters. They were specifically arranged to be equally distant from each house in case of emergencies. Once they were inside, Snape pointed to the sofa and Harry sat.

"What you did was very stupid, Harry, and I am disappointed in you."

The words were spoken softly, but they cut through the boy like a knife. He felt tears burn the back of his eyes, but he refused to lose his composure. He deserved this, after all, for what had happened to Hagrid. Crying wouldn't change anything.

"I expect a response," Snape said.

"Yes, sir."

"Why did you let him get to you?" the headmaster asked. He drew a chair up in front of the boy and sat down, leaning forward so that their knees were almost touching. "Why did you do it, Harry?"

"You know what he's like. Fucking Malfoy," Harry said bitterly.

"Language," Snape admonished, "You're already skating on thin ice as it is."

"Yes, sir." Harry sighed in defeat and let his head fall, pulling down his shoulders. "I just didn't like what he was saying."

Snape considered his words carefully. "I can understand that, son, but that does not give you the right to beat someone to a bloody pulp."

Harry opened his mouth to protest before remembering Draco's swollen, purple face, and his mouth snapped shut. He really had lost it with the other boy. Shame burned through his stomach and Harry hugged himself. Snape saw and his stern expression softened somewhat.

"I will be punishing you, Harry, but not because I am angry at you. I am not angry," Snape said firmly.

Harry looked up then, for the first time since entering their quarters, and was shocked to see the truth in his father's eyes. It was sometimes easy to forget that the painful punishment the Dursley's doled out was not normal. Still, Harry's mouth went dry.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked.

"You will be joining Malfoy in his detentions."

"What?" Harry exclaimed, wide eyed. "You want me to spend more time with him after what I did?"

"Yes," Snape said simply.

"But, why?" Harry couldn't understand his father's thinking.

"Because you need to learn self-control. If the Ministry learns that you are beating up fellow students they might start to think you're...." Snape trailed off.

"Turning into another Voldemort?" Harry finished for him.

"Unfortunately." His father nodded.

"Well, I'm not," Harry said.

Snape smiled. "I know that, Harry."

Mollified, the boy rested his arms on the sofa. "What else are you going to do to me?" he asked the question without meaning to, an undercurrent of fear entering the words.

The headmaster grimaced, a pained look on his face. "Harry, I'm not your uncle." He reached out and took the boy's hands in his own. "The fact that I love you is not going to change just because you chose to use Draco as a punching bag."

Now it was Harry's turn to grimace. He really had let himself get lost in the grief and anger of losing his relatives. The boy licked his lips.

"You are my son and I want you to do the right thing, but making mistakes is part of being human and I won't punish you for that. Although I'm sure the detentions will drill home the point I want to make, there will also be lines."

Harry groaned and let his head fall back against the sofa. He hated lines. "Yes, sir," he ground out.

"Good." Snape released the boy's hands and stood. "Now I think you should go to your room. I will call you when dinner is ready."

Harry did as he was told, but turned back to his father after a moment. "Dad, what about Hagrid? What happens to him now?"

A bark of laughter escaped Snape. "Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten our little problem. Deaging spells are notoriously unreliable and may last for minutes or years."

"Years!" Harry squeaked.

"Sometimes. I dare say that we must simply wait it out. There's not much else that can be done."

"Oh. Pomfrey can't give him a potion or something?"

"No. The reversal must take place naturally. Until then, don't think that you are not going to play any part in young Hagrid's care."

"Yes, sir." Harry turned and escaped into his room. He wondered exactly what Snape had in mind.

-

The first detention was as awkward as Harry had expected it would be. They were tasked with cleaning out a spare teacher's suite for Hagrid. Draco had immediately gone to the furthest part of the room to begin his part. Harry followed suit without a word. For the next two hours neither boy acknowledged the other's presence. Finally, Snape arrived with Hagrid in his arms, sitting on his hip. The little boy looked around the sparkling clean room with wide blue eyes. At some point Hagrid must have realized his mother was not coming, because he had stopped asking. Snape set the boy down on the floor.

"These are your rooms," the headmaster told the child.

"Wooms?" Hagrid asked shyly.

"Yes." Snape smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging manner.

Hagrid trundled off to explore while Snape turned to the two boys in front of him. He seemed not to like what he saw, because he gave a heavy sigh and pointed to the door.

"Off with you, Mr. Malfoy. Harry, you'll stay here and look after Hagrid while I attend to some things."

Harry paled. "What?" he asked, horrified.

Draco pranced out of the room, throwing a smirk over his shoulder at Harry. The Gryffindor ignored it, looking instead between his father and the little boy who was trying to pull a large book off a shelf. Harry felt out of his depth.

"I don't even know how to watch a baby," he protested.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Five years old is hardly a baby, Harry. I'm sure you'll do fine. Just keep him out of trouble and try not to break anything. I'll be back before supper."

Before Harry could protest further, his father had walked out. Alone with little Hagrid, Harry gulped. It couldn't be any worse than-

A loud crash interrupted his thoughts. Harry swung around and saw that Hagrid had succeeded in dislodging the heavy book which was now laying haphazard across him where he lay sprawled out on the floor. Harry rushed to the little boy's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking for any bleeding or injuries.

Hagrid sat up, blinking great big blue eyes. "'Kay," he said with a smile. "Book."

"Yes, you have a book," Harry agreed.

"Read?" Hagrid held out the book in both hands. "Pwease?"

Unable to say no, Harry took the book and read the title Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them. He chuckled and sat down, drawing Hagrid onto his lap. Little fingers brushed the pages as he read.