The Keeper of Keys
BOOM. They knocked again.
Dudley jerked awake. ‘Wheres the cannon?’ he said worried. There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room.
He was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. ‘Who’s there?’ he shouted. ‘I warn you - I’m armed!’ There was a pause.
Then - SMASH! The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. A giant of a man was standing in the doorway.
His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting black beetles under all the hair. The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling.
He bent down, picked up the door and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.
‘Couldn’t make us a cup o’ tea, could yeh? It’s not been an easy journey…’ He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. ‘Budge up yeh great lump,’ said the stranger, that sentence made Corey think he was a mean person, because Dudley may deserve it, but the stranger hasn’t even met him before.
Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.
‘An’ here’s Corey!’ said the giant. Corey looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. ‘Las’ time I saw you, you was only a baby,’ said the giant. ‘Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh’ve got yer mum’s eyes.’
Uncle Vernon made a weird rasping noise. ‘I demand that you leave at once, sir!’ he said. ‘You are breaking and entering!’
‘Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune,’ said the giant. He reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon’s hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and trew it into a corner of the room. Uncle Vernon made another weird noise, like a mouse being trodden on.
‘Anyway - Corey,’ said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, ‘a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste all right.’ From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box.
Corey opened it with trembling fingers, Corey was definetly scared of the giant man, he was a little more scary because he didn’t seem aware that he was comitting a crime, which made him unpredictable.
Inside the box was a large, sticky chocolate cake with “Happy Birthday Corey” written on it in green icing. Corey looked up at the giant suspiciously.
He met this stranger today and the giant was acting like he had known Corey for years. Corey asked, ‘Who are you?’ The giant chuckled.
‘True, I haven’t introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.’ He held out an enormous hand and shock Corey’s whole arm. ‘What about that tea then, eh?’ he said, rubbing his hands together.
‘I’d not say no ter summat stronger if yeh’ve got it, mind.’ Corey felt that, if Corey had deduced right, this grounds keeper of a school (?) probably shouldn’t ask a child that. The giants eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled crisp packets in it and he snorted.
He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn’t see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Corey felt the warmth wash over him as though he’d sunk into a hot bath.
The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of some amber liquid which he took a swig from before starting to make tea.
Corey suspectied that the liquid was some sort of alcohol, which wasn’t that just irresponsable, Corey internaly rolled his eyes. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage.
Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.
Uncle Vernon said sharply, ‘Don’t touch any thing he gives you, Dudley.’ The giant chuckled darkly.
‘Yer great puddin’ of a son don’ need fattenin’ any more, Dursley, don’ worry.’ Which even Corey thought was unneccesary. He passed the sausages to Corey, who knew he really shouldn’t eat something a stranger was giving him, but he was just so hungry.
He had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, ‘I’m sorry, but I still don’t really know who you are.’ Corey said narrowing his eyes at the giant.
The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘Call me Hagrid,’ he said, ‘everyone does. An’ like I told yeh, I’m Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh’ll know all about Hogwarts, o’ course.’
‘Er - no,’ said Corey somewhat annoyed at the assomption. Hagrid looked shocked. ‘Sorry,’ Corey said bored.
‘Sorry?’ barked Hagrid, apparently not hearing Corey’s tone, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. ‘It’s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren’t gettin’ yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn’t even know abou’ Hogwarts, fer cryin’ out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learnt it all?’
‘All what?’ asked Corey confused and annoyed at the man, he knew about him not getting his letters and didn’t think anything was wrong or that he should have checked by earlier? What did he even want?
‘ALL WHAT?’ Hagrid thundered. ‘Now wait jus’ one second!’ He leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall ‘Do you mean ter tell me,’ he growled at the Dursleys, ‘that this boy - this boy! - knows nothin’ abou’ - about ANYTHING?’
Corey thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren’t bad, he wasn’t stupid. ‘I know some things,’ he said irretably. ‘I can, you know, do maths and stuff.’
But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, ‘About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents’ world.’ What world?’ Corey was just getting more and more confused now. Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. ‘DURSLEY!’ he boomed, Corey flinched.
Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like ‘Mimblewimble’. Hagrid stared wildly at Corey.
‘But yeh must know about yer mum and dad,’ he said. ‘I mean, they’re famous. You’re famous.’
‘What? My mum and dad weren’t famous.’ Corey said confused, was this guy crazy or something?
‘Yeh don’t know… yeh don’t know…’ Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Corey with a bewildered stare. ‘Yeh don’ know what yeh are?’ he said finally, Corey didn’t know if he was trying to intentionally sound rude. Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.
‘Stop!’ he commanded. ‘Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!’ A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.
‘You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An’ you’ve kept it from him all these years?’
‘Kept what from me?’ said Corey irretaited that nobody was explaining anything to him. ‘STOP! I FORBID YOU!’ yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.
‘Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,’ said Hagrid. ‘Corey - yer a wizard.’ There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. Coreys eyes widened, but it made sense. All the weird things that kept happening and why Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always treated him differently, it all made sence now.
Hagrid sat back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, ‘an’ a thumpin’ good wizard, I’d say, once yeh’ve been trained up a bit. With a mum an’ dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An’ I reckon it’s abou’ time yeh read yer letter.’
Corey streched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to
Mr C. Potter,
The Floor,
Hut-on-the-Rock,
The Sea.
He pulled out the letter and read:
Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September.
We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
Questions exploded inside Corey’s head like fireworks and he couldn’t decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he asked, ‘What does it mean, they await my owl?’
‘Gallopin’ Gorgons, that reminds me,’ said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl - a long quill and a roll of parchment, but all that Corey could think about was that, wasn’t that animal abuse to have a whole owl in ones pocket?
With his tongue between his teeth Hagrid scribbled a note which Corey could read upside-down:
Dear Mr Dumbledore,
Given Corey his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather’s horrible. Hope you’re well.
Hagrid
Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door and threw the owl out into the storm, making Corey frown feeling bad for the owl. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.
Corey realised his mouth was open and closed it quickly. ‘Where was I?’ said Hagrid, but at the moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight. ‘He’s not going,’ he said. Hagrid grunted.
‘I’d like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him,’ he said. ‘A what?’ said Corey, not understanding what he was talking about. ‘A Muggle,’ said Hagrid. ‘It’s what we call non-magic folk like them. An’ it’s your bad luck you grew up in a family o’ the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on.’
Corey felt Hagrid was being unfair to people who weren’t like the Dursleys, not everyone was like the Dursleys even if they didn’t have magic.
‘We swore when we took him in we’d put a stop to that rubbish,’ said Uncle Vernon , ‘swore we’d stamp it out of him! Wizard, indeed!’
‘How much did you know?’ said Corey angrily. ‘How much about all of this did you know?’
‘How much did we know?’ shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. ‘I knew my dratted sister being what she was would have you being one too. Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!’
She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.
‘Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you’d be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!’
Corey felt white hot rage when he said, ‘BLOWN UP? YOU TOLD ME THEY DIED IN A CAR CRASH!’
‘CAR CRASH!’ roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner, seeming even more angry than Corey. ‘How could a car crash kill Lily an’ James Potter? It’s an outrage! A scandal! Corey Potter not knowin’ hiw own story when every kid. In our world knows his name!’
‘But why? What happened to make everyone know my name?’ Corey asked urgently. The anger faded from Hagrid’s face. He looked suddenly anxious.
‘I never expected this,’ he said, in a low, worried voice. ‘I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin’ hold of yeh, how much yeh didn’t know. Ah, Corey, I don’ know if I’m the right person ter tell yeh - but someone’s gotta - yeh can’t go off ter Hogwarts not knowin’,’
He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys. ‘Well, it’s best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh- mind, I can’t tell yeh everythin’, it’s a great myst’ru, parts of it…’ He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds and then said,
‘It begins, I suppose, with - witha person called - but it’s incredible yeh don’t know his name, everyone in our world knows -‘
‘Who?’
‘Well - I don’ like sayin’ the name if I can help it. No one does.’
‘Why not?’
‘Gulpin’ gargoyles, Corey, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…’ Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.
‘Could you write it down?’ Corey suggested. ‘Nah - can’t spell it. All right - Voldemort.’ Hagrid shuddered.
‘Don’ make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin’ fer followers. Got ‘em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o’ his power, ‘cause he was gettin’ himself power, all right. Dark days, Corey. Didn’t know who ter trust, didn’t dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… Terrible things happened. He was takin’ over.
‘Course, some stood up to him - an’ he killed ‘em. Horribly. One o’ the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore’s the only one You-Know-Who wasafraid of. Didn’t dare try takin’ the school, not jus’ then, anyway. ‘Now, yer mum an’ dad were as good a witch an’ wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an’ Girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst’ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get ‘em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin’ ter do with the Dark Side.
‘Maybe he thought he could persuade ‘em… maybe he just wanted ‘em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Hallowe’en ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an’ - an’ -‘
Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘But it’s that sad - knew yer mum an’ dad, an’ nicer people yeh couldn’t find - anyway - ‘You-Know-Who killed ‘em. An’ then - an’ this is the real myst’ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it.
Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That’s what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an’ dad an’ yer house, even - but it didn’t work on you, an’ that’s why yer famous, Corey. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill ‘em, no one except you, an’ he’d killed some o’ the best witches an’ wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts - an’ you was only a baby, an’ you lived.’
Something very painful was going on in Corey’s mind. As Hagrid’s story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before - and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life - a high, cold, cruel laugh. Hagrid was watching him sadly.
‘Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore’s orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…’ Corey had the feeling he was leaving something out that he didn’t want him to know.
‘Load of old tosh,’ said Uncle Vernon. Corey flinched when he heard Uncle Vernon’s voice. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.
‘Now, you listen here, boy,’ he snarled. ‘I accept there’s something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn’t have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world’s better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they’d come to a sticky end -‘
But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, ‘I’m warning you, Dursley - I’m warning you - one more word…’
In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon’s courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent. ‘That’s better,’ said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.
Corey, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. ‘But what happened to Vol - right - I mean, You-Know-Who?’
‘Good question, Corey. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That’s the biggest myst’ry, see… he was gettin’ more an’ morre powerful - why’d he go?
‘Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he’s still out there, bidin’ his time, like, but I don’ believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of ‘em came outta kinda trances. Don’ reckon they could’ve done if he was comin’ back.
‘Most of us reckon he’s still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. ‘Cause somethin’ about you finished him, Corey. There was somethin’ goin’ on that night he hadn’t counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin’ about you stumped him, all right.’
Hagrid looked at Corey with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Corey, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there been a horrible mistake. A hero? Him? How could he possibly be? He’d been a baby when that happened it just didn’t make sence. ‘Hagrid,’ he said thoughtfully,
‘I think someone must have got something wrong i can’t have defeated You-Know-Who. None of that makes sense at all.’ Hagrid looked strangely at him when he’d said that.
‘Well, I don’ have anythin’ else that could explain what happened.’ Hagrid chuckled. ‘You wait, you’ll be right famous at Hogwarts.’ But Uncle Vernon wasn’t going to give in without a fight.
‘Haven’t I told you he’s not going?’ he hissed. ‘He’s going to Stonewall High and he’ll be grateful for it. I’ve read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and -‘
‘If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won’t stop him,’ growled Hagrid. Corey didn’t really like how Hagrid used the word Muggle as an insult, Hagrid continued.
‘Stop Lily an’ James Potter’s son goin’ ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name’sbeen down ever since he showed his first bout of magic. He’s off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardryin the world. Seven to eight years there he won’t know himself. He’ll be with youngsters of his own sorts, fer a change, an’ he’ll be under the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-‘
‘I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!’ yelled Uncle Vernon. But he had finally gone too far.
Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head. ‘NEVER -‘ he thundered, ‘- INSULT - ALBUS - DUMBLEDORE - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!’ He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal and next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his bottom, howling in pain.
When he turned his back on them, Corey saw a curly pig’s tail pokimg through a hole in his trousers. Corey was shocked, why would Hagrid punish Dudley for something Uncle Vernon said? Corey hated Dudley, but he could not feel glad if Dudley got punished for someone elses actions, that was just unfair.
Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Corey and slammed the door behind them. Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.
‘Shouldn’ta lost me temper,’ he said ruefully, ‘but it didn’t work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn’t much left ter do.’
He cast a sideways look at Corey under his bushy eyebrows. ‘Be grateful if yeh didn’t mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts,’ he said. ‘I’m - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin’. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an’ get yer letters to yeh an’ stuff - one o’ the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job -‘
That made Corey’s eyebrows furrow. ‘Why aren’t you supposed to do magic?’ asked Corey.
‘Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an’ everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore.’
‘Why were you expelled?’ ‘It’s gettin’ late and we’ve got lots ter do tomorrow,’ said Hagrid loudly, Corey flinched. ‘Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an’ that.’ He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Corey. ‘You can kip under that,’ he said. ‘Don’ mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o’ dormice in one o’ the pockets.’