You Talk Funny!
“Hush Kamaria, soon they will come,” I attempt to soothe my owl as she hops anxiously on my shoulder, probably sensing my nerves.
Today is the day I will finally meet my twin, Harry Potter. We’d been separated as babies after our parents' murder, him being sent to live with our Muggle aunt and uncle in Britain and me to a wizarding family in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe.
Kamaria let out a shrill shriek and launched herself from my shoulder, nearly causing me to trip over a stray rock as I stumbled back from the force. “Hey! What was the meaning of that?” I glare at her as she disappears through some clouds. Before I can call her back, a low, rumbling noise coming from those same white pillows of water catches my attention, a similar sound to the Muggle vehicles which occasionally drive across our dusty dirt roads. Sure enough, it was a muggle vehicle making the noise. A motorcycle. A flying motorcycle, to be precise. It came shooting out from behind the clouds, and as it got closer, I could see that it carried two passengers. A large, hairy man and a very small boy.
They landed not far from where I was standing, close to a nearby lake. Kamaria was circling around their heads, squawking as if she was telling them off for being late. I giggled lightly, covering my mouth with my hand before running over to greet them.
“Well hello there!” the man called out to me, removing his goggles and hanging them over the slightly rusted bike handles. His face broke out into a wide toothy grin as I slowed to a walk, quickly becoming shy and nervous as I remembered whom he had brought with him.
“You must be Astrid. Look just like ya mom you do. I’m Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts”.
“It is a pleasure, Mr Hagrid,” I politely reply, extending my arm to shake his hand, which was so big it consumed my own. “I am sorry my parents could not be here to greet you; they received an urgent owl about a sick Hippogriff and had to leave last night.”
“Just call me Hagrid. And it’s alright yer parents aren’t here, I hope that Hippogriff’s ok, magnificent creatures Hippogriffs. But speaking of meeting people I suspect yer waitin for me to introduce you to your brother,” he said kindly.
I nod eagerly, leaning slightly to the side to try and catch a glimpse of my brother on the bike. But he wasn’t there. “I would love to meet him, Hagrid, but where has he gone?” I ask the gentle giant.
“What? Oh, uh…” Noticing that Harry was no longer on the bike Hagrid began looking around, his eyes growing frantic at the thought of losing the young boy. “Harry? Where are ya?” Hagrid called out.
“Here,” came a small squeak from behind Hagrid. From there, the boy peaked his head out so that now me and Hagrid could see him. Harry had hidden himself behind the poor man, probably being a bit nervous about meeting the sister he had only been told about less than twenty-four hours ago. I remembered the shock I felt when I first found out I had a brother.
Hagrid let out a relieved sign. “There you are Harry! Why were you standing behind me? Come out and meet your sister.”
Harry shyly made his way in front of Hagrid so that now he was standing directly across from me.
“Harry, meet Astrid. Astrid, this is Harry,” Hagrid introduced us.
“It is nice to finally meet you, Harry,” I say.
Harry stared at me for a few seconds before replying. “You talk funny!” he stated before blushing in embarrassment, realising he had said his thoughts aloud.
The sound of my laughter cut through the awkward air like a knife. “Oh, Harry,” I manage to splutter out. “You have no idea how ironic your statement was.”
Harry looked at me in confusion, his embarrassment quickly turning to concern, probably considering the possibility of me not being entirely sane. I guess I really couldn’t blame him, I was laughing myself nearly to tears, and he had barely spoken a word to me.
Gathering my composure again, I gently explain to him, “I apologise for my rudeness, Harry. But you see, I have grown up in a country where English is not the only language spoken. A place where accents and speech patterns vary greatly from those you may have heard in London. So, because I have grown up with people speaking this way, when you say I speak strangely, it is funny as to me it is you who has a funny accent,” I finish, hoping I have not made a bad first impression and caused him to think I am crazy.
To my surprise, and to my relief, Harry burst out laughing as well, his body almost shaking as he did so. “I’m sorry,” he said between laughs. “I guess we have a lot to learn about each other.”
“That we do,” I say, giggling as well.
“Alright you two, I know we’re just starting to get ter know each other but we really must be off, much to do before we get to Hogwarts,” interjected Hagrid, whose rosy face looked as though someone had cast a Cheering Charm on him.
“Of course, Hagrid, I must admit I am looking forward to seeing London for the first time, and Hogwarts of course. I heard that the castle even has magical moving staircases!”
“Wait!” Harry exclaimed in shock. “You know about Hogwarts? And about magic?”
I shared a tentative look with Hagrid. Well, he had to find out at some point. “Yes Harry,” I began. “I know all about Hogwarts, and about magic. I’ve even practised it myself, at other wizarding schools.”
“Other wizarding schools?”
“It’s true,” Hagrid kindly stated. “Hogwarts is not the only wizarding school there is. Yer sister has been attending the one in Uganda, Uagadou, since she was seven. Yeh see, she was raised by a wizarding family, and here in Africa, they start their schooling at an earlier age than at Hogwarts.”
Hagrid paused for a second before turning to me. “Though I never heard of someone attending multiple. Where else did ya study, Astrid?”
I beam proudly at him, not shying away from a chance to impress. “I have done some exchange at Beauxbatons, Castelobruxo and Mahoutokoro,” I answer.
“Blimey! That’s a lot of schools,” exclaimed Hagrid, his eyes wide in surprise.
“It is. But I am looking forward to spending the rest of my time at Hogwarts, with Harry.” Turning towards my brother, I smile softly, my hands clasping each other in front of me. I notice he has a small frown on his face, one I can identify only as jealousy. Not desiring any sense of resentment or bitterness to develop between us, I’m quick to extend an olive branch. “I cannot wait to get to know you better, Harry, and I hope you feel the same way. I can teach you all about magic if you like. Or perhaps you could teach me more about muggles. I would love to learn from you.”
Harry’s frown began to slowly disappear, morphing quickly into excitement; his eyes lit up, and I could tell he wanted to learn as much as he could about the Wizarding world. “I’d like that very much,” he said.
“Well then, we can start right now. Hagrid,” I turn to the large man, grinning knowingly up at his round face. “I believe it's time to introduce us to Diagon Alley.”