Another Hogwarts Tale

BOOM... 

There was another knock, startling Dudley awake. 

There was a loud crash behind them, and Uncle Vernon stumbled in. 

In his hand he had... a rifle?! 

How did he get a damn rifle? Lucy wondered. 

Has he gone completely insane now? 

"Who's there? I warn you– I'm armed," yelled Uncle Vernon. 

For a moment everything was quiet. Then– 

SMASH 

The door was hit so hard it blew off its hinges and landed with a bang on the floor. 

A huge man was standing in the doorway. 

His face was almost entirely obscured by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a shaggy beard. 

Still, Lucy could see his eyes. 

He squeezed through the door, having to bend down, his head lightly brushing the frame. 

Once inside, he pushed the door open again. Outside the storm had meanwhile abated. 

Then he turned and looked at the twins. 

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey," he said, as if he hadn't just broken into a cabin in the middle of the sea. 

Lucy had to giggle. 

He walked towards the sofa where Dudley sat, still completely petrified. 

"Budge up, yeh great lump," he said to Dudley. 

Lucy didn't know why, but she already liked him. And she didn't even know why he was there. 

Dudley ran behind Aunt Petunia, who huddled behind Uncle Vernon. 

"An' here's Lucy an' Harry " 

Lucy looked at him in disbelief. How did he know their names? 

The wrinkles that formed around the giant's beetle eyes had curled into a smile. 

"Las' time I saw you, you, you were only babies" he said. 

"You look a hell of a lot like your parents. Yer looks a lot like yer dads, but Harry yeh've got yer mom's eyes." 

He knew their parents?! Lucy had so many questions, but this wasn't the right moment. 

"I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering" Uncle Vernon shouted. 

The giant grabbed Uncle Vernon's rifle, twisted the barrel into a knot and tossed it in the corner. 

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune." 

Lucy had to smile. 

"Anyway, Harry, Lucy, a very happy birthday to yer. Got sommat fer yeh here– I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." 

He reached into his pocket and handed them a slightly squashed box. 

Lucy and Harry opened the box to reveal a large, sticky chocolate cake. 

It had green icing on it, and it said 'Happy Birthday Harry and Lucy'. They looked at the man. 

Lucy wanted to say thank you, but at that moment she couldn't say a word. 

Harry seemed to have the same problem, but caught himself and asked: "Who are you?" 

The man chuckled. 

"True, I haven't introduced myself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." 

He reached out a massive hand and shook Harry's and then Lucy's whole arm. 

"What about the tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. 

"I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind" 

His gaze fell on the shrivelled crisp packets, and he snorted. 

He bent down to the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing, but when he straightened a moment later, there was a roaring fire. 

It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light, and Lucy felt the warmth rush down her face as if she had been immersed in a hot bath. 

The man sat back down on the sofa, which buckled under his weight, and then began pulling all sorts of things out of the pockets of his cloak: 

a copper kettle, a squashy pack of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of amber liquid, which he took a sip from before the tea began to boil. 

Soon the hut was filled with the smell of sizzling sausages. 

No one said a word while the giant worked, but as he removed the first six fat, juicy, slightly charred sausages from the grill, Dudley fidgeted a little. 

Uncle Vernon said sharply at him: "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." 

The giant let out a dark chuckle. 

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry." 

He handed the sausages to Lucy and Harry. 

They were very hungry, and both never tasted anything so wonderful. 

Lucy ate up in peace and through eating had regained her ability to speak. 

"I'm sorry, but we still don't really know who you are." 

The giant took a long sip 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." 

Lucy glanced at her brother, who also had no idea what Hagrid was talking about. 

"Er- no," Harry replied. Hagrid looked shocked. 

"Sorry," Lucy added quickly. 

"Sorry?" 

Hagrid barked, turning to the Dursleys with a look that made them back into the shadows. 

"It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh two weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yer wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer crying out loud! Did yeh never where yer parents learnt it all?" 

"All what?" Harry asked. 

"ALL WHAT?" thundered Hagrid. 

"Now wait jus' one second." 

He had jumped up. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys crouched against the wall. 

"Do you mean ter tell me" He growled at the Dursleys, "that these children - these children! - know nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?" 

That wasn't true. Lucy knew some things. 

After all, she and Harry went to school and neither of them got bad grades. 

"We know some things," Harry said. "We can, you know, do maths and stuff." 

But Hagrid dismissed this with a wave of his hand and said: "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." 

Lucy still looked confused at Hagrid. 

"What world?" 

Harry and Lucy inquired at the same time. Hagrid looked like he was about to explode. 

"DURSLEY!" he boomed. 

Uncle Vernon, who had turned quite pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimbelwimbel". 

Hagrid glared at the twins wildly. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dads," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous." 

Lucy looked at Hagrid in surprise. 

She should know if she was famous, right? 

"What? Our– our parents weren't famous, were they?" 

"Yer don't know... yer don't know..." 

Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair and fixed the twins with a dismayed look. 

"Yeh don't know what yeh both are?" he finally said. 

Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. 

"Stop," he ordered, " Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell them anything." 

A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have collapsed under Hagrid's angry glare; when Hagrid spoke, every syllable trembled with indignation. 

"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years?" 

"Kept what from us?" Lucy asked curiously. 

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" screamed Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gasped in shock. 

"Aah, boil yer heads, both of yeh", said Hagrid. 

"Yeh a wizard, Harry. And you Lucy yeh a witch." 

Suddenly there was silence in the hut. 

Only the sound of the sea and the whistling of the wind could still be heard. 

"We are what?" Lucy and Harry inquired. 

Lucy would have expected a lot, but not being a witch. 

"A wizard and a witch, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting down again on the sofa. 

"An' thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With parents like yours, what else would yeh both be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letters." 

The twins reached out and finally took the yellowish envelopes written in emerald ink. 

Her letter was addressed to:

Miss L. Potter

The Floor

Hut-on-the-Rock

The Sea. 

She pulled the letter out of the envelope 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 Miss 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 

Hundreds of questions ran through Lucy's mind, and she could not decide which to ask first. 

Harry was the first of the two to find his voice, again. After a few minutes he stammered: "What does it mean, they await my owl?" 

Lucy looked at her brother. That was the first question he asked? 

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me..." said Hagrid, smacking his forehead with such force that it would have knocked out a brewery horse. 

From another pocket inside his cloak, he pulled out an owl - a real, alive, rather dishevelled looking owl - along with a long quill pen and a roll of parchment. 

He scrawled a note with his tongue between his lips. 

The letters were upside down for the twins, but at least Lucy could read them: 

Dear Mr Dumbledore, 

Given Harry and Lucy their letters. 

Taking them to buy their things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. 

Hagrid 

Lucy knew it was not nice to read someone else's post, but she was far too curious. 

Hagrid rolled up the note, handed it to the owl, who stuck it in its beak, went to the door and threw the owl out into the storm. 

Then he came back and sat down again. 

"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment Uncle Vernon, still ashen- faced but looking truly angry, stepped into the firelight. 

"They're not going", he said. 

Hagrid grunted. 

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. 

"A what?" Harry asked curiously. 

"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "It's what we call non-magic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck that you two grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggels I ever laid eyes on." 

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, 

"Swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard and witch, indeed!" 

"You knew?" said Harry, "You know all along and you never told us?" 

"Know!" Aunt Petunia suddenly cried out, "Of course we knew. How could you not be? My perfect sister being who she was. My mother and father were so proud the day she got her letter. 'We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful?' I was the only one to see her for what she was. A freak. Then she met those other two and then she had you... and I knew you both would be the same. Just as strange, just as abnormal. And then she got herself blown up, and we got landed with you." 

"Wait a second... blown up?" 

"You told us they died in a car crash," Lucy finished the sentence. 

"CAR CRASH!", Hagrid thundered, jumping up so furiously that the Dursleys ducked into their corner. 

"How could a car crash kill the Potters? That's an outrage! A scandal! Harry and Lucy Potter not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!" 

"But why? What happened?" Lucy wanted to know urgently. 

The anger drained from Hagrid's face. Suddenly he seemed to fear something. 

"I never expected this," he said in a low, concerned voice. 

"I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. 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 glared at the Dursleys. 

"Well, it's best if you know as much as I can tell you– but of course I can't tell you everything, it's a big secret, some of it anyway..." 

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few moments, and then said: 

"'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'ry, parts of it ..." 

"Who?" 

"Well– I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." 

"Why not?" Lucy asked. 

She thought it was... well... sort of... illogical to be afraid of a name. 

"'Gulpin' gargoyles, Lucy, 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?" Harry suggested. 

"Nah– can't spell it. Alright– 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, Harry. 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." 

Lucy couldn't imagine what it must have been like back then. 

"One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. Now, yer mum an' dads were as good a witch an' wizards as I ever knew. Head Boys an' Girl at Hogwarts in their day!" Hagrid continued. 

A small smile crept onto Lucy's lips. Maybe one day she will be as good as her parents. If she was in fact a witch and that wasn't a big mistake... 

"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 everyone knows it, he turned up in the village where you was living, on Hallowe'en teen years ago. You were just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an'-" 

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty spotted handkerchief and blew his nose loudly like a foghorn. 

"Sorry," he said. 

"But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dads 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, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it." 

"Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead, Harry? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh–" 

Lucy looked at Harry's forehead.  

So, that's how he got the scar... 

It was strange, neither of them had questioned the story of the car accident. 

"- took care of yer parents an' yer house, even– but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you and your sister, an he'd killed some the best witches an' wizards of the age– the McKimmons, the Bones, the Prewets - an you were only babies, an' you lived." 

Something very painful was going on in Harry's head. 

As Hagrid finished the story, he saw that blinding flash of green again, more clearly than ever before - and for the first time in his life he remembered something else - a sneering, cold, cruel laugh. 

Hagrid looked at the twins sadly. 

"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot." 

"Load of tosh," said Uncle Vernon. 

Harry started, almost forgetting the Dursleys were there too. Uncle Vernon had regained his courage. 

Clenching his fists, he scowled at the twins. 

"Now, you listen here, you two," he snapped. 

"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 worlds 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 jumped off the sofa and pulled a tattered pink umbrella from his robes. 

He held it out to Uncle Vernon like a sword and said, 

"I'm warning you, Dursley– I'm warning you– one more word..." 

Now that Uncle Vernon was in danger of being gored by the umbrella of a bearded giant, his heart failed him; he pressed himself against the wall and fell silent. 

Serves him right, Lucy thought. He should not talk about her parents like that. 

"That's better," Hagrid said, breathing heavily, and sat back on the sofa, which this time sagged to the floor. 

Despite everything, Lucy and Harry still had hundreds of questions. 

"But what happened to Vol-, 'sorry- I mean you-know-who?" 

"Good question, Harry. 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' more 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. 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 regarded the twins with warmth and respect, but Lucy did not feel happy and proud about it. 

She was rather sure that this had to be a terrible mistake. 

A witch? She? 

How could that be possible? 

All their lives she and her brother had suffered from the beatings of Dudley and had been bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. 

If they really were witches and wizards, why didn't the Dursleys turn into warty toads every time they tried to lock them in their room? 

If they had once defeated the world's greatest wizard, how could Dudley keep kicking Harry around like a soccer ball? 

"But Hagrid," he said softly. 

"That's not possible. We can never be a witch and a wizard. We're just Harry and Lucy." 

To her surprise, Hagrid chuckled. 

"Not a wizard or a witch, huh? Never make things happen when you're scared or angry?" 

Harry investigated the fire, now that he thought about it... 

All the weird things that had upset uncle and aunt had happened when Harry or Lucy was upset or angry... 

On the run from Dudley's gang, he had sometimes just been elusive. 

Sometimes, when Lucy hated the colour of Aunt Petunia's old sweaters, the colour would change overnight. 

And the last time Dudley pushed Harry, didn't he get his revenge without even knowing what he was doing? 

Hadn't he unleashed a boa constrictor on him? 

Lucy turned back to Hagrid and smiled, and she saw that Hagrid was practically beaming at him. 

"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry and Lucy Potter and no witch and wizard- just wait and you'll be quite famous at Hogwarts." 

But Uncle Vernon was not going to give in without a fight. 

"Haven't I told you they are not going?', he hissed. 

"They're going to Stonewall High and they'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and they needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and-' 

"If they want ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. 

"Stop the Potter's kids goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Their names been down ever since they were born. They're off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know themself. They'll be with youngsters of their own sort, fer a change, an' they'll be under the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-' 

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon. 

Her uncle had interrupted Hagrid so loudly that Lucy started and jumped slightly. 

But now Uncle Vernon had finally gone too far. 

Hagrid grabbed the umbrella, swung it back and forth over his head, and banged, "NEVER INSULT - ALBUS DUMBLEDORE - IN FRONT OF ME!" 

The screen whistled down until the tip was pointed at Dudley. 

Then - a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker popping, a high-pitched screech - and Dudley began to dance, his hands on his fat butt and howling in pain. 

Just as his back was to them, Lucy saw a curled pigtail tumble out through a hole in his pants. 

Fitting, Lucy thought. She giggled and Harry couldn't help but laugh too. 

Uncle Vernon raged. 

He pulled Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, gave Hagrid one last, terrified look, and slammed the door behind him. 

Hagrid looked down at the screen and stroked his beard. 

"Shouldn'ta lost my temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." 

He glanced sideways at Harry from under his bushy eyebrows. 

"Be grateful if you 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 l was so keen ter take on the job-" 

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" Lucy wanted to know. 

"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?" Harry inquired. 

"Harry", said Lucy. "You can't ask people why they are expelled." 

"It's gettin' late and we've lots ter do tomorrow," Hagrid said loudly. 

He wanted to change the subject; Lucy noticed that immediately. 

But of course, that was fine. The twins did not want to force Hagrid to talk about something he didn't want to talk about. 

"'Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that," added Hagrid. 

He took off his thick black cloak and tossed it to Lucy and Harry. 

"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."