Chapter two
BOOM. They knocked again and this time Dudley woke up.
"Where's the cannon?" he asked stupidly.
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 off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.
Chris had never seen a man as big as the man that came through the door. His face was practically covered in his hair and his beard. His eyes and his nose were the only things on his face that could be made out.
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.
He turned to look at them all and Chris grabbed Harry and took a step back. This man was like three times bigger than his Uncle Vernon. Just imagining the punches coming from the man in front of him made flinch inwardly.
"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.
Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.
"An' here's the twins. Now, which one o' yeh is Harry and which one o' yeh is Chris?" said the giant looking back and forth between the twins.
Harry looked at Chris to see his reaction. Chris was weirdly good at reading people so in a situation like Harry trusted his judgment. He looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.
Chris gave a nod to Harry and said, "He's Harry and I'm Chris."
"Las' time I saw the two o' you, you was only babies," he said. "The both of you look a lot like yer dad, especially you Harry with the glasses and all. Although Chris you've got hair like your mum and you Harry, have got your mum's eyes."
Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise that Chris couldn't help but smile at.
"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. Chris watched in barely concealed shock as the giant jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, and bent it into a knot like it was nothing.
Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on and again Chris smiled. It was nice seeing someone take Uncle Vernon down a notch.
"Anyway- boys," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, " a very happy birthday to yeh both. Got sumthin' 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. Chris motioned for Harry to open it he did with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Chris and Harry written on it in green icing.
Harry looked at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"
Chris mentally facepalmed, "What my brother means to say, is thank you. Although I do second his question. 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 shook Harry's whole arm and then did the same thing with Chris. Chris looked at Harry and raised his eyebrows and his twin gave him a smile.
"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. I'd not say no ter sumthin' stronger if yeh've got it, mind."
His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled 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 a flickering light.
The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out 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. 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 eat a thing he gives you, Dudley."
The giant chuckled darkly.
"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry." Chris laughed out loud and decided that Mr.Rubeus Hagrid had just gained a place in his good books.
He split the sausages up a gave three to Harry and three to Chris. Chris looked at how fast his brother was eating his sausages and every time Harry finished one sausage Chris would replace it with one of his.
Harry who was so hungry barely noticed that he had eaten six sausages instead of the three he originally had because he couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but we still don't really know who you are."
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 said, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts-yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."
"Er-no," said Harry and Chris shook his head.
Hagrid looked shocked.
"Sorry," Harry and Chris said quickly.
" Sorry ?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them who should be should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting 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 Harry and Chris really wished he hadn't said anything.
"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"
He had 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 those boys knows nothing' abou'- about ANYTHING?"
Chris was a bit confused. To him it seemed like Hagrid was calling him and his brother stupid just because they didn't know whatever Hogwarts was. Harry, however, thought this was bit far. He and his brother did go to school after all.
"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do maths and stuff. And Chris is amazing at science and he's the best drawer I've ever seen."
But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world. Your world. My world. Yer parent's world."
"What world?"
Hagrid looked like was about to explode.
"DURSLEY!" he boomed.
Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at the twins.
"But you must know about yer mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."
"What? Our- our mum and dad weren't famous, were they Chris." Chris looked at Harry and mirrored his shocked look before shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry and Chris with a bewildered stare.
"Yeh don' know what yeh are ? he said finally.
Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice
"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell those boy anything!"
"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 from them all these years?"
"Kept what from us?" Harry said eagerly but Chris shushed 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 'Chris, Harry- yer a wizard."
There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.
Chris narrowed his eyes at Hagrid, not sure if he was telling the truth or not.
"I'm a what ?" gasped Harry.
"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid. sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good' un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. You two Chris. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's about time yeh read yer letter."
Chris studied the envelope Hagrid handed him. It was addressed to Mr C. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock-, The Sea. He pulled the letter out and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF
WICTHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (order
of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation 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
Chris sat stunned at what he had just read. They had until the end of the day to confirm that they were going to Hogwarts. Luckily it seemed he and Harry were on the same wavelength because when he finished reading his letter 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. He started writing, but Chris was to busy trying to figure out how the owl was still alive after being in Hagrid's coat to see what he wrote.
Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door and the threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.
"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.
"They're not going," he said.
Hagrid grunted.
"I'd like ter see a great muggle like you stop them," he said.
"A what?" said Harry, interested.
"A Muggle," said Hagrid. "It's what we call non-magic folks like them. An' it's your bad luck you and yer brother grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles 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 them! Wizards, indeed.
While Harry was busy questioning their uncle about lying to them Crys decided that enough was enough. His Aunt and Uncle had been lying to them for ten years and he had had enough. He stood up and went to the corner where he and Harry had stored their things. Once he grabbed some clothes and his sketchbook he realized that Harry and Hagrid were talking and was instead arguing with Uncle Vernon.
Suddenly Uncle Vernon exploded, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME OLD CRACKPOT TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!"
It seemed that Hagrid had finally reached his limits. He pulled out 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 fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back to them a pigs tail could be seen sticking out of his trousers.
Once again Chris could not contain his laughter and he laughed while his aunt and uncle pulled Dudley into the other room and slammed the door.