First and foremost, I obviously don't hold rights to Harry Potter…unfortunately…
I decided that I'd take a crack at my own 'revision' of Harry Potter. I suppose you could consider this a 'what if?' story. This story is the child of JK's books and my own musings.
Early to Rise
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I
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Harry Potter was a small nine year old boy living with his 'loving' relatives. After being scolded yet again by dear uncle Vernon, young Harry finally finished the dishes. He ate a meager portion of the leftovers from dinner before being locked up in his cupboard for the night. As he jumped into his bed, he grunted from an object that hadn't been there this morning. Sitting up, he pulled the heavy package to his knees.
"What's this?" he whispered. Harry never got mail, or presents…Harry never got anything.
As he looked over the package with a skeptical eye, he read a message on the top. 'To Mr. Harry James Potter.' However, there was no 'from' section. Harry gently ripped open the package, making sure his relatives wouldn't hear. The last thing Harry wanted was for whatever this package was to be confiscated.
After discarding the wrapping, Harry inspected what seemed to be an old wooden box. Quirking a brow, he finally decided to open it. As he tentatively raised the lid, he noticed a letter.
Taking the letter from the box, he saw five rather large books and a few journals, as well as some other odd items.
Harry got closer to the dim light over his bed, squinting to make out the words.
.
'Dear Mr. Potter,
I am a friend, first and foremost. However, I cannot reveal my name. Just know that I am only attempting to look after you.
At times, you may think this is a joke, but Harry I beg you, take this letter seriously.
There is a world hidden from yours that you never would have imagined. Harry Potter, you are a wizard. Both your parents, James and Lily Potter, were wizards also. You were told that they died in a car accident. That is simply not the truth. They died protecting you and defending our world from destruction. The one who murdered them: The Dark Lord, Voldemort. In our world, he is never called by name. He is referred to by: He-who-must-not-be-named, or You-know-who. Some say that he is gone, but he will return one day. Whenever that day comes, it will be far too soon in my opinion.
In our world, you are a legend. So I ask you to please remain humble.
In two years, you will be invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately, you've been left with your vile relatives, who I'm sure haven't mentioned anything of the magical world. Therefore, you will be at a severe disadvantage upon going to school. That's where I've decided to help you.
In the box where you found this letter, I've placed some books. Two of them are history books, one solely on Hogwarts, and the other on magic as a whole. Then there is a potions book, a Defense Against the Dark Arts book, and a Charms book. Also, I've added some journals that will help you learn a few things, and introduce you more to the magical world. These books are charmed so that any non-magic folk, or Muggles as we call them, will see them as random children's books.
I've given you an old wand to practice with. But be careful Harry. You don't want your relatives to find out.
I wish you all the luck in the world Harry Potter. Stay strong, and never change.
V/r,
A Friend
P.S.- You might want to spend quite a bit of time on the red journal. Occlumency to be more specific. It may come in handy.'
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Harry put the letter aside and rummaged through the box, picking up the wand. He looked at it for a moment, then started to chuckle.
"What kind of sick joke is this?" he whispered. Then he remembered the part about his parents, causing him to frown. He wanted to confront his uncle, thinking it was some vile prank by him, but decided against it.
Harry thought for a moment. As ridiculous as it all sounded, what if it could be true? Shaking his head, he looked back to the box and wand. He smiled, 'Well, at least I have something to play with.' He decided.
Little did Harry know, in a few short days, his 'playing' would turn into something much, much more.
He spent the next two years diligently studying the books and journals he had received. Practicing every night in private, making sure he would never be found out by his relatives until the time came.
Harry lay in his small bed staring into the darkness of the cupboard. He had finished his nightly practice a few hours ago, but he couldn't sleep. Tonight was a special night, for in only a few minutes he would be eleven! Not that he particularly cared how old he was, but that means that he would be going to Hogwarts this year. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Staring at his alarm clock, he waited as the red numbers changed from 11:58, to 11:59. Only one minute to go, but it seemed like time decided to take a nap. Harry almost couldn't take it; the suspense was bringing out his anxiety more and more as the seconds passed him by.
12:00
Harry smiled, rolling over to face the wall, "Happy birthday Harry." He whispered to himself.
Just then, Harry jolted up from hearing a loud thud from the hallway. Hearing someone walking toward the stairs he put his hand over his mouth, fearing that the intruder might hear his breathing. As Harry noticed the thumps of the person's steps hadn't gone up the stairs, but rather right in front of the cupboard door, he froze.
Panic overtook him as a thousand thoughts ran through his mind. Just as he was about to back up even closer to the wall, the door swung open. Harry shut his eyes tightly, wrapping his arms around his knees.
"Harry?" a deep voice questioned.
The boy contemplated whether he should reply or not. Just then, something occurred to him. 'What am I doing? I can do magic…Why am I being a wimp?' he asked himself.
As the fear quickly abated, he opened his eyes, seeing a pair of large orbs staring back at him. "Yes." He said.
The hulk of a man smiled wide, pulling young Harry out of his 'room' and giving him a tight hug.
Harry gasped, "Sir…Sir, I can't breathe." He struggled to say.
The man quickly put him down and released him, "Oh, sorry 'bout that Arry. It's just; I haven't seen ya in so long."
Harry quirked a brow, "I don't think I've ever seen you sir."
The man chuckled, "Well a 'course ya have. You was just a wee baby then though." The man grinned, "The names Hagrid."
Harry didn't know why, but he felt at ease next to this giant man, causing him to smile a genuine smile. Something he doesn't do all that often. "Well Hagrid, It's nice to meet you."
As they were shaking, Harry heard someone barreling down the stairs.
"What's the meaning of this!" uncle Vernon screamed. Harry turned to see that his uncle had a shotgun pointed at his new friend. "You, get out of my house, NOW!" He bellowed.
Hagrid gingerly walked up to Vernon and bent the barrel of the shotgun with ease. "Piss off Dursley." Is all he said before walking back to Harry.
The young boy was astounded, but decided against saying anything. Hagrid put his hand on Harry's shoulder and turned his gaze to Vernon. "Arry's goin to Hogwarts this year. If he ain't on the train when it leaves from Kings Cross Station, I'll be comin for ya Dursley. Understand." He said more than asked.
Vernon, still shocked over the ease with which this man bent his shotgun, sputtered, "Ye…Yes."
"Good."
Harry smiled, "I never expected my invitation to be like this."
Hagrid quirked a brow, "What? You mean you knew about Hogwarts and that you're a wizard?" he asked, a bit nervous.
Harry was going to tell Hagrid all about the package he had received two years ago. But after noticing his tone, decided against it. "Well, I got a letter two years ago telling me all about it. At first I thought it was just a joke. But I guess you're proof that it wasn't." He stated, trying to hide the fact that he wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Huh? Who was it from?"
Harry shrugged, "Don't know. The person just said that they were a friend, nothing more."
The mountain of a man seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. Suddenly, he looked a bit anxious. "Well, Arry, I've got to be goin. Here's your official invitation, and instructions on how the Hogwarts Express works." He said, quickly handing harry two envelopes.
Harry nodded, "Thank you Hagrid."
The man smiled and nodded back. As he was leaving, he turned to Vernon again. "Remember what I said. Oh, and also, make sure you get him to the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow afternoon. I'll be waiting there."
Vernon vigorously shook his head up and down, "Of course."
Harry watched as Hagrid picked the door up and put it back in place, vanishing from sight. It made him feel a bit uneasy how the man became so nervous just because Harry knew about the magical world. But, nothing could ruin this night for him.
The young boy smiled. He had final received what he'd been waiting for. Now, he just had to endure his relatives long enough to start 'school.'
If Harry thought uncle Vernon was mad last night after Hagrid had left, today, he was outright enraged. They were just arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, which Harry was more than thankful for. After the verbal beating he took during the car ride, he was beyond ecstatic to see Hagrid again.
Vernon opened the door to the pub and shoved Harry inside, causing him to bump into someone.
"Oh, sorry sir, I…" He began, but quickly smiled, "Hagrid!"
The man chuckled and gave the young boy a pat on the shoulder, "Good ta see ya Arry."
Hagrid directed Harry toward the back of the pub, motioning for Vernon to take a seat and not move until they return.
Once they got to the back of the pub, Hagrid opened the door to Diagon Alley, causing Harry to look on in amusement. However, before they entered, Hagrid asked to see the letter from two years ago. Luckily for Harry, he always kept it on his person.
After a few minutes of studying, Hagrid handed the parchment back to Harry and sighed, "Well…I suppose I don't have much else to fill ya in on." And so, they entered Diagon Alley.
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They had gone to Gringots and picked up some money so Harry could buy all the necessary school supplies. Harry decided to take a bit more so he could buy extra books. After all, he had spent the last two years reading and re-reading the same information. He hated studying at one point, but after the past couple of years, he noticed that he was actually happy reading books. Even if he did read it twenty times. Although, it would be nice to have some new reading material.
Hagrid also picked something up from the bank, though he wouldn't even hint at what it was. As curious as Harry had been, he decided against pushing the subject.
After picking up all of his school supplies, and quite a few extra books, Harry went to buy a wand.
Once that ordeal was over with, he met up with Hagrid, who bought him a little birthday gift. Harry's eyes widened at the sight of such a beautiful bird. "Hagrid, she's amazing!" he exclaimed.
Hagrid chuckled, "I think she feels the same way, Arry." He stated, noticing how excited the owl seemed.
After all the shopping was done, Hagrid returned Harry to Vernon, who was not at all pleased at being stuck in such a 'foolish place' as he put it. Hagrid instructed him to take Harry home, and make sure to bring him to King's Cross Station on time, reminding him of what would happen if he didn't.
This was it. Harry was about to leave the Muggle world behind for the better part of the next year. And he had to say, he was pretty damn excited.
Hagrid's instructions said to go to the third pillar after platform nine, but before ten. He stared at the pillar, slightly anxious. Hagrid had said to simply run into it, and he'd be in a different area completely.
Shaking his head, he took a deep breath. 'Well, if this works...awesome. If not, everyone in the station will think i'm an idiot.' he chuckled to himself.
Looking around quickly, he made sure no one was looking. He did notice a number of red heads approaching, but they were far off enough that he didn't worry.
Taking one more deep breath, he started pushing his cart toward the pillar, picking up speed. Just as he was about to hit the bricks, he closed his eyes.
After a second, noticing that he hadn't hit anything, he quickly opened his eyes again. He gasped, slowing his cart to a stop, looking around in amazement. He was definitely still in the station, but this was a different place. That was for sure. There were tons of people walking around with owls, toads, cats, and rats. Bundles of books and robes. Old folk with funny hats, and young folk, looking just as lost as he was.
After looking around in astonishment for a few more moments, Harry glanced at his ticket. Then he realized, he had never taken a train before. He really didn't know where he was supposed to go with the ticket.
He saw a young girl, about his age, walking briskly toward a man near the front of the train. He quickly caught up to her and got her attention, "Excuse me, miss, I'm sorry to bug you, but I've never taken a train before."
The girl looked at the boy walking next to her, holding out his ticket and looking like an idiot. But, she remembered her first time taking a train, and if it hadn't been for her mother, she definitely would have been lost. So, she smiled, "Follow me, I'll show you how it works."
Harry smiled back, "Thanks. I appreciate it."
The girl nodded, but didn't say anything else.
She walked up to the man who was punching tickets, handing hers over. The man quickly punched and handed it back, looking quite irritated with how his life turned out. Harry walked up to him next, following the girls example.
Once his ticket was punched, the girl directed him into one of the train cars. She found a cabin at the far end of the car and entered.
As Harry entered the same cabin, he saw she was having trouble getting her trunk on the shelf.
"Here, let me." he said, taking the trunk from her and easily placing it up on the shelf.
Once he put his own trunk up, he sat down opposite the girl. "What?" he asked, noticing how she was looking at him.
She looked away slightly, "Why are you sitting with me?" she asked shyly.
Harry chuckled, "Well, why not?" he asked. Then, noticing her expression change to something of nervousness, his features drooped, "Unless you want me to leave."
She quickly looked up at him, "No. No, it's just...people don't usually like to be around me." At this, she once again looked away.
Harry quirked a brow, "Why's that?"
She sighed, "Well, for starters, I'm kind of bossy. I'm also a big bookworm and everyone always calls me a know it all..." she began, but ended up trailing off.
Harry chuckled again, "So what. I'm a bit of a bookworm myself." He stated, pulling his trunk down and opening it to show her.
The girl glanced at his trunk, then her eyes suddenly went wide, "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Where did you get all these?" she asked in genuine excitement. The girl noticed that he had all of his school books, but he also had a lot of extra books.
Harry smiled, "I found most of them at the bookstore in Diagon Alley, but a few of them were gifts." He replied, referring to the books he received from the mystery 'friend' two years ago.
She smiled and looked up to the boy's eyes, "I'm Hermione." she said, bringing her hand up.
Harry grinned back at her, "Harry." He said, taking her hand and shaking it.
A/N: I know that it's a bit jumpy, sorry about that. I just wanted to get the beginning part out of the way.
Let me know what you think. I like both good and bad reviews. This is just the start, so it will get better.