FIRST CHAPTER
DISCLAIMER!
Snape: Where would you look for a bezoar?
Kailey: Stomach of a goat.
Snape: was I talking to you? Very well, if you are so intent on answering questions…Who owns Harry Potter?
Kailey: J.K. Rowling!
Snape's thoughts: damn American!
this is my first story! Please Review!
The storm was raging outside and I was snuggled up with one of my favorite books. I absolutely adored the Harry Potter series and I read them over and over again in chronological order. I've kept up with this pattern since the third grade (now about to enter the sixth grade that's a pretty good record for me) and I rarely find any other books that I enjoy quite as much. Anyway, we should get back to our story…
Chapter 3, "The Letters From No One" was one of the best, well that's not saying much about my opinion seeing as I like all of the chapters… The summer rain hammered on the windows outside and it was dark for 5 in the afternoon. So much for it being a beautiful July afternoon… That one thought had crossed my mind so many times; it was becoming difficult to get on with my reading. I was home alone for the day. My parents both work and my little brother was over a friend's house for the night (can't say I'm complaining).
"Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did…"
I nearly jumped out of my skin, I heard something slam against the garage door. Nothings there, I'm being stupid… I thought as I returned to my book. Besides, I've got plenty of neighbors… and the phone…Just then the lights flickered, and, naturally, they went out. "Of course this happens when I'm praying it doesn't!" I said aloud angrily shaking my head and returning to my book. Nothing was going to happen. Nothing ever did happen, not in my town, not in my state, heck not even in my life.
"Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? An (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? ..."
BANG!
I jumped and was forced out of my story by a large noise outside.
"Hello?" The voice calling out was that of a man. It was a deep voice, with a funny accent. "Hello?" He called again, "I know tha' you're in there!"
Shaking I walked over to the door, despite the threatening tone that I was hearing. Not the front door, which is where the voice was coming from, the door that leads to the garage. I wanted to see who was there before acting. I walked to the garage door and pressed my face against the window. It wasn't a great view, I couldn't see a thing.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the walk-in door, and unlocked it. I turned the handle as quietly as I could and snuck out the door, leaving it open for quick get-away, you know, just in case. I leaned over the bushes and screamed.
The giant of a man came running over with a look of worry on his face. I tried to turn to go inside but ended up backing into a wall. My face went pale and my eyes widened. (Yours would be to if you say a giant with a pink umbrella standing at your door requesting admittance!)
"Shhh! Don' scream. Don' want no one to know I'm here do we?" He turned his head from side to side, shaking off some of the water that was dripping steadily from his shaggy beard and hair. "Quick inside, before someone comes along…" It was very odd being ushered into my own house by a complete stranger.
Once inside, I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, staring at the man. He was very familiar, yet I had no memory of ever encountering such a man.
"Okay, who the hell are you supposed to be? I mean, Halloween is like what…" I thought for a moment, "three months away? It's kinda early to be dressing up now."
"Well there's one way o' introducin' yerself," he said gruffly. "Although I spose yeh got yer rights to say tha'. Names Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and…"
"…Grounds at Hogwarts?" I finished for him.
"How do you know 'bout Hogwarts?" His black eyes searched me as though looking for something wrong…like I was supposed to be an imposter.
I snorted, "Who doesn't?"
He stared at me for a moment longer before reaching into one of his many pockets and saying, "Then yeh'll know all abou' this then won't ya?"
I looked at what he was handing me. "You're taking this joke way too far."
"Joke? I can't think o' anythin' less funny."
"Whatever," I muttered as I opened my letter already knowing what it should say.
"Dear Ms. Macauley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…"
"So I've got one day to answer?" I said looking up, not at all convinced that any of this was true.
"Actually we need to go now."
"Now? But my parents…and packing and all that fun stuff! I can't do that all in less then a day!"
"Kailey, you won' need any o' that stuff, we're goin' ter Diagon Alley, after one more stop." Said Hagrid, "Sides, yeh need a uniform, not yer normal clothes. An' don' worry 'bout yer parents, they already know."
"They do?"
"Didn't yeh read the note they left fer yeh?"
"Well…" I headed over to the counter and opened the letter that my parents left for me daily, usually instructions of what neighbors to call in an emergency and stuff like that. Of course I never read them, my mom was a worry wart and my dad was way too overly protective when I was home alone.
"How are we getting to wherever it is we're going?" I asked suspiciously, having read the series; I knew that Hagrid wasn't allowed to use magic, even though he had his umbrella with him.
"Portkey, it's a kind of…"
"Its okay Hagrid, I know what a portkey is." I said smiling to myself. A real live portkey... Cool…
"Do yeh wanna grab anythin' before we go?"
I thought for a moment. Then I ran into the other room and grabbed "The Sorcerer's Stone" off the coffee table. I took off the book cover; I didn't want it to get ruined and grabbed a book mark placing it in where I had left off.
"I'm ready." I said, walking back down the hallway. Hagrid was holding a defeated looking Red Sox hat and I stuck out her finger to touch it and we were gone.
"One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty…ten…nine – maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him – three…two…one…
BOOM."
The whole shack shivered and so did I, it was freezing out there. Should've grabbed a jacket or something… Hagrid knocked again as he had done at her house only an hour ago. Six hours ago hear…damn I forgot about the time change…I hate that…
The door caved in and I was brought out of my thoughts. Hagrid stepped in over the door and motioned for me to follow. I scurried in to get out of the storm as Hagrid apologized and refitted the door into its frame. I looked around positively beaming. Could this really be happening? I scanned the room which took about a second. It was everything I thought it would be. Small, tiny, smelly. Not your average dream come true. But there you have it.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" He strode over to the sofa where a large boy sat, positively terrified. It must have been Dudley. Good I'm glad he's terrified…can't wait until he gets his tail… I smirked as I remembered that part of the story, one of the best laughs I'd ever had.
He squeaked and ran over to hide behind his mother. Not that easy for him to hide…bet he sucks at hide-n-go-seek… At this thought I let out a little giggle, earning myself a look of loathing from Dudley and Mrs. Dursley.
"An' here's Harry!" Hagrid announced, as though he was sort of introducing Harry to an aunt that nobody had ever met. A skinny boy with dark hair looked up at Hagrid, clearly frightened. I stood there, waiting to be introduced, but apparently that would have to wait, as Hagrid continued, "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yer dad…"
"Except for your eyes," I stated, not wanting to be left out. "You have your mother's eyes." I smiled as Harry turned to look at me. It was true; his eyes were a shocking green that would make any leaf look brown.
Mr. Dursley made a sound like he was going to heave.
"You should get some water, sir." I said politely, a glint of danger in my eyes. If Dursley was anything like in my books, he was a child abuser and I didn't hold well with that.
He ignored me. "I demand that you leave at once, you are breaking and entering!"
"Shut up Dursley, yeh great prune," Hagrid reached over the sofa that he now occupied and took the gun from the muggle's hands, tying it into a knot that would make a cub scout proud. "Anyways, Harry, a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste alright."
From yet another one of his pockets he pulled out a slightly squashed cake with green icing on it. I don't think I'll have any of that thank you… I remembered reading about Hagrid's rock cakes, not exactly my choice of foods.
"Who are you?" Harry said suddenly. I smiled as Hagrid chuckled before answering.
"Course I haven' introduced meself. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
"And I'm Kailey." I said extending my own hand to shake Harry's. Oh my God! I'm shaking hands with Harry Potter!
Hagrid caught site of the empty grate and rolled his eyes. He took out his umbrella and lit the fire. It was then that I realized I had been shivering. I let out a small sigh of comfort as the warmth washed over me.
Hagrid set to work making breakfast (sausages and tea). When he was done with the first half-dozen Mr. Dursley said "Don't touch anything he gives you Dudley."
"Like he needs it." I snapped, and continued, "Why on earth would we waste perfectly good, juicy, sausages on that boy?" Dudley's mouth twitched as I described the sausages. "Smells good doesn't it Dudders?" I added in a whisper.
Hagrid passed the sausages to Harry, who still looked at Hagrid as though he were…, well…a giant. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know either of you."
"Call me Hagrid," he said. "And that there's Kailey, she's already said, as a matter o' fact she'll be one o' yer classmates. An' like I've told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts -- yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."
Harry looked at me, eyebrows raised, as though I could tell him that this was all a joke. So sorry to disappoint you Harry… "Sorry, but, um…no."
Hagrid looked shocked and I braced myself for the oncoming rage. Perhaps Harry saw me wince at the look on Hagrid's face, because he said "sorry" again.
"It's them who should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters, but I never even thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"
If I could've stopped Harry from saying "All what?" I would've.
"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid's eyes went from kind and gentle to, well, monstrously scary to put it bluntly. He leapt to his feet and the building (well, alright, shack) shook so violently I was sure we were going down.
"You mean ter tell me," his growl was worthy of a dragon's purr, "that this boy – this boy! – doesn't know anything abou' everythin'?"
Harry looked slightly offended. "I know some things. I can, you know, do math and stuff…" He trailed off.
"No, no, no." I said, "Not that stuff."
"About our world, your world, my world, her world…yer parents world."
"What world?" You would think that he'd learned from the last question not to state the obvious so obviously.
"DURSLEY!" Hagrid was as red as a traffic light. Clearly he hadn't planned on explaining anything to Harry as he had for me. Well, you can't exactly blame him for that, me being the muggle born and all. Mr. Dursley was as white as (excuse me) a ghost. Hmm…I wonder if you can still say "white as a ghost" in one's presence…
Still fuming Hagrid went on. "But yeh must know abou' yer mom and dad, I mean yer all famous."
"What? My – my parents weren't famous," he paused. "Were they?"
"Ya, they were really REALLY, famous…" I said.
Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair (how does he get his hand through that knotted mane…?) shaking his head.
"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" He asked finally, it seemed as though Hagrid was finally accepting he'd have to explain something.
"Stop!" A voice from the corner of the room shouted like a general giving orders. It was Mr. Dursley, "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"
If a human's looks could kill, Vernon Dursley would've been less than dust the way Hagrid was looking at him.
"You never told him?" Hagrid looked as though he would burst into flames (not the kind of flames a phoenix would, a more threatening type), "You never gave him the letter tha' Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"
Harry looked excited now, "Kept what from me?"
"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Mr. Dursley as his wife gasped in horror.
"Go boil yer heads." Said Hagrid, "Harry, yer a wizard."
Silence.
"I'm a what?" said Harry perplexed.
"That's what I said when he told me that." Not really, but I had been thinking it.
"A wizard. An' a good one I'd wager once yer trained."
"Hagrid, you should give him his letter now." I said.
"Right, here yeh are Harry."
He took the letter which was addressed to a Mr. H Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. I assumed it had the same contents as my own had.
The look on Harry's face screamed curiosity. He wasn't pale exactly but it defiantly wasn't a normal color. "What's it mean 'they await my owl'?" he asked finally.
"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid taking his hand to his forehead. And out of yet another pocket came a real, living, breathing, annoyed-looking owl.
"Cool," I whispered. It was the closest I'd ever been to a bird. Actually they sort of creeped me out a bit. Okay, I'm downright terrified of birds, especially seagulls, long story, but this would have to change.
Hagrid scribbled out a little note and attached it to the owl. Then he threw the poor bird out into the storm.
Hagrid sat back down saying, "Where was I?"
"He's not going." Said Mr. Dursley matter-of-factly.
"An' I suppose a great muggle like yerself is goin' ter stop him eh?"
"Muggle?"
"It's a person who isn't a witch or wizard." I filled in. So this is how Hermione is going to feel…
Alright! That's it for chapter one! Chapter two is on its way! Please read and review!
