Chapter 2: Meeting Harry Potter

AN: Here's the second chapter. Enjoy!


Hagrid smiled at the possibilities opened up when Harry spoke to the boa constrictor. A Parselmouth could reopen the Chamber of Secrets. Furthermore, it provided more evidence of Harry's link to Voldemort, most probably through his cursed scar. Making Mrs. Figgs trip in the middle of the stairs had paid off. Upon learning that the Dursleys would be going to the zoo for Dudley's birthday, Hagrid had made sure that Harry would be there. That broken leg had been a simple and efficient way of making Arabella unavailable. Also, Hagrid had not been in a good mood when he had learned that she had not reported any of the things the Dursleys did to Harry. The squib could have saved the boy a lot of trouble. Despite this, Hagrid still felt a small amount of remorse at having hurt her, but he had needed to know whether or not Harry could speak to snakes before continuing with his current plan. If Mrs. Figgs breaking her leg made that happen, then Mrs. Figgs would break her leg, no matter how bad it made him feel. Hagrid didn't have the luxury of taking his time anymore. Dumbledore wanted the stone at Hogwarts to use as bait. Harry and, with high probability, Voldemort would both be under the same roof, which made it imperative for Hagrid to know whether or not Harry could open the Chamber of Secrets in case things went south. After all, he would be blamed if it were to open again. Harry would be his back up in that case.

From under the cover of the Disillusionment Charm, Hagrid observed Harry's behaviour attentively. This told the half-giant that the young boy was completely subservient. It was actually pathetic. He let himself be punched in the ribs without even complaining. Hagrid vanished the glass with a wave of his wand, hidden in his umbrella. The Dursley boy and his friend yelped in horror and leaped back, much to Hagrid's amusement. Harry failed to take advantage of the situation. He just watched passively as the snake escaped. Hagrid sighed. He'd have to work on that boy some more to get him to do anything. Luckily, his servant mentality would make him extremely malleable in the future. He just needed to make sure Dumbledore's manipulations wouldn't interfere with his plans.


Some days later, the Dursleys escaped Harry's Hogwarts letters by sleeping at a motel. Hagrid laughed at the idea, and simply redirected the letters to the motel. He needed the family somewhere secluded, and the motel was too busy. They fled again after finding the letters the next day. Hagrid set it up so that they found some miserable little shack, far away from everything. He even Polyjuiced himself as the owner and 'allowed' the Dursleys to stay the night there. The half-giant was amused that Vernon thought the shack would protect them from the magical letters.

When the Dursley family went in, he could have went in right after them, but decided to wait for maximum dramatic effect. He knew that Harry's birthday would come the day after. Saving him from his family on his birthday would win Hagrid some extra points with the boy.

Five minutes before midnight, Hagrid set down his motorcycle near the shack. He activated a special charm which shrank the bike and he put it in his special pocket. He slowly made his way to the house, making sure to be slightly noisy. It wouldn't do any good to be a stealthy half-giant. He guessed nobody would pay attention to the discrepancy, but it never hurt to be careful. He looked at his watch, and counted down in his head. Three...two...one...

BOOM.

The whole shack shivered at his knock on the door. The half-giant grinned at the fact that he could break down the whole house with a single hit.

BOOM.

He knocked again, slightly harder. He heard a small voice asking about a cannon and chuckled lightly. Then he heard a crash and heard Vernon's voice shouting.

"Who's there? I warn you – I'm armed!"

Hagrid thought about the possible weapons a Muggle could have. Probably a rifle or a handgun. Nothing that could even sting the half-giant. He observed the door carefully and hit it just right to break it off its hinges, making it fall on the floor without breaking any other part of the precariously standing shack. Hagrid squeezed through the door, stooping so that his head wouldn't touch the ceiling. As he entered his eyes darted around, surveying the inhabitants. Vernon indeed held a rifle, Dudley was looking bewildered from his position on the sofa and Harry was sitting on the floor with only one small, ragged, cover for protection against the cold. He could hear Petunia in the other room. Knowing that no threat was present, he slowly turned around and fitted the door back into its frame, so as to keep what little warmth was present from fleeing. He turned back towards the room and noted that Petunia was now behind her husband, cowering. He inhaled slightly and put on his best accent.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..." Hagrid strode over to the sofa where Dudley was. "Budge up, yeh great lump."

Hagrid found the sight of Dudley squeaking and running to his mother quite funny. It was rare for him to have that sort of effect on people.

"An' here's Harry!" He gave the boy a good look. Still scrawny. His body language screamed 'I am weak, push me over'. Hagrid refrained from sighing, and instead put on his best smile. He managed to make it reach his eyes, a feat he was quite proud of. His acting skills were excellent.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," he continued. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." More points for him. Harry clearly did not know about his parents. The Dursleys made it so easy to win over the boy, it was not even funny. As if to prove his point, Vernon made a funny rasping noise and declared "I demand that you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune." Hagrid reached over the back of the sofa and ripped the gun out of the Dursley patriarch's hands. Scaring Vernon and entertaining Harry, the half-giant made a knot in the rifle. A bit of magic to ensure the gun did not break was all that was needed to achieve the desired effect. Vernon made another funny noise, similar to a dying mouse. Hagrid quickly turned around to Harry and made himself look harmless. It wouldn't do to appear too powerful and scary. He needed to appear as Harry's ally, not as someone who had power over him.

"Anyway – Harry. A very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." Hagrid pulled a slightly squashed box from his black overcoat, which he gave to the young boy in front of him. Even though he could have put the cake in his special pockets, he always pretended he was oblivious and clumsy, a trait which was only accentuated when he 'accidentally' squashed things. He noticed the boy's trembling fingers and filed the information in his head for later use. Harry had clearly never received any gifts, and he would use that.

Harry opened the box to find the large chocolate cake the half-giant had gotten him. Hagrid could see the boy's grateful expression, even though the words that exited Harry's mouth were "Who are you?"

Hagrid chuckled. "True, I haven't introduced myself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He put his hand forward and shook Harry's whole arm. "What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." The half-giant had already spotted the shrivelled bags of chips, but he felt like egging on Vernon. Reminding him subtly of his pitiful lack of resources was the best way to force the fat man's anger. Since Harry already liked him, the young boy would take his side against any attacks from the Dursleys, cementing their friendship. Hagrid then made sure to look directly at the shrivelled bags of chips and snorted. He could feel Vernon giving him the evil eye. The half-giant ignored him and instead bent down over the fire place, starting a roaring fire. He went back to the sofa and sat on it, making the moth-eaten thing sag under the weight.

The half-giant began rummaging through his pockets. He took out many things, to the amazement of the young boy in front of him. He had brought it all for exactly that effect. A copper kettle, several chipped mugs, a teapot and all the required material to make fireside sausages. He had also taken his favourite flask from which he took a swig. Water was boiling for the tea and the sausages were cooking. Hagrid burnt them slightly to keep his persona intact. After all, his rock cakes were very famous back at Hogwarts and it wouldn't do to have him be a great cook here. Harry wouldn't realize it, but Hagrid couldn't afford to lose his habits. He was frequently around two of the most observant wizards he had ever met, and he knew that it wouldn't take much to have either Dumbledore or Snape realizing Hagrid was a lot more than he let on. Thus, Hagrid tried his best to keep his act up at all times.

The silence around him made him wonder at the wisdom of keeping such a tight hold on his secret. Would it be worth it, a few years later, to have spent all this time pretending? He cut the train of thoughts as fast as it had come. No use dwelling on the past. Riddle would be dead in a few years and the world would be a better place for it. Of course it would be worth it. After that, he'd start anew someplace far away from the idiotic world that was magical Britain. He'd finally let himself be him, but only then.

His introspection was cut short by Vernon Dursley talking sharply to his son. "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

The half-giant replied after chuckling darkly. "Yer great puddin' of a son don' need more fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." He passed the sausages to Harry, who was eating them as if he had never tasted anything so wonderful. Hagrid knew that with the way he was treated at the Dursleys, it probably wasn't far from the truth and he resolved to give him a few gifts here and there. It would serve the dual purpose of making Harry happier and making them closer friends.

Harry decided to press on his previous line of enquiry, having not received what he considered an appropriate answer. "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." Hagrid hid his smile at the boy finally growing a backbone behind a gulp of tea. He made a show of wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, to give him time to properly formulate his answer.

"Call me Hagrid, everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course." There. He had finally laid on the table the essence of his visit. When Harry would respond negatively, he could act full of righteous anger at the Dursleys and win the boy over once and for all.

"Er – no." Hagrid put on his best shocked expression and was rewarded by the Boy-Who-Lived replying quickly with a "Sorry." Hagrid had everyone present exactly where he wanted them. Harry feeling bad for his lack of knowledge, the Dursleys as the proverbial bad guys in Harry's eyes, and himself appearing as a general good guy that never seemed to become angry at anything. His indignation would be that more powerful to Harry's eyes.

"Sorry?" he barked, pointedly turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" asked a confused Harry. Hagrid congratulated himself on his acting. He had been afraid that Harry might have been scared of his outburst, but he was pleased to know that his set up had had the opposite effect, as the boy took his side. He knew that now was the perfect time to turn to the Dursleys for answers.

"ALL WHAT?" he thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!" Before Harry could reply, he had leapt to his feet. He could read the terror in the Dursleys face as they cowered against the wall. "Do you mean ter tell me, that this boy – this boy! - knows nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"

Hagrid swore internally. He had lost a bit of his accent in that last sentence, saying 'you' instead of 'yeh'. Thankfully, no one seemed to realize his slip up.

"I know some things." came the annoyed voice of the last Potter. Hagrid found it funny how the young boy sounded exactly like the James had when he was younger. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." Hagrid simply waved his hand. He knew right then and there exactly what to say. "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." A brief mention of the boy's parents again. One last time before he could fully tackle the issue and the boy would trust him fully.

"What world?" Harry responded exactly as he had predicted.

"DURSLEY!" boomed the half-giant. He noted that Vernon had gone extremely pale. His acute hearing caught the "Mimblewimble" that came out of the Dursley patriarch's mouth. Turning to the young boy, the half-giant continued the conversation about the Potters.

"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad. I mean, they're famous. You're famous." He purposefully changed his expression to one of bewilderment, as if the notion of not knowing about the Potters didn't even make sense. Hagrid also had introduced the young boy to the concept of his fame. He needed for Harry to not be interested in fame. Fame would make Hagrid seem irrelevant in Harry's eyes. Furthermore, he would end up having trouble trusting that people actually wanted him instead of his fame which would make manipulating him close to impossible. Thus, Hagrid needed to know whether to break any fame seeking tendencies as soon as he met the youngest Potter. After all, James had been an attention seeking brat in his early days.

"What? My – my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" There was an answer that made Hagrid think for a few seconds. The young boy in front of him didn't care about his fame. The fact that he had focused solely on the part about his parents' fame told him that much. He stalled for some more time to think of the appropriate approach by stammering. "Yeh don' know...yeh don' know..." He ran his fingers through his hair. Thankfully, fame didn't interest Harry. It would have been tedious to systematically demolish Harry's need for fame through his probably greater desire to please his now dead parents, and would have been equivalent to walking on thin ice, a task much harder for a half-giant. Hagrid decided to dismiss the idea of fame altogether lest Harry get any ideas, and instead seal the deal and get to the reason for his presence. He had just the right approach that would make Vernon react harshly.

"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said, loud enough for Vernon to hear. Hagrid knew that Vernon wouldn't want Harry to be made aware of his magical heritage, meaning that his words would trigger an outburst from the obese man which would allow him to conclude his mission of securing Harry's trust and admiration.

"Stop! Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!" Vernon appeared desperate. Hagrid almost burst into laughter at just how ridiculous this whole situation was. It was as if Harry's guardians were doing their best to make it easy for him. Calling Harry 'the boy', trying to prevent him from talking to someone he thought was cool. Of course Harry would take Hagrid's side! Were these Muggles idiots?

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

Vernon responded by yelling. "Stop! I FORBID YOU!"

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh. Harry – yer a wizard." Hagrid finally revealed the young boy's heritage. And with just that sentence, he secured the boy's position at his side.

"I'm a what?" Harry gasped. The half-giant's words had resonated with him, even though he failed to consciously understand exactly what it meant. Hagrid knew because of the way Harry gasped.

"A wizard, o' course. An' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter." Subtly comparing Harry to his parents, praising his future skills and finally giving him the object he had sought for the past few days, his Hogwarts letter. Harry read the letter and Hagrid could read the questions the boy wanted to ask off his face.

"What does it mean, they await my owl?" He finally stammered.

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me!" Hagrid slapped his head for dramatic effect, reinforcing his fool persona. Taking an unimpressed owl out of his pocket left no doubt. Playing the idiot was sometimes just too funny. He quickly scribbled a short message for Dumbledore, making sure Harry could read it upside down. He made sure to write the line 'Taking him to buy his things tomorrow' slightly larger and pausing to let it sink in the boy that he would not be abandoned here. He sent the owl, marking the end of the important part of the meeting. Hagrid had won Harry's admiration and friendship already. All that was left was closing the conversation and to set the pace for the following day.

The rest of the interaction passed by without much incident. Every time he had acted outraged at the Dursleys hiding information from the boy, he had scored invaluable points. Hogwarts, his parents, the car crash and even Voldemort (and he had to stop himself from laughing out loud when he had declared that he didn't know how to spell the name of his arch enemy). He had acted extremely sad about the Potters' deaths, and a part of him noted that most of his feelings weren't an act for that part. They really had been wonderful people. Smart, caring and deeply set on making the world a better place. Just another reason why Voldemort was a monster that had to be put down.

Harry had doubted it all for a second, but Hagrid reminded him of all the strange things he had made happen. Harry had smiled widely at that.

The half-giant had become tired of Vernon. Such a pitiful excuse for a man. One last outburst from him, lucky coincidence that he had insulted Dumbledore, and the half-giant had exploded in fake anger. A small hex and Dudley now sported a curly pink pig tail. When the Dursleys had left the room, after a quick joke about the Dursley pig, Hagrid had asked for a favour from Harry, another one of those psychological tricks that would make Harry like him and trust him more. Harry would keep the secret about Hagrid's use of magic. He was sure that the young boy would never tell on him, but even then, Dumbledore would have backed him up, making it only a token show of trust. Of course, Harry didn't know that.

Hagrid had also decided to share his darkest secret. The fact that he had been expelled from Hogwarts was not well known. Going through the detail of having had his wand snapped secured the boy's trust even more, since to him it appeared that Hagrid trusted him fully to share this specific detail, and that Hagrid was the underdog like himself. Harry felt a kinship with Hagrid having been unfairly mistreated in his youth which made the half-giant appear even better in his eyes. Of course, he couldn't share the reason behind his expulsion. So he had deflected Harry's final question and bade him goodnight. The next day would be quite intense for the boy after all, and it wouldn't do to have him too tired for his first meeting with the magical world.