AN/ Well, here we are. If you have been reading this since my last update, I reposted chapter 2. As I wrote in the new authors notes, I wasn't happy with it before. So you might want to skim back and go over it again if you haven't already done so as I changed the second half of it pretty drastically. Anyway, on with chapter 3. this one is a little short, I know and not much happens but bare with me on this. Things will pick up.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the brilliant J K Rowling, I am only borrowing him for a while.
Chapter 3:
The Letter
Coming back to the kitchen, Harry wordlessly handed his Uncle the mail then slipped back into his seat, going over in his mind his plans for his Aunt once his cousin and Uncle left for the day. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her, after all, the reaction they had given last time over his Hogwarts letter had been more then half insane.
He was so deep in thought that Uncle Vernon actually shouted at him that he had better not pass on his germs if he was getting sick, thinking that his silence was due to him not feeling well.
Once the breakfast dishes were cleared away, Harry sat down at the kitchen table while his aunt saw the other two off for the day and reached for the envelope he had hidden earlier.
Slipping his hand into his shirt, he pulled out the letter and studied the familiar handwriting, a sense of nostalgia creeping over him. He had never actually gotten to open this one. He had lost count of how many letters he had been bombarded with before Hagrid had threatened his family into letting him read it.
Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he flipped the letter and slid his thumb under the edge to break the wax seal, chuckling to himself as he felt a surge of excitement from his younger soul as he slipped the folded parchment out and opened it.
He was rather looking forward to being able to relive some aspects of his life and he was pleased that he had the emotions of his younger self along with the knowledge of his older. Magic always was a heck of a lot more fun when it was all knew, after all.
Skimming over the letter, he smiled to himself as he read the familiar words;
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 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 the 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
'Nice to hear from you, Professor.' He thought to himself, smiling softly. It had been so long since he had spoken to the stern witch and he rather looked forward to seeing her again.
Hearing the front door close again, he laid the letter on the table and folded his hands, waiting for Aunt Petunia to re-enter the kitchen.
He watched her carefully as she bustled through the door, not even looking at him, "Well boy, what are you still doing… in… here…" she stuttered to a stop as she glanced over at him, taking in his solum expression, her eyes flickered to the sheets of parchment on the table and the colour slowly drained from her face as she realised what the letter must be.
"I'd like to speak with you, Aunt Petunia." He said softly and she flinched as if he had shouted at her. Her eyes flickered back and forth between his face and the letter and she slowly lowered herself into one of the kitchen chairs.
"What is this all about?" he asked her quietly, tapping the letter. He wanted to see how much she would actually tell him, it would give him an idea of how resistant she was going to be about all of this without Uncle Vernon there to dictate matters.
Her expression slowly started to turn sour, "I wondered when that would get here," she muttered and he raised an eyebrow at her.
Seeing his expression she snorted, "Oh yes, I know what it is. I have seen one before after all. Our parents were so proud when my freak of a sister received hers."
Sighing to himself, Harry mentally shook his head, he was going to have to take this carefully. "So this is real then?" he whispered, placing as much wonder in his voice as he could.
His Aunt snorted at him and snatched at the letter, her eyes scanning over the words, "Yes, it is real, stupid boy. And it is something we have been trying to squash out of you since you were dumped on our doorstep. I'd hoped that old fool had given up on you by now."
He pondered the other sheet of parchment that held his supply list as if he was trying to work something out in his head; finally he looked up at her, pasting a look of confusion on his face. "From the letter it looks as though they expect me to already know what they are talking about, shouldn't they have sent someone to explain things? I mean, where am I supposed to get all this stuff anyway?"
Aunt Petunia's face was growing sourer by the minute and finally she sighed, a look of disgust on her face, "I suppose I may as well give it to you, seeing as it is too late now." She muttered. Climbing to her feet she left the room to come back a moment later with another envelope in her hands, "I want you to keep this from Vernon. He is going to be angry enough that you got that other letter without him knowing I gave you this one." She thrust the envelope at his then stormed from the room.
Harry sat for a moment staring at the emerald green writing on the front that addressed the letter to his Aunt and Uncle. He had found out after he had gone to school that the Headmaster had left this here but he had never had the chance to ask after it.
Slipping the letter out, he found another envelope inside, this one addressed to him. Placing it to one side, he scanned through what Dumbledore had written to his relatives and snorted. They wouldn't have understood half of what the old man was talking about.
He told them about Harry's parents murder and warned them that things were still not safe, then went on to inform them of the blood wards placed on the house and reminding Petunia of the her obligation to take in the son of her deceased sister. He also mentioned that she was to give the enclosed letter to him a few months before his eleventh birthday in order to give him the chance to prepare before his school letter arrived.
Raising an eyebrow, he reached for the other letter. Flipping it over, he studied the seal then laughed to himself. It didn't matter if his relatives had been curious enough to read the other letter or not, they wouldn't have been able to. Over the top of the red Hogwarts seal he recognised the shimmer of a protection ward, only the person whom the letter was addressed to would be able to open it.
Brushing his fingers over the seal he felt the tingle of the ward activating and the letter unfolded itself.
Taking a deep breath, he picked up the piece of parchment and smiled at the familiar neat script.
Dear Harry,
I'd guess you are rather confused at present. If your Aunt has done as I asked, you should have received this letter a few months before your eleventh birthday as there are a few things you will need to know. Early in July, you will receive a letter welcoming you to Hogwarts. I don't know how much your family will tell you about your heritage, so I will give you a brief overview here. You are in fact a wizard, as your father was before you. Your mother was a witch and I had the pleasure of being their Headmaster during their tenure here with us.
When you come to be with us, you will be famous and I believe it might be a good idea to prepare you a little before hand.
I know this will come as a shock to you, as I have the feeling your Aunt will neglect to tell you much, but both your mother and father where murdered by a Dark Wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort. What this has to do with you is the fact that somehow, when he went after you, his curse backfired, causing him to loose his power. Many of our world view you as a hero, even if you do not remember what happened. All I ask is that you be tolerant until things can be explained to you.
There will be much that I will have to tell you, when you are ready, but in the mean time, I extend you a welcome hand.
When you receive your school letter, you will need to send a confirmation to us; all you need to do is to write a brief note and then hand it to the owl who delivered our letter to you.
If you have any troubles, write them to us and we will see what we can do.
Yours truly,
Aldus Dumbledore
Headmaster
Harry read through the letter then sighed. It didn't give him any information but he had to admit that it would have helped greatly the first time round if he had been able to read it, it would have made a lot of things easier to stomach. Especially when he worked out how much had been kept from him. If he'd had that promise from the start that the old man would tell him, even if it was only when he deemed him ready, at least he would have known that he would receive answers, in time.
Sitting back in the kitchen chair he pondered what he had to do now then snorted as something came to him. All things considered, he had no choice but to sit tight until he heard back from the Headmaster, after all, he had no way of getting to Diagon Alley. Even if he could talk his Aunt into driving him into London, he had no way of getting through the barrier without a wand and he didn't think it would be a good idea walking around unarmed anyway.
Going over to the kitchen drawer, he took out a notebook and pen and carried it back to the table. Thinking it over carefully, he wrote out a reply, trying to sound as if he was totally ignorant, knowing that Dumbledore would be able to pick up on any discrepancies if he wasn't careful;
Dear Ms McGonagall,
As requested, I am replying to your letter to say I accept the position offered within your school. My Aunt also gave me a letter from Mr Dumbledore and he said that if I had any troubles, then I was to mention them to you.
I need to know where I am to get my school supplies from and how am I to pay for them? I doubt my Aunt and Uncle will be willing to bye them for me, as they seem to be very angry about all of this. Is it possible to order any of the books? Or do I get them from school? Also, how do I get to Hogwarts? My Aunt is unwilling to answer any questions and she told me that she wasn't going to allow me to attend.
Please, I am unsure of what I am supposed to do.
Yours sincerely,
Harry Potter.
Reading through what he had written, he nodded in satisfaction. Hopefully, the Headmaster would still send Hagrid for him, after all, he had to get his Gringotts key off them before he went anywhere and he would like to meet the half giant before heading to school. Hagrid had been his first friend in the wizarding world and for some reason he couldn't explain, he wanted to keep that the same.
Folding the letter, he slipped it into an envelope and addressed it to the Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Slipping out of the kitchen, he made sure that his Aunt was occupied before creeping out to the front yard and handing the letter to the owl that was still perched on the mailbox.
Watching the bird fly off, he sighed, itching to get moving but knowing he had to wait for now. 'Well old friend, it's in your hands now.' He thought, heading back into the house.
Dumbledore's answer arrived two days later, in the rather large form of one Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts.
Neither Harry nor Aunt Petunia had informed Uncle Vernon of the arrival of Harry's school letter so it was a rather large shock for him when the huge half giant showed up on the doorstep early one morning, just after dawn.
The entire household had been woken by a thunderous knock at the door; Harry himself had been startled out of nightmare strewn sleep only to reach frantically for a wand he didn't carry yet as his memories jumbled, leaving him unsure if he was eleven years old and safe or twenty and waking up in the middle of an attack.
Sounds of his Uncle cursing brought his mind back into focus and he swore to himself as he realised who would be making all that noise. He rattled at the locked door to his cupboard in a vain attempt to get it open before his Uncle answered the door, not that he had much hope of that, hearing heavy footsteps thunder down the stairs over his head.
With a sinking feeling of dread, Harry rested his head against the door and listened as the front door was wrenched open and Uncle Vernon's voice thundered, "WHAT IN BLASES IS ALL THIS NOISE SO EARLY… IN…The… morn…"
Harry couldn't help snickering as the man's voice stuttered off. He could clearly see in his mind the look of horror that was surely crossing his Uncle's face as he came face to, well chest, with an eight foot tall walking haystack.
It took a moment for Vernon Dursley to regain his momentum, but it was clear that Hagrid entering the house while he stared was enough to overcome his shock, "HEY, NOW YOU SEE HERE MISTER. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? THIS IS TRESPASSING I TELL YOU. I HAVE HALF A MIND TO CALL THE POLICE, WHAT…."
Hagrid's voice cut through the shouting and Harry grinned to hear his old friend again, "Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune. I'm not here fer yeh. Headmaster Dumbledore sent me fer young Harry. Now, where is he?"
Harry tapped at the door, knowing that Hagrid would hear and it took about three seconds for the locked door to be pulled clear off it's hinges, much to the horror of Harry's relatives if the expressions on their faces was anything to go by.
"Now, Harry. What were yeh doin' in there?" Harry couldn't help grinning as he straightened up and looked way up into that welcome, familiar face.
"I take it the Headmaster received my letter." He said, remembering his role at the last minute. His Uncles face looked like a thundercloud and Harry had to hold back a sigh, he was going to hear about this one for sure once Hagrid left, but for the life of him, he couldn't bring himself to care.
"Blimey Harry, yeh certainly grew up ter look like yeh Dad, didn' yeh." Hagrid exclaimed happily, "Let me introduce meself, Rubius Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore sent me ter help yeh ou' b'for term start's."
Uncle Vernon let out a choked sound and Hagrid turned an enquiring look his way, "What are talking about." He demanded, visibly pulling himself together, "I don't recall telling anyone that the boy would be going to any weirdo school. What are you doing here?"
Hagrid merely snorted and turned his attention back to Harry, "Muggles." He muttered and Harry snickered. Without further word, Hagrid stepped back and motioned for Harry to lead the way, "Well common Harry. Need ter get yeh ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."
Uncle Vernon stepped forward to block the passage, "Now see here you. I don't know who you think you are, but the boy isn't going anywhere. He will go to the school I tell him to go to and that doesn't include some crackpot old fool and his school for freaks."
Predictably Hagrid riled up at the implied insult to his hero but Harry placed his hand on the huge arm to hold him back. As much as he had enjoyed Hagrid giving his cousin a pig tail, he knew that this time around he'd likely get into trouble if he used magic considering he hadn't needed so much effort to find him.
At his touch, Hagrid relaxed, contenting himself with throwing a nasty scowl at the now cowering man facing him before pushing his way past, Harry following behind him. Once he reached the door, Harry threw a glance over his shoulder and locked eyes with his Aunt. For a moment he let his true self show on his face, pulling his 'bewildered youngster' expression back over his features as her face went white. He needed her to start thinking about what was happening instead of deliberately ignoring it, otherwise he would get no where with her. With a nod of his head, he followed Hagrid out into the street. First things first, purchasing his wand was paramount.
…………………..
AN/ Well here we are, off to Diagon Alley. As to the question of wether Harry will be a Griffindore or a Slytherin this time, heh, you will just have to wait and see. Thank you to those of you that reviewed, as always constructive criticism is welcome. More then welcome on this one as I hope to do a good job with it. Anyway, so long for now.
See ya.
