Once Hagrid was sure they were far enough away from prying eyes, he guided the bike off to the side of the road, seeking privacy among a small copse of trees. He had sped away in a hurry, so there had been no time to properly situate Harry on the bike, though Hagrid had managed to keep a solid grip on the boy throughout the ride. Now that they were out of Godric's Hollow, Hagrid chose to pull over to get Harry a little more comfortable on the bike.
Once he had come to a stop, he dismounted. Not sure where to put Harry while Hagrid rigged some kind of sling to carry him, he figured they were secluded enough that the child would be safe on the ground. So that's where he placed him. Maybe he was too young or maybe he had been asleep, but the events from the night before seemed not to have had a lasting effect on him and he quickly occupied his curiosity by playing in the multicolored leaves that littered the ground around him, occasionally glancing up at the man that towered over him.
On his first glance up, Hagrid almost had a heart attack and he dropped to his knees in front of Harry. The boy's hair was still in complete disarray but the wind from the ride had messed it up in such a way that a mark upon his head that hadn't been visible before was now standing out in stark contrast to his creamy skin. Hagrid silently cursed himself, convinced that he had somehow injured the boy on the ride out of the village. He ran his thumb over it, but his anger at himself quickly turned to confusion. There was no blood. In fact, the wound didn't even feel open. And, it was curiously shaped, nothing Hagrid had ever seen before. He stood up and glanced over his shoulder, back in the direction from whence they had come. Not for the first time in the last hour did Hagrid wonder again what had happened in that house. Upon first arriving on the scene, he would have thought that James and Lily had been the only targets, but now he wondered if Harry himself hadn't been a target also. But who would want to orphan and then curse a child? Why not just kill him outright?
"If anyone 'as the answer, it's gotta be Dumbledore," he muttered. Hagrid suspected that Dumbledore had known far more than he had let on at their meeting early in the morning. While he would never presume to demand information from Dumbledore, Hagrid was hoping for some explanation about what was going on. Professor McGonagall had been right, something strange was going on in the wizarding world.
Now that Harry was busily occupied with playing in the leaves around him, Hagrid started rummaging in his deep pockets, hoping to find something he could use to make some kind of a harness to safely transport Harry to Surrey in.
Thirty minutes later, Harry was safely tucked away in an improvised winter scarf tied around Hagrid's torso and they were cruising down the highway, slowly wending their way east towards London and Surrey. Even though Sirius' motorbike could fly, even Hagrid knew it would be detrimental to fly it in broad daylight, especially when they were still so close to Godric's Hollow. Dumbledore wasn't expecting him with Harry until eleven that evening, more than twelve hours away. Hagrid had more than enough time to get there.
::~*~::
They had been on the road for an hour when Hagrid almost lost control of the bike trying to avoid an owl that had made a beeline towards him. Skidding to a stop, Hagrid quickly made sure that Harry was unharmed by the sudden stop. The lull of the ride appeared to have sent Harry into a sweet slumber as he was nestled comfortably against Hagrid's chest. Once he was assured that Harry was alright, he turned a glaring eye on the bird which was perched on the front of the motorcycle, picking up and setting down it's clawed feet as though anxious to be on its way. A small piece of parchment, rolled up, was attached to one leg.
Hagrid untied it and as soon it was free, the bird launched into the sky, speeding away to the east. After watching the bird until he could see it no longer, he unrolled the message.
It's very important that you don't return to London directly. Bring your charge to Cardiff immediately.
The message was written in the familiar hand of Dumbledore. Following the message was the address where Hagrid was to bring Harry to. Folding up the parchment, he tucked it deep into his pocket. Instead of starting the bike up again, he leaned over the handlebars, eying a few of the buttons mixed in with the small gauges. One of the buttons had a tiny picture of what looked to be a map on it, though the image was so faded Hagrid couldn't be sure of it. Seeing no better option, he pressed it.
"Destination, please," a tinny female voice asked. Unsure of what he had actually been expecting, he decided to just answer the voice. He loudly stated the address that had been written on the parchment.
"Thank you," the voice responded.
Without Hagrid even turning the key, the motorcycle roared to life and started pulling back onto the highway. Not prepared at all for what just happened, Hagrid barely had enough time to secure his hold on the bars before the bike was accelerating down the highway, cruising along once it reached the speed limit. Not too much longer down the road, the bike started veering off to the right until Hagrid could see the buildings of Cardiff in front of him. The whole way there the bike had adhered to the speed limits, followed the laws of the road and remained at correct distances from its surroundings. All Hagrid had had to do was pretend he was in charge of the bike, for all intents and purposes. He had still been the recipient of numerous glances from passing motorists, but that was more likely due to his size rather than the bike that was self-directing. Another twenty minutes passed before the bike pulled up alongside a rather shabby looking, single-story house.
Hagrid pulled out the parchment and stared at it for a moment, hoping that more instructions had appeared since he last looked at it. Just as before, the message still instructed him to bring Harry to Cardiff. He tucked it back into his pocket. Why was he brought here? Was he supposed to meet someone? If so, who was it? Why couldn't he go back to London yet? But, most importantly, what had happened to the Potters?
The door to the house cracked open and an equally shabby middle-aged woman could barely be seen against the dark interior of the house. "Hagrid?" It was a question, not a statement.
He nodded and she beckoned him inside. He stood up, carefully adjusting his great coat to make sure Harry was completely covered. Even though it was Dumbledore's note that had brought him here, he was still wary of where he was. He didn't completely trust the area...or the woman. He had no idea who she was, but he suspected she wasn't who she presented herself to be.
He followed her into the house. The interior, while appearing dark from the bright outside, was actually lit with a couple of candles in wall sconces. They were in a long narrow hallway, with nary a door on either side, only one at the very end. At his present size, Hagrid could barely move an inch to the left or the right and when the woman motioned him to follow, he stayed rooted to the spot. When she finally turned around to discover why he wasn't following, she pulled a wand out of her pocket. Hagrid was defenseless against her. He didn't even have the room to turn around and flee the building. While his half-giant body was able to repel some curses and jinxes, the fact of the matter remained that Harry was still latched on to him, hidden behind a coat, but with nothing else to protect him. Hagrid started to cross his arms over his chest, to offer what protection he could when the women started to speak.
Instead of cursing them both out the front door, like Hagrid expected, nothing happened to them. However, the walls on both sides spread a little further apart, giving Hagrid enough room to walk comfortably down the hallway. She beckoned again and said, "This way." She opened the door at the end of the hallway and disappeared through. Not just continued through it where Hagrid could still see her walking away; she literally vanished once she passed the threshold.
He turned back to the front door, wondering if he should just flee and hide out somewhere until it was time to take Harry to Surrey. The front door that he had just passed through a moment before was no longer there. The only way out was through the door at the other end of the hallway. While he was still turned towards the front door that wasn't there, he checked on Harry. The boy was fully awake now, silent as could be, but looking up at Hagrid with wide, terrified eyes. Hagrid wasn't sure if Harry was old enough to understand, but he still put his finger over his closed lips, motioning for him to remain quiet. Tucking the coat back around him, he turned back to the door.
"Bes' get it over with," he muttered. Striding purposefully down the hall, he walked through the door...
::~*~::
...and found himself in a most unlikely place, definitely not a place he would have expected given the exterior of the house he had entered. The room he was in now was blindingly bright and very clean. Impossibly clean. There was a table in the center of the room with a very thick pad on it. It was the only piece of furniture in the room. The only other adornment was a bouquet of balloons in one corner of the room.
There was a young woman in the room, much cleaner than the woman Hagrid had followed in, but he didn't know if it was the same woman. He had never gotten a good luck at her. This woman was dressed in lime green robes and her long blonde hair hung unbound down her back. She was standing with a roll of parchment in front of another door in the room, but had looked up at his entrance.
"Please put the child on the table," she motioned with a wand towards the table in the center of the room. Hagrid took a step back. Who was she?
"Hagrid, please," a soft voice said. Coming through the door behind the young woman was Dumbledore himself. Hagrid instantly felt better at seeing him. He still cast a wary glance at the woman who stood in the room. "Her name is Elizabeth. She's a Healer from St. Mungo's, here to check on Harry. I trust her, Hagrid." The last was said with firmness. Without taking his eyes off of the older wizard, Hagrid pulled off his great coat, revealing the small child harnessed around his chest. He untied the sling and gently put Harry on the table. Having been kept quite warm by the coat and being close to Hagrid's body, Harry immediately started shivering once he was placed on the table. Not comfortable at all with the new situation, his eyes screwed up and he started to cry.
Elizabeth quickly conjured a teddy bear the same size as the boy and placed it on the table in front of him. Harry stopped crying and started playing with the teddy bear, and, as magic is wont to do, the bear started playing back. Once Harry was content, Elizabeth and Dumbledore moved closer to him, Dumbledore carefully watching the manner of the child while Elizabeth whispered spells as she walked around the table, determining what, if anything, was wrong with him. Hagrid was leaning against a wall, watching the proceedings.
A couple of minutes into the examination, Elizabeth stopped after saying a particular spell and her face registered confusion. She was standing directly in front of Harry. She repeated the spell as she pointed her wand directly at the mark on his forehead and once she had finished, she took several steps back, away from Harry. "Oh my!" she exclaimed. "That's not possible."
She looked at Dumbledore, as if seeking answers. "This boy should be dead right now."
Dumbledore cocked his head to one side, as if appraising her. "I suspect that you just discovered what I, quite possibly, already knew." Dumbledore turned to Hagrid and then to Harry. Addressing the room at large, he said quietly, "Harry Potter, at this point in time, has the distinct honor of being the only person to ever survive Avada Kedavra."
Both Hagrid and Elizabeth gasped audibly, Elizabeth placing a hand over her heart, and Hagrid staring at the boy as though he had never seen him before. Harry, however, was completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was staring at him. He had just discovered, to his great delight, that the teddy bear was ticklish.
"Please continue," Dumbledore said to Elizabeth, nodding for her to continue her examination.
She shook her head. "Except for the mark upon his head, the only reminder of his escape from death, there is nothing else wrong with him. My spells did pick up something else, a strange undercurrent of magic that I've never seen before, but I assume now that it's related to the curse."
"It is," Dumbledore replied, but he chose not to elaborate, and no one questioned him further. After another couple of minutes watching Harry play, Dumbledore turned to Elizabeth. "Is everything prepared?"
"Yes," she replied. As if that was a code word for her to be somewhere else, she disappeared through the door that Dumbledore had entered from earlier.
"Hagrid," he said. "You need to remain here with Harry. At nine tonight leave here and bring him to Surrey. By leaving at nine you should arrive there on time." Hagrid opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore raised his hand to silence him. "I cannot take him with me now. There are many preparations I must oversee for his future care, some of which may not place him in the safest of places, even in my care. Until tonight." Dumbledore went out through the door and a few seconds later a loud cracking sound announced that Dumbledore was gone. Elizabeth reappeared a few moments later with a large tray, filled with food.
Hagrid was about ready to fall upon the tray and start eating, not realizing until the food was placed in front of him that he hadn't eaten since the night before. He stopped a few feet from the tray and glanced uncertainly between the food thereon and Harry who had also looked up from where he was playing at the arrival of the food. Hagrid turned, embarrassed, to Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, I— I don't know—" he stammered, but she waved away his concern.
"I've got just the thing for him." She pulled a small, covered bowl off of the tray and took it over to Harry. Pulling a spoon out of a pocket, she went to work feeding the mashed foods to him, while Hagrid started digging in to the food on the tray.