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chapter four
Violet woke at what was seemingly the crack of dawn, just the way she liked it. She bolted upright with a panic burst of breath, having been dreaming something extremely vivid; but now she couldn't remember what. The pearly light creeping into the hut, the storm long since past, and the gentle lapping of waves outside soon calmed her down enough to lie back down, but not before she made out Hagrid's huge shape on the couch. With the reassurance that the man was in fact real, and in fact still there, she was quickly lulled back into a calmer dozing sleep as the room gradually brightened.
She was broken out of her peaceful napping when an irritatingly loud tapping noise came from nearby. Vaguely annoyed, because she was warm under the coat and it was quite chilly in the hut now that the fire had been reduced to mere ashes, she sat up, rubbing at her eyes. Something was moving outside the window. When her vision focused she saw that it was an owl, furiously rapping on the glass pane with a talon. Having never seen an owl before, Violet stared at it for a few moments as it continued to make a fuss, before clambering to her feet, pushing the coat off of her. In the process it also slid somewhat off of her brother, who stirred in his sleep.
"All right," he muttered to himself as she approached the window. "I'm getting up."
"There's an owl!" she hissed at him excitedly, prodding him with a dirty sock covered foot.
He mumbled something and sat up, squinting and reaching for his glasses.
Violet carefully opened the window, and then ducked swiftly as the owl swooped in, dropping a newspaper she hadn't realized it'd been carrying on top of the still slumbering Hagrid. She supposed this must be the equivalent of the wizard daily mail call.
"Hagrid, your newspaper's here," she said loudly, in the hopes of waking him up.
Harry winced at her rather strident tone, getting up himself as the owl began to peck at the coat on the floor.
"Yeh gotta pay him," Hagrid grumbled without even turning over, sounding barely awake.
"What?" Harry asked blankly.
"With what?" Violet asked in exasperation; neither she nor her twin had any money on them, obviously, and she somehow doubted Uncle Vernon would be willing to write a cheque at the moment.
"Look in the coat pockets," Hagrid muttered. "Money's there."
Brother and sister exchanged a glance before dropping down to their knees to rummage through the massive coat's many, many pockets. Violet pulled out a jangling ring of keys, worn with age, then another, while Harry gagged over some slug pellets. They pulled out knotted balls of grimy string, faded peppermint humbugs, various teabags, and then, finally, some very unusual coins.
Violet immediately noticed that the majority were small and bronze, some slightly larger and silver, and a very few even larger and gleaming gold.
"Give him five knuts- the bronze ones," Hagrid instructed blearily, finally sitting up as the twins carefully counted out coins, and gingerly placed them inside the small leather pouch tied to one of the owl's legs. Violet wondered who the money actually went to- surely the owl wasn't managing its own finances, after all. Was there a wizarding mail service one could subscribe to? Would they start to get things in the mail via owl now? It would certainly liven breakfast up in the Dursley household.
Then she remembered more of the previous night, and her fury at her aunt and uncle crept back in, coiling itself up in the pit of her stomach like a snake. How could they have lied for so long? Now that there was a concrete reason for their dislike of her and her brother it was all the worse, because the reason wasn't even anything they could have controlled. It wasn't fair. Any of it. And the only thing keeping her from screaming over the outrage of it all was the hope of escape soon enough. They were going to Hogwarts, that much was clear. And they were going soon.
No sooner had she thought that was Hagrid stretching with a loud yawn that seemed to shake the hut and standing up. "We'd best be off; lots ter do today, yeh two. Gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."
Violet's heart leapt in her chest at the thought, but she frowned. "But we're nowhere near London!" She'd never in fact been to London, but she knew enough to know that it was certainly nowhere near a hut on a rock in the middle of a bay.
She glanced over at Harry for confirmation, but he was frowning, as if he'd just realized something.
"We haven't got any money," he spoke up dismally. "And you heard our uncle- he won't pay for us to go there."
Hagrid snorted; he was pulling on his giant boots. "Haven't got any money? Yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"
"Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always said they were poor," Violet spoke up, although she was beginning to suspect that that was just another lie. Uncle Vernon had also said a lot more- that their father had been a 'lowlife drunk who'd never worked a day in his life' and that they'd lived in 'government housing with all the other societal dredges'.
"Poor?" Hagrid scoffed. "When I take yeh ter Gringotts yeh'll see just how 'poor' they were."
"What's Gringotts?" Harry asked curiously.
"Wizardin' bank. Runs by goblins, it is."
"Goblins?" The twins gaped.
"That's why it's impossible ter rob it- no one wants ter mess with goblins. Safest place in the wizardin' world, far as I'm concerned, fer anything yeh want ter keep safe- 'cept Hogwarts, that is. I've gotta stop there anyways- Dumbledore's orders. He trusts me ter do the important stuff."
He surveyed Violet and Harry, who were simply staring at him. "Well, get yer shoes an' coats on! Come on now, we haven't got all mornin'!"
A few minutes later Violet and her brother followed Hagrid out of the cramped hut and into the bright morning sunshine; it was slightly warmer outside, with the exception of the cool breeze from the surrounding sea. To Violet's surprise the boat Uncle Vernon had brought them over to the hut on had managed to weather the storm, although it was full of sea water and a bit battered.
Harry was looking around. "How did you get here?"
Violet realized then that there was no other boat present, and wondered if Hagrid had somehow managed to swim over during the storm- how fast could someone so big move through the water?
"Flew," said Hagrid with a shrug, as if it ought to have been obvious.
"Flew?" The twins repeated, Violet a bit shrilly.
"Yeah, but I'm not supper ter use no more magic now that I've got yeh, so we'll take this back to land." Hagrid overturned the boat slightly to dump the water out with one hand, then settled it back down. All three of them clambered in- the boat nearly overturned with Hagrid's weight on the one side of it at first, but by some miracle managed to not capsize. He looked at them a little sheepishly. "It'll be quicker if I don't have ter row, though. If I speed things up a bit, will the two of yeh mind keepin' it to yerselves once yeh get ter Hogwarts?"
"Of course not," Harry said eagerly, while Violet nodded energetically.
Hagrid pulled out his pink umbrella, tapped the side of the boat, and it began speeding towards land as if a motor had suddenly been started.
As they watched the hut on the rock get smaller and smaller, Violet whispered to Harry, "What do you think Uncle Vernon will do when he realizes the boat is gone?"
Her brother began to laugh and laugh, and she grinned as sea spray rose up, dampening their rumpled clothes and whipping her braid round. Hagrid pulled out the newspaper the owl had dropped off and began to read it, muttering to himself. Violet knew that in general, people did not like to be disturbed while they read the paper, but seeing as Hagrid was certainly nothing like Uncle Vernon, didn't see the harm in it. Besides, she was bursting with questions, and she was sure Harry was too.
"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual…,"
"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry blurted out, beating Violet to the punch.
"Is it the same as our Minister?" Violet tacked on.
"Course there is," Hagrid said with a chuckle. "An' nah, it's separate from all the muggle stuff- Cornelius Fudge is Minister, bungler that he is. Shoulda been Dumbledore, everyone knows that, but he turned the job down. He'd never leave Hogwarts."
Violet snickered at the surname 'Fudge', which was an even more amusing surname when combined with a first name like 'Cornelius', while Harry inquired as to what the Ministry actually did.
"Mainly they keep it from the Muggles that there's still wizards and witches all over Britain."
"Why?" Harry and Violet asked in unison.
Hagrid wrinkled his nose. "Yeh've gotta stop doin' that, it's a bit creepy, yeh know? An' why? Because everyone would be demandin' magic solutions fer all of their problems! There's a lot less wizards an' witches then there are Muggles, and we're best left alone."
"But Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia know about magic," Violet pointed out.
"Well, it's on a need-ter-know basis, yeh see. If yer kid's got magic, the Ministry reckons yeh got a right ter know, so they don't grow up clueless- like the two of yeh were till last night. But other than that, it's strictly forbidden ter tell a Muggle about our world- could get yeh in big, big trouble," he warned as the boat slowed and came to a stop against the slick wall of the harbor. He folded up his newspaper, and the twins followed him up the slippery stone steps and onto the quiet street.
The little seaside town was just starting to wake up, and the few people on the streets stared openly at the giant man and the two children staring in his wake, but no one said a word. Despite his speech about Muggles not being allowed to be aware of the existence of wizards, he did keep loudly pointing out the existence of things like parking meters and public mail boxes, prompting Violet to occasionally make eye contact with Harry and roll her eyes dramatically, to which he usually responded in kind. The twins had to nearly run to keep up with his strides, until they finally reached the train station, at which point he stopped and handed them some bills to buy their tickets, as he 'could never make any sense of Muggle money'.
The train was departing in five minutes time, and Violet, who only remembered being on a train once or twice before, watching the seaside outside blur into a blueish green landscape while Hagrid knitted in the two seats he took up across from her and Harry. Whatever he was knitting was very large and very yellow, and when she asked, he said it was a sweater. She tried to picture the giant man in a giant yellow sweater, and was reduced to silent giggles for what had to be at least the third time that day.
Away from the Dursleys, it was easy to forget everything else. Having never really experienced being around an adult interested in what they had to say before, Violet and her brother talked until they were nearly hoarse, asking questions and frequently interrupting one another- although Violet was the primary culprit. As the train began to slow, after a little over an hour, Hagrid stowed his knitting away.
"Got yer letters? Everything we need ter buy'll be listed in 'em."
Harry immediately pulled his out, while Violet frantically searched her pockets until she came up with her, stained and rumpled. The second page of the letters detailed an extensive list of supplies.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand
cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Out of everything, what Violet was immediately most excited about was the prospect of a pet. Aunt Petunia thought animals rather foul, and frequently glared daggers at neighbors who dared walk their dogs past the Dursleys' pristine front lawn. God help the stray cats she spotted skulking around the garden. The idea of having an animal of her own to look after was extremely enticing for someone who'd been forbidden from so much as glancing the way of the goldfish in a shop window.
"I want an owl," she said immediately.
"Me too," Harry added, scanning the list up and down.
"Better an owl than a toad- or a cat," Hagrid grumbled. "I'm allergic."
They filed off the train with the other commuters and walked up a series of steps and onto London's bustling streets.
"Where are we going to find a wand in London?" Harry asked, ducking under a passing man's arm.
Taking pity on her shorter brother, who didn't have the benefit of longer legs, Violet grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along as she hurried to stay at least in Hagrid's shadow.
"Yeh can find anything if yeh know where to look," the man said knowingly.
The twins exchanged a look.
"Do you really think there's piles and piles of gold in some vaults underground?" Harry asked her in a low tone.
"You don't believe him?" Violet whispered.
He shook his head fervently. "No, I do, it's just- this is too weird, Vi. Nothing like this has ever happened to us."
"Well," Violet said after a moment. "Dudley's never had a pig tail before, and look at him now. And here we are in London- London, Harry! We thought we'd never get out of Privet Drive, never mind wind up here." She grinned, and he slowly grinned back. "let's just enjoy it while it lasts," she whispered, and skidded to a halt, Harry slamming into her back, as Hagrid came to a sudden halt.
"This is it," he said, nodding at the shabby little pub that wouldn't have looked out of place in an old spy movie they were standing in front of. It cowered between two far bigger buildings, as if lurking just in the corner of your eye, no matter which way Violet looked at it. "The Leaky Cauldron- famous place. Lots of history."
As Hagrid ushered them inside, Harry caught her by the elbow. "I don't think anyone else can see it but us," he murmured in disbelief.
Violet twisted round to look back at the street outside, but the door swung shut behind them, and the sounds of traffic and pedestrians suddenly stopped. The inside of the pub was so dark it was hard to make anyone out- there certainly weren't any electric lights. And it was very, very quiet. Violet realized that was because everyone was staring at them, as she and her brother followed Hagrid up to the bar.
"The usual, Hagrid?" The elderly bartender asked jovially.
"Can't Tom- on official Hogwarts business today," Hagrid said proudly, clapping a hand on each of the twin's shoulders. Violet stumbled slightly, and smiled widely at the bartender, who was looking at her and her brother in mute shock.
"Good Lord-," he muttered. "It can't be." He slowly came around the bar, looking as though he might faint. "Bless my soul- the Potters. This is… what an honor." He passionately shook Harry's hand, then Violet's, as a crowd began to form around them, seats and drinks abandoned.
So many people suddenly wanted to greet Violet and her twin and shake their hands that she was at a loss as to what to say and do besides stand there in confusion. Hagrid had said they were famous in the magical world- but to this level? Where perfect strangers acted as if they were in the presence of saints?
A woman named Doris Crockford chattered on to Violet about how much she had respected her parents- "You're the very picture of your mother, you are, you know? And your brother looks just like your father- oh, it does my heart good to see the two of you! Your parents were such lovely people, truly, they were-," while a strange, pale man in a turban talked to Harry and Hagrid. Something about him being a professor at Hogwarts.
A talkative person by nature herself, Violet had to be practically dragged out of the pub by Hagrid and her brother, out a back door and into a small little courtyard. Harry looked as shocked as Violet still felt, awkwardly adjusting his glasses, which had gone crooked again. Hagrid was grinning. "I told yeh yeh were famous, didn't I?"
"They were all so happy to see us," Violet said in disbelief. "But we've never met any of them before!"
"That man Diggle bowed to me in a shop once," Harry shrugged.
"Is it going to be like this all the time now?" Violet asked Hagrid, half eagerly, half worriedly. "Will everyone just know us on sight?"
"Well, yer fellow first years won't- too young to remember any of it. Just like the two of yeh. It'll be good for yeh, though. Yeh'll get used to it eventually. Wizards are a gossipy bunch." He turned to the brick wall behind the overflowing trash bins, and began counting bricks.
"What are you doing?" Violet demanded.
He waved at her irritably. "Stand back."
The twins backed up a pace, wary of what might happen next, as Hagrid produced his umbrella once more, and tapped a certain brick three times. The brick shook, as if an earthquake had just started, but the ground was still. Then it began to wriggle about, as if it had just come alive, and a hole opened up in it, as if eaten there by acid. The hole got bigger and bigger until it was an entire arch way in the brick wall, large enough for even Hagrid to pass through with no trouble at all.
"Wicked," breathed Violet, staring through the arch, and rushed ahead, pulling Harry along with her. Hagrid followed with a smug grin.
"Look!" Harry hissed, jerking his head behind them. The two looked back as the archway seized and shrunk back into a regular wall behind them. Dudley sprouting a tail seemed like a cheap trick in comparison to this.
"Welcome ter Diagon Alley," Hagrid told them. "This is where a wizard an' witch shop."