The Keeper of the Keys
(Boom, Dudley stupidly asks "Where's the canon?", the door crashes down, and a giant of a man squeezed into the hut)
Behind the giant was a handsome man. He had fine, hair and elegant features. His grey eyes were kind, and almost familiar to Siria. Normally, he would have looked a little tall, but, standing next to the giant who was brushing the ceiling, he looked rather small.
The giant of a man picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. It caused the noise from the storm dropped a little. He and the handsome man looked at them all.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" the giant told them.
While the handsome stranger waited by the door, and other strode over to the sofa, where Dudley sat frozen with fear. [...]
(book)
"Th— thank you, but who are you?" Siria asked the giant and looked to other gentleman. The giant chuckled, and the handsome man's smile spread. Finally, the latter came over, but didn't take a seat.
"True, we haven't introduced ourselves," acknowledged the handsome man, "Sirius Black. Just Sirius, please"
"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Yer can call meh Hagrid, everyone does."
"Hogwarts?" She questioned, but took out his extended arm. Hagrid shook Siria's whole arm.
"Yeah. How 'bout that tea then, eh?" He seemed to not realise she'd asked about Hogwarts. Sirius, however, directed her attention to himself.
"Surely, you know all about Hogwarts." He told her, while the giant, Rubeus Hagrid ruffled with his coat. A fire roared to life in the empty grate. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Siria felt the warmth wash over her like Snuffles's coat in summer.
"It's just a setting." Siria told them, "You know, like Brobdingnag or Brigadoon."
"Like whert?" Hagrid asked. He strung some sausages onto a poker and began cooking them over the fire.
"Fictional Muggle places." Sirius told him.
"Hogwarts is just in books." She added.
"Just in books!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Just in books? Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?" (book)
"[...] An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."
Siria took hold of yellowish envelope. Just like the one Snuffles had, and all the ones she'd seen, it was addressed, as clearly as could be, to her: Ms. S. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. She pulled out the letter and read it over.
"But…" She paused and read it over again. This couldn't be right. It was, word-for-word, the letter Snuffles had brought her. Siria placed her thumbnail between her teeth and read again. If she hadn't known the Dursleys had no sense of humor, she'd think they were playing a joke on her. Siria sat on the arm of the sagging sofa. "It says that they're awaiting my owl, but— "
"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid and, as if he were just making a telephone call, pulled on owl, quill, and piece of parchment out of his cloak. He scratched out a note, gave it to the owl, and threw it out into the storm. He then sat right back down. Siria looked to handsome gentleman, for explanation.
"Our version of the Postal Service." He told her.
(Then book, there was a wizard as bad as wizards gets called Voldemort, people didn't trust each other, there was fear everywhere, Hogwarts was the only safe place because Voldemort wouldn't dare take the school with Dumbledore there, and no one knows why, but Voldemort came for Siria's parents, murdered them, but couldn't murder Siria, giving her the lightning scar on her head, and he's gone, but some people aren't sure that Voldemort isn't out there, biding his time. While Hagrid is talking, Siria sees the green flash from the spell, hears Voldemort's cold laugh. Uncle Vernon is threatened by Hagrid's pink umbrella, and Sirius's wand. She accepts being a witch because, why wouldn't she? All the strange things that happened to her, and making the glass at the zoo vanish.
From "Where was I?" to "But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight")
"Haven't I told you that she's not going?" Uncle Vernon barked at the men. "She'll be going to Stonewall High and will be grateful for it. I've read those letters and she needs all sorts of rubbish— spell books and wands and— "
"If she wants to go, she's going" Sirius withdrew a polished, rune covered brown— well, Siria didn't know what else to consider it— it was a wand. Uncle Vernon shuddered, but held his ground. Hagrid was just as outraged. His shouts bellowed through the hut.
"Stop Lily an' James Potter's daugh'er goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. She's been down ever since she was born. She's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there an' she won' know 'erself. She'll be with youngsters of 'er own sort, fer a change, an' under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbl— "
"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HER MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon, but he'd finally crossed the line. Sirius raised his wand before anyone could blink. Siria jumped between him and the Dursleys, she couldn't believe herself. She didn't know what he would do to them, and certainly didn't want to be stopped from going, but was in between them before either knew what had happened.
Neither Hagrid or the Dursleys had even noticed the exchange. When Sirius had raised his wand, which had been lowered just as quickly as Siria had jumped in the way, Hagrid had seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head. The giant filled the room with his roaring "NEVER— INSULT— ALBUS—DUMBLEDORE—IN—FRONT—OF—ME!"
There was a sound like a firecracker, and a violet light flashed through the hut. Siria turned in time to see Dudley, dancing around with his hands over his bottom. He was howling in pain, trying to cover up a curly pig's tail poking through his trousers. Uncle Vernon growled, but he pulled Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room. He gave them all one last furious, terrified look at Hagrid before slamming the door shut.
Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard. Sirius had put his wand away. "Shouldn'ta lost me temper," Hagrid confessed ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig." He shrugged. "Suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."
In an attempt to make himself seem more friendly, Sirius leaned against the back of the still slumping sofa. He kept his hands in front of him, and smiled, weakly, at her. Hagrid looked from Sirius to Siria, "Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," (from book, Hagrid got expelled, she won't mention it, and they've got a lot to do tomorrow, so they ought to go to bed)
"You can kip under than" Hagrid offered, taking off his thick, black coat.
"Thank you," Siria told him, "but I'm alright." She held up her Moony & Padfoot blanket. It was a lovely, quilted blanket with blocks made of stars, moons, and happy cartoon dogs. With the fire burning next to her spot on the floor, it would be perfectly warm.
Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped the small coffee table. It morphed into a set of bunkbeds. They still looked a bit like the coffee table because they were made of the same colored wood, but, if Siria hadn't seen him turn the table into a bed, she'd have believed the bunkbeds had always been bunkbeds. He tucked the wand back into his jacket's inner pocket.
"Which would you like?" he asked.
Siria thought he was talking to Hagrid, but Hagrid had made himself comfortable on the sofa. She looked to Sirius.
"Me?" She asked.
"Yes." He nodded.
Siria looked at the wooden ladder, to the top bunk, and wondered if it would really be okay. The kind grey eyes of Sirius smiled at her, and he waited very patiently.
"C— could I have the top bunk?" She wished aloud.
He nodded, and gestured for her to take it. Siria climbed the short ladder, and curled up in the bunk. Sirius took the bed under, and the three fell asleep to the sound of crashing storm.
