I don't own Harry potter and only Circe is mine.

Chapter Four

The Keeper of the Keys

BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.

"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.

There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room, holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

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

There was a pause. Then -

SMASH!

The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and, with a deafening crash, landed flat on the floor.

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

The man squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.

"Couldn't you make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."

He strode up to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.

"Budge up, yeh great lump." said the stranger.

Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.

"You're a giant, aren't you?" stated Circe, who seemed to be the only one not frozen with fear. The man chuckled.

"An' here's Harry and Circe!" he said. The twins looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. "Last time I saw the two of you, you was only babies. An' to answer yer question, no. I'm an 'alf giant. Me mum were a giant, though. She were much bigger 'an me, or so I've been told. I never actually met 'er, yeh see. You look like yer mum though, but yer got yer dad's eyes. An yer brother looks like yer dad, with yer mum's eyes. Yer lucky with that."

Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said, "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune." said the half giant. He reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, tied it in a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.

"Anyway - Harry an' Circe." said the half giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "A very happy birthday to yeh both. Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it should still taste fine."

From an inside pocket of his black overcoat, he pulled out a slightly squashed box. Circe let Harry open it, with trembling fingers. Inside, was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Potter Twins written on it in green icing.

The twins looked up at the half giant. Circe said "Thank you," and Harry meant to say it, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth and what he said instead was "Who are you?"

The half giant chuckled again.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. What about that tea, then? Although I wouldn't say no ter summat stronger if yeh got it, mind."

His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled crisp packets in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing (although Circe suspected magic) but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and the twins felt the warmth wash over them as though they'd sunk into a hot bath.

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy packet of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of some amber liquid which he took a swig of before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while Rubeus Hagrid was working, but, as he slid the six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you Dudley."

Hagrid chuckled darkly. He really did seem to like doing that.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry."

He passed the sausages to the twins, who were so hungry that Harry felt as if he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but Circe refused to touch them, despite her hunger, although Hagrid didn't seem to notice. Harry still couldn't seem to take his eyes off the half giant. Finally, as no one seemed about to explain anything, Circe said, "We're sorry, but we still don't really know who you are."

The half giant took a gulp of his tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Call me Hagrid." he said, "Everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

"Er - no," said Circe.

Hagrid looked shocked.

"Sorry," Harry said quickly.

"Sorry?" Barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting' 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?" Circe asked.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"

He had leapt to his feet. In his anger, he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.

"Do you mean ter tell me," He growled at the Dursleys, "That these children – these children! - know nothin' abou' - abou' ANYTHING?!"

The twins thought this was going a bit too far. They had been to school, after all, and Harry's marks were really good, while Circe's were through the roof.

"We know some things," Circe said. "We can, you know, do maths and stuff."

But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "Abou' our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parent's world."

"What world?"

Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.

"DURSLEY!" he boomed.

Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like 'Mimblewimble', Hagrid stared wildly at the twins.

"But yeh mus' know abou' yer mum an' dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."

"What? Our – our mum and dad couldn't have been famous, could they?

"Yeh don'... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing the twins with a bewildered stare.

"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.

Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.

"Stop!" he commanded, "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the children anything!"

A braver person than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.

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

"Kept what from us?" Circe said eagerly,

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.

Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yer 'eads, both of yer," said Hagrid. "Harry, Circe – yer a wizard an' a witch."

There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.

"We're what?" gasped Harry, while, at the same time, Circe yelled:

"I knew it!"

"Sorcerers o' course. A wizard an' a witch." said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned in response and sank even lower, "an' thumpin' good uns, I'd say, once you'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 finished reading yer letters." The twins stretched out their hands at last, to take the yellowish envelopes, adressed in emerald green to Mr H/ Miss C Potter, The Floor, Hut on the Rock, The Sea. They pulled out the letters and began to read.:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCH CRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr / Miss 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 all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on first of September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress.

Millions of questions exploded inside the twins' heads like fireworks and they couldn't decide on which to ask first. After a few minutes, Harry stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled looking owl – a long quill and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth, he scribbled a note which both the twins could read upside down:

Dear Mr Dumbledore,

Given the Potters their letters. Taking them to buy their things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.

Hagrid

Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went up to the door and threw the owl into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as if this was as normal as talking on the telephone.

Circe nudged Harry to warn him that his mouth was open and he closed it quickly.

"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen faced, but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"They're not going," he said.

Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great muggle like you stop 'em." he said.

"A what?" asked Circe, interested.

"A muggle. It's what we call non-magic folk like yer uncle. An' it's bad luck that you grew up in a family o' the biggest muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in, we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we would stamp it out of them! Sorcerers indeed!"

"You knew?" said Harry.

"You knew we're - we're sorcerers?"

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that school – and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one to see her for what she was – a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family."

Circe laughed humourlessly as she stopped to draw in a deep breath.

"So the reason me and Harry have been mistreated for ten years is because of your silly childhood issues. Wow. Way to go: taking out some grudge you've had forever on two adolescent kids." Circe started slow clapping and Aunt Petunia looked speechless.

"How - how dare you! I will not be backchatted or interrupted in my – um – this house. And don't interrupt me! As I was saying, then she met that Potter boy at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as – abnormal – and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you two."

"Harry had gone very white, and Circe had gone very red. As soon as she found her voice, she said, "Blown up? You told us they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! The Potter twins not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.

The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble getting' hold of you two, how much the two of yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry an' Circe I don' know if I'm the right person to tell yeh two this – but someone's gotta – the two o' yeh can' go off to Hogwarts not knowing,"

Hagrid threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can' tell yeh ev'rythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with – with a person called – but it's incredibe yeh don' know 'is name, ev'ryone in our world knows -"

"Who?"

"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can 'elp it. No one does."

"Why not?"

"Gulpin' Gargoyles, Circe, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..." Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.

"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.

"Nah - can' spell it. All righ' - Voldemort." Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this – this wizard, about twenty years ago, now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too – some were afraid, some jus' wanted a bit o' 'is power, 'cause 'e was getting' 'imself power, all righ'. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards of witches... Terrible things 'appened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to 'im - an' 'e killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was 'Ogwarts. Reckon the only person 'e was ever scared of were Dumbledore. Did'nt dare try takin' the school – not jus' then, anyway.

Now, yer mum an' dad was as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl during their time at 'Ogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get them on 'is side before... probably knew they were too close to Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the dark side.

Maybe 'e thought 'e could persuade 'em... Maybe 'e jus' wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you all was living, on Halloween, ten years ago. You two was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'... an'..."

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad – knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find – anyway -

You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the real myst'ry o' the thing – 'e tried to kill both o' yeh, too. Wanted teh make an example outta it, or maybe 'e jus' liked killin' by then. But 'e couldn't do it. Never wondered how yeh got that scar on yeh fore'ed an' yer shoulder? Those are no ordinary cuts. They're what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh – took care o' yeh mum an' dad an' yeh house, even – but it didn't work on the two o' yeh, a' tha's why yer famous, 'arry an' Circe. No one lived after 'e decided to kill 'em, no one execpt you two, an' 'e killed some o' the best witches an' wizards o' the age – the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts, yer grandparents and parents as well – an' yeh was only babies, an' yeh lived."

Something very painful was going on in the twin's minds. As Hagrid's story came to a close, they saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than they had ever remembered it before – and they remembered something else, for the first time in their lives – a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Hagrid was watching them sadly.

Took yeh from the ruined house meself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."

"Load of old tosh!" said Uncle Vernon. The twins jumped; they had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have gotten back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.

"Now you listen here, twins," he snarled. "I accept there's something strange about you two, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no doubt about it, and the world's better off without them, in my opinion," Circe noticed Aunt Petunia flinch a little at these words, "– asked for what they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you Dursley – I'm warning you – one more word..."

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded half giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which sagged right down to the floor this time.

The twins, meanwhile, still had questions to ask – hundreds of them.

"But what happened to Vol – sorry – I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Good question, Circe. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. Tha's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was getting' more an' more powerful – why'd 'e go?

Some say 'e died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if 'e 'ad enough human in 'im left to die. Some say 'e's still out there, bidin' 'is time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on 'is side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done it if 'e was comin' back.

Most of us reckon 'e's still out there somewhere, too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' abou' one of yeh, or maybe both o' yeh, finished 'im. There were somethin' goin' on tha' night 'e hadn't counted on. - I dunno what it was, no one does – but somethin' abou' you two stumped 'im, all righ'."

Hagrid looked at the twins with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling delight and extasy like his twin, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. Sorcerers? Them? How could they possibly be sorcerers? They'd been bullied by Dudley, his gang and his parent their whole lives, despite trying to fight back every single time; if they were really sorcerers, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock them in their cupboard? If they'd once defeated the greatest wizard of all time, how come Dudley had always been able to kick them around like rugby balls?

"Hagrid," Harry said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a sorcerer."

To their surprise, Hagrid chuckled.

"Not sorcerers, eh? Never made things happen when yeh were scared or angry?"

Harry looked into the fire and then at Circe. Now he came to think about it... every odd thing that had happened to them had been when they were upset, or angry... chased by Dudley's gang, they had found themselves out of their reach... dreading going back to school with that ridiculous haircut, it had grown back the next morning... and the very last time Dudley had hit them, hadn't they gotten their revenge without even realising it? They had set a boa constrictor on him?

Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him and Circe.

"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard – you wait. You an' yer sister'll be right famous at Hogwarts."

But Uncle Vernon wasn't giving up without a fight.

"Haven't I told you, they're not going?" he hissed. "They're going to Stonewall High, and they'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and they need all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and -"

"If they want to go, a great muggle like you won' stop 'em." growled Hagrid, "Stop Lily an' James' children goin' teh Hogwarts! Yer mad! Their names 'ave been down since they were born. They're off teh the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there an' they won' know 'emselves. They'll be with youngsters o' their own sort fer a change, an' they'll be under the greatest 'edmaster Hogwarts 'as ever known, Albus Dumble -"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head. "NEVER -" he thundered "- INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF - ME!"

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley – there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, the twins saw a curly pig tail poking through a hole in his trousers.

Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn't a lost me temper." he said ruefully, "but it didn' work anyway. Meant ter turn 'im into a pig, but I suppose 'e was so much like a pig anyway, there wasn't much left teh do."

He cast a sideways look at the twins as Circe sniggered, but not in the way that gave sniggering a bad name.

"Be grateful if ya didn' mention tha' ter anyone at Howarts," he said, "Strictly speaking, I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters ter yeh an' stuff – one o' the reasons I were so keen ter take on the job -"

"Why aren't you allowed to do magic?" interrupted Circe.

"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself, but I – er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in 'alf an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"Why were you expelled?"

"It's getting' late an' we've got lots ter do termorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' tha'."

He took off his big black cloak and threw it to the twins.

"Yeh can kip under tha'," he said, "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit. Think I still got a couple o' door mice in one o' the pockets.