Chapter 10 – Happy Birthday, Lizzie
Lizzie didn't remember anything after, but woke up not wearing much, everything hurt. He was asleep, the clock on the wall read midnight, so she got up, pulled on the clothes and flannel she was wearing earlier, then hobbled toward the kitchen for water. The beating wasn't that bad in retrospect, but the rest of her was very sore. Did he hit me across the head? She thought, feeling for a lump. She couldn't remember anything and was sort of grateful for that.
She sat down in front of the trail mix bowl and spelled out 'Happy Birthday, Lizzie,' With the pieces. Then she made a wish to be a bird or a mosquito, or a speck of dust in the wind... Seriously, God, I'm not picky, she thought as an afterthought.
There was a pound on the door when she opened her eyes and she startled. Vernon startled awake too. He looked around for Lizzie but spotted her in the living room as he headed angrily toward the door.
The pounding got louder and he backed up as the door came off the hinge and hit the ground in front of them. A large man, impossibly large, at least ten feet, stepped through and Vernon pushed Lizzie behind him.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he shouted after an awkward moment of tense silence.
"Oh, get out of the way, Dursley," the man growled.
"Lizzie, ya don't need be scared, honey," the man said in a completely different tone, and she looked up around her uncle in confusion.
Lizzie stepped out from behind her uncle and eyeballed Vernon nervously. "Blimey, she looks identical to Lily," he said, clasping his hands and smiling fondly, there was a sad underbelly in his eyes. "Oh, I got you somethin' - Happy Birthday," he said happily. He suddenly seemed as menacing as a giant stuffed bear, and she found herself gravitate closer to him than Vernon.
"You need to leave," Vernon snarled.
Lizzie opened a box and stared down at a cake that read 'Happy BDAY Lizzie' and couldn't control a smile.
"Thank you," she whispered. "But -" she started to say.
"My name is Rubius Hagrid, call me Hagrid," he said. "We've met, but you wouldn't remember," he added.
Lizzie could see Vernon looking completely unhinged and nervous.
"Thank you, Hagrid," she said. "Why are you here?" She asked meekly.
"Well, was rather difficult to track you down when this imbecile brought you out here, but there was a trace alert just a couple hours ago and I took off this way," he said. "Are you alright, Lizzie?" He asked.
She nodded because Vernon's eyes said to. "What's a trace alert?" She asked.
"It indicates when magic is used, you're not in trouble though," he said with a smile.
"I'm sorry, when what is used?" She asked in disbelief.
"Magic. All underage witches like yourself have a trace," he said.
"All what?" She asked in shock. He might as well have called her a Satanist with her upbringing.
"You're a witch. Thumpin good one too, you just wait," he laughed.
"Wait for what?" She asked, growing more nervous and backing further away from her uncle who was ironing his face in his hands.
"I'm not a witch," she said assertively. Fear was pooling in her eyes. Hagrid looked at Vernon.
"You never told her, did you?" He asked indignantly. "You bloody piece of work, you never told her," Hagrid growled.
Lizzie looked horrified and caught Vernon's eyes. Hagrid handed her one of the letters and she opened it, damning the consequences, for answers.
Dear Azalea Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
She read it out loud but Vernon snatched it from her. "This is ridiculous! I swore when I took her in that this stopped!" He yelled.
"You have no right or say in whether she's a witch or not Dursley, she's had her name down ever since she were born! Her parents went here, she has a legacy to continue," Hagrid yelled back.
"Not while she lives under my roof she doesn't! This is heresy! This is -" he started to bellow but Hagrid cut him off.
"Did you even tell her about Lily and James?" Hagrid asked incredulously. Vernon was silent.
"Blimey, you fowl git of a muggle. Lizzie, honey..." he said apologetically.
"I didn't know this was going to..." and Hagrid looked impossibly sad.
"How did they die?" Lizzie asked desperately.
"Azalea, shut up!" Vernon snapped at her.
"Talk to her like that again and I will snap your arms like tree branches," Hagrid snarled and Vernon went pale.
"Lizzie... your mum and dad, I knew your mum and dad, some of the best two people I'd ever known..." he said sadly.
"Our world, the er wizarding world, we were at war you see... your parents were targeted and in hiding for not going over to the wrong side of it. The man behind the violence, one of the worst we'd seen in a long time... he found them and he killed them. You were found alive. He tried to kill you but it didn't work. That's where that cut comes from," Hagrid explained.
Vernon sat down on the sofa and pulled Lizzie's arm toward him. His expression of fake sympathy made her insides writhe.
"Azalea, honey, come here," he said in an easy voice she didn't recognize or trust. He pulled on her hand lightly to stand in front of him, then grounded her by the shoulders and stared at her eye level for a moment. He clenched his jaw and contemplated what he wanted to say in present company while Lizzie froze in anticipation.
"They were murdered, sweetheart...that's true. But you... you are not what he says you are," Vernon said evenly in an almost apologetic tone. The way he frowned at her was telling of his lack of sincerity.
"I don't... I don't believe you," Lizzie whispered and his eyes flashed mean. He slowly gripped her upper arms harder than he outwardly appeared to. "You said they left me, and then that they died in an accident...I saw what you wrote in the enrollment papers... why else would you lie?" she asked, but her voice shook with a considerable amount of fear.
Vernon lifted his hand and set it on her face gently. The movement made her flinch noticeably but he stroked her cheek in response. "We just wanted to protect you... from the truth of what happened to them… you witnessed it, it was extremely traumatic," he said calmly.
Lizzie shook her head. "No..." she said under a whisper so only he heard her. He pinched the skin on her temple hard in his fingers in response and let go harshly. Lizzie knew he'd strangle the life out of her once they were alone.
"I know two things for absolute certain, sir," Vernon said to Hagrid with a scathing glare.
"First, that she's better off without her freak parents. They nearly got her murdered. Secondly, that my niece is better off away from this. She's not what you think she is, we put an end to it. I swore to that when we took her in, and we stamped it out of her... I refused to let a child I raised be a heretic. I will see to making sure she knows that until she is off your blasted radar entirely," he berated.
"And what does she say about it?" Hagrid growled.
Lizzie opened her mouth.
"Nothing. She says nothing. She's lives under my rules, her input is neither relevant or allowed," he said sternly, and gave Lizzie a murderous stare.
Hagrid saw a flicker of desperation in Lizzie's eyes and seemed to grow increasingly angry.
"I'm taking her with me, whether you like it or not. Her enrollment will be accepted. You don't have a say in this, Dursley," Hagrid said as calmly as possible while still looking like he wanted to rip his head from his shoulders.
"She is going nowhere," Vernon said slowly, but Hagrid lit the fire with the end of his umbrella and then pointed it at his face.
"I'm not one to be crossed. You and your wife agreed to a binding contract. She is going or you'll have to speak fer it and whatever else she's been through in yer charge. I know scared eyes when I see 'em," Hagrid said menacingly.
Vernon froze and looked at Lizzie. She was now across from him moving behind Hagrid and they left in silence as he fixed the door. Lizzie heard shattering glass and knew he was enraged but stayed close to the giant man who knew her parents.
"Hagrid... where are we going?" She asked.
"To get your stuff, Lizzie, C'mon," he smiled. He had a motorbike and he gestured for Lizzie to climb onto the front of it while he sat behind. They started rolling and she thought she must be dreaming. The bike rode quickly toward the edge of the water and then gained height as they climbed into the air.
Definitely dreaming, but don't wake me up, I'm actually flying, she thought with a wide smile she couldn't contain. All the stupid things she was scared of, heights were apparently not one of them.