DISCLAIMER- I don't own the creations of JK Rowling

Note1- t42n24t2- Spoiler- Harry will meet some more people before going to Hogwarts, including his parents and a girl who may be his lady in future.

Note2- My AU Hagrid is not a bad person but has little interest in anything other than dangerous living things. His profession is following instructions given by higher authorities at Hogwarts. Harry will also react in a way separate than in the canon.

Chapter six- Hagrid and the Harpy

The sound of the knocking was so loud that Dudley also jerked awake; his parents also came out with Vernon carrying the lantern in his left hand and a fire poker in his right. Harry was surprised too and he was a bit worried about the person standing outside in this storm, was it the owner?

Vernon walked up to the door and shouted "Who is there? Leave, we will not open the door."

A strange thing happened. The knocking stopped and seconds later, the door fastenings were undone on their own and the door swung open, revealing the large dark shape standing outside. Vernon staggered backwards, his face pale and the hands seemed to shake from fear. Petunia and Dudley scrambled and hid behind Vernon, who put down the lantern and tried to hold the iron tender firmly.

When the shape stepped inside, Harry could see who it was. It was a man; the oddest thing about him was that the head was almost touching the roof of the shack, he was so tall and also about five times broader than an average man. Else, Harry was reminded of the tramps who sometimes wandered into Little Whinging. The man was wearing a large khaki overcoat, with very long black hair and beard reaching up to the chest, leaving only the region from forehead to nose visible.

The man stepped inside, then turned back towards the door and shut it, lessening the sound of the storm and the spray of water also stopped. He was carrying a thin wooden stick almost two feet long in his right hand, which he then pointed in front of him. A small white light erupted from its tip, illuminating the room much better. He pointed the light at each of their faces, before stopping at Harry's face. Then he spoke in a gruff voice, while keeping the light pointed at Harry.

"Yeh are Harry Potter, right?"

Harry nodded silently, while cursing himself for his stupidity. Why had he not hidden in a corner or behind the sofa before he was spotted? The giant looked at him for a moment before turning off the light in the strange torch that he was carrying. He then looked around the room with his beetle eyes.

The giant spoke again "Blimey, it's cold here. A fire would be good, don't ye think?"

He then picked up the strewn food packaging, strode over to the fireplace and leant over the place. Harry could not see what the giant did, but after moments, the huge figure stepped back, revealing a glowing blue fire that was burning silently, but a feel of comfort swept over the entire room, almost like wrapped by a warm blanket.

The giant tucked the wooden stick inside his coat, looked at Harry and spoke again "Yeh had grown a lot since I last saw yeh. Yeh 'ave got yer dad's hair but mum's eyes." He then strode over and sat on the sofa, which made an awkward noise under the enormous body. The man then took out a bottle of red liquid from a pocket in the coat and drank a swig of it.

Vernon suddenly found his voice and spoke "You get out of here, you great brute. You don't own this goddamn place, I rented the place for the night. If you don't get out right now without trouble, then.." he tried to brandish the iron poker in a threatening way.

The giant looked at Vernon, then spoke "Ah, shut up Dursley, yeh great pudding. I have come 'ere to give Harry 'is things." He stretched out a huge hand, jerked the poker out of Vernon's hand and twisted it as if it was of rubber before throwing it to the floor. Vernon made a choking noise.

Harry spoke "Who are you? What have you got for me at this hours?"

The giant was stunned for a moment and said "Oh, forgot to introduce myself. I am Rubeus Hagrid, everyone calls me Hagrid. The headmaster had asked me to deliver yer letter to yeh, and told me to take a cake for yer birthday too. Should 'ave wished ye a happy birthday."

Harry had a strange feeling. He had asked his relatives when his birthday was. Even after their behavior changed five years ago, they had simply shrugged and said that his parents had left behind no date, they only knew the month. Who was this man who knew about his birthday?

Harry looked at the man's great hands, they held a parchment letter and a grey cardboard box. He took them, set the box down at the table and looked at the letter. It was addressed in his name, but the address was changed to The Shack, On the rock, Southend-on-sea.

Currently he was feeling very irritated after deprived of his sleep, and there were many questions running on his mind. A lunatic asylum was not fitting into what had happened till now and was happening right now. Hagrid gestured at the letter, urging Harry to read it.

Vernon suddenly screamed "You boy, leave the letter, it has nothing to do with you. You leave right now, sir. Else I will contact the police and get you arrested."

Hagrid looked at Vernon and seemed calm but surprised. He spoke in an amazed voice "Blimey, the headmaster is always right. He told me that yeh lot were not letting Harry read his letters. He even said that yeh would cause trouble and yeh have not told Harry what he is, right?"

Harry looked at the entire scene with surprise and asked "What am I? I think you are mistaken, Mr Hagrid. Uncle said that a lunatic asylum is sending me the letters, but I am not mad."

Hagrid gave the Dursleys an angry look and spoke "Don't trust yer relatives, 'arry. Yeh are not mad, yeh are a wizard and a famous one, everyone in our world knows yer name and yer parent's names. They have not told yeh anything about ye or yer parents, I assume."

Harry spoke in a cold voice "Oh, I already know that I am famous, but don't know why. My relatives have told me about my parents, a bad man broke into their house and killed them."

Hagrid was puzzled but he spoke again "Ye know that ye are famous? How?"

"Of course I know. I think it's because of the scar on my forehead, right?"

It was Vernon who broke the stunned silence "How did you know that? Who told you?"

"It's very simple, uncle. Maybe aunt has not told you, but some strange people on the street seem to know me, but I don't know them. They seem to know me when they see my scar. It was then when I was asked to change my hairstyle by aunt. They are wizards?"

Hagrid spoke "Yeh are yerself a wizard too, Harry. That's why yeh were sent letters by Hogwarts. Ye don't know about yer parents, right? They studied at Hogwarts too. It's the best school of magic around and yer name was put down for Hogwarts ever since yeh were born. "

"How did you know what day is my birthday? How did you know where I was staying?"

Hagrid smiled "I didn't know anything, Harry. The headmaster told me all and gave me the key to this shack. He is a great man and knows a lot."

Headmaster! The word kept turning up all times. Harry did feel curious about this person. He did not understand the word key but that could wait. He opened the letter and read it, then said "I have to think of it. But what happened to my parents, did a bad man kill them? I heard so."

Hagrid spoke "Ye are clever, Harry. But yer relatives did tell the truth, a bad wizard killed yer parents. He tried to kill yeh too, but failed and he himself was destroyed. That's why yeh are famous, ye saved all the wizards of Britain. The bad wizard was really bad, he and his followers killed some of the best wizards and witches, but something about yeh stopped him. The scar on yer forehead is the mark of the curse that he tried to cast on you after killing yer parents at their house. Those were terrible times Harry, but yeh stopped him on the Samhain night ten years ago."

"I killed him? What happened to him after that?"

"Some say he was killed, but the headmaster says he is still alive, waiting fer a chance ter come back and regain his powers." Suddenly Hagrid chest seemed to puff up with pride "It was I who removed yeh from the destroyed house under the headmaster's orders. I hid the whole day, then brought yeh to yer relatives, watched as the headmaster left yeh on their doorstep that night with a letter."

Vernon suddenly came between Harry and Hagrid "He is not going to your school. Wizard indeed! When we took him in I decided that I will not tolerate that nonsense. I have read the letter, it says he needs spellbooks and other sorts of crap, I am not going to buy him those or pay for his school. He will continue going to Stonewall High and will be grateful for it."

"The son of James and Lily not going to Hogwarts? Ye are mad. They were among the best wizards and witches of their times Anyway, a big muggle like you are not going to stop him. I am going to take him to buy his school things tomorrow, ye don't worry Harry."

"Who's a muggle?" asked a curious Harry.

"We call non-magical folk like them muggles. It is yer bad luck that ye had to grow up amongst these horrible big muggles who didn' tell ye anything about ye. Go to sleep, ye lot too Dursley, it's getting late, busy day tomorrow. I have to rest too."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Vernon, step back." The voice that spoke seemed to be that of Petunia, but Harry had never heard her speak in that voice before, it was like a cracking whip. When he looked at his aunt, he was surprised to see the person standing there. Petunia did not look her normal self. Her eyes were blazing, her teeth seemed threatening. Even Hagrid was dumbstruck seeing her in that form.

"You!" she began speaking a dangerously angry voice "Why don't you tell him everything then? Let me do it then. Harry Potter, the savior of freaks in Britain dumped on the doorstep of his muggle relatives on a November night after saving those freaks? The headmaster of the freak school dumped him on our doorstep, he could not find an orphanage or a adoptive freak family for the famous savior."

Harry himself felt surprised, seeing the dumbstruck look on Hagrid's face, he could tell that it was perhaps the truth. Vernon and Dudley were looking at Petunia in wonder.

She continued "You freaks don't have the common sense that a child can catch cold or be bitten by a beast or insect if left like that. Your lot didn't even bother to tell us, let alone ask for our permission. You all just dumped him on our doorstep and left, to be picked up with newspapers and milk bottle. His forehead had a raw wound, I got it treated. He had to grow up near our son, it was our luck that he did not do anything abnormal. We gave him a bed and roof, fed and clothed him, arranged for his school."

Petunia took a breath and continued "So, is it the boy's bad luck or your Headmaster's decision that the boy had to grow in our family? Why was he not raised among his own kind? Where was the headmaster all these years, who dumped him and did not even help us with a single penny?"

Harry broke the awkward silence that followed "You all knew that I am not a normal human? After all, I found that I could speak to the garden snakes, but can I do magic if I am a wizard?"

He spoke, but a rage was rising within him, directed at this headmaster person- who had a long name as said in the letter. The dumbstruck face of Hagrid implied that Petunia was speaking the truth. Hagrid tried to mumble something but no sound came out of his mouth.

Petunia turned at Harry and spoke in a sarcastic voice "Oh, you should be one. How can you not be, with my sister being a freak? She got a letter like that and went to that freak school to learn magic."

She turned at Vernon and said "Sorry dear, by I did not want to upset you by saying that the freak could talk to garden snakes. I saw him doing it and forbade him to tell anybody, I did not want the neighbours or anyone at the school to know he is a freak."

Harry had a doubt in his mind, he asked "But aunt, were any of your parents magical then? Or mum was a witch suddenly born in a family of normal people? "

"No, they would not believe the letter and thought it as a joke or worse. However, Lily knew that she was a witch. She could do all sorts of odd freaky things from her childhood, plus that horrible Snape boy who lived nearby was that freak type too, he told her of that school and of the letter long ago."

Harry felt curious about his maternal grandparents, so he asked "Then how did they allow her when they saw that letter? Did they visit the school or took the word of that little boy?"

"Oh no, the letter was shortly followed by a teacher from the place. She showed us that magic was real and explained why she would attend the school, learning to do magic, blah blah."

Harry turned to Hagrid "So, Mr. Hagrid, are you a teacher at that school?"

The strange things that happened till now- the door opening by itself, the strange blue fire on the fireplace and the thin wooden torch, all was magic then.

Hagrid was staring open-mouthed at the entire scene, but he mumbled and spoke "Err, no. I am the keeper of the keys, grounds and game at Hogwarts. I was expelled in my third year."

Harry could already feel rage, now he felt burning humiliation rising inside him, almost like acid corroding his insides. Hagrid was not a teacher but though he could not understand Hagrid's job, he could guess it was of a position below teachers. Plus, this man was not really explaining anything. However, he was alerted by another sharp screech from Petunia.

"I haven't finished! Dad and mum were so proud of my freak sister- Lily is so charming, she is so clever, so nice and she can do magic! As if I was picked from the street on their mercy! Then she met that Potter freak there, you were born and now I am a trash bin, have to take dead Lily's freak son in my family!" She finished talking and was panting, though her cheeks were flushed red.

Hagrid said something that sounded ridiculous "Err, Harry, yeh are coming with me to buy yer school things tomorrow, right? London is a long journey from here. I will buy yeh a birthday gift too."

Harry was not having any feeling of wonder at knowing that magic is real. The anger and humiliation was bubbling inside him. He spoke in an icy voice "Why? I am doing well in my school, why should I go to learn magic? They don't want me to, they are my guardians, plus I do not feel the need to turn people into frogs, birds or anything else."

"But yer name is in the list. Yeh will love the castle, it is an amazing place. Yeh will have a great time there, believe me. I came all the way to give yeh the letter. Don't listen to the muggles."

"I myself do not want to go to any magic school." Harry said firmly "as it is night-time, you may spend it here. Go away tomorrow." The shack went silent after that, with the elder Dursleys looking at him with a strange look on wonder on their faces.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next morning, Harry awoke on the table, thinking about the strange dream he had last night. The giant named Hagrid wanted to take him to buy things for a wizard's school. However, as he sat up, he saw the massive figure on the sofa, he knew it was real. He himself sat silent for a few moments.

Vernon and Petunia stepped into the room then. Vernon was in a good mood, he was smiling, he prodded Hagrid with a second fire poker. "Hey, it's time to go, sir. We are leaving shortly too."

Hagrid awoke with a start, looked around and then spotted Harry. He spoke "Harry, yeh sure yeh don't want to come?" but the blank look on Harry's eyes stopped him. He mumbled "All right, yeh take the cake then. I bought along sausage too, fer eating in the morning. Wanna eat it?"

Harry's school had taught him many times not to accept gifts from strangers. Even the strange Mr Prince years ago bought him sweets and himself drank a few drops of the strange liquids that he asked Harry to drink in secret. Yet, Petunia talked even before he could react.

"Harry, don't take anything that he offers you. The food can have all sorts of tricks in them."

Hagrid tried to say something, but no sound came out of his mouth. He looked at Harry with a hurt look in his face, Harry looked away in return. Hagrid then took out a silvery coin from his pocket and stepped outside the shack. Harry went out of the shack seconds later out of curiosity, expecting to see Hagrid rowing away on a huge boat, but the big man seemed to have vanished into thin air.