II. THE WALRUS, THE GIRAFFE, THE PIG & THE WIZARD
"Have you got everything? Your bag? Food? A change of clothes? Toothbrush? This won't take long, will it?" Dakota fussed as we sat in the living room waiting for Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' Gamekeeper, to arrive an hour before my eleventh birthday and a week after Albus Dumbledore dropped-several emotional bombs on the Morrissey household.
Rolling my eyes, I tucked a loose red curl behind my ear.
"I have enough sandwiches and brownies to feed a small army," I stated dryly for the third time, "my bag is on my lap, and I don't know what time I'll be back. We're going to that wizard street-Diagon Alley-to get our things so it probably won't be until tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Dumbledore said he trusts Hagrid and, as wacko as he seemed, he probably wouldn't leave me in the hands of a crazed nutcase."
Honestly, though, I was every bit as much of a nervous wreck as Dakota.
I've had the clothes I'd wear-a worn band shirt featuring The Clash(to show Harry I have good taste in music)tucked into my newest pair of high-waisted denim jeans and forest green ballet flats with an ankle strap-folded on my nightstand by my bed for days, I've had two showers today, and I may, slightly, have been rehearsing what I'd say all week.
Today's the day-well, night-I meet Harry.
My twin brother.
Three days after I had more bombs dropped on me than the Blitz, Dumbledore wrote me, Alistair and Dakota to give us the heads up that Hagrid would be here today at about 10:45 pm(which was, as of riiight...now, exactly fifteen minutes ago)to take me to Harry and, from there, Diagon Alley(he sent a literal owl-like a full-on, feathery, winged bird-which is, apparently, a common practice in the wizarding world and the way they all communicate; Muggles have cell towers and postmen, wizards have owl mail-of course, we had no way of knowing that so, when a bloody owl swooped through the kitchen window, it freaked the hell out of everybody involved; it didn't help matters that it attacked Alistair when he chased it with a spatula before Dakota spotted the letter tied to its leg, figured out what was going on, and intercepted). Assuming that meant we'd be staying in a hotel or something overnight(it is around a two-hour drive from here to Surrey-and, you know, 11 pm), Dakota went overboard packing food(just in case they didn't have anything I liked there, in Surrey), clothes, toothpaste, you name it. It's either that or we're staying at the Dursley's tonight-and, frankly, I'd rather eat dirt than spend any more time around those people than necessary, and I haven't even met them yet.
(the fact that I had to face the people that abandoned me as a literal one-year-old potato because I 'look like my mum' and that, for some reason, inconvenienced them made me feel sick enough-the last thing I wanted to do was spend any more time in their house, and their presence, than I have to-).
I've only had a week to process everything Dumbledore told me-and I was kind of hoping I'd get another good couple of years on top of that before I'd have to meet them.
I was kind of hoping I'd never meet them, actually.
But, if I want to see my twin brother now and not in a month when it's time to board the Hogwarts Express to go to magic school, I had no choice but to see them too.
Dakota and Alistair would've preferred to be with me to face them, and to meet Harry, but this was something I had to do alone-hence their own off-the-charts anxiety/worry.
"He does know it's almost midnight, right?" Alistair wondered blearily as he checked his watch.
I yawned in agreement and ran my fingers through my hair.
"There has to be a reason why he's picking me up so late..." I mused, "maybe Dumbledore's getting back at me for calling him 'Beardo the Magnificent.'"
Dakota shot me a look at that while Alistair just shrugged.
"Well, that's all well and good, but we can't stay up all night," Dakota huffed, "you need your rest-"
BANG!
Dakota cut off abruptly and we all jerked around to stare at the door in shock as it seemed to shudder underneath the fist of whoever, whatever, had knocked on it.
I was half-sure that whoever it was had used a steel bat instead of their fist.
When Alistair finally moved to answer the door, his shoulders tensing, I could see that not only was I wrong about the steel bat-but the bloke on the other side was huge. His hands alone were about the size of my head, his feet gave Bigfoot a run for his money, and his face was obscured by a thick scraggly beard and wild dark hair. His eyes were small, beady and black and he was wearing this humongous multi-pocketed black overcoat that had to of been custom made.
Stranger still, he was clutching a pink umbrella in his massive hands.
It hadn't even been raining.
"Sorry tah bother yeh so late," the man greeted gruffly in a surprisingly pleasant voice, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled, "but does Jewel Potter live here?"
Alistar stared at him dumbly.
I fought the urge to point at Dakota.
"That'd be me," I answered dryly when Dakota and Alistair stayed silent, just gawking at the sheer size of the man on their front porch, for an uncomfortably long stretch of time.
The giant's eyes flew to me over Alistair's head-and widened.
Then, shaking off his shock at my appearance, to my taken aback, a huge grin spread across his face.
"Ah, there yeh are, Jewel!" he said brightly. "I haven' seen yeh since yer was a baby. Yer really are the spittin' image of yeh mother."
The man ducked-ducked!-as he squeezed himself through the doorway, which suddenly looked a lot smaller, to make his way inside.
Alistair barely managed to stumble back to let him in, still dumbstruck.
Under any other circumstances, I would've been laughing my ass off.
"You knew my mother?" I asked the man in surprise, unsure of how to react to that-much less to being told, once again, that I look just like my mother, as if I even know what she looked like.
Me, I suppose.
The man chuckled and nodded.
"And yeh dad-chased him and his mates away from the Forbidden Forest more times'n I can count back in the day. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Dumbledore told me yeh'd be expectin' me?"
Dakota let out a breath of relief and my shoulders relaxed.
"You're Mr Hagrid?" I blurted.
"Mr Hagrid?"the wizard repeated, blinking. "Eh-jus' call me Hagrid, ev'rybody does."
I nodded slowly, eyeing 'Hagrid' up warily.
To my relief, unlike Dumbledore, he was an open book.
I could see every thought, every emotion, painted across his face. If anything, where Dumbledore was blank, Hagrid was almost too easy to read.
"I'm Dakota Morrissey," Dakota interjected a little shakily as she walked over and held her hand out to Hagrid, ever the gracious host, "and this is my husband Alistair-we're Jewel's adoptive parents."
With a warm smile, Hagrid's much larger hand swallowedhers.
He shook her entire arm and, when he let go, Dakota almost fell over.
Clearly, Hagrid doesn't know his own strength-but it wasn't hard to see he meant well.
"Pleasure tah meet yeh," he said cheerfully.
With that sorted, he reached into one of the pockets of his overcoat and pulled out a slightly squashed looking box that, to my surprise, he held out to me.
"Happy birthday, Jewel," he added warmly. "Yeh can' have any 'til we get yeh tah Harry, and I may've sat onnit at some point or another, but I 'spect it'll taste just the same."
Hesitating briefly, I cautiously flipped open the box-and found myself staring, slightly uncomprehendingly, at the large chocolate cake nestled inside. Happy Birthday Harry & Jewel was proudly iced in green across the sticky chocolate frosting. Before Dakota could stop me, no doubt guessing what my reaction to being presented with free cake would be(after I took a second to repress the hell out of seeing the words Happy Birthday Harry & Jewel iced on a cake together), I quickly dipped my finger into the frosting on side of the cake and popped it into my mouth with a mischievous grin.
"Cheers, Hagrid," I said cheekily.
"Jewel!" Dakota scolded.
"Ha!" Alistair blurted only to cough awkwardly and scratch the back of his neck a bit sheepishly when Dakota shot him an unimpressed look.
Hagrid just laughed, shaking his head and grinning back at me in amusement.
No doubt to prevent me from going back for seconds(or grabbing a fork before Harry could see the cake), which I totally would've because stealing that bit of frosting made me snacky all of a sudden, Hagrid tucked the box back into his coat pocket.
I swear to god one of those pockets are hooting.
"Now, we best be off," Hagrid announced. "It's a long way, where we're goin'."
Nodding in understanding, I stood up-only to be quickly accosted by Dakota.
"Stay safe, sweetheart-oh! Do you have your-?"
"-bag?"I finished wryly, tugging the denim strap of my messenger bag over my shoulder.
Dakota chuckled breathlessly and kissed me firmly on the top of the head.
"Be good for Mr-for Hagrid, Jewel," she told me, holding onto my forearms and smiling bracingly, "and tell Harry that we can't wait to meet him. And don't forget to get the Dursley's phone number-I'd like to have a word with your aunt and uncle about the best way for you and Harry to keep in touch."
From her expression, it was clear that wasn't the only thing she'd be 'having a word' with them about-and I was more than happy to sic the overprotective, and sometimes seriously intimidating, woman on their asses.
"What if he doesn't-like me?" I asked before I could stop myself, a hint of the insecurity and anxiety I felt bubbling to the surface.
Alistair scoffed like the very suggestion was ridiculous.
"Of course he'll like you. And on the off chance he doesn't? It's his loss. You're awesome-he'd have to be an idiot not to see that."
Half-smiling, I made my way over and hugged him.
"Thanks, Alistair," I mumbled.
"No problem, kid," he replied, squeezing me back.
"See you when I get back from Diagon Alley," I said, biting my lip briefly knowing I wanted to say more but just shaking it off and smiling nervously instead.
"Have fun, honey," Dakota said with a last hug and a fortifying smile. "But-you know-not too much fun."
She looked suddenly concerned for a whole other reason.
I bit back a mischievous smirk.
"Stop freaking out, Bones-it'll be great," Alistair added reassuringly, squeezing my shoulder.
"Shut up, Jim."
When I looked back up at Hagrid, he was beaming at us.
He was relieved seeing how we interacted, I suddenly knew. When Dumbledore told him what my aunt and uncle did, he was livid-he wanted to march right down to Privet Drive and have a go at them. The only reason he didn't, was because Dumbledore, a man he greatly respects and admires, asked him to not do anything rash. He was relieved that, in the end, I found people that genuinely love and care about me.
I blinked quickly realising I'd zoned out staring at Hagrid.
Reaching down, I subtly snapped a green rubber band on my wrist and flinched slightly.
To my relief, he was too busy forcing himself through the front door to notice.
It didn't even occur to me that Dumbledore never told me that the Dursleys live on Privet Drive.
"So, how are we gonna get to Harry's?" I wondered curiously as I followed him outside.
Hagrid smiled broadly, pink umbrella twirling in his hands.
"We're flyin'!"
"Oh, cool, I thought you were gonna suggest something craz-"
I stopped short at the edge of the porch and stared up at him in wide-eyed astonishment.
"-Wait, what?!"
꧖ꦿꦸ⊰ ⊱꧖ꦿꦸ
"THIS IS WHERE THE DURSLEYS LIVE?!" I shouted up at Hagrid incredulously over the wind as we walked across the surface of a slippery rock in the middle of a large body of water. Waves rose and fell, spraying us and splattering the walls of the hut we were making our way towards, as a wild storm raged around us, soaking us to the bone and making my red hair whip around. It was clear its intent was to drown the laughable excuse of a shack that inhabited the rock-and, from what I could see from the outside, it wouldn't take much more before it finally succeeded.
There's a comforting thought.
I rubbed my neck absentmindedly, trying to ignore the increasing, tingly, pins-and-needles sensation coming from my scar that hit out of nowhere about five minutes ago and only seemed to get stronger the closer we got to the shack(it didn't hurt or anything, per se, it just felt-foreign and weird).
"NAH! THEY CAME HERE AFTER HARRY'S LETTERS STARTED ARRIVE'N! CAN'T'VE BEEN HERE MORE'N A DAY OR SO!"
He'd bent down so I could hear him better, making me wince having his booming voice so close to my ears.
I nodded in understanding(though why the Dursleys thought this was a fun vacation spot was beyond me)and shot him a thumbs-up, my left hand gripping one of his overcoats many pockets to stay upright on the unsteady surface beneath our feet.
"CAN I KNOCK FIRST?"
Seeing his confusion as he squinted at me, I pointed at myself and mimed knocking.
Eyes brightening with understanding, Hagrid nodded.
Making my way over to the door, I cautiously let go of Hagrid's pocket, swallowed my nerves, and banged on the wood as hard as I could.
I literally couldn't even hear myself knock.
"Uh...CAN I BORROW A BASEBALL BAT?"
I mimed swinging a bat at the door.
Hagrid let out a loud snort of laughter before gently moving me aside so he could knock himself. Much like back at the Morrissey's, a single knock from his large fists sounded like gunfire. Unlike at the Morrissey's,the little shack looked like it was about to collapse as it physically shook under his fist.
"MAYBE THEY'RE SLEEPING-OR DEAD-THIS PLACE IS A DEATH TRAP AND IT'S ONLY-"
I checked my watch, which shockingly still worked even with the torrential downpour drenching us from head to toe, only to jerk back in surprise.
12:01 am.
I'm eleven.
I took a moment to reflect on that before Hagrid's booming knocks yanked me out of my head. I was so startled that I lost my footing and slipped, sliding on the wet rock beneath my feet. My heart leapt as my axis tilted but, luckily, I just managed to catch myself by abruptly grabbing onto Hagrid's coat again.
If I'm not more careful, I reflected wryly, I'll go sliding headfirst into the water on my stomach like a penguin.
"Who's there?" a man's voice shouted faintly from inside.
My grip tightened on Hagrid's coat.
"I warn you-I'm armed!"
Eyebrows shooting up, I moved to tell Hagrid that maybe we should shout something back(like 'we come in peace' or 'oooh, we're sooo scared')-when, with a last resounding bang, the door caved in beneath Hagrid's fist and swung clean off its hinges.
That's one way to do things, I suppose, I mused as I stared down at the door in shock and faint amusement.
Still holding onto Hagrid's coat, I stumbled into the rundown shack behind him, hidden from view by his hulking frame. When he leant down to pick up the door, I finally let go, stumbling back and pressing against the wall behind me. Turning around, Hagrid fitted the door back in place, muffling the sound of the storm outside-and, ringing out my wet hair, I eyed it, strangely tempted to kick it to see if it'd stay upright.
The inside of the rickety hut-on-the-rock was pretty much what I imagined it would be.
There were two rooms, the one we were in and what looked like a bedroom, and the only piece of furniture in sight was a sofa-unless you count the damp-looking fireplace. The windows were filthy, wind blew through several cracks in the wood as the storm outside shook the walls almost as badly as Hagrid's knocking had, and there was a strong seaweed smell lingering in the air that made my nose wrinkle.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh?" Hagrid was saying, "it's not been an easy journey..."
You can say that again, I mentally shuddered, pulling a face, as I snapped out of my door-kicking fantasies and turned to face the people all so busy gawking at Hagrid that they didn't seem to notice he wasn't alone.
To my taken aback, there were two boys about my age, not just one.
One sat on the moth-eaten sofa surrounded by blankets that seemed to be covered in mould, which seems super hygienic; his blonde hair flat against his head, and mused from sleep, and his blue eyes wide with fear and shock as he took in the hulking gamekeeper. The other boy was sitting bolt upright on the floor by a thin, ragged blanket. He was small and skinny, where the first boy was large and overweight, and had untidy jet black hair, knobbly knees, and bright green eyes a few shades lighter than my own. His glasses were round and, oddly enough, being held together by Scotch tape.
As soon as I looked at the black-haired boy, my scar's pins-and-needles reached a crescendo before abruptly easing off(but not vanishing altogether-just becoming a fainter, easier to ignore itch)-and, just as surprisingly, he suddenly reached up to rub his forehead at the same time, a mystified look on his face.
Caught off guard, my hand dropped from where it had flown to my neck.
-Spooky.
It wasn't hard to guess which boy was my brother, and which was my cousin Dudley.
Wait-I have a cousin named Dudley?
And how on earth did I know-?
Oh, Dumbledore must've mentioned Dudley-or maybe Hagrid said something and I was too focused on the whole flying thing to notice.
A pink rubber band snapped.
"Budge up, yeh great lump," Hagrid grunted at Dudley as he strode over to the sofa.
Without hesitation, the blonde boy flew to his feet and(ineffectively, because we could all still very clearly see him)hid behind a tall bony blonde woman with a kinda horsey face and a long neck that reminded me of a giraffe's.
Next to the giraffe, stood a walrus.
He was big and beefy, clearly related to Dudley, hardly had a neck to speak of, and sported a thick black moustache that he probably twirls maniacally while he ties young women to railway tracks.
Petunia and Vernon Dursley.
Face darkening, I dug my nails into my palms and bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from giving them a piece of my mind. The first time Harry sees me, I won't be red-faced and shouting, I'll be...okay, so I haven't exactly figured that out yet, but I'd like to make a somewhat good impression. I've been fantasizing about this moment ever since I found out I have a twin brother, I won't let the Dursleys ruin this for me, too.
"An' here's Harry!" Hagrid said with a smile.
Harry stared at him with the same dumb expression I imagine I was wearing when the huge man knocked on my front door an hour ago, hand finally falling from where it had been rubbing his forehead over his bangs.
Hagrid seems to have that effect on people-which is a shame considering, beyond his intimidating outward appearance, he's just a gigantic fluffy teddy bear.
"Las' time I saw you," he added, "you was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yeh dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."
I looked up at Hagrid, as taken aback as the boy himself clearly was to hear Harry looked like our dad.
And if mum had green eyes like Harry...does that mean I have her eyes, too?
"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" Vernon interjected, making a funny rasping noise, "You are breaking and entering!"
"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," Hagrid said carelessly as he reached back, grabbed the end of the shotgun, and yanked it from the pale man's hands.
Without breaking a sweat, he bent the barrel into a knot like it was made from plasticine and tossed it into the corner of the room.
I struggled to not applaud as I stared at the discarded shotgun in astonishment-or snigger when Vernon let out another funny noise, like a cat that's tail had been stepped on.
Harry thought he sounded more like a trodded on mouse, I noted.
-Wait, what?
"Anyway-Harry," Hagrid continued, turning his back to the Dursley's as if they weren't in the room anymore-and, as far as he was concerned, they probably weren't, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here-I mighta sat onnit at some point, but it'll taste alright."
Hagrid fished out mine and Harry's birthday cake.
Instantly, nerves flushed my body.
Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for what I knew was coming the moment Harry read the words-
Happy Birthday Harry & Jewel.
I felt torn between relief and something close to hurt when his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.
When I looked at him and knew, with crystal clarity, that he had no idea who I was.
He didn't know either.
"Who's Jewel?" Harry asked, catching the gamekeeper off guard.
Even from this angle, Hagrid looked shocked and angry.
Petunia visibly stiffened, her face going white.
Vernon just about choked on his own tongue the second my name left Harry's lips.
"Don't you recognize your own twin sister's name, Harry?" I quipped wryly, "I'm hurt."
Harry jumped, wheeling around to stare at me with wide eyes.
Petunia looked faint.
"It's you," she breathed.
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"What-what are you doing here?" Petunia stammered, gripping her husband's arm in a vice and staring at me like I was a ghost come back from the grave to haunt her.
I cast a dark look in the Dursleys direction.
"Protip, Aunt Petunia," I spat sardonically, "if you're going to abandon a baby without it coming back to bite you in the ass, maybe don't leave a note with all its personal details."
I gave a big, sarcastic smile as she sputtered.
"...my twin sister?" Harry breathed in shock and confusion, breaking through the tension-which was thicker than cake batter as Vernon and Petunia gawked at me, Dudley stared at his parents in astonishment and equal confusion, and I glowered at the lot of them, green eyes lit furiously.
My flare of bitterness and anger faltered and I stiffened.
Slowly, my eyes lifted from the Dursleys and moved across the room to meet Harry's.
He looked lost, a feeling I could more than identify with.
"I-"
I grasped around, trying to remember the speech I'd prepared, but my mind was suddenly blank.
Biting back a growl of frustration, I compulsively ran my hands through my hair.
"I know this is a lot to take in but, trust me, it gets-well, worse...uh...I only found out about you, and all of this, last week."
Harry looked faint.
"S-so you're my-I have a-" he stammered, staring at me uncomprehendingly.
Vernon angrily moved to interject only to immediately shrink back at the frankly murderous way Hagrid was staring down him and his wife, the wizard only just biting his tongue for Harry and I's sakes.
I bit my lip, arms crossing anxiously.
"I had a whole speech, you know, but I've forgotten it," I admitted awkwardly. "I'm Jewel," I added feeling uncharacteristically shy and insecure. "Jewel Euphemia Potter."
"I'm Harry," Harry replied in a daze. "Harry James Potter."
"James and Jewel...dad sure thought a lot of himself, didn't he?" I joked weakly with a snort. "I bet I'm lucky he didn't name me Jamie. Like, James and-"
When Harry just kept staring at me, I cut off awkwardly.
There was a heavy pause, the violent storm battering the walls that just barely protected us being the only sound that broke up the charged silence.
It was like he couldn't believe I was real-and I wasn't much better.
I felt like I was searching for something, something that was supposed to just click into place-and, when it didn't all happen instantly, I didn't know how to feel.
I think it hurt more, knowing he felt the same way.
"What do you mean Aunt Petunia-abandoned you?" Harry stammered, grasping for something to say.
My face twisted into a deep grimace.
"That can wait," I decided after a moment, walking over and gesturing at Hagrid. "This is Hagrid-and don't worry," I added teasingly, "he might be huge but he's just a big ole' teddy bear."
Hagrid rose his thick eyebrows at me but chuckled(some of the outrage he felt, and was struggling to swallow, towards Vernon and Petunia softening-but not going away by any means)when I winked playfully in reply.
"Rubeus Hagrid," he said with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes, holding out his hand for Harry to shake, "Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
Harry took his hand only to have his arm flung up and down wildly.
Snorting under my breath, I made my way over to the sofa and jumped up to sit on the arm, doing my best to ignore the eyes burning holes into the back of my head.
Harry still couldn't quite stop staring at me.
To be fair, I was struggling not to stare right back.
"What about that tea then, eh?" Hagrid remarked as he rubbed his hands together, "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."
I stifled a laugh but, when I followed Hagrid's gaze down to the fireplace, my amusement fled.
Instead of firewood, it was filled with ashy shrivelled-up chip packets.
I looked from the fireplace to Harry to the ragged bit of cloth on the ground next to him and stiffened-fire, hot and near-consuming, rising in my chest and throat-at the realisation that they'd had him sleeping on the floor, hungry, with nothing but that sorry excuse for a blanket to keep him warm, while Dudley was curled up on the sofa with several blankets(and, probably, mould and bed bugs).
For a second, before I got a hold of myself, I could swear I felt steam come out of my ears.
Remembering all of the food Dakota packed for me(which luckily put out my sudden flare of red-hot fury before I did something stupid-I can be a bit hotheaded at times, and my temper can run away with me; Alistair says it's because I'm a 'fiery redhead'), and desperate to make a good impression on Harry, I dropped my messenger bag onto my lap and began to dig.
Hagrid moved over to crouch in front of the damp fireplace and, when he leant back, there was suddenly a roaring fire.
Heat washed over the tiny hut and sank gratefully into my cold-numbed bones.
Gotta love magic umbrellas.
Humming appreciatively under my breath, I went back to digging.
Pulling out a see-through Tupperware container with a pink lid, I gripped it tightly and glanced at Harry several times, shifting nervously on the arm of the sofa.
"Brownies!" I finally managed to blurt out, blushing pink when Harry snapped around to look at me, "I have them. Brownies. Do you-uh-want some-mate?"
I cringed inwardly.
To my relief, Harry just smiled nervously and nodded.
"Yes, please," he agreed shyly.
I handed over the plastic container.
Harry hesitated slightly as he accepted it, and I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Have as many as you want," I added quickly. "Dakota went overboard-she packed me tons of sandwiches, and I have snacks. She was worried they wouldn't have food I like in Surrey. Like, all of Surrey. I thought she was being ridiculous, but..."
I looked around wryly.
"...Dakota?"
I rubbed my forearms uncomfortably.
"My adoptive mother," I explained. "Dakota Morrissey."
"You have an adoptive mother?" Harry echoed quietly, taken aback.
Before I could respond-not that I knew what the hell I was supposed to say to that, the sofa sank and rocked, knocking me off its arm sideways with a shriek and a thump.
I groaned from the floor, leaning up on my elbow and rubbing my head.
I shot Hagrid an incredulous look.
"Oh-sorry, Jewel!" Hagrid apologized sheepishly. "Yeh aren' hurt, are yeh?" he added in concern.
"Just my pride, mate," I said dryly.
Hagrid chuckled and, my face faintly pink in embarrassment, I awkwardly pulled myself to my feet and cautiously returned to my perch on the arm of the sofa.
"Not a word," I added to Harry, pointing at him.
Harry bit back an amused smile and finally popped open the container.
Taking a bite out of one of the brownies, he was quick to scarf down several more, clearly starving.
Don't these people feed him?! I wondered in disbelief when I realised how hungry he was. If my caseworker was here, he'd have a bloody field day.
As he downed chocolatey baked goods, Harry's attention flickered from me to Hagrid-who was pulling various objects from his many pockets: a copper kettle, a teapot, a couple of chipped mugs, a packet of sausages, a poker, and a bottle of amber liquid(that was pretty obviously alcoholic).
Oh my god, he's Mary Poppins.
Amused, I watched as Hagrid slid six fat sausages onto the poker and began to cook them in the fireplace.
Glancing at Harry, my smirk faltered again and I swallowed nervously.
"Before I forget," I coughed, looking anywhere but at Harry as his attention shot back to me, "Dakota wanted me to tell you that she and Alistair-my adoptive father," I explained, sensing his confusion, "can't wait to meet you. I'll need your number at some point, too," I added wryly. "She wants to organise playdates."
"Your adoptive parents want to meet me?" Harry said faintly.
"I think they already like you more than me," I joked awkwardly, not really noticing my fingers almost pathologically making trips through my hair every few minutes.
Thanks to the rain, my clothes were sticking to me uncomfortably-and, knowing I wouldn't be able to sneak away to change any time soon, I grimaced and resigned myself to it. Hopefully, the fireplace will help me dry off faster.
Harry didn't seem to know what to say to that-the idea of Dakota and Alistair wanting to meet him...he'd always dreamt of having some distant family member show up out of the blue to take him away from the Dursleys, but he'd given up on that dream a long time ago. Having me here now, hearing about my adoptive parents and how excited they are to meet him-to organise playdates...he didn't know how to feel. But, underneath all of that, there was this sense of hope, of desperation, that echoed the tangled feelings knotted in my stomach-
"Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley," Vernon suddenly said, snapping me out of my daze, as his son drooled over the homebaked chocolate brownies and thick, juicy sausages.
Realising I'd been staring intensely at Harry, who luckily hadn't noticed as he watched Hagrid turn the mouth-watering sausages in the fire, I quickly looked away.
Snapping a blue rubber band this time, I winced.
My wrists were looking a bit red with how many times I'd absentmindedly done that in the past couple of minutes just to keep myself present. I find it harder to focus when the people around me are emotional(and, when my feelings are stirred up too, it only gets worse). I guess I'm just one of those people who can't handle emotionally charged situations, because they always scramble my brain. It's like people are...louder? clearer? when they're hurting-if that makes any sense, which I doubt.
"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry," Hagrid retorted with a dark chuckle.
I snorted loudly and clapped a hand over my mouth.
Hagrid grinned back at me before passing the sausages to Harry.
"Wan' me ter whip somethin' up fer yeh?" he added to me, not wanting me to feel left out.
"Dakota was so nervous she cooked me a five-course meal," I reassured him with a careless shrug. "I probably won't eat for another week or so-and, on the off chance I do get hungry, I have enough sandwiches to feed all of Smurf Village for the foreseeable winter.I'm good. Though, don't get me wrong, I'm down for cake."
Not understanding the reference, Hagrid just nodded and smiled.
As he ate, Harry's eyes flickered between me and Hagrid.
He was still struggling to believe we were real-me, especially.
(I can't blame him-it's not like we're not twisting in the same place, struggling with who the other is, how the hell we're supposed to take it all in...and where we go from here).
"I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are," Harry admitted as his attention settled on Hagrid.
Hagrid finished off his tea, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Call me Hagrid, everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts-yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o'course."
Seeing the blank look on Harry's face, apprehension coiled in my stomach.
Not knowing about me is one thing, I'm clearly the Dursley's dirty little secret-but he should know about magic. Hagrid told me on the way here that Vernon and Petunia would've explained everything to Harry while he was growing up-about Voldemort, and our parents, and the magical world, and Hogwarts school. He would've had to of known, because of his bursts of accidental magic growing up...right?
"Er-no-Sorry," he hurried to add when he saw the look of shock on Hagrid's face.
Unable to help myself when I realised what was about to happen-Harry having all of this traumatic BS dumped on him like it was dumped on me a week ago all because they couldn't just not be assholes and tell him this stuff a long time ago, I shot a venomous look over my shoulder at the Dursleys.
"Sorry?" Hagrid barked.
The Dursleys seemed to cower and shrink back under Hagrid's furious stare.
"It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! We expected that from Jewel, 'cause her adoptive parents' don' know abou' our world, which is why Dumbledore wen' ter see her personally, but-" Hagrid shook his head in disbelief, "Did yeh never wonder where yeh parents learned it all?"
The moment Harry asked "all what?", I felt pity and anger well up in my chest.
"ALL WHAT? Now wait jus' one second!"
Hagrid leapt to his feet and I hastily grabbed onto the couch to keep from tipping off again.
"Do you mean ter tell me that this boy-this boy!-knows nothin' abou'-abou' ANYTHING?"
At that, Harry looked slightly offended.
"I know some things," he defended, clearly misunderstanding what Hagrid meant by 'anything', "I can, you know, do math and stuff."
I bit back a snort, considering the seriousness of the situation, but the corner of my lips still twitched.
"About our world, I mean," Hagrid corrected, waving a hand as he dismissed Harry's knowledge of 2 + 2.
Harry looked confused.
Please don't say it.
"What world?"
Oh, shit.
I dropped my head back into my hands at the confirmation that-despite the fact that Petunia and Vernon know about magic and Hogwarts and Voldemort and everything-Harry knew about as much as I did when I walked into the Morrissey's kitchen to find Albus Dumbledore waiting for me.
Remembering how great that went over, I felt another flash of pity for Harry, suddenly understanding how Dakota and Alistair felt when they were forced to watch this complete stranger turn my life as I knew it on its head. And there was nothing I could do but sit here, silently cursing out the Dursleys-who, from the looks of things, screwed Harry up about as thoroughly as they screwed me up.
Dudley didn't exactly look like a prize, either.
"DURSLEY!"
White-faced and pathetic looking, Vernon mumbled a gibberish word I didn't quite catch("Mimblewimble").
Hagrid looked wildly at Harry.
"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad. I mean, they're famous."
Harry stared back at him, stupefied.
"What? My-my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"
Overwhelmed, Hagrid jerked a hand through his hair, his face the picture of bewilderment.
"Yeh don' know...yeh don' know...Yeh don' know what yeh are?"
"Stop!" Vernon suddenly ordered, unfortunately finding his voice. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"
I snorted, looking over my shoulder in disbelief and disgust.
"You forbid this guy? He bent your shotgun into a pretzel-are you an idiot?" I wondered seriously.
"You never told him?" Hagrid thundered, drowning out my deadpan statement. "Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him and Jewel? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"
"Kept what from me?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Dumbledore was the one that dropped us off with this lot?" I added in surprise. "Why did our parents' old headmaster have that authority? Don't you people have social workers? If I suddenly kicked the bucket out of nowhere, would my Primary School headmistress be the one to have to figure out who's doorstep to leave my imaginary children on? 'Cause I think she's planning on eventually going to Monaco and my imaginary children aren't multilingual. Weird system-"
"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" Vernon panicked.
Petunia gasped in horror.
"Oh, button it, would you?" I spat, fed up with the lot of them.
At the same time, Hagrid snapped back, "Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh."
Not giving a jot about the fearsome creature that was Vernon Dursley, I turned to Harry.
"Harry," I said bluntly, "you're a wizard."
꧖ꦿꦸ⊰ ⊱꧖ꦿꦸ
There was a pregnant pause.
"-a what?" Harry gasped, gawking at me.
"A wizard, o' course," Hagrid confirmed as he sat back on the sofa, my hands quickly moving to grip the back to keep me stable, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh'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 read yer letter."
Hagrid handed over a familiar thick yellowish envelope.
Harry carefully ripped it open and pulled out the emerald-inked acceptance letter inside, gaze darting across the page.
His green eyes went wide.
"What does it mean, they await my owl?" he stammered after a few minutes, his head swirling with questions as he struggled to comprehend what he'd just read and everything that had happened up to this point.
"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," Hagrid blurted as he clapped a hand to his forehead.
Reaching back into his coat, he pulled out...an owl?
"I knew your coat was hooting!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself, pointing accusingly at the bird.
Harry and Hagrid jerked around to stare at me, taken aback.
"What? I did," I mumbled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck and blushing faintly.
His beard twitching in amusement, Hagrid pulled out a feather quill and a roll of parchment, his tongue between his teeth as he scribbled something on it. Once he was satisfied, he handed the note to the owl. It bit down on it and I watched dumbly as Hagrid stood up, walked over to the door, and tossed the bird out into the storm.
So, being mental is a universal wizard thing and not just a Dumbledore thing-good to know.
Harry quickly shut his mouth, which had been hanging open.
"Where was I?" Hagrid wondered.
I was about to ask my own questions regarding owl mail when an ashen-faced and furious Vernon decided to interject, again-because until we boot him outside, he'll never learn.
"He's not going," he stated.
I shot a dirty look over my shoulder, highly tempted to gear up and fight him if it meant he'd finally shut his big mouth.
I may be little, but I could take him.
That is, if I bonk him over the head with the shotgun Hagrid tossed into the corner of the room, and trust me, I'm not above it.
"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," Hagrid retorted.
"A what?" Harry questioned.
"A Muggle," Hagrid answered, "it's what we call non-magic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."
Harry glanced at me at that.
My fingers travelled through my hair more roughly than necessary.
"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," Vernon snarled. "Swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"
Hearing the words stamp it out of him had a bad effect on me.
In a flash of fury, I was on my feet before I consciously knew what was happening.
"EXCUSE me?" I growled.
Vernon flinched back in surprise.
Hagrid and Harry both started at my outburst, blinking at me.
Petunia had a strange look on her face as my green eyes spat flames at them and, somehow, I knew she was thinking about my mother-who I apparently resemble even when out of my mind with anger.
A red haze settling over my mind, I seriously contemplated tackling them into the fireplace(I mean, at least I'd be warmer).
"You knew? You knew I'm a-a wizard?" Harry cut in, anger beginning to seep into his voice.
His eyes flickered to me as I clenched my jaw, and my fists.
"Knew! Knew! Of course we knew!" Petunia snarled through the thick tension that seemed to ebb and flow the longer this went on, easing briefly before rushing back, each wave worse than the last. "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 vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw 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!"
As she took a deep breath, her eyes locked on mine.
Remembering how much I apparently look like my mum, in this situation, I had a feeling it wasn't a good thing.
"Then she met that Potter at school," Petunia ranted, glaring at me in an unfocused kind of way, like she wasn't really looking at me at all, "and they left and got married and had the two of 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! And, as if that wasn't enough, we were stuck with-with her!" her eyes flashed and I felt my stomach drop, "We dumped her at the hospital the first chance we had-but there was nothing that could be done about you."
I was too shocked to do anything but stare at her, a look of hurt on my face
My fists loosened.
As the shock slowly faded, I felt oddly numb to it all.
Dumbledore tried to tell me, to explain that Petunia and mum had a tumultuous relationship and that she had trouble looking at me even at the age of one(that when she saw me, she saw her, and it was too much for her to handle), but hearing it and having it viciously flung in my face like that...
"Blown up?" Harry repeated, his face white as a sheet. "You told me they died in a car crash!"
"CAR CRASH!" Hagrid's voice shook with rage and the Dursleys scuttled back against the wall, "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"
"But why? What happened?" Harry pressed.
Suddenly, Hagrid didn't look so much angry as seasick.
"I never expected this," he said, his voice low and worried-sounding. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh-but someone's gotta-yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."
He threw his own dirty look the Dursley's way.
"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh-mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry parts of it..."
Hagrid returned to the sofa and stared into the fire as he collected his thoughts.
I slowly sat back down, panic gripping my chest.
I was tempted to join Hagrid's owl outside, not wanting to hear all of this again, but-what if Hagrid reveals something that Dumbledore forgot to, or purposefully neglected to, mention?
At the possibility, I found myself frozen in place, my legs suddenly weak.
"It begins, I suppose, with-with a person called-but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-"
"Who?"
"Well-I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it," Hagrid told the dark-haired boy, pale-faced. "No one does."
-So Dumbledore was serious about that?
Really?
"Why not?"
Hagrid looked suddenly frustrated.
"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went...bad. As bad as you can go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."
Hagrid gulped but failed to force the words out.
"Could you write it down?"
"Nah-can't spell it-"
I rolled my eyes hugely.
"His name was Voldemort," I said bluntly. "Stupid, right?"
Hagrid jerked his head around, gawking at me in astonishment.
"Yeh-yeh can't jus' go about sayin' You-Know-Who's name like that, Jewel!" he sputtered.
"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," I quoted dryly, "ecetera, ecetera."
Hagrid and Harry stared at me.
"Anyway," Hagrid continued after a beat, probably realizing where that touch of brilliance had come from, "this-this wizard-"
"Voldemort," I supplied.
He shot me a look but, when I remained unaffected, turned back to Harry.
"-about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too-some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, alright. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches...terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him-an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway."
Hearing all of this from a new perspective made me glad I didn't launch an escape, as sick as I felt.
"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em...maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You and Jewel were just a year old. He came ter yer house an'-an'-"
Pulling out a dirty, spotted hanky from one of his never-ending Mary Poppins pockets, Hagrid blew his nose loudly enough to leave my ears ringing and snap me out of my daze.
I'd been staring at him, laser-focused and completely absorbed in what he was saying.
Part of me was searching for something.
A way to understand, maybe.
"Sorry 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 of the thing-he tried to kill you an' Jewel, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then."
That really reassures me about Voldemort's character-I definitely won't have nightmares about faceless Dark wizards with a taste for murder when I go to bed tonight.
Cheers, Hagrid.
"But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead-or Jewel on her neck?"
Harry whipped around to stare at me.
Understanding why he was gawking at me this time, I moved my hair and arched my neck so he could see the crescent-shaped scar marring my smooth skin.
Wordlessly, Harry pushed back his fringe so I could see the lightning bolt smack dab in the middle of his forehead.
"Nice," I whistled, unable to help it.
It was a bloody wicked scar.
"You too," he said faintly.
"They aren't jus' ordinary cuts," Hagrid added, watching us sadly. "That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh-took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even-but it didn't work on you or Jewel, an' that's why yer both famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except the two of you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age-the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts-an' you were only just babies, an' you lived."
Harry had a strange look on his face and, becoming focused on him almost against my will, I was suddenly sent reeling back when a blinding flash of green blanked out my vision. A high, cold, cruel laugh rang through my ears and I shuddered, closing my eyes tightly and willing the vision-or whatever the hell that was, to go away.
A purple rubber band snapped, hard.
It wasn't until it had faded that I realised what it was.
The green light.
My insides went cold.
It hadn't occurred to me until now but, the more I thought about it, the more I realised what that green light might be...I could be...no, I was a baby, I couldn't possibly remember...
"Took yeh's from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders," Hagrid revealed, catching my attention. "Brought yeh's ter this lot..."
"Load of old tosh," Vernon suddenly said, snarling.
Harry jumped having, clearly, forgotten they were even here.
I was too emotionally drained to react, contemplating curling up on the floor by the fireplace as my bone-deep exhaustion caught up to me.
"Now, you listen here, boy, I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured-" I stiffened instantly, my hackles rising, "and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion-asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types-just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"
"You son of a-" I snarled, leaping to my feet and turning on them.
"I'm warning you, Dursley-" Hagrid jumped up too, his umbrella pointed at Vernon threateningly, "I'm warning you-one more world..."
I was almost disappointed when Vernon shut up and shrank back.
Breathing heavily, Hagrid sat back down, the sofa sinking so low it hit the floor.
With a last fuming glare, I reluctantly followed his lead.
"That's better," he sighed.
"But what happened to Vol-sorry-I mean, You-Know-Who?" Harry asked.
"Voldemort," I blithely corrected.
Hagrid wisely ignored that.
"Good question, Harry," he said. "Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill yeh and yer sister. Makes yeh's even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see...he was gettin' more powerful-why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you two finished him-" he nodded at me and Harry and I frowned deeply, confused about how two one-year-olds could 'finish off' a Dark wizard as dangerous and powerful as Hagrid and Dumbledore have stressed that Voldemort was, "There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on-I dunno what it was, no one does-but somethin' about you stumped him, alright."
The respect and warmth in Hagrid's expression made me feel uncomfortable, like he had to be talking about someone else, and I could tell Harry felt the same way.
I mean, what did I do? I got nicked by a curse meant for my brother when I was a baby. What kind of accomplishment is that? Why does that deserve any sort of fame? All I did was babble and drool, not exactly magic at its finest.
"Hagrid, I think you've made a mistake," Harry said quietly and I looked up. "I don't think I can be a wizard."
"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"
Harry looked into the fire, seriously thinking it over.
Odd things that happened around him when he was upset or angry...how furious Petunia and Vernon would get with him...how Dudley and his gang of pricks chased him once and he found himself out of their reach on top of the roof of the school kitchens...dreading going to school with a bad haircut, and waking up to find he'd grown it all back...siccing a boa constrictor on Dudley on his birthday...
When Harry looked up with a smile, Hagrid beamed.
I, on the other hand, forced my eyes away from Harry and stared hard at the floor, taking a deep breath and snapping my rubber bands several times in quick succession.
Okay, I really need to work on not zoning out like that and-daydreaming weird shit. I mean, Harry siccing a Boa Constrictor on Dudley? Sure.
But, then again, the Lydia incident...
"See? Harry Potter, not a wizard-you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."
Hagrid looked proud, but that just made my stomach sink further.
"Haven't I told you he's not going?"
Oh, not this again-haven't they left yet? I almost groaned.
"He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it," Vernon continued to hiss. "I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish-spell books and wands and-"
"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," Hagrid all but growled. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he and Jewel were born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-"
"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!"
So, apparently, Vernon's stupid and suicidal.
Swiftly grabbing his umbrella, the furious gamekeeper spun it over his head before yanking it down to point at Dudley who, unlike his idiot of a father, hadn't said a word since Hagrid and I'd arrived.
"NEVER-INSULT-ALBUS-DUMBLEDORE-IN-FRONT-OF-ME!"
With a blinding flash of violet, and a small whizzing explosion and a squeal, Dudley was left jumping up and down, clutching his ass and howling like a tone-deaf wolf.
Vernon yelled and, my eyes falling on the curly pink tail poking out of Dudley's pants, my jaw dropped.
Holy-
Without another word, Vernon yanked his wife and howling son into the other room.
The door slammed shut.
"Shouldn'ta lost me temper but it didn't work anyway," Hagrid mused. "Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."
Abruptly, I cracked up laughing.
"You-Dudley-pig!-Hagrid, you're amazing!"
Hagrid grinned at me sheepishly before suddenly being overtaken by nervousness.
"Be grateful if yeh's didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts. I'm-er-not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff, pick up Jewel an' all-one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take the job."
"No worries over here, mate," I assured him with a snigger, taking a deep breath as I struggled to get a hold of myself.
"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" Harry wondered.
I looked up at that, suddenly concerned that the towering wizard that flew me to this ridiculous excuse of a building is a mad escaped criminal or something who locked the real Hagrid in a closet and stole his identity-I mean, how would Harry and I know?
-But, then again, that might be the exhaustion talking.
"Oh, well-I was at Hogwarts meself but I-er-got expelled-" damn, "ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year-" even better. "They snapped me wand in half an' everything." I looked pointedly at the pink umbrella hearing that and Hagrid grinned at me slightly, "But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."
I wondered briefly if I should confiscate the pink umbrella.
Eh, it's probably fine.
"Why were you expelled?" Harry questioned.
Looking at Hagrid, I felt a sudden echo of pain and discomfort press down on my chest.
"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," he said evasively, raising his voice, and I rubbed my chest, confused by the strange feelings that hit me at Harry's question. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."
Hagrid shrugged off his overcoat.
"You and Jewel can kip under that," he said as he tossed it to Harry. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."
"You've got mice in there too?" I blurted in disbelief. "You know what," I added quickly, hands raised in silent surrender, "I don't wanna know."
Shaking my head, I slid off the sofa and made my way over to Harry-only to stop short when the pure awkwardness of the situation occurred to me.
"Do you want to-uh-?" he held up the coat uncertainly.
"Head to toe?" I suggested.
"Right, sure," Harry hastily agreed, letting out a whoosh of air.
Kicking off my flats, I knelt down on the floor and slid beneath the thick coat, getting comfortable.
"This is weird, right?" I remarked to Harry after a few minutes.
"A little bit," he admitted.
"Do you think it'll be less weird in the morning?" I wondered quietly, a hint of insecurity creeping into my voice.
"...I hope so," Harry whispered so softly that I almost didn't hear him.
"Goodnight, Harry," I mumbled.
"Goodnight, Jewel," he breathed.