Credits: All the references to Harry Potter, the world
of Hogwarts and the magical community are J.K. Rowling's. All the rest
are mine.
Author's note: Hey guys, thank you soo much for the reviews, and also for not making me feel bad about the, um little "mix up". Geez, I still can't get over that. Anyway, review this and read! Or read and then review. Just- just read and stay tuned for more!
Chapter 2
The Dursleys sat silently in the living room, lips pursed
and, in Dudley's case, hands clutched over both bottom and mouth. It was
the scene much like last year, when the Weasleys had come to pick Harry up by
Floo Powder. Of course, the Dursleys had boarded up their normal
fireplace and were using an electrical fire. The repairman who came to
fix it over Halloween had said that it would be easier to just convert it back
to a normal fireplace, but Uncle Vernon had refused. Perhaps he feared
another letter avalanche that Harry had been forced to recieve for his
first year, since his relatives were against him learning magic, and tried to
stop him from getting the Hogwarts invitation letter to the school.
This year, though, there were no letters, and they were all
waiting for the Weasleys to pick Harry up. Nervously, Uncle Vernon got
up, took a peek from the window, and said in a low snarl that meant he had not
yet lost his temper, "When and if they come, boy, they'll have no
intervention with my family!"
Harry made no response, and just stared out the window in
deep thought. He was thinking about his dreams the past months, and the
most recent ones which included the girl. It would have made sense if
he'd dreamed of someone he knew, like Cho Chang, or Fleur Delacour, but this girl
was a stranger to him. He tried to get her out of his mind, and prayed that the
Weasleys would come quickly. Maybe they'd cause the distraction he
needed. At least he was going to school, where there were no Dursleys and
no more Dudley, at least for the year. Harry, cheered up slightly by
this, heard a sudden knock at the door and could hear muffled talking.
Uncle Vernon hurried into the kitchen, followed by Aunt
Petunia and Dudley, who was wimpering, no doubt about what would happen if one
of the Weasleys caught sight of him. Harry sighed, got up and opened the
door. Standing there was one of the best sights in the world; Mr. Weasley
standing on the step and Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred, and George's
faces stuck out the window of their new car. Harry beamed so widely he
was sure his face was splitting in half from relief.
Then he remembered the Dursleys. He hastily
grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's empty cage (she was still out, hunting), and
with a little help from the twins, lugged it into the trunk of their new Muggle
car, a Montana van. Harry noticed there were no "magical expansions"
on this one. Mrs. Weasley must have persuaded her husband not to tinker
with it. But, looking at Mr. Weasleys haggard face, he sympathized and
realized it was probably from overworking.
"Fred and George Weasley! Don't you dare go in
there! The poor boy's got enough to worry about than another Ton-Tongue
Toffee! And don't leave any trick wands, do you hear?" Mrs.
Weasley's voice sounded sharp, and Harry looked at the twins, who were grinning
innocently and inching slowly toward the open door.
"No wands? Well, we can manage, we'll just leave a new
Snapper-" George began but was cut off by his mother.
"I said nothing! And I don't want to hear
about any new Snapper-Pops and Jumping Dust Bunnies! Get into the car,
all of you! Oh, and hello, Harry, nice to see you," she continued in
a softer tone of voice.
Harry smiled back at her, then turned to Ron and Hermione,
who were settling into their seats. "What are Snapper-Pops and
Jumping Dust Bunnies?"
They both grinned, and Harry noted their appearances.
Ron's face was less frecklier than usual, and Hermione's front teeth were much
reduced, a relic from last year, but other than that, they looked the same as
Harry remembered them.
"Well, they got their joke shop up, it's in Hogsmeade
and they've invented loads of new stuff, really cool, and they've been bringing
home samples to try out on us. Percy was home one time and they put a
Dust Bunny under his bed and kept him awake all night long-" said Ron,
beginning to laugh. Hermione looked disapproving.
"Ron, they didn't keep him up all night, did
they?"
"Yes, Ron, they didn't keep him up all- ow!"
Harry's imitation was cut short by a pelting of tissues from Hermione.
One of them hit Ron. Fred and Ginny looked back to see the commotion, and
were soon in the midst of an all-out tissue and paper fight, which went on till
Mr. Weasley nearly rammed into a telephone pole because he couldn't see out the
window.
* * *
Nirry hung up the phone, shaking hard. The phone
line had been dead, and now she would have to walk all the way back and observe
the damage to her barn. No one had answered the cell number,
either. She hoped nothing had happened to Mrs. Kisler, the head
instructor, or Tris, the stable hand. Her mind called up the image of the
man's bizarre disappearance, but she shook it away.
She went out of the telephone booth and sighed, rubbing
Cinamonne's (the horse's) head. Poor horse- she would probably have to go back to the barn
with her…
"What should I do?" she asked. Then,
"Duh, start walking, Nirry, aren't you smart today." She started
walking toward the ridge she had left Cinamonne to graze on.
"Let me see here... and that's gotta be the Muggle
contraption Dumbledore was talkin' about." A man's delighted growl
of a voice reached her ears, and she saw a gigantic shadow splayed across the
sidewalk. Nirry turned, curious. A second later, she had her mouth wide
open. A large, huge, gigantic man stood there, his beetle-black eyes
staring at her, his mouth curled into a smile, and his tangled, rough beard
mingling with the nest of hair on his head.
"Yer don't happen to know a person named , ah, Nirry,
do yer, ma'am?" the giant asked her. Nirry felt her eyebrows go
up. Whoever this man was, he was looking for her. She didn't know
anyone else by the name of Nirry in this neighborhood. Uncertainly, she
opened her mouth.
"Um, um, well, that's me," she said, wondering if
that was the right thing to do. The man grinned so hugely she thought for
a second his lips would split apart.
"Nirry! So yer Nirry! I've come to deliver
a message to you, here it is..." he reached into his overcoat,
which was at least three times as large as Nirry, and withdrew a folded piece
of paper.
Dear Ms. Rennee Grath
I am very pleased to inform you
that you have been accepted at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. We are sorry to inconvenience you, but we were busy at the time
and somehow could not get your letter delivered to you at the normal age of
11. We hope you have learned the necessary requirements for a year 5
student, and trust you'll get to Hogwarts by train at King's Cross this year no
later than August 5. All your books and school materials have been
purchased for you in advance, but we advice you to buy a wand, cauldron, and
pet in Diagon Alley, along with various amulets you will need for the upcoming
year which has an added danger.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry
Nirry's mind had filled with a blank sort of
buzzing. She stared dumbfounded at the man, who had been watching her
read her letter.
"Is this a joke?" she asked uncertainly.
The giant shook his head. "We'd best get yer ter
Diagon Alley, I'll explain things best's I can on the way." The
giant gave a furtive glance to the right, where the suns' first rays of light
were just coming up from the horizon, and took out a bag with a greenish
powdery substace in it. "Let's get ter a fireplace, Nirry. Got
ter get yer stuff in Diagon Alley. Maybe we'd even get ter meet some
friends before yer get ter Hogwarts. Know just the ones, too."
Nirry stood, trying to grasp this all, the letter, the
giant, and everything… what in the world was Hogwarts? If she was going
to this Diagon Alley thing, what would happen to the barn? And Cinamonne?
"Um, sorry, but what's you're name? and what's going on?"
The giant was already walking to the old deserted inn, where
there where rooms being renovated. Nirry stumbled, trying to keep up.
"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that, haven't had to do this in
years, not since Harry... anyway, my name's Hagrid, gamekeeper and Care of
Magical Creatures at Hogwarts. Now, we've got ter hurry, if we want to get to
the school by tomorrow. Just foller me."
Nirry
followed Hagrid, a million thoughts whirling in her head.