They spent the rest of the day doing chores and thinking about the letter, but neither came any closer to figuring out how to obtain a magic owl or send a reply.

"Maybe it stands for something else?" Rose offered, but they couldn't think of anything post related that it could possibly stand for.

The next day, the Potter siblings enjoyed a quiet morning as Petunia had taken Dudley to shop for new socks, and Vernon had gone to work. Petunia, of course, had left a large list of household chores for Rose to complete while she was gone, and Vernon had given Harry his usual tasks. They'd been graciously allowed to make cold sandwiches for themselves for breakfast, so they enjoyed that before parting ways to slave away at their respective chores.

Harry had spent a good half hour pounding loose nails back into the fence and had just started in on trimming the hedges when a soft noise caught his attention.

"Hoo!"

To his bewilderment, sitting there on the fence post was a large, brown owl. It seemed to be staring at Harry, almost expectantly. He felt his heart start to beat faster with excitement.

"Um, hello there," he stammered. The owl didn't respond, and he felt silly for talking to a bird as if it could understand him, but he carried on.

"Are you a… magic owl, by chance?"

The owl continued to stare at him, blinking slowly. It glanced down at his pocket, and hooted softly.

"Oh, right!" Harry exclaimed, dropping the trimmers and standing up abruptly. The owl didn't move. "Right, okay, um, stay there please! I'll be back in just a moment," he said, and then rushed back into the house.

He ran past Rose, who was dusting the curtains and shouted after him. Harry ignored her, wanting to get to his Hogwarts letter before the owl could fly away. He flung open the cupboard door and leaned over the bed to reach the loose board, and pulled the letter out. He grabbed the first page, and went to look for something to write with.

Rose watched him frantically opening the drawers in Vernon's desk. "Harry, what are you doing?"

"Aha!" He exclaimed, holding a pen up in triumph. He turned over the letter and began to write on the back.

"Harry -"

"An owl, Rose!" He grinned, capping the pen as he finished. "There's one in the garden! I'm going to try and get it to take my acceptance reply, look," he flashed the reply he'd written on the back of the page.

Rose was shocked. "Wait, really?"

Harry nodded, and grabbed her hand. "Yes, really. Quick, let's go see if it's still there!"

The two of them rushed back out to the garden, the letter folded in Harry's grasp. The owl was miraculously still there, and trilled as Harry and Rose approached.

"Here, I have a letter to send, if you don't mind," Harry asked, offering the folded paper to the owl. It looked at it curiously a moment, then took it gently in its beak. Rose squeaked with delight.

"Take it to Hogwarts!" She said eagerly.

"Yes, if you're able to, would you bring this to Hogwarts school, please? I don't actually know where that is," Harry admitted, "But, uh, maybe that doesn't matter if you're actually a magic owl?"

It looked at him and blinked long and slow. It gave off a hoot, then took off flying with the letter still in its beak. Harry and Rose stepped back in surprise.

"Whoa," Harry said.

Rose watched as the owl flew off over the rooftops of the other houses, until it couldn't be seen anymore. "I hope it works," she whispered.

"Me too," said Harry.

Not long after, Petunia returned home with Dudley. Unfortunately, Harry had forgotten to wipe his trainers off before he'd run into the house, and Petunia had walked in to mud tracked all over the floor. She went off on him, and Rose too for not finishing all the chores she'd been left. By the time she was done screaming at them, Vernon got home and joined in as well.

By the time they were finally thrown into their cupboard and locked in for the night, they were exhausted, but despite the terrible evening they still felt a sense of hope for the future.

The rest of the week passed relatively uneventfully. Dudley and his gang played 'Harry Hunting' almost every day. Rose burned her arm on the stove after aunt Petunia told her to hurry and clean the burner despite it still being hot from the meal she'd just cooked.

Harry hadn't been happy about that.

He'd almost done magic on accident, but he managed to control it enough that the only thing that happened was a glass breaking. Petunia hadn't noticed, so Harry had it cleaned up and thrown away before she could get a chance to.

Every day, he checked the garden, waiting for something - anything - to indicate that the owl had gotten his letter to the right place. He held out with a sliver of hope that it would work, that the magic school would be real, and that he and Rose could have a chance at a better future.

July 30th 1991

"Don't forget your new hat, Duddykins!"

"I don't WANT to wear it!" Dudley screeched, as Petunia attempted futilely to place the hat on his head.

"There now, son." Vernon walked over and patted Dudley on the back. "You don't have to wear that silly thing at the exhibit."

"You'd look so dashing, though..." Petunia cooed.

Petunia and Vernon were taking Dudley to spend the day at the zoo, as some sort of belated birthday present, seeing as he hadn't been satisfied with the 36 other presents he'd received.

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the tantrum he'd pulled. Harry and Rose never got presents. But, if they'd complained, they'd have been smacked upside the head and locked in the cupboard without food as punishment for being 'ungrateful'.

It used to bother him more, but Harry had grown accustomed to it.

Birthdays and holidays didn't mean much to either of the Potter siblings. They'd never been allowed to actually celebrate any holidays, and their birthdays were always ignored entirely. If it weren't for the extravagant displays their Aunt and Uncle put on for Dudley, they might never even know what they were missing. As it was, it was better to simply accept that they weren't good enough for gifts or parties, and leave it at that.

Harry got to work, having been set to task oiling all the hinges on every door in the house before they returned. Rose was to scrub the floors. They weren't allowed to go outside, in case someone might see them and question why they were left home alone.

"Rose!" Vernon barked. "Bring me my jacket!"

"Yes, sir."

Rose scampered off, returning with Vernon's massive jacket in tow. She gently handed it to him. He took it and began putting it on. Rose lingered, fidgeting. "Um, sir..." she began, nervously.

Vernon turned to her, surprised. "Hm? What is it? I don't have time to idle!"

Harry's head whipped up from across the room. Rose took a deep breath. "Um, it's just... I was wondering if maybe... if Harry and I could come too?"

All three Dursleys stopped what they were doing, and the room went silent. Harry held his breath.

"We've… we've never been to the zoo before, so I just thought, maybe..." Rose trailed off into a whisper.

"BAHAHAH!"

Vernon burst out in deep bellows of laughter, while Petunia glared. Dudley's face grew pink and he clenched his giant, pudgy fists.

"NO!" He screamed, "I don't want them to come!"

Petunia quickly moved to comfort her son. "Don't worry Duddykins, of course they're not coming!"

"BAHAHA!" Vernon continued. "Good for a laugh, this one. What a stupid question. Wouldn't want a pair of freaks like you two wandering around a zoo, they might think you escaped one of the exhibits!"

Rose lowered her head and tried to make herself smaller, muttering an apology. Harry grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Don't bother your uncle with such useless requests again! We're going to be late because of you!" Petunia screeched. "Get going on the kitchen floors, you ungrateful brat!"

Petunia huffed, and went back to making kissy faces at her loaf of a son. Rose nodded without looking up, and quietly left the room.

Harry grit his teeth harder, trying to refrain from doing anything stupid. Of course Rose should have known better than to ask, but really? Did their guardians have to be so horrible? He knew that if it had just been him, he'd have been able to handle the horrible way they were treated. He could even understand it. His magic, his freakishness, was volatile and unpredictable. At least they had that reason to hate him.

But Rose was different. She was far too kind, far too caring and good to be treated like that. She didn't deserve it. She wasn't a freak. For the Dursleys to walk all over her, to try to crush her will, her heart, her soul…

Harry hated it. He hated them.

Harry kept his fists clenched and avoided looking at anyone while the Dursleys finished up and walked out the door. As soon as he heard Vernon's car rolling out of the driveway, Harry ran to the kitchen.

Rose had already started scrubbing, hands and knees on the kitchen tile. She refused to look up as her brother entered the room.

"Don't Harry," she pleaded. "It's my fault. I knew it was dumb to ask, really, I just… I don't know. I heard Dudley talking about the different animals, about how boring it was going to be, but I thought it sounded neat, and maybe… maybe there was a chance-"

Harry shook his head. "No, Rose, you don't get it! It's not your fault, it's theirs. They're tossers and you know it. You didn't do anything wrong."

Rose's scrubbing stopped. She swiped at her face with her sleeve.

"He doesn't even care about the zoo," she sniffed. "He only wants to go because he gets to take Piers and his other friends and it makes him look cool. I don't even know why anyone would want to be friends with him."

Harry gave her an odd look. "He's been bothering you again?" He asked. She tried to turn away, but he caught her shoulder gently. "Rose…"

She glanced up at him, worrying at her lip, eyes red. "I mean, I'm the one that started it, Harry, so-"

Harry's brow furrowed and his eyes lit with a flash of anger. "What did he do?"

"Nothing, Harry, honest! Look, I wanted to get you something for your birthday tomorrow, so I asked Dudley for one of his candies."

"What?"

"I told him I'd pay him back, but he didn't believe me."

"Rose!" Harry exclaimed. "I don't need presents! You know I don't care about my birthday. Wait, please, please tell me you didn't show him our coin stash?"

Rose pulled out of her brother's grip and sat up onto her knees. "Of course not! I'm not an idiot. I was going to take a couple of the pennies if he said yes and say I found them on the ground outside."

"But he didn't want that," Harry said, his voice low and almost a growl.

"No, he didn't. And I wasn't about to do what he did want, so-"

"What did he want?" Harry demanded.

"I said don't worry, Harry. It's fine. Just leave it, please."

Harry stood up fast, fists clenched so tight his nails were cutting into his palms. "No, Rose, it's not fine! That manky git, utter disgrace of a human being…"

It wasn't the first time Dudley had overstepped a boundary with Rose. He'd tried something similar, right before the summer holiday as well. Petunia had lightly admonished him, but not out of concern for her niece. No, she only cared that her little Duddykins didn't go getting himself into any trouble while away at Smeltings.

Harry felt something inside of him churn.

"Harry, please!" Rose pleaded, but he didn't hear her.

He bit down as hard as he could. The magic inside him was bubbling now, rising up, expanding. He barely registered his sister tugging his arm as he tried to push down the anger. He needed to regain control. The magic was too close to the surface, too strong, if he didn't calm down…

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Harry and Rose turned to it, startled, and then –

CRASH!

Behind them, all the cleaned dishes that had been neatly stacked on the counter exploded, landing in shattered bits all over the floor. Rose gasped.

"No… No! They're going to kill us!"

Just then, to make matters worse, the front door hinges squeaked, and someone stepped into the house. "Hello? Ya alright in there?" A booming voice called out, and Harry and Rose exchanged frantic glances as thunderous footsteps began to make their way towards the kitchen.

Harry quickly pulled his sister close, but before they could do anything more, they were met with the sight of a huge, lumbering, bearded man in the doorway.

The giant man looked at them and chuckled. "My apologies! Must'a startled yeh real good." He nodded towards the shattered remains of the plates. "Now there's some accidental magic if I e'er saw any. Which one of you was it, now?"

Harry looked up at the man, speechless. The giant stepped into the kitchen, so tall he had to bend over slightly to not hit his head on the ceiling.

"Well, can't be havin' a mess like that lyin' around now, can we?" He asked. Harry and Rose watched in confusion and awe as he pulled a battered, pink umbrella from his coat, and brandished it like a sword at the mess on the floor. "Not to worry, le's see here…" He suddenly brought the umbrella down in a swish.

A bright light came from the tip, followed by a CRACK, and the broken shards of the plates began to pick themselves up and knit themselves back together on the counter.

"Aha!" The giant exclaimed with a proud smile. "A simple mendin' spell ain't no problem then, see? Jus' don' go tellin' anybody about this, if ya will. Not really supposed ter be doin' magic, though the Headmaster did say ter use my own discretion…"

The man grabbed one of the newly fixed plates, turning it over in his large, roughened hands to inspect. "Not too bad. A few crack o'course, nothin' that ain't still usable."

Harry and Rose didn't realize that they had let go of each other and started to drift mindlessly towards the man out of sheer curiosity. Putting the plate back and wiping his hand on his coat, he turned to back them.

"Right then, back ter business," he muttered. "Well, here's the lad 'imself! Harry Potter!"

Harry stiffened as the giant reached out for him and ruffled his already-messy hair.

"An' o'course that'll be little Rose nex' ta yeh." The giant said, turning to Rose. "Haven' seen you two since you were babies!"

Rose looked up to the man in awe. "Um, do we know you, sir?" she asked.

"Eh, don' expect yeh ter remember, it's been so long." He replied. "Couldn't mistake yeh, though. Look jus' like yer parents, yeh do."

"Our parents?" Harry asked.

The giant nodded. "Yep. I knew yer mum an' dad, watched them grow up all through their own school years at Hogwarts. Tha's where I work, see. The name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

"The magic school?"

"'Course. Though yeh'll know all about it already."

Rose and harry exchanged a look.

"Uh, I'm not sure we know everything, mister Hagrid, sir-" Rose began.

He waved her off. "Jus' Hagrid is fine. Tha's what e'eryone calls me."

"Of course, sir – um, Hagrid…" She stammered. "It's just that, well, I'm not sure we know very much about Hogwarts at all, really. Or, well, I guess what I mean is, we really don't know anything about it."

Hagrid looked at them, confused.

"We only know what the letter said," Harry added. "That's the first time either of us has ever heard of Hogwarts."

"WHAT?"

Hagrid's voice bellowed through the house. He looked ready to explode, then huffed. "Well. I suppose yer do live with muggles, after all. But still! Not tellin' yeh anythin' 'bout Hogwarts, of all places?"

"So, witches and wizards are real, then?" Rose asked quietly.

"O'course they are! An' yer a witch too, Rose, an' yer a wizard, Harry!" Hagrid sighed. "Right, well, we'll have plenty o' time fer talkin' today. Wasn' expectin' it ta be like this, but no matter."

Harry and Rose shuffled aside as Hagrid moved past them, sticking his head out of the room and looking around.

"Yer aunt an' uncle home?" He asked, stroking his beard.

Harry shook his head, while Rose looked away, fidgeting.

"Hm. Well, yer think they'd mind if I took yeh now? Got a bit of a schedule ter keep today."

"Take us where?" Harry asked, confused.

"To Diagon Alley, o'course! Headmaster Dumbledore sent me to take yeh shoppin' fer yer school supplies."

Neither Harry nor Rose had any idea what Diagon Alley was. Harry did need school supplies, however, seeing as it was becoming clear awfully fast that Hogwarts was in fact a real place, and Harry was, indeed, a wizard.

"Could leave yer relatives a note or somethin', so they don' get worried." Hagrid continued. "Or we could wait a tad bit fer them-"

Harry spoke up quickly. "Um, no, a note should be fine… I'll go write one real quick."

Rose glanced at him as he went to find paper and a pen. They knew they were thinking the same thing - what would they write?

They couldn't just tell the Dursleys that a magic man had come to take Harry shopping for school supplies so he could go to a magical school. Or… maybe they could? They had just watched Hagrid perform magic, real magic, right before their eyes. If he was there to break the news when they got home, then maybe, just maybe, the Dursleys would have to agree to the whole thing and let Harry go.

Or, at least they might be afraid enough not to stop him.

Harry twirled the pen in his fingers, thinking. They'd have to find out eventually, and the start of term was rapidly approaching. It was probably as good a time as ever to bring it up.

Resolving himself, he wrote a short, simple note, and went back to Hagrid.

"All set, Harry?"

"Yes, sir."

Rose looked at her brother, and he handed her the note.

"Are you sure…?" She asked. Harry nodded, and smiled.

Hagrid clapped his giant hands together, making the both of them jump. "Right, then. Better get goin'."

He started towards the door, and Harry made to follow. Suddenly, Rose jumped forward and latched tightly on to Harry's arm.

"Wait! M-mister Hagrid, please, could I come too?"

Harry looked to her, confused. "Of course you're coming, I wouldn't leave without you, Rose. She can come, can't she, Mister Hagrid?"

"Hm?" Hagrid turned to them, hand on the front doorknob. "O'course yeh can! Wasn't gonna leave yeh here by yerself. Now c'mon!"

Rose and Harry grinned at each other, and hurried after Hagrid.