"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." – Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear
Harry was woken up by hammering against the door. Time to make breakfast. Harry groaned and sat up. Another loud knock echoed through the house. However, it wasn't his cupboard's door, which shook under its force, but the front door. Uncle Vernon came rushing down the stairs, loudly complaining about the early disturbance. Harry heard his uncle unlocking and opening the front door, still cursing and shouting, before he abruptly fell silent. Harry strained his ears.
"Mornin'", said a man's gruff voice. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid. I'm here ter take Harry ter Diagon Alley. Yeh know, buyin' his school stuff an' all that."
Uncle Vernon didn't make a sound, but Harry recognised the tension in the air. The calm before the storm. His uncle was building up a head of steam.
"You're one of them", shouted Uncle Vernon in panic. "Get lost! We don't want anything to do with your kind." He struggled to close the door.
"I really don' have time fer this", said the man, annoyed. He ignored Uncle Vernon's protest and forced his way into the house. There were heavy footsteps in the hallway, the floorboards creaked alarmingly.
"Get out of my house!", raged his uncle. "You're trespassing. Get out, or I'll call the police."
"Shut up and listen, Dursley!", said Mr Hagrid angrily. "Harry wrote to Professor McGonagall, asking fer help. That's why I'm here. So, get Harry and tell 'im I'm here!"
"The boy...asked for help?", growled his uncle quietly – too quietly. "He wrote to you?", he hissed menacingly. Crivens! This is bad. Really bad.
"Sure, he did", answered Mr Hagrid, sounding a little confused. "Very polite, that boy. Didn' seem ter know much abou' our world", he continued warily.
"Stop!", barked Uncle Vernon. "You won't tell the boy anything. You will leave this house and tell the rest of your kind that the boy isn't going." Harry startled when Uncle Vernon's fist banged against the cupboard's door. "And you, boy", he hissed. "Just wait until I'm finished here. How dare you consort with – wait, what are you –"
There was movement outside his cupboard. Uncle Vernon was roughly shoved out of the way. Rubeus Hagrid yanked the cupboard's door open, completely ignoring the bolt. He was a giant of a man, hardly fitting into the narrow hallway. A long mane of shaggy, black hair and a massive, wild beard covered most of his face. The man looked rather intimidating. However, as soon as he spotted Harry, his expression softened, his beard twitched and his black eyes were twinkling with a smile. Harry relaxed and extended his hand.
"Good morning, sir. I'm Harry Potter", he introduced himself. "Thank you for coming."
The giant didn't react. He was busy looking around the insides of Harry's cupboard. He could feel the magic crackle in the air. The man was getting angry. However, his anger wasn't directed at Harry.
"Dursley!", roared Mr Hagrid, getting in Uncle Vernon's face. "Why is Harry locked inside a cupboard?"
Harry cautiously peeked outside. Uncle Vernon had lost his courage and backed away from the giant.
"Don' tell me this is his room!", thundered the man. His uncle made a whimpering sound, but didn't respond. However, Aunt Petunia answered for him. Harry had not noticed her coming down the stairs.
"We had to put him somewhere", she said sharply. "We never wanted him to begin with. You people can't expect us to bend over backwards in regards to the boy."
"Yeh locked 'im inter a cupboard. Yer own blood. Lily's and James's son", he yelled at his relatives, threatening them with a pink umbrella.
His relatives trembled with fear, trying to disappear into thin air to avoid Rubeus Hagrid's burning gaze. The giant himself was trying hard not to lose his temper. He took several deep breaths to calm down before turning to Harry.
"Get ready, Harry", he said gently. "Let's get outta here before something happens. We have a busy day ahead o' us."
"NO, NO, NO", exploded Uncle Vernon. "The boy stays. He is weird enough already. I won't allow him to go to that school of yours and become even weirder. I won't risk him blowing up my family. His no good parents managed to do it after all."
"How dare yeh?", thundered Mr Hagrid. "Lily an' James Potter were good people. Far better 'n yeh lot. They fought bravely an' died as heroes."
"That's what they got for getting mixed up with these freaks. ", sneered Uncle Vernon, pointing at Mr Hagrid. "Always knew they would end up like that. If you ask me, the world is better off without them. They were just as strange, just as abnormal –"
"I've had enough. I'm warning yeh, Dursley. One more word...", threatened Mr Hagrid, the tip of his pink umbrella dangerously close to Uncle Vernon's chest. "How dare yeh talk abou' the Potters in this way?"
Harry's uncle was fuming, but he remained silent, glaring at the giant.
"Harry is goin' ter Hogwarts. There's nothing yeh can do abou' it. His name's been down ever since he was born. Lily an' James would have wanted it. He'll study magic at the finest school o' witchcraft an' wizardry in the world. Under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts's ever seen: Albus Dumbledore."
"THE BOY IS NOT GOING", raged Uncle Vernon, in another futile attempt to get his way. "You made him our responsibility. So tell this crackpot old fool that the boy isn't coming."
Uncle Vernon had never known when to stop. His last remark had pushed Mr Hagrid over the edge.
"NEVER –", he thundered, " – INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME."
The pink umbrella slashed through the air. There was a flash of violet light and a bang, followed by a grunt. One moment later Harry saw a pig tail sprouting from his uncle's tailbone. Best birthday ever!