o0o0o0o

The Giant and The Letter

Of all the unbelievable situations which Harry Potter had found himself in over the years, he was quite sure that his current one had just won an award for the most ridiculous. In a dilapidated old shack on a crumbling rock in the middle of the ocean, a giant of a man had just broken down the door and then politely asked for a cup of tea. If that wasn't enough, the scene the giant had stumbled upon was something directly out of a comedy sketch. A large eleven-year-old boy was currently sprawled across the floor, with his limbs tangled together inside his blanket and his fat face and blond hair caked with dirt. The boy's father, a man who usually carried a very imposing presence, was suddenly dwarfed by the appearance of the stranger and was standing in front of the whimpering form that was his wife, brandishing a rifle at the intruder in what was likely meant to be a threatening manner.

The giant didn't seem at all bothered by the strangeness of the image, nor the fact that he was causing most of that strangeness simply by being there. The man's face was obscured almost completely by long tangles of dark hair, which sprouted from both his face and his scalp, however Harry could still make out a pair of black eyes peeking out from inside. He was at least twice the size of a regular man and nearly four times as wide, so large that his head scraped the ceiling and there were few places he could stand without brushing against at least one of the of the walls with his side. The only way Harry could accurately describe him was that he just looked too big to be allowed, making the already tiny room look even smaller. He was garbed in an enormous brown coat, which fell almost to his ankles and was covered in what Harry initially thought were patches, however a closer look revealed that they were actually pockets.

The man made his way to the middle of the room in one great stride, which caused Dudley to let out a terrified squeak and scramble off towards the stairs where his parents were. The giant ignored him and sat himself down on the couch as if it was an armchair. The couch sagged under the weight and Harry could swear he heard some pieces snap inside it.

The man looked around in confusion for a second and then said, "Well? Isn' anyone goin' to offer me a drink? S' not easy gettin' over here, but I reckon yeh already knew that."

After ten years of fetching and carrying for the Dursleys, Harry instinctively moved towards his bag to find some water, but the man brought up a massive hand to stop him. "No no no, not you Harry," he insisted, "It's yer birthday. We can't have yeh runnin' around after me today."

Harry blinked in surprise and looked into the stranger's face. Despite the man's threatening build, up close Harry could see that his face was warm and friendly behind all that hair. He was finding it harder and harder to be afraid of him. "Do you know me?" asked Harry.

The man threw back his head and let out a loud, booming laugh. "Do- do I know yeh?" he said between laughs, "Well o' course I do. How could I not know you, eh?"

Harry wasn't sure what he had said that was funny, but he didn't have the chance to ask any further questions. It seemed that Uncle Vernon had finally snapped out of his trance and was advancing on the intruder with his gun raised.

"Who are you?" he demanded, "What are you doing in my house?"

The giant glanced over his shoulder at the man and chuckled. "Oh, dry up yeh big prune," he said, "But s' true, I haven' introduced meself yet." He turned back to Harry and stuck out one gigantic hand, "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper o' Keys an' Grounds at Hogwarts."

Harry's stomach did a little flip at the word Hogwarts and he reached out gingerly to shake Hagrid's hand, only to pull back when Uncle Vernon jabbed Hagrid in the back with the barrel of his gun.

"I demand that you leave at once!" he ordered, "This is private property and you are breaking and entering!"

Hagrid rolled his eyes and swung one arm back, pushing the gun upwards with ease.

BANG!

In his panic, Vernon pulled the trigger and blasted a hole in the ceiling. Bits of wood clattered down and bounced off his head. Hagrid grabbed the gun by the barrel and yanked it out of the other man's hands, then proceeded to bend it into a knot and throw it into the corner.

"Now, where was I?" said Hagrid, while Vernon spluttered behind him, "Oh righ'!" He reached into his coat and pulled out a rather squashed box with red ribbon tied around it, which he then passed over to Harry.

"Happy Birthday Harry," he said, "Blimey, las' time I saw you, yeh were only a baby. Could carry yeh with one hand, I could. Look at yeh now, eh."

Harry looked at Hagrid in disbelief. He had no idea how he was supposed to react to a strange man breaking down the door, scaring his uncle, wishing him a happy birthday and giving him what seemed to be a present.

"Well open it then," urged Hagrid.

Harry started and quickly ripped off the ribbons which tied the box together. As he lifted the lid away, he gasped. Inside, there was a large chocolate cake with the words Happy Birthday written in green icing. He looked up and gaped at the giant, who was wringing his wrists and looking very awkward.

"I- uh- I think I mighta sat on it at some point, but I reckon it should still taste alrigh'."

"Th- Thank you," stammered Harry, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Ah, s' nothin' really," said Hagrid, "Now how bout that tea, eh? Don' s'pose yeh've got a kettle lyin' around, do yeh?"

Harry shook his head. "Sorry," he said.

Hagrid waved his hand dismissively, "Don' worry, I've got me own in here somewhere." He reached into his coat again and began removing several objects and arranging them in front of him. There was the copper kettle, but there was also a teapot, several chipped teacups, some teabags, a carton of milk, a poker, and a pack of sausages.

After extracting everything he needed, he knelt by the fireplace and scraped away the remnants of Uncle Vernon's earlier attempts. Harry tried to crane his neck for a better look, but could find no way to see past Hagrid's massive form. Hagrid worked for a minute or two then moved back to reveal a roaring fire in the hearth. It took no more than two seconds for it to bathe the room with flickering light and a welcoming warmth.

Hagrid quickly got back to work and fairly soon Harry was sat with a cup of hot tea, listening to sausages sizzle over the fire. Hagrid slid the first few off the poker and onto one of the paper plates Uncle Vernon had brought with him. He passed them over to Harry, whose nose was immediately filled with the smell of cooked meat. Apparently Dudley could smell them too, he let out a little groan and began to fidget behind his mother. However, Hagrid didn't make any move to offer some to the large boy and neither did Harry, who had already begun stuffing his face with what he was quite certain was the most wonderful thing he had ever tasted.

After Harry had gobbled down every last scrap of the meat in front of him, he returned to looking at the giant called Hagrid, who was just starting on his first sausage.

"Excuse me, Mr Hagrid," said Harry.

Hagrid nearly choked on the piece of sausage in his mouth and looked Harry in surprise. "S- sorry," he said after swallowing properly, "Jus' call me Hagrid will yeh, everyone else does."

Harry nodded then continued, "Well, Hagrid, I was wondering if I could ask you about what you mentioned before, about Hogwarts."

Hagrid smiled at him, "Ah yeah, I'll expect yeh'll have plenty o' questions about that won' yeh? Go on, ask away."

Harry nodded again and wondered where to start. He decided on something simple, "What is it?"

"What's wha'?" asked Hagrid.

"Hogwarts," clarified Harry.

Hagrid looked at him with a puzzled expression, then gave a hesitant smile, "Yer jokin' right? I'm sure yeh know all bout Hogwarts."

Harry shook his head. Hagrid looked shocked and his jaw worked for a moment or two with no words coming out, then his eyes darkened and he rose from his seat to face the Dursleys. If he had been intimidating when he entered, it was nothing compared to know. He seemed to fill even more of the room than he did originally, and the three figures cowered under his enormous shadow.

"D'you mean to say that these- these muggles never even told yeh where yer parents learnt it all?" Hagrid's voice was both angry and shocked.

Harry didn't know what a muggle was, but the way Hagrid said it made it sound insulting. At the moment, he didn't particularly care what the word meant, he was far too interested in what Hagrid had said about his parents. "Learnt what?" he asked.

Hagrid looked between him and the Dursleys, his face now even more angry and confused. "Learnt- learnt what!" he said, looking appalled, "Did they never tell yeh anythin'? About yer parents or who they were? About their world, your world, our world?"

"What world?" asked Harry eagerly, remembering how the Dursleys had referred to his kind. Hagrid gaped at him and glanced around as if lost. "Does this have something to do with all those letters I've been getting?" pressed Harry.

"Does it- does-" he sputtered, "DURSLEY!" Hagrid looked ready to explode as he rounded on the smaller man, who pushed his wife and son further behind him in fear.

"Yeh never told him? Bout who he is? Bout what he is?" his voice then took on a desperate tone as he turned back to Harry, "Yeh mus' know that at least. Tell me they told you what yeh are."

"What am I?" said Harry, quivering with anticipation at finally receiving answers to his questions.

"STOP!" cried Uncle Vernon, finally finding his voice and bravely stepping towards the giant, "I forbid you from telling the boy anything else!"

Hagrid spun around and grabbed Mr Dursley by the front of his night-shirt with both hands, lifting him up and off the ground until they were at eye-level with each other. Petunia and Dudley screamed and Harry took a step back in shock.

"Yeh don' get to boss me 'round Dursley!" he said forcefully, "I'm only tellin' him what you should've told him years ago. I was there, I saw the letter Professor Dumbledore left, I was the one who left little Harry on your bleedin' doorstep!"

"That was you," gasped Harry.

"Yeah, that was me all righ' an' I tell yeh, I wouldn' have dared put yeh down if I knew what this lot were like." Hagrid slowly, but roughly, lowered Vernon to the ground, where he scuttled away back to where his family were stood. Hagrid lumbered over to the coach and sat down again. He ran a hand down his face and turned to Harry, who was watching him with undivided attention.

"Right then," Hagrid said, "Where to start. Well- I s'pose it wouldn' be right fer me to beat 'round the bush any more than that lot already have," he jerked his head over towards the Dursleys, who all flinched, "So I'm just goin' to say it- Harry, yer a wizard."

Silence followed his words, as everyone in the room subconsciously held their breath. Perhaps, somewhere in the deepest parts of their minds, they could sense the true importance of this moment. The only noises which could be heard were the soft crackle of the fire and the whistle of the wind, which caused the house to creak and sway around them. The Dursleys were all staring at Hagrid with a mixture of fear and shock. Hagrid was looking at Harry expectantly, obviously understanding the weight of the three words he had just said. Harry just stared, his mind still trying to catch up with everything that had happened since the giant walked in.

After a few seconds, which felt like hours, Harry finally regained his voice and said, "I- I'm a what?"

"A wizard," repeated Hagrid, smiling, "An' I reckon yeh'll be a thumpin' good'un one day too, after yeh've been trained up a bit, o' course. That's what Hogwarts is for though."

"It is?" asked Harry, bewildered.

"Here," said Hagrid, reaching into his coat and pulling out an envelope, "I reckon this'll explain it all a lot better than I could."

Harry took the letter with shaking fingers and took his time to inspect it. On one side it bore the address, which, once again, was far more accurate than it needed to be.

Mr H Potter

The Floor

The-House-On-The-Rock

The Sea

He flipped it over and stroked the seal. This little piece of wax was all that remained between him and his letter. Then, he did something quite odd.

He hesitated.

After so long franticly trying to find out what this letter contained, now that he finally held it in his hands, with nothing stopping him from ripping it open and finding out exactly what information it held, he felt uneasy. His mind drifted back to a tiny bathroom in a dingy little hotel in Cokeworth, to his Uncle constantly warning him away from these people. His breathing began to quicken and he swallowed, forcing himself back into the present. Without stopping another moment to think, he tore away the lip and reached inside. Just like the one in the forest, there was more than one sheet of parchment. He quickly dug out the same one as before and unfolded it.

This time, he stopped to examine the coat of arms printed at the top of the page first. The Letter 'H' in the centre was black against gold and the shield upon which it sat was much more colourful than he had originally thought. The top-left quarter was red with a golden lion, in the top-right was a silver snake backed by green, the bottom-left was a black badger and a yellow background and in the bottom-right was a bronze eagle against a blue field. Beneath the crest were four words in what looked like Latin.

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.

Moving his eyes down past the motto, Harry began to read the letter proper.

Dear Mr H J Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as of the first account of accidental magic performed at the residence of 4 Privet Drive on 18 September 1984.

You will find enclosed with this letter a list of all necessary books and supplies for the year, as well as your ticket for the Hogwarts Express.

Term will begin with the Sorting Ceremony on 1 September and we await your owl by no later than 31 July.

(Please note that this rule may be overlooked under special circumstances, if the potential student has been raised by non-magical parents/guardians)

Yours sincerely,

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House

Harry read the letter through three times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. A hundred-thousand questions had burst to the forefront of his mind, one after the other. His mind focused on the one part of the letter which had left him reeling the most.

"Accidental magic?" he read aloud.

"Yeh ever notice anythin' strange happen, when you were angry or scared," prompted Hagrid.

Harry looked up at him, "You mean that all those times that I- that I did something without realising. That was magic?"

"Yep," said Hagrid cheerily, "You see, yeh can't learn to be a wizard if yer just any old muggle. Witches an' wizards are born with magic in 'em an' when yer younger s' harder to keep a lid on it all, 'specially when yer brought up by muggles."

Harry felt a little bit odd at the realisation that he had apparently been casting spells all his life without realising. Trying desperately to find something to hold onto as his image of what was real crumbled around him, he asked, "What's a muggle?"

"Oh, er, non-magic folk," said Hagrid, "Like yer Aunt an' her lot over there." He jerked a thumb over to where the Dursleys stood in the corner.

"But- but Hagrid I can't be a wizard," protested Harry weakly, "There's no such thing."

"No such thing?" chuckled Hagrid, "Who told yeh that, eh? The muggles?"

"Well yes," admitted Harry, feeling a bit lost now, "But it's just common sense, there's what's real and what's not. Even I know the difference between-"

He trailed off and his eyes widened as the pieces fell into place inside his head. He turned to the Dursleys. "You knew," he said, "Both of you. You knew that I was different. That I was a- a wizard. That's why you made me watch the news and read all those fact books. That's why you wouldn't let near anything that wasn't real. You didn't want me to figure any of this out."

"Of course we knew," spat Petunia suddenly, "How could we not? Ever since you started with your- freakishness. My sister was just the same when she was your age. Then she met that- that boy and went off to that school of hers. She'd come home every summer spouting all this nonsense about magic. I told her- even then I told her, that she was mixing with the wrong people, with freaks. Then, of course, she goes and gets herself blown up, along with her freak life and her freak husband, just as I always said she would."

"Blown up?" said Harry, who had gone a bit pale, "Y-you told me that my Dad was a drunk, that they died in a car crash."

"CAR CRASH!" thundered Hagrid, "Lily an' James Potter killed by a car crash! An' what's all this rubbish 'bout him bein' a drunk? S' an outrage is what it is, a scandal."

"He may as well have been," responded Vernon, "Taking a young girl from a nice, respectable family and turning her into a freak like him. The most we hoped was that we could cut all ties to them and live as normal people, but you couldn't even let us have even that luxury could you? You had to go and drop that boy on our doorstep and get us wrapped up in the whole bloody thing. I tell you, I don't know about all this magic business, but you lot are dangerous and I don't want you or your war anywhere near my family."

Harry blinked at the speech his Uncle had just spouted. It sounded far too personal for it to just be about his mum and dad. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else his Uncle was hiding. "What war?" he asked.

"Bloody scandal," muttered Hagrid, "I never expected this. Harry Potter not knowin' his own story. I could pick any random wizard off the street an' still be sure tha' they knew all about yeh."

"About me?" said a perplexed Harry, "But, why?"

"S' a long story," said Hagrid, taking a seat again, "An' I reckon I'm not the best person to tell it, but someone has to. S' not fair fer yeh to go any longer without knowin'. Mind you there's not tha' much to know, most of it's still a big mystery, see. Well, I guess it starts with- with You-Know-Who."

"Sorry," Harry apologised again, "No, I don't."

"Ah, o' course yeh don't," said Hagrid, "Blimey, this is harder than I thought. Well, there was this man. A wizard, who went- bad. Very bad. As bad as any other ever went. Worse most likely."

"Who was he?" asked Harry curiously.

"No one really knows," shrugged Hagrid, "S' like he just popped up out the ground one day. Some say he's not even human, but I don't believe that. Anyway, he started to wander across Europe, cursing families, tormenting Muggles. He was like a living ghost story at first, nobody knew what to believe about him. As he got more powerful, people from all over started to hear bout him. Mos' were scared o' course an' righ'ly so, but others thought he had the righ' idea. He got himself followers an' that's when the trouble really started." Hagrid shivered.

"What happened," asked Harry.

"Dark days, Harry. Dark Days," said Hagrid seriously, "Nobody knew who to trust. Didn' dare talk to strangers or even some who yeh already knew. Anyone could've gone dark. Wasn' long before everyone knew his name."

"What is it?" Harry breathed, engrossed by the story.

"Well- well I don't like sayin' it to be honest. No one does."

"Why not?"

"Gulpin' Gargoyles," said Hagrid, "Harry, if yeh'd have grown up with wizards yeh'd never even think to ask tha' question. I s'pose it doesn' really matter much now, but people are still scared."

"Well, could you write it down," suggested Harry.

"Nah, I can' spell it," said Hagrid, "Alright, It's- Vol-" he faltered and took a deep breath, "Voldemort."

Harry was suddenly assaulted by a strange feeling. Something about the name, it's shape and tone, grated against him. He shivered despite himself. Hagrid looked as if something disgusting had been forced down his throat and shuddered in revulsion.

"Don't make me say it again," said Hagrid firmly and Harry nodded in agreement, "So, this- this wizard had gotten himself a powerful followin' now, some rose up against him an' pretty soon people started callin' it a war. That went on for- oh, must've been bout eleven years- till one day, somethin' happened an' this is where it gets really strange."

"What was it?" asked Harry, thinking that the entire story had been strange to him.

"Well, yer mum an' dad were great wizards Harry," said Hagrid delicately, "An', better than tha', they were good 'uns too. They were part o' the group which stood up to You-Know-Who. Nobody knows why he decided to go to yer house, but that's what he did. Showed up on Halloween night, alone fer once. An' yer Mum an' Dad fought. Th-they were great Harry, really they were but- but they didn' stand a chance, he just-"

Hagrid paused to pull out a spotted handkerchief and blow his nose loudly. Harry gulped, he had a feeling he knew what was coming.

"S-sorry- I- I jus'," Hagrid sniffled, "He killed 'em. You-Know-Who killed 'em both. An' then he turns his wand on you, doubt he even hesitated to kill you too, even if yeh were only a baby, but-"

Hagrid looked back up at Harry with watery eyes.

"Somethin' went wrong," he said, "I don' think even Dumbledore knows what happened, but his curse rebounded. He'd killed men, women and children before an' none o' them survived, but you- somethin' bout you did him in. It tore yer house to shreds an' he didn' walk out alive, but you weren' touched. 'Cept o' course for tha' cut on yer head."

Harry raised a hand to the scar on his forehead. His dream flashed through his mind; a flash of green light and a terrible high-pitched scream. The thought made him feel a bit dizzy.

"You didn' think yeh got tha' from a car crash did yeh?" said Hagrid, "That's the kind o' mark yeh get when a really dark curse hits yeh. That's why everyone knows yer name. You were the one who stopped the war, yeh migh' as well be a hero in our world."

Harry was definitely feeling dizzy now. He staggered backwards a bit and planted his back against the wall to stop himself from falling to the floor. He had known for a long time that he was different, but not in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined something like this. He was having serious trouble processing everything that had been dumped on him in the past few minutes.

"Yeh all right?" Hagrid asked with concern.

"M' fine," said Harry weakly, he took a deep breath, "I'm fine."

Hagrid looked at him sadly, "Took yeh from the ruined house meself," he continued, "Kept yeh out o' sight for a bit while Dumbledore sorted some stuff out, then brought yeh straight to this lot." He jerked his head over at the Dursleys.

"You see," said Vernon, "You see what I was saying, boy? These people are dangerous. Oh, you might go off and learn how to turn mice into teacups or some other nonsense, but at some point you'll meet the same sticky end that your parents did."

For the second time that night, Harry found himself struggling not to agree with his Uncle. After all, he had first hand experience with how dangerous magic could be.

"Rubbish," snorted Hagrid, "All right, some wizards go bad an' magic isn' always safe, but I bet my coat that s' no differen' in the muggle world."

Hagrid also made a good point. Harry remembered all the times he's been locked in his cupboard or beaten by Dudley. Muggles weren't all good either, but they didn't have magic. His throat constricted slightly when he thought back again to his own experiments with the power.

Hagrid was looking at him warily. "Oh no," he said, "Oh, Harry yer not listenin' to them are yeh? Believe me, yeh'll love it at Hogwarts, an' the magic..." Hagrid's eyes suddenly lit up, "Magic is incredible. There's jus' no way to describe the firs' time yeh use it. S' like- like yeh've come alive fer the firs' time, like- like- ah, I don' know. I'm no good with words, but trust me on this."

'Trust him?' repeated Harry silently, 'I don't even know him really, but he's told me more about myself in the last ten minutes than the Dursleys have in ten years.'

He looked into the giant's eyes. There was something there, in that gaze, which Harry had never seen before. Pride was easily identified and that made Harry feel a bit lighter, but his teachers had sometimes looked proud and he had learned quite quickly that it didn't mean much in the end. However, there was something else there that took Harry a moment to place; respect. Hagrid looked at him like they were equals. It was strange to meet an adult who didn't look down at him and it made a warmth bubble up in his chest. As strange as it sounded, Harry did find himself trusting this man.

"Well he's not going," snapped Vernon, making Harry jump, "I am not having a- a wizard in my house. We've all had quite enough of this magic business."

"Oh an' I suppose a great big muggle like yerself is goin' to stop him, are yeh?" said Hagrid, "Sit down Dursley, yeh don' get a say in this. If he doesn' want to go, fine. If he does- well if he does, he'll be off to one o' the finest schools o' Witchcraft an' Wizardry in the world. He'll be under one o' the greatest wizards ever to live an' the best headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen."

"I'm not paying to have some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks!" yelled Vernon.

Even before Hagrid moved Harry knew that his uncle had made a mistake. His eyes darkened and he reached into his coat, drawing a flowery pink umbrella like a sword and pointing it at the smaller man's throat.

"NEVER!" he roared, "Never insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me!"

With a wild shout in some strange language, Hagrid swished the umbrella through the air and pointed it straight at Dudley. There was a rushing sound and a flash of violet light, then a bang like a firecracker when it hit the boy. The three Dursleys all let out a scream and Dudley clapped a hand to his bottom, where a curly pig's tail had just sprouted. The fat boy ran upstairs as fast as he could and his mother followed behind him immediately. Uncle Vernon gave one last terrified look at the umbrella, then bolted after his wife and son.

Harry, who had so many times commented on Dudley's resemblance to a pig, burst out laughing at the sight.

Hagrid didn't seem to find the situation as amusing. "Shouldn' have lost me temper," he said, "Didn' work anyway. I meant to turn him into a real pig."

"M-maybe it's because he- he all ready looks too much like one to begin with," laughed Harry.

Hagrid grunted ambiguously, but grinned down at Harry. "So, uh," he said nervously, "Yeh do still wan' to go to Hogwarts don' yeh? I mean, yeh looked like yeh were havin' doubts earlier is all."

Harry finally managed to get control of his laughter and sat down on the now very delicate coach. He was currently feeling very confused about the whole situation. On the one hand, he did trust Hagrid and the idea of training to become a wizard made him quiver with excitement. On the other hand, he still struggled to shake off his memory of the last time he'd tried to use magic.

"Hagrid," said Harry, "You said that all of those odd things that happened to me were me doing magic without realising."

"Yep," said Hagrid, "S' nothin' to worry about though. Like I said, every wizard goes through this when they're a kid. We call it accidental magic. Plenty o' grown witches an' wizards have done it too, when they've los' their tempers or somthin'."

"But- but what if did something that wasn't an accident?" said Harry in a rush, "What if- what if I knew that I was doing something and- and I couldn't control it?"

Hagrid was looking at him strangely. "Y-yeh didn', did yeh Harry?" he asked worriedly, "Harry, tha' was ruddy dangerous. Yeh really shouldn' try somethin' like that 'till yeh've been trained up."

Harry gulped. "So, will it always be like that when I do magic?" he asked.

Hagrid shook his head. "No no," he assured him, "Once yeh've got a wand and yer casting proper spells, yeh won' even feel it. I can' really explain it tha' well, but s' one o' the firs' things yeh'll get taught at Hogwarts."

"So- I'm not- weak am I?" he asked nervously.

"O' course not," said Hagrid, "Blimey Harry, the fact tha' you could even do somethin' like tha' without knowing the firs' thing about magic is ruddy impressive, even if yeh really shouldn' have."

Harry let out a sigh of relief. His biggest fear had been that he would burn himself to a crisp the first time he tried to cast a spell, though he wasn't sure if he was more afraid of the burning part or the embarrassment at being such a terrible wizard.

"I guess I better get myself a wand then," smiled Harry.

Hagrid beamed at him. "Ah, we'll worry 'bout all tha' in the mornin'," he said, "Fer now, you need to get some rest. Here," Hagrid tossed him the enormous coat and Harry nearly collapsed under the weight, "There's a few dormice in the pockets, so it migh' wriggle a bit, but it'll keep yeh warmer than one o' those." He gestured at the ragged blankets in disgust.

Harry thanked Hagrid and curled up under the thick coat, which was so large it covered his whole body. He had expected to stay awake all night thinking about what had happened, but the whole conversation had left him so exhausted that he was asleep almost as soon as he put his head down.