Chapter 4: The Keeper of the Keys
Hermione skimmed the next chapter before handing it over. She seemed to think it over and took a deep breath.
"Harry. Before you read…"
"I think I know what this chapter is Hermione" Harry told her.
"Just…I think you should read, as Fred and George put it, 'properly'. Yell loud at the right parts and stuff." Hermione said.
"There a reason?" Harry asked.
"Just trust me." Hermione said.
"Fine" Harry said taking the book. He looked at the title and smiled hoping he could do Hagrid proud. He figured he'd leave a bit of a suspicion and tell them the chapter title later.
Sirius and Ron, not to mention everyone else in the room, jumped at how loud Harry had done it.
"THAT'S more like it" the twins said.
"HE BROUGHT A RIFLE!?" Hermione exclaimed.
"What's a rifle?" Molly asked.
"Let's just say if used properly, it's a more painful form of the killing curse for muggles" Hermione said.
Molly went white.
Harry held the book away from his worried godfather who was trying to get a sneak peek.
Sirius relaxed. It was only Hagrid.
"Only Hagrid" Dumbledore chuckled fondly.
"This is weird, reading about myself in third person" Harry said before continuing.
"The first time I ever heard that." Harry sighed fondly though now he was getting tired of it. He went back to reading.
"GO HAGRID!" the Weasley boys and girl chorused.
"That was sweet of him" Molly mused.
"Even if it IS Hagrid's cooking" Charlie muttered to Bill.
"Harry!" Hermione scolded.
McGonagall rolled her eyes as did Sprout.
"The remains of his wand are in his umbrella, aren't they?" Flitwick asked Dumbledore.
"I am not at liberty to say" Dumbledore said, blue eyes twinkling.
"Thank you! SOMEONE gets it!" Ginny sighed.
"Hagrid's not going to like this" Remus whispered to Sirius who nodded.
"Of course not!" the twins chorused.
"But you don't know the important stuff" Ron said. "Like Chocolate Frogs and Quidditch."
Hermione whacked Ron for that.
"Like you can stop Hagrid from doing anything" Charlie snorted.
"Prima donna" Snape muttered under his breath.
"Dun, Dun, Dun, DUUUNNNN!" the twins chorused the first few notes of Beethoven's fifth.
"That's what I said" Hermione said.
McGonagall nodded in confirmation having been the one to inform the girl.
"All those questions and you ask that?" Sirius asked.
"It was the last thing I read" Harry said. "And considering it was that date, it seemed necessary."
"That poor bird" Charlie sighed.
Harry read this next sentence with the same tone he had used that fateful night as the rage towards them came back. The listeners looked at each other catching the rage in his voice.
Harry froze unable to repeat his aunt's insults about his own mother.
"Potter?" Snape asked.
"I'm okay." Harry said taking a deep breath and mentally told himself that it wasn't his mother though it was.
Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder realizing it was probably hard for the boy to insult his late mother like this, even if he wasn't the original speaker. Especially since she had given her life for him.
Harry was completely unaware he was as white as he had been in the book as he once again read with the same rage he had felt that night.
Everyone else in the room jumped as Harry's imitation of Hagrid had been spot on at that point.
"I wonder what would have happened if I had" Harry wondered out loud as he took a deep breath.
"Probably would have thought you were mental" Ron said. "So…no different than what it is now" Ron teased.
Harry threw Ron a playful glare.
"You actually got Hagrid to say it?" Remus gasped. "I'm impressed."
"Of course they wouldn't have joined him!" Sirius exclaimed.
Snape sighed mentally agreeing with Sirius as he recalled how furious Lily had been when she had spotted the Dark Mark on him when she dropped by to introduce her son to him. Lily had made the combination of an angry Ginny, Molly, and Sirius look sane.
The potion master shuddered as he realized that the boy reading was proving more and more to have his mother's temper. Should the boy read or hear something to set him off the way Snape's Mark had set off Lily…if the yelling he had heard the night he got there was an indication, Grimmauld wouldn't be standing as Harry had just been a bit more than miffed at his friends that night. But truly angry…
Snape and Dumbledore exchanged a knowing look with Sirius who gave them a 'he would know if you would tell him' look.
Molly looked at the floor to hide her tears at the mention of her brothers and friends.
"You remembered that?" Sirius asked.
"It's fuzzy and I have to REALLY strain, but yeah" Harry confirmed before continuing decided against telling his godfather that the laugh was a bit more clear now that he heard it recently.
Harry paused at the sound of low growls being emitted from Sirius, Remus, and to his shock, Snape.
"You guys do know that I personally don't share this view right?"
"We're not mad at you Harry. But let me be the first to say that, Albus, I don't care. If I see that man again, he's getting the business end of my wand" Remus said.
"It gets better" Harry promised.
"Wish it stayed that way" Harry sighed miserably before continuing as he ignored the sympathetic looks from 89 percent of the room.
To Snape's shock and everyone else's amusement, Harry groaned and used the open book to whack his head. He made to do it again, but Sirius stopped him.
"If you're going to use this to do head damage, should I read?" Sirius asked.
"No. I got it." Harry said. "I just hate how right he was about that."
Snape frowned. This was going against everything he believed about the boy. Especially since he was nothing but truth in the boy's eyes at that moment which he had instantly recognized from spending all those years with Lily as a best friend.
"Um…before I continue, I would like to point out that Uncle Vernon says something REALLY, really stupid and that this is HIM talking, not me."
"It can't be that bad" Sprout said.
Harry gave his teacher a look before continuing.
Harry noticed that 17 jaws had dropped.
Mental that man" Fred said breaking the silence.
"Insulting Professor Dumbledore in front of Hagrid like that."
Dumbledore sighed having a feeling that this wasn't going to be pretty as the Heads of Houses were gripping their wands.
The room filled with laughter.
"BRILLIANT!" the twins chorused.
"I always knew I liked Hagrid" Ginny said.
"Bloody brilliant" Ron muttered.
"Harry. If you can find that out, my respect for you will DOUBLE" Sirius told him.
Harry and Ron shared a knowing smirk.
"Lovely" Molly sighed "May I read next?"
"Sure" Harry said handing over the book. "By the way, that chapter was titled: The Keeper of the Keys. I didn't say anything because it took away from Hagrid's entrance."
"So how do you feel?" Hermione asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked her.
"The yelling you did." Hermione explained. "Did it change how you feel?"
"Actually…yeah" Harry admitted.
"That's why you…"
"…shouldn't keep it all in" the twins said.
