Who Am I
The following morning, Harry woke up to strange surroundings. He had to clear the sleep from his head in order to remember that he was in a pub with a very large man named Hagrid. Harry reached around in search of his glasses, his hand grazing them on the night table next to him. He put them on and looked around properly. It was a lot bigger than his cupboard under the stairs. He looked to the foot of the bed to see his clothes and other few belongings sitting there. He didn't remember bringing them.
"Morning, Harry," Hagrid boomed, making the boy jump.
"Uh…good morning," Harry said, slowly sliding his legs from under the covers.
"Sleep well?" Hagrid asked. Harry nodded in the affirmative and looked at his clothes. Most of them were hand-me-downs from Dudley.
"I don't remember bringing this," Harry mumbled.
"I went back and got it after you went to sleep. Scared that cousin of your something fierce," the half-giant said. Harry laughed a little to himself as the he visualized Hagrid scaring Dudley for a second time in one night.
"Are you hungry?" Hagrid asked.
"Starving actually," the eleven-year-old answered, hearing his stomach rumble loudly.
"Alright. Get yourself some clothes and we'll go down and see what we can find," Hagrid said, leaving Harry to dress. Ten minutes later they were walking down the stairs to the pug area of the establishment. There were a few patrons around, mostly engrossed in newspaper and their food.
"Morning, Tom," Hagrid said to the bar keeper.
"What can I get for you young man?" Tom asked of Harry.
"Eggs, and maybe some sausages," Harry answered.
"You sure that's all?" Tom pressed. Harry thought for a minute. He could have more? He wasn't used to be able to have whatever he pleased.
"Some toast and raspberry jam," he added.
"Coming right up," Tom said and turned around to place the order. Hagrid led Harry over to a table and they sat down. Shortly, a plump woman came out with Harry's food and he dug in heartily.
"This is delicious," Harry said around a mouthful of eggs.
"Those Muggles didn't do right by you, Harry. Horrible people they are," Hagrid griped.
"Muggles?" Harry repeated.
"Non magical folk," he explained.
"So…you said you had to explain a lot of things," Harry said as he bit into his toast.
"Err…not here. Back in the room. It's a bit of a touchy subject you see," Hagrid said, lowering his voice. Harry merely accepted the man's explanation and continued to eat his toast. He wasn't sure but he felt like even though he had just met Hagrid, he could trust him. He was being treated far better than the Dursleys had ever done.
Even after Harry drained his cup of juice and finished the last crumb of toast, they just sat there, looking at all the other people walking in and out of the pub. Finally Hagrid caught Harry's attention and they headed back up to the room.
"Hagrid, the letter said that I have to be to King's Cross Station on the thirty-first. It's only the first now. What am I going to do for the rest of the month?" Harry asked as Hagrid searched for the room key.
"Well, I suppose we can do a bit of sight seeing. Always wanted to see Muggle London," Hagrid said.
"I haven't been to London," Harry said.
"Well then it will be an adventure," Hagrid laughed and finally got the key to open the door.
"Have a seat," Hagrid said after a minute. Harry sat down at the small table and Hagrid squeezed his large form into a chair across from him. He took a couple breaths, trying to figure out the best way to begin the conversation. It wasn't every day you had to tell a child they were famous.
"Have you ever done something, not even meaning to and can't explain how it's happened?" Hagrid finally began. Harry nodded his head.
"My cousin, Dudley's, birthday party this year. We went to the zoo. I was looking a snake….and one minute the glass is there. Then it's gone. I don't know how it happened. The snake got away…and Dudley got trapped in the cage. It was kind of funny, until Uncle Vernon locked me in the cupboard without dinner," Harry explained.
"That's signs of magic right there, that is," Hagrid affirmed.
"You have a lot of strong magic in you, Harry," Hagrid said, lowering his voice even though he didn't have to.
"I…I do?" Harry gulped.
"You…are the Boy Who Lived," Hagrid added. It sounded so ominous that it gave Harry chills despite the summer heat.
"The what?" he asked.
"You know how you got that scar on your head?" the half-giant asked and Harry shook his head in the negative.
"It was given to you by the darkest wizard of the time, He Who Must Not Be Named," Hagrid began.
"He Who Must Not Be Named?" he repeated.
"Went by You Know Who too. And…well…another name I can't say," Hagrid sai.
"Can you write it down?" Harry asked. Hagrid didn't look too pleased at Harry's request but scribbled it down on a spare napkin. Harry picked it up and looked at it.
"Lord Voldemort?" he read.
"Don't go saying that around out loud too much, Harry," Hagrid warned.
"So who was…You Know Who?" Harry inquired.
"Most evil wizard of our time. He…well he was as bad as you can get. Took pleasure in killing people, wizards and muggle alike. Didn't matter to him so long as he was killing," Hagrid said, sounding upset.
"What did he want with me?" Harry asked.
"Not sure really. But all I know is, he went there aiming to kill you and your parents…and somehow you survived," Hagrid explained.
"He…he killed my parents?" Harry stammered. Hagrid hung his head in response.
"But something about you stumped him that night. Because he disappeared that night…soul left his body," Hagrid said.
"Do you…do you think he is dead?" Harry whispered. Hagrid shook his head.
"I have a feeling he's out there somewhere, somehow existing…trying to save himself," Hagrid replied. That sent more shivers down Harry's spine.
"So…what is Hogwarts like?" Harry pressed.
"You're going to learn all kinds of things at Hogwarts. Dumbledore is a great Headmaster," Hagrid boasted.
"You'll love it," he sighed.
"Do you teach?" Harry asked. Hagrid laughed a gut giggling laugh.
"No, no. I'm Games Keeper on the grounds. Got myself a little hut near the forest," Hagrid answered.
"Will I get to see you?" Harry pressed.
"Any time you want. Just come on down and have a visit. I love having visitors for tea," Hagrid said. Harry smiled. This was looking up already. Certainly it was disturbing that he found out he was famous in this other world he didn't even know existed until last night.
"Does…everyone know who I am?" the boy whispered.
"Everyone knows your name, Harry. Even kids your age. They all know you survived the Killing Curse. No one else has been able to do it, before or since," Hagrid explained. He saw that the subject was making Harry uncomfortable.
"Will I make friends? I don't really have any…Muggle friends," Harry admitted, trying out the new word.
"Course you'll have friends," Hagrid said. Harry didn't look too convinced. Hagrid cleared his throat and slammed his hand down on the table a bit harder than intended. The table jumped a few inches in the air and made Harry jump in his seat as well.
"Sorry about that," Hagrid apologized.
"How about we go have a look at London for a bit eh?" he suggested.
"Ok," Harry agreed. He stood up and had to back away from the table while Hagrid stood. He sent the table scraping back a few inches, leaving marks on the floor. He led Harry out of the room and downstairs.
"Have you got any money?" Hagrid asked. Harry shook his head.
"I don't have any," he answered.
'Well we'll make this a free look around then. Come back to the pub for lunch. I'm sure Tom wouldn't mind giving you a free meal," Hagrid said.
"That sounds good…if lunch is anything like breakfast," Harry remarked.
Hagrid knew a lot was going to change for Harry once he fully arrived in the Wizarding World. He only hoped that Dumbledore could protect Harry well enough and that he was strong enough to withstand the mixed emotions and reactions to his fame.
They strolled away from the Leaky Cauldron back into places that looked familiar to Harry. He'd seen several people in the pub in robes. Now people were in slacks and wind jackets. He knew that Hagrid stuck out like a sore thumb but that was ok. Harry was getting to see a place he'd only heard of and dreamt of seeing. He could feel there was more to the Wizarding World than Hagrid was letting on but Harry decided he didn't want to know everything all at one time.
"Hagrid, when will we go for my school things?" Harry asked as they walked, having to move around other pedestrians.
"Well I suppose we can go mid month or so," Hagrid said.