A/N: Okay, so I updated! Since in the last chapter, I had about 10 other reviewers ask me the same questions, I decided I'll take the time to answer it here:
Question: Why is there only one letter? Does that mean one of the twins isn't magical? If not, then shouldn't they both get letters?
Answer: Well, those are very good questions. To answer them you must take note of something: Did any of you notice that the letter said "Mr. H. Potter"? That could apply to both of them. In my view, yes, both Ari and Dri are wizards. Yes, they're both going to Hogwarts. And no, they both don't get a letter. See, why on Earth would the wizarding world know that there are two Harry Potters? They wouldn't, that's just the point. As far as the wizarding world is concerned there is only "The-Boy-Who-Lived". So there was only one "Harry Potter" registered to get a Hogwarts letter automatically. -Snickers- That's why everyone will get quite a shock (besides Dumbles, but you'll find out why much later… unless you're kind enough to ask) when Ari and Dri show up. But that's around two chapters away, so there's nothing to overly worry about.
Another thing I noticed in the reviews I got is that people have pointed out that I don't have to stick with canon. I realize this, and I'm only following the book closely until the twins get to Diagon Alley. Once they get on the train and into Hogwarts, you can bet your ass that things will be different. So please, please, refrain from telling me to stop following the book. I know what I'm doing. But thank you again for you reviewers out there!
OH! I almost forgot: Due to some very rude flames I got from anonymous reviewers (who didn't even have the guts to sign their names), I have disabled Anonymous reviews from my story. I'm sorry for you very kind reviewers who use the Anonymous signing, but you will have to sign in if you want to review.
o.O wow, that was a lot more writing than I expected… Anyways, without farther delay, on with the chapter!
Mistaken
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
*~Chapter 3~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
BOOM!
It seemed they knocked on the door again. Dudley sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Where's the cannon?" He asked stupidly. Ari and Dri didn't even grace him with an answer.
There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands; Ari and Dri shared a glance that sad the rifle was the package that Uncle Vernon bought.
"Who's there?" Uncle Vernon shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!"
It was silent for a moment. Then-
SMASH!
The door was hit with such a force that it swung clean off its hinges and landed flat on the floor with a deafening crash. While everyone was distracted, Ari and Dri slipped behind the couch and looked up over the side, just above the armrest, only showing their eyes.
A giant man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard. The only thing on his face that you could make out was his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all that hair.
The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head barely brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fit it easily back into its frame. The noise from the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at the Dursleys.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…." He rumbled, making his way to the couch, where Dudley sat frozen with fear. The stranger looked at Dudley. "Budge up, yeh great lump."
Dudley squeaked and ran behind Aunt Petunia, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.
"An' where's Harry?" The giant asked, looking around.
'Get down, Ari. I'll stand up, and then you go around and stand up and ask him who he is. Alright?' Ari nodded and slipped behind the couch. Dri stood up slowly and looked at the giant with a guarded expression.
"I'm Harry…." Dri said softly. The giant looked over at Dri and his eyes crinkled in a smile.
"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," the giant said happily. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."
Dri blinked slowly, but before Ari could reveal himself, Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.
"I demand you leave at once, sir!" Uncle Vernon said, glaring at the giant. "You are breaking and entering!"
"Ah, shut up Dursley, yeh great prune," the giant said, reaching over, grabbing the gun from Uncle Vernon's hands, bent the gun into a knot, and threw it into a corner of the room. Uncle Vernon mad another funny noise; like a mouse being trodden on.
"Anyway… Harry," the giant said, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here… I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste alright."
From an inside pocket of his black overcoat, the giant pulled a slightly squashed box. He handed it to Dri, who then opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with 'Happy Birthday Harry' written on it in green icing. When Dri felt a stab of jealously through his mind, he blinked.
'I'll share it with you, Ari…. Otherwise, I'll give it back. But I think now's a good time to ask who he is….' Dri thought quietly, looking at the giant. Ari stood up from his hiding place at the opposite end of the couch, still out of sight to the giant.
"Who are you?" Ari asked quietly. The giant jumped slightly and turned around, only to blink and look back and forth between Ari and Dri.
"Blimey! Well…." The giant seemed to get a hold of himself. "I don't suppose I did introduce meself…. Rubeus Hagrid, at yer service. Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. And who are yeh, little one?"
Throughout that whole introduction, the giant kept looking from Dri to Ari and back again, finally settling on Ari with his last question.
'Say Harry.' Dri commanded. Ari thought confusion and Dri chuckled in his mind. 'It'll confuse him. And besides, it's true. We both go by Harry in the Dursleys' minds.'
"I'm Harry. Nice to meet you." Ari said quietly. The giant blinked and looked surprised.
"Yeh can't both be named Harry! That's nonsense, that is." Ari and Dri blinked at the exclamation. They both walked forward until they were in front of the giant, they both turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow each.
"Well, that's the only name we know…." Dri started.
"Because the Dursleys only call us 'Harry'…." Ari continued.
"So we're both called Harry." They both finished simultaneously.
The giant nodded slightly and looked over to the fireplace. He rolled his eyes, got up, obscured it from view for a moment, and stepped back to reveal a roaring fire. He sat back down on the couch and started taking all sorts of things out of the pockets on his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker and onto a plate, Dudley fidgeted a little.
"Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." Uncle Vernon said sharply. The giant chuckled darkly.
"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." The giant handed the plate of sausages to Ari and Dri took the opportunity to put the box of cake on the ground. After Dri put the cake down, he took the plate from Ari and sat next to the giant, patting the space next to him. Ari rolled his eyes and sat next to Dri, stealing one of the sausages. Dri smirked but followed suit. Neither of the twins' eyes strayed from the giant while they ate silently. After a few minutes of silence, Dri decided to speak.
"I'm sorry, but we still don't really know who you are...." He said quietly, staring at the giant. Ari nodded in agreement. The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."
"Uh… no, not really…" Ari said. Hagrid looked shocked.
"Sorry." Dri added quickly.
"Sorry?" Hagrid barked, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them that should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"
"All-" Dri started.
"- what?" Ari finished.
"ALL WHAT?!" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!" Hagrid leapt to his feet. In his anger, he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys cowered against the wall.
"Do you mean ter tell me," He growled, glaring at the Dursleys, "that these boys - these boys! - know nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?!"
Ari and Dri frowned. They'd been to school before and they knew their marks weren't that bad….
"Hey! We know some things…." Dri said, still frowning with his twin.
"Yeah…. We can, you know, do math and stuff." Ari clarified, crossing his arms across his chest.
"About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." Hagrid said with a wave of his hand. Ari and Dri looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.
"What world?" They asked simultaneously. Hagrid looked like he was going to explode.
"DURSLEY!" he yelled. Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like 'Mimble wimble'. Hagrid stared wildly at the twins, switching to look at them in turn.
"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," Hagrid said in disbelief. "I mean, they're famous. Yeh both are famous."
"What? Our… Our parents weren't famous…" Ari said with wide eyes.
"…Were they?" Dri asked with the same wide eyes.
"Yeh don' know… They don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Ari and Dri with a bewildered stare. "You two don' know what yeh are?"
Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.
"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell them anything!"
A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid gave him. When Hagrid spoke, every syllable trembled with his rage.
"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them fer all these years?"
"Kept what from us?" The twins asked.
"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" Uncle Vernon yelled in a panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.
"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh." Hagrid looked at the twins. "Harry - both of yeh - yer a wizard."
The silence inside the hut was deafening. That was broken by Ari and Dri when they doubled over in laughter.
"See Dudley? What'd I tell you? Nutters! Completely nutters!" Ari managed to get out while still laughing.
"We - ha! - we can't be w-wizards!" Dri said, clutching his sides in an attempt to stop the laughter.
"An' why not?" Hagrid asked over the laughter. He looked a bit offended. "Yeh both are thumpin' good'uns, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? Anyways, I reckon it's abou' time yeh both read yer letter."
The laughter subsided as Hagrid pulled out a familiar envelope and handed it over to the twins' outstretched hands. On the front, addressed in the same green, was 'Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea'. The twins turned the envelope around, opened it, then pulled out the letter and started to read.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are please to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Ari and Dri looked at each other in confusion.
'What does this mean, exactly?' Ari thought.
'Does he actually expect us to believe this rubbish?' Dri ground out at almost the same time.
'What about this owl? What does that mean?' Ari, again. Dri paused in his ranting on how the letter was rubbish.
'Owl? What owl? We don't have an owl…' Dri thought. The twins looked up from the letter and looked at Hagrid.
"What does it mean when they say 'they await our owl'?" The twins asked simultaneously.
"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," Hagrid said, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat, he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl - a long quill, and a roll of parchment. He sat down and with his tongue between his teeth, he scribbled a note that the twins could read upside down:
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
Given dear Harrys their letter.
Taking them to buy their things tomorrow.
Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.
Hagrid
"Now hold on just one minute!" Dri said forcefully, jumping to his feet. Hagrid, who was in the process of rolling up the note to give to the owl, paused and looked at the twin in question. "Whoever said that we would be going to this… Hogs' Snouts, anyways?"
Hagrid started, clearly at a miss. Ari blinked and looked at Dri in amazement. Dri continued, starting to pace, not caring about the look of despair that crossed Hagrid's face.
"Look. I don't care who you are. You can't just come in here, give us a rubbish letter, tell us that we're god-forsaken wizards, and then expect us to actually go with you to god-knows-where, where we'll probably end up dead in a ditch! No. I don't bloody well think so. And for gods' sake, you didn't even ask us if we wanted to go to this bloody school in the first place! You just bloody well assumed, didn't you, that we wanted to bloody go! Well guess what? We bloody well DON'T!!!" Dri stopped, throwing his arms up in the air, and huffed a few times to gain his breath while everyone stared at him in astonishment. Dri looked at Ari in satisfaction, putting his arms down. "Okay, I'm done now."
"Are you sure?" Ari replied automatically, sounding very sarcastic. "I mean, you were pretty riled up there. You positive you don't want another go? Just to get it completely out of your system?"
Dri brought a finger to his lips and looked upwards in thought. Then he grinned and looked at Ari, nodding.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm completely done!" Dri said in a cheerful tone. Hagrid seemed to finally gain his composure.
"Bu'- Bu' Harry! Yeh both have ter go! How else will yeh learn abou' magic?" Hagrid said, looking at both the twins in desperation. Ari and Dri blinked, but then Dri snorted.
"Well, strictly speaking, we don't have to do anything." Ari said smugly, standing up to go over to his twin. He turned toward Hagrid, hooking one foot behind the other and leaned on his twin with his elbow on Dri's shoulder. Hagrid sputtered again while the twins just grinned widely. Uncle Vernon worked up the courage to step forward.
"I agree. They're not going." He said firmly. Hagrid scowled and seemed to gather his wits.
"Well, I dunno 'bout those two Harrys, but I know there's nuthin' a Muggle like you can do abou' it!" Hagrid declared. Ari and Dri blinked and tilted their heads to each side, away from each other.
"Muggle? What's that?" They asked. Hagrid blinked and looked at the twins.
"Why, non-magic folk, o' course." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"We swore when we took them in, that we'd put a stop to that rubbish," Uncle Vernon said viciously, "we swore we'd stamp it out of them! Wizards indeed!"
It was silent for a moment as Ari and Dri looked at each other with wide eyes. The Dursleys knew they were wizards. Dri glared and started seething silently.
"You knew?!" Dri shrieked, finally exploding. Everyone except Ari took a step back. "You knew that we're - we're wizards?! And you didn't tell us?!"
"Knew?!" Aunt Petunia shouted back. "Of course we knew! How could you two not be, with my dratted sister being what she was?! Oh, She got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that- that school - and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats! I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that! They- they were proud of having a witch in the family! A freak!"
She stopped, taking a deep breath, before continuing in her rant. It seemed as if she'd been wanting to say this for years.
"Then- then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you! And of course I knew you'd be just the same. Just as strange, just as- as - abnormal - and then, oh, then she went and got herself blown up and we got stuck with you!"
"Blown up?!" Ari shrieked in disbelief.
"You told us they died in a car crash!" Dri shouted a second later in outrage.
"CAR CRASH?!" Hagrid roared, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their names!"
"But why?" Ari asked.
"Yes, what happened?" Dri asked, following Ari's question. The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.
"I never expected this," he said in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much you two didn't know. Ah, Harry - both of yeh - I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."
"Hey! We never said we'd go!" Dri said, as Hagrid threw the Dursleys a dirty look.
"Yeh both still deserve ter know. Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin'. It's a great myst'ry, parts of it…" He sat down and stared into the fire for a few seconds. "It begins, I suppose, with… with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name! Everyone in our world knows-"
"Who?" Ari cut off, moving to sit down next to Hagrid. Hagrid looked down at him.
"Well- I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." Hagrid replied easily.
"Why not?" Dri asked this time, taking a seat next to his brother.
"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry! People are still scared. Blimey, this is different. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.
"Could you write it down?" Ari suggested.
"Maybe you could say the letters." Dri said sarcastically.
"Nah- can't spell it. All right… Voldemort." Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this… this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too. Some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power - 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him; an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school - not jus' then, anyway."
Hagrid paused to catch his breath and the twins just watched him avidly out of curiosity.
"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You two were just a year old. He came ter yer house an'- an'-"
Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.
"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad… Knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - Well, anyway… You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then- an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing- he tried to kill both of you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you two got that mark on yer foreheads? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you two, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age- the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts- an' you two was only a baby, an' you lived."
As Hagrid's story came to a close, Ari remembered something - which, in turn, made Dri see as well. Ari saw, clearer then he'd ever remembered before, a blinding flash of green light. And in the twins' mind, they both heard, for the first time, something bone-chilling; a high, cold, cruel laugh. It lasted only for a second, but the horror must have shown on their faces, because Hagrid looked at them sadly.
"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…"
"Wait a minute," Dri said, glaring at Hagrid from his position next to Ari. "Is this 'Dumbledore' the headmaster? What right does he have to order you to drop us off at the Dursleys? Shouldn't the people from Child Welfare do that? That's a load of bull if you people let a headmaster of a god-forsaken school do that! And another thing! If you brought both of us to them, then why the hell were you surprised to see two of us? Why were you just expecting one Harry?"
Hagrid looked taken aback. It took a minute for him to gain his composure again, and when he did, he looked slightly confused.
"I coulda sworn that, before I met yeh both, I only dropped off one of yeh… Bu' now that I think abou' it… Yeah, I sort o' remember droppin' both of yeh off…" Hagrid then sat up straight, the look of confusion off his face and replaced with determination.
"An' yes, Dumbledore is the headmaster - bu' he's the greatest wizard there ever was!" Hagrid said with passion. Dri snorted in disbelief while thinking: 'Sounds like brainwash to me!' Ari rolled his eyes, thinking it was best to intervene.
"But what happened to Voldemort?" Hagrid flinched. "Oh, sorry. I mean, You-Know-Who?"
"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you two. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was getting' more an' more powerful - why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but he lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you two finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you two stumped him, all right." Hagrid finished his story, looking down at the twins with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes.
But the twins, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been some horrible mistake.
'This is some kind of cruel joke, right?' Ari though, looking at Dri. 'I mean, we can't really be wizards, right? Us?'
'Well, I suppose it could be possible… But…' Dri sighed in aggravation. 'Well damnit. We'll just have to go to that bloody school now! And I really didn't want to go with this crazy stalker… Eh, oh well. Best inform him, yes?'
"Hagrid," Ari started. "How exactly can we be wizards?"
Surprisingly, Hagrid chuckled.
"Not wizards, eh? Never made things happen when you two was scared or angry?" He asked. Ari and Dri looked at each other, thinking.
"Well, no. Not really…" Dri said, looking at Hagrid in confusion. Hagrid blinked.
"Oh? Nothin' at all?" He asked. The never happened to him before.
"Nope! Nothing!" Ari said enthusiastically. Hagrid looked a bit disturbed. Uncle Vernon took the chance to voice his opinion.
"Haven't I told you they're not going?" Uncle Vernon hissed. "They're not wizards. They're going to Stonewall High and they'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and they need all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and-"
"If they're ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop them," Hagrid practically growled out. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's sons goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Their name's been down ever since they were born! They're off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know themselves. They'll be with youngsters of they're own sort, fer a change, an' they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had: Albus Dumbled-"
"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH THEM MAGIC TRICKS!" Uncle Vernon yelled, his loud voice filling the shack. But obviously, Uncle Vernon had gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head.
"Never. Insult. Albus. Dumbledore. In. Front. Of. Me!" Hagrid thundered threateningly, pausing to pronounce each word fully. He brought the umbrella slicing down through the air to point at Dudley. There was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second - Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When Dudley turned his back on them, Ari and Dri had to stifle their laughter at the sight of a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in Dudley's trousers.
Uncle Vernon roared with rage. As he pulled Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.
"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."
He cast a sideways look at the twins under his bushy eyebrows just as Ari opened his mouth to talk.
"Hagrid?" Ari waited for Hagrid to give an affirmative before Dri continued.
"I think you've just managed to sway us into going to this… Hogwarts, was it? Yes, I think we'd very much like to learn more about magic." Dri said. Hagrid was positively beaming at them.
"Tha's great!" Then Hagrid looked slightly bashful. "An' I'd be grateful if yeh both didn't mention that little spat ter anyone at Hogwarts. I'm- er- not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh two an' get yer letters to yeh both an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take the job-"
"Why aren't you supposed to-" Ari started to ask.
"Job?! Let me guess. Dumbledore wanted you to?" Dri screeched, interrupting Ari's question. Hagrid seemed to know what Ari was asking, though.
"Oh, well, fer the magic - I was at Hogwarts meself, but I- er- got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper and he let me come get yeh two, now. Great man, Dumbledore."
"Why were you expelled?" The twins asked simultaneously.
"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," Hagrid said a bit loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."
The twins blinked and then the owl that had been sitting on the table throughout this whole ordeal hooted.
"Oh, right. Don't forget to give that letter to the owl, Hagrid." Dri said off-handedly, jumping off the couch and going back to the corner of floor he and Ari were sleeping on. Ari got up and followed just as Hagrid exclaimed at his forgetfulness and handed the rolled up letter to the owl.
"Take that ter Dumbledore." The owl hooted and took off. Then Hagrid took off his thick black coat and threw it to the twins. "You two can kip that. Don' mind if it wriggles a bit; I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."
With that, Hagrid laid down on the couch and went to sleep. Ari and Dri looked at each other, clutching the coat between both their hands, before shrugging and laying down next to each other - the coat draped over their now sleeping forms.
A/N: Urg, I hate Hagrid's grammar! Eh, oh well. So, that was just shy of completing 10 pages! Not as long as last chapter, but it'll do, right? -sweatdrops- And since it only took me 3 months this time, instead of 6, you reviewers will be happy, right? Right. Ok, well, please review so I will get up off my ass and start writing the next chapter so I can type it faster and update sooner!
