Chosen - a Harry Potter fanfic
By Anton B. Ingibjartsson, AKA dragonwrath7
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling. I am not JK Rowling.
This story was partly influenced and inspired by the fanfic In The Words Of Ginevra Molly Potter, by TheJealousOne.
THIS STORY CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS TO ALL THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THEM AND DON'T WANT THE EXPERIENCE RUINED FOR YOU, REFRAIN FROM READING FURTHER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Chapter Two: Witchcraft And Wizardry
"Scram! The lot of you!"
And they did. Every last spider, including ones that were hiding in places he would never have looked in, ran full speed toward the door and clambered under it and out of the cupboard. He heard Aunt Petunia scream.
"That's more like it."
He lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
I am Harry.
After the infamous snake incident, Harry spent most of his time in his cupboard. Even after his punishment had expired, he still didn't like spending too much time out of the now spider-free cupboard due to the fact that Dudley and his gang were around more often than not and the cupboard was the only place he felt safe from them. Sure it was boring, but he at least had time to plan ahead. He no longer made mistakes like the ones he had been guilty of his very first day in this world. Now he kept his mind focused on the task at hand; making the Dursleys think he knew nothing of the magical world until the Hogwarts letter arrived. He even made plans regarding his introduction to the magical world. He knew the Dursleys would refuse to let him go to Hogwarts, so his only chance was Hagrid. He had to refrain from reading his letter until Dumbledore sent Hagrid to deliver it, but he still had to pretend he wanted to read it. He'd have to help Uncle Vernon lose his marbles over the whole letter issue so sending Hagrid became Dumbledore's only choice. As the days passed, another issue began to worry him; how would he be able to use his knowledge to fix Harry's life without the magic-folk noticing he knew things he shouldn't?
Then came the day when Aunt Petunia left Harry with Mrs. Figg while she and Dudley went to buy Dudley's school uniform. Harry was sorely tempted to tell Mrs. Figg he knew she was a squib, but decided against it. He still hadn't thought of a viable reason why Harry Potter could possibly know stuff like that, and Mrs. Figg would definitely demand an explanation. In any case, she'd undoubtedly report the incident to Dumbledore, whose vast intellect would find gaping holes in any half-witted story Harry might come up with. No, everyone was better off thinking he knew nothing.
There was, however, one good thing about this day: Harry knew this was the day before his Hogwarts letter arrived.
Therefore, he made sure to come out of the cupboard for breakfast the next day, knowing he'd be made to get the post when it arrived. When he entered the kitchen, he was met with a horrible smell and knew, without looking or asking, that Aunt Petunia was dyeing some of Dudley's old clothes so Harry could use them as a school uniform at Stonewall High, where he was expected to go next term. He didn't even open his mouth, but sat down and waited for the click of the letter-box and flop of letters on the doormat.
"Get the post, Dudley."
"Make Harry get it."
Harry stood up without even being asked and went straight down the hall to the door.
And there it was; a letter for Mr. H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Harry picked it up along with the bill and postcard and went straight back to the kitchen.
He handed Uncle Vernon the mail, aside for the letter, and sat back down. He made sure Dudley saw the letter so when he tried to open it, Dudley immediately told Uncle Vernon, who snatched it away.
"That's mine!"
"Who'd be writing to you?"
He opened the envelope and read the first line. Harry, who of course knew exactly what the letter was about, found it extremely difficult not to grin at Uncle Vernon's reaction. His face went from red to green and then became grayish white.
"P-P-Petunia!"
Dudley, now very curious, tried to take the letter from his father, but Uncle Vernon held it out of his reach until Aunt Petunia took it and read the first line for herself.
"Vernon! Oh my goodness – Vernon!"
Dudley and Harry both yelled their demands to read the letter, but were thrown out of the kitchen. Dudley tried to listen at the keyhole, but Harry didn't bother. Without another word, he went into his cupboard and smiled to himself. Watching Uncle Vernon go crazy about the letters would be fun.
That evening, the Dursleys made him move into Dudley's second bedroom. He pretended to be upset about this and made it quite clear that he'd much rather have his letter, but he knew Uncle Vernon had already burned it.
The next day, when Uncle Vernon made Dudley get the post, Harry had a hard time not getting in position to race Uncle Vernon. He didn't want him to think Harry knew the letter was coming.
"There's another one! Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive-"
Harry and Uncle Vernon raced each other down the hall, but Harry let Uncle Vernon win and didn't even take part in his wrestling match with Dudley. At last Uncle Vernon stood up with the letter in his hand. Harry put out his hand and angrily demanded to read his letter, but Uncle Vernon sent him to his bedroom.
Harry woke up early next day without the help of an alarm clock and realized this was the day Uncle Vernon would be guarding the stairs to make sure Harry wouldn't try and get the letter directly from the mailman. Harry snuck out of his bedroom and approached the stairs. He thought about going downstairs and 'accidentally' stepping on Uncle Vernon's face, but then he had a better idea. Looking around, he found exactly what he needed.
A few seconds later, Uncle Vernon's scream woke the rest of the family. Aunt Petunia and Dudley both came to see what was going on, but Harry had already gone back to his bedroom, where he couldn't stop himself from laughing.
Uncle Vernon had been hit in the side by a bookshelf, on which there was a note: 'I WANT MY LETTER'
If this didn't drive Uncle Vernon bonkers, nothing would.
As expected, Uncle Vernon nailed up the letter-box that day. He was still sore in the ribs and Harry had begun to wonder if he'd gone too far, but once Uncle Vernon was done, he and Harry had a shouting contest where Uncle Vernon made his opinion of Harry and his parents very clear. By the time Harry went to bed that evening, he was quite convinced that Uncle Vernon deserved what he got and then some.
As the days passed and the letters multiplied and found new ways into the house, Uncle Vernon came closer and closer to insanity. When they came pelting out of the fireplace, Harry made mock attempts at catching them, but jumped out of the way when Uncle Vernon tried to grab him, which resulted in Uncle Vernon crashing into the floor. Quite calmly, Harry looked down on him with crossed arms.
"I want my letter."
"OUT!"
Uncle Vernon once again tried to grab Harry, but Harry knew he didn't have to push the matter any further just now. He dodged Uncle Vernon and followed Dudley and Aunt Petunia out into the hall.
"That does it. I want you all back here in five minutes, ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"
"About bloody time," Harry muttered to himself.
They spent the rest of the day in the car without stopping to eat or drink while Uncle Vernon tried to 'shake 'em off' until finally they stopped at a gloomy looking hotel where they spent the night. Harry didn't sleep. He lay awake listening to Dudley's snoring and thinking to himself; almost there. At the same time, he couldn't help worrying. He still had no idea how to explain his knowledge of the wizarding world and the events to come. What would he say when they started to notice he knew things he shouldn't? He couldn't even slip up with Hagrid because there was a chance Hagrid would mention it to Dumbledore, who would become suspicious. And therein lay the problem; what possible excuse was good enough to fool the most intelligent wizard in the world? That thought alone was enough to ensure he had absolutely no sleep that night.
The next day, when the owner of the hotel arrived to tell them she had about a hundred letters for H. Potter, Uncle Vernon slapped Harry's hand away and told the woman he'd take them.
Harry didn't have to pretend to be miserable anymore. He hadn't slept since the night before, he was still worried about how he would explain his unusual knowledge, and unlike the day before, Uncle Vernon no longer stopped for toilet breaks. This meant that not only did Harry have to hold it in all day, but also had to put up with the horrible smell now coming from Dudley, who seemed to have a smaller bladder than Harry. Uncle Vernon spent the whole day looking for a place remote enough that the magical world would be unable to contact them, and Harry's sore bladder almost caused him to tell Uncle Vernon about the hut on the rock, but he held back since he knew Uncle Vernon would never trust his advice.
"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" asked Dudley glumly.
"Your dad has been mad since the day he was born. It just took him till now to figure it out," answered Harry.
At last, Uncle Vernon let them out of the car and led the way to the rowboat that would take them to the shabby little shack on a rock in the sea. Before Harry followed them inside, he went behind the shack and solved one of his problems.
Harry couldn't blame his book counterpart for not being able to sleep that night. With the noise from the storm and the stinging cold, he was surprised the Dursleys were able to sleep, but at least they had something soft beneath them. He, of course, had been made to sleep on the floor with nothing but a single ragged blanket to keep him warm.
Harry spent the time trying to keep himself as warm as possible, while the thought of not being able to explain his knowledge gave him no peace. There had to be something he could say. There had to be some excuse that would hold. But no matter how much he thought about it, no such excuse came to mind. He was beginning to panic. Looking over at Dudley's wristwatch, which showed 23:50, he realized his time was nearly up. In ten minutes time, Harry would be eleven years old, and Hagrid would come bursting into the shack.
Nine minutes to go. Harry wondered what would happen if he ended up having to tell everyone he wasn't from this world.
Eight minutes to go. Would anyone believe him if he said something like that?
Seven minutes to go. Would there be a big panic if he revealed this was all just a story in a book?
Six minutes to go. No, they would just think he was crazy, and that wouldn't exactly help his cause.
Five minutes. Harry heard a creak outside the hut and wondered if Hagrid had just landed on the rock.
Four minutes to go. What would he say to Hagrid? Should he just pretend he didn't know anything?
Three minutes. Something slapped hard on the rock outside. No, he couldn't pretend not to know anything now. It would just raise more questions when he finally revealed that he did know these things.
Two minutes. There was a funny crunching noise. Harry was in a real panic now. He racked his brains over and over but no answer to his problem presented itself.
One minute... thirty seconds... twenty... ten...
Harry braced himself. Three – two – one –
BOOM.
Harry sat up and swallowed nervously. It was time.
BOOM. Dudley jerked awake.
"Where's the cannon?"
"Cannon?" replied Harry. "You wish."
There was a crash and Uncle Vernon came into the room holding the rifle he had bought the day before.
"Who's there? I warn you – I'm armed!"
To Harry, the few seconds of silence (apart from the storm) that now ensued felt more like minutes.
I'm not ready! Please, I'm not ready for this!
SMASH!
The door flew off its hinges and in the doorway stood the largest man Harry had ever seen.
Hagrid.
For some odd reason, the sight of Hagrid was enough to calm Harry down considerably, even though he still had no answer to his problem.
I can't NOT tell him! What do I say?
Hagrid came inside and fixed the door easily back into its frame.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."
Hagrid scared Dudley out of the sofa and sat down. Dudley, scared out of his wits, took refuge behind Aunt Petunia, who was herself crouching behind Uncle Vernon. Hagrid turned to Harry.
"An' here's Harry!"
Harry swallowed nervously. He had been so focused on not revealing his knowledge and acting normal, but how could you act normal when you were face to face with a half-giant?
"Hagrid."
"Oh? How d'yeh know me name?"
Harry wanted to slap himself. What a stupid way to screw up. If he didn't think of something right now, everything was ruined.
Come on! Think!
I can't...
There has to be something you can say!
There's nothing. Nobody could be expected to know what I know...
Don't give up! There has to be a way to fix this!
No there isn't! I'm doomed!
Stop that. You sound like Trelawney-
Wait! Of course! Trelawney!
What about her?
She's a Seer!
It was so simple, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this before. A Seer would be able to know things nobody else did; things concerning the future!
"I... Well, I'm a... what do you call it... a Seer. You know, I can see the future."
"Really? So yeh know who I am?"
"Yeah. I always knew you'd come and get me."
"Well, tha's interestin'..."
"HOLD IT!" shouted Uncle Vernon suddenly.
"What?" asked Harry calmly.
"You knew? The whole time?"
"No thanks to you. Like it or not, Uncle Vernon, I'm a wizard. Just like my mum and dad."
This statement seemed to throw Uncle Vernon a little off, but it apparently made Aunt Petunia angry.
"Proud of your parents, are you? Your mother was a freak-"
Harry, now angry, interrupted her.
"If you ever say that again, you'll wish you were never born!"
Uncle Vernon yelled and threw away the rifle, which had suddenly caught fire. All the Dursleys were now cowering in fear.
"And while we're on the subject," Harry now added, "how did my parents really die?"
Harry had suddenly realized Seers couldn't see the past; he'd have to pretend he only knew things from the future.
"What?" said Hagrid suddenly.
"Yeh don't know how yer parents died?"
"They never told me anything. I didn't even know I was a wizard, or a Seer for that matter. I always thought the visions I had were just dreams and stuff like that. But I had a vision where I saw you coming in through that door, so if that was true then the rest of it was true too."
Harry hadn't even prepared that little speech beforehand. He'd made it all up on the spot, but he was glad he did. It made perfect sense in terms of why he hadn't told the Dursleys what he knew and explained why he knew these things now.
"So? How did they die? You told me it was a car crash, but-"
"CAR CRASH?" shouted Hagrid. This obviously made him angry, and Harry couldn't blame him. He turned from the Dursleys to Hagrid.
"What really happened? All I can remember is a load of green light."
Hagrid's anger vanished and he turned to Harry.
"Harry... I- I dunno what ter say."
Harry knew Hagrid would hate to say Voldemort's name, and decided to spare him. Voldemort might be a figure from his past, but he had a big role in his future as well. Knowing his name would make certain sense.
"Hagrid... was it Voldemort?"
Hagrid shivered.
"Please don't say that name again. Yes it was him. I dunno why, but he was after yer parents. They tried ter hide, but he found them."
"And killed them... that's what the green light means. It was the killing curse, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. But then he tried ter kill you too, and the curse backfired."
"He's not dead."
"Nah, I reckon' not. He's out there somewhere, too weak to carry on. Anyway, tha's how yeh got that scar. Yeh're the on'y one whose ever survived the killin' curse."
Harry rubbed his scar absent-mindedly and mumbled to himself.
"The dark lord shall mark him as his equal..."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
There was silence for a while. Hagrid was the one who broke it.
"Well, I reckon yeh're ready ter read yer letter now."
He pulled a letter out of his many pockets and handed it to Harry before taking out a quill, a piece of parchment and a live owl. Harry watched as he scribbled a note onto the parchment.
Dear Mr. Dumbledore, Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. Hagrid.
After a few seconds of consideration, he added: P.S. Harry's a Seer. Knew I was coming. He attached the parchment to the owl's leg and sent it flying out into the storm.
Harry wasn't entirely sure he wanted Dumbledore to know about his 'Seer abilities' just yet, but it was too late to do anything about it. He turned his attention to his letter. He was about to open it when Uncle Vernon shouted.
"STOP!"
Harry looked at him.
"You want me to drop another bookshelf on you?"
Uncle Vernon just stared at him, half angry, half terrified.
"Then get lost!"
The gun on the floor exploded, which was all it took to frighten the Dursleys out of their wits. They fled into the other room and closed the door behind them.
At last, Harry was able to read his letter:
Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
Author's Notes:
This was originally chapter 3, but I had to change the number when I combined chapters 1 and 2 into a single chapter.
I'm sorry this arrived so late. Also, I must apologize that the next chapter will not be up for a while, because I'm going away with my family for a week, and I won't be able to write anything in the meantime.
People have said my chapters are too short. Well, I know they are, but they will get longer as the story goes on. In addition, the total number of chapters will be quite high, because I'm planning to make the story go through most of the major points in the books. The idea is that our hero will not be able to get back home until Voldemort is defeated.
Finally, I'd like to thank those who've given positive comments. You're the ones who'll drive this story forward. (I had a writer's block around the middle of this chapter, but was able to get past it mostly because I didn't want to let my readers down). I know there aren't many who've given a review yet, but I'm really grateful to those who have. Thanks again.