Keeping true to his word, Uncle Vernon had the entire family relocated from the Privet Drive. They traveled to a very sad-looking hut, which was sitting perched upon a large rock far at sea. The wind was whistling, lightning was flashing and the sea was raging, meaning no owls could reach the house now.
While Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were sleeping on a lumpy bed in the hut's only bedroom on the second floor, the kids were downstairs. Dudley was snoring on a moth-eaten sofa, while John and Harry were laying on the bare floor beneath a ragged blanket, with only a small fire from the fireplace lighting the room. The twins were etching a birthday cake on the dust that was layering the floor, writing 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' on it. The twins put a finishing touch on it by etching candle's. Harry studied the lighted dial of Dudley's wrist watch, seeing it hitting towards midnight. It was officially 31 July, his and John's eleventh birthday.
"Make a wish, little brother." Harry said to John.
"You too, big brother." John said back to Harry.
Closing their eyes, the twins blew into the dust, and the 'flames'of dust scattered. The twins knew they could always celebrate their birthday in each others company. Their eyes still closed, John and Harry were holding a wish...
Suddenly, the door shuddered with a loud boom, it's hinges squealing. The twins look up in surprise while Dudley woke up, scrambling away from the couch. The door was slammed with another boom, and the twins got up and took cover behind the fireplace, with Harry standing in front of John to protect him, though, like his brother, he was also shaking in fear.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia came downstairs in their pajamas, with Aunt Petunia covering behind her husband and switching the lights on, while Uncle Vernon had a rifle in his hands.
"Who's there? I'm warning you - i'm armed!" Uncle Vernon called. He tried to act brave, but his voice came out squeaky.
Suddenly, with another boom, the door came off and fell on the floor with a slam, causing the Dursley's to cover in fear while Dudley screamed. An immense silhouette was standing against the raging storm outside. The silhouette stepped inside, revealing a giant man with shoulder-length black hair and beard, a brown jacket and a pink umbrella, before he placed the umbrella inside his jacket.
"Sorry 'bout that..." The man casually said.
Stepping into the clear, the man took the door and fit it back into it's frame. Turning around, he saw Uncle Vernon pointing his rifle at him.
"I demand that you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!" Uncle Vernon ordered.
Not phased by the threat, the man walked up to Uncle Vernon. "Dry up, Dursley, yeh great prune."
The man grabbed on to the rifle and twisted it like a piece of licorice, pointing the barrel towards the roof. Uncle Vernon fired his gun, causing the bullet to go straight through the roof. The man then turned his gaze towards the first kid he saw, who happened to be Dudley, with the boy still looking scared.
"Boy, i haven't seen yeh since you was a baby, Harry, but yeh're a bit more along than i expected, particularly in the middle. By the way, where's little John hiding at?"
"I- I'm - I'm not... Harry." Dudley said, terrified.
At that moment, both Harry and John came from behind the fireplace into the light, standing next to each other.
"I am." Harry said.
The man looked even more happier at seeing the real Harry. "Well of course yeh are." He then looked at John. "And yeh're John, aren't yeh?"
John was just as confused as his brother looked, but chose to trust the giant man, who didn't seem scary despite his giant size. "Yes, i am." He replied.
"I got yeh two summat. 'Fraid i mighta sat on it at some point, but i 'magine it'll taste fine jus' as the same... let's see now... got it here somewhere..."
The brothers glanced at each other when the man started rummaging his jacket. Finally, he pulled out a squashed paper box, giving it to the twins, which John took.
"Baked it meself, words an' all."
Dudley was trying to take a peak at what the giant man had given the twins. Together, John and Harry started to open the box, inside of which they found a chokolate cake with 'HAPPEE BIRTHDAY HARRY AN' JOHN'written on it, scrawled in green icing.
"Thank you." The twins said together.
"Well, it's not ev'ry day yer young mein turns 'leven, is it, eh?" The man chuckled.
The man sat on the sofa, while the Dursley couple was standing in the corner, still shaking in fear. Meanwhile, the man pulled out his umbrella from his jacket and pointed it at the fireplace, which shot two shots of fire into the woods, lighting the fireplace up. The twins's widened in shock, as well as wonder, while Dudley still said nothing. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked shocked, though Uncle Vernon's anger was slowly starting to rise up on his face.
John then decided to place the cake on the sofa. "Excuse me, but who are you?" He asked the man, staring blankly at him.
"Rubeus Hagrid." Hagrid introduced himself, giving the embers several pokes with his umbrella. "Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He turned towards the twins again. "But of course, yeh know about Hogwarts."
The twins gave each other glances. "Sorry, no." They said together.
Hagrid frowned at this. "No? Blimey, boys, didn't yeh two ever wonder where yer mum and dad learned it all?"
"Learned what?" Harry asked, confused.
"What?" Hagrid turned to Uncle Vernon. "DURSLEY! Do yeh mean ter tell me the boys know nothing?"
Uncle Vernon only stood mute. Hagrid simmered, before he shook his head and turned to the twins, leaning in closer.
"Yer wizards, boys."
For a moment, the hut was silent as the brothers eyes widened.
"We're what?" John asked.
"Wizards. And good 'uns, i'd wager, once yeh've been trained up a bit."
Aunt Petunia continued to look with a worried face, while uncle Vernon was glare at Hagrid, his rage slowly rising more.
"No. You've made a mistake." Harry said, as he and John shared glances. "I mean... we can't be wizards. I mean... we're just... Harry and John. Just Harry and John."
John, while somewhat not believing what Hagrid had just told them, was excited about the idea of being a wizard. He then suddenly started remembering all the weird things that happened around him and Harry when they were growing up that they couldn't explain.
Hagrid nodded his head slightly with a smile. "Well, Just Harry and John, did you two 'ver make anythin' 'appen? Anythin' yeh couldn't explain, when yeh were angry or scared?"
The brothers looked to each other in recognition, both thinking about how the glass disappeared at the snake exhibit, and the fact that they could talk to the snake that then left. With a hum and a nod, Hagrid stood up, causing Dudley to shake in fear again. But Hagrid reached into his pocket and handed the twins envelopes identical to the ones the owls tried to deliver to them for few days. John opened his envelope, with Harry leaning to see it for himself.
"´Dear Mr. Potter..." John started reading outloud. "... we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.´"
At this point, Uncle Vernon had enough, as he was marching to the sofa. "They'll not be going, i tell you! We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to all this rubbish!" He said angrily.
"You knew?" John asked shocked, before turning to Aunt Petunia. "You knew all along and you never told us?"
Aunt Petunia, looking furious, was crossing her arms. "Of course we knew! How could you not be?" She started to slowly walk towards her husband. "My perfect sister being who she was." She stopped walking next to the steps. "My mother and father were so proud the day she got the letter. 'We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful?' I was the only one to see her for what she was... a freak!" Looking distasteful, she walked up to her husband. "Then she met that Potter, and then she had you two and i knew you would be the same. Just as strange, just as abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you..."
"Blown up?" Harry asked, cutting Aunt Petunia off. "You told us our parent's died in a car crash."
"A CAR CRASH!" Hagrid asked furiously, causing the twins to turn to him next. "A car crash killed Lilly and James Potter?"
While the argument kept going, Dudley was sneaking around past his parents and stole the twins' birthday cake, eager to eat it himself.
"We had to say something." Aunt Petunia said, not backing down.
"It's an outrage! It's a scandal!"
"THEY'LL NOT BE GOING, I TELL YOU!" Uncle Vernon repeated.
Hagrid laughed, not taking him seriously. "Oho. An' i s'ppose a great Muggle like yerself is goin' ter stop them, are yeh?"
"Muggle?" The twins asked Hagrid together, confused.
"Non-magic folk." Hagrid glanced at the boys before turning back to Uncle Vernon. "These boys' had their names down ever since they were born."
Meanwhile, Dudley glanced back at the argument before he started to eat the twins' birthday cake, his hands digging into the cake.
"They're going to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and they'll be under the finest headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen, Albus Dumbledore."
After Hagrid finished his piece proudly, the twins were smiling, looking excited about everything.
"I will not pay to have some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks!" Uncle Vernon lashed out.
This was the last straw for Hagrid, as he pointed his umbrella at Uncle Vernon. "NEVER... INSULT ALBUS DUMBLEDORE.. IN FRONT OF ME."
Aunt Petunia covered behind her husband, while Uncle Vernon closed his eyes in fear. Hagrid then spied Dudley, who was bending slightly and eating the cake. Deciding to teach them a lesson, Hagrid raised the umbrella towards Dudley, and a flash of violet light hit Dudley square in the rump. Instantly, a pig's tail curled through the back of his trousers.
Dudley looked at his backside when he felt the spark, and the second he noticed the pig tail on him, he started screaming. Aunt Petunia reacted the same way, as did Uncle Vernon when the couple turned to their son. Meanwhile, Harry watched with an open smiling mouth, while John started laughing. During the panic, Dudley tried to touch the tail while Aunt Petunia looked at her husband, trying to decide what to do, when Uncle Vernon started directing the family towards the second floor, shooting a scared glance at Hagrid along the way and leaving the twins behind. Hagrid gave the twins a silent chuckle, before leaning to them awkwardly.
"Oh, um, i'd appreciate it if yeh didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about that. Strictly speakin', i'm not allowed ter do magic."
"Okay." Harry replied, nodding.
"My lips are sealed." John said, zipping his lips.
Giving the twins a grateful nod, Hagrid pulled out a small pocket watch from his jacket, checking the time. "Oh, uh, we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off." He said, putting his watch back in the pocket.
Walking to the door, Hagrid pulled the door of and let it fall on the floor again, before turning towards the twins again.
"'Less yeh'd rather stay, o' course."
Hagrid exited the house, leaving John and Harry to consider their sorry surroundings. Looking momentarily at a loss, John shot a glance to the second floor, before turning to Harry.
"We're definitely not staying." John said, making his mind up.
"No. I can't wait to see what Hogwarts is like." Harry said with agreement.
With smiles growing on the twins' faces, John and Harry started to follow Hagrid outside, excited for the adventure they were about to embark on.