This is a work of fanfiction based on the characters and world created by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series. All characters, places, and most magical elements belong to J.K. Rowling and the respective copyright holders. I do not own any of the original material, and this work is purely for fun and not for profit.
This fanfiction is a reinterpretation of the original story where there is virtually no conflict whatsoever and the relationships between the characters are wholesome and full of love. The content is intended for entertainment purposes only.
Chapter 4 The Keeper of the Keys
BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.
"What's going on?" he said anxiously.
There was a crash behind them and Vernon came running into the room. He was holding a baseball bat in his hands — now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.
"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I've got my family in here and I'm prepared to defend them!"
There was a pause. Then —
"Vernon? Yeh might not remember me, but it's Hagrid, I was friends with the Potters! I didn't mean ter startle you all, I went by yer house but yeh weren't there, sorry I was so late getting here."
"Hagrid?" Vernon cried, "It's been ages!"
Vernon ran to the door and threw it open. A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.
The giant squeezed his way into the cottage, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He got in and closed the door behind him. The noise of the storm outside dropped back to what it was before. Vernon shook his hand and gave him a big (well, I say big, but for as large a man as Vernon was he couldn't hardly reach Hagrid's sides and was basically swallowed whole when Hagrid hugged him back) hug. Then it was Petunia's turn, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'll make us some tea, it couldn't have been an easy journey," said Vernon, "please, take a seat, Hagrid."
He strode over to the sofa where both Dudley and Harry looked up at him in amazement.
"How do you do?" said Hagrid.
The boys moved aside and let Hagrid sit down. Dudley and Harry went and stood next to their mother, a little shy.
"An' here's Harry!" said Hagrid.
Harry looked into the fierce, wild, kind face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.
"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said Hagrid. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."
Harry didn't know what he meant by that, he and Vernon did not look very similar at all. Vernon cleared his throat.
"Hagrid, you should know, we haven't said anything and we'd actually prefer to keep the whole thing in the past if you don't mind."
"I understand Vernon, but… well, the boy has a right ter know. How would yeh feel if yeh found out and it was yeh?"
Vernon bowed his head sadly.
"Harry," said Hagrid, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat for yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste alright."
From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing.
Harry looked up at Hagrid. He was very confused. He'd just had his and Dudley's birthday a month ago. He meant to say thank you anyway, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"
The giant chuckled.
"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.
"Here's some tea Hagrid, I made it extra strong like I remembered you like," said Vernon.
They all sat down in the living room. Hagrid's eyes fell on the low embers of the fire. He reached out his umbrella to it and in the blink of an eye there was suddenly a roaring fire. It filled the whole room with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth come back over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.
Hagrid looked everyone over, smiling from the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a squashy package of sausages, a poker, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he added a splash of into his tea. Soon the cottage was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while Hagrid was working, but as he slid the first ten fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Vernon asked him if he wanted some plates.
"Yes if yeh don' mind, yeh guys are goin' ter love these."
He plated and passed two sausages to everyone. Harry thought he'd never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off this giant named Hagrid. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."
Hagrid 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 Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."
"Er — no," said Harry.
Hagrid looked shocked.
"Sorry," Harry said quickly.
"So you mean ter tell me the boy knows nothing?" Hagrid asked, incredulous.
"Hagrid, like I said, we've said nothing. The boy is our son and that's all there is to it." said Vernon firmly.
"Vernon, I'm sorry old friend, but the time has come. Didn't Dumbledore explain this in his letter he left?"
"I burned it," said Petunia, "As soon as I read that they were…" she stifled a sob, "I threw it in the fire."
"So the boy really doesn't know anything, then?" said Hagrid, shaking his head. "Harry —" he began.
"Don't!" Petunia exclaimed. "It should be me."
Petunia looked at Harry, and with tears in her eyes began to explain.
"Harry, I'm so sorry but there's something I have never told you. Vernon and I… we're not actually your real parents. Your real mother was my beloved sister who died with your father just after you were born. No one told us anything. I didn't even know your real birthday until today. Happy Birthday, Harry."
Harry was completely taken aback, but yet, somehow this explained a lot. That sad look in her eyes, her desire to protect him, the strange day that came once a year… What he felt wasn't anger or despair, it was actually a deeper love than he had ever felt for her before. How terrible it must have been to hold on to such a thing for so long, and there was no doubt she and Vernon loved him any less than their own son.
"It's okay, I can't really explain it but somehow I kind of always knew this somewhere in the back of my mind. But you'll always be my mummy, Mummy. I love you."
"I love you too, Harry," Petunia cried, embracing Harry.
"And hold on, I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do maths and stuff." Harry had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.
Hagrid simply waved his hand and smiled. "I'm talking about our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."
"What world is that then?"
Hagrid looked like a child about to unwrap his first ever Christmas present from Santa Claus.
"Is it okay with you, Vernon?" he asked.
Vernon, who now seemed to have come to terms with the situation nodded in consent.
"I'll start with yer mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."
"What? My — my real mum and dad weren't famous were they?"
"Yeh don' know… yeh really don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a dumbstruck stare.
"Yeh really don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.
Harry kind of laughed and said, "No, I really don't, what exactly am I?" He looked at his parents, a smile formed on their faces. They were kind of excited for Harry now.
"You really never told him? You never read the letter Dumbledore left fer him?"
"No. I was completely heartbroken. And none of our friends ever came around to tell me anything regarding how she passed so I just lived as normal a life as I could. I thought I'd never see any of you ever again," said Petunia.
"I'm sorry Petunia. I really am. I'll explain everything, starting with this: Harry — yer a wizard."
There was silence inside the cottage. Only the faint sound of the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.
"I'm a what?" gasped Harry.
"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid from the sofa, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."
Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Comfy Sofa, Cottage-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and 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 pleased 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 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"
"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, 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 long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
Given Harry his letter.
Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.
Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.
Hagrid
Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.
Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.
"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Vernon got up and moved into the firelight.
"Does he really have to go?" he asked.
Hagrid nodded.
"It's the world he belongs to," he said.
"But I thought we were going to go to Smeltings together!" Dudley chimed in.
"Yeah, wait, can Dudley come with me?" Harry asked Hagrid.
"Dudley wasn't accepted because he's a normie," Hagrid said.
"A what?" said Harry, disappointed.
"A normie," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like Vernon and Petunia. It's not a slur or anything, it just means that they're normal people."
"So you guys knew?" said Harry. "You knew that I'm a — a wizard?"
"Well, we suspected," said Petunia. "I guess, how could you not be, with my beloved sister being magical like she was… She got a letter just like that and went to go to that wonderful place — and came home with her pockets full of frogs, turning teacups into gerbils… I was the one who admired her the most! And our mother and father doted on her too, they were so proud to have a witch in the family!"
She smiled in reminiscence before continuing on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.
"Then she met your amazing father James Potter at school and they went and got married and had you, and I hoped you'd be just the same, just as strange and wonderful, and then… she was… but then we were blessed with you!"
Harry had gotten very excited by this point. All these revelations were almost too much to handle. Not only did he have another set of parents he was excited to find out more about, but there was an entire world that he knew nothing about and evidently he even possessed magical abilities?
"So what really happened to them, Hagrid? Was it a car crash?" Petunia asked.
"Car crash?" said Hagrid, getting up and starting to pace in front of the sofa. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? That would be an outrage… a scandal!" He kind of laughed to himself. "Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"
"Why does everyone know my name? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.
Hagrid suddenly looked anxious.
"I guess I kind of expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I guess I had some idea, what with Dumbledore never explaining it. An' he said there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don't know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."
He looked at the Dursleys sympathetically.
"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, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "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?"
"Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."
"Why not?"
"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as yeh could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…"
Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.
"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.
"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 ter him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left 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.
"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 mystery 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 was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'— an'—"
Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very clean, spotless 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 — anyway…
"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real mystery of the thing — he tried to kill 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 got that mark on yer forehead? 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, 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 was only a baby, an' you lived."
Everyone was in tears. Petunia was passing around tissues and something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: the low, bitter, sobbing of a man.
Hagrid was watching him sadly.
"Took yeh from the ruined house meself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh to yer aunt and uncle…"
"That's horrible," said Vernon, "much worse than we ever imagined. Thank you for finally telling us, Hagrid."
"Dumbledore said we should stay away an' let him grow up normally, away from the fame an' all, 'till he was ready ter take it."
"Harry," Vernon said, "you and I both knew there was something a bit funny that tended to happen from time to time but I always said it was probably nothing to worry about. And as for your parents, I'm so sorry we never told you. We loved them dearly and love you just as much, and there's no denying the world shines a little less brightly with them gone… And again, I'm so sorry for never telling you about the magical side of life, but then again, we didn't know enough to even begin to tell you. Maybe you can go to school and come back and tell us more about it, although if you didn't want to see us again we would understand—"
But at that moment, Harry leapt from his chair and gave Vernon a great big hug. "Don't say things like that, Daddy! You know I'll always love you and Mummy no matter what. I'd much rather go to Smeltings with Dudley but I also want to find out more about my parents and this world of theirs. I'll come back and tell you guys everything."
Harry motioned for Petunia and Dudley to get in on this love fest and they all shared a nice moment together.
"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing calmly and kicking back on the sofa, which was now sagging right down to the floor.
Harry still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.
"So what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?"
"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill yeh. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' 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 coming' back.
"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak ter carry on. 'Cause somethin' about yeh 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 stumped him, all right."
Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being surrounded by a wonderful, normal family; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't anything magical ever manifested itself around him? And if he'd defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come he didn't feel very powerful?
"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."
To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.
"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was happy or excited?"
Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever happened that made his parents stop what they were doing and become interested in him had happened when he, Harry, had been happy or excited… chasing girls with his gang, he had somehow found himself always able to catch them… getting his hair cut so short but then it magically growing itself back overnight… and that magical time they went to the zoo and wanted to pet the boa constrictor, hadn't the glass disappeared so they could?
Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.
"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."
Vernon spoke up.
"Smeltings will miss having as bright a mind as Harry's I'm sure, but what's all this in this letter about needing spell books and wands and potions and things?"
"If he wants ter go to Smeltings you won't see me try ter stop 'im," said Hagrid. "But Lily an' James Potter's son not goin' ter Hogwarts! That would be mad! His name's been down ever since he was born. He'd be off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbledore!"
"I've made up my mind. I'll go. And if I don't like it, I'm come right home and go to Smeltings," Harry said.
Hagrid let out a boisterous laugh. "Good on yeh, Harry! Yeh'll have the time o' yer life, I promise!"
"I'm sure going to miss you, Harry! But I'll write to you all the time so we'll never ever feel like we're too far apart! I can't wait to hear about what wizards are like!" Dudley said happily.
Then they all got up, Hagrid brought his umbrella swishing down through the air to point at the ground — there was a flash of violet light and suddenly they were shooting off firecrackers. They all started dancing, and Harry and Dudley squealed in delight, dancing on the spot, and the next second Petunia even clasped her hands around Vernon's tight bottom when she was sure no one was looking. He howled in pleasure. Then Vernon turned his back on everyone so no one would see what looked like an extra one of Hagrid's sausages poking through a hole in his trousers.
Vernon roared with pleasure. Pulling Petunia into the other room, he cast one devious smile at Hagrid and gently closed the door behind them.
Hagrid looked down at the dancing boys and stroked his beard.
"Ah, young love," he said smiling, "so, what do yeh boys want ter get up ter? Want ter see some magic tricks? I can turn rocks into pigs, water into kittens, and we can even go jump around on the moon!"
"Oh boy, can we?!" Dudley and Harry said in unison.
Hagrid looked down at the boys under his bushy eyebrows and smiled.
"Of course, but I'd be grateful if yeh didn't mention it ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh and stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job —"
"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.
"Oh, well — 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. Great man, Dumbledore."
"Why were you expelled?"
"It's gettin' late and I've got lots of magic tricks ter show ya. And we'd better get a move on if we're goin' ter go ter the moon," said Hagrid, "and we'll go up ter town tomorrow, get all yer books an' that."
He put on his thick black coat and they all went outside. The storm had died down and, as promised, they watched as Hagrid turned some of the rocks on the island into pigs, puddles of water into the cutest kittens they'd ever seen outside of Mrs. Figg's house, and then, after they finished naming them all, they went and jumped around on the moon. Hagrid shot fireworks into the sky while they were there, and those lucky enough to not only be awake at that time but also happened to glance up at the moon at that very moment saw the show of a lifetime.
When they finally got back to the cottage Hagrid took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.
"If yeh think that blanket's comfortable, yeh should kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."
