It was the first day after James Potter and his crew had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were, to say the least, 100% bored. No one was hiring right now, especially since they had trained to be Aurors (minus Peter, who was still in school having failed a class and was taking it over the summer) and, since only the Ministry of Magic would hire Aurors, and at this time there the Ministry felt no need for any more �right now�, they were, so to say, beside themselves with boredom.
�I�m bored,� said Sirius Black, and James sniggered at this comment.
�Aren�t we all?� he asked, as he heard thunder. They ran inside to find James� mother ready to leave the house.
�Where are you going Mum?� asked James, who was moving out into his own house, which was huge in itself with lots of space for children to play, within days.
�Library, a Muggle place though, so I don�t think you�d be interested,� she said, grabbing her keys.
�Mum, can we come? We need to get something to do,� asked James, and his mother agreed.
�But no pranks on the Muggles this time,� she said warningly before they left.
Upon their arrival, they spotted a huge line of people apparently waiting for someone.
�What�s the fuss about?� asked Sirius rhetorically, but James answered the question anyway.
�Looks like some new book came out,� he heard someone said, quickly using the newest spell he had invented, a time-stopping one, to skip to the front of the line and grabbed the last copy of the book.
James looked at the title, confused. Sirius shared the look.
�Harry Potter and the Philosopher�s Stone?� asked Remus, grabbing the book out of James� grasp.
James opened the book to a random page and read a paragraph of it aloud to his friends, away in a corner of the library as to make sure no one overheard.
CAR CRASH, roared Hagrid, jumped up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back into a corner. �How could a car crash kill Lily and James Potter? It�s an outrage, a scandal! Harry Potter not knowing his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!�
�What? They wrote a book about me?� James said aloud, and Sirius nodded.
�Seems like it my friend. Since when are you and Lily married though? I mean you asked her out last year and she said yeah, but you two haven�t gone out yet!�
�Sirius, I�m allowed to keep some parts of my life private. Lily and I are on good terms; right now she�s trying to find a job in teaching for the kids. But whom�s this Harry kid? Did we have a son? And Lily and I die? Why?� James asked, but Sirius shook his head.
�Why don�t we read this from the beginning?� Sirius suggested, and James agreed, flipping to the first page of what was sure to be an interesting novel.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number 4, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you�d expect to be involved in anything strange and mysterious, because they just didn�t hold with such nonsense.
�AKA they are boring Muggles who doubt such a thing as magic exists?� James questioned, and then his mother came over to him telling him it was time to leave.
James checked the book out (a rare occurrence for him, however now that he left Hogwarts, his Aunt Jasmine, a Squib, had gotten him a library card, because she felt he should see things from a Muggle perspective).
As soon as he got home, he realized he had a follower.
�Hi Lil dear,� he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
�Hi James,� she said, and then realized he had a book in his hands.
�Wow, beat me with a feather duster, James Potter got a book out of a library! That�s a new occurrence!� James faked taking the comment personally and then the five �mature� teenagers (James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Lily�s friend Vanessa) went upstairs to keep reading the book. James had mentioned that it may have been from the future, and Lily, even though she had not taken Divination (she had taken it but been kicked out when she did not possess the �sight�) she still found it interesting. Upon their arrival at the top of the stairs, James opened the book and picked up from where they had left off.
Mr. Dursley was director of the affirm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, however he did have a very large moustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde, and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley, and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.
Vanessa laughed. �That description of �Mrs. Dursley� sounds a lot like your sister, Lily.�
�Not a lot like her, exactly like her! My sister is married to Vernon Dursley, and she mentioned that he was a director of some place called Grunnings, and the description of him fits the one in this book. If this book is about my sister and her crackhead husband I swear I�m going to rip out all the pages of it,� said Lily, as everyone broke out laughing.
�And who�s this kid Dudley?� asked Sirius. Lily shrugged, as her sister and her hadn�t been in touch ever since fifth year when she made prefect and it became clear how much her parents cared about her. Lily, however, encouraged them to keep reading, she needed a laugh. James obeyed and continued on with the story.
The Dursleys had everything they wanted, however they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that someone would discover it. They didn�t think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley�s sister, but they hadn�t met in several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn�t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn�t want Dudley mixing with a child like that.
�I�m guessing I was right then. Since when does Petunia hate me that much, I mean, she hasn�t been that rude to me, and what�s with this boy Dudley, she hasn�t had a baby yet. I have no doubt though that the boy will turn out to be a spoiled brat,� said Lily. Then she reread the other part.
�The Potters? What are they talking about?� asked Lily, clearly confused.
�We opened it up to a random page first and, uh, found out something,� said Remus, attempting to divulge the information slowly.
�YOU AND I ARE GOING TO GET MARRIED!� said James, very excited. Lily blushed.
�I�m not worth that much excitement,� she retorted, however James thought differently.
�Love, you�re worth the world to me!�
Lily also sunk in about the other part. �WE�RE HAVING A BABY?!?!�
�I guess so,� said James, face still red from his quote about them getting married. James then continued on with the reading.
When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on a dull, grey Tuesday, our story starts. There was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that all strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his highchair.
None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.
At half-past-eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye, but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing cereal at the walls. �Little tyke,� chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of Number four�s Drive.
�Told you that stupid kid would be a brat. Was I right or was I right?� Lily asked in a joke, but James responded.
�Both.�
Lily smiled as she grabbed the book and continued to read.
It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar-a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn�t realize what he had seen-then he jerked his head around again. There was this tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn�t a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading a sign that said Privet Drive-no, looking at the sign; cats couldn�t read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of the drills he was hoping to get that day.
But at the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in his usual morning traffic jam, he couldn�t help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn�t bear people who dressed in funny clothes-the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was angered to see that a couple of them weren�t young at all; why that man had to be older than he was and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of silly stunt-these people were obviously collecting for something�yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived at the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.
�Wow, not much of this actually means anything,� commented Sirius, but James hit him-hard.
�Ouch, buddy, that hurt!�
�No, it wasn�t meant to,� James said sarcastically, as Sirius playfully punched him as well.
�Can we continue finding out about my sister and her fat, ugly husband?� Lily asked, however didn�t get much support. Only James wanted to keep reading. Sirius� eye had been on Vanessa the whole night and since she wasn�t raising her hand to continue reading, neither did he. Lily and James decided that she would read more that night and write down the important stuff or anything she thought he would find highly amusing, and then left; Lily to her apartment and James to his bedroom to do his last packing. That night he would leave for his new place.
The second Lily had left, James told his crew that they had to leave, he had to finish packing. His new place was about ten minutes away from his normal home, and he planned on keeping it that way unless Lily wanted to move. He had kept his life with Lily away from Sirius because he knew that he was jealous, with a capital J. Sirius never kept a girl because she always tried to convert him away from pranks, and that just wasn�t Sirius� style.
When James moved into his new house, he used magic (since he could now) to get everything set up. Sirius and Vanessa (he must have liked her the previous night) were going to be coming later along with Remus. Lily would be there any minute.
As expected, within five minutes, Lily had arrived. �I finished chapter one and read chapters two and three,� she said as she walked in the door.
�What happened?� he asked curiously, showing her to the couch.
�Wow, you unpacked pretty quickly,� she commented, smiling.
�Well, love, I knew you were to be coming here, and I wanted my house to look good already. Besides, now we�re out of Hogwarts, we can use spells inside the house and all. Anyway, what happened in the book?�
�Well, the rest of chapter one was all about the Dursleys and how you and I died, but our son lived, surviving the attack by Voldemort. McGonagall and Dumbledore were talking about it, and how now our son was being forced to live with the Dursleys,� Lily said, and James interrupted.
�OUR SON lives when WE DIE?!� he asked, and Lily nodded.
�He�s only like a year old but yes, he survives, and we die. May I continue?� she asked, and James nodded.
�Okay. Well, also, for later use, Voldemort�s worst fear is Dumbledore. At the end of the first chapter, Hagrid brings our son here. Oh, and you know how Sirius wants to get a motorcycle?� she asked, and James nodded. �He's going to get one. Then when we die he�s going to give that up to Hagrid. And no one is happy we are dead. Anyway, now I want to kill Petunia even more. She and Vernon treated our son like he was nothing. He was forced to live under the stairs! Also, they went and kept telling Harry that we were killed in a car crash, and that�s where he got the lightning-bolt scar on his head.�
�Lightning bolt? I have a tattoo of that, not a big one, but a small one, on my shoulder,� said James, now smiling as wide as Lily, who was laughing at this.
�It was actually not a scar from the car crash though. The scar was placed upon him when we died and he survived, and that scar will never leave. It is a scar of the curse that Voldemort had used. Anyway, Harry�s life pretty much, to say the least, sucked. He did some pretty amusing things accidentally with magic, like changing his teacher�s wig blue, and growing back the hair that Petunia cut off that had made him almost bald overnight, and the other one was when my bloody sister tried to put a completely embarrassing sweater on Harry, but it shrunk and wouldn�t fit on him. Also, are you a Parselmouth?�
�No,� said James, confused.
�Well, Harry is one somehow. Maybe Voldemort was one,� Lily said, and James interrupted.
�Wait. What was Voldemort�s real name?�
�Tom Riddle or something like that I think, why?�
�Maybe we should be watching out for someone with that name now, so then maybe we won�t die!�
�It�s written in the future, somehow I don�t think we can do that. Back to our son now. On Dudley�s birthday they go to the zoo and Harry talks to the snake, finding out he�s a Parselmouth. Everyone hates Harry, and Petunia and Vernon stop giving him meals again. I do have to say that our son is good at retorting to Dudley though. Also, by the way, Petunia and Vernon won�t let Harry get his letter from Hogwarts; they keep tearing them all up. Someone had just opened the door to the ship that the Dursleys were hiding out in. That�s where I left off,� said Lily, and suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sirius and Vanessa had arrived. James opened the door to let in his friend and his new-
�GIRLFRIEND?� James asked in more of a scream. Sirius nodded and Vanessa blushed.
Lily pulled James aside. �Vanessa�s liked Sirius forever,� she whispered, and James smiled. �Ah, young love. I remember when-�
�JAMES,� said everyone else present, and they all laughed. Sirius grabbed Vanessa�s hand and pulled her over to the couch. �So, anyway James, get any more of that book read?�
�Yeah, Lily read some more last night. She told me what happened in the chapters and we were just about to begin reading chapter four. Want to join us?�
�Sure,� said Vanessa, and Sirius also agreed.
�Where were we?� asked Sirius, and Lily opened the book to page 46, the beginning of chapter four. Sirius nodded as Lily began to read.
BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.
�Where�s the cannon?� he said stupidly.
There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle 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�m armed!�
There was a pause. Then�
SMASH!
The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.
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.
�Do you reckon it is Hagrid?� asked Sirius. Hagrid was the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, and was a giant with quite the lot of hair.
�Possibly,� said James, and then remembered what Lily had told him earlier. �Oh, and by the way Sirius, buy a motorcycle.�
�Why should I do that?� asked Sirius.
�Because you have to give it to Hagrid the day Lily and I die,� said James, and Sirius looked away, confused, as Lily kept on reading.
The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.
�Couldn�t make us a coup o� tea, could yeh? It�s not been an easy journey��
He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.
�Budge up, yeh great lump,� said the stranger.
Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.
�An� here�s Harry!� said the giant.
Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.
�Las� time I saw you, you was only a baby,� said the giant. �Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh�ve got yer mom�s eyes.�
Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.
�I demand that you leave at once, sir!� he said. �You are breaking and entering!�
�Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune,� said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon�s hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.
Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.
�Anyway�Harry,� said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, �a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat for yeh here�I mighta sat on it at some point, but it�ll taste all right.�
�It must be Hagrid,� said James. �He�s the one that brought Harry to the Dursleys the day we were murdered right?� he asked, and Lily nodded.
�He�s also the only giant that�s been mentioned in the book. Well, now we can see our son in our mind�s eye. He looks just like you except has my eyes,� said Lily.
�I wonder if he has my personality?� asked James curiously, and Sirius snickered.
�We�ll soon find out. The giant is probably giving Harry his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts,� said Vanessa, as Lily continued to read.
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 in green icing.
Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, 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 myself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.�
�Told you,� said James, grinning.
He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry�s whole arm.
What about that tea then, eh?� he said, rubbing his hands together. �I�d not say no ter summat stronger if yeh�ve got it, mind.�
�Hagrid, the tea-obsessant,� said James, and the group laughed.
His eyes fell upon the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn�t see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he�d sunk into a hot bath.
The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of 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, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, �Don�t touch anything he gives you, Dudley.�
�What, scared of poison?� asked James, laughing.
�I�d rather him have poisoned the idiot. Our son wouldn�t be having such a hard time just to get his letter of acceptance to Hogwarts,� Lily commented as she continued reading.
�Yer great puddin� of a son don� need fattenin� anymore, Dursley, don� worry.
He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn�t take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed to explain anything, he said, �I�m sorry, but I still don�t really know who you are.�
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 Keys at Hogwarts�yeh�ll know all about Hogwarts, o� course.�
�Er�no,� said Harry.
Hagrid looked shocked.
�Sorry,� Harry said quickly.
� Sorry?� barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. �It�s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren�t gettin' 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 what?� asked Harry.
�ALL WHAT?� Hagrid thundered, �Now wait jus� one second!�
He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.
�Do you mean ter tell me,� he growled at the Dursleys, �that this boy�this boy! �knows nothin� about��about ANYTHING?�
Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren�t bad.
�I know some things,� he said. �I can, you know, do math and stuff.�
�Math and stuff,� said James, suppressing a hearty laugh. �That�s not important stuff. I can�t believe your sister didn�t even tell Harry he was a wizard though!�
�I know, my sister is the devil in disguise sometimes,� said Lily, taking a sip of the water bottle she had brought over and continuing on the next page.
But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, �About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents� world.�
�What world?�
Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.
�DURSLEY!� he boomed.
Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like �Mimblewimble.� Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.
�But hey must know about yer mom and dad,� he said. �I mean, they�re famous. You�re famous.�
�What? My- my mom and dad weren�t famous, were they?�
�Yeh don� know�yeh don� know�� Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.
�Yeh don� know what yeh are?� he said finally.
Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.
�Stop!� he commanded. �Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!�
A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.
�You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left for him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An� you�ve kept it from him all these years?�
�Kept what from me?� said Harry eagerly.
�STOP! I FORBID YOU!� yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.
Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.
�Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,� said Hagrid. �Harry�yer a wizard.�
�Finally our son finds out the truth!� said James. �Oh, and he has one of my traits.�
�Which one, impatiency or comedy?� asked Sirius, laughing. James gave him a look.
�Both, actually,� he said as he too began laughing. After the boys had calmed down, Lily continued.
There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.
�I�m a what?� gasped Harry.
�A wizard, o� course,� said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, �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 about 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 Floor, Hut-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
�Finally! Harry better go! He needs to learn magic!� James exploded, and Lily laughed.
�I have a feeling he is going, or what would the other two hundred-and-some pages be for?� she said, continuing.
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 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. 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, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.
�He�s not going,� he said.
�Oh yes he is,� said James, and they all laughed. The doorbell rang, and Remus walked inside. Sirius and Vanessa were upstairs in James� guest room. Lily continued to read to James and Remus, who seemed deeply interested in his friend�s future.
Hagrid grunted.
�I�d like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him,� he said.
�A what?� said Harry, interested.
�A Muggle,� said Hagrid, �it�s what we call nonmagic folk like them. An� it�s your bad luck you grew up in a family o� the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on.�
�We swore when we took him in we�d put a stop to that rubbish,� said Uncle Vernon, �swore we�d stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!�
�You knew?� said Harry. �You knew I�m a�a wizard?�
�Knew!� shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. �Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? (�I love you too, Petunia!� from Lily) 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 were proud of having a witch in the family!�
�God I really hate my sister,� said Lily, and Remus and James laughed. �No, seriously! My parents may have loved me and all, and the description was true, but I didn�t go turning teacups into rats until this past week!� she said, overreacting. James grabbed her arm and tried to calm her down. Since she no longer wanted to read aloud, James grabbed the book and read to them.
She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.
�Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you�d be the same, buts at strange, just as�as�abnormal�and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up, and we got landed with you!�
Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, �Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!�
�CAR CRASH!� roared Hagrid, 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� his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!�
�So our son is popular? Why?� asked Lily, and James continued.
�But why? What happened?� Harry asked urgently.
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 getting� hold of yeh, how much yeh didn�t know. Ah, Harry, I don� know if I�m the right person to tell yeh�but someone�s gotta�yeh can�t go off ter Hogwarts not knowin�.�
He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.
�My sister deserved that look,� said Lily, smiling. �But what does he need to tell Harry?�
�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 you 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.
�Voldemort! Isn�t that the guy�� Remus asked, but James shut him up.
�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 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 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.
�Voldemort is going to try and get us to join their side?� Lily asked James.
�It appears so,� said James as Sirius came back downstairs holding hands with Vanessa.
�The party�s back!� screamed Sirius. Everyone doubled over in laughter, and Sirius pulled down Vanessa. James looked back at the book and continued.
�Maybe he thought he could persuade �em�maybe he just wanted �em outta there. 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���
�Beware when we have kids, Lily. We don�t want our son dead! The Halloween when he�s one year old we have to hide or something�Lils, I don�t want to die!� James said, suddenly scared.
�Death is but the next great adventure,� said Lily, however she too was nervous. James kept on reading.
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�anyway�
�Aww, Hagrid must have liked us James!� said Lily, smiling. James smiled back.
�That�s cause everyone likes the prankster!�
�Girls can�t resist a prankster,� said Sirius happily.
�You-Know-Who killed �em. An� then�an� this is the reasl myst�ry 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 tot 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.�
�Vanessa, isn�t your last name Prewett?�
�Yeah,� said Vanessa, now scared.
�NO! YOU CAN�T DIE VANESSA! I LOVE YOU!�
Vanessa looked at him confusedly. �You�ve known me since our Hogwarts days, but only yesterday you got to know me.�
�No, Lily told me quite a bit about you, and all of it was true,� said Sirius sheepishly.
Vanessa blushed as Sirius grabbed her hand, holding it in his own. �A sophisticated Kodiak moment,� said James, and Sirius and Vanessa blushed. �Can we get away from love�even though I love love, especially my Lils�and back to our futures?� James asked, and Lily flushed as everyone else nodded.
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: a high, cold, cruel laugh.
Hagrid was watching him sadly.
�Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore�s orders. Brought yeh ter this lot��
�Load of old tosh,� said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. (�Not hard to do when they are just a bunch of Muggle idiots that no one likes,� said Lily.) Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.
�Now, you listen here, boy,� he snarled, �I accept there�s something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn�t have cured�and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world�s better off without them in my opinion-(�Rubbish! Our deaths saved the whole world and our son lives! I would rather have died with parents than lived without them,� said Lily) asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types�just what I expected, always knew they�d come to a sticky end��
But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, �I�m warning you, Dursley�I�m warning you�one more word��
�PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE!� screamed both Sirius and James. They then laughed and James continued.
In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon�s courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.
�That�s better,� said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.
Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.
�But what happened to Vol-, sorry�I mean, You-Know-Who?�
�Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. 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 don it if he was comin� back.
�Most of us reckon he�s still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. �Cause somethin� about you 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? Howe could he possibly be? He�d spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he really was a wizard, why hadn�t they been turned into warty toads every time they�d tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he�d once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?
�I want to change this. Our son is being brought up by my sister, the biggest ass of all time,� said Lily, and James looked appalled.
�Lily Evans, cursing! That�s new!�
�Actually, I wasn�t cursing. I meant it as a donkey,� said Lily.
�Uh huh, sure,� said James disbelievingly.
�You know me too well,� Lily said as she encouraged James to keep reading.
�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 scared or angry?�
Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it�every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry�chased by Dudley�s gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach�dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he�d managed to make it grow back�and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn�t he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn�t he set a boa constrictor on him?
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.�
But Uncle Vernon wasn�t going to give in without a fight.
�Haven�t I told you he�s not going?� he hissed. �He�s going to Stonewall High and he�ll be grateful for it. I�ve read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish�spell books and wands and��
�Rubbish? RUBBISH?! Rubbish is learning math and history and other things you won�t use in real life. Stuff like spell books and wands are NOT RUBBISH!� screamed Lily, then calmed down, allowing James to continue.
�If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won�t stop him,� growled Hagrid. �Stop Lily an� James Potter�s son goin� ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name�s been down ever since he was born. He�s 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 the youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an� he�ll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled��
�I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!� yelled Uncle Vernon.
�Woah, that�s strong. Magic tricks, ha! God, your sister and her good-for-nothing husband are strange,� said Sirius, then James continued.
But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head. �NEVER�� he thundered, ��INSULT�ALBUS�DUMBLEDORE�IN�FRONT�OF�ME!�
He brought the umbrella swishing 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 sopt with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig�s tail poking through a hole in his trousers.
All of the crew doubled over in laughter at this line. "Muggle places can't remove it!" Lily reminded them, and then it took ten minutes for them to calm down enough to keep resding.
Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling 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 Harry under his bushy eyebrows.
�Be grateful if yeh didn�t mention that 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 an� 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 want in half an� everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore.�
�Why were you expelled?�
�It�s gettin' late and we�ve got lots ter to do tomorrow,� said Hagrid loudly. �Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an� that.�
He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.
�You can 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.
�That�s the end of chapter four,� said James, putting in the bookmark (an old love note to Lily from first year when he had fallen completely head-over-heels for her).
�It�s actually pretty good,� said Lily. �I like reading about our son, even if we aren�t in the actual story. I mean, I know I would never let anything happen to my kids, so this story probably is the future of us,� she said, and then they noticed something.
�Where are Sirius and Vanessa?�