Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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The weather in Britain is always unpredictable; it was sunny in the morning, but by evening it was pouring rain.
Far out at sea from London, a huge reef stood, upon which sat a crooked, dilapidated hut.
The biting wind from the storm seeped through the cracks in the wooden walls, making the four people inside shiver.
Even so, the atmosphere inside was tense and fraught with tension.
"What you've seen is all stupid lies! Now, hand me that damned letter!" Vernon Dursley said, his face flushed and his breath ragged.
Opposite him stood a thin boy with round-framed glasses and a scar on his forehead.
He clutched an opened envelope, the Hogwarts crest prominently displayed.
Harry Potter looked somewhat bewildered.
"This is what you've been preventing me from seeing?" He frowned. "A… Hogwarts acceptance letter?"
"Shut up!" Uncle Vernon let out a piercing scream, his face even turning purple.
"This world… has no magic!" he said, enunciating each word clearly. "Give me that damned letter, and then we'll go home!"
"No!" Harry shook his head firmly, clutching the letter to his chest. "It's for me!"
Uncle Vernon was furious. He never expected that after running so far, that damned owl would still find its way back.
And he had never seen such a large owl before; with its wings spread, it looked like a monster, landing directly on their boat.
Uncle Vernon was terrified. He tried to shoo the owl away, but before he could even take out his newly bought rifle, it was snatched away by the owl's claws and thrown into the sea.
Then it stood there, its scarred face glaring menacingly at them, its dagger-like claws leaving deep, threatening scratches on the boat.
The family dared not make a move.
"Monster!"
That owl was definitely not normal; it was a monster just like those people!
Vernon screamed inwardly.
Fortunately, the owl had left after Harry finished reading the letter; there was still time, as long as they destroyed the letter… there was still time.
"Give it to me!"
Uncle Vernon roared, charging at Harry to snatch the letter.
Harry turned and ran, weaving and dodging Vernon's large hands in the small room.
His small frame made him even more agile, and for a short time, Uncle Vernon didn't even manage to touch his clothes.
But the room was only so big, and by the time Aunt Petunia and Dudley reacted and joined the chase, Harry was quickly pinned to the ground.
"Give me the letter!"
Uncle Vernon slumped down, panting heavily, and pulled hard on Harry's arm.
This was relatively easy, and soon Uncle Vernon had pulled Harry's hand off his chest.
But just as he reached for the letter...
"Bang!"
A sudden pounding on the door shook the entire small house, startling everyone who stared at the door in terror.
"Bang!"
Another pounding on the door.
Dudley, terrified, huddled in Aunt Petunia's arms and said in a panic, "It looks like something's trying to come in."
"Who's outside?" Uncle Vernon stood up tremblingly, his voice sharp but weak as he shouted at the door, "I'm warning you, I... I've already called the police! You're trespassing!"
A moment of silence followed, then with a click, the door was ripped off.
A burly man stood in the doorway.
"Could I have a cup of hot tea? It must have been quite a journey..." Hagrid squeezed into the house, then quickly put the door back on.
"It's raining really hard. I should have listened to Kyle and taken the Knight Bus... What are you all doing lying on the ground?"
He bent down and pulled Harry up, smiling. "You must be Harry."
Harry looked up at the fierce, gruff, indistinct face and smiled slightly.
He could sense that this man was friendly towards him.
Hagrid chuckled, "The last time I saw you, you were just a little baby. You look a lot like your father, but your eyes are like your mother's."
Uncle Vernon let out a strange cry, as if he'd stepped on an electric shock, his entire face turning a purplish-red.
He tried to kick Hagrid out, but that was clearly impossible.
"Get out of here, you big fool,"
Hagrid said, completely ignoring the shouting Vernon, and lit the fireplace himself.
No one knew what he was doing.
In the blink of an eye, a roaring fire filled the fireplace, and the surroundings quickly warmed up.
"How are you feeling, Harry?" Hagrid said with a smile. "Much more comfortable, aren't you?"
"Yes," Harry replied, looking a little hesitant. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know who you are."
Hagrid said, "Just call me Hagrid, that's what everyone calls me. I'm the keeper of keys at Hogwarts, you must know Hogwarts, right?"
"That magic school?"
Harry glanced at the letter he had been clutching.
"Yes, so you already received it."
Hagrid patted his coat pocket; there was an identical letter inside, but now it seemed unnecessary to take it out again.
"It was delivered by a very large owl," Harry explained. "It's bigger than any bird I've ever seen."
"Oh, that's… well, its name is Rodon now."
Hagrid took a greasy, slightly charred sausage from the fire tongs and handed it to Harry.
"Rodon? Is that the owl's name?"
Harry took the sausage and took a bite. The rich aroma made him involuntarily squint his eyes; he had never tasted anything so delicious in his life.
"Yes, it likes that name."
Hagrid seemed to remember something, his expression turning slightly disappointed.
However, this disappointment quickly disappeared, and no one present, including Harry, noticed.
"Oh, I almost forgot… Happy Birthday, Harry."
Hagrid took a brown paper box from his inner jacket pocket. "It might be a little crushed, but it still tastes just as good."
"For me?"
Harry was somewhat incredulous that he could receive a gift on his birthday.
He opened the box; inside was a large cream cake.
The cake was compressed, looking quite flat, and the green syrup on it was somewhat blurred because it had gotten onto the box, but the words "Happy Birthday" and his name were still vaguely visible.
"Try it and see how it is," Hagrid said expectantly.
Harry nodded, scooped out a small piece of cream and syrup, and put it in his mouth.
Sweet...sweeter than anything he'd ever eaten, like stuffing a whole jar of candy into his mouth.
"And this," Hagrid said, placing a toffee next to the cake.
"Candy?!" Harry's eyes lit up, but he didn't eat it.
Because of that piece of cake, he couldn't eat anything sweet for the time being. Dudley, however, swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the cake.
He hadn't eaten anything all day and was starving.
"Don't eat anything of his, Dudley!"
Vernon snapped, then looked at Hagrid. "Listen carefully, I'm not going to spend money to teach him magic tricks."
Hagrid smiled dismissively.
Harry Potter wouldn't go to Hogwarts because he needed Galleons? Don't be ridiculous.
But Uncle Vernon didn't know this; he continued his nagging.
It was at this moment that Harry realized his uncle's family had known about the magic school all along, but had kept it from him.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a piercing scream came from behind them.
Aunt Petunia grabbed Dudley like a madwoman, and his tongue began to swell rapidly, quickly growing to four feet long.
Uncle Vernon, no longer bothering to argue with Hagrid, roared and charged forward, seemingly trying to shove the tongue back into Dudley's mouth.
Dudley clutched his mouth, screaming in pain.
The entire hut descended into chaos.
Hagrid looked at Dudley, then at the umbrella in his hand, utterly bewildered.
Had he used magic?
No, he hadn't!
But if it wasn't him, how could the child have suddenly become like this?
Could the broken wand have misfired? But this hadn't happened before!
Harry, watching from the side, was dumbfounded.
No further explanation was needed; he now completely believed in magic.
Magic was simply too amazing; he hadn't even noticed what Hagrid had done, and Dudley had become like that.
Harry's eyes grew brighter and brighter. The Hogwarts keeper of keys? He must be a very powerful wizard!
[End of the chapter]