A Family's Hidden Hatred

I reread that part a few different times and then grinned. I was required to buy books! Still, I should probably be asking more important questions.

"What does it mean, they await my owl?" Harry asked first.

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid. He clapped a hand to his forehead with a huge amount of force. Then from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — I did a double take and yes, it was a living owl, then a long quill, and a roll of parchment. Then he began scribbling a note that Harry and I could could read upside down:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

Given Harry and Sarah there letters.

Taking them to buy there things tomorrow.

Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.

Hagrid

Hagrid rolled up the note, then 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 if what he just did was normal.

Harry's mouth hung open, while I looked back and forth at the man and the note.

"Where was I?" asked Hagrid, but apparently Uncle Vernon had once again regained his voice and stepped into the firelight looking furious.

"There not going," He said. Hagrid grunted in response.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop them," Hagrid replied.

A what?" Harry asked curious.

"A Muggle," explained Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you two grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of them! Witch and 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? 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!"

She stopped to collect her breath, and everything began to fit into place. All the odd occurrences, why they hated us so much.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you two, and of course I knew you'd both be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —abnormal — and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

Harry went very white, and I looked at the women in stunned silence. How could someone hate there own sibling so much.

"Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" Harry finally spoke.

"You lied?" I said at the same time as Harry, and Hagrid once again fumed.

"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, an' Sarah Potter not knowin' there own story when every kid in our world knows there names!"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.

"Yeah, why does everyone know us? What happened?" I asked as well.

The fury from Hagrid's face faded, and anxiety took it's place.

"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, Sarah, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh two — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw another dirty look at the Dursley's.

"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 back down on the couch, stared into the fire for a few moments, then spoke.

"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?" Harry asked.

"Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" Harry again asked.

"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…"

....

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