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Half Light - Harry Potter and the Philosoper's Stone Fanfiction

Follow the adventures of four girls in the magical story of Harry Potter: - Penny Weasley, sweet and dreamy, Cora MacGonagall, sassy and sporty - Cordelia Black, sophisticated and rebellious and Rachel Harvey reserved and caring See how this girls will grow and trying to survive against the darkest forces.

CassieBaratheon · Derivasi dari karya
Peringkat tidak cukup
14 Chs

RACHEL

Crack.

When Rachel opened her eyes, the sea was in front of her. The waves were slamming against the rocks of the shore, the wind was blowing, and rain was falling on her face.

"How could they even find this place?" Rachel muttered, looking at the house made of dark stones. It was a miracle it was still standing.

"No idea, Rae," Hagrid said, walking to the wood door.

"Do you want me to open it?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest to shelter herself from the cold.

"Nah, don't worry," He said.

Rachel looked at her watch on her wrist. When Hagrid started banging loudly at the door, her clock read midnight. It was officially the 31st of July.

The more Hagrid pushed the door, the more Rachel felt nervous. On the other side, there was Harry. Did he know what happened? What did he know about her?

A loud noise took her from her thoughts, and when she looked ahead of her, she noticed the wooden door on the floor.

"Hagrid," Rachel exclaimed, smiling softly.

The man looked at her, hiding a smile. "I'll pick it up," he said, gesturing for her to head inside.

When Rachel stepped into the room, she frowned. How could they even know about a place like that?

It was an old house and cold. It was easy to understand that nobody lived there, not now nor for years.

A man, not very tall but very plump, was shivering in the room, holding a rifle to them. He was surely Mr. Dursley; it was the first time she had seen him. Behind him, Petunia Dursley was hiding. She was tall and skinny, as Rachel remembered, but the last time she had seen her, Petunia was still an Evans.

On the old sofa, not far from the door, there was a plump boy frozen looking at them. He must have been eleven, too, and he looked very much like his father. Rachel tried to, but she couldn't remember the kid's name.

Suddenly, her breath itched in her throat. A lanky boy with messy black hair was looking at her behind his glasses with green eyes.

Oh God, she thought, looking at him.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh?" Hagrid's voice made her jump. "It's not been an easy journey, yeah, Rae?" She just nodded and then went back to look at Harry, standing near the wall, observing them with curious eyes.

"An' here's Harry!" Hagrid said cheerfully before turning to her, "Can yeh believe it?" but Rachel was too focused on the boy, who was a few feet away from her.

Hagrid laughed again "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yer father." He was so alike; it was like seeing James before her again but not his eyes.

"But you've got your mother's eyes," Rachel said, stepping forward. Harry looked at her again.

"Hi..." She was sure she had whispered it, but she didn't because Harry spoke kindly.

"Hi," Rachel's lips tugged in a smile, a real one.

"I'm Rachel," she presented herself. "Rachel Harvey."

Harry was about to answer, but Petunia groaned, making him stop.

"I demand you to leave. Both of you!" Mr. Dursley exclaimed, pointing the gun at Rachel. But Hagrid steps forward, taking the gun away from the man's hand, before throwing it away.

"Ah shut up, Dursley yeh great prune," Hagrid said with a roaring voice.

"I'm very sorry for our rude entrance," Rachel said, turning to Harry's uncles. They stepped back. "But I assure you, we mean no harm." When she looked back at Harry, he was smiling at her, and she found herself doing the same.

Suddenly she remembered the box in her bag. Without thinking too much, Rachel started to search for Harry's birthday present.

"I... uhm," Rachel said shyly, and Harry looked at her with eyes full of curiosity. "I know today is your birthday," she said. She handed him the present, and Harry seemed amazed by it like he had never seen a gift before.

"Is it for me?" He asked, unsure of taking the box.

"Yes, sure," she answered kindly.

Harry smiled widely before taking the gift and starting to unwrap the paper around it. Rachel observed him stepping towards him when he finally saw his present. It was a stuffed animal shaped like a stag. She really hoped Harry liked it.

The boy looked up at her with his green eyes. "It's beautiful."

"Really?" He nodded at her question with a smile.

"I never had one." She didn't know if she heard him right, but perhaps he never had a stuffed stag.

Hagrid then approached them with a giant smile, handing the boy a box.

"A very happy birthday to yeh," He exclaimed. "This is for yeh. I made it for yeh."

Harry took the box, and when he opened it, Rachel smiled, seeing a chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it. It wasn't pleasing to the eyes, but it was a very nice gesture to make him a cake.

"Thank you," Harry said before looking at both of them and asking, "But… who are you?"

Hagrid chuckled, "Oh yeah! I'm Rubeus Hagrid. Call me Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." Then Hagrid turned to Rachel, "And Rae, here is the councilor of Hogwarts. Students love her." Rachel took a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling shyly. Then Hagrid clapped his hands together.

"So, what about that tea, Rae?"

"That would be lovely," she said, sitting on the sofa next to Hagrid. It was freezing cold, how did they even managed to sleep in there?

Where was Harry sleeping, anyway? Rachel thought, noticing just a bedroom in the house. She turned to look at the boy who was smiling down at the stuffed animal in his hands. He was so like James.

Suddenly, the boy looked up and turned to them.

"I'm sorry," he said, wanting to be kind, "But I still don't know who you are."

"I told yeh," Hagrid said with a chuckle. "I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." Rachel looked at Harry's face, still confused.

"Do you know about Hogwarts?" she asked softly. Harry turned to her and shook his head.

"No." Then he looked at their expressions, and he quickly added, "I'm sorry."

"It's not yeh who should be sorry, but them!" Hagrid roared, turning to the Dursleys, who stepped back in fear. "Haven't you wondered where your parents learned it all?"

"All what?"

Rachel knew Petunia hated magic, but keeping Harry in the dark about who he was when she knew it well wasn't right. Rachel wondered what else they had kept away from him. But before she could say anything, Hagrid roared, getting up and walking to the Dursleys, yelling at them how Harry could not know anything.

"I know some things!" Harry protested resentfully. "I can do, you know, math and stuff." Rachel took a breath before opening her eyes and seeing Harry looking at her confused. She couldn't help but smile and smile at him.

"I'm sure you do," Rachel said, gesturing for Harry to sit down not far from her. "Hagrid wasn't meaning that."

"Exactly!" Hagrid said calmly to Harry, "I was talking about my world, your world, our world."

Harry's green eyes bit in confusion. "What world?"

"DURSLEY!" Hagrid roared angrily again.

Rachel took another breath; he was really scaring the boy's uncles; Vernon was pale as a ghost, and Petunia was shacking behind her husband. So, Rachel stood up and walked to Hagrid. She gently put a hand on the man's forearm.

"Hagrid, come on, get your voice down. You are scaring them," Rachel said without looking at the two Muggles.

"I know, Rae," he said, shaking lightly, "But if ter didn't say anything about' it, what else didn't to tell him? Maybe he doesn't even know about…" he stopped suddenly. Rachel could see him biting his lips under the huge beard, his eyes suddenly sad.

"I…" Rachel knew what her friend was talking about, and suddenly she felt her breath labored slightly. "I'm sure they did."

"Yeh must know about your parents, Harry. Did ter talked abou' them?!" Rachel didn't turn to Harry, her eyes fixed on Petunia, who, still shaking, was looking at her with angry eyes.

"You didn't?" asked Rachel in a whisper, taking a step towards the Muggles.

"Don't come any closer!" roared Vernon, making her stop.

"I won't," Rachel assured. "But… did you? Or not?" The couple before her didn't answer. "Petunia," Rachel said directly to the woman, almost pleading, "Does he know?"

"Know what?!" She heard Harry say behind her.

"Yeh didn't let him read the letter that Dumbledore left?!" Hagrid roared once again. "He did it, Rae. I was there that night!" Rachel's head spun for a moment. That night. She really didn't want to think about that night. Everything had changed after that night.

"Stop the both of you!" yelled Vernon, bringing Rachel back to reality. "I forbid you to say anything!" Rachel turned to Harry, standing up, a confused expression on his face. He didn't know… he didn't know anything. For a moment, she wondered if maybe it was better that way. Maybe it was best for everyone.

Suddenly, though, the thought of Lily and James came back into her mind. They deserved it. Their son deserved to know why they weren't with him. Why couldn't they grow him up like they wanted and like Harry deserved? She felt her own body become tense, her eyes were watering, and she really needed to take some breaths to calm herself.

"I don't care," Hagrid said, turning to "Yer a wizard Harry." After that, silence fell in the room, and even Petunia stopped to whimper. The only sounds were the angry wind against the house and the waves moving the water all around them.

"I'm… what?" asked Harry with a gasp.

"A wizard," Hagrid repeated, sitting down. "Of course you'll have to train up a bit. But with parents like years, you can't be nothing but a good. Am I right…" but he stopped suddenly before continuing, "Of course. Of course, I'm right"

Rachel was still almost paralyzed in that room. She had always hoped that Harry didn't know about that night, too afraid to face him. But now, having to be the one to tell him… opening again that part of her life was too much. She had worked so hard to try and live again. But Harry had to know, he had too.

"Rae!" Hagrid's voice made her turn. "Have yeh heard?" Rachel shook her head softly. Hagrid looked at her with sweet eyes. "Don't yeh think it is abou time for Harry to read his letter." Rachel nodded once again, opening her bag and looking in it for the letter. When she found it, she walked to Harry, handing him the piece of paper. He seemed really confused, but when he took the letter from her hand, he looked closely at her, like he was studying her.

"Are you ok?" he asked kindly.

Rachel couldn't help but smile lightly down at the boy. "Yeah… yes," she said. "What are you waiting for? Open it," she said, trying to be encouraging. Suddenly, she felt a big hand taking her own, and turning, she saw Hagrid smiling at her, gesturing her to sit next to him.

Rachel felt suddenly excited when she saw Harry opening his letter with shaking hands. The thought of him going to Hogwarts relaxed her. She couldn't believe he was already eleven.

"He is not going!" Vernon yelled angrily again, making Rachel and Hagrid turn to him.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle stop him," Hagrid said, almost laughing out of anger.

"Muggles?" at Harry's question, Rachel turned to him.

"Not magical folks," she said with a little smile before turning to Vernon seriously. "You can't stop him. This is what he is; accept it."

Vernon's face became suddenly red. "It's not on you to decide!" he said, pointing his plump fingers at her. "We swore we'd put a stop to this rubbish when we took him. It was up to us to decide." Rachel bit her lips, looking at her hands on her lap.

"You knew?" Harry said.

"Of course, we knew," Petunia spat, suddenly walking closer. "How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?" Rachel's eyes fixed on Petunia. "She got that letter, disappeared to the school, and came back every vacation with all that rubbish. But I was the only one to see her for what she was… a freak!" Rachel clanged her hands so much that her hands became white. For a moment, she really thought of hex her, but she had to keep calm.

"Then she met that Potter," Petunia kept saying. "They left and got married and had you. Of course, I knew you'd be just as strange, just as… abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up, and we got landed with you."

Rachel suddenly stood up so fast that even Hagrid could not stop her.

"And what would you know?!" Rachel exclaimed, making the woman take a step back. "You weren't there, Petunia. It wasn't a game! But you would have known if you didn't push her away." Rachel's eyes were watering. "That times… that times had been awful, scary… dark…"

"But…" Harry asked with a pale face. "What happened?"

Rachel's body froze once again. In a moment, she relived all those years in her mind. All the people she had lost, all those dark times that she pushed at the back of her mind. Forcing them there, trying to lock them away.

Rachel looked at Hagrid with pleading eyes, trying to find some help.

"A'right," he said, understanding, "I suppose everything started with… a person called… It's incredible you don't know."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"He can't know Hagrid," Rachel said, glaring at Petunia still in front of her.

"I don't like to say his name; no one does," Hagrid said, looking at Harry. "This wizard became bad… very, very bad."

"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested, seeing the discomfort in Hagrid's voice.

"His name was Voldemort," Rachel said, fighting the shiver running down her spine. The thought of him and of everything he brought with him still haunted her, like everyone.

"About twenty years ago, he started to gather followers," Rachel continued. "There were a lot of them, all for different reasons: seeking power, having the same view or fear. But every person at his side gave him more power."

Hagrid nodded his head. "Those were dark times, Harry. The only safe place was Hogwarts because of Dumbledore. You-know-who was scared of him." Rachel put a strand of hair behind her ear. Maybe he was afraid of Dumbledore, but it wasn't so safe… not for muggle-borns, anyway.

"Yer mum an' dad were as good as witch and wizard as I have ever knew," Hagrid said. "Very close to Dumbledore… maybe You-Know-Who just wanted 'em otta the way…" Rachel was now looking out the window, looking at the storm outside. Her breathing was still fast, and her eyes were still watering. What he wanted…

"One night, he just turned up in the village where you were all living," Rachel said without turning. "It was Halloween ten years ago. You were just a year old." She hid a small, sad smile, but then she stopped. She really couldn't make herself go any further.

"He then…" Hagrid tried, but he stopped to blow his nose, even though he was on the edge of tears. "Sorry. It's just so sad… they were so nice. But…" he took a deep breath "This is the myst'ry… he tried to kill you."

Rachel's eyes moved slightly to Harry, who was looking at Hagrid, before coming back to look at the dark water.

"But he couldn't do it," she said.

"That's why you got that scar," Hagrid said, nodding. "No one ever lived after that curse. No yer parents, the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewentts…" Each one of those names was like a stub to Rachel… every one of them…

"But not yer. Yer were just a boy and you lived," Hagrid looked at Harry sadly. "I took yer away from there, myself."

"Loads of tosh!" Vernon Dursley's voice broke the painful silence that had been felt among them. Now listen, boy. I accepted your strangeness, and the thing about your parents, well, they were weirdos, and the world is better off without them…"

Rachel took out her wand quickly, and the light bulb not so far from Vernon exploded, making the man gasp and Petunia scream in fear.

"Just one more word," Rachel said, looking at the Muggles in front of them. How could he say something like that? They didn't have compassion for Lily and James? Or for Harry? She hadn't been that angry in years. She knew that the Dursleys didn't want anything to do with the Potters, but feeling nothing over their death… how could they? How could Petunia?

When Vernon stood silent, Hagrid nodded, as angry as she was. "That's better," then he turned to Harry. "See? You'll be right famous at Hogwarts."

"I told you, he is not going!" Vernon yelled again.

"If Harry wants to go, he'll go," Rachel almost growled. "I'll make sure of it." Hagrid stood up next to Rachel.

"Harry's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and he'll be under the greatest headmaster that Hogwarts ever had; Albus Dumbledore."

"I'm not paying for some crackpot old fool to teach him magic tricks!" that was Vernon's last mistake. Hagrid pointed his pink umbrella towards Dursley angrily, and Rachel wasn't really about to stop him.

"Never," thundered Hagrid. "Insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me!" he swished his umbrella toward Dudley, sparkles flew in the air, and suddenly, the boy was running around with his hands on his bottom. When he turned, Rachel could see a little pigtail coming out from the back of his trousers. She glared at Hagrid. She would have liked to see Vernon dancing and screaming like that. Petunia looked over to Rachel, who just scrolled her shoulders, and then Vernon took his family to run into the other room, locking the door.

When Rachel turned, she saw Harry laughing incredulously. Hagrid then asked Harry not to talk about him using magic. Hagrid had been expelled from Hogwarts, and because of that, he wasn't allowed to use his wand, which was now in his umbrella… well, pieces of it.

"Come on," Hagrid said. "We gotta go, Rae. It's getting late." Then he walked out of the house.

Harry looked around the room, almost unsure. "You can choose whatever you want, Harry," she said. "It's up to you." Then he looked up at Rachel, and she felt like knowing what his decision was. He took the stuffed dear that was now on the sofa, and he ran to her, taking her hand. Rachel froze once again, feeling his hand in hers. Harry was looking at her over his round glasses.

"You'll accompany me?" he asked kindly. Rachel found herself smiling at him.

"Of course," she said, then put her umbrella in her bag and started to walk outside hand in hand with Harry.

"What are you wearing, by the way?" she asked, looking down at the over-too-big clothes the boy was wearing.

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