Chapter 124 ⭃ Hagrid Must Be An Extremely Powerful Wizard

The British weather was as changeable as ever — sunny in the morning, but by evening, heavy rain poured down.

Far out at sea from London stood a massive rock with a crooked, run-down shack perched atop it. The bitter wind from the storm whistled through gaps in the wooden walls, making the four people inside shiver uncontrollably.

Yet despite this, the atmosphere inside remained tense and hostile.

"Everything you've seen is nonsense, now give me that cursed letter!" Vernon Dursley shouted, red-faced and panting.

Opposite him stood a thin boy with round glasses and a scar on his forehead, clutching an opened envelope with the Hogwarts crest prominently displayed.

Harry Potter looked confused.

"Is this what you've been keeping from me?" He frowned, "A... letter of acceptance to a magic school?"

"Shut up!"

Vernon let out a piercing screech, his face turning purple.

"There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. Magic!" He said, emphasizing each word, "Give me that cursed letter now, and we're going home!"

"No!" Harry shook his head firmly, pressing the letter against his chest, "This is for me!"

Vernon was beside himself with rage. He couldn't believe that even after coming this far, that wretched owl had still managed to find them.

He'd never seen such a huge owl — with its wings spread out, it looked like a monster as it landed directly on their boat.

He had been terrified. Before he could even retrieve his newly purchased rifle, the bird had snatched it with its talons and hurled it into the sea.

Then it just stood there, its scarred face glaring menacingly at them, its dagger-sharp talons leaving deep scratches on the boat as a warning.

The family didn't dare move.

"Monster!"

That owl was clearly unnatural — a monster just like those people!

Vernon's mind raced frantically. Thankfully, the owl had departed after Harry read the letter. There was still time — if they could just destroy that letter...

"Give it to me!"

Vernon roared as he lunged at Harry, trying to snatch the letter.

Harry turned and ran, ducking and weaving around the tiny room, evading Vernon's grasp. His small frame made him nimble, and Vernon couldn't even catch hold of his clothes.

But the room was too small, and once Petunia and Dudley joined the chase, Harry was quickly pinned to the ground.

"Give me the letter!" Vernon collapsed beside him, panting heavily while yanking his arm.

With little effort, he pried Harry's hand away from his chest.

But just as he reached for the letter...

BOOM!

A thunderous pounding shook the entire shack, freezing everyone in terror as they stared at the door.

BOOM!

Another knock.

Dudley cowered in Petunia's arms, whimpering, "Something's trying to get in."

"Who's there?" Vernon stood up shakily, attempting to sound fierce as he shouted at the door, "I warn you, I'm... I've called the police, this is breaking and entering!"

There was silence outside for a moment, then with a sharp crack, the door lifted clean off its hinges.

A giant of a man stood in the doorway.

"Could I get a cup of tea? It's been quite a journey..." Hagrid squeezed into the shack with effort, casually setting the door back in place, "Terrible rain out there, should've listened to Kyle and taken the Knight Bus... What are you all doing on the floor?"

He bent down and helped Harry to his feet, smiling.

"You must be Harry."

Harry looked up at the fierce, wild face before him and managed a small smile. He sensed this stranger meant him no harm.

Hagrid beamed, "Last time I saw you, you were just a baby. You look just like your dad, but you've got your mum's eyes."

Vernon made a strangled squealing sound, like someone had shocked him, his face turning a deep purple. He wanted to throw Hagrid out, but that was clearly impossible.

"Get out, you great oaf."

Hagrid ignored Vernon's outburst and turned his attention to the fireplace.

No one saw how he did it. With just a turn of his body, roaring flames sprang up in the fireplace, and warmth quickly filled the room.

"How's that feel, Harry?" Hagrid asked with a smile, "Better now, isn't it?"

"Yes." Harry replied shyly, "I'm sorry, but I really don't know who you are."

"Call me Hagrid, everyone does. I'm keeper of keys at Hogwarts — you do know about Hogwarts, right?"

"The magic school?" Harry glanced at the letter he was still clutching.

"That's right, so you've got it already." Hagrid patted his overcoat pocket, which contained an identical letter, though it seemed unnecessary now.

"It was delivered by a huge owl." Harry explained, "Bigger than any bird I've ever seen."

"Oh, that would be Se... well, it goes by Stella now." Hagrid took a slightly burnt, greasy sausage off the poker and handed it to Harry.

"Stella? Is that the owl's name?" Harry took a bite of the sausage, and the rich flavor made him close his eyes in delight — he'd never eaten anything so delicious.

"Yes, it likes that name." Hagrid seemed to remember something, his expression becoming momentarily downcast.

But the sadness quickly vanished, and none of the people present, including Harry, noticed it.

"Oh, nearly forgot... Happy birthday, Harry." Hagrid pulled out a slightly squashed box from inside his coat, "Might've sat on it at some point, but it'll taste just as good."

"For me?" Harry could hardly believe he was actually getting a birthday present.

He opened the box to find a large chocolate cake. Though squashed and flat, with green icing smeared against the box, he could still make out the words "Happee Birthdae" and his name.

"Give it a try." Hagrid said expectantly.

Harry nodded and took a small bite of cake and icing.

Sweet... sweeter than anything he'd ever tasted, like stuffing an entire jar of sugar in his mouth.

"And this too." Hagrid placed a toffee next to the cake.

"Candy?!" Harry's eyes lit up, but he didn't eat it.

After that bite of cake, he couldn't handle anything else sweet at the moment, though Dudley was eyeing the cake hungrily, swallowing hard. He hadn't eaten anything all day and was starving.

"Don't you dare eat anything he gives you, Dudley!" Vernon barked, then turned to Hagrid, "Listen here, I won't pay to have him learn magic tricks."

Hagrid gave a contemptuous laugh.

As if Harry Potter wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts just because he lacked Galleons — what a joke.

But Vernon didn't know this, and he continued ranting.

It was then that Harry learned his aunt and uncle had known about the magic school all along but had hidden it from him.

"AHHH!"

Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted from behind them.

Petunia was clutching Dudley hysterically as his tongue swelled rapidly, growing to four feet long. Vernon abandoned his argument with Hagrid and rushed over, frantically trying to stuff his son's tongue back into his mouth.

Dudley clutched his mouth, howling in pain as chaos erupted throughout the shack.

Hagrid stared at the boy, then at the umbrella in his hand, completely bewildered.

Had he used magic? Surely not!

But if it wasn't him, how had the boy ended up like this?

Could his broken wand have misfired? It had never done that before!

Harry watched in astonishment. He needed no further explanation — he was now completely convinced about magic.

Magic was incredible — he hadn't even seen Hagrid do anything, yet Dudley had ended up like that.

Harry's eyes grew brighter and brighter — the keeper of keys at Hogwarts? He must be an incredibly powerful wizard!

✭✭✭

T/N: Hey! Liked what you read? Support your friendly neighborhood translator on Patreon! Think of it as buying me a coffee... or ten!

For just $1.50 (that's less than your daily meme budget), get extra chapters! Want more? $2 gets you bonus content, $5 unlocks premium stories, and $10 makes you my hero (and gets you everything I have, including earlier acess to new books)!

That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)

https://www.patreon.com/collection/1305453