Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Chapter 4 - The Keeper of the Keys
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Chapter 4
The Keeper of the Keys
BOOM!
The knock comes again.
Uncle Vernon runs into the room. “Who’s there?” he shouts. He is holding a rifle in his hands - now everyone understands what he was carrying in the bag the day before. “Who is it? I warn you - I have a gun!” There is a pause.
SMASH!
The door is hit so hard that it breaks and comes flying into the room. There is a man in the doorway - a giant man. His face is almost completely covered with long, messy hair and a big black beard. But you can see his eyes, like points of light under his hair.
The giant man comes through the doorway and into the room. His head almost touches the ceiling. “Could you make us a cup o’ tea, please? It has been very difficult to find you…” says the giant. “And here’s Harry! The last time I saw you, you was only baby! You look a lot like your dad, but you have your mother’s eyes.”
“I demand that you leave right now!” yells Uncle Vernon. “You are in this house illegally!”
“Ah shut up, Dursley, you big fool,” says the giant. He reaches over and takes the gun out of Uncle Vernon’s hands. He bends the barrel of the gun into a knot as if the gun were made of rubber. He throws the gun into a corner of the room. Uncle Vernon makes a sound like someone stepping on a mouse.
“Well, Harry,” continues the giant, “happy birthday to you! Eleven years old, congratulations!” Harry looks at the giant in surprise. “Who are you?” asks Harry. “Oh, I’m sorry, Harry. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. But you can call me Hagrid, everybody does. I’m sure you know all about Hogwarts, of course.”
“Um, no,” answers Harry.
“Excuse me,” says Hagrid, looking shocked. “You don’t know about Hogwarts?” Hagrid looks angrily at the Dursleys, who try to hide in a corner.
“I knew you weren’t receiving all the letters we sent you, but I never thought you didn’t know about Hogwarts, for crying out loud! Didn’t you ever wonder where your parents learned all of it?” “All of what?” asks Harry, very confused now. “‘ALL OF WHAT?” Hagrid yells. “You didn’t tell this boy ANYTHING about Hogwarts?” he asks the Dursleys in a voice that sounds like a storm. Hagrid looks back at Harry and asks, “You don’t know anything about our world…I mean, your world, Harry? My world? Your parents’ world?”
“What world?” asks Harry.
Hagrid looks like he is about to explode. “DURSLEY!” he yells! Uncle Vernon is shaking with terror. “But Harry,” says Hagrid, “you must know about your mom and dad. I mean, they’re famous. You’re famous, too.”
“They were famous? Really? My mom and dad?” says Harry.
“You don’t know,” says Hagrid sadly. “You don't know who you are, do you, Harry? You don’t know what you are?”
“STOP!” yells Uncle Vernon, who finds some courage to speak. “I forbid you to tell him anything!”
“Oh, go sit on some nails, Dursley, you great fat pot of pudding!” answers Hagrid. “Harry, you’re a wizard.”
“I’m a what?” gasps Harry.
“A wizard, of course,” says Hagrid, “one of the best, at least when you learn a thing or two. With a mum and dad like yours, what else would you be? I think it’s time you read your letter.”
Hagrid reaches into his pocket and pulls out a yellow envelope with emerald green ink written on it. The address reads:
Mr. H. Potter,
The Floor, House-on-the-Rock,
The Sea
Harry takes out the letter and begins to read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDOREDear Mr. Potter,
We are happy to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In this envelope there is a list of all the necessary books and equipment you will need for your studies. The term begins on September 1st. We expect your answer by owl no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Harry has so many questions that he doesn't know which question to ask first. Then Hagrid asks, “Well, Harry? Are you ready to go? Hogwarts awaits you.”
Before Harry can answer, Uncle Vernon says, “He’s not going.”
“I’d like to see you try to stop him, you great fat Muggle,” growls Hagrid.
“What’s a ‘Muggle’?” asks Harry, very interested.
“A Muggle,” says Hagrid, “it’s what we call nonmagic people like your uncle here. And it’s bad luck you grew up in a family of the worst kind of Muggle.”
“We made a promise when we accepted Harry that we would never allow him to be a wizard. It’s all nonsense anyway.”
“You knew?” asks Harry. “You knew I’m a – a wizard?”
“Knew?” yells Aunt Petunia. “Knew? Of course we knew! Especially since my horrible sister was what she was. She got a letter just like you, and then she disappeared and went to that – that school – and came home every vacation with her pockets full of magic nonsense. She turned our teacups into rats!! She was a freak! But my mother and father always loved her best. Lily this and Lily that. They were proud there was a witch in the family!”
She pauses to take a breath, and then continues in an angry voice. “Then she met that Potter boy at school and they got married…and had you. And I knew you were going to be just the same, just as strange, just as…as abnormal. And then she went and got killed and we got stuck with you!”
“She was killed?” yells Harry. “You told me she died in a car crash!”
“CAR CRASH!” Hagrid screams at the Dursleys. “How could a car crash kill Lily and James Potter? That’s ridiculous! I can’t believe Harry Potter does not know his own story, even when every kid in our world knows his name!” Hagrid looks sad. “I had no idea. Dumbledore said it might be difficult to find you, but I didn’t know it was this bad. But Harry, I don’t know if I’m the right person to tell you your story. But someone has to tell you. You can’t go to Hogwarts without knowing the truth about your past.” He looks at the Dursleys with an angry expression on his face.
“Well, I’ll try to tell you as best as I can. I don’t know everything myself. It’s a big mystery, some parts of the story… It begins with – with a person called…”
“Who?” asks Harry.
“I don’t really like saying his name. No one in our world likes saying his name,” answers Hagrid.
“Why not?”
“Great goblins, Harry, people are still scared of him. Oh, this is difficult. Well, there was this wizard who turned… bad. As bad as you could be. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…” Hagrid cannot finish. Finally, he says slowly in a low voice, “His name was Voldemort. I can’t say it again, Harry. Anyway, this…wizard, about twenty years ago, turned bad and started looking for followers. He was becoming more and more powerful.
They were dark days, Harry. You didn’t know who to trust. Bad things started to happen to good wizards and witches. He started taking control of everything. But there were some people who tried to stop him. They tried to go against him and he…he killed them all. He killed them in terrible ways. One of the only safe places for us was Hogwarts. I think Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. He didn’t try to attack the school. At least at first.”
Harry is filled with wonder as he listens to the story. Hagrid continues, “Now, your mum and dad were the best witch and wizard you could know. They were head boy and head girl at Hogwarts in their day! But You-Know-Who must have been afraid of them, because about ten years ago he discovered where they were, and you were with them, Harry. You were just a baby of one, you were. He found your mum and dad on Halloween. He came to your house and… and…”
Hagrid suddenly takes out a large handkerchief and blows his nose like a giant horn. “Sorry,” he says. “But it’s a sad story, it is. Your mum and dad were the nicest people you could meet. Anyway, You-Know-Who killed them, and then he tried to kill you. And this is the biggest mystery of all – he couldn’t kill you! Did you ever wonder how you got that mark on your forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That’s the mark of a powerful curse on you. It destroyed your mother and father, and your house. But you survived. That’s why you’re famous, Harry.”
While Harry listens to the story, he begins to remember images in his mind: green flashes of light, and, for the first time, a laugh. A high, cold, cruel laugh.
“I found you in the house, Harry, under some debris,” continues Hagrid. “Dumbledore told me to find you and bring you to these here Muggles.” Hagrid looks at the Dursleys with disgust on his face.
At that moment Uncle Vernon begins speaking angrily, “Now, you listen to me, boy! We took you into our home, we accepted you, even though there was something strange and different about you. And your parents, they were freaks! No good wizards and witches, and they got what they deserved, and…”
Before Uncle Vernon can continue, Hagrid jumps up from the sofa where he is sitting. He takes an old pink umbrella from his coat and points it at Uncle Vernon, like a sword, and says, “I’m warning you, Dursley… One more word and I’ll…”
Uncle Vernon loses all his courage and he becomes silent.
“That’s better,” says Hagrid.
“But what happened to Vold… sorry, I mean, You-Know-Who?” asks Harry.
“Good question, Harry. He disappeared. He vanished. That’s the biggest mystery of all - no one knows where he is. He was so powerful and now he’s just gone. Some say he died. That’s nonsense, if you ask me. Some say he’s still out there, waiting. I don’t believe it. But the ones who went to his side, the dark side, they all came back. So he must be gone for good. But he lost his powers, I think. He’s too weak to continue fighting. Something about you took away all his strength, Harry. Something happened that night, with you, with him. Nobody knows what happened, and that’s the mystery, but he’s gone.”
But Harry is confused now. He does not believe that he is a wizard, and certainly not a famous wizard. After all the abuse he receives from the Dursleys. “Hagrid,” says Harry, “I think you have made a mistake. I don’t think I can be a wizard.” Hagrid laughs, “Not a wizard, eh? You never made strange things happen when you were scared or angry?”
Harry thinks about this. All the things that have made the Dursleys angry with him have happened when he was angry or upset - especially at the zoo a few days ago! He made the glass disappear and he let the boa constrictor free, right? Harry looks back at Hagrid and smiles. Hagrid smiles back at him.
“See?” says Hagrid. “Harry, you may doubt yourself now, but just wait until you go to Hogwarts. You’ll see!”
But Uncle Vernon is not going to let Harry go without a fight. “I told you he is NOT going! He’s going to a normal school and he will thank us for it. I have read all those letters you sent him - nonsense!!”
“If he wants to go to Hogwarts, a Muggle like you can’t stop him. He’s Lily and James Potter’s son. He’ll go to Hogwarts and he’ll be with young people like him, people who will respect him for who he is. And he’ll be taught by the greatest headmaster there is, Albus Dumbledo –”
“I WILL NOT PAY FOR SOME CRAZY OLD MAN TO TEACH HIM SILLY MAGIC TRICKS!” yells Uncle Vernon. But Uncle Vernon has gone too far this time.
Hagrid picks up his umbrella, “NEVER –” he yells, “INSULT - ALBUS - DUMBLEDORE - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!” He moves his umbrella towards Dudley and there is a bright flash of violet light and the sound of a firecracker!
Dudley screams and puts his hand on his fat bottom. He begins jumping up and down in pain. There is a hole in his pajama pants with a little pink tail sticking out! Uncle Vernon yells in terror and takes Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room and slams the door.
“I don’t think my spell worked!” says Hagrid, confused. “I wanted to turn him into a pig! Oh, well, he is fat enough already.” He looks at Harry, “I would appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about this to anyone at Hogwarts, Harry. I’m not supposed to – er – use magic.”
“Why can’t you use magic, Hagrid?” asks Harry.
“Oh, well… er… I was at Hogwarts myself, but I was… um… expelled. But Dumbledore let me stay and be the gamekeeper. Dumbledore is a great man.”
“Why were you expelled?”
“Oh, Harry, it’s getting late. Take my coat and lie down here by the fire and get some sleep. We have lots to do tomorrow,” says Hagrid. “Hogwarts awaits you, Harry!”
