Chapter 20
Vernon stood in front of the towering giant, who was over three meters tall. Even though he was scared, he did his best to shield his family with his round body. The giant pointed a small red umbrella at the fireplace, and to everyone's surprise, the fireplace flared back to life! Dudley's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Is this magic? Wow, that's incredible!"
After warming himself by the fire for a bit, the giant still felt chilly and rubbed his hands together. "Oh, I could really use a cup of hot tea; you must have some," he said, his tone a bit demanding. Dudley's curiosity vanished in an instant, and with a frosty look, he replied, "Tea is for welcoming guests." It was clear he wasn't interested in being hospitable.
"Hey, Dursley, look at your big oaf here; he still hasn't figured something out," the giant said, glaring at Dudley. "Remember, don't say you don't have something in front of someone stronger than you."
Petunia, worried about Dudley, thought about making tea for the giant, but Dudley pulled her back and went to prepare a cup for Hagrid himself. Throughout the whole process, Dudley kept a blank face and didn't say a word. Harry could tell this silence meant Dudley was angry. He knew Dudley usually liked to argue, but when he was quiet and serious, it meant he was ready to use force instead.
Harry believed Dudley was strong; he had never seen him lose a fight. But the giant's size was pretty intimidating, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little anxious. 'If it comes to a fight, I'll grab a firewood stick and hit him hard,' he thought, glancing around until his eyes landed on the giant's back.
"Wow, I didn't expect this clumsy-looking oaf to know how to make tea," Hagrid said, completely unfazed by Dudley's expression. He took the cup from Dudley, took a sip, and smiled. Then he turned to Harry, who was standing next to Vernon, and said warmly, "Harry, anyway, happy birthday to you!"
Dudley thought to himself, 'What a rude and ill-mannered giant.' His opinion of Hogwarts dropped even further. Hagrid then pulled out a squished box and handed it to Harry. "Oh, it looks a bit crushed, but I promise it tastes great!"
"Who are you?" Harry asked, still staying close to Vernon and eyeing the giant warily.
Noticing Harry hesitating to accept the gift, Hagrid felt a bit awkward and sheepishly took it back. "I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Rubeus Hagrid, but you can just call me Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
Hagrid paused, his big eyes fixed on Harry. "You know Hogwarts, right?"
Feeling uneasy under Hagrid's gaze, Harry shook his head. "I don't know."
"You don't know?!" Hagrid exclaimed, his voice booming and making the whole house shake. "I know you haven't received those letters, which you should have! I get it now! Dursley!" Hagrid's voice got even louder.
"You never told this child, did you? You didn't tell him everything he should know!"
'What should I know?' Harry thought, feeling a bit confused.
But after years of living with the Dursleys, he believed they wouldn't harm him. Hagrid's expression softened as he looked at Harry. "Harry, you must want to know about your parents, right? Come here, I'll tell you!"
Hagrid thought every child would be curious about their parents. But to his surprise, Harry, with a slightly cold expression, replied, "Not interested."
Harry wasn't naive; he had already figured out that Hagrid seemed to know a lot about his parents, but he had never met him before. Dudley had taught him that someone who suddenly appears claiming to be a familiar face, whom you've never seen before, probably has hidden motives.
Of course, this was assuming the person wasn't lying. If they were lying...
Harry remembered a time when someone claimed to be a family friend and took him away when he was very young. That day, Petunia and Vernon went into a panic, searching everywhere for him.
In the end, it was Dudley who found him in a small, shabby house, huddled with other kids, shivering in a drafty room.
Later, he learned that the so-called family friend was actually a human trafficker, and he and those kids were just 'goods' to be sold.
From that day on, Dudley started walking him to and from school, even if he got out earlier than Harry.
So, neither of these situations felt good to Harry.
Suddenly, he realized that the giant claiming to be Hagrid might be connected to those letters he had received, because that place called Hogwarts couldn't be attended with Dudley at Smeltings.
Thinking about this made him feel a wave of disgust towards Hogwarts, while also worrying about Dudley and his aunt and uncle's safety.
'Should I pretend to agree with him? Then maybe I could call the police?'
Since Harry rejected him, Hagrid's interest seemed to fade, and he lowered his head in silence for a moment before looking back up at Harry, his gaze intense. "Harry, do you want to know who you are? The Dursleys probably haven't told you!"
"Shut up!" Vernon shouted, his fear of Hagrid bubbling to the surface. "Don't say anything more! I forbid you to tell this child anything!"
"From the moment we brought him into our home, we decided to stay away from that cursed place!"
Vernon turned his fear into determination, glaring back at Hagrid. "That cursed place has already taken this child's parents; do you want him to meet the same fate?! We will protect this child! Until he's an adult and can protect himself!"
Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.
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