Mirror
Chapter Nine~~~Truth
“Oy! Harry, we’re over here. We’re going to Hogsmeade! Aren’t you coming?” came Ron’s voice as Harry walked back from a very difficult Occlumency class. His brain felt fried, but he had managed to throw Dumbledore completely off every time, and had even been able to read Dumbledore’s thoughts sometimes.
“No, I’m going to Hagrid’s. You go ahead. Where’s Ginny?” Harry asked, noticing that Ginny wasn’t with them.
“No Idea, I haven’t seen her since yesterday, come to think of it,” Ron said, frowning. “She must have skipped breakfast this morning, she is in her O.W.L’s year, and maybe she’s doing homework.” Harry nodded, still troubled.
“Are you alright, Harry?” Hermione asked. Harry nodded, and started smiling and waving goodbye to them.
“Yeah, I’m fine, really. I just have a lot of stuff to do, especially with McGonagall’s extra class. She gives a lot of homework, I’m just busy. I’ll see you when you get back.” He wanted to talk to Hagrid. During their class yesterday, Hagrid had asked him to come and visit him, and Harry had been looking forward to it all day. He passed Petunia in the hallway, and she gave him the oddest smile. It was a smile of satisfaction. Harry frowned, there was definitely something wrong. He pushed that to he back of his mind, however, and made his way down the grounds to Hagrid’s house.
BANG BANG! Harry knocked on Hagrid’s door loudly. He heard fang barking inside, and scratching at the door.
“Get down, you silly creature, get down! It’s on’y Harry!” yelled Hagrid as he opened the door for Harry. Hagrid beamed at him. “Come in! I’ll git ye some tea.” Harry smiled and nodded. He always enjoyed Hagrid’s company. He sat down on one of the huge, scrubbed wooden chairs. Hagrid bustled around, making tea while Fang laid his large head on Harry’s knee. “How was yer class with Dumbledore today?”
“It was good, it sure gave a headache though. It always…” Harry stopped. “How do you know about that? Dumbledore said nobody should know!” Hagrid grinned.
“I don’t know what yer learnin’ in there Harry, so don’t tell me. I just know Dumbledore is teachin’ ye something,” Harry stared. “He told me las’ night, don’ worry.”
“Why do you reckon Dumbledore doesn’t want anybody to know?” Harry asked, glad he could talk to Hagrid about it, if not Ron, Hermione or Ginny.
“Well, tha’s sort of what I wanted to talk to ye about,” Hagrid said uncomfortably. “I want you to be careful. No matter what you see, don’t go blastin’ away trying to save somebody. Whatever you see. Don’t. Trust. It,” Hagrid said firmly. Harry bowed his head. That’s how Sirius was… he stopped. No, don’t go there.
“Don’t think for one minute that I blame ye fer what happened, now,” Hagrid said a little softer, noticing Harry’s face. He sighed sadly, and sat down next to Harry. “Harry, when I told you I had found you in the rubble, that wasn’t true. Sirius found you first. When I got there, he was sittin’ on the rubble of yer house. He had a bundle of blackened blankets in ‘is arms. It was you, Harry.” Harry put his head in his hands, trying very hard not to cry. He couldn’t let Hagrid know. “That’s how I had ‘is bike, Harry. He told me to take the li’l tike, you, and keep ye safe.” Harry, made a quick excuse, and got up to leave. He couldn’t take this. ‘NO!” Hagrid yelled, grabbing the back of Harry’s robes and pulling him back to sit in the chair. “Listen to me, Harry. He told me to keep ye safe. Well, I did. I took you on his bike, to Dumbledore, and we laid you on that ruddy doorstep. Dumbledore and McGonagall left for ‘ogwarts after that. But I stayed behind. A few minutes later, Sirius apparated beside me. We jus’ sat there, for the longest time. Lookin’ at ye and yer future with them Dursleys. Sirius tol’ me about Peter Pettigrew. What he’d done to yer parents. He said he was goin’ to go and kill ‘im.”
“Hagrid…please stop,” Harry said, unable to bear anymore.
“He tol’ me he was goin’ to kill Peter Pettigrew,” Hagrid continued on. “Well, I says, if ye do that, it’s possible that you would die. He told me he didn’ care, justice had to be done, he says. I asked him, why don’ you just let it go, so when the Dark Lord is dead, you can take Harry. He looked at me with a look I’ll never forget, Harry. I will never forget it, I swear. His eyes was full of tears, and he looked all sad like.
The Dark Lord won’t be dead till Harry kills ‘im, he says. ‘Course, I didn’ know what he was sayin’! But he kept lookin’ at me with that look in ‘is eyes, till I started to feel that hopelessness in my own heart. He told me all about The Prophesy, and I couln’ believe it. I was a cryin’ like a baby.” Harry and Hagrid both had tears running down their faces now, but for some unknown reason, Hagrid insisted on telling Harry all of this.
“So, he tells me that Peter will continue to help the Dark Lord, until they have killed you, Harry. I knew he was right, but I just couldn’ cope with the fact that Sirius was goin’ to go hunt him down with no plan or nothin’. So, I asked him, why are you so willin’ to go out there and surely die without some sort of plan? He looked at me again, and then he smiled at me, Harry. He smiled. He says to me, Hagrid…I would die for this boy without hesitation. He is all I have left of Lily and James. I would consider it an honor.” Harry rubbed vigorously at his eyes, he was crying.
“Well, we sat there for quite sometime, just thinking, then it dawned on me. I got a bone to pick with ye, I says to him. When the spell rebounded on Voldemort, why didn’t Voldemort die? He looked all funny then, and his eyes went to the ground. You know how Lily was an Auror, right? He asked me. I told how I knew, and he got very upset like. He started cryin’ and all. Well, he says, that meant she needed to know how to do all the unforgivable curses. I still didn’t get what he was sayin’”
Hagrid looked at Harry, who was looking at him intently. Hagrid’s eyes bunched closed, and then he sighed. Harry was getting nervous, what else was there to his parents death that he didn’t know about? Did Hagrid know why Voldemort hadn’t died? Why hadn’t he told him before now?
“You know how disgusting You-Know-Who is Harry. He likes to play with his prey first,” Hagrid got all choked up.
“What happened Hagrid?” Harry asked, afraid of the answer now.
“Voldemort made yer….he…he put the Imperius Curse on Lily,” came a sob. “And he…he made her use Avada Kadavra you, Harry. The spell rebounded and hit her. Tha’s why Lily died, and Voldemort didn’. She couldn’t stop it, Harry. She put that protective curse on ye right before You-Know-Who got there. She tried her best to resist it, Harry. But she just wasn’ strong enough.” Harry stopped crying. He sat in his chair, rigid and unfeeling. Voldemort had made his mother try to kill him. Hagrid couldn’t look at him “I had to tell ye, Harry. You had to know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Harry said calmly. Hagrid choked. “I was goin’ ter, but then after Sirius…I didn’t think you could ‘andle it. Dumbledore don’t even know, Harry. I’m sorry.” Harry couldn’t breath. He tried to stand, but fell to the ground. He looked around, very dizzy. Where was he? He couldn’t breath! He tried to pick himself up off the floor, but couldn’t. He rolled over onto his side, and vomited all over the floor. He couldn’t breathe…he couldn’t breathe…black. When he woke up, Hagrid was leaning over him.
“Harry?! Harry!” WAKE UP!” Hagrid’s face was stark white. He lifted Harry roughly off the floor and carried him over a huge rocking chair. Sitting him down on it, Hagrid rushed to get something out of his cupboards. Harry was crying terribly now. This was certainly not what he was expecting to happen during his visit with Hagrid. Hagrid bustled over and shoved something into his hand. “Drink this, quick now,” Hagrid said. Harry did so, not realizing what was happening quite yet. As soon as he drank it, he felt better. His breathing slowed, and his heartbeat slowed to a normal pace.
“Thanks. What was that?” asked Harry, the taste was odd, but quite good actually. Hagrid took the cup from his and putting it over in the sink.
“My own secret recipe for a calming draft,” Hagrid said rather proudly. Harry nodded. “Are ye mad at me?” Hagrid asked tentatively. Harry wanted to shout at him, scream until his lungs could scream no more. But he didn’t. It wasn’t Hagrid’s fault that Voldemort had done that to his mother. He was, however, slightly ticked at why Hagrid hadn’t mentioned it before. He watched as Hagrid waited on the edge of his seat for an answer. Harry took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with the information he had just learned.
“Is there something else that you need to tell me?” Harry asked, watching him. Hagrid shook his head. “Of course I’m not mad at you. I just…wish you would have told me earlier, or something.”
“Well, to tell ye the truth. I wasn’ supposed to tell ye at all!” said Hagrid. “Sirius told me never to tell ye. Said that ye shouldn’ know that. But I thought ye had the right to know. And I’m not sorry that I told ye Harry. Yer a young man. You should be able to know about yer own life,” Hagrid sat down at a chair next to Harry. “I figure it’s better that ye find it out from me and not Voldemort, anyways.” Harry suddenly forgot all thoughts of anger. He calmed down immensely, and he knew it had nothing to do with the potion. Hagrid had just said Voldemort’s name.
“You said his name…” Harry told him. Hagrid nodded.
“I can’t do much this year in The Order, especially after the Giant catastrophe. At least I can try and say his name.” Harry actually smiled, and so did Hagrid.
“Thanks, Hagrid. It means a lot to me.” Hagrid nodded.
“I know. Now, how about some rock cakes…” Hagrid said, and started to get up. Harry opened his mouth to say he wasn’t hungry, but then he saw Hagrid was smiling at him. They both laughed. Hagrid’s rock cakes were just that: Cakes that were as hard as rocks. Hagrid wasn’t the best cook. A knock on the door interrupted their laughter. Hagrid looked out the window.
“It’s yer bloody Aunt!” Hagrid whispered loudly. Harry’s heart jumped to his throat. He didn’t feel like dealing with her. “Damn, she saw me lookin’!” Hagrid said, flattening himself against the wall. The knock came again, much louder. There was little choice, now that Petunia had seen Hagrid was already home. “Maybe ye could hide? If ye don’ want to deal with her right now…” But just then the door burst open. Petunia stood there, she had used her wand to open the door! She stepped into his house, and Harry stared coldly at her. She studied him hard, and he was sure she could see the tear-stains on his face. He reached up with his shirt sleeve and wiped hi face.
“Now, see here. I have company over, and I would thank you to get out of my house!” Hagrid bellowed. Petunia stared disgustedly at him.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. But Mr. Potter is needed up at the castle,” Petunia said, strolling in towards Harry.
“Oh yeah? Who says?” Harry asked hotly.
“The Headmaster. Now come.” Harry glared but if Dumbledore really did need to see him, he had to go. Hagrid nodded.
“I’ll talk to you lat’r Harry,” Hagrid said, not taking his glaring eyes off Petunia. Harry nodded, and followed Petunia out of the house.
“What does he want with me?” Harry asked stiffly. Petunia smiled, and then she pulled out her wand.
“He wants you to go and talk to the Dark Lord, and he wants you to go without a fuss…” with that she raised her wand, and brought it down on Harry.
“Transportatia!” she yelled. Harry was whirling away. What was happening? Petunia was laughing, and then the world around him disappeared completely.