| Chapter 3 | Harry Potter And Te Philosopher's Stone | Chapter 5 |
Synopsis
At the booming knock, Dudley awakes in confusion, and Uncle Vernon rushes out with a rifle. The door is knocked off its hinges, and a huge, hairy man stands in the doorway. He squeezes into the hut and puts the door back into its place. He asks for a cup of tea, and displaces Dudley from the sofa. Then he says hello to Harry, telling him he hasn't seen him since he was a baby.
Uncle Vernon demands that he leave, and the huge man takes the rifle away and ties it into a knot. The man gives Harry a birthday cake, somewhat squished. Harry asks who he is, and the man introduces himself as Rubeus Hagrid, Groundskeeper of Hogwarts. Hagrid starts a fire in the grate somehow, and makes tea and sausages. Uncle Vernon warns Dudley not to eat anything he's given, and Hagrid says Dudley doesn't need more fattening up anyway. Harry eats the sausages, and admits he still doesn't know who Hagrid is.
Hagrid is astonished that Harry doesn't know anything about Hogwarts, or his parents' world at all, or that he's famous. Uncle Vernon forbids Hagrid to tell Harry any more, and Hagrid yells at Uncle Vernon for not having told Harry anything, or shown him Dumbledore's letter. He tells Harry that he's a wizard, just like his parents. He says it's time Harry read his letter, and gives him a copy(addressed to "The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea").
It is from a Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, whose Headmaster is Albus Dumbledore. It states that he has been accepted at the school, that his list of school supplies and books has been enclosed, and that they await his owl. Harry asks about the owl, and Hagrid pulls one out of his pocket, dashes off a quick reply to Dumbledore, and sends the owl out into the storm.
Uncle Vernon says that Harry is not going, and Hagrid says no Muggle will stop him. He explains that Muggles are non-wizarding folk. Uncle Vernon says they were trying to stamp it out, and Harry asks if they knew all along. Aunt Petunia goes into a screaming tirade about her witch sister, and how their parents loved her, even though she was a freak. And now Harry would be just as bad, if his parents hadn't gotten blown up. Harry says he thought they'd died in a car crash, but Hagrid is outraged that their own son doesn't know about it.
He tells Harry about Voldemort--only mentioning the name once--a dark wizard with many followers, who started taking over, and killed anyone who opposed him. Hogwarts was safe, because Dumbledore was the only one Voldemort was afraid of. Voldemort killed Harry's parents, and then tried to kill Harry himself, but for some reason failed. Harry survived, though with his scar. Hagrid brought him from the ruins of the house and left him with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon protests again, saying the story is a load of tosh, and anyway what happened to the Potters was no more than they deserved. Hagrid threatens him with his umbrella, and Uncle Vernon subsides.
Harry asks what happened to Voldemort, and Hagrid says he vanished--that some say he died, but Hagrid didn't think he had enough humanity left to die. Some of his followers seemed to come out of trances after he disappeared, but most people seem to think that Voldemort just lost his powers.
Harry says he can't be a wizard, that he can't do magic, but Hagrid asks if there were ever strange, unexplained events around him when he was scared or angry, and Harry remembers them. Hagrid says he'll be going to Hogwarts all right. Uncle Vernon butts in again, saying Harry won't do any such thing, and that he won't pay for some fool to teach him magic tricks. Hagrid loses his temper at the insult to Dumbledore, and casts a spell on Dudley, which gives him a pig's tail. The Dursleys retreat into the other room.
Hagrid admits ruefully that he lost his temper, and asks Harry not to tell what happened, because he's not really supposed to do magic. He says he got expelled from Hogwarts himself, in his third year, but Dumbledore let him stay on as gamekeeper. Harry asks why, and Hagrid evades the question, saying it's getting late. They bed down on the floor of the hut.
Character List
Appearing:
Mentioned:
Terms Mentioned
Places:
Terms:
Plot Points
Lily and James Potter were killed by Voldemort as they opposed him.