The Rose

Chapter 3

Rosalie stared at the man from her hiding spot. He entered and picked up the door putting it back in place.
"Sorry about that." He said, his voice was deep, but it sounded gentle.

Rosalie glance towards her Uncle and Aunt. "You are breaking and entering," Vernon said pointing the gun at the man. The man walked up to Vernon. He took the tip of the gun and bent it, so it pointed up. The gun went off and shot a hole into the roof.

The man turned to Dudley. "It's been a long time since I saw you, Harry but you got a little round especially in the middle." The man said. "I-- I'm not H-harry." Dudley shuttered. "I am," Harry said stepping out from his hiding place, with Rosalie who was clutching his arm and hiding behind him.

"Of course, you are. And the little Rosalie is behind you." The man said smiling at the two of them. "Oh. I have something for ya. Might have sat on it, but it's the taste that matters." The man said and handed Harry a white box.

Harry opened it and saw a pink frosted cake with green writing, Happy Birthday Harry and Rose.

Rosalie smiled as she looked up at the man who sat on the couch. He took his umbrella and suddenly there was a fire.
"I'm sorry but who are you?" Harry asked the man, setting the cake down on a table.

"Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts." The man, Hagrid said. Rosalie frowned. "I'm sorry but what is Hogwarts?" Rosalie asked Hagrid stared at her surprised.

"Hogwarts, my dear Rosalie, is a school," Hagrid said from his position on the couch.

"A school for what?" Harry asked having never heard of Hogwarts. "You don't know where your mum and dad learned it all?" Hagrid frowned at the two of them, who gave him a confused stare.

"Learned what?" Rosalie asked, confirming that they did not know anything about magic. "You, Rosalie, are a witch, while Harry is a wizard. Good ones at that." Hagrid said. "No, that can't be. I'm Harry, just Harry." Harry said, he was denying that he was a wizard, but Rosalie kept quiet as she thought about the strange things that has happened to her. Being a witch would explain them.

"Have you ever done anything that you can't explain when you're sad, angry?" Hagrid asked, and Rosalie glanced towards Harry, she could see he was realizing what really happened that day at the zoo. The glass that vanished and then reappearing trapping Dudley and Piers in the snake's cage.

"You'll be in the finest school, with the greatest headmaster of all times, Albus Dumbledore," Hagrid said, and Rosalie could hear the pride in his voices as he spoke about the school and the headmaster.

"You will not be going!" Vernon said stepping forward, Rosalie glanced up at her uncle.

"Who are you to stop them?" Hagrid asked Vernon and Rosalie hid a small smile as her uncle got quiet and Hagrid took out two letters. Handing one to Rosalie and one to Harry.

Rosalie looked down at hers. It was a brownish coloured envelope with green writing on top of it.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Potter

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find the enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress

"What do they mean, they await my owl?" Harry questioned, and Rosalie glanced up also wondering what it meant. "Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me." Hagrid said reaching into his coat pocket and pulled out an owl, a real one at that. He wrote something on a piece of paper with a long feather, he rolled it up and gave it to the owl. He stood up and threw the owl out into the storm and it flew away.

"They are not going," Vernon said speaking up from the stairs. "I'd like to see a great Muggle as you stop them," Hagrid said looking over to Vernon. "A what?" Rosalie questioned having never heard the word, Muggle, before. "A muggle. Non-Magic folk, like them." Hagrid said and pointed towards Petunia, Vernon and Dudley.

"We swore when we took them in that we'd put a stop to that rubbish, we swore we'd stamp it out of them," Vernon said pointing his finger towards Rosalie and Harry.

"You knew?" Harry glanced towards his Aunt and Uncle, "All this time you knew?" He asked them. "Knew?" Petunia shrieked, "Knew! Of course, we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got her letter just like that and disappeared off to that- that school- and came home every holiday with pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was- a freak. But my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family." Petunia stopped for few seconds, "Then she met that potter and left. Got married and had the two of you, and of course, you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as-as - abnormal - and then she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you two." Petunia said and Rosalie glance down, that was the first time she heard her aunt talk about her mother and father and it was in the way Petunia saw them and not how Rosalie imagined them to be.

"Blow up? You told us they died in a car crash." Rosalie said looking back up towards her Aunt and Uncle. "Car Crash? A car crash killed Lily and James Potter. It's an outrage!" Hagrid said mad about what he just heard. " We had to say something," Vernon said as if there was nothing wrong about lying to Harry and Rosalie.

Hagrid glanced behind Vernon and Petunia and saw Dudley eating Harry and Rosalie's birthday cake. He pointed his umbrella at Dudley and suddenly Dudley grew a pig's tail. Vernon and Petunia started screaming with Dudley as they ran around after him. The later went upstairs away from Harry, Rosalie and Hagrid.

"What really happened to our parents?" Rosalie asked as she sat on the ground by the fire, staring up at Hagrid.

"Years ago, a dark wizard started gathering followers. Many are still afraid to say his name, everyone calls him You-Know-Who." Hagrid said. "What was his name?" Harry questioned Hagrid. "I can't say it," Hagrid said shaking his head. "What if you wrote it down?" Rosalie questioned.

"I can't spell it," Hagrid said. He sat quietly for a few seconds, " All right. Voldemort." Hagrid said. "He started looking for more followers. Now yer mum and dad went into hiding with the both of you, but he found them and killed them. Everyone died except the two of you." Hagrid said, and Rosalie just stared at him.

"It's getting late and we've got a lot to do tomorrow." Hagrid said, "Gotta get up to town, get all yer books and that." Hagrid took off his coat, he gave it to Harry and Rosalie to share. "You can sleep under there. Don't mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple of dormice in one of the pockets." Hagrid said, and Rosalie smiled up at him as a thank you as she and Harry laid down and went to sleep.