Percy Jackson and the Mirror of Erised

4) The-Hut-on-the-Rock

I peeked under Hagrid's arm. I could see Dursely holding a rifle in his shaking hands.

Hagrid walked inside, with me following behind him. I smiled at Harry while he gaped at me and the giant I was with.

"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey...." Hagrid started, looking at the walrus holding a rifle.

My giant friend walked over to the couch and looked at Dudley, "Budge up, yeh great lump." The blonde pig squeaked the scurried to stand behind his mother, Who's was cowering behind his father.

Hagrid sat on the couch, it sinking beneath his wait. I sat on the floor beside him, not wanting to put anymore strain on the couch than needed to be there.

"An' here's Harry!" Said the giant. He had the same pride shining in his eyes as this morning. Yesterday morning, technically. It's been a long day.

Harry stared confused into the wizards eyes, but I could see he wasn't scared. Just confused.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said Hagrid. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."

Dursley made a funny noise then said, "I demand you leave at once, sir! You are breaking and entering!"

Harry looked down at me. I smiled and patted the floor to my left. Harry cautiously sat down.

"Ah, shut up, Dursely, yeh great prune," said the giant wizard. He reached over the sofa and grabbed the rifle right out of the walrus's hands, tying it into a not like it was rubber, and threw it into a corner. I really am starting to think this man is a giant.

Dursely made a funny noise again.

"Anyway — Harry," said Hagrid, turning to look at my friend, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fee yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." He pulled a squashed box out of one of his many jacket pockets. My friend opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green inching.

Harry looked up at Hagrid and his mouth twitched for a second before saying, "Who are you?"

The wizard chuckled, "True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper Of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." I immediately saw confusion filter across Harry's face. I was suddenly filled with dread. I had a feeling Harry didn't understand a single thing the giant just said. Which would mean he didn't know anything about wizardry, especially if Hogwarts was as big as Hagrid said.

I hadn't been paying attention. I only focused back when I saw flames licking the air from inside of the fireplace. A sudden flash of my dream popped into mind. The girl and Harry standing in the flames.

Hagrid sat back down on the sofa and took all sorts of stuff out of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before making tea. (I'm not the biggest fan of tea. I've only lived in England for the past 6 months, after all. I grew up in America. I celebrate the 4th by spilling tea into the ocean.) Soon the hut was warm and filled with the smell of tiny sausages.

He pulled the sausages off of the poker and handed them to me and my friend. I could see Dudley shift from his spot behind Dursley, who said, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."

Hagrid chuckled darkly, "Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin anymore, Dursley, don't worry."

After a while of sitting quietly, Harry looked back up at the wizard, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

He took a gulp of tea and said, "Call me Hagrid. Everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

"Er — no," said Harry, proving my suspicions. That's not good.

My giant friend looked shocked and Harry quickly said, "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Hagrid snapped, glaring at the Dursleys, who shrunk away into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" Asked Harry. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, bro, he don't know.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid shouted. "Now wait jus' one second!" He jumped to his feet, Fury sizzling the air in the shack around him. The Dursleys cowered against the wall from the heat radiating off of the man.

"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "That this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"

Well, not anything. Harry's marks aren't that bad. Sure, worse than mine, but still not bad. I have all the time in the world to study, and I help Harry out a bit. He's never gotten below a C, and even that's rare.

Harry seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me, "I know some things. I can, you know, do math and stuff."

Hagrid waved his hand and spoke, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Percy's world. Yer parents' world."

"What world?"

I'm pretty sure Hagrid has turned into a bomb, because he boomed, "DURSLEY!"

Dursley was very pale and whispered something that sounded like "Mumblewumble."

Hagrid stared at my friend, "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad. I mean, they're famous. You're famous."

Harry turned to look at me and I said, "I don't really know much about our world, but I think so."

"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid pushed his fingers through his tangly hair, fixing my friend with a bewildered stare. "Yeh don' know what yeh are?"

"Stop!" Dursley commanded, surprising me. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"

A soldier would have trembled under the look the giant gave Dursley.

Hagrid's voice shook with rage, "You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"

"Kept what from me?" My best friend asked eagerly.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" Shouted the now panicked Dursley.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard."

The hut was silent. Only the wind and the crashing waves could be heard. It seemed almost as if glass had shattered. The glass was impossible to repair, with glittering prices too tiny to hold scattered across the floor.

This was the moment my best friends life changed for the better.

"I'm a what?" Harry gasped. I could see the hope glittering in his eyes.

"A wizard, o' course," Hagrid said, sitting down on the groaning sofa, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."

Harry took the yellowish envelope, addressed to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He started to read.

I'm on my period, and I just sneezed. This is horrible, terrible, and all around no good. I'm just going to wallow in my pain, tears, and blood. Mostly the blood. I have a friend, may as well be my brother with how long I've known him, who you can argue with over this. He's all like, "Why do periods make you angry?!? They aren't that bad!" And I'm just sitting with my stabbing pains and hormonal imbalances. He does have a point though. While we can get angry, we shouldn't act on that anger. If we do, we can't blame the period. I know too many people who don't seem to understand that your emotions do not justify your actions. 

Later, guys gals and non-binary pals. May you never sneeze on your period.