Fortune of Fate (A female Harry Potter fanfiction)

[4]

  The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.

  A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

  There was a rash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands.

  ''Who's there?'' he shouted. ''I warn you- I'm armed!''

  The giant, ignoring Uncle Vernon's threat, squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.

  ''Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..''

  He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen in fear. "Budge up, yeh great lump." Said the stranger. 

  Dudley squeaked and ran to hide beside his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.

  "An' here's Rose!" said the giant. 

  Rose looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that his face was crinkled into a smile. "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes." 

  Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping nose. "I demand that you leave at once sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" Vernon shakily pointed the gun at the giant.

  "Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune." said the giant, he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. Uncle Vernon made yet another funny noise.

  "Anyway - Rose," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursley's, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." From inside a pocket from his pitch black overcoat, the man pulled out a squashed box.

  Rose opened it with trembling fingers, expecting it to be a head from those terror movies Dudley's friends all like to watch. But to her surprise, and delight, inside was a large sticky chocolate cake with 'happy birthday Rose' written on it with green icing.

  Rose looked up to the giant. She meant to say thank you but the words got lost on the way to her mouth, so instead she said, "Who are you?"  

The the giant chuckled. "True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He held out an enormous hand and shook Rose's whole arm.

  Hagrid shivered slightly. "What 're y'all doing 'ere in this cold place?" He bent over to the fire place so they couldn't see what he was doing but he drew back a second later, just enough for Rose to see a fire that warmed things up instantly.

  The Giant sat down at the couch, Rose following not far behind, while the Dursley's just observed. Rose seemed hesitant to ask at first but after a seemingly long discussion in her bran she decided to admit,

  "I'm sorry but I really don't know who you are." "Call me Hagrid, he said. "Everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm the keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

  "Er - no," Said Rose confused. Hagrid looked shocked. "Sorry." She added quickly. "Sorry?" Barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursley's who shrank back 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 crying out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"