Chapter 60 - Flashback
Hagrid carefully lifted one of the cages first from which the soft hooting came from inside under the cloth cover. He carried it over to Harry with a grin hidden beneath his beard.
"Here yeh go, Harry," he said warmly. "Happy birthday. This one's fer yeh."
Harry blinked in surprise as Hagrid removed the cover.
Inside sat a beautiful snowy white owl with huge amber eyes. The owl blinked slowly at Harry and gave two proud little hoots. Her feathers looked almost silver in the sunlight coming through the window.
Harry looked completely stunned.
"Really?" he asked softly. "This… this is for me? Is it mine?"
"Course she is," Hagrid said. "Who else would she be fer?"
Harry carefully took the cage with both hands, staring at the owl as if afraid she might disappear. The owl tilted her head and watched him back calmly.
"She's beautiful," Harry whispered.
The owl gave another quiet hoot, almost approving him.
Then Hagrid picked up the second cage and turned toward Dudley.
"Can't play favourites now, can I?" he said with a chuckle. "This one's fer yeh, lad. Happy belated birthday an' congrats on yer Hogwarts letter."
Dudley looked shocked too. He quickly accepted the cage.
"Thank you, Hagrid!"
Hagrid pulled the cloth away.
Inside sat a brown cat with thick soft fur and unusually sharp eyes. The creature looked at all of us with complete disdain, like we were wasting its valuable time. It did not meow. It simply stared.
And honestly, it looked far too intelligent for an ordinary cat.
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and confirmed my doubts. "That's not a normal cat, is it, Hagrid?"
Hagrid puffed up proudly at once. "Course not!" he boomed. "Why'd I bring a plain cat? Tha's a half-Kneazle. Smart little thing. Cleverer than most people, ter be honest."
The cat slowly blinked at Dudley, looking deeply unimpressed with its new owner. It almost looked like it had already accepted some terrible fate.
Dudley, meanwhile, looked delighted.
"It's brilliant," he said happily.
The half-Kneazle sighed dramatically and turned its head away.
I snorted.
Harry was still staring at his owl with pure wonder. "I've never had anything like this before."
He had been in company of Brigid and Drein, the cat and the owl, but this snow-white owl was his pet. And he looked completely in awe of her.
"Aye," Hagrid said softly. "Every wizard ought ter have a proper companion."
The owl gave a proud flap of her wings inside the cage while the Half-Kneazle continued silently judging the entire world.
After that, we checked all our shopping once more. Books, robes, potion kits, cauldrons, scales, trunks, parchment, quills, wands, wand holsters, maintenance kits, everything.
Even my own supplies for fourth year were complete.
Hagrid counted the packages twice just to make sure nothing had been forgotten.
"Right then," he said finally with satisfaction. "Looks like we got everythin'."
Harry held the owl cage close to his chest. Dudley carefully carried the half-Kneazle, who now looked resigned to its new life.
And with all our shopping finally complete, we prepared to depart.
The four of us returned to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch before heading home. Our bags and trunks were stacked beside the table, along with the two cages Hagrid had brought. Harry's owl sat proudly inside one cage, occasionally hooting softly. Dudley's cat was lying listless in the age as if accepting it's bad luck.
The Leaky Cauldron was quieter now than in the morning. A few witches and wizards sat scattered around drinking or chatting softly.
Tom brought us food himself after recognizing Harry again, though this time he thankfully did not announce it to the entire pub.
Hagrid had already gone through a couple of drinks and looked much more relaxed now. His beard was slightly wet from foam, and every now and then he let out a happy sigh while eating.
But Harry had barely touched his food.
I noticed that ever since leaving Ollivanders, he had been quieter and distracted. His fingers kept brushing unconsciously near the faded scar on his forehead.
I knew what had made him disturbed and I had been wondering how to approach the subject carefully.
Thankfully, Harry solved the problem himself.
"Hagrid?" he asked quietly.
Hagrid looked up from his mug. "Eh?"
"Mr. Ollivander said something strange back there. About the person who gave me this scar. Something weird like 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'"
The moment Harry mentioned it, Hagrid nearly choked on his drink. He coughed loudly, thumping his chest with one huge hand while Tom glanced over nervously from the counter.
After swallowing properly, Hagrid leaned forward quickly.
"What did he say?" he asked in a lower voice. "What exactly did he say?"
Harry looked confused by the sudden reaction.
"He just said he knew the wand and the person. And that the wand belonged to the person who gave me the scar." Harry hesitated. "And he said the person did terrible but great things. But he did not say his name. It was so weird."
Hagrid looked uncomfortable immediately.
"We don't say his name much," he muttered.
"Why not?" Dudley asked, equally curious.
Hagrid shifted in his chair. "People still get nervous. Been years, but folk still don' like talkin' about him."
The table became quiet. Even the sounds of the pub seemed farther away for a moment.
Harry looked directly at Hagrid. "If that person gave me the scar, then he killed my parents, didn't he?"
Hagrid stared into his drink for a few seconds before finally nodding slowly.
"Aye," he said quietly. "He did."
Harry swallowed hard but kept looking at him.
"Who was he?"
Hagrid sighed deeply.
"Well, some people call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He lowered his voice further. "But his name was Voldemort."
Even after all these years, saying the name seemed difficult for him.
Dudley blinked. Harry too. I just pretended to hear with same curiosity as I did not want Hagrid to ask me questions about my knowledge regarding Voldemort.
Hagrid rubbed his beard nervously. "Years ago, things were bad. Very bad. Darkest times I ever knew. Voldemort started gatherin' followers. Dark witches an' wizards. Folk joined him because they were scared or because they agreed with him."
His eyes darkened a little.
"He got stronger an' stronger. He started terrorising people and killing them. Whole families disappeared. Some were killed. Some vanished. Ministry couldn' stop him proper. Lots o' good witches an' wizards stood against him though. Your parents were among those who defied him."
"My parents?"
Hagrid nodded at once.
"Aye. James an' Lily Potter were among the best of 'em. Brave too. Real brave."
Hagrid continued slowly, almost carefully, like he hated remembering it.
"Then one night, Voldemort went after yer family. Nobody knows exactly why. But he went ter Godric's Hollow, yer house."
Harry's fingers tightened around his spoon.
Hagrid said softly, "James tried ter hold him off. Then Lily…".
Hagrid stopped for a second, beard trembling slightly. "She tried ter protect yeh. She wouldn' move aside."
Harry's eyes lowered toward the table.
"And then Voldemort tried ter kill yeh too."
The entire table was silent now.
"But he couldn't," Hagrid said.
Dudley frowned. "Couldn't?"
"Nobody knows how," Hagrid admitted. "That's the strange part. Voldemort was the strongest dark wizard anyone had seen in generations. And that curse. The curse somehow bounced back, destroyed the house. Yer scar was all yeh got. And Voldemort vanished."
"Vanished?" Dudley repeated.
"Aye. Some say dead. Some say destroyed." Hagrid shook his head stubbornly. "But I don' believe it. Powerful dark wizard like him? Nah. I reckon he's still out there somewhere. Weak maybe. Hurt maybe. But not gone."
Hagrid continued, "And that curse. Nobody survived that curse before. Nobody."
He pointed gently toward Harry's forehead.
"Except you."
Harry touched the scar unconsciously.
"That's why yer famous, Harry. Yer the Boy Who Lived. Nobody else ever survived that curse. Not once in history."
Harry looked pale now.
"So that's why people stare at me?"
Hagrid nodded.
Dudley slowly looked between Harry and Hagrid.
"So before," he said quietly, "when everyone kept staring at Harry this is why?"
"Aye," Hagrid said gently. "Tha's why."
Harry looked down again, silent.
I could almost see the thoughts turning in his head. Fame sounded exciting from far away. But hearing the real reason behind it was different. Much heavier.
After a while, Dudley quietly pushed a plate toward Harry.
"You should eat before your food gets cold."
Harry blinked once, then gave a tiny smile.
"Thanks."
Hagrid watched the two of them and smiled softly behind his beard.
"Aye," he muttered warmly. "Yer mum would've liked tha'."
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End of Chapter 60 - Flashback