The snake who lived
Book 1: The philosopher's stone
"Better Hufflepuff than Slyth'rin. All of 'em Dark wizards came from Slyth'rin. Like Yeh-know-who."
Rubeus Hagrid, Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers, page 84
Author's note: Keep in mind that I'm using the French version of Harry Potter, as I don't have the American or British version. Wish I did though! The quote above is translated from the French version of philosopher's stone, a version which I hate the title (That literally means "Harry Potter at the wizards' school".)
Author's introduction:
Harry Potter. A name known everywhere, in your world, dear reader, or in Harry's wizarding world. A name that rhymes, by the year 1997 of Harry's world, with the bravery, greatness and power… of Gryffindor.
But one day can change it all. One small, insignificant event in an entire life of adventures can completely change it's course. One tiny second late and a meeting, either positive or negative, is avoided. A second of hesitation and one life is lost, a second of lateness and a death is avoided. A single step close to a column can pass an inch from hitting it and bringing down the building; what humans call destiny or luck is merely a lot of coincidences, or events that happened because others did. This is why it is enjoyable to look at all of those alternate universes, to see how things might have been if something had been avoided; what if Lily and James Potter hadn't died? Would the world be a better place, or covered in Voldemort's darkness? What if Tom Riddle hadn't abandoned his pregnant wife, would Lord Voldemort have arisen? What if Mrs Riddle never met Tom Riddle? Would the Slytherin line have extinguished?
All of these are interesting ideas to play with. But personally, I am more interested into what would have happened if, on a nice summer day of 1991, a couple of days before the arrival of his letters, Harry James Potter had met someone; a young witch of his age, a half-blood witch who's mother was in Slytherin… Blaise Zabini.
It may sound like nothing, but keep in mind that Harry didn't know he was a wizard; heck, he didn't know such a thing existed until Hagrid arrived. And Hagrid gave him his impression on the Hogwarts houses, as the quote above tells. Already, before even being at Hogwarts, Draco and Hagrid gave him a sour view of the Slytherin house, making him plead with the hat to be in Gryffindor. However… all of this will change, because of a single meeting....
~~ Super saya-jin Gotan
Prologue: The universe changes…
Harry Potter sighed heavily, looking out the window of the kitchens. How he longed to be outside, to play with his friends, to have fun… yet he didn't have any friends, he was locked indoors and he certainly wouldn't have fun, considering Dudley's friends were here. A new family was once again moving in the neighboring house; they never stayed more than a month. Aunt Petunia was too nosy, Uncle Vernon was too noisy and Dudley was too spoiled and insufferable. Then, there was him, whom the Dursleys told everyone was 'Mentally ill'.
He scowled and looked around no one. Might as well make some friends before Aunt Petunia did her usual damaging greeting. There was no chance he would be able to sneak past the living room to get to the front door; his aunt and uncle were both there. Quickly and silently, he unlocked the window and lifted it open. With slight difficulty, he managed to squeeze through and land safely on the other side, where he closed the window and walked away from the house, making sure to duck when passing by the living room windows.
He made it to the other side of the white picket fence and found himself in a messy yard, which Dudley's gang had trashed a while ago for no other reason than their own amusement.. Before him, bulky men carried various objects: a blue sofa, a large TV, an empty aquarium, a bag of small, flashy fishes, a wooden bookcase, two oddly well taken-care of brooms… 'Everyone has their oddities, I guess.'
He spotted a girl, who was sitting on a yet to be placed stool. She was small, a bit like him, with almost black dark red hair that reached down her mid-back. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a sleeveless green shirt. She was looking bored out of her wits and stared longingly at the TV as it passed by her. Harry decided it was as good a place to start as any.
"Hi there!" He said, walking up to her. "You're our new neighbor?"
The girl looked up and nodded, smiling.
"Yup! My name's Blaise Zabini. What's yours?"
"I'm Harry Potter." He said. "Where are you from?"
The girl didn't answer. She just stared at him, at his scar and back at him. "You really are… oops, sorry. You were saying?"
"What do you mean, 'I really am'? I'm what?" For a moment, he was afraid she would say 'boring', 'Stupid' or any other insult.
She shook her head and smiled at him. "It doesn't really matter, does it?"
"BOY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" came a shrill yell from number four, Privet drive.
Harry sighed. "Busted. I'm in trouble now…"
As Harry walked back to his house, a tall woman with almost identical hair and brown eyes walked up to the girl, just in time to see a large, burly man grab the boy by the shoulders and pull him inside. A tall and skinny woman walked up to them.
"Hello, neighbor… excuse my nephew, he's a bit disturbed…" she began.
Harry was roughly shoved inside his cupboard, which was locked as soon as the door was closed. He sighed. By now, his aunt had told them the lies she had invented for the sole purpose of making his life miserable.
Evening came and, in number five Privet Drive, the family was in an deep discussion, the blinds down, the fireplace lit with a… blue fire? Out of which a head was talking? That's it… this is too weird, I'm gettin' out of here… What? … Oh yeah… my contract. Sorry peeps.
"Professor Dumbledore, with all the respect I have for you, I can't honestly believe you let Harry Potter live with muggles like those!" Mrs Zabini said, a look of anger evident on her face.
"That uncle of his looks like he's got blood pressure problems… he turned purple when I spoke to him about Harry." Mr Zabini added.
"Elmira, Mr Zabini, I see what you mean. However, it is imperative that he stays in the house. Powerful enchantments have been placed all over it, protecting him as long as he lives close to the Dursleys. They're his last living relatives. If there was any other way, I wouldn't have done that, but…"
"Those spells might be protecting him against the world outside, but those Dursleys are mistreating him, as far as I could tell. His aunt kept mumbling about 'ungrateful brat' and 'mental ward' every time I spoke to her about him. No child should be THAT thin, either."
"And what do you propose?"
"That we tell him what he is. It could only help, after all, if he knows he's got magic in him, he can work to control his accidental magic, so he gets punished less. Plus, I think he could use a friend."
"I agree. That Dudley Dursley and his gang look like bullies and as I know them, Harry is a walking target. All he wants is friends." Mr Zabini said.
Albus Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "All right. You may befriend mister Potter and tell him of his heritage. However, do not go any further. Do not tell him he's famous, or anything that could go to his head. The last thing we need is for him to become arrogant. And do try to keep it hidden from the Dursleys, please."
And the fire turned back to yellow, the head vanished and everything became normal in the magical family's home.
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July 23 was going quite rotten for Harry Potter. Dudley's gang had invaded the house and inundated his cupboard. Petunia had thrown a fit, only because some of the water had sprayed in her horrible mustard-colored carpet. He was tired of hearing her yell at Dudley and knew that somehow, she would manage to put the blame on him. Not leaving her the chance, he quickly slipped out of the front door and away from number four Privet drive.
"Fancy seeing you outside, Harry." Blaise said, smiling slightly. "Never thought those relatives of yours would let you out."
Harry smiled a bit. "Well, actually, they didn't let me…"
"Then you better come in before they spot you outside." She replied, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside number five Privet drive.
The house was nice and cozy, well lit by naked bulbs. Closed boxes littered the free area, leaving enough room for one to walk and to open doors, but barely. Two floors, seven rooms and two bathrooms, it was quite a spacious house.
Not letting go of his hand, she pulled him toward the living room, where the TV was on and two adults, most likely her mother and father, were sitting on the same blue sofa he had seen being carried yesterday. As they entered, they both looked at him and smiled.
"Harry Potter, a pleasure to meet you." Mrs Zabini said, getting up. "Blaise told me about you."
"Oh… Is it ok if I stay here for a while? The Dursleys are gonna want my head soon."
"It's very ok, Harry." Mr Zabini assured, smiling warmly. Harry couldn't help but feel calmer around them. "In fact, we wanted to speak with you. Here, sit down and have some tea."
"About what?" He asked, sitting down on the comfortable couch on which a small cup of steamy tea was laying, installed just beside an open box filled with odd bottles of various unknown substances. He was starting to get a bit nervous.
"Was there ever any odd things going on around you, Harry? I dunno… floating objects, disappearing things, things that shouldn't happen normally… anything unusual, preferably when you're stressed or angry?"
Harry immediately thought just a few weeks ago, when the Dursleys had brought him to the zoo just a month ago. The glass between Dudley and a giant boa mysteriously vanished. Then, there was his hair; no matter how much Aunt Petunia cut it, it always came back the same length, the exact same way. And the time when he found himself on top of the school's roof when trying to run away from Dudley. However, he wondered how did they know. Aunt Petunia probably wouldn't tell about that, nor would Dudley or uncle Vernon…
"Uh… yeah, sometimes…" he said, looking around nervously.
Only now did he notice the few odd objects in the house. The Dursleys would throw a fit. The brooms were displayed like some kind of prize, a large pewter cauldron out of which purple smoke was coming out was on a fire burning on the wooden table and, just beside it, an oddly done, well tempered-with stick was laying.
"That's normal for our kind." Mrs Zabini continued. "You have a secret that the Dursleys know, that I know, that everyone in our world knows, but that was hidden from you for eleven years. Harry, you're a wizard."
Harry promptly spit his tea out, eyes wide open in shock. Him? A wizard? As in the mages like Merlin in Dudley's children story books?
For a moment, he tried to imagine himself with a long, white beard, wielding a staff. However, for some reason, his mental image's beard covered his entire face, hiding it completely and the staff was broken in half, the top part finding the quickest path to his head; gravity. "You're joking, right?" He exclaimed.
"Nope, deadly serious." She replied. "You've been gifted with magic."
"Magic… like taking rabbits out of hats or stuff?" He could hardly see that being an important part of his life, or a secret worth hiding eleven years.
"No, that's illusionism. Tricks of light, hidden things from the public done only for spectacle's purpose. The magic I'm talking about is this…" She dug her hand into her pocket. For a moment, Harry expected her to take out a dove or two, but when she pulled them out, her hands were empty.
"Oh… Where's my wand?" She asked.
Blaise quickly bounced to the table, grabbed the stick and ran back to her mother, giving it to her.
"Thank you…" She pointed the stick at a wooden chair and said loudly "Wingardium Leviosa!"
It was the first magic Harry Potter saw. A simple levitation charm, performed on a chair. The object in question floated a foot above the ground, bouncing a bit at the wand's movements.
It's a trick. Harry thought, walking up to it. There's probably a cable or something holding it up... and someone's playing with it to make it move. Yeah, that must be it.
However, he found nothing. The chair truly was floating.
"Accio chair!"
The chair suddenly stilled and flew toward Mrs Zabini, who stopped it with her hand. The tip of her wand tapped softly against the chair and, before he could blink, the wooden object began dancing in a disorganized and arrhythmic tap dance. Another tap and it stopped moving, turning back into a docile chair that a simple wave of her wand sent back to it's original location.
"Convinced yet?" Mrs Zabini asked, a slight smirk on her face at Harry's stunned face.
"…uh… yeah…. Will you show me how to do that?" He asked, a hopeful look appearing in his eyes.
"Nope." At his disappointed look, she continued "The professors of Hogwarts will."
"Hogwarts?"
"Yup! The school of witchcraft and wizardry."
"There's a school?!" He asked, surprised, before cursing himself in the non-magical sense for being stupid.
She smiled at him and nodded, adding a friendly, yet quite sarcastic,
"What, you think I taught myself that? Oh, having a chair tap-dance is so useful in parties, really. I spent three years learning how…" The sarcasm vanished "No, really, it's only use is giving you a good grade in charms. And even then, mine only gave me seventy percent."
"Why so low? The teacher must be tough…" Harry reasoned. For some reason, it made Mrs Zabini laugh.
"Tough? I've seen Puffskeins tougher than him! uh… you'll learn about these at Hogwarts." She added at his puzzled look.
"And how is it? Hogwarts I mean? What does it look like?"
Mrs Zabini started talking about the school and it's mysteries, it's secret passages, it's students, anything she could find. Harry was a good listener and didn't speak other than making supportive "cool!" and "wicked!". Somewhere there, Blaise came and listened in. They learned that the admittance age was of 11 and Harry cheered loudly.
"I'm gonna be eleven soon!"
"I'm already eleven… does that mean we'll be at Hogwarts together?" Blaise asked with a grin.
Mrs Zabini nodded. "Most likely."
They cheered for a moment, then she continued her story, passing over the ghosts ("Real ghosts?! Nice!"), Quidditch ("Flying brooms? Like these you mean?") and the house points…
"…bad conduit makes your house lose points, good behavior makes it win."
"House?" Harry asked.
"There are four houses." She began again, a smile on her face. Apparently, she enjoyed talking about her school days. "Ravenclaw are the smart ones… almost always in a book, when they're not with their boy/girlfriends. The most "romantically involved" house, if you see what I mean. Some of those stories… ugh. I guess it goes with curiosity. Hufflepuff is the house of the loyal ones… and, if you excuse me for a bit of partiality, the idiots. Not that I want to push you to make fun of them, but there are some pretty funny stories like: How much times does it take a Hufflepuff to change a lightbulb. Nobody knows, none of them managed it ye—"
"--Honey…" Mr Zabini, who had also been listening intently, warned, having her go back to her business.
"Oh, sorry… where was I? Oh yeah, I finished Hufflepuff. Ok. Gryffindor, the house of the brave and the courageous, no comments here. And then there's Slytherin. Some people say it's the bad house; don't listen to them, it's not that bad. The cunning and the ambitious go there and so did I."
"If someone like you came out of Slytherin, then they can't be THAT bad." Harry noted, making her blush slightly.
Soon, it was time for him to go. He noted with a pleasant surprise that the Dursleys didn't even know he was gone; they had simply assumed he was in the kitchen. Good thing Dudley and his gang were out terrorizing some of Mrs Figg's cats. It was really a lucky break, and he suspected Mrs Zabini had had a little fun wand waving around with his luck.
"Nope, they really can't be that bad…"
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The next day, a disgusting odor covered number four, privet drive. It smelled like paint, but the Dursleys hadn't planned on painting anything until a couple of years. Puzzled, Harry followed his nose to the kitchen where he found the source; the sink, in which floated old clothes in the grey waters.
"What's that?" He asked his aunt.
"It's your uniform."
Uniform? Had they heard of Hogwarts too?
Then, his memory came back and hit him behind the head. While Dudley was being sent to Smelting, the same college in which uncle Vernon had done his studies, Harry was sent to the closest (and cheapest) one. He contemplated the option of telling her about Hogwarts, when he decided to hold himself back. Better not; it might get the Zabinis (and himself) in trouble. He decided to play along, to make sure she wasn't suspicious.
"It has to be washed in cold water?"
"Don't be stupid." She snapped. "I just dyed Dudley's old clothes. It'll be enough for you, not too different from the others."
Harry took another look and frowned. Good thing he wasn't going to that school, he'd have looked stupid. He could see it now: Harry Potter, the elephant skin kid.
Uncle Vernon and Dudley walked in, wrinkled their noses at the horrible smell coming from the sink. The man unfolded his newspaper as usual and Dudley sat down, practically crashing the poor chair. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of a chair running away from the overweight boy; might make a good joke for after he learned how to do it.
The mail slot in the door squeaked loudly, signaling the post had arrived.
"Go get the mail, Dudley." Vernon muttered, not taking his nose from out of his newspaper. One point for Ravenclaw, a dozen more for Hufflepuff, Harry thought with a mental smirk.
"Harry can get it." Dudley frowned.
"Go get the mail, boy." Vernon muttered.
"Dudley can get it." Harry frowned, imitating the fat boy.
"Hit him with your stick, Dudley." Vernon muttered.
Harry avoided the stick and went to get the mail, muttering under his breath. He couldn't wait to get out of there. He took the mail, which was three letters; a post card from "aunt" Marge, Vernon's sister, a bill and…
He beamed. A letter for him, in the same thick and yellow parchment Mrs Zabini had told him about, with his… *gulp* VERY exact address written in emerald ink:
Mr H. Potter
The cupboard under the stairs
4, privet drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
He turned it around and found the Hogwarts emblem, just as she had described it; a raven, a lion, a badger and a snake around the letter "H".
"What's taking so long!?" Vernon shouted from inside. Quickly, Harry hid the letter inside his shirt, for once glad he wore such baggy clothes.
"Nothing!" He lied, running inside with the two other letters.
He had to wait until long after breakfast, since Dudley's gang once again invaded the house, to open the letter. In fact, he once again had to sneak out through the window, ending up face-to-face with…
"I thought Muggles used the front door."
…Blaise, who gave him a friendly, yet mocking, smile.
"They do, so do pigs, apparently." He pointed up at Dudley's room window, where the fat boy's back was visible. Blaise stifled a giggle.
"C'mon, let's leave your relatives… did you get your letter too?"
He nodded in happiness, showing her the letter in question. She beamed too, grabbed his arm and pulled him away from number four, away from Privet drive, stopping only when they were deep in the closest park, where they sat down on a wooden bench and unfolded their letters, reading them for the very first time.
Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
Order of Merlin, first class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, National Confederation of Wizards
Mister Potter
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. You will find a list of the necessary books and materials you must have for the school year.
Please go to platform 9¾, King's cross on September first to board the Hogwarts express. We are waiting for your owl for the thirty-first of July at the latest.
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy headmistress
Harry and Blaise looked up at the same time and smiled. Actually, beamed would be a better word. He re-read it and frowned.
"What do they mean, 'We are waiting for your owl'?"
"Oh yeah, we didn't tell you… we use owls to carry mail. You can use our family owl, Athena. She's a bit rough with strangers, but trustworthy with mail."
"Thanks Blaise." He said with a smile. "We're going to Hogwarts!"
They walked back to number five Privet drive, carefully avoiding the possibility of being seen from the neighboring house, and literally barged through the door, shouting "MOM!" or "MRS. ZABINI!" depending on who. (A/N: Go guess who said what. Harry said mom. J/K!) She was delighted and quickly guided them to the locked basement, where Harry found a mine of magical items.
The walls were covered by large bookshelves filled with vials full of odd substances not unlike the content of yesterday's box, large, intimidating books with gold titles and moving covers, or moving pictures of people dressed in black robes. The boxes in this room were all open and piled up in the corner. They were, as far as he knew, the only empty boxes of the house. And near the only clear window of the room, a mere crack near the roof, a cage was laying down on an upside-down box. The eagle owl inside looked a little more than upset.
Mrs Zabini walked up to her, smiling apologetically. "The muggle-repellent potion hasn't been sprayed on the windows yet, Athena. I promise you'll be out of the basement as soon as it's ready, but I can't risk the muggles next door seeing you."
The owl merely replied with an indignant hoot, before turning to Harry and glaring at him with her big red eyes, making him flinch. That owl had a nasty glare.
"Can you carry two letters for us?" Mrs Zabini asked next, showing the owl the two small letters. "It'll stretch your wings a bit."
As an answer, the bird took her talon out of the cage, allowing Mrs Zabini to tie up the letters. As soon as it was comfortably installed, Athena stretched her long cream and brown wings and jumped on Mrs Zabini's arm, who threw her out, allowing her to take flight. Minutes later, the bird was gone.
Harry spent a few more hours with the Zabinis until it was dinner time. He left after saying goodbye to the two-third magical family, then stealthily walked inside number four. However, it wasn't quite stealthily enough, as the first sight that welcomed him was Vernon's irate and purple face. He gulped audibly.
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Days passed, an no news of Harry came to their neighbors. The boy didn't even get out of number four, which was highly unusual for him. On the thirtieth, she got pissed.
"Dumbledore, it makes a whole week he hasn't gone out from number four now. As far as we know, something bad has happened to him. I request permission to investigate the matter personally."
"And if I refuse it, you'll still go, right?" He asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
"You know me too well, Headmaster." She replied, not shifting from her position; arms crossed over her chest, a fierce unreadable glare on her face. A stance she had learned at Hogwarts from a two years senior Slytherin housemate. What was his name… Smellus Snake… no, that was the nickname those four bloody annoying teacher's pet Gryffindors gave him.
Bah, there would be more time for memories later. 'Set your priorities, girl!' she snapped at herself.
The old man's head in the fireplace sighed.
"Is there any way you can hold yourself back until tonight, midnight? Because I sent someone to gather him already. You remember Rubeus of course."
"Hagrid, yes… met him once or twice. Heard he a bloody alcoholic, but since those rumors came deep in the dark side of Slytherin, I'd rather not have an opinion." She said frankly. Her husband gave her an odd and reprimanding look.
Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling a bit. "While Hagrid does tend to have a bit of a drinking problem in time of stress, he is far from being alcoholic."
"Oh. Maybe I can hold back, if you allow Hagrid to use physical force against his relatives, I'll be glad to watch." She said. "That bloody kid of theirs tried to throw a rock at me. He's lucky to be alive."
"Indeed… people have been known to have mysterious fits of pain after throwing less harmful things than rocks at you…"
"If you count Rictusempera harmless… I hated that curse and he knew it!"
"Anyhow, as much fun as it is to remember your time at Hogwarts with mister Black's first attempts at hexing, Elmira, I do believe it's time for your husband to tie you up so you don't go charging off into number four Privet drive. Wait until Hagrid is there, then join in." He said, his eyes twinkling playfully. "And you may not harm the Dursleys." He added.
"Fine." She grumbled, a bit more than angry from not being allowed to hurt her neighbors. Whoever said neighbor wars were a urban legend clearly had their theory shoved up their… um… ok, back to the fic now.
About ten minutes later, the two Zabinis were watching TV. Twenty minutes later, she was constantly giving looks at the clock. Thirty minutes later, she was twitching and looking at number four, mumbling about 'bloody muggles' and 'slow alcoholics'. After an hour, she found herself handcuffed to the chair she was sitting on, struggling against it. And there was still four hours left to wait.
Near the very end, Mr Zabini clearly wished he was able to do magic; the handcuffs were skillfully broken, the leather straps had been ducked under and he was now holding the strong woman back, barely, while Blaise was in complete hysterics behind them, rolling on the floor.
"Dario, let GO OF ME!!" She shouted in anger. "C'mon, who knows what Harry's going through!!"
"N…No, I won't… You hear what Dumbledore said, right? You…j-just.. waaaahhh!" with one final push, she managed to free herself from his grasp and run out of the house, straight to the neighboring building. "ELMIRA! COME BACK HERE!"
She ignored him and took out her wand with in a practiced and fast manner, walking toward the brown brick house in which the Dursleys live in a step not unlike those of a female soldier.
"Good thin' I came 'ere early, eh 'lmira?" A rough voice came from behind her. There, standing on the sidewalk stood the most enormous man she had ever seen, towering nearly two feet above her. He had a thick and messy black beard, large hands and little black eyes like scarabs that oozed amusement.
"Hagrid! Good, you're here…" She rubbed her hands together and smirked. "Let's get Harry then."
Vernon Dursley cursed loudly as loud knocking shook the house. His wife was getting up, having been woken up as well. And a loud "MOOOM! DAAAAD!" indicated Dudley was awake too. He opened the door, practically slamming the doorknob into the wall. Whoever had woke him and his family up would pay dearly. Angry, he rumbled down the stairs, not caring about the darn boy locked up inside the cupboard. He roughly shoved the door open, glaring at whoever was behind, while shouting
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?!"
Or that had been his intention. His words stopped somewhere in "hell" because of the sight before him. His eyes glaring in an unintelligent and barbaric way, the tallest, burliest man he had ever seen stood, fists clenched. Behind him, their neighbor's wife stood, glaring just as angrily, an odd stick in her hand.
"Where's Harry Potter?" The gigantic man asked, forcing his way through the doorway that was easily too small for him.
"W…Who? I have no…" Vernon's voice was oddly high-pitched, before he corrected himself and tried to stand up against the trespasser; Stand up to your fears and you'll go far, so had his father said.
Those words were proven true when Hagrid grabbed Vernon by the collar and roughly threw him on the nearest wall. You'll go far, indeed, as long as there is no walls.
"Where's Harry?" Elmira Zabini asked in a much more friendly voice that still held a tint of menace to it.
"I'm in here!" Harry's muffled voice came form the cupboard. "Help!"
She gasped in horror and quickly ran to the cupboard in question, finding a large padlock holding it steadily. Not wasting any time, she waved her wand in front of it and tapped it, saying "Alohamora!". The lock was magically opened and Harry quickly pushed his way out, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Mrs Zabini! Thank you!!!" He squealed, hugging her closely. Petunia and Dudley were now standing in the middle of the stairs, looking at the scene with interest and fear.
"It's nothing… I just wish I could have gotten here faster. Where are all of your things? 'cause I'm bailing you out of here."
"I have them all on me." He replied with a scowl. Mrs Zabini nearly crushed his arms in her anger.
"Eh, 'lmira, I dun't think Dumbledore allowed yeh to do that…"
She turned around and glared at him. It looked odd that someone as large as Hagrid fear a woman who was easily dwarfed by him. Then again, when magic was concerned, the physically strong might not always win.
"Y…You…'re… one… of them!!" Aunt Petunia shouted at the top of her high-pitched voice, both in volume and squeakiness, pointing at Mrs Zabini's wand.
"You mean a witch? Yup, I am. And I'll be taking Harry for the rest of the summer, thanks." She replied. Not waiting another word, she led Harry outside.
"Witch?" Dudley asked, puzzled.
"B…But… we're his last relatives…we decide if he goes…"
She glared at them, making them tremble in terror. The fat Dudley tried to hide behind his thin mother.
"You people are lucky Dumbledore didn't allow me to hurt you, or else you'd have already been cursed all the way to the south pole, passing the north pole twice." She said in a low, menacing voice, her fist clenched around her wand that emitted angry white sparks. "You may be the only family he has left, but he sure as hell ain't staying here in the cupboard 'till September 1."
"Septemb… ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Petunia shrieked. "I refuse to let him learn all of that rubbish!"
"What does she mean?" Vernon asked.
"She wants to send him my bloody sister's school I've told you about!"
Vernon's reaction was quite funny, and quite as Harry had expected it to be. The violet tint of his face quickly paled into white, almost as white as a sheet. Then, it deepened into an angry red. Buy your new "Cameleonus Vernonis" here, today! Two pounds, an affair! More like a scam, pardon me.
"HE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!" Uncle Vernon shouted, shaking in rage. Harry noted, with satisfaction, that his arms were fixated on the witch's wand, which was still popping out sparks.
"Harry's name's in Hogwarts' list since his birth. I dun' think a muggle like yeh can do anythin' 'bout it." Hagrid said. "He will go to Hogwarts and will learn magic under the greatest wizard o' our time, Albus Dumble—"
"I REFUSE TO PAY ONE PENNY SO THAT HE CAN LEARN TRICKS FROM AN OLD FOOL—" Vernon started shouting. However, it appeared the last words were out of place when Mrs Zabini's wand pointed directly toward him and Hagrid's large hands went flying for his neck, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up four feet above the ground.
"NEVER… INSULT… ALBUS DUMBLEDORE… IN… FRONT… O'… ME!" Hagrid bellowed, probably shaking the house's foundations. Another rough push and Uncle Vernon went flying off, slamming against the very same wall as the first time. You'll go far, probably more than once, Vernon's father should have added.
Mrs Zabini looked satisfied, much to Harry's annoyance. He had wanted to see what magic could have done to his uncle. She lowered her wand and walked toward aunt Petunia, who looked like she was about to wet her nightdress.
"Before you get any ideas about involving the police, need I remind you that you've broken muggle laws yourself? I think locking Harry up in a cupboard qualifies as 'Disrespect of children's rights' and can score quite high in the 'sentence' category…" She winked at them, then walked Harry out of the house.
Before closing the door on them, Hagrid added a "good nigh'" that looked very faked. Unable to hold himself back any longer, Harry burst out laughing.
"Did you see Aunt Petunia's face?" He asked, beaming. This easily scored as the best moment of his life. Not that it was hard; any moment outside the house, away from the Dursleys scored pretty high.
"That was the most fun I've 'ad in quite a while." Hagrid noted with a smile. The boy liked him already. "'lmira, do yeh mind if I stayed at yer place fer the nigh'? Professor Dumbledore asked meh to get sumthin' fer him at Gringotts, I'll help Harry get his stuff at the same time… How 'bout it?"
"I had to go to Diagon Alley myself tomorrow… but you're more than welcome to stay the night… I'll expand the sofa for you, ok? Harry, you'll sleep in the guest room."
Both wizards nodded. Harry almost expected to hear a "yer the boss" from Hagrid.
He went to sleep easily that night. For the first time for as long as he could remember, he had a nice bed, comfortable pillows, no spiders or any nasty surprises. He let out a happy sighed and closed his eyes, moments before sleep overtook him.
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There! The first chapter is through! Actually, I've got up to chapter 3 written down, but I'll release chapter 2 when the 4th is done, which it is 3/4th through. Call it an "Anti-mistake security". Don't wanna look stupid making a mistake in "Philosopher's stone", y'know.
Any quotes taken directly from the English books are taken from the Harry Potter Lexicon, link below, since I use the French version and translate it back in English. Bear with me if some of the quotes are incorrect. This is the remade version of the philosopher stone, in case you haven't noticed, and since it's just starting, it will follow the book closely. The others of the serie won't follow it quite a closely though, ending up with a COMPLETELY different GoF.
Harry Potter Lexicon: THE source for Harry Potter information: Every fact ever released by JKR on the Harry Potter world is there, including the info only hinted, like the location of the lake, Quidditch pitch and others around Hogwarts. Those guys have some time to lose -_^
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/index.html
Why Blaise Zabini? Because I needed a first year Slytherin that was present in the original book, yet who's personality was free for me to play with; the only time you hear about her is at the sorting, first book. Plus, for some reason, her name is stuck in my head.
Bear with me for Hagrid's accent, I'm still getting a hang of English slang. Americanisms are to be forgiven, the only access I have to English sources are what the US and the rest of Canada give us. At least the French version says Philosopher's stone and not Sorcerer's stone. WTF were they thinking?! Sry, just my little linguistic riff. -_^
I will reply to each of my reviewers, unless I end up having like 30 reviews/chapter. If it goes that bad, I'll only the most interesting, and those I CAN answer to without giving away the plot. (If you need help on the plot, read the books! -_^)
~Super saya-jin Gotan