𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡.𝐩

𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 1, 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 2: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓚𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓚𝓮𝔂𝓼

~ chapter two: the keeper of the keys ~

~ tw: mentions of choking ~

BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.

"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly. Harry felt a soft smirk make its way onto his lips.

That's right, Dudley. Keep saying stupid stuff like that. Keep ruining your chances with her. Then there's no way she'd ever like you.

There was a crash that startled Harry out of his thoughts and Uncle Vernon and Mr. Brunson came skidding into the room. Uncle Vernon was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.

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

There was a pause. Then-

SMASH!

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.

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stopping 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 with fear.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.

Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Mr. Brunson.

"An' there's Harry and Y/N!" said the giant.

Harry and Y/N looked at each other, and then looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.

"Las' time I saw you two, you were only babies," said the giant. "Harry, yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes, and Y/N, yer a spitting image of your mother."

Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"

"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.

Mr. Brunson made a funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

"Anyways - Harry, Y/N," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys and Mr. Brunson, "a very happy birthday to the two of yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From an inside pocket of his back overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Y/N opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry and Y/N written on it with green icing.