A PROMISE TO THE PAST | Watching The Future

6| THE TRUTH

"Where was I" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"They're not going" he said.

Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop them," he said.

"A what?" said Harry, interested.

"A Muggle, said Hagrid. It's what we call non-magic folk ike them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family of the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish, said Uncle Vernon, 'swore we'd stamp it out of them! Wizard, indeed!"

"How dare he?" Fumed the potters including Lily.

"I'll personally visit him and show him who James Potter is!"

"You knew?" said Evelyn. "You knew me and Harry are magical?"

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school- and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they Were proud of having a witch in the family!"

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"What? I- I never knew my sister hated me so much. I never did what she told..." Lily sobbed. James tried consoling her

"Stop crying Evans, it doesn't suit you. And from when did you start crying for those who don't deserve you." Rosier, for the first time, spoke softly. Surprisingly, Lily stopped crying.

"You are right. She doesn't deserve it... Especially after what she did with my kids." Lily said, wiping her tears.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you all, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

Harry and Evelyn had gone very white.

As soon as Harry found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told us they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH?" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal Harry Potter and Evelyn Potter not knowin' their own story when every kid in our world knows their name!"

"what happened to our parents Hagrid? H- how did they... die?" Evelyn finally spoke, but her voice was hoarse now.

For the first time in his life, James Potter was crying. He couldn't see his kids in this situation. He felt so helpless and powerless. Noone including Lily had noticed him crying yet.

The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this." he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry and Evelyn, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta -yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin.' He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh- mind, can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it ..."

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-'