A Spark of Magic - Year One (Magical Hybrid)

Keeper of Keys

Ember shifted around for the umpteenth time as she tried to get comfortable on the cold hard floor of the rickety old house she and the Dursley's were currently staying in. Since that Sunday where a huge flurry of letters all addressed to Ember made their way into Number 4 Privet Drive, Vernon had been driving all over the place trying to find somewhere that the letters couldn't reach them.

At first they stopped at a gloomy hotel on the outskirts of some big city. The four of them only spent one night there as when they were having breakfast on Monday morning, the owner of the hotel told them that she had 100 letters addressed to Ember on the front desk.

The next place they stopped at was forest. They weren't there for very long as Vernon took one look around shook his head and carried on driving. Eventually they arrived at their current lodgings, an old house on a small rocky island. The home had one bedroom which Vernon and Petunia took. That left the moth-eaten sofa which Dudley quickly claimed for himself leaving the poor girl with the floor.

She sighed looking up at her cousin's watch that read 11:45. Only 15 minutes until she turned 11. Ember should be excited about it but she wasn't, her birthday was never celebrated unlike her cousin. The ginger rolled over onto her stomach and started to draw a birthday cake in the dirt with her finger. When she finished, she glanced at Dudley's watch which beeps as it turns midnight.

"Make a wish, Ember", Ember said, gently blowing on the picture, scattering the dirt as she did so. Suddenly there was a loud thump at the door making the birthday girl jump and look up in alarm. There was a second thump and then a third which at this point had the newly turned 11 year old on her feet and hastily hiding by the fireplace. Dudley was cowering by the table as the thumps continued. Petunia and Vernon appear on the stairs, the man pointing a rifle at the door.

"Who's there?" he asked, trying to sound unafraid but it didn't work. His voice trembled with his words. The door bangs again, this time comes off its hinges. The Dursleys all screamed as a giant man stepped in.

"Sorry 'bout that", the man, Hagrid apologised. He picked up the door easily and puts it back up.

"I demand that you leave at once, Sir! You are breaking and entering!" Vernon demanded.

Hagrid walks over to him not at all intimated by the man who was pointing a rifle at him "Dry up, Dursley, you great prune", he said grabbing the barrel of the gun and bent it upwards. Both Vernon and Petunia jumped when the gun went off, blowing a small hole in the ceiling.

Ember quietly snickered at how afraid her aunt and uncle were of the newcomer. Anybody who'd stand up to those people were alright in her book. She stepped out from her hiding place, gaining the attention of the giant sized man. A smile appeared on his face, partly hidden by his bushy beard. "Ember!" he said, delighted "startin' to look just like yer mum", he remarked "Got something for ya. 'Fraid I might have sat on it at some point! I imagine that it'll taste fine just the same" Hagrid produced a slightly squashed white box from his pocket "Ahh. Baked it myself" he hands the box over to Ember "Words and all. Heh".

The girl opened the box and found a birthday cake inside. It was topped with pink icing and decorated with the words Happee Birdae Ember in green icing "Thank you", Ember said sincerely. She touched by the fact that this stranger, who seemed to know who he was, had made her a birthday cake. The Dursleys never bothered to do that, ever.

"It's not every day that a little lady turns eleven, now is it?" the Keeper of Keys commented. He then sat down on the sofa, the piece of furniture sagging a bit under his weight and took out an umbrella. The Dursleys and Ember gape as sparks fly out of the tip, setting the logs that where sitting in the fireplace alight. Ember sets the cake down and takes a step towards Hagrid.