Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Rewritten - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 4: The Grangers

Dumbledore introduced Harry to Hagrid who shook the whole of Harry's arm with his hand. "Harry, so pleased ter meet yeh properly. Knew yer parents well. As fine a pair of warlocks as any. Yeh look just like yer dad. An' yeh have yer mum's eyes but without the gold o' course. I'm Hagrid like I mentioned earlier, Groundskeeper at Hogwarts."

Eager to hear more about his parents, he asked, "How do you know them, Hagrid? My parents I mean."

"Knew them when they was students at Hogwarts and stayed in touch after they graduated. Always liked Lily an' James and they liked me."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Harry, I'd like you to meet Dean Austin Thomas, Michael Noah Corner, Justin Finch Fletchley and Morag Rebecca McDougal." Dumbledore motioned to each as he named them. "Dean, Michael, Justin, Morag, meet Harry James Potter."

Harry shook hands with all of them. Dean was a tall black boy wearing a t-shirt that showed the West Ham football team. Michael was nearly as short as Harry but plumply built with sandy brown hair and oval spectacles. He had a book in his hand titled: French for Beginners. Harry pegged him for a nerd straight away. Justin was a long-faced, cheerful looking boy. He was well-built for his age, like he was used to physical labor. He had a rustic air about him. Morag was a mousy girl who'd jumped when her name had been mentioned and shaken hands for a brief moment before letting go. Even now she was staring at Harry with slightly wide eyes. That expression did not change when she looked elsewhere.

"Let us be going."

Dumbledore led them all down Privet Drive and onto Wisteria Walk. Then he entered the park to the left of the road. Harry could not understand where they were going. The train station was in the other direction and the park had only one entrance so they could not exit on the far side. Did Dumbledore not know that? Should Harry say something? Before he could make up his mind, Dumbledore stopped behind a cluster of trees that concealed them from view.

"This spot will do."

Dumbledore turned to face Harry. "Harry, warlocks have many means of transportation. The average warlock uses a network of buses that travel on Muggle roads as well as cross-country to reach out settlements. We also have train lines that connect with Muggle tracks and lead to our settlements, but there are faster options as well. The quickest method is Apparition, the technique of vanishing from once place and re-appearing at another. It is a tricky piece of magic that most warlocks do not bother with. I, however, am adept enough to safely transport the whole group."

Safely? So, this Apparition could go wrong? How? Harry did not ask. He did not want to look afraid. Dumbledore held out his arm. Dean gripped Dumbledore's arm at once followed by the others. Hagrid placed a giant hand on Dumbledore's shoulder. Harry copied them, gripping Dumbledore's upper arm. Suddenly Harry felt himself being compressed, like someone was squishing him between their thumb and forefinger. A moment later, he began to expand. Just as he began to feel like he was himself again, he tumbled onto the road of a narrow, dead-end alley filled with half-full garbage bins.

Harry climbed to his feet and dusted off his hands. "You didn't vomit at all, even on your first time. Cool, Harry!" said Dean who was also on his feet. Justin was getting up as well but Morag and Michael were on their knees, emptying their stomachs onto the road. When they'd finished and climbed to their feet, wiping their mouths on kerchiefs, Dumbledore gave a wave of his wand. The vomit vanished. "Always polite to leave a place at least as clean as you find it" he told Harry by way of answer to Harry's questioning look.

"Yes, Professor."

Dumbledore led them out of the alley. Houghton Road was lined on both sides with large, red-brick houses with tall compound walls and neat gardens. One look was enough to tell Harry that this street was the home of wealthy people. Dumbledore led them to No. 8 and they let themselves in. Dumbledore strode straight towards the large front doors of the house but Hagrid motioned for the rest to wait in the garden. "This won't take long. This family already knows their daughter is magic. They had to be told 'cause some o' the things she did were too obviously magical."