Chapter 3: Chapter Three: The Giant and the Saiyan
The silence in the living room of Number Four, Privet Drive, was thick enough to cut with a knife. Dust still floated lazily in the air from the shattered remains of the front door, which lay in splinters on the carpet. Uncle Vernon was the first to recover, his face going from purple to crimson in record time.
"Who—what—do you think you're doing, barging in here like this?" he bellowed, pointing a trembling finger at the enormous man who had just obliterated his front entrance.
The giant ignored him completely, his dark, beetle-like eyes fixed on Harry, who stood frozen by the stairs, clutching the banister for support.
"Blimey," the giant muttered, scratching his wild beard as he took Harry in. "Yeh're smaller than I thought yeh'd be. But then, yeh're only eleven, I s'pose. Doesn't matter—you've got her eyes, no doubt about that."
"W-who are you?" Harry managed, his voice shaking slightly but filled with curiosity.
The man straightened, his size somehow even more intimidating when he stood at full height. "Name's Rubeus Hagrid," he said with a grin that revealed slightly crooked teeth. "Keeper o' Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. And I reckon it's time yeh knew the truth."
"Truth?" Harry repeated, frowning. He glanced at his aunt and uncle, who had gone unusually pale. Aunt Petunia looked as though she were trying to shrink into the wall, while Uncle Vernon's face was an unreadable mask of fear and fury.
"I told yeh," Hagrid said, shooting Vernon a glare. "I told yeh what'd happen if he didn't know."
Uncle Vernon puffed up his chest, his fists clenching at his sides. "Now see here! I don't know who you think you are, barging into my house and filling the boy's head with nonsense, but I won't have it! He's our responsibility, and we'll raise him how we see fit!"
Hagrid's grin vanished, replaced by a thunderous scowl. "Nonsense, is it?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "Raisin' him, are yeh? Keepin' him locked in a cupboard and feedin' him scraps? That's raisin' him, is it?"
Harry blinked. How did Hagrid know about the cupboard?
"I—well—we…" Vernon sputtered, his bravado faltering.
"Enough o' that," Hagrid snapped, waving his massive hand dismissively. "I'm here fer Harry, not fer yeh. Now, Harry…" His expression softened as he turned back to the boy. "There's a lot yeh don't know about who yeh are."
Harry swallowed hard. The feeling in his chest—the strange thrumming power—surged again, as though responding to Hagrid's words. "Like what?" he asked.
Hagrid's eyes twinkled, but his tone was serious. "Well, fer starters, yeh're a wizard."
Harry stared at him, waiting for the punchline. When it didn't come, he laughed nervously. "A wizard? No, that—that can't be right. I mean, I've done some… odd things, but…"
"Odd?" Hagrid interrupted, chuckling. "Turnin' yer teacher's wig blue? Endin' up on the roof of the school when yeh were runnin' from Dudley? That's not odd, Harry—that's magic."
"But…" Harry shook his head, his heart racing. "If I'm a wizard, why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because they didn't want yeh to know," Hagrid said darkly, nodding toward the Dursleys. "Kept yeh in the dark, they did. Lied to yeh."
Uncle Vernon found his voice again, his face contorting in fury. "Now see here! He doesn't need to know about that—that world! He's better off with us! Safe and normal!"
"Safe?" Hagrid barked, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Do yeh even know who he is?"
Harry's breath hitched. "Who I am? What do you mean?"
Hagrid sighed, crouching slightly so he could look Harry in the eye. "Yeh're Harry Potter," he said quietly. "The Boy Who Lived. The one who defeated You-Know-Who when yeh were just a baby."
"You-Know-Who?" Harry echoed, bewildered. "I don't—who?"
"Voldemort," Hagrid said grimly, the name sending a shiver down Harry's spine. "The darkest wizard of our time. Tried to kill yeh, but somethin' stopped him. Somethin' inside yeh."
Harry felt like the ground had been pulled out from under him. "Inside me?"
"That's right," Hagrid said. "Magic—power stronger than anythin' I've ever seen."
For a moment, Harry's thoughts flashed back to the garden. The shockwave. The dog flying through the air. The warmth in his chest.
"I don't just have magic," Harry whispered. "There's… something else."
Hagrid frowned. "What d'yeh mean?"
Before Harry could answer, Vernon erupted. "That's enough! I won't have you filling his head with this rubbish! We've worked hard to stamp out all that nonsense, and I'll be—"
"SILENCE!"
The roar wasn't Hagrid's. It came from Harry.
The air around him rippled, and Vernon stumbled backward, his rant cut off mid-word. Harry felt the warmth in his chest explode into a fiery surge, his heart pounding in his ears. The teacups on the shelf rattled, and the lightbulb overhead flickered.
Hagrid's eyes widened, but not with fear. With awe.
"Blimey," he whispered. "It's true."
"What's true?" Harry demanded, the power receding as quickly as it had come.
Hagrid hesitated, then said, "Harry… I don't think yeh're just a wizard. There's somethin' more inside yeh. Somethin' even the magical world hasn't seen before."
The room fell silent again, save for the quiet crackle of energy still lingering in the air.
Harry took a deep breath, his mind reeling. "What am I?" he asked.
Hagrid's face was solemn. "That's somethin' we'll have to find out together. But first, Harry… it's time yeh left this place. Time yeh came to Hogwarts."
Harry's heart leapt at the thought, but there was still one question burning in his mind.
And what if the world wasn't ready for what he was?