The Keeper of the Keys
*This post contains spoilers for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and the Harry Potter Series.
Chapter Summary:
A large boom knocks on the door to the shack Harry and the Dursley’s are staying in on the remote island.
The noise wakes everyone, terrified of who or what it could be. The door slams open with a force to reveal…
“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.”
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
The large man greets Harry saying the last time he saw him was when he was a baby. He also tells Harry that he has his mother’s eyes.
Uncle Vernon tries to get the man to stop talking to Harry but the man tells him to shut up and offers Harry a birthday cake.
He finally introduces himself as Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.
Hagrid continues to make himself at home by starting a fire seemingly out of nowhere and cooking sausages and preparing tea.
Harry admits to Hagrid that he doesn’t really understand who he is or why he is here. After some back and forth Hagrid figures out that not only does Harry not know about Hogwarts but he has no knowledge of the magical world.
Hagrid begins to get angry at the Durlsey for not explaining anything to Harry. Apparently, the letter that was left by Dumbledore earlier in the story contained instructions that the Dursley’s never followed. The Durlsey’s attempt to stop Hagrid from telling Harry more but Hagrid finally says:
“Harry- yer a wizard”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
He then finally succeeds in delivering Harry the letter that he has been so desperate to read.
Hogwarts School
Harry potter and the SORCERER’S Stone
of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order or Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf.Warlock
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Hagrid pulls a live owl out of his jacket and quickly writes a letter to Dumbledore letting him know Harry received the letter and they will be going to get school things tomorrow. The owl then took the letter and flew out into the storm.
Uncle Vernon protests Harry going to Hogwarts. He reveals that they agreed to put a stop to him being a wizard when they took him in as a baby.
With this Harry realizes that they have been lying to him his whole life. Petunia speaks up
“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 vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats…
Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you… and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Hagrid then has the unpleasant task of telling the tale of how Harry’s parents actually died. He tells him that no one really knows the whole story. He tells Harry of Voldemort and that saying his name is uncomfortable for Wizards. Voldemort was a powerful Wizard who with the help of his supporters began to take over and do terrible things. He also mentions that Dumbledore is one of the only Wizards that Voldemort was ever afraid of.
Voldemort went to Harry’s parents house and killed them. He also tried to kill Harry but couldn’t. That is where Harry’s scar on his forehead came from. Everyone in the magical world knows that story and knows Harry Potter.
Hagrid also tells him he was the one that took him from the ruined house and delivered him to the Durlsey’s.
After that night Voldemort disappeared. Some say he died but others believe he is waiting until he is powerful enough to reemerge.
Uncle Vernon finally has enough and puts his foot down on Harry attending Hogwarts.
“I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!”
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Hagrid waves his umbrella and points to Dudley. A flash of Violet light and suddenly Dudley grew a pig’s tail. The Dursley’s barricade themselves in the other room. Hagrid says he meant to turn him into a whole pig but the spell didn’t work the way he wanted it to. He also asks Harry not to mention that he did magic as he is not supposed to due to being expelled from Hogwarts some time ago.
The two settle in for the night and Hagrid lets Harry know that they will go get his school things in the morning.
*Spoiler reminder. If you do not want aspects of the Harry Potter series ruined for you, do not read below. Discussions about future stories and characters take place.
Lily’s Eyes
Hagrid is the first person in the series to make the comment that Harry has his mother’s eyes. This will be mentioned throughout the series. It almost becomes an annoyance to Harry as he knows that when he meets who knew his parents, they are going to bring it up.
These characters bring up the similarities because Lily was their friend. Seeing her child with her eyes brings up a lot of emotions. Some see Harry’s eyes and are happy to see a part of their lost friend. However, I think the majority of the people feel regret. Regret that they couldn’t do more to save her.
We can’t talk about Lily without talking about Snape. When Snape sees Harry he mostly sees James Potter but with Lily’s eyes. This is why when Snape is dying he asks Harry to look at him. He wants to see the eyes of the person he loves the most one more time. I could talk about Snape and his relationship with Lily forever but I’ll wait till we get a little further in the story when more dynamics are revealed.
Why Was Hagrid Not Aware that Harry Didn’t Know Anything About the Magical World?
Hagrid is so upset with the Dursley’s for not telling Harry about the magical world. Not only is he upset, he’s surprised. I can’t believe that Dumbledore isn’t aware that Harry knows nothing. Dumbledore has stationed Mrs. Figg in Harry’s neighborhood and charged her to keep an eye on him. There’s no way that she hasn’t reported everything back.
Yes, she could assume that Harry is not sharing this information with her but I doubt that. She grew up around magic and I don’t believe for a second that she didn’t try to get something out of Harry every time he came to her house.
More likely, this is one of the many instances where Dumbledore keeps information for himself. He most likely knows that Harry is in the dark and did not fill in Hagrid. Dumbledore probably thinks this is a good thing so he can have some control over the information Harry gets. He will continue to withhold information from Harry until he deems it is the right time to be revealed.
What Really Happened to Harry’s Parents
Hagrid reveals all he knows to Harry about the night of his parents death. For the first time he finds out who Voldemort is and that he killed his parents for an unknown reason. He won’t learn till much later the full extent of what happened that night but he now knows that he and his parents are well known figures in the magical world.
This is obviously a lot for a newly eleven year old child to learn and comprehend. All of this won’t fully hit him until he gets to school and experiences being complete immersed into this new world.
Hagrid’s Expulsion
Hagrid asks Harry not to mention that he did magic. Also, Hagrid uses his umbrella which we will find out is not a normal way to harness magic.
He tells Harry that he is not allowed to do magic because he was expelled in his third year at Hogwarts and his wand was snapped in half. We will find out in Chamber of Secrets that Hagrid’s expulsion was due to him being framed by Voldemort as the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets leading to the death of another student.
Punishment for expulsion is to have your wand snapped in half making it so you can’t fully use your magic. Somehow, Hagrid was able to hold onto his wand and hide it in an umbrella. As it is damaged and Hagrid never finished his studies, his magic doesn’t work quite as well as it should.
This is another topic that will be explored in-depth further along in the series.
FableStoryNovel 