He shakes his head. "No, ev'ryone else will know, yeh should too... Blimey... It begins, I suppose, with—with a person called—but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows—

"His name—I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"I understand that it's uncomfortable but I would like to know."

He makes a face, looks around, then says, "Voldemort." He shudders. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this—this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too—some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Sarah. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him—an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway."

Sarah pays close attention and makes understanding noises.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'—an'—"

Hagrid suddenly pulls out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blows his nose with a sound like a foghorn. 

(Petunia makes a disgusted face at that.)

"And he killed them." Sarah's voice is gentle and shaking just a little. This is why she was raised by the Dursleys instead of loving parents.

He nods. "An' then—an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing—he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh—took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even—but it didn't work on you, an' that’s why yer famous, Sarah. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age—the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts—an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

 As Hagrid's story comes to a close, Sarah sees the blinding flash of green light that sometimes haunts her dreams, more clearly than she has ever remembered it before—and she remembers something else, for the first time in her life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.

"I think I remember."

"Nonsense, yeh were jus' a baby... Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."

"Load of old tosh," says Uncle Vernon, glaring at Hagrid, his fists clenched. "Now, you listen here, girl," he snarls, looking at Sarah, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured—and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion—asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types—just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end—"

Hagrid leaps from the sofa and draws his battered pink umbrella, pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword. "I'm warning you, Dursley—I'm warning you—one more word..."

"I'd prefer you not curse them. They aren't the nicest people but at least for the moment I have to live with them."

Sarah's request notwithstanding, Hagrid's threat makes Uncle Vernon lose all his nerve and flatten himself against a wall.

Hagrid nods. "Well." He looks at Sarah. "And after that night... You-Know-Who disappeared. Vanished. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more an' more powerful—why'd he go?

"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Sarah. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on—I dunno what it was, no one does—but somethin' about you stumped him, all right," he finishes, looking at Sarah with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes

"Alright." She smiles back. "So, what now, do we go shopping? How do I get to Hogwarts?"

"Haven't I told you you're not going?" Uncle Vernon hisses. "You're going to Stonewall High and be grateful for it. I've read that letter and you need all sorts of rubbish—spell books and wands and—"

"If she wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop her," growls Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's daughter goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Her name's been down ever since she was born. She's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and she won't know herself. She'll be with youngsters of her own sort, fer a change, an' she'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled—"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HER MAGIC TRICKS!" yells Uncle Vernon. 

But he has finally gone too far. Hagrid seizes his umbrella and whirls it over his head. "NEVER—" he thunders, "—INSULT—ALBUS—DUMBLEDORE—IN—FRONT—OF—ME!" He waves the umbrella up to point it at Uncle Vernon, hitting him with a yellow flash of light—

—and he proceeds to puke a huge fat worm on the carpet.

Petunia screams—whether because of what happened or because of where it happened is unclear.

"Is he going to be alright?"

Uncle Vernon goes to the bathroom, followed by his wife, who throws a last glance at the ruined carpet before closing the door behind them.

"Aye... it'll pass. He just needs ter wait a bit." He sure does look embarrassed, though.