Chapter 6
Harry didn’t open the letter immediately.
He just stared at it.
The envelope felt too thick for paper.
Too important for something that had been chasing them across England like it had a personal vendetta.
Across from him, Ivy had already torn hers open.
Of course she had.
“Harry,” she said.
Her voice was different.
Quieter.
Focused.
He looked up.
“What?”
She scanned the page quickly, eyes moving faster than he’d ever seen.
Then she smiled.
Not her usual grin.
Something sharper.
Something real.
“I think we’re going to a school for witches and wizards.”
Harry blinked.
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It’s very specific, though.”
Hagrid coughed loudly.
“Er—yeah. That’s what it is.”
Vernon made a strangled sound from the corner.
“A school? For— for this?”
He gestured wildly at Hagrid, the letters, the broken door, the storm outside like it was all one horrible category.
Hagrid frowned.
“It’s the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world.”
Silence.
Then Dudley whispered, “I don’t like this.”
Nobody answered him.
Harry finally looked down at his letter.
His hands were steady.
That surprised him.
He unfolded the parchment.
Neat green ink.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
His name.
His full name.
As though it had always known him.
Ivy leaned closer without asking.
She always did that.
Harry didn’t mind.
“We’re in the same year,” she murmured.
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m reading faster than you.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is a reason.”
Harry continued reading.
There was a list of books.
A list of equipment.
A requirement for a wand.
A mention of cauldrons.
And something about owls being acceptable for communication.
He stopped.
“Owls?”
Ivy nodded immediately.
“I like that part.”
“You would.”
She nudged his shoulder.
“Harry.”
“What?”
“We’re not normal.”
Harry snorted.
“Yeah. I got that part already.”
She smiled again.
But it faded a little quicker this time.
Like she was thinking ahead.
Which she always did.
⸻
Hagrid stood, suddenly awkward.
“Well. That’s the basics, I suppose.”
Vernon immediately stepped forward.
“You are not taking them anywhere.”
Hagrid blinked.
“I’m afraid I am.”
“No.”
Hagrid sighed.
“Look, I didn’t come all this way in a storm just to argue with a man who looks like he’s about to explode.”
Vernon did, in fact, look like he was about to explode.
Petunia looked worse.
Pale.
Frozen.
Like she’d been waiting for this her entire life and still wasn’t ready for it.
Ivy noticed.
Harry saw her notice.
That was the thing about Ivy.
She noticed everything.
“What is it?” she asked suddenly.
Petunia flinched.
“Ivy—”
“No.” Ivy stepped forward slightly. “You knew. You knew this was going to happen.”
Silence.
Harry looked between them.
“What’s she talking about?”
Petunia didn’t answer.
But her silence did.
Hagrid exhaled slowly.
“I think maybe I should explain a few things proper-like.”
He looked at Harry.
Then Ivy.
“Your parents weren’t just ordinary folk.”
Harry felt something tighten in his chest.
Ivy didn’t move.
“They were witches and wizards too,” Hagrid said. “Powerful ones. Well known.”
Harry swallowed.
“And… they died.”
The words landed heavily.
Not dramatic.
Just final.
Ivy’s hand tightened slightly on her letter.
Harry noticed.
She didn’t cry.
Not yet.
But her voice came out quieter.
“What happened to us?”
Hagrid looked at them for a long moment.
Then said, very carefully,
“You lived.”
Silence again.
This time heavier than before.
Harry stared at him.
“That’s it?”
Hagrid shrugged slightly.
“That’s a lot more than most could manage.”
Ivy looked down at her letter.
Then back up.
Her expression was unreadable.
But her voice wasn’t.
“Okay,” she said.
Just that.
Harry blinked.
“Okay?”
She nodded once.
“Okay.”
Then, after a beat—
“When do we leave?”
Hagrid looked almost impressed.
“First of September.”
Ivy turned to Harry immediately.
“We’re going.”
Harry stared at her.
“You’re very calm about this.”
“I’m always calm about important things.”
“This is not calm behaviour.”
“This is efficient thinking.”
Hagrid laughed again.
“Right pair you are.”
Vernon made a noise of protest.
But nobody was listening anymore.
Because Ivy had already started reading the letter again.
And Harry, for the first time in his life, had the strange feeling that everything was about to change—and his sister was already halfway out the door.