As the summer holidays came to an end, Rio began to get excited. His change in behaviour was even picked up by his classmates at a birthday party.
"You're much happier than usual," one of them – Charlotte – remarked. Rio just smiled at her in response but inwardly dismissed her comment. It wasn't that he was unhappy, they just didn't make him happy.
In truth, Rio didn't have many friends at school. In fact, Rio didn't have any friends at school. His strange luck – no, his magic-caused luck – had meant that he was often expelled from school, due to what they considered 'bad behaviour'. Even now, Rio struggled to understand what their problem was. What 8-year-old can singlehandedly shatter a penguin enclosure anyway? he wondered.
That being said, it wasn't like he was kicked out of school every year – only twice, but that was enough to make he didn't have enough time to forge any real friendships. Yes, he did speak with some of the other kids here and there, and yes, he was invited to someone's birthday, but deep down, he knew they weren't his friends. He recalled something his dad had told him and his brother, right before he had passed.
"Make sure you find good friends – both of you. Remember this, you two. A friend isn't just someone that you can laugh or smile with. A friend is someone that sees you for you, in your best and worst moments, and chooses to love you anyway."
Rio intended to honour his father's last words to him, but it was difficult. None of the people at school, or at violin or football practice, saw him for him. Most of them liked him a bit, some of them thought he was weird, and others just ignored him outright. But that was okay with Rio. He didn't really care about them either – right? What am I thinking, he thought to himself. Of course I don't care! They're not my friends! He didn't need friends right now anyway, he had time, and besides – I have Mum and Connor. They're more than enough for me.
But despite his conviction, the boy couldn't help but wonder. Will I make friends at Hogwarts?
That night, after Rio came home and the family was having dinner, both Carol and Connor could tell something was weighing on his mind.
"Hey!" Rio shouted – Connor had thrown a piece of pasta at his head. Just as he was about to retaliate with grossly disproportionate force, his mum stopped him.
"Rio! Stop! Aren't you the big brother?"
Harrumphing, the elder brother sat down, while the younger brother tried to taunt him. In their own brotherly way, Connor was trying to distract Rio from whatever was bringing him down, and Rio could tell. His expression was still stony and angry, but inside he was smiling, grateful for his brother's attempt at cheering him up – it had worked.
"Is anything wrong?" his mother asked, her tone now soft.
"Nothing," he tried to reassure her.
"Promise?" Rio knew that if he told her that he didn't want to talk about it, she would drop the subject, but it would only make her worry more.
"Do you think I'll make any friends at Hogwarts?" he asked her, his voice shy for a change.
His mother's face was unsurprised, however. She probably already knew how I was feeling. Such a mum.
"Of course I do, Rio. The school will be full of people just like you – as long as you talk to them, and just be yourself, I know you'll make friends there."
Rio was a sharp child. He knew that most people would lie when asked a question like that – but not his mum. She never lied, and he knew it. She hadn't lied when she had promised to take care of them to his dad before he died, she hadn't lied when she told child services that she could take care of them despite living near poverty for almost 2 years, and she hadn't lied when she told him he could go to Hogwarts. Her words reassured him even further, and he smiled a real smile.
"Okay!" he said, cheesing, and Carol smiled too, relieved that her son's doubts were gone now. She knew all too well the pain of loneliness, especially after her husband had died.
Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived. Rio, now done with his silent sulking, had opted for revenge, lobbying a piece of broccoli at his brother's head, successfully hitting the target, to which Connor was about to retaliate.
As she opened her mouth to try to stop the squabble, the doorbell rang.
The time was 10pm now – who could be ringing now?
Motioning for kids to stay put, she quietly made her way to the door and looked through the peephole.
Carol audibly gasped – standing outside her door was a hulk of a heavily bearded man, at least 10 feet tall.
The giant, hearing the sound, knocked again.
"Err… 'Ello! My name's Hagrid!"
Carol didn't dare speak, and seeing the look on her face, neither did either of the children, as Rio moved to grab a butcher's knife from a kitchen drawer.
Seeing that there was no response, the giant blushed.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot ya don't know who I am! I'm with Hogwarts! Uhhh, Professor McGonagall sent me! Hahaha… ha … ha…" The giant tried to give out a laugh to lighten the mood, which he soon realised was extraordinarily awkward and fake sounding.
Carol, meanwhile, sighed in relief. She did remember that name – McGonagall, the old lady witch from the station, and in truth, she had been getting slightly worried – term started very soon, and although the letter had promised someone would come to help Rio settle in, no one had come yet.
"Oh, yes," she said, her voice much higher pitched than she would have liked.
"Please, come in!" She opened the door.
"Thanks! Sorry about the confusion!" said Hagrid, as he stepped through the door.
The man had to crouch significantly to fit into the house, while Rio and Connor looked on agape.
"Wow! You're massive!" Connor said, marvelling at the sheer size of the man before him.
"Are you a giant?" he asked.
"Connor!" Carol said crossly, her fear now gone. "That's very rude!"
"Oh, no, it's quite alright! He's right, after all – well, half right!" he said, laughing.
For a moment, Carol's face went white, before returning to its normal hue. My child is wizard, she thought. Why is the existence of giants shocking me?
"Oh! Well then, Hagrid, can I offer you any tea? And please, sit down!" she said, gesturing to the sofa, trying to be polite.
"Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you – trying to watch the belly," he said, laughing as he sat down on the sofa, which creaked dangerously under his weight. This guy laughs a lot, thought Rio.
"So, if yer the mam, and yer name is Connor, I'm guessing you," he said, pointing to Rio, "yer Rio, ain't ya?"
"Y-yeah, I am," Rio said, almost losing his composure.
"Well, Rio, I hope yer not planning on tryna kill little ol' me with that, are yer?" he said, laughing, pointing to the butcher's knife still in Rio's hand.
Embarrassed, Rio put the knife back in the drawer, pretending not to see the murderous look in his mother's eyes. Should I be more scared of the giant, or her?
"Sorry about that," he muttered, to which Hagrid laughed again. I wonder why he's so happy.
"Don't worry about it, Rio. Anyway, the reasons as to why I'm here, is so you, my friend, can go to Diagon Alley!"
Seeing the blank look on the family's face, Hagrid facepalmed.
"Sorry, guys – I forget yer Muggles," he said.
"Muggles? What's that?" Rio asked.
"Oh yeah! Well, Rio, Muggles are non-magic folk, like yer brother and mam," he explained.
"You on the other hand, yer what we call muggleborn – a wizard from a non-magic background."
"Oh, I see. Wait – so that means there's like entire wizard families?"
"Of course!" Hagrid responded, beaming at Rio's curiosity. Another for Gryffindor, he thought.
"Then what do you call wizards from those?"
Hagrid's smile began to falter now.
AN: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please remember to COLLECT and VOTE with POWER STONES for more chapters - I'll be releasing a BONUS chapter when we hit 25 Power Stones!