CHAPTER TWO:

Third Person P.O.V.:

Charlie quietly strode back into his grandfather's office, as he could hear talking through the door on the way in and didn't wish to disturb anyone.

When the young boy walked further into the room, he was more than happy to see a tall half-giant who had long dark hair and a majestic brown beard talking to his grandfather. He smiled at the sight and made his presence known, "Sorry to interrupt, but Professor Snape said you wished to see me?"

Hagrid turned and looked down to meet the young boy's gaze with his own and gave him a big, heart-warming smile, "Well 'ello there Charlie!"

Charlie reciprocated Hagrid's gesture with his infamous wide smile that was accented with the deepest of dimples, "Hi Hagrid, great to see you!"

Dumbledore watched his grandson and friend interact and smiled at the the mere thought of his peers loving Charlie like their own.

"Great to see yeh too kiddo! Happee Birthdae, I made yeh a little something," Hagrid said to Charlie and then proceeded to move to the right a little and grab a box from the table, which Charlie could only assume was placed there by Hagrid when he first entered the office, "I baked it meself."

Charlie carefully opened the box and looked down to be met with the looks of a chocolate cake that was accented with blue — his favourite colour — frosting that read, "Happee Birthdae Charlie!"

"Oh my days, this is fantastic Hagrid! Thank you!" Charlie spoke genuinely to his large, yet kind friend.

"No problem at all! Figured I ought to make somethin' special fer yeh an' Harry since yeh both celebratin a special birthdae this year!" Hagrid said in a very prominent West Country accent.

Charlie was confused at the mention of Harry. He had no idea who his giant friend was talking about, "Forgive me Hagrid, I don't think I know who you're talking about."

"Well, 'Arry Potter of course!" Hagrid explained.

Charlie thought for a moment and then spoke, "You mean the boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? The chosen one?" Charlie paused for a moment as he saw his friend nod, then asked, "We share a birthday?"

It was Dumbledore who answered Charlie this time, "Not quite. His eleventh birthday is tomorrow, which is actually part of the reason I wanted to speak with you Charles."

The young boy was confused, "I'm afraid I don't understand grandfather."

"Well you see Charles, Harry, just like you and the many other first years that will be attending Hogwarts this coming semester, was sent an acceptance letter," Dumbledore explained, "The month is coming to a close and we still have yet to hear back from Mr. Potter."

Charlie nodded his head in understanding, "So, The Chosen One is not interested in attending Hogwarts?"

Hagrid gave out a very spiteful laugh, "Or he hasn't been getting them letters!"

"This is why I brought you here, Charles," Dumbledore continued, "It seems very unlikely that Mr. Potter would not acknowledge his own attendance letter. There are many things that have led me to the conclusion that his family is hiding the truth from him. Which is why, I would like you to accompany Hagrid in bringing Harry his attendance letter directly."

Hagrid smiled at Charlie widely, "It'll be loads o' fun Char! Think about it will yeh! We go an' save 'Arry from his 'orrid family an' then I'll take the lot of yeh down to Diagon Alleh and yeh get all yeh supplies for the term."

Charlie had to take a minute to process what he had just been told. It seemed like a very rare occurrence nowadays where he was permitted to leave the castle grounds.

The brown eyed boy looked up at his grandfather and asked, "You are permitting me to leave the castle grounds?"

Dumbledore moved from behind his desk to beside Charlie and gave him a pat on the back, "I trust in your responsibility for this task. Not to mention, I have the most faith in Hagrid and am aware of how serious he is when it comes to your safety," He explains while also looking at Hagrid, "I am more than comfortable with letting you accompany him. It has been awhile since you have seen what is beyond these castle walls Charles, and I want you to go on with Hagrid and do what most kids your age should be doing! I wouldn't want you to miss out on these kinds of experiences."

Hagrid was still looking at the young boy with a excited expression, but still Charlie was hesitant, maybe even scared, "But what about my father? If he finds out-"

He was quickly cut off.

"Let me deal with your father, Charles. I want you to go with Hagrid and have fun. Don't worry about anything else, do you understand?" Dumbledore asked with a sincere smile.

Charlie looked up at his grandfather once more before nodding and engulfing him in a hug, "Thank you."

Dumbledore reciprocated his grandson's hug and smiled before looking at Hagrid, "Now, you two best be off if you are to make it there before night fall."

Charlie pulled away from his grandfather and walked over to his small puppy who had been laying down on the ground since he had entered the room. He gave Ludo one last kiss on the head before turning back to his grandfather saying, "Take care of him for me?"

Dumbledore nodded his head and said, "I'll take care of him as well as Hagrid'll take care of you."

And with that Hagrid and Charlie left Dumbledore's office.

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Shortly after they had left the castle grounds, and quicker than they had expected, the sun had begun to go down.

They travelled to Surrey by way of Hagrid's flying motorcycle. Charlie sat in the sidecar contently as him and Hagrid soared through the sky. The young boy took in the sight of the night sky being accented with the brightest of stars and absolutely adored it. He loved this trip already, as it somehow had already made him forget about his father's absence and his run-in with Professor Snape. The only thing the boy cared about at that current moment, was the night sky and the lights that he saw all around him.

Suddenly, the two arrived at the extremely isolated Hut-On-The-Rock. As the motorcycle came to a stop, Charlie became confused as to why on earth The Chosen One was located in the middle of nowhere.

"Hagrid," He whispered, "Why is The Chosen One locked away in a tower in the middle of nowhere?"

Hagrid let out a small laugh and answered back in a whisper, "Bloody Dursley's 'ought they could escape the letters from arriving at their 'oorstep. Came to 'ide out as far away as 'ossible."

Charlie nodded his head in understanding as the two of them approached the door. Right as Charlie was about to knock, Hagrid grabbed his hand and said, "Them people in there 're gonna be needing a much 'ore aggressive approach. Yeh just 'ollow me lead, okay?"

As soon as Charlie had nodded his head, Hagrid had taken the large door off his hinges and let it fall to the floor with a loud bang. Charlie stood there shocked at first, but quickly followed the half-giant inside.

"Sorry 'bout that." Hagrid said to the now frightened kid in front of him, before picking up the door and placing it in the doorframe.

Charlie looked around the room and spotted a chunkier kid, who he assumed was around his age, that looked scared in the corner. He also spotted two adults on the stairs to the right of the room. One woman and one man, who was holding a gun, which made Charlie take a step back behind Hagrid.

Then the man with the gun spoke, "I demand that you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!"

Fearlessly, Hagrid took a stride towards the man and stood in front of him, "Dry up Dursley, you great prune!" Then he took the head of the gun and bent it upwards towards the ceiling.

The man fired the gun, but the bullet had went straight through the ceiling, which caused the chunky boy in the corner to scream.

Hagrid then walked over to him and said, "Well, I 'avent seen yeh since yeh was a baby 'Arry, but yeh a bit more along than I 'ould of expected, particularly 'round the middle."

Charlie couldn't help but give out a small laugh at his friend's comment as he heard the boy say, "I-I'm not Harry."

Then, as if on cue, a second, skinnier boy with round glasses came out from beyond the wall of the fireplace and said, "I am."

"Well o' course yeh 're!" Hagrid said with a relieved sigh, "Got somethin for yer! 'Fraid I might've sat on it at some point, but I 'magine it'll taste fine just the same."

Hagrid then pulled a similar box to the one Charlie had received from his cloak and handed it to Harry. The brown eyed boy assumed that it's contents would be a cake similar to the one Hagrid had given him earlier in the day, as it was now a little past twelve, making it Harry's birthday.

As Harry opened the box and admired Hagrid's gift, the half-giant sat in front of the fireplace and lit it with his umbrella-like wand.

Charlie shook his head at his friend as he knew that Hagrid was not supposed to do magic, but he shrugged it off.

That is when Harry spoke and looked at the two strangers with curiosity, "Excuse me, but who are you people?"

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts," The now comfortable giant explained before pointing in Charlie's direction in the corner, "An' that there is Charles Hawthorne, future first year at Hogwarts, just like yeh."

Charlie took this as an invitation to move towards the boy with the glasses, hold out his hand, and introduce himself, "Most people just call me Charlie. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The brown eyed boy was surprised to see Harry take his hand and give it a firm shake with no hesitation, also as if the boy with glasses was glad that there was another kid of his age around.

Hagrid continued his further comment, "O' course yer know all 'bout Hogwarts."

Harry was quick to reply with a "No, sorry. I'm not sure what you're talking about."

The friendly giant seemed almost taken aback by the comment, "Blimey 'Arry! 'Avent you ever wondered where yeh mum an' dad learnt it all?"

The boy with the glasses was still clearly confused, "Learnt what?"

"Yer a wizard, Harry." Hagrid explained.

Harry's eyes grew large as Charlie watched his reaction, "I'm a what?"

"A wizard," Charlie said with a smile in a matter-of-fact tone, "A wizard who could be capable of greatness, all you need is the training."

The boy with the glasses was quick to shake his head, "No," he said, " You've made a mistake! I can't be a wizard. I mean, I'm just...Harry! Just Harry!"

"Well, just Harry. Yeh ever make anything 'appen? Anything yeh couldn't explain when yeh were 'appy or scared?" Hagrid asked before getting up and handing the boy his Hogwarts acceptance letter.

Harry read his Hogwarts letter aloud, which was all too familiar to Charlie, as he remembered his letter that McGonagall had given him earlier in the day.

The man with the gun had stomped over and furiously said, "He will not be going, I tell you! We swore that when we took him in we would put a stop to all this rubbish!"

Harry was absolutely flabbergasted, "You knew? You knew all along and you never told me?!"

The adult woman from the stairs then came down and explained to the young boy of how his mother was the same as he was. She explained how she believed her sister to be a freak for being a witch and how her sister would go on to meet Harry's father, fall in love and give birth to Harry.

Then, the woman made the mistake of letting it slip out that her sister and Harry's father were blown up and how they were stuck with Harry as a result. Charlie watched as the boy dealt with this newfound information, as Harry believed his parents died in a car crash — which Hagrid thought was an preposterous lie.

"He will not be going." The man with the moustache said in a tone that seemed final.

Hagrid laughed at the man, "Oh, an' a muggle like yeh is gonna stop him, are yeh?"

"Muggle?" Harry asked confused, and looked at Charlie for some assistance.

Charlie explained, "It's what we call non-magic folk."

Hagrid and the man continued to argue until the chunkier boy from before had caught Hagrid's attention, as he was now scarfing down Harry's cake. Thanks to a comment that the man had said about Dumbledore, Hagrid gave the boy who was eating a pig tail out of retaliation.

Charlie laughed with Harry as the family of three began to panic as their son now had a tail. The brown eyed boy was glad that Hagrid had stopped the man from talking such horrendous things about his grandfather. Charlie was unsure what he would do if he had not done anything.

Hagrid then turned towards Harry and Charlie and whispered, "I'd 'ppreciate it if yeh didn't tell anyone from 'Ogwarts 'bout that."

Charlie only shook his head with a smile smile, but Harry was curious, "Why is that? That was hilarious!"

"Strictly speaking, Hagrid is not supposed to do magic," Charlie explained calmly before looking up to the Keeper of Keys, "Don't worry Hagrid, your secret is safe with us."

Hagrid smiled in appreciation at the two young boys standing before him and then checked his watch, "O', we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off."

The half-giant then turned and headed towards the door, with Charlie following closely behind. Hagrid proceeded to rip the door from the wall once again.

Charlie turned to his new acquaintance, Harry Potter and spoke with a wide, teasing smile, "Unless, you would rather stay with those lunatics."

And with that, Charlie exited the Hut and smiled once more, as he knew The Chosen One was right behind him.

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Author's Note:
*this chapter was not proof read*

Hope you enjoyed chapter two! This part focused on Hagrid and Charlie going to retrieve Harry from the Dursley's, I wanted to make this part an essential part in the story as I plan on making Harry and Charlie's relationship as loyal and brother-like as possible.

If you have any questions for me regarding the story, be sure to let me know!

Also, it would mean a lot if you could vote, like, comment, and share this story with your friends!

Much love to you all!

xo, Selena