Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket.

A twist at the end of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid.

Chapter 1: Why are you giving me this Gold Ticket, Hagrid?

I don't own the Harry Potter verse. Just playing.

Summary: A twist at the end of Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. As they approach the Leaky Cauldron to leave Diagon Alley, Hagrid decides to present Harry with his gold ticket to the Hogwarts Express, while Harry was really expecting to go directly to Hogwarts with Hagrid now. Harry asks a different question.

And that changes everything. HHr NLLL T for Characters deaths.

12/12/21 Beta alix33

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Our fateful story starts at the end of Harry's first amazing trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Harry Potter has had an awesome day and was a little exhausted but still looking toward to seeing his new school. Hagrid had described it as a great ancient castle in the highlands of Scotland. Far, far away from the Dursley and the smallest bedroom at Number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Hopeful, Harry never wished to see that horrible hole again.

Harry was walking next to the friendly gentle giant as they approached the Leaky Cauldron. The old pub that served as an entrance from Muggle London to Diagon Alley. He was wondering how they would magically travel from London to Scotland as a second thought occurred to Harry. How did Hagrid travel to the rock in the middle of the sea? They had to use the same boat to leave that rock that the Dursleys used to get there.

The gentle giant was carrying Harry's heavy trunk in one hand and Hedwig's cage in the other when he stood still and tucked Hedwig's cage under the arm holding the heavy school trunk. Hagrid searched an inner pocket for something and then proudly presented Harry with a gold ticket and said.

"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, Harry. First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…"

A smiling Harry took the ticket and noticed a camera flash out of the corner of his eye. He paused for a moment as he saw a paunchy wizard holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly. The wizard turned and disappeared with a crack.

Harry blinked at the odd sight and then turned back to read the gold ticket. "London to Hogwarts? Platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock?"

Hagrid smiled as he held Hedwig's cage in his hand again. "That's right Harry. King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock, on September first. Don't be late as the Hogwarts Express leaves at exactly at eleven o'clock."

"But Hagrid? Aren't I going to Hogwarts with you now?" Harry asked starting to get a little worried. "Like together with you?"

"Oh no, Harry. Professor Dumbledore gave me strict instructions to return you to your family." Hagrid answered not noticing the concern in Harry's voice.

"But, they are not my family, Hagrid!" Harry reasoned. "They hate me and they hate magic even more."

"I am sorry, Harry. I would love to take you back with me, but the Great Professor Albus Dumbledore told me to return you to the Dursleys." Hagrid replied with sad eyes.

"But, after all those letters. And having to travel all over the country to escape them. They, they will be so angry, and they will cheerfully beat me to a pulp. And lock me in that cupboard under the stairs. And not feed me for a month." Harry pleaded.

"Oh, if they try that, just send me a letter with your owl and I will come and sort them out." Hagrid offered.

"That won't help if my arms are broken again, and I can't write. And they would kill and feed Hedwig to Ripper." Harry alarm rising.

"Surely they are not that bad."

"Uncle Vernon had gotten a shotgun!"

"I tied it up into a pretzel." Hagrid chuckled at his handy work with the shotgun.

"He will go get a bigger one."

"Oh? He wouldn't dare!"

"Oh yes he would! And you gave Dudley that tail. Who do you think they will punish for that?"

"But the Great Professor Albus Dumbledore said it was the safest place for you." Hagrid automatically replied as if saying the name, Albus Dumbledore, was the answer to everything.

"Well, why doesn't this useless Great Professor Albus Dumbledore stay there, and the Dursleys can punish him for a change!" Harry yelled back feeling the dread that this conversation was going in the wrong direction.

While Harry's frustration triggered Hagrid automatically response to any disrespect of the headmaster. Without thinking as he pointed his huge big finger at the little tiny frightened boy, with his hand that held Hedwig's cage.

"NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"

Harry stared at the half-giant, heartbroken with tears in his eyes. This Great Albus Dumbledore had already ruined his new life the same way he had ruined his old life.

The heartbroken look of the frightened child finally shattered Hagrid's proverbial rose-coloured glasses and broke his heart, for he would never yell like that at a Hippogriff or any other seriously misunderstood creature and break their spirit.

"I don't want your stupid! Gold! TICKET!"

Harry screamed as he threw it at his former first friend. For all the name of Albus Dumbledore meant to Harry was lovelessness, loneliness, friendlessness, pain and suffering.

And he had had enough of that to fill a lifetime.

Hagrid sadly watched the gold ticket fluttered down to the cobblestones between them.

Harry was in a panic now. He knew he would never live to see Hogwarts if his former first friend returned him to the Dursleys, regardless of what this fool Dumbledore had said. His mind was racing as he remembered the gold his parents had left him in Gringotts and thought if he could hide in Diagon Alley, he could survive and be safe.

So, Harry turned, as he prepared to run as fast as he could, determined to find a safe place when he heard a loud crack and everything went black as he felt the same squeezing sensation he felt when he tried to jump behind the big garbage bins outside the kitchen doors at his old school only to find himself sitting on the chimney.

But this time he wasn't sitting on the chimney as Harry discovered he had landed with a wooden thud on old rug on the floor of a very small room in the dark.

Then he smelt a familiar odour, a metallic smell, like a copper coin.

"Drat!" Harry cursed his luck. "It couldn't be!"

But it was.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Meanwhile, back in Diagon Alley.

Hagrid had finally noticed the terror in Harry's voice and that Harry had disrespected the Great Albus Dumbledore.

And he had automatically responded without thinking and yelled at the frightened little boy.

That heartbroken look the frightened little boy gave Hagrid shattered his heart and something else broke in the gentle half-giant's mind as he knew that the Dursleys were the worse sort of Muggles he had ever met, and he wouldn't leave a Hippogriff in their care.

And Dumbledore already had warned him that there could be trouble, so the great Albus Dumbledore knew of the terrible situation the poor boy was in, and still insisted, no ordered him, to return Harry to that terrible place.

And so, Hagrid decided to do the right thing, and take Harry back to Hogwarts with him, and hide him in his hut.

But it was too late!

Hagrid saw the wild panic in the poor boy's eyes and dropped the heavy school trunk and owl cage as he desperately tried to lean down and catch Harry before he bolted.

CRACK!

"No! Harry!"

Hagrid fell heavily to his knees with a thud as he failed to catch Harry.

For Harry was gone.

The owl cage exploded as it hit the cobblestones, and released one very angry snowy white owl.

Hedwig was furious as she sized up the situation. Her favourite little man was hurting and she was going to punish the damn fool who had made her little Harry cry. Her sharp talons grabbed the handle of the heavy school trunk which automatically became weightless with her Magical Mail Owl charm, and she swung it hard at the head of the foolish half-giant who had upset her little man.

The weightless heavy school trunk still had its dense mass and it impacted on the chin of the foolish half-giant in a perfect upper cut and knocked him out cold as he was flipped over onto his back and crushed the owl cage flat. While his heavy old coat opened up as a small brown paper package tied up with string fell out of a pocket while four owls flew out of another pocket to avoid being crushed if the half-giant rolled.

Hedwig was happy with her handy work, and flew off with the trunk to find her little man.

One of the four owls that escaped was a young snowy owl and he had managed to catch the small brown paper package tied up with string before it smashed on the cobblestone path of the alley. He saw it had no name or address written on it, so he decided to follow the wise snowy owl as she flew away with the school trunk.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Hagrid recovered a few minutes later, with no memory of the past day and why he was lying there in Diagon Alley with a sore jaw. No one had landed a punch on him since he was six.

A former Muggle-born student helped the half-giant to his feet and led him to the Leaky Cauldron to have a drink to recover.

While in a castle far to the north, a certain manipulative headmaster smiled as a silver doodad started to puff white smoke. He smirked as he steeped his fingers together and said to himself.

"Excellent!"

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -

Thank you for reading.

- Harry Potter and the Unwanted Ticket. -