Author's note : This is my first ever attempt at fan fiction, and I would
love it if you could review with some brutally honest comments, because I
know it needs a lot of work I would just like someone else's opinion on
what needs to be done to make it better. Honestly, feel free to tell me
it's awful, as long as you tell me why, I'll be happy! Thank you all, I
hope you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the other characters and places you are familiar with from the book. However much I wish I do! They belong to J. K. Rowling, the genius that she is.
Chapter 1: A Lonely Start to the summer
It was another unbearably hot summer in Little Whinging, which meant a decrease in activity around the streets. Privet Drive, usually full of people washing their cars, or mowing their lawns, striving to be better than their neighbours, was very quiet. Privet Drive was the kind of place where people were judged very much upon appearances and possessions, and stranger still, most residents thrived on this competition.
One boy however did not. His name was Harry Potter. Needless to say the residents of Privet Drive were not his biggest fans. Harry was quite tall around 6ft, having experienced a growth spurt over the summer, with startlingly bright emerald green eyes, that were very slightly dulled by the glasses he wore. Harry had jet black hair that was completely unruly and, as much as Harry tried to hide it with his hair, there was a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. This was no ordinary scar, just as Harry was no ordinary teenage boy; Harry was a wizard and got the scar from one of the most formidable dark wizards ever known, Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort was also the reason that Harry was stuck in the middle of Little Whinging, with a family that hated him, almost completely cut off from his real home, the wizarding world. Many years ago when Harry was just over 1 year old, Voldemort had killed both his parents, and attempted to kill Harry, for some reason, that no-one completely understood, Voldemort failed and in doing so met the end of his reign of terror. Harry was famous, known to the wizarding world as the boy who lived, the one who vanquished the dark lord. Harry was sent to live with his Muggle (non-magic) aunt, uncle, and cousin, Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley. Harry often wondered if being sent to live with Voldemort would have been worse. The Dursleys hated Harry, and anything unusual, such as magic. They despised it, and had even kept the fact that Harry was a wizard from him, until he was 11, and received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, telling him he had been accepted. Then the whole story had come out. Harry had just finished his fifth year there, which had been less than pleasant to say the least. At the end of the year, Voldemort, whom Harry had witnessed return to power the year before, had tricked Harry into going to the department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. This lead to the death of Harry's godfather Sirius Black. Harry had only discovered he had a godfather in his third year at Hogwarts, when Sirius escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison. Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione however found out that Sirius was innocent and helped him to escape the law.
Over the two years to follow Harry and Sirius became very close, Sirius being the closest thing to a father Harry had ever known. Now Harry felt more alone than ever, and unbelievably guilty. Harry had fallen for Voldemorts trick, thanks to his, what did Snape call it, ah yes, his "hero complex". How could he have been so stupid? If only he had listened to Hermione, and not gone to the department of Mysteries, Sirius would be alive. Not a day of the summer had gone by when Harry didn't think of Sirius, there was nothing left in life to look forward to. Even Hogwarts had lost its appeal, after last year's ordeal with Professor Umbridge, and his ban from quidditch, Harry doubted he would ever feel the same way about the school. It had always been his escape from the Dursleys, but now, he didn't know if it was any better. Going back to Hogwarts also meant that Harry would have to face his friends again, he felt guilty on their behalf too, they had gone with him to the Ministry of Magic, and almost met their deaths as well, he had been such an idiot. He didn't think he could face them ever again.
"Maybe I just won't go back" he thought to himself "it's not like there's any point, all I ever do is get people into trouble. And I doubt I got the grades from my O.W.L.'s to become an Auror. What is the point?"
Just as he was thinking that an snowy owl appeared at the window. "Hedwig! Good to see you" declared Harry as the owl affectionately nipped his finger "What've you got there hmm?" Hedwig had a large brown parcel and a letter. Harry looked at the two and decided to open the parcel first; it was his 16th birthday after all. Inside there was a colourful birthday cake, and a vast assortment of sweets. Opening a packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans Harry settled onto his bed to read the letter.
Dear Harry,
How are you? I've hardly heard from you at all, is
anything wrong? Other than the fact you're stuck with those dreadful
muggles that is. Anyway Happy Birthday from everyone here at the
Burrow, mum says she hopes you like the cake. I had no idea what to
get you so I went for the old tradition of sweets, you can never have
too much food, right? Anyway.I have another present of sorts, mum
finally got Dumbledore to let you come and stay here for the rest of
the summer! Dad says you've to ask the muggles for permission but
we're going to come get you at 4 O'clock tomorrow no matter what they
say. Make sure you're ready. I won't say too much as it'll spoil the
surprise, but we have a new and unusual method of transport to look
forward to courtesy of Fred and George and the huge profits they are
making form Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes. Not much else to write if
we're seeing you tomorrow, it would be a bit pointless, so just try
and have a nice birthday and I'll see you tomorrow.
From Ron
Harry re-read the letter, tomorrow was really soon, there was no way he could face everyone so soon. But at the same time, it had to better than being here, at least they would understand what he was going through, they wouldn't keep shouting at him because he was too tired to carry out all the household chores, having spent most of the night awake, after horrific nightmares that forced him to relive every detail of that day in the department of mysteries, relive Sirius' death, to relive the night Voldemort returned to power, when Harry saw Cedric Diggory die. The nightmares never lost their potency and were just as terrifying as the actual events were. When Harry awoke after one of those he found it impossible to get back to sleep for several hours and usually ended up crying himself to sleep. Or if it was close enough to morning he simply got up to make a head start on his chores.
"What am I going to do?" thought Harry "I can't have Ron seeing me in that state every night, crying like a stupid baby, I'll have to get out of it somehow"
At that moment another owl made its way through Harry's window, carrying an official looking letter.
"Oh god" Harry began to panic "This must be the O.W.L. results, I don't even want to know"
He tensely took the letter from the owl and opened it, unfolding the parchment his fears were confirmed, it was indeed his O.W.L. results.
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
Here enclosed are the results from your Ordinary Wizarding
Level (O.W.L.) Exams:
Astronomy: A
Care Of Magical Creatures: E
Charms: E
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: P
Herbology: E
History of Magic: P
Potions: E
Transfiguration: E
We hope you are pleased with your results.
Harry was quite amazed the results were much better than he had hoped, good enough to allow him to continue along his chosen career path of an auror, almost.
"Damn potions!" Harry thought "If only I could have done a little better."
Before Harry had a chance to wallow in misery another owl made it's way through his window.
What now? He thought pulling a large envelope from the owl. Upon opening it he found another letter
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I do hope this gets to you
on the right day. I'm sending it from South America, you see. It
is a really fascinating country, so much history. I don't know
how I'm going to learn it all before I leave. Ron told me he was
inviting you to The Burrow, he invited me too, but I am going to
be here for a few weeks at least, so I won't make it back much
before it's time to visit Diagon Alley again, so I told Ron to
write me, and I'll see you both then. Anyway, back to your
birthday, I've enclosed your gift. Yes before you ask it IS a
bracelet and yes it IS meant for guys. Most of the guys in the
village here have one actually. The bracelet is supposed to
promote good health and good luck, I think it's just
superstition, but it can't do any harm can it? Anyway hope you
have a good time, and I look forward to seeing you in Diagon
Alley if I don't hear from you before then.
Love Hermione
Harry looked reluctantly at the wooden beaded bracelet that had been wrapped around the parchment, debating with himself whether to wear it or not, it did look a bit girly, after all, in the end though his conscience got the better of him and he pulled it onto his wrist.
*
Harry trudged into his bedroom after a long afternoon of hard work in the garden completely exhausted. He had been doing such a lot of work outside this summer, as it was so warm, and none of the Dursleys felt like making any effort whatsoever in the intense heat. Why should they bother when they had Harry to do it all for them? The work was however beginning to make a difference to Harry's body. Because it involved a lot of lifting and carrying, Harry's arm and stomach muscles had began to develop, he was beginning to lose the skinny underfed look of his childhood, and his body was finally filling out. No doubt helped by the fact that Harry was now being allowed to eat decent meals, due to the threats Uncle Vernon received from Mad-Eye Moody, a man anyone would be afraid of. Just then another owl arrived in Harry's bedroom, and Harry reached out to take the parcel from it. He opened the letter first.
Harry,
Hope you are well and having a good summer. Remember
any trouble with those Dursleys give us a shout. Anyway, have a
nice birthday and we hope to see you soon,
From all your friends at the Order
Harry was touched that the members of the Order would even remember that it was his birthday let alone think to send him a present. He eagerly opened the package sitting on his be and found an old leather bound book. "Curses, Jinx's, and Hexes, to get you out of the situation you never wanted to be in in the first place." Grinning Harry thought to himself
"Sounds like my life, wonder if there's anything in there about a way out of that?"
Harry's bed was covered in all his birthday presents and he moved them aside, in order to go to sleep. Pulling off the little clothes he had on, until he was standing in his boxers, he walked over to Hedwig's cage and let her out for the night, and then he walked over to his bed and fell into it, completely exhausted. As tired as he was his thoughts still managed to drift back to Sirius
"I wish he was here, why did he have to die? Damn it, why him??" Harry realised he was shouting through his sobs, and in a desperate attempt to forget it all and get some sleep he threw his face into his pillow.
*
The next morning at breakfast Harry was looking forward to the full breakfast he still couldn't get used to receiving, and when it was placed in front of him, he got stuck right into it. After he had finished eating in record time, he turned to look at his over- sized, red-faced Uncle,
"Uncle Vernon?" he began "Ron - you know my friend from Hog- school asked if I could go and stay there for the rest of the summer, would that be okay?"
"Yes, yes, fine, so long as you're not here, I don't really care" said Vernon, a smile beginning to spread across his vile face, but in a moment it faltered and vanished "how do you plan on getting there? You don't expect me to drop you off do you?"
"Oh no, replied Harry "they're coming to pick me up at 4"
Now there was no trace of a smile on Uncle Vernon's face, but it was quickly forming a grimace, when he realised that would mean some of that kind in his house. The colour drained from Aunt Petunia's face at the mention of wizards in the house, and Dudley promptly ran up to his room, locked himself in, and refused to leave until after Harry had left.
"and just how exactly are they getting here?" thundered his Uncle
"emm, well, I don't exactly know" Harry said lamely
"this had better not involve my fireplace being destroyed again boy" muttered Vernon as he stalked out of the room.
He was obviously remembering the events of the summer two years ago when the Weasleys had picked him up to go to see the Quidditch World Cup, and had arrived by Floo Powder, a method of travelling by fire, only to discover the Dursleys had blocked their fireplace.
"How are they going get here?" Harry suddenly thought to himself, and in an attempt to forget it he set off to pack his trunk.
*
As the time approached 4 O'clock the Dursley family became more and more nervous. Dudley was still barricaded into his bedroom, Vernon was pacing the living room, reminding Harry of a caged Rhinoceros, and Aunt Petunia took out her anxiety on the kitchen units which were already scrubbed to a pristine condition. Just then the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" called Harry as he ran towards the door, and hauled it open.
Waiting on the doorstep to greet him were three red heads, two of which were identical twins, wearing their now infamous dragon hide suits.
The youngest boy stepped forward. "Hi Harry, how've you been?"
"Not too bad" replied Harry "How'd you get here?"
"Well."began Fred, one of the twins "thanks to our wonderful shop"
"We made plenty money" continued George, the other twin, "and with it we decided to buy a car"
"It doesn't fly" interjected Ron "but it does have some other pretty cool features"
"Sounds good" replied Harry "So do you want to come in or will we just go?"
"They are not welcome in my house" thundered Uncle Vernon from the living room doorway
"Fine!" yelled Harry "we'll just go then, see you next year!" and with that he grabbed his trunk and stormed down the path towards the car., quickly followed by Fred, George, and Ron.
"you're Uncle wasn't exactly in a good mood was he?" said Ron, turning to face Harry, now that they were in the car.
"Are you kidding?" replied Harry "that was him on a good day!"
Ron chuckled and soon the car was filled with laughter, Harry was beginning to remember just how difficult it was to feel sorry for yourself with Fred and George Weasley around.
"Now Harry, just a warning, this may not be the most enjoyable experience of your life, and it can take some getting used to." Called George
"what does?" asked Harry worriedly
"The apparating" Fred replied calmly
"What!?" exclaimed Harry
"Oh yea," said Ron "maybe I should've told you, one of the car's special features is that it can apparate!"
Then all of a sudden Harry felt that familiar sensation of pulling behind his nave, not dissimilar to the effects of a portkey.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the other characters and places you are familiar with from the book. However much I wish I do! They belong to J. K. Rowling, the genius that she is.
Chapter 1: A Lonely Start to the summer
It was another unbearably hot summer in Little Whinging, which meant a decrease in activity around the streets. Privet Drive, usually full of people washing their cars, or mowing their lawns, striving to be better than their neighbours, was very quiet. Privet Drive was the kind of place where people were judged very much upon appearances and possessions, and stranger still, most residents thrived on this competition.
One boy however did not. His name was Harry Potter. Needless to say the residents of Privet Drive were not his biggest fans. Harry was quite tall around 6ft, having experienced a growth spurt over the summer, with startlingly bright emerald green eyes, that were very slightly dulled by the glasses he wore. Harry had jet black hair that was completely unruly and, as much as Harry tried to hide it with his hair, there was a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. This was no ordinary scar, just as Harry was no ordinary teenage boy; Harry was a wizard and got the scar from one of the most formidable dark wizards ever known, Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort was also the reason that Harry was stuck in the middle of Little Whinging, with a family that hated him, almost completely cut off from his real home, the wizarding world. Many years ago when Harry was just over 1 year old, Voldemort had killed both his parents, and attempted to kill Harry, for some reason, that no-one completely understood, Voldemort failed and in doing so met the end of his reign of terror. Harry was famous, known to the wizarding world as the boy who lived, the one who vanquished the dark lord. Harry was sent to live with his Muggle (non-magic) aunt, uncle, and cousin, Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley. Harry often wondered if being sent to live with Voldemort would have been worse. The Dursleys hated Harry, and anything unusual, such as magic. They despised it, and had even kept the fact that Harry was a wizard from him, until he was 11, and received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, telling him he had been accepted. Then the whole story had come out. Harry had just finished his fifth year there, which had been less than pleasant to say the least. At the end of the year, Voldemort, whom Harry had witnessed return to power the year before, had tricked Harry into going to the department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. This lead to the death of Harry's godfather Sirius Black. Harry had only discovered he had a godfather in his third year at Hogwarts, when Sirius escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison. Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione however found out that Sirius was innocent and helped him to escape the law.
Over the two years to follow Harry and Sirius became very close, Sirius being the closest thing to a father Harry had ever known. Now Harry felt more alone than ever, and unbelievably guilty. Harry had fallen for Voldemorts trick, thanks to his, what did Snape call it, ah yes, his "hero complex". How could he have been so stupid? If only he had listened to Hermione, and not gone to the department of Mysteries, Sirius would be alive. Not a day of the summer had gone by when Harry didn't think of Sirius, there was nothing left in life to look forward to. Even Hogwarts had lost its appeal, after last year's ordeal with Professor Umbridge, and his ban from quidditch, Harry doubted he would ever feel the same way about the school. It had always been his escape from the Dursleys, but now, he didn't know if it was any better. Going back to Hogwarts also meant that Harry would have to face his friends again, he felt guilty on their behalf too, they had gone with him to the Ministry of Magic, and almost met their deaths as well, he had been such an idiot. He didn't think he could face them ever again.
"Maybe I just won't go back" he thought to himself "it's not like there's any point, all I ever do is get people into trouble. And I doubt I got the grades from my O.W.L.'s to become an Auror. What is the point?"
Just as he was thinking that an snowy owl appeared at the window. "Hedwig! Good to see you" declared Harry as the owl affectionately nipped his finger "What've you got there hmm?" Hedwig had a large brown parcel and a letter. Harry looked at the two and decided to open the parcel first; it was his 16th birthday after all. Inside there was a colourful birthday cake, and a vast assortment of sweets. Opening a packet of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans Harry settled onto his bed to read the letter.
Dear Harry,
How are you? I've hardly heard from you at all, is
anything wrong? Other than the fact you're stuck with those dreadful
muggles that is. Anyway Happy Birthday from everyone here at the
Burrow, mum says she hopes you like the cake. I had no idea what to
get you so I went for the old tradition of sweets, you can never have
too much food, right? Anyway.I have another present of sorts, mum
finally got Dumbledore to let you come and stay here for the rest of
the summer! Dad says you've to ask the muggles for permission but
we're going to come get you at 4 O'clock tomorrow no matter what they
say. Make sure you're ready. I won't say too much as it'll spoil the
surprise, but we have a new and unusual method of transport to look
forward to courtesy of Fred and George and the huge profits they are
making form Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes. Not much else to write if
we're seeing you tomorrow, it would be a bit pointless, so just try
and have a nice birthday and I'll see you tomorrow.
From Ron
Harry re-read the letter, tomorrow was really soon, there was no way he could face everyone so soon. But at the same time, it had to better than being here, at least they would understand what he was going through, they wouldn't keep shouting at him because he was too tired to carry out all the household chores, having spent most of the night awake, after horrific nightmares that forced him to relive every detail of that day in the department of mysteries, relive Sirius' death, to relive the night Voldemort returned to power, when Harry saw Cedric Diggory die. The nightmares never lost their potency and were just as terrifying as the actual events were. When Harry awoke after one of those he found it impossible to get back to sleep for several hours and usually ended up crying himself to sleep. Or if it was close enough to morning he simply got up to make a head start on his chores.
"What am I going to do?" thought Harry "I can't have Ron seeing me in that state every night, crying like a stupid baby, I'll have to get out of it somehow"
At that moment another owl made its way through Harry's window, carrying an official looking letter.
"Oh god" Harry began to panic "This must be the O.W.L. results, I don't even want to know"
He tensely took the letter from the owl and opened it, unfolding the parchment his fears were confirmed, it was indeed his O.W.L. results.
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
Here enclosed are the results from your Ordinary Wizarding
Level (O.W.L.) Exams:
Astronomy: A
Care Of Magical Creatures: E
Charms: E
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
Divination: P
Herbology: E
History of Magic: P
Potions: E
Transfiguration: E
We hope you are pleased with your results.
Harry was quite amazed the results were much better than he had hoped, good enough to allow him to continue along his chosen career path of an auror, almost.
"Damn potions!" Harry thought "If only I could have done a little better."
Before Harry had a chance to wallow in misery another owl made it's way through his window.
What now? He thought pulling a large envelope from the owl. Upon opening it he found another letter
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I do hope this gets to you
on the right day. I'm sending it from South America, you see. It
is a really fascinating country, so much history. I don't know
how I'm going to learn it all before I leave. Ron told me he was
inviting you to The Burrow, he invited me too, but I am going to
be here for a few weeks at least, so I won't make it back much
before it's time to visit Diagon Alley again, so I told Ron to
write me, and I'll see you both then. Anyway, back to your
birthday, I've enclosed your gift. Yes before you ask it IS a
bracelet and yes it IS meant for guys. Most of the guys in the
village here have one actually. The bracelet is supposed to
promote good health and good luck, I think it's just
superstition, but it can't do any harm can it? Anyway hope you
have a good time, and I look forward to seeing you in Diagon
Alley if I don't hear from you before then.
Love Hermione
Harry looked reluctantly at the wooden beaded bracelet that had been wrapped around the parchment, debating with himself whether to wear it or not, it did look a bit girly, after all, in the end though his conscience got the better of him and he pulled it onto his wrist.
*
Harry trudged into his bedroom after a long afternoon of hard work in the garden completely exhausted. He had been doing such a lot of work outside this summer, as it was so warm, and none of the Dursleys felt like making any effort whatsoever in the intense heat. Why should they bother when they had Harry to do it all for them? The work was however beginning to make a difference to Harry's body. Because it involved a lot of lifting and carrying, Harry's arm and stomach muscles had began to develop, he was beginning to lose the skinny underfed look of his childhood, and his body was finally filling out. No doubt helped by the fact that Harry was now being allowed to eat decent meals, due to the threats Uncle Vernon received from Mad-Eye Moody, a man anyone would be afraid of. Just then another owl arrived in Harry's bedroom, and Harry reached out to take the parcel from it. He opened the letter first.
Harry,
Hope you are well and having a good summer. Remember
any trouble with those Dursleys give us a shout. Anyway, have a
nice birthday and we hope to see you soon,
From all your friends at the Order
Harry was touched that the members of the Order would even remember that it was his birthday let alone think to send him a present. He eagerly opened the package sitting on his be and found an old leather bound book. "Curses, Jinx's, and Hexes, to get you out of the situation you never wanted to be in in the first place." Grinning Harry thought to himself
"Sounds like my life, wonder if there's anything in there about a way out of that?"
Harry's bed was covered in all his birthday presents and he moved them aside, in order to go to sleep. Pulling off the little clothes he had on, until he was standing in his boxers, he walked over to Hedwig's cage and let her out for the night, and then he walked over to his bed and fell into it, completely exhausted. As tired as he was his thoughts still managed to drift back to Sirius
"I wish he was here, why did he have to die? Damn it, why him??" Harry realised he was shouting through his sobs, and in a desperate attempt to forget it all and get some sleep he threw his face into his pillow.
*
The next morning at breakfast Harry was looking forward to the full breakfast he still couldn't get used to receiving, and when it was placed in front of him, he got stuck right into it. After he had finished eating in record time, he turned to look at his over- sized, red-faced Uncle,
"Uncle Vernon?" he began "Ron - you know my friend from Hog- school asked if I could go and stay there for the rest of the summer, would that be okay?"
"Yes, yes, fine, so long as you're not here, I don't really care" said Vernon, a smile beginning to spread across his vile face, but in a moment it faltered and vanished "how do you plan on getting there? You don't expect me to drop you off do you?"
"Oh no, replied Harry "they're coming to pick me up at 4"
Now there was no trace of a smile on Uncle Vernon's face, but it was quickly forming a grimace, when he realised that would mean some of that kind in his house. The colour drained from Aunt Petunia's face at the mention of wizards in the house, and Dudley promptly ran up to his room, locked himself in, and refused to leave until after Harry had left.
"and just how exactly are they getting here?" thundered his Uncle
"emm, well, I don't exactly know" Harry said lamely
"this had better not involve my fireplace being destroyed again boy" muttered Vernon as he stalked out of the room.
He was obviously remembering the events of the summer two years ago when the Weasleys had picked him up to go to see the Quidditch World Cup, and had arrived by Floo Powder, a method of travelling by fire, only to discover the Dursleys had blocked their fireplace.
"How are they going get here?" Harry suddenly thought to himself, and in an attempt to forget it he set off to pack his trunk.
*
As the time approached 4 O'clock the Dursley family became more and more nervous. Dudley was still barricaded into his bedroom, Vernon was pacing the living room, reminding Harry of a caged Rhinoceros, and Aunt Petunia took out her anxiety on the kitchen units which were already scrubbed to a pristine condition. Just then the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" called Harry as he ran towards the door, and hauled it open.
Waiting on the doorstep to greet him were three red heads, two of which were identical twins, wearing their now infamous dragon hide suits.
The youngest boy stepped forward. "Hi Harry, how've you been?"
"Not too bad" replied Harry "How'd you get here?"
"Well."began Fred, one of the twins "thanks to our wonderful shop"
"We made plenty money" continued George, the other twin, "and with it we decided to buy a car"
"It doesn't fly" interjected Ron "but it does have some other pretty cool features"
"Sounds good" replied Harry "So do you want to come in or will we just go?"
"They are not welcome in my house" thundered Uncle Vernon from the living room doorway
"Fine!" yelled Harry "we'll just go then, see you next year!" and with that he grabbed his trunk and stormed down the path towards the car., quickly followed by Fred, George, and Ron.
"you're Uncle wasn't exactly in a good mood was he?" said Ron, turning to face Harry, now that they were in the car.
"Are you kidding?" replied Harry "that was him on a good day!"
Ron chuckled and soon the car was filled with laughter, Harry was beginning to remember just how difficult it was to feel sorry for yourself with Fred and George Weasley around.
"Now Harry, just a warning, this may not be the most enjoyable experience of your life, and it can take some getting used to." Called George
"what does?" asked Harry worriedly
"The apparating" Fred replied calmly
"What!?" exclaimed Harry
"Oh yea," said Ron "maybe I should've told you, one of the car's special features is that it can apparate!"
Then all of a sudden Harry felt that familiar sensation of pulling behind his nave, not dissimilar to the effects of a portkey.