"Ron! Wake up!"
"Mum? Is that you?" answered a groggy, slightly irritated voice.
"No, It's Harry! Come on then, get dressed."
"Harry? What are you doing here? I'll bet the Muggles don't know
you're here. Wait! How did you get here? Have you learned how to apparate?
I think th-"
"Quiet! I'll tell you everything on the way. Now get dressed!"
"On the way where?"
"Ron!"
"Oh, all right." Ron pulled away the covers on his bed. He grabbed
his wand and whispered,
"Lumos!" a brilliant light filled Ron's room, revealing mountains of
Quidditch paraphernalia. Ron quickly grabbed a dark green sweatshirt and
black pants. As he was putting on his shoes, he commented,
"Really Harry, you should let me know about these things in advance. Let's see. I have my wand, shoes, gloves. everything. Oh no! Where's Rocky?"
"Rocky?" "Yeah, Rocky's a lentus that Mum got for Percy, who rather despises creatures of that sort. Neither Fred nor George cared for him either, so he was passed down to me. Now where is he?" "Sorry. a what?" "Oh yeah, I forgot you lived in the Muggle realm where no one has heard of anything. Lentuses are basically your equivalent of a. a.wait, that's right, I don't know anything about Muggle animals. Sorry, Harry." "It's ok, and I'm sure Rocky will be fine by himself for a while, because we need to get going." "Going where? Harry, tell me something!" "Fine, fine. I'll let you know about everything as we go. Right now, we should go. we're running late already." Harry and Ron quietly tiptoed out the front door and out into the cool, early morning air. After they had been walking for about five minutes, Ron finally asked,
"Ok, now tell me where we are headed." "Ok then, if you must know, I was sent a note by Dumbledore that said to meet him at a cabin on the eastern side of the Porless River. He also gave me a map of how to get there. I think I have it here somewhere." Harry fumbled around in his jacket pockets until he pulled out a yellowed piece of parchment paper with a map on it. He looked up at Ron to show him it, but he noticed Ron had gone rather pale. "Ron, are you all right?" "Am I all right? Am I all right! The question should be, 'Are you mad?' because you would have to be, to go anywhere near that river, much less across it!" "Why do you say that Ron?" "Across that river, on the eastern shore, is a village. This village is pretty much left alone because its people (and I use the term loosely) are incapable of living with other beings because they are scared of outsiders. I don't know much about it, but Mum said never to go near there. They are mad, Harry! Mad!" "I hardly think Dumbledore would lead us into any danger." "Oh, that's right, Dumbledore sent us." Ron looked relieved and put on a smile. "Wow, Dumbledore sending for me! I never would have thought." "Well actually, he only said for me to come, but I could use your company. The river is over twenty kilometers away from your house." "Oh," mumbled Ron as he walked on dejectedly. "Well, did he say what he wanted?" "All he said was he wanted me to do him a favor. I can't see why he asked me, though. After all, I live in the Muggle world. It's lucky I had some extra Floo powder to get to your house. Here is the note." Harry handed Ron a piece of parchment similar to that of which the map was printed on. It read:
Harry, Please meet me at the Porless River on the eastern side, on July 18th, at 5 o'clock in the morning. I will be waiting for you in a wooden cabin with a yellow door. I have a favor to ask of you. Please be on time, it's important.
Albus Dumbledore
"That's not very descriptive," Ron commented with an air of petulance, probably due to being woken up so early. "I know, but who am I to question Dumbledore? Besides, I'm glad to get away from the Dursleys. Of course, they probably hope I wandered away and got eaten by wild animals. It's nonetheless good to be here." They walked in silence for a good ten minutes. Ron broke the silence with,
"You know, there is no way we can make it in time. Walking is just too slow!" "I agree, but what can we do? My broom is still at my house. I only thought to bring my wand." "We could always just-" Ron started dancing around frantically, laughing like a madman. "What is it Ron?" "I. I found. Rocky!" he managed to gasp in between fits of laughter. About fifteen seconds later, Ron thrust his hand into his shirt pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a raggedy gray flying squirrel. "That's Rocky?" "Yep, this is him!" Ron held the creature up proudly. "Dad named him after 'Rocky and Bulltinkle' or some such Muggle duo. He was rather fascinated by them. Normally, you could use lentus fur to enchant things to fly, but Rocky here is a dud. That's why we got him so cheap. His fur can only make things fly for about ten to fifteen minutes." "Ron! That's it! We don't need to fly for long, we can only be about fifteen kilometers away now. If we can fly fast enough, we can just make it! Come on then, show me how this works." "Well, ok, but I haven't actually tested this. ever." "That's ok," assured Harry, grabbing Rocky from Ron's hand, "just tell me what to do." "Well, um. the first thing I think you do is. take your wand and." "And.?" "And touch it to Rocky's back. The spell is something like 'Repolius lentisiosa,' but I can't be sure." "It'll have to do. Help me find something we can ride, like an old table or something." "Will this work?" asked Ron, holding up a good-sized stick. "That's brilliant! Just like a broomstick! Quick, get another one for you." Ron finds another stick and hands it to Harry. "Ok, here it goes! Repolius lentisiosa!" the lentus appears to glow. "Ok," says Ron. "Now I think you are supposed to rub the lentus on the thing to enchant." "Are you sure? I feel like I'd crush him if I were to press him against something." "No, I'm not, but don't worry about it. In fact, I think he rather enjoys it." "If you say so," Harry took Rocky and vigorously rubbed him against the stick. Within seconds, the stick flew straight up into the air with such force that it knocked Harry down to the ground. Harry stood up, dusted himself off and said, "Maybe I should try rubbing a little more gently." "Yeah, maybe," replied Ron staring up into the early morning sky straining to see the stick that disappeared into the clouds. Harry once again took Rocky, and rubbed him on different stick lightly. It hovered just in front of him. "Well, it worked that time," commented Harry. "Yeah, now do mine," directed Ron, handing Harry his stick. Harry brushed Rocky against Ron's stick, which also hovered at waist-level. "Let's go!" Harry, used to his Firebolt, needed some adjusting to the jerky motion of the stick. This was nothing compared to Ron. Ron was doing some rather impressive flips and turns, which would have been spectacular had they been administered on purpose. After a few minutes, Ron was able to calm down and go straight. After little more than ten minutes of flying, Harry's stick started trembling and shaking. Several seconds later, so did Ron's. "The must be almost out," declared Harry. "You think?" "Yeah I do. Should we re-enchant the sticks?" "Ouch, no," decided Ron, rubbing his backside. "Besides, I think we're almost there." They jogged together for about five minutes then Ron pointed out a sign, "Look there! It reads 'Porless River, discovered by Reynald Porless himself.' We're almost there!" they walked on to a rickety old bridge with signs such as "No trespassing!" and "Stay away!" "Is it safe?" asked Ron. "I don't see another was across," answered Harry. "Besides, the water isn't that deep." "But look at all the fish," mumbled Ron. "You're not scared of some little fish are you?" "No, of course not," as he said that, a particularly large gray fish jumped from the water and snatched a small bird right from the air. "But giant fish with sharp teeth! That's another story!" Ron managed to squeak. "Whoa! Just run across!" Ron looked at Harry. "Now! Go!" At that, Ron dashed across the bridge with fish nipping at his feet. Harry did the same.
"Phew, we made it. Now what?" "Now we look for a cabin with a yellow door." "There it is!" Ron stated triumphantly. He pointed to a long row of cabins. Each one had a red door except for one on the very end. It had a dull yellow door, opened slightly. "Let's go," they walked cautiously towards it. Ron commented, "It's awfully quiet here." "Yeah," agreed Harry. "It is." They were mere feet away from the door when it was opened swiftly. Harry and Ron both jumped, and were rather embarrassed when they saw Dumbledore standing there with a big smile on his face. He looked at Ron and his smile faltered, but only momentarily, and greeted them warmly, "I wasn't expecting you to bring a friend, but the more the merrier! How are you Mr. Weasley?" "I'm f-fine." "Good, good, and you Mr. Potter?" "Just great, the Dursleys may just kill me when I get back, but other than that." Dumbledore, not seeming to pay attention, replied, "That's nice. Now, I guess you are wondering why I've called you here." "Yes," responded Ron and Harry in unison. "How would you like to earn some extra points for your house before school even starts back up?"
"That would be great!" exclaimed Ron. "How?" asked Harry. "It should be painfully simple for young bodies such as yourself," answered Dumbledore. "I assume you've learned about Fetlies in Professor Sprouts class?" "Actually, we haven't," Harry replied. "What are they?" "I'll have to speak with the professor, but at any rate, they're green plants, much like cabbage," he said to Harry, "that grow low to the ground. They're too low for me and my old back to get to. They are used to make objects more resistant to magic. Because they are used for this, I can't uproot them with my magic. I have a garden of them out back. Go on now, gather them up. You have about an hour to do it before they become permanently stuck in the ground for the day." "Ok, but I was just wondering. what's with the doors? Why is this the only yellow one?" "As I'm sure you've heard, the people here aren't very open to visitors. So they put a spell on their doors that turns them red and magically locks it. It tells others to keep away. Now, get going, you only have about fifty-nine minutes left!" "Um. ok, but before we go, can you tell us how many points we'll get for this?" "Sure, does fifty points each sound fair?" "Wow! Yes sir! It sure does! C'mon Harry! Let's go!" Ron grabbed Harry's arm and ran out back. His smile disappeared. "There must be hundreds out here! How can we possibly do this in an hour?" Ron said dismayed. "Well, for one thing, we can get started. Come on, give me a hand with this big one." Harry motioned to a plant the size of a small watermelon. "Ok, pull on three," commanded Harry. "One.two.three!" they pulled as hard as they could. White specks flew through the air. "Hey," said Ron. "What's that powdery stu-" Harry and Ron fell asleep right on the spot, snoring rather loudly. "Excellent," came a voice. "Excellent indeed."
"Really Harry, you should let me know about these things in advance. Let's see. I have my wand, shoes, gloves. everything. Oh no! Where's Rocky?"
"Rocky?" "Yeah, Rocky's a lentus that Mum got for Percy, who rather despises creatures of that sort. Neither Fred nor George cared for him either, so he was passed down to me. Now where is he?" "Sorry. a what?" "Oh yeah, I forgot you lived in the Muggle realm where no one has heard of anything. Lentuses are basically your equivalent of a. a.wait, that's right, I don't know anything about Muggle animals. Sorry, Harry." "It's ok, and I'm sure Rocky will be fine by himself for a while, because we need to get going." "Going where? Harry, tell me something!" "Fine, fine. I'll let you know about everything as we go. Right now, we should go. we're running late already." Harry and Ron quietly tiptoed out the front door and out into the cool, early morning air. After they had been walking for about five minutes, Ron finally asked,
"Ok, now tell me where we are headed." "Ok then, if you must know, I was sent a note by Dumbledore that said to meet him at a cabin on the eastern side of the Porless River. He also gave me a map of how to get there. I think I have it here somewhere." Harry fumbled around in his jacket pockets until he pulled out a yellowed piece of parchment paper with a map on it. He looked up at Ron to show him it, but he noticed Ron had gone rather pale. "Ron, are you all right?" "Am I all right? Am I all right! The question should be, 'Are you mad?' because you would have to be, to go anywhere near that river, much less across it!" "Why do you say that Ron?" "Across that river, on the eastern shore, is a village. This village is pretty much left alone because its people (and I use the term loosely) are incapable of living with other beings because they are scared of outsiders. I don't know much about it, but Mum said never to go near there. They are mad, Harry! Mad!" "I hardly think Dumbledore would lead us into any danger." "Oh, that's right, Dumbledore sent us." Ron looked relieved and put on a smile. "Wow, Dumbledore sending for me! I never would have thought." "Well actually, he only said for me to come, but I could use your company. The river is over twenty kilometers away from your house." "Oh," mumbled Ron as he walked on dejectedly. "Well, did he say what he wanted?" "All he said was he wanted me to do him a favor. I can't see why he asked me, though. After all, I live in the Muggle world. It's lucky I had some extra Floo powder to get to your house. Here is the note." Harry handed Ron a piece of parchment similar to that of which the map was printed on. It read:
Harry, Please meet me at the Porless River on the eastern side, on July 18th, at 5 o'clock in the morning. I will be waiting for you in a wooden cabin with a yellow door. I have a favor to ask of you. Please be on time, it's important.
Albus Dumbledore
"That's not very descriptive," Ron commented with an air of petulance, probably due to being woken up so early. "I know, but who am I to question Dumbledore? Besides, I'm glad to get away from the Dursleys. Of course, they probably hope I wandered away and got eaten by wild animals. It's nonetheless good to be here." They walked in silence for a good ten minutes. Ron broke the silence with,
"You know, there is no way we can make it in time. Walking is just too slow!" "I agree, but what can we do? My broom is still at my house. I only thought to bring my wand." "We could always just-" Ron started dancing around frantically, laughing like a madman. "What is it Ron?" "I. I found. Rocky!" he managed to gasp in between fits of laughter. About fifteen seconds later, Ron thrust his hand into his shirt pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a raggedy gray flying squirrel. "That's Rocky?" "Yep, this is him!" Ron held the creature up proudly. "Dad named him after 'Rocky and Bulltinkle' or some such Muggle duo. He was rather fascinated by them. Normally, you could use lentus fur to enchant things to fly, but Rocky here is a dud. That's why we got him so cheap. His fur can only make things fly for about ten to fifteen minutes." "Ron! That's it! We don't need to fly for long, we can only be about fifteen kilometers away now. If we can fly fast enough, we can just make it! Come on then, show me how this works." "Well, ok, but I haven't actually tested this. ever." "That's ok," assured Harry, grabbing Rocky from Ron's hand, "just tell me what to do." "Well, um. the first thing I think you do is. take your wand and." "And.?" "And touch it to Rocky's back. The spell is something like 'Repolius lentisiosa,' but I can't be sure." "It'll have to do. Help me find something we can ride, like an old table or something." "Will this work?" asked Ron, holding up a good-sized stick. "That's brilliant! Just like a broomstick! Quick, get another one for you." Ron finds another stick and hands it to Harry. "Ok, here it goes! Repolius lentisiosa!" the lentus appears to glow. "Ok," says Ron. "Now I think you are supposed to rub the lentus on the thing to enchant." "Are you sure? I feel like I'd crush him if I were to press him against something." "No, I'm not, but don't worry about it. In fact, I think he rather enjoys it." "If you say so," Harry took Rocky and vigorously rubbed him against the stick. Within seconds, the stick flew straight up into the air with such force that it knocked Harry down to the ground. Harry stood up, dusted himself off and said, "Maybe I should try rubbing a little more gently." "Yeah, maybe," replied Ron staring up into the early morning sky straining to see the stick that disappeared into the clouds. Harry once again took Rocky, and rubbed him on different stick lightly. It hovered just in front of him. "Well, it worked that time," commented Harry. "Yeah, now do mine," directed Ron, handing Harry his stick. Harry brushed Rocky against Ron's stick, which also hovered at waist-level. "Let's go!" Harry, used to his Firebolt, needed some adjusting to the jerky motion of the stick. This was nothing compared to Ron. Ron was doing some rather impressive flips and turns, which would have been spectacular had they been administered on purpose. After a few minutes, Ron was able to calm down and go straight. After little more than ten minutes of flying, Harry's stick started trembling and shaking. Several seconds later, so did Ron's. "The must be almost out," declared Harry. "You think?" "Yeah I do. Should we re-enchant the sticks?" "Ouch, no," decided Ron, rubbing his backside. "Besides, I think we're almost there." They jogged together for about five minutes then Ron pointed out a sign, "Look there! It reads 'Porless River, discovered by Reynald Porless himself.' We're almost there!" they walked on to a rickety old bridge with signs such as "No trespassing!" and "Stay away!" "Is it safe?" asked Ron. "I don't see another was across," answered Harry. "Besides, the water isn't that deep." "But look at all the fish," mumbled Ron. "You're not scared of some little fish are you?" "No, of course not," as he said that, a particularly large gray fish jumped from the water and snatched a small bird right from the air. "But giant fish with sharp teeth! That's another story!" Ron managed to squeak. "Whoa! Just run across!" Ron looked at Harry. "Now! Go!" At that, Ron dashed across the bridge with fish nipping at his feet. Harry did the same.
"Phew, we made it. Now what?" "Now we look for a cabin with a yellow door." "There it is!" Ron stated triumphantly. He pointed to a long row of cabins. Each one had a red door except for one on the very end. It had a dull yellow door, opened slightly. "Let's go," they walked cautiously towards it. Ron commented, "It's awfully quiet here." "Yeah," agreed Harry. "It is." They were mere feet away from the door when it was opened swiftly. Harry and Ron both jumped, and were rather embarrassed when they saw Dumbledore standing there with a big smile on his face. He looked at Ron and his smile faltered, but only momentarily, and greeted them warmly, "I wasn't expecting you to bring a friend, but the more the merrier! How are you Mr. Weasley?" "I'm f-fine." "Good, good, and you Mr. Potter?" "Just great, the Dursleys may just kill me when I get back, but other than that." Dumbledore, not seeming to pay attention, replied, "That's nice. Now, I guess you are wondering why I've called you here." "Yes," responded Ron and Harry in unison. "How would you like to earn some extra points for your house before school even starts back up?"
"That would be great!" exclaimed Ron. "How?" asked Harry. "It should be painfully simple for young bodies such as yourself," answered Dumbledore. "I assume you've learned about Fetlies in Professor Sprouts class?" "Actually, we haven't," Harry replied. "What are they?" "I'll have to speak with the professor, but at any rate, they're green plants, much like cabbage," he said to Harry, "that grow low to the ground. They're too low for me and my old back to get to. They are used to make objects more resistant to magic. Because they are used for this, I can't uproot them with my magic. I have a garden of them out back. Go on now, gather them up. You have about an hour to do it before they become permanently stuck in the ground for the day." "Ok, but I was just wondering. what's with the doors? Why is this the only yellow one?" "As I'm sure you've heard, the people here aren't very open to visitors. So they put a spell on their doors that turns them red and magically locks it. It tells others to keep away. Now, get going, you only have about fifty-nine minutes left!" "Um. ok, but before we go, can you tell us how many points we'll get for this?" "Sure, does fifty points each sound fair?" "Wow! Yes sir! It sure does! C'mon Harry! Let's go!" Ron grabbed Harry's arm and ran out back. His smile disappeared. "There must be hundreds out here! How can we possibly do this in an hour?" Ron said dismayed. "Well, for one thing, we can get started. Come on, give me a hand with this big one." Harry motioned to a plant the size of a small watermelon. "Ok, pull on three," commanded Harry. "One.two.three!" they pulled as hard as they could. White specks flew through the air. "Hey," said Ron. "What's that powdery stu-" Harry and Ron fell asleep right on the spot, snoring rather loudly. "Excellent," came a voice. "Excellent indeed."