CHAPTER ONE PRELIMINARY MATTERS

Harry Potter looked around for his friends, but they were not there. I can't say or won't say why. They were usually around him. Both Dobby and Ron and Hermione and Ginny and the professors. I suppose most people wouldn't view the professors as his friends but they are friendly towards him, thus the author considers them friends.

Friendship is a complex thing. It can be between people. It can be between a human and a cat. It can be between a cat and a pig . It can be between a janitor and a computer person. It can be among almost any races or ethicities or genders. More controversially it can be between a person and a television or mulligan stew. Some would argue that inanimate objects don't count, but I say they do. All of this will become clear as we progress with our story.

Because what is "inanimate" and who decides what is and isn't? It doesn't take a philosopher to decide but it does require a philosophy. But now and in the present, that is of little consequence.

When I use the word "now", I am talking about the "now" in the story. Which may or may not be the present time today. In fact, our story takes place in the year A.D. 1973. Now that we have these housekeepings in mind, we can go forward in our understanding.

Harry was alone. He did not like being alone because of some problem that might be a type of anxiety or might be something else (an "undiagnosed" illness). It perhaps came from his parents' untimely death. In that way, Harry was very similar to Telemachus waiting for his father to return from his twenty year odyssey. But, of course, Harry's dad could not return due to he was dead.

Harry was scared and screamed for Ron in the following manner: "Ron, Ron, Ron!, Ron!, Ron!" When Ron did no immedialetly appear, Harry lost it and swooned and fell and hit his head.

When he awoke, Ron was next to him. Ron said "OOH OOH AAH AAH OOH OOH AAH AHH…." Harry saw it was Ron being his usual self. Harry ignored Ron's babbling and was just glad to see him there. "Where is Hermione?", asked Harry Potter. As if by magick, Hermione appeared and sank into a chair.

It should be noted that Hermione was not borne into a magick family. She learned magick at the Hogwarts and became the best, even better than the professors including Snape and the others. Ron was in love with her but failed to love him. She was in love with the actor, Tom Felton. There was not even a love potion involved!

Tom did not necessarily love Hermione although he liked her as a friend and respected her smartness. He did not like Ron much, and Harry surmised it was jealousy. Love is complicated, and we will not be able to unravel its mysteries now. Hermimone was the only of only a few who could generally understand Ron's speech, which sounded like nonsense to most everyone else.

Of course, Ron's speech impediment did not so much stop him from communicating altogether. His moods were quite apparent from his facial expressions and his grunts. But even his friends, other than Hermione, had to kind of guess what he meant. It is not unusual in everyday life to be able to discern someone's mood from their non verbal gestures. Science shows that the majority of communication is non verbal while just a tad over half is verbal. Monkeys are especially adept at non verbal communication as are the Great Apes. But all of this is to say that Ron had his own way of communicating.

Hermione arose from her chair and scolded Ron. Ron replied "OOH OOH AAH AAH…" To which Hermione said "I know you're hungry but you have to wait until lunch is served." Harry was amazed that Hermione could understand the strange speech.

Then Ron went into a fit, complete with shaking and drooling. Tom Felton had entered the room.