Chapter Two
Refusing to go to London with the Dursleys didn't work out entirely well. Harry found himself Sat at the kitchen table with his aunt and uncle on thursday morning, listening to their tedious conversations about how much they missed their son.
'Oh I do hope Duddy's ok, Vernon...' Aunt Petunia sighed, shaking her head.
'The other boys in his class have always taken to being nasty to him because he is so much better than them. In my opinion, it's all jealousy. They all want to be like Dudders!'
Harry had to hit himself hard in the stomach to stop himself from snorting at that remark. If he ever met anyone who was jealous of Dudley, he would snap his wand in half.
'He'll be fine, my love' Came his Uncle's reply.
'We'll be there with him in no time. Potter, is all your stuff packed?' He shot Harry a look.
'Yes. It's packed, but I don't know what for, seeing as I'm not leaving.'
'Don't - you - get - narky - with - ME.' Uncle Vernon was trying with all his might to control his anger. Harry knew that if he carried on, any second now he would blow.
The screeching of two chairs then came from the room as Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hauled themselves up. Harry stayed put. He was doing all he could to try to persuade them to let him stay at home. But it wasn't working. He avoided a threatening stare from his Uncle and turned away from them.
'I'm warning you, Potter.' He murmured. 'Get up now. We are leaving in ten minutes, and by we I mean ALL of us.'
The anger in Harry was building up by the second, but he stood up before he said something he would regret.
'Fine.' He said, and strode out of the room and advanced up the stairs. He had to think, and fast. When he entered his room, he realised there were only two options. One, he could lock himself in his room, and refuse to come out until his guardians changed their minds. No, he thought. That would never work. His uncle's fist was the size of Harry's head just about; his door would be down in no time. Two, Hedwig. Harry hadn't sent Hedwig away with any letters yet this holiday, so she would be stiff from being enclosed in a cage for a week...but he had no other choice. He would have to send a letter to Ron. Now.
Grabbing his suitcase from the corner of his room, he launched it onto his bed and unzipped it at lightening speed. Pen, he needed a pen. Pen pen pen pen. He threw practically everything out of his suitcase, letting it land in a crumpled heap on the floor. He finally found a blue pen perched on his cloak, and grabbed it quickly. Launching himself onto his bed, he found the letter Ron had given him and turned it over onto its back.
'Ron, I need help. My aunt and uncle are making me leave this morning to go and visit Dudley in London, which means your dad will miss us on Saturday. Please ask him to come now, Ron! I can't go with the Dursleys!
I'm leaving in ten minutes.'
He read through his letter and folded it up.
'Come on Hedwig, up!' He called to his sleepy owl. 'I've got a letter for Ron, and you HAVE TO FLY FAST!'
Hedwig, looking quite startled, ruffled around and allowed Harry to tie his letter to her long leg. Once he had finished, Hedwig flew off out of the window, leaving Harry to sit and wait.
Five minutes came and went. Hedwig hadn't returned. How could Harry have expected Hedwig to return so quickly?! She might not even be at Ron's yet!
'Potter! We're leaving!' Came Aunt Petunia's shrill voice up the stairs. 'Please bring down your suitcase so ..that you can put it into the car.'
That was it. Harry was going to have to leave for London with the Dursleys. He packed everything back into his suitcase, not even bothering to fold them this time, and zipped it up. His eyes started to sting but he blinked and told himself not to look stupid. Once his suitcase was ready, he put on his shoes and pulled the great thing down the stairs, with much trouble. He had packed all of his homework with him, so that he would have something to do. Even if he had to go to London, he still refused to visit Dudley.
As he reached the living room, he found Aunt Petunia fixing her hair in the mirror, and from the sound coming from the doorway he guessed his Uncle was trying to squeeze their suitcases through the door. Putting the hood of one of Dudley's donated jumpers over his head, Harry began to walk through the living room carrying his suitcase behind him. As he reached the hallway, his Uncle entered the house again to take Harry's suitcase and load it into the car.
'Come on boy, we'll be late!' He snarled. 'Give me that here and I'll load it into the car.'
Harry passed the suitcase onto him and watched as his Uncle struggled to turn it around towards the door. He chuckled to himself, making sure nobody heard him.
'Come on you stupid thing!' He groaned. 'I don't have any time for thi...'
But suddenly, as he looked up, he realised uncle vernon had gone silent. He had achieved the task of turning Harry's suitcase around, but was now staring wide-eyed at something through the door. There was only one thing that could put uncle vernon in shock, and that was at the sight of anything from the wizarding world. But his jaw hadn't...and there it went. His jaw dropped down to his second chin and all that came out was a murmur, almost like a slight shriek.
'What is it?' Harry asked, but he soon regretted it.
'YOU!' His uncle roared. 'YOU HAVE DONE THIS!'
Nothing seemed to make any sense. Slowly, Harry began to shuffle towards the doorway in which Uncle Vernon was standing. Turning his head in the same direction, he looked through the front door.
