CHAPTER THREE
At the end of the week, Harry woke up smiling. Ten months before I have to see the Dursleys again! When he looked at the clock, he realized the Dursleys hadn't woken him up at the normal early hour. Glancing in the mirror, Harry tried, without success, to control his wild hair. Giving up, he left for the kitchen. On the way down he noticed just how quiet the house was. As Harry reached the kitchen, he saw why. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were all sitting around the kitchen table, silent. Dudley's eyes were the size of dinner plates, and he was pale white. Aunt Petunia's mouth was open and she seemed to be having difficulty speaking. Uncle Vernon was looking grim, a muscle twitching at the side of this head.
"Good morning everyone," Harry said brightly. "I guess Uncle Vernon just told you who's coming today?" They all glared at him.
Aunt Petunia finally found her voice, "How DARE you invite one of those freaks here. I won't stand for it. What will the neighbors think? Vernon, stop him! Poor Dudders here will die of fright." Dudley did indeed look petrified, so much so that Harry pinched himself to keep from laughing.
"When's this abnormality arriving?" Aunt Petunia demanded. Harry stopped and realized that he had no idea,
"I don't know." then he added, for fun, "Could be any minute now." At this Dudley blanched and raced upstairs as fast as he could waddle. Aunt Petunia jumped and glanced towards the door, as if to ward off any approaching danger. Laughing to himself, Harry wandered back upstairs.
Throughout the rest of the day, Harry could feel the constant tension in the air. Every few minutes, Aunt Petunia would glance out through the curtains. Uncle Vernon paced back and forth through the living room. Dudley never left his room the entire day, and every once in a while Harry could hear him whimpering as he passed his room. Harry ran upstairs and quickly packed. He threw all of his school things into his trunk, and then double-checked the loose floorboard under his bed. He then settled down to reread Quidditch Through the Ages, one of his favorite books. Even with the help of Quidditch Through the Ages the day crept by slowly; Harry looking forward to leaving, and the Dursley's dreading the arrival of a witch at their home.
Lunch (celery sticks and dry toast) was a silent affair, and as they ate they could hear a small movement from upstairs. Seconds later, Dudley's head poked into the room. Staring at the food, then the door, and back to the food, he finally waddled forward and grabbed a celery stick. That must be a record thought Harry. Never seen him go so long without eating. At that moment the doorbell rang.
Aunt Petunia let out a small squeak and Uncle Vernon's muscle was twitching again. Dudley turned gray and backed into the corner farthest from the door. "Harry, go get the door," ordered Uncle Vernon.
Hermione's Point of View
Mr. Weasley let Hermione out of the car a block from Harry's house. As she walked the rest of the way, she looked around curiously. Harry had told her so much about the Dusleys and it hadn't sounded nice. As Hermione walked though, she couldn't help thinking that the neighborhood seemed rather nice. She looked up at the signpost: Privet Drive. Walking down the street she found number four and rang the bell while looking around. The lawn was nicely trimmed and the flowers were lovely. She wondered for a moment why Harry complained. From inside the house she could hear a sort of scuffling, then the door was jerked open.
"Hi Hermione," said Harry smiling nervously, "come on in." She stepped forward looking forward to meeting Harry's relatives. The smile Hermione had ready on her face faltered however, as she looked at the huge, red-faced man standing before her.
"Hi," she began timidly. The man was staring at her as if she was crazy, an expression on loathing on his face. "I'm one of Harry's friends from Hog –" Hermione paused. Harry had appeared behind the man, who must have been his Uncle Vernon. He was frantically gesturing for her to stop talking. His Uncle had apparently gotten the picture however, and turned to yell at Harry.
"You know I WILL NOT tolerate any mention of your abnormality under this roof. And did I give you permission to invite her inside?" Hermione looked away, embarrassed, and instead looked around the room. A bony horse-faced woman was standing against the wall, apparently trying (without success) to hide the huge boy who cowered behind her. Harry's uncle was still yelling at him, but was apparently running out of breath because he paused for a moment. Harry, who was looking quite embarrassed himself, took this as an opportunity to say quickly,
"I'll be right back Hermione, I just need to go get my trunk." As he disappeared upstairs, Hermione turned back to Harry's relatives. The silence was deadly. Attempting to make conversation, she turned to Aunt Petunia.
"You must be Harry's aunt. I'm one of Harry's friends, Hermione." No one said anything, they simply continued to stare at her in disgust. Several uncomfortable minutes later, Harry ran back down the stairs with his trunk.
"Sorry about making you stay here with them," he told Hermione quietly. "Lets go." With that he turned and shouted goodbye to the Dursleys before hurrying out the door.
Harry's P.O.V.
Harry and Hermione slowed as they reached the end of the block. "They really don't like you much, do they?" asked Hermione, who still appeared shaken.
"Nah, but I'm used to. Where're the Weasleys?"
"Oh, they're waiting at the end of the block. Mrs. Weasley wouldn't even let Fred and George come after what happened last year."
"Waiting out here was a good idea; the Dursleys still hate them a lot. So, what happened during your summer?"
Hermione was about to answer when they saw Ron jumping out of a car parked in front of them, grinning madly.
"So Harry, how was your summer? Mum and Dad let me go visit Charlie in Romania!"
"Hagrid would be jealous," said Harry dryly.
"I know, I already wrote and told Hagrid all about the dragons. He's thinking of visiting Charlie himself sometime next summer. And I heard Fred and George whispering about something right before we left, so don't accept any food from them, okay?" He looked over at Hermione, "How was Krum?" Hermione groaned.
"He's been asking me about this ever since I arrived yesterday. For the last time Ron, it's private."
"Oh all right," sighed Ron grumbling about Quiddish stars in general.
As they arrived at Ron's house, shouting could be heard from inside.
"Uh oh," whispered Ron. "I wonder what they did now."
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO CLOSE DOWN WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES. AND STOP TESTING YOUR IDEAS ON PEOPLE. POOR HARRY, HAVING THAT HAPPEN ON HIS FIRST DAY HERE. AS IF WHAT YOU DID LAST YEAR WASN'T BAD ENOUGH. AND HAND OVER THE EXTRAS YOU HAVE IN YOUR POCKET FRED."
They walked inside to see an extremely angry looking Mrs. Weasley standing in front of the twins. "Oh, hello Harry," she said, her expression softening.
"Yeah, hi Harry," said George attempting to slink away.
"Oh no you don't," said Mrs. Weasley, stopping him in his tracks. "I'm sure I can find something for you two to do."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped upstairs as soon as they could. "Anyway Harry, how's Sirius?" asked Ron after shutting the door tightly. They both leaned forward. Harry's face grew troubled.
"I don't know, I haven't heard from him for several weeks. It's strange, he usually writes several times a month." Herimione and Ron looked disappointed and worried.
"You don't suppose anything happened to him?" asked Hermione.
"It'd be in the papers if the Ministry caught him," replied Ron, disregarding the possibility.
Several days later Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat down for breakfast before leaving for Diagon Alley to pick up all of their school supplies. Ron glanced at the Daily Prophet as he sat down, and promptly choked on his orange juice. Hermione, running over to help him, saw the paper and turned white. Harry grabbed the paper and saw the headline.
More Ministry Blunders Uncovered: Black Once Again Slips Through Fingers
Daily Prophet Special Correspondent Peter Skeeter uncovers a Ministry Cover-up. Last month the Ministry once again failed to apprehend the infamous Sirius Black. On July 30th, a Muggle called the hotline set up to report a sighting of Sirius Black. The ministry reacted at once, and dispatched a team of specially trained hit wizards from the Magical Enforcement Squad to the last reported sighting. Upon arrival, they performed the routine anti-apparation spell over the surrounding area and closed in on Black. Black, however, turned and ran. The Magical Enforcement Department refuses to comment on how none of the squads spells managed to actually hit Black. After passing out of the anit-apparation zone, the gravely injured Black immediately apparated away to safety. For the past month, nothing more has been heard or seen of Black. The Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge refused to comment on this disgrace. This reporter believes that this incident raises serious questions about the way the current Ministry is being run.
They all looked at each other. Harry voiced the question on everyone's minds. "But if it happened a month ago, why hasn't he written me about it yet?"
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling!
A/N: PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! The reviews are the whole reason I write. Please give me constructive criticism, plot suggestions. Also rate my story on a scale of one to ten, ten being the best! Who do you think the black robed wizard in the first chapter should be? I had an idea, but I want to know what readers think! Hope you will enjoy my story!