Chapter Two: The Strange
Gathering
While the Dursleys were horrible to Harry the next day, it wasn't the worst of his
pathetic, miserable birthdays. That had been three years ago when the Dursleys had made
him do all types of housework before he could eat dinner, and he was forced to spend the
rest of the night in his room. He was then visited by Dobby the house-elf. That's when
the Dursleys found out that he wasn't allowed to do magic over the holidays.
Since Harry wasn't allowed meals, he stayed in his room all day, except when he
used the bathroom. He was trying to find a way to fill up three more rolls of parchment.
Suddenly, he remembered his package under his bed. He stood up, set his ink, quill, and
essay on his desk, and took the package and note he had received last night out from
underneath his bed. He unfolded the note, and it read:
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Do you like my new owl? My parents bought it for me for
my high marks. I hope you like your presents. Viktor helped me get one of
them. You'll understand after you open it.
Hermione
P.S. Please send Angelica (my owl) or Hedwig back to me telling me if you
can come to the match.
Harry realized that he would probably never get anything Hermione sent him ever
again, since her owl had been attacked last time she was there. He took his bottle of
scarlet ink and his quill off of his desk and wrote on the back of the note.
Dear Hermione,
I can probably convince the Dursleys to let me go, but only if you can pick me
up in a car. My uncle didn't like the floo powder too much. Thank you for the
presents!
Hope to see you soon,
Harry
Harry picked up the package and, for the first time, noticed an unusual bump on it
underneath the paper. He unwrapped it, and for a fraction of a second he saw a glint of
gold. "The snitch?" he thought. He looked up. The snitch was flying around the room. It
slowed down and flew next to Harry. It wasn't the snitch at all, although it looked like it.
Harry remembered reading about these in Quidditch Through the Ages. It was a Golden
Snidget. They used to be used the same way as the Snitch, but during almost every game
they were killed. Their number dropped so low, that they were forbidden to use them
anymore. It wasn't until Bowman Wright invented the Golden Snitch that there was an
alternative. Harry was surprised that he remembered that much out of a book. He was
also surprised that Hermione sent a Snidget to him; they were supposed to be very rare
and difficult to catch. This one seemed tame, though.
Harry put the Snidget in Hedwig's cage. It was nighttime, therefor Hedwig was
outside, and not in his cage. Harry looked back at the case. It had sparkly silver letters
printed across it.
Compact Quidditch ©
Edition IV
He opened the case. There was a Quidditch field going across both sections of it. In a
few seconds, six goal posts (three on each end of the field) rose out of the realistic grass.
The field flew out of the case, set itself down on the floor, and grew to about four times
its original size. Underneath the place where the field was, there were four figurine sets
of Quidditch teams. There was also a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages by
Kennilworthy Whisp. All of the members of the four teams were holding Firebolts. They
were all tapping on what appeared to be an invisible barrier saying things like "Pick us!"
and "Over here!" Harry touched one of the barriers and all of the Chudley Cannons stood
up, mounted their brooms, and flew onto the field. Once they landed, they immediately
grew in size. Harry gasped in surprise. The other three teams were the Woollongong
Warriors, the Tutshill Tornadoes, and the Wigtown Wanderers. Harry touched the barrier
over the Tutshill Tornadoes. Like the Chudley Cannons, they stood up, mounted their
brooms, and flew to the Quidditch field. They too grew a small amount in size. Harry saw
a referee appear out of nowhere in the center of the field, along with her own broomstick
and a crate that held the four Quidditch balls.
They referee blew her whistle. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough in the next room.
"Sssshhhhhh!" Harry whispered.
The teams were about to kick off of the ground, when they froze and looked up at
Harry.
"Time out!" the referee squeaked. She mounted her broom, and flew towards Harry.
She landed on his shoulder. "Can you tell me what is so important that you decided to
stop our game before it has even started?" she demanded in the same squeaky voice.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to start it in the first place. I was enjoying the show so far, but
my uncle is about to wake up, and I'll get in trouble if he sees me." The referee looked at
him with a puzzled expression. "He's a Muggle, you see and "
"Aaah" she interrupted "Say no more" She flew back to the field, spoke briefly to the
teams. They all looked extremely disappointed. They all shrank back to their original size
and flew back to the case, where they took their original spots. The referee vanished as
quickly as she had appeared, and the field shrank and flew back into the case, which
snapped shut immediately.
Uncle Vernon coughed again. Harry looked up, not making a sound. He picked up the
case and slid it under the loose floorboard under his bed. He walked to the window to
wait for Hedwig. Looking down at the road, he saw something very strange. A group of
cats about seven or eight in all were walking around in circles in front of the
Dursleys' house. They appeared to be guarding something. Hedwig must have seen
Harry, because after Harry was at the window a few seconds, Hedwig swooped down and
landed on the windowsill.
Harry walked over to his desk and picked up his response to Hermione. He handed it
to Hedwig.
"Take this to Hermione, okay?" He patted Hedwig on the head, and Hedwig nipped
hiss finger and flew out of sight. Harry looked back down at the road. The cats were still
there, but there were now about ten. For the first time, Harry noticed a large, black,
shaggy dog.
"Sirius?" Harry whispered to himself. He blinked to make sure that he wasn't
imagining things. The dog was still there, walking among the cats. Harry waved. The dog
looked up and showed Harry his teeth. He lifted up his front right paw and started
shaking it. It looked as though he was beckoning Harry to go back inside. Harry looked at
the dog with a puzzled expression on his face, but he only had a moment. For at that
moment, he felt himself being pulled back by what had to have been some magical force.
He was flung onto the bed. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't. He was growing more
and more tired…
Suddenly he was wide-awake. He stood up and walked to his window. Sirius was
being chased down the street by Dementors. One of them grabbed his arm and pulled him
toward themselves. The Dementor pulled off his hood and exposed its mouth, if you
could call it a mouth. He was pulling Sirius's face toward his own. "NOOOOO!!!" Harry
cried. He jumped out of his window. He started floating slowly downward. He began to
fall faster…
He woke up very quickly. He was covered in cold sweat. He dashed to his window
and looked outside. Pivet Drive looked the same as it had every other morning. Aunt
Petunia was calling to him.
"Harry! Get down here this instant if you plan on eating for the next week!"
Harry rubbed his eyes. He picked up his glasses that were lying next to his pillow and put
them on. He walked slowly across the room and opened the door. He went downstairs
and into the kitchen. Dudley was sitting there with a very upset look on his face This was
probably because he was starting his "diet" again, but this time Aunt Petunia didn't
follow it as strictly. Dudley thought of his meal as a bird's snack. It consisted of a couple
sausages, an orange, and a health shake. Uncle Vernon was sitting at his usual spot at the
table, drinking his usual coffee, and reading his newspaper and criticizing everyone in it.
Aunt Petunia gave Harry half of a piece of toast without anything on it. Harry ate his
toast quietly. There was a swishing sound in the hall, which announced the arrival of the
mail.
"Get the mail Harry" said Uncle Vernon rudely.
Harry stalked down the hall and picked up the mail. Three bills… a postcard… a
letter from Smeltings… and a letter to Harry from Hogwarts. Based on previous
experiences, he decided not to show it to the Dursleys and put it in a pocket of his jeans.
He went back into the kitchen and handed Uncle Vernon the mail. He finished eating
his toast while Uncle Vernon complained about the bills.
"May I be excused?" Harry asked innocently.
"Get out of my sight." Uncle Vernon said coldly.
Harry went upstairs to read his letter.
Gathering
While the Dursleys were horrible to Harry the next day, it wasn't the worst of his
pathetic, miserable birthdays. That had been three years ago when the Dursleys had made
him do all types of housework before he could eat dinner, and he was forced to spend the
rest of the night in his room. He was then visited by Dobby the house-elf. That's when
the Dursleys found out that he wasn't allowed to do magic over the holidays.
Since Harry wasn't allowed meals, he stayed in his room all day, except when he
used the bathroom. He was trying to find a way to fill up three more rolls of parchment.
Suddenly, he remembered his package under his bed. He stood up, set his ink, quill, and
essay on his desk, and took the package and note he had received last night out from
underneath his bed. He unfolded the note, and it read:
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Do you like my new owl? My parents bought it for me for
my high marks. I hope you like your presents. Viktor helped me get one of
them. You'll understand after you open it.
Hermione
P.S. Please send Angelica (my owl) or Hedwig back to me telling me if you
can come to the match.
Harry realized that he would probably never get anything Hermione sent him ever
again, since her owl had been attacked last time she was there. He took his bottle of
scarlet ink and his quill off of his desk and wrote on the back of the note.
Dear Hermione,
I can probably convince the Dursleys to let me go, but only if you can pick me
up in a car. My uncle didn't like the floo powder too much. Thank you for the
presents!
Hope to see you soon,
Harry
Harry picked up the package and, for the first time, noticed an unusual bump on it
underneath the paper. He unwrapped it, and for a fraction of a second he saw a glint of
gold. "The snitch?" he thought. He looked up. The snitch was flying around the room. It
slowed down and flew next to Harry. It wasn't the snitch at all, although it looked like it.
Harry remembered reading about these in Quidditch Through the Ages. It was a Golden
Snidget. They used to be used the same way as the Snitch, but during almost every game
they were killed. Their number dropped so low, that they were forbidden to use them
anymore. It wasn't until Bowman Wright invented the Golden Snitch that there was an
alternative. Harry was surprised that he remembered that much out of a book. He was
also surprised that Hermione sent a Snidget to him; they were supposed to be very rare
and difficult to catch. This one seemed tame, though.
Harry put the Snidget in Hedwig's cage. It was nighttime, therefor Hedwig was
outside, and not in his cage. Harry looked back at the case. It had sparkly silver letters
printed across it.
Compact Quidditch ©
Edition IV
He opened the case. There was a Quidditch field going across both sections of it. In a
few seconds, six goal posts (three on each end of the field) rose out of the realistic grass.
The field flew out of the case, set itself down on the floor, and grew to about four times
its original size. Underneath the place where the field was, there were four figurine sets
of Quidditch teams. There was also a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages by
Kennilworthy Whisp. All of the members of the four teams were holding Firebolts. They
were all tapping on what appeared to be an invisible barrier saying things like "Pick us!"
and "Over here!" Harry touched one of the barriers and all of the Chudley Cannons stood
up, mounted their brooms, and flew onto the field. Once they landed, they immediately
grew in size. Harry gasped in surprise. The other three teams were the Woollongong
Warriors, the Tutshill Tornadoes, and the Wigtown Wanderers. Harry touched the barrier
over the Tutshill Tornadoes. Like the Chudley Cannons, they stood up, mounted their
brooms, and flew to the Quidditch field. They too grew a small amount in size. Harry saw
a referee appear out of nowhere in the center of the field, along with her own broomstick
and a crate that held the four Quidditch balls.
They referee blew her whistle. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough in the next room.
"Sssshhhhhh!" Harry whispered.
The teams were about to kick off of the ground, when they froze and looked up at
Harry.
"Time out!" the referee squeaked. She mounted her broom, and flew towards Harry.
She landed on his shoulder. "Can you tell me what is so important that you decided to
stop our game before it has even started?" she demanded in the same squeaky voice.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to start it in the first place. I was enjoying the show so far, but
my uncle is about to wake up, and I'll get in trouble if he sees me." The referee looked at
him with a puzzled expression. "He's a Muggle, you see and "
"Aaah" she interrupted "Say no more" She flew back to the field, spoke briefly to the
teams. They all looked extremely disappointed. They all shrank back to their original size
and flew back to the case, where they took their original spots. The referee vanished as
quickly as she had appeared, and the field shrank and flew back into the case, which
snapped shut immediately.
Uncle Vernon coughed again. Harry looked up, not making a sound. He picked up the
case and slid it under the loose floorboard under his bed. He walked to the window to
wait for Hedwig. Looking down at the road, he saw something very strange. A group of
cats about seven or eight in all were walking around in circles in front of the
Dursleys' house. They appeared to be guarding something. Hedwig must have seen
Harry, because after Harry was at the window a few seconds, Hedwig swooped down and
landed on the windowsill.
Harry walked over to his desk and picked up his response to Hermione. He handed it
to Hedwig.
"Take this to Hermione, okay?" He patted Hedwig on the head, and Hedwig nipped
hiss finger and flew out of sight. Harry looked back down at the road. The cats were still
there, but there were now about ten. For the first time, Harry noticed a large, black,
shaggy dog.
"Sirius?" Harry whispered to himself. He blinked to make sure that he wasn't
imagining things. The dog was still there, walking among the cats. Harry waved. The dog
looked up and showed Harry his teeth. He lifted up his front right paw and started
shaking it. It looked as though he was beckoning Harry to go back inside. Harry looked at
the dog with a puzzled expression on his face, but he only had a moment. For at that
moment, he felt himself being pulled back by what had to have been some magical force.
He was flung onto the bed. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't. He was growing more
and more tired…
Suddenly he was wide-awake. He stood up and walked to his window. Sirius was
being chased down the street by Dementors. One of them grabbed his arm and pulled him
toward themselves. The Dementor pulled off his hood and exposed its mouth, if you
could call it a mouth. He was pulling Sirius's face toward his own. "NOOOOO!!!" Harry
cried. He jumped out of his window. He started floating slowly downward. He began to
fall faster…
He woke up very quickly. He was covered in cold sweat. He dashed to his window
and looked outside. Pivet Drive looked the same as it had every other morning. Aunt
Petunia was calling to him.
"Harry! Get down here this instant if you plan on eating for the next week!"
Harry rubbed his eyes. He picked up his glasses that were lying next to his pillow and put
them on. He walked slowly across the room and opened the door. He went downstairs
and into the kitchen. Dudley was sitting there with a very upset look on his face This was
probably because he was starting his "diet" again, but this time Aunt Petunia didn't
follow it as strictly. Dudley thought of his meal as a bird's snack. It consisted of a couple
sausages, an orange, and a health shake. Uncle Vernon was sitting at his usual spot at the
table, drinking his usual coffee, and reading his newspaper and criticizing everyone in it.
Aunt Petunia gave Harry half of a piece of toast without anything on it. Harry ate his
toast quietly. There was a swishing sound in the hall, which announced the arrival of the
mail.
"Get the mail Harry" said Uncle Vernon rudely.
Harry stalked down the hall and picked up the mail. Three bills… a postcard… a
letter from Smeltings… and a letter to Harry from Hogwarts. Based on previous
experiences, he decided not to show it to the Dursleys and put it in a pocket of his jeans.
He went back into the kitchen and handed Uncle Vernon the mail. He finished eating
his toast while Uncle Vernon complained about the bills.
"May I be excused?" Harry asked innocently.
"Get out of my sight." Uncle Vernon said coldly.
Harry went upstairs to read his letter.