Harry Potter no.5
Harry Potter woke up with a start. He had heard something tapping his bedroom window. He saw a strange creature (it looked something like that) hovering outside his window. He took out his wand, gripped it tightly and opened the window, bracing himself for the worst. When he saw what it was, he was embarrased at himself for what he had done and was thankful that no one had seen him. The strange creature was in fact three owls – Hedwig, Pig (short-form for Pigwidgeon) and a large screech owl, which Harry didn't recognise.
Harry flopped down on the bed and reached for the package that Pig (Ron's owl) was carrying. Once he had done that, Pig, hyperactive as always, zoomed round and round the room, missing Harry's head by inches. "If you want to do that again, could you do it a bit HIGHER?" Harry half-shouted. Pig gave a loud hoot as an answer and started circling the room higher. Once that was taken care of, Harry relieved Hedwig (his owl) of her package and the owl-he-couldn't-recognise of his packages (it was carrying two). As soon as Harry had done that, the screech owl ruffled its wings and zoomed out the window. Hedwig, Harry's snowy-white female owl, gave Harry an affectionate nip and flew into her cage, staring at Pig with immense dislike. Harry opened the first letter the screech owl had brought, recognising at once who it was from, as there was a Hogwart's crest on the envelope. The familiar letter stared back at him. After reading it quickly, Harry tossed it aside and picked up the second parcel that the screech owl had brought. It was from Hagrid. It read:
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Hope you're havin' a grea' time there. Waitin' ter see you on the firs' day o' Hogwarts. Hope those ruddy muggles are treatin' ya right, bye.
From Hagrid.
P.S. Hope ya like me present!
After reading the letter, Harry picked up the present Hagrid had sent him and opened it. It was a locket attached to a gold chain. Harry opened it and saw his mother's and father's faces staring back at him. He was overwhelmed and whispered, "Thanks Hagrid!" and put the chain on, stuffing it inside his shirt. When he had calmed himself down, he picked up Ron's parcel and opened it. Inside, there was a rather large bottle filled with a blueish-gray liquid. Wondering what it was, he opened Ron's letter.
Dear Harry,
Happy B'day! We're not too fine here, Fred and George blasted their's and Percy's room apart. Percy got sooo mad at them, started tearing his hair out too (I swear I saw some gray ones). Anyway… Fred, George and me have got to camp out in the backyard. ME even. I begged Mom to let me sleep inside but she wouldn't let me…Percy gets to sleep in my room because he's got to WORK!!! This is completely NOT FAIR. But I couldn't do anything about it anyway. Anyways, things are okay with Mom and Dad. They bought a new car from Fred and George's joke shop money. It's a real hit by the way. The shop, I mean. When Mom asked where they got the money, they said it was from some secret source. How come there's no news of You-Know-Who in the Daily Prophet? There should be by now. Dad told us that Dumbledore's sent some letters to the giants. By the way, Dumbledore sent an owl to Dad saying that we could invite you over now. So, can you come? If you can, Dad and me'll be coming by floo powder today at five in the afternoon. If you can't we'll do the same thing anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Send Pig back with your answer quick ok? Anyway… enjoy you're birthday and don't let the dumb muggles keep your spirits down! Bye!
From Ron.
P.S. If you're wondering what the potion is, it's a truth potion. I found the order in the Daily Prophet. Not too sure if it works though. You're supposed to drop five drops of the potion into a person's mouth to ask him questions and find out the truth…well, that's what the advertisement said anyway.
"Cool! My own truth potion…maybe we can convince Snape…or maybe MALFOY to take it!" whispered Harry, at the same time laughing over what Ron had said in the letter. Then, he opened Hermione's parcel. He saw a practical joke book sitting on his lap. "Wowwowwow! So, Hermione's got a sense of humour after all!" he exclaimed under his breath (Pig finally got tired and settled down on the top of Hedwig's cage). He opened Hermione's letter.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I've been made a PREFECT! Honestly, ME as a PREFECT! I didn't think that was possible. Now, I'll be able to take points away from the Slytherins! Anyway…hope you're fine there. Mom and Dad took me for a trip to Europe! It's really nice there (I'm in France right now). I'm learning loads about magic there (you won't want the details…you'll probably get bored). I got the joke book for you from this order in Witch Weekly (I got it delivered just to make an order). Hope you like it. There was an order for "Europe – A Magical History" too but I figured you'd like this one better. Ron's told me all about the Fred-George-Percy disaster. You should know about it by now. Quite funny, don't you think? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I've FINALLY got a sense of humour after hanging out for four years with you two! I'm hoping to meet you in Diagon Alley on the day before September 1st. So, see you there! Bye,
Love, Hermione.
Harry gave a loud shout of laughter, before realising that if the dumb Dursleys heard him, he'd be in major trouble before you could snap your fingers. He listened tensely but only heard the familiar snores of Dudley and Uncle Vernon and the contended sighs from Aunt Petunia. He sighed with relief. The next thing he thought about was to send Pig to Ron with his answer. But before he could get up, a small brown owl rushed in through the window. "From Sirius!" Harry half-cried, half-whispered. Sirius, his godfather, had been borrowing this owl from Remus Lupin, in whose house he was staying, since the holidays had started. The owl rushed over to where Harry was sitting and dropped the rather large parcel, after which it went and perched next to Pig. As the owl and Pig were conversing, Harry opened his parcel and stared as a large bag of dungbombs and Filibuster's Wet-Start Fireworks spilled into his lap. He opened his letter from Sirius.
Hi Harry!
Happy Birthday! Me and Remus finally decided what to buy for you, we were thinking about that for weeks. Both of us think that any kid of James and Lily Potter should have the ingredients for a mischief-maker's life! I'm basically ok…what about you? I wanted to give you a warning, Voldemort's lying low now, but he might get at you some place else. I want you to be careful, try to stay in Hogwarts…Dumbledore's there. The ministry has finally caught some Death Eaters. At least most of the ministry was willing to listen to Dumbledore, unlike that idiot of a Cornelius Fudge. But you've got to be on the lookout. Never go out in the dark alone, you get me? NEVER. I might decide to come to Diagon Alley the day before September 1st. Hope to see you there. By the way, Remus is coming with me too. Bye!
Love, from Sirius and Remus.
"Bit big coming from him, after what all he's done," muttered Harry. Then he remembered, he had to write a letter to Ron. He took the piece of parchment Ron had sent him, turned it over and used a quill to write on the parchment.
Dear Ron,
I'm fine here, basically because the muggles are too afraid of me to come near me and because I 'forgot' to tell them about Sirius being innocent. They still don't know about that. Other than that, I can list out about thousand pages about why they don't like me. Sirius and Hermione are coming to Diagon Alley on the 31st of August. When are we going to go? Ask your parents about 31st December ok? So where'm I going to sleep? Sounds like there'll be no space for me, unless you're suggesting that I have to either sleep with Percy or Ginny (both are DEFINITELY out). So, have Fred and George got you new dress robes? Anyway…Sirius and Remus (Professor Lupin) have got me loads of Filibusters Wet-Start Fireworks and Dungbombs. Hermione's a prefect, did you hear? And she actually sent me a joke book for my birthday! You know what…I think she's finally got a sense of humour. Hope you're not late to come and pick me up. I'm waiting desperately (can't wait to get away from Dudley). So, see you at five! Bye!
From Harry
P.S. Maybe you should get a new owl to mail letters to me. Pig's started to really annoy Hedwig. But he's getting along well with Lupin's owl.
"Yes, that should be enough," muttered Harry, standing up and folding up the bit of parchment. "Pig! C'mere. I need to you to take this to Ron!" Harry called. Pig, who was wildly hooting to the small brown owl, reluctantly hooted loudly and flew to Harry. Pig took the letter and flew out the window. Hedwig hooted in relief. Just then, Harry noticed that the small brown owl was still there. "Why're you still hanging around here? Oh, Sirius wants an answer. Ok, wait a sec," he said to the owl. He took the bit of parchment Sirius and Remus had sent and scribbled a reply on the back hurridley.
Dear Sirius,
Haven't got much to say. I'll try to spot you in Diagon Alley, don't worry. And if you want to contact me before 31st August then I'll be at Ron's. Until next time then, bye!
From Harry.
"Ok, c'mere owl," Harry said, as the owl glided towards him. It picked up the letter and flapped out through the window. As soon as it was out, Harry slammed the window shut and turned to Hedwig. "You alright now?" he asked. She gave a reassuring sort of hoot and nipped his hand affectionately. Harry turned around and stared at the window. "Hope Voldemort's not on the run after me, eh Hedwig?" he muttered. "Oh well, might as well get some sleep" he said, pulling
the bedcovers over his head.
That morning, Harry woke up to find Hedwig pecking at him. "Ouch Hedwig! Stop that! What time is it?" Harry exclaimed groggily. "Oh my gawrsh! It's ten o'clock. Aunt Petunia'll kill me!" he said, before he could remember that all three members of the Durseley family were scared to death of him. He quickly put on a large blue sweatshirt and jeans before going down to the kitchen to eat his breakfast. Dudley was (unfortunately for him) still sticking strictly to the Smelting's diet. He had gone down in size considerably and could now fit into the dining table chair quite easliy. Harry went down the stairs and entered the kitchen.
There, sitting quietly, and in Uncle Vernon's case, reading the newspaper, were the three Durseleys eating their breakfast (revolting vegetable soup). Harry pulled out a chair, slid into it silently and took the ladled the soup from the big bowl to his own small one. Then remembering something, Harry cleared his throat. This had an amazing effect on the Durseleys: Dudley shrieked and edged away from Harry, Aunt Petunia turned white and Uncle Vernon turned the colour of a rotten radish. Finally, Uncle Vernon was able to spit out, "What do you want?" "Well, you see, my friend Ron Weasley's coming here through the fire like last year to pick me up again, today at five o'clock. I just wanted to tell you," said Harry, trying with all his might not to laugh. "NO WAY! LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID LAST TIME THEY CAME HERE! I'M NOT HAVING THEM IN THE HOUSE! YOU UNDERSTAND ME, BOY?" Uncle Vernon bellowed, spraying everyone at the table with spit.
"They promised not to do anything this time…" said Harry. "Fat lot of good –" started Uncle Vernon, but Harry cut him short. "If you don't let them come, I've got to tell my godfather, because I already told him that I'd be at Ron's,'Harry butted in curtly. This sentence made whatever colour left of Uncle Vernon's face disappear. "You told your godfather? Well, that makes a difference…alright, you can go, but this time there better not be anymore trouble," said Uncle Vernon croakily. And with that, everybody became quiet once more and started eating the soup again. The rest of the day was quite boring for Harry.
Once he had finished packing all his stuff in his trunk, he just lolled around doing nothing. Gone, were the days when he used to do all the housework (Aunt Petunia was too scared to come near him). At last, the clock struck five. Harry hurried down, trunk in hand. He found, in the living room, all three Durseleys waiting tensely for the Weasley's to come. They had already lit a fire in the fireplace. Harry sat down, putting his trunk down next to him. Ten minutes passed… then twenty. Finally, when thirty minutes had passed, Uncle Vernon said, "Where are they boy? They're late again." As soon as he said that, the fire in the fireplace glowed a bright green and out of it, stepped Arthur Weasley, followed closely by Ron Weasley.
After Ron stepped out, the fire turned orange again. "Hi Ron! Hi Mr. Weasley, how're Fred, George, Percy, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley doing?" Harry asked politely. "They're fine, Harry. Ah, so I see you're ready…I daresay we can go now…what do you say?" said Mr. Weasley, changing the subject abruptly, clearly anxious to get away from the Muggle house before there was any trouble. "Yep, I guess so…" mumbled Harry. The Durseleys were still watching the two Weasleys with utmost loathing on their faces (not unlike the one Snape reserves for Harry).
Mr. Weasley took that as a 'yes' and quickly ushered Harry towards the fire, after giving him some floo powder. "Ron, you go first, I'll go next, and Harry, you come straight after me, understand?" muttered Mr. Weasley tersely. "Ok" replied Harry. He grinned, upon remembering last year's episode of 'Weasleys save Harry from Muggles'. Ron threw his handful of floo powder into the flames, stepped into it and shouted, "The Burrow!" Dudley squealed like a mouse with its tail caught in a trap, and hid behind his father. Aunt Petunia sank into the sofa in dead-faint.
Noticing all this, Mr. Weasley was even more anxious to go and agitatedly threw his floo powder into the flames shouting, "The Burrow!" He, too, disappeared with a 'whoosh'. Next, Harry quickly threw his handful and shouted, "The Burrow!" He remembered to keep his elbows in tight and took of his glasses before they cracked again. At last, he fell head-first into the kitchen of the Weasley's house (The Burrow). He picked himself up and stared into the faces of Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ron, Percy, Ginny and Mr. Weasley. All of them were looking a bit miserably at Harry.
After sometime, Fred broke the silence. "Hiya Harry. Too bad we weren't allowed to come. Could've played another trick on that fat cousin of your's…just joking Mom! Just joking!" said Fred hastily as his mother advanced on him wearing a murderous stare on her usually plump and jolly face. "C'mon…you know, before they blow up," said Ron, pulling Harry out of the kitchen into the living room. "Hey, Ron, hear about Hermione becoming a prefect? Maybe she'll be head-girl too," said Harry, as soon as they were climbing the stairs. "Yeah I did…figures anyway…" said Ron. "By the way, where'm I sleeping?" asked Harry. "You'll see…wait a sec ok?" said Ron. "What's wrong with you Ron? Why're all of you so…miserable?" asked Harry. "S'nothin. Wait…I'll tell you in my room. Percy cleared out of it 'cause his, Fred and George's rooms were rebuilt. So both of us are sleeping in my room," replied Ron, clearly very miserable.
Both of them climbed up the rickety steps and finally reached a door, which said "Ronald's Room". When they went in, instead of the bright orange as usual, there were posters of another Quidditch team, one in yellow robes. "Your new Quidditch team? What happened to the Chudley Cannons?" asked Harry, bewildered. "Oh yeah…the Chudley Cannons sank down to a very low ranking and these are the Wimbourne Wasps, third in league," replied Ron, still miserable. "OK, now will you tell me why ALL of you are downcast?" asked Harry, a bit impatiently. "OK, ok. Hold your horses. Well…Cornelius Fudge got killed by You-Know-Who. So they appointed a new Minister…" trailed off Ron. "So who's the new minister?" asked Harry, tensely bracing himself for the worst. "Umm…It's Lucius Malfoy," came the answer.
"What! Lucius Malfoy!? He probably bribed everyone in the Ministry of Magic! That means The Malfoy Family owns almost all of the magical community!" cried Harry. "Yeah, but we've got no proof that he threatened or bribed anyone…I guess we just have to stick to this…wonder how Malfoy's gonna be in school…unbearable," said Ron. "Hey…what if Dumbledore's sacked and Snape gets to be headmaster? Then we're dead…we'll get expelled for sure!" said Harry as a sudden horrifying thought struck him. "What about your father? He'll get sacked!" said Harry. "Nah, nothing will happen to him…Lucius Malfoy has no control over my father's department (Misuse of Muggle Artefacts). Thankfully we don't have to worry about that," said Ron and heaved a great sigh. "Wonder if Hermione's heard about this," mused Harry aloud.
"I don't think so, or she'd have said it in the letters she sent us. Next year, we'd better not do any snooping or anything," said Ron in a miserable tone. "Snape'll have us expelled." Both of them, their spirits greatly lowered sank onto the beds staring miserably at the Quidditch posters. "Well...we can't just sit here. Let's worry about this later," said Harry decidedly after sometime. "But Harry, you don't understand. Diagon Alley'll probably be named Malfoy Alley anytime now!" said Ron. "And Lucius Malfoy's a Death Eater! He'll make all the Unforgivable Curses legal!" he finished worridley. "I told you Ron! Let's worry about this later. At least Voldemort's lying low for sometime. It's no use worrying about this now…we can't do anything about it anyway…" Harry repeated. "Well…I guess you're right. C'mon, let's go outside and play ball on our broomsticks," said Ron. "Yeah, we'll invite Fred and George…if they haven't been murdered by your mom!" said Harry, trying to crack a joke. First Ron snickered. Then Harry let out a laugh. Immediately both of them burst out laughing.
Just then, Fred and George, whose room was next to them, opened the door and peered in. "Hey, why're you laughing?" asked George curiously. "Yeah, why? Lucius Malfoy's become Minister and you're laughing. Impossible!" said Fred. "S'nothing you two. D'you wanna go play ball? Get your broomsticks," said Harry when he and Ron had finally stopped laughing. "Yeah, ok, wait a sec…" said Fred as both of them closed the door and went to get their broomsticks. Harry fetched his top-of-the-range Firebolt and ran down with Ron who was clutching a Cleansweep Seven. They found Fred and George waiting for them in the backyard and soon, they were playing ball in the air. After some time, Mrs. Weasley prepared dinner and all of them ate a scrumptious dinner. Then all of them went to bed, their stomachs full. For Harry, the summer holidays were mostly spent this way. At last, August 31st arrived. All of them got ready and carrying their booklists, they went to the fireplace in the kitchen. Each of them took a handful of floo powder and lined up.
Fred and George went first. Both of them threw their handfuls into the fire and shouted "Diagon Alley!" At once both of them disappeared. Like this, all of them threw their handfuls into the fire and shouted "Diagon Alley!" Harry and Ron came last. When finally they stopped swirling, they fell headfirst out of a fireplace in what Harry recognised as the Leaky Cauldron. All of them climbed out and brushed the soot of their clothes. They said hello to Fred, the bartender, and trooped out to go through the magical wall entering into Diagon Alley.
The eight of them first made their way to Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank. As they made their way inside, Harry and Ron spotted Hermione and her parents exchanging their money for golden galleons, silver sickels and bronze knuts. Mr. Weasley went into transports of delight. He rushed over to them practically shouting," Hi Mr and Mrs. Granger. Care for a cup of tea at the Leaky Cauldron? This time, you can tell me how those what do you call em…bus stops and those wailway stations work? Yes, yes, sure you can! Come on! I'll wait! Don't worry." Both of Hermione's parents smiled awkwardley at this breathless speech. They agreed and after Mr. Granger gave the money to Hermione, all three of them trooped out of the bank.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Ginny, Fred and George were watching this exchange very interestedly. Hermione, in the meantime, spotted Harry and Ron, ran over to them and gave them bear-hugs. "You guys! Lucius Malfoy was named Minister of Magic! Terrible isn't it?" Hermione said, quite breathlessly, not looking anything but flustered and excited. "Yeah…but you don't look terrible. You look even worse!" said Harry, as Hermione playfully shoved him in his chest, while Ron snorted with laughter. Just then, Mrs. Weasley bustled up to them and said, "Enough of this fooling around. Come on everybody…let's go and get our money!" Hermione promised to wait for them outside Gringotts while they went to get their money. The Weasley's and Harry clambered into two carriages (the transport in Gringotts had been changed) and sped off towards their vaults. When Harry reached his vault he shoved handfuls of it into his bag hurridley. But when they reached the Weasley's vault he was surprised. In the vault, there was a large pile of Galleons, a fairly large pile of Sickels and a heap of knuts. He was surprised, as, when he had come here two years back, Mrs. Weasley had emptied the vault.
Ron guessed why there was a surprised look on his face and said, "Part of it's from Fred and George's joke shop. Most of it's from Dad's salary though...he's got a huge salary now." "Oh, ok," replied Harry. After another breakneck speed ride, Harry and the Weasley's got out and a goblin bowed them out of them bank. They found Hermione waiting outside. She was plainly in a hurry to go. "Wait a minute Hermione. Ok, let's see…Percy, here's your share, Fred and George, you've got to split the money, Ron, here you go, Ginny, you're coming with me…we'll all meet in Flourish and Blotts after two hours…understand?" said Mrs. Weasley, hurridley splitting up the money and leading Ginny away to buy her things. Everyone split up…Percy to get some books for his job (as usual). Fred and George to get some ingredients for their jokes shop (most probably).
Harry, Ron and Hermione strolled around Diagon Alley, doing nothing. When they reached the ice-cream shop, Harry treated all three of them to peanut butter and jelly ice-cream. After they ate that, they went to the Apothecary (to buy potion ingredients—bleagh) and to the stationery shop for some new ink pots, quills and parchments. After that, they went to the Quidditch supplies shop and goggled for a long time at the new broomstick, which was even faster than the Firebolt – Phoenix Wings. Meanwhile, Hermione, who did not like Quidditch, walked off (probably to read some book), promising to meet them in Flourish and Blotts in half an hour. During this time, Harry and Ron walked around Diagon Alley, discussing ways to get rid of Draco Malfoy and his father, Lucius Malfoy. They were so intent on talking, that they bumped into someone. It was none other than the infamous Draco Malfoy.
"Looky here, it's potty and the weasel. How're you doing?" Malfoy said, with a mock bow. "Eat dung Malfoy!" said Ron furiously. "Uh, uh, uh! Watch your language Weasley. You're talking to the minister's son!" said Malfoy coolly. "Where's your father Malfoy? Or is he too busy getting a perm for a photocall?" sneered Harry. "That, is none of your business…by the way, where's the mudblood Granger? OR have you broken up with her Potter?" Malfoy said. (By this time Ron was shaking with rage and Harry had to hold him back by his robes). "That is none of your concern and Hermione is just one of my best friends!" Harry half-shouted. "One more word Malfoy, and I'll get you! I don't care if you're some stupid Minister's son!" shouted Ron. People started to stare at the three. "Try me, Weasley…" trailed off Malfoy, whipping out his wand.
In a rage, Ron pulled out his wand, but before he could do anything, somebody tapped Malfoy's shoulder. Malfoy turned around and Ron lowered his wand. "Draco, what're you doing? Come, we have to meet your father," said the pretty, blonde woman, who had tapped Malfoy's shoulder. "Coming Mom," Malfoy said and turned around. Giving Harry and Ron a last look of loathing, he followed his mother. Harry and Ron stared at them in shock. Soon, the crowd started to disperse. Harry and Ron finally regained the use of their limbs and started walking towards Flourish and Blotts. "That's his mother? Why would she want to marry a Death Eater?" said Ron, a tad bit too loudly, causing people to stare. "I dunno…maybe she's a Death Eater herself," replied Harry.
They walked on, discussing the subject. Finally, they reached Flourish and Blotts, which was on the other side of Diagon Alley. There, they found Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Percy, Fred and George waiting for them. "Where's Hermione?" asked Ron, a bit taken aback, as Hermione was hardly ever late. "There she is!" said Harry pointing to where Hermione was running up from. "Hi, everyone, I got a bit absorbed in a book I was reading…" said Hermione, once she had reached them and had regained her breath. After that, the eight of them went into Flourish and Blotts.
Once they were inside, Harry and Ron pulled Hermione aside and told them about the Malfoy incident. She didn't find it too surprising. "Really? I knew about it long ago of course…what's so surprising about that?" she said, leaving them looking dumbfounded, walking away to buy a book. "What's wrong with her…I never thought she would react this way…" Ron trailed off, staring at her. "Ron, don't worry too much…I mean, it's not all that surprising!" Harry muttered. "Yeah, I guess…c'mon, let's go get our new books…Ancient Runes and Book five of Potions," said Ron, pulling Harry to buy their books.
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"The Burrow!" Fred shouted as he went through the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron after Percy, Ginny and Mr. Weasley. Harry, Hermione and the Weasley's had finished buying their stuff and had gone to the Leaky Cauldron to grab some lunch. They had met the Granger's, who had been explaining how the television worked in the Muggle world to Mr. Weasley. After eating, they had gathered up their belongings and went to take some floo powder, after they had said goodbye to the Granger's. "Bye everyone! See you tomorrow!" Hermione had shouted when she exited the Leaky Cauldron. Geroge went right after Fred. Harry went next, followed by Ron and last of all, Mrs. Weasley.
All of them tumbled into the Weasley's kitchen and straightened up, brushing off all the soot from their clothes. "Go on everybody, go and get your trunks ready for tomorrow, we've got to get up very early tomorrow…" said Mrs. Weasley, ushering everyone into the living room. "How're we reaching King's Cross Station, Mr. Weasley?" asked Harry curiously, wondering if the Ministry was going to provide cars. "We're going by Flying Transport, Harry," said Mr. Weasley tiredly, all worn out. "Wow! Cool, dad!" said Fred and George simultaneously. "What's --," started Harry, as he was pulled up the stairs by Ron. "I'll explain in my room!" Ron hissed under his breath.
Harry followed Ron to his room and after Ron shut the door, he asked, "What's Flying Transport, I never heard of them, and why did you pull me away before I could finish my question?" "Flying Transport were banned when You-Know-Who was gone because it's really dangerous…fun too. But they're invisible, nobody from the Dark Side can see them. So, since You-Know-Who came back, the Department of Magical Transport decided to ya know…unban Flying Transport. And secondly, I pulled you away because my father looked very tired…he gets tired easily these days because they're overworking him. I didn't want you pestering my father when I can explain to you…get it?" said Ron.
"Oh, well, shouldn't we be getting our things ready?" said Harry. "Yeah, I guess. C'mon," replied Ron, lightening up considerably. They started packing their stuff, cracking jokes all the time. When Harry picked up his new dress-robes (dark blue), he said, "Hey, Ron. Why'd we need to buy new dress-robes?" "Oh, yeah…my father said that we're gonna have another ball this year," replied Ron, picking up his dress-robes (dark brown) and folding them up. "Oh no…" moaned Harry, remembering the ball last year. "Oh, yeah!" said Ron, pretending to enjoy Harry's discomfort. They spent the rest of the day fighting, cracking jokes, packing and playing catch on their broomsticks.
********************
The next day, someone shook Harry's shoulder. He opened his eyes groggily and looked up into the face of Ron Weasley. "Wake up Harry…it's dawn and mom told me to wake you up to get ready to go to school,' whispered Ron, not looking sleepy at all. "How come you're not sleepy or anyshing?" mumbled Harry, as he got up slowly from his bed. "I'm used to it 'cause Mom kept waking Fred, Geroge and me early to help her do the housework. Now, come on, there's a lot to do, or at least that's what Mom said," replied Ron looking at Harry straight in the eye. "Coming in a minush," said Harry, as he went off to the bathroom to wash his face and brush hs teeth. When he finished that, he felt much fresher and went back to Ron's room.
Ron was busy checking everything in his trunk to make sure everything was there. Harry started doing that too. Once they had finished, they went down to the kitchen to have breakfast. There, Harry saw all the Weasley's sitting down and having butter on toast. After eating, there still seemed to be a lot to do. Percy left for work, apparating immediately after eating. Mr. Weasley spent a lot of his time talking to people's heads in the fireplace. Mrs. Weasley ran around in a very fiery mood, looking for spare parchments, quills, socks and other stuff. Harry kept colliding with the others on the stairs. He and Ron had decided to wear muggle clothing and to change into their Hogwart's robes in the train.
Finally, at half past ten, all of them were ready to go. "What time will those Flying Chariots be here?" asked Harry, who was holding Hedwig's cage with Hedwig inside, when all of them had sunk into chairs in the kitchen. "In ten minutes," mumbled Mr. Weasley, who looked as if he had been stampeded upon. "Dad's day off today. He's staying at home. Mom too," whispered Ron, who was carrying Pig in his cage, in Harry's ear. Harry nodded in reply. Just then there was a loud bang outside in the courtyard. "They're here!…" exclaimed George. "Come on!" shouted Fred, finishing the sentence for George.
Everyone picked up their trunks quickly and followed Mr and Mrs. Weasley outside. Once Harry had a full view of the Flying Chariot, he gasped. There, in front of him, were the two largest palomino horses (maybe second largest – Madame Maxime had the largest ones but these were large enough) he had ever seen, and there was a chariot behind them which was big enough to carry all the houses on Privet Drive! There was a driver holding onto the reins, who was about seven times as tall as Hagrid! Ron, who was right behind Harry, took one look at the Chariot and started to look bored.
"How come you're not amazed or anything?" asked Harry, still gaping at the Chariot and the horses. "You haven't seen anything yet, these are the smallest the Ministry has, real cheap too. The biggest ones are real awesome," said Ron, still looking bored. Harry, looked even more amazed at this piece of news and turned around to stare at the Chariot again. It was a magnificent one, laced with gold, silver and purple. The Weasley's, including Ron, had set down their trunks and had walked toward the doorway. Since Ron had not set down Pig, Harry set down his too, carried Hedwig, and was about to follow them, when the Giant driver got down, grunted and started throwing their trunks onto the rooftop as if they were feathers. Harry watched this, until the Giant picked him up and put him down gently behind Ron, who was lining up to go inside. Before Harry could say a word, a flight of moving, golden stairs was descending.
Seeing this, Mr and Mrs. Weasley moved out if the way to let Fred, George, Ginny, Ron and Harry pass. All this while, Pig and Hedwig had kept very quiet, as if they too were awed by everything. "How come they're not coming?" Harry hissed in Ron's ear. "The giant is taking care of us, so they're not coming, how come you're acting stupid all of a sudden?" answered Ron, acting as if this was all very obvious. Harry snorted and looked up. Fred had started to go up the flight of moving stairs, followed closely by George who had stayed behind because his mother had wanted to talk to him. Ginny went next after being kissed by Mr and Mrs. Weasley. Ron went after her, kissing his Mom and Dad.
When Harry was about to step on the moving stairs, Mr. Weasley pulled Harry to one side and said, "Harry, please be careful this year. Do NOT go outside Hogwarts often with You-Know-Who on the loose and Lucius Malfoy as Minister. He can do anything he wants to do to harm you. Don't give him the chance ok?" asked Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Alright, don't worry about me…I'll be ok…" muttered Harry. "Ok then, have a safe trip Harry…" said Mr. Weasley. "…and do be careful!" Mrs. Weasley half-shouted. Harry turned around and stepped onto the moving stairs. He turned around and waved to the two Weasley's until he reached the inside of the Chariot. As he stepped off, he turned to see that this room was completely bare and that the Weasley's were not there.
He went through the only door leading into another large room. Harry, upon seeing the room, involuntarily gasped. The room was splendidly furnished; plush feather beds, expensive soft carpets, large windows, from which he could see when they were in the air and what seemed to Harry as all the other furnishings a five-star hotel room would have! Ron was sitting in an armchair reading a book about the Wimbourne Wasps. Harry looked at him and saw that he merely looked bored. Then, he remembered what Ron had said outside.
Just then, Ron spotted him and looked up. "Why's your mouth open? Fly entered it?" Ron asked sardonically. Harry laughed and asked, "We're sharing this room right? What about Fred, George and Ginny?" "Fred 'n' Geroge're sharing a room and Gin is, lucky pig, by herself. The restaurant is just outside that door," said Ron, pointing to a door. That was when Harry noticed about twenty doors leading out of their room. "You wanna explore?" asked Harry eagerly. "Sure…I don't know what rooms are in here. Anyways…we only have about half an hour to explore. C'mon," said Ron, getting up from his armchair and beckoning to Harry.
"Let's start there," said Harry, pointing to the first door. "Okie doke," Ron said, leading the way. When Ron pushed open the door and entered, both of them (even Ron to Harry's immense surprise) stared open-mouthed at the sight before them. It was a Quidditch pitch! Harry and Ron stared all around them, open-mouthed. There was a counter on the side of the pitch where a pretty witch was sitting and reading a book. The sign on top said, "Quidditch Supplies (for renting only)." "Want to try it out?" asked Ron excitedly. "Yeah sure," replied Harry. Both of them rushed up to the counter and banged the table there to attract the witch's attention.
"Yes?" asked the witch rather grumpily. "Can we please rent two Quidditch brooms and the four balls needed?" said Ron. "Which type of broom you want?" asked the witch looking rather bored as if this happened every minute of the day. "What type do you have?" said Harry through gritted teeth. Even Ron looked irritated. "We have Nimbus Two Thousand, Nimbus Two Thousand and One, The Firebolt and The Phoenix Wings," mumbled the witch. Harry and Ron looked at each other and both of them blurted out, "Phoenix Wings" together. The witch said, "Sign here," pushing a big leather-clad book towards them.
While they were filling it up, she started pulling all that they needed out of the air. "Don't need to worry about the four balls. They'll come back here on their own after you leave," muttered the witch when they had finished filling up the book. She handed them the two brooms and the four balls, which was in a wooden box. "C'mon Ron," said Harry. Ron did not need to be told twice.
They walked towards a door which was labeled, "Changing Rooms (equipped with robes of your choice)" on top. They entered and put down their stuff. "Boy! Was that woman grumpy. C'mon, let's hurry up…we've only got twenty-five minutes left!" said Ron hurriedly. "Yeah ok…" trailed off Harry, as they entered a large room, equipped with all types of robes of every colour and shower rooms. They thought of a colour in their head and as if they could read their minds, that colour robes just drifted to them!
Finally, Harry decided on a blend of Green and Blue and Ron, on a blend of yellow and orange. They left the changing rooms, picked up the brooms, let the balls, except for the bludgers, go and mounted their brooms. They spent fifteen glorious minutes playing Quidditch, Ron as the Chaser and Keeper and Harry as the Seeker. Just then, a portly wizard came running into the Quidditch pitch. "Harry! Ronald! Get down here!" he shouted, his voice magnified.
Harry and Ron exchanged questioning looks and dismounted from their brooms near the wizard. "I'm from the Ministry of Magic. We have reached King's Cross Station. Come now!" said the wizard, turning around abruptly and leading the way out of the room. Harry and Ron, looking disappointed, dropped their brooms and followed. The wizard led them to their room (actually where they were supposed to sleep) and said, "Wait here please…" The wizard left the room. "Boy! Was that grandpa grouchy!" exclaimed Harry, as soon as he was sure the wizard was out of earshot. "Yeah, he acted like he was under an Imperius curse or something!" said Ron, not knowing that he had actually hit a jackpot.
Afterwards, when the wizard came back, he beckoned Harry and Ron to follow him. Harry and Ron went out of the room and found that they had entered the room, which contained their shoes. There, they found Fred, George and Ginny waiting for them. When Ginny saw Harry, she blushed scarlet and accidently tripped and fell down.
Pretending he had not noticed this, Harry turned to Fred and George and said, "What're we doing here?" "Wear our shoes…" said Fred. "…And get off the chariot in Kings Cross Station duh!" said George, finishing of the sentence for Fred. Harry looked around the room for the wizard but he had disappeared! The next moment, they saw the flight of moving stairs again, only thing that this time, it was moving downwards into a deserted lane (it looked like a deserted lane). "Ladies first," said Fred and George, indicating that Ginny should go first.
Ginny picked up her trunk and stepped onto the moving stairs (not different from an escalator), quickly moving out of sight. Fred went next, followed closely by George, who was busy tripping Fred and putting twnety-four hours dungbombs inside Fred's trunk (so that Fred's trunk would smell twenty-four hours later). Ron went next, followed by Harry, who was busy talking to Ron about the Phoenix Wings they had practiced on in the Quidditch field. Once all of them had clambered of the Flying Chariot, the flight of moving steps disappeared and the Flying Chariot flew up again into the sky.
After it flew away, George went up to the wall and told the others, "See, to get into Kings Cross Station, you gotta tap the wall five times with your wand on this brick and step through the wall. Got it?" indicating a brick on the wall. Once everyone nodded, Fred said, "Ok then, Harry, Ron and Ginny, you'll go first." The three walked up to the wall, tapped their wand five times on the same brick George had indicated and stepped through the wall, trunks and all. Harry let out a gasp of surprise, when the next moment, he had stepped right into Kings Cross Station, which was as usual milling with people.
"Come on Harry! Fred and George are going to be coming any minute and they'll bang into you if you don't move!" said Ron, frantically waving his hands in front of Harry's face. Ron and Ginny had moved away from the wall, with their trunks without Harry noticing. Harry moved towards them at once, staring at the brick wall he had just come through. Suddenly, it (kind of) rippled a little and out stepped Fred and George. As soon as they had all come together, Harry and Ron led the way to the barrier, which was between Platforms Nine and Ten.
"Ok, Ginny, you go first," muttered Ron. Ginny ran forward very fast and disappeared into thin air. Next, Fred and George went. After they too disappeared into thin air, Harry and Ron followed. In they went and found themselves in Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. There, they found Fred and George talking to Lee Jordan and a couple of their friends and Ginny chattering away with her friends. "C'mon, let's go find a carriage and Hermione," muttered Harry. Ron nodded and both of them went to the last carriage, which was normally empty. This time it was occupied, but by Hermione and blonde, blue-eyed, pretty girl that they did not recognise. Both of them were talking very eagerly, as if they had been friends for life.
"Oh, hi Harry, hi Ron. How're you guys?" asked Hermione spotting Harry and Ron climbing into the carriage. The girl peered around interestedly. "Harry Potter?" she said good-naturedly. "This is Vicky," Hermione said, noticing Ron staring at the girl. "Hi, I'm an exchange student from Salem's Witches' Institution. I come from America. I just met Hermione because she came into the same carriage as mine. I'm quite mischevious to tell you the truth…" trailed off Vicky. "Hi, I'm Ron, and this is Harry. You'll fit in quite well with us I can tell you…" Ron said stutteringly, almost nervously. "Sit down, guys," said Hermione.
Harry and Ron sat on the bench across from Vicky and Hermione. Suddenly, the whistle blew and the train started moving. "So, Vicky, how did you get to school when you were in Salems' Witches' Institutuion?" asked Harry. "Well, we used to ride broomsticks, Firebolts. So, I can ride quite well…" said Vicky, describing the route to her school. "Are you muggle-born, half-blood or pure-blood?" interuptted a familiar drawling voice coming from the doorway. It was Draco Malfoy, flanked as usual by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. "I'm half-blood, why do you ask?" asked Vicky.
"Ahh…this is the trouble-maker of the school, Draco Malfoy. He's in Slytherin," said Hermione loudly. A pink tinge appeared in Malfoy's pale cheeks. "Shut it, Mudblood," he snapped and exited through the doorway. As soon as he went out, Vicky whispered in Hermione's ear, "He's quite cute don't you think?" "No! I hate him, the number of times he's insulted me, Harry and Ron!" whispered Hermione. "What're you two talking about?" asked Ron curiously. "It's a gal thing," said Vicky, causing Hermione to giggle. "What's a gal ?" asked Ron again. "Gal is a slang for girl," explained Hermione this time, causing Vicky to burst into a fit of giggles.
Choosing to ignore this, Harry said, "So you're quite good in Quidditch?" "Yeah, in fact, I was the Chaser in the Quidditch team in my school. What about you? I know Hermione's hopeless at Quidditch…" asked Vicky, exchanging looks with Hermione, and at the same time addressing the question to Ron and Harry. "Harry became the Seeker of the Gryffindor Team when he was in the first year, I'm not in the Quidditch team at all," said Ron, gazing intently at Vicky again. "Yeah, so anyway, what house do you hope to be in?" asked Harry. "Ummm….so far, Gryffindor sounds the best, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would be okay, but I definitely do NOT want to be in Slytherin," said Vicky, nodding her head in a sarcastic way that caused everyone in the carriage to laugh.
When the laughter subsided, Hermione asked (not surprisingly), "What subjects are you good in?" "In Salem, I was quite good in Transfigaration and Care of Magical Creatures. What about you guys?" asked Vicky. They started telling Vicky about all the subjects and the teachers until the train finally started slowing down at the familiar Hogsmeade Station. Finally, it came to a stand still. "C'mon Vicky, we get down here," Hermione said, as she Harry and Ron got up.
