A few hours later, Harry awoke to find himself in a very high four-poster bed, in a room unknown to him. He was supposing this had to be one of Dumbledore's guestrooms; but then, he asked himself, did Albus Dumbledore receive guests very often?

As he looked around the room, he came to the conclusion that Dumbledore probably hadn't ever had any company in his house, or at the very least, in this particular room, for it was even more odd-looking - and most definitely inconvenient for guests - than the one he'd been inside when he had arrived: dozens of flying objects were dangling from the ceiling, fighting to get free; a few bewitched old owl cages were stacked in a corner; and, of course, there were piles of books everywhere, including under the bed, on the bed, scattered on the floor, on the shelves, and even a few climbing up the walls.

Harry climbed out of bed, which was quite a struggle as it kept insisting on pulling him back inside the covers, walked across the room, trying (and failing) to dodge flying objects as well as the books that were on the ground, and had yet again a nasty shock as he reached the door when a book he had inadvertently stepped on jumped on his leg and bit him.

When he had finally made his way downstairs to what he was assuming was the kitchen (even though it hardly looked like one), he found Dumbledore wearing a flowery apron and humming to himself, while frying eggs... Muggle fashion!

Harry tried hard to suppress the burst of laughter that had just escaped him, but it was too late: Dumbledore had heard him.

He turned around and smiled pleasantly at Harry. "Ah! You're back, Harry! I trust you slept well?"

Harry merely nodded, as he was still trying to muffle his laughs and didn't trust himself to speak.

"I believe you like omelettes? With lots of mushrooms in them?"

Harry nodded again, this time in surprise: omelettes were one of his favourite meals, but he wondered how Dumbledore could've known that.

Harry sat down at a small table Dumbledore indicated him, right next to a terrace. While waiting for his meal, he looked out the window and, once again, tried to figure out from the landscape in which part of England he could possibly be.

It was a bright, sunshiny day, and Harry could see very well the landscape that surrounded the house, but not beyond, because once again, the landscape was hills; but not like the dark, desolate hills he had seen earlier - these were green, flowering, lovely hills, with a few trees growing here and there, and in the far end of one of them, nestling between a small stream and the bottom of the hill, a dark green pine tree forest.

Harry thought that this was close to what Muggles thought of as paradise... He would have gladly gone outside and wandered around, but just then, Dumbledore brought him a full plate of mushroom omelette.

Harry ate heartily, and found Dumbledore's cooking to be quite delicious. Dumbledore sat down with him at the table. Only when he was almost done eating, did Harry realize he hadn't seen Sirius since he had gotten up. When he asked Dumbledore where he was, Dumbledore answered in a somewhat troubled voice, "Sirius had to leave us: an urgent affair to take care of. Most unfortunately, you were still sleeping when this message came, and I'm afraid he didn't have time to say good-bye..."



Harry looked up at Dumbledore in disbelief. How could Sirius have left without even telling him?

"But," continued Dumbledore, 'I'm glad to tell you that he should be back fairly soon: a few days, at the most..."

Then, seeing Harry's crestfallen face, he added sympathetically, "I'm terribly sorry about this, Harry. I know you were looking forward to spending time with your godfather. And I know he was looking forward to it, too."

At these last words Harry couldn't keep the burning in his eyes from showing. Ashamed, he tried to hide the tears that were threatening to roll down his cheeks. "This is no reason to cry, no reason at all..." he told himself reproachfully.

Dumbledore was looking at him compassionately.

"I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you, right now, Harry. I can only assure you that Sirius will be back soon."

But still, Harry couldn't ignore the feeling of bitterness that overcame his mind. When he and Sirius had only just been reunited, they were separated yet again, and Harry had a very strong feeling that this 'urgent affair' concerned Voldemort. Voldemort, who had been responsible for Harry's misery ever since he was a baby...

"Harry..."

Harry started as he heard his name. He looked up at Dumbledore, as if in need of help, of comforting words. Dumbledore seemed to understand what Harry was looking for.

"I can't offer you anything right now except for answers to your questions," he said, sadly but firmly. "If it's answers you're looking for, then I'm ready to give them to you, as long as I judge it safe."

Harry nodded slowly. He did have a lot of questions, and after all, Sirius would be coming back soon. It was no use being an unpleasant guest.

So he put aside the gloom that had settled in his heart and asked instead:

"Yes... I do want to know a lot of things... Like, what business could you have with the goblins? And why have there been spells and curses laid all over the country by the Death Eaters? And... who are the people who joined you? And... " he added, in a slightly harsh tone, "How come no one ever told me there were witches and wizards in my neighbourhood?"

Dumbledore was now wearing his usual warm smile again.

"Ah! So you've heard of Arabella!"

He then continued without leaving Harry the time to interrupt him:

"Those are many questions, Harry! Which one shall I answer first? The goblins?"

Harry nodded. The order didn't matter much to him, so long as he could get an answer.

"Very well, then..." said Dumbledore, seating himself more comfortably on the chair. "The goblins, as you may have noticed, are very suspicious of humans and it is true that they are almost impossible to agree with, but they're also very intelligent creatures, and they will be very useful allies the day Voldemort decides to show himself to the world, again."

"But how?" Harry asked, curious to see why goblins were so important.

"Well, for one, they can keep all the money in the banks safe, which for us is a primordial preoccupation, as you can guess; we need to avoid at all costs our society plunging into mayhem. And, they can also help people keep their heads on their shoulders: goblins are not easily frightened, Harry, nor fooled, and even though most people dislike them, they're still looked up to for their cleverness, and people usually listen to what they have to say. That's why it's so important that they be on our side, and that's why Sirius has been talking to them."

Harry nodded to show that he understood.

"What about the curses?" he asked, remembering the story Sirius had told him about Philippus Cantarini.

"The curses, Harry, alas, I cannot tell you much about, for the very good reason that even I don't know exactly what or where they appear. The only thing that's sure is that they are cast by the Death Eaters, or maybe even by Voldemort himself - and that they are preparing themselves for something, although for what, we don't know for sure, yet..."

"Who's 'we'? Is Mrs Figg helping you too?" asked Harry, suddenly thinking about the old lady on crutches, and how funny it would be to see her on a broomstick.

"Yes, Harry, Arabella is helping us too. She always has... She's been your protector against Voldemort if he ever returned, and also against a few eventual angry Death Eaters who would try to attempt to your life. And I apologise for leaving you in the dark all these years about your wizarding neighbours, but you will understand it was necessary for safety measures."

Harry swallowed this information with a gulp: even though he had always been protected, he had also always been in danger on Privet Drive, something that seemed incredible to one who knew the neighbourhood, as it was always so uneventful and boring.

"As for our other allies," continued Dumbledore, "they are simply friends or relatives of the Weasleys, for the most part, but also any witch or wizard that has expressed the desire to join our ranks. And also... A few older friends..." he finished, smiling to himself.

"So the Ministry still won't recognize that Voldemort is back?" asked Harry in a dark voice.

Dumbledore only sighed and shook his head.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry suddenly asked. "Sir?..."

Dumbledore raised his head to look at Harry.

"Yes? Have I answered all your questions, or are there other things on your mind as well?"

"Actually," said Harry in a timid sort of voice, "I was wondering how you could be so sure that Hermione and Ron were all right... Because, I mean... They haven't been sending you owls, have they?"

Dumbledore smiled at Harry, and replied in a mysterious tone:

"I thought you'd never ask! It's actually quite secret, but I've decided I must show it to you. Would you care to follow me to my office?"

Burning of curiosity at the thought of what Dumbledore was about to show him, Harry followed him up the stairs and through a thick wooden door into a circular room.

And, to Harry's astonishment, they walked into Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts! Only it couldn't be Hogwarts: they hadn't travelled, and apparating onto the Hogwarts grounds was impossible...

Harry took a peek outside the door and saw that everything - the rooms, the staircase, the paintings on the walls - were all the same as in Dumbledore's house. He was asking himself how this could be, when Dumbledore said casually:

"I sometimes find I need my office to do some work at home. Today is one of those days. What I'm going to show you should normally be seen by Hogwarts headmasters only."

He then took out a huge, old-looking, torn leather-bound book, set it on his desk, grabbed an eagle-feather quill, and motioned Harry to come nearer to him. Harry advanced and stopped a foot away from the desk, feeling a bit timid due to the solemnity of Dumbledore's tone.

"This, Harry, is the very last of the Books of Seers..." Dumbledore said in an undertone, as though frightened that someone might be listening. "It's a book of great power, and is very useful to us headmasters, especially at times like these, but it can also be a deadly weapon if misused."

Harry looked at the old ragged book, and was reminded of the old Sorting Hat. How could that old thing be dangerous?

"What does it do?" asked Harry, feeling a bit uneasy although he couldn't determine why.

"Why, it's very simple!" replied Dumbledore rather enthusiastically. "Just as any Book of Seers does."

Seeing Harry's confused face, he smiled and added, "I'll show you."

He opened the book towards the middle, revealing a page blackened by ink stains. Only as Harry got closer to it, he realized that they weren't ink stains at all: written in miniscule hand witting were thousands of names, some of which he recognized, but for the most part, unknown to him.

Harry stood very silently next to Dumbledore as he dripped his quill in ink and started tracing an R on the page. He then added an O, an N, until pretty soon Ron's full name was written on the page.

And then... Harry's jaw dropped as he saw it happen: all the letters on the page started moving, spinning around purposely, fighting their way across the paper - then, when finally all the letters had reached their destination, Harry distinctly saw a familiar silhouette grow clearer and clearer, until he could see Ron and the Burrow as well as if he were there.

Ron was de-gnoming the garden (a job Harry knew he hated) and complaining loudly about it. A few seconds later, Harry saw a couple of shadows sneak up behind him with a lit Filibuster Firework and set it under his feet.

"LOOK OUT!" Harry cried, but it was no use, Ron couldn't here him talking through a book, and so Harry, helpless, had to watch as Ron yelled in pain when the firework exploded underneath him, and Ron's elder twin brothers, Fred and George, roared with laughter.

Then, slowly, the image faded as Dumbledore started closing the book.

He chuckled. "I reckon the Weasley twins have been giving your friend a very hard time, this summer. Last time I checked on them, they had bewitched some dead spiders to make them dance in front of him."

Dumbledore smiled indulgently.

"At least some of us are still enjoying ourselves..."

He then turned to Harry, who was still wondering if he should laugh or feel sorry about what he had just seen.

"You understand what the Book does, now, don't you, Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"It shows you any person whose name you write in it."

"Ah! Not entirely, Harry. It only shows me Hogwarts students."

Harry stared at him, bemused.

"A Book of Seers in its original state would show any person whose name would be written on its pages," explained Dumbledore. "This here Book has been enchanted so that it shows Hogwarts students only, and, as you can probably understand, it's both a source of security and great danger..."

He paused for a minute, looked thoughtfully at Harry, then continued, "As long as the Book is in my hands, I can protect all of my students, as I can constantly look in the Book to see if they're in any danger. Without it, I am incapable of doing so. That is why it cannot be destroyed." He sighed heavily, and gave Harry an even more piercing look than before, before continuing, "However, if the Book ever so happened to fall into the wrong hands... it would be all too easy for Voldemort or his followers to find and kill all the Muggle-born children. And also - other people they might be looking for..."

Harry's heart dropped ten inches in his chest: he knew that the 'other people' Dumbledore was talking about included him.

"Why did you show me this?" he asked Dumbledore after a few seconds' silence, speaking slowly and heavily.

Dumbledore sighed, but didn't answer. He picked up the book, put it away in a drawer that disappeared the moment he had placed it in it, motioned Harry towards the door, and walked out behind him.

"I cannot tell you right away if I will be needing you, Harry," he finally answered as they walked down the stairs. "I'm not even sure yet why I had to show the Book to you... But be assured that if the time comes when I do need your help, I will explain to you everything you need to know."

Harry couldn't help but to trust Dumbledore. He was afraid of what might happen in the next few months, but it made him feel stronger to know that Dumbledore would always support him.

The rest of the day was uneventful, which Harry didn't mind, as he still felt relatively tired. He took a walk in the hills with Dumbledore, and quite enjoyed his company after a while. He always had, but this time it felt different: it was more like Dumbledore was a close friend of his, or a long lost parent that had finally returned to him, and who was now catching up with him on all the time they had lost. They talked about curses and enchantments, goblins and giants, and even about Quidditch; Dumbledore happened to support the Chudley Cannons, which was Ron's favourite team as well (even though they hadn't won a single match in years). Dumbledore also spent a good deal of time answering questions Harry had about current events in the wizarding world. Harry thus learned that the Ministry was going through quite a big turmoil and all the magical folk swimming in confusion and fear, as odd and frightening things had been happening: apparating being stopped, entire households cursed by unknown wizards or witches, owls being intercepted, and many more other things that used to happen when Voldemort was at the height of his power. Only the Ministry still didn't want to recognize that Voldemort was back, and that so were his followers... Harry also found out that a robbery against Gringotts had been attempted - only it wasn't anything important: just a few wizards who were taking advantage of the ministry being in such chaos.

Harry had the unnerving impression that the entire wizarding world was going mad. When he expressed his concerns out loud, Dumbledore replied in a firm voice that somewhat reassured Harry:

"Now, Harry, you know how the Ministry handles things... And you also know what I think of their methods," he added in an undertone. "But, of course, what I think is not, and should not, be important to you. All you need to know is that Cornelius Fudge still refuses to admit Voldemort has returned, but that a few influent wizards are starting to finally realize the truth - and that is what is causing the most part of the confusion. Hogwarts is as safe as it ever was, and our allies are working right now on keeping things from degenerating. So after all these precautions, Harry, I think it is safe to say that Voldemort hasn't taken over yet... and will not be able to do so for some time."

Still, sleep did not come easily for Harry that night - for several reasons, in fact. One of them was that Harry's bed, the same he had slept in earlier and that seemed so keen to keep him lying down, was now trying very hard to make him fall off, and Harry had to grip the covers tightly to not be thrown at the other side of the room. Another reason was Sirius - Harry knew that he would be coming back soon, but he still couldn't help feeling very anxious about him. Dumbledore hadn't specified what type of 'mission' Sirius had just left on - maybe it was very dangerous? Harry didn't think he could bear it if anything happened to him; quite apart from the fact that he had grown very attached to him, Sirius was also Harry's only hope of moving away from the Dursleys.

And then, of course, there was Voldemort. Voldemort, who was slowly but surely regaining his full strength; Voldemort, who had gathered most of his followers by now, and was probably planning on the best way to make himself known unto the wizarding world again. And when he returned - because he most definitely was going to - would he bring back the terror that had once reigned as well?

But Harry then thought about the Book of Seers, and what he had seen in it, which comforted him a bit: the Weasleys were safe, and so were Hermione and all of the other Hogwarts students. And, as long as Dumbledore was at Hogwarts, the next school year would be just as safe. Well, as safe as it could get, anyway, what with all of the adventures and injuries Harry usually experienced.