Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 2
The week following Harry's birthday went by slowly but was in no way boring. Dudley was now required to go on an exercise program along with his diet. Dudley was so large that he had broken the exercise bike the first time he gotten on it at the beginning of the summer. He was in such a foul mood with having to exercise and being on a diet that he left Harry alone for a change. Uncle Vernon wasn't quite as nice.
"You need a job!" He barked over his morning paper for what seemed like the hundredth time since Harry had gotten back to Privet Drive.
"Nonsense!" Aunt Petunia argued with him. "No one would hire him!"
His aunt and uncle regularly referred to him as though he was not there, or worse, like he carried some contagious disease that they were frightened of catching. Harry knew this argument well, it had come up several times over the summer.
"He's old enough to bring in some money! He costs too much as it is!" Uncle Vernon looked at Harry with beady little eyes. Uncle Vernon was a very large man with hardly any neck and a very large mustache.
"Who would hire him looking like that?" Aunt Petunia shot back. She glared at him as if he were a speck of dirt on her clean kitchen floor. She was a very thin, horse-boned woman with twice the usual amount of neck, which she used for spying on the boring, law-abiding neighbors. She hated dirt, and her house was always spotless. The state of Harry's hair was a constant annoyance to both his aunt and uncle. He couldn't help it, no matter how much he tried to make his hair lie flat, it always stuck up. It simply grew that way - all over the place.
"Well, if he can't get a job, we can get some work out of him anyway," Uncle Vernon declared, looking at Harry beadily.
And give him work, they did. Harry was busy spreading manure over the flowerbeds, washing the car, and cutting the grass. After he was through with that, Aunt Petunia sent him back outside with orders to trim the hedge. When that was done, he was sent outside a third time with orders to repaint the house (which took most of the week). He couldn't wait for a chance to escape this place.
His chance came at the end of the week. Ron's owl, Pig, returned on Friday with a letter for Harry.
Harry, Dumbledore said it's ok! Ask the Muggles if you can come on Monday. We'll be by at six o'clock to pick you up. Mum's attached a letter for the Muggles.
Harry remembered last year when Mrs. Weasley had sent a letter to his aunt and uncle through the Muggle post. Owls were common as post for wizards, but the Muggle post was quite foreign to the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley had covered the entire surface of the envelope with stamps except a square inch in the middle where she had managed to squeeze in the Dursleys' address. Uncle Vernon had not been happy. The Dursleys didn't approve of anything unusual that would connect people like the Weasleys with them, however distantly.
We'll be picking you up the same way as last year. Send a letter back with Pig. I'll see you Monday! Ron
Harry didn't know which emotion to feel. He couldn't wait to go to Ron's. The Weasleys were Harry's favorite family. But he couldn't help but remember what had happened last year when they came to pick him up for the Quidditch World Cup. Mr. Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic, and had gotten the Dursleys' fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network for the afternoon. (Floo powder was a way that underage wizards can travel.) But the fireplace was blocked, and Mr. Weasley had to blast apart half of the fireplace to get to Harry. That memory was enough to make the Dursleys think twice about letting Harry go.
But the one thing that would probably weigh the most in the decision was a prank that Fred and George, Ron's twin older brothers had played. Fred and George had been inventing things all summer, and had wanted someone to try them out on. One happened to be a candy called "Ton Tongue Toffee." Fred had "accidentally" dropped them, and Dudley managed to eat one. His tongue had grown to nearly four feet before the Dursleys had let Mr. Weasley shrink it. They hadn't appreciated that much.
But Harry resolved to ask anyway. He took the second letter that Ron had sent and took it downstairs to his uncle, who had just come home from work.
"What's this?" he asked.
"It's a letter for you," Harry answered.
"A letter? From who?"
"Mrs. Weasley. You remember her, right?"
Uncle Vernon's face purpled in angered. He remembered alright. He hadn't forgotten what happened last year, either. "And how will they be coming to get you this year? I hope it's better than what they did last year!"
"Well, read the letter, maybe it will tell you." Harry replied evenly.
Uncle Vernon's eyes narrowed. "I don't like your tone boy. You had better watch it unless you want to spend the rest of the summer in your room." Harry kept silent. Uncle Vernon pursed his lips, but opened the letter instead of pouncing on Harry.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, I hope this letter gets to you alright. I sent it through owl post this year. We would love to have Harry come and stay with us again this summer. He is always welcome here, and we will see him onto the school train at the end of the summer. We do apologize for last year. We will pick him up the same way on Monday at six o'clock. Molly Weasley
"So, this is what they're doing is it?" Uncle Vernon asked heatedly, advancing on Harry. Harry didn't move. "They're coming back for another round are they?" Harry thought this distinctly unfair, they did apologize for last year, but he held his ground. "So can I go?" he asked.
Harry could see the wheels turn in Uncle Vernon's mind. Letting him go meant that they didn't have to deal with him for another year. However, their last meeting with the Weasleys hadn't been a good one, and Harry could see in his face that he wasn't anxious to repeat the experience. Harry could see that it was time to play his only card.
"Well, can I? I've got to finish a letter to Sirius, you know, my godfather." It had worked last year, it was worth trying again. It worked this time as well. Uncle Vernon's face went very white. "Still writing to him, are you? Alright, you can go with these - Weasleys. But you will pay for any more mishaps, do you hear me? If one thing goes wrong, you will be locked in the cupboard under the stairs from now until eternity."
Harry heard, but didn't pay any attention. He knew all he had to do was to mention Sirius enough and they would let him get on with it. They knew that Sirius was Harry's godfather - and that his extended absence from Harry's life was because Sirius had been in Azkaban, the wizard prison. He was a convicted murderer - but Harry conveniently forgot to tell the Dursleys that he had been innocent.
"Alright, thanks," he replied. "Nothing will happen this time." Uncle Vernon looked as though he didn't believe it. Harry didn't care. He was going, and Uncle Vernon wasn't going to stop him. He bounded back up the stairs to his room, where Pig was flitting around, hooting incessantly.
"Alright, alright," Harry said. He grabbed a spare piece of parchment from the desk and scribbled a note to Ron.
Ron, The Dursleys say it's ok. See you on Monday. Harry
"Come here," he said, snatching the tiny owl from the air. "Hold still." Pig hooted happily from between his fingers. He quickly attached the note to the owl, and let him go outside of the window. He watched him fly out of sight, and then turned around to his desk to write a note to Sirius.
Sirius, I'll be at Ron's again for the rest of the summer. I hope you're well. Say hi to Professor Lupin and Buckbeak for me. Harry
Buckbeak was a hippogriff that Harry had helped escape to help Sirius escape in his third year. He took the letter over to Hedwig's cage, where he had to poke her awake. "Can you deliver this for me? I'll be at Ron's when you're done," he said, stroking her as he carried her over to the window. He watched her fly out of sight, and then turned back to finish his housework.
The next two days passed without event. Dudley apparently still remembered the Ton Tongue Toffee, because he shot Harry nervous glances every few minutes when he saw him. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't speak to him at all.
Monday morning, Harry had packed up all of his books, his cauldron, his broomstick, his clothes and his birthday presents into his trunk, and had Hedwig's cage on top by noon. All he had to do now was wait. Around 5:30, he began to take all of his things downstairs. He made sure that his wand was tucked safely into his pocket. It was of no use to him in the Muggle world, but he always kept it on him in the wizarding world. Having lost it once at the World Cup last year, he made extra sure that he had it so that he wasn't vulnerable to anything.
The Dursleys refused to be present. Dudley had locked himself into his room. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had gone into the kitchen and refused to come out. Harry was secretly relieved. He didn't want another scene like last year's. Harry moved the electric fire from in front of the fireplace, which hadn't been boarded up since last year when Mr. Weasley had to blow apart most of the fireplace to get into the room.
Shortly after 6, a fire appeared in the fireplace. Soon afterwards, Mr. Weasley appeared, followed in short succession by Ron, George and Fred.
"Hello Harry" Mr. Weasley said. He looked around. "Where are your aunt and uncle?"
"Er - they're in the kitchen." Harry answered. "They didn't want to be here."
"I see." Mr. Weasley said.
"Hiya Harry!" Fred called from the fireplace.
"This all of your stuff?" asked George.
"Yeah that's it." Harry answered.
It took them all less than five minutes to get all of Harry's things arranged in the fireplace. "Alright, all of you can take the Floo powder back, and I'll Apparate back after Harry goes. Fred, you go first." Fred went back with the trunk. "The Burrow!" he cried, and soon whirled out of sight. "Alright George, you next." Mr. Weasley said. George stepped into the fire with Hedwig's cage underneath his arm. "The Burrow!" he said, and he too was gone.
"You ready?" Ron asked. Harry looked around the room once and nodded.
"Let's get out of here."
Ron climbed into the fireplace and said "The Burrow!" and disappeared. Harry smiled, knowing what awaited him on the other end, and said, "The Burrow!" He began to spin around, faster and faster in a whirl of green flames, and soon the Dursleys' living room disappeared from view. After a few seconds he slowed down, and soon came crashing into the Weasleys' fireplace. He climbed out of the fireplace into a room full of smiling red-haired people.
"Welcome back," said Ron.
The week following Harry's birthday went by slowly but was in no way boring. Dudley was now required to go on an exercise program along with his diet. Dudley was so large that he had broken the exercise bike the first time he gotten on it at the beginning of the summer. He was in such a foul mood with having to exercise and being on a diet that he left Harry alone for a change. Uncle Vernon wasn't quite as nice.
"You need a job!" He barked over his morning paper for what seemed like the hundredth time since Harry had gotten back to Privet Drive.
"Nonsense!" Aunt Petunia argued with him. "No one would hire him!"
His aunt and uncle regularly referred to him as though he was not there, or worse, like he carried some contagious disease that they were frightened of catching. Harry knew this argument well, it had come up several times over the summer.
"He's old enough to bring in some money! He costs too much as it is!" Uncle Vernon looked at Harry with beady little eyes. Uncle Vernon was a very large man with hardly any neck and a very large mustache.
"Who would hire him looking like that?" Aunt Petunia shot back. She glared at him as if he were a speck of dirt on her clean kitchen floor. She was a very thin, horse-boned woman with twice the usual amount of neck, which she used for spying on the boring, law-abiding neighbors. She hated dirt, and her house was always spotless. The state of Harry's hair was a constant annoyance to both his aunt and uncle. He couldn't help it, no matter how much he tried to make his hair lie flat, it always stuck up. It simply grew that way - all over the place.
"Well, if he can't get a job, we can get some work out of him anyway," Uncle Vernon declared, looking at Harry beadily.
And give him work, they did. Harry was busy spreading manure over the flowerbeds, washing the car, and cutting the grass. After he was through with that, Aunt Petunia sent him back outside with orders to trim the hedge. When that was done, he was sent outside a third time with orders to repaint the house (which took most of the week). He couldn't wait for a chance to escape this place.
His chance came at the end of the week. Ron's owl, Pig, returned on Friday with a letter for Harry.
Harry, Dumbledore said it's ok! Ask the Muggles if you can come on Monday. We'll be by at six o'clock to pick you up. Mum's attached a letter for the Muggles.
Harry remembered last year when Mrs. Weasley had sent a letter to his aunt and uncle through the Muggle post. Owls were common as post for wizards, but the Muggle post was quite foreign to the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley had covered the entire surface of the envelope with stamps except a square inch in the middle where she had managed to squeeze in the Dursleys' address. Uncle Vernon had not been happy. The Dursleys didn't approve of anything unusual that would connect people like the Weasleys with them, however distantly.
We'll be picking you up the same way as last year. Send a letter back with Pig. I'll see you Monday! Ron
Harry didn't know which emotion to feel. He couldn't wait to go to Ron's. The Weasleys were Harry's favorite family. But he couldn't help but remember what had happened last year when they came to pick him up for the Quidditch World Cup. Mr. Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic, and had gotten the Dursleys' fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network for the afternoon. (Floo powder was a way that underage wizards can travel.) But the fireplace was blocked, and Mr. Weasley had to blast apart half of the fireplace to get to Harry. That memory was enough to make the Dursleys think twice about letting Harry go.
But the one thing that would probably weigh the most in the decision was a prank that Fred and George, Ron's twin older brothers had played. Fred and George had been inventing things all summer, and had wanted someone to try them out on. One happened to be a candy called "Ton Tongue Toffee." Fred had "accidentally" dropped them, and Dudley managed to eat one. His tongue had grown to nearly four feet before the Dursleys had let Mr. Weasley shrink it. They hadn't appreciated that much.
But Harry resolved to ask anyway. He took the second letter that Ron had sent and took it downstairs to his uncle, who had just come home from work.
"What's this?" he asked.
"It's a letter for you," Harry answered.
"A letter? From who?"
"Mrs. Weasley. You remember her, right?"
Uncle Vernon's face purpled in angered. He remembered alright. He hadn't forgotten what happened last year, either. "And how will they be coming to get you this year? I hope it's better than what they did last year!"
"Well, read the letter, maybe it will tell you." Harry replied evenly.
Uncle Vernon's eyes narrowed. "I don't like your tone boy. You had better watch it unless you want to spend the rest of the summer in your room." Harry kept silent. Uncle Vernon pursed his lips, but opened the letter instead of pouncing on Harry.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, I hope this letter gets to you alright. I sent it through owl post this year. We would love to have Harry come and stay with us again this summer. He is always welcome here, and we will see him onto the school train at the end of the summer. We do apologize for last year. We will pick him up the same way on Monday at six o'clock. Molly Weasley
"So, this is what they're doing is it?" Uncle Vernon asked heatedly, advancing on Harry. Harry didn't move. "They're coming back for another round are they?" Harry thought this distinctly unfair, they did apologize for last year, but he held his ground. "So can I go?" he asked.
Harry could see the wheels turn in Uncle Vernon's mind. Letting him go meant that they didn't have to deal with him for another year. However, their last meeting with the Weasleys hadn't been a good one, and Harry could see in his face that he wasn't anxious to repeat the experience. Harry could see that it was time to play his only card.
"Well, can I? I've got to finish a letter to Sirius, you know, my godfather." It had worked last year, it was worth trying again. It worked this time as well. Uncle Vernon's face went very white. "Still writing to him, are you? Alright, you can go with these - Weasleys. But you will pay for any more mishaps, do you hear me? If one thing goes wrong, you will be locked in the cupboard under the stairs from now until eternity."
Harry heard, but didn't pay any attention. He knew all he had to do was to mention Sirius enough and they would let him get on with it. They knew that Sirius was Harry's godfather - and that his extended absence from Harry's life was because Sirius had been in Azkaban, the wizard prison. He was a convicted murderer - but Harry conveniently forgot to tell the Dursleys that he had been innocent.
"Alright, thanks," he replied. "Nothing will happen this time." Uncle Vernon looked as though he didn't believe it. Harry didn't care. He was going, and Uncle Vernon wasn't going to stop him. He bounded back up the stairs to his room, where Pig was flitting around, hooting incessantly.
"Alright, alright," Harry said. He grabbed a spare piece of parchment from the desk and scribbled a note to Ron.
Ron, The Dursleys say it's ok. See you on Monday. Harry
"Come here," he said, snatching the tiny owl from the air. "Hold still." Pig hooted happily from between his fingers. He quickly attached the note to the owl, and let him go outside of the window. He watched him fly out of sight, and then turned around to his desk to write a note to Sirius.
Sirius, I'll be at Ron's again for the rest of the summer. I hope you're well. Say hi to Professor Lupin and Buckbeak for me. Harry
Buckbeak was a hippogriff that Harry had helped escape to help Sirius escape in his third year. He took the letter over to Hedwig's cage, where he had to poke her awake. "Can you deliver this for me? I'll be at Ron's when you're done," he said, stroking her as he carried her over to the window. He watched her fly out of sight, and then turned back to finish his housework.
The next two days passed without event. Dudley apparently still remembered the Ton Tongue Toffee, because he shot Harry nervous glances every few minutes when he saw him. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia didn't speak to him at all.
Monday morning, Harry had packed up all of his books, his cauldron, his broomstick, his clothes and his birthday presents into his trunk, and had Hedwig's cage on top by noon. All he had to do now was wait. Around 5:30, he began to take all of his things downstairs. He made sure that his wand was tucked safely into his pocket. It was of no use to him in the Muggle world, but he always kept it on him in the wizarding world. Having lost it once at the World Cup last year, he made extra sure that he had it so that he wasn't vulnerable to anything.
The Dursleys refused to be present. Dudley had locked himself into his room. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had gone into the kitchen and refused to come out. Harry was secretly relieved. He didn't want another scene like last year's. Harry moved the electric fire from in front of the fireplace, which hadn't been boarded up since last year when Mr. Weasley had to blow apart most of the fireplace to get into the room.
Shortly after 6, a fire appeared in the fireplace. Soon afterwards, Mr. Weasley appeared, followed in short succession by Ron, George and Fred.
"Hello Harry" Mr. Weasley said. He looked around. "Where are your aunt and uncle?"
"Er - they're in the kitchen." Harry answered. "They didn't want to be here."
"I see." Mr. Weasley said.
"Hiya Harry!" Fred called from the fireplace.
"This all of your stuff?" asked George.
"Yeah that's it." Harry answered.
It took them all less than five minutes to get all of Harry's things arranged in the fireplace. "Alright, all of you can take the Floo powder back, and I'll Apparate back after Harry goes. Fred, you go first." Fred went back with the trunk. "The Burrow!" he cried, and soon whirled out of sight. "Alright George, you next." Mr. Weasley said. George stepped into the fire with Hedwig's cage underneath his arm. "The Burrow!" he said, and he too was gone.
"You ready?" Ron asked. Harry looked around the room once and nodded.
"Let's get out of here."
Ron climbed into the fireplace and said "The Burrow!" and disappeared. Harry smiled, knowing what awaited him on the other end, and said, "The Burrow!" He began to spin around, faster and faster in a whirl of green flames, and soon the Dursleys' living room disappeared from view. After a few seconds he slowed down, and soon came crashing into the Weasleys' fireplace. He climbed out of the fireplace into a room full of smiling red-haired people.
"Welcome back," said Ron.