Chapter 3 - The Van Evacuation
Block awoke in his usual position in the clearing by the cage. He first sensed rather than heard Harry approaching as minute vibrations through the soil. When Harry arrived Block uncurled from his sleeping position and sat up, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He then stretched and in doing so his skin took on more of a lifelike appearance compared to the rock-like form that it had when he was asleep.
'Hello there,' said Harry. 'I've brought you some more food although I couldn't bring much because my cousin Dudley was having a tantrum. He says some of his cakes had gone missing.'
Harry handed over a paper bag. Block sniffed at the bag once, tilted his head backwards and swallowed the lot.
'I suppose we should introduce ourselves properly,' said Harry. Block nodded and they settled themselves in the clearing.
Harry proceeded to tell Block all about Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft and how he was a wizard and how he had met a troll in his first year at Hogwarts and so on. Block listened intently and chose not to mention that the troll that had clubbed various parts of Hogwarts to dust was his uncle. The bit about Harry being a wizard answered Block's question about why there was a strange sensation when he was around. Trolls were very sensitive to some things and it appeared that Block's senses could pick up if there was someone with magical powers nearby. It also confirmed that the dragon rider possessed similar magical powers.
When Block's turn came he told Harry all about his home in the mountains, the local green dragons and the dreadful story of the arrival of the strange hooded figure and the monstrous fierce red dragons.
'The hooded one sounds like he may be a wizard,' said Harry, 'and he must be a pretty powerful one if he can control dragons.'
This all sounded serious to Harry. If it involved dark wizards then Dumbledore needed to know.
Block of course was keen to get home and Harry explained that from Block's description of the local green dragons it sounded like he came from what humans would call the Welsh Mountains. This was all very well but actually getting Block home would be tricky to say the least. Harry had only just finished his first year at Hogwarts and third person apparating was way too advanced for him and in any case there was no guarantee that it would work on a troll.
Block was also desperately worried about what had happened to his family and the rest of the clan.
'Can Harry Potter help Block to find his family?' asked Block.
'I'll do everything that I can Block,' said Harry. 'First, I need to send a letter to a friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore. He'll know what to do for the best. In the meantime you had better stay put here and try to keep a low profile. I'll bring you food and come and visit as much as possible but it may take a couple of days to get word to Dumbledore and wait for his reply.'
'Thank you Harry,' said Block.
That night Harry sent Hedwig off with a letter for Dumbledore explaining everything. Hedwig didn't return until two nights later so while Harry was waiting he spent as much time as possible with Block in the clearing in the woods.
On the second day as Harry left the house Uncle Vernon was busy in the back garden. Harry assumed that his uncle was preparing for a stronger cage. There were noises of drilling and hammering and Uncle Vernon humming to himself. Harry made a point of avoiding his uncle (partly because he was carrying another bag of Dudley's food) and he took a long detour avoiding the back garden to get to the woods.
Block soon woke up when Harry arrived. Harry looked on in wonder as Block who at first seemed so still and solid suddenly was transformed from his rocky repose becoming a moving living troll.
Both Harry and Block had many questions for each other and they talked freely for many hours that day. Block could sense if anything or anyone was approaching the clearing and nothing larger than a rabbit did. Apart from the distant noise coming from Uncle Vernon's garden there were only the tranquil sounds of birds and insects in the woods.
Block explained more about life as a mountain troll. He told Harry all about the games that the trolls played including his favourite called crackit.
Crackit involved two teams of four trolls and a large flat area. The game was played using; wooden clubs that were about as long as Harry was tall; sling shots made of rope and leather; and, a large supply of rocks. There was also a large replica of a bull made of wood and straw.
In each team of four there were two batters and two hurlers. The pitch comprised a large circle drawn on the ground and the hurlers stayed outside the line while the batters stayed inside the line.
The batters on each team were armed with clubs and their objective was simply to hit rocks hurled at them towards the bull and to avoid getting knocked unconscious in the process. The team that fired the shot that knocked the head off the wooden bull was the winner (in the origins of the game a real live bull had been used but trolls had, through the years, abandoned the practice of tethering a live animal and killing it with large rocks. To most modern, right thinking, trolls that king of behaviour was now considered barbaric).
The hurlers were armed with huge slingshots and their job was to hit the batters on the opposing team with rocks that were about the size of Harry's head. A hit on the head of a batter would eliminate that player from the game. Usually of course, a batter would be unconscious at this point anyway. The normal tactic of the hurlers was therefore to aim for the opposing batters' heads and this was, much to Harry's surprise, for safety reasons. The toughest part of a troll is his head. The skull was several inches thick hence almost impossible to damage seriously. Often the rocks fired at a batter would burst into a shower of tiny pieces if a good solid head shot was achieved. This would bring a roar of applause from the crowd and much honour for a batter who was able to actually walk out of the ring.
The batters meanwhile would use their clubs to fend off the missiles hurled towards them. Whenever they got the chance they would bat the rocks in the direction of the bull looking to knock its head off and thereby win the game (such a shot was termed a 'bull-buster').
At the start of each game things tended to be evenly matched as two pairs of batters would defend themselves as a team against the opposing two hurlers. Sooner or later though there was likely to be a hit against one of the batters and then things got exciting. Now the balance of power was tipped very much in the favour of the hurlers as the remaining batter had to try to keep track of two hurlers at once. One batter left seldom lasted long against two hurlers. But, while the lone batter lasted, that troll did have twice the opportunity to blast rocks towards the bull and sometimes from the jaws of defeat an unlikely victory was won.
It was possible for hurlers to get knocked out of the game as the batters sometimes managed to hit one of the hurlers with a returned rock. This was relatively rare and it was major news in the troll world if a batting team actually managed to knock out an opponent's hurling team. This was however considered unsporting and generally frowned upon by the followers of the sport after all if there were no hurlers left then the batters had no chance of hitting a bull-buster. Sometimes a lone batter would first try to even things up by knocking out one of the hurlers. This all meant that crackit was fast, furious and very unpredictable. To make matters worse there were often feuds to be settled. Games of crackit frequently fell into unsavoury madness.
Block spoke with some passion about his favourite sport and Harry could certainly relate to this as he felt similarly passionate about his sport of quiditch which was played on broomsticks and in many respects was almost as brutal.
Block explained that his clan consisted of several hundred trolls split into eight families. Each family would have a crackit team and his big brother, Boulder, was in his family's team. Block had spent a lot of time helping his brother practice and this involved both hurling rocks at his brother and also giving his brother a target for hurling practice and this gave Block a chance to master the art of batting. Block had spent many hours with his brother practicing crackit and, although he said so himself, he was a promising prospect for the family team. Of course practicing was very different from actually playing especially when some of the tougher nastier trolls such as Cragheart were playing against you.
Harry then explained all about quiditch and the two boys spent a very happy afternoon swapping stories. Block demonstrated some of the swing techniques with his club and proudly recounted how he had knocked Uncle Vernon's wheelybin cage into the woods with a double-handed upper cut. As it was daytime they didn't dare practice with rocks as these were bound to attract attention, as large flying rocks in a built up areas tend to do.
That evening Hedwig finally returned with a letter attached to its leg. Harry opened the letter and read the content;
Dear Harry
Thank you for your letter.
I am of course most concerned to hear about the plight of poor Block and his clan and I am intrigued to know the reason for the kidnapping of a whole troll village. The signs are ominous. There is only one person that I know of who has dominion over dragons although he has not been seen for many years. He was expelled from Hogwarts about 20 years ago.
He used a very unusual form of magic and he was a most powerful wielder of dragon magic. His name is Harbaxen and he is one of the most knowledgeable people ever on the subject of dragons.
The type of dragon you described in your letter is most probably a Russian Inferno. They are among the wildest and most cruel of all dragons and they are so called because the heat of their fire is said to be hot enough to melt anything that stands before them.
I believe that Harbaxen was experimenting before he disappeared in the combination of dragon flame and dark spells to create very powerful magic. This may explain how he managed to move the trolls from their village for a most incredibly powerful spell would be required to move that many trolls.
Regarding Block I do have some bad news for you Harry. As soon as I got your letter I went to the Ministry of Magic. They do not share my soft spot for trolls.
(I was in fact very careful to return the troll that entered into Hogwarts last year back to his home in the welsh mountains and you rightly guess that Block is likely to come from the same clan. He may actually know the troll that visited Hogwarts. By the way has your wand stopped smelling yet?)
I digress. The ministry unfortunately do not share our concern for the plight of these trolls and further to this they reminded me of laws forbidding wizards to become involved with what are considered to be wilder elements such as trolls, giants and dragons (unless they are granted a license by the Ministry) for fear of starting trouble. I fear that there are forces within the ministry that would prefer it if I was not involved. Furthermore all of the senior ministers from the ministry will be visiting Hogwarts during the summer holiday for their annual conference (you didn't think the staff at Hogwarts spent the whole summer sunbathing did you?) My presence will be required here to make arrangements and to play host to my distinguished guests. In fact, I will be travelling down to London and back on the Hogwarts Express to collect them - a trip that I am rather looking forward to!
In the matter of the trolls I have been ordered to take no further action. I will however try to exert some influence when the delegates arrive one week from today.
This is all most regrettable because it means that for now there is nothing that I am allowed to do. However, there is a subtle difference between being 'not allowed' and 'not able'. Just because I am not allowed, doesn't mean that I can't do anything. It's all a matter of interpretation so I have abdicated the tasks in hand shall we say, between you and me and the gatepost, in a manner that hopefully will help. I'm afraid I will have to ask your assistance as I have made an arrangement for someone to collect Block later tonight from the hill at the far side of the woods from your Uncle's house. I'm sure you'll be familiar with the hill. My removal expert will arrive at half past three in the morning. Please get Block to the hill on time and that will be the end of your involvement in this matter.
Thank you again for your help. I am pleased to note that you are enlightened enough not to be swayed by the general view that trolls are a barbaric race. They are in fact on the whole a very true and good race although they sometimes tend to become a little wild if trapped or confused. They are best left alone where they will do no harm.
Please write to me when Block has been safely dispatched. See you next term. In the meantime please be good and stay out of trouble if at all possible.
Yours truly,
Albus Dumbledore
Harry read the letter twice and was worried. It was not promising that Dumbledore was going behind that backs of the Ministry of Magic. The punishment for doing so could be very severe. The reaction of the ministry was also very strange. They appeared to be ignoring what was obviously a very serious problem just because the ones to suffer were trolls rather than humans.
It was good that someone was going to collect Block but Harry was going to miss him. Dumbledore did not say where Block was going or indeed what was going to be done about Block's missing clan. Nevertheless it was clear that Harry would have to follow Dumbledore's instructions.
Harry went to bed as normal that evening but he kept himself awake until three in the morning. He then prepared to take Block to the hill to be collected. He put on dark clothes and out of habit took his wand with him.
He crept down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible and stole out through the back door into the garden. He was halfway across the back garden towards the woods when suddenly there was an explosion of noise and lights.
Sirens started squealing and spotlights sprung to life all around the garden. Harry after a moment of bewilderment ran for the back of the garden. Suddenly there was a loud kerboom and a rattling through the bushes next to him. He turned in shock and looked back up at the house. Uncle Vernon was at the open bedroom window with his shotgun.
'I've caught you! That one was a warning you bin thief and vandal. The police are on their way so stay where you are.'
The shotgun was pointing directly at Harry. Harry noticed that some of the spotlights were shining directly at Uncle Vernon who was squinting to see clearly. Harry didn't dare to move for fear of getting shot but at least Uncle Vernon couldn't see clearly enough to recognize him.
There was a crazed look on Uncle Vernon's face.
'So, you thought you were too clever for me did you? Well how do you like my new burglar alarm? I finished fitting it only today! Now, keep your hands up where I can see them,' screamed Uncle Vernon.
Harry cursed his bad luck. All of this security equipment must have been set up while he had been in the woods with Block.
Harry thought desperately. His wand was in his pockets so that was no use. He dare not run for it because he might get his head blown off by his Uncle and he couldn't tell Uncle that it was him because he still needed to get Block to the hill. Time was running out and he had no idea what to do.
Then there was a loud clang from the woods. This was followed by a rush of wind as if a large solid object was hurtling at speed through the night sky. Finally something large and metallic arced gracefully over Harry's head and then there was an enormous crash. The cage still containing Uncle Vernon's wheelybin had returned. It had landed square in the middle of Uncle Vernon's roof a few feet above his head and this had sent an avalanche of tiles and rubbish raining down to where Uncle Vernon was leaning out of the bedroom window just below. The shotgun went off again and blew a hole in the grass at Harry's feet. The noise of the alarms was now joined by the noise of police cars that were heading towards Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon was also screaming and there were now other screams from inside the house. Dudley and Aunt Petunia had also woken and were clearly a bit alarmed at the cacophony of noise. Lights were now coming on in other houses, more windows were opening and more people were shouting.
Harry stood in a state of shock. He was going to have so much explaining to do. He'd have a tough enough time explaining what he was doing in the garden at three in the morning and as for how the cage had ended up on his Uncle's roof....... This was not good! Not good at all.
A familiar voice shouted from the woods, 'Harry Potter come on. Block to the rescue!'
Harry turned and saw Block waving frantically from over the hedge. Harry ran before his Uncle could reload. He leapt over the hedge and joined Block in the woods.
'Come on Block follow me,' said Harry.
They started running through the woods as police cars arrived at Privet Drive.
'That was a great bit of crackit,' said Harry as they ran.
'Thanks,' said Block, 'where to?'
As they ran Harry explained that Block was being collected by a friend of Dumbledore's and that he'd be perfectly safe. He also explained that he wouldn't be able to go with Block.
'I'll miss you Harry Potter,' said Block as more voices started were raised from behind them. The police were now chasing through the woods and there was barking - they had dogs with them.
Harry was becoming increasingly concerned that they might not reach the hill in time but they continued running as fast as they could. Harry found that Block was surprisingly quick and he was having trouble keeping up with the young troll. A couple of times he fell and Block stopped to help him get up. At last they burst out of the woods at the base of the hill.
There was no sign of anyone at the top of the hill and Harry had no choice but to trust Dumbledore and hope that somebody turned up to collect Block. The time was almost half past three.
Harry and Block raced up the hill. Block was bounding up the hill in great leaps while Harry had to scurry over or through the ferns and bracken as best he could. Harry was exhausted when they reached the top and he looked back anxiously towards the woods.
The torch beams of the police could be seen among the trees and more seriously, racing ahead of the police, two large police dogs emerged from the trees clearly visible in the moonlight and came charging up the hill towards Harry and Block.
'Look, nice doggies!' exclaimed Block.
'I don't think so Block - they don't look at all friendly to me. I'm afraid we may have to protect ourselves,' said Harry taking his wand out of his pocket.
Block appeared to understand 'nasty doggies?' he asked Harry enquiringly.
'Yes Block - but just try to stun them. They're just doing their job.'
Block planted his feet and pulled his club back up past his right shoulder.
The dogs could be heard half growling/half barking as they made their way up the hill. Block stepped in front of Harry still brandishing his club. The dogs would be on them in a few moments.
Suddenly careering down from out of the sky a dark square shaped vehicle appeared. It dived steeply down towards them and at the last moment one of its headlights came on as it levelled and landed on four wheels. It bounced a couple of times and came to a halt next to them. Harry's jaw dropped. It was an old-fashioned delivery van and on its side was a picture of a women wearing a dress and an apron holding a newly baked loaf of bread. The woman was saying 'mmmmmmagic!' and looked very pleased with herself.
'Evening Harry,' said a familiar voice through an open window from the driver's seat.
'Hagrid!' exclaimed Harry.
The dogs were now very close. Block raised his club. Hagrid, who was crammed behind the steering wheel, reached across from his driver's seat and slid back the passenger side door.
Harry grabbed Block by the arm 'Come on, quickly,' he shouted.
Block turned and followed Harry to the van.
Harry had no choice but to escape with Hagrid and Block now; he had intended to stay but this was most definitely out of the question. Instead he jumped into the van beside Hagrid and Block followed. Harry was squashed between Hagrid and Block and the gear stick was between his legs. Hagrid grabbed hold of the gear stick and tried to ram it into the 'first' position. There was a screeching of cogs and gears as Hagrid desperately attempted to get the van into gear.
The dogs had appeared at the brow of the hill and Block was bouncing up and down in his seat. He was clearly getting overexcited and his head was clanging against the roof. With Block's bouncing the whole van was beginning to bounce and Harry was getting more and more squashed between Hagrid and Block.
'Come on, com'on, c'mon, c'monnnnn' shouted Hagrid. The gear stick was still grinding horribly.
'Hagrid - lets go!' shouted Harry.
'Eeeeaaaah!' shouted Block.
The dogs pounced up towards the van.
The gear lever finally clunked into place. Hagrid gunned the engine and with incredible acceleration the van shot forwards and upwards into the night. Hagrid drove the van at top speed changing up through the gears as he went and in a moment was speeding away from the hill.
'Eeeeoooo!' cried Block. His eyes were bulging very wide although fortunately he had stopped bouncing.
They were now high above the hill. Hagrid banked the van hard to the right using his indicator as he did so and raced off towards the west where there were clouds rolling towards them. He was aiming to get into the cloud cover to avoid being seen as the police emerged from the woods with their torches.
'Do you think you could shut the door?' said Hagrid, and Block after further squashing Harry managed to bring the door forwards and shut. The wind in the cab died away and things were suddenly quiet.
'Are you going to just sit there or are you going to introduce us?' said Hagrid.
Buried between Hagrid and Block, Harry managed to lift one arm up so that both Block and Hagrid could see his hand. First he pointed at Hagrid, 'Block, this is Hagrid,' then he twisted his hand and pointed at Block 'Hagrid, this is Block.' Hagrid and Block nodded to each other and both said 'pleased to meet you.'
The two dogs sat at the top of the hill gazing skywards with their heads tilted to one side as if they were trying to comprehend what had happened.
A few moments later a group of policemen arrived puffing and resting their hands on their knees. They stood beside the dogs gazing across the town. There was no sign of movement but somewhere a van could be heard speeding away. The police looked long and hard into the darkness at the roads leading away from the hill.
Of course, they didn't spot the van but if they had looked a little higher following the gaze of the dogs they may have seen something interesting.
Block awoke in his usual position in the clearing by the cage. He first sensed rather than heard Harry approaching as minute vibrations through the soil. When Harry arrived Block uncurled from his sleeping position and sat up, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He then stretched and in doing so his skin took on more of a lifelike appearance compared to the rock-like form that it had when he was asleep.
'Hello there,' said Harry. 'I've brought you some more food although I couldn't bring much because my cousin Dudley was having a tantrum. He says some of his cakes had gone missing.'
Harry handed over a paper bag. Block sniffed at the bag once, tilted his head backwards and swallowed the lot.
'I suppose we should introduce ourselves properly,' said Harry. Block nodded and they settled themselves in the clearing.
Harry proceeded to tell Block all about Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft and how he was a wizard and how he had met a troll in his first year at Hogwarts and so on. Block listened intently and chose not to mention that the troll that had clubbed various parts of Hogwarts to dust was his uncle. The bit about Harry being a wizard answered Block's question about why there was a strange sensation when he was around. Trolls were very sensitive to some things and it appeared that Block's senses could pick up if there was someone with magical powers nearby. It also confirmed that the dragon rider possessed similar magical powers.
When Block's turn came he told Harry all about his home in the mountains, the local green dragons and the dreadful story of the arrival of the strange hooded figure and the monstrous fierce red dragons.
'The hooded one sounds like he may be a wizard,' said Harry, 'and he must be a pretty powerful one if he can control dragons.'
This all sounded serious to Harry. If it involved dark wizards then Dumbledore needed to know.
Block of course was keen to get home and Harry explained that from Block's description of the local green dragons it sounded like he came from what humans would call the Welsh Mountains. This was all very well but actually getting Block home would be tricky to say the least. Harry had only just finished his first year at Hogwarts and third person apparating was way too advanced for him and in any case there was no guarantee that it would work on a troll.
Block was also desperately worried about what had happened to his family and the rest of the clan.
'Can Harry Potter help Block to find his family?' asked Block.
'I'll do everything that I can Block,' said Harry. 'First, I need to send a letter to a friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore. He'll know what to do for the best. In the meantime you had better stay put here and try to keep a low profile. I'll bring you food and come and visit as much as possible but it may take a couple of days to get word to Dumbledore and wait for his reply.'
'Thank you Harry,' said Block.
That night Harry sent Hedwig off with a letter for Dumbledore explaining everything. Hedwig didn't return until two nights later so while Harry was waiting he spent as much time as possible with Block in the clearing in the woods.
On the second day as Harry left the house Uncle Vernon was busy in the back garden. Harry assumed that his uncle was preparing for a stronger cage. There were noises of drilling and hammering and Uncle Vernon humming to himself. Harry made a point of avoiding his uncle (partly because he was carrying another bag of Dudley's food) and he took a long detour avoiding the back garden to get to the woods.
Block soon woke up when Harry arrived. Harry looked on in wonder as Block who at first seemed so still and solid suddenly was transformed from his rocky repose becoming a moving living troll.
Both Harry and Block had many questions for each other and they talked freely for many hours that day. Block could sense if anything or anyone was approaching the clearing and nothing larger than a rabbit did. Apart from the distant noise coming from Uncle Vernon's garden there were only the tranquil sounds of birds and insects in the woods.
Block explained more about life as a mountain troll. He told Harry all about the games that the trolls played including his favourite called crackit.
Crackit involved two teams of four trolls and a large flat area. The game was played using; wooden clubs that were about as long as Harry was tall; sling shots made of rope and leather; and, a large supply of rocks. There was also a large replica of a bull made of wood and straw.
In each team of four there were two batters and two hurlers. The pitch comprised a large circle drawn on the ground and the hurlers stayed outside the line while the batters stayed inside the line.
The batters on each team were armed with clubs and their objective was simply to hit rocks hurled at them towards the bull and to avoid getting knocked unconscious in the process. The team that fired the shot that knocked the head off the wooden bull was the winner (in the origins of the game a real live bull had been used but trolls had, through the years, abandoned the practice of tethering a live animal and killing it with large rocks. To most modern, right thinking, trolls that king of behaviour was now considered barbaric).
The hurlers were armed with huge slingshots and their job was to hit the batters on the opposing team with rocks that were about the size of Harry's head. A hit on the head of a batter would eliminate that player from the game. Usually of course, a batter would be unconscious at this point anyway. The normal tactic of the hurlers was therefore to aim for the opposing batters' heads and this was, much to Harry's surprise, for safety reasons. The toughest part of a troll is his head. The skull was several inches thick hence almost impossible to damage seriously. Often the rocks fired at a batter would burst into a shower of tiny pieces if a good solid head shot was achieved. This would bring a roar of applause from the crowd and much honour for a batter who was able to actually walk out of the ring.
The batters meanwhile would use their clubs to fend off the missiles hurled towards them. Whenever they got the chance they would bat the rocks in the direction of the bull looking to knock its head off and thereby win the game (such a shot was termed a 'bull-buster').
At the start of each game things tended to be evenly matched as two pairs of batters would defend themselves as a team against the opposing two hurlers. Sooner or later though there was likely to be a hit against one of the batters and then things got exciting. Now the balance of power was tipped very much in the favour of the hurlers as the remaining batter had to try to keep track of two hurlers at once. One batter left seldom lasted long against two hurlers. But, while the lone batter lasted, that troll did have twice the opportunity to blast rocks towards the bull and sometimes from the jaws of defeat an unlikely victory was won.
It was possible for hurlers to get knocked out of the game as the batters sometimes managed to hit one of the hurlers with a returned rock. This was relatively rare and it was major news in the troll world if a batting team actually managed to knock out an opponent's hurling team. This was however considered unsporting and generally frowned upon by the followers of the sport after all if there were no hurlers left then the batters had no chance of hitting a bull-buster. Sometimes a lone batter would first try to even things up by knocking out one of the hurlers. This all meant that crackit was fast, furious and very unpredictable. To make matters worse there were often feuds to be settled. Games of crackit frequently fell into unsavoury madness.
Block spoke with some passion about his favourite sport and Harry could certainly relate to this as he felt similarly passionate about his sport of quiditch which was played on broomsticks and in many respects was almost as brutal.
Block explained that his clan consisted of several hundred trolls split into eight families. Each family would have a crackit team and his big brother, Boulder, was in his family's team. Block had spent a lot of time helping his brother practice and this involved both hurling rocks at his brother and also giving his brother a target for hurling practice and this gave Block a chance to master the art of batting. Block had spent many hours with his brother practicing crackit and, although he said so himself, he was a promising prospect for the family team. Of course practicing was very different from actually playing especially when some of the tougher nastier trolls such as Cragheart were playing against you.
Harry then explained all about quiditch and the two boys spent a very happy afternoon swapping stories. Block demonstrated some of the swing techniques with his club and proudly recounted how he had knocked Uncle Vernon's wheelybin cage into the woods with a double-handed upper cut. As it was daytime they didn't dare practice with rocks as these were bound to attract attention, as large flying rocks in a built up areas tend to do.
That evening Hedwig finally returned with a letter attached to its leg. Harry opened the letter and read the content;
Dear Harry
Thank you for your letter.
I am of course most concerned to hear about the plight of poor Block and his clan and I am intrigued to know the reason for the kidnapping of a whole troll village. The signs are ominous. There is only one person that I know of who has dominion over dragons although he has not been seen for many years. He was expelled from Hogwarts about 20 years ago.
He used a very unusual form of magic and he was a most powerful wielder of dragon magic. His name is Harbaxen and he is one of the most knowledgeable people ever on the subject of dragons.
The type of dragon you described in your letter is most probably a Russian Inferno. They are among the wildest and most cruel of all dragons and they are so called because the heat of their fire is said to be hot enough to melt anything that stands before them.
I believe that Harbaxen was experimenting before he disappeared in the combination of dragon flame and dark spells to create very powerful magic. This may explain how he managed to move the trolls from their village for a most incredibly powerful spell would be required to move that many trolls.
Regarding Block I do have some bad news for you Harry. As soon as I got your letter I went to the Ministry of Magic. They do not share my soft spot for trolls.
(I was in fact very careful to return the troll that entered into Hogwarts last year back to his home in the welsh mountains and you rightly guess that Block is likely to come from the same clan. He may actually know the troll that visited Hogwarts. By the way has your wand stopped smelling yet?)
I digress. The ministry unfortunately do not share our concern for the plight of these trolls and further to this they reminded me of laws forbidding wizards to become involved with what are considered to be wilder elements such as trolls, giants and dragons (unless they are granted a license by the Ministry) for fear of starting trouble. I fear that there are forces within the ministry that would prefer it if I was not involved. Furthermore all of the senior ministers from the ministry will be visiting Hogwarts during the summer holiday for their annual conference (you didn't think the staff at Hogwarts spent the whole summer sunbathing did you?) My presence will be required here to make arrangements and to play host to my distinguished guests. In fact, I will be travelling down to London and back on the Hogwarts Express to collect them - a trip that I am rather looking forward to!
In the matter of the trolls I have been ordered to take no further action. I will however try to exert some influence when the delegates arrive one week from today.
This is all most regrettable because it means that for now there is nothing that I am allowed to do. However, there is a subtle difference between being 'not allowed' and 'not able'. Just because I am not allowed, doesn't mean that I can't do anything. It's all a matter of interpretation so I have abdicated the tasks in hand shall we say, between you and me and the gatepost, in a manner that hopefully will help. I'm afraid I will have to ask your assistance as I have made an arrangement for someone to collect Block later tonight from the hill at the far side of the woods from your Uncle's house. I'm sure you'll be familiar with the hill. My removal expert will arrive at half past three in the morning. Please get Block to the hill on time and that will be the end of your involvement in this matter.
Thank you again for your help. I am pleased to note that you are enlightened enough not to be swayed by the general view that trolls are a barbaric race. They are in fact on the whole a very true and good race although they sometimes tend to become a little wild if trapped or confused. They are best left alone where they will do no harm.
Please write to me when Block has been safely dispatched. See you next term. In the meantime please be good and stay out of trouble if at all possible.
Yours truly,
Albus Dumbledore
Harry read the letter twice and was worried. It was not promising that Dumbledore was going behind that backs of the Ministry of Magic. The punishment for doing so could be very severe. The reaction of the ministry was also very strange. They appeared to be ignoring what was obviously a very serious problem just because the ones to suffer were trolls rather than humans.
It was good that someone was going to collect Block but Harry was going to miss him. Dumbledore did not say where Block was going or indeed what was going to be done about Block's missing clan. Nevertheless it was clear that Harry would have to follow Dumbledore's instructions.
Harry went to bed as normal that evening but he kept himself awake until three in the morning. He then prepared to take Block to the hill to be collected. He put on dark clothes and out of habit took his wand with him.
He crept down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible and stole out through the back door into the garden. He was halfway across the back garden towards the woods when suddenly there was an explosion of noise and lights.
Sirens started squealing and spotlights sprung to life all around the garden. Harry after a moment of bewilderment ran for the back of the garden. Suddenly there was a loud kerboom and a rattling through the bushes next to him. He turned in shock and looked back up at the house. Uncle Vernon was at the open bedroom window with his shotgun.
'I've caught you! That one was a warning you bin thief and vandal. The police are on their way so stay where you are.'
The shotgun was pointing directly at Harry. Harry noticed that some of the spotlights were shining directly at Uncle Vernon who was squinting to see clearly. Harry didn't dare to move for fear of getting shot but at least Uncle Vernon couldn't see clearly enough to recognize him.
There was a crazed look on Uncle Vernon's face.
'So, you thought you were too clever for me did you? Well how do you like my new burglar alarm? I finished fitting it only today! Now, keep your hands up where I can see them,' screamed Uncle Vernon.
Harry cursed his bad luck. All of this security equipment must have been set up while he had been in the woods with Block.
Harry thought desperately. His wand was in his pockets so that was no use. He dare not run for it because he might get his head blown off by his Uncle and he couldn't tell Uncle that it was him because he still needed to get Block to the hill. Time was running out and he had no idea what to do.
Then there was a loud clang from the woods. This was followed by a rush of wind as if a large solid object was hurtling at speed through the night sky. Finally something large and metallic arced gracefully over Harry's head and then there was an enormous crash. The cage still containing Uncle Vernon's wheelybin had returned. It had landed square in the middle of Uncle Vernon's roof a few feet above his head and this had sent an avalanche of tiles and rubbish raining down to where Uncle Vernon was leaning out of the bedroom window just below. The shotgun went off again and blew a hole in the grass at Harry's feet. The noise of the alarms was now joined by the noise of police cars that were heading towards Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon was also screaming and there were now other screams from inside the house. Dudley and Aunt Petunia had also woken and were clearly a bit alarmed at the cacophony of noise. Lights were now coming on in other houses, more windows were opening and more people were shouting.
Harry stood in a state of shock. He was going to have so much explaining to do. He'd have a tough enough time explaining what he was doing in the garden at three in the morning and as for how the cage had ended up on his Uncle's roof....... This was not good! Not good at all.
A familiar voice shouted from the woods, 'Harry Potter come on. Block to the rescue!'
Harry turned and saw Block waving frantically from over the hedge. Harry ran before his Uncle could reload. He leapt over the hedge and joined Block in the woods.
'Come on Block follow me,' said Harry.
They started running through the woods as police cars arrived at Privet Drive.
'That was a great bit of crackit,' said Harry as they ran.
'Thanks,' said Block, 'where to?'
As they ran Harry explained that Block was being collected by a friend of Dumbledore's and that he'd be perfectly safe. He also explained that he wouldn't be able to go with Block.
'I'll miss you Harry Potter,' said Block as more voices started were raised from behind them. The police were now chasing through the woods and there was barking - they had dogs with them.
Harry was becoming increasingly concerned that they might not reach the hill in time but they continued running as fast as they could. Harry found that Block was surprisingly quick and he was having trouble keeping up with the young troll. A couple of times he fell and Block stopped to help him get up. At last they burst out of the woods at the base of the hill.
There was no sign of anyone at the top of the hill and Harry had no choice but to trust Dumbledore and hope that somebody turned up to collect Block. The time was almost half past three.
Harry and Block raced up the hill. Block was bounding up the hill in great leaps while Harry had to scurry over or through the ferns and bracken as best he could. Harry was exhausted when they reached the top and he looked back anxiously towards the woods.
The torch beams of the police could be seen among the trees and more seriously, racing ahead of the police, two large police dogs emerged from the trees clearly visible in the moonlight and came charging up the hill towards Harry and Block.
'Look, nice doggies!' exclaimed Block.
'I don't think so Block - they don't look at all friendly to me. I'm afraid we may have to protect ourselves,' said Harry taking his wand out of his pocket.
Block appeared to understand 'nasty doggies?' he asked Harry enquiringly.
'Yes Block - but just try to stun them. They're just doing their job.'
Block planted his feet and pulled his club back up past his right shoulder.
The dogs could be heard half growling/half barking as they made their way up the hill. Block stepped in front of Harry still brandishing his club. The dogs would be on them in a few moments.
Suddenly careering down from out of the sky a dark square shaped vehicle appeared. It dived steeply down towards them and at the last moment one of its headlights came on as it levelled and landed on four wheels. It bounced a couple of times and came to a halt next to them. Harry's jaw dropped. It was an old-fashioned delivery van and on its side was a picture of a women wearing a dress and an apron holding a newly baked loaf of bread. The woman was saying 'mmmmmmagic!' and looked very pleased with herself.
'Evening Harry,' said a familiar voice through an open window from the driver's seat.
'Hagrid!' exclaimed Harry.
The dogs were now very close. Block raised his club. Hagrid, who was crammed behind the steering wheel, reached across from his driver's seat and slid back the passenger side door.
Harry grabbed Block by the arm 'Come on, quickly,' he shouted.
Block turned and followed Harry to the van.
Harry had no choice but to escape with Hagrid and Block now; he had intended to stay but this was most definitely out of the question. Instead he jumped into the van beside Hagrid and Block followed. Harry was squashed between Hagrid and Block and the gear stick was between his legs. Hagrid grabbed hold of the gear stick and tried to ram it into the 'first' position. There was a screeching of cogs and gears as Hagrid desperately attempted to get the van into gear.
The dogs had appeared at the brow of the hill and Block was bouncing up and down in his seat. He was clearly getting overexcited and his head was clanging against the roof. With Block's bouncing the whole van was beginning to bounce and Harry was getting more and more squashed between Hagrid and Block.
'Come on, com'on, c'mon, c'monnnnn' shouted Hagrid. The gear stick was still grinding horribly.
'Hagrid - lets go!' shouted Harry.
'Eeeeaaaah!' shouted Block.
The dogs pounced up towards the van.
The gear lever finally clunked into place. Hagrid gunned the engine and with incredible acceleration the van shot forwards and upwards into the night. Hagrid drove the van at top speed changing up through the gears as he went and in a moment was speeding away from the hill.
'Eeeeoooo!' cried Block. His eyes were bulging very wide although fortunately he had stopped bouncing.
They were now high above the hill. Hagrid banked the van hard to the right using his indicator as he did so and raced off towards the west where there were clouds rolling towards them. He was aiming to get into the cloud cover to avoid being seen as the police emerged from the woods with their torches.
'Do you think you could shut the door?' said Hagrid, and Block after further squashing Harry managed to bring the door forwards and shut. The wind in the cab died away and things were suddenly quiet.
'Are you going to just sit there or are you going to introduce us?' said Hagrid.
Buried between Hagrid and Block, Harry managed to lift one arm up so that both Block and Hagrid could see his hand. First he pointed at Hagrid, 'Block, this is Hagrid,' then he twisted his hand and pointed at Block 'Hagrid, this is Block.' Hagrid and Block nodded to each other and both said 'pleased to meet you.'
The two dogs sat at the top of the hill gazing skywards with their heads tilted to one side as if they were trying to comprehend what had happened.
A few moments later a group of policemen arrived puffing and resting their hands on their knees. They stood beside the dogs gazing across the town. There was no sign of movement but somewhere a van could be heard speeding away. The police looked long and hard into the darkness at the roads leading away from the hill.
Of course, they didn't spot the van but if they had looked a little higher following the gaze of the dogs they may have seen something interesting.