Chapter 13 - Dissolution
Harry lay in his bed. He turned over and allowed himself to drift in and out of sleep. It was warm and extremely comfortable and he snoozed peacefully. He soon realized he was hungry although he was barely half. His stomach was telling him that it was time for breakfast. He could also tell even without opening his eyes that it was light. Harry slowly opened his eyes.
He was in his room at No.4 Privet Drive. Hedwig was in its cage by the window and sunlight was illuminating the curtains that were closed. The room was bathed in a yellow half-light. Harry rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He must have been in a very deep sleep for he could recall that he had dreamed a complicated and fantastic story of trolls, caves, dwarves, dragons and even an evil wizard.
Whoa! Thought Harry; that was some dream! Harry rolled out of bed, he was wearing his pajamas and he put on his slippers. It was time for breakfast so he headed down the stairs towards the kitchen.
Halfway down the stairs he stopped. His jaw fell open - coming up the stairs was Madam Pomfrey the Hogwarts school nurse.
'Oh good! You're awake,' said Madam Pomfrey cheerily.
This wasn't right. Uncle Vernon would not be pleased. Harry continued downstairs and walked cautiously up the hallway to the kitchen. Here were more wizards. Out in the garden wizards were busy casting a spell on a large steel cage embedded in the roof. With a pop, the cage disappeared. Another wizard was floating new roof tiles into place to repair the hole left by the cage.
Harry went weak at the knees. He now remembered - the cage and the roof had both been part of his dream. Memories came flooding back and he felt a huge knot in the pit of his stomach.
'Harry you'd better come back inside. I think we should talk,' said Dumbledore standing at the back door of the house.
'Everything is under control Harry so do not worry. In fact, everything has worked out quite splendidly. Please come with me,' said Dumbledore who waved Harry back into the kitchen.
'After your heroic action at the train two days ago you were brought here. You will be pleased to hear that although you were a little shaken you were not badly hurt.'
Harry detected the smallest trace of humour in Dumbledore's voice.
'Madam Pomfrey has worked very hard to tend your wounds and she has told me that you are now fully mended.'
Harry wondered exactly what injuries he had suffered when the dragon had exploded but he decided that he didn't want to know - not just yet anyway. He flexed his arms and legs and found that there was no sign of soreness from his adventures. The grazes and bruises also appeared to have gone.
They went into the living room and there was Hagrid crammed into one of the armchairs drinking a cup of tea.
Hagrid beamed up at Harry and said, 'morning Harry.'
Also present were a young mountain troll and a dwarf with wild hair.
'Block! Murdo!' cried Harry in joy and amazement. Block and Murdo both came forward and gave Harry a great hug.
'If you would all like to make yourselves comfortable,' said Dumbledore 'it is time that you all told me the whole story from start to finish. Please leave nothing out. We are in no hurry.'
There was a polite knock at the door and Cornelious Fudge the Minister of Magic entered. He closed the door behind him and looked across at Dumbledore.
'Ah, Cornelious,' said Dumbledore cheerily 'so good of you to come - we were just about to start.'
So Block, Harry, Murdo and Hagrid recounted the whole story. Dumbledore and the minister listened patiently, occasionally requesting amplification on certain points but on the whole they just sat back and let the two boys (one human and one mountain troll), the half-giant and the dwarf tell their story. This took a couple of hours although Harry got the impression that Dumbledore knew, or at least had guessed, most of the story as he repeatedly smiled and nodded in an I thought so manner.
Cornelious Fudge looked decidedly uncomfortable throughout and Harry recalled that all of their actions had been against the instructions of the Ministry of Magic.
Once they had finished Dumbledore said, 'thank you gentlemen. It would appear that we all owe you a great debt of thanks - especially the Ministry of Magic, which would surely have been destroyed along with me but for your courage and resourcefulness. Now, do any of you have any questions?'
Harry had so many questions in his mind that he didn't know where to start.
Dumbledore smiled and said, 'actually I think that I can guess most of the points that may be of interest so I'll run through them as best I can and we'll see where we are then. Firstly, Harbaxen is no more. When you, Harry, fired the lightening at him and his dragon it combined with the flame from the Inferno caused a mighty explosion. Harbaxen's practice of harnessing such wild forces as dragon flame backfired on him in spectacular fashion. There was nothing left of him or the Dragon.'
Harry felt a surge of relief at this news.
'Cheats never prosper eh?' Dumbledore chuckled to himself.
'That's just what I told Harbaxen myself!' said Hagrid proudly.
Dumbledore continued, 'it is hoped that we will see no more of the Gorsedd for they were once a powerful and evil adversary of magic and non-magic folk alike. Cragheart is also gone. He had regained consciousness on the back of the train and in the confusion, he tried to escape. Unfortunately for him, he was hit by the lightening blast resulting from the demise of Harbaxen and the dragon. The rest of the clan are back in their home in the Welsh mountains....all that is except Boulder. His initial betrayal of his clan has in part been made up for by his heroics in leading the attack by the trolls on the dragons in the cavern. I am pleased to say that the rest of the clan have just about forgiven him and have told him that he can return. However Boulder cannot face returning yet as his sense of guilt and remorse is too strong. Instead, he will stay among the caves and hills of Sca Fell Pike. His task there will be to dispose of the barrels that have now been returned. This time they will be buried much deeper and in such a way that it would be practically impossible to remove them but this task will take several years to complete. By that time, I believe he will be ready to return to his clan. He will not be alone...'
At this point Mad Murdo stood up, let out a hearty 'Ha!' and sat back down again.
'Yes...Murdo will be there as well to help him in his task and for that I thank you Murdo,' Dumbledore paused and looked around the room - are there any other questions?
Harry cleared his throat a little nervously and asked, 'what about my Uncle and his roof and the Ministry?'
Dumbledore chuckled, cast a sideways look towards Cornelious and said, 'fear not Harry. The ministry has been very busy putting everything back to how it should be around here and a few memory altering charms will ensure that your dear relatives and the rest of the residents of Privet Drive remember none of the more unusual events of the past ten days. As for the Ministry itself well..' Dumbledore turned to Cornelious Fudge who squirmed uncomfortably.
The minister said, 'it would appear that your actions although not strictly in accordance with procedures were in the best interests of all concerned Ministry departments and other parties. It has therefore been decided that there are no grounds for further action at this time so the matter will be closed.'
Harry breathed a deep sigh of relief. Dumbledore however peered over his glasses at the minister and raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Mr Fudge stammered a little and looked very ill at ease as he added, 'and furthermore I would like on behalf of the Ministry to extend our deepest gratitude for your....err..valuable assistance in the resolution of recent matters.'
Dumbledore nodded and gave Harry, Block and Murdo a gentle round of applause. Cornelious joined in and Dumbledore turned to Harry and gave him a sly wink from one of his twinkling eyes. He was clearly enjoying himself immensely.
So, thought Harry, there was nothing to worry about.
Dumbledore then started to say, 'so without further ado it is time everyone went back to their respective homes.'
One last question popped into Harry's head, 'Professor, the dream I had about the battle with the Gorsedd at Stonehenge. Were those real events?'
Dumbledore replied, 'I think so, yes, Harry. That was a dark chapter from our distant past which we never thought would resurface.'
Harry continued, 'I think I forgot to mention, in my dream I heard one of the wizards cast the spell that caused the end of the battle.'
Before he could continue, Dumbledore and Cornelious Fudge exchanged alarmed glances.
Dumbledore said, 'Harry, this is very important and please just give me a yes or no answer; do you remember the spell?'
Harry thought for a moment and answered, 'yes.'
Dumbledore looked grave, 'that is a pity Harry. That spell was obliterated from all records and erased from the memories of all wizards and witches at that time. You see, it was too dangerous to have such a weapon of mass destruction - even as deterrent. The dream that you had was not an ordinary dream - it was an echo from the past caused by your close proximity to the ashes of all those who perished under that terrible spell. The fact that you now know the spell is very bad news. I am sure that if you gave your word, you could be trusted to keep the events of the past ten days a complete secret. However, one of the oldest wizarding laws dating back to the time of the Gorsedd wars is that any person who knows the forbidden spell of destruction must have all knowledge not only of the spell but of anything relating to its existence erased from their memory. I'm afraid that means Harry that you and for that matter Hagrid must have the memory of these events erased. I'm sorry Hagrid but I'm afraid that I cannot even take a chance that you might say anything that would remind Harry of the events of the past few days.'
Hagrid looked at his feet nodded.
Harry considered this and asked, 'does that mean that I won't remember any of what has happened. including Block and Murdo?'
Dumbledore replied, 'that is correct Harry - I am very sorry. You will forget all about these two friends and all about your recent adventures. There is no point in delaying so I suggest you say your good-byes now.'
Harry looked at his two great friends Block and Murdo. A dreadful sadness came over him. After all of their adventures together he felt such a strong bond of friendship that he couldn't bare the thought that he wouldn't remember the first thing about them.
First he went over to Murdo and said, 'thanks Murdo for looking after me. What will you do now?'
Murdo squared his feet, placed his hands on his hip, puffed out his chest and announced, 'there are a couple of plans that Campbell and I started - they need finishing. My appetite for such things has returned now as strong as ever. For that, I thank you Harry Potter. I cannot spend my whole life dwelling on the past.'
Harry laughed though at the same time as tears fell over his cheeks. He managed to joke, 'it doesn't seem like I'll be dwelling on this bit of the past - it has been wonderful knowing you Murdo. Look after Boulder and make sure he does go back to his clan one day.'
Murdo replied, 'I will,' and he gave Harry a hug - his great arms crushing Harry's midriff.
Harry turned to Block who also looked terribly sad.
Block said, 'will Harry not come to visit?'
Harry wiped his eyes, sniffed and held back a sob, 'no Block, I won't be coming to visit.'
Both Dumbledore and Fudge stared at their feet uncomfortably.
Harry continued, 'but remember this always, I am your true friend and it has been a great great pleasure knowing you.'
Block looked down at Harry sadly. It was easy to forget considering his size that he was but a boy like Harry and tears were rolling down Block's cheeks. Block plucked one of the embroidered covers from the Dursley's living room sofa and blew his great nose leaving it covered in slime. He replaced the cloth carefully on the sofa and it stuck fast. Harry thought for a moment of how Aunt Petunia would react if she could see the state of her sofa. The ministry wizards would no doubt fix it before they left.
Dumbledore gave a polite 'ahem..' and Harry and Block looked terribly sad. Hagrid was also trying unsuccessfully to hold back the tears. He fished a large handkerchief from his pocket and also blew his nose noisily.
A ministry wizard knocked and opened the door. He said to Block and Murdo 'your transport is ready if you'd like to come this way Sirs.'
Block and Murdo both went over to Hagrid and there were hugs all round. Block and Harry gave each other one last look. They smiled at each other for a moment and Block turned and left. Murdo bowed, waved and marched off through the door.
Harry called 'goodbye' and through the door he heard Block reply 'goodbye Harry Potter my friend.' Harry looked out of the window and saw Murdo and Block climbing into the back of an old furniture van. The lower half of the tail door was raised and the van sped off at an improbable speed.
Dumbledore was the first to speak, 'well Cornelious, it's time we headed back to Hogwarts for the rest of the conference.'
Cornelious Fudge replied, 'Yes, we'd better be off. Ermm. what about the business of the memory charm for Harry?'
Dumbledore replied, 'you can leave that to me.'
Cornelious Fudge agreed, 'very well, I'll head on. Hagrid are you coming? We can do your memory charm later.'
Hagrid stood up, 'yes I'm coming. Harry, I'll see you next term. Try to keep out of trouble now? Don't forget what I said now!' and with that he winked and turned to go.
'Goodbye Hagrid' said Harry understanding the joke, 'you do the same now OK?'
All of the other repair wizards had left having put just about everything back to normal so there was only Dumbledore and Harry left.
Harry suddenly realized something was missing, 'where's Uncle Vernon and the rest of them?' he asked.
Dumbledore replied, 'ah yes, your family. They're in their beds fast asleep. They will wake up soon so we'd better get you back into your bed as well Harry.'
Harry looked into Dumbledore's deep blue eyes and knew that he was right. Dumbledore held out his hand, which Harry took in his own. Dumbledore lead him from the room. With a deep sigh Harry headed upstairs to his bedroom. As he went the events of the past ten days flashed through his mind and he savoured the memories of friendships and adventures that under different circumstances he would never forget.
A short while later Harry was again in a deep sleep. When he awoke, he could not remember having dreamed at all. He lay in his bed and listened to familiar noises of his cousin Dudley thundering down the stairs, Uncle Vernon complaining that his newspaper hadn't been delivered.
Suddenly Aunt Petunia screamed, 'Harry Potter! Come down here at once!'
Harry, feeling refreshed reflected that he'd had a most restful night's sleep. He jumped out of bed and trotted down the stairs and into the living room where his aunt was stood holding one of her embroidered sofa covers from which great dollops of green gunk were dripping onto the carpet.
'What has happened to this?' she squealed, 'now don't tell me you don't know - this has the hallmarks of your type of trouble making all over it!'
'I don't know,' Harry replied truthfully although it occurred to him that the mess looked suspiciously like troll bogies.
But that was impossible, he thought, in a place like Privet Drive.
The end
Harry lay in his bed. He turned over and allowed himself to drift in and out of sleep. It was warm and extremely comfortable and he snoozed peacefully. He soon realized he was hungry although he was barely half. His stomach was telling him that it was time for breakfast. He could also tell even without opening his eyes that it was light. Harry slowly opened his eyes.
He was in his room at No.4 Privet Drive. Hedwig was in its cage by the window and sunlight was illuminating the curtains that were closed. The room was bathed in a yellow half-light. Harry rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He must have been in a very deep sleep for he could recall that he had dreamed a complicated and fantastic story of trolls, caves, dwarves, dragons and even an evil wizard.
Whoa! Thought Harry; that was some dream! Harry rolled out of bed, he was wearing his pajamas and he put on his slippers. It was time for breakfast so he headed down the stairs towards the kitchen.
Halfway down the stairs he stopped. His jaw fell open - coming up the stairs was Madam Pomfrey the Hogwarts school nurse.
'Oh good! You're awake,' said Madam Pomfrey cheerily.
This wasn't right. Uncle Vernon would not be pleased. Harry continued downstairs and walked cautiously up the hallway to the kitchen. Here were more wizards. Out in the garden wizards were busy casting a spell on a large steel cage embedded in the roof. With a pop, the cage disappeared. Another wizard was floating new roof tiles into place to repair the hole left by the cage.
Harry went weak at the knees. He now remembered - the cage and the roof had both been part of his dream. Memories came flooding back and he felt a huge knot in the pit of his stomach.
'Harry you'd better come back inside. I think we should talk,' said Dumbledore standing at the back door of the house.
'Everything is under control Harry so do not worry. In fact, everything has worked out quite splendidly. Please come with me,' said Dumbledore who waved Harry back into the kitchen.
'After your heroic action at the train two days ago you were brought here. You will be pleased to hear that although you were a little shaken you were not badly hurt.'
Harry detected the smallest trace of humour in Dumbledore's voice.
'Madam Pomfrey has worked very hard to tend your wounds and she has told me that you are now fully mended.'
Harry wondered exactly what injuries he had suffered when the dragon had exploded but he decided that he didn't want to know - not just yet anyway. He flexed his arms and legs and found that there was no sign of soreness from his adventures. The grazes and bruises also appeared to have gone.
They went into the living room and there was Hagrid crammed into one of the armchairs drinking a cup of tea.
Hagrid beamed up at Harry and said, 'morning Harry.'
Also present were a young mountain troll and a dwarf with wild hair.
'Block! Murdo!' cried Harry in joy and amazement. Block and Murdo both came forward and gave Harry a great hug.
'If you would all like to make yourselves comfortable,' said Dumbledore 'it is time that you all told me the whole story from start to finish. Please leave nothing out. We are in no hurry.'
There was a polite knock at the door and Cornelious Fudge the Minister of Magic entered. He closed the door behind him and looked across at Dumbledore.
'Ah, Cornelious,' said Dumbledore cheerily 'so good of you to come - we were just about to start.'
So Block, Harry, Murdo and Hagrid recounted the whole story. Dumbledore and the minister listened patiently, occasionally requesting amplification on certain points but on the whole they just sat back and let the two boys (one human and one mountain troll), the half-giant and the dwarf tell their story. This took a couple of hours although Harry got the impression that Dumbledore knew, or at least had guessed, most of the story as he repeatedly smiled and nodded in an I thought so manner.
Cornelious Fudge looked decidedly uncomfortable throughout and Harry recalled that all of their actions had been against the instructions of the Ministry of Magic.
Once they had finished Dumbledore said, 'thank you gentlemen. It would appear that we all owe you a great debt of thanks - especially the Ministry of Magic, which would surely have been destroyed along with me but for your courage and resourcefulness. Now, do any of you have any questions?'
Harry had so many questions in his mind that he didn't know where to start.
Dumbledore smiled and said, 'actually I think that I can guess most of the points that may be of interest so I'll run through them as best I can and we'll see where we are then. Firstly, Harbaxen is no more. When you, Harry, fired the lightening at him and his dragon it combined with the flame from the Inferno caused a mighty explosion. Harbaxen's practice of harnessing such wild forces as dragon flame backfired on him in spectacular fashion. There was nothing left of him or the Dragon.'
Harry felt a surge of relief at this news.
'Cheats never prosper eh?' Dumbledore chuckled to himself.
'That's just what I told Harbaxen myself!' said Hagrid proudly.
Dumbledore continued, 'it is hoped that we will see no more of the Gorsedd for they were once a powerful and evil adversary of magic and non-magic folk alike. Cragheart is also gone. He had regained consciousness on the back of the train and in the confusion, he tried to escape. Unfortunately for him, he was hit by the lightening blast resulting from the demise of Harbaxen and the dragon. The rest of the clan are back in their home in the Welsh mountains....all that is except Boulder. His initial betrayal of his clan has in part been made up for by his heroics in leading the attack by the trolls on the dragons in the cavern. I am pleased to say that the rest of the clan have just about forgiven him and have told him that he can return. However Boulder cannot face returning yet as his sense of guilt and remorse is too strong. Instead, he will stay among the caves and hills of Sca Fell Pike. His task there will be to dispose of the barrels that have now been returned. This time they will be buried much deeper and in such a way that it would be practically impossible to remove them but this task will take several years to complete. By that time, I believe he will be ready to return to his clan. He will not be alone...'
At this point Mad Murdo stood up, let out a hearty 'Ha!' and sat back down again.
'Yes...Murdo will be there as well to help him in his task and for that I thank you Murdo,' Dumbledore paused and looked around the room - are there any other questions?
Harry cleared his throat a little nervously and asked, 'what about my Uncle and his roof and the Ministry?'
Dumbledore chuckled, cast a sideways look towards Cornelious and said, 'fear not Harry. The ministry has been very busy putting everything back to how it should be around here and a few memory altering charms will ensure that your dear relatives and the rest of the residents of Privet Drive remember none of the more unusual events of the past ten days. As for the Ministry itself well..' Dumbledore turned to Cornelious Fudge who squirmed uncomfortably.
The minister said, 'it would appear that your actions although not strictly in accordance with procedures were in the best interests of all concerned Ministry departments and other parties. It has therefore been decided that there are no grounds for further action at this time so the matter will be closed.'
Harry breathed a deep sigh of relief. Dumbledore however peered over his glasses at the minister and raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Mr Fudge stammered a little and looked very ill at ease as he added, 'and furthermore I would like on behalf of the Ministry to extend our deepest gratitude for your....err..valuable assistance in the resolution of recent matters.'
Dumbledore nodded and gave Harry, Block and Murdo a gentle round of applause. Cornelious joined in and Dumbledore turned to Harry and gave him a sly wink from one of his twinkling eyes. He was clearly enjoying himself immensely.
So, thought Harry, there was nothing to worry about.
Dumbledore then started to say, 'so without further ado it is time everyone went back to their respective homes.'
One last question popped into Harry's head, 'Professor, the dream I had about the battle with the Gorsedd at Stonehenge. Were those real events?'
Dumbledore replied, 'I think so, yes, Harry. That was a dark chapter from our distant past which we never thought would resurface.'
Harry continued, 'I think I forgot to mention, in my dream I heard one of the wizards cast the spell that caused the end of the battle.'
Before he could continue, Dumbledore and Cornelious Fudge exchanged alarmed glances.
Dumbledore said, 'Harry, this is very important and please just give me a yes or no answer; do you remember the spell?'
Harry thought for a moment and answered, 'yes.'
Dumbledore looked grave, 'that is a pity Harry. That spell was obliterated from all records and erased from the memories of all wizards and witches at that time. You see, it was too dangerous to have such a weapon of mass destruction - even as deterrent. The dream that you had was not an ordinary dream - it was an echo from the past caused by your close proximity to the ashes of all those who perished under that terrible spell. The fact that you now know the spell is very bad news. I am sure that if you gave your word, you could be trusted to keep the events of the past ten days a complete secret. However, one of the oldest wizarding laws dating back to the time of the Gorsedd wars is that any person who knows the forbidden spell of destruction must have all knowledge not only of the spell but of anything relating to its existence erased from their memory. I'm afraid that means Harry that you and for that matter Hagrid must have the memory of these events erased. I'm sorry Hagrid but I'm afraid that I cannot even take a chance that you might say anything that would remind Harry of the events of the past few days.'
Hagrid looked at his feet nodded.
Harry considered this and asked, 'does that mean that I won't remember any of what has happened. including Block and Murdo?'
Dumbledore replied, 'that is correct Harry - I am very sorry. You will forget all about these two friends and all about your recent adventures. There is no point in delaying so I suggest you say your good-byes now.'
Harry looked at his two great friends Block and Murdo. A dreadful sadness came over him. After all of their adventures together he felt such a strong bond of friendship that he couldn't bare the thought that he wouldn't remember the first thing about them.
First he went over to Murdo and said, 'thanks Murdo for looking after me. What will you do now?'
Murdo squared his feet, placed his hands on his hip, puffed out his chest and announced, 'there are a couple of plans that Campbell and I started - they need finishing. My appetite for such things has returned now as strong as ever. For that, I thank you Harry Potter. I cannot spend my whole life dwelling on the past.'
Harry laughed though at the same time as tears fell over his cheeks. He managed to joke, 'it doesn't seem like I'll be dwelling on this bit of the past - it has been wonderful knowing you Murdo. Look after Boulder and make sure he does go back to his clan one day.'
Murdo replied, 'I will,' and he gave Harry a hug - his great arms crushing Harry's midriff.
Harry turned to Block who also looked terribly sad.
Block said, 'will Harry not come to visit?'
Harry wiped his eyes, sniffed and held back a sob, 'no Block, I won't be coming to visit.'
Both Dumbledore and Fudge stared at their feet uncomfortably.
Harry continued, 'but remember this always, I am your true friend and it has been a great great pleasure knowing you.'
Block looked down at Harry sadly. It was easy to forget considering his size that he was but a boy like Harry and tears were rolling down Block's cheeks. Block plucked one of the embroidered covers from the Dursley's living room sofa and blew his great nose leaving it covered in slime. He replaced the cloth carefully on the sofa and it stuck fast. Harry thought for a moment of how Aunt Petunia would react if she could see the state of her sofa. The ministry wizards would no doubt fix it before they left.
Dumbledore gave a polite 'ahem..' and Harry and Block looked terribly sad. Hagrid was also trying unsuccessfully to hold back the tears. He fished a large handkerchief from his pocket and also blew his nose noisily.
A ministry wizard knocked and opened the door. He said to Block and Murdo 'your transport is ready if you'd like to come this way Sirs.'
Block and Murdo both went over to Hagrid and there were hugs all round. Block and Harry gave each other one last look. They smiled at each other for a moment and Block turned and left. Murdo bowed, waved and marched off through the door.
Harry called 'goodbye' and through the door he heard Block reply 'goodbye Harry Potter my friend.' Harry looked out of the window and saw Murdo and Block climbing into the back of an old furniture van. The lower half of the tail door was raised and the van sped off at an improbable speed.
Dumbledore was the first to speak, 'well Cornelious, it's time we headed back to Hogwarts for the rest of the conference.'
Cornelious Fudge replied, 'Yes, we'd better be off. Ermm. what about the business of the memory charm for Harry?'
Dumbledore replied, 'you can leave that to me.'
Cornelious Fudge agreed, 'very well, I'll head on. Hagrid are you coming? We can do your memory charm later.'
Hagrid stood up, 'yes I'm coming. Harry, I'll see you next term. Try to keep out of trouble now? Don't forget what I said now!' and with that he winked and turned to go.
'Goodbye Hagrid' said Harry understanding the joke, 'you do the same now OK?'
All of the other repair wizards had left having put just about everything back to normal so there was only Dumbledore and Harry left.
Harry suddenly realized something was missing, 'where's Uncle Vernon and the rest of them?' he asked.
Dumbledore replied, 'ah yes, your family. They're in their beds fast asleep. They will wake up soon so we'd better get you back into your bed as well Harry.'
Harry looked into Dumbledore's deep blue eyes and knew that he was right. Dumbledore held out his hand, which Harry took in his own. Dumbledore lead him from the room. With a deep sigh Harry headed upstairs to his bedroom. As he went the events of the past ten days flashed through his mind and he savoured the memories of friendships and adventures that under different circumstances he would never forget.
A short while later Harry was again in a deep sleep. When he awoke, he could not remember having dreamed at all. He lay in his bed and listened to familiar noises of his cousin Dudley thundering down the stairs, Uncle Vernon complaining that his newspaper hadn't been delivered.
Suddenly Aunt Petunia screamed, 'Harry Potter! Come down here at once!'
Harry, feeling refreshed reflected that he'd had a most restful night's sleep. He jumped out of bed and trotted down the stairs and into the living room where his aunt was stood holding one of her embroidered sofa covers from which great dollops of green gunk were dripping onto the carpet.
'What has happened to this?' she squealed, 'now don't tell me you don't know - this has the hallmarks of your type of trouble making all over it!'
'I don't know,' Harry replied truthfully although it occurred to him that the mess looked suspiciously like troll bogies.
But that was impossible, he thought, in a place like Privet Drive.
The end