Chapter Four
The Missing Letter
For the next several days Harry did his best to avoid the Dursleys. He stayed up in his room, rarely coming down for meals, preferring to live instead on the leftover birthday cake sent to him by his friends. Uncle Vernon was still furious with him and Harry didn't want to anger him any further. But he had other reasons for wanting to be alone.
He had a lot to think about ever since his visit to Mrs. Figg's. Her behavior that day had been very peculiar, and Harry was almost certain that he had angered her. Of course he was sorry about it, but he also felt that she had unnecessarily overreacted.
He couldn't help wondering about the face he had seen in the window either. He had always thought that Mrs. Figg lived alone. Never before had he seen anyone else at her house, whether visiting or otherwise.
The blue statue in the dark room also intrigued him. He had never seen anything like it before, at least not in the Muggle world. Maybe it's magical, he thought.
But that didn't make sense once he thought about it. Why would Mrs. Figg have something magical in her house? Maybe if she was a witch...But Harry had strong reason to doubt that. There didn't seem to be the slightest bit of magic about her. She was a very practical woman. And besides, if Mrs. Figg really was a witch, then why didn't she just magically repair the window and door herself? She was more than old enough to use magic in the Muggle world. The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry wouldn't apply to her in the least.
But Harry had another worry, one that was completely unexpected. School started in less than two weeks and he had yet to receive his letter from Hogwarts.
Every year students received a brief letter of introduction that also included their list of school supplies about a month before term began. But Harry's letter hadn't come. This was greatly troubling to him because the start of school was always the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal and depressing summer.
Harry finally decided to write to Ron to see if he had gotten his letter. Two days later, he received Ron's reply.
Dear Harry,
You haven't gotten your letter yet? That's weird, I got mine ages ago. Mum took us to Diagon Alley yesterday to pick up our school stuff. Fred and George even bought me some new dress robes.
They've been working very hard up in their room lately, and I think Mum's just about given up on them. After all, it's their last year at Hogwarts, and I don't think she's too keen on them joining the Ministry anymore.
Dad's been really busy lately. Sometimes a few witches and wizards will drop by to talk to him privately but he never tells the rest of us anything.
I don't know what to tell you about your letter. Maybe you should write Dumbledore and let him know. I'm sure it was just some sort of mix-up. I'll see you September 1.
Ron
Harry put the letter down, not comforted at all. Ron had received his letter, yet he had not. What was going on?
He decided to write to Sirius. Sirius would know what to do. Harry pulled out a sheet of parchment and quill and began to write.
Dear Sirius,
I got your last letter and I've been watchful, but things have been pretty normal here on Privet Drive.
The thing is though, I haven't gotten my letter from Hogwarts for next year yet. Shouldn't I have gotten it by now? I mean, I'm not gonna have time to get my school stuff (not that the Dursleys would actually take me to go get it anyway). I was just wondering if maybe you knew what was going on. Hope to see you soon.
Harry
Harry folded the letter and attached it to Hedwig. She waited patiently until Harry had finished then took off into the starry night. Harry watched her go then took off his glasses and climbed into bed, but it was still awhile until he drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Harry waited for Sirius' reply, but it didn't come the next day, the day after, or the whole next week. Soon, it was August 31, the day before the start of term and there had still been no reply from Sirius.
It was in the lowest spirits that Harry had ever been before the first day of school. With a heavy heart, Harry realized that he still needed a ride to the train station the next day and decided to ask the Dursleys that evening.
Uncle Vernon was in the living room watching the news with Aunt Petunia when Harry entered.
"...still more reports of mysterious disappearances..." the man on the screen reported.
"Umm...Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked quietly.
Neither he nor Aunt Petunia made the slightest indication that they had heard him. Harry continued anyway.
"Well, I, uh, I kind of need a ride to the train station tomorrow. For school, you know."
His aunt and uncle both continued to ignore him.
"Uncle Vernon...?"
"It's taken care of," his uncle growled shortly, not taking his eyes off the television.
"Oh," said Harry awkwardly, "Okay, well, thanks." And he went back upstairs.
Shocked at Uncle Vernon's answer but definitely not complaining, Harry began to get his school things ready. It didn't take long. Once his Firebolt, wand, robes, and other wizard stuff were packed into his trunk, he sat down at his empty desk, looking at Hedwig's empty cage.
It had been almost two weeks since Hedwig had left to deliver Sirius' letter, and she was still not back. Harry gave a deep sigh. There wasn't anything he could do about it and the morning was going to come very early so Harry decided to try to go to sleep. After one last look out the window, Harry took off his glasses and climbed into bed. Maybe it was because of all the stress he had been under lately, but Harry was asleep within moments.
In what only seemed like minutes later, Harry was awakened by someone pulling his hand. He had had a nightmare. In it, he had arrived at Hogwarts only to find Professor McGonagall waiting at the door. She was making every student show her their Hogwarts letter, and when Harry had told her he had never received one, she had told him he had to leave and put him back on the train to the Dursleys'.
Now, Harry groggily opened his eyes to see a snowy owl standing on his bed with her beak closed around his hand, trying to wake him.
"Hedwig!" Harry cried, sitting up and quickly putting his glasses back on.
He retrieved the letter from her beak, and she immediately flew over to the desk and drank deeply from her water bowl.
Harry hurriedly unfolded the letter and began to read:
Harry-
I'm sorry it took so long. We've been really busy the past couple weeks, and the fact is, I didn't even get your letter until yesterday.
That is pretty odd that you never received your Hogwarts letter. I mentioned it to Dumbledore and he seems just as perplexed. He said he knows for certain that it reached Privet Drive, but what happened to it after that, he doesn't know. He just assumed that you had received it.
But the truth is, it doesn't really matter. So I hope you haven't been worrying about it. I'll take care of your school supplies if you need me to. I'm counting on seeing you tomorrow so until then, get a good night's rest and be careful.
Sirius
Harry lay back, feeling more relieved than he had in weeks. Everything was going to be okay. Even though he felt a bit stupid for worrying about the letter as much as he did, he was too happy at the moment to let that bother him as he prepared to go to sleep once again. Within seconds, he was fast asleep and resting more soundly than he had in weeks.
The Missing Letter
For the next several days Harry did his best to avoid the Dursleys. He stayed up in his room, rarely coming down for meals, preferring to live instead on the leftover birthday cake sent to him by his friends. Uncle Vernon was still furious with him and Harry didn't want to anger him any further. But he had other reasons for wanting to be alone.
He had a lot to think about ever since his visit to Mrs. Figg's. Her behavior that day had been very peculiar, and Harry was almost certain that he had angered her. Of course he was sorry about it, but he also felt that she had unnecessarily overreacted.
He couldn't help wondering about the face he had seen in the window either. He had always thought that Mrs. Figg lived alone. Never before had he seen anyone else at her house, whether visiting or otherwise.
The blue statue in the dark room also intrigued him. He had never seen anything like it before, at least not in the Muggle world. Maybe it's magical, he thought.
But that didn't make sense once he thought about it. Why would Mrs. Figg have something magical in her house? Maybe if she was a witch...But Harry had strong reason to doubt that. There didn't seem to be the slightest bit of magic about her. She was a very practical woman. And besides, if Mrs. Figg really was a witch, then why didn't she just magically repair the window and door herself? She was more than old enough to use magic in the Muggle world. The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry wouldn't apply to her in the least.
But Harry had another worry, one that was completely unexpected. School started in less than two weeks and he had yet to receive his letter from Hogwarts.
Every year students received a brief letter of introduction that also included their list of school supplies about a month before term began. But Harry's letter hadn't come. This was greatly troubling to him because the start of school was always the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal and depressing summer.
Harry finally decided to write to Ron to see if he had gotten his letter. Two days later, he received Ron's reply.
Dear Harry,
You haven't gotten your letter yet? That's weird, I got mine ages ago. Mum took us to Diagon Alley yesterday to pick up our school stuff. Fred and George even bought me some new dress robes.
They've been working very hard up in their room lately, and I think Mum's just about given up on them. After all, it's their last year at Hogwarts, and I don't think she's too keen on them joining the Ministry anymore.
Dad's been really busy lately. Sometimes a few witches and wizards will drop by to talk to him privately but he never tells the rest of us anything.
I don't know what to tell you about your letter. Maybe you should write Dumbledore and let him know. I'm sure it was just some sort of mix-up. I'll see you September 1.
Ron
Harry put the letter down, not comforted at all. Ron had received his letter, yet he had not. What was going on?
He decided to write to Sirius. Sirius would know what to do. Harry pulled out a sheet of parchment and quill and began to write.
Dear Sirius,
I got your last letter and I've been watchful, but things have been pretty normal here on Privet Drive.
The thing is though, I haven't gotten my letter from Hogwarts for next year yet. Shouldn't I have gotten it by now? I mean, I'm not gonna have time to get my school stuff (not that the Dursleys would actually take me to go get it anyway). I was just wondering if maybe you knew what was going on. Hope to see you soon.
Harry
Harry folded the letter and attached it to Hedwig. She waited patiently until Harry had finished then took off into the starry night. Harry watched her go then took off his glasses and climbed into bed, but it was still awhile until he drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Harry waited for Sirius' reply, but it didn't come the next day, the day after, or the whole next week. Soon, it was August 31, the day before the start of term and there had still been no reply from Sirius.
It was in the lowest spirits that Harry had ever been before the first day of school. With a heavy heart, Harry realized that he still needed a ride to the train station the next day and decided to ask the Dursleys that evening.
Uncle Vernon was in the living room watching the news with Aunt Petunia when Harry entered.
"...still more reports of mysterious disappearances..." the man on the screen reported.
"Umm...Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked quietly.
Neither he nor Aunt Petunia made the slightest indication that they had heard him. Harry continued anyway.
"Well, I, uh, I kind of need a ride to the train station tomorrow. For school, you know."
His aunt and uncle both continued to ignore him.
"Uncle Vernon...?"
"It's taken care of," his uncle growled shortly, not taking his eyes off the television.
"Oh," said Harry awkwardly, "Okay, well, thanks." And he went back upstairs.
Shocked at Uncle Vernon's answer but definitely not complaining, Harry began to get his school things ready. It didn't take long. Once his Firebolt, wand, robes, and other wizard stuff were packed into his trunk, he sat down at his empty desk, looking at Hedwig's empty cage.
It had been almost two weeks since Hedwig had left to deliver Sirius' letter, and she was still not back. Harry gave a deep sigh. There wasn't anything he could do about it and the morning was going to come very early so Harry decided to try to go to sleep. After one last look out the window, Harry took off his glasses and climbed into bed. Maybe it was because of all the stress he had been under lately, but Harry was asleep within moments.
In what only seemed like minutes later, Harry was awakened by someone pulling his hand. He had had a nightmare. In it, he had arrived at Hogwarts only to find Professor McGonagall waiting at the door. She was making every student show her their Hogwarts letter, and when Harry had told her he had never received one, she had told him he had to leave and put him back on the train to the Dursleys'.
Now, Harry groggily opened his eyes to see a snowy owl standing on his bed with her beak closed around his hand, trying to wake him.
"Hedwig!" Harry cried, sitting up and quickly putting his glasses back on.
He retrieved the letter from her beak, and she immediately flew over to the desk and drank deeply from her water bowl.
Harry hurriedly unfolded the letter and began to read:
Harry-
I'm sorry it took so long. We've been really busy the past couple weeks, and the fact is, I didn't even get your letter until yesterday.
That is pretty odd that you never received your Hogwarts letter. I mentioned it to Dumbledore and he seems just as perplexed. He said he knows for certain that it reached Privet Drive, but what happened to it after that, he doesn't know. He just assumed that you had received it.
But the truth is, it doesn't really matter. So I hope you haven't been worrying about it. I'll take care of your school supplies if you need me to. I'm counting on seeing you tomorrow so until then, get a good night's rest and be careful.
Sirius
Harry lay back, feeling more relieved than he had in weeks. Everything was going to be okay. Even though he felt a bit stupid for worrying about the letter as much as he did, he was too happy at the moment to let that bother him as he prepared to go to sleep once again. Within seconds, he was fast asleep and resting more soundly than he had in weeks.
