Chapter 2: The Little Brown Dog
"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BLASTED MUTT!" Uncle Vernon roared. Harry woke with a jolt and sat up. He realized he had left the radio on last night so it was out of batteries. Shoving the radio off of his bed, he stood up and looked at his clock: 10:30 AM.
"I SAID BEAT IT!" Harry heard Uncle Vernon yell again. Feeling brave, he decided to go see what was going on. He walked downstairs and saw the Durseys crowded around the front door.
"What's up?" Harry tried to say brightly, walking towards the large mass of human flesh crammed in the doorway. He heard growling.
"Bloody dog won't leave. The dirty thing as been wandering around the street for almost three weeks now; and now it won't leave the driveway!" Uncle Vernon huffed angrily, turning red. Three weeks? Harry thought. That's when I got back from Hogwarts…
"Um, I think I'll try to lead the dog away." Harry told the Dursleys.
"Uh, yeah, go do that, boy. I was about to send you off to take care of it." Uncle Vernon retorted as he backed away from the door, leading a silent Aunt Petunia to the kitchen.
"Hope it has rabies." Dudley sneered as Harry strode past him. Harry walked up to the dog who was still growling at Dudley. Harry decided to lead it to the children's park down the street so he started to jog in that direction. Sure enough, the little dog followed. After a few minutes, Harry reached the park and turned around. There was the dog, about 25 feet behind him. Harry turned again and crept behind some thick bushes. After a few seconds, he saw the dog's brown head poke through the leaves and he grabbed at it. He caught the dog by the ears and dragged it towards him.
"Who are you and who sent you?!" He asked the dog sternly. The dog's little black eyes just stared back into his.
"ANSWER!" And he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the dog's head. The dog looked down and sighed then it began slowly changing shape. In a few moments, a short, squat woman stood in front of Harry. She was considerably shorter than him with gray hair and witch's robes. She wore an annoyed expression on her face.
"Is that the way to treat your elders, young man?! You apologize right now!" Said the woman.
"Er…sorry." Harry replied in shock.
"You better be!" she snapped back.
"Uh, er…um, who are you?…ma'am?" he added.
"Bertha Jorkins, Order of Merlin, First Class." She replied promptly, seeming pleased with her title.
"Bertha Jorkins? But didn't you…I mean, aren't you…"
"Dead? Hah, I get that one a lot. It seems no one knows the full story yet. Everyone thought after Voldemort used me for information he killed me. But he actually ordered one of his followers to do it. That blundering idiot couldn't even kill me when my mind and body were wounded." Bertha explained.
Harry stared at her for a few moments in surprise and admiration.
"But…you were a talkative, gossipy fool who got lost all the time!" he blurted out. He clapped his hands over his mouth as soon as he realized what he said. She looked at him through squinted eyes.
"Yes, everyone seems to know that about me. You listen here, I may like to talk and I'm a little absent-minded something, but I am a great witch. Just because I didn't make the best grades in Hogwarts doesn't mean I'm a nitwit-I still know my magic."
"Er…of course." Harry replied timidly. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here?"
"Watching over you, of course. You don't think Dumbledore would just let you wander around your neighborhood unprotected?"
"No, ma'am, I meant, why you?"
"Oh!" she cried. "You think I'm not qualified for the job, do you?! Well-"
"No, no! It just seems…out of your department."
"You see, Mr. Potter, when Voldemort tried to force memories out of my mind, he completely joggled my brain. In other words, if I were ever to be captured again, my mind could easily be tampered with. I've been taking Occlumency recently to help with this problem. Until my condition improves, I'm afraid I can't be on the front line with the rest of the powerful witches and wizards."
"Doesn't that bother you?" Harry inquired, too curious to bother with manners. Bertha looked at him reproachfully but answered anyway.
"Any part in this war is a noble one. I'm not ashamed of my duties; protecting you, my dear, is a very important job." She answered him, but didn't meet his eyes. Harry liked her more and more every minute. Bertha Jorkins seemed like the sharp-witted grandmother he never had.
Harry looked at his watch; it was almost 1:00 and his empty stomach growled.
"I have to go now Ms. Jorkins. I'm happy to have you watching over me." Harry told her. And he really was. Usually he would have felt childish and overprotected if Dumbledore sent someone to baby-sit him, but Bertha Jorkins made everything different, and Harry didn't know why.
"Yes, I'll be seeing you then, darling." She said warmly and hugged him. "Watch your back and keep your wand with you at all times. Now, on your way!"
On the way back, Harry looked a few times and sure enough, the tiny dog was following. Just before he got to Number Four, he turned and yelled at the dog to try and keep out of sight. Harry remembered what he had told the Dursleys what he was doing.
Once inside, Harry peeked into the kitchen to see if anyone was there. The kitchen was empty so Harry went to the refrigerator and helped himself to a turkey sandwich. He took the sandwich upstairs to his room. When he finished, he ate some Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans that he had saved from last year. After finishing that, Harry wondered if she should write to Dumbledore and ask him for some more information about Bertha Jorkins. However, he decided against it; he could just ask Bertha herself and wait until later to ask Dumbledore. Suddenly, while thinking of Dumbledore, Harry remembered his vision that he still hadn't told anyone about. With renewed anxiety, Harry sat by his window, waiting for Hedwig's return and reading about complex Defense Against the Dark Arts spells. After what seemed an eternity, Harry checked his watch-3:30 PM. C'mon Hedwig¸ Harry pleaded.
An hour later, Hedwig flew in Harry's open window and hooted to announce her presence.
"Hedwig! I thought you'd never get back! How was Siberia?" Harry asked with a grin. Hedwig hooted somewhat angrily and pecked at his hand for food. After Harry fed her, he picked up the letter she had dropped in. There were two envelopes. Probably Ron and Hermione's, Harry thought happily. But to his horror, when he read the names they were Cho and Hermione's. Where was Ron's? Harry checked the floor and Hedwig's cage for the missing letter.
"Hedwig, girl, where's Ron's letter?" Harry asked. Hedwig twittered in response and turned away; she didn't get one. Disappointed and worried, Harry sat on his bed and opened the two letters he did get:
Dear Harry,
Is something wrong? Am I bothering you? I said I was sorry, you know. Anyway, I suppose you've heard the news. It's just awful, and now I am scared. Wish you were here.
Love, Cho Chung
No, Harry, hadn't heard the news. He read Hermione's letter to see if she'd tell him:
Dear Harry,
I'm so glad you got my letter. Hedwig should bring this one back to you for sure. We're still in Siberia unfortunately; I haven't done anything but sled and freeze since I got here! By the way, have you heard from Ron? He hasn't replied to my letter like he usually does. But I'm sure everything's OK…let's hope so. See you soon, Harry. Sorry the summer hasn't worked out the way Ron and I had planned.
Hermione Granger
Harry sighed. It seems he could never get any complete information by owl. Not only did Ron's absence worry him, but he doesn't have any clue what the bad news is. Throwing the letters in frustration, he grabbed some paper and wrote back to Hermione and Cho ("No nothing's wrong, just worried…Haven't heard from Ron, hope you're OK…") and then wrote one to Ron asking if something happened. Harry folding the letters and put his name on them, not bothering with envelopes. He searched for the letter he wrote yesterday to Dumbledore about his vision, found it, and opened Hedwig's cage. Eating, Hedwig turned her back to him.
"Hedwig?! Oh…guess you need to rest…sorry…" Harry mumbled and lay on his bed for awhile, reading a Quidditch book. After about an hour, Hedwig was ready to go and Harry sent her on her way. Then, feeling bored and unsettled, Harry went outside for a jog.
"Hello, Ms Jorkins." Harry told the brown dog when he saw her following him. The dog barked in response and Harry started jogging. For some reason, Harry had a lot of extra energy and circled the area at least ten times. When it was nearing dinnertime, Harry stopped at the park and sat on a bench. He wiped his sweaty forehead and watched the little dog jump up on the bench next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry couldn't stand it any longer.
"What's going on out there?!" Harry burst out and startled Bertha. The dog growled at him and hopped off the bench, beckoning him to follow. Harry got up and went into the bushes where they had talked previously. Bertha morphed back to her human self-and she wasn't happy.
"And I suppose you thought it would be perfectly fine to let a Muggle see you talking to a dog?" she snapped at Harry.
"Sorry! I'm just-"
"Annoyed? Frustrated? Left out? Do you think you're the only one stranded on Privet Drive?" Bertha asked him furiously. He looked at her strangely.
"But don't you like being here?" Harry inquired. Bertha sighed and looked away. Harry thought the woman was going to cry. After a few moments, Bertha regained her posture and answered Harry.
"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was that you shouldn't be frustrated; soon enough we'll be back where we belong, away from the Muggles." She seemed to be reassuring herself more than Harry.
Silence. Harry was confused. Unfortunately, he would have to put more thought into this later because he started feeling his aching body. Bertha still wasn't talking-Harry decided to break the silence.
"Er…Ms. Jorkins, I better be going…it's supper time…"
Bertha nodded her head and changed back into the tiny caramel-colored dog. For some reason even as a dog she seemed distant and secretly sad. She walked out of the bushes and lead Harry home. He waved at her as he walked in and closed the door. He walked into the kitchen and found the Dursleys sitting down for dinner. Harry couldn't help himself and found himself sitting down with the Dursleys for a chicken supper. The Dursleys, of course, ignored him, so he served himself. In the middle of finishing his plate, Aunt Petunia spoke.
"So, what did she want?"
Harry froze. Was she talking to him? He looked up and Aunt Petunia was looking at him; Uncle Vernon and Dudley had stopped eating to look back and forth at them.
"Uh…who?" Harry asked quietly, and very confused.
"Yes, who?! Who has he been talking to?" Uncle Vernon grunted at Aunt Petunia. She held up a finger to his facing, quieting him; Uncle Vernon's eyes went wide and he actually shut up.
"You know who I'm talking about, boy." She told Harry frankly. Deciding to be honest, Harry told her.
"Nothing, just following me. I asked her what was going on and she didn't have any information." Harry felt so awkward discussing this with Aunt Petunia.
"No information? How can she not? She's in the Order of the Phoenix." Aunt Petunia said calmly. The boys just gaped at her, Uncle Vernon and Dudley in a mix of fear and shock and Harry in plain confusion.
"Er…um, then do you know what's going on?" Harry asked her, taking his chances.
"Recently, no. I was just told that You-Know-Who is out and I had to take extra care of you. I was also told Bertha was going to watch you as well."
"WHO IS BERTHA?!" Uncle Vernon exploded, pounding on the table with his fist.
"The dog." Aunt Petunia said plainly. "Have your friends told you anything, Harry?"
"Uh, well, not really. I know there's been bad news but I don't know what." He decided to leave out Ron's disappearance.
"Tell me if you hear anything." Aunt Petunia requested. After that no one spoke. Dudley and Uncle Vernon just stared stupidly into space while Harry and Aunt Petunia finished their meals. When he was done, Harry ran up to his room to do some serious thinking.
"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BLASTED MUTT!" Uncle Vernon roared. Harry woke with a jolt and sat up. He realized he had left the radio on last night so it was out of batteries. Shoving the radio off of his bed, he stood up and looked at his clock: 10:30 AM.
"I SAID BEAT IT!" Harry heard Uncle Vernon yell again. Feeling brave, he decided to go see what was going on. He walked downstairs and saw the Durseys crowded around the front door.
"What's up?" Harry tried to say brightly, walking towards the large mass of human flesh crammed in the doorway. He heard growling.
"Bloody dog won't leave. The dirty thing as been wandering around the street for almost three weeks now; and now it won't leave the driveway!" Uncle Vernon huffed angrily, turning red. Three weeks? Harry thought. That's when I got back from Hogwarts…
"Um, I think I'll try to lead the dog away." Harry told the Dursleys.
"Uh, yeah, go do that, boy. I was about to send you off to take care of it." Uncle Vernon retorted as he backed away from the door, leading a silent Aunt Petunia to the kitchen.
"Hope it has rabies." Dudley sneered as Harry strode past him. Harry walked up to the dog who was still growling at Dudley. Harry decided to lead it to the children's park down the street so he started to jog in that direction. Sure enough, the little dog followed. After a few minutes, Harry reached the park and turned around. There was the dog, about 25 feet behind him. Harry turned again and crept behind some thick bushes. After a few seconds, he saw the dog's brown head poke through the leaves and he grabbed at it. He caught the dog by the ears and dragged it towards him.
"Who are you and who sent you?!" He asked the dog sternly. The dog's little black eyes just stared back into his.
"ANSWER!" And he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the dog's head. The dog looked down and sighed then it began slowly changing shape. In a few moments, a short, squat woman stood in front of Harry. She was considerably shorter than him with gray hair and witch's robes. She wore an annoyed expression on her face.
"Is that the way to treat your elders, young man?! You apologize right now!" Said the woman.
"Er…sorry." Harry replied in shock.
"You better be!" she snapped back.
"Uh, er…um, who are you?…ma'am?" he added.
"Bertha Jorkins, Order of Merlin, First Class." She replied promptly, seeming pleased with her title.
"Bertha Jorkins? But didn't you…I mean, aren't you…"
"Dead? Hah, I get that one a lot. It seems no one knows the full story yet. Everyone thought after Voldemort used me for information he killed me. But he actually ordered one of his followers to do it. That blundering idiot couldn't even kill me when my mind and body were wounded." Bertha explained.
Harry stared at her for a few moments in surprise and admiration.
"But…you were a talkative, gossipy fool who got lost all the time!" he blurted out. He clapped his hands over his mouth as soon as he realized what he said. She looked at him through squinted eyes.
"Yes, everyone seems to know that about me. You listen here, I may like to talk and I'm a little absent-minded something, but I am a great witch. Just because I didn't make the best grades in Hogwarts doesn't mean I'm a nitwit-I still know my magic."
"Er…of course." Harry replied timidly. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here?"
"Watching over you, of course. You don't think Dumbledore would just let you wander around your neighborhood unprotected?"
"No, ma'am, I meant, why you?"
"Oh!" she cried. "You think I'm not qualified for the job, do you?! Well-"
"No, no! It just seems…out of your department."
"You see, Mr. Potter, when Voldemort tried to force memories out of my mind, he completely joggled my brain. In other words, if I were ever to be captured again, my mind could easily be tampered with. I've been taking Occlumency recently to help with this problem. Until my condition improves, I'm afraid I can't be on the front line with the rest of the powerful witches and wizards."
"Doesn't that bother you?" Harry inquired, too curious to bother with manners. Bertha looked at him reproachfully but answered anyway.
"Any part in this war is a noble one. I'm not ashamed of my duties; protecting you, my dear, is a very important job." She answered him, but didn't meet his eyes. Harry liked her more and more every minute. Bertha Jorkins seemed like the sharp-witted grandmother he never had.
Harry looked at his watch; it was almost 1:00 and his empty stomach growled.
"I have to go now Ms. Jorkins. I'm happy to have you watching over me." Harry told her. And he really was. Usually he would have felt childish and overprotected if Dumbledore sent someone to baby-sit him, but Bertha Jorkins made everything different, and Harry didn't know why.
"Yes, I'll be seeing you then, darling." She said warmly and hugged him. "Watch your back and keep your wand with you at all times. Now, on your way!"
On the way back, Harry looked a few times and sure enough, the tiny dog was following. Just before he got to Number Four, he turned and yelled at the dog to try and keep out of sight. Harry remembered what he had told the Dursleys what he was doing.
Once inside, Harry peeked into the kitchen to see if anyone was there. The kitchen was empty so Harry went to the refrigerator and helped himself to a turkey sandwich. He took the sandwich upstairs to his room. When he finished, he ate some Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans that he had saved from last year. After finishing that, Harry wondered if she should write to Dumbledore and ask him for some more information about Bertha Jorkins. However, he decided against it; he could just ask Bertha herself and wait until later to ask Dumbledore. Suddenly, while thinking of Dumbledore, Harry remembered his vision that he still hadn't told anyone about. With renewed anxiety, Harry sat by his window, waiting for Hedwig's return and reading about complex Defense Against the Dark Arts spells. After what seemed an eternity, Harry checked his watch-3:30 PM. C'mon Hedwig¸ Harry pleaded.
An hour later, Hedwig flew in Harry's open window and hooted to announce her presence.
"Hedwig! I thought you'd never get back! How was Siberia?" Harry asked with a grin. Hedwig hooted somewhat angrily and pecked at his hand for food. After Harry fed her, he picked up the letter she had dropped in. There were two envelopes. Probably Ron and Hermione's, Harry thought happily. But to his horror, when he read the names they were Cho and Hermione's. Where was Ron's? Harry checked the floor and Hedwig's cage for the missing letter.
"Hedwig, girl, where's Ron's letter?" Harry asked. Hedwig twittered in response and turned away; she didn't get one. Disappointed and worried, Harry sat on his bed and opened the two letters he did get:
Dear Harry,
Is something wrong? Am I bothering you? I said I was sorry, you know. Anyway, I suppose you've heard the news. It's just awful, and now I am scared. Wish you were here.
Love, Cho Chung
No, Harry, hadn't heard the news. He read Hermione's letter to see if she'd tell him:
Dear Harry,
I'm so glad you got my letter. Hedwig should bring this one back to you for sure. We're still in Siberia unfortunately; I haven't done anything but sled and freeze since I got here! By the way, have you heard from Ron? He hasn't replied to my letter like he usually does. But I'm sure everything's OK…let's hope so. See you soon, Harry. Sorry the summer hasn't worked out the way Ron and I had planned.
Hermione Granger
Harry sighed. It seems he could never get any complete information by owl. Not only did Ron's absence worry him, but he doesn't have any clue what the bad news is. Throwing the letters in frustration, he grabbed some paper and wrote back to Hermione and Cho ("No nothing's wrong, just worried…Haven't heard from Ron, hope you're OK…") and then wrote one to Ron asking if something happened. Harry folding the letters and put his name on them, not bothering with envelopes. He searched for the letter he wrote yesterday to Dumbledore about his vision, found it, and opened Hedwig's cage. Eating, Hedwig turned her back to him.
"Hedwig?! Oh…guess you need to rest…sorry…" Harry mumbled and lay on his bed for awhile, reading a Quidditch book. After about an hour, Hedwig was ready to go and Harry sent her on her way. Then, feeling bored and unsettled, Harry went outside for a jog.
"Hello, Ms Jorkins." Harry told the brown dog when he saw her following him. The dog barked in response and Harry started jogging. For some reason, Harry had a lot of extra energy and circled the area at least ten times. When it was nearing dinnertime, Harry stopped at the park and sat on a bench. He wiped his sweaty forehead and watched the little dog jump up on the bench next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry couldn't stand it any longer.
"What's going on out there?!" Harry burst out and startled Bertha. The dog growled at him and hopped off the bench, beckoning him to follow. Harry got up and went into the bushes where they had talked previously. Bertha morphed back to her human self-and she wasn't happy.
"And I suppose you thought it would be perfectly fine to let a Muggle see you talking to a dog?" she snapped at Harry.
"Sorry! I'm just-"
"Annoyed? Frustrated? Left out? Do you think you're the only one stranded on Privet Drive?" Bertha asked him furiously. He looked at her strangely.
"But don't you like being here?" Harry inquired. Bertha sighed and looked away. Harry thought the woman was going to cry. After a few moments, Bertha regained her posture and answered Harry.
"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was that you shouldn't be frustrated; soon enough we'll be back where we belong, away from the Muggles." She seemed to be reassuring herself more than Harry.
Silence. Harry was confused. Unfortunately, he would have to put more thought into this later because he started feeling his aching body. Bertha still wasn't talking-Harry decided to break the silence.
"Er…Ms. Jorkins, I better be going…it's supper time…"
Bertha nodded her head and changed back into the tiny caramel-colored dog. For some reason even as a dog she seemed distant and secretly sad. She walked out of the bushes and lead Harry home. He waved at her as he walked in and closed the door. He walked into the kitchen and found the Dursleys sitting down for dinner. Harry couldn't help himself and found himself sitting down with the Dursleys for a chicken supper. The Dursleys, of course, ignored him, so he served himself. In the middle of finishing his plate, Aunt Petunia spoke.
"So, what did she want?"
Harry froze. Was she talking to him? He looked up and Aunt Petunia was looking at him; Uncle Vernon and Dudley had stopped eating to look back and forth at them.
"Uh…who?" Harry asked quietly, and very confused.
"Yes, who?! Who has he been talking to?" Uncle Vernon grunted at Aunt Petunia. She held up a finger to his facing, quieting him; Uncle Vernon's eyes went wide and he actually shut up.
"You know who I'm talking about, boy." She told Harry frankly. Deciding to be honest, Harry told her.
"Nothing, just following me. I asked her what was going on and she didn't have any information." Harry felt so awkward discussing this with Aunt Petunia.
"No information? How can she not? She's in the Order of the Phoenix." Aunt Petunia said calmly. The boys just gaped at her, Uncle Vernon and Dudley in a mix of fear and shock and Harry in plain confusion.
"Er…um, then do you know what's going on?" Harry asked her, taking his chances.
"Recently, no. I was just told that You-Know-Who is out and I had to take extra care of you. I was also told Bertha was going to watch you as well."
"WHO IS BERTHA?!" Uncle Vernon exploded, pounding on the table with his fist.
"The dog." Aunt Petunia said plainly. "Have your friends told you anything, Harry?"
"Uh, well, not really. I know there's been bad news but I don't know what." He decided to leave out Ron's disappearance.
"Tell me if you hear anything." Aunt Petunia requested. After that no one spoke. Dudley and Uncle Vernon just stared stupidly into space while Harry and Aunt Petunia finished their meals. When he was done, Harry ran up to his room to do some serious thinking.