Chapter 3
Waiting...
Harry woke up at seven on Saturday morning, just as he usually did every morning. Normally, Harry woke up full of dread at the prospect of another day spent at the Dursley's, but today was different. Although Harry still had to get through the rest of the day, it wouldn't be long before he escaped the Dursleys for another ten months. To Harry, there was no happier thought than the idea of leaving the Dursleys, and going back to the Burrow, where Ron's family, the Weasleys, treated him more kindly than anyone else he had ever known.
As Harry had already told Ron, getting the Dursleys to agree to let him go was easy. The Dursleys disliked having him there almost as much as he disliked being there, so they did not take a lot of persuading. In fact, it hadn't even been necessary to remind his Uncle of his Godfather this time, as Vernon was only too keen to get Harry away from his family. Vernon had been more irritable than usual lately, and Dudley's foul temper toward Harry may have helped persuade him to get Harry out of the house.
Not that Harry minded being sent away to keep Dudley happy. The only problem, in Harry's mind, was waiting another eight hours until Ron and his father Mr Weasley arrived. As he sat in his bed rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Harry just wished that three o'clock would come faster. Unfortunately, the clock didn't seem to be listening to Harry, and continued to tick at it's own infuriatingly slow pace.
Harry kicked off his sheets, and started to get dressed, hoping that the Dursleys wouldn't be any more cruel than normal before the Weasleys came. There wasn't much chance of that, as the Dursleys would want to make Harry's last hours here as unpleasant as possible. Normally, the Dursleys would go out with Dudley on a Saturday, but this week they were staying here to keep an eye on Harry and the Weasleys.
The Dursleys had a history of disliking the Weasleys, ever since Ron, Fred and George broke Harry out of his room before his second year. The Weasleys also disliked the Dursleys, because of the way they continually mistreated Harry. Getting the two families together, even for a few minutes, was not going to be an enjoyable experience. If Harry had any choice in the matter, he would leave the Dursleys in a heartbeat, and never come back. The Weasleys would happily take him in, and he had enough gold in Gringotts, the wizard bank, to pay for a room somewhere.
But for some strange reason, Professor Dumbledore would never allow Harry to do this. At the end of the last term, Mrs Weasley had asked to take Harry straight home with them, but Professor Dumbledore would not allow it, and had insisted on having extra protective charms placed on the Burrow before Harry could come over at all. It made Harry cringe to think of all the time and effort it must have taken to make the Burrow safe, but he consoled himself with knowing that the Weasleys were probably now one of the most protected families in the country.
After the ton-tongue toffee incident last summer, Harry no longer had to make food for the Dursleys, as they wouldn't trust a thing Harry, or any other wizard, had touched. Not that they were especially trusting before, but such a shocking incident would change even the most made-up mind. As a result of this, Harry was never allowed to cook anymore, but was made to do any work around the house that needed doing. 4 Privet Drive was, by now, one of the most immaculate houses in the area, and would remain so at least until after Harry left.
After pulling on an over-sized top that Dudley outgrew two years ago, Harry walked out of the room and went downstairs, where the lights were still off. None of the Dursleys would be up yet, which allowed Harry to go downstairs and get some food. Although Harry still had some supplies of sweets in his room, no-one could live on sweets alone, especially not a growing boy. Harry went through the cupboards and fridge, and found some bread, cold sausages and some jam. He made a sandwich, and wolfed it down with the sausages.
Careful to clean everything that he had used, Harry tried to make it look as if he hadn't eaten yet. The Dursleys would never dare to starve him, especially not when they knew about Sirius Black, but they fed Harry as little as possible, and they would not take kindly to Harry's early morning breakfast. With everything cleared away, and no Dursleys in sight, Harry decided to go back upstairs to his room. The quiet, peaceful room was the only place in the house where Harry felt he wasn't out of place. Harry returned to his room, to try and wait patiently for the Weasleys to arrive.
Harry spent most of the rest of the morning trying not to think about how slowly time was passing, and flicking idly through his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. Before the end of the afternoon, Harry was sure he would be able to referee a Quidditch match just as well as Madam Hooch, the usual referee at all Hogwarts matches. It was surprising just how many different ways there were to foul in Quidditch, although Harry was sure that foul number 212 was the same as foul number 564.
Finally giving up on finding a difference between 'Squidding' and 'Thrumping', Harry threw the book back in his trunk and started to check that everything had been packed, for the seventh time that day. Harry's invisibility cloak was buried deep in the bottom of the trunk, and all his school books, potions ingredients and other equipment was piled on top. Normally, this trunk would be far too heavy for Harry to lift, but it had been enchanted with a charm to make it lighter.
Next to the trunk sat Hedwig's perch and cage, and leaning up against the wall was Harry's broomstick, the Firebolt that his Godfather had given him nearly two years ago. That was all the possessions Harry had, and none of these had been bought for him by the Dursleys. Most of the things Harry owned had been given to him by his friends during his time at Hogwarts, and the only thing he had from his parents was the invisibility cloak, which had belonged to his father.
Hedwig still had not returned from delivering Harry's letter to Professor Dumbledore, so the cage was empty, and Harry wondered what was taking so long. Usually, Hedwig returned within a day, unless he was on a long journey to Sirius. Professor Dumbledore must be far away, trying to find allies against Voldemort. Although the Ministry refused to believe that Voldemort had returned, the professors at Hogwarts knew the truth, and had been spending most of the summer trying to convince the rest of the wizarding world.
This meant that Professor Dumbledore had to spend a great deal of time travelling, seeking those who might be persuaded to fight alongside him against Voldemort. This meant meeting with people like Vampires and Werewolves, who, by reputation, would be expected to fight on the Dark Side. Harry knew that Dumbledore had nothing to fear from the werewolves, and expected his old teacher, Remus Lupin, to accompany him and keep him safe. But the Vampires, like many others Dumbledore would be meeting, were as much a mystery to him as the intracies of potion-making would be to a Muggle. That made it hard to trust them, however much they were needed.
Harry worried about Dumbledore's safety, just as he worried about Hagrid, the half-giant groundskeeper at Hogwarts. He had been sent to the Giants in the North of Europe, to try and encourage them to join the fight against Voldemort. Hagrid's giant blood would give him some protection against the giants, who were known for their mistrust of other races, but Harry still wished someone else could have been sent. It was hard knowing that the people you know and respect have to put themselves in danger, especially when you can't do anything to help them.
Finally, Harry slammed his trunk shut, and went back to his bed. The best way to pass the time would be to sleep, he decided. As he wrapped himself in his thin, worn blanket and tried to sleep, Harry tried to remember that tonight, he would be sleeping in a comfortable, warm bed, in a house full of people who cared about him. Before long, Harry was asleep, with a rare smile on his face.
Harry was eventually awoken by the sound of the clock in the hall downstairs chiming three o'clock, and he dragged his trunk down the stairs, hoping that the Weasleys would be there quickly. Vernon and Petunia were standing in the sitting room, warily eyeing the boarded-up fireplace. They had clearly not forgotten the last time the Weasleys had come to pick up Harry. They had tried to use floo powder to come here, and when they found the fireplace blocked, Mr Weasley had to use magic to break the fireplace open again. He repaired the damage afterwards, of course, but the Dursleys were not the type to forgive and forget.
Dudley, surprisingly, was not in the room. Harry decided it would be best not to ask where he was, and to be honest, Harry was just hoping that he would stay away until after the Weasleys had picked him up. After the Ton-Tongue Toffee incident last year, Harry hoped that Dudley could be kept away from his wizard friends, but Dudley's typical nosiness would probably mean he would put in an appearance soon.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang once, and Harry rushed to answer the door. Outside, Mr Weasley was standing on the doorstep, looking very inquisitively at the doorbell. Clearly, he still hadn't lost his fascination with Muggle objects. Behind him, Harry could be his best friend, Ron. His ginger hair and freckles were as distinctive as ever, but it appeared that he had gained even more height in the last few weeks, making him tower over Harry more than before.
"Harry! I'm glad you answered the door so quickly, I wasn't sure if I was meant to push this button. Ron said it was alright, but..." Mr Weasley rambled, still casting nervous glances at the doorbell.
Harry had to try to restrain a laugh as he replied. "It's alright Mr Weasley, that's what it's for! Are you going to come in, or should we just run for it?"
The look on Ron's face suggested that running would be preferrable, but unfortunately, Mr Weasley suggested it would be polite to greet the Dursleys. Once the Weasleys were inside the house, Harry became aware of a pair of beady eyes staring at them nervously from the large bedroom upstairs. Dudley may be terrified of magic, but his fear wasn't going to keep him from knowing everything that went on if he could help it.
Harry and the Weasleys went into the living room, where Vernon Dursley was alternating between glaring at Mr Weasley and casting furtive glances toward the fireplace. His wife, Petunia, was standing next to him, eyeing Ron with something close to contempt. Mr Weasley gamely tried to start a conversation with Vernon, while Ron and Harry looked at Petunia and silently decided they would much rather wait for Mr Weasley in the car outside.
Footsteps started to sound from the stairs, and before long Dudley appeared in the doorway, turning to one side so that he could fit inside the doorframe. For a while, Dudley just stood by the door, his beady little eyes swept over the room, looking for something. Once he had checked the whole of the room, his face brightened, and he started to walk toward Harry and Ron. Harry realised he was looking for Fred and George, Ron's older brothers. Their absence seemed to give Dudley more confidence.
"So, you're a wizard too, are you?" Dudley seemed to want to interrogate Ron about something.
"Yeah..." Ron clearly wasn't sure how to deal with the porcine presence in front of him, and the look on his face suggested that he wanted to stay away from him.
"I remember you from last year... You and your brothers... You gave me that sweet, didn't you?" Dudley asked, although he clearly already knew the answer.
"Actually, that was Fred. You remember, the bigger one you were so worried about?" Harry interjected, trying to deflect Dudley's attention away from Ron.
"Shut up, potty. I was talking to your friend here... Now, do you have anything to say about that day, freckles?" Dudley started to turn pink, probably with the unusual effort of sustaining a long conversation.
"Actually, yes I do. You looked good with a big tongue. And even better, it stopped you from talking." Ron replied. After years of living with his brothers, he was clearly not impressed with Dudley's attempt at intimidation. Harry, on the other hand, couldn't stop sniggering.
"Well... You really are as stupid as potty, aren't you? I give you a chance to say sorry to me for what you and your brothers did, and you just throw it back in my face..." Dudley's face had started to go from pink to a pale red, and his right eye seemed to bulge slightly with anger.
"I'd throw something else too, but I don't have anything handy. Besides, anything I threw would just bounce off a fat whale like you..." Ron still looked at Dudley as calm as could be, and Harry looked at his cousin, wondering what response that insult would get. He was very surprised when Dudley started to emit a deep, humourless laugh.
"Just remember, your brothers aren't here... And I know you can't do magic in the holidays... So maybe you should think about saying sorry for that..." Dudley smashed one fist into his other hand, trying to emphasise his point to the two boys. But before Harry and Ron could reply, a hand gripped Dudley's shoulder, and Dudley went visibly pale.
"Boys, why don't you go and put Harry's trunk in the car?" said Mr Weasley, while keeping his hand on Dudley's shoulder. "I'll follow you out in just a moment..." Harry and Ron took the opportunity to leave, with Harry mumbling a quiet goodbye to his relatives. His farewell was not acknowledged, but Harry was not surprised. Before long, a shrill scream emanated from the room, which sounded suspiciously like Petunia. Harry went to look into the room, but Ron called him, and he went to help his friend put the trunk in the car that was waiting outside.
Harry and Ron put Harry's trunk into the back of the car, which was a very old Vauxhall Nova, with a long scratch in the green paintwork and a dent in the bonnet. The car had obviously been used frequently by the ministry, and the constant use gave the car a well-weathered look. As Ron closed the boot of the car, Harry wondered idly if this car could fly, like Mr Weasley's old Ford Anglia, which Harry and Ron had 'borrowed' to get to Hogwarts in their second year.
Mr Weasley came from the house, and got into the front of the car, motioning Harry to sit on the seat behind him. Ron climbed in the other side of the car, and before long was engaging Harry in an in-depth conversation about Quidditch, in which Harry discovered the Chudley Cannons were in fourteenth place in the league, and the rules for Quidditch were soon to be changed to forbid the use of certain 'broomstick enhancements', which had caused some annoyance in the game. Harry also heard about Oliver Wood, his former Quidditch Captain, who had been promoted to the first team at Puddlemere United.
After a lengthy discussion about who might become the new Gryffindor Captain this year, Harry looked out of the car window, and saw that they were finally near the Burrow. Before long, the ramshackle, patchwork structure of the Burrow came into view, looking both unstable and homely, as it always did. As the car pulled up in front of the Burrow and Mr Weasley got out, Harry sat back and sighed happily. He was back in the wizarding world, and he was home at last.
Disclaimer: Alright, I admit it... I didn't make up any of these characters. They aren't mine, and they never will be. No matter how much I try... *sobs*
Okay, not the most exciting chapter, but things should pick up when we get to the burrow. The return of Gred and Forge should liven things up. I would like to apologise for how long this chapter took. (About three months!) With any luck, my next chapter will be a little quicker...
Here we go, time for me to thank a few more nice Reviewers. Thanks go to Luigi, The Jolly Dollar and lukias who reviewed since last time. And especially cyber-gal89, who seems to have been through most of what I've written... Just think, all you have to do to get mentioned here next time is hit that button down there and leave a review! It's not that hard, I promise... ;)
