Disclaimer:
I´m not JK Rowling and I don´t own anything you recognise. The magical world and all its wonderful characters belong to her and whoever else holds the copyrights. I hope to honour her work by staying as close as possible to her style and the guidelines she set. This Disclaimer applies to the whole story as I won´t repeat myself every chapter.
Author´s Notes:
Like the Disclaimer I won´t repeat this every chapter.
First, I´m not a native English speaker, in fact I´m trying to improve my English by writing this, and I also don´t have a beta reader, so expect some spelling and grammar mistakes. I´ll check everything again after I´ve written it, but I won´t catch all the errors.
Second, I´ll try to stay as true to cannon as I can manage (please tell me how I´m doing), which also means that I don´t sail any "ships". There will be some romance, but I´m not really good at writing that, and this will be Harry Potter –not some mushy love story. And yes, this story has a plot, even if the first two or three chapters seem a bit slow. I´m just setting up the scene.
Next, the chapters will have a length of about 5000 words each, and there might be some time between them as I need about a week for one, and my Vordiplom is approaching –that´s the exam you write in the middle of your time at university in Germany.
And last, I won´t write an Author´s Note as long as this again, I always hate it when you think you got a nice long chapter to read and then half of it is Author´s Notes. So I won´t answer to every review I might get, only to direct questions, which hopefully won´t stop you from writing one.
So here it is:
by Fortuna´s Smile
It was a late evening in the end of July when a boy sat at the open window of the smallest bedroom in the house of Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Winging, Surrey.
Outside were neighbours, bustling in their gardens, enjoying the cooler air in the end of another long, hot summer day, their voices drifting up to him. Harry Potter, because that was the name of the boy, sighed. Another day had passed, he could make another cross on his makeshift calender. He felt like he had done nothing but waiting since the holidays started. Waiting and thinking.
For, in the end of his last school year, his godfather had died because Harry had been fooled by Voldemort and although he had accepted that he shouldn´t blame himself (like his friends had told him in more than one letter) he still felt guilty sometimes. He had cried over Sirius a few times in the beginning of summer but he had never been one to cry often, even as a child, and so he had settled in some kind of quiet, resigned stupor, only occasionally allowing himself to think of what could have been, had Sirius one day been declared innocent, had invited him to live in his house…
Harry shook himself, he wouldn´t go there, not again, dreaming didn´t help and Sirius certainly didn´t want him to mope around like this. He decided to do something to shake off those thoughts and grabbed once more his defence book.. It was the one that his godfather had given to him last Christmas and Harry was determined to put it to a good use. His blood boiled every time he thought of Bellatrix Lestrange, the murderer of Sirius, and he had vowed to himself, that one day he would get her and avenge Sirius´ death.
But this was another little worry in his head, he had attempted the Cruciatus Curse on her. He hadn´t told anyone about that and there wasn´t anyone else there beside her, but if someone found out, what would happen? Could he be sent to Azkaban for that? And should he maybe have told Dumbledore about it, or should he do so now? Harry was certain, if the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, found out about it, he would make Harry´s life even more miserable than it was now.
While he was concentrating on a complicated spell in the book, that would cast a shield over up to five persons, he suddenly heard the flapping of little wings and when he looked up, there was Ron´s owl Pig, struggling with a large envelope but excited as ever. Grabbing the fluttering bird like a snitch and then untying the letter took Harry only seconds, he was getting used to Pig´s behaviour and had in fact spent an afternoon, when he had been particularly bored, throwing the owl in the air and then catching him again, practising his seeker reflexes. Pig hadn´t seemed to mind and only got more and more excited, and in his next letter Ron had written, that he could catch "that stupid owl only with a butterfly net" anymore.
As Harry opened the envelope a letter and an article cut out from a newspaper fell out. Reading the letter first, he realised it was from Ron and Hermione together. Apparently Hermione´s parents had gone on a cruise for their 20th wedding anniversary and had brought their daughter to the Burrow for the rest of the holidays. The letter was short and not as funny as Ron´s usually were nor as understanding as Hermione´s but instead angry and upset.
When Harry looked at the article, as he was told by his friends, he immediately understood why.
In the light of the return of You-Know-Who Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge yesterday demanded the loyalty of all members of the wizarding world and of all groups and organisations of wizards and witches, such as the International Confederation of Wizards or the H.Y.O.N.A. (Having-Your-Own-Newspaper-Association). He called the public to support him and the Ministry in these dark times and declared that those who stood with the Ministry needn´t fear because the Ministry had everything under control. Minister Fudge: "I advise all of you not to be afraid. There are only a few of those horrible Death Eaters with Lord –Lord –Lord - Thingy. The Ministry has taken all the necessary steps to protect the wizarding public and has very competent employees solving this problem".
Fudge then announced the new post of a Liaison Officer at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a sign of the close relationship between those two institutions and an example of excellent cooperation for the rest of the wizarding world. Mr Henry Rookwood, who will hold that post, has been working for the Ministry for over twenty years and seems to be one of Minister Fudge´s closest assistants. This new post will replace High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge. She has taken a leave of absence due to health reasons and the Minister praised her great and valuable work at the school "teaching those children the importance of following Ministry´s orders in case of an emergency because the Ministry guarantees their safety".
The article carried on like that but Harry was too furious to read further. Angrily pacing his room he kicked one of Dudley´s old toys under the bed.. Luckily there weren´t much of his own things in the open as he hadn´t bothered to unpack his trunk except for his defence books and a few of his clothes. Although his relatives treated him much better than the years before (for example, he was allowed his school things in his room and needn´t follow Dudley´s diet any more, and once Aunt Petunia had even given him some new T-shirts –true, they were a special offer from the local supermarket and had an ugly brown colour, but still), Harry still hoped he would be allowed to leave soon and go to his friend Ron´s. So far the only response to this question in his every-three-days-letters had been to be patient and wait a little longer, but no one had said until when.
Sitting on his bed and taking a deep breath, Harry tried to calm himself down. He had lately gotten really good at that, constantly trying to control his emotions and keeping his temper. He briefly wondered if that was what Snape had meant by clearing his mind.
"Dudley! Sandra! So nice to have you over here! We´ll have a wonderful evening!" the high voice of his Aunt shrieked in the garden.
Harry snorted. He had completely forgotten the Barbecue with their new electric grill his relatives had planned for today. Because Dudley had a girlfriend this summer, Sandra Wheeler. – Harry could not understand why any girl would want to be together with Dudley, and the only time he had seen her didn´t give him a clue about that either, as she didn´t seem to have any mental problems, except for the fact that she was going out with Dudley.
She was extremely shy, - maybe she simply didn´t dare to say no, when Dudley had asked her out – and always polite and smiling nervously.
Harry could hear them outside now, making polite and absolutely boring conversation for "getting to know that lucky girl who is with my little Duddykins", as Aunt Petunia had put it at breakfast, and of course making sure that she was a completely normal girl with a completely normal family and wouldn´t embarrass them in the eyes of the neighbours. Harry, of course, was not invited to the Barbecue; it was only for family, his Uncle had said with a dark look at Harry.
He didn´t mind that too much, he had long ago given up the hope that the Dursleys would ever accept him as a part of family, but listening to them reminded him of his friends, Ron and Hermione, and all the others, the Weasleys, Professor Lupin, the order members, Dumbledore, and the whole rest of Hogwarts.
He needed them, he had never understood that as clearly as this summer, and never had he missed them more. Ron and Hermione were great friends, and Neville, Ginny and Luna as well. They had come with him to the Ministry, even when they knew it would be dangerous, they had followed him and trusted him and they hadn´t turned their back on him, when it became obvious that Harry had been fooled and had led them into mortal danger without need.
Although he would try to keep them out of danger in the future, he knew that they would most probably follow him anyway and he couldn´t help but feel happy and grateful for their friendship and stubbornness.
"So, tell me, Sandra, where did you say your father was working?" – Harry could only pity the girl, apparently she was still interrogated by Aunt Petunia.
"Oh , Mrs Dursley, I don´t think I have mentioned it before, he is working at Brownhards, he´s head of accounting there."
"Ah, I always say there is nothing more important than accuracy and keeping to the facts!" Uncle Vernon said jovially and sounding pleased. "And your mother is staying at home?"
"Yes, Mr Dursley. I have a younger brother, he´s just eleven, and my mother wanted to be home to be there for us."
Harry was at the window now again, watching them talking and eating, but careful to stay out of their sight. He had put Pig into Hedwig´s cage, much to her disapproval, and thrown a blanket over it to keep him from making a racket and to prevent that Dudley´s girlfriend saw owls flying out of the Dursley´s second bedroom..
"Eleven? So he has to go to a new school in fall then? Does he yet know to which school he will go? We were so proud of Dudley when he went to Vernon´s old school, Smeltings!"
Harry could see Sandra fidgeting now, "Oh, he will go to – to - a private school. He - got a grant there – I, erm, - I forgot its name…", she was picking at her T-shirt now, looking at her plate.
Of course the Dursleys didn´t notice a thing, after all had they had believed Dudley to be "drinking tea with his friends", when he was in fact out smoking and terrorising little kids in the neighbourhood, but Harry couldn´t help but wonder.
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The next morning, when Harry went down to breakfast, his Aunt and Uncle were talking about the Barbecue. Apparently they had been satisfied with Dudley´s choice of a girlfriend and while Aunt Petunia kept frowning at Harry every time he took a toast or some bacon and Uncle Vernon seemed to try not to look at Harry at all with his face twitching every time he did, the general atmosphere in the house was better than it had been all summer.
"Harry, Mrs Figg asked me to send you over to her today to help her with her garden, so you will go in the afternoon. And don´t you dare complaining to those –those –people!" his Aunt told him, and his Uncle added with a grumble: "You´ve done nothing but lazing around the house all day, you can at least help an old woman who can´t do everything on her own any more, boy. Even if your kind doesn´t think so, in this family we believe in some good, honest labour!"
Harry tried to look properly grumpy at this prospect, it wouldn´t do to have his relatives suspect that he wanted to go there or they might forbid it, while his mind raced with the possibilities that there could be one of the order members, or at least a message from them, and it seemed to be something too important for letters so maybe he would finally get to know when he could get out of Privet Drive.
"Yeah, fine, I´ll go there," Harry said getting up, "though I wouldn´t say that my kind doesn´t believe in hard work, especially not Professor Moody –I believe you´ve met him at the train – he´s supposed to be the best in his job, and he can see through about everything!"
With that he quickly left the kitchen and the shuddering Dursleys, who were once again reminded of their encounter with said Mad-Eye Moody and his spinning magical eyeball.
When Harry walked up to Mrs Figg´s house after lunch, he was feeling more excited than he had all summer.
He rang the bell and waited, but it wasn´t Mrs Figg, that opened, it was Remus Lupin.
"Professor Lupin! I didn´t expect you! –but I´m happy that you´re here!" Harry added hastily.
Lupin´s smile got brighter, and there was a strange light in his eyes. "Ah, Harry, I´m happy to be here, too. And you can stop calling me Professor, I haven´t been one for quite some time now and it feels a bit weird having the son of one of my best friends addressing me like that! Remus will be fine. –Let´s get inside!"
"Fine, okay, erm –Remus," said Harry as they went into the living room and sat down, shooing a few cats away in the process, "Why are you here? There hasn´t anything happened, has it?"
"No, Harry, nothing has happened, everyone is fine. -I´ve asked Mrs Figg to let me come here and talk to you because erm, well, I wanted to see you personally and ask you how you´re holding up," Lupin looked up and shoot him a quick glance before continuing, "You know, I´ve been through this before and I know how difficult it is and I didn´t want you deal with it all on your own."
Harry was silent for a moment. He hadn´t expected this topic, at least not as blunt as Lupin had asked and the question stirred all the emotions swirling under the surface. How did he feel? He really didn´t know exactly, there were still too much feelings at the same time to discern them, but at least he didn´t feel the deep despair and hopelessness of the beginning of the holidays. And he didn´t know if he wanted to talk to Lupin about that, but then he remembered that Lupin had been Sirius´ best friend. So at last he settled for a honest if not very articulate reply. "I´m -better, I think, I –it´s still difficult sometimes, and –but I think of other things now, too, and –I… I think it´s getting better." Harry seriously hoped that Lupin wouldn´t press the matter, it was too soon, he was just coming to terms with it for himself and couldn´t drag everything out to somebody else.
Lupin seemed to understand, for he watched him closely and then nodded once,"Okay, but –well, when you need someone to talk to, I´ll be here, okay? Sirius would want me to be there for you, -and I want to, as well."
Harry didn´t fully trust his voice, so he just nodded to that and Lupin continued: "And there is another thing we need to talk about. You have asked in nearly all your letters to get out of Privet Drive" –he raised his hand to forestall Harry´s question –"no, you´re not getting out today, Professor Dumbledore says you still need to stay here for some reason. But I want to ask you about something else. When you can get out, it will be Grimmauld Place, the Burrow simply isn´t safe enough, and I wanted to ask you if that´s okay with you?"
Harry again needed a moment to gather his thoughts. Sure it would be hard to be in Sirius´ old home but given the choice of going there or staying with the Dursleys he would rather see his friends and face the memories of Grimmauld Place. Quickly making up his mind he answered: "Yes, it´s okay with me, I´ll go there." Then another thing occurred to him: "But what will happen with Grimmauld Place now, -I mean with Sirius… erm, I mean, can the order still stay there?"
Lupin looked grim for a moment, "Well, first there is the Fidelius Charm on the house so no one can find it until Dumbledore tells them, not even any members of the Black family who might inherit something from Sirius –he never made a testament, always seemed to think he would live forever -and second, well, it´s just that no one, well no one from the Ministry or Press or such, knows that he died. You see, that veil, it is a direct gate to death and it leaves nothing behind, so no one beside the order and the Death Eaters who were there know about it. And even if those Death Eaters captured said anything to their interrogators, Fudge wouldn´t believe a thing about Sirius fighting against You-Know-Who. In fact, they have still Aurors searching for him and warnings in the Daily Prophet. Although they don´t write anymore that he´s in league with You-Know-Who –Fudge probably thinks it would make the public even more afraid if they imagine the most evil dark wizard together with his most dangerous escaped prisoner."
Harry looked dumbstruck.. Never had he imagined that the wizarding public might not know about Sirius´ death. He regretted once more that Sirius never got his name cleared, but then, now he would live on in the collective memory as the only wizard who escaped Azkaban and then outsmarted all the Aurors, supposedly enjoying his freedom and happily living his life, thwarting all the Ministry´s efforts. Maybe a great prankster like his godfather would like that more than the sad truth about an innocent convict, maybe he was having a good laugh at them all, wherever he was.
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A few days later Harry was sitting at the desk in his room and writing a letter to Ron and Hermione. Lupin had told him at that day in Mrs Figg´s house that he would be staying with the Dursleys at least until the beginning of August, so he had decided to catch up on all the correspondence from his friends. That day Lupin and him had talked some more about things like his OWLs and what he wanted to do after school. Harry had managed to block out all thoughts about the prophecy and Lupin didn´t seem to know about it, so Harry for the first time asked himself who did know it. He had assumed that all of the order members knew about it, but maybe Dumbledore hadn´t told them, after all he hadn´t told Harry, and it did concern him the most! Also, since Voldemort wanted to find out about it, the fewer people knew it, the better.
And Harry wondered if he should tell his friends. He didn´t want to imagine their reactions, and he didn´t want to put them into danger, but he realised that the knowledge of the prophecy would change him, it would affect his behaviour and his view on things and they were bound to realise that. For example, discussing a future career like he had with Lupin would be extremely difficult, as they knew him better and he couldn´t pretend for a whole year that he really believed his career choice would matter that much, not when he probably didn´t live to finish school. Beside that, it would also be nice to have his friends with him in the difficult times to come, but they should have a chance to decide so for themselves, after they had heard all the facts.
Harry decided that he needed to think the whole situation over again, and that he had a few more questions for Dumbledore, when there flew an owl into his room. He didn´t recognise it and had a sudden vision of the letter being a portkey, when he shook himself –he was safe as long as he was at his Aunt´s house! Would he become as paranoid as Moody over this whole prophecy-mess?
Opening it, he read:
Dear Mr Potter,
Please receive enclosed the results of your OWLs:
Astronomy: Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
Charms: Exceeds Expectations
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Divination: Terrible
Herbology: Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic: Terrible
Potions: Acceptable
Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations
You have received a total of seven OWLs.
We would also like to inform you that you had a perfect score on your Defence Against the Dark Arts exam with an additional bonus point.
We congratulate you on your performance and wish you success for your future schooling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Griselda Marchbanks
Head Examiner
Harry stared at the paper. Seven OWLs! That was more than Fred and George´s results combined! And a perfect score in DADA! Although he had expected a fairly good mark in Defence, he had never before had a perfect score in any exam. He had only failed Divination and History –no surprise there- and apparently scraped through Astronomy despite everything that had happened that night. Potions- well, no real surprise there either, he honestly couldn´t have hoped for more, but he still felt a stitch in his stomach, now he couldn´t become an Auror, could he? And imagining Snape with his superior little smile because of that made him ball his right fist until it was white.
He thought again about his career talk with McGonagall. Hadn´t she said she would help him become an Auror if that was the last thing she did? And that she would tutor him at night if it was necessary? Had she meant that, or did she just say so to spite Umbridge? Perhaps there was still a little chance for him to become an Auror, and if it were just to wipe that smile off Snape´s face, and to prove Umbridge wrong.
With new fervour he started on his letters again, giving Hermione and Ron a detailed account of his results and asking for theirs. He also told them that he would be allowed to leave in the beginning or middle of August and would meet them at "the place from last summer". Then writing to Neville, Luna and even Ginny, although she would probably hear from Ron anyway, Harry apologised for not answering sooner and asked how their summers were going. Remembering Luna´s letter he complimented her for finding a Sniffling Cryberry although the Snorkack hadn´t shown itself until now; even if he hadn´t slightest clue what either of those animals were.
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The following days he was more content than he had been since the night his godfather died; there were hours when he wouldn´t think of Sirius, for example while he was reading his school books for a lack of anything better to do. Harry always felt a light pang of guilt when he realised it afterwards and then quickly visualised Sirius´ face in his mind, as if to assure himself that he would never forget him.
Finally the day of his birthday rolled around and Harry kept thinking that the best birthday present anyone could make him was getting him out of Little Winging. He longed for anyone to talk to and the Dursleys weren´t any help either. They had invited the Wheelers, Sandra´s parents, over for dinner on the 31th and for the past week there had been a daily rehearsal for what everyone would say. The whole thing was a replay of the evening when Uncle Vernon´s boss had come for dinner four years ago, when Dobby had visited Harry for the first time. After days of listening to them repeat the same sentences, Harry was on the verge of screaming every time Dudley said: "Now I can see where Sandra got her beauty from, Mrs Wheeler", and he was glad that he would stay in his room for he didn´t think he could have kept a straight face throughout the whole play.
So in the evening he was lying on his bed, hearing the low murmur of voices from downstairs, when a small stone flew through his open window. When he sat up another one followed and he heard a "psst!" outside and another voice quietly called: "Harry!". Grabbing his wand Harry silently made his way over to the window and peered out, careful not to be seen. Below the window he could make out two moving forms. Apparently they were dillusioned. Harry knew that there were order members outside somewhere, why hadn´t they stopped whoever that was? Or was it the order, but then why hadn´t they told him beforehand that they would come? Harry hesitated, unsure what to do, when he suddenly was seen by one of the intruders.
"Harry! Good to see you! We were starting to think you´d sleep through our little visit!"
Harry immediately recognised the voice, it was Fred, or maybe George, their voices like everything else was similar.
"Hey, what are you two doing there?! Are you alone? How did you get through the guards?"
"We´ll explain in a minute, just let us come in first, before the guard comes back!"
With that they started to climb up the gutter near his window. Apparently they had a lot of practise with it. Seeing Harry´s look, Fred said: "Well, it always came in handy when we were sneaking out of the Burrow before we were allowed to do magic, -so let that be a word of advice for you, young Harry, don´t always rely on magic, sometimes the Muggle way is just as effective! And with the Anti-Apparition-wards around the house we had to get in the old fashioned way."
"And as to why we´re here, you didn´t think we would let you spent your birthday all alone with those Muggles? Ah, sweet sixteen, I can remember our sixteenth birthday, it´s such an innocent age!"
Harry snorted, he couldn´t imagine the twins ever being innocent, they probably had pranked their mother while lying in the crib. "And how did you get in here? Does anyone know you´re here?"
"Well, you see, it´s Dung´s shift and he has lately started to distill illegally and then label the moonshine as Ogden´s Old Firewhisky. Apparently he needed to look after his distillery for a moment, so we could sneak in."
"And no, no one knows we´re here, or they all would have wanted to come. It´s just that we wanted to talk to you alone for a minute and we figured we would bring you your birthday present personally while we´re at it, and hopefully raise your spirits a bit as well."
Harry grinned. If he couldn´t get out having some company was the next best thing for a present he could imagine, and the twins were always fun to be with. He only hoped they wouldn´t get into any trouble for sneaking in to visit him. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Oh, straight to business, then?" George said, interestedly poking at one of Dudley´s old toys, a glibbery gum ball, that would stick to everything it was thrown at.
"You see, Harry, last year we decided to return the money you gave us back to you as soon as possible and now we are selling so much of our stuff via owl order, that we should soon be able to pay it back. It´s just that we want to open a real shop sometime and we wanted to ask you if it´s alright if we use your money for that and pay you later. Don´t get us wrong, we will be able to open the shop sooner or later anyway, only with your money it would be sooner."
-"And, of course you wouldn´t just get your money back but a share of the money we make as well."
Harry shook his head at them. "I never wanted that money back, so go ahead and use it for everything you need. I´d like some good jokes more than any money, and especially that money. I could never spent it, so you keep it."
"Oh no Harry, we are Weasleys and we always pay our debts!" - "We can set up a vault for you and transfer your share of the returns there, and then you can think about a worthy cause to spent that money on."
Looking into their determined faces, Harry knew that no arguing would change their mind, he knew that stubborn look too well from whenever Ron had set his mind on something, so he reluctantly agreed.
After that the twins told him about a few new things they had invented and how they had tested them on Ron and Ginny and then calmed their furious mother down with Pleasing Popps, all the while being carefully quiet so neither the Dursleys nor the guard outside would notice anything. Harry was soon shaking with laughter and the effort to keep it noiseless. Later Fred and George gave him a package of their products for present, although it was only about ten and not quite his birthday yet, but they wanted to get away from Privet Drive before Moody´s shift would begin.
The twins were just dillusioning themselves when Harry took one of their new inventions in his hands, holding it at the attached string.
"No, Harry, don´t! When you pull at the string –"
Fred didn´t get further. The little ball exploded in sparks and fireworks, the noise loud enough to alarm everyone in the house. There was a moment of silence, then Harry shoved George to the window, "Out, get out, before anyone comes up!" The twins seemed reluctant to leave Harry to face his relatives alone, but their presence would only make things worse. He heard them land in the garden with a muffled "Ouch" and then the fast and angry steps of his Uncle on the stairs, followed by the indignant trippling of his Aunt.
His mind was blank when they stormed into his room, Uncle Vernon´s face a deep shade of purple with a vein bulging at his temples, Aunt Petunia with a piercing look in her narrowed eyes and her mouth the thinnest line possible. They looked murderous.
Harry couldn´t think of any excuse and actually was really scared of them for a moment, and then, without thinking, without knowing what he did, he grabbed one of the Pleasing Popps, that George had pointed out to him before, and threw it at the floor.
It popped just before his Aunt and Uncle and smoke rose up quickly, obscuring them from his view. Harry, standing at the window, didn´t inhale much of the smoke and felt no immediate effects. He didn´t know if the Popps would work on Muggles at all, but when he at least couldn´t hear them screaming at him, he dared to hope a little.
Then the smoke cleared away and he could see the Dursleys standing at the door again, a dreamy, pleased smile on their faces.
"Ah, why don´t you come down with us, Harry, and have dessert with us?" Uncle Vernon said, stepping aside and gesturing downwards invitingly. "We would be so glad if you joined us," Aunt Petunia smiled sickeningly sweet.
"Uh, erm, I really don´t want to, thanks for the invitation, but erm, -I had already something to eat and I think I´m just going to go to bed now."
Harry could only look incredulously as his relatives seemed genuinely sorry about that and then with a last "Well, you know where we are, if you change your mind…" vanished downstairs. He wondered if he should just always carry one of the Popps with him and throw it at Voldemort the next time they met.
The twins apparently had disappeared as well, for when he turned around he couldn´t see them outside anymore. Maybe Mungdungus Fletcher had still been at his distillery and therefore hadn´t noticed the little firework in Harry´s room.
Another thought suddenly occurred to Harry. Chuckling to himself he tried to imagine what the Wheelers must be thinking of his Aunt and Uncle looking like they had just smoked some very strong joints.