Harry potter

Weasley's Chore disposer

Hedwig glided through the window of number four, privet driver. With her feathers ruffled, and tired eyes, Harry could tell she had had a long and difficult journey. Although he was used to the white snowy owl drifting in and out his window, the muggle world hadn't yet got the idea. Neighbours would often talk of strange goings on at number four, but the occupants would never comment and just wave a hand to say 'I don't know what your going talking about.' Harry lived with his aunt, uncle and cousin Dudley, none of which ever took a liking to him. Uncle Vernon seemed to enjoy making Harry's life seem worthless. His large stature gave him the idea he was powerful and intimidating, but as Harry knew, his pride was always his downfall. Aunt petunia on the other hand, was a small and feeble woman who spent most of her time trying to spy on the neighbours. She wanted to give the impression she was just another house wife living a normal life, perfectly respectable, but of course a little higher class. Dudley had once been the size of a killer whale, but after a much needed diet managed to become more like a young elephant, and although individually these people seemed insignificant, when placed together they became an elite anti Harry force, whose aim is to rid Harry of any happiness or fun. Harry had got used to this, even he didn't like it, but once a year he would be whisked away to a place where no Dursly could ever find him or cause him grief.

Hedwig landed on Harry's bed and stuck out her leg for him to untie the letter bound to it. She then returned to her cage above Harry's draws and fell asleep almost the moment she closed her eyes. 'At last' Harry thought as he looked and the envelope. He could tell by the scrawny hand writing that it was Ron, his best friend in the entire world. As usual it was full of news from abroad.

Dear Harry

Wow! This place is amazing. I mean, I never thought muggles could actually have fun, and then we turn up at this place called Disney land, if you've heard of it? And find out they have roller coasters! They're these rides u go on that go really fast on a track. Dad's having the most fun I think, he's never seen all the muggle stuff in one place. The other day he got stopped by a man in the street though, all dad did was look at him and the guy started quizzing him about random stuff. Think he'd gone psycho. So dad's a bit more careful to avoid eye contact. Although as you can imagine he can't stop talking to them, thinks their fascinating, I think he need a new hobby. You can't trust muggles really. Anyway I cant write much, mum's having a go at Fred and George for trying to fly a bumper car (these little cars you drive and dump into each other, seems a bit pointless really) so I'll write when I next get chance. Hope things are ok with the muggles, I'll be back soon to rescue you I promise!

Ron

Harry always appreciated letters from his friends, he felt less alone, especially after the death of his god father. But it was strange to be without a friendly letter from Sirius. He put Ron's envelope under the loose floor board with the rest of his letters, and headed downstairs for lunch feeling a little down after the thought of Sirius.

When he arrived, Uncle Vernon was reading the paper, though Harry noticed him looking over the top of it to watch Harry's every move. They didn't seem to trust him since Dudley's encounter with the dementors, which were of course all Harry's fault. Since then he had wondered what Dudley saw when attacked, 'probably a doughnut gone bad' he thought to himself. Aunt petunia was busy making salad rolls, 2 for Dudley, 2 for uncle Vernon, and one for Harry (if he was lucky). She shot him an evil look before calling everyone to the table. As Dudley walked in Harry tried very hard not to laugh but couldn't resist saying "love the outfit, do the clowns know you have it?" He got a whack round the head for that one. Dudley had strolled into the living room looking like a page out of the news paper, he wore a bright yellow suit covered with news articles and photos and headlines. "It's for the school play!" he argued. "oh and we are proud of our little duddydims, all brave, standing up in front of all those people" said aunt petunia. "The boys got talent dear, finally he can show them what he's made of, huh Dudley" With a look of total embarrassment Dudley joined them at the table, and began to devour his lunch. Every now and then he would give Harry a look of total disgust, and then look longingly at the food on Harry's plate. Dudley hated the diet scheme and didn't see the need for him to go without his beloved foods.

After leaving the table Harry was called into the garden by uncle Vernon. With a bewildered look on his face he obliged, and found his uncle standing by his shed looking smug. This was a warning to Harry who now knew he was in trouble for something. It didn't take long to find out what for. In the shed lay a small package addressed to Harry, it had been opened and the content was hard to keep a strait face at. This didn't make the situation any better judging by the look on his uncle's face. "This arrived for you this morning. Who in their right mind would be sending u a parcel? So naturally I opened it. Would you care to explain this, this, thing!?" Inside the box was small round floating orb. Written on its lid were the words:

"Weasley's Chore disposer"

Gets rid of unwanted work in an instant

Simply open lid and add water

And you will have spare time on your hands

Warning: discontinue use if face turns purple,

If gender changes

Or if unwanted odours seems to follow you.

A Weasley product

Also inside was an attached note. Meanwhile his uncle's face seemed to be getting redder and redder.

Dear Harry

Thought this might come in handy when you have done all your exams. You should to see how the shops going, more orders everyday!

Fred and George

"Thought you'd be able to get out of work did you? Thought you'd write to your freaky friends asking for help?" The vein on his uncle's head looked as though it was about to burst with anger. "Well not in my house boy! There will be no more talking to friends. No more owl in and out the window! And above all NO MORE M.." "Vernon the neighbours!" screeched aunt petunia from the kitchen. In a low whisper he continued "and above all no more magic! Do you hear me boy?"

"But this wasn't me! I didn't send for help, and as you said Hedwig makes a lot of noise if she's locked up in her cage. Can I just let her out for an hour or two a day? She couldn't fly to anyone in that time." Harry protested.

"Are you arguing with me boy? That bird is not going anywhere, understand?"

"Yes sir"

"Good now go upstairs and lock up that dam owl, and make sure your window is shut tight. If I see anything that leads me to think your communicating with those freaks, you will wish you had never been born."

Harry was about to walk away when his uncle continued "And you can forget dinner tonight, you will have too many chores to do. Mark my words boy, you won't get out of this one with trickery!"

"But!" Harry started.

"No buts, get upstairs before I show you what it means to be miserable." Uncle Vernon said before Harry could protest anymore.

'Too late.' Harry thought. He hurried up to his room. Fred and George may have thought they were helping Harry but things were getting worse. Cheering Harry up would take a lot more than an orb to get rid of chores. Hedwig was still asleep in her cage which made it much easier to keep her in. He locked his window and her cage, then lifted up the loose floor board to look his letter from Ron. Loud thuds on the stairs told him his uncle was on his way up. He stashed the letter back under the floorboard just as his uncle reached Harry's door, but instead of coming in he heard him lock every bolt on his door and then call "were going out, don't even think of trying to escape. We will be back in a few hours." Harry listened to hear them close the door, get in the car and drive away. This came as quite a shock to Harry as they would normally not dare to leave him behind. However after much consideration he remembered Dudley's outfit at lunch and realised they were off for a dress rehearsal. They wouldn't want to be seen with Harry that was for sure. He lifted the floor board again and emptied it just so he could look at everything he had been sent. Hermione was constantly telling him to hang in there, they would see him again soon enough. Ron was saying he would come and rescue him and Hagrid would talk of all the new animals he had acquired, though he saw them more as pets. And then Harry saw something, a letter lying at the bottom of the pile, one he had forgotten about for so long. It was addressed to him and had not yet been opened. Harry was given it by Professor Lupin when they left him at the station. Harry stared at it, the handwriting was so familiar. He opened the envelope slowly and unfolded a short letter.

Dear Harry

Your god father left me this to give to you if anything happened to him. He said you would know what to do with it. Hope to see you again soon.

Remus Lupin

Inside the note was a small key along with a photo. Harry had never seen a key so strange. It was a bright gold with silver leaves engraved all along it. He had no idea what the key was for and the photo didn't give him any clews either. It was of Sirius and Harry's dad outside Hogwarts. The school didn't look very different apart from the lack of plants and trees which must have been planted later. What did it all mean? Why did Sirius say he would know what it was? He didn't have a clue. Harry's heart was pounding, he had tried so hard to block out his feelings about Sirius's death, the prophesy, but it was all flooding back. All the pain and anger, he was angry at Sirius for leaving him, it hurt to think how alone he was. The last member of his family, gone. Harry sat, staring at the picture wishing they could know this, wishing they could just pop up and tell him everything was ok. He was alone. The silence was unbearable and all he could do was think about all that had happened to him. He wanted Sirius back more than anything. Why had he left him a key? Was Harry supposed to use it? He slowly lost track of time, and the only thoughts in his head were how he could have stopped all this. Why hadn't he realised it was all a trap, he felt stupid, angry at his stupidity and fed up with his anger.

As the sky began to darken, Harry stood up still clutching the picture. He opened his wardrobe and pulled out the photo album given to him by Hagrid in his first year. The pictures all showed happy scenes, none of them gave any signs of knowing what was about to happen to them. He flicked to a blank page and placed the photo in the centre. They all seemed so content. He put all of his letters back under the floor board, and after looking at the key one more time he hid it under his pillow. A car door slammed and Harry knew. They were back.