To Harry's greatest relief, Thursday arrived very soon but still not quite soon enough. Harry had to endure Aunt Marge's snide comments about him from the moment he woke up till the very last second before he fell asleep. She ranted on about how he brought dark creatures of the night (owls), into the house and about how unworthy he was to live with the Dursleys. Surprisingly, though, Harry had managed not to loose control. He thought he ought to be congratulated for that.
Harry woke up very early on Thursday, just before the break of dawn. He wanted to be prepaired for the arrival of his guards because he didn't know when they would be coming; Ron had not written back to him about it. After pacing his room for almost two hours, straining his ears for any odd sounds from the kitchen - he remembered how they had gotten in the last time - he heard the Dursleys making their way down the stairs. Harry felt sick at the thought that he would still have to face Aunt Marge that morning but he got dressed anyway and left down the stairs for a quick breakfast.
As he entered the kitchen, Uncle Vernon looked up. "A word with you, boy. In the hall, now!"
Looking puzzled, Harry went into the hall with Uncle Vernon following him. When he had shut the kitchen door, Uncle Vernon bend so close to Harry that it was even possible to count the hair in his moustache, then he said so very quietly, "Your freaky friends are coming to get you, is it not?"
Before Harry could answer, Aunt Marge came in. Harry could catch a glimpse of Dudley and Aunt Petunia looking horrified in the kitchen. Uncle Vernon, however, was unaware that Aunt Marge was in the hall with them.
"Well, answer me boy! Are those freaky people from your school coming to get you or not?" he said louder.
"Erm ..." Harry looked uncertainly at Aunt Marge who had opened her mouth.
"Ho!" she barked so loudly behind her unexpecting brother, causing him to leap in fright. "So your school has send someone for you!"
"Er ... Marge - " started Uncle Vernon, afraid that his sister might find out the truth about Harry, but Aunt Marge cut him off.
"Good!" she said. "I'll be having a word with them about your reckless behaviour here and I'm going to make sure you get all the thrashing you deserve."
"Marge, I don't think it'll be a very good idea," said Aunt Petunia who had just joined them.
"Oh yes it is!" She said, glowering at Harry and she marched back into the kitchen to continue her breakfast. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon exchanged glances.
"Well?" Uncle Vernon turning back on Harry again, his teeth gritted.
"I guess so," Harry answered uncertainly.
"What do you mean by that? Explain!"
"They didn't tell me what time they're going to come!" Harry nearly shouted.
"Then how are we going to keep Marge away?!"
Harry just shrugged. It wasn't his problem after all. Why should he care if she found he was a wizard?
"Fine! Back to your room, boy!" snarled Uncle Vernon.
"What! I haven't even eaten breakfast!" exclaimed Harry.
"Then go," whispered Aunt Petunia dangerously, "and stay out of sight after you're done."
"Gladly," Harry muttered under his breath as he made his way back into the kitchen. He just didn't get how the Dursleys got so uptight about stuff like this.
After finishing his breakfast as fast as possible, Harry kept 'out of sight' just like Aunt Petunia wanted him to. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were still trying to talk Aunt Marge out of 'reporting' Harry. Harry could hear their fruitless attempts as he hurried around his room, packing everything he owned into his trunk.
When Harry had finished stuffing everything into his trunk, he found out that it wouldn't close. He press hard on top, but it still wouldn't close. Groaning, Harry began taking out his belongings one by one; folding his socks and robes, staking them neatly on top of one another. He took out his school items too and arranged them properly. Then something caught his eyes - something that had laid forgotten at the very bottom of his trunk ever since he came back for the holidays. The mirror Sirius had given to him just before he left for Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays last year.
'I want you to use it if you need me, alright?' Sirius had said, shoving the package into Harry's hands. Forbidden memories of the year before came rushing back into Harry's mind. How stupid he had been! If only he had remembered what Sirius had said! It was all his fault that Sirius died. Hermione had been right, Harry thought. It was a trick of Voldermort to get him there. If only he had listen to Hermione and think straight, Sirius would still be alive. So many if only's ... he held back the tears that had threatened to roll down his cheeks.
Harry picked up the broken mirror. He had only found out what the package contained when it was too late and he had flung it away in anger. Harry stared stupidly at the broken mirror as though willing it to repair itself. Then, all of a sudden, he shouted into it, "SIRIUS!" Nothing happened. Harry hadn't expected anything to anyway, still, there was a part of him which actually believed Sirius' face might appear on the shattered pieces of the mirror. But no, only his reflection stared back at him. Not Sirius ...
"Harry?" a gentle voice right beside him spoke. Harry leapt four feet into the air in fright. It couldn't be! he thought.
"Sirius! You're alive!" Harry couldn't believe it! He turned quickly around, face to face with ... Lupin.
Harry's face fell. For one moment, his hopes had been soaring high. For one moment, he had thought Sirius was alive. Lupin smiled at him.
"Do I sound so much like dear, old Padfoot?" he asked Harry kindly.
"I'm - I'm sorry. I was just thinking ..." Harry tried to explain.
"It's okay. We miss him too." Lupin told him. Harry became aware that there were still tears in his eyes. Pretending to put the mirror he was holding into his trunk, Harry used his free hand to wipe away the tears. Looking up, he saw his ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts professor looking down at him. Harry had suddenly realised Lupin was in his room.
"Professor Lupin! How did you get here?" Harry asked.
"Just apparated," said Lupin.
"But - but I didn't hear you."
"That's because you were too busy staring at the mirror," said Lupin patiently. "Ah, I see it belongs to Sirius. Yes, yes, I've seen him use it many times before."
Harry looked around. "Where are the others? Aren't I suppose to have 'bodyguards' or something? Not that I prefer it ..."
"Well, I guess they'll be arriving soon enough." Just as he said that, they both heard a bellowing, a shriek, some screaming and yelling from the Dursleys' living room. Lupin sighed. "Guess that would be them then," he told Harry, smiling grimly. Harry grinned back and the two of them dashed down the stairs to see if Lupin was right. Sure enough, he was.
Standing in the middle of all the commotion was Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge and Dedalus Diggle. They appeared to have apparated in all of a sudden while the Dursleys were watching television. Aunt Marge was still screaming her head off. The sight of five people appearing out of nowhere with a loud 'CRACK!' certainly wasn't a very nice surprise.
"Wotcher, Harry," greeted Tonks, winking at him.
"How are you, Potter?" Moody grunted, his magical eye swivelling madly. Harry smiled at them.
"You!" Uncle Vernon said as he recognised Moody. Harry jumped. He had forgotten all about the Dursleys. Aunt Marge had stopped screaming but she was still staring wide-eyed at the members of the Order.
"Yes, me." said Moody threateningly. Moody turned to Harry and asked, "Have these muggles been treating you right?"
Harry grinned and shrugged. "The same," he said.
"Vernon! Who are these people?" said a voice all of a sudden. It was Aunt Marge. She seemed to have gotten over the shock rather quickly.
"They - er - " Harry knew Uncle Vernon was trying to do some quick thinking but before he had figured out what to say, Harry cut in.
"They're people from my school. Wizards." he said cheerfully. It was time for Aunt Marge to know the truth.
Aunt Marge's eye-brows shot up. "People from your school? Wizards?" she repeated. "Rubbish! There's no such thing as wizards, you treacherous little liar; and you go to St Brutus' School for - "
"No. I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ..." Behind Harry, Lupin and the others were grinning at the shocked look on Aunt Marge's face. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia looked furious though they didn't dare say anything in front of six fully armed wizards. Crouching behind his large father, Dudley was whimpering. "... and this is a wand," Harry continued, pulling out his wand from the waistband of his jeans.
Aunt Marge seemed to be speechless for a while but she managed to overcome it. "Oh no, you ungrateful worm! That is no wand! It is just a piece of wood and your freaky friends are no wizards," she smiled knowingly. "You've always been planning this little masquerade, haven't you?"
"What masquerade? I'm telling the truth! They're the ones who've been lying to you!" Harry said hopelessly, pointing at the Dursleys.
But Aunt Marge didn't seem to be listening. She was ecstatic at trying to prove Harry was lying. Harry thought she looked mad.
"I'm sure I'll be able to find a little button somewhere," she said, crawling around on her knees like one of her bulldogs, looking for the 'button' she seemed to think was there. "Yes, I know, you just press it and - 'POOF' - these crazy friends of yours appear, eh? And then you say it's magic! HA!"
This woman was crazy! Harry thought furiously. He saw Lupin exchanged a glance with Tonks. Obviously they had never met anyone who was so stubbornly refusing to believe in the existence of magic. Harry looked at Lupin and shrugged.
"Nevermind that mad woman, Potter," growled Moody who was suddenly beside him, looking at Aunt Marge who was still crawling on the floor with a look of deepest loathing and disgust. "Go get your trunk."
"I'll go with you!" Tonks volunteered. As Harry headed for the steps, he saw that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had rushed over to haul Aunt Marge of the floor while Dudley looked on with a terrified expression on his face.
When they had reached the solitudness of his room, Tonks spoke. "Was that woman mad?" she asked.
Harry laughed. "No. I guess she just refused to believe what I told her, maybe it's too big of a shock for her ... you know? I mean, the whole Dursley family hates magic." he explained, though he was also disquieted by Aunt Marge's reaction.
Tonks looked around Harry's room. "So, you're done packing. Good. Then we can leave sooner. Come on, let's go downstairs and see what's happened. Locomotor trunk," she said
Harry's trunk rose a few inches into the air. Holding her wand like a conductor's baton, Tonks made the trunk hover across the room and out of the door ahead of them, Hedwig's cage in her left hand. Harry followed her down the stairs carrying his Firebolt.
Downstairs in the living room, the Dursleys were all huddled into one corner, Aunt Marge trying to break free from Uncle Vernon who was restraining her. Lupin and Kingsley were whispering about something and Harry saw that the television was once again reporting on the missing Death Eaters. Mad-Eye was eyeing the Dursleys with disgust and Dedalus Diggle and Elphias Doge were examining the house with mild interest.
"He's here," growled Moody when he saw Harry and Tonks.
The wizards all stopped what they were doing and diverted their attention back to Harry. Lupin got up from the couch he was sitting on and rubbed his palms together. "Well, it's best if we get going now," he told the Dursleys, smiling. Aunt Petunia whimpered piteously.
"Elphias," Kingsley called to Elphias who was standing closest to the door. "Give them the signal."
Elphias took out his wand from inside his robes and opened the door. He then whispered something and bright red sparks flared among the now dark evening sky. After a few moments, green sparks exploded far, far above them.
"Okay, it's time. Potter, come here!" called Moody. Harry went forwards, still dragging his Firebolt. Moody took out his wand and Harry felt the familiar sensation of cold water trickling down his back. He knew Mad-Eye had put the Disillusionment Charm on him. A few feet away, he heard loud gasps coming from the Aunt Petunia and Dudley. Aunt Marge seemed too shock to open her mouth.
They all stepped outside on to Uncle Vernon's beautifully kept lawn.
"Clear night," Moody grunted, his magical eye scanning the heavens. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, you," he barked at Harry, "we're going to fly in the same formation as last summer. Tonks'll be right in front of you. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. Kingsley, Dedalus and Elphias will be circling us."
"That's our signal. Come on. Mount your brooms," Lupin said sharply as yellow sparks now flared among the stars. Tonks quickly let Hedwig out before strapping the cage and Harry's trunk into a harness hanging from her broom. Then they took off.
It felt great to be flying again and leaving the Dursleys. Harry smiled to himself as he remembered that he had just given Aunt Marge an unforgettable visit.
After what seemed like hours of flying in a cold night sky, they started to descend. Harry was grateful. His hands had already been numb by the coldness and he could hardly feel the Firebolt he was gripping.
Finally, they landed and Harry dismounted on a patch of unkempt grass in the middle of a square. Tonks, who had landed before him, was already unbuckling Harry's trunk. Shivering, Harry looked around as his guards landed. There was nothing welcoming about the grimy fronts of the surrounding houses. Harry sighed. They were at Grimmauld Place; Sirius' house.
Harry walked on to the pavement, and with a feeling of great gloom which had suddenly appeared in the pit of his stomach, entered the door which had materialised out of nowhere between house number eleven and thirteen.