Harry awoke with a horrible pain in his scar and tears streaming down his face. He had not had pain this bad since he returned to Privet Drive. Harry's scar had almost always been tingling since he had returned, but he suspected that that was only because Voldemort was back and as strong as ever.
It was only five in the morning when he had been awoken by this pain. His mind almost immediately settled on the murderous letter that he had received last night. Harry was wondering what to do. Should he write a letter? And if he did, who would he write to? Hedwig was now probably being watched. He couldn't be safe anymore. There was no way to write to anyone without the killer knowing. But so what if the killer did know that he was writing to people about him? That was probably what the killer expected. If that's what the killer expects, is it also what he wants? What can he do if he sees the letter?
"I can't take this, I'm writing the ruddy letter, and I'm writing it to Hermione. She'll know what to do," muttered Harry under his breath. He didn't want to wake the Dursleys.
Harry realized that he had forgotten about his glasses, so he put them on. Once he could see, he went his desk and brought out a fresh piece of parchment and a bottle of ink and a quill. He sat for a moment wondering how to put in a letter that someone had just threatened to kill him, and then wrote, "Hi Hermione! I got your letter and can most definitely come to your house. I am so excited to be getting away from this place so soon! I hope that I am not barging in on your family time. Please write back with an exact date and I will tell the Dursleys when to expect your parents. Oh yeah, I thought that I should tell you that in the big envelope that you and Ron's letters came in there was a third letter. I don't know who it was, but they threatened to kill me. I know that you must be thinking Voldemort, but this person told me that he's not who I would think, so now I have no idea who this guy is. I'm sure that you would've wanted to hear that, so please take me seriously. I would not joke about something this serious. See you soon, Harry!"
Harry reread his letter and decided that he put way too little emphasis on the fact that he was scared as anything that someone just threatened to take his life. He sounded like he didn't really care. But he didn't want to sound like he was chicken, or at least not in front of Hermione...
"What am I thinking? I don't like Hermione that way. Or do I? No, no, of course I don't. I just don't want to look like a coward. Not in front of Hermione or anyone for that matter!" thought Harry to himself.
"But you do find her pretty, don't you?" said a voice from the back of his head.
Harry shook off these absurd thoughts and tried to turn his mind to other things. He decided that he would send his letter right then so that he would not forget or talk himself out of it. He walked over to Hedwig and attached the letter firmly to her leg.
"Now, I don't want you to let anyone but Hermione touch you. You have to make sure and do that, o.k.? Whoever may have caught you yesterday will not catch you again."
Without further ado, Hedwig gracefully swept from Harry's arm and flew with insane speed out of his window. Harry watched for a moment in wonderment at the speed of Hedwig. If she got back unhampered with Harry would make sure and thank Hagrid again for this marvelous creature.
The day went by in a haze. There wasn't much for Harry to do but wait for Hermione's reply (which he wanted fast), so he started again on his homework.
Harry was making pretty good headway through his homework. By three in the afternoon he was extremely hungry. He journeyed downstairs to find nourishment. He was in the middle of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for himself when Aunt Petunia walked into the kitchen. She took a glance at him and said,
"Harry, I've been meaning to talk with you for some time now."
Harry was very shocked by this statement. Aunt Petunia never talked to him more than necessary. This was why Harry was wondering what cock-and-bull story Dudley had told her to get him in trouble when she continued,
"Do you remember at the beginning of last summer when you said Dudley was attacked by dementors?"
"Yes, I remember quite clearly," said a very confused Harry.
"Well, did you mean when you said...erm...You-know-who's back?"
"I most certainly did, and now everyone in the wizarding community knows it and there's a full blown panic going on," said Harry. He could not believe that he was just so brave. He had said the word "wizarding" right in front of his Aunt. She, however, looked very frightened rather than angry at the information given to her.
"Harry dear, I was worried all of this past year that what you said was true. I said no more of it because I could not bring myself to relive my past. You see, when I was still in school and your mother was going to that Hogwats, was it?"
"Hogwarts," said Harry, correcting her. He wanted her to continue talking.
"Yes, thank you. Anyway, when I was schooling your mother was always telling me about this...erm...Voldemort. I thought that she was just trying to scare me with her stories of the Dark Lord. I guess not. Now that I know that he's back, I'm stuck on the hook. I can't let you leave this house, boy, it would kill you. I couldn't live with that on my shoulders. But I am also worrying about Vernon, Dudley, and me. Are we in trouble? Is he out there trying to kill us?"
Harry went blank for a couple of moments. He never knew that Aunt Petunia really did know about these things, but why had she hid them all of these years? He looked at her for a minute and said,
"Honestly, it is entirely possible for Voldemort to be targeting you. I hope that this doesn't cause you to throw me out. You see, staying here keeps me alive, and you know that, don't you?"
"Yes I do know that. But as I said, I couldn't bear to throw you out of this house."
"Well, I do have good news; I'll be staying with my friend Hermione for a good part of the summer...that is, if it's o.k. with you."
Harry looked into his Aunt's eyes and saw that she was seriously thinking this through. She said,
"Harry, if you leave now, are you vulnerable to him?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore said that I only have to stay here a couple of weeks to be protected from your blood."
"Well, you can go then. I know that you will enjoy yourself there much more than you will here, considering how Vernon and Dudley treat you," said Aunt Petunia.
"Thank you, Aunt Petunia!" said Harry; and he truly meant it.
Later that day, after he had eaten and thought over his one true conversation with his Aunt, Harry was back in his room and just finishing a Transfiguration essay when Hedwig arrived with Hermione's reply.
"Wow! That was fast!"
Hedwig hooted in flattery and held out her leg for Harry. It was definitely from Hermione and it read, "Harry, that's horrible (about the mysterious letter)! You should write to Dumbledore," (like Harry hadn't seen that coming)," but also, it's great that you can come over. My parents are free tomorrow, so they will pick you up at precisely four 'o clock. Be ready and packed! With worry and love, Hermione."
Harry probably could've written Hermione's reply for her (except for when he was being picked up, of course); it was just so predictable. He was even considering consulting Dumbledore himself, too. But it was just that something didn't feel right yet. Harry decided to not let it bother him so much. He was going to have fun over the summer and wait to see if this mysterious person even wrote again. Maybe it was all an elaborate joke being played on him by Malfoy (which was more than likely).
That night, after a relaxing swim at the community pool, Harry was lying in bed and dozing off to sleep when all of a sudden,
"Procrastinator!" rang the same voice in the back of his head.
It was only five in the morning when he had been awoken by this pain. His mind almost immediately settled on the murderous letter that he had received last night. Harry was wondering what to do. Should he write a letter? And if he did, who would he write to? Hedwig was now probably being watched. He couldn't be safe anymore. There was no way to write to anyone without the killer knowing. But so what if the killer did know that he was writing to people about him? That was probably what the killer expected. If that's what the killer expects, is it also what he wants? What can he do if he sees the letter?
"I can't take this, I'm writing the ruddy letter, and I'm writing it to Hermione. She'll know what to do," muttered Harry under his breath. He didn't want to wake the Dursleys.
Harry realized that he had forgotten about his glasses, so he put them on. Once he could see, he went his desk and brought out a fresh piece of parchment and a bottle of ink and a quill. He sat for a moment wondering how to put in a letter that someone had just threatened to kill him, and then wrote, "Hi Hermione! I got your letter and can most definitely come to your house. I am so excited to be getting away from this place so soon! I hope that I am not barging in on your family time. Please write back with an exact date and I will tell the Dursleys when to expect your parents. Oh yeah, I thought that I should tell you that in the big envelope that you and Ron's letters came in there was a third letter. I don't know who it was, but they threatened to kill me. I know that you must be thinking Voldemort, but this person told me that he's not who I would think, so now I have no idea who this guy is. I'm sure that you would've wanted to hear that, so please take me seriously. I would not joke about something this serious. See you soon, Harry!"
Harry reread his letter and decided that he put way too little emphasis on the fact that he was scared as anything that someone just threatened to take his life. He sounded like he didn't really care. But he didn't want to sound like he was chicken, or at least not in front of Hermione...
"What am I thinking? I don't like Hermione that way. Or do I? No, no, of course I don't. I just don't want to look like a coward. Not in front of Hermione or anyone for that matter!" thought Harry to himself.
"But you do find her pretty, don't you?" said a voice from the back of his head.
Harry shook off these absurd thoughts and tried to turn his mind to other things. He decided that he would send his letter right then so that he would not forget or talk himself out of it. He walked over to Hedwig and attached the letter firmly to her leg.
"Now, I don't want you to let anyone but Hermione touch you. You have to make sure and do that, o.k.? Whoever may have caught you yesterday will not catch you again."
Without further ado, Hedwig gracefully swept from Harry's arm and flew with insane speed out of his window. Harry watched for a moment in wonderment at the speed of Hedwig. If she got back unhampered with Harry would make sure and thank Hagrid again for this marvelous creature.
The day went by in a haze. There wasn't much for Harry to do but wait for Hermione's reply (which he wanted fast), so he started again on his homework.
Harry was making pretty good headway through his homework. By three in the afternoon he was extremely hungry. He journeyed downstairs to find nourishment. He was in the middle of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for himself when Aunt Petunia walked into the kitchen. She took a glance at him and said,
"Harry, I've been meaning to talk with you for some time now."
Harry was very shocked by this statement. Aunt Petunia never talked to him more than necessary. This was why Harry was wondering what cock-and-bull story Dudley had told her to get him in trouble when she continued,
"Do you remember at the beginning of last summer when you said Dudley was attacked by dementors?"
"Yes, I remember quite clearly," said a very confused Harry.
"Well, did you mean when you said...erm...You-know-who's back?"
"I most certainly did, and now everyone in the wizarding community knows it and there's a full blown panic going on," said Harry. He could not believe that he was just so brave. He had said the word "wizarding" right in front of his Aunt. She, however, looked very frightened rather than angry at the information given to her.
"Harry dear, I was worried all of this past year that what you said was true. I said no more of it because I could not bring myself to relive my past. You see, when I was still in school and your mother was going to that Hogwats, was it?"
"Hogwarts," said Harry, correcting her. He wanted her to continue talking.
"Yes, thank you. Anyway, when I was schooling your mother was always telling me about this...erm...Voldemort. I thought that she was just trying to scare me with her stories of the Dark Lord. I guess not. Now that I know that he's back, I'm stuck on the hook. I can't let you leave this house, boy, it would kill you. I couldn't live with that on my shoulders. But I am also worrying about Vernon, Dudley, and me. Are we in trouble? Is he out there trying to kill us?"
Harry went blank for a couple of moments. He never knew that Aunt Petunia really did know about these things, but why had she hid them all of these years? He looked at her for a minute and said,
"Honestly, it is entirely possible for Voldemort to be targeting you. I hope that this doesn't cause you to throw me out. You see, staying here keeps me alive, and you know that, don't you?"
"Yes I do know that. But as I said, I couldn't bear to throw you out of this house."
"Well, I do have good news; I'll be staying with my friend Hermione for a good part of the summer...that is, if it's o.k. with you."
Harry looked into his Aunt's eyes and saw that she was seriously thinking this through. She said,
"Harry, if you leave now, are you vulnerable to him?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore said that I only have to stay here a couple of weeks to be protected from your blood."
"Well, you can go then. I know that you will enjoy yourself there much more than you will here, considering how Vernon and Dudley treat you," said Aunt Petunia.
"Thank you, Aunt Petunia!" said Harry; and he truly meant it.
Later that day, after he had eaten and thought over his one true conversation with his Aunt, Harry was back in his room and just finishing a Transfiguration essay when Hedwig arrived with Hermione's reply.
"Wow! That was fast!"
Hedwig hooted in flattery and held out her leg for Harry. It was definitely from Hermione and it read, "Harry, that's horrible (about the mysterious letter)! You should write to Dumbledore," (like Harry hadn't seen that coming)," but also, it's great that you can come over. My parents are free tomorrow, so they will pick you up at precisely four 'o clock. Be ready and packed! With worry and love, Hermione."
Harry probably could've written Hermione's reply for her (except for when he was being picked up, of course); it was just so predictable. He was even considering consulting Dumbledore himself, too. But it was just that something didn't feel right yet. Harry decided to not let it bother him so much. He was going to have fun over the summer and wait to see if this mysterious person even wrote again. Maybe it was all an elaborate joke being played on him by Malfoy (which was more than likely).
That night, after a relaxing swim at the community pool, Harry was lying in bed and dozing off to sleep when all of a sudden,
"Procrastinator!" rang the same voice in the back of his head.