Chapter Four
Dear Remus,
Hi, how are you? I'm OK except my uncle, you know, Uncle Vernon has been acting really strangely recently and you're not going to believe this but yesterday I came downstairs and guess where he was? Inside a pensieve! And in this memory he was talking to Dumbledore. I only saw the end so I'm not sure what that was all about but I'd like to know what you think.
Write back soon
Harry
Harry copied the same letter twice, but addressed to Ron and Hermione, and fell back onto his bed. He wasn't really sure how his friends could help but there was nothing else he could do until he had the chance to talk to Uncle Vernon.
What on Earth was going on with Uncle Vernon? Harry had lost count of the amount of times he had asked himself that question. First, the arguments with aunt Petunia, then the incident with Hedwig and the window, now this pensieve thing. He just wished he didn't keep catching the very end of stuff. He yawned loudly and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning Harry sneaked outside and sat in the front seat of Uncle Vernon's car. Moments later he was joined by the man himself ready to set of to work. He calmly got into the car and jumped at the sight of Harry. At first he looked like he was going to do the usual turning purple and roaring his head off routine but seemed to think better of it and said in a voice quite a few octaves higher than usual;
"What are you doing here, Harry?"
Harry was momentarily stunned into silence. He hadn't heard Uncle Vernon call him by his name since…ever. Usually he gave him the pleasant nicknames of 'Boy','Him'
or in extreme moments of hatred 'The Freak'.
Harry snapped out of his shock and said as coolly as he could;
"You've been avoiding me..." Then he added: "…Dursley" with a nasty grin. (Well what was the point of not seizing the opportunity of Uncle Vernon being afraid of him. Last time it had happened he had been moved out of the cupboard into his own room.)
"I-I don't know what you mean" Uncle Vernon's voice was now so high Harry was sure that a load of dogs would soon come running into Uncle Vernon's car.
"Ever since the incident with the pensieve you've been avoiding me, even more than usual" Harry said. "I want an explanation".
Sweat beads appeared on Uncle Vernon's face and he gulped hard.
"Well I suppose there's no avoiding it, you were always going to find out someday, I don't see why it shouldn't be today. I'm just going to say it. Harry I'm-"
Uncle Vernon stopped suddenly at the sound of a loud CRACK! Harry found himself faced with the large freckly faces of Fred and George Weasly pressed up against the car window.