Chapter Three

After Harry and the Dursley's finished their dinner, Harry went up to his bedroom. He put Hedwig into her cage and got his trunk. Then he noticed the mysterious sword at the foot of his bed. He took it and slung it over his shoulder with the shoulder wrap that was on its case. Holding Hedwig's cage by the handle with one hand, and rolling his trunk with the other, he opened his bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway. He then ran into Dudley.

"What was up with the whole dinner thing?" he asked. "And where do you think your going?" Dudley added when he noticed what Harry was holding. "Bloody Hell!" He screamed when he saw Harry's sword. Harry heard a vase falling from inside the bathroom down the hall. "Where did you get that thing?"

"I wanted to say good-bye in a nice manner," Harry started. "And I'm leaving. This was a Birthday present. If you hadn't noticed, my Birthday was yesterday. "

Dudley looked confused, angry, and happy all at once. "Who did you get it from? And where are you going to go?"

"I don't know…. And away…."

Aunt Petunia came out of the bathroom with an odd look on her face; no doubt, she had just been eavesdropping on Harry and her precious, fat son.

"Dudley, I don't ever want to hear you use those two words ever again!" she informed her son. "And you are not aloud to leave!" she added to Harry. "You are not of age and if you go, then who will do the chores and look after the bacon in the morning!"

"I am seventeen years old if you hadn't noticed and you will do those things." Harry spat. "Now get out of the way!" Harry was thankful that his aunt hadn't noticed the shiny slab of metal on his shoulder. He didn't wait for his aunt to move, he just pushed her out of the way and went down stairs.

"Vernon! Vernon!" Aunt Petunia was shouting, trying to stop Harry in any way possible. Harry made it out of the door without meeting his uncle, thankful for his speed.

Harry ran, without knowing where he was going. He just ran. Then a thought entered his mind. The night bus! I will take the night bus! Harry took his wand out of his pocket and stuck it up into the air. A very big purple bus came out of nowhere and stopped right in front of Harry.

"Welcome, to the night b…" a young man started. He looked up for a brief moment then looked down at the piece of paper that he was reading off of; when the image of Harry processed in his mind, he looked up again. "We meet again, Harry," Stan said. "Whoa," he added when he saw the sword. Harry didn't want to answer any questions so he decided to say something.

"Hiya, Stan," he said going onto the night bus without being told. "Could you take me to the Burrow by any chance?" Harry asked.

"I sure can," Stan replied, looking at Harry in an odd way.

When Harry entered the room-like area filled with beds on the bus, he saw that there were two other people aboard; an old man, sleeping and snoring, and a woman who looked as though she was in her late thirties.

The woman looked up from the newspaper that she was reading. Harry saw that it was the Daily Prophet containing the article including him. She looked back at the Prophet and then to him; her eyes widened.

"You can just sit here Harry, lad," Stan was saying. "We have to make two stops first but I can take you to the Burrow. Say, Harry, what're you doing with a sword?"

When Stan said this, the woman's eyes grew even larger as she looked at the sword for the first time.

"It was a Birthday gift," Harry said.

"Who from?" Stan asked.

"I don't know," Harry said softly, trying not to let the witch hear; she was eagerly listening to their every word.

"You say you don't know who!" Stan almost yelled, shocked with the news.

"Yes," Harry said.

The woman spoke up. "I couldn't help overhearing," she began. "But you, Harry Potter, received an anonymous sword for your Birthday?" she stated more than asked.

"Yes," Harry said again. And then she shocked Harry with what she asked next.

"May I have your autograph?" she was holding out the Prophet with a pen.

Harry had only been asked for his autograph once before, and it was his friend Colin who had asked him. "Sure," he said awkwardly, taking the pen and writing his name next to the article about him, Dumbledore, and Voldemort.