Harry woke up next morning to find three letters lying on the floor beside his bed. He grabbed his glasses, put them on, and held the letters to read them. They were from the Weasleys and Hermione. One letter from Hermione said that she visited a wizarding museum and had fun. She was going to come home in two days. Another was from Mrs. Weasley inviting Harry to come and stay with them. Only Harry didn't stand the horrible shrieks of Mrs. Black. The last one was from Ron, saying that he, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get the new books. So, that's why they invited Harry, so that he could go with them. Quickly, Harry got a piece of parchment and his quill and began to write:
Dear
Weasleys and Hermione,
Thank you for your kind invitation. I would
simply love to join you and go shopping in Diagon Alley. Hey, I've
got good news. The Dursleys totally changed this summer, ever since
Mad Eye and Lupin threatened Uncle Vernon at Kings Cross. Ever since
that moment, they started treating me like I was a second Dudley or
something like that. They look like they'd been under the Imperius
curse, actually. Yeah, about going with you, just as I said, it's my
pleasure. Just send me an owl, telling me when you're going to
Diagon Alley, and whether it's my job to come to you at Kings Cross,
or you come and take me.
Sincerely,
Harry
As
soon as he finished writing, he put the letter in a parcel, and tied
it to Hedwig's leg. She set off to travel to Number Twelve,
Grimmauld Place. Harry got out of bed, and went for breakfast. The
dining table was a complete mess from yesterday. Cherries were all
over the floor, chocolate of the cake was on the chairs, soda was
dripping from the edge of the table... Luckily, from the deep part of
Harry's white heart, he cleaned that mess. Of course, he used magic
to save time. It would take him a whole hour just to scrub the floor
and wash the table. He took out his wand, pointed it at the whole
table, and said "Scourgify". In seconds, the table was totally
sparkling! Harry then went to the kitchen to help Aunt Petunia
prepare breakfast. He was surprised to see no one there. That's
weird---Harry thought. Aunt Petunia usually woke up very early, to
clean the living room, and prepare breakfast as she normally did.
Maybe she was ill----Harry thought. Well, he had to at least do
something that could impress his aunt. So he decided to cook
breakfast himself. He opened the fridge, took out 1 egg, and boiled
it. He also took out some juice and poured into a silver goblet.
Harry waited for the egg to boil, it took the egg fifteen minutes to
do so. Finally, Harry took the egg and juice, put them on a tray, and
went to the dining table. He began eating right away,
when...
"Harry?" came the voice of Aunt Petunia.
"Good
morning Aunt Petunia, I thought you were sick, so don't worry, I
cooked breakfast myself, you see," said Harry.
"Sick?
Don't be ridiculous! You could've simply woken me up!"
"What
happened anyway? Usually, you're the first one to wake up in this
house," said Harry, waiting for an answer.
"I decided that
I should get some more sleep, I was tired after yesterday
celebrating. Wait a moment, where's all the cherry from last night?
The chocolate? The soda? The---"
"Don't worry, I've
cleaned it all, "
"You, you cleaned that mess?"
"Yeah,
I thought of helping,"
"Well, thank you so much
Harry,"
"Don't mention it,"
Moments of silence
passed, until Harry spoke again...
"Aunt Petunia, I forgot to
mention this to you yesterday. I had three letters from my friends at
school saying that they would be pleased to have me join them at
their house for the last couple of days before we begin term. Not to
mention that we need to go get our school supplies form
some---well---some---I can't describe it---but its name is Diagon
Alley,"
"Digo-what?"
"I know, it seems odd
to you, but please, can I go?"
He waited for a response. He
thought that his aunt would simply refuse to let him go, and demand
that he stays till the first of September. However, a smile showed on
Aunt Petunia's face...
"Of course you can go, Harry, and have
a good year,"
"Thanks!" responded Harry happily.
Still, he didn't receive an owl from the Weasleys and Hermione. So,
he wasn't quite sure how he will be going to them. When moments
later, the doorbell rang.
"Don't worry Harry, I'll get it,"
said Aunt Petunia quickly. She headed straight to the door and opened
it.
"Ah---hello there, Mrs. Dursley--um---well---um---I'm
here to pick up Harry so that we can go back to---well--our home, I'm
sure Harry has told you all about that, didn't he?"
Harry
moved closer to the door, and tried to spot who it was speaking to
his aunt. He caught sight of a short, red haired woman, wearing a
green-brown coat, and a fluffy black hat on her head. It was Mrs.
Weasley!
"Mrs. Weasley!" shouted Harry happily. "
I've been waiting for an owl but nothing came."
"Harry
dear, how wonderful to see you," replied Mrs. Weasley.
"You
know this lady, Harry?" asked Aunt Petunia.
"Of course I
do, she's my friend's mom," answered Harry enthusiastically.
"Come in Mrs. Weasley, have a pot of tea."
"Well
thank you, my dear boy," said Mrs. Weasley with a wide smile
wiping her face.
Harry rushed to the kitchen and brought some
tea. He gave it politely to Mrs. Weasley and asked her if she wanted
anymore sugar.
"So, how are you Harry, had a good summer?"
began Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh yeah, you see here, my aunt, uncle,
and cousin were being totally nice to me," said Harry, and Aunt
Petunia raised her head and smiled.
"Be as it is, so how are
you Mrs. Dursley? Find young Harry amusing?"
"Well, he's
such a good boy, he's been offering to help me with cooking ever
since the middle of June. You see, this morning, I dozed off a bit,
and Harry helped clean a big mess that occurred from yesterday's
celebration,"
"Celebration?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"We all celebrated my son, Dudley's victory in a boxing
tournament."
"Of course, Harry has always been such a
nice boy, you should come and listen to his past in Hogwarts,
school..." began Mrs. Weasley.
"I wish to get to know
more about that school later on," said Aunt Petunia.
"Well,
Harry dear," started Mrs. Weasley, "you should be getting
your trunk. I expect we will be leaving soon."
"Right
away!" Harry then headed to his room, gathered all his stuff,
and put it in his trunk. He was sure that Hedwig's cage was perfectly
locked, and went downstairs. This is heavy---thought Harry. He took
out his wand, pointed it at his school trunk, and said Locomoter
Trunk. The trunk followed him all the way downstairs. He then went
straight to Aunt Petunia, hugged her, and said goodbye. He and Mrs.
Weasley were already out the house, putting Harry's trunk and
Hedwig's cage in a car.
"Mrs. Weasley, sorry, but, how are we
going to get to Diagon Alley?"
"Not to worry, Harry
dear. I'll drive us to The Leaky Cauldron in London, and then you
know that secret passageway built in the red brick wall, all you have
to do is tap it with your wand several places several times, and
Diagon Alley will be in front of you in no time. Oh, and don't worry,
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny will be waiting for you there at Flourish
and Blotts." answered Mrs. Weasley.
Several minutes passed,
until at last, they reached The Leaky Cauldron. Harry stepped out of
the car, and took out his trunk, and Hedwig. He was all ready now to
enter Diagon Alley, of course after he tapped the bricks on the wall
with his wand, like Hagrid had shown him before first year.
"Mrs.
Weasley, thank you for the ride," said Harry.
"Oh it was
nothing dear,"
"Um..do you mind if I ask where you got
this car?"
"Certainly not dear. You know Arthur, with
his Muggle obsession. He won fifty thousand galleons in some contest
that was held at the Ministry. He then decided to buy us a new useful
car, for transport in the muggle world."
"Oh, cool.
Well, bye then," said Harry with a smile.
"Bye dear,
have a good term. And Harry, do be careful, I don't know what will
happen this year with the Order, and Dumbledore, but please, be
careful."
"Don't worry, I will be. Well then, bye."
In
an instant, Harry bewitched his trunk and Hedwig's cage so that they
can follow him to the entrance of Diagon Alley. He took out his wand,
and tapped the bricks on the wall. Slowly, faster, and then even
faster, a passageway opened, and Diagon Alley stood there, packed
with witches and wizards as always.
