Chapter 2: There Is Hope

Harry awoke from the rays of sunlight that cascaded into the room in small beams. One had settled onto the prominent feature upon Harry's forehead. His eyes fluttered open, feeling the stinging sensation for a brief moment, and then rubbed his fingers over his eyelids. He yawned and stared endlessly up at the ceiling. He remained quiet and noticed a loud commotion coming out from the hallway. "Arthur…Arthur. ARTHUR!" screeched Mrs.Weasley. The sound of her voice made Hedwig flap her wings wildly in the cage. "Gods Molly, what on earth are you babbling about?" Mr.Weasley yelled back, rushing up the stairs to meet Mrs.Weasley.

Harry opened the door slowly and peeped out through the cracks. Mrs.Weasley pointed towards the bedroom door at the end of the hallway. Mrs.Weasley began stuttering in anger. "T-t-those boys of ours are at it again." "What?" "Call them now!" Mrs.Weasley said breathless with anger. She clutched a folded piece of paper in her hand. Her face was a bit marroonish. Harry now knew where Ron had gotten the grand flush from. "FRED! GEORGE! Come out into the hall. NOW!" Mr.Weasley called out.

The door that the end of the hallway creaked slowly. Two red-haired boys stepped out into the hall. They dragged their feet as they walked towards Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. It appeared that they desperately tried the wipe the look of guilt on their faces but instead they ended up smirking. They hesitated to take one more stepped forward but Mrs.Weasley grabbed them both by the ears and dragged them towards Mr.Weasley. "OUCH! Mum! That hurts like a booger!" yelped Fred. "Cut it out woman!" cried George.

Mr.Weasley tapped his foot and stared at his two sons with an odd expression on his face. "What in blazes did you do now?" Mr.Weasley said. "Well, tell him!" exclaimed Mrs.Weasley. "We were just working on a new poster for our shop. That was all." George said. "Yes, it seems like that's all there is to speak of…but there is more!" Mrs. Weasley said. She continued, "Well. Go on. Tell him." "It was a poster we made of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He wears a cloak but he takes it off and it turns out to be Gildoroy Lockheart." Fred said. Mr.Weasley almost smiled but Mrs.Wasley seemed very angered. "How dare they! Using good Mr.Lockheart, for their crudeness." Mrs.Weasley said. She was highly appalled at this.

Harry heard himself give out a chuckle. Apparently, it was loud enough for Mrs.Weasley to hear. "Hush now. We woke poor Harry up." Mrs. Weasley said quietly. "Come out of there, boy." Mr.Weasley said. Harry fully opened the door. Mr.Weasley extended his hand towards Mrs.Weasley to hand him the poster. He gave it to Harry. "Here Harry. Go on and throw it out." "BUT-" the Weasley twins protested. "But nothing. You'll find another way to be successful in the market." Mr.Weasley said smilingly. "Err…alright then." Harry nodded his head.

Harry went down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all sat around the table for breakfast. "That was rather horrible, wasn't it?" Ginny spoke, biting her toast. Ron flipped through the pages of the "The Quibbler" as Hermione sipped down her orange juice. "Yes, it was." Harry replied back to Ginny. "Blimey, this magazine is hilarious. A real laugh." Ron said. "Well, it may be, but it did help Harry." Hermione commented back. "OH! Look! Luna wrote her own article here." Spoke Ron. Harry sat down beside Ron and caught a glance at the magazine. The paper was opened to a specific page entitled:

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, a beloved mentor and headmaster, died on June of 1997.This great man of honor, was by far the most witty and kind addition to the many previous headmasters of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was considered by many, the greatest wizard of modern times. He particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald, in the year of 1945. Albus Dumbledore was killed by his own student, Severous Snape. It was reported that Harry James Potter, our chosen one, had witnessed the death. We wonder what changes this death may have inflicted on the boy. I think of him as brave person and I admire him for all the great things he has done. I wish him all the luck in the world. He really is a lovely boy……………

The article continued on off-topic. Harry never realized that Dumbledore had faced the same dilemma he held now. Maybe things were going to turn out fine. Maybe it was possible for Harry to make it on his own. The aching feeling in his stomach subsided as he thought of this.