Journey to the Battlefront
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything. J.K Rowling owns all characters and settings.
-Chapter Two-
Owlpost at Muggle Lane
Normal people, normal lives,
Privet Drive in summer thrives
Well-kept lawns, new cars to use,
Morning paper and evening news-
Life can't get better than this,
Anything different? How strange 'tis!
On normal faces see the frown-
That Potter boy is back to town.
Life was going on as usual at number four, Privet Drive. Vernon Dursley was sitting in the drawing room reading the newspaper. There had been an oil-pipe explosion somewhere in Hertfordshire, six more people had been found dead in different parts of London and the police were once again clueless about the causes, a supermarket in Leeds had collapsed killing hundreds and the weather office reported a depression over the Atlantic that might lead to an untimely storm.
" The country is going to the dogs." He grunted. His wife Petunia looked in curiously from inside the kitchen where her son Dudley was having his fifth helping of bacon and watching television. The Dursley's nephew, Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen. The Dursleys and Harry liked each other best when out of each other's way. So Harry was in his room upstairs. This room, like its owner, was different from the rest of the house. There was a large snowy owl sleeping peacefully in her cage on the table. The rest of the table was taken up by a roll of parchments, a bottle of ink, a quill and a small pile of folded copies of the wizard's daily, Daily Prophet. A half open trunk stood open at the foot of the bed with clothes and books spilling out. Harry was lying in his bed reading a book called ' Practical Defensive Theory.' He was roused by a sudden tapping noise. Walking over to the window from where the noise was coming, he let in the smart tawny owl and untied the scroll attached to its leg. He recognized the coat of arms on the envelope and frowned. Was it not too early for a letter from Hogwarts? He had been at the Dursleys' for three days now. He supposed the school-governors had made their decision about the future of the school. He tore open the envelope and went through the contents. It was quite short.
Dear Mr.Potter,
We deeply regret to inform you that in the present situation, keeping in mind the students' safety, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will not reopen this year. Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Headmistress.
Harry read the letter with a curious feeling of detached sadness. What did it mean to him that Hogwarts was closing down? He knew he would not go back even if it did open. Yet, Hogwarts had been his home for the most part of the last six years. He thought of the night he blew up Aunt Marge and of his hearing at the ministry two years ago. The idea of not being allowed to return to school had seemed so scary then, as it has been depressing to be forced to return to the Dursleys every summer. He was going to leave Privet Drive forever after that, but the thought brought him no happiness. Unlike previous years, there was now no Hogwarts to return to. He sighed and looked up. There was another owl waiting for him. He opened it and found that he had been asked to attend the apparition test at the ministry the next day. He considered it for a minute. Getting licensed to apparate was important. He stared at the date written on the parchment. It meant he would have to leave Privet Drive earlier than he had planned. He had originally intended to stay for a week and then go to the Burrow for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Then he could start off for Godric's Hollow. He went down to the drawing room. Dudley was still eating in the kitchen. Harry sometimes wondered why his stomach didn't burst . Uncle Vernon took no notice of him. Aunt Petunia however looked up from the magazine she was leafing through.
"I am leaving this evening." said Harry. Uncle Vernon looked up very quickly.
"Did you say you are leaving? And never coming back I hope?"
"No." replied Harry coldly and turned to go.
"Well you don't need to sound so ungrateful you know, we were damn good to keep you for all these years. You should have ended up at an orphanage. Well I hope you will not bring your abnormality here again." He took a deep breath and turned back to the television. Aunt Petunia said nothing but continued to watch him with a curious expression on her face.
Harry went back to his room. He had to pack. He decided to send Hedwig off to the Weasleys. He didn't need any guard from the order. He would manage alone on the Knight Bus.
Chapter 3: On His Own
N.B:I solemnly swear I am to some good, i.e. I shall update soon. And I hope to publish a new fanfic pretty soon so watch out.