Long after Hagrid and the Dursleys were asleep, Harry was still wide awake. Something in him told him that Hagrid had his heart in the right place. The other, though, pointed out that the man was responsible for dropping him amidst his relatives nearly ten years ago.
And the tales he had spouted—! How could Harry be ignorant of his own fame, if he was indeed famous? Why had Hagrid not questioned his placement among Muggles, if he was indeed a wizard?
The storm outside had not abated even one bit, yet it somehow comforted him. Hagrid's snoring vied with the wailing wind and the battering waves, but nothing was heard of the Dursleys, who had quickly retreated into the bedroom after Hagrid had attached a pig's tail to Dudley's bottom. Now completely alone, Harry looked gloomily at the birthday cake Hagrid had brought for him, set on the floor beside a platter of fat sausages. He had lost his desire to eat after Hagrid's revelations, ironically. But he was bored, and troubled, and restless… His eyes slid to his rucksack perched beside the food, then, and he hauled it to him. It was a perfect time for some investigation of the leather pack hidden inside it.
He fished the smaller pack out and opened it. Jamming a hand inside, he let out a soft gasp. The texture of the T-shirt and britches he had worn, folded neatly, met his fumbling fingers. How could they be there, while he had worne them?
He pulled them out of the pack, then examined them in the light of the flame Hagrid had lit in the hearth. – Yes, they were. He wished he had been mistaken.
He set the clothes aside, then reached into the pack again.
The tips of his fingers scraped the surface of a canvas package. Curiouser still, he hauled the package out, letting the pack sag, and opened its ties.
Food. Dried meats and fruits and hard-crusted breads, stowed in neat packets of oilcloth.
With trembling hands, Harry closed the packets and the canvas packaging, then reached into the pack for the last time.
He found a large water bottle, his blue stone, and a sealed envelope.
Trying to ignore his growing unnerve for the moment, he crept closer to the fireplace to better read the short note inside the envelope.
Harry,
Simply dip the stone into the watered cap of the bottle should you wish to meet us. Take care that you are completely alone, including from watchers or eavesdroppers.
So tempting… But the family must be asleep by now, right? Or were they still barbecuing away in that islet? The only thing that Harry knew now was that he did not wish to be near Hagrid for the time being. Would he be a coward if he fled from this place, though?
But pride had never saved him in the past.