The Mysterious Darkmore
JAYLA SILVIA DARKMORE
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Born: 7th May 1980, Darkmore Manor, Bath, Somerset, England, Great Britain
Blood Status: Pure-Blood
Nationality: British-American
Also known as: Lala (By Yazmin)
Jay (By Hades)
Darkmore (By Professors)
Know-It-All (By Harry)
Cousin (By Draco)
Ms Darkmore (By Professors)
Sweetheart (By Sophia)
Little Baby Girl (By Daniel)
Jayjay (By Mason)
JJ (By Ron)
JD (By Hermione)
Heiress (By Herself)
Titles: Darkmore Heir
Chaser
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Height: 4.9" (144.7cm)
Hair Colour: Black and blond
Eye Colour: Blue
Skin Colour: Light
Played By: Elle Fanning
RELATIONSHIP INFORMATION
Family Members: Sophia Celine Darkmore-Malfoy (Mother)
Daniel John Darkmore (Father)
Mason Jason Darkmore (Younger Brother)
Yazmin Nicole Darkmore (Younger Sister)
Davina Silvia Darkmore (Paternal Aunt) (Deceased)
Michael Jason Darkmore (Paternal Grandfather)
Susan Nicole Darkmore (Paternal Grandmother)
Abraxas Malfoy (Maternal Grandfather)
Lucius Malfoy (Maternal Uncle)
Narcissa Malfoy-Black (Maternal Aunt)
Draco Malfoy (Maternal Cousin)
Flora (House-elf)
Ryder (Family Pet)
Hades (Familiar)
MAGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Wand: 10 1/2 inch, Yew Wood, Thunderbird tail feather.
AFFILIATIONS
House: Gryffindor
Loyalty: Darkmore Family
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Gryffindor
Golden Quartet
Gryffindor Quidditch Team
APPEARANCE
Jayla is a tall tween girl with shoulder-length curly hair that she puts in a side parting when down, though she sometimes does her two-toned hair in different styles; Jayla has platinum blond and black coloured hair that she inherited as the firstborn heir of the House of Darkmore. Jayla has beautiful ocean blue eyes and smooth, flawless fair skin, and the House of Darkmore's insignia is tattooed on her left inner wrist, which is magically imprinted upon birth.
Jayla often dressed in Victorian gothic Lolita-style outfits that she didn't enjoy wearing. She talked her mother out of dressing her, though the young Heiress hates seeing the sad look in her eyes and, occasionally, appeases her. Jayla prefers to wear simple clothes like Muggles; she even went shopping with Sophia over Christmas break, and both enjoyed it. Jayla also went shopping with Hermione over the summer to get Jayla some new clothes because of her growth spurt. As a second-year student at Hogwarts, she wears the school uniform nicely and neatly; she wears grey knee-high socks instead of white socks like the other girls. And sometimes likes to wear her shirt untucked from her skirt and loosens her tie when she's at lunch, though Hermione scolds her a little till she complies. Jayla continues to carry the pocket watch with the protection amulet inside on her at all times.
PERSONALITY AND TRAITS
Jayla has an incredible brain as she has a photographic memory that allows her to recall things she's read and seen, though she struggles with remembering things she has heard. Jayla is somewhat cocky, having become comfortable with her surroundings, though she sometimes comes across as too cocky. Jayla uses her intellect for sly planning, having helped her brother, Mason, with his pranks, often even against her best friend, Hermione, over the summer holidays. Jayla can be highly stubborn at the best of times, having shown this when she doesn't back down from Voldemort and Professor Quirrell. Jayla was seen as calm and collected by her peers last year as she was getting comfortable in Hogwarts, almost disguising herself. Jayla has long talks with Oliver over Quidditch and has shown her strategic and sly thinking as they plan for the season. It sometimes worries Harry, especially after she joins the team, showing bold moves against their opponents.
MAGICAL ABILITIES AND SKILLS
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Jayla comes from a family that studies the Dark Arts to help those in need, though the girl only knows the basics and loves to read books on the subject, wishing one day to become the next DADA Professor. She loves the class, though she feels the new professor is ruining it and finds that she's losing interest and spends more time in the library reading books on Magical Creatures.
Flying: Jayla is a gifted flyer; having learned along with her siblings since they could walk, Jayla planned to join the Quidditch team as a Chaser. Her wish came true as she's the replacement Chaser for the season and loves winning, showing her competitive side. She helps Oliver with strategy and trains with the other chasers, showing them moves from her favourite Quidditch Team, the Holyhead Harpies.
Zoolingualism: Jayla has the special and unique ability to talk to animals and understand what they are saying; this ability is unique to her as she inherited it from the Malfoy line, and it only shows in females. She's become a quick study, though she still struggles to distinguish what animal is talking within a crowd and sometimes finds it a little overwhelming.
Charms: Jayla enjoys this class the most as she knows most of the basics from reading and finds the jinxes and charms she learns useful. She's taking extra lessons from her mother over the summer to understand jinxes, though she promises not to use them on anyone at school.
Potions: Due to her photographic memory, she remembers everything she's ever read, and Jayla enjoys making the potions that the Heiress has read about. Snape has planned to give her extra lessons if she so wishes after seeing her skills last year.
Transfiguration: Jayla finds the classes fascinating and plans to become an Animagus when she turns 16. McGonagall has commented on her interests and excellent grades across the board.
Herbology: Jayla doesn't like the dirt very much, but she does enjoy the class as she learns about all the new plants and even sneaks out some rose seeds for her garden at home. Jayla finds she doesn't have a green thumb but wants to learn the magical herbs and study what plants are suitable for healing.
Photographic Memory: Jayla can recall anything she has read, even from years ago; though she may be able to remember what Jayla has heard slightly, she struggles if it has been some time.
Quick Reader: Jayla can read 12,00 words per minute, and it spooks some of the other students from time to time as she reads in the Common Room or the library.
TRIVIA
- Jayla loves reading her books in the dark, not using any light source. She likes reading books on Magical Creatures and Muggle fantasy books that Hermione has gotten her into and doesn't like reading the end of books.
- Jayla has started ripping the last page out of her storybooks.
- Jayla enjoys playing Wizard games and Muggle games with friends, Hermione and Harry teach Ron and Jayla how to play, and the Pure-bloods teach them how to play Wizard games.
- Jayla finds the sound of rain soothing, sleeps better, and sometimes can't help but dance; Harry joined her and caught a cold.
- Jayla enjoys cold weather, especially snow and Christmas, though she wishes Harry would join her next year.
- Playing Quidditch is Jayla's favourite sport, having learned how to play since she could walk.
- Jayla's favourite candy is peppermint toads, though she likes to try her luck with Bertie's Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
- She hates sweet-tasting foods apart from candy as she feels it's supposed to taste sweet.
- Jayla likes her teachers, though when it comes to Professor Snape, it seems to go off and on as he's mean to her friends, especially Harry, most of the time.
- Jayla loves cats, especially her cat, Hades.
- Jayla is obsessed with fire, but she hates it along with heat, hating hot summer weather.
- Jayla likes spending time at the summer house.
- Jayla disagrees with Pure-blood purity beliefs, finding them ancient and prejudiced, speaking out against her uncle at the Ministery's Annual Party.
- Jayla doesn't like being on the receiving end of one of Mason's pranks, though she likes to help him sometimes as long as it's not on her.
- Jayla gets tips from the Weasley Twins, relays them to Mason, and worries about when he comes to Hogwarts in two years.
- Jayla doesn't like Cornelius Fudge as Sophia calls him a nitwit behind his back, and she finds him ridiculous and almost tells him to his face.
The Cast
Elle Fanning as Jayla Darkmore
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
Emily Blunt as Sophia Darkmore
Henry Cavill as Daniel Darkmore
Jessica De Gouw as Davina Darkmore
Freddie Highmore as Mason Darkmore
Morgan Davies as Yazmin Darkmore
Writing Styles
"Animal Talking"
"Thoughts"
Writing
"Spells"
"Speech"
Flashbacks
X. Weird
Involving or suggesting the Supernatural, unearthly or uncanny.
Jayla sits in her bedroom at the Darkmore Manor, writing in her Journal that she got from Hermione at Christmas. The house is uncharacteristically quiet as it's only her and Flora in the manor; her family has gone and left Jayla behind because she's still grounded.
Thursday, 25th June 1992
Dear Journal,
I remember the minute I stepped through the front door after coming home from Hogwarts. It felt strange but wonderful to be home again, though, on the drive home, Mum was dead quiet, which was unnerving. Yazmin and Mason kept asking me questions about school while Dad hinted at his displeasure at putting myself in danger.
I agree it was stupid to put ourselves in dangerous situations, but I mean, if anyone saw what we did, a bunch of first years, I think they'd have to agree with my parents. It was dangerous but bloody extraordinary.
I hope next year is much better. I mean nothing to do with You-Know-Who or deadly events. I want an excellent quiet year with only academics. I know Hermione feels the same.
Mum and Dad sat me down and told me about the events, scolding me before informing me that Mum had a vision of something dangerous and gave me a pocket watch with a protective amulet inside. I was also grounded for three weeks for endangering myself and others, facing against He-Who-Must-Not-Ne-Named with Harry alone, using powerful spells, and lying.
I agree with them, like when we received detention for sneaking around the castle at night. "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." But this one is worse. I'm not allowed to leave the manor for the decree of my grounding, which means I can't see my friends. I can write to them with supervision. It's fair, I suppose, but I wish I could see my friends or go out.
Today, Mum and Dad have taken Mason and Yazmin out to a Muggle funfair for the first time without me because of my grounding. I don't mind it so much. I've been helping Flora around the house. Learning to cook and garden, though I don't have a green thumb, I did get to plant the rose seeds Professor Sprout let me take.
I hope the others are suffering as much as I am. Pain should be shared.
Heiress.
Jayla finishes her entry and sees Flora at her door. "I am sorry to disturb you, Mistress Jayla,, but we must start cooking dinner before your family returns." The House-elf announces.
"Okay. I'm coming." Jayla jumps to her feet. "I really hope they're suffering." She walks out of the room. "Hades, you coming?"
"Can I taste test again?" Hades asks, getting up from her new bed.
"Sure." She replies. "Flora, what are we cooking?"
"Cheeseburgers. Flora got the idea from Mistress Susan. Master Daniel likes them." Flora answers.
"Sounds yummy. Can Hades taste test again?" Jayla asks.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
At number four, Privet Drive, over a month later, an argument breaks out over breakfast, not for the first time. In the early morning, Vernon Dursley has woken up by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew's new room. "3rd time this week!" He roars across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"
"She's bored." Harry explains, trying, yet again, to explain. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night -."
"Do I look stupid?" Vernon snarls with a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy moustache. "I know what'll happen if that owl's let out." He exchanges a dark look with his wife, Petunia. Harry tries to argue back, but his words are drowned out by a long, loud belch from Dursley's son, Dudley.
"I want more bacon." Dudley demands.
"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums." Petunia informs her son, turning misty eyes on her massive son. "We must build you up while we've got the chance… I don't like the sound of that school food…."
"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings." Vernon argues heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?" Harry looks at his cousin, seeing his sizeable bottom droop over either side of the kitchen chair, grinning and turning to him.
"Pass the frying pan." Dudley demands.
"You've forgotten the Magic word." Harry replies irritably, which sets his family off, starting another argument.
Ever since Harry came home for the summer holiday, Vernon has treated him like a bomb that might go off at any moment because Harry Potter isn't any ordinary boy. As a matter of fact, he is not as normal as it is possible to be.
He misses Hogwarts so much it is like having a constant stomachache. He misses the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his classes (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions Master), the mail arriving by owl and eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his four-poster bed in the Tower dormitory, visiting the Gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the Wizarding World (six tall goalposts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).
Harry's spellbooks, wand, robes, cauldron, and top-of-the-line Nimbus 2000 broomstick are locked in the cupboard under the stairs by Vernon the instant Harry comes home. So what, the Dursleys didn't care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn't practised all summer? What happens to them if he goes back to school without homework? The Dursleys are what Wizards call Muggles (not a drop of Magical blood in their veins), and as far as they are concerned, having a Wizard in the family is a matter of most profound shame. Vernon has even padlocked Harry's owl, Hedwig, inside her cage to stop her from carrying messages to anyone in the Wizarding World.
Harry looks nothing like the rest of his family. Vernon is large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache, Aunt Petunia is horse-faced and bony, and Dudley is blond, pink, and porky. On the other hand, Harry is petite and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that is always untidy. He wears round glasses, and on his forehead is a thin, lightning-shaped scar.
The scar makes Harry so particularly unusual, even for a Wizard. The mark is the only hint of his very mysterious past, of the reason he is left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.
The Dursleys don't even remember that today is Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes weren't high, they'd never given him a real present, let alone a cake - but to ignore it completely….
At that moment, Vernon clears his throat importantly. "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day." He announces, making Harry look up, hardly daring to believe it. "This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career." Harry goes back to his toast.
"Of course." Harry thinks bitterly. Vernon talks about the stupid dinner party, having talked about nothing else for two weeks. Some wealthy builder and his wife are coming for dinner, and Vernon hopes to get a massive order from him (Uncle Vernon's company made drills).
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Two weeks before, Jayla sits in the car with her family, and instead of being driven by Mr Goodmen, their driver, Daniel, does. Yazmin sleeps on her shoulder as she writes in her Journal again while Mason reads, and Sophia sits at the front doing paper on her lap.
Friday, 17th July 1992
Dear Journal,
My grounding came to an end last week. Three long weeks of my summer are gone for what happened at Hogwarts endangering my life, but I hope it will be better next year. I plan on it. I want to hang out with my friends and have fun like any ordinary 12-year-old girl.
We're going on holiday to Porthcurno, a coastal beach area in Cornwall, for a few weeks. The drive up so far has been tranquil, with Yazmin sleeping most of the way and Mason reading a book on dinosaurs Hermione helped me get. Dad is driving, though he mutters about English drivers, and Mum is finishing some last-minute paperwork.
I look forward to going to the beach again, we haven't been in a long time. The last time was when Yazmin was only a baby. It's been close to 3 years.
Heiress.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The Darkmore family finally arrive in Porthcurno, Cornwall, early evening. Yazmin jumps out of the car excitedly after Sophia unbuckles her from the car seat. Her tiny legs carry her to the small white wooden gate blocking entry to the beautiful floral garden that leads to the enormous vintage brick house. The Darkmore Summer House.
"Mummy!" Yazmin shouts, trying to pull the latch on the gate to open it, but with no success.
"Quiet, Angel," Sophia tells her, helping open the gate and letting her run through the garden. Daniel grabs the sleeping Mason from the car, carrying him toward the house, and Jayla carefully gets out with Hades in her arms.
"Careful, Yazz." Jayla warns her, watching Yazmin run down the pebbled path, her arms outstretched, touching the different types of flowers as she passes, and the others are close behind her little legs.
"Can we play soon?" Hades asks, looking at the lush grass.
"Why else would I bring your toys?" She jokes.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The family enter the large cottage to the main hallway to find their family House-elf and another whispering to each other. "Flora, Dobby, what seems to be the problem?" Sophia asks them casually, but there's panic in her eyes, and walking toward them. Daniel sees the fear in her eyes and guides the children to their rooms upstairs to escape whatever secrets are about to be unveiled.
"Daddy? What's wrong?" Yazmin asks as they walk upstairs.
"Nothing to worry about. Adult things." Daniel answers.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Jayla steps into her second room to see it's completely changed from 3 years ago when Yazmin was a baby. The walls are light bluish-green, with bright blue curtains, white furniture around the room, and even a new desk. She sees her suitcase on the floor at the foot of her bed and picks it up, placing it on top of the covers, closer to the white chest of drawers. She opens her suitcase, frowning to see it full of clothes and unpacks, wondering what is happening downstairs with her parents and the two House-elves.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The Darkmore family sit on the beach close to their holiday home a few days later, enjoying the sunny weather, allowing many tourists to crowd the shore. Yazmin and Mason build sandcastles as Sophia and Daniel sit on towels, talking and reading their books while Jayla plays with Hades, digging into the soft sand. The children are unaware of what their parents hide from them and how it will affect them. "Hades, you're getting sand in my eyes!" Jayla yelps, rubbing at her eyes.
"Look, Mummy! I made a sandcastle!" Yazmin cheers.
"I helped!" Mason shouts, flicking sand at her, making her cry.
"Mason!" Daniel shouts, and the boy ducks his head.
"Sorry, Yammy." He cries, gaining some attention from the other beachgoers.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
A week later, the Darkmore family return from their getaway at the beach coming home, but it's not quiet for long with Hermione visiting them. The two girls sit in the back garden on the wooden deck by the pool on the deck chairs, watching Yazmin and Mason paddling around in the warm water with floaties. The girls laugh, talking over next year's classes. "Mione, chill. We still have to receive our letters before we know if the DADA Professor is any good. If not, we can always just teach ourselves." Jayla remarks, looking at her best friend, who looks at her with narrow eyes.
"But, JD, think about it, the last teacher was a minion of You-Know-Who." Hermione argues, and Jayla shrugs.
"I know. I was there. But who cares? Just enjoy the summer. Have you heard from Harry at all?" She asks, and the bushy-haired girl shakes her head.
"No, I'd hoped you had -." Hermione replies but gets interrupted when Ron runs past them and leaps into the pool cannonball style.
"Ron!" The girls shout, water splashing over them, and he comes up for air, looking at them with a cheeky grin.
"What?" Ron asks them, and Mason swims over to him with his little floaties on and splashes the redhead. The boys continue splashing at each other, and the girls look at one another and get up from their seats, jumping into the pool, creating a massive wave, and splashing the others.
"Have you heard from Harry?" Jayla asks him.
"No? You too?" He asks, frowning.
"Yeah. I tried sending the book weeks ago, but I didn't hear anything." She replies, growing worried for him.
"It's his birthday in five days." Hermione comments, and Ron gets an idea.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Wednesday, 29th July 1992
Dear Journal,
I'm glad my grounding ended as my Mum let me and my friends shop for Harry's birthday presents in the town closest to us. We tried sending them, but Ryder returned them unopened.
Ron went home soon after, saying he had a plan as something was definitely up with Harry. I hope he's okay. He hasn't replied to any of our letters over the summer, making us worry.
I hope Ron doesn't cause too much trouble. Those boys are magnets for misfortune. Though, I do hope he finds out what's happened to Harry.
Heiress.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Harry sits alone in his bedroom at his desk by the window on his birthday, looking at the picture book Hagrid gave him at the end of his first year at Hogwarts. He looks at the photo of him with his parents, then turns the page to an image of his closest friends, Ron, Hermione and Jayla. He then hears his owl, Hedwig, chirping and hooting in her cage, wishing to be free. "I can't let you out, Hedwig. I'm not allowed to use Magic outside of school." Harry warns her again as she nibbles at the lock on her cage door, squawking loudly. "Besides, if Uncle Vernon -."
"Harry Potter!" Vernon shouts angrily from downstairs.
"Now you've done it." He sighs, glancing downstairs, then looks at Hedwig before closing his book and going downstairs.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Harry enters the kitchen, spotting his Aunt Petunia working on a cake. "He's in there. Vernon." Petunia tells him, looking at her nephew, pointing him to the living room, and he walks into the room, seeing his uncle helping get Dudley dressed up for the dinner party.
"I'm warning you. If you can't control that bloody bird, it'll have to go." Vernon threatens the boy.
"But she's bored. If I could only let her out for… an hour or two." Harry reasons.
"So you can send secret messages to your freaky little friends?" He chuckles. "No, sir."
"But I haven't had any messages from any of my friends. Not one. All summer." The ravenette argues, feeling alone and hurt from the silence of his friends.
"Who would want to be friends with you?" Dudley jabs, bumping into his cousin harshly, walking into the kitchen to join his mother.
"I should think you'd be a little more grateful." Vernon comments, stepping in front of his nephew. "We've raised you since you were a baby, given you the food off our table, even let you have Dubley's second bedroom, purely out of the goodness of our hearts."
"Not now, bumpkin. It's for when the Masons arrive." Petunia warns her son, slapping his hand away from the cake.
"Which should be any minute." He announces, motioning for his family to come into the living room. "Now, let's go over our schedule once again, shall we?" The Dursley Patriarch looks at his wife. "Petunia, when the Masons arrive, you will be…?"
"In the lounge, waiting to welcome them graciously to our home." She answers in a posh-type voice.
"Good. And, Dudley, you will be…?" Vernon asks his son.
"I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley answers, putting on a voice.
"Excellent." He smiles, and then the three of them turn to Harry scornfully. "And you…?"
"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending that I don't exist," Harry answers, looking at them.
"Too right you will. With any luck, this could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career, and you will not mess it up." His uncle warns the boy, who walks off upstairs, leaving the Dursleys for their dinner party.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Harry steps onto the second floor when the doorbell rings, and the Dursleys greet the Masons when he hears someone laughing madly inside his bedroom. He opens the door to find a House-elf bouncing on his bed happily and stops once, noticing the entrance of the famous young Wizard. "Harry Potter! Such an honour it is!" Dobby exclaims, bowing slightly, and Harry quickly closes the door, not wanting his family to find out.
"Who are you?" Harry asks the unfamiliar Magical being.
"Dobby sir, Dobby the House-elf." He introduces himself with his big wide eyes.
"Not to be rude or anything, but this isn't a great time for me to have a House-elf in my bedroom." Harry tells him, knowing something terrible might happen.
"Oh, oh, yes, sir!" Dobby says. "Dobby understands! It's just that. Dobby has come to tell you - it is difficult, sir - Dobby wonders where to begin?" He twiddles his thumbs nervously.
"Why don't you sit down?" The raven-haired boy suggests politely.
"S-Sit down? S-Sit - sit down?" The House-elf begins crying at the kindness of the young Wizard, jumping off the bed and sobbing loudly.
"Dobby, ssh! I'm sorry!" Harry tries to keep him quiet, but Dobby continues to cry harshly. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything."
"Offend, Dobby?" He stops crying, looking at the boy. "Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but never has he been asked to sit down by a Wizard like an equal." Dobby straightens his dirty pillowcase.
"You can't have met many decent Wizards, then." Harry remarks jokingly.
"No, I haven't." Dobby replies, then realises his mistake. "That was an awful thing to say." He begins banging his head on the dresser repeatedly. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
"Stop, Dobby!" He exclaims in a hushed tone, not to alert the Muggles downstairs. "Dobby, shh! Dobby, please stop!" He tries restraining the House-elf.
"Bad Dobby!" The poor House-elf continuously bang his head on the drawers.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Downstairs, Vernon pours the Masons come drinks when they hear the banging from upstairs, silencing their evening. "Oh. Don't mind that. It's just the cat." Vernon lies, confusing the guests.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
"Bad Dobby!" Dobby keeps banging his head.
"Stop, Dobby! Dobby, stop! Please, be quiet." Harry pleads, and the House-elf stops, wobbly on his feet from the assault on his head. "Are you all right?"
"Dobby had to punish himself, sir." He explains, stepping toward the stool by the desk and moving it closer as Harry sits on the edge of his bed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir."
"Your family?" The young Wizard asks, and the House-elf crawls onto the stool.
"The Wizard family Dobby serves, sir." The poor Magical being explains, kneeling on the stool. "Dobby is bound to serve one family forever. If they knew Dobby was here…." He shivers in fear. "But Dobby had to come. Dobby has to protect Harry Potter. To warn him. This year, Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The raven-haired boy looks at him in surprise. "There is a plot, a plot to make most terrible things happen."
"What terrible things? Who's plotting them?" Harry asks, needing some answers, not wanting to spend another second with his family.
"Oh, he! Can't! Say!" Dobby struggles, trying to stop himself from saying something he shouldn't.
"Okay, I understand. You can't say." Harry replies, trying to calm him down.
"Don't make me talk. L-." The House-elf grumbles and gets on the desk, grabs the closest thing to him and hits himself on the head with the lamp. "Bad Dobby!"
"Dobby?! Dobby, put the lamp down." The young Wizard orders, trying to stop him, but he keeps hitting himself.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
"So, when they arrive at the ninth hole…" Vernon tries saying his lousy joke when the banging and shouting get louder, interrupting them.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
"Give me the lamp!" Harry orders, trying to take it from Dobby, fighting each other for the lamp, when the boy hears his uncle stomping upstairs. "Dobby, stop!" He grabs it from the House-elf's grasp and picks him up by Dobby's rags, hiding him in the wardrobe. "Get in there and keep quiet!" Harry slams the door when Vernon opens the bedroom door to see his nephew.
"What the devil are you doing up here?" Vernon sneers, glaring at the ravenette, who looks nervously at the creaking open wardrobe door where Dobby is hiding inside.
"I was just -." The young Wizard mutters, trying to come up with a good lie and quickly pushes the door close.
"You've just ruined the punchline of my Japanese golfer joke!" He fumes at the birthday boy, who's more occupied with the door that keeps creeping open.
"Sorry." Harry mutter, closing the door again, and his uncle catches him, glancing at it, unaware of Dobby's presence, then lifts his finger, turning his eyes back to the young Wizard.
"One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy." Veron threatens him as he closes the opening door again. "And fix that door."
"Yes, sir." He replies, closing the door yet again, and his uncle glares once again before shutting the door and stomping back downstairs. Harry opens the wardrobe door, letting Dobby out. "See why I've got to go back?" Dobby walks over, removing a sock from his ear. "I don't belong here, I belong in your world at Hogwarts." The House-elf sniffs the sock before throwing it aside and turns to the boy. "It's the only place I've got friends."
"Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?" Dobby questions.
"Well, I expect they've been… Hang on, how do you know my friends haven't been writing me?" The young Wizard asks, looking at the Magical being in shock.
"Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby." He pleads nervously. "Dobby hoped if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him, Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir…." He takes out a large pile of letters guilty.
"Give me those. Now." Harry demands, seeing them, glad that his friend really did write to him over the summer.
"No!" Dobby declares, hiding them, trying to find somewhere to escape and stop the boy from going to school again. Dobby jumps, running from the door, dodging the pursuing young Wizard.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Harry chases after Dobby downstairs, racing after him into the kitchen, and they both stop. The House-elf sees the cake, getting an idea. "Dobby, get back here!" Harry whispers but doesn't listen and clicks his finger, making the cake levitates from the stand. "Dobby… Please, no!"
"Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school." Dobby demands, trying to keep the boy safe.
"I can't. Hogwarts is my home." He argues, hating his home life.
"Then Dobby must do it, sir, for Harry Potter's own good." The loyal House-elf warns the young Wizard and clicks his fingers again, making the cake move toward the Muggles in the living room.
"... one plumber said, "Look at all that water," and…" Vernon tells another joke, and Harry pushes Dobby away from the door, trying to hide him and walks into the living room after the cake. "...the second plumber said, "Yes, and that's just the top of it." The joke makes some laugh, but it turns sour when the Dursleys see the floating cake with Harry not far behind. Dobby watches as the cake floats over the head of Mrs Mason and clicks his fingers, dropping it on her head, surprising everyone.
"I'm so sorry." Vernon cries, looking at his guests. "It's my nephew. He's very disturbed. Meeting strangers upsets him." Harry looks at his uncle, then back at the House-elf cowering by the entrance to the living room, shaking his head. "That's why I kept him upstairs." Dobby clicks his fingers and disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving Harry to try and explain what happened.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
In the morning, Harry watches from his bedroom window. as his Uncle Vernon drills bars over them after last night's events, having used Magic to drop his aunt's prized cake on the Masons, and Dobby leaving Harry to get the blame. The young ravenette's punishment is to be locked in his room, with bars on his window and several locks on the door keeping him inside. "You're never going back to that school. You're never going to see those freak friends of yours again. Never!" Vernon vows, looking at his nephew through the window.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
A couple of days later, at night, Harry sleeps in bed when he hears a car engine coming from outside, waking him up. The boy jumps from his bed, puts on his glasses, walks to the window, and sees a strange object moving through the sky. As he looks, the thing appears to be a shooting star before turning into two beams of light. A turquoise Ford Anglia car flies to Harry's barred bedroom window, then turns to the right as the young Wizard and his owl watch silently.
"Ron." Harry breathes, creeping to the window and pushes it up so they can talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you -? What the -?" His mouth falls open as the full impact of what he's seeing hits him. Ron leans out of the back window of the old turquoise car parked in midair. Fred and George, Ron's older twin brothers, are grinning at Harry from the front seat.
"All right, Harry?" George greets him, grinning.
"What's been going on?" Ron questions his best friend. "Why haven't you been answering our letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then my Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using Magic in front of Muggles -."
"It wasn't me - and how did he know?" Harry asks, looking at the redheads.
"He works for the Ministry." He answers. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school -."
"You should talk." The ravenette argues, staring at the floating car.
"Oh, this doesn't count." The youngest redhead smirks. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's. We didn't enchant it. But doing Magic in front of those Muggles you live with -."
"I told you, I didn't - but it'll take too long to explain now - look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't Magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so -." Harry explains, gibbering on.
"Stop gibbering." Ron tells him. "We've come to take you home with us."
"But you can't Magic me out either -." He argues, not wanting his friends to get into trouble.
"We don't need to." The young redhead assures him, jerking his head toward the front seat, grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."
"Tie that around the bars." Fred instructs him, throwing the end of a rope at Harry.
"If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead." Harry warns them, catching it and tying the rope tightly around a car as Fred reeves up the vehicle.
"Don't worry," He assures him, "and stand back." Harry moves back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seems to have released how important this is and keeps still and silent. The car reeves louder and louder, then suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars pull clean out of the windows as Fred drives straight up in the air. Harry runs to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoists them up into the car.
Harry listens anxiously, but no sound comes from the Dursleys' bedroom. When the bars are safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reverses as close as possible to Harry's window. "Get in." Ron tells him.
"But all my Hogwarts stuff - my wand - my broomstick -." Harry argues, looking lost.
"Where is it?" He asks.
"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room -." The ravenette explains.
"No problem," George assures him from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, Harry." The twins climb catlike through the window into Harry's room. George takes an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and picks the lock.
"A lot of Wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," Fred comments, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow." There's a tiny click, and the door swings open.
"So - we'll get your trunk - you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron." George whispers, opening the door.
"Watch out for the bottom stair - it creaks." Harry whispers back as the twins disappear onto the dark landing. Harry dashes around his room, collecting his things and passing them out of the window to Ron.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
Harry goes to help Fred and George heave his trunk upstairs, and he hears his uncle cough, startling them, but they reach the landing, panting as they carry the chest through the door.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
The twins and Harry heave the large trunk through the open window, and Fred climbs back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George push from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slides through the window. Uncle Vernon coughs again. "A bit more." Fred pants, pulling from inside the car. "One good push -." Harry and George throw their shoulders against the trunk and slide it out of the window into the car's back seat.
"Okay, let's go," George whispers, but as Harry climbs onto the windowsill, there comes a sudden loud screech from behind him, followed immediately by the thundering voice of Vernon.
"THAT RUDDY OWL!" Vernon screams.
"I've forgotten Hedwig!" Harry shouts, tearing back across the room as the landing light clicks on - he snatches up the owl's cage, dashing to the window, and passes it out to Ron. He scrambles back onto the chest of drawers when Vernon hammers on the unlocked door - and it crashes open. For a split second, Vernon stands framed in the doorway, then lets out a bellow like an angry bull and dives at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle. The Weasleys seize Harry's arms, pulling as hard as they can.
"Petunia!" He roars. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" But the boys give a gigantic tug, and Harry's leg slips out of Vernon's grasp - the ravenette climbs into the car, slamming the door shut.
"Put your foot down, Fred!" Ron yells, and the car shoots suddenly toward the moon. Harry smiles in disbelief that he's free and rolls down the window, the night air whipping his hair, and looks back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. The Dursleys all hanging, dumbstruck, out of the window.
"See you next summer!" Harry yells, making the others roar with laughter, and he settles back in his seat, grinning from ear to ear.
⒴⒠⒜⒭ ⑵
"Let Hedwig out." He tells Ron, feeling sorry for his poor owl, having been stuck inside the cage since he got home from Hogwarts.
"She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages." George hands the hairpin to Ron, and a moment later, Hedwig soars joyfully out of the window, gliding alongside them like a ghost.
"So - what's the story, Harry?" Ron asks impatiently. "What's been happening?" Harry looks at them and explains everything. About Dobby, the warning he'd given him, and the cake fiasco.
"Very fish." Fred comments after a long, shocking silence once he finishes explaining.
"Definitely dodgy." George agrees. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"
"I don't think he could," Harry replies. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall." He sees the twins look at each other. "What, you think he was lying to me?"
"Well," Fred says, put it this way - House-elves have got powerful Magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their Master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"
"Yes." Harry and Ron instantly say.
"Draco Malfoy." Harry elaborates. "He hates me."
"Draco Malfoy?" George questions, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"
"Must be. It's not a very common name, is it?" He agrees.
"I've heard Dad talking about him." George comments. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."
"And when You-Know-Who disappeared." Fred adds, craning around to look at the younger boys. "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."
"I don't know whether the Malfoys own a House-elf…." Harry mutters, having heard the rumours about the Malfoy family before, and it doesn't surprise him at all.
"Well, whoever owns him will be an old Wizarding family, and they'll be rich." He replies, and the boys think of their friend, Jayla.
"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a House-elf to do the ironing," George jokes. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big manors and castles and places like that. You wouldn't catch one in our house…." Harry can't help but imagine Draco in a large manor, strutting around smugly like at Hogwarts.
"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway." Ron remarks. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first -."
"Who's Errol?" Harry asks, frowning.
"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes -." He explains, thinking of when the girls confirmed it wasn't the owls' fault.
"Who?" The ravenette questions.
"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made Prefect." Fred informs them from the front.
"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," Ron grumbles, thinking of his stuck-up older brother. "Said he needed him."
"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer." George comments, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room… I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a Prefect badge… You're driving too far west, Fred." He points to the compass on the dashboard, and Fred twiddles the steering wheel.
"So, does your Dad know you've got the car?" Harry asks, guessing the answer.
"Er, no." Ron answers, growing red. "He had to work tonight. Hopefully, we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."
"What does your Dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?" He asks, intrigued.
"He works in the most boring department." The youngest redhead replies. "The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
"The what?" The raven-haired boy frowns, unaware of much to do with the Wizarding World.
"It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old Witch died, and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare - Dad was working overtime for weeks." Ron explains, and Harry marvels at the idea.
"What happened?" Harry asks, wanting to know more.
"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place, and one man ended up in the hospital with sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic - it's only him and an old Warlock called Perkins in the office - and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to coer it uo -." He continues the story.
"But your Dad - this car -." The ravenette frowns, making Fred laugh.
"Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house, he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad." Fred laughs.
"That's the main road." George announces, peering down through the windshield. "We'll be there in ten minutes… Just as well, it's getting light…." Looking out the window, a faint pinking glow is visible along the horizon to the east. Fred brings the car lower, and Harry sees a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.
"We're a little way outside the village." George announces. "Ottery St. Catchpole." The car grows lower and lower, and the edge of a brilliant red sun gleams through the trees.
"Touchdown!" Fred cheers with a slight bump, hitting the ground. They land next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and Harry looks out for the first time at Ron's house.