LITMIR.BIZ

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and of Kreacher.’

      ‘Do I – do I have to keep him with me?’ Harry asked, aghast, as Kreacher thrashed around at his feet.

      ‘Not if you don’t want to,’ said Dumbledore. ‘If I might make a suggestion, you could send him to Hogwarts to work in the kitchen there. In that way, the other house-elves could keep an eye on him.’

      ‘Yeah,’ said Harry in relief, ‘yeah, I’ll do that. Er – Kreacher – I want you to go to Hogwarts and work in the kitchens there with the other house-elves.’

      Kreacher, who was now lying flat on his back with his arms and legs in the air, gave Harry one upside-down look of deepest loathing and, with another loud crack, vanished.

      ‘Good,’ said Dumbledore. ‘There is also the matter of the Hippogriff, Buckbeak. Hagrid has been looking after him since Sirius died, but Buckbeak is yours now, so if you would prefer to make different arrangements —’

      ‘No,’ said Harry at once, ‘he can stay with Hagrid. I think Buckbeak would prefer that.’

      ‘Hagrid will be delighted,’ said Dumbledore, smiling. ‘He was thrilled to see Buckbeak again. Incidentally, we have decided, in the interests of Buckbeak’s safety, to rechristen him Witherwings for the time being, though I doubt that the Ministry would ever guess he is the Hippogriff they once sentenced to death. Now, Harry, is your trunk packed?’

      ‘Erm …’

      ‘Doubtful that I would turn up?’ Dumbledore suggested shrewdly.

      ‘I’ll just go and – er – finish off,’ said Harry hastily, hurrying to pick up his fallen telescope and trainers.

      It took him a little over ten minutes to track down everything he needed; at last he had managed to extract his Invisibility Cloak from under the bed, screwed the top back on his jar of Colour-Change Ink and forced the lid of his trunk shut on his cauldron. Then, heaving his trunk in one hand and holding Hedwig’s cage in the other, he made his way back downstairs.

      He was disappointed to discover that Dumbledore was not waiting in the hall, which meant that he had to return to the living room.

      Nobody was talking. Dumbledore was humming quietly, apparently quite at his ease, but the atmosphere was thicker than cold custard and Harry did not dare look at the Dursleys as he said, ‘Professor – I’m ready now.’

      ‘Good,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Just one last thing, then.’ And he turned to speak to the Dursleys once more. ‘As you will no doubt be aware, Harry comes of age in a year’s time —’

      ‘No,’ said Aunt Petunia, speaking for the first time since Dumbledore’s arrival.

      ‘I’m sorry?’ said Dumbledore politely.

      ‘No, he doesn’t. He’s a month younger than Dudley, and Dudders doesn’t turn eighteen until the year after next.’

      ‘Ah,’ said Dumbledore pleasantly, ‘but in the wizarding world, we come of age at seventeen.’

      Uncle Vernon muttered ‘preposterous’, but Dumbledore ignored him.

      ‘Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents’ murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own.’

      Dumbledore paused, and although his voice remained light and calm, and he gave no obvious sign of anger, Harry felt a kind of chill emanating from him and noticed that the Dursleys drew very slightly closer together.

      ‘You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you.’

      Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked around instinctively, as though expecting to see someone other than Dudley squeezed between them.

      ‘Us – mistreat Dudders? What d’you —?’ began Uncle Vernon furiously, but Dumbledore raised his finger for silence, a silence which fell as though he had struck Uncle Vernon dumb.

      ‘The magic I evoked fifteen years ago means that Harry has powerful protection while he can still call this house home. However miserable he has been here, however unwelcome, however badly treated, you have at least, grudgingly, allowed him houseroom. This magic will cease to operate the moment that Harry turns seventeen; in other words, the moment he becomes a man. I ask only this: that you allow Harry to return, once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time.’

      None of the Dursleys said anything. Dudley was frowning slightly, as though he was still trying to work out when he had ever been mistreated. Uncle Vernon looked as though he had something stuck in his throat; Aunt Petunia, however, was oddly flushed.

      ‘Well, Harry … time for us to be off,’ said Dumbledore at last, standing up and straightening his long black cloak. ‘Until we meet again,’ he said to the Dursleys, who looked as though that moment could wait for ever as far as they were concerned, and after doffing his hat, he swept from the room.

      ‘Bye,’ said Harry hastily to the Dursleys, and followed Dumbledore, who paused beside Harry’s trunk, upon which Hedwig’s cage was perched.

      ‘We do not want to be encumbered by these just now,’ he said, pulling out his wand again. ‘I shall send them to The Burrow to await us there. However, I would like you to bring your Invisibility Cloak … just in case.’

      Harry extracted his Cloak from his trunk with some difficulty, trying not to show Dumbledore the mess within. When he had stuffed it into an inside pocket of his jacket, Dumbledore waved his wand and the trunk, cage and Hedwig vanished. Dumbledore then waved his wand again and the front door opened on to cool, misty darkness.

      ‘And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.’

      – CHAPTER FOUR —

      Horace Slughorn

      Despite the fact that he had spent every waking moment of the past few days hoping desperately that Dumbledore would indeed come to fetch him, Harry felt distinctly awkward as they set off down Privet Drive together. He had never had a proper conversation with his headmaster outside Hogwarts before; there was usually a desk between them. The memory of their last face-to-face encounter kept intruding, too, and it rather heightened Harry’s sense of embarrassment; he had shouted a lot on that occasion, not to mention doing his best to smash several of Dumbledore’s most prized possessions.

      Dumbledore, however, seemed completely relaxed.

      ‘Keep your wand at the ready, Harry,’ he said brightly.

      ‘But I thought I’m not allowed to use magic outside school, sir?’

      ‘If there is an attack,’ said Dumbledore, ‘I give you permission to use any counter-jinx or – curse that might occur to you. However, I do not think you need worry about being attacked tonight.’

      ‘Why not, sir?’

      ‘You are with me,’ said Dumbledore simply. ‘This will do, Harry.’

      He came to an abrupt halt at the end of Privet Drive.

      ‘You have not, of course, passed your Apparition test?’ he said.

      ‘No,’ said Harry. ‘I thought you had to be seventeen?’

      ‘You do,’ said Dumbledore. ‘So you will need to hold on to my arm very tightly. My left, if you don’t mind – as you have noticed, my wand arm is a little fragile at the moment.’

      Harry gripped Dumbledore’s proffered forearm.

      ‘Very good,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Well, here we

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