Harry Potter and the Enchanted Scroll

Chapter 4- Unexpected News and An Unwanted Visitor

Harry and Dudley arrived on Mrs. Figg's doorstep several minutes later. Dudley rang the doorbell several times. After a few minutes, no one came to the door and Harry heard Dudley muttering to himself. "Where is that old bag?"

They heard the door being unlocked and Mrs. Figg stood before them with a scowl on her face. The kind person from the previous night was replaced by the grouchy, mean old Mrs. Figg that Harry had known for years. "You're late," she said simply.

Dudley glanced at Harry and motioned for him to say something. "Um.... sorry Mrs. Figg. It was my fault. I got a letter," responded Harry.

Mrs. Figg's eyes flashed for a second then narrowed as she glared at Harry and Dudley. "That is no excuse. Come, there is much to be done." Harry and Dudley stepped inside and followed her into the living the room, the stench of cabbage filling their nostrils.

"You," she barked at Dudley. "I need those newspapers tied into bundles and put on the side of the road." She pointed to several stacks of newspapers stacked against the wall.

Dudley eyes' widened at the sight of all the newspapers. "I'm not doing that," he said.

Mrs. Figg took a step towards him. "You'll do what you're told or else I'll be calling your father."

Dudley remained stubborn. "Go ahead, call my father. I don't even know why I had to come here."

Mrs. Figg turned to Harry. "What do you think I should do Harry? Should I call your uncle or maybe I should handle this a different way?" She pulled her wand out of her skirt pocket. "Hmm... maybe a Furnunculus curse would teach him a lesson?"

Dudley's eyes widened in fear when he realized who Mrs. Figg really was.

Harry smiled and said: "I'm quite partial to the Jelly-Legs curse myself. It always gives me a good laugh."

By this time, Dudley had gone as pale as a ghost.

Mrs. Figg held out her wand and smiled. "Good choice, Harry." She opened her mouth to say the curse when Dudley yelled out.

"No! No! No! I'll do it!"

Mrs. Figg dropped her arm. "Very well, but I do no want any more attitude." She gave him an icy glare.

"Yes, ma'am," said Dudley. He rushed over to the stack of newspapers, anxious to get away from the witch.

Harry gave a laugh as he watched Dudley run for his life. Mrs. Figg smiled down at him. "Come, Harry. We need to talk." Harry followed her into the kitchen.

Harry took a seat at the table. " Do you want some breakfast, Harry?" asked Mrs. Figg, pulling a frying pan out of the cupboard.

"Sure," said Harry.

Mrs. Figg pulled out her wand and started to cook. Harry took this opportunity to read his letter from Sirius. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced up to make sure Mrs. Figg's back was turned. Sirius wrote:

I'm glad to hear you are okay. I'm still in hiding but I'm in constant contact with Dumbledore. We still don't know where he is hiding or when he is going to make his move so BE CAREFUL. Keep your wand with you at all times and be careful whom you trust because Voldemort has many agents of evil. We are pretty sure he still doesn't know where you are but you can never be too careful.

Be careful,

Harry folded up the letter and put it back into his pocket. His heart sank at the thought of Sirius gone from the country. What if he needed his help? How could he leave now? What if Voldemort did find out where he was? What if he couldn't escape him again? His thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Figg placing a plate of eggs before him.

She sat down to eat her own eggs. "Well, dig in Harry before it gets cold."

Harry silently ate his eggs while pondering why Sirius had left the country. Mrs. Figg interrupted his thoughts once again. "So who did you get an owl from?" she asked.

"What?" asked Harry, confused.

"You said you got a letter before you came. I assumed you got an owl. Correct?"

"Um.. yeah. Just a letter from one of my friends from school," responded Harry.

"Oh. Which friend?" asked Mrs. Figg. "Was it Ron or Hermione?"

Harry looked up at her in surprise. "How did you know their names?"

"Come now, Harry. I'm supposed to protect you and part of my job is to know who sends you owls." She paused for a moment. "So was it Ron, Hermione or Sirius?"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of his godfather's name. "How... how do know about, Sirius?"

"Who do you think told me that Lord Voldemort had risen again? I suspect your owl was from Sirius since I received a message from him this morning saying he was leaving the country."

Harry looked down. "Yeah, he wrote the same thing to me."

Mrs. Figg smiled at him and covered his hand with her own. "Don't worry Harry. He'll be fine. Dumbledore has an important duty he needs Sirius to do. There are so few of us that accept that Voldemort is back. Most wizards and witches don't want to believe it."

The doorbell rang and Mrs. Figg frowned as she glanced at the clock. "Who could that be? I'm not expecting anybody this morning." They headed into the foyer to see Dudley opening the door, revealing Peter Pettigrew standing on the doorstep.