Dumbledore And The Ageing Potion

CHAPTER 2 - WITH THE GRANGERS

Harry sat frowning over Ron's untidy scrawl. If possible, Ron's handwriting had become more undecipherable than before. Either that or Ron had been labouring under some great emotion.

Harry identified the second word in the second sentence to be 'Mum'. That word there must be McGonagall and the long word, which began with a 'D' and ended with an 'e' must be 'Dumbledore', he decided. Shaking his head he gave up. He put the letter aside and took up Hermione's. Her neat handwriting was a treat after Ron's unintelligible one. She had invited him and Ron over for the last few days, by when she would have got back from Bulgaria. He gathered from her letter that McGonagall had refused permission for Harry to go over to Ron's place. Hermione would pick him up from Privet Drive on 27^th August. So that was what Ron must have written.

He replied to their letters.

The next morning when Harry went down for breakfast he told his uncle that the Grangers would be coming to pick him up from here on the 27^th.

"Who are these Grangers?" barked Uncle Vernon, his mouth full of toast.

"Hermione Granger is a friend of mine from school. Her parents are dentists," replied Harry.

"I will not allow any friend of yours to step inside my house," growled Uncle Vernon.

Harry shrugged. "In that case I'll have to ask my Godfather to pick me up. I need to go to Diagon Alley to get my supplies."

'Purple does not suit Uncle Vernon's face,' thought Harry, affected powerfully by Uncle Vernon's purple face clashing with his acid green T-shirt. "So do I ask the Grangers not to come?"

It was Aunt Petunia who replied. "I do not want any escaped convict entering my house!" she declared. "Let the Grangers come and pick you up."

'Yes!' thought Harry excitedly and ran up to his room to pack. 'Only two more days for the 27^th.'

~*~*~*~*~

Harry came down for breakfast on the 27^th and felt that he entered the wrong house. The living room was now rearranged, leaving a wide area near the fireplace bare. The entire living room now seemed to be crowded at one corner. Harry would have laughed aloud, had Aunt Petunia not come there.

"When are the Grangers arriving?" she asked testily.

"They should be here by 10:30," Harry replied.

"Just when we have our breakfast!" said Aunt Petunia angrily.

"Probably thought they'd get invited," said Uncle Vernon coming down the stairs. "We'll eat breakfast now, Petunia."

Harry looked at the clock. It said 9:30. As he was already dressed and had packed all his things, including Hedwig, Harry followed Petunia into the kitchen for breakfast.

Dudley was already there, cramming large pieces of toast and bacon into his mouth. 'The strenuous diet imposed on him at Smeltings had its effects,' thought Harry. He now looked like more two round balls on top of one another, rather than a baby whale.

After breakfast, Vernon paced up and down the living room and Aunt Petunia sat as far from the fireplace as possible, darting nervous glances across. She looked as if she was straining to hear noises from the fireplace.

At 10:30, a car drove up to No.4, Privet Drive. Harry's ears pricked at the sound. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia looked towards the driveway. The Grangers walked up to the door and rang the bell. As neither of the Dursleys moved, Harry went to open the door.

The Dursleys stopped ogling the Granger's car and started ogling at the dentists, who now stood at their doorstep. "Good Morning," said Dr.Granger walking forward with his hand outstretched. "Hermione has told me a lot about your nephew Harry. These two and another friend of theirs, Ronald Weasley seem to be fast friends. Have you met him?"

Vernon shuddered at the recollection of the last time he had met Ron Weasley. Harry caught Hermione's eye and with difficulty stifled a laugh.

"Pleased to meet you, Dr.Granger," said Uncle Vernon and, to Harry's surprise, took the outstretched hand.

"We've heard of you, of course," said Aunt Petunia, with her artificial laugh.

"We have a son," said Uncle Vernon, as if announcing the birth of a long awaited heir.

"I see," said Mrs. Granger politely.

"But I don't see him," said Dr.Granger looking around.

Uncle Vernon guffawed, smartly realising that this was meant as a joke. Harry chuckled as Dr.Granger caught his eye and twinkled.

Aunt Petunia smiled. "I'll bring him," she said. "He's shy of strangers, you see."

Hermione looked expectantly at the stairway, through which Mrs.Dursley had just gone. She had heard too much about Dudley from both Harry and Ron, to not feel curious to see the boy.

"He is a fine boy, studying at Smeltings, but he has a weakness for sweets," said Uncle Vernon. "That seems to given him a spot of trouble with his teeth."

Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione. He knew where this was heading. Obviously the Dursleys were hoping for a free Dental treatment for Dudley.

Both Hermione and Uncle Vernon were destined to be disappointed, for at that moment, Aunt Petunia returned alone. "He is busy with his school work," she said. "He is an intelligent boy, my son."

But Harry knew otherwise. Before the Grangers arrived, he had heard Dudley barricading himself in his room. No doubt, his previous encounters with wizards were still painfully fresh in his memory and so he must have refused to step out of the room.

Dr.Granger stood up. "I'm afraid we must be going. We've asked Ronald Weasley to meet us at Diagon Alley, and we mustn't keep him waiting."

Harry went upstairs to get his trunk and Hermione followed. She managed to catch a glimpse of the pig like face of Dudley before he slammed the door.

Dr.Granger helped Harry load his trunk into the boot of the car, and they sped off to Diagon Alley.

They met Ron at Leaky Cauldron. Hermione's parents decided to wait at the Leaky Cauldron, while the three went into Diagon Alley. As usual, their first visit was to the Gringotts Bank. Ron and Hermione waited outside and once Harry came out, they went off to get their yearly supplies.

Their shopping over, they went to ice cream Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlour, where they ordered large sundaes each. Harry, who sat facing the window, stood up, his eyes widening.

"What is it?" asked Ron.

"Does McGonagall have a son?" asked Harry.

Ron chortled.

"Why?" asked Hermione.

"I just saw her pass by with a teenage boy," said Harry.

"Must have been her nephew," said Ron, as if he found the whole idea was ludicrous.

"Of course she doesn't have a nephew!" said Hermione scornfully.

"How do you know?" asked Ron. "Did you read it in 'The History of Hogwarts Teachers?' or perhaps, in 'Hogwarts Teachers: A History'?"

Hermione scowled. "No, I haven't!"

'There they go again,' thought Harry, hurriedly changing the topic.

Ice cream and payment over they returned to Leaky Cauldron