Something About That Girl

Something about some girl (10)

Holding Elizabeth's hand, Harry sprinted down the hall to the kitchen. Elizabeth looked scared out of her wits and even though Harry did not understand exactly why, he knew she had seen something terrible. Elizabeth pushed the door open hard, and they found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Snape, Tonks, Hermione and Ron there. They looked up, surprised, when Harry and Elizabeth entered. "Please don't slam the doors like that, Eliza, we wouldn't -" Mrs. Weasley began, but she was interrupted by her husband, who had seen the urgent look on Elizabeth's face.

"Merlin's beard, what has happened?" Mr. Weasley asked. Elizabeth was panting wildly.

"I - saw - Dumbledore... Told me - to - to - get you out!" she gasped. They all jumped up from their chairs in alarm and put in questions about Dumbledore.

"What do you mean 'saw'?" Snape asked and the others fell silent. He was the only one except for Harry and Dumbledore who knew Elizabeth might have this ability. Elizabeth met his look.

"Inside - my head! He had a - wound! Was - locked away somewhere! We - have to hurry!"

"Inside your head?" asked Lupin, confused. "What do you mean?" Elizabeth was losing her patience; none of them seemed to understand what danger they were in.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW! I JUST - SAW - HIM!" She yelled. They all looked confused and a little worried about her health. Snape walked to her.

"Let me have a look," he said. "Potter had a vision like the one you are talking about a few years ago, but it proved to be an illusion made by the Dark Lord. We don't want to make any such mistakes again," Snape said with an eloquent look at Harry, who turned red.

"What are you going to do?" Elizabeth asked a little nervously.

"Just relax. It won't hurt you," he said. He placed the tips of his index fingers on Elizabeth's temples, and closed his eyes. Elizabeth closed hers too. Now there were no moving purple dots, only black. She stood still for a few seconds. Suddenly she felt the presence of Snape in her head, and his face appeared for her eyes, looking alarmed. "You can open your eyes again," he said and Elizabeth did. Again, she met Snape's gaze, but he turned around to the others.

"It seems real. I think he's managed to torture the password out of Dumbledore. We'd better warn the others and get out." Mrs. Weasley clapped her hand to her mouth and looked terrified.

"Oh no! Arthur, the children!" she said. Mr. Weasley sprinted upstairs. Tonks gasped and Lupin looked anxious.

"Where can we go?" he said, distressed. "We never figured what to do if this should ever happen." He did not get an answer because the air cracked when the Apparating Weasleys and Draco appeared.

The Grimmauld kitchen looked so safe that Harry did not want to leave it. But when he looked at Elizabeth, who looked absolutely distraught, he understood what she felt. After all, he had experienced the exact same thing when he saw Mr. Weasley get hurt.

"We must use the Disillusionment Charm and then make for the Ministry," Lupin decided. "Bill, go to the conference room and get all papers and maps, everything that isn't meant for an intruder's eye. Charlie, Fred and George, get back upstairs and seal every door and window properly. Draco, Ginny and Ron, do the same down here." They all nodded and hurried away.

Lupin turned to Hermione. "Use the Disillusionment Charm on yourself, Harry and Elizabeth." She nodded too and found her wand. Just as she was about to perform the charm and Lupin opened his mouth to say something to Mr. Weasley, five loud cracks pierced the air and Elizabeth screamed as five black-cloaked, white-masked Death Eaters appeared. Harry quickly found his wand and Lupin managed to stun one of them, but the other four rushed forward and before Harry could think or feel anything, he was tightly bound by invisible robes and secured with an Anti-Apparation spell.

"Harry!" Mr. Weasley yelled, but two Death Eaters had grabbed Harry, and another Elizabeth, and with their prey, they Apparated away. Harry felt his feet lift from the floor, while struggling viciously to get free, but one of the DE's hit him hard in the head, and he remembered no more.

***

"Well, Harry, once again our paths have crossed. It is remarkable how you keep returning for more pain; I do hope you don't have the illusion that you actually stand a chance against Lord Voldemort? Because that would certainly prove you to be much more stupid than your father..."

Harry found himself in the same situation he had faced three years ago; tied to a gravestone surrounded by a black circle of Death Eaters and facing his archenemy Lord Voldemort, who was standing right in front of him. Only this time, the selected gravestone bore the name of Harry's parents.

Voldemort bent down and faced Harry. The scull-white face came very close, the red eyes as dead as a snake's. They told him the truth: He was going to die. This time there was no protection from his mother, no Phoenix tears or sword, not even a Portkey. And there was, most importantly, no Dumbledore. He realized that he had never known the true meaning of the word "alone" until now. Voldemort's snake, Nagini, was circling around the gravestone, her dead, cold eyes fixed on him. "I'm sss-starving," she hissed. Harry trembled as Voldemort's finger traced the lightening scar on his forehead almost tenderly. It was so cold.

"Sixteen years..." Voldemort muttered. Then he suddenly grabbed Harrys shoulder very tightly and pulled him unpleasantly close. "Take a good look around and enjoy the view Harry, you have seen your last sunrise... You are all alone; there is nobody to help you now. Dumbledore is dead, your beloved godfather is dead, and your parents are dead... It's almost tragic..." he mocked and The Death Eaters around them laughed loudly. Voldemort let out a hard barking laughter but then his smile vanished and he moved very close to whisper in Harry's ear. He grasped Harry's neck and squeezed it.

"Too many times you have stood in my way. Now it is time to get rid of you. Your life has been a waste. Well, at least you can die happy knowing the world contains one less halfblood. Death... will... come... to Harry Potter." And then he let go of Harry's throat and smiled an insane grin that stretched his face into a grotesque mask. As Harry gasped for breath, he saw with horror how Voldemort had lost almost every human trade. The only thing that set him apart from a snake was his evilness. Animals don't kill for pleasure.

"But what's the rush? We have a little treat for you," Voldemort said, his eyes gleaming with delight. Two Death Eaters pushed the struggling Elizabeth toward Voldemort, who grabbed hold of her hair. Her hands were tied. Harry's eyes widened in horror.

"If you touch her...!" he began, trembling with rage, but the rest of his sentence was drowned in the laughter of the dark figures around him. Voldemort pointed his wand at Elizabeth. She was crying.

"Dolor!" he said, and Elizabeth fell to the ground in a horrible cramp, screaming in pain. Harry was shaking beyond control now. Voldemort's shining eyes. Laughing Death Eaters. Elizabeth, squirming in pain. Suddenly he lost control and he felt a powerful energy emerge from his body. Voldemort's wand exploded in his hands. The screaming and laughter stopped. There was silence. Voldemort turned slowly to the panting Harry. He looked beyond fury.

"So you don't need your wand to do magic?" he whispered in a deadly sneer. "I think it is time to say goodbye Harry. Just to make sure some ancient spell won't miraculously save you again, my most trusted Death Eater will assist me in killing you. Lucius!"

Harry breathed fast and heavily as he saw Lucius Malfoy leave his place in the circle and approach. "This is not happening, it can't be happening," Harry whispered, terrified, under his breath. His heart was pounding and the blood ran cold in his veins. Fighting the urge to throw up or pass out, he saw through a blur how the two figures slowly raised their wands. He looked up in the sky where the stars blinked down to him. Help me... Please help me...

"Goodbye...!" Voldemort said with his malicious and insane smile.

A great, bright flash of light blinded Harry.

***

Elizabeth watched terrified as Voldemort and Lucius approached Harry. Her wrists were very sore because she had been squirming to free herself, but she was magically tied and it was impossible to escape. She was shaking and she felt like throwing up. Every inch of her body was throbbing painfully; even breathing was difficult. She had never been this afraid in her life.

Images raced by in her mind. Harry, the first time she saw him. Black, untidy hair. Harry, catching the snitch. Lightening shaped scar. Harry, kissing her in the dormitory. Soft touch. Harry, promising her she would not fall. His voice. She saw Voldemort's eyes shining with glee as he said "Avada Kedavra". Elizabeth sat up and screamed Harry's name as his green eyes met hers.

"HARRY!"

***

Harry was lying flat on his back, starring up in the black sky. He felt perfectly relaxed, almost like the feeling he had had when he was under the Imperius curse.

"Harry," someone gently said from afar, the voice echoing. Suddenly the face of his mother soared into view. She was slightly transparent, but not entirely like a ghost. He trembled as he she sat down besides him and felt her lift his head onto her lap. She bent down and kissed his forehead. Her touch was warm. Harry looked up at her. A pair of green eyes, so much like his own, looked at him with such great love he had never felt before.

"Am I dead?" he asked in a shaking voice, but he knew the answer. Voldemort was right; his life had been a waste. What had been the point of it all? What had been the point of anything?

"Don't think that, Harry," his mother said while stroking his forehead with a cool and soft hand. "Your life has not been a waste." Harry tenderly watched his mothers' face. She had heard him.

He knew he must have gone insane. Or angels had the ability to read minds.

"Is this heaven?" he asked her.

She smiled. "It is a timebubble, which means we have five minutes before time starts ticking again."

"A timebubble? Did you make it?" he whispered. She smiled.

"I am here to make you understand something, Harry," she said, now more hurriedly. "Life is a gift. Don't spend your life regretting the past; it is much to precious for that. I know what you have been thinking since Sirius died; that it's not worth carrying on." She caressed his forehead, and he trembled as tears burned in his eyes. "But you can't give up. You have so much to do and to be."

"But it never works out!" he blustered, tears now streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks, "Everyone I try to help, I love, they just die! Or disappear! Or get hurt! What if it never ends?" He sobbed. Lily bent down and hugged him. She rocked him gently back and forth.

"'What's coming, will come', someone once told you," she whispered. "I can't promise you that everything will end well, but I can tell you that they certainly won't end well if you don't make an effort. You alone have the power, love."

"But I sometimes feel so empty," he told her, "like... like a Dementor had sucked my soul out." Tears had streamed down his cheeks. His mother wiped them away.

"What you have been through over the years is enough to make anyone despair. You just have to work your way out of it."

Harry heart sank in his chest. She didn't understand that he didn't want to kill.

"Yes I do," Lily suddenly said and made Harry start. "And you don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"I know what you fear. I know you don't want to kill because you think you will turn into a man like Voldemort. But he is no longer a man, Harry. When you come back, you can see it for yourself. Don't give up Harry!" Harry wiped his tears away.

"What do I do?"

"Use the power you have inside. Time is running out, be quick."

Harry looked at her. He smiled. "Thank you Mum," he said as his throat tightened a little. She smiled back. "You have our protection," she said.

"Revultus."

***

Harry found himself facing the ground, breathing in the smell of grass in little gasps. He slowly raised his head. Voldemort was standing with his back to Harry ten metres away, talking to his Death Eaters. They had obviously abandoned his body, thinking he was dead. He looked down at his hands as he felt his body fill with a strength so powerful he was almost overwhelmed and a fury more intense he had ever felt before. It was time to end it. No more losing and no more broken families. "Either Voldemort goes or I go", he thought.

He was not afraid anymore. He slowly got up and took out his wand. Some of the Death Eaters standing opposite Voldemort stirred in surprise as they noticed Harry moving. Voldemort turned around quickly. Harry felt calm as he saw the face had lost every human trait and for the first time, he saw real fear in those dead, red eyes. He felt strong. Harry was in control.

"No. You're dead," Voldemort whispered awestruck. Suddenly the unmistakable sound of a singing Phoenix was heard, and Fawkes landed in a nearby tree, filling Harry with even more strength.

He calmly raised his wand, but Voldemort was quicker. "Avada Kedavra!" he roared, but the green ray of light bounced off Harry. He started walking towards Voldemort who shifted nervously back and forth on his feet. The Death Eaters muttered in outrage. Some of them pointed their wands at Harry, while others just watched behind their white masks, mesmerised.

"You have taken your last life, Tom Marvolo Riddle," Harry said. "I will make sure that you no longer will matter to anyone. Show us your real face!" His mind was filled with such overwhelming love as he thought about his mother. Without thinking about anything else, he pointed his wand at Voldemort and said "Enclausis!"

A ray of white light shot out of his wand and hit Voldemort directly in his chest. For a long moment he froze as if he had been stunned, his white scull-like face contorted more in disbelief than pain. The Death Eaters sent green jets of killing curses toward Harry. They all bounced off him. Then Voldemort shrank and changed shape with lightening speed until a small, white snake lay at Harry's feet. Nagini suddenly slid forward and hissed, "I am hungry!"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Harry said in Parseltongue. She hissed blissfully and then slid forward as fast as lightning and sank her long poisonous fangs down the white snake's head. Voldemort was dead.

Five or six yells of "Avada Kedavra" soared though the air, closely followed by green rays of light. They all bounced off Harry again. Suddenly loud crack after loud crack pierced the air as members of the Order of the Phoenix appeared. Tonks, Aberforth, Mad-eye, Lupin, Snape and Draco. As the first Death Eaters turned around and fled and others Apparated away, Lupin raised his wand and yelled a spell that made all the remaining Death Eaters freeze on the spot.

Harry let himself fall back and slide down the gravestone till he hit the ground.

It was over. Over.

He cried. Heavy tears ran down his cheeks and dripped down on his chest as he smiled and laughed uncontrollably. Ron and Hermione came running toward him and they both flung themselves down to him and hugged him. Hermione sobbed wildly. Then they pulled away and Harry crawled forward to Elizabeth. He bent his head down and sobbed in her hair.

Suddenly Hermione screamed. Harry raised his head in time to see Lucius Malfoy send a curse directly toward Draco, who was hit directly in the chest and fell to the ground with a pained groan. Lupin managed to stop Malfoy and rushed to Draco. More cracks were heard as Ministry Aurors appeared and Madam Bones, Minister for Magic herself, led them forward. They seized the DEs and two Aurors Disapparated with them to the Ministry of Magic.

Harry was still being hugged by Elizabeth, when a great lightning illuminated the entire place and a tall figure suddenly appeared in their midst. Several Aurors cried spells at the figure, thinking it was Voldemort, but Lupin cried, "No! Don't hurt him!"

Harry narrowed his eyes to see who the figure was. His heart skipped a beat for joy when he looked into familiar blue eyes and saw his old Headmaster. Dumbledore had returned. Then he suddenly felt so tired as he had never felt before and a peaceful darkness took him as he passed out in Elizabeth's arms.

***

Harry felt his head thudding with pain. He opened his eyes and realized he was lying in his bed. As Elizabeth suddenly entered the room, he quickly closed his eyed. She sat down next to him with a sigh. "Harry?" she said. He did not answer; he wanted to tease her. As she traced the white line on his forehead tenderly with her finger, Harry felt like she was drawing a new line, a line of burning sensation that sent shivers down his spine. He was lying still, not daring to wake up because he knew it would destroy the moment.

"Harry?" Elizabeth whispered in his ear, in a voice that almost made him open his eyes. "Please wake up," she sobbed and hid her face in her hands. Harry opened his eyes. He turned his head and reached out to stroke her golden hair. She looked up, scared. Her cheeks were streaked. Her golden hair was glowing in the sunlight from the window, her blue eyes shone with tears and she was smiling. If I can wake every morning and see that smile I shall ask for nothing else.

"Thank you for guiding me back, Elizabeth," he whispered gently. She looked at him in disbelief.

"You felt my presence?" she asked. Harry nodded.

They looked at each other for a long moment in silence. Then Elizabeth said:

"Oh Harry, I love you so much." She put her arms around his neck.

"I love you too, and nothing can ever make me stop," Harry whispered tenderly. He pulled her into a soft kiss. He closed his eyes as Elizabeth closed hers. Elizabeth breathed in and sensed the familiar smell of him. Like grass, sunlight and too much cologne.

Harry felt her open her mouth slightly and he met her tongue in a more demanding and passionate kiss. He gently let go of her hands and let his own slide slowly down her waist and beyond. Elizabeth gently caressed his chest with her hands as she moved her arms up around his neck again. Harry felt her warm body against his own and suddenly, in his head, a thousand images raced by: sparks in every color, a laughing child, wonderful music, the sun, a drop of rain, a gathering of cheering people, a spring flower, tears of joy and a rainbow.

A minute later, they were interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

"Please go away," Harry said, annoyed, addressing the door, but Elizabeth just giggled affectionately and got up to open it. Dumbledore entered with a bandage around his head. He looked very thin and tired, but nevertheless, he smiled mischievously at them.

"You don't even want to say hello to your old Headmaster?" he said and winked at the slightly blushing pair. Harry smiled and sat up.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Dumbledore sat down next to Harry after hugging his granddaughter.

"Well, Harry. How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Good," Harry said with a look at Elizabeth. "How about you? What happened to you?" Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I had told one of my students something," he began in his usual cryptic way. "That was, that I am Headmaster for all the students of Hogwarts. The particular student, I knew, had a hard time believing that and I felt it was necessary to prove that to him. In that way, I might prevent him from getting the same fate as his father. But it seems that Ginny Weasley had more persuasive methods than I," Dumbledore said and winked at them again.

"You disappeared because of Draco? I don't understand," Harry said.

"When Lucius hit me with the killing curse, I did not die. I have found ways of protecting myself against the Unforgivables, but I did pass out. When I woke up, I was in a cellar somewhere and in the company of Tom Riddle. He knew that the Order existed; Wormtail had naturally told him that as he was a member twenty-five years ago, and Voldemort knew what he needed to get into Grimmauld Place and get you. The permission. To his great fury, I resisted his attempts to manipulate me for a good month; but I gradually lost my strength and finally, on the day Elizabeth found me, I had gone down to him and been forced to give him the permission. I was miserable, so when I felt Elizabeth's presence, I was more than relieved. An hour later, even my two guards were summoned to Voldemort's gathering at Godric's Hollow. They obviously thought I was close to death and could go nowhere, but I managed to escape and I went straight to you after sending Fawkes to your aid. Almost all the DEs went through a great trial last night, and every single one went to Azkaban. Lucius Malfoy is dead. Draco managed to give him a serious injury before his father harmed him. Draco is at St. Mungos, but he is going to recover. Now, I should like to hear your story. What happened?" Dumbledore said. Harry told them about his mother's timebubble and how she had comforted him. He did not tell them everything she had said though; he felt that was a secret between them. Dumbledore was amazed.

"That is truly the most surprising thing I have ever heard," he said. "She told you not to be afraid?" Harry nodded.

"It was like I was filled with a special strength, confidence perhaps. What really finished Voldemort off was not the killing curse, I never even used it; it was... love. I know it sounds strange, but I felt it very distinctly. I pointed my wand at him, shouted to him to show his real face and said a word that must mean something like 'show yourself', because he turned into a snake."

"Did you say 'Enclausis'?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah that was it. My mum told me to."

"Your mother was a very gifted woman," Dumbledore said. "How gifted, I have only just realised. What happened then?"

"Well, Voldemort's snake, Nagini, said that she was starving and I let her feast on her former master's flesh," Harry said, his voice now strong and loud. "And then the Order arrived."

Dumbledore bent his head and so did Harry. He was simply overwhelmed by the realisation of what this meant. No more fear. No more losing. No more Voldemort. He felt Elizabeth take his hand and squeeze it gently. A little tear dripped from his eye. He looked up and saw that Dumbledore was smiling at him.

"I don't know how to express to you how proud I am. You are a unique boy, Harry. I think we can expect great things from you in the future." Harry smiled.

"Thank you professor."

"Well, now I think I will leave you in the company of my lovely granddaughter, who, I have been told, has something to tell you," he said while giving Elizabeth an eloquent look. She bit her lip. Dumbledore shook Harry's hand and hugged Elizabeth before leaving. Harry gave Elizabeth a curious look.

"What did he mean about that?" he asked.

"Well, I made a very surprising discovery yesterday," she said. "Actually, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this. You know how Professor Snape has been avoiding me for some time?" Harry nodded. "Well, it seems that I have finally discovered why Dumbledore trusted Snape all these years even though he is a former Death Eater. Harry, Snape is my biological father."

"WHAT?!"

***

When Harry entered the kitchen that evening, he found the Weasley family, Hermione, Draco, Elizabeth and the entire Order present. They all beamed at him without knowing what to say. When Harry smiled at them, Lupin stepped forward to shake his hand and soon all the others followed.

"This is incredible, Harry! Incredible!" Mr. Weasley said.

"Oh, Harry, we are so proud of you!" Mrs. Weasley said tearfully while hugging him.

"Don't get too bigheaded, mate. You only saved the world, you know," Ron said with a wry smile and pulled Harry into a warm hug.

"For once, I have no idea how to express myself," Hermione said tearfully while smiling broadly. They both laughed and then she kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Just because you defeated Voldemort -"

"- The most evil wizard of our time -"

" - It doesn't mean that you can score more birds than us, you know!" said Fred and George. Harry laughed. They shook his hands. "Amazing, Harry," they said, for once completely serious.

"Your parents would have been proud," Lupin said, his eyes glossy. "And Sirius too."

"Good job, Potter," said Snape, and Harry was surprised to see him smile. He smiled back. Draco, who was walking with crutches, gave him his hand.

"I hope we can put the past behind us, Potter," he said. Harry smiled. Poor fellow.

"Don't think about it for a moment," he said. Draco smiled. The rest of the Order shook his hand and hugged him, but at last, they were able to sit down at the magically enlarged table. Hermione handed Harry the newspaper. It contained nothing but news about the big events.

The-Boy-Who-Lived defeats Dark Lord Again

BRITAIN: Last evening, a lot of riddles were solved, as missing Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore, returned, and Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who. The Wizarding Community can breathe the air freely again, and this time there is no risk at all that the Dark Lord will ever rise again. "His own servant, the snake Nagini, ate his entire body. He is gone," a relieved former Defence against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Remus John Lupin, said. At the Ministry for Magic, Minister Bones led the trial against the captured Death Eaters who all admitted their guilt and were sent to Azkaban with sentences ranging from eleven to 360 years. Two Death Eaters managed to escape, but Ministry Aurors are hunting them down as we go to print. "They have nowhere to go, no protection now that their master is gone," said head of Ministry Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt. But just how did the Boy-Who-Lived defeat You-Know-Who? "A question like that can never expect a simple answer," said Albus Dumbledore in his usual obscure way, "Even though Lord Voldemort had spent the better part of fifty years learning the Dark Arts, Harry has something that Voldemort never understood: humanity and love. And that was the weapon with which the Dark Lord fell forever."

There was a large picture of celebrating wizards and witches. Around the table, people were discussing the event and Harry had never seen them so relaxed before. He chatted happily with the others for a while, and then Dumbledore clinked his glass.

"Dear all! Today is the first day in many where we can all celebrate! Voldemort is gone and with him went the fear!" They all cheered and applauded, most of the witches with tears in their eyes. "Harry has been through more than I think any of us could handle these past years, and today is the day he receives recognition for his sacrifices. Let us raise our glasses to the boy who not only lived, but also saved us from evil. Let us raise our glass to Harry Potter!" And so they all solemnly did.

"That must be enough ceremony for one day," Dumbledore said. "Now, it is time for presents!" Harry looked up, amazed. Ron and Hermione stood up and Hermione handed him a letter.

"Here you go, Harry," Hermione said and looked conspiratorially at Ron. Harry smiled.

"What is it?" he asked as he got a small envelope.

"Open it," Ron said with a great smile.

Harry opened the envelope and pulled out a letter.

Dear Mr. Potter

Congratulations on your victory! After watching all your Quidditch matches in your last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we have come to the conclusion that your great talent is needed on our national Quidditch team. As our present Seeker Wendy Materiam is retiring after this season, this is an invitation for you to come to the tryouts this September. We hope to see you on September 1!

Yours truly, Ludo Bagman, Department of Games and Sport &

Michael Olsen, Quidditch Captain, British Arrows

Harry folded his letter together and looked up. He felt slightly dizzy. This was amazing.

"Oh my God!" he then yelled, and got up to hug them both. Hermione read the content of the letter to the others, who broke out in cheers and applause.

"That's no surprise," said Fred. Harry sat down, too amazed to speak. Mrs. Weasley flicked her wand and the steaming food appeared. They all dug in and enjoyed the most cheerful meal Harry could ever remember.

***

To Mr. and Mrs. Dursley & Dudley, the Living Room, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey: Grimmauld Place, London, September 1^st 1997;

If you wonder why I had to leave so suddenly earlier this summer, I hope you will get the answers when reading the newspaper I have sent along with this letter. I used the Muggle post because I thought that would make you more comfortable.

Today, I was accepted as the new Seeker for the national Quidditch team. I will play my first game next Wednesday, and I have sent along three tickets if you would like to come. I wouldn't mind that. I know we haven't exactly got a rosy past, but I am ready to put it all behind me. I am determined to begin a new life.

In two days, I will be beginning my education as an Auror (sort of like the Police, but with wands) and I am very excited. What will Dudley be doing this year?

I hope that we can keep corresponding; you are, after all, my only remaining family. If you never wish to see me again, don't answer this letter and I shall never bother you again. But a very good friend of mine once said: "We are only as strong as we are united and as weak as we are divided."

I leave it up to you.

Yours sincerely, Harry James Potter.