“You’re mental,” said George, trying to push it back at Harry.
“No, I’m not,” said Harry. “You take it, and get inventing. It’s for the joke shop.”
“He is mental,” Fred said in an almost awed voice.
“Listen,” said Harry firmly. “If you don’t take it, I’m throwing it down the drain. I don’t want it and I don’t need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to need them more than usual before long.”
“Harry,” said George weakly, weighing the money bag in his hands, “there’s got to be a thousand Galleons in here.”
“Yeah,” said Harry, grinning. “Think how many Canary Creams that is.”
The twins stared at him.
“Just don’t tell your mum where you got it . . . although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it. . . .”
“Harry,” Fred began, but Harry pulled out his wand.
“Look,” he said flatly, “take it, or I’ll hex you. I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they’re from you.”
He left the compartment before they could say another word, stepping over Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were still lying on the floor, covered in hex marks.
Uncle Vernon was waiting beyond the barrier. Mrs. Weasley was close by him. She hugged Harry very tightly when she saw him and whispered in his ear, “I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer. Keep in touch, Harry.”
“See you, Harry,” said Ron, clapping him on the back.
“’Bye, Harry!” said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.
“Harry — thanks,” George muttered, while Fred nodded fervently at his side.
Harry winked at them, turned to Uncle Vernon, and followed him silently from the station. There was no point worrying yet, he told himself, as he got into the back of the Dursleys’ car.
As Hagrid had said, what would come, would come . . . and he would have to meet it when it did.
Text copyright ? 2000 by J.K. Rowling Cover illustration by Olly Moss ? Pottermore Limited 2015.
Interior illustrations by Mary GrandPré ? 2000 by Warner Bros.
Harry Potter characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and ? Warner Bros. Ent.
Harry Potter Publishing Rights ? J.K. Rowling.
This digital edition first published by Pottermore Limited in 2015
Published in print in the U.S.A. by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-78110-647-1
TO NEIL, JESSICA, AND DAVID,
WHO MAKE MY WORLD MAGICAL.
CONTENTS
ONE
Dudley Demented
TWO
A Peck of Owls
THREE
The Advance Guard
FOUR
Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place
FIVE
The Order of the Phoenix
SIX
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
SEVEN
The Ministry of Magic
EIGHT
The Hearing
NINE
The Woes of Mrs. Weasley
TEN
Luna Lovegood
ELEVEN
The Sorting Hat’s New Song
TWELVE
Professor Umbridge
THIRTEEN
Detention with Dolores
FOURTEEN
Percy and Padfoot
FIFTEEN
The Hogwarts High Inquisitor
SIXTEEN
In the Hog’s Head
SEVENTEEN
Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four
EIGHTEEN
Dumbledore’s Army
NINETEEN
The Lion and the Serpent
TWENTY
Hagrid’s Tale
TWENTY-ONE
The Eye of the Snake
TWENTY-TWO
St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical
Maladies and Injuries
TWENTY-THREE
Christmas on the Closed Ward
TWENTY-FOUR
Occlumency
TWENTY-FIVE
The Beetle at Bay
TWENTY-SIX
Seen and Unforeseen
TWENTY-SEVEN
The Centaur and the Sneak
TWENTY-EIGHT
Snape’s Worst Memory
TWENTY-NINE
Career Advice
THIRTY
Grawp
THIRTY-ONE
O.W.L.s
THIRTY-TWO
Out of the Fire
THIRTY-THREE
Fight and Flight
THIRTY-FOUR
The Department of Mysteries
THIRTY-FIVE
Beyond the Veil
THIRTY-SIX
The Only One He Ever Feared
THIRTY-SEVEN
The Lost Prophecy
THIRTY-EIGHT
The Second War Begins
CHAPTER ONE
DUDLEY DEMENTED
The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing; the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flower bed outside number four.