heard her approaching he tried to question her about the Howler, but he might as well
have interrogated the doorknob for all the answers he got. Otherwise, the Dursleys kept
well clear of his bedroom. Harry couldn't see the point of forcing his company on them;
another row would achieve nothing except perhaps make him so angry he'd perform more
illegal magic.
So it went on for three whole days. Harry was alternately filled with restless energy that
made him unable to settle to anything, during which time he paced his bedroom, furious
at the whole lot of them for leaving him to stew in this mess; and with a lethargy so
complete that he could lie on his bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space,
aching with dread at the thought of the Ministry hearing.
What if they ruled against him? What if he was expelled and his wand was snapped in
half? What would he do, where would he go? He could not return to living full-time with
the Dursleys, not now he knew the other world, the one to which he really belonged.
Might he be able to move into Siriuss house, as Sirius had suggested a year ago, before
he had been forced to flee from the Ministry? Would Harry be allowed to live there
alone, given that he was still underage? Or would the matter of where he went next be
decided for him? Had his breach of the International Statute of Secrecy been severe
enough to land him in a cell in Azkaban? Whenever this thought occurred, Harry
invariably slid off his bed and began pacing again.
On the fourth night after Hedwig's departure Harry was lying in one of his apathetic
phases, staring at the ceiling, his exhausted mind quite blank, when his uncle entered his
bedroom. Harry looked slowly around at him. Uncle Vernon was wearing his best suit
and an expression of enormous smugness.
'We're going out,' he said.
'Sorry?'
'We - that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I - are going out.'
'Fine,' said Harry dully, looking back at the ceiling.
'You are not to leave your bedroom while we are away.'
'OK.'
'You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions.'
'Right.'
'You are not to steal food from the fridge.'
'OK.'
'I am going to lock your door.'
'You do that.'
Uncle Vernon glared at Harry, clearly suspicious of this lack of argument, then stomped
out of the room and closed the door behind him. Harry heard the key turn in the lock and
Uncle Vernon's footsteps walking heavily down the stairs. A few minutes later he heard
the slamming of car doors, the rumble of an engine, and the unmistakeable sound of the
car sweeping out of the drive.
Harry had no particular feeling about the Dursleys leaving. It made no difference to him
whether they were in the house or not. He could not even summon the energy to get up
and turn on his bedroom light. The room grew steadily darker around him as he lay
listening to the night sounds through the window he kept open all the time, waiting for
the blessed moment when Hedwig returned. The empty house creaked around him. The