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• Saturday, May 1, 2010 - There were several large Gryffindor banners,...
| There were several large Gryffindor banners, faded scarlet and gold just to underline his difference from all the rest of the Slytherin familyThere were many pictures of Muggle motorcycles, and also (Harry had to admire Sirius's nerve) several posters of bikini-clad Muggle girlsHarry could tell that they were Muggles because they remained quite stationary within their pictures, faded smiles and glazed eyes frozen on the paperThis was in contrast the only Wizarding photograph on the walls which was a picture of four Hogwarts students standing arm in arm, laughing at the camera
With a leap of pleasure, Harry recognized his father, his untidy black hair stuck up at the back like Harry's, and he too wore glassesBeside him was Sirius, carelessly handsome, his slightly arrogant face so much younger and happier than Harry had ever seen it aliveTo Sirius's right stood Pettigrew, more than a head shorter, plump and watery-eyed, flushed with pleasure at his inclusion in this coolest of gangs, with the much-admired rebels that James and Sirius had beenOn James's left was Lupin, even then a little shabby-looking, but he had the same air of delighted surprise at finding himself liked and included or was it simply because Harry knew how it had been, that he saw these things in the picture? He tried to take it from the wall; it was his now, after all, Sirius had left him everything, but it would not budgeSirius had taken no chances in preventing his parents from omega speedmaster olympic special edition redecorating his room
Harry looked around at the floorThe sky outside was growing brightestA shaft of light revealed bits of paper, books, and small objects scattered over the carpetEvidently Sirius's bedroom had been reached too, although its contents seemed to have been judged mostly, if not entirely, worthlessA few of the books had been shaken roughly enough to part company with the covers and sundry pages littered the floor
Harry bent down, picked up a few of the pieces of paper, and examined themHe recognized one as a part of an old edition of \iA History of Magic\i, by Bathilda Bagshot, and another as belonging to a motorcycle maintenance manualThe third was handwritten and crumpled
\iDear Padfoot,
Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was his favorite by farOne year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himselfI'm enclosing a picture so you can seeYou know it only rises about two feet off the ground but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there)Of course James thought it was so funny, says he's going to be a great Quidditch player but we've had to pack away all the ornaments and make sure we don't take our eyes off him when he gets going
We had a very quiet birthday tea, just us and old Bathilda who has always been sweet to us and who dotes on GarryWe were so sorry you couldn't come, but the Order's got to come first, and Harry's sale chanel quilted handbag not old enough to know it's his birthday anyway! James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell - also Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursionsIf you could visit, it would cheer him up so muchWormy was here last weekendI thought he seemed down, but that was probably the next about the McKinnons; I cried all evening when I heard
Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about DumbledoreI'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually because it seems incredible that Dumbledore\i
Harry's extremities seemed to have gone numbHe stood quite still, holding the miraculous paper in his nerveless fingers while inside him a kind of quiet eruptions sent joy and grief thundering its equal measure through his veinsLurching to the bed, he sat down
He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itselfShe had made her "g"s the same way he didHe searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veilThe letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son
Impatiently brushing away the j12 chanel white ceramic watch wetness in his eyes, he reread the letter, this time concentrating on the meaningIt was like listening to a half-remembered voice
They had a cat\a133 perhaps it had perished, like his parents at Godric's Hollow\a133 or else fled when there was nobody left to feed it\a133 Sirius had bought him his first broomstick\a133 His parents had known Bathilda Bagshot; had Dumbledore introduced them? \iDumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak\i\a133 there was something funny there\a133
Harry paused, pondering his mother's wordsWhy had Dumbledore taken James's Invisibility Cloak? Harry distinctly remembered his headmaster telling him years before, "I don't need a cloak to become invisible" Perhaps some less gifted Order
member had needed its assistance, and Dumbledore had acted as a carrier? Harry passed on\a133
\iWormy was here\a133\i Pettigrew, the traitor, had seemed "down" had he? Was he aware that he was seeing James and Lily alive for the last time?
And finally Bathilda again, who told incredible stories about Dumbledore\iIt seems incredible that Dumbledore \a150\a150-\i
That Dumbledore what? But there were any number of things that would seem incredible about Dumbledore; that he had once received bottom marks in a Transfiguration test, for instance or had taken up goat charming like Aberforth\a133
Harry got to his feet and scanned the floor: Perhaps the rest of the letter was here somewhereHe seized papers, treating them in his eagerness, with as little cartier watches for women consideration as the original searcher, he pulled open drawers, shook out books, stood on a chair to run his hand over the top of the wardrobe, and crawled under the bed and armchair
At last, lying facedown on the floor, he spotted what looked like a torn piece of paper under the chest of drawersWhen he pulled it out, it proved to be most of the photograph that Lily had described in her letterA black-haired baby was zooming in and out of the picture on a tiny broom, roaring with laughter, and a pair of legs that must have belonged to James was chasing after himHarry tucked the photograph into his pocket with Lily's letter and continued to look for the second sheet
After another quarter of an hour, however he was forced to conclude that the rest of his mother's letter was goneHad it simply been lost in the sixteen years that had elapsed since it had been written, or had it been taken by whoever had searched the room? Harry read the first sheet again, this time looking for clues as to what might have made the second sheet valuableHis toy broomstick could hardly be considered interesting to the Death Eaters\a133 The only potentially useful thing he could see her was possible information on Dumbledore\iIt seems incredible that Dumbledore\i - what?
"Harry? Harry? \iHarry!"\i
"I'm here!" he called, "What's happened?"
There was a clatter of footsteps outside the door, and Hermione burst inside
"We woke up and didn't know where you were!" she said discount tiffany jewelry breathless |
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