A Secret Revealed
Harry couldn�t believe his luck. He was leaving! He wouldn�t see the Dursleys� house again until next year. He was going to Mrs. Fig�s house.
Before Hogwarts, Mrs. Fig was the only person who had been even remotely nice to him, the only one who�d cared about him. He�d always thought of Mrs. Fig like a grandmother. Of course, he never told the Dursleys. If they knew, they never would have let him go.
Harry�s aunt and uncle were dragging his trunk up toward Mrs. Fig�s house. They were trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible. Harry suspected it was because of something that happened in the car.
Harry had been staring out the window. He was thinking about his wish. Suddenly, Hedwig hooted very loudly. Dudley screamed and backed away. Uncle Vernon slammed the brakes and turned to Harry.
�Control your owl,� he said furiously, �or you�ll walk.� He took off again.
Now Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were getting rid of him. Harry picked up Hedwig and followed them to the house.
�Let that thing out,� Uncle Vernon said. �She is not to see it.�
Harry opened the cage. �Hedwig,� he whispered, �you need to get out. Go to the second window on the second floor. I�ll let you in when I�m alone.�
Hedwig hooted and took off. She swooped down to the car and pecked at one of the windows. There was a muffled scream from inside. Luckily, Harry�s aunt and uncle didn�t hear it. Having had her fun, Hedwig flew up to wait by the window.
Aunt Petunia rang the doorbell and waited. Mrs. Fig opened the door and they walked in.
The house looked exactly as it had the last time Harry had been there. The living room was very plain. It contained a couch, a coffee table, a T. V., and a stand for the T. V.
�So,� Mrs. Fig said, �been going to school?�
�Yes,� Uncle Vernon said quickly, �he goes to St. Brutus�s Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys.�
�Well, you�d better go,� said Mrs. Fig. �Don�t want to miss your flight.�
The Dursleys left and Harry was left with Mrs. Fig. She went to the window and looked out.
�Okay, they�re gone,� Mrs. Fig said, sitting on the couch. �Now come sit over here and tell me about your real school.�
�What,� Harry said. maybe he�d heard wrong.
�Your real school. Tell me about Hogwarts.�
�Huh?�
�Oh, I guess I never properly introduced myself. I�m Arabella Fig. I work at the Ministry.�
�Wait a minute. Dumbledore mentioned you. He sent....,� Harry hesitated, �he sent someone to talk to you.�
�You mean Sirius. Yes I know. He came. We�re facing dark times ahead of us.� She was silent for a minute. �Anyway, let�s get you up to your room.�
Harry�s room was on the second floor. It was small and the only thing in it was a bed. But Harry loved that room. It was bigger than his old cupboard had been.
�I�m guessing that�s your owl,� said Mrs. Fig, seeing Hedwig outside the window. �Why don�t you let her in and I�ll go make you some toast? I�m sure I�m right that they didn�t feed you before bringing you. We can talk after breakfast.�
* * * * * *
Harry had been at Mrs. Fig�s house for about a week, during which he�d told her about Hogwarts. She�d gone to Hogwarts too and wanted to know how the school had changed.
Harry learned a lot about Mrs. Fig too. When Harry was sent to the Dursleys, she was notified immediately. She was to watch over him but not reveal that she was a witch.
Then, one morning, a small owl zoomed into his room and, hooting excitedly, dive-bombed Harry�s head. Rubbing his head, Harry picked up the letter.
Dear Harry,
I guess I didn�t tell you why I didn�t use Pig when I sent the last letter. Ginny sent a letter with Pig. She�s been sending someone letters all summer. She won�t tell me who it is. Anyway, Dumbledore says you can come to our house now. We�ll pick you up Sunday. Send an owl.
Ron
Oh no, Harry thought, I forgot to tell them. He looked at his calendar. It was Wednesday. He still had time. He got some parchment and wrote a quick note.
Ron,
I�m staying at Mrs. Fig�s house. She�s probably connected to the Floo Network. See you Sunday.
Harry
He folded the paper and gave it to Pigwidgeon.
�Hurry,� he said as Pig flew away.
* * *
�Oh, I understand,� Mrs. Fig said. �I was hoping you could stay longer, but you go stay with your friend.�
Harry had just told her he was going. He was sad that he had to leave. The next four days seemed to pass too quickly.
It was Sunday. Harry packed his trunk and slowly pulled it down the stairs. There was a thud as Mr. Weasley landed in the fireplace, followed by Ron, Fred, and George.
�Arabella,� Mr. Weasley said, �it�s been a long time.�
�Yes, too long,� said Mrs. Fig. �Well Harry, you�d better go.�
Fred and George grabbed the trunk and Ron picked up Hedwig�s cage. Harry was about to follow them into the fire, but turned around and hugged Mrs. Fig.
�I�ll miss you,� Harry said. �Before I went to Hogwarts you were the only person who cared about me. I�ll come visit you. I promise.�
�I�d like that,� said Mrs. Fig, �You�d better hurry before the Floo powder wears off.�
Harry walked to the fire. He had one last thought before he was sent to the Weasleys.�
If my wish comes true, he thought, I might not be able to come back.
And he was gone.
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