The arrival on the doorstep of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley had come as a most u
n pleasant shock to the Dursleys. Harry had to admit, however that as Mr. Weasley had once d
e molished half of the living room, his rea p
pearance could not have been expected to d e
light Uncle Vernon.
"Ч Kingsley and Mr. Weasley e x plained it all as well," Harry pressed on remorselessly, "Once I'm se
v enteen, the prote c
tive charm that keeps me safe will break, and that exposes you as well as me. The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try a
nd find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage I'd come and try to re s cue you."
Uncle Vernon's and Harry's eyes met. Harry was sure that in that instant they were both wondering the same thing. Then Uncle Vernon walked on and Harry resumed, "You've got to go into hiding and the Order wants to help. You're being offered serious pr
o tection, the best there is."
Uncle Vernon said nothing but continued to pace up and down. Outside the sun hung low over the privet hedges. The next door neighbor's lawn mower stalled again.
"I thought there was a Ministry of Magic?" asked Vernon Dursley abruptly.
"There is," said Harry, surprised. "Well, then, why can't they protect us? It seems to me that, as i n
nocent victims, guilty of nothing more than harboring a marked man, we ought to qualify for government pr o tection!"

Harry laughed; he could not help himself. It was so very typical of his uncle to put his hopes in the e s
tablishment, even within this world that he despised and mistrusted. "You heard what Mr. Weasley and Kingsley said," Harry replied.
"We think the Ministry has been infi l trated."
Uncle Vernon strode back to the fir e place and back breathing so strongly that his great black mu
s tache rippled his face still purple with concentration.
"All right," he said. Stopping in front of Harry get again. "All right, let's say for the sake of argument we accept this protection. I still don't see why we can't have that Kingsley bloke."
Harry managed not to roll his eyes, but with diff i culty. This question had also been a
d dressed half a dozen times.
"As I've told you," he said through gritted teeth, "Kingsley is protecting the Mug Ц I mean, your Prime Minister."
"Exactly Ц he's the best!" said Uncle Vernon, pointing at the blank television screen. The Dursleys h
ad spotted Kingsley on the news, walking along the Muggle Prime Minister as he visited a hospital. This, and the fact that Kingsley had mastered the knack of dressing like a Muggle, not to mention a certain rea
s su r
ing something in his slow, deep voice, had caused the Dursleys to take to Kingsley in a way that they had certainly not done with any other wizard, a
l though it was true that they had never seen him with earring in.
"Well, he's taken,” said Harry. "But He s tia Jones and Dedalus Diggle are more than up to the job Ц "

"If we'd even seen CVs…" began U n cle Vernon, but Harry lost patience. Getting to his feet, he a
d vanced on his uncle, not pointing at the TV set hi
m self.
"These accidents aren't accidents Ц the crashed and explosions and derailments and whatever else has happened since we last watched the news. People are disappearing and dying and he's behind it Ц Vold
e mort. I've told you this over and over again, he kills Muggles for fun. Even the fogs Ц
they're caused by dementors, and if you can't reme m ber what they are, ask your son!"
Dudley's hands jerked upward to tower his mouth. With his parents' and Harry's eyes upon him, he slowly lowered them again and asked, "There are… more of them?" "More?" laughed Harry. "More than the two that attacked us, yo
u mean? Of course there are hundreds, maybe thousands by this time, seeing as they feed off fear and despairЧ "
"All right, all right blustered," blu s tered Vernon Dursley. "You've made your point Ц "
"I hope so," said Harry, "because once I'm seve n teen, all of them Ц
Death Eaters, elementors, maybe even Inferi Ц which means dead bodies e n chanted by a Dark wizard Ц
will be able to find you and will ce r tainly a
t tack you. And if you remember the last time you tried to outrun wi
z ards, I think you'll agree you need help."
There was a brief silence in which the distant echo of Hagrid smashing down a wooden front door seemed to reverberate through the intervening years. Aunt Petunia was looking at Uncle Vernon; Dudley was staring at Harry. Finally Uncle Vernon blurte
d out, "But what about my work? What about Dudley's school? I don't suppose those things matter to a bunch of layabout wizards Ц "
"Don't you understand?" shouted Harry. " They will torture and kill you like they did my pa r
ents!"
"Dad," said Dudley in a loud voice, "Dad Ц I'm going with these Order people."
"Dudley," said Harry, "for the first time in your life, you're talking sense." He knew the battle was won. If Dudley was frightened enough to accept the Order's help, his parents would accompany him. There could be no que
s tion of being separated from their Duddykins. Harry glanced at the carriage clock on the ma
n telpiece.
"They'll be here in about five minutes, he said, and when one of the Dursleys replied, he left the room. The prospect of partingЧ probably forever Ц from his aunt, uncle, and cousin was one that he was able to conte
m plate quite cheerfully but there was neverth e
less a certain awkwardness in the air. What did you say to one another at the end of si x
teen years' solid dislike?
Back in his bedroom, Harry fiddled ai m lessly with his rucksack then poked a co
u ple of owl nuts through the bats of Hedwig's cage. They fell with dull thuds to the bottom where she ignored them.

"We're leaving soon, really soon," Harry told her. "And then you'll be able to fly again."
The doorbell rang. Harry hesitated, then headed back out of his room and dow n
stairs. It was too much to expect Hestia and Dedalus to cope with the Dursleys on their own.
"Harry Potter!" squeaked an excited voice, the moment Harry had opened the door; a small man in a mauve top hat that was sweeping him a deep bow. "An honor as ever!"
"Thanks, Dedalus," said Harry, bestowing a small and embarrassed smile upon the dark haired Hestia. "It's really good of you to do this… They're through here, my aunt and uncle and cousin…"
"Good day to you, Harry Potter's relatives!" said Dedalus happily striding into the living room. The Dursleys did not look at all happy to be addressed thus; Harry half expected another change of mind. Dudley shrank neared to his m
other at the sight of the witch and wi z ard.
"I see you are packed and ready. Excellent! The plan, as Harry has told you, is a simple one," said Dedalus, pulling an i m
mense pocket watch out of his waistcoat and examining it. "We shall be leaving b e
fore Harry does. Due to the danger of using magic in your house Ц Harry being still underage it could pr o
vide the Mini s try with an excuse to arrest him
Ц we shall be driving, say, ten miles or so before Disapp a
rating to the safe location we have picked out for you. You know how to drive, I take it?" He asked Uncle Vernon politely.
"Know how to Ц ? Of course I ruddy well know how to drive!" spluttered Uncle Vernon.
"Very clever of you, sir, very clever. I perso n ally would be utterly bamboozled by all those buttons and
knobs," said Dedalus. He was clearly under the i m
pression that he was flattering Vernon Dursley, who was visibly losing confidence in the plan with every word Dedalus spoke.
"Can't even drive," he muttered under his breath, his mustache rippling indignantly, but fortunately ne i
ther Dedalus nor Hestia seemed to hear him.
"You, Harry," Dedalus continued, "will wait here for your guard. There has been a little change in the arrangements Ц "
“What d'you mean?" said Harry at once. "I thought Mad-Eye was going to come and take me by Side Along-Apparition?"
"Can't do it," said Hestia tersely, "Mad-Eye will explain."
The Dursleys, who had listened to all of this with looks of utter incomprehension on their faces, jumped as a loud voice screeched, " Hurry up!"
Harry looked all around the room before realizing the voice had i s
sued from Ded a lus's pocket watch.
"Quite right, were operating to a very tight schedule," said Dedalus nodding at his watch and tucking it back into his waist coat. "We are attempting to time your departure from the house with your fa
m ily's Disappar i
tion, Harry thus the charm breaks the moment you all head for safety." He turned to the Dursleys, "Well, are we all packed and ready to go?"
None of them answered him. Uncle Vernon was still staring appalled at the bulge in Dedalus's wais t coat pocket.

"Perhaps we should wait outside in the hall, Dedalus," murmured Hestia. She clearly felt that it would be tactless for them to r e
main the room while Harry and the Dursleys exchanged lo v
ing, possibly tearful farewells.
"There's no need," Harry muttered, but Uncle Vernon made any further explanation unne c essary by saying loudly,

"Well, this is good-bye then boy."
He swung his right arm upward to shake Harry's hand, but at the last moment seemed u n able to face it
, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome.
"Ready, Duddy?" asked Petunia, fussily checking the clasp of her handbag so as to avoid loo k
ing at Harry altogether.
Dudley did not answer but stood there with his mouth slightly ajar, reminding Harry a little of the g i ant, Grawp.

"Come along, then," said Uncle Vernon.
He had already reached the living room door when Dudley mumbled, "I don't unde r stand.
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