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29

I'd driven to 4 Privet Drive, which, according to Ron, was Harry's address. Considering how Vernon, Dudley and Petunia looked at Harry, we figured the room with the bars over the widow was most likely his.

Ron rattled the bars over the window, and we could see Harry murmur something intelligible, then pry open his eyes, the eyes in question widening as he realized it was Ron in a flying Ford Angela. Harry crept to the window and pushed it up so we could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you- What the- ?"

I chuckled. Harry's mouth had fallen open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him. "What, no welcome for me?"

"Oh, stop thinking you're all high and mighty because you've almost died more than we have, Roxie. All right there, Harry?" asked George.

"What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles and I had a feeling something else might've happened-"

"It wasn't me- and how did he know?"

"He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school-"

Fred grinned. "The nerve you've got for that, though. Sent Ginny in a right fit when we'd commented on how you must not be the rule follower she took you for-"

"You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car.

"Oh, this doesn't count," replied Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with-"

"I told you, I didn't- but it'll take too long to explain now- look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so-"

"Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us."

"But you can't magic me out either-"

"We don't need to," Ron jerked his head toward the front seat, grinning. I giggled a bit at Harry's obliviousness. "You forget who I've got with me."

"Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Harry.

"If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," said Harry as he tied the rope tightly around a bar and I revved up the car.

"Don't worry," I replied, smirking, "and stand back."

Harry moved back into the shadows next to his owl, who(thankfully) seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent.

I revved the car louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window as I drove straight up in the air. Panting, Ron hoisted the bars up into the car. Once I'd made sure the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, I reversed as close as possible to Harry's window.

"Get in," Ron said.

"But all my Hogwarts stuff- my wand- my broomstick-"

"Where is it?"

"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room-"

I glanced at Fred and George. "Alright, you two go on, I'll stay with these two dunderheads."

"No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, Harry."

Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry's room. I'd taught them well. George took an hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.

"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."

I snickered as there was a small click and the door swung open. "He means I felt the need to learn this and they copied me until they mastered it."

"So- we'll get your trunk- you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George after sending me a fake foul look.

"Watch out for the bottom stair- it creaks," Harry whispered back as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.

Harry dashed around his room, collecting his things and passing them out of the window to Ron. Then he went to help Fred and George heave his trunk up the stairs. I tilted my head and thought I heard a man cough. Vernon.

At last, I could hear the boys as they reached the landing, then carried the trunk through Harry's room to the open window. Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slid through the window. Vernon coughed again.

"A bit more," panted Fred. "One good push-"

Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car. "Okay, let's go," George whispered.

But as Harry finally climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind him, followed immediately by the thunder of what I assumed to be Vernon's voice. "THAT RUDDY OWL!"

"I've forgotten Hedwig!" Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on- I waited with bated breath as he snatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window, and passed it out to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers when Vernon hammered on the unlocked door- and it crashed open.

For a split second, the pudgy man stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle. Ron, Fred, and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could. I kept my foot on the pedal, prepared to leave as soon as possible.

"Petunia!" roared Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"

But the my brothers gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Vernon's grasp- Harry was in the car- he'd slammed the door shut- "Put your foot down, Roxanne!" yelled Ron, and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.