Chapter 1 Betrayal
Harry Potter was returning to Privet Drive. Dumbledore had been laid to rest on the grounds of Hogwarts. Now he felt almost alone. His two best friends were seated across from him on the Express, worried that he was losing his mind. Well at least one of them was. Hermione Granger, muggleborn witch, smartest witch in school was definitely worried about him.
Ron Weasley, his other best friend, seemed to act worried about him but something made Harry wonder if he truly was. The red head seemed to put some distance between them the last couple of days, as if he suddenly realized that people around Harry tended to get killed. Whatever the reason Harry hoped that Ron would stick around.
All too soon the Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 ¾. Harry grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage and joined the queue to walk through the barrier. On the other side stood Harry's Uncle Vernon, waiting impatiently. Hermione pulled him into a huge hug and told him to write. Ron had disappeared without a single word. Harry walked slowly over to his uncle.
"Hurry up boy. I haven't got all day."
"Yes, Uncle Vernon."
Harry followed his uncle out of the station and into the car. The drive from London to Surrey was done in silence. When they arrived at the house, Harry grabbed his trunk and Hedwig in her cage and went up to his room. His uncle grinned evilly at him as he closed and locked the door. Harry sighed and looked around. He saw that the bars were back on the windows. He tried the door knob, already knowing that it was locked. Now he was getting angry. As he stood in front of the door the cat flap moved as a tray of bread and water were pushed in, prison food.
Harry was no longer going to be passive about this. Dumbledore wanted him to return and he did. Now he was a prisoner in the house from hell. Grabbing a quill and some parchment from his trunk, Harry scribbled out a plea for help. Folding it he released Hedwig and asked her to deliver it to the Weasley's, which ever one she came to first.
As Harry waited, he ate his meager dinner and dozed, still in the clothes that he had changed into on the train. He hoped that Hedwig didn't run into any trouble and that he was released soon. About three hours later a noise at the door drew Harry's attention. Holding his wand in front of him, Harry waited for the door to open. A couple of minutes went by and Harry found himself staring at Fred and George.
"How's it goin' mate?" asked Fred.
"Fine, now that you two are here."
"Ready to go?" asked George.
"Yeah, didn't even unpack. Where's Hedwig?"
"We left her at the Burrow. She spotted us first and we thought, 'Why not surprise Mum with you', so here we are."
Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage as the twins grabbed his trunk. They made their way down the stairs and out to the back yard.
"Don't know who's watching the front but we know that Mundungus is supposed to be watching the back. Which means that he isn't. Didn't want to cause any trouble by breaking you out early."
"What did you do with the Dursleys?"
"Put a potion into their pudding making them about six inches tall. Don't worry they'll think that it was all a dream. It's still in the experimental stage. Thought that we'd give it a test run."
George grabbed Harry's arm and apparated them as Fred apparated with the trunk. Harry still had Hedwig's cage in his hand. They had arrived just outside the wards that protected the Burrow. Fred shrunk the trunk and cage and handed them to Harry for the walk up to the house.
