Ch.2: The Vanishing Necklace
It was nearing the crack of dawn at the Burrow. The end of July was finally here. Harry awoke to the sound of Mrs. Weasley’s hoarse, stricken voice - she had been screaming at the gnomes all morning for destroying her tulips.
“Happy birthday, Harry! Ron, for Merlin’s sake, wake up! It’s time for breakfast.” Mrs. Weasley chucked a pillow that lay by her foot at Ron’s head, then closed the door behind her left. The squeaking that the stairs made as she went downstairs faded away.
Harry swung his feet to the edge of the bed and opened the curtains. The bright sun’s rays sprayed throughout the room. A head filled with red hair finally made its way out of orange covers. Ron let out a yawn, stretched his arms, and then snuggled back into his bundle of sheets.
Harry looked down at the letter that he had written to the Dursleys last night that was lying by his bed. He felt a tad bit remorseful for having left Privet Drive without their knowledge, for they were out taking a new family portrait today. Not that it mattered, though, Harry thought - naturally, he wasn’t included. The letter read:
Dear Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia,
Hope that you’re all right. I’m writing this to let you know that
I will be staying with the Weasleys for my birthday - and the rest of the
summer. Alastor Moody will be keeping a close watch on you for your safety.
Best,
Harry
He sealed the letter into an envelope and snapped it into Hedwig’s beak, then watched as she flew out into the distance and faded away behind trees. Harry then made his way downstairs, where everyone was eating breakfast in the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Moody, Fred, George, Ginny, and Tonks were all sitting at the table; when he came in, they all smiled up at Harry. Their greetings gave Harry a warm feeling inside, and maybe a little hope. Mrs. Weasley directed Harry to a seat next to Mr. Weasley, which was his usual seat.
On his other side was Ginny; he noticed that she had a disgruntled look upon her face. Harry felt the need to ask about it, but thought it was better he not touch the subject in a public place “ besides, he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about it.
Harry’s presents were levitating over his head; they whisked around the room before returning to lay by his feet. He reached for the one on the top; it was brightly colored, with red and blue stripes. Harry stripped away the wrapping and opened a white rectangular box. Inside was a dim silver watch. It had paint chipped off it, and the second hand moved every three seconds.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood by each other with very proud expressions on their faces, awaiting Harry’s response. Harry clutched it in both of his hands and thanked them as if he were holding a watch of top-notch quality.
Then, he returned to grab at Fred and George’s various assortments of items from their joke shop - his gift hamper included things like Basic Blaze Boxes, Bruise Remover Pastes, Extendable Ears, and Wildfire Whiz-Bangs.
Ron, the last out of everybody in the Burrow, made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He handed Harry a small green box. It contained an amulet.
“You like it?” Ron said.
“Yes!” Harry replied. Ron smiled at him and took a seat next to Ginny.
The last present occupied three names on it: Moody, Tonks, and Lupin. Harry tore away its silver wrapping and saw that it was another watch, but this one was golden and possessed many hands, almost like Dumbledore’s watch. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s proud expression faded to embarrassment - as did those of Tonks and Lupin. Moody sent a “Grr” and a nod in Harry’s direction. There was a moment of silence before Harry thanked them and began on his breakfast.
Before Ron could load a plate for himself, a brown and black-feathered owl made its way in through the window above the sink with a black, somber box tied to the end of its leg. With an astonished look on his face, Mr. Weasley grabbed at it, and the owl snapped back to make its way towards Harry. After it dropped the box on the table, Harry reached for it, and the owl left, flying out of the window.
He looked at it in a mysterious way, shaking it and trying to figure out what was inside. He pulled at the binding, but it wouldn’t open. The box was closed tight. No address - or names - were written on the box.
“Who sent that, Harry?” Mrs. Weasley asked.
“It doesn’t say, and I can’t open it,” said Harry.
“Here, let me see it.” Mr. Weasley took the box from Harry and tried to open it also. As soon as he pulled out his wand to charm it, there came a knock at the door. Mr. Weasley put both the box and the wand down to see who it was at the door. He turned the small golden doorknob and swung the door open to reveal a man with a very bleak look upon his face. He had long, wild, tangled black hair and beard, and appeared to be very frustrated. He gave Mr. Weasley a nod as greeting, and plopped straight on the couch.
His eyes looked as if they were going to escape from his face and release the steam he had locked inside him. His piercing eyes softened at the sight of Harry.
“Hagrid…” Harry paused for a second. “What’s the matter?”
Hagrid plummeted up from the couch, “S’those damn Death Eaters,” he replied, while gritting his teeth. “They tried ter get me ter tell ‘em where yeh was at. You-Know-Who sent ‘em to capture me. I came ter make certain you were all right, Harry. With it being your birthday an all…”
Hagrid pulled a book out of his enormously large pocket. “Here you go,” he said, shoving the book into Harry’s hands. Harry looked at the title; it read: Redgie Hamstone’s Complete Collection of Mystical Creatures . After Harry’s accepting smile and thank you, Hagrid returned to his dilemma.
“An’ when I refused, then they… they…,” Hagrid stopped suddenly as tears raced into his eyes. “THEY KILLED FANG!” he yelled suddenly, his sadness giving way to frustration.
“Fang nev’r did nothin’ ter nobody,” Hagrid sniffled.
“Oh, Hagrid, it’s all right. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Mrs. Weasley grabbed Hagrid by the arm and took him into the kitchen.
Harry just stood there with a very worried expression. The thought came to his mind that it was his entire fault that his loved ones were in danger - Hagrid could have been murdered had it not been for his bravery and toughness. He dreadfully wanted to end this situation.
Another owl with black and white feathers came through the window; this one, however, went straight to Ron. The owl had a long rectangular box tied to its beak. After dropping it into Ron’s hands, it flew back out the window.
He pulled at the top, hoping that this one showed no difficulty opening. It lifted right off; inside, there was a golden, jeweled necklace. The necklace immediately clamped around Ron’s neck once it was freed from its box.
“Oh, bloody hell!” Ron started panicking and attempted to remove it, but the necklace would not budge, and Mrs. Weasley almost threw a fit trying to help him. Then, all of a sudden, the necklace vanished on its own.
“Is…Is it gone?” Ron said, his disbelieving tone implying that he didn’t think it was.
The room was silent for a minute. Something very strange is going on here, Harry thought.