The Stubborn Old Headmaster

3

Harry gave Minerva an anxious nod and obediently sat down on the sofa, looking in awe at the huge fireplace before he took in the large room that was held in the same colours as the teacher's living room in her quarters at Hogwarts. 'The only thing that's missing here are the large bookshelves,' Harry thought, feeling slightly disappointed. Large pictures, one of them of Hogwarts, decorated the walls here. 'This place is really nice. I just wish there were more books.'

"Are you wondering why there aren't any bookshelves?" Minerva asked in amusement, having followed the child's eyes examining the room.

Harry gave her an enquiring look, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'll show you to the library in a few minutes, Harry," Minerva explained.

'A whole library, this place is great. I can't wait to see it and find another book to read,' Harry thought excitedly, causing his eyes to twinkle in anticipation.

"Harry, what happened to your nice clothes?" Minerva asked softly, sighing in despair when Harry anxiously averted his eyes to the floor.

'I can't tell the nice lady that Aunt Petunia burned everything I brought back with, except for the book I was able to save, can I?' Harry thought in desperation, tears welling in his eyes.

"What's wrong, child?" Minerva asked softly. "Did your relatives take your things from you?"

Harry gave her a frightened nod and pulled the book out of the large pocket of Dudley's much too large trousers. He had fought for the book and managed to hide it from his angry aunt and uncle. He placed the book in front of him of the table, and his hand hesitantly found its way back into the pocket. 'Shall I let the nice lady in on my secret?' he pondered for a moment before he pulled out something and with a smile on his face showed it to Minerva. It was part of a broken blue crayon.

"Oh, a crayon," Minerva acknowledged. "Would you like to draw something?"

On Harry's enthusiastic nod, Minerva conjured a parchment, putting it in front of Harry. Then she hesitantly conjured a few more crayons in different colours for the child to draw. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and looked in awe at the beautiful crayons. 'Are they really for me to draw? Or is it a trick like Uncle Vernon often does so that I'll be punished afterwards?' he thought, frightened.

Noticing Harry's hesitation, Minerva inwardly sighed and told the child, "Harry, they're for you, and you may keep them. When you go back to your relatives tomorrow, I'll give you a bag that's invisible for everyone except you, so that you can hide everything you bring with you from your relatives. Would that be all right with you?"

Harry listened intently but couldn't really understand what the nice lady said, 'I wonder what she means by invisible to everyone but me?', and so he gave her a questioning look. Minerva explained her suggestion once more, this time receiving an enthusiastic nod from the small boy. 'That's great. I'll be able to keep my book and crayons hidden from Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley,' Harry realised in excitement. He occupied himself painting a picture for the lady, trying to explain what had happened to his beloved dragon she had given to him. He drew a scary looking person, wrote 'Ant Tunia' under it, a fireplace like the one in front of him, and a small boy watching the scene, writing 'Hari' underneath the boy. Finally, he drew the dragon in the adult's hand before he looked closely at the picture causing the dragon to magically move from the hand down into the roaring fire.

"Oh, Harry, is that what happened to your dragon?" Minerva asked, utterly shocked. How could a person be so mean?

Harry nodded, 'I'm so happy that she was able to understand my picture,' he thought. 'She must be very smart.'