Read Online Harry Potter 03 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by authors_sort - Free Book Online Page B

up, I’m prepared to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him.’
    ‘But he’s not dead, he’s fine, so what’s the point –’
    ‘Molly, they say Sirius Black’s mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that’s supposed to be impossible. It’s been a month now, and no one’s seen hide nor hair of him, and I don’t care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet , we’re no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black’s after –’
    ‘But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts.’
    ‘We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts.’
    ‘But no one’s really sure that Black’s after Harry –’
    There was a thud on wood, and Harry was sure Mr Weasley had banged his fist on the table.
    ‘Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn’t report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black’s been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: “He’s at Hogwarts … he’s at Hogwarts.”Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he’s had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that …’
    There was a silence. Harry leant still closer to the door, desperate to hear more.
    ‘Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you’re forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don’t think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore’s Headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?’
    ‘Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed.’
    ‘Not happy? Why shouldn’t he be happy, if they’re there to catch Black?’
    ‘Dumbledore isn’t fond of the Azkaban guards,’ said Mr Weasley heavily. ‘Nor am I, if it comes to that … but when you’re dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you’d rather avoid.’
    ‘If they save Harry –’
    ‘– then I will never say another word against them,’ said Mr Weasley wearily. ‘It’s late, Molly, we’d better go up …’
    Harry heard chairs move. As quietly as he could, he hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlour door opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told him that Mr and Mrs Weasley were climbing the stairs.
    The bottle of Rat Tonic was lying under the table they had sat at earlier. Harry waited until he heard Mr and Mrs Weasley’s bedroom door close, then headed back upstairs with the bottle.
    Fred and George were crouching in the shadows on the landing, heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling his and Ron’s room in the search for his badge.
    ‘We’ve got it,’ Fred whispered to Harry. ‘We’ve been improving it.’
    The badge now read Bighead Boy.
    Harry forced a laugh, went to give Ron the rat tonic, then shut himself in his room and lay down on his bed.
    So Sirius Black was after him. That explained everything. Fudge had been lenient with him because he was so relieved to find him alive. He’d made Harry promise to stay in Diagon Alley, where there were plenty of wizards to keep an eye on him. And he was sending two Ministry cars to take them all to the station tomorrow, so that the Weasleys could look after Harry until he was on the train.
    Harry lay listening to the muffled shouting next door and wondered why he didn’t feel more scared. Sirius Black had murdered thirteen people with one curse; Mr and Mrs Weasley obviously thought Harry would be panic-stricken if he knew the truth. But Harry happened to agree whole-heartedly with Mrs Weasley that the safest place on earth was