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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
J.K. Rowling
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July 28 - September 8, 2025
‘Er – no, they don’t,’ said Harry. ‘They think I’m a waste of space, actually, but I’m used to –’ ‘I don’t think you’re a waste of space.’ If Harry had not seen Dudley’s lips move, he might not have believed it. As it was, he stared at Dudley for several seconds before accepting that it must have been his cousin who had spoken; for one thing, Dudley had turned red. Harry was embarrassed and astonished himself.
Dudley gently released himself from his mother’s clutches and walked towards Harry, who had to repress an urge to threaten him with magic. Then Dudley held out his large, pink hand. ‘Blimey, Dudley,’ said Harry, over Aunt Petunia’s renewed sobs, ‘did the Dementors blow a different personality into you?’ ‘Dunno,’ muttered Dudley. ‘See you, Harry.’ ‘Yeah …’ said Harry, taking Dudley’s hand and shaking it. ‘Maybe. Take care, Big D.’
More Killing Curses flew past Harry’s head from the two remaining Death Eaters’ wands; they were aiming for Hagrid. Harry responded with further Stunning Spells: red and green collided in mid-air in a shower of multi-coloured sparks and Harry thought wildly of fireworks, and the Muggles below who would have no idea what was happening –
‘Listen!’ said Harry again. ‘No, Harry, you listen,’ said Hermione. ‘We’re coming with you. That was decided months ago – years, really.’ ‘But –’ ‘Shut up,’ Ron advised him. ‘– are you sure you’ve thought this through?’ Harry persisted. ‘Let’s see,’ said Hermione, slamming Travels with Trolls on to the discarded pile with a rather fierce look. ‘I’ve been packing for days, so we’re ready to leave at a moment’s notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Mad-Eye’s whole stock of Polyjuice Potion right under Ron’s mum’s nose.
‘And, of course, you ’ave met my leetle daughter, Gabrielle!’ said Monsieur Delacour. Gabrielle was Fleur in miniature; eleven years old, with waist-length hair of pure, silvery blonde, she gave Mrs Weasley a dazzling smile and hugged her, then threw Harry a glowing look, batting her eyelashes. Ginny cleared her throat loudly.
‘Wow – that’s right, I forgot! I’m seventeen!’ Harry seized the wand lying beside his camp bed, pointed it at the cluttered desk where he had left his glasses and said, ‘Accio glasses!’ Although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom towards him, at least until they poked him in the eye.
Fred and George bewitched a number of purple lanterns, all emblazoned with a large number ‘17’, to hang in mid-air over the guests. Thanks to Mrs Weasley’s ministrations, George’s wound was neat and clean, but Harry was not yet used to the dark hole in the side of his head, despite the twins’ many jokes about it. Hermione made purple and gold streamers erupt from the end of her wand and drape themselves artistically over the trees and bushes.
‘Nice,’ said Ron, as with one final flourish of her wand, Hermione turned the leaves on the crab-apple tree to gold. ‘You’ve really got an eye for that sort of thing.’ ‘Thank you, Ron!’ said Hermione, looking both pleased and a little confused. Harry turned away, smiling to himself. He had a funny notion that he would find a chapter on compliments when he found time to peruse his copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches; he caught Ginny’s
‘That law was created to stop wizards passing on Dark artefacts,’ said Hermione, ‘and the Ministry is supposed to have powerful evidence that the deceased’s possessions are illegal before seizing them! Are you telling me that you thought Dumbledore was trying to pass us something cursed?’ ‘Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?’ asked Scrimgeour. ‘No I’m not,’ retorted Hermione. ‘I’m hoping to do some good in the world!’
holding the miraculous paper in his nerveless fingers while inside him a kind of quiet eruption sent joy and grief thundering in equal measure through his veins. Lurching to the bed, he sat down. He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her g’s the same way he did: he searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil.
‘Harry!’ ‘Hermione, if you think I was going to sit here and let her pretend –’ ‘Harry, Mrs Cattermole!’ Harry whirled round, throwing off the Invisibility Cloak; down below, the Dementors had moved out of their corners; they were gliding towards the woman chained to the chair: whether because the Patronus had vanished or because they sensed that their masters were no longer in control, they seemed to have abandoned restraint. Mrs Cattermole let out a terrible scream of fear as a slimy, scabbed hand grasped her chin and forced her face back. ‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’ The silver stag soared from
the elf keep silent or would he tell the Death Eater everything he knew? Harry wanted to believe that Kreacher had changed towards him in the past month, that he would be loyal now, but who knew what would happen? What if the Death Eaters tortured the elf? Sick images swarmed into Harry’s head and he tried to push these away too, for there was nothing he could do for Kreacher: he and Hermione had already decided against trying to summon him; what
the less sense it made … Voldemort had said nothing about Harry’s wand, nothing about the twin cores, nothing about Gregorovitch making a new and more powerful wand to beat Harry’s … ‘He wanted something from Gregorovitch,’ Harry said, eyes still closed tight. ‘He asked him to hand it over, but Gregorovitch said it had been stolen
He had been sure that Voldemort had been looking for a way round the problem of the twin cores, sure that Voldemort sought a solution from the old wandmaker … and yet he had killed him, apparently without asking him a single question about wandlore. What was Voldemort trying to find? Why, with the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world at his feet, was he far
‘Yeah, maybe I will!’ shouted Ron, and he took several steps towards Harry, who did not back away. ‘Didn’t you hear what they said about my sister? But you don’t give a rat’s fart, do you, it’s only the Forbidden Forest, Harry I’ve-Faced-Worse Potter doesn’t care what happens to her in here, well, I do, all right, giant spiders and mental stuff –’
‘Oh, you’re sure, are you? Right then, well, I won’t bother myself about them. It’s all right for you two, isn’t it, with your parents safely out of the way –’ ‘My parents are dead!’ Harry bellowed. ‘And mine could be going the same way!’ yelled Ron. ‘Then GO!’ roared Harry. ‘Go back to them, pretend you’ve got over your spattergroit and

