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Harry stared at the envelope in front of him, feeling his cheeks fill up and the heat of embarrassment prickle his ears. After Ron received his howler he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t anxious about the arrival of his very own. He had known it was coming. The wait, however short, had been torture.
Now here it was, the next day, dropped right beside his cereal. His hand stuttered in movement as he picked it up.
He willed himself to open it, the warnings from others ringing in his ears; you can’t ignore a howler, that just makes it ten times worse.
“HARRY JAMES POTTER!” The voice of his Godfather and guardian rung out, and the hall went silent around him. “I HAVE JUST BEEN INFORMED BY YOUR SCHOOL THAT RATHER THAN CATCH THE TRAIN THIS YEAR, YOU AND YOUR FRIEND DECIDED TO STEAL A CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY…”
There was a pause and another voice in the background that he instantly recognised as Uncle Remus prompting “mortified.”
“…MORTIFIED! IF YOUR FATHER WERE ALIVE TODAY HE WOULD BE…” Again there was a pause and this time it was evident that Uncle Sirius was struggling to contain a laugh.
Uncle Remus, on the other hand, sounded much more serious “…VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU!” He finished sternly, and, ignoring Uncle Sirius’ sudden burst of outrageous laughter, added “WE SHALL HAVE NO MORE OF THIS FROM YOU THIS YEAR HARRY. YOU HAD BETTER BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR!"
“He stole a car Remus!” was the last thing to be heard, said amongst a boat of load laughter, as the letter tore itself up.
Harry was left staring at its remnants, unsure if he should be embarrassed and unsure if he was actually in trouble or not. After a few moments he looked up into the bewildered faces of his friends, and noticed the silence in the hall was far less piercing than with Ron’s yesterday. An air of confusion and amusement came off of the idle whispers and chatter of the students around him.
Over at the teachers table, McGonagall had a hand on her forehead, as though she was attempting to press back a developing headache. Turning to Madame Pomfrey, she muttered “Remind me to send a letter of appreciation to Mr Lupin…” and a good old-fashioned telling off to Mr Black, she only just held back.