1 Surprise

It was a silent drive from Kings Cross train station to No. 4 Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon's voice was the only one heard, as he cursed each and every car or driver who crossed his way. Harry's heart plummeted, thinking of what that mood might cause for him. He was sure he would be locked in his room and probably deprived of meals as well. It would not be the first time, though. After his first year at Hogwarts, he was no longer willing to accept this. He wondered what he could do.

Harry was the first to open the door and step out of the car when they arrived at No. 4 Privet Drive. He obediently took his trunk from the car along with the owl's cage and carried them inside. He looked at the stairs. There was no way he could carry both pieces of luggage up at once. He left the trunk and hurried to his room with the owl and then returned quickly, just in time to see Uncle Vernon putting his trunk in the cupboard under the stairs and locking the door.

As he was staring at his uncle, unsure about what to do, his uncle straightened and noticed him. "You won't need any of THAT during the summer," he said.

"But, Uncle Vernon, my clothes... my homework..."

"You have enough clothes in your room, that Dudley doesn't need anymore, and you don't need your homework since you're not staying here for most of the summer. You're going to spend the next five weeks in Gruning's Summer Camp for children of the workers, as a special charity for orphans. Now, go to your room and stay there until we call you for dinner."

Harry felt as if he was glued to his place. Was his uncle really sending him to a summer camp? He had heard some children talking about summer camps. These were usually fun for the children and quite costly for their parents. Some children didn't like them, though, not liking sleeping away from home. He suspected Dudley felt that way. Still, if his uncle was sending him to such a place, it was an unexpected blessing, even if it was done just to keep him away.

"What are you dreaming of, boy? I told you to go to your room or..."

"Sure, Uncle Vernon. I was probably just tired of the long train ride. I'll go rest in my room."

He only left his room for the meals and for using the toilet during the next four days. He was extremely bored, but he didn't dare do anything that would make his uncle change his mind.

He had his wand with him, but since he was not allowed to do any magic – that was clearly explained before they left school – it couldn't help him. He did try to recall all the spells he had learned and go through the motions without actually casting them.

Luckily, there were a few books in the room, probably ones Dudley didn't like (well, he didn't like ANY book). Harry found some stories there to entertain him. After a few hours, he could understand why Hermione loved books so much, yet he wasn't Hermione. His body ached from lack of movement and he had to stop reading every half an hour and do some exercises.

Sunday, after lunch, Aunt Petunia sent him to the attic, to bring down a suitcase. "A black cloth suitcase with white trimming at the seams and a broken combination lock. If there's anything in it, put it in any carton box you find there."

It took him a few minutes to find the requested suitcase. It was almost as large as his trunk and had two wheels at one corner, so it could be easier to carry. There was nothing in it, except for some dust.

"Take it outside and clean it thoroughly and then pack all that you need for five weeks in it. Make sure not to forget your toothbrush and I'll bring you two more towels." His aunt seemed just as anxious to get rid of him as his uncle. It was fine with him, though. He didn't like to spend any time with them either, if possible.

He didn't like any of the clothes left for him, but he obediently packed most of them, knowing he would need something to wear. He also packed his wand in an inner pocket, not willing to leave it behind.

Monday morning, his uncle told him, "Load the suitcase in the car's trunk and don't forget to take that awful bird too. Be quick! I don't have the whole day for you, boy!"

It wasn't too distant, though. They drove for about an hour, reaching a small camp at the shore of a lake, surrounded by some woods. Vernon showed some paper to the guard at the gate and was allowed in. Harry took his suitcase out as soon as the car stopped. His uncle went into the office near the gate and filled some forms before coming out with a key and another paper.

"Here is your key – you're in cabin 7. Make sure to not lose your key, boy! Keep this paper to show to your group instructor, or whatever they call them here. I'll be back in five weeks to take you." His face showed how much he disliked the idea of collecting his nephew again. "Don't make any troubles here, boy, or you'll have to answer to me. I'm going now."

Harry waited until he could no longer see his uncle's car before turning around and scanning the place that would be his home for the next five weeks. It wasn't as impressive as Hogwarts, but it was quite nice, he decided. The dirt road he was standing on continued for a short distance before forking. The right side seemed to lead to the small lake, where he could see several colourful boats, and passed between several cabins that looked identical. The left one reached a large wooden house, of similar construction to the cabins, only it was two stories high, and passed by several more cabins. He could see signs of a playground at one side of the big house and what looked like a basketball field behind the house.

A large plaque, attached to a tree near the fork had very clear signs drawn on it: cabins 1 to 16 were on the right, as was the lake and the swimming area; cabins 17 to 20 were on the left as was the main dining hall, kitchen, showers, gym, and play fields. He turned right and walked to the cabins. The odd numbers were on his right, starting with 15. He walked a bit farther, finding number 7. Except for the large number painted on the door and on the side walls, it was indistinguishable from the other cabins. A paper sign was attached to the door, "Welcome to Grunning Summer Camp!"

Harry tried the door, finding it unlocked. He went in and noticed another paper on the other side of the door. It had a plan of the cabin and there was a handwritten name on each bed in the plan. He found "Potter" written on the first bed to the left. Although the cabin had room for six beds, only four were actually in the room and one of them – the one near his – had no name written on it. Beyond the beds, there was a coarse wooden table with several chairs, probably where the additional beds were supposed to be. A single light bulb hung in the middle of the roof and a section of the cabin was partitioned off for a small toilet room.

There were two large windows for light and air. He saw no drapes, but the windows could be closed with shutters when needed. In a way, it was quite similar to his dorms and way nicer than his room at Privet Drive.

Harry tucked his suitcase under the bed, put the owl cage on the nightstand and opened the cage door. "You don't need to stay locked now. You can fly all you want, but come to visit me once a day, will you?"

Hedwig nodded her head and hooted once. Harry petted her feathers and then opened the window for her and she took off, disappearing among the surrounding trees. He then put the cage under his bed too.

He heard some more cars arriving. He couldn't see the gates or the office from his cabin, but he could hear various cars and several people saying their goodbyes. He left the cabin and sat on a bench he found nearby, waiting for the other children to arrive.

Judging by the number of cabins, the camp could easily accommodate more than a hundred children. He was surprised to see there were not even half this number. His two cabin mates arrived among the last, proving to be two boys about his age. All the boys were lodged in the odd-numbered cabins while the girls were on the other side of the road, in the even-numbered cabins.

He tried to befriend his room-mates. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter. Who are you?"

The boys, who evidently knew each other, just scanned his oversized clothes and ignored him. They reminded him of some Slytherins, he thought, or maybe even of Dudley.

He had more success with the four girls from cabin 8, just across the road. They were also his age and were quite glad to meet him.

"I'm Anna Fulton."

"Zoe Bailof, at your service."

"Elsa DuValais," with a slight French accent.

"Margaret Bishop, but you may call me Marge or Beth, I don't mind."

"Who are your room-mates?" Zoe asked him.

Harry recited the names he had seen on the plan. "They didn't even reply when I tried to talk to them," he said.

"That's the way they always act. Don't mind them, though. They'll probably not stay more than a few days."

Talking with the girls he found out that it was their third year there and that the camp was really more of a way to keep them out of trouble (and out of mind, for some) than to really care for them. "They have some sports activity every day and some games. They give us at least two films each week and we have several television sets in the big house and also a nice library, yet nobody minds if you join none of the activities and spend all your time in bed or on the beach, as long as you eat at least one meal a day and don't cause any trouble. They don't even mind if boys visit the girls' cabins or girls spend the night with boys – older girls, of course – unless somebody complains."

"Then why do you come here?"

"It's still fun. My parents work all day, and if I stay at home I can only watch television or play computer games. Here I can swim, play, talk with friends and even meet new friends, like you," Elsa told him, blushing a bit.

As the four girls seemed to like his company, he didn't mind the boys. After spending most of the time at school with Hermione by his side, having girls as his friends seemed natural.

"All campers are requested to assemble in the dining hall. Make sure to lock your cabins when you leave." The message was repeated on the public loudspeakers a few times to make sure all the children heard it. Harry peeked into his cabin and noticed that the two boys had already left. He locked the door and walked with his new friends to the big house.

The dining hall was large enough to serve almost two hundred guests. Some tables had been moved aside and about sixty chairs were arranged in three rows in front of a long table where several men and one woman were sitting, waiting, not too patiently, for the children to sit down. Harry saw his cabin mates sitting on the leftmost chairs of the third row. He followed the girls, finding himself sitting in the first row, just a bit off-centre. By the time everybody arrived, Harry still saw a few empty seats.

An elderly man stood up to talk. "Dear campers, I'm very happy to open the seventh season of Grunning Summer Camp. We started it in order to give our children a place to pass the summer vacation safely and enjoyably so that their parents will be able to concentrate on their work. This seems to benefit everybody involved."

He stopped and sipped some water before going on. "You will find this camp very liberal. While we do have a schedule of activities, that you can see on the board near the entrance to this building, almost everything is optional, so that each of you may enjoy this vacation the way you want it. The only mandatory activities are the swimming lessons, for those who can't swim yet and a few safety lessons that you will have in the first few days. Aside from that, you have several television rooms at your disposal, some computers with Internet connection, a game room, a beach with some play stuff, and two playgrounds, suitable for the younger years."

He sipped some more water. "You will be offered some physical training, social games, walking trips in the nearby area and some more fun activities. There's also a well-equipped library on site, open until dinnertime every day. Make good use of it! I wish you a very happy stay here."