Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

also by j. k. rowlingHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’sStone Year One at HogwartsHarry Potter and the Chamber ofSecrets Year Two atHogwartsHarry Potter and the Prisoner ofAzkaban Year Three atHogwarts

Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireYear Four at HogwartsHarry Potter and the Order of thePhoenix Year Five atHogwartsHarry Potter and the Half-BloodPrince Year Six at HogwartsHarry Potter and the DeathlyHallows Year Seven atHogwarts

To Neil, Jessica, andDavid, who make myworld magical.Text copyright 2003 by J. K. RowlingIllustrations by Mary Grandpré copyright 2003 by WarnerBros. harry potter, characters, names and related indicia aretrademarks ofand Warner Bros. Harry Potter Publishing Rights J. K. Rowling.All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, a division of Scholastic Inc.,Publishers since 1920.scholastic, scholastic press, and the lantern logoare trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. Forinformation regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: PermissionsDepartment, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data AvailableLibrary of Congress Control Number: 2003102525ISBN 0-439-35806-X10 9 803 04 05 06 07Printed in the U.S.A.37Second edition, August 2003

ContentsONEDudley Demented · 1TWOA Peck of Owls · 20THREEThe Advance Guard · 42FOURNumber Twelve, Grimmauld Place · 59FIVEThe Order of the Phoenix · 79SIX vii

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black · 98SEVENThe Ministry of Magic · 121EIGHTThe Hearing · 137NINEThe Woes of Mrs. Weasley · 152TENLuna Lovegood · 179ELEVENThe Sorting Hat’s New Song · 200 viii

TWELVEProfessor Umbridge · 221THIRTEENDetention with Dolores ·250FOURTEENPercy and Padfoot · 279FIFTEENThe Hogwarts High Inquisitor · 306SIXTEENIn the Hog’s Head · 330SEVENTEENEducational Decree Number Twenty-Four ·350 ix

EIGHTEENDumbledore’s Army · 374NINETEENThe Lion and the Serpent ·397TWENTYHagrid’s Tale · 420TWENTY-ONEThe Eye of the Snake · 441TWENTY-TWOSt. Mungo’s Hospital for MagicalMaladies and Injuries · 466TWENTY-ThreeChristmas on the Closed Ward · 492 x

TWENTY-FOUROcclumency · 516TWENTY-FIVEThe Beetle at Bay · 543TWENTY-SIXSeen and Unforeseen · 570 xi

TWENTYSEVENThe Centaur and the Sneak ·599TWENTYEIGHTSnape’s Worst Memory · 624TWENTYNINECareer Advice · 651THIRTYGrawp · 676THIRTY-ONEO.W.L.s · 703THIRTY-TWOxii

Out of the Fire · 729THIRTYTHREEFight and Flight · 751THIRTY-FOURThe Department of Mysteries ·764THIRTY-FIVEBeyond the Veil · 781 ‘THIRTY-SIXThe Only One He Ever Feared · 807xiii

THIRTYSEVENThe Lost Prophecy · 820THIRTY-EIGHTThe Second War Begins · 845

‘ xv

CHAPTER ONEDUDLEY DEMENTEDThe hottest day of the summer so far wasdrawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large,square houses of Privet Drive. Cars that were usually gleamingstood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emeraldgreen lay parched and yellowing; the use of hosepipes hadbeen banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual carwashing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of PrivetDrive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses,1 Get free e-books and video tutorials at www.passuneb.com

CHAPTER ONEwindows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistentbreeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy whowas lying flat on his back in a flower bed outside number four.He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who hadthe pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who hasgrown a lot in a short space of time. His jeans were torn anddirty, his T-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his trainerswere peeling away from the uppers. Harry Potter’s appearancedid not endear him to the neighbors, who were the sort ofpeople who thought scruffiness ought to be punishable bylaw, but as he had hidden himself behind a large hydrangeabush this evening he was quite invisible to passersby. In fact,the only way he would be spotted was if his Uncle Vernon orAunt Petunia stuck their heads out of the living room windowand looked straight down into the flower bed below.On the whole, Harry thought he was to be congratulated onhis idea of hiding here. He was not, perhaps, very comfortablelying on the hot, hard earth, but on the other hand, nobodywas glaring at him, grinding their teeth so loudly that he couldnot hear the news, or shooting nasty questions at him, as hadhappened every time he had tried sitting down in the livingroom and watching television with his aunt and uncle. 2 Get free e-books and video tutorials at www.passuneb.com

DUDLEY DEMENTEDAlmost as though this thought had fluttered through theopen window, Vernon Dursley, Harry’s uncle, suddenly spoke.“Glad to see the boy’s stopped trying to butt in. Where is heanyway?”“I don’t know,” said Aunt Petunia unconcernedly. “Not in thehouse.”Uncle Vernon grunted.“Watching the news . . .” he said scathingly. “I’d like to knowwhat he’s really up to. As if a normal boy cares what’s on thenews — Dudley hasn’t got a clue what’s going on, doubt heknows who the Prime Minister is! Anyway, it’s not as if there’dbe anything about his lot on our news —”“Vernon, shh!” said Aunt Petunia. “The window’s open!”“Oh — yes — sorry, dear . . .”The Dursleys fell silent. Harry listened to a jingle about Fruit’N Bran breakfast cereal while he watched Mrs. Figg, a batty,cat-loving old lady from nearby Wisteria Walk, amble slowlypast. She was frowning and muttering to herself. Harry wasvery pleased that he was concealed behind the bush; Mrs. Figghad recently taken to asking him around for tea whenever shemet him in the street. She had rounded the corner andvanished from view before Uncle Vernon’s voice floated out ofthe window again.“Dudders out for tea?” 3

CHAPTER ONE“At the Polkisses’,” said Aunt Petunia fondly. “He’s got somany little friends, he’s so popular . . .”Harry repressed a snort with difficulty. The Dursleys reallywere astonishingly stupid about their son, Dudley; they hadswallowed all his dim-witted lies about having tea with adifferent member of his gang every night of the summerholidays. Harry knew perfectly well that Dudley had not beento tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every eveningvandalizing the play park, smoking on street corners, andthrowing stones at passing cars and children. Harry had seenthem at it during his evening walks around Little Whinging; hehad spent most of the holidays wandering the streets,scavenging newspapers from bins along the way.The opening notes of the music that heralded the seveno’clock news reached Harry’s ears and his stomach turnedover. Perhaps tonight — after a month of waiting — would bethe night —“Record numbers of stranded holidaymakers fill airports asthe Spanish baggage-handlers’ strike reaches its second week—”“Give ’em a lifelong siesta, I would,” snarled Uncle Vernonover the end of the newsreader’s sentence, but no matter:Outside in the flower bed, Harry’s stomach seemed to 4 Get free e-books and video tutorials at www.passuneb.com

DUDLEY DEMENTEDunclench. If anything had happened, it would surely have beenthe first item on the news; death and destruction were moreimportant than stranded holidaymakers. . . .He let out a long, slow breath and stared up at the brilliantblue sky. Every day this summer had been the same: thetension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and thenmounting tension again . . . and always, growing more insistentall the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet. .He kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, notrecognized for what it really was by the Muggles — anunexplained disappearance,perhaps,orsomestrangeaccident . . . but the baggage-handlers’ strike was followedby news on the drought in the Southeast (“I hope he’s listeningnext door!” bellowed Uncle Vernon, “with his sprinklers on atthree in the morning!”); then a helicopter that had almostcrashed in a field in Surrey, then a famous actress’s divorcefrom her famous husband (“as if we’re interested in theirsordid affairs,” sniffed Aunt Petunia, who had followed thecase obsessively in every magazine she could lay her bonyhands on).Harry closed his eyes against the now blazing evening skyas the newsreader said, “And finally, Bungy the budgie hasfound a novel way of keeping cool this summer. Bungy, who 5

CHAPTER ONElives at the Five Feathers in Barnsley, has learned to water-ski!Mary Dorkins went to find out more. . . .”Harry opened his eyes again. If they had reached waterskiing budgerigars, there was nothing else worth hearing. Herolled cautiously onto his front and raised himself onto hisknees and elbows, preparing to crawl out from under thewindow.He had moved about two inches when several thingshappened in very quick succession.A loud, echoing crack broke the sleepy silence like agunshot; a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flewout of sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath, and the sound ofbreaking china came from the Dursleys’ living room, and asthough Harry had been waiting for this signal, he jumped tohis feet, at the same time pulling from the waistband of hisjeans a thin wooden wand as if he were unsheathing a sword.But before he could draw himself up to full height, the top ofhis head collided with the Dursleys’ open window, and theresultant crash made Aunt Petunia scream even louder.Harry felt as if his head had been split in two; eyesstreaming, he swayed, trying to focus on the street and spotthe source of the noise, but he had barely staggered upright 6 Get free e-books and video tutorials at www.passuneb.com

DUDLEY DEMENTEDagain when two large purple hands reached through the openwindow and closed tightly around his throat.“Put — it — away!” Uncle Vernon snarled into Harry’s ear.“Now!Before — anyone — sees!”“Get — off — me!” Harry gasped; for a few seconds theystruggled, Harry pulling at his uncle’s sausage-like fingers withhis left hand, his right maintaining a firm grip on his raisedwand. Then, as the pain in the top of Harry’s head gave aparticularly nasty throb, Uncle Vernon yelped and releasedHarry as though he had received an electric shock — someinvisible force seemed to have surged through his nephew,making him impossible to hold.Panting, Harry fell forward over the hydrangea bush,straightened up, and stared around. There was no sign of whathad caused the loud cracking noise, but there were severalfaces peering through various nearby windows. Harry stuffedhis wand hastily back into his jeans and tried to look innocent.“Lovely evening!” shouted Uncle Vernon, waving at Mrs.Number Seven, who was glaring from behind her net curtains.“Did you hear that car backfire just now? Gave Petunia and mequite a turn!”He continued to grin in a horrible, manic way until all thecurious neighbors had disappeared from their various 7