Days passed, and Dumbledore still didn't reply. Hector increasingly felt that his own absurd idea from back then actually made some sense. The third floor of the Hog's Head also grew quiet. Errol, Ron's family owl, rarely showed up after that. The few letters that occasionally arrived contained little more than basic pleasantries, while the rest was mostly asking whether Dumbledore had gone to check on Harry and what was happening over there. Ron was already writing his eleventh invitation letter, yet there was still no movement whatsoever from Harry's end.
"If Harry still doesn't write back to me, I'm going to go to Harry's house and see for myself."
Those were Ron's exact words in the letter. Hector read it over and over again, but there wasn't a single word on the page inviting him to stay at the Burrow. This left Hector somewhat annoyed, though the letters from Fred and George brought him some comfort. The two brothers had written a letter together, though Hector could easily tell from the differing tones and handwriting between the first and second halves. Fred mostly talked to Hector about the development progress of their joke products, which had suffered a severe blow from Mrs. Weasley over the summer holiday. According to Fred's description, the losses were disastrous—practically a complete wipeout—though fortunately, they had hidden some in their dear brother Ron's room, so it wasn't a total annihilation.
Chapter 73