Frightened, because as an underaged wizard he technically is not allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts, Harry sits down on a low wall to think about his prospects. While he is looking for his Invisibility Cloak in his trunk, he starts to get the strange feeling of being watched. He sees the outline of something big in a nearby alleyway and he thinks it is a dog that is watching him with glowing eyes. He stumbles and raises his hand, in which he is holding his wand. Just in this moment the triple-decker Knight Bus comes to a halt in front of him and a conductor gets out. Harry takes the bus to London. On the nerve-racking way there, Harry gets hold of an article in the Daily Prophet about Sirius Black and learns more about his connection to Lord Voldemort and the circumstances surrounding his arrest. When Harry arrives at Diagon Alley, he is being expected by the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Now the fear of being expelled from Hogwarts threatens to overwhelm Harry, but the minister calms him down and asks him to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the holidays. Harry is surprised and tries to get Mr. Fudge to sign the permission form for the Hogsmeade weekends which the minister refuses because he is not allowed to sign the permission.
