Disclaimer: you know that I'm not JK Rowling.
Chapter 1
Harry's POV
It is summer. Soon I will be away from this hellhole that is number four, Privet Drive. Ron invited me to stay with him at the Burrow for the remainder of the holidays. And he invited Hermione too. Hermione.. I can't seem to get her name out of my head. Her voice also stays with me, giving me advice, or every time I delay a chore or a homework assignment, its her voice in my head saying, " Don't procrastinate! Keep on working Harry, you can do it." I can't help wondering if she's changed much in the one month we've been away from school. Probably not too much; no one can change a lot during such a short space of time. But then again, me and Ron did teach her our rule-breaking ways back in first year in less than a month.
I smile, and think about my first few years at Hogwarts. Such lazy, care-free times. (well, that's not entirely true, with all that happened from years first through fifth.). But I enjoyed it all the same. Except for fifth year. That was the worst year I've ever had to live through, what with the strange dreams, Occlumency, Umbridge and the ministry, O.W.Ls, and then Sirius. I feel a stirring in my chest. I miss him. All summer I've been thinking about what I could've done to save him, or all the times I could've talked to him but I didn't. There was so much I didn't know about him, so many questions left unanswered.
But I
like to think that he's alright. He's with his best friend, my
father, wherever he is. Sometimes I talk to Sirius, when it's night
and I'm all alone in my room. At times I can almost feel his presence
around me, and sometimes I can almost hear a reply, however small it
may be. It could be in the form of a dog barking happily outside, or
the moon breaking through the clouds on a stormy night. It is these
things that make me feel secure, but still not secure enough to
accept that Sirius is gone. I try not to think about how he died, and
Bellatrix.
So
here I am after all that happened to me, sitting in a tree in the
park, reminiscing about old Hogwarts days. This tree is one of my
favorite evening haunts. I go here every so often, just to think.
Sometimes I watch the children play among the monkey bars, slides and
swings; their parents nearby, eyes ever watchful.
I wish I was little again. I wish I could've had the chance to grow up with my parents. I wonder how different my life would be if Voldemort hadn't killed my parents. I would be happier, for one thing. Sirius probably wouldn't have died. I would have a completely different life, and I'd be a completely different person. Hopefully I still would've been friends with Ron and Hermione. Hermione. I can feel my face grow warm just thinking about her. I'm excited to see her at the Burrow tomorrow.
It's beginning to get dark out, so I hop off my tree-perch and start towards home. It's the Dursleys' age old rule: be home before dark. They must think I'm a nighttime mischief maker- Ha! What do they think I'm going do, make people's houses catch fire because no one's watching?
I walk quickly through the near deserted streets, thinking of Hermione and her quiet looks, her warm eyes.
