It was the beginning to a promising new day, the sun just peeked over the ivy covered garden wall and the sparkling spider webs still glistened with dew. A cat stalked down the driveway of 4 Privet drive, and the chatter of birds drowned all noise out. Yes, it was a very nice day, but as you know things always look best before the storm.
Harry sat up in bed and wondered what had awoken him, a haze drifted through his mind as he stretched and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Yawning he looked at the clock, 8 am on the dot. He rubbed the scar on his forehead and was vaguely surprised to find it warm to the touch. It wasn't really all that strange though; it had been doing that lately. Maybe he was coming down with something. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and placed his feet on the floor. He woke sharply as the cool wood touched his skin and wondering if he should just hop back into his bed, instead, he slipped his feet into his worn old hand me down slippers.
He heard a clattering outside his room, which meant the Dursleys were up. He pondered for a bit why someone hadn't come up to wake him, but then decided he rather didn't care. He was used to being just part of the woodwork and enjoyed it that way, seeing as the Dursleys weren't exactly what you might call his biggest fans.
He looked around his small room; it only consisted of; his bed, a small wooden desk and a few bare shelves. All of Harry's possessions had been locked away under the staircase. No matter how much he tried to reason that he had to do his homework the Dursleys wouldn't hear of it. Thankfully two years ago Fred and George Weasley had taught him how to pick a lock with an ordinary paperclip. "Might come in useful you know," Fred had said with a knowing wink. Though he had to do his homework at night and be sure to have it all safely locked away in the morning he at least could get most of it out of the way.
Harry stretched and his enormous shirtsleeve fell over his hands and he rolled it back up again with an annoyed grunt. He changed quickly into a gigantic pair of Dudley's old jeans and a purple shirt the size of a small pony. He strode into the hallway, grabbing his glasses off the desk by the door and arranging them on his nose. The light jerked him awake as he stood blinking in the hallway.
"Harry! Are you awake boy? Come make the breakfast or I'm coming up there after you!"
"Right Uncle Vernon, I'm coming" he repressed a snarl and strode down the stairs two by two.
At the bottom Harry picked up the mail lying on the doormat and sifted through them before going into the kitchen. He had learned his lesson about keeping and reading any mail he received a secret and though, everyone he knew would use an owl, you never know.
"Mail," he said simply and tossed it on the table.
Uncle Vernon jumped and turned slightly green as the mail hit the table. The green turned to purple, then red and his moustache quivered, a sure sign Harry was going to get yelled at. Before he could though Harry felt a sharp jab in his back.
"Ow," Harry's hand instinctively moved to the small of his back and rubbed it.
"You're in the way!" Dudley yelled hitting Harry with his smelting stick again.
"Oh my poor little duddiekins!" Aunt Petunia shrieked, she pushed Harry aside and hustled him over to the stove.
'Poor? Little?' Harry stifled a laugh. Petunia absolutely refused to see her son for what he was, a very, very large spoiled pig.
"You're more trouble then you're worth," Uncle Vernon said absent-mindedly going back to his newspaper. He blinked his dull unintelligent eyes and sniffed waggling his moustache.
Harry sighed and took the pan of bacon from Aunt Petunia, on it was twelve long strips of bacon, at the end was a very small pathetic looking piece mostly consisting of gristle. Harry frowned knowing that that was his portion. Dudley's diet had lasted about two weeks before he pretended to faint from lack of food and threw a tantrum.
Right now, his piggy eyes were glued transfixed to the television screen. Harry recognized the loud blaring noises to be Dudley's favourite television show; probably the only thing Dudley liked more that bullying Harry and getting what he wanted. The first couple days Harry was back Dudley only sidestepped around the house his hands clamped to his fat piggy bottom and avoiding Harry completely. Unfortunately that phase passed and he now spent all his free time ridiculing his cousin.
"Aiiiiiiiekkkk!" A shrill squeaky scream echoed in the tiny kitchen drowning out the explosions on TV. Dudley's attention turned towards the pandemonium, his third favourite thing.
An owl had flown in the kitchen window as Aunt Petunia opened it to let in the breeze; she now sat clutching her heart on the floor in an exaggerated show of fear.
"What is that creature doing in my house?" Uncle Vernon hollered, his voice booming over Aunt Petunia's laboured breathing. His glare turned to Harry his moustache twitching uncontrollably and his watery eyes stretched wide.
The owl hooted and flew to Harry and promptly dropped a large parchment in the bacon. It circled around the kitchen once, and then flew back out the window. Harry bit his lip and thought fast.
"O-Oh what's this then?" Harry said, a little shakily. "Must be a letter from my godfather to check on me, my-my convicted murderer godfather."
Vernon Dursley shook visibly and turned green, though over-used; this was the one excuse Harry could use to stay out of trouble, considering the circumstances were right.
"Out!" Uncle Vernon bellowed. "OUT! I don't want to see you!"
Harry scampered out of the kitchen with his greasy letter, pleased with his luck. He burst out the door and took off down the street at a fast, even pace. He slowed to a walk after he figured he was far enough from the Dursley's. For Harry, this was a treat, a whole day without having to be at Vernon and Dudley's beck and whim. His feet wandered down to an old willow tree that he liked to sit under. He found his familiar roost and began to open his letter.
His letter was not, in fact, a letter from Sirius; he had known that from the moment he saw it. It was this year's official letter from Hogwarts, the green ink on the front glistened even in the shade of the tree and Harry's heart beat more rapidly as he peeled off the wax imprinted with the Hogwarts crest. Even though this was hardly exciting, he had received it 4 times before, it still helped Harry remember that Hogwarts indeed, was not a dream, but very real. Living with the Dursleys can be very tiring, but the light of hope in it all was Hogwarts, a wizarding school, Harry's school.
He scanned the initial letter but moved quickly onto the list of things he needed to buy. He couldn't wait to go to Diagon Alley to buy his supplies and signify the start of a new year. A hoot in his ear brought his attention from the letter.
"Hedwig!" Harry cried gleefully. The snowy owl nipped his ear affectionately before clawing impatiently at Harry's pocket. "I'm sorry Hedwig, I don't have any treats for you, I don't even have food for myself,"
Hedwig pouted in a way only and owl could do and then bit the ribbon tying the package she held off her foot. Then she flapped her large wings and sat nearby with her back to Harry higher up in the tree.
"Thanks Hedwig," Harry said glumly "Moody owl," he grumbled under his breath.
He looked at the card tucked in the ribbons binding the package. 'Harry' it read in gold sparkling letters. Harry raised an eyebrow; it didn't look like anyone's writing he knew. He unfolded the piece of parchment. On it was three words:
Time. Will. Tell.
Harry was getting used to strange things happening but this was certainly up there near 'very'. He'd learned enough about the wizarding world to know that no matter how different things were, no one sent anonymous mysterious letters. Though for something no one did, Harry sure got his share of it.
He looked suspiciously at the package,
"Hedwig…" The owl turned its head almost around, her body turning after it. "Where did you get this letter?"
Hedwig tilted her head and cooed. She then ruffled her feathers and turned around again. Harry rubbed his scar, a habit he'd gotten into, and wondered why he thought Hedwig could suddenly talk and tell him where it was from. He decided not to open the package; he'd ask Hermione first. As much as he hated to admit it this certainly looked like bad news. He opened the letter to look at it again.
Open. Me.
Harry dropped the letter in surprise.
"Open me," he repeated out loud.
And all at once, opening it sounded like a very good idea indeed. Why shouldn't he open it? It was addressed to him. It's not like Hedwig would run off to retrieve a package from anyone she didn't trust on his birthday. Yes of course, open it, that's what you did with packages wasn't it? In any case Harry needn't have thought about it because his hands were already untying the ribbons and ripping at the paper. Open me. Why not?
A sparkle caught his eye in between the tissue paper that filled the inside. He pulled out wad after wad until finally, the only thing lying in the box was a coiled black string, on the string was a small luminescent stone. It shone and the insides moved slowly looking like clouds in the middle of a sunset. As he watched, the stone turned from green to red to yellow. It captivated him seeming alive. He picked up the stone and held it in both hands.
A sharp pain in his neck snapped him out of it, he shook his head back into reality, a headache shot through it, and he couldn't remember what had just happened. In front of him sat the empty box and the letter. Haze shrouded Harry's thoughts.
"It's empty, strange, why would someone send me an empty box," He said absent-mindedly
He picked up the letter again and unfolded it.
"Time will tell, nothing amazingly strange about that, what a funny package,"
He shook his head again feeling as if there was something he misplaced. Relief floated near the surface that at least the box hadn't had some deadly spell in it. But then again, he couldn't even remember opening the box. Harry shook his head.
"So much for asking Hermione first, my hands must have opened it before I even realized what I was doing, oh well no harm done,"
He lifted up the box and looked around for the letter. But nothing lay on the ground except his Hogwarts paper.
"Hedwig, where'd you put my letter, I'm sorry I-"
'Wait a minute,' he thought to himself 'what letter am I talking about, Hedwig didn't deliver anything but this box'
"Hedwig, why'd you bring me an empty box? You silly bird. Anyways, could you go pick up the letter for Hermione that's on my desk in my room? I need it delivered and you weren't here. I'd get it myself but I'm locked out for the day,"
Hedwig rustled her feathers angrily but took off to deliver the letter anyways. In the corner of her eye she caught the flash of a metallic stone around Harry's neck.
Harry sighed and leaned back on the tree trunk he closed his eyes and let the shadows of the leaves above dance on his eyelids. His mind wandered to thoughts of the great hall decorated richly for holidays, his best friends Hermione and Ron, his godfather, and all his other great friends gathered around him. He dreamed until the sun was high in the sky and than a different thought rang through his mind and he grinned slyly. Why not.
Hunt. Ravage. Kill. Something sparkled in the distance, a stone. A face leered through a broken mirror, dark set eyes glinting in amusement. A drop of blood transformed into a flower. Time and place spun in dizzy circles. A thrashing tug of awareness pierces through the bleak fog. Chaos.
Light penetrated Harry's eyelids and he groaned in protest. He felt dizzy and clenched his eyes tight to shield the rays. A fog had apparently rolled into his mind under sleeps cover. He sat still a moment breathing heavily focusing on thinking. His senses came flowing back to him slowly and he felt the cool sweat covering his body, his clothes stuck on the clammy skin. A crisp chill hung in the air and he shivered involuntarily which caused sharp agony to shoot through his veins. He raised a hand to his pounding forehead but quickly drew it back when he felt the searing pain the touch of his scar lanced through his body.
'Did anybody catch the number of that truck,' he thought without any emotion.
He felt something rough at the back of his neck.
'Bark,'
He opened one eye slightly letting the light flood in, in front of him stood the lawn he had sat down on earlier by the tree. He opened the other eye and craned his neck from side to side, it made an interesting popping noise and Harry bit his lip and wondered if he was even able to stand. He lipped his chapped lips and dry mouth and made a face at the strange taste.
'Ugh, morning breath,'
He shakily got to one knee and hoisted himself up using the old tree for support. He touched his forehead again to find it still unbearably hot and wrenched his hand back again. Accrediting his condition to sleeping on the hard ground he stumbled shakily a couple steps until he felt more confident about his bipedal instincts. His knees creaked and his muscles ached but he could move which in his mind was always a good sign.
He stretched his arms up and glanced around for the sun so he could gather a vague idea of what time it was. He was surprised to find the sun low in the sky it had been about 8:20am when he'd came but now it looked to be 3:00pm. He frowned and wished he had made better use of his time away from the Dursley's. He brushed himself off and started a slow pace towards home.
Ten minutes and a lot of groaning and aching later Harry arrived at the front doorstep of 4 Privet drive. The Dursleys had been so kind as to lug his school trunk and possessions out to the curb when Harry had been thrown out in the morning and an annoyed Hedwig was seen fluttering around the box and her locked cage grunting. She glared at Harry as he stumbled up as if he had sentenced her to. Harry groaned and squinted at the small suburban house his eyebrows furrowed and mouth twisted in a scowl.
"How perfectly splendid, it's a wonder I'm not dead yet they're so very caring, great stroppy sods!" he muttered through clenched teeth
He walked over and picked up Hedwig's empty cage and placed it on the top of the Trunk. Then straining against his aching muscles he hooked his fingers into the moulded plastic handle on his trunk and heaved it off of the road and up the curb. Following the groove that had been ploughed into the lawn earlier that morning he dragged the large box slowly up towards the house. He stopped halfway and rolled his shoulders, arching his neck trying to relieve the stiffness. Placing one hand on the trunk he eased himself into a sitting position panting heavily.
"Stupid giant heavy trunk, full of stupid heavy magic stuff," Harry was always a bit grumpy after sleeping. He assumed he had a perfect excuse to whine, being woken up to find several – hundred, roots lodged into his spin. "I have a lot of reason to whine, I have all these responsibilities; "Harry! Make the bacon!" "Harry! Mow the lawn!" "Harry defeat the Dark Lord!"" he muttered angrily.
He sighed and rolled his eyes at his childish behaviour. Somehow, something felt off, other than the blood roaring in his ears, which he was studiously ignoring. Hedwig gave him a quizzical owl look before hooting showing that she didn't approve of this behaviour. 'Less playing, more dragging' Harry opened his eyes and sighed placing the worries back on his shoulders and stood up.
"Alright Hedwig, let's get going,"
She hooted happily and circled overhead before gliding into Harry's open window. Harry's window had been open all summer, he had been arguing with Uncle Vernon about whether or not Hedwig should have unlimited entry when Uncle Vernon had thrown one of Dudley's old toy cars right out. Instead of fixing the window he decided it appealed to him more to let Harry freeze and had casually said 'I agree, your – beast- needs air," and left the room chuckling to himself. Harry had gone the extra mile and removed the frame from the window leaving it bare. Thankfully he had a sheet of magical mosquito netting from Hagrid's – interesting, Care of Magical Creatures class. He had put it up in the window frame to keep bugs out but it turned invisible when in use and Hedwig could fly right through it. Thankfully it had been a warm summer and Vernon hadn't gotten the chance to enjoy his chilling revenge.
These thoughts made another rise up in Harry's head 'Why do I even put up with this anymore' Dumbledore's request still held number one in his mind but he was running out of patience. Pushing the thoughts aside he continued dragging the case up to the front doorstep. He was breathing heavily by the time he had made it to the steps and a fine sheen of sweat laced his body. He cursed and wished again that he could use magic; he could have had the trunk up in his room ten minutes ago had he been able to. He climbed the first step and reached down grabbing the trunk and pulling hard to get it up the step. A stone around his neck flashed brilliantly.
His muscles echoed protests somewhere in the back of his mind as he pulled but a white light had surfaced in Harry's eyes blinding him. He dropped the trunk and sat with a hard thud and closed his eyes waiting for the spinning to stop. He had the sudden urge to throw up as his body rejected his summon to lift the heavy trunk. Harry realized for the first time just how tired he was. Everything throbbed dully, probably a reaction from over exertion after having no food the whole day. He stood in a daze and wobbled a bit before bracing himself with a hand on the trunk in front of him. His skin felt prickly and cold and hot at the same time. 'Something is wrong here' Harry thought vaguely.
He wrestled with his sleeve and pulled it up to his elbow than he leaned over unlatching the trunk retrieving his wand from the top. He managed to mutter a banishment spell sending the trunk and Hedwig's cage flying up to his room before the world went dark and the ground rose up soundlessly and he fell into unconscious.