It was a dark and stormy night, a boy called Harry Potter was lying awake in his bed. This very unusual boy was very unusual in many ways. For one he is a wizard, he hates holidays, and he defeated the greatest most evil wizard of all time 4 times. This evil wizards name everyone fears to speak, he is known as He who must not be named. But for Harry Potter, he calls him by his name, Voldemort. But as Harry lay awake he thought about his school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He missed his best friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger. He missed Quidditch the wizarding sport played on broomsticks. He missed everything about Hogwarts. Harry had made a calendar counting down the days he had left before he could leave the Dursleys. The Dursleys were his muggle (meaning no wizard blood in them at all) aunt and uncle and cousin. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were about as bad as they come. They treated him like a bug that had to be squashed immediately. They didn't approve of his abnormality. But as for his parents they were killed by Lord Voldemort the same night that 1 year old Harry got his lightning bolt scar. He is the only known person who survived that curse. And for that he is a famous hero.
But Harry had other things on his mind right now. He had been thinking about how Voldemort had returned to power. Voldemort was after Harry, and he knew that. It wasn't something he liked to think about. Harry rolled over and looked at his digital clock. It said 12:58 A.M. In 2 mins he would be 15 years old. He started counting down 10,9,8,7,6,5 hurry he thought, 3,2,1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me he thought. No presents, that's strange. Hagrid, Rom, Sirius, and Hermione always send him gifts. Click knock knock, the sound was coming from the window. He hurried over to it and opened it up. Six owls flew in. WOW Harry thought now wonder I have no presents. They couldn't get in. He took the first owl and opened the parcel tied to its leg. It was a brown tawny owl. Must be Hermiones, she borrowed him from the post office he supposed. It was form Hemione. He opened the parcel and gasped at what was inside. It was a shiny black ball. He had never seen anything like this before. He opened the note and read:
Dear Harry,
How are you? I hope the muggles are treating you well. And I hope you like the gift. Its called a Orb Seeker. When someone dangerous is around it will make a noise only you can here. I thought it might come in handy since Voldemorts lurking around. Im sorry Harry but I have to go
Love from,

Hermione

Wow cool gift he thought to himself. Ill be bringing this to Hogwarts Harry said to himself. The next owl was a snowy female, it was his own Hedwig. "Hey girl," said Harry in a whisper. "Where have you been," he asked. He picked Hedwig up and put her in her cage after he took the parcel she was carrying. He ripped it open and pulled out the note. It said:
Dear Harry,
How are you? Im fine. My family and I are in Australia right now. We are here on vacation. Its not bad. Wish you were here! Oh and hope you like your gift. I don't really need to explain do I? Well catch later
Your friend
RON

Harry looked at the gift inside, it was a book. He read the title, Quidditch Through the Ages. Oh yes thought Harry. He liked this book but never got to finish reading it and now he can. The next package from Hagrid contained chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean, and a jug of butter beer. Great gifts Harry thought. There should be one from Sirius and that's it, Harry thought. But there were two owls left sitting on Harry's bed. There was one gray owl that Harry had never seen before and a handsome eagle owl that wasn't very familiar either. He took the parcel from the gray owl and it flew away. He opened the note attached to it. It said:
Dear Harry,
How have you been? Good I hope. I'm doing pretty good at the moment. I am in hiding somewhere far away from you but I will not say where incase this falls into the wrong hands. I have enclosed a gift for your birthday. I do hope you like it. Its not much but its all I could get since I cant go anywhere unless I'm in disguise. Well I have to go find Buckbeak some dinner. See you
Love Sirius
He opened the parcel and took out the gift. It was a Firebolt 2000. WOOOOWWW, Harry thought. He shouldn't have. Thanks Sirius. This is going to be great for quidditch. He moved on to the next owl. All that was tied to it was a note. It was written in emerald green ink. Must be from Hogwarts Harry said to himself. He opened the letter:

Dear Mr. Potter,
Hogwarts term will start on the first of September. Please be at Kings Cross station at 11:00 A.M. sharp for that is when the train will start loading. Your list of school supplies is enclosed.
Professor Mcgonnagal
Deputy Headmistress

Harry rolled over and looked at his digital clock again. It now read 1:26 A.M. Better get some sleep he thought. As he drifted off his last thought before he fell asleep was, What a great Birthday I had.
___________________________________________

"Get up", shrieked Aunt Petunia. "Huhh," Harry said groggily.
"I'm up, I'm up." He dragged himself out of bed and got dressed.
He hurried down the stairs to the kitchen. There were four plates sitting on the table. Each had one slice of orange and a carrot stick on it. "Good thing I have some candy and butterbeer upstairs," Harry mumbled to himself. He sat down and ate his orange slice and carrot stick fast and hurried up the stairs. They always had small one course meals now. His gigantic cousin Dudley was about 11 times larger than him and was now forced to go on a diet. It wasn't working very good because he insisted on eating everyone else's meals too. Harry thought it would be a good idea to get his Aunt and Uncle to drop him off at Diagon Alley to get his supplies for school. So later that day Harry asked his uncle if he could go to Diagon Alley. His uncle was not very happy at the idea. But of course Harry reminded him that his godfather was a murderer even though he wasn't. His Godfather Sirius Black was his parents best friend before they got killed. He's a convicted murderer but really he is innocent. Of course the Dursleys don't know that. So he was taken to the little pub The Leaky Cauldron. The Leaky Cauldron is how you entered Diagon Alley. Harry walked in and straight to the courtyard in the back. He took out his wand and tapped the third brick from the left and a gateway appeared. Harry stepped into Diagon Alley. Hmm he thought, where to first. He looked at his list of things. He walked to the big white marble building in front of him. It was Gringotts the wizarding bank. Gringotts was run by goblins. Supposedly dragons guarded the important vaults and you would be loony to rob it. Harry walked through the doors and up to the counter where about 100 goblins were running back and forth helping others. "Hello, can I help you," said a goblin that was nearby. "Uh, yes please," Harry said shyly. "Vault number?" he asked. "Uh yes," Harry said and then he told him the number. Harry took out a small silver key which unlocked his vault. He walked with the goblin to a small cart that was on a track. This is how you had to get to your vault. He sat down and the cart took off at high speed. They reached Harry's vault a few minutes later. The goblin took the key and said "Here you go," and opened the vault. Stacks and pile of gold,, silver, and bronze coins everywhere. Harry took a few handfuls of each and walked back out. He got in the cart and rode back to the counter. "Well, now I have my money so I guess I'll go get my books. "Flourish and Blotts" read the sign outside a small shop. Harry walked in and on every side of the room books were stacked as high as the ceiling. He took out his list. "Excuse me, but can I help you?" said a man behind him. "Yes, please," Harry said shyly. "I need the books for Hogwarts 5th year," he showed the man his list. "Ahh, yes of course hold on," and the man disappeared into a door in the back. He returned 2 minutes lter with a stack of books. Harry paid 9 galleons and 4 sickles for his books. "I don't need new robes, or a new wand," he said to himself. All I need is potion supplies and I'm done. So he walked down the strret to the Apothecary. He went in and asked the lady at the counter for help. "Ok son, what year and what school?" she asked. "Hogwarts, 5th year." She walked away and came back with a bad in her hand. "Here you go sonny, this is all your stuff, 5 galleons and 8 sickles please." Harry took the bag and walked out. He looked up and down the street. Anything else he asked himself. Guess not. Harry walked over to the Leaky Cauldron to have some lunch before he left. He went in and sat down at a table. Tom the toothless waiter came over to Harry. "What can I get ya Harry?" asked Tom. "I'll have some roast and some treacle tart please," said Harry. He sat and waited for his food. Harry like to sit and watch the people come in and out of the Leaky Cauldron. Some were normal but others were stranger than strange. A very pale skinny man came in. His hair was slicked back and he had bright red lips. He ordered a Bloody Mary, with real blood. Harry had reason to believe he was a vampire. He sat lower in his seat. He didn't like the idea of a vampire being 10 feet away from him. The very pale man didn't stick around. He walked up the stairs leading toward the rooms that could be rented. Thank goodness harry thought to himself. Another person walked into the pub. This time a boy who looked so much like Harrys enemy Malfoy that it was scary. He was pale with whitish blonde hair and the same shape of face Draco had. WOW Harry thought. Weird. Maybe they are related or something. Then Harry saw something he didn't expect. Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius walked in together. Maybe they are brothers he thought. But I thought Draco was an only child. I guess I'll find out this year at Hogwarts. He didn't want to talk to Malfoy because it would probably turn into a huge fight like always. Tom came over to his table with his food. Harry ate quickly and quietly so the Malfoys wouldn't see or hear him. After he ate he left the leajy Cauldron and went outside. He stopped a cab and got ride back to the Dursleys house. How very unpleased they were to see him.

_______________________________________________________

Harry was very excited because in less than a month he would be on the Hogwarts Express with all his friends on his way to his favorite place. He marked off an "X" on his calendar as each day passed.
When it finally came to August 31 he was so excited he couldn't sit down. Term started tomorrow. He paced his room for 3 hours before he finally could sit. It was 12:30 A.M. He thought he better get some sleep so he wouldn't be tired tomorrow. When morning came Harry was up with a start. He didn't worry about his uncle taking him to the station. Any opportunity to get rid of Harry was a good one for Uncle Vernon. He dressed, made sure he packed all his things and put the Orb Seeker in his pocket. He ran down stairs. Uncle Vernon was sitting at the table eating an apple. He was reading the paper and looking quite content. "Uncle Vernon," Harry said shyly, "Can you take me to Kings Cross Station today for 11:00 A.M.?" Uncle Vernon grunted which meant yes. Harry went back up stairs and got Hedwig's cage and brought her down stairs along with his trunk. He sat on the sofa and stared out the window. It was a sunny day great for the first day of school. Harry looked at his watch. 10:34 A.M. Hmm its almost time to leave since it takes 20 minutes to get there Harry thought. "Boy, lets go," Uncle Vernon growled. Harry grabbed Hedwigs cage and trunk and went outside to the car. He put the trunk it the backseat along with Hedwig. They were on their way to the station. Harry was so excited he was grinning from ear to ear. He couldn't wait to see Ron and Hermione. But another thought popped in his mind. He thought to himself, I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is? I guess I'll find out soon enough.

__________________________________________

Uncle Vernon dropped Harry off in the parking lot. Harry gathered his things and hopped out. He ran towards platform 9 and 10. To get to his platform, 9 and three quarters, he had to jump through 9 and 10. It was very easy just walk through it. He'd done many times already. He walked up to the two platforms and looked around. Hmm that's funny he thought to himself. No one I know is anywhere around. So he walked through the platforms. Standing in front of him was the Hogwarts Express, the scarlet engine tooting every few minutes. He got on the train and looked for Ron and Hermione. As he looked he saw his other fellow Gryffindors Neville, Seamus, and Dean. He also saw his enemy Draco Malfoy and tagging along was the blonde boy from the leaky Cauldron that looked like him. Harry wondered about him. Must be his brother he thought to himself. Harry kept searching for his friends. Finally in one of the back compartments he found Ron sitting alone with his owl Pig. "RON," Harry said loudly. "HARRY," Ron said back. "Great to see! you how have you been?" Ron asked. "Good," said Harry, "And you?" "Good," replied Ron. "Wow, I am so glad school is starting again, so where's Hermione?" Harry said. "I don't know, I haven't seen her," Ron replied. They sat down and talked for a while. Ten minutes later there was a knock on there compartment door. It was Hermione. "HELLO," they all said together. Hermione sat down. "Sorry I'm late but I couldn't find Crookshanks anywhere. I found her right before I left. Im glad to because if I hadn't found her she would have gotten left behind," Hermione explained. They all sat and talked and laughed for 2 hours. Then the snack lady came around with her cart of goodies. Harry bought some chocolate frogs to share with Ron and Hermione. By the time they reached Hogwarts they were so excited they could hardly wait. They got dropped off at Hogsmeade the all wizard village. They got off the train and lined up. A line of carriages pulled by horses was next to them. "Five to a carriage," called Professor Flitwick. He was the Charms teacher and had come to take them to the castle. It took about 10 minutes. They all got out of the carriages and walked up to the castle. They all walked in and went straight into the Great Hall where the sorting ceremony would take place. The student separated into the four houses and sat at the tables. They waited for the first years to arrive with Hagrid. While they waited Harry looked around. The staff table was full except for two spots. Hagrids and someone else's. Must be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The door of the great hall swung open. Hagrid walked in. Following behind him was the first years ready to be sorted. They looked scared and nervous. "Ok, now when I call your name come sit on the stool and put on the sorting hat" called professor Mcgonnagal. "Aves, Mak" GRFFINDOR "Bulstrode, Kyle" SLYTHERIN "Carson, Flint" HUFFLPUFF The names went on and on. "Malfoy, Craige" "Its his brother," Harry explained to Ron and Hermione who looked very confused. The hat took a while to decide. Craige sat looking as nervous as ever. Its finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR" "HUUUUUUHHH" the hall was in shock. A Malfoy never ended up in anything but Slytherin. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked over at Draco. His mouth was hanging open so wide you could see down his throat. "There has to be a mistake," Draco called out. "The Sorting hat never makes mistakes," professor Mcgonnagal said. "Lets continue please," she said. "WOW," Harry said. "I know," replied Hermione. "its impossible." They continued the ceremony and then ate. After they ate Professor Dumbledore the headmaster said a few things. Then everyone went to there common rooms. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still wondering about what happened during the sorting. "I wonder why it put Craige MALFOY in Gryffindor," said Ron in a whisper. "I dunno," said Harry. "Password?" said the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Hobblenob" they replied. The portrait flung open. They walked in. "Hey guys, come join the party!!" it was Fred and George Weasly. Rons older twin brothers. They had loads of candy and butterbeer. They must have gone through the secret passage to Hogsmeade again thought Harry. Harry and Hermione went in the corner to talk. Ron came too. "So this Craige guy. He is Malfoys brother right?" asked Ron. "Yea I think so cause I have seen them before. In Diagon Alley and on the train and they are always together." "Weird," said Hermione. "Why haven't we seen or heard of him before then?" asked Ron. "Dunno," said Harry. "Why don't we go ask him a few questions, you know become friends with him." "Why would we want to be friends with a Malfoy?" asked Ron. But Harry had already walked away. He looked around until he saw Craige. He spotted him in a corner on the other side of the room. "Hello," said Harry. "Uh um, Hi," said Craige. "You are Dracos brother right?" Harry asked politely. "Well yes," he said, "But I'm not like him," he stammered. "I like him because he's my brother but I don't want to act like him. He's mean to people and hurts them." "Ok, well glad to have met you," Harry said. "These are my friends, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger," Harry said pointing to them. "Hi, nice to meet you," Craige said shyly. "Ok, well we are gonna be going now, bye Craige," said Harry. "Bye," he replied. They enjoyed the celebration. At about 1:30 AM Professor Mcgonnagal came in and told everyone to go to bed. Harry laid down and fell asleep almost instantly. The next morning Harry awoke to find Hedwig sitting at the edge of his four-poster bed. "Hey girl," he said quietly so he wouldn't wake his fellow Gryffindors, Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville. He took the letter tied to her leg. There were two. He opened the first one. It's said:

Dear Harry
I hope you aren't worried about Voldemort being back.
Don't be. Dumbledore is there to protect you. If anything unusual happens or your scar hurts tell him immediately. Hope you are having fun at Hogwarts write to me often and let me know what's going on Love, Sirius
Harry opened the next letter:

Dear Harry,
Come over to me cabin on Friday. Tell me all about your first week at school and have some tea and rock cakes. Hermione and Ron are welcomed to come to.
Love Hagrid

Harry scribbled his answer back to Hagrid:
We'll be there

By the time Harry was done Ron had woken up too. "Mornin Harry," said Ron said. "Mornin," Harry replied. "Wanna go get some breakfast?" Harry asked. "Sure." So they dressed and went to breakfast. "So what class is first today," Harry asked. "Defense Against the Darks Arts," said Ron. "Oh good, I have been wanting to find out who the new teacher is," Harry said excitedly. They finished there breakfast and went to the common room for there books. Harry grabbed his books and he and Ron walked to class. Hermione and a few other were already there. Hermione was interested in finding out who the new teacher was who. "I hope he's cute," she said. After everyone got there a teacher walked in. He was tall and pale and had on a black cloak. "Uh oh," Harry said to himself. He recognized this man. He was the one at Diagon Alley who ordered a bloody mary, with real blood. "I've seen him before, and I think he's a vampire," Harry whispered to Hermione and Ron. "Really," said Hermione. "Wow." He turned around and spoke, "Hello class, I am your new teacher, call me Professor Transil." There was something strange about his voice although Harry couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Today we will learn about defensive spells," he said. "I know all of you know the disarming charm, cans someone tell me the incantation for it?" Hermione and half the class's hands went up in the air. "Ah yes you," he said pointing to Parvati Patil. "The incantation is "Expelimaris"," she said. "Correct." "Now who knows some other spells that are good in a duel?" he asked. For the rest of the period they talked about spells to protect you. Harry was getting bored so he took out some parchment and scribbled a note to Sirius:

Dear Sirius,
I'm in Defense Against the Dark Arts class right now. My new teachers name is Professor Transil. I think he's a vampire. Write back and tell me what you think.
Love Harry
He put the note in his pocket to give to Hedwig later. When class was finally over Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to lunch. Their next class was Double Herbology with the Slytherins. "Awww man," Harry said when he found out the Slytherins were gonna be with them. They finished their mashed potatoes and gravy and went to Herbology. On the way they passed Professor Snape the head of Slytherin and the meanest teacher to Harry there ever was. He didn't look too happy either. Fortunately he didn't see Harry. They continued walking to Herbology. When they got there almost everyone was sitting down already. The green house was full of exotic plants only known in the wizarding world. They sat down on the floor with everyone else. Professor Sprout a short plump witch. She was head of Hufflepuff. "Welcome," she said. "Now today we will plant Sklets," she said. "What?" asked the class. "They are small plants used to cure itching." "You are probably wondering why 5th years are planting Sklets. But I have a very good reason. These are very tough and hard to handle there for older experienced student can do this better. Now everyone pick and partner and make it a good one because you will be with them for the rest of the year." Harry of course was partners with Ron. "We wont be working today because the plants must be left alone for 24 hours before plating so tomorrow we will start work. For the rest of the time read your Herbology book to learn more about the Sklet," said Professor Sprout. So they sat and read for 55 minutes. After class was over they went to the common room. "Next and last class today is History of Magic," Ron said. "Oh joy," Harry replied. Professor Binns was the only ghost teacher they had. He was the most boring too. All he did was talk, talk, and talk some more. They left the common room 15 minutes later and headed to History of magic. Professor Binns called roll and then began to talk about the witch settlement in America in 1343. Harry started day dreaming and then fell asleep. Ron woke him at the end of class. It was now 5:00. They went to the Great Hall for dinner. Ron sat next to Harry but Hermione went and sat with Parvati today. She had said she had to tell Parvati something but she wouldn't tell them what. On the other side of Harry was Ginny Weasly. She was the youngest and only girl Weasly. She had a crush on Harry. "Hi," Harry said to her. She blushed and mumbled, "Hello." Harry and Ron ate and talked about Quidditch. "Practice is starting soon," Harry said. He was the seeker for Gryffindor. "I wonder who the captain will be now since Oliver isn't here," Harry said. "Probably you," Ron said. "I hope," Harry replied. After dinner Harry and Ron met Hermione in the library. "Hi," said Hermione cheerfully. "Hello," Ron and Harry replied back. "So what are you doing in here?" Harry asked her. "Well," said Hermione. "I can't tell you right now." "But I will soon." "Fine then," said Ron who wasn't very happy. "PLEASEEEE," he started begging. "No," said Hermione. "You'll just have to wait."


Later on around 7:00 they heard a voice booming. It was Professor Mcgonnagal; she must have magnified her voice. " ALL STUDENTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL." "I wonder why?" Harry said. They got up and left the common room. They went to the great hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. When everyone got there Professor Dumbledore got up and spoke. "Hello," he said. "Today is our first day of classes and also the day when we are going to pick the two prefects for each house. "We shall start with Slytherin. The girl for Slytherin is Pansy Parkinson." Everyone on Slytherins table cheered. "The boy for Slytherin is Draco Malfoy." They cheered even louder this time. "Next we shall do Ravenclaw." "Our Ravenclaw girl Prefect is Padma Patil." Ravenclaws cheered. "Our Ravenclaw boy prefect is Terry Boot." The Ravenclaws cheered some more. "Next we shall do Hufflepuff. Our girl Hufflepuff Prefect is Hannah Abott." The Hufflepuffs cheered. "Our boy prefect for Hufflepuff is Justin Finch-Fletchly. "Now last but not least is Gryffindor. Our girl prefect for Gryffindor is Hermione Granger." Harry, Ron , and the other Gryffindors cheered. Malfoy unfortunately had to open his big mouth and "BOOOO." "Our boy prefect for Gryffindor is Seamus Finnagin." They cheered again. "Congratulations to all," said Dumbledore. "Now please listen, you must listen to your prefects and obey them." "They are partly in charge," he said. "Now you all are to head back to your common rooms." Dumbledore walked of the stage and headed towards Harry. "Harry can I have a word with you for just a moment?" "Ron you may come to," he said. They followed him into a classroom. "Now I need to speak to mainly Harry but Ron you may listen." "Of course you both know Voldemort had returned to power and is lurking around somewhere. Well Harry you are a very important role in securing this school so he can't get in. Do you know why?" He asked. "Uh no sir I don't," said Harry. "Well then I shall explain." "You see whenever Voldemort is near by your scar stings. Well whenever that happens you must let me know. Ron I ask you keep an eye on Harry too," Dumbledore said seriously. "Now you boys may go and don't worry to much about Voldemort." Harry and Ron left and headed back to Gryffindor tower. "You know Ron, I really haven't been to worried about Voldemort lately," Harry said. "Me either," said Ron. They went into the common room and stood frozen in horror. There was no one there. All that was there was a big banner saying "I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS POTTER." "Wh-what is this for an-and who did it?" Harry asked shakily. "Dunno," said Ron just as stunned as Harry. "What would they get me for, I didn't get prefect or anything?" Harry said. "Lets go get Mcgonnagal or someone," said Ron. They walked out and went straight to Mcgonnagal's office. She wasn't there so they went to Dumbledores office. "I don't know the password to get in," said Harry. But right after he said that Dumbledore came walking up the hall. "Hello, Harry." He said. "What's wrong?" he asked seeing the worried look on Harry's face. "Prof- Professor! I dunno why its just there someone wrote it. It wasn't me I promise." "Slow down Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "Now Ron, can you please tell me whats the matter?" "Yes sir, I can," Ron said. "We went to the Gryffindor common room and there is a huge banner hanging in there. It say 'I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS POTTER' but we don't know who wrote it or why," Ron finished nervously. "Very well, I would like to see it." They walked back to Gryffindor common room. Dumbledore went in first. He looked at the banner. "Hmmm," he mumbled. "I wonder." "Boys, I think I may know who did this but just in case I think it would be best if all Gryffindors would sleep in Great Hall tonight," said Dumbledore. "Where are the rest of the Gryffindors sir?" asked Harry. "They went with Professor Mcgonnagal to her classroom. She is going to give Hermione and Seamus there Prefect badges," he replied. "Oh, ok" Harry said. "Come with me boys. We shall ask the fat lady if anyone has come into the common room that was not a Gryffindor," He said. "They walked out the portrait hole. "Hello, have you seen anyone around here, who is not a Gryffindor?" he asked politely. "Well, yes sir I did see one person," said the fat lady. "Yes, and who was it," Dumbledore said anxiously. "Well I don't know his name but he had white blond hair and was skinny." "Ah ha," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Draco Malfoy, just as I expected." "Why would he write that?" asked Harry confused. "I will explain later," Dumbledore, said sternly. He must have been angry with Draco. The Gryffindors all returned to the common room. They stayed in there because it wasn't Voldemort who came in. The 5th year boys were in their dormitory congratulating Seamus on being Prefect when some one pounded on the door. "Who is it?" they yelled. "Its Hermione, Harry come out here," she shouted. Harry walked out and went to the common room with Hermione. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing really I was just wondering if I could ask you something," she said. "Sure," Harry said. "I don't have an owl so can you mail this letter for me with Hedwig please?" she asked. "Yea," Harry said. "Thanks." "No problem," Harry said. He took the letter. It was addressed to Victor Krum. Hermione's boyfriend. Harry was very interested in the letter. He walked back up the stairs to his dormitory and read the letter. She wouldn't mind Harry thought. It read:
Dear Victor,
How is Quidditch going this year? Well I guess I do understand you would rather go out with someone your own age that lived near you. I am 4 years younger than you. We can just be friends. Well I must go now. Keep in touch
Love,
Hermione
"So they broke up," Harry said to himself. Harry was most relieved. He never told anyone but he had a secret crush on Hermione. She was pretty, smart, and understanding. How could anyone not like her? Harry put the letter on his bedside table. He rolled over and fell asleep.
_____________________________________________

The next morning Harry woke up to find Ron standing right over him. "Ahh," Harry shouted startled to see a dark figure over him. "Oh hey Ron," he said. "You scared me," he said. "Oh I'm sorry," Ron said. They got dressed and went to breakfast. After breakfast they went back to there common room to get their books. "We have Divination first today," Ron said disappointedly. "I hate that class." Harry agreed with him. The divinations teacher Professor Trelawny was quite strange. She always had predictions about Harry dieing. Harry got very annoyed by this. Why did she do it only to him? He never did quite understand this.
They got up and left the common room. It took fifteen minutes to walk to the Divination classroom because it was in the North Tower. They walked up the ladder leading to the small strong smelling room. Harry climbed up first followed closely by Ron. Most everyone was there already. They took two seats in the very back of the room so they wouldn't be to close to professor Trelawny. "Welcome back kids," she said from behind her desk. "Now this year will be very fun indeed. Oh and I think one of you will be getting a big surprise soon, and Parvati watch out for someone wearing a poke a dotted shirt," she said in a mysterious voice. For once Parvati and Lavender weren't giggling. They had their eyes fixed on professor Trelawny. "Now, today we will start a very difficult study of Divinations," she said. "We will do something called Urazor. "What??" the whole class said. "Urazor is when you listen to a persons heart beat to tell their daily fortune. We will start out easy," she said excitedly. "Now take out your books so that you can know what a certain amount of beats in one minute means." "Now pair up into groups of two," she said. Harry and Ron sat with each other staring blankly into space. "THIS IS SOOOO BORING," Ron complained. "Tell me about it," Harry said. "Ok, well I guess we can try it, I'll do yours first," Harry said plainly. He took Ron's wrist and put it up to his ear. He counted the number of beats in a minute. "About 78 beats," Harry said. "Ok that means you will have a good day and gain some money, you also will get a letter from someone and it will be bad news," Harry said glumly. "Do mine." Ron listed to Harry's heartbeat. "Hmm, I think its about 76," Ron said. "And it means you will have a really good day and gain a good grade," Ron said. "Well I guess that's good," Harry said. "What time is it?" Harry asked. "10:20, we get out in 5 minutes." "Yesss," Harry said happily. They left class five minutes later. The rest of the day went by just like normal. Even potions class went fairly smooth. That night at dinner Craige Malfoy sat next to Harry. "Hi," Harry said. "Hello," replied Craige. "So how are your classes going?" Harry asked. "Pretty good, I'm having a great time, I have been wanting to come ever since Draco came," he said. "I think I'll try out for Quidditch even thought its almost impossible for a first year to get on the team," he said shyly. "I think you should," Harry told him cheerfully. "What position?" Harry asked. "Well I was hoping to be keeper," he said. "Well I hope you make it," he said encouragingly. Harry ate and talked to Craige. He was very nice, nothing compared to Draco. Harry liked Craige. As a matter of fact Harry thought to himself, they did need a new keeper and a captain. Try-outs were in two days.
Classes were going good for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Even Snapes class was going better then usual. One day Hermione came skipping down the hall.She seemed very excited about something. "Guess what?" Hermione said excitedly. "What?" Harry and Ron said together. "I have an owl!" she exclaimed. "Really, where did you get it?" asked Ron. "Mum bought her in Diagon Alley yesterday for a birthday gift," she said. "Her name is Isabelle, Issy for short," Hermione was ecstatic. "She is a beautiful crème color, which is quite rare, she seems to like Hedwig a lot," Hermione continued. "Want to see her later?" "Sure."
Later Thursday evening Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked up to the owlry to see Issy. "Here she is," Hermione pointed to a large female owl who had a beautiful off white crème color. "Wow," they said together. "She is pretty, hey girl," Harry said. "Hi Hedwig," Harry said as his snowy female sat on his shoulder nibbling his ear. They spent the evening playing with Issy, Hedwig, and Pig.


_____________________________________________

Friday morning Harry woke with a start. He was very energetic and in quite a good mood. "Hello Ron," Harry said cheerfully. "Hey," Ron said. "Lets get some breakfast I'm famished." They walked down to breakfast together. Hermione was already there reading her book Dark Witches and Wizards of the 18th,19th, 20th, and 21st century. "Why are you reading that?" they asked her. "Huh? Oh this, I was just doing some research," she said. "Oh." They ate in a hurry so they could get to Defense Against the Dark Arts on time.
"Hello class," came the stone drawl of Professor Transil. "Today will be a very interesting lesson," he said. "We are going to be writing an essay on why we should never use an unforgivable curse." "Now get busy," he said. Oh no, how boring, Harry thought to himself. For the rest of the class they wrote and wrote and wrote. When class finally ended Professor Transil pulled Harry to the side. "Hello Potter, what an extraordinary boy you are," he said delightedly. "I'm sure you know you will be useful very soon in our war against Lord Voldemort." "I will?" Harry asked confused. "Well of course with your talents, oh yes," he said. "Talents?" Harry was very confused now. "Yes hasn't anyone told you?" Professor Transil asked. "Well no, I don't think so," Harry said. "Uh oh, maybe u should go talk to Dumbledore," he said worried. "Um ok," Harry did as he was told.
Harry walked down the hall towards Dumbledores office. Just as Harry walked up to the statue Dumbledore came striding down the hall opposite direction of him. "Hello Harry," Dumbledore said. "Hi Professor," "Professor Transil wanted me to talk to you," he said. "Oh, about what?" Dumbledore asked. Harry explained everything that Professor Transil had said to him. "Ah Harry, I knew this day would come," he said seriously. "Now as you might know you are a special boy, and there is one thing not many people know about you that makes as special as you are," Dumbledore continued. "You, Harry, are a descendent of one of our very own house founders. I shunt tell you which one now but you soon will come to find out," Dumbledore finished and then he walked away leaving Harry to straighten this all out in his jumbled up mind.