Chapter One
The Capture
"Get up, boy," shouted Aunt Petunia to young Harry Potter. The skinny, 14- year-old boy slowly stood up and turned on the lights. Harry was pulling on an old shirt as Aunt Petunia rapped on the door again.
" Are you up yet? Breakfast is ready," she called impatiently. Harry lived with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley at number four Privet Drive. They had never shown the least bit of kindness to him and, ever since he had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry five years ago, they had been afraid he would use his powers against them. Harry Potter would seem to be a normal boy, aside from his unique lightning shaped scar, but he was hardly that.
Harry opened the door of his small bedroom and stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were already sitting around the table eating grapefruit quarters. Aunt Petunia glared at Harry and handed him his quarter of a grapefruit.
"How do you like your grapefruit Dudders darling," asked Aunt Petunia. In reply Dudley cursed under his breath. "Oh my poor Duddy dear," Aunt Petunia cried sympathetically. Dudley had been on a strict diet for the past year. His school nurse had ordered the diet. To make Dudley feel better, Aunt Petunia had insisted that the rest of the family follow the diet as well.
Luckily, Harry's friends, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Hagrid, knew about the situation and sent him food. Ron's mother had made Harry an early birthday cake with a note attached to it saying,
Dear Harry,
I hope you are well. Ron's told me that they still have you on
that dreadful diet. The last thing you need is to lose more weight,
so I sent you this cake. We'll try to arrange a time when we can pick
you up and have you spend the rest of the summer with us.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Weasley The cake and note were now resting under a loose floorboard in Harry's room along with the food sent by Hermione and Hagrid.
Harry finished his small portion of grapefruit and went up to his bedroom to finish his remaining assignments in Potions and Herbology. He pulled out the heaviest book from his trunk at the foot of his bed. The cover of the book read Potions: Level 4 by Joan Stirren in scrolly writing. He carefully opened the leather-bound book and began to read. Harry had to write an essay on the various types of sleeping potions, but he didn't know where to begin. He chose an interesting looking page and began to read.
Draught of the Living Dead
The Draught of the Living Dead is one of the most powerful
sleeping potions deemed lawful. A wizard by the name of William
Rupertson discovered it in the 16th century. The two main ingredients
in this potion are powdered root of asphodel and wormwood
infusion(s). This potion is not to be handled by underage wizards.
Harry ran a hand through his untidy black hair and gave a heavy sigh. Potions was not his best subject and the Potions master, Professor Snape, was not his favorite teacher. Harry dipped his quill into the inkbottle and began writing his essay; pausing occasionally to glance out the window to see if Hedwig, his Snowy post-owl, was back yet. Harry hoped that she'd have a letter for him from Ron, Hermione, or maybe Sirius, Harry's godfather.
Not much later, Harry's thoughts were pulled away from his essay. It was deep in summer and his room had become stiflingly hot. So Harry picked up his Potions book, parchment, and quill and headed for the door. Before he reached it, he turned back a moment to quickly snack on a sugar-free cookie from Hermione. As he replaced the loose floorboard where all of his extra food was hidden his hands slipped and he dropped the board loudly into place. Panicked, Harry looked around and listened to see if any of the Dursleys had heard it, but it didn't seem like they had so he continued out of his room.
Harry lazily managed to drag himself out of the house and lay down on the grass to finish his homework. It was still surprisingly hot outside so he slid himself into the shade of the bushes. He worked for a while on the dreadful Potions essay, but soon began to dream. In his dream, Harry saw an animal-like shadow coming towards him. As it drew near he was suddenly paralyzed as the shadow covered him and stopped his breath. Harry's eyes flew open and he realized that he had turned his face into the grass making it hard for him to breathe. He turned over and decided he should go back inside. Harry slowly walked up the stairs towards his room. Dudley could be heard playing video games in the room next to Harry's, but as Harry neared his open door he heard Aunt Petunia muttering to herself from inside his room. Harry peered around the edge of the door just in time to see Aunt Petunia pull up the loose floorboard where Harry's food was hidden and gasp. She spun around, infuriated, to see Harry turning to run down the stairs. She yelled and narrowly missed him with the floorboard she was still grasping in her bony hands.
Uncle Vernon rushed over to the staircase shouting, "Petunia! What's the matter?" he stopped abruptly on the bottom step of the staircase when he spotted Harry. "YOU," he thundered, freezing Harry dead in his tracks. There was no way of escaping, so Harry unwillingly surrendered. Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry and growled, "What have you done, boy?"
"He's been hiding sweets under the floorboard!" shrieked Aunt Petunia, pointing an accusing finger at Harry and waving the board in the air. This made Uncle Vernon more furious than usual since he had been forced to follow the extreme diet just as Aunt Petunia did. Uncle Vernon glowered at Harry and pulled him into the living room to give him a punishment. By that time, Dudley had waddled out of his room to see what was going on.
Harry's punishment turned out to be a week without breakfasts and dinners. He didn't know how he'd be able to find more food but he'd have to find a way. Harry had been given this punishment only once before, but then, he had snuck food out of the kitchen. This time he wouldn't be able to do that. Aunt Petunia knew exactly how much food was in the household. She kept an inventory to be sure Dudley didn't stray from his diet as he had done several times previous.
After Aunt Petunia threw away all of the food Harry had hidden and Uncle Vernon nailed the loose floorboard back down, Harry was allowed back into his room. He immediately wrote letters to Ron and Hermione telling them all about what had happened. In the letters he also asked if they had any ideas on where to hide the food he hoped they would be sending. He knew they would come through for him, they always had.
"Hedwig. Wake up," Harry said gently. Hedwig woke and flew around for a minute to stretch, then landed silently back on her perch. She looked at Harry intently as he told her, "I'm going to need you to fly these letters to Ron and Hermione very quickly. They'll be sending back packages which I'll need you to bring back when it's dark, okay?" Hedwig hooted softly to say she understood. "I'll leave the window open at night," he went on, "and when you bring me the packages you can't make any noise." Hedwig nipped Harry affectionately then left to deliver the messages.
It was still only two o'clock in the afternoon so Harry went back to writing his essay on sleeping potions. He wasn't hungry yet, but he hoped Hedwig would return before the next day. Harry tried to keep his mind off the impending problem and started concentrating on his essay. Hopefully he could finish it before nightfall.
Many hours later, Harry was finally finished with his tedious essay. He screwed the lid back onto his inkbottle, cleaned and put away his quill, and carefully put back the leather-bound Potions book and his roll of parchment. Then he checked the window to make sure it was open and pulled on his pajamas. Before going to bed, he crossed off another day on his calendar counting down to the day when he went back to Hogwarts.
The next morning Aunt Petunia made Harry sit at the table while everyone else ate, just so he could see what he was missing (which wasn't much, but it was still food). Breakfast went extremely slow that morning. Of course, Dudley ate as slow as he possibly could, because torturing Harry was one of his favorite pastimes. After his meager lunch, Harry lay in bed wondering when Hedwig would return. His stomach growled hungrily at him. Harry glanced longingly at Hedwig's empty cage and sighed, closing his eyes. He slowly began to drift away.
He was suddenly woken by a scratching noise. Harry swung around to see a large Barn owl clawing at his bedroom window. Harry's stomach gave a lurch. He had forgotten to reopen the window. Harry scrambled to the window and pushed it open. The large owl swooped in and dropped a message on his bed. Harry watched the owl soar out into the night sky; the sun had already set. He bit his lip, what if Hedwig had already come. Harry grimaced at the thought. Slowly, Harry opened the small envelope, the note enclosed said
Harry,
I've spent most of my summer with Lupin working against You-Know-Who.
I am hidden safely away from the dementors, who are frustrated with
the way I've disappeared. The Ministry of Magic is worried sick over
you just as I am. In light of the recent death caused by Voldemort
(don't think on it), I don't believe he is planning to go after you
just yet. He wants something first, but I'm not quite sure what.
Dumbledore agrees that you can go to the Weasley's house for now. I
have notified Ron of this and found they were planning on picking you
up anyhow.
I am ecstatic to say Lupin and I have finally found Pettigrew, well
actually Buckbeak did. He sauntered in with Peter (the filthy traitor)
in his grasp. Lupin put Peter in a jar then performed the Unbreakable
Charm on it. He is on his way to London with Peter. I will be at his
side as Snuffles. We hope to clear my name and possibly gain custody
of you someday.
Sincerely,
Sirius
Excitement was bubbling up inside Harry and for a few minutes, he forgot his hunger. He had to suppress a shout that would've woken the Dursleys. This was the best news he had heard in quite a long time. Harry checked his watch and decided to do some Herbology.
After about an hour, Harry finally gave up. It was no use trying to concentrate on his assignment. He slipped into his pajamas and let his mind wander back to Sirius's letter. In no time, he was fast asleep and dreaming of a Dursley-free life.
Harry woke with a start. It was one o'clock in the morning and something had landed heavily onto his bed. He looked around and saw Hedwig circle above him. Then she flew out the window when she knew he had seen the large parcel sitting at his feet. Harry sighed thankfully; it was from Ron.
He tore open the package to find there was a note suspended above an empty food platter. Harry curiously waved his hand in between the platter and the note, but pulled it away quickly. His hand was covered from the wrist down in some sort of invisible gel that smelled sweet. Harry frowned, "what did he send me," he muttered aloud. Carefully, Harry picked up the note and unfolded it leaving the gooey substance wherever he touched the parchment.
Dear Harry,
Showed Mum your letter, she went berserk! She made you another
cake and put an invisibility spell on it. Tap it three times with
your wand to make it appear and tap it once to make it invisible
again. Be careful where you put it or the icing will get everywhere.
Ron
P.S. Mum and Dad say we could pick you up this Thursday on your
Birthday! Be ready by two PM See you soon!
Harry, no longer puzzled, gently tapped the silver platter three times. A chocolate cake with thick brown icing suddenly appeared on the platter. Harry looked at his hands, which were now covered in dark chocolate icing. "Urgh," he groaned as he noticed that the brown icing was all over his clothing.
Harry heard the stairs tremble under Dudley's unbearable weight as he trudged up the stairs. Without thinking, Harry tapped the platter once and shoved it into his trunk. The icing he was covered in from head to toe was now invisible as well.
When Harry was certain Dudley had gone into his room, he crept into the bathroom to wash his hands. Then he stole back into his bedroom and changed his clothes. The next morning Harry stared distastefully at his reflection. His thick black hair was untidy as usual. His bright green eyes roved around the image of his face and landed on a thin lightning-shaped scar. Harry's scar, like him, was most unusual. He had been given the strange scar the night both of his parents were murdered by the most powerful dark wizard of the century, Lord Voldemort. Once Voldemort had killed Harry's parents, he had attempted to murder Harry also. Unfortunately for Voldemort, the curse rebounded upon himself and Harry escaped with nothing but a scar. Voldemort's powers diminished, leaving him weak. After living in hiding for thirteen years, Voldemort managed to come back to power in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. Harry tried unsuccessfully to tidy his hair, but it was a losing battle. He checked his watch. Then he pulled out his Charms book and the empty platter. He had to read pages 300-332 on the Viprodist Charm. He tapped the platter with his wand and popped a piece of cake into his mouth. He never thought cake could taste so good. "Breakfast," screeched Aunt Petunia. In no time Dudley could be heard waddling down the stairs. Harry gulped down another mouthful of chocolate cake. He couldn't wait until Thursday; he loved staying with the Weasleys and Hermione. Though Harry hadn't heard from her in a while, in her last letter she'd mentioned something about her cousin. Harry glanced at Sirius's letter and grabbed another piece of cake. He hadn't written to his godfather in quite some time and he really wanted to know how things were going. Harry unscrewed the lid and dipped his eagle quill into the ink.
Dear Sirius,
I'm so happy for you. I can hardly believe you caught Wormtail. But I
don't understand why he would come anywhere near you and abandon You-
Know-Who. Something must have gone wrong. Anyway it will be nice when
I can move in, the muggles are starving me again. Harry paused, that was it! He could tell the Dursleys he was writing to Sirius. The Dursleys were scared stiff of Sirius because he was a convicted murderer and if Harry was mistreated he would surely let Sirius know. Harry chuckled and went on with his letter. He knew Sirius was innocent and wouldn't hurt them, but they didn't.
Mrs. Weasley sent me a birthday cake, though. Give Buckbeak a pat for
me. Good luck!
Harry
Harry screwed the cap back onto the inkbottle and put his letter to Sirius on his dresser for Hedwig to deliver. Absentmindedly Harry tapped the platter and set it in his chest along with his Charms book. He shut the chest and sauntered down the stairs to the kitchen.
Uncle Vernon glowered at him over the morning paper. "You're late," he grunted. Harry smiled "I was just finishing a letter to Sirius." Uncle Vernon went red grasping the paper so tightly his knuckles went white. Aunt Petunia who'd had her back to Harry turned around suddenly. Uncle Vernon set down his paper. "Well what did you tell him?" he asked ferociously. Harry's grin broadened, he'd said the magic words. "Oh, he just wanted to know how I was doing so I answered him." Aunt Petunia's horse-like face was pale. She shot Uncle Vernon a horrified look. Cautiously she handed Harry a quarter of a grapefruit. Uncle Vernon grunted disapprovingly and Dudley gave Harry a dirty look. Harry ate his grapefruit silently. Dudley having already eaten his own eyed Harry's hungrily. A few days later, Hedwig returned with a package from Hermione. She hooted softly as he removed her burden. Harry was relieved to see Hedwig again. She was the only creature at number four Privet Drive who didn't flinch when she saw him. Harry tore open Hermione's letter and read.
Dear Harry,
I got your letter. I have included in this package some sugar-
free cookies all the way from Galleon Avenue, North Carolina. I'm
spending the Summer Holidays with my cousin Melanie Bowman in
America. We've been riding parasies (winged horses) in the mountains
here called the Besset. It's amazing! The Besset is a small string of
mountains that outlines Galleon Avenue. They're full of magical
creatures like the parasies. Melanie owns a dapple-gray named Sir
Callahan; he's a purebred. I'm riding one named Eaglewings (she's a
half muggle horse who reminds me of Buckbeack). Wish you were here
it's beautiful! See you on the Hogwarts Express. Melanie will be
joining us there; she's transferring to Hogwarts!
Love From,
Hermione
P.S. Here's an article from the Daily Prophet. It will be a few days
old by the time you get it. I thought you might like to read it
anyway. It's the only one like it. I expect Fudge is trying to shut
it up. Harry unrolled the daily Prophet and read,
A "Dark" Attack?
The rumors that You-Know-Who may have regained his powers are not
far from the truth, writes Margaret Munkford. Many fear that You-
Know-Who will begin a rampage of massive destruction. "He's just
biding his time," say's the young Edward Goodman. Some believe that
each second we wait is more painful than what we're waiting for. But
the question on everyone's minds is "who will be the first to go?"
Will it be the followers that betrayed him or the one wizard he
failed to kill? Startling enough it seems to be neither. An elderly
witch by the name of Cynthia Robinson was found dead in her living
room at 1:05 this morning. Harry gazed bewilderedly at the black robed wizards covering the woman's body. Instantly he knew that this was the death Sirius had spoken of in his letter. Harry wondered what Voldemort was looking for, but there were no clues in the article.
Investigators from the ministry of magic insist that the murderer
could not have been You-Know-Who, but rumors say otherwise.
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic refused to comment on this
remark. Was this simply a coincidence or has the Dark Lord struck?
Harry grimaced; there would certainly be rumors now, but maybe they would help to spread the truth. The writers for The Daily Prophet seemed to have a knack for creating rumors. He just hoped there would be no panic. Harry snatched up Hermione's letter. Now the ministry would be worried sick over him for sure. He didn't care what they thought. He was more worried about everyone else and knew from Sirius's letter that he was safe for now. Harry sighed heavily and went back to Hermione's letter.
He pulled some pictures out from behind the letter that he hadn't noticed before. Hedwig ruffled her feathers and flew over to her cage. The first picture showed Galleon Avenue, a town that reminded Harry of Hogsmead and Diagon Alley put together. He'd read about Galleon Avenue in A History of Magic. The next picture portrayed the Besset Mountains. Their snowy peaks barely fit into the picture. In the center stood Hermione and another girl that had to be Melanie, her cousin, but he couldn't tell with their hair blowing in every direction. They waved furiously at him and behind them two horse-like creatures bobbed their heads and flapped their enormous wings.
Harry put the pictures and the letter in his school chest then took out a single cookie and stuffed the remainder into the chest as well. As he shut the lid a third picture fluttered to the ground. The silver writing on the back read Melanie and Sir Callahan. Harry flipped it over. A pretty girl about his age with shoulder length sandy blonde hair and blue/auburn eyes smiled at him, patting her parasies happily.
All of the sudden a feathery tennis ball ricocheted across the room hooting shrilly. Harry snatched it in mid air and found it to be Pigwidgeon, Ron's pocket-sized owl. It was all he could do to hold Pig down while he untied the note. His high-pitched hoots echoed around the room. Harry stuffed Pig into his pocket and listened to see if anyone had heard the racket, but all he could hear were Dudley's tremendous snores. Once Pig had settled down he placed him into Hedwig's cage and unrolled the note.
Harry- we are picking you up at noon tomorrow. Get your stuff
together.
Ron Harry glanced at his calendar it was only Tuesday. He was grateful to be leaving early; he could enjoy his birthday for once. He sent Pig on his way and packed up all his things.
At the breakfast table on Wednesday morning, Harry told the Dursleys the news. They were quite unhappy that he would be enjoying himself, but unwillingly surrendered. They had not yet forgotten Harry's letter to Sirius. Around noon all four of them stood by the window wearily. "They will drive this time, correct?" Questioned Uncle Vernon angrily. "Er, um," Harry stuttered. He wasn't quite sure how they would come to pick him up. Last year they had used floo powder and two years before that it'd been a flying car.
"They are driving?" said Uncle Vernon more edgily. Harry was silent. What could he do? "Well," he prodded.
"Uh, um. I'm not exactly sure what," Harry's voice trailed off.
"What," boomed Uncle Vernon. "You mean they could be arriving by-"
Just then a black streetcar pulled up next to the Dursleys' house. A back door opened and Ron bounded out of the car. His father, Mr. Weasley and finally Mrs. Weasley, followed him.
Dudley cowered behind Aunt Petunia as her and Uncle Vernon backed away. Their last experience with the Weasleys had not been a pleasant one. Harry, however, rushed to open the door. "You made it," he said jubilantly.
"The ministry let us borrow a car to pick you up," said Ron. "We figured they," at this, he jerked his head towards the terrified Dursleys, "wouldn't want us arriving by magic again." The Dursleys flinched when Ron said the word "magic". "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah."
"How nice to see you again dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry. "We just couldn't leave you here with them. Even for just one more day." The plump little woman shot the Dursleys a piercing look that made Dudley squirm.
"It's nice to see you too, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley," Harry beamed.
"What," Mr. Weasley replied. "Oh yes, lovely to see you. I was just looking at that over there. I wonder if you could tell me how it works?" He was pointing at a radio in the corner of the room. Mr. Weasley was fascinated with muggles.
"Oh, that's a radio," said Harry. He was used to Mr. Weasley's curiosity about muggle things. "It's electrical."
"Really? Ah yes I see the eclectric plug now. Marvelous, just mar-"
"Arthur," scolded Mrs. Weasley. "Stop pestering the boy and help him carry his trunk to the car!"
"Sorry Molly dear. I was just wondering-. I'm going Molly, I'm going," he said when Mrs. Weasley gave him a stern look.
Mr. Weasley picked up Harry's school trunk and carried it to the car. He kept glancing at various things around the house as he walked through. It was obvious that he was holding back several questions about items he saw in the Dursleys' house. Mrs. Weasley was trailing him to the car, though, so Mr. Weasley couldn't ask the questions he wanted to.
Harry glanced at the Dursleys and saw Uncle Vernon glare back. He picked up his Firebolt broomstick and followed Ron out the door. It was a bright summer day and it was all Harry could do to keep himself from hopping on his broomstick and flying around.
"I can't wait to get to your house," Harry exclaimed. It was always exciting to go to Ron's house. Ron's family was entirely wizarding and Ron's house was full of magical things.
"Yeah," answered Ron with the same enthusiasm. "I have a new book on the Chudley Cannons and it has amazing pictures in it! Mom wouldn't let me bring it, though. She was afraid I'd show it to you in front of the Dursleys and scare them. They looked scared enough already to me."
Harry laughed. Scared wasn't strong enough a word for the Dursleys' phobia of things that were out of the ordinary. Their encounters with other wizards had not helped with their loathing of magic.
(Disclaimer: We do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, plot ideas, nor places. Our story is an original one based upon the first four books written by J.K. Rowling and includes many things created by her. We are not making money in any way by creating this story.)
The Capture
"Get up, boy," shouted Aunt Petunia to young Harry Potter. The skinny, 14- year-old boy slowly stood up and turned on the lights. Harry was pulling on an old shirt as Aunt Petunia rapped on the door again.
" Are you up yet? Breakfast is ready," she called impatiently. Harry lived with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley at number four Privet Drive. They had never shown the least bit of kindness to him and, ever since he had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry five years ago, they had been afraid he would use his powers against them. Harry Potter would seem to be a normal boy, aside from his unique lightning shaped scar, but he was hardly that.
Harry opened the door of his small bedroom and stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were already sitting around the table eating grapefruit quarters. Aunt Petunia glared at Harry and handed him his quarter of a grapefruit.
"How do you like your grapefruit Dudders darling," asked Aunt Petunia. In reply Dudley cursed under his breath. "Oh my poor Duddy dear," Aunt Petunia cried sympathetically. Dudley had been on a strict diet for the past year. His school nurse had ordered the diet. To make Dudley feel better, Aunt Petunia had insisted that the rest of the family follow the diet as well.
Luckily, Harry's friends, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Hagrid, knew about the situation and sent him food. Ron's mother had made Harry an early birthday cake with a note attached to it saying,
Dear Harry,
I hope you are well. Ron's told me that they still have you on
that dreadful diet. The last thing you need is to lose more weight,
so I sent you this cake. We'll try to arrange a time when we can pick
you up and have you spend the rest of the summer with us.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Weasley The cake and note were now resting under a loose floorboard in Harry's room along with the food sent by Hermione and Hagrid.
Harry finished his small portion of grapefruit and went up to his bedroom to finish his remaining assignments in Potions and Herbology. He pulled out the heaviest book from his trunk at the foot of his bed. The cover of the book read Potions: Level 4 by Joan Stirren in scrolly writing. He carefully opened the leather-bound book and began to read. Harry had to write an essay on the various types of sleeping potions, but he didn't know where to begin. He chose an interesting looking page and began to read.
Draught of the Living Dead
The Draught of the Living Dead is one of the most powerful
sleeping potions deemed lawful. A wizard by the name of William
Rupertson discovered it in the 16th century. The two main ingredients
in this potion are powdered root of asphodel and wormwood
infusion(s). This potion is not to be handled by underage wizards.
Harry ran a hand through his untidy black hair and gave a heavy sigh. Potions was not his best subject and the Potions master, Professor Snape, was not his favorite teacher. Harry dipped his quill into the inkbottle and began writing his essay; pausing occasionally to glance out the window to see if Hedwig, his Snowy post-owl, was back yet. Harry hoped that she'd have a letter for him from Ron, Hermione, or maybe Sirius, Harry's godfather.
Not much later, Harry's thoughts were pulled away from his essay. It was deep in summer and his room had become stiflingly hot. So Harry picked up his Potions book, parchment, and quill and headed for the door. Before he reached it, he turned back a moment to quickly snack on a sugar-free cookie from Hermione. As he replaced the loose floorboard where all of his extra food was hidden his hands slipped and he dropped the board loudly into place. Panicked, Harry looked around and listened to see if any of the Dursleys had heard it, but it didn't seem like they had so he continued out of his room.
Harry lazily managed to drag himself out of the house and lay down on the grass to finish his homework. It was still surprisingly hot outside so he slid himself into the shade of the bushes. He worked for a while on the dreadful Potions essay, but soon began to dream. In his dream, Harry saw an animal-like shadow coming towards him. As it drew near he was suddenly paralyzed as the shadow covered him and stopped his breath. Harry's eyes flew open and he realized that he had turned his face into the grass making it hard for him to breathe. He turned over and decided he should go back inside. Harry slowly walked up the stairs towards his room. Dudley could be heard playing video games in the room next to Harry's, but as Harry neared his open door he heard Aunt Petunia muttering to herself from inside his room. Harry peered around the edge of the door just in time to see Aunt Petunia pull up the loose floorboard where Harry's food was hidden and gasp. She spun around, infuriated, to see Harry turning to run down the stairs. She yelled and narrowly missed him with the floorboard she was still grasping in her bony hands.
Uncle Vernon rushed over to the staircase shouting, "Petunia! What's the matter?" he stopped abruptly on the bottom step of the staircase when he spotted Harry. "YOU," he thundered, freezing Harry dead in his tracks. There was no way of escaping, so Harry unwillingly surrendered. Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry and growled, "What have you done, boy?"
"He's been hiding sweets under the floorboard!" shrieked Aunt Petunia, pointing an accusing finger at Harry and waving the board in the air. This made Uncle Vernon more furious than usual since he had been forced to follow the extreme diet just as Aunt Petunia did. Uncle Vernon glowered at Harry and pulled him into the living room to give him a punishment. By that time, Dudley had waddled out of his room to see what was going on.
Harry's punishment turned out to be a week without breakfasts and dinners. He didn't know how he'd be able to find more food but he'd have to find a way. Harry had been given this punishment only once before, but then, he had snuck food out of the kitchen. This time he wouldn't be able to do that. Aunt Petunia knew exactly how much food was in the household. She kept an inventory to be sure Dudley didn't stray from his diet as he had done several times previous.
After Aunt Petunia threw away all of the food Harry had hidden and Uncle Vernon nailed the loose floorboard back down, Harry was allowed back into his room. He immediately wrote letters to Ron and Hermione telling them all about what had happened. In the letters he also asked if they had any ideas on where to hide the food he hoped they would be sending. He knew they would come through for him, they always had.
"Hedwig. Wake up," Harry said gently. Hedwig woke and flew around for a minute to stretch, then landed silently back on her perch. She looked at Harry intently as he told her, "I'm going to need you to fly these letters to Ron and Hermione very quickly. They'll be sending back packages which I'll need you to bring back when it's dark, okay?" Hedwig hooted softly to say she understood. "I'll leave the window open at night," he went on, "and when you bring me the packages you can't make any noise." Hedwig nipped Harry affectionately then left to deliver the messages.
It was still only two o'clock in the afternoon so Harry went back to writing his essay on sleeping potions. He wasn't hungry yet, but he hoped Hedwig would return before the next day. Harry tried to keep his mind off the impending problem and started concentrating on his essay. Hopefully he could finish it before nightfall.
Many hours later, Harry was finally finished with his tedious essay. He screwed the lid back onto his inkbottle, cleaned and put away his quill, and carefully put back the leather-bound Potions book and his roll of parchment. Then he checked the window to make sure it was open and pulled on his pajamas. Before going to bed, he crossed off another day on his calendar counting down to the day when he went back to Hogwarts.
The next morning Aunt Petunia made Harry sit at the table while everyone else ate, just so he could see what he was missing (which wasn't much, but it was still food). Breakfast went extremely slow that morning. Of course, Dudley ate as slow as he possibly could, because torturing Harry was one of his favorite pastimes. After his meager lunch, Harry lay in bed wondering when Hedwig would return. His stomach growled hungrily at him. Harry glanced longingly at Hedwig's empty cage and sighed, closing his eyes. He slowly began to drift away.
He was suddenly woken by a scratching noise. Harry swung around to see a large Barn owl clawing at his bedroom window. Harry's stomach gave a lurch. He had forgotten to reopen the window. Harry scrambled to the window and pushed it open. The large owl swooped in and dropped a message on his bed. Harry watched the owl soar out into the night sky; the sun had already set. He bit his lip, what if Hedwig had already come. Harry grimaced at the thought. Slowly, Harry opened the small envelope, the note enclosed said
Harry,
I've spent most of my summer with Lupin working against You-Know-Who.
I am hidden safely away from the dementors, who are frustrated with
the way I've disappeared. The Ministry of Magic is worried sick over
you just as I am. In light of the recent death caused by Voldemort
(don't think on it), I don't believe he is planning to go after you
just yet. He wants something first, but I'm not quite sure what.
Dumbledore agrees that you can go to the Weasley's house for now. I
have notified Ron of this and found they were planning on picking you
up anyhow.
I am ecstatic to say Lupin and I have finally found Pettigrew, well
actually Buckbeak did. He sauntered in with Peter (the filthy traitor)
in his grasp. Lupin put Peter in a jar then performed the Unbreakable
Charm on it. He is on his way to London with Peter. I will be at his
side as Snuffles. We hope to clear my name and possibly gain custody
of you someday.
Sincerely,
Sirius
Excitement was bubbling up inside Harry and for a few minutes, he forgot his hunger. He had to suppress a shout that would've woken the Dursleys. This was the best news he had heard in quite a long time. Harry checked his watch and decided to do some Herbology.
After about an hour, Harry finally gave up. It was no use trying to concentrate on his assignment. He slipped into his pajamas and let his mind wander back to Sirius's letter. In no time, he was fast asleep and dreaming of a Dursley-free life.
Harry woke with a start. It was one o'clock in the morning and something had landed heavily onto his bed. He looked around and saw Hedwig circle above him. Then she flew out the window when she knew he had seen the large parcel sitting at his feet. Harry sighed thankfully; it was from Ron.
He tore open the package to find there was a note suspended above an empty food platter. Harry curiously waved his hand in between the platter and the note, but pulled it away quickly. His hand was covered from the wrist down in some sort of invisible gel that smelled sweet. Harry frowned, "what did he send me," he muttered aloud. Carefully, Harry picked up the note and unfolded it leaving the gooey substance wherever he touched the parchment.
Dear Harry,
Showed Mum your letter, she went berserk! She made you another
cake and put an invisibility spell on it. Tap it three times with
your wand to make it appear and tap it once to make it invisible
again. Be careful where you put it or the icing will get everywhere.
Ron
P.S. Mum and Dad say we could pick you up this Thursday on your
Birthday! Be ready by two PM See you soon!
Harry, no longer puzzled, gently tapped the silver platter three times. A chocolate cake with thick brown icing suddenly appeared on the platter. Harry looked at his hands, which were now covered in dark chocolate icing. "Urgh," he groaned as he noticed that the brown icing was all over his clothing.
Harry heard the stairs tremble under Dudley's unbearable weight as he trudged up the stairs. Without thinking, Harry tapped the platter once and shoved it into his trunk. The icing he was covered in from head to toe was now invisible as well.
When Harry was certain Dudley had gone into his room, he crept into the bathroom to wash his hands. Then he stole back into his bedroom and changed his clothes. The next morning Harry stared distastefully at his reflection. His thick black hair was untidy as usual. His bright green eyes roved around the image of his face and landed on a thin lightning-shaped scar. Harry's scar, like him, was most unusual. He had been given the strange scar the night both of his parents were murdered by the most powerful dark wizard of the century, Lord Voldemort. Once Voldemort had killed Harry's parents, he had attempted to murder Harry also. Unfortunately for Voldemort, the curse rebounded upon himself and Harry escaped with nothing but a scar. Voldemort's powers diminished, leaving him weak. After living in hiding for thirteen years, Voldemort managed to come back to power in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. Harry tried unsuccessfully to tidy his hair, but it was a losing battle. He checked his watch. Then he pulled out his Charms book and the empty platter. He had to read pages 300-332 on the Viprodist Charm. He tapped the platter with his wand and popped a piece of cake into his mouth. He never thought cake could taste so good. "Breakfast," screeched Aunt Petunia. In no time Dudley could be heard waddling down the stairs. Harry gulped down another mouthful of chocolate cake. He couldn't wait until Thursday; he loved staying with the Weasleys and Hermione. Though Harry hadn't heard from her in a while, in her last letter she'd mentioned something about her cousin. Harry glanced at Sirius's letter and grabbed another piece of cake. He hadn't written to his godfather in quite some time and he really wanted to know how things were going. Harry unscrewed the lid and dipped his eagle quill into the ink.
Dear Sirius,
I'm so happy for you. I can hardly believe you caught Wormtail. But I
don't understand why he would come anywhere near you and abandon You-
Know-Who. Something must have gone wrong. Anyway it will be nice when
I can move in, the muggles are starving me again. Harry paused, that was it! He could tell the Dursleys he was writing to Sirius. The Dursleys were scared stiff of Sirius because he was a convicted murderer and if Harry was mistreated he would surely let Sirius know. Harry chuckled and went on with his letter. He knew Sirius was innocent and wouldn't hurt them, but they didn't.
Mrs. Weasley sent me a birthday cake, though. Give Buckbeak a pat for
me. Good luck!
Harry
Harry screwed the cap back onto the inkbottle and put his letter to Sirius on his dresser for Hedwig to deliver. Absentmindedly Harry tapped the platter and set it in his chest along with his Charms book. He shut the chest and sauntered down the stairs to the kitchen.
Uncle Vernon glowered at him over the morning paper. "You're late," he grunted. Harry smiled "I was just finishing a letter to Sirius." Uncle Vernon went red grasping the paper so tightly his knuckles went white. Aunt Petunia who'd had her back to Harry turned around suddenly. Uncle Vernon set down his paper. "Well what did you tell him?" he asked ferociously. Harry's grin broadened, he'd said the magic words. "Oh, he just wanted to know how I was doing so I answered him." Aunt Petunia's horse-like face was pale. She shot Uncle Vernon a horrified look. Cautiously she handed Harry a quarter of a grapefruit. Uncle Vernon grunted disapprovingly and Dudley gave Harry a dirty look. Harry ate his grapefruit silently. Dudley having already eaten his own eyed Harry's hungrily. A few days later, Hedwig returned with a package from Hermione. She hooted softly as he removed her burden. Harry was relieved to see Hedwig again. She was the only creature at number four Privet Drive who didn't flinch when she saw him. Harry tore open Hermione's letter and read.
Dear Harry,
I got your letter. I have included in this package some sugar-
free cookies all the way from Galleon Avenue, North Carolina. I'm
spending the Summer Holidays with my cousin Melanie Bowman in
America. We've been riding parasies (winged horses) in the mountains
here called the Besset. It's amazing! The Besset is a small string of
mountains that outlines Galleon Avenue. They're full of magical
creatures like the parasies. Melanie owns a dapple-gray named Sir
Callahan; he's a purebred. I'm riding one named Eaglewings (she's a
half muggle horse who reminds me of Buckbeack). Wish you were here
it's beautiful! See you on the Hogwarts Express. Melanie will be
joining us there; she's transferring to Hogwarts!
Love From,
Hermione
P.S. Here's an article from the Daily Prophet. It will be a few days
old by the time you get it. I thought you might like to read it
anyway. It's the only one like it. I expect Fudge is trying to shut
it up. Harry unrolled the daily Prophet and read,
A "Dark" Attack?
The rumors that You-Know-Who may have regained his powers are not
far from the truth, writes Margaret Munkford. Many fear that You-
Know-Who will begin a rampage of massive destruction. "He's just
biding his time," say's the young Edward Goodman. Some believe that
each second we wait is more painful than what we're waiting for. But
the question on everyone's minds is "who will be the first to go?"
Will it be the followers that betrayed him or the one wizard he
failed to kill? Startling enough it seems to be neither. An elderly
witch by the name of Cynthia Robinson was found dead in her living
room at 1:05 this morning. Harry gazed bewilderedly at the black robed wizards covering the woman's body. Instantly he knew that this was the death Sirius had spoken of in his letter. Harry wondered what Voldemort was looking for, but there were no clues in the article.
Investigators from the ministry of magic insist that the murderer
could not have been You-Know-Who, but rumors say otherwise.
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic refused to comment on this
remark. Was this simply a coincidence or has the Dark Lord struck?
Harry grimaced; there would certainly be rumors now, but maybe they would help to spread the truth. The writers for The Daily Prophet seemed to have a knack for creating rumors. He just hoped there would be no panic. Harry snatched up Hermione's letter. Now the ministry would be worried sick over him for sure. He didn't care what they thought. He was more worried about everyone else and knew from Sirius's letter that he was safe for now. Harry sighed heavily and went back to Hermione's letter.
He pulled some pictures out from behind the letter that he hadn't noticed before. Hedwig ruffled her feathers and flew over to her cage. The first picture showed Galleon Avenue, a town that reminded Harry of Hogsmead and Diagon Alley put together. He'd read about Galleon Avenue in A History of Magic. The next picture portrayed the Besset Mountains. Their snowy peaks barely fit into the picture. In the center stood Hermione and another girl that had to be Melanie, her cousin, but he couldn't tell with their hair blowing in every direction. They waved furiously at him and behind them two horse-like creatures bobbed their heads and flapped their enormous wings.
Harry put the pictures and the letter in his school chest then took out a single cookie and stuffed the remainder into the chest as well. As he shut the lid a third picture fluttered to the ground. The silver writing on the back read Melanie and Sir Callahan. Harry flipped it over. A pretty girl about his age with shoulder length sandy blonde hair and blue/auburn eyes smiled at him, patting her parasies happily.
All of the sudden a feathery tennis ball ricocheted across the room hooting shrilly. Harry snatched it in mid air and found it to be Pigwidgeon, Ron's pocket-sized owl. It was all he could do to hold Pig down while he untied the note. His high-pitched hoots echoed around the room. Harry stuffed Pig into his pocket and listened to see if anyone had heard the racket, but all he could hear were Dudley's tremendous snores. Once Pig had settled down he placed him into Hedwig's cage and unrolled the note.
Harry- we are picking you up at noon tomorrow. Get your stuff
together.
Ron Harry glanced at his calendar it was only Tuesday. He was grateful to be leaving early; he could enjoy his birthday for once. He sent Pig on his way and packed up all his things.
At the breakfast table on Wednesday morning, Harry told the Dursleys the news. They were quite unhappy that he would be enjoying himself, but unwillingly surrendered. They had not yet forgotten Harry's letter to Sirius. Around noon all four of them stood by the window wearily. "They will drive this time, correct?" Questioned Uncle Vernon angrily. "Er, um," Harry stuttered. He wasn't quite sure how they would come to pick him up. Last year they had used floo powder and two years before that it'd been a flying car.
"They are driving?" said Uncle Vernon more edgily. Harry was silent. What could he do? "Well," he prodded.
"Uh, um. I'm not exactly sure what," Harry's voice trailed off.
"What," boomed Uncle Vernon. "You mean they could be arriving by-"
Just then a black streetcar pulled up next to the Dursleys' house. A back door opened and Ron bounded out of the car. His father, Mr. Weasley and finally Mrs. Weasley, followed him.
Dudley cowered behind Aunt Petunia as her and Uncle Vernon backed away. Their last experience with the Weasleys had not been a pleasant one. Harry, however, rushed to open the door. "You made it," he said jubilantly.
"The ministry let us borrow a car to pick you up," said Ron. "We figured they," at this, he jerked his head towards the terrified Dursleys, "wouldn't want us arriving by magic again." The Dursleys flinched when Ron said the word "magic". "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah."
"How nice to see you again dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry. "We just couldn't leave you here with them. Even for just one more day." The plump little woman shot the Dursleys a piercing look that made Dudley squirm.
"It's nice to see you too, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley," Harry beamed.
"What," Mr. Weasley replied. "Oh yes, lovely to see you. I was just looking at that over there. I wonder if you could tell me how it works?" He was pointing at a radio in the corner of the room. Mr. Weasley was fascinated with muggles.
"Oh, that's a radio," said Harry. He was used to Mr. Weasley's curiosity about muggle things. "It's electrical."
"Really? Ah yes I see the eclectric plug now. Marvelous, just mar-"
"Arthur," scolded Mrs. Weasley. "Stop pestering the boy and help him carry his trunk to the car!"
"Sorry Molly dear. I was just wondering-. I'm going Molly, I'm going," he said when Mrs. Weasley gave him a stern look.
Mr. Weasley picked up Harry's school trunk and carried it to the car. He kept glancing at various things around the house as he walked through. It was obvious that he was holding back several questions about items he saw in the Dursleys' house. Mrs. Weasley was trailing him to the car, though, so Mr. Weasley couldn't ask the questions he wanted to.
Harry glanced at the Dursleys and saw Uncle Vernon glare back. He picked up his Firebolt broomstick and followed Ron out the door. It was a bright summer day and it was all Harry could do to keep himself from hopping on his broomstick and flying around.
"I can't wait to get to your house," Harry exclaimed. It was always exciting to go to Ron's house. Ron's family was entirely wizarding and Ron's house was full of magical things.
"Yeah," answered Ron with the same enthusiasm. "I have a new book on the Chudley Cannons and it has amazing pictures in it! Mom wouldn't let me bring it, though. She was afraid I'd show it to you in front of the Dursleys and scare them. They looked scared enough already to me."
Harry laughed. Scared wasn't strong enough a word for the Dursleys' phobia of things that were out of the ordinary. Their encounters with other wizards had not helped with their loathing of magic.
(Disclaimer: We do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, plot ideas, nor places. Our story is an original one based upon the first four books written by J.K. Rowling and includes many things created by her. We are not making money in any way by creating this story.)