Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I don't mean no harm. Everyone in this fic (more-or-less) belongs to the wonderful, unsurpassable, brilliant icon that is J. K. Rowling. I am just playing around with the characters, and I promise to return them... well, let's just say I'll return them :)

"…That's why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King…" Quiet singing hazily echoed in the small, nearly empty room in number 4, Privet Drive. Harry Potter was on the uncomfortable bed, staring at the ceiling. He spent a few hours trying to clear his mind (something he remembered to do from the time he had Occlumency lessons with Severus Snape) and fall asleep, but when he realized he couldn't, he got up, opened the window, and inhaled the fresh July air. He was sixteen for almost two hours, yet it was unimportant to him. Nothing mattered from the moment his godfather, Sirius Black, died. His friends' attempt to comfort him didn't help (At least he went in battle, that would've been his choice), and neither did the fact that his life with the Dursleys was a lot better since the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organisation working against Lord Voldemort, threatened his uncle Vernon. Him and his family weren't torturing him, nor were they sucking up, but they treated him like he was made out of thin air, which suited Harry perfectly. He liked spending those two months out of Hogwarts by himself. He was mostly locked up in his room, staring at the two-way mirror he got from Sirius. Harry broke it in the end of the school year, but he put the small pieces back together by Spellotape. He was being eaten by guilt because he never used it. He kept thinking that using the mirror might have saved his godfather's life.

The only thing that briefly caught his attention was a beautiful brown owl that landed on his window in the beginning of July. He received the marks from his exams, the OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). He passed seven of them: Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Potions. He was so convinced the results for the last two subjects were wrong, that he sent a letter back to Hogwarts asking if he got the wrong letter. However, the owl (who seemed a bit tired-it obviously wasn't used to trips back and forth) brought him back a note confirming that he got an "Acceptable" Divination grade, and an "Outstanding" mark for Potions.

He sent an owl to a hysterical Hermione who spent most of the Summer holiday sending him notes, asking him if he got the results back yet. She seemed satisfied with the news, and told him Ron received the same number of OWLs, seven, which the youngest Weasley boy found perfectly acceptable. He failed the same subject as Harry-Astronomy. That came as no surprise, as Professor Umbridge attacked Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, during that same exam. Ron also failed Divination, but passed History of Magic-Harry didn't because he fell asleep and had a dream about Voldemort in the middle of it.

Hermione, of course, got nine 'Outstanding' marks, one for each subject she was taking. Her letter was brought by Pig, Ron's owl, and the guilt Harry felt for a month was soon replaced by jealousy. He hated the fact Ron and Hermione were together somewhere. And even though he knew he had to stay locked up in the Dursley's house, he wanted to escape and fly on his Firebolt to wherever his friends were.

After fifteen minutes of staring out the window, to some extent despising the peace and quiet of Privet Drive, he heard a familiar sound of wings flapping. He saw a few owls (he couldn't count them as they were moving so fast) and he quickly backed away from the window. His snow-white owl, Hedwig, and another beautiful, almost golden one, landed on Harry's desk with dignity, whilst the other (one, two, three, and…) four owls landed on his bed in full speed with a thump, obviously exhausted from the flight. To Hedwig's displeasure, he gave the other owls some of her water and seeds, and began the tough task of trying to untie the letters off their legs, since they were brought back to life in a matter of seconds. He noticed Pig in the pile of owls on the bed, and grabbed it before it could start flying around the room (which it did as soon as Harry released it). He received a birthday card from the Order, signed by Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks and others. He half-expected to see Sirius's name on the card, maybe even an encouraging note saying everything will be all right, but his godfather's handwriting wasn't there. With a sigh he took another package from the heap he made on the bed. It contained a bunch of very hard home-made toffees and a note from Rubeus Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Harry read it quickly and released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding when he read the part which said Hagrid will be returning to teach. He was chased away the year before by Dolores Umbridge, Harry's fifth and least favourite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher (and that's saying something considering the fact that one of the teachers was carrying Lord Voldemort in the back of his head, and that another was a Death Eater disguised as someone else). But now that everyone finally believed Harry and Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Harry's school, that Voldemort has returned, Hogwarts will be a much nicer place to spent most of the year at.

Harry carefully put away the toffees so that none fell at his foot, and made a mental note to put them someplace where his cousin, Dudley, might easily find them. Dudley had a tonsil operation a month before, and he was trying to regain all the weight he lost in record speed, eating everything he could find.

The third, fourth and fifth owl were carrying a huge birthday package for Harry (from Mrs Weasley, of course) containing a big chocolate cake, a Yorkshire pudding, a dozen Shepard pies, a pack of Berty Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a beautiful wrist-watch (under which was a note written in Hermione's neat handwriting wishing him a happy birthday) and a lengthy letter from Ron.

Hey Harry! Sorry I didn't send you my gift now but when I asked Mum if I could attach it to the parcel she was sending, she threw the frying pan at me and said the owls have enough to carry as it is. She insisted on sending you as much food as she could because she didn't know whether your cousin is eating normally or no. Hermione managed to talk her way into attaching her gift, and than gloated for an hour-it made being under the same roof as her even more annoying. Anyway, I'll give the present to you when we see each other.
Hermione and me both wish you a happy birthday, loads of health, happiness etc. But there are more important things (no offence mate), like the war and You-Know-Who. Nothing important or big (well, at least that we know of) happened since the Department of Mysteries, but Dad says it's just the deep breath before the plunge (whatever that means) and that we should all be careful. I will ask around to see if you can come (no one will object, of course, but I want to ask anyway) since I haven't seen most of my family in a long time. Everyone's either at home, or at the headquarters, or the joke shop… I'll send Pig as soon as I find out, but keep your bags packed just in case. Hermione sends her love. See you soon!
Ron

Harry couldn't help but smile to himself. It was his first real smile in a long time. He re-read his best friend's letter a few times, and he wondered what would be Ron's birthday wishes if he knew about the prophecy. The prediction he had in mind was one that involved himself and Lord Voldemort. When Dumbledore told Harry about it at the end of term, it took him some time to grasp the full meaning of it. He was too numbed by his godfather's death to understand what the existence of that prophecy made by Sibyl Trelawney sixteen years ago meant. At the end of it all, only one of them will live. It didn't matter that the Headmaster of Hogwarts is the only one Voldemort ever feared-he couldn't kill him. Harry felt more scared now than he ever had. If he failed to stop Voldemort, he would be indestructible. He spent many hours locked up in his small room wondering what will be the ending. He shook his head trying to clear his mind from that thought and turned his attention to the letter that was brought by the sixth owl, the golden one. To his surprise, it was from Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw in his year, who, along with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom, fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. She wished him a happy birthday which Harry found extremely unusual as he was positive he didn't tell her his birth date. As much as he thought she was weird and bizarre, he couldn't help but feel a special bond with her- she was the only one, apart from Harry, who could hear the faint whispers behind the veil in the Department which Sirius fell into. He was wondering whether only people who have seen death could hear them. It could be possible. It was only after seeing Cedric Diggory die during the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year that Harry could he see Thestrals- large, black, winged horses which pulled the Hogwarts carriages. His gaze went from the newest issue of "The Quibbler" Luna sent him as a birthday gift (her father was the editor of this newspaper, which Hermione refers to as 'rubbish' as it publishes a number of ludicrous stories-even for the Wizarding world) to the pile of letters and presents he got, and he couldn't help smiling again as he realized that no matter what his fate is, he won't be facing it alone.

A deep, booming voice of his uncle brought him back to reality: "DUDLEY, GET AWAY FROM THOSE DONUTS!"