Chapter One
The New Neighbors
For the fourth time that week, Harry Potter woke up in the middle of the night, cold sweat drenching his sheets and gasping for breath. His heart was pounding in his chest. He was having that nightmare again.
He was standing in the middle of a circle, surrounded by hooded figures. In the circle with him were his mother and father and someone else, but his back was toward Harry; he couldn't see his face. He watched with horror as the scene before him played in slow motion. The person standing before his parents raised a wand in the air, and a spark of bright light shot out of the wand, hitting his father. The figure turned to Harry's mother, who was huddled on the ground with her arms wrapped protectively around a small bundle. The figure raised his wand again, shooting the bright light at her. Now both his parents lie dead, and the figure turned to Harry. His face was deathly white, with red eyes and two slits for a nose; like a snake. He grinned evilly at Harry. "Now it's your turn" He said, and raised his wand. A blaze of green light flooded before Harry's eyes. And that was it. Harry always awoke with the feeling that the dream had been real, and everything else a dream. It felt so real in fact that Harry would wonder why his scar never burned.
Harry glanced over at the clock on his dresser. It was only 3:30 in the morning. Knowing that he would never be able to fall back to sleep, he stretched and climbed out of bed. Harry Potter, compared to many kids his age, was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays. Harry lived with his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys. The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive, was the reason that Harry disliked summer holidays so much. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son Dudley were Muggles who had very poor attitudes toward magic. Harry's parents had been a witch and a wizard, and when they died Harry was sent to live with the Dursleys. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, terrified of the thought that they would be associated with what they believed was disgraceful, had hoped to squash any traces of magic out of Harry, but they had been unsuccessful. Harry had spent most of the last four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry being a wizard was peculiar enough. But the most unusual thing about Harry was a scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt. It was not, as the Dursleys had told Harry for the first ten years of his life, a memento of the car crash that had killed his parents. Lily and James Potter had been murdered by the most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years: Lord Voldemort. When Voldemort had used the same attack that had killed Harry's parents on him, it had ricocheted and hit Voldemort instead. Barely alive, Voldemort had fled.
But last year, Harry had met Voldemort yet again, this time he had watched as a potion had been made, using some of Harry's own blood, to bring the Dark Lord back to power. Harry had escaped death, with the help of his dead parents. But Voldemort was still out there.alive. Harry grabbed a book from off his bookshelf and climbed back into bed. Quidditch for the ages was one of his favorites and he had managed to hide it from Uncle Vernon when the rest of his school supplies had bee locked away. He aimed to read until it was time to get up, but his body had other plans. Soon his head was dropping to his chest, and his eyes refused to open. Harry really didn't want to fall asleep, for fear that he would have that dream again. "I'll just stay in bed for a few more minutes." He said to himself. " I'll get up in five minutes."
Harry woke to the sound of Mrs. Petunia Dursley banging on his door. " Wake up, you!" She shouted. " I want you down stairs in five minutes!" Harry looked at a clock on his bedside table. It was 6:30 on the morning. Harry groaned and rolled out of bed. He found some clean clothes and put them on. As he walked across the hall and down the stairs, the smell of bacon and sausages met his nose. In the kitchen, his Aunt Petunia was busily cooking a feast of a breakfast. " You" she said, referring to Harry. " Watch over these sausages. And don't think you can sneak one, I know exactly how many are in the pan." Harry took a fork from off the counter, and began turning over the meat. Once Aunt Petunia had turned her back, he shoved a sausage in his mouth, ignoring the fact that it was burning his tongue.
Harry spent half the morning helping Aunt petunia cook. They used over two- dozen eggs to make omelets, French toast, scrambled eggs, sunny-side up eggs, and even boiled eggs. They cooked pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and biscuits. Harry took advantage of Aunt Petunia's distracted state, and filled his mouth and pockets with all they would hold. He wouldn't get a meal like this until he went back to Hogwarts. Later on that morning, Uncle Vernon stole Harry from Aunt Petunia, and put him to work hauling box after box of packages and presents. If only they made this much of a fuss when it's my birthday, Harry thought wistfully. What was really unusual was, it wasn't even Dudley's birthday. Harry was sure the Dursleys had waited for Harry to return from Hogwarts before celebrating Dudley's birthday, just to be cruel.
At 9:00, the ceiling began to vibrate and shake. The vibration headed toward the stairs, then Harry could hear the CLUMP, CLUNK of heavy shoes descending the staircase. After a few seconds, into the kitchen waddled Dudley. Last summer Dudley had been forced to go on a diet, but it was clear to see that it hadn't worked very well. He had gotten so huge while Harry had been away at Hogwarts, that the Durleys had given up on trying slim Dudley down, and now had to resort to getting his clothes personally made. Dudley toddled to the table (which was considerably difficult due to all of Dudley's presents covering the floor) and immediately began stuffing his face with food. " Happy Birthday, my Dudleykins" said Aunt Petunia as she kissed Dudley on his fat cheek. " Sop cawing me mat, Mum" Dudley said spraying food ever which way. Dudley turned to Harry, who was busy eating a piece of bacon. "You! Get away from my food! You're eating my food! Mum, he's eating my bacon!" Aunt Petunia snatched the bacon out of Harry's hand and gave him an orange to eat. After the horrible event last summer with Ron and his family coming to take Harry to the Quidditch World Cup, the Dursleys had taken torturing Harry to new heights. Harry glanced longingly at the plate of hash browns next to Dudley's elbow. Dudley smirked at Harry as he reached for a package and shook it, trying to see what it was. "Where's Dad?" he asked. " Your father has a big surprise for you!" said Aunt Petunia excitedly. As Dudley began to unwrap a gift she quickly added " Wouldn't you like to wait for him, before you open your gifts?"
Dudley decided not to wait, and greedily began to open package after package. A computer, computer games, a stereo, CDs, ten or twelve video games, a funny looking motorized scooter, some new shirts and pants, a couple pairs of expensive shoes, and a dreamcast to replace the playstation Dudley had broken in a fit of selfish rage. Dudley was in the process of opening a new watch, when the front door slammed, and into the kitchen walked Mr. Vernon Dursley. " Happy birthday, Son!" Uncle Vernon shouted happily.
" Where's my surprise?" demanded Dudley. "Right here!" said Uncle Vernon, as he slapped three plane tickets onto the table. " This time next week we'll be on a jet to New York City!" Uncle Vernon's announcement sent a spark of excitement coursing through the kitchen. Harry gasped, almost choking on his orange. Aunt Petunia squealed with delight. And Dudley let out a roar of wonder and glee, sending bits of food shooting through the air again.
" Oh but, wait." interrupted Aunt Petunia. " Who are we going to get to take care of him?" She asked, flicking her head at Harry. " Do you think Mrs. Figg will keep him for the rest of the summer?" Mrs. Figg was a mad old lady, who used to baby sit Harry when the Dursleys didn't want to bring him along on day trips. Harry hoped she wouldn't be able to keep him. Harry was just about to risk asking if he could stay with the Weasleys, when a loud wail broke the silence. " I d-don't.want.him t-to.c-c-come! He's. going t-to ruin.. EVERYTHING!" Dudley was much too old to be crying. But he knew that if he pretended to cry he would always get what he wanted. " Don't cry sweetums," Aunt Petunia crooned. " Don't you worry your little head about it. Mummy and Daddy will make it all better." Dudley's howls had been reduced to mere sniffles now. " There all better. Why don't you finish opening your gifts?" Dudley nodded. " Hey you," he said angrily to Harry. "Hands off my stuff!" He made a grab for the cell phone in Harry's hand with his greasy fingers. The phone slipped out of Dudley's bacon oily hands, and clattered to the floor, the antenna breaking on impact. " He broke my phone!!" Dudley yelped, and began to howl again. Dudley's wails had gotten on Uncle Vernon's last nerve, and he was ready to vent his anger on someone. " Get out of this house!" he bellowed at Harry. " I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day!" Harry darted towards the door, practically falling over himself in his rush to get out of the house.
Once outside, Harry let out a long sigh. What a summer. Life with the Dursleys had reached an all time low. After coming back from Hogwarts, Harry was hoping that in no time Ron Weasley, his best friend, would send him an owl telling him when they were coming for him, so he could spend the summer at the Weasley's place. But Uncle Vernon had sealed his bedroom window, so nothing could get in or out. Then he had locked Harry's wand, ropes, and spell books into the cupboard below the stairs.
Thankfully, Harry had been able to stash away a couple of his school books before Uncle Vernon locked up his trunk, but after what had happened last time (Dudley ate a toffee that made his tongue swell while the Weasleys were there to pick up Harry) they were not taking any chances. Harry sighed again and sat down on the grass. He was gazing at the sky thinking how one of the clouds looked just like a wand, when a moving van stopped in front of Privet Drive. Harry heard the sounds of doors opening, and people giving orders. Laughter drifted to his ears, along with bits and pieces of conversations.
" I told you Josh, I don't know where your stupid owl is!" " Mom! Where's the snacks? I'm hungry!" " Mom, I think I lost my wand! Oh wait, here it is in my bag." " Don't play with your sister's broom, dear"
Harry bolted to his feet. Muggles don't talk like that! But wizards do. Harry walked across the street, and peeked around the van. On the grass sat a black girl with long braids, her wand in her lap, stuffing books back into a bag. Beside her sat little boy with curly blond hair, munching on a candy bar. A tall boy with a bronze skin and black hair was pacing the front yard, looking behind bushes and muttering, "Where's my owl?" The girl looked up from her bag, and saw Harry. She jumped to her feet (knocking her wand to the ground and having to pick it up again) and jogged towards him.
She was as tall as Harry and petite. Copper colored glasses accented her eyes. " Hi!" she said. " My name's Imani. Call me Immy. My family and I just moved here from Kansas. You must be one of new neighbors. Which house do you live in? I bet it's the one across the street; that's such a nice house. What's your name anyway? " "I- I'm Harry Potter" Harry stuttered, trying to get his bearing. This girl was a fast talker, and he was still trying to process what she had just said. " No kiddin'!" exclaimed Immy. " Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm meeting the famous Harry Potter!! Too cool! Dad said when we moved here, we might get to meet some famous people, but I never thought I would meet you! C'mon!" she said as she tugged on his arm. " I'll introduce you to my family." She pointed to the curly, blond haired boy on the grass eating snacks.
" That's Austin. He's six. And that" she pointed to the boy still searching the bushes. "is Josh. He's 16. He'll be 17 soon.that's my mom over there" She said, pointing to a blond haired woman levitating boxes into the house. " There's also Samantha, Jonathan Karley, Timothy, and Pierre. They're inside, except for Karley; she's in India right now. And Jonathan is going to take a trip to Scotland soon. My dad is still in Kansas, making sure we didn't forget anything while tying loose ends. I really can't see how we could have forgotten anything. Dad's been planning and getting ready for this move for months, but maybe in all the excitement he forgot to lock the front door or something." Just then Harry heard a pop behind him, and a man with chestnut brown hair appeared out of thin air. " All done, Honey!" he called to the blond haired woman. " How's it going Immy?" he said, giving Immy an affectionate pat on the head, then went to give his wife a kiss.
" Ugh!" cried little Austin. " Do you have to do that in public?" Immy giggled, then motioned for Harry to follow her. " Come inside, I'll show you around. You have to know your way around our house, 'cause hopefully we'll get to see a lot of you during the summer, and it wouldn't be very convenient if you'd never been in our house and then one day you had to go to the bathroom or something." she prattled on, and the two of them entered the house.
Harry expected Immy's house to be a bit like the Weasley's; with lots of wizard stuff everywhere. But it was quite ordinary looking. A TV in the corner of the living room, white, fluffy, soft chairs and couches. Most of the furniture was still in boxes or covered in plastic wrap, But Harry could get the general idea of what the house was going to look like. Upstairs, they passed by more rooms than Harry had thought could possibly be inside the house. The bedrooms were cluttered with boxes and crates and pieces of beds and dressers that still had to be assembled.
" Come in here. This is gonna be my room." Immy said, and Harry followed Immy into one of the rooms, where she promptly began digging in one of the boxes. Soon large piles of photo albums, books, clothes, and other junk lie on the floor. Harry picked up one up a photo album and leafed through it. Usually he wouldn't have done this without asking permission, but he doubted Immy would mind; she seemed like a very open kind of person.
Most of the pictures had the blond haired woman he had seen outside, and the little boy named Austin in different stages of his life so far. But many of the pictures Harry suspected were family photos all had different children in them. Most of them were in their teen years, and it wasn't until the end of the album that pictures of Immy began to appear.
" Um. You sure have an.interesting family." Harry said a little hesitantly. Immy laughed. The whole front part of her body was inside the box, only her legs were visible. " It probably looks real weird to you, seeing all those different people." She said. "The Rivers are in this program; they adopt kids that need special attention or have different needs than other kids." Immy's voice sounded very far away, and she was no longer visible.
"You mean kids with magic, right." Harry said more than asked. " Yeah. The Rivers adopted me about four years ago. There's only a couple of pictures with me in them.. Found it!" she exclaimed as she heaved her body out of the box. She was holding up a board game triumphantly in the air. "It was all the way on the bottom, but I found it anyway! Wanna play?" Harry was more interested in learning about this program the Rivers were in, but decided not to ask. As Immy was setting the game up, a picture fell out of the box. Harry picked it up and examined it.
A coffee colored woman was rocking a baby; only it's small head was visible in the pink blanket that covered it. Besides the woman sat a dark man, holding a squirming toddler on his lap. " That's my real family." Said Immy. "They died when I was just a baby, so I don't remember them. I was wondering where that picture went. I probably put it there cause I was too lazy to find the photo album." Harry took a closer look at the baby. On her right arm was a thin, lightning shaped scar on her forehead. " Hey!" said Harry. " She's got the same scar I've got!" " Really? Ooooh let me see." Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. "Cool." She stated. " Imagine that. I had the same scar as the legendary Harry Potter. Wow I feel special." She giggled. "Anyway I don't have that scar anymore. It kinda disappeared, as I got older. Some coincidence though, don't you think? Uh oh, Mom's calling, better go see what she wants" Immy headed for the stairs. Harry shook his head as he followed her. He didn't think it was a coincidence at all.
Harry spent the rest of the day with the Rivers, helping them move into their new home. Many of their boxes were charmed to hold much, much more than any ordinary box could. Harry spent a quarter of an hour emptying just one box that was full of fancy dresses and tuxedoes. As the morning went by, Harry was able to meet the other members in Immy's family. They were all much older than Immy, and it was clear that they didn't stay at home much anymore.
" See, this is why I'm so happy I met you, Harry." Immy said while leading him downstairs. " All my brothers and sisters are grown up; they never have time for me, and Austin's too little to play with. Here I am stuck in the middle with never anyone to hang out with until now. C'mon. You can have lunch with us." She said. They raced each other to the kitchen, and barely managed to skid to a stop before toppling over the chairs. " Here you are, you two." Said Mrs. Rivers, as she handed them each a bag. " I never quite got your name, dear. We've all been so busy, I keep forgetting to ask." She said to Harry. " Harry Potter" he said as he reached into the brown bag. " Really? Not the Harry Potter?" Josh exclaimed Harry nodded. " Duh Josh. Didn't you see his scar? You spent an hour and a half with him upstairs putting the beds together and you never noticed?" Immy teased. Mrs. Rivers just smiled. " We appreciate your help Harry." She said. " So what school are you attending?"
Harry spent a pleasant afternoon eating McDonalds for the first time, talking about Hogwarts and school supplies, and eating cheesecake ice cream from a place in Kansas called Maggie Moo's. Harry quickly began to like the Rivers immensely. Not many people treated him like a normal teenage boy. It was as if he wasn't even Harry Potter, rather some nice neighbor they wanted to get acquainted with. After lunch Harry and Immy sat on the front lawn, after having been thrown out of the house. Josh had said it was because they were in the way. So the two of them sat outside, lazily gazing at clouds and throwing out ideas of what to do.
" Wanna play a board game?" " No, not really. How about chess? " I hate chess. I'm not very good" " Me neither." admitted Harry. Immy giggled. " Well," said Immy. " We could always do homework. Hogwarts sent me some stuff to do, so they can see how much I learned in Kansas." " What was your school's name?" asked Harry. " I was home schooled." Immy replied. "Not many good wizard schools in the U.S. That's one of the reasons we moved here. Hogwarts's supposed to be the best." " I could try to help out, though I doubt I'll be any help." Harry joked.
" Okay then. I'll go get some quills and stuff." Agreed Immy.
Immy dashed into the house and came back outside with an armload of books. They both decided it would be a good idea to do their work outside, seeing as how there was too much going on inside, and they might get distracted. For the rest of the afternoon, Harry and Immy sat or laid on the grass, Immy concentrating on her work, and Harry reading a magazine Immy had brought out for him called Wizard World.
It was only after Harry could no longer see the words in front of his face did he realize how late it had gotten. Immy got to her feet and stretched. " Well, I guess I better go inside. Dinner's probably ready by now. You wanna have dinner with us?" she asked. " Um, no I better be getting home." Harry was interrupted by a loud yell. " Imani!" the voice sounded young. " Immy, your snake is hanging from my lamp! It's hissing at me! IMMY." " I gotta go." Immy giggled. " Austin is deathly afraid of snakes, and I happen to have one. See ya later" she called as she headed into the house.
As Harry silently entered his own house, he hoped to get up to his room without being noticed, but no such luck. Before he had even reached the stairs, Uncle Vernon was standing in his path, hands clenched at his sides, a vein throbbing in his temple. " Where have you been keeping yourself all day?" he asked in a strained voice. " You told me to get out of the house, so I helped the new neighbors move in.," replied Harry calmly. Uncle Vernon suddenly looked nervous. " Y-you didn't tell them about. about anything did you?" Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's worst fear was having the neighbors find out about Harry.
" Oh yeah." Said Harry. " We had loads to talk about." Then he added mischievously "I told them everything. They were very interested in what I had to say." By that time Aunt Petunia and Dudley had come out of the kitchen, an éclair still clenched in Dudley's hand. Uncle Vernon sat down heavily in an armchair. He was breathing heavily, as if he couldn't quite catch his breath. His face was red and sweaty, and Aunt Petunia took out a handkerchief and began dabbing his forehead. " We'll fix this." Said uncle Vernon slowly and deliberately. " Petunia, tomorrow... go invite .dinner. We'll.fix mess.at dinner." He was gasping now. Aunt Petunia gave him a glass of brandy. " You! Up stairs. no.. meals. Stay .in.room!"
Harry slumped up the stairs and into his room. He knew he had crossed the line this time. If it was at all possible, Uncle Vernon would surely find some way to keep Harry from returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year. He flopped on to his bed and let out a deep sigh. Hedwig fluttered in her cage, making comforting cooing noises. Harry heard the click of a key, as Uncle Vernon locked him inside his room.
Harry woke up late the next morning, a funny tickling sensation traveling up his leg. He looked down, and saw a small, yellow snake making it's way up the bed. Harry sat up, and picked up the snake. It slithered up his arm, across his shoulder, then came to rest next to his ear. Hello. Are you Harry? Harry had learned a few years ago that he was a Parselmouth; someone who can talk to snakes. He had only talked to a few other snakes before, but Harry remained calm.
Yes I'm Harry. Who are you? The snake didn't respond, instead it held up its tail for Harry to read. A note had been tied to the end of its tail. Harry slipped it off and unfolded it.
Dear Harry, Hi! It's me, Immy. Me and my family have just been invited to your house for dinner tonight. You weren't there when your family showed up, and so I sent my snake, Parler(It's French!) with this note to see if you were all right. I would have sent my owl, Velvet, but Parler is a tree snake, and I thought he could get in the house better. No offense Harry, but I get the feeling that your family doesn't care for wizards. When we tried to talk about Hogswarts, they made up stories about you going to some correctional facility. Oh well. Send Parler back with your answer, and anything you want to tell us about your family. See you tonight. Immy
Harry smiled to himself. What should he write about first? He turned the note over, found a pen, and began writing.
Dear Immy, I doubt I'll be here when you come. I'll probably be locked in my room. Here are some things I thought would be helpful for you. The Dursleys hate magic; it would be better if you pretended to be Muggles. Try to get on their good side by complimenting their son, Dudley. I'll most likely be padlocked in my room, for the rest of the summer, so I'll see you at Hogwarts.hopefully. Harry
Harry slipped the note back on Parler. Nice to meet you Harry, it said, and slithered to the floor and disappeared inside a crack in a corner of the room.
It was about 6:00 when the doorbell ring. He heard the boisterous voice of Uncle Vernon greeting someone at the door. He listened at the door of his room, while the people downstairs chatted, waiting for dinner. After a few minutes their voices drifted away, and Harry knew they had gone to the dining room to eat dinner. Harry leaned his head against the door; he was at a loss of what to do next.
Harry opened his eyes. What was that? He thought he had heard someone say his name. " Harry. Are you in there?" Harry quickly stood up. " Yes" he whispered. " Okay then, stand back!" Harry stepped away from the door, and seconds after, the door burst open, and there stood Immy. " Hi!" She whispered. " What are you doing here?" Harry asked, bewildered. "Well.I can't tell you right now, maybe later. The only thing that't important is getting you outta here. Where's your stuff?" " Um, Hedwig's over there, and I've got a few of my things hidden under my bed. The rest is locked in the cupboard below the stairs." Immy walked over to the window, pointed her wand and said " Alohomora." The window swung open. She took Hedwig's cage and placed it on the sill. " Okay Hedwig," she said while letting the owl out. " You fly across the street to my house; a window is open. You can go in there, we'll catch up with you in a little while." Hedwig fluttered off, and Harry saw her enter Immy's house through a window. " Where's the cupboard?" " It's downstairs, right next to the dining room. They'll hear us if we try to get out of the house." Immy smiled impishly. " We'll have to be very, very quite"
Harry led Immy down the stairs. He didn't think this plan would work. They were going to get caught. He led her to the cupboard, and turned to face the kitchen, to act as a lookout. " Alohomora " Immy whispered. The cupboard door opened. " Wingardium Leviosa " Harry's trunk floated out of cupboard. Then Harry got an idea. He slowly opened his trunk, and removed his Invisibility Cloak. " We can hide under this until we get outside." He whispered in Immy's ear. Immy nodded and moved the trunk closer to Harry, then sat on the trunk. Harry threw the cloak over the both of them, making sure no body parts could be seen. Immy led the way to the front door and stopped, sitting very still. Bursts of laughter floated from the dining room, and at that instant Immy reached over and turned the doorknob.
For the fourth time that week, Harry Potter woke up in the middle of the night, cold sweat drenching his sheets and gasping for breath. His heart was pounding in his chest. He was having that nightmare again.
He was standing in the middle of a circle, surrounded by hooded figures. In the circle with him were his mother and father and someone else, but his back was toward Harry; he couldn't see his face. He watched with horror as the scene before him played in slow motion. The person standing before his parents raised a wand in the air, and a spark of bright light shot out of the wand, hitting his father. The figure turned to Harry's mother, who was huddled on the ground with her arms wrapped protectively around a small bundle. The figure raised his wand again, shooting the bright light at her. Now both his parents lie dead, and the figure turned to Harry. His face was deathly white, with red eyes and two slits for a nose; like a snake. He grinned evilly at Harry. "Now it's your turn" He said, and raised his wand. A blaze of green light flooded before Harry's eyes. And that was it. Harry always awoke with the feeling that the dream had been real, and everything else a dream. It felt so real in fact that Harry would wonder why his scar never burned.
Harry glanced over at the clock on his dresser. It was only 3:30 in the morning. Knowing that he would never be able to fall back to sleep, he stretched and climbed out of bed. Harry Potter, compared to many kids his age, was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one thing, he hated the summer holidays. Harry lived with his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys. The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive, was the reason that Harry disliked summer holidays so much. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son Dudley were Muggles who had very poor attitudes toward magic. Harry's parents had been a witch and a wizard, and when they died Harry was sent to live with the Dursleys. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, terrified of the thought that they would be associated with what they believed was disgraceful, had hoped to squash any traces of magic out of Harry, but they had been unsuccessful. Harry had spent most of the last four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry being a wizard was peculiar enough. But the most unusual thing about Harry was a scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt. It was not, as the Dursleys had told Harry for the first ten years of his life, a memento of the car crash that had killed his parents. Lily and James Potter had been murdered by the most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years: Lord Voldemort. When Voldemort had used the same attack that had killed Harry's parents on him, it had ricocheted and hit Voldemort instead. Barely alive, Voldemort had fled.
But last year, Harry had met Voldemort yet again, this time he had watched as a potion had been made, using some of Harry's own blood, to bring the Dark Lord back to power. Harry had escaped death, with the help of his dead parents. But Voldemort was still out there.alive. Harry grabbed a book from off his bookshelf and climbed back into bed. Quidditch for the ages was one of his favorites and he had managed to hide it from Uncle Vernon when the rest of his school supplies had bee locked away. He aimed to read until it was time to get up, but his body had other plans. Soon his head was dropping to his chest, and his eyes refused to open. Harry really didn't want to fall asleep, for fear that he would have that dream again. "I'll just stay in bed for a few more minutes." He said to himself. " I'll get up in five minutes."
Harry woke to the sound of Mrs. Petunia Dursley banging on his door. " Wake up, you!" She shouted. " I want you down stairs in five minutes!" Harry looked at a clock on his bedside table. It was 6:30 on the morning. Harry groaned and rolled out of bed. He found some clean clothes and put them on. As he walked across the hall and down the stairs, the smell of bacon and sausages met his nose. In the kitchen, his Aunt Petunia was busily cooking a feast of a breakfast. " You" she said, referring to Harry. " Watch over these sausages. And don't think you can sneak one, I know exactly how many are in the pan." Harry took a fork from off the counter, and began turning over the meat. Once Aunt Petunia had turned her back, he shoved a sausage in his mouth, ignoring the fact that it was burning his tongue.
Harry spent half the morning helping Aunt petunia cook. They used over two- dozen eggs to make omelets, French toast, scrambled eggs, sunny-side up eggs, and even boiled eggs. They cooked pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and biscuits. Harry took advantage of Aunt Petunia's distracted state, and filled his mouth and pockets with all they would hold. He wouldn't get a meal like this until he went back to Hogwarts. Later on that morning, Uncle Vernon stole Harry from Aunt Petunia, and put him to work hauling box after box of packages and presents. If only they made this much of a fuss when it's my birthday, Harry thought wistfully. What was really unusual was, it wasn't even Dudley's birthday. Harry was sure the Dursleys had waited for Harry to return from Hogwarts before celebrating Dudley's birthday, just to be cruel.
At 9:00, the ceiling began to vibrate and shake. The vibration headed toward the stairs, then Harry could hear the CLUMP, CLUNK of heavy shoes descending the staircase. After a few seconds, into the kitchen waddled Dudley. Last summer Dudley had been forced to go on a diet, but it was clear to see that it hadn't worked very well. He had gotten so huge while Harry had been away at Hogwarts, that the Durleys had given up on trying slim Dudley down, and now had to resort to getting his clothes personally made. Dudley toddled to the table (which was considerably difficult due to all of Dudley's presents covering the floor) and immediately began stuffing his face with food. " Happy Birthday, my Dudleykins" said Aunt Petunia as she kissed Dudley on his fat cheek. " Sop cawing me mat, Mum" Dudley said spraying food ever which way. Dudley turned to Harry, who was busy eating a piece of bacon. "You! Get away from my food! You're eating my food! Mum, he's eating my bacon!" Aunt Petunia snatched the bacon out of Harry's hand and gave him an orange to eat. After the horrible event last summer with Ron and his family coming to take Harry to the Quidditch World Cup, the Dursleys had taken torturing Harry to new heights. Harry glanced longingly at the plate of hash browns next to Dudley's elbow. Dudley smirked at Harry as he reached for a package and shook it, trying to see what it was. "Where's Dad?" he asked. " Your father has a big surprise for you!" said Aunt Petunia excitedly. As Dudley began to unwrap a gift she quickly added " Wouldn't you like to wait for him, before you open your gifts?"
Dudley decided not to wait, and greedily began to open package after package. A computer, computer games, a stereo, CDs, ten or twelve video games, a funny looking motorized scooter, some new shirts and pants, a couple pairs of expensive shoes, and a dreamcast to replace the playstation Dudley had broken in a fit of selfish rage. Dudley was in the process of opening a new watch, when the front door slammed, and into the kitchen walked Mr. Vernon Dursley. " Happy birthday, Son!" Uncle Vernon shouted happily.
" Where's my surprise?" demanded Dudley. "Right here!" said Uncle Vernon, as he slapped three plane tickets onto the table. " This time next week we'll be on a jet to New York City!" Uncle Vernon's announcement sent a spark of excitement coursing through the kitchen. Harry gasped, almost choking on his orange. Aunt Petunia squealed with delight. And Dudley let out a roar of wonder and glee, sending bits of food shooting through the air again.
" Oh but, wait." interrupted Aunt Petunia. " Who are we going to get to take care of him?" She asked, flicking her head at Harry. " Do you think Mrs. Figg will keep him for the rest of the summer?" Mrs. Figg was a mad old lady, who used to baby sit Harry when the Dursleys didn't want to bring him along on day trips. Harry hoped she wouldn't be able to keep him. Harry was just about to risk asking if he could stay with the Weasleys, when a loud wail broke the silence. " I d-don't.want.him t-to.c-c-come! He's. going t-to ruin.. EVERYTHING!" Dudley was much too old to be crying. But he knew that if he pretended to cry he would always get what he wanted. " Don't cry sweetums," Aunt Petunia crooned. " Don't you worry your little head about it. Mummy and Daddy will make it all better." Dudley's howls had been reduced to mere sniffles now. " There all better. Why don't you finish opening your gifts?" Dudley nodded. " Hey you," he said angrily to Harry. "Hands off my stuff!" He made a grab for the cell phone in Harry's hand with his greasy fingers. The phone slipped out of Dudley's bacon oily hands, and clattered to the floor, the antenna breaking on impact. " He broke my phone!!" Dudley yelped, and began to howl again. Dudley's wails had gotten on Uncle Vernon's last nerve, and he was ready to vent his anger on someone. " Get out of this house!" he bellowed at Harry. " I don't want to see your face for the rest of the day!" Harry darted towards the door, practically falling over himself in his rush to get out of the house.
Once outside, Harry let out a long sigh. What a summer. Life with the Dursleys had reached an all time low. After coming back from Hogwarts, Harry was hoping that in no time Ron Weasley, his best friend, would send him an owl telling him when they were coming for him, so he could spend the summer at the Weasley's place. But Uncle Vernon had sealed his bedroom window, so nothing could get in or out. Then he had locked Harry's wand, ropes, and spell books into the cupboard below the stairs.
Thankfully, Harry had been able to stash away a couple of his school books before Uncle Vernon locked up his trunk, but after what had happened last time (Dudley ate a toffee that made his tongue swell while the Weasleys were there to pick up Harry) they were not taking any chances. Harry sighed again and sat down on the grass. He was gazing at the sky thinking how one of the clouds looked just like a wand, when a moving van stopped in front of Privet Drive. Harry heard the sounds of doors opening, and people giving orders. Laughter drifted to his ears, along with bits and pieces of conversations.
" I told you Josh, I don't know where your stupid owl is!" " Mom! Where's the snacks? I'm hungry!" " Mom, I think I lost my wand! Oh wait, here it is in my bag." " Don't play with your sister's broom, dear"
Harry bolted to his feet. Muggles don't talk like that! But wizards do. Harry walked across the street, and peeked around the van. On the grass sat a black girl with long braids, her wand in her lap, stuffing books back into a bag. Beside her sat little boy with curly blond hair, munching on a candy bar. A tall boy with a bronze skin and black hair was pacing the front yard, looking behind bushes and muttering, "Where's my owl?" The girl looked up from her bag, and saw Harry. She jumped to her feet (knocking her wand to the ground and having to pick it up again) and jogged towards him.
She was as tall as Harry and petite. Copper colored glasses accented her eyes. " Hi!" she said. " My name's Imani. Call me Immy. My family and I just moved here from Kansas. You must be one of new neighbors. Which house do you live in? I bet it's the one across the street; that's such a nice house. What's your name anyway? " "I- I'm Harry Potter" Harry stuttered, trying to get his bearing. This girl was a fast talker, and he was still trying to process what she had just said. " No kiddin'!" exclaimed Immy. " Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm meeting the famous Harry Potter!! Too cool! Dad said when we moved here, we might get to meet some famous people, but I never thought I would meet you! C'mon!" she said as she tugged on his arm. " I'll introduce you to my family." She pointed to the curly, blond haired boy on the grass eating snacks.
" That's Austin. He's six. And that" she pointed to the boy still searching the bushes. "is Josh. He's 16. He'll be 17 soon.that's my mom over there" She said, pointing to a blond haired woman levitating boxes into the house. " There's also Samantha, Jonathan Karley, Timothy, and Pierre. They're inside, except for Karley; she's in India right now. And Jonathan is going to take a trip to Scotland soon. My dad is still in Kansas, making sure we didn't forget anything while tying loose ends. I really can't see how we could have forgotten anything. Dad's been planning and getting ready for this move for months, but maybe in all the excitement he forgot to lock the front door or something." Just then Harry heard a pop behind him, and a man with chestnut brown hair appeared out of thin air. " All done, Honey!" he called to the blond haired woman. " How's it going Immy?" he said, giving Immy an affectionate pat on the head, then went to give his wife a kiss.
" Ugh!" cried little Austin. " Do you have to do that in public?" Immy giggled, then motioned for Harry to follow her. " Come inside, I'll show you around. You have to know your way around our house, 'cause hopefully we'll get to see a lot of you during the summer, and it wouldn't be very convenient if you'd never been in our house and then one day you had to go to the bathroom or something." she prattled on, and the two of them entered the house.
Harry expected Immy's house to be a bit like the Weasley's; with lots of wizard stuff everywhere. But it was quite ordinary looking. A TV in the corner of the living room, white, fluffy, soft chairs and couches. Most of the furniture was still in boxes or covered in plastic wrap, But Harry could get the general idea of what the house was going to look like. Upstairs, they passed by more rooms than Harry had thought could possibly be inside the house. The bedrooms were cluttered with boxes and crates and pieces of beds and dressers that still had to be assembled.
" Come in here. This is gonna be my room." Immy said, and Harry followed Immy into one of the rooms, where she promptly began digging in one of the boxes. Soon large piles of photo albums, books, clothes, and other junk lie on the floor. Harry picked up one up a photo album and leafed through it. Usually he wouldn't have done this without asking permission, but he doubted Immy would mind; she seemed like a very open kind of person.
Most of the pictures had the blond haired woman he had seen outside, and the little boy named Austin in different stages of his life so far. But many of the pictures Harry suspected were family photos all had different children in them. Most of them were in their teen years, and it wasn't until the end of the album that pictures of Immy began to appear.
" Um. You sure have an.interesting family." Harry said a little hesitantly. Immy laughed. The whole front part of her body was inside the box, only her legs were visible. " It probably looks real weird to you, seeing all those different people." She said. "The Rivers are in this program; they adopt kids that need special attention or have different needs than other kids." Immy's voice sounded very far away, and she was no longer visible.
"You mean kids with magic, right." Harry said more than asked. " Yeah. The Rivers adopted me about four years ago. There's only a couple of pictures with me in them.. Found it!" she exclaimed as she heaved her body out of the box. She was holding up a board game triumphantly in the air. "It was all the way on the bottom, but I found it anyway! Wanna play?" Harry was more interested in learning about this program the Rivers were in, but decided not to ask. As Immy was setting the game up, a picture fell out of the box. Harry picked it up and examined it.
A coffee colored woman was rocking a baby; only it's small head was visible in the pink blanket that covered it. Besides the woman sat a dark man, holding a squirming toddler on his lap. " That's my real family." Said Immy. "They died when I was just a baby, so I don't remember them. I was wondering where that picture went. I probably put it there cause I was too lazy to find the photo album." Harry took a closer look at the baby. On her right arm was a thin, lightning shaped scar on her forehead. " Hey!" said Harry. " She's got the same scar I've got!" " Really? Ooooh let me see." Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. "Cool." She stated. " Imagine that. I had the same scar as the legendary Harry Potter. Wow I feel special." She giggled. "Anyway I don't have that scar anymore. It kinda disappeared, as I got older. Some coincidence though, don't you think? Uh oh, Mom's calling, better go see what she wants" Immy headed for the stairs. Harry shook his head as he followed her. He didn't think it was a coincidence at all.
Harry spent the rest of the day with the Rivers, helping them move into their new home. Many of their boxes were charmed to hold much, much more than any ordinary box could. Harry spent a quarter of an hour emptying just one box that was full of fancy dresses and tuxedoes. As the morning went by, Harry was able to meet the other members in Immy's family. They were all much older than Immy, and it was clear that they didn't stay at home much anymore.
" See, this is why I'm so happy I met you, Harry." Immy said while leading him downstairs. " All my brothers and sisters are grown up; they never have time for me, and Austin's too little to play with. Here I am stuck in the middle with never anyone to hang out with until now. C'mon. You can have lunch with us." She said. They raced each other to the kitchen, and barely managed to skid to a stop before toppling over the chairs. " Here you are, you two." Said Mrs. Rivers, as she handed them each a bag. " I never quite got your name, dear. We've all been so busy, I keep forgetting to ask." She said to Harry. " Harry Potter" he said as he reached into the brown bag. " Really? Not the Harry Potter?" Josh exclaimed Harry nodded. " Duh Josh. Didn't you see his scar? You spent an hour and a half with him upstairs putting the beds together and you never noticed?" Immy teased. Mrs. Rivers just smiled. " We appreciate your help Harry." She said. " So what school are you attending?"
Harry spent a pleasant afternoon eating McDonalds for the first time, talking about Hogwarts and school supplies, and eating cheesecake ice cream from a place in Kansas called Maggie Moo's. Harry quickly began to like the Rivers immensely. Not many people treated him like a normal teenage boy. It was as if he wasn't even Harry Potter, rather some nice neighbor they wanted to get acquainted with. After lunch Harry and Immy sat on the front lawn, after having been thrown out of the house. Josh had said it was because they were in the way. So the two of them sat outside, lazily gazing at clouds and throwing out ideas of what to do.
" Wanna play a board game?" " No, not really. How about chess? " I hate chess. I'm not very good" " Me neither." admitted Harry. Immy giggled. " Well," said Immy. " We could always do homework. Hogwarts sent me some stuff to do, so they can see how much I learned in Kansas." " What was your school's name?" asked Harry. " I was home schooled." Immy replied. "Not many good wizard schools in the U.S. That's one of the reasons we moved here. Hogwarts's supposed to be the best." " I could try to help out, though I doubt I'll be any help." Harry joked.
" Okay then. I'll go get some quills and stuff." Agreed Immy.
Immy dashed into the house and came back outside with an armload of books. They both decided it would be a good idea to do their work outside, seeing as how there was too much going on inside, and they might get distracted. For the rest of the afternoon, Harry and Immy sat or laid on the grass, Immy concentrating on her work, and Harry reading a magazine Immy had brought out for him called Wizard World.
It was only after Harry could no longer see the words in front of his face did he realize how late it had gotten. Immy got to her feet and stretched. " Well, I guess I better go inside. Dinner's probably ready by now. You wanna have dinner with us?" she asked. " Um, no I better be getting home." Harry was interrupted by a loud yell. " Imani!" the voice sounded young. " Immy, your snake is hanging from my lamp! It's hissing at me! IMMY." " I gotta go." Immy giggled. " Austin is deathly afraid of snakes, and I happen to have one. See ya later" she called as she headed into the house.
As Harry silently entered his own house, he hoped to get up to his room without being noticed, but no such luck. Before he had even reached the stairs, Uncle Vernon was standing in his path, hands clenched at his sides, a vein throbbing in his temple. " Where have you been keeping yourself all day?" he asked in a strained voice. " You told me to get out of the house, so I helped the new neighbors move in.," replied Harry calmly. Uncle Vernon suddenly looked nervous. " Y-you didn't tell them about. about anything did you?" Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's worst fear was having the neighbors find out about Harry.
" Oh yeah." Said Harry. " We had loads to talk about." Then he added mischievously "I told them everything. They were very interested in what I had to say." By that time Aunt Petunia and Dudley had come out of the kitchen, an éclair still clenched in Dudley's hand. Uncle Vernon sat down heavily in an armchair. He was breathing heavily, as if he couldn't quite catch his breath. His face was red and sweaty, and Aunt Petunia took out a handkerchief and began dabbing his forehead. " We'll fix this." Said uncle Vernon slowly and deliberately. " Petunia, tomorrow... go invite .dinner. We'll.fix mess.at dinner." He was gasping now. Aunt Petunia gave him a glass of brandy. " You! Up stairs. no.. meals. Stay .in.room!"
Harry slumped up the stairs and into his room. He knew he had crossed the line this time. If it was at all possible, Uncle Vernon would surely find some way to keep Harry from returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year. He flopped on to his bed and let out a deep sigh. Hedwig fluttered in her cage, making comforting cooing noises. Harry heard the click of a key, as Uncle Vernon locked him inside his room.
Harry woke up late the next morning, a funny tickling sensation traveling up his leg. He looked down, and saw a small, yellow snake making it's way up the bed. Harry sat up, and picked up the snake. It slithered up his arm, across his shoulder, then came to rest next to his ear. Hello. Are you Harry? Harry had learned a few years ago that he was a Parselmouth; someone who can talk to snakes. He had only talked to a few other snakes before, but Harry remained calm.
Yes I'm Harry. Who are you? The snake didn't respond, instead it held up its tail for Harry to read. A note had been tied to the end of its tail. Harry slipped it off and unfolded it.
Dear Harry, Hi! It's me, Immy. Me and my family have just been invited to your house for dinner tonight. You weren't there when your family showed up, and so I sent my snake, Parler(It's French!) with this note to see if you were all right. I would have sent my owl, Velvet, but Parler is a tree snake, and I thought he could get in the house better. No offense Harry, but I get the feeling that your family doesn't care for wizards. When we tried to talk about Hogswarts, they made up stories about you going to some correctional facility. Oh well. Send Parler back with your answer, and anything you want to tell us about your family. See you tonight. Immy
Harry smiled to himself. What should he write about first? He turned the note over, found a pen, and began writing.
Dear Immy, I doubt I'll be here when you come. I'll probably be locked in my room. Here are some things I thought would be helpful for you. The Dursleys hate magic; it would be better if you pretended to be Muggles. Try to get on their good side by complimenting their son, Dudley. I'll most likely be padlocked in my room, for the rest of the summer, so I'll see you at Hogwarts.hopefully. Harry
Harry slipped the note back on Parler. Nice to meet you Harry, it said, and slithered to the floor and disappeared inside a crack in a corner of the room.
It was about 6:00 when the doorbell ring. He heard the boisterous voice of Uncle Vernon greeting someone at the door. He listened at the door of his room, while the people downstairs chatted, waiting for dinner. After a few minutes their voices drifted away, and Harry knew they had gone to the dining room to eat dinner. Harry leaned his head against the door; he was at a loss of what to do next.
Harry opened his eyes. What was that? He thought he had heard someone say his name. " Harry. Are you in there?" Harry quickly stood up. " Yes" he whispered. " Okay then, stand back!" Harry stepped away from the door, and seconds after, the door burst open, and there stood Immy. " Hi!" She whispered. " What are you doing here?" Harry asked, bewildered. "Well.I can't tell you right now, maybe later. The only thing that't important is getting you outta here. Where's your stuff?" " Um, Hedwig's over there, and I've got a few of my things hidden under my bed. The rest is locked in the cupboard below the stairs." Immy walked over to the window, pointed her wand and said " Alohomora." The window swung open. She took Hedwig's cage and placed it on the sill. " Okay Hedwig," she said while letting the owl out. " You fly across the street to my house; a window is open. You can go in there, we'll catch up with you in a little while." Hedwig fluttered off, and Harry saw her enter Immy's house through a window. " Where's the cupboard?" " It's downstairs, right next to the dining room. They'll hear us if we try to get out of the house." Immy smiled impishly. " We'll have to be very, very quite"
Harry led Immy down the stairs. He didn't think this plan would work. They were going to get caught. He led her to the cupboard, and turned to face the kitchen, to act as a lookout. " Alohomora " Immy whispered. The cupboard door opened. " Wingardium Leviosa " Harry's trunk floated out of cupboard. Then Harry got an idea. He slowly opened his trunk, and removed his Invisibility Cloak. " We can hide under this until we get outside." He whispered in Immy's ear. Immy nodded and moved the trunk closer to Harry, then sat on the trunk. Harry threw the cloak over the both of them, making sure no body parts could be seen. Immy led the way to the front door and stopped, sitting very still. Bursts of laughter floated from the dining room, and at that instant Immy reached over and turned the doorknob.