by PennyT115@aol.com
As you know, everyone in this chapter who seems familiar is from JKR's books,and I am only borrowing them (without permission).
Chapter One
Harry Potter stood on the train, picking up a small cage from the seat next to him, and pulling a large and heavy trunk from below the seats. This was his stop, Whitside Groves, from his Aunt and Uncle's house in Surrey.
It was almost the end of July, and Harry, for the first time in his memory, was going to have a birthday party. His best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, had sent him letters by owl post during the first week of summer vacation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, inviting him to visit during the month of August. After a flurry of owls back and forth, it had all been arranged. Today, July 30, he had taken a taxi to the train station, and then the train to the Granger's town. Hermione and her parents were to meet him at the train station. He would stay with them until the middle of August, when he and Hermione would both go to visit the Weasley family at their house, The Burrow.
Since Harry's birthday was July 31, Hermione had decided to plan a birthday party for Harry's second night's visit. She had owled their friends from school, and told Harry that a lot of people were going to make it, including some surprise guests, but she wouldn't say exactly who was coming.
It had been at least 14 years since Harry had celebrated his birthday with a party. He assumed that he'd had one for his first birthday party, which was about three months before his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, the Dark Wizard who had returned to power earlier that summer, in a horrible ritual that left one of Harry's friends murdered, and some of Harry's own blood coursing through Voldemort's veins. He had enjoyed birthday cake on July 31 at least twice in his memory, the year before, when his friends sent him cakes, and the year he turned eleven, when Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper brought him a slightly squished birthday cake, when he came to the Hut On The Rock, where Harry and the Dursleys were staying while Uncle Vernon tried to hide them from the thousands of letters Harry had been receiving, admitting him to Hogwarts.
This year, he was looking forward to his birthday, hoping that by celebrating, he would be able to take his mind off Voldemort for a few hours. At least the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, a souvenir of his first battle with Voldemort the night his parents were killed, hadn't hurt since he returned to Privet Drive.
Harry had a complicated time arranging everything so he could get to Hermione's house while exchanging the fewest possible words with his Aunt and Uncle. He had sent Hedwig to Gringots, the wizard bank, a few days ago with a bagfull of silver Sickles, to exchange for Muggle money, so he could pay for the taxi and train ticket. He had also ordered a little cart with wheels, so it would be easy to move his heavy trunk without using magic. Underage wizards (Harry was one) were forbidden to use magic during the summers, although that rule had been bent for Harry before. He didn't want to test it again.
Hermione had arranged for Hedwig to fly to her house the night before Harry was to arrive, so he didn't have to carry a snowy owl on Muggle transportation. He hoped she had already arrived at the Granger's.
"Everyone off for Whitside!" yelled the conductor.
Harry, his things all arranged on his luggage cart with his trunk standing on its end, moved to the door of the train, and bumped his belongings down the step. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he heard, "Harry! Harry! We're over here!" Hermione stood with her father under a giant clock about halfway up the platform. Harry called "Hello!" back to them with a wave, and began tugging his cart towards the Grangers. Suddenly, the trunk felt much lighter, as if it was pulling itself. He saw Hermione slide her wand back into her pocket, and gripped onto the cart. It wouldn't do to have his luggage slide away from him in a train station full of Muggles, and he couldn't understand why Hermione was doing magic during the summer in public. It was a violation of Wizarding Law.
As he reached them, Hermione threw her arms around him in a hug, and said, "I am so glad to see you! We were concerned that your Aunt and Uncle would change their minds at the last minute and not let you come, and after we've planned everything for tomorrow it would be such a disaster. Oh, and Hedwig arrived this morning!" Hermione introduced Harry and her father, Dr. Granger, even though they had met in Diagon Alley while buying school supplies almost three years before.
Harry then answered Hermione's unstated question, "I didn't even see them this morning – I left before they even woke up, took the taxi to the train station, and hung around for a few hours, Muggle-watching. I did leave them a note reminding them that I was coming here, and told them that I would see them in June. But Hermione," his voice dropping to a whisper, "why are you doing magic in the train station?"
"Oh, Professor McGonnagal got special permission for me from the Ministry of Magic. I'm taking my Transfiguration and Charms OWLs this fall, remember, and I needed a little practice over the summer, so I can get ready for them. So I'm doing charms whenever I can. Mother is very pleased, because I offer to help with the dishes every night. And it's made it easy for me to do the decorations for tomorrow!"
Harry was a little surprised that Professor McGonnagal had gone to the Ministry of Magic to get special permission for Hermione, given the fight between Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, and Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and told Hermione so.
She replied, "I don't think Minister Fudge knows about it at all. It's such a small branch, I don't think they even inform the Minister of everything they do."
They had reached the car, and Hermione and Harry pretended to struggle with a heavy trunk, which was now as light as a Golden Snitch, as they shoved it into Dr Granger's car boot. Hermione and Harry hopped into the back seat. "It's only about ten minute's drive from here Harry," Dr. Granger said. "But we'll be down the street from here tomorrow."
Hermione interrupted, "The party is going to be at one of the restaurants. We've got a private room, and I've been waiting for a chance like this to practice my memory charms!"
Harry listened to Hermione's tour of the town. She pointed out her primary school, her parents' dental office, the toy shop next door to the office where she had made all the dolls dance on the floor, when she was five. "They didn't let me in there again, but luckily the bookstore was on the other side."
They pulled up to a stoplight where the offices and shops gave way to rows and rows of houses. Dr Granger made conversation with Harry, asking him about his favorite classes and politely inquiring after his Aunt and Uncle's health. Harry had never spoken with a Muggle who wasn't horrified or terrified by the wizarding world, and he was surprised at how easy it was to chat with Dr Granger. If the next two weeks were going to be like this, it would be the best birthday in his memory.
After they arrived at Hermione's house, and Harry was shown to the guestroom next to the library, he unpacked some of his clothing out of his suitcase. At the Dursley's, Harry generally wore his cousin Dudley's hand me downs which were generally at least two times too large for him, but he had an unpleasant feeling that while staying at the Granger's, he might need some better fitting Muggle clothing. He had a little Muggle money left; maybe it would be enough for some new jeans and a few t shirts in Whitside.
Over dinner, Hermione's parents were as pleasant as her father had been in the car; they talked about Muggle subjects like the television programs Harry had seen over the summer, and Wizarding subjects like Harry's Quidditch team. While Hermione hadn't missed one of the games Harry had played in as Seeker for the Gryffendor House team, she wasn't enough of a fan to enjoy explaining the game to her father, who was a football fan, so Harry had the job of doing it that night, with some help from one of his books, Flying With The Cannons, which had moving Wizard pictures that showed how the different balls, including the Snitch, Bludgers and Quaffle moved, and the different ways the Seeker, Beaters, Keeper and Chasers flew their broomsticks across the sky.
By eleven o'clock, everyone was yawning. The Drs Granger retired to their bedroom, but Harry had already explained that for the past few years, he had stayed up until after midnight on his birthday, and wanted to do the same this year. So he and Hermione sat in the library, talking about the classes they were going to take in the upcoming year, and wondering whether Professor Moody, who had spent the previous year a prisoner in his own magical trunk, instead of teaching the Defense Against The Dark Arts class, would actually get to teach this year.
The minute hand ticked closer and closer to midnight.