Chapter One – An Unexpected Visitor
"July 30," Harry said to himself. "I can't believe I'll be 16 tomorrow, my 6th year at Hogwarts. . . . unbelieveable." Just the thought of going to Hogwarts again was tickling Harry's thoughts. Slowly, Harry climbed into bed, wondering what his life would be like if his parents were still alive. Letting his imagination run wild, he drifted off to sleep.
"Good morning, mum," He heard himself saying.
"Good morning," a woman replied. As Harry looked around, he saw a quiet, cozy little house. "Would you like some hotcakes?" Harry turned around.
"Oh, yes please, Mum," he replied. As she handed him his plate of food, he saw his Dad happily trotting down the stairs.
"Good morning, family," his father said happily
"Good morning," Harry and his mother both replied. After Harry had finished his breakfast, he grabbed his firebolt, and lifted into the air. All of a sudden, he heard a tapping sound coming from the side of his broom. He looked around and saw nothing.
Harry awoke with a start, what was making the tapping noise that filled his ears? He looked over at his window, "Hedwig," he breathed. As he let her in, he realized she was carrying a package. That's strange, he thought, Hedwig hadn't been sent out to deliver anything. He carefully opened the package, it was a snitch. . . . from Sirius. A note was attached, it read:
This is a 3 piece present, You will be receiving the remainder of it over the school year. Happy Birthday, Harry. Love, Sirius
As he finished the note, another owl flew in. "Hey Pig," Harry said aloud. The tiny owl carried two packages. One from Ron, and one from Ginny. A little surpirsed, he opened the one from Ginny first, it was a book. Famous Seekers Of Quidditch As Harry opened it a note fell out.
Dear Harry, I saw this book, and I couldn't help think of you. I hope you enjoy it. Love, Ginny
As Harry finished the note, a large barn owl flew in, carrying a tiny parcel, which Harry assumed was from Hagrid. Surprised by Ginny's present, but happy, Harry went on to the next, Ron's. He opened it up, and saw a poster, of the Chudly Cannons, Ron's favorite quidditch team. The players were racing around the poster, and the seeker, was diving for the snitch. Harry smiled as he picked up the note from Ron, and read it.
Harry, Happy birthday. I really hope the present is ok. I want to let you know that we are going to pick you up today at 3:00, so be ready. Hermione will also be coming but not for a few days. I figured the sooner we got you away from the muggles, the better. Anyways, see you later. Your friend, Ron
Finally, he opened up Hagrid's present, which was a minature firebolt, that would zoom around his when the button was pushed. He gave a slight laugh. At the thought of a broom, his mind went back to his dream.
The house was vagualy familiar, he knew what was around every corner, and in every room, without even going there. Finally, it struck him, this was his house. The house he would have grown up in, had his parents lived. A little depressed at this thought, he looked at his clock, it was 7:10. Unable to return to his slumber, Harry pick up his new book and began to read.
After what seemed like minutes, Harry looked at his clock. It was 8:40, he had been reading for an hour and a half! He slowly got dressed and walked downstairs. No one was awake, so Harry decided to watch a little tv. After flipping through the channels, he decided on watching a documentary on the Salem Witch Trials. Sure enough, there was Wendalin the Weird. Harry rubbed his ear, he thought he'd heard a scratching at the door. He listened. He had! Getting up, Harry cautiously peeked out the window. He saw a huge black dog. Is it really? He asked himself. Opening the door, Harry confirmed his answer. It was. "Sirius," he said softly. As the dog stepped inside, he transformed.
"Hello Harry, happy birthday"
"W wh what are you doing here?" Harry stammered.
"Oh, just checking up on you," was the reply he got. "I do hope my present was satisfactory, I would imagine you have guessed what the remaining two will be?" Harry nodded. "Well, I can't stay long, I just wanted to sneak over and make sure you were doing all right, and to tell you to watch out for the dark arts, Voldemort is a powerful wizard, and is great at acting. So are his deatheaters, but keep in mind, Harry, they aren't what they seem." They exchanged a few more words about Voldemort before Harry cut in.
"It's great to see you, I just wish it would last longer, I mean, Aunt Pertunia will be up any minute."
"No problem, Harry, I should be leaving anyways," Harry quickly embraced his godfather in a hug, for he didn't know when he would see him again. They walked over to the door, and Harry opened it. After Sirius had changed back into the dog, he left. As Harry sat back down on the couch, Aumt Petunia came slowly down the staris, midyawn.
"Get up, make me some tea," she ordered. Obediently, Harry did as he was told. When he returned, she had taken over the tv.
"I would imagine you know that today is my birthday, and. . " Harry was reluctant to continue, but he did. "And, my friend Ron will be here to pick me up at three. So, I will be out of your way soon." Aunt Petunia turned around, she looked annoyed.
"Very well, but count it has your birthday present." She snapped at him. For some odd reason, Harry was satisfied with this comment, and returned to his room to pack his things.
When Harry finished packing, it was already 10:00. As he walked downstairs, he hummed a tune Dudley had been listening to the previous day. He smell of bacon tickled his senses as he walked into the kitchen. Helping himself to it, he saw that Dudley and Uncle Vernon were no where to be seen. "Where's Uncle Vernon and Dudley?" Aunt Petunia looked up from her magazine, that she had been reading so intently.
"They went shopping for a new car, for Dudley, he's 16 you know," was the reply Harry got. It was his birthday, he almost pointed out, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
"What kind of car does Dudley want?" Harry asked, slightly annoyed.
"He was thinking about a sporty mercedes, Dudley says he wants to pick up girls." At that, Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Excuse me?" Aunt Petunia interrupted.
"Oh nothing, just laughing at a joke I heard the other day." Petunia rolled her eyes, and coninued to read her magazine. He took his breakfast into the the living room, and turned on the tv. After a few hours or so, Dudley and Vernon arrived home.
"We're home," Uncle Vernon's loud voice boomed. Dudley came waltzing in with a set of new car keys.
"Go look outside," he told Harry. "But don't touch!" As Harry walked outside, he saw none other than a brand new green Mercedes Kompressor. Astonished, Harry walked back inside, still trying to understand Vernon's reasoning.
"That's nice," Harry told Dudley.
"Nice? Isn't there a better word you could have used?" Came Dudley's shocked reply.
Ignoring this comment, Harry turned to Uncle Vernon, "My friend Ron is picking me up at three to stay at his house for the rest of the summer"
Uncle Vernon grunted, "Ok, but I don't want anything funny going on around here, I want them in and out, I won't be mingling with your sort."
After what seemed like days, the Weasly's arrived to pick Harry up. Unfortunatly, they didn't arrive to Vernon's liking. They used a new technique, known as shlinking, they flew, on brooms, using invise powder to get invisiblity, and they shrunk his trunk, and hedwigs cage. Unfortunatly, they didn't arrive using Harry's window, they used the front door. Vernon was steaming mad, so Harry quickly left.
They arrived at The Burrow around four. Mrs. Weasly had already made a birthday dinner and cake. It was. . . . .steak? "Oh hello, Harry, Harry are you? We have made you a birthday dinner, steak, rice, and salad, with chocolate cream cake for desert." Harry was astonished. "You may wonder how we were able to afford this," Harry nodded vigorously. "Well," She continued, "Arthur ran into some good fortune at work, dealt with a very large case, which valued his work very much, which gave him a raise." She continued, "Thus, we will be able to buy new school supplies this year." Harry couldn't be happier. He knew how wonderful the Weasly's were, and how hard they worked. He couldn't think of anyone who deserved a raise in salary more than them.
"That's awesome!" Harry answered. As soon as the table had filled they began to eat. The food was just mouth watery. When they finished dinner, the children left to let Mrs. Weasly clean up. It was then that Harry realized how beautiful Ginny had gotten. She had grown out of her think lankyness, and her face shone brighter than ever. Wow, he thought. She'll make some guy very lucky one day.
"Harry," Fred interrupted his thoughts, "Let's go!"
"Where?" Harry asked.
Geoge sighed, "We are going to ride our brooms, we've got new ones, you know"
"Really?"
"Yea, so come on" Came the muffled reply of Fred who was digging through a closet. As Fred stepped out, Harry saw 3 brand new Freestyle 3000's. The newest racing broom on the market.
"Tree?"Harry asked surprised.
"Yup, I am trying out for quidditch" Ron smiled.
"And we, have been asked to play for the Britsh quidditch team" Fred gloated.
"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed! As the reached the field, the mounted on their brooms. "What position do you want to play?" Harry asked Ron.
"I dunno, I was thinking about chaser." He paused. "Anything is fine" They began to race, Ron was surpiringly good. "I practised a lot this summer," he explained.
"Hey Harry!!" Harry turned around, but not fast enough, George had thrown a tennis ball. Harry zoomed down to retrieve it.
As it began to get dark, the tired but energetic players slowly walked inside. They were greeted by Ginny, on her way out the door, she was dressed in very stylish clothes. "Bye," she called happily!
Harry was astonished, "W wh where's she going?" He paused, "I mean dressed like that!!!!"
"That's what Ginny does now, she met some muggle girls, and goes to parties with them every weekend, almost." Ron said as if it were nothing. In Harry's eyes, Ginny looked good, inapropriatly good.
"Oh," Harry said, a little unprepared for what he had just heard.
"Come on," George piped in, "I'm hungry again!"
"Cake, here we come!" roared Fred As they cut themsleves cake and sat down to eat Harry thought of something.
"When I was. . . . Well, on my birthday, Sirius came to visit me."
"Sirius," George interrupted, "Sirius Black?"
"Yea" Harry began to tell Fred and George about his relationship with Sirius.
"Unbelievable," Fred exclaimed!
"The marauders map!!!!!! It was your father's?"
"Uh huh," Harry replied
"A genius!"
"Hey Harry, get on with the story about Sirius on your birthday," Ron cut in a little annoyed.
"Well, he came to visit me, and he told me to be careful, that Voldemort maybe hadn't lost his powers, and that his deatheaters had gone back to him, with more in mind than pleasing him, they wanted to overrule him."
"But why????" Fred cut in.
"I dunno, but he said that Malfoy was leading the pack, and that he has got enough dark magic stored in his hidden vaults that he could destroy the entire magic community, not to mention the muggle world."
"What?" Ron could barely speak he was so astonished. After discussing the situation for awhile, they trudged to bed.
After a few days of quidditch and acting stupid with the guys, Hermione arrived. Same old Hermione, yet something was different. Harry couldn't seem to place it. . . . But Ron could. "You changed your hair," Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts.
"You noticed," Hermione replied blushing a little, "Yea, I straightened it, and tamed it a little, I also use what muggle's call a curling iron."
"A curling iron, hmmmmmmmmmmmm?" Ron said questionably. "You may want to show it to my dad, he may find it interesting," Harry laughed.
After an afternoon of clearing the garden of gnomes, they ate a wholesome meal of chicken, rice and salad, as Mrs. Weasley explained their new found money to Hermione.
"You deserve it, I don't think I know anyother family who deserves it more," Hermione said as she ended the conversation. As the trotted up the stairs to bed, 2 owls flew into the kitchen.
"Finally," Mrs. Weasley breathed. "I was afraid these owls weren't going to come at all." As Mrs. Weasley opened up the envelopes. As usual, there was the supplies lists, in additon to Harry's Quidditch letter ( He had been voted captain of the Gryffindor house team), and with a letter addressed to Mrs. Weasley. She opened the letter, reading it slowly with a few hmmmmms, and ohs every now and then. She then folded up the letter, and headed up stairs. When Hermione opened hers she began to scream, "Look, I m Head girl!!! Can you believe it??? I mean prefect last year and everything, but Head Girl!" She danced around in little circles, "Yes!!!"
"Oh, stop gloating," Ron told her annoyed. He had continuosly every year failed to live up to his oldest brothers good traits.
"Congratultions, Hermione," Mrs Weasly poked her head around the corner, "I am very proud of you."
The rest of August passed fairly quickly, during their annual visit to Diagon Alley, Hermione got herself a broom, she also wanting to try out for the quidditch team. Ron filled his bag with sweets, and Harry spent most of his extra money in Quality Quidditch Supplies. The next day they would be leaving for the Hogwarts express. When they arrived home, Mrs. Weasley had already prepared a wonderful dinner. Honey baked ham, with mashed potatoes, and anything else she would conjure up (she was in a good mood). After desert (apple pie) the few going back to Hogwarts went to bed.
"July 30," Harry said to himself. "I can't believe I'll be 16 tomorrow, my 6th year at Hogwarts. . . . unbelieveable." Just the thought of going to Hogwarts again was tickling Harry's thoughts. Slowly, Harry climbed into bed, wondering what his life would be like if his parents were still alive. Letting his imagination run wild, he drifted off to sleep.
"Good morning, mum," He heard himself saying.
"Good morning," a woman replied. As Harry looked around, he saw a quiet, cozy little house. "Would you like some hotcakes?" Harry turned around.
"Oh, yes please, Mum," he replied. As she handed him his plate of food, he saw his Dad happily trotting down the stairs.
"Good morning, family," his father said happily
"Good morning," Harry and his mother both replied. After Harry had finished his breakfast, he grabbed his firebolt, and lifted into the air. All of a sudden, he heard a tapping sound coming from the side of his broom. He looked around and saw nothing.
Harry awoke with a start, what was making the tapping noise that filled his ears? He looked over at his window, "Hedwig," he breathed. As he let her in, he realized she was carrying a package. That's strange, he thought, Hedwig hadn't been sent out to deliver anything. He carefully opened the package, it was a snitch. . . . from Sirius. A note was attached, it read:
This is a 3 piece present, You will be receiving the remainder of it over the school year. Happy Birthday, Harry. Love, Sirius
As he finished the note, another owl flew in. "Hey Pig," Harry said aloud. The tiny owl carried two packages. One from Ron, and one from Ginny. A little surpirsed, he opened the one from Ginny first, it was a book. Famous Seekers Of Quidditch As Harry opened it a note fell out.
Dear Harry, I saw this book, and I couldn't help think of you. I hope you enjoy it. Love, Ginny
As Harry finished the note, a large barn owl flew in, carrying a tiny parcel, which Harry assumed was from Hagrid. Surprised by Ginny's present, but happy, Harry went on to the next, Ron's. He opened it up, and saw a poster, of the Chudly Cannons, Ron's favorite quidditch team. The players were racing around the poster, and the seeker, was diving for the snitch. Harry smiled as he picked up the note from Ron, and read it.
Harry, Happy birthday. I really hope the present is ok. I want to let you know that we are going to pick you up today at 3:00, so be ready. Hermione will also be coming but not for a few days. I figured the sooner we got you away from the muggles, the better. Anyways, see you later. Your friend, Ron
Finally, he opened up Hagrid's present, which was a minature firebolt, that would zoom around his when the button was pushed. He gave a slight laugh. At the thought of a broom, his mind went back to his dream.
The house was vagualy familiar, he knew what was around every corner, and in every room, without even going there. Finally, it struck him, this was his house. The house he would have grown up in, had his parents lived. A little depressed at this thought, he looked at his clock, it was 7:10. Unable to return to his slumber, Harry pick up his new book and began to read.
After what seemed like minutes, Harry looked at his clock. It was 8:40, he had been reading for an hour and a half! He slowly got dressed and walked downstairs. No one was awake, so Harry decided to watch a little tv. After flipping through the channels, he decided on watching a documentary on the Salem Witch Trials. Sure enough, there was Wendalin the Weird. Harry rubbed his ear, he thought he'd heard a scratching at the door. He listened. He had! Getting up, Harry cautiously peeked out the window. He saw a huge black dog. Is it really? He asked himself. Opening the door, Harry confirmed his answer. It was. "Sirius," he said softly. As the dog stepped inside, he transformed.
"Hello Harry, happy birthday"
"W wh what are you doing here?" Harry stammered.
"Oh, just checking up on you," was the reply he got. "I do hope my present was satisfactory, I would imagine you have guessed what the remaining two will be?" Harry nodded. "Well, I can't stay long, I just wanted to sneak over and make sure you were doing all right, and to tell you to watch out for the dark arts, Voldemort is a powerful wizard, and is great at acting. So are his deatheaters, but keep in mind, Harry, they aren't what they seem." They exchanged a few more words about Voldemort before Harry cut in.
"It's great to see you, I just wish it would last longer, I mean, Aunt Pertunia will be up any minute."
"No problem, Harry, I should be leaving anyways," Harry quickly embraced his godfather in a hug, for he didn't know when he would see him again. They walked over to the door, and Harry opened it. After Sirius had changed back into the dog, he left. As Harry sat back down on the couch, Aumt Petunia came slowly down the staris, midyawn.
"Get up, make me some tea," she ordered. Obediently, Harry did as he was told. When he returned, she had taken over the tv.
"I would imagine you know that today is my birthday, and. . " Harry was reluctant to continue, but he did. "And, my friend Ron will be here to pick me up at three. So, I will be out of your way soon." Aunt Petunia turned around, she looked annoyed.
"Very well, but count it has your birthday present." She snapped at him. For some odd reason, Harry was satisfied with this comment, and returned to his room to pack his things.
When Harry finished packing, it was already 10:00. As he walked downstairs, he hummed a tune Dudley had been listening to the previous day. He smell of bacon tickled his senses as he walked into the kitchen. Helping himself to it, he saw that Dudley and Uncle Vernon were no where to be seen. "Where's Uncle Vernon and Dudley?" Aunt Petunia looked up from her magazine, that she had been reading so intently.
"They went shopping for a new car, for Dudley, he's 16 you know," was the reply Harry got. It was his birthday, he almost pointed out, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
"What kind of car does Dudley want?" Harry asked, slightly annoyed.
"He was thinking about a sporty mercedes, Dudley says he wants to pick up girls." At that, Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Excuse me?" Aunt Petunia interrupted.
"Oh nothing, just laughing at a joke I heard the other day." Petunia rolled her eyes, and coninued to read her magazine. He took his breakfast into the the living room, and turned on the tv. After a few hours or so, Dudley and Vernon arrived home.
"We're home," Uncle Vernon's loud voice boomed. Dudley came waltzing in with a set of new car keys.
"Go look outside," he told Harry. "But don't touch!" As Harry walked outside, he saw none other than a brand new green Mercedes Kompressor. Astonished, Harry walked back inside, still trying to understand Vernon's reasoning.
"That's nice," Harry told Dudley.
"Nice? Isn't there a better word you could have used?" Came Dudley's shocked reply.
Ignoring this comment, Harry turned to Uncle Vernon, "My friend Ron is picking me up at three to stay at his house for the rest of the summer"
Uncle Vernon grunted, "Ok, but I don't want anything funny going on around here, I want them in and out, I won't be mingling with your sort."
After what seemed like days, the Weasly's arrived to pick Harry up. Unfortunatly, they didn't arrive to Vernon's liking. They used a new technique, known as shlinking, they flew, on brooms, using invise powder to get invisiblity, and they shrunk his trunk, and hedwigs cage. Unfortunatly, they didn't arrive using Harry's window, they used the front door. Vernon was steaming mad, so Harry quickly left.
They arrived at The Burrow around four. Mrs. Weasly had already made a birthday dinner and cake. It was. . . . .steak? "Oh hello, Harry, Harry are you? We have made you a birthday dinner, steak, rice, and salad, with chocolate cream cake for desert." Harry was astonished. "You may wonder how we were able to afford this," Harry nodded vigorously. "Well," She continued, "Arthur ran into some good fortune at work, dealt with a very large case, which valued his work very much, which gave him a raise." She continued, "Thus, we will be able to buy new school supplies this year." Harry couldn't be happier. He knew how wonderful the Weasly's were, and how hard they worked. He couldn't think of anyone who deserved a raise in salary more than them.
"That's awesome!" Harry answered. As soon as the table had filled they began to eat. The food was just mouth watery. When they finished dinner, the children left to let Mrs. Weasly clean up. It was then that Harry realized how beautiful Ginny had gotten. She had grown out of her think lankyness, and her face shone brighter than ever. Wow, he thought. She'll make some guy very lucky one day.
"Harry," Fred interrupted his thoughts, "Let's go!"
"Where?" Harry asked.
Geoge sighed, "We are going to ride our brooms, we've got new ones, you know"
"Really?"
"Yea, so come on" Came the muffled reply of Fred who was digging through a closet. As Fred stepped out, Harry saw 3 brand new Freestyle 3000's. The newest racing broom on the market.
"Tree?"Harry asked surprised.
"Yup, I am trying out for quidditch" Ron smiled.
"And we, have been asked to play for the Britsh quidditch team" Fred gloated.
"Wicked!" Harry exclaimed! As the reached the field, the mounted on their brooms. "What position do you want to play?" Harry asked Ron.
"I dunno, I was thinking about chaser." He paused. "Anything is fine" They began to race, Ron was surpiringly good. "I practised a lot this summer," he explained.
"Hey Harry!!" Harry turned around, but not fast enough, George had thrown a tennis ball. Harry zoomed down to retrieve it.
As it began to get dark, the tired but energetic players slowly walked inside. They were greeted by Ginny, on her way out the door, she was dressed in very stylish clothes. "Bye," she called happily!
Harry was astonished, "W wh where's she going?" He paused, "I mean dressed like that!!!!"
"That's what Ginny does now, she met some muggle girls, and goes to parties with them every weekend, almost." Ron said as if it were nothing. In Harry's eyes, Ginny looked good, inapropriatly good.
"Oh," Harry said, a little unprepared for what he had just heard.
"Come on," George piped in, "I'm hungry again!"
"Cake, here we come!" roared Fred As they cut themsleves cake and sat down to eat Harry thought of something.
"When I was. . . . Well, on my birthday, Sirius came to visit me."
"Sirius," George interrupted, "Sirius Black?"
"Yea" Harry began to tell Fred and George about his relationship with Sirius.
"Unbelievable," Fred exclaimed!
"The marauders map!!!!!! It was your father's?"
"Uh huh," Harry replied
"A genius!"
"Hey Harry, get on with the story about Sirius on your birthday," Ron cut in a little annoyed.
"Well, he came to visit me, and he told me to be careful, that Voldemort maybe hadn't lost his powers, and that his deatheaters had gone back to him, with more in mind than pleasing him, they wanted to overrule him."
"But why????" Fred cut in.
"I dunno, but he said that Malfoy was leading the pack, and that he has got enough dark magic stored in his hidden vaults that he could destroy the entire magic community, not to mention the muggle world."
"What?" Ron could barely speak he was so astonished. After discussing the situation for awhile, they trudged to bed.
After a few days of quidditch and acting stupid with the guys, Hermione arrived. Same old Hermione, yet something was different. Harry couldn't seem to place it. . . . But Ron could. "You changed your hair," Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts.
"You noticed," Hermione replied blushing a little, "Yea, I straightened it, and tamed it a little, I also use what muggle's call a curling iron."
"A curling iron, hmmmmmmmmmmmm?" Ron said questionably. "You may want to show it to my dad, he may find it interesting," Harry laughed.
After an afternoon of clearing the garden of gnomes, they ate a wholesome meal of chicken, rice and salad, as Mrs. Weasley explained their new found money to Hermione.
"You deserve it, I don't think I know anyother family who deserves it more," Hermione said as she ended the conversation. As the trotted up the stairs to bed, 2 owls flew into the kitchen.
"Finally," Mrs. Weasley breathed. "I was afraid these owls weren't going to come at all." As Mrs. Weasley opened up the envelopes. As usual, there was the supplies lists, in additon to Harry's Quidditch letter ( He had been voted captain of the Gryffindor house team), and with a letter addressed to Mrs. Weasley. She opened the letter, reading it slowly with a few hmmmmms, and ohs every now and then. She then folded up the letter, and headed up stairs. When Hermione opened hers she began to scream, "Look, I m Head girl!!! Can you believe it??? I mean prefect last year and everything, but Head Girl!" She danced around in little circles, "Yes!!!"
"Oh, stop gloating," Ron told her annoyed. He had continuosly every year failed to live up to his oldest brothers good traits.
"Congratultions, Hermione," Mrs Weasly poked her head around the corner, "I am very proud of you."
The rest of August passed fairly quickly, during their annual visit to Diagon Alley, Hermione got herself a broom, she also wanting to try out for the quidditch team. Ron filled his bag with sweets, and Harry spent most of his extra money in Quality Quidditch Supplies. The next day they would be leaving for the Hogwarts express. When they arrived home, Mrs. Weasley had already prepared a wonderful dinner. Honey baked ham, with mashed potatoes, and anything else she would conjure up (she was in a good mood). After desert (apple pie) the few going back to Hogwarts went to bed.