Chapter 1
Once again, the sun rose on Privet Drive, casting a warm summer glow over the homes. It was towards the end of the summer, in the month of August and the mornings still were rather warm. At house number 4, a boy the age of 16 stirred from his sleep.
He yawned and rubbed at his eyes, squinting at the sunlight that poked through his open window. He rolled out of bed, pulling on glasses and looking into the mirror with bright green eyes. He tried to tame his unruly black hair, but found it to be quite impossible, since it never wanted to lay flat. He sighed and smiled gently. The boy reached his arms above his head and stretched almost lazily, starting towards the window, which was left open. He placed his hands on the sill and leaned out, a warm summer breeze blowing in. He grinned and looked down on the neighborhood, where the occupants of the surrounding houses had probably just begun to stir and start their mornings. Soon, he would be free from this hellhole for another year. Soon, he'd be back at Hogwarts, where he belonged.
There was a soft hoot and a breeze as a white creature whooshed past the boy. He turned to see his pet snowy owl, dubbed Hedwig, gracefully land on her perch and start preening herself. The owl had been out the night before, hunting most likely, since there was no letter attached to her leg. He stepped over and gently stroked the owl's soft feathers. Hedwig affectionately nibbled on the boy's fingers.
"Well Hedwig, are you ready to get out of here?" He asked quietly. The owl ruffled its feathers and stepped a bit impatiently on her perch. The boy laughed and picked up a letter he had received earlier. It was from Hogwarts, explaining the tools and supplies that he would need for this year. His friend Ron had already picked up his supplies at Diagon Alley and had sent the boy his, at request of course. It had taken multiple owls and multiple trips to send all of the new books he needed for classes.
On normal occasions, the boy would've been staying at Ron's home for part of the summer break, but this year problems had popped up, and he just wasn't able to make the trip. Ron had needed a lot of explaining to pacify.
His birthday had just recently passed, so now he was officially 16 and was ready to start his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He grinned happily and started gathering his things, not forgetting to clear out his secret hiding place under one of the floor panels. Soon he had packed up his trunk and everything that he would need for the school year ahead of him. In his mind this year was going to be great! He trotted pleasantly down the stairs and a shrill voice screeched at him.
"Don't go pounding around this house like a herd of elephants! You have no respect for authority, you hooligan!" The female voice yelled from the kitchen. It was his Aunt Petunia, whom the boy had a strong dislike for, even though she was his deceased mother's sister, he could find no way to actually love the woman. She was shrill, nosy and just plain vile. But certainly not as vile as her husband and son, Dudley.
The boy frowned and stepped into the kitchen where his Aunt was screeching. She was cooking on the stove, while her rather obese son, Dudley tried to sneak a bite or two to eat. His cousin was on a diet, well he was supposed to be, but there were times when his Aunt couldn't bear to see her "Dudums" in such despair and gave in, giving the boy sweets. Unlike Dudley, the boy hardly ever had any sweets, unless they came via owl from his friends. And much to his liking, he was not as massive as his cousin Dudley. The boy liked his slim frame very much compared to the bloated belly of Dudley.
"Brat, bring over my coffee!" Came a boom from the table, it was his Uncle Vernon, a heavyset man who was usually always red in the face. At the moment he was seated at the table, a rumpled newspaper in hand and his face was bearing an especially moody scowl.
The boy started towards the coffee pot and made the coffee in silence. This was not an unusual occurrence; his relatives always pushed him around. As he turned to carry the steaming mug to the table, his fat cousin shouldered him roughly, making the boy drop the mug to the ground. The mug shattered and its steaming contents spilled. The boy jumped back against the counter, trying to avoid the glass shards and the burning liquid. His aunt gave a surprised shriek and his cousin leered devilishly at him.
"Dad! Harry broke your favorite mug!" Dudley said with a triumphant grin.
"Clean up that mess you made!" Aunt Petunia demanded.
Harry, the boy whom we've been speaking of, grumbled as he went to the sink to fetch a rag to clean up the floor. How he wished that he could use his wand to just clean up the mess, but using magic outside of school grounds was not permitted, it was a punishable offense. He kneeled down and started to carefully pick up the glass pieces while his Uncle glared fuming, his Aunt huffed and went back to cooking, and Dudley cackled. Harry frowned unhappily and continued his drudging work cleaning up the mess that Dudley had induced. There was no point in explaining to his Aunt and Uncle their son; their "Angel" had made him do it. They never listened, for when Dudley was right, Harry was wrong, it was just the way things were.
How glad Harry was to be going back to school in a few days.
Once again, the sun rose on Privet Drive, casting a warm summer glow over the homes. It was towards the end of the summer, in the month of August and the mornings still were rather warm. At house number 4, a boy the age of 16 stirred from his sleep.
He yawned and rubbed at his eyes, squinting at the sunlight that poked through his open window. He rolled out of bed, pulling on glasses and looking into the mirror with bright green eyes. He tried to tame his unruly black hair, but found it to be quite impossible, since it never wanted to lay flat. He sighed and smiled gently. The boy reached his arms above his head and stretched almost lazily, starting towards the window, which was left open. He placed his hands on the sill and leaned out, a warm summer breeze blowing in. He grinned and looked down on the neighborhood, where the occupants of the surrounding houses had probably just begun to stir and start their mornings. Soon, he would be free from this hellhole for another year. Soon, he'd be back at Hogwarts, where he belonged.
There was a soft hoot and a breeze as a white creature whooshed past the boy. He turned to see his pet snowy owl, dubbed Hedwig, gracefully land on her perch and start preening herself. The owl had been out the night before, hunting most likely, since there was no letter attached to her leg. He stepped over and gently stroked the owl's soft feathers. Hedwig affectionately nibbled on the boy's fingers.
"Well Hedwig, are you ready to get out of here?" He asked quietly. The owl ruffled its feathers and stepped a bit impatiently on her perch. The boy laughed and picked up a letter he had received earlier. It was from Hogwarts, explaining the tools and supplies that he would need for this year. His friend Ron had already picked up his supplies at Diagon Alley and had sent the boy his, at request of course. It had taken multiple owls and multiple trips to send all of the new books he needed for classes.
On normal occasions, the boy would've been staying at Ron's home for part of the summer break, but this year problems had popped up, and he just wasn't able to make the trip. Ron had needed a lot of explaining to pacify.
His birthday had just recently passed, so now he was officially 16 and was ready to start his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He grinned happily and started gathering his things, not forgetting to clear out his secret hiding place under one of the floor panels. Soon he had packed up his trunk and everything that he would need for the school year ahead of him. In his mind this year was going to be great! He trotted pleasantly down the stairs and a shrill voice screeched at him.
"Don't go pounding around this house like a herd of elephants! You have no respect for authority, you hooligan!" The female voice yelled from the kitchen. It was his Aunt Petunia, whom the boy had a strong dislike for, even though she was his deceased mother's sister, he could find no way to actually love the woman. She was shrill, nosy and just plain vile. But certainly not as vile as her husband and son, Dudley.
The boy frowned and stepped into the kitchen where his Aunt was screeching. She was cooking on the stove, while her rather obese son, Dudley tried to sneak a bite or two to eat. His cousin was on a diet, well he was supposed to be, but there were times when his Aunt couldn't bear to see her "Dudums" in such despair and gave in, giving the boy sweets. Unlike Dudley, the boy hardly ever had any sweets, unless they came via owl from his friends. And much to his liking, he was not as massive as his cousin Dudley. The boy liked his slim frame very much compared to the bloated belly of Dudley.
"Brat, bring over my coffee!" Came a boom from the table, it was his Uncle Vernon, a heavyset man who was usually always red in the face. At the moment he was seated at the table, a rumpled newspaper in hand and his face was bearing an especially moody scowl.
The boy started towards the coffee pot and made the coffee in silence. This was not an unusual occurrence; his relatives always pushed him around. As he turned to carry the steaming mug to the table, his fat cousin shouldered him roughly, making the boy drop the mug to the ground. The mug shattered and its steaming contents spilled. The boy jumped back against the counter, trying to avoid the glass shards and the burning liquid. His aunt gave a surprised shriek and his cousin leered devilishly at him.
"Dad! Harry broke your favorite mug!" Dudley said with a triumphant grin.
"Clean up that mess you made!" Aunt Petunia demanded.
Harry, the boy whom we've been speaking of, grumbled as he went to the sink to fetch a rag to clean up the floor. How he wished that he could use his wand to just clean up the mess, but using magic outside of school grounds was not permitted, it was a punishable offense. He kneeled down and started to carefully pick up the glass pieces while his Uncle glared fuming, his Aunt huffed and went back to cooking, and Dudley cackled. Harry frowned unhappily and continued his drudging work cleaning up the mess that Dudley had induced. There was no point in explaining to his Aunt and Uncle their son; their "Angel" had made him do it. They never listened, for when Dudley was right, Harry was wrong, it was just the way things were.
How glad Harry was to be going back to school in a few days.