Privet Drive was quiet, but there was a tense atmosphere drifting over the
immaculate lawns, neatly trimmed hedges and clean pavement. It was as
though the street itself expected something strange to happen sometime
soon. This was hardly surprising since strange events usually happened
there around that time of the year. It was the end of August. September
was drawing near, and the tension of the street was nothing compared to the
mood inside house Number 4.
In the smallest bedroom, a tall but skinny boy with untidy dark hair named Harry Potter lay in a state between sleep and wakefulness. Jumbled thoughts chased each other around Harry Potter's mind. The most predominant of these were angry, regarding an argument that had taken place a few hours ago between Harry and his uncle, Vernon Dursley. Just as Harry slipped into sleep, the cause of the argument flew over the street, landed on Harry's bedroom window and tapped gently on the glass. Harry awoke with a jump and leapt silently to the window. There on the sill sat a beautiful red and gold bird, the size of a swan, with a letter grasped in one large and glittering talon. Harry slid the window open noiselessly and Fawkes, a Phoenix fluttered inside.
A stab of sadness hit Harry hard as he remembered his owl, Hedwig. Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had sent Hedwig to Harry a month before, but for some reason she never completed the journey. She had completely disappeared. Professor Dumbledore had then given Fawkes to Harry, feeling guilty for Harry's loss. He had claimed that since being made the Minister of Magic, he no longer had the time for a pet.
The arrival of Fawkes brought both great sadness and joy to Harry. Although he missed Hedwig a great deal, something about Fawkes always made Harry feel as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Unfortunately, Fawkes had a completely different effect on the Dursleys. The Dursleys did their best to hide everything magical about Harry. They had just become used to sharing their home with an owl when Harry had introduced them to Fawkes. Since then, many fights had broken out over the Phoenix. As such, Harry was glad to be going back to school soon.
As Harry stroked Fawkes, who had by now settled in his lap to give him the letter, he found that his anger evaporated. Feeling calmer, he turned his attention to the letter, which was from Hogwarts informing him of the books he would need for his sixth year at the magical school.
Harry paused for a moment and considered his options. He could ask Uncle Vernon to give him a ride into London to do his school shopping, or he could make his own way there. His decision took little internal debate, and he quickly packed his things into his trunk. He opened the window once more and Fawkes, seeming to read his mind, flew out and soared into the night. Harry grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a note to the Dursleys, telling them that he had left for school. He made sure to use his special ink, which flashed every colour of the rainbow, just to annoy the Dursleys and their hatred of magic. Leaving the note on his bed, he carried his trunk downstairs to the living room and pulled a handful of Floo Powder from a small pouch he carried with him at all times. These days, he was never sure when he would have to travel by fire.
Harry threw the glittering powder into the fire, and as he did so, he called out "The Leaky Cauldron," ensuring he was just loud enough to wake the Dursleys. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the fire. The flames danced wildly for a moment and then died out revealing an empty fireplace.
The dim light of the Leaky Cauldron temporarily blinded Harry after the bright fire he had just stepped out of. He clambered out of the fireplace and glanced around the inn. The familiar sight of Witches and Wizards dressed in sweeping robes of varying colours brought a smile to his lips, and he felt more at home in that moment than he had done all summer at his Uncle's house. Amid the whispers, stares and pointed fingers at his forehead that followed him everywhere, he crossed the room to the bar and booked a room.
The bartender took Harry's trunk up to his room while Harry wandered out of the pub and into Diagon Alley. Pulling his book list from his pocket, he headed straight for Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop. As suddenly as he had become cheerful, he felt his mood drop like a stone. Being back in the Wizarding world seemed to bring back the feelings of the troubled times with twice their usual strength. With Voldemort returned to full power, many Wizards were finding it more difficult to be happy, when every day, news of more killings and disappearances were announced. It had only been a few months since Voldemort had regained his powers, and yet already everyone was worried about where the Dark Mark, which was the symbol of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, would appear next.
Voldemort's return to power had distressed many people. Others however, had refused to believe it was possible for a while. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic at the time was one of these people. He had been fired once the public had realized that Voldemort was truly back, and Dumbledore had finally been encouraged to take up the role. Although people generally felt safer with Dumbledore in charge, there were still concerns about the amount of killings and the reported disappearances. Witches and Wizards everywhere were beginning to sink into depression and fear for their safety.
A sign of the feeling of desperation was the fact that many members of the non magical community (Muggles) were now aware of the Wizarding world, and had agreed to work along side Wizards to save as many innocent lives as possible.
As Harry paid for his books the shopkeeper smiled at him, but Harry knew that the smile was not heartfelt. He noticed the same with most wizards these days. They would smile on the outside, but you could always tell that their hearts were despondent. Harry returned the shopkeeper's smile but he was confident that his smile was also lacking.
Harry left the store and continued his shopping, buying new school robes at Madame Malkin's, refills for his potions kit, and treating himself to a new pair of flying gloves alongside a bottle of broomstick handle polish from Quality Quidditch Supplies. He had been made the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain at the end of last year, and decided he and his broom deserved a treat.
Once he had finished his shopping he was curious about the variety of magical items but his interest was half-hearted. Harry meandered back up the crooked street to the Leaky Cauldron. The instant that he entered his room Fawkes flew in through the open window. Harry had in fact, just been thinking about sending a letter to his best friend, Ron Weasley, to ask him if he could travel to Platform 9 ¾ with the Ron's family. It was eerie how Fawkes seemed to be able to read his mind. He always seemed to know knew when Harry wanted to send a letter, turning up at exactly the right moment. Harry knew that Phoenixes were not really mail birds, but Fawkes seemed determined that Harry used him instead of an owl, by snatching letter from the owls whenever Harry tried to use them.
Harry had put quill to parchment, and had only succeeded in writing Dear Ron. when he heard footsteps thundering up the hallway and Ron himself burst through the door, grinning triumphantly. Ron's red hair was longer and he had grown a few inches taller.
"Harry!" cried Ron. "I was just going to send you an owl when the bartender told me that you had checked in!"
"Hello Ron," said Harry, smiling to see his best friend again. "I was just going to send you a letter too."
"Freaky," said Ron, faking a serious look to cover a grin. "You know Harry, I think we spend too much time together!" The two boys laughed.
Then, traveling at a great speed, another person arrived at Harry's door. Harry saw a blur of bushy hair, which he recognized to belong to his other best friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione shrieked and flung herself upon him. She hugged Harry tightly, but suddenly drew herself away smiling, and Harry was slightly surprised when he noticed that she was blushing. Hermione, determined to regain control over her emotions, then turned to Ron and waved.
"Hi you two," Hermione giggled nervously. "How was your summer?"
Harry was somewhat perplexed by Hermione's uncharacteristic behaviour, but soon forgot it as the three friends began chatting about their summer. After that it was just like old times. Harry accompanied Ron and Hermione as they did their school shopping, the three of them chatting happily. That night, Harry and Hermione ate dinner with the Weasley family in the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Weasley, Ron's father happily fed his love of anything to do with Muggles by pestered Harry and Hermione for details regarding their lives with Muggles. During the course of the meal he interrogated them about the uses of items such as television remote controls, radiators and watering cans. Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, fussed over Harry as usual. She asked him again and again if he had had enough to eat, if he was warm enough, if he was tired, and perhaps he should head up to bed early since he had a long day ahead of him. Ginny, Ron's little sister who had been in love with Harry since she had first met him, was very quiet and blushed fire-engine red whenever Harry spoke to her.
The next morning the entire Weasley family and Harry and Hermione caught taxis to take them to Kings Cross Station. Once inside the station, Harry, Ron and Hermione approached the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Harry began to feel a little nervous. He had passed through the barrier successfully many times before, but he had never forgotten the time in his second year at Hogwarts when the barrier had refused to let him pass. He stared apprehensively at it, and the solid brick wall stared back. Despite knowing better, Harry imagined the wall was mocking him.
Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes, crossed his fingers and ran straight at the barrier. When he opened his eyes, he was pleased to see the scarlet steam engine, which would take him to Hogwarts, at the platform in front of him. He turned around to see Ron and Hermione tumble out of the barrier behind him, and the three of them hurried to their favorite compartment on the train.
They rushed to the window to wave goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the train gathered speed. It moved away from the platform as they heaved their heavy luggage into the overhead racks. Everything seemed to be completely normal. The train ride was exactly the same as it always was, excluding the odd lack of Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival, and his taunts. Harry anticipated Malfoy's tradition of his sauntering down the train with his Cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed Hell bent on taunting Harry and his friends. Harry had seen Malfoy boarding the train from a distance, but for some reason he did not appear at all during the journey. Other than that, everything had so far, seemed so completely normal.
Late that evening, the train slowed and came to a stop. As Harry left the train, he began to wonder how his friends could be so cheerful and normal. This part of the journey would have previously been so happy for all of them as they were re-united with all of their friends. Harry glanced around the platform at Hogsmead, the village near to Hogwarts, where the new Games Keeper was directing the first year students to boats that would take them across the lake. Everything looked so empty without the giant figure of Hagrid, the previous Games Keeper and good friend to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry finally placed his full concentration on his friends, and discovered that they did not appear to be nearly as happy as he had initially thought. Ron wore an extremely solemn look on his face and his eyes looked dark and sorrowful. Hermione had tears streaming silently down her face. It became obvious to Harry that his friends missed Hagrid as much as he did.
Putting his arm around Hermione, Harry led her and Ron to a horseless carriage, which would carry them up to the castle of Hogwarts, without another look at the lake where Hagrid should have been, but wasn't. Hagrid had been out of contact with Dumbledore for months now, ever since Hagrid and Madame Maxime, the half-giant headmistress of Beaxbatons Academy, had left to send envoys to the giants, asking for their friendship in the fight against Voldemort. Although Dumbledore had not told them of the possibility, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew that the lack of communication could only mean that Hagrid might not return.
Harry felt a surge of anger towards life itself. Life was pretending that it was normal and that everything was fine, but Harry knew the truth. Things were starting to fall apart. Well it can pretend all it likes, Harry though bitterly, but it can't fool me. Nothing is the same.
In the smallest bedroom, a tall but skinny boy with untidy dark hair named Harry Potter lay in a state between sleep and wakefulness. Jumbled thoughts chased each other around Harry Potter's mind. The most predominant of these were angry, regarding an argument that had taken place a few hours ago between Harry and his uncle, Vernon Dursley. Just as Harry slipped into sleep, the cause of the argument flew over the street, landed on Harry's bedroom window and tapped gently on the glass. Harry awoke with a jump and leapt silently to the window. There on the sill sat a beautiful red and gold bird, the size of a swan, with a letter grasped in one large and glittering talon. Harry slid the window open noiselessly and Fawkes, a Phoenix fluttered inside.
A stab of sadness hit Harry hard as he remembered his owl, Hedwig. Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had sent Hedwig to Harry a month before, but for some reason she never completed the journey. She had completely disappeared. Professor Dumbledore had then given Fawkes to Harry, feeling guilty for Harry's loss. He had claimed that since being made the Minister of Magic, he no longer had the time for a pet.
The arrival of Fawkes brought both great sadness and joy to Harry. Although he missed Hedwig a great deal, something about Fawkes always made Harry feel as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Unfortunately, Fawkes had a completely different effect on the Dursleys. The Dursleys did their best to hide everything magical about Harry. They had just become used to sharing their home with an owl when Harry had introduced them to Fawkes. Since then, many fights had broken out over the Phoenix. As such, Harry was glad to be going back to school soon.
As Harry stroked Fawkes, who had by now settled in his lap to give him the letter, he found that his anger evaporated. Feeling calmer, he turned his attention to the letter, which was from Hogwarts informing him of the books he would need for his sixth year at the magical school.
Harry paused for a moment and considered his options. He could ask Uncle Vernon to give him a ride into London to do his school shopping, or he could make his own way there. His decision took little internal debate, and he quickly packed his things into his trunk. He opened the window once more and Fawkes, seeming to read his mind, flew out and soared into the night. Harry grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a note to the Dursleys, telling them that he had left for school. He made sure to use his special ink, which flashed every colour of the rainbow, just to annoy the Dursleys and their hatred of magic. Leaving the note on his bed, he carried his trunk downstairs to the living room and pulled a handful of Floo Powder from a small pouch he carried with him at all times. These days, he was never sure when he would have to travel by fire.
Harry threw the glittering powder into the fire, and as he did so, he called out "The Leaky Cauldron," ensuring he was just loud enough to wake the Dursleys. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the fire. The flames danced wildly for a moment and then died out revealing an empty fireplace.
The dim light of the Leaky Cauldron temporarily blinded Harry after the bright fire he had just stepped out of. He clambered out of the fireplace and glanced around the inn. The familiar sight of Witches and Wizards dressed in sweeping robes of varying colours brought a smile to his lips, and he felt more at home in that moment than he had done all summer at his Uncle's house. Amid the whispers, stares and pointed fingers at his forehead that followed him everywhere, he crossed the room to the bar and booked a room.
The bartender took Harry's trunk up to his room while Harry wandered out of the pub and into Diagon Alley. Pulling his book list from his pocket, he headed straight for Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop. As suddenly as he had become cheerful, he felt his mood drop like a stone. Being back in the Wizarding world seemed to bring back the feelings of the troubled times with twice their usual strength. With Voldemort returned to full power, many Wizards were finding it more difficult to be happy, when every day, news of more killings and disappearances were announced. It had only been a few months since Voldemort had regained his powers, and yet already everyone was worried about where the Dark Mark, which was the symbol of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, would appear next.
Voldemort's return to power had distressed many people. Others however, had refused to believe it was possible for a while. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic at the time was one of these people. He had been fired once the public had realized that Voldemort was truly back, and Dumbledore had finally been encouraged to take up the role. Although people generally felt safer with Dumbledore in charge, there were still concerns about the amount of killings and the reported disappearances. Witches and Wizards everywhere were beginning to sink into depression and fear for their safety.
A sign of the feeling of desperation was the fact that many members of the non magical community (Muggles) were now aware of the Wizarding world, and had agreed to work along side Wizards to save as many innocent lives as possible.
As Harry paid for his books the shopkeeper smiled at him, but Harry knew that the smile was not heartfelt. He noticed the same with most wizards these days. They would smile on the outside, but you could always tell that their hearts were despondent. Harry returned the shopkeeper's smile but he was confident that his smile was also lacking.
Harry left the store and continued his shopping, buying new school robes at Madame Malkin's, refills for his potions kit, and treating himself to a new pair of flying gloves alongside a bottle of broomstick handle polish from Quality Quidditch Supplies. He had been made the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain at the end of last year, and decided he and his broom deserved a treat.
Once he had finished his shopping he was curious about the variety of magical items but his interest was half-hearted. Harry meandered back up the crooked street to the Leaky Cauldron. The instant that he entered his room Fawkes flew in through the open window. Harry had in fact, just been thinking about sending a letter to his best friend, Ron Weasley, to ask him if he could travel to Platform 9 ¾ with the Ron's family. It was eerie how Fawkes seemed to be able to read his mind. He always seemed to know knew when Harry wanted to send a letter, turning up at exactly the right moment. Harry knew that Phoenixes were not really mail birds, but Fawkes seemed determined that Harry used him instead of an owl, by snatching letter from the owls whenever Harry tried to use them.
Harry had put quill to parchment, and had only succeeded in writing Dear Ron. when he heard footsteps thundering up the hallway and Ron himself burst through the door, grinning triumphantly. Ron's red hair was longer and he had grown a few inches taller.
"Harry!" cried Ron. "I was just going to send you an owl when the bartender told me that you had checked in!"
"Hello Ron," said Harry, smiling to see his best friend again. "I was just going to send you a letter too."
"Freaky," said Ron, faking a serious look to cover a grin. "You know Harry, I think we spend too much time together!" The two boys laughed.
Then, traveling at a great speed, another person arrived at Harry's door. Harry saw a blur of bushy hair, which he recognized to belong to his other best friend, Hermione Granger. Hermione shrieked and flung herself upon him. She hugged Harry tightly, but suddenly drew herself away smiling, and Harry was slightly surprised when he noticed that she was blushing. Hermione, determined to regain control over her emotions, then turned to Ron and waved.
"Hi you two," Hermione giggled nervously. "How was your summer?"
Harry was somewhat perplexed by Hermione's uncharacteristic behaviour, but soon forgot it as the three friends began chatting about their summer. After that it was just like old times. Harry accompanied Ron and Hermione as they did their school shopping, the three of them chatting happily. That night, Harry and Hermione ate dinner with the Weasley family in the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Weasley, Ron's father happily fed his love of anything to do with Muggles by pestered Harry and Hermione for details regarding their lives with Muggles. During the course of the meal he interrogated them about the uses of items such as television remote controls, radiators and watering cans. Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, fussed over Harry as usual. She asked him again and again if he had had enough to eat, if he was warm enough, if he was tired, and perhaps he should head up to bed early since he had a long day ahead of him. Ginny, Ron's little sister who had been in love with Harry since she had first met him, was very quiet and blushed fire-engine red whenever Harry spoke to her.
The next morning the entire Weasley family and Harry and Hermione caught taxis to take them to Kings Cross Station. Once inside the station, Harry, Ron and Hermione approached the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Harry began to feel a little nervous. He had passed through the barrier successfully many times before, but he had never forgotten the time in his second year at Hogwarts when the barrier had refused to let him pass. He stared apprehensively at it, and the solid brick wall stared back. Despite knowing better, Harry imagined the wall was mocking him.
Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes, crossed his fingers and ran straight at the barrier. When he opened his eyes, he was pleased to see the scarlet steam engine, which would take him to Hogwarts, at the platform in front of him. He turned around to see Ron and Hermione tumble out of the barrier behind him, and the three of them hurried to their favorite compartment on the train.
They rushed to the window to wave goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the train gathered speed. It moved away from the platform as they heaved their heavy luggage into the overhead racks. Everything seemed to be completely normal. The train ride was exactly the same as it always was, excluding the odd lack of Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival, and his taunts. Harry anticipated Malfoy's tradition of his sauntering down the train with his Cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed Hell bent on taunting Harry and his friends. Harry had seen Malfoy boarding the train from a distance, but for some reason he did not appear at all during the journey. Other than that, everything had so far, seemed so completely normal.
Late that evening, the train slowed and came to a stop. As Harry left the train, he began to wonder how his friends could be so cheerful and normal. This part of the journey would have previously been so happy for all of them as they were re-united with all of their friends. Harry glanced around the platform at Hogsmead, the village near to Hogwarts, where the new Games Keeper was directing the first year students to boats that would take them across the lake. Everything looked so empty without the giant figure of Hagrid, the previous Games Keeper and good friend to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry finally placed his full concentration on his friends, and discovered that they did not appear to be nearly as happy as he had initially thought. Ron wore an extremely solemn look on his face and his eyes looked dark and sorrowful. Hermione had tears streaming silently down her face. It became obvious to Harry that his friends missed Hagrid as much as he did.
Putting his arm around Hermione, Harry led her and Ron to a horseless carriage, which would carry them up to the castle of Hogwarts, without another look at the lake where Hagrid should have been, but wasn't. Hagrid had been out of contact with Dumbledore for months now, ever since Hagrid and Madame Maxime, the half-giant headmistress of Beaxbatons Academy, had left to send envoys to the giants, asking for their friendship in the fight against Voldemort. Although Dumbledore had not told them of the possibility, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew that the lack of communication could only mean that Hagrid might not return.
Harry felt a surge of anger towards life itself. Life was pretending that it was normal and that everything was fine, but Harry knew the truth. Things were starting to fall apart. Well it can pretend all it likes, Harry though bitterly, but it can't fool me. Nothing is the same.