Chapter One - E Dunque Inizia… (1|2)
"speech"
'thoughts'
There was a secret about the Malfoy line, one that not many people knew. A secret carried down through the Malfoy lineage, at least twenty-six generations, as far back as anyone can remember…
It was the summer before Harry's final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he was bored. The summer had been like any other thus far, since starting at Hogwarts six years ago. His Aunt and Uncle ignored him for the most part, aside from giving him the usual torturous chores. They always seemed to find something for him to do, whether it was weeding the garden, cleaning the house, or even painting the shed and fence. And as for his cousin Dudley, well, he ignored him altogether.
There was one upside to this summer though, he would be turning of age at the end of the month, his 17th birthday, and he would have his freedom from the Dursley's at last. He'd be able to leave 4 Privet Drive for good, and never look back. He couldn't wait.
He'd arranged to go to the Weasley's after his birthday, to spend the rest of the summer with them before returning to school. It had been this way every summer since the end of his first year. He smiled, as he remembered the owl he had received that morning.
Hiya Harry,
How are you mate? How are the Dursley's treating you?
Mum and Dad say yes! Dad will apparate over at one o'clock on your birthday to bring you to our house. So be ready to leave when he gets there!
Everyone's missing you and can't wait to see you. Ginny and the twins say hi!
Be careful when you get here though, the twins have invented some new pranks for the shop and have been trying them on everyone all summer. They've already got me three times!
Hermione's already here, she says hi too!
Mum says to let us know if the Dursley's aren't feeding you properly again and she'll owl over some food.
See you on your birthday mate!
Ron
"Boy! Stop daydreaming and finish cleaning that floor!" His Aunt's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, as the smile faded from his face.
"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he answered, and with a grim look of determination, set back to work on cleaning the kitchen floor, his last chore of the day, so he could retreat to the quiet comfort of his room.
It was the 30th July, close to midnight, and Harry lay in bed staring at his bedside clock.
23:58
Just a couple of minutes to go until his 17th birthday… his last day with the Dursleys. No more chores; no more sneers directed his way; no more being called "Boy" or "Freak" by his relatives anymore.
23:59
One minute to go…
He'd stayed awake the night before his birthday for as far back as he could remember. He loved to count down the minutes… seconds… 'till the moment when he turned a year older.
30 seconds…
20 seconds…
10...
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
"Happy Birthday Harry", he whispered to himself, a faint smile on his face.
His head jerked towards his bedroom window when he heard a tapping sound on the glass, and a huge grin split across his face. He climbed out of bed and hurried to open the window, and let in the 5 owls patiently waiting on his window ledge. They flew inside in a flurry of feathers, one of which somehow ended up in his hair, and landed on the bed.
He recognised them all on sight. There was Hedwig, his beloved snowy owl; Errol from the Weasley family; Pigwidgeon, Ron's hyperactive little owl; and two tawny owls, each bearing the Hogwarts crest on a delicate chain around their necks.
He relieved them each of their burdens, although it took him a while to catch Pig who was zooming around the room in circles, and laid out some treats and water for them on his desk so that they could rest before making their return journeys.
While the owls were resting, Harry turned his attention to the letters and parcels scattered over his bed. He picked up the two letters delivered by Ron's owl first. One of the envelopes was addressed to him in Ron's untidy scrawl, the other in Hermione's neat handwriting. He opened Ron's first.
Happy Birthday Mate!
Can't wait till you get here!
Mum's throwing you a party too. Just warning you in advance mate!
See you later!
Ron
Harry smiled, and then turned his attention to Hermione's letter.
Hi Harry,
Happy Birthday!
I can't believe it's finally here. Now we're all of age: you, Ron and me. We'll be able to get our apparition licences together now! I can't wait!
Hope you have a great day Harry! Can't wait to see you later!
We've all really missed you!
Love,
Hermione xx
He carefully placed the letters to one side and then pulled the package that cam with them towards him. He opened it up, and inside were two presents. One was wrapped in Gryffindor red and gold - that one was definitely from Ron - and the other was wrapped in simple brown paper - Hermione's.
He picked up Ron's present first and pulled off the wrapping paper. Inside was a new broomstick servicing kit, complete with wax, polish and steel clippers to keep the broom twigs neat and tidy. Underneath the kit was a thick book. Harry picked it up and looked at the cover. It had a dark blue covering with bold white lettering on the front: The Quidditch Guide to a Thousand Tricks & Fouls, by Madeline Holmes.
He smiled fondly and carefully placed them to one side, then picked up Hermione's present. He already knew it would be a book of some sort, or something to do with schoolwork. He was betting it was something to do with school as their NEWTs were this year, but when he pulled the paper off he was wrong. Inside was what looked like a leather bound journal. Written on the front in silver ink, in an elegant and cursive script was his name. he opened it up to the first page to see a scribbled note from Hermione.
Happy Birthday Harry!
Hope you like the journal. Everyday, the day's date will appear at the top of the next clean page, and you can write down your thoughts everyday. It also has self-adding pages when you reach the end, so you never have to worry about running out of room to write!
Love,
Hermione xxx
He turned over to the next page, and noticed that at the top in that same cursive silver script was the date: Thursday 31st July. With a fond stroke to the cover, he placed it to one side with Ron's presents so he could see what else he'd been sent.
He picked up his next parcel, this one delivered by Errol, and inside there were three separate presents. The first one he picked out was from Mr and Mrs Weasley. Tearing off the blue wrapper, he found inside some of Mrs Weasleys home-made fudge, along with a note saying not to eat too much before he came to stay with them, or he wouldn't have room for lunch when he arrived!
The next gift he picked up was a small parcel, wrapped in a pale yellow colour from Ginny. Unwrapping it, he found inside it a small black velvet pouch. Opening it up, he found that it was filled with tiny multi-coloured marbles, a little like the ones you find in a muggle store. Only these were slightly different. If you looked closely, you could see the colours were continuously changing, merging from one colour to another. They were beautiful. He studied the marbles for a little longer before smiling fondly and putting them away, turning to his third gift from the Weasleys.
This one was obviously from the twins, Fred and George, as the wrapping paper was a dazzling mix of bright colours that hurt the eye and made you dizzy if you looked at the for too long. Removing the paper, he uncovered a brown box with a note stuck to the top. Unfolding the note, he read the message from the twin before laughing, thinking of all the fun he was going to have this year.
Happy Birthday Harry!
Inside this box you will find a treasure trove of our best pranks and jokes, some of which we haven't even released to the public yet! Have fun, use them well and make us proud!
Gred & Forge
He removed the lid on the box, and inside was an interesting looking assortment of pranks and jokes, along with a book the twins has written for him on the best way to use each one. He couldn't wait to get to school so he could try them all out. He set the box aside and turned his attention to his last three gifts.
Hedwig had brought him a gift from Moony, and the school owls a gift from Hagrid and Dumbledore in turn.
He was very touched with the gift he was given from Moony, as it was a ring that had belonged to his godfather, Sirius. It was a simple, plain silver band that fit around the little finger of his right hand. He put it on immediately and knew straight away that he would very rarely, if ever, take it off.
Hagrid had sent him a home-made chocolate cake, a replica of the one he'd given him for his 11th birthday, only a lot less squashed this time. He also received a stack of photos that Hagrid had found of his parents and their friends from their days at Hogwarts, with a note telling him to add them to his album. He sat for a while, looking through them, some of them bringing tears to his eyes, though he refused to let them fall. two in particular caught his attention, and he was fairly surprised. One was of his mother, probably in her fifth year, with Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy of all people, and the other was just her and Snape. He looked through them for a little while longer before turning his attention to his last present, the one from Professor Dumbledore.