Book 5
Harry Potter
And The Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 1: Hermione's HouseHarry Potter woke up at 5:59 in the morning. Mere seconds before his alarm rang. He quickly turned off his alarm clock, got out of bed, got dressed, and went out into the hallway. From the noises coming from the far bedroom Uncle Vernon was up and getting ready to take Harry to the train station. Harry was taking the 8:00 am train to Hermione Granger's house. Earlier in the summer, Hermione had asked Harry and their friend Ron to come spend the last month at Hermione's house. Ron told he could come after a little convincing and Harry eagerly asked his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. They both immediately agreed and Uncle Vernon even told Harry he'd take him to the train station. So Hermione sent him a ticket and Harry would take the train to her house. Harry was very excited, not only because he would be seeing his two best friends, but also because his fifteenth birthday was tomorrow and he wouldn't have to spend it wishing he were somewhere else. He was going to be somewhere else! Harry skipped down the steps and into the kitchen where Dudley and was eating breakfast.
"What are you so happy about?" asked Dudley.
"Don't you know?" said Harry, "I get to go to my friends' house until the end of the summer when we go to Hog--, my school."
"That's not so wonderful! What's wonderful is that I get the whole house to myself. With none of you!"
"Ahhh! What do I care? At Her—my friend's house I can talk about wizards, witches, magic, Quidditch, flying, broomsticks. Practically, anything I want!" Dudley was silent for a second. He seemed to be wrestling with something inside, or that's the impression Harry got. Instead of yelling a comeback, Dudley looked crestfallen and sighed. A few minutes passed.
"Why should you get to have all the fun?" asked Dudley more to himself than to Harry. Harry looked at Dudley incredulously. Dudley put down his grapefruit half and looked at Harry like he was a fly.
"I admit not having you around will be a joy. You won't be in my room and all that. But when you are here I have entertainment. I can make you jealous really easily. Mom and Dad want you to do everything. When you are gone, I have to get the mail, fetch the milk, and Mum is even more strict with this diet than she is when you are here. I hate it. Everything is so quiet." Dudley stopped suddenly, looked up, gave Harry a vicious look and waddled into the living room where he plopped in front of the TV. Harry smirked as he looked after him. For a moment he though Dudley possessed a fraction of human compassion towards him. No such luck.
A sound made Harry glance toward the stairs. Uncle Vernon was coming down.
"What are you staring at, boy? Get your stuff; get a move on. I want to get rid of you as fast as possible. Don't dawdle. You don't want to keep your little friend waiting now do you?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon." He might as well be polite. No sense in making Uncle Vernon mad when he was so close to being on his way out of there. Harry ran upstairs and pulled all of his belongings back down stairs. Harry's belongings included his huge trunk with his books and clothes in it, his cage with Hedwig locked in, and his broomstick, a Firebolt. He and Uncle Vernon packed his stuff into the car and then they headed to the train station with Hedwig in her cage perched on Harry's lap. Uncle Vernon made no effort to talk to him on the way, but neither did Harry. At the station Uncle Vernon, while still not talking, unloaded the trunk into the luggage compartment of the train, help Harry find his seat and told the conductor to make sure no one bothered Harry. Harry got up to say thank you, but Uncle Vernon just pushed him back down in the seat and marched off the train. Harry watched through his window as Uncle Vernon got into his car and sped away from the station. He then sat back to enjoy the ride.
Harry slept most of the way. He woke for lunch, which consisted of a limp bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, stale potato chips, a choice of an apple, orange or banana (Harry chose an apple), and a rather crunchy chocolate chip cookie. Then Harry fell back to sleep until the train pulled into the station. When Harry stepped off the train he immediately heard his name being called from the other end. He hurriedly found his belongings and raced over to meet them. It was Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ron's twin older brothers Fred and George! Harry greeted all of them and asked Ron why Fred and George were there.
"We needed someone to drive us so Fred and George said that they'd be happy to drive down me down to the Hermione's then to pick you up. Don't worry, they aren't staying at Hermione's, they were just going to pass through to visit a friend."
They all piled into Fred and George's new car and drove out of the station. Harry, Ron and Hermione had a lot to catch up on. But, as usual, the three of them picked up where they left off.
Soon they were riding through countryside with cows that looked up with interest as they passed and horses that ran along the fence to try to keep up with the car. Then the scenery changed to big Victorian housing complete with swimming pools and tennis courts and wraparound porches. Fred and George pulled into a driveway that ended at one of the big Victorians. It was two stories with a wrought-iron fence and brick siding. Navy blue shutters outlined each window and the front door was navy blue as well. Harry pulled out his trunk, cage and broomstick while gazing in awe the house before him. It was beautiful. He told Hermione that. She smiled and blushed.
Harry had met Hermione's parents before, but he was never formally introduced. Hermione's parents were standing in the foyer as if they had been waiting just for them to pull up. Her mom was about 5'7" with medium length dark brown hair pinned up with a wood-grained clip and bright blue-green eyes. Her face was flawless with little make up, if any. She wore a white, short-sleeved blouse tucked into a navy blue ankle-length skirt. The only jewelry she wore was a simple gold chain, a matching bracelet, and a wedding ring. Her earrings were tiny gold hoops. She smiled revealing straight dazzling white teeth and held her hand out for Harry to shake.
"Hello, Harry. I'm Ellen Granger, Hermione's mother. I have heard a lot about you."
"How do you do, Mrs. Granger?" replied Harry, shaking her hand.
Hermione's dad was two or three inches taller with light brown hair, the color of Hermione's, and honey colored eyes. He wore a dark green polo shirt tucked into plain tan slacks. He was shoeless; wearing only tan socks while Mrs. Granger wore navy blue bedroom slippers. Harry recalled Hermione telling him that both of her parents were dentists. Mr. Granger gave Harry another straight sparkling white smile and held out his hand
"All right, Harry? I'm Dennis Granger. As you have probably already guessed, I'm Hermione's father."
"Pleased to meet you." Harry replied and shook Mr. Granger's hand as well. There was a twinkle in Dennis Granger's eye that reminded Harry of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on whom. Harry immediately noticed that Hermione's looks took after her father rather than her mother. Ron introduced himself, and then his twin brothers did one of their name mix-up games where they introduced themselves as one then asked the other if that was correct using their goofy antics. They basically made everybody laugh and broke the ice. Fred and George made sure Harry and Ron were okay then they left for the next town to visit a friend.
Mrs. Granger turned to Hermione and said, "Why don't you take Harry and Ron up to the spare bedroom they will be sharing? While they settle in come help me with dinner."
Hermione smiled at her mother and the three of them picked up the bags and headed up the stairs. The carpeting was off-white, as was the wallpaper. Pictures of what looked like Hermione as a baby, then toddler, then child, then a picture of her in Hogwarts robes hung on the walls all the way up the steps and along the upstairs hallway. Hermione stopped at the door at the top of the steps.
"Here it is!" she remarked, unlocking and opening the door. "Are you two all right? I've got to go down and help mum and dad." When Harry nodded, she retreated and Harry heard her going down the steps. Harry looked around the room. One large night stand with two drawers stood against the far wall. A fat lamp squatted on it. Two twin sized beds with white sheets and navy blue bedspreads outlined it. On either side of the beds there were two bay windows with navy blue cushions and white shades rolled up. To Harry's immediate right was a big closet and two dark brown wooden dressers stood directly across from it.
"Cool," remarked Ron. Harry and Ron unpacked their suitcases and put their belongings around the room. A sleeping Hedwig was put on Harry's dresser and Pig, Ron's tiny owl, was put on Ron's dresser with a cloak covering his cage.
"Harry! Ron! Supper is ready!" Hermione called from downstairs. The two boys joined Hermione downstairs.
The dining room table was set with good china and a small vase containing a single red rose served as the centerpiece. Mr. Granger sat at the head of the table and Mrs. Granger sat to his immediate right. Hermione sat across from her mother and Harry and Ron sat next to Hermione. Mrs. Granger had made a delicious looking pot roast and buttery green beans with yummy mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert there was steaming peach cobbler topped with real whipped cream. Mr. Granger told hilarious childhood stories that left everyone wiping their eyes by dessert. After dinner Harry, Ron and Hermione helped clean up the kitchen. Mr. Granger said goodnight and he went into his study. Mrs. Granger curled up by the fire with a book. Hermione said goodnight to both of her parents then the three of them went upstairs.
"Can we see your room, Hermione?" Asked Ron.
"That's just where I was headed." Hermione's room was a little bit bigger than the guest bedroom but furnished basically the same way. She had a full sized bed with a light blue bedspread. Her walls were off white and the only thing mounted on them was a bulletin board cover in letters and postcards. Underneath that was a big desk, complete with a black, leather swivel chair. A closet and dresser were set of to Harry's right. Hermione's wizarding books were piled high on her desk.
"So? How do you like my house?" Hermione asked.
"It's great. It is odd, too. At my cousin's house there are no remnants of wizardry because it is a muggle house. Magic is not welcome there; I can't ever talk about it. In Ron's house, wherever you look there's something magical about everything and you can talk about it too. But here, it's a muggle environment, but magic is accepted; allowed. It's weird."
Ron chuckled, "You analyze everything, Harry. You need to relax. C'mon, let's get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day."
"A big day? Tomorrow? What are we doing?" Harry asked, perplexed.
"Oh, I don't know. I didn't mean anything by it," Ron didn't meet Harry's as he said that and he shifted his feet guiltily. Ron and Hermione shared a meaningful glance that Harry noticed but couldn't decipher.
Ron and Harry said goodnight to Hermione and left for their room. After turning out the light, Ron said to Harry, "How do you like Hermione's parents?"
"They're really nice. Her dad is hilarious."
"Yeah," a pause, then, "Goodnight, Harry."
"G'night, Ron." And Harry promptly fell into an exhausted sleep.
Harry woke up at 8:52 the next morning, according to the clock mounted on the wall. He looked to see if Ron was up yet, but all he saw was Ron's already made bed. That surprised him. Ron usually hates getting up early. Harry pulled on his socks and went to see if he could find Ron. As Harry stepped into the kitchen four voiced shouted, "SURPRISE!!" Harry couldn't believe it. Hermione, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, and Ron were all dressed complete with party hats and a bunch of other party favors. Even Crookshanks, Hermione's huge orange cat made an appearance to with Harry a happy birthday. Sitting on the kitchen counter was a huge chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Fifteen candles were placed randomly across it. And pile of presents was on the coffee table in the den. The kitchen table was set with plates and everybody sat down and waited for Mr. Granger to serve them deliciously warm buttermilk pancakes. After breakfast and the dishes were cleaned up, the lights were turned out and the candles were lit and everyone sang happy birthday to Harry. The cake was then cut and everyone was served a piece. Harry and Ron even went back for seconds. After the cake and ice cream, Harry went into the den to open the presents. Mr. Granger got Harry a teeth cleaning kit. Harry thought that was a little weird, but he smiled and thanked him just the same. Mrs. Granger got him a pewter picture frame with a picture of him, Ron and Hermione in it. Engraved on the side of the picture was the meaning of each of their names. The picture wasn't moving, so Harry guessed that a magical camera didn't take it. It was great and Harry loved it. Hermione had bought him a journal that only the owner could write in it. If anybody but Harry tried to write in it the writing wouldn't show up. And if anyone tried to read what Harry wrote, the writing would disappear. He thanked Hermione and gave her a hug. Ron bought Harry a camera and two extra rolls of film. Harry thought all the presents were wonderful. All of a sudden the doorbell rang.
"Who could that be?" said Mr. Granger absently as Mrs. Granger went to get the door. When Mrs. Granger came back into the room she was carrying a letter attached to a lumpy package in one hand, and a short thin object in the other hand. Harry put the lumpy pack on the coffee table and opened the note attached to the rectangular shaped box. It said:
Dear Mr. Potter,
You have been chosen to be apart of the Order of the Phoenix. We will explain this at our first meeting, which will be December 1st of this year. The gift is not only to say happy birthday, but is a represents your importance to the Order of the Phoenix. You will have to choose two of your classmates to join you. The only people that can know about this are the four people that are with you right now. You will be notified when you can tell other people. Just tell your other classmates that it is a gift from the school. Thank you and congratulations!
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Arabella Figg, and Remus Lupin
Harry handed the note to Ron and opened the box. It was a 10 inch dagger and with a matching case. Engraved on the hilt was: Harry Potter and under it was The Order of the Phoenix. The knife and the place that Harry got in the Order of the Phoenix awed everyone. The lumpy packaged turned out to be from Hagrid and it was a giant supply of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. After that Ron, Hermione and Harry went out into the backyard and took turns flying on Harry's Firebolt. Hermione's parents ordered pizza for dinner and they had ice cream sundaes for dessert. When it got too dark to play outside they had fun taking pictures with Harry's camera. At about 10 o'clock Hermione's parents came in to say goodnight.
"You three need your sleep. Don't stay up too much longer," said Mrs. Granger.
"We won't," Harry, Ron and Hermione said in unison. Not too long after the adults went to bed did the three of them retire as well.
In their bedroom Harry thanked Ron again for the camera. Ron smiled and said goodnight. Harry got into bed and let his mind wander to the previous day's events. Of all of his birthdays in the last fifteen years, Harry had never actually had a party. He felt great. He fell asleep with the thought that this was definitely his favorite birthday memory.