Chapter 1

You're Invited

The lights of Number 4 private drive flicked on. It was 8 in the morning, and the day was just beginning. The air smelled new and the sun glowed on the horizon. Inside, a skinny, black-haired boy ran his hair through his hair, making it (if possible) messier than it already was.

It had been another sleepless night. He tossed and turned with dreams of a mysterious girl, with a shadowed face. He knew this girl was important, but he had never seen her face. And even though it seemed crazy, he knew he loved her. He thought it might be his mother, or a sister he never had, but then he realized it was a different kind of love.

He stirred to alertness when he heard a soft tapping at the window. It was a small owl, small enough to fit into his hands. He opened the window, and it zoomed in, and started flying circles around his head.

"Pig!" said Harry "Give me that!" he reached for the letter tied to the owls leg, and with some effort finally caught it. Pig zipped into the unoccupied cage at the other side of the room. Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig, wasn't back from hunting yet.

Harry looked to the letters in his hands. He was only expecting one, but two had been sent. He looked to the first one and saw Ron's short, untidy scrawl. He was expecting this. Then, he looked to the second one, and was relieved to find Hermione's curly handwriting, spelling out the name "Mr. Harry Potter."

He looked to Ron's first.

Dear Harry,

Hey Mate, Happy Birthday!

Harry stopped here to look up. He had been 16 for 8 hours and he never realized it. Nobody ever remembered his birthday, obviously sometimes not even himself. As far as he was concerned, turning another year older was just one more miserable year lived with the Dursleys. He went back to the letter.

Hope the muggles are treating you ok. Good news! Mom says you're welcome to stay with us this year. We won't be going back to Grimmauld Place this year, although they still use it for you-know-what. They decided we were going to be silent members. It's made this summer pretty boring.

Fred and George are back. They left the store with Lee Jordan, just for now. They're staying here for the summer and then going to Muggle College, studying business. Mom wasn't too thrilled but Dad couldn't have been happier.

Oh, by the way, Hermione's coming over too. I don't know where everyone's going to stay, but we'll manage. We're coming to get you August 4, no buts about it. You'll receive your birthday present when you get here, Pig's too small to carry it. Can't wait to see you!

Your Best Mate,

Ron

Harry smiled. At least he only had 5 more says in the hell hole. He moved on to Hermione's letter.

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday! I hope you can make it to Ron's. He said your coming weather the Dursley's say you're allowed or not, but I don't think his parents will allow it if the Dursley's say no. I still can't understand how they can be so mean. Your presents here with me, and I'm taking it with me to Ron's. Pigs too small to carry it. I hope they're feeding to right there, ever since Errol died, we can only send letters because Pig is so small.

How are you coping? ((Harry knew Hermione was talking about Sirius)) I do hope you're doing all right and not sulking, it's no way to live.

I'll see you in a few days! Happy Birthday, once again!

Love,

Hermione

Harry thought about that for a moment. Had he been sulking? He knew the answer. Yes, he had for a long time. He went from having a Godfather who loved him and all his friends, and being at his favorite place in the world, Hogwarts, to losing it all at once. He came home and stayed in bed for a straight week, not even eating or (he was ashamed to say) not even showering. But, he knew he couldn't live like that, so with some pain he got up, and slowly started living a normal life again. It was painful for a while, but now that he knew he was going to get back into the wizarding world, he felt much better.

He quickly sat down at his desk and scratched out a letter, addressed to both Ron and Hermione.

Dear Ron and Hermione,

Thank you for the invitation to the burrow! I can't wait to see you either!

Best,

Harry

He then wrapped the letter up and sent it off with Pig. By this time it was 8:30, time for him to make breakfast.

He went downstairs and made a quick meal of bacon and toast. He nearly burned both, and after much yelling from his Uncle Vernon, he decided to go for a walk, so he threw on a light jacket and headed out.

He had taken a lot of walks from the time he had came to Private Drive. He needed to stay out of that boot-camp they called a house. Luckily, his aunt, uncle, and whale of a cousin were more than happy to have him out of their home. He liked to roam the streets, and think about Sirius, and wizarding life.

HE spent many hours letting his mind flow over things like quidditch, potions with Snape, and even occasionally, the mysterious shadow-faced girl of his dreams. He thought maybe it was Cho Chang, but after thinking about this for a few minuets that he never had more than a crush on her, and he really had strong feelings for this girl, whoever she may be.

He sat down in an old park that no one came to. Dudley and his band of goons had vandalized in many months ago, so it was usually abandoned. Harry sat down in a swing that hang lopsided on its chain, and lightly rocked back and forth, but only had time to relax for about a minuet.

"Harry! Harry! You've got to get out of here!" Harry looked up to see batty old Mrs. Figg running toward him, in a bathrobe and house slippers.

"What?" asked Harry. He thought maybe this was just Mrs. Filgg's mind slipping, as it did from time to time.

"I got a letter from Dumbledore! You-Know-Who is back! They spotted him in London, and he's headed this way. A spy for the ministry says he's looking for you! You've got to get out of here Harry!" she panted as she stopped in front of him. Harry's mind raced.

He's here….somewhere….looking for this way…..

"Where am I supposed to go?" asked Harry. The situation seemed hopeless. There's nowhere he could go to be completely safe…well there was one place but he was sure it would be impossible…