Chapter 1- The letter

Harry's summer had been grim because not only was he at the Dursely's until that Friday, when he would be going to the Burrow for the remainder of the summer, but the death of Dumbledore was still sinking in.

Harry sat in his room and stared at the ceiling waiting till he fell asleep. Hedwig was already asleep and the cool breeze coming in the window was all it took to make Harry fall asleep. His dream was a terrible one; it replayed the whole ordeal in which he defeated Voldamort. Right before Harry woke up, an image of burned ruins flashed through his mind. He woke up with a start and realized it was Friday and he would be going to the Burrow that morning. So he packed his things rather fast and waited for the Weaslys to pick him up. When Harry got to the burrow Hermione was already there. It was dinner time and during the middle of dinner a fat little owl flew through the window and dropped a letter on Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's, and Ginny's plate. They all grabbed their letters, ripped them open and found their current school lists. Hermione read faster than the others, and when she was done, she started to cry and ran up to the room that she was staying in. Immediately afterwards Ginny did the same. Harry started to read faster. He realized that there was a second page to the letter and started to read it:

Dear Mr. Potter;

I am sorry to tell you that Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been burned down by an incendio charm and then bewitch with an unknown hex so that the school CAN NOT be rebuilt by magic. These spells were cast by a Voldamort follower who wanted to avenge Voldamort's death. Gryffindor students will be sent to Maddock school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a small town roughly 25 miles from Chicago Illinois, U.S. The school was founded in the mid 1600's by the four Maddock brothers, Annon, Bayard, Carrick, and Denton. Those are also the house names and current Gryffindor students will be divided into these four houses. Instead of a cup given for Quidditch and House behavior, they give medals to every student on the team, or in the house. (I have checked with the Headmaster of the school, Arnold Hooper, and you are aloud to try out for the Quidditch team of the house you are sorted into.)

The sorting process is a little different than ours; you must cast a special spell made specifically for this purpose, called informo on an arrow placed in the middle of a roulette wheel with the four houses on it. The arrow will then read the information about the caster that is in the spell and then point to the appropriate house for the caster.

In order to get there you must take a portkey to the gates of the school. The portkey you and the rest of Gryffindor house will take is located at the Leaky Cauldron. You and the rest of Gryffindor house will leave at 8:43 on September 1st when the Maddock school term starts. The classes you will be taking are as follows:

1st. World events with Professor Lance Irvin.

2nd. Potions with Professor Charles Black.

3rd. Defense against dark magic with Professor Marvin Greevly.

4th. Transfiguration with Professor Virginia Vicarious.

Harry moved to a third page.

5th. Herbal studies with Professor Anne Rootly.

6th. Charms with Professor Heather Nevaeh.

Sincerely Headmistress,

Minerva McGonagall.

Harry got up and walked out into the Weasly's garden. He sat and watched a couple of garden gnome rip up a berry bush. Mrs. Weasly picked up the letter Harry had dropped and read it, wondering why everybody left the room upset. After she was done she did the same as everybody else, left the room upset.The next day Mrs. Weasly told everybody that they could go de-gnome the garden if they wanted to do something else then moping around the house. So Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went out to the garden to de-gnome. Instead they were distracted by an owl that was flying clumsily toward them. With out warning the owl hit Ron upside the head, dropping the letter it was carrying. Harry picked up the letter and read out loud:

Dear Harry, Hermione, and the Weasly family,
Have you received the bad news about Hogwarts? I have and Gran is furious. I was wondering if I can stay at the Burrow for the last couple weeks before we go to Maddock. Please send back a reply with my new owl Larry.
Sincerely,
Neville Longbottom

"Larry!" Ron asked, finally getting up from the owl incident "Is that that stupid owl that just hit me!" "Apparently" Harry said. "I guess we should go de-gnome then ask your mum if Neville can come." "And if he can, wait till he gets here to go to Diagon ally."

When they were done de-gnoming, Harry realized that Ginny hadn't talked to him the whole time he was there. When he caught up to her, he remembered what Dumbledore had asked him in his second year. (He winced at the thought of Hogwarts.) He asked her very calmly "Ginny you haven't talk to me the whole time I have been here, is there anything you'd like to tell me?" "Well you know my brothers don't like the fact that we're dating and now that Neville's is coming, because you know mum will let him, I hope he doesn't expect anything from me since we went to the Yule Ball two years ago." Ginny replied. "oh." said Harry. "Feel free to talk to me anytime you want." Harry said. "Ok" Ginny said quickly, gave him a kiss, and ran off quickly. Ron saw her kiss him and was furious. Harry walked past him and said "Live with it." "Levicorps!" Ginny and Hermione both saw and simultaneously yelled "RON!" "Put him down!" Ginny walked up to Ron and smacked him in the face, causing him to lose his balance, and his temper. "You little-"Ron started but was cut off by Mrs. Weasly "Stop fighting now!" "If you keep fighting Neville won't be able to come!