WARNING: English is not my mother tongue, and though I did a triple check before posting, feel free to tell me if you find any mistakes!
PAIRINGS WARNING: so far the only pairings I have decided are: Lily/James, George/OC, Fred/OC, and Ron/Hermione, (and OC/OC but that one is minor) most pairings will be only background pairing but if you have a pairing you want on the story (cannon or fannon, either is fine) let me know and I'll do a poll (het or slash) and then I'll choose, this story might have slash but once again, I don't know, so far there is nothing, but if that changes I promise to warn you guys
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, only my OCs
Everything written like this belongs to the great JK Rowling
Everything written like this are the things I added to the story
And everything written like this is the actual story
(Author's note at the end)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
OWL POST
Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.
"no kidding" Leon joked, Harry, being as mature as he was, stuck out his tongue
For one thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of another, he really wanted to do his homework
"oh god, you see Prongsy? The Evans genes have obviously corrupted him" Sirius cried mockingly
"there's nothing wrong with wanting to do your homework!" Lily and Hermione said, smiling at each other
"not when you're on holidays!" James lamented "oh my poor son"
"ehem, may I continue?" Teddy asked, smiling when everyone apologized
but was forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night.
"why? I mean, I'm sure Lily would be delighted…" Sirius started
"Sirius" Moony interrupted
"yes Moony dear?"
"shut up"
And he also happened to be a wizard.
"nooo, really?" Fred asked sarcastically
"are you a wizard Harry? How come you never told us?" George continued, much to everyone's amusement
It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his stomach in bed, the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a flashlight in one hand and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot) propped open against the pillow. Harry moved the tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked for something that would help him write his essay, "Witch Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless discuss."
The quill paused at the top of a likely-looking paragraph. Harry Pushed his round glasses up the bridge of his nose, moved his flashlight closer to the book, and read:
Most everyone groaned
"can't we skip this part?" Zania asked
"no skipping!" Remmy smirked
Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than fortyseven times in various disguises.
Harry put his quill between his teeth and reached underneath his pillow for his ink bottle and a roll of parchment. Slowly and very carefully he unscrewed the ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, and began to write, pausing every now and then to listen, because if any of the Dursleys
"wait, the Dursleys? Why are you with them?" James asked
"we could be visiting" Lily said, sounding almost hopeful "maybe my sister and I reconciled in the future"
"it explains in the book, now if I may?" Teddy said, seeing Harry's pained expression
heard the scratching of his quill on their way to the bathroom, he'd probably find himself locked in the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the summer.
The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive, was the reason that Harry never enjoyed his summer holidays. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living relatives.
"wait…could you read that again, please?" Lily asked
Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living relatives.
"That…that means we're dead…we…Lily and I…" James said in shock, Lily let a pained cry and hugged James, crying on his shoulder, James stood still, shocked, before hugging her close and crying with her, all around them everyone was quiet, Sirius gave Remus a one-armed hug, bringing him closer once he saw his watering eyes, they both tried to hold in the tears, but once Remus let out a pained whimper and hid in the crook of Sirius' neck Sirius turned and cried into his hair, while Hermione, Ron, and Leon hugged Harry who was crying silently, Lupin looked at the floor, not wanting to see his old friends in such pain, after a few moments everyone James spoke up
"we're going to change things, that's why we're here right?" James looked at Teddy, who nodded encouragingly and continued reading
They were Muggles, and they had a very medieval attitude toward magic. Harry's dead parents,
Almost everyone flinched
who had been a witch and wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the Dursleys' roof
Everyone except Harry looked angry, but didn't say anything, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked a little shocked, but after seeing Harry's expression decided not to ask anything
For years, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if they kept Harry as downtrodden as possible, they would be able to squash the magic out of him. To their fury, they had been unsuccessful. These days they lived in terror of anyone finding out that Harry had spent most of the last two years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most they could do, however, was to lock away Harry's spellbooks, wand, cauldron, and broomstick at the start of the summer break, and forbid him to talk to the neighbors.
All the room was silently seething and glaring at the book while Teddy read this chapter, trying hard not to cower and telling himself that they were glaring at the book, not at him.
This separation from his spellbooks had been a real problem for Harry, because his teachers at Hogwarts had given him a lot of holiday work. One of the essays, a particularly nasty one about shrinking potions, was for Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Snape,
"wait…Professor Snape? How did that git become a professor?" Sirius asked, completely shocked
"what was Dumbledore thinking?" James said, echoing Sirius' shock
"would you two stop interrupting?" Mrs. Weasley snapped "we'll never finish otherwise!"
"yes, ma'am" they chorused
who would be delighted to have an excuse to give Harry detention for a month.
"of course he would, that slimy…"
"James!" Remus warned, looking at him from his position at Padfoot's side
Harry had therefore seized his chance in the first week of the holidays. While Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley had gone out into the front garden to admire Uncle Vernon's new company car (in very loud voices, so that the rest of the street would notice it too), Harry had crept downstairs, picked the lock on the cupboard under the stairs, grabbed some of his books, and hidden them in his bedroom. As long as he didn't leave spots of ink on the sheets, the Dursleys need never know that he was studying magic by night.
"oh Harry! We are so…" The Weasley twins chorused
"…proud of you! there's still hope!" the Black twins finished, most to everyone's amusement (except of course Mrs. Weasley)
Harry was particularly keen to avoid trouble with his aunt and uncle at the moment, as they were already in an especially bad mood with him, all because he'd received a telephone call from a fellow wizard one week into the school vacation.
Harry, Leon, and Hermione groaned, while Ron's ears started to get red
Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of wizards. This meant that he knew a lot of things Harry didn't, but had never used a telephone before. Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who had answered the call.
"Vernon Dursley speaking."
Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron's voice answer.
"HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I - WANT - TO - TALK - TO - HARRY - POTTER!"
The marauders, Romulus, Lily, and both sets of twins laughed, while Leon, Harry, and Hermione just shook their heads fondly at their friend, all the Weasley family (with the exception of Ron and Mrs. Weasley) either laughed or chuckled at the youngest Weasley male.
Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression of mingled fury and alarm.
"WHO IS THIS?" he roared in the direction of the mouthpiece. "WHO ARE YOU?"
"RON - WEASLEY!" Ron bellowed back, as though he and Uncle Vernon were speaking from opposite ends of a football field. "I'M - A - FRIEND - OF - HARRY'S - FROM - SCHOOL -"
Uncle Vernon's small eyes swiveled around to Harry, who was rooted to the spot.
"THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER HERE!" he roared, now holding the receiver at arm's length, as though frightened it might explode. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOURE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!"
And he threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if dropping a poisonous spider.
The fight that had followed had been one of the worst ever.
"HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE - PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Uncle Vernon had roared, spraying Harry with spit.
There was a chorus of "eww"s around the room
Ron obviously realized that he'd gotten Harry into trouble, because he hadn't called again. Harry's second best friend from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger, hadn't been in touch either. Harry suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a pity, because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry's year, had Muggle parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would probably have had enough sense not to say that she went to Hogwarts.
"actually Harry, I wouldn't have known, since you never really told us not to" Hermione said, looking at him sternly
"sorry, must have slipped my mind" he shrugged
Harry tried to remember if Leon Lupin, Harry's third and last best friend, came from a muggle family or, like Ron, a wizarding family, but he couldn't remember anything other than the fact that his two sisters Adhara and Zania Black were also witches and that they all lived with Leon's uncle, but he didn't know much else. He assumed that he also came from a wizarding family, since Ron and him had known each other since before Hogwarts, but Leon had never confirmed it.
"sorry, I guess I never really told you anything else" Leon smiled sheepishly
"it's okay mate, I know more now" Harry grinned
Remus looked at his brother, both looking anxious.
So Harry had had no word from any of his wizarding friends for five long weeks, and this summer was turning out to be almost as bad as the last one. There was just one very small improvement - after swearing that he wouldn't use her to send letters to any of his friends, Harry had been allowed to let his owl, Hedwig, out at night. Uncle Vernon had given in because of the racket Hedwig made if she was locked in her cage all the time.
"I really don't like your uncle" Leon muttered to Harry, who nodded
"He didn't let your owl fly?" Charlie asked, Harry nodded "that's animal abuse!"
Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird and paused to listen again. The silence in the dark house was broken only by the distant, grunting snores of his enormous cousin, Dudley. It must be very late, Harry thought. His eyes were itching with tiredness. Perhaps he'd finish this essay tomorrow night...
"you should go to sleep darling" Lily and Mrs Weasley said, making Harry blushed and mostly everyone chuckle
He replaced the top of the ink bottle; pulled an old pillowcase from under his bed; put the flashlight, A History of Magic, his essay, quill, and ink inside it; got out of bed; and hid the lot under a loose floorboard under his bed. Then he stood up, stretched, and checked the time on the luminous alarm clock on his bedside table.
It was one o'clock in the morning. Harry's stomach gave a funny jolt. He had been thirteen years old, without realizing it, for a whole hour.
"it's not really something you notice though" Bill said, amused at his brother's best friend
Yet another unusual thing about Harry was how little he looked forward to his birthdays. He had never received a birthday card in his life.
Ron, Hermione, and Leon received glares from the marauders, but before anyone could say anything, Teddy continued
The Dursleys had completely ignored his last two birthdays, and he had no reason to suppose they would remember this one.
Harry walked across the dark room, past Hedwig's large, empty cage, to the open window. He leaned on the sill, the cool night air pleasant on his face after a long time under the blankets. Hedwig had been absent for two nights now. Harry wasn't worried about her: she'd been gone this long before. But he hoped she'd be back soon - she was the only living creature in this house who didn't flinch at the sight of him.
Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year.
"oh great, sorry about that" James winced "we Potters are late bloomers"
"yeah, he was a midget until he turned 15, then he started growing" Sirius grinned "you remember Moony?"
His jet-black hair, however, was just as it always had been - stubbornly untidy, whatever he did to it.
"the Potter hair" The Marauders (plus Lily) sighed, two of them fondly (James and Sirius) and two of them exasperated (Remus and Lily)
The eyes behind his glasses were bright green,
"and Lily-flower's eyes" sighed James dreamily
"oh for goodness sake! Let the poor boy read!" Mrs. Weasley sighed nodding at Teddy
and on his forehead, clearly visible through his hair, was a thin scar, shaped like a bolt of lightning.
Of all the unusual things about Harry, this scar was the most extraordinary of all. It was not, as the Dursleys had pretended for ten years, a souvenir of the car crash that had killed Harry's parents, because Lily and James Potter had not died in a car crash.
" A CAR CRASH!?" Everyone yelled furious at the Dursleys and glaring at the book, Teddy's hair turned red under everyone's stare
They had been murdered, murdered by the most feared Dark wizard for a hundred years, Lord Voldemort. Harry had escaped from the same attack with nothing more than a scar on his forehead, where Voldemort's curse, instead of killing him, had rebounded upon its originator. Barely alive, Voldemort had fled...
Once again everyone stood in complete silence, James looked at Harry and waved him over, he did so without hesitation and sat between his parents, Remus and Sirius had returned to their previous position, trying to console one another while Romulus patted Remus' back
But Harry had come face-to-face with him at Hogwarts. Remembering their last meeting as he stood at the dark window, Harry had to admit he was lucky even to have reached his thirteenth birthday.
"I know you have questions but please wait until we finish this chapter? I promise there will be some time for questions later" Remmy asked, looking at Teddy's hair and wondering how long it would be until he lost his patience, thankfully everyone nodded, thought they looked reluctant
He scanned the starry sky for a sign of Hedwig, perhaps soaring back to him with a dead mouse dangling from her beak, expecting praise. Gazing absently over the rooftops, it was a few seconds before Harry realized what he was seeing.
Silhouetted against the golden moon, and growing larger every moment, was a large, strangely lopsided creature, and it was flapping in Harry's direction. He stood quite still, watching it sink lower and lower. For a split second he hesitated, his hand on the window latch, wondering whether to slam it shut. But then the bizarre creature soared over one of the street lamps of Privet Drive, and Harry, realizing what it was, leapt aside.
Through the window soared four owls, two of them holding up a third, which appeared to be unconscious. They landed with a soft flump on Harry's bed, and the middle owl, which was large and gray, keeled right over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to its legs.
Harry recognized the unconscious owl at once - his name was Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family.
"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley glared at Ron "WE TOLD YOU THAT ERROL COULDN'T DO THE TRIP!"
"I…yes…but…mum…listen" Ron tried to explain, sending Teddy a look, begging him to continue
Harry dashed to the bed, untied the cords around Errol's legs, took off the parcel, and then carried Errol to Hedwig's cage. Errol opened one bleary eye, gave a feeble hoot of thanks, and began to gulp some water.
"awww, the poor thing" cooed all the girls, along with both Leon and Charlie, much to everyone's amusement
Harry turned back to the remaining owls. One of them, the large snowy female, was his own Hedwig. She, too, was carrying a parcel and looked extremely pleased with herself. She gave Harry an affectionate nip with her beak as he removed her burden, and then flew across the room to join Errol.
The third owl was one that he had only seen a few times, but recognized it as Leon's owl, though he wasn't sure whether his name was Coal or Cole. He was a large and black owl that stood proudly, getting close to Harry with his package
"His name is Cole" Adhara and Lupin chorused
"No, it's Coal" Zania glared, Leon signaled for Teddy to hurry up, before they could get into another argument
Once Harry took the parcel he flew to join Errol and Hedwig, drinking some water as well.
Harry didn't recognize the fourth owl, a handsome tawny one, but he knew at once where it had come from, because in addition to a third package, it was carrying a letter bearing the Hogwarts crest. When Harry relieved this owl of its burden, it ruffled its feathers importantly, stretched its wings, and took off through the window into the night.
Harry sat down on his bed and grabbed Errol's package, ripped off the brown paper, and discovered a present wrapped in gold, and his first ever birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out - a letter and a newspaper clipping.
The clipping had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black-and-white picture were moving. Harry picked up the clipping, smoothed it out, and read:
MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.
"wow, congratulations!" The people from the past exclaimed, getting smiles and thank-yous from the Weasleys
A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."
The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend.
Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at him, standing in front of a large pyramid. Plump little Mrs. Weasley; tail, balding Mr. Weasley; six sons; and one daughter, all (though the black-and-white picture didn't show it) with flaming-red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his shoulder and his arm around his little sister, Ginny.
Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys,
"Neither can we" Adhara and Zania grinned, looking up at the Weasley twins
who were very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it.
Dear Harry,
Happy birthday!
Look, I' really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted.
"Noo, you think?" Leon snarked
It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.
I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it is gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.
Harry remembered only too well the occasion when Ron's old wand had snapped. It had happened when the car the two of them had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree on the school grounds.
We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there?
Don't let the Muggles get you down!
Try and come to London,
Ron
P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.
Percy smiled proudly, puffing up his chest
Harry glanced back at the photograph. Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly smug. He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn-rimmed glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun.
The Marauders looked at one another, trying very hard not to laugh, both sets of twins however, weren't trying all that hard, and everyone else seemed to be quite amused
Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was another note from Ron beneath it.
Harry - this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.
Bye -
Ron
Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds, then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought.
Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from Hermione.
Dear Harry,
Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right.
I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you - what if they'd opened it at customs? - but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world), Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous - the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.
"Yeah right, I bet he learned a lot" Leon smirked at Ron who smiled back
"oh yeah, I learned that Egyptians had really wicked curses, and that even after years of living with the twins, Bill still falls for their tricks" he answered, causing almost everyone to laugh
There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out, I hope it's not too long - it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.
"Two rolls of parchment? Not even I wrote that much" Lily said surprised while Remus nodded
"I'm afraid that is a tad excessive, most teachers wouldn't accept that" Lupin explained kindly "they would rather you hand in a complete but synthetized work, that shows that you can tell the important details from the irrelevant, that's why we give certain limits, doing a little more is ok, perfect even, but two rolls of parchment would be a tad excessive to most teacher"
"Oh, I understand, thanks professor" Hermione nodded, looking pensive
Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first!
Love from Hermione
P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased Ron doesn't seem too happy about it
Percy gave Ron a hurt look while Ron blushed and looked at anything but his brother
Harry laughed as he put Herrmone's letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells - but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black leather case, with silver words stamped across it, reading Broomstick Servicing Kit.
"Wow, Hermione!" Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look inside.
There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tall-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.
All the Quidditch fans were drooling
Apart from his friends, the thing that Harry missed most about Hogwarts was Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical world - highly dangerous, very exciting, and played on broomsticks. Harry happened to be a very good Quidditch player; he had been the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of the Hogwarts House teams.
"wow, you hear that Pads? My son is awesome!" James grinned at his friend, hugging his son
One of Harry's most prized possessions was his Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom.
Harry put the leather case aside and took Leon's parcel, and like before he saw a letter, a card, and a present. Harry put the package aside and opened the letter.
Dear Harry
Sorry I haven't written before, but we only just got home, we went camping so I couldn't really write. Ron told me about the phone call, I hope you didn't get into a lot of trouble, I think we should teach Ron a few things about muggles, but oh well.
I had a bit of trouble trying to decide what to get you for your birthday, and you might not like it, but I remembered how interested you were the other day so I thought it might be a good idea (and not reading these is a crime, in my opinion) so hopefully you'll like them, they're my favorites and they could make your stay at the Dursleys more…tolerable. By the way, I imagine Ron already told you about his trip? The twins told us all about it, apparently Fred and George wouldn't stop bragging. But how about you, how terrible are your holidays? Tell you what, you should come visit, I'm sure my uncle wouldn't mind, we live really close to Diagon Alley, so if you write I'm sure we could pick you up, you only have to tell your relatives where to leave you!
Anyway, I better go, my sisters are looking suspicious so I'm going to go hide somewhere else.
Leon
P.S: my uncle and the twins made the chocolate fudge, hope you like it, and they send their best wishes
Harry opened the present, taking the chocolate fudge and putting it aside and opening Leon's present and he smiled once he saw the package of books, containing Alice in Wonderlan, Through the Looking Glass, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit
"you sent him books" Ron deadpanned, turning to look at Leon
"oh! I love Alice in Wonderland, though I've never read The Lord of the Rings" Hermione said at the same time
"Blasphemy! They are the best books ever! You have to read them!" Leon told her, ignoring Ron
"They are really interesting" Harry nodded
"Please continue, otherwise he will never stop talking" Zania told Teddy
Harry had seen him reading them more than once, and he had asked what they were about he had talked nonstop about Lord of the Rings, and when he had mentioned Alice in Wonderland and saw that Harry had never read it he had promised to lend it to him. Harry shook his head fondly and put the books aside, planning on reading them later on, (he debated on whether to eat the fudge now or later, but in the end he decided it might be better to wait) then he picked up his last parcel. He recognized the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He tore off the top layer of paper and glimpsed something green and leathery, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly - as though it had jaws.
"He didn't send you anything dangerous, did he?" Mrs. Weasly worried, looking at the boy
"He better not have!" Lily glared at the book
Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders, buy vicious, three-headed dogs from men in pubs, and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin.
"Please tell me you don't know that from experience" Lily said, her voice shaking
"Hey, dad…" Leon started
"No, Leon, you can't have any of those" Lupin facepalmed
Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again. Harry reached for the lamp on his bedside table, gripped it firmly in one hand, and raised it over his head, ready to strike. Then he seized the rest of the wrapping paper in his other hand and pulled.
Everyone leaned close
And out fell - a book.
"A book? All that for a book?" Romulus looked confused at his brother, who shrugged
Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden title The Monster Book of Monsters, before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab.
"Oh…not a normal book then" Romulus paled "is that sort of thing normal?"
"Uh-oh," Harry muttered.
The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry followed it stealthily. The book was hiding in the dark space under his desk. Praying that the Dursleys were still fast asleep, Harry got down on his hands and knees and reached toward it.
"Ouch!"
"Be careful Harry" Lily whispered
"Mom, I'm right here" Harry smirked while James chuckled
"Oh, shut up" Lily blushed but smiled at hearing Harry calling her mom
The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it. Uncle Vernon gave a loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door.
Hedwig, Cole, and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his chest of drawers, and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid's card.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday!
Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating you right.
All the best,
Hagrid
"I hope he doesn't expect you to help him with some dangerous creature!" Mrs. Weasley glared at the book, crossing her arms. Lily and Lupin nodded seriously
"I hope he does" Leon whispered to Harry, both Remus heard him, Lupin glared at him warningly while Remus tried not to chuckle, remembering that this was either his son or his nephew, and not wanting him to get hurt.
It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's, grinning more broadly than ever. Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts left.
Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave ftom King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.
Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.
A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
"YES! HOGSMEADE!" Sirius yelled causing Remus to cover his ears and elbow him in the stomach
Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade on weekends; he knew it was an entirely wizarding village, and he had never set foot there. But how on earth was he going to persuade Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the form?
"They better sign your form, or I swear I'll come back as a ghost to haunt their ass!" James growled
"Language!" Mrs. Weasley said, out of habit
He looked over at the alarm clock. It was now two o'clock in the morning.
"Oh dear, you should probably go to sleep darling" Lily worried, Harry smiled and shook his head fondly
Deciding that he'd worry about the Hogsmeade form when he woke up, Harry got back into bed and reached up to cross off another day on the chart he'd made for himself, counting down the days left until his return to Hogwarts.
"Oh, I used to do that too" Lily smiled
"So did I" said Sirius, though he wasn't smiling, remembering his family life, and hoping that Harry's wasn't as bad as his, Remus saw this and gave his friend a one-armed hug in an attempt to comfort him.
Then he took off his glasses and lay down, eyes open, facing his three birthday cards.
Extremely unusual though he was, at that moment Harry Potter felt just like everyone else - glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday.
"That was quite bittersweet" James said while everyone nodded
"Ok, listen, I know you have questions, so this is what I propose" Remmy spoke up "you can write them down, and after we finish this next chapter we'll take some time off to eat, talk, and answer your questions"
"Sounds like a good plan" Romulus shrugged, everyone nodded their approval
"Brilliant, then who would like to read next?" Teddy asked
"Let's do it in order, I'll go next" Romulus smiled at the kid, taking the book
AUNT MARGE'S BIG MISTAKE
There you go, new chapter, hope you enjoy it.
I'll try to have a new chapter each week, but I'm starting school soon, so don't be surprised if I take some time
hope you enjoyed it, and please review