Chapter 2
Harry's
First Surprise
"Harry, wake up!"
Harry woke up with a jolt, sitting bolt upright in his bed. There was sunlight, it was definitely morning and Uncle Vernon was standing in Harry's doorway with the door flung wide open.
"Hurry up boy and get out of bed," he boomed.
"What's going on? Why the rush?" Harry asked. But as soon as he had, he wished he hadn't as his Uncle advanced quickly upon him.
"Get out of bed. And get downstairs," He growled slowly, his pink face quickly becoming redder. "NOW!"
Without a clue as to why his Uncle would even have bothered to come and look at him, let alone speak to him, Harry slowly swung his legs out of bed. He sat on the edge of his bed and yawning stretched his arms up to the ceiling.
"Are you trying to take the Mickey out of me, boy?" Uncle Vernon demanded.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, in a false sweeter than innocent tone.
"Just get downstairs," he said as he turned towards the door. "You've got visitors."
"Visitors? Why didn't you just say?" He called after his Uncle.
With that Harry jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. Running down the stairs two at a time he slowed as he reached the bottom, wondering who the visitors might be. No one from the muggle world ever visited him, not as long as he had lived at Privet Drive.
As he reached the lounge door, Harry took a deep breath in as he turned the handle.
"Hello Harry!"
"Happy Birthday Harry."
"Alright Harry, Happy Birthday!"
"Happy Birthday, mate".
Came a chorus of greetings as Harry had slowly peered into the room. Beaming from ear to ear as he realised Professor Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Mr Weasley and Ron stood in the Dursley's lounge he walked in and immediately shook hands with each of the adults.
"Wow, what are you all doing here?" Harry asked, shocked to see them all standing in Little Whinging.
"The same question I would like to ask," boomed Mr Dursley's voice from behind Harry. He had followed Harry into his living room to find out just what all these freaks were doing in his house – again.
"It's Harry's birthday, Mr Dursley," Arthur Weasley said smiling. "But of course you already know that." He said apologetically. From the look on Uncle Vernon's red face it was clear he had not remembered that today was Harry's birthday, but blustering he tried not to let it be known.
"Of course I knew it was Harry's birthday. The boy lived with us for eleven years before any of you lot showed up. So I'm hardly likely to forget that July the thirtieth…"
"Thirty first," Harry corrected.
"Ah, thirty first," Mr Dursley scowled at Harry. "… is Harry's birthday," he finished.
"Well, I won't beat around the bush Dursley," Mad-Eye growled. "We're here to take Harry with us. He's coming to stay with us until school term begins… Unless of course you have any objections." He asked his magical eye suddenly fixed stock still on Mr Dursley, awaiting his response.
"No, we have no objections what-so-ever to you taking the boy with you," Mr Dursley muttered uncomfortably. Harry and Ron grinned at one another and Ron stuck his thumb up.
"Excellent," Mr Weasley said cheerily. "Well, we'll just ask Harry to get his things together and we'll be on our way."
Harry wasted no time in bounding up the stairs back to his bedroom and throwing all his things back into his school truck. Grabbing Hedwig's cage he startled her as she soundlessly slept on her perch. "Sorry girl," he said as he grabbed the trunk with the other hand and set out onto the landing. "But, we're getting out of here, so I'm sure you'll understand the rush!"
As he reached the front door, Professor Lupin and Mr Weasley took Harry's trunk off him and loaded it onto the car parked out the front.
"Well Bye then," Harry said to his Uncle as he went to leave the house.
"Wait a minute," Moody butted in, with a smirk on his face. "I'm sure your Uncle would like to give you your birthday present from the family before you leave."
"Ah, well, I…" Mr Dursley stammered. "PETUNIA."
Harry's Aunt Petunia however didn't reply, instead Dudley who had been eavesdropping from the kitchen crept into the kitchen doorway keeping the door in one hand ready to slam shut if anyone was to try that freaky magic stuff on him.
"Mum's not in," he muttered wide eyed as Lupin and Weasley returned to see what the hold up was.
"Oh," Uncle Vernon said. Then thinking quickly he asked Dudley, "Where's Harry's birthday present? Do you know where your mother put it?"
"Harry's birthday present?" Dudley asked surprised.
"Yes, son," Mr Dursley said desperately trying to motion towards the three wizards standing behind him without them seeing. "You know. Harry's present?" He said nodding his head and rolling his eyes ferociously.
"Oh, Harry's present you say Dad?" Dudley said, suddenly cottoning on. "It's upstairs."
"Well, would you mind getting it for me then please son?" Dudley slowly crept round the banisters and up the stairs not turning his back on the wizards standing in the doorway until he was out of their sight.
Several uncomfortable minutes later, where Mr Dursley had looked nervously up and down the street to make sure none of the neighbours curtains were twitching and Moody had not removed his stare from Dursley's face, Dudley came downstairs. In his arms he carried an unwrapped gift.
"Here you go," he said dumping it in Harry's arms unceremoniously. Harry looked down to the bundle he had in his arms. It was an old toy robot of Dudley's; a broken old toy robot of Dudley's. One of the arms had been snapped off several years ago when Dudley had got annoyed with it and thrown it against the wall because it persisted in walking round and round in circles repeating the same thing over and over again.
"Thanks," Harry said, looking up at his Uncle.
"Well there you go then, no reason to hang about now is there?" Mr Dursley said bustling Harry and Ron out onto the driveway. Once outside they all began to head for the car.
"Bit old for toys aren't you Harry?" Lupin asked.
"Well, I'm definitely too old for this one," Harry said grinning back. Taking the lid off the dustbin that stood at the end of the drive ready for collection, Harry made to drop the broken toy in it.
"You're not throwing that out are you Harry?" Mr Weasley asked.
"It's broken, Mr Weasley," Harry replied. "It's no use to me."
"Just seems such a shame…" Mr Weasley said looking at the silver plastic lump longingly.
"Here you go," Harry said handing Mr Weasley the robot. "You can have it then. Maybe you'll be able to fix it."
"Oh, thank you very much Harry," Mr Weasley stammered gratefully.
As they pulled away from Privet Drive Harry glanced back at the house. Mr Dursley was peeking out from behind the net curtain in the lounge, waiting for them to leave.
"Well, Happy Birthday Harry!" Ron said cheerily. "Maybe now we'll actually be able to catch up!"
Turning back to Ron, sitting beside him, Harry smiled. "Yeah, thank goodness I'm out of there! I was starting to go mad again."
"We couldn't have come too soon then! Sorry Harry, I haven't got your birthday present with me," Ron muttered, glancing at the toy robot on the seat next to him. "It's back at home."
"Don't worry about it, Ron. I'm quite sure it wouldn't beat the Dursley's present anyway! Where are we on our way to now?"
"We're going to pick Hermione up, then we're all going back to my house, where we having…"
"RON!" Burst in Mr. Weasley. "Don't give it away. Molly will kill me if she finds out we ruined Harry's surprise."
Ron rolled his eyes but said no more.
