About a month after the disastrous zoo trip, life was back to normal for Harry Potter. He was again serving breakfast to his relatives when they heard mail pushed through the slot in the door.
"Dudley, get the mail," said Vernon.
"Make Harry get it," Dudley whined.
"Harry, get the mail," he switched targets.
"Make Dudley get it," Harry said, attempting to make his cousin do some work for once.
"Poke him with your Smeltings stick Dudley," came the reply. Harry dodged the cane and went to fetch the mail.
He scooped up the thick pile of letters from the base of the door and began looking through them when two parchment envelopes caught his eye. He tucked them both up under his shirt and took the remaining letters to his uncle.
Vernon, after receiving the mail, dismissed Harry, who then went to the cupboard under the stairs to read his letters.
He looked at the two envelopes. One was addressed to 'Harry Potter, The Cupboard Under the Stairs, Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging' but it was the other envelope that startled him.
The second envelope was addressed to the cupboard under the stairs, but it was addressed to someone named Link. Harry ignored the envelope addressed to Link, putting it up on a shelf in the cupboard and forgetting about it. Instead, he eagerly tore open the letters addressed to him.
"Dear Mr. Potter," Harry read under his breath. "We are pleased to tell you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We await your owl by September 1. Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonnagal."
'Witchcraft? Wizardry? What kind of joke is this?' Harry thought, but in the back of his mind there was a niggling thought, a half remembered call of 'Din's Fire!' followed by consuming red flames*. Harry came to a decision. He had to go outside anyways, he may as well see if an owl delivered the letter.
Quickly, using half a pencil he found in the cupboard, he scribbled out a reply on the back of the acceptance letter (not the supply list, which he seperated from the letter so he wouldn't send it back by accident).
Harry went outside, telling his Aunt that he was going to garden, and saw a tawny Great Horned owl sitting on the fence. He approached the owl carefully, holding his reply out in front of him. The bird tilted its head and snatched the letter up, flying away. Harry nodded to himself and turned to the garden.
.(A/N).
*- I know that Link gets Din's Fire when he's an adult, but for the sake of plot, he knows it here.
Also, I'm sorry it's so short, but I'm trying to make some suspense. One more thing, check out the poll on my profile for what pet he gets.