Chapter Two
Unexpected Tidings
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Go away, thought Harry groggily, burying his face in his pillow.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Go away!" said Harry, out-loud this time.
However, the person who was tapping was obviously not listening to him, and continued tapping. Harry looked up, and saw Hedwig and three other owls squashed onto his bedroom windowsill.
He hurried over to the window and hastily opened it, allowing all four owls to land with a soft sort of flump on his bed. One of the owls was hooting madly, and Harry new it must be Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon. The other three owls looked indignantly at it, as if disgusted by its actions, with their beaks raised in the air, looking in the other direction.
Harry opened Ron's first, more to get rid of Pigwidgeon and stop the hooting than anything else, and covered Pigwidgeon in one of Dudleys old jumpers. Harry then opened Ron's letter as Pigwidgeon's hooting began to die down.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! How are you Harry? Mum bought me a new broomstick from Diagon Alley, since my old one got smashed last year by that Slytherin beater, Rockford. It's a Golden Dart, not quite as fast as yours but it's supposed to be the most manoeuvrable broomstick in the world! 'Course she expects me to pay her back. Should have paid her by some time in my early 20's.
Harry felt a broad grin break out on his face. Last year, Ron had been selected to play as a beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team, to replace one of his brothers, Fred, who had left the previous year.
Hermione wrote last week to say that she had been made Head Girl, but she'll probably tell you herself. She sounded ecstatic on the fellytone.
Harry smiled again, Ron, who came from a family of wizards, had rarely used a telephone before, and still couldn't say the word correctly.
Honestly, the way she was going on… you'd think she'd just been made Supreme Ruler of the Universe.
Anyway, my parents have said its okay for you to come round for the rest of the summer, so could you please write back to say whether or not the muggles will let you. If they do, Fred and George and me will come and get you on our broomsticks. If they don't, Fred George and me will break out the broomsticks any way and come and get you without the muggles knowing.
Don't let the muggles get you down!
Ron
P.S. I hope you like your present, we bought it at 'Weasleys Wizard Wheezes',
you know, Fred and George's joke shop.
Harry's eyes darted to the package that Pigwidgeon had brought, and he stared at it apprehensively. Fred and George had been the worst pair of troublemakers Harry had ever met, and after leaving Hogwarts, it had not been matured out of them. Both the twins still enjoyed making as much noise and general mayhem as possible. He remembered only too well the ton-tongue toffee Fred had given Dudley… Uncle Vernon still raved about it.
Insane, he would say, I'm never having one in the house again! he would shout whenever Harry walked in to he room. He would continue in this air for some time, pointing out such things as the ridiculous clothes wizards wore, or the fact that they were all dangerous lunatics.
Harry's uncle, Sirius Black, was indeed a convicted murderer, and Harry used this to threaten the Dursley's, as it was only their fear of waking up as bats that made them treat him like a human being. Harry had conveniently forgotten to mention the fact that Sirius was innocent.
He then opened Ron's present, which contained Mrs Weasleys usual supply of fudge, a card, and a small metallic box that seemed to be jumping about of its own accord.
Harry, this is Fred and George's latest invention, the jumper ball. It's supposed to be the world's bounciest bouncyball. Be careful where you use it though, because it's very difficult to stop. There are three of them in that box.
Ron
Harry considered opening the box, but decided against it, because of the havoc Ron had warned it would cause if he let one of them loose, and the thought of the many hours Uncle Vernon would spend raving at him.
Harry now turned to Hermione's owl, Jeshwina, and removed the letter from her leg. She ruffled her feathers, and with an elaborate wave of her wings, took off out the open window.
Dear Harry,
Guess what? I've been made Head Girl! I'm so excited, I can't wait! All that responsibility and status, it's just so exciting! I wonder who the new Head Boy is going to be.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Harry! I hope you like your present. I bought it in Diagon Alley, and you should find it quite amusing.
See you on the Hogwarts Express!
Hermione
Harry now dug into the package, and found a leather bag containing what appeared to be apples. Harry was lost in thoughts of what could possibly be useful about apples, when he noticed a small piece of paper attached to the string hold the bag shut.
DungApples
Trick your friends with these Dungbombs disguised as Apples.
See the havoc it'll cause when they try to eat one!
A guaranteed chuckle from onlookers.
© Weasleys Wizard Wheezes
"Cool!" said Harry, as he put the bag down beside his jumper balls.
He then relieved the next owl of its load, which was sealed with the Hogwarts crest. Harry ripped it open, and found his list of books, along with a letter from Hagrid.
Hello Harry!
Hope you like the rock cakes! Hope to see you soon!
Hagrid
P.S. Got something very special lined up for you in Care of Magical Creatures.
Harry couldn't help but feel a little worried, because Hagrid's idea of special was often everybody else's idea of horribly terrifying and gruesome. His mind wandered to the Blast-Ended-Skrewts Hagrid had bred in Harry's fourth year.
Harry, who had far too much experience of Hagrid's cooking to eat the rock cakes immediately, laid the cakes to one side and opened Hedwig's package, which had been weighing her down.
Inside the package, Harry found a chocolate cake, two birthday cards, and two letters, one from Sirius Black, and one from Remus Lupin.
I wonder what Sirius has got to say? Thought Harry eagerly.
Dear Harry
Happy 17th Birthday!
I got the cake at a muggle shop, so I hope its up to scratch. I've got you a present as well, a miniature model of the galaxy that Remus bought for me in Diagon Alley, which should mean Astronomy lessons will be much easier.
Also, you may be seeing a bit more of me this year, as well as Remus. Dumbledore's been kind enough to use a fidelius charm, so no one but him and everyone in our circle will know where I am.
See you soon!
Sirius
P.S. One of the most famous troll leaders was Hungth the Hungry.
Harry had been set an essay for his History of Magic homework over the holidays, and it was all about the troll attacks on wizards in the 13th Century. He had been at a loss as to the names of the leaders, so he asked Sirius for some help.
"Thanks Sirius!" said Harry, making a mental note about Hungth the Hungry.
Harry turned then to Remus' letter, which was a bit shorter than Sirius'.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday Harry!
I'd write more, but we're understandably busy at the moment. There are rumours of large numbers of Death Eaters gathering somewhere, but they may be unfounded.
You'll probably be seeing a lot more of me this year, as our group of Voldemort fighters, the Order of the Phoenix, are setting up base at Hogwarts.
Brilliant! Thought Harry, he hadn't seen Remus Lupin for four years.
We won't be hiding Sirius anymore, you'll be pleased to know, because Dumbledore feels enough people are ready to believe he is innocent.
Anyway, goodbye Harry, and see you at Hogwarts.
Remus
Feeling elated at the thought of Sirius always being close by, Harry folded up Remus' letter and had a look at the remaining contents of the Hogwarts package.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards, Chf. Dark Detector)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been appointed Head Boy. Your duties will be wide and varied, so you will need to be informed of them. After the sorting ceremony and the feast, please report to Professor Dumbledore's study immediately.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonnagall
Deputy Headmistress
Harry sat there on his bed dumbstruck, staring at the first line of the letter. Me? Head Boy? Thought Harry, staring blankly at the letter, but not really seeing it at all. He repeated his own words over and over in his head, and it took him several minutes to recover from the shock.
Once he had fully overcome the numbness in his fingers, he picked up a quill and began drafting three letters to Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Remus. Harry would have written to Hagrid, but he would probably know already. He started with Ron's letter, still not fully recovered from the shock.
Dear Ron,
Hi! It's Harry. I've just read your letter, and great news about the broomstick! I'll ask the Dursley's about coming over, but they'll probably say yes if I mention Sirius.
You'll never guess what though, I've been made Head Boy, and its come as a real shock! Just hope I can manage it, 'cause there'll probably be a ton of extra work to do. Hermione'll probably want to do it all though.
Anyway, I'll finish this off quickly because Pigwidgeon won't shut up!
See you soon!
Harry
Harry sealed the envelope and with great difficulty, attached it to Pigwidgeon's leg. As Pigwidgeon flew off into the distance, Harry started to write the remaining letters to Hermione and Sirius & Remus.
* * *
Once Harry had finished writing the two letters, and sent them off with their respective owls, he headed down to breakfast with the Dursleys.
As Harry walked into the kitchen of number four Privet Drive, Uncle Vernon gave a small grunt, Harry supposed this meant good morning. He sat down at the small square table in the middle of the kitchen floor, and waited for Aunt Petunia to serve up breakfast.
She gave both Harry and Uncle Vernon a plateful of bacon and eggs, while she gave Dudley a plate of carrots and celery. Dudley gave a very quiet snort of disgust, so as not to let Aunt Petunia hear it. Dudley had been on a diet for three years straight, and hadn't lost a pound. The situation had now grown so serious that he found it hard to walk for prolonged periods of time.
As he and Uncle Vernon worked through their breakfasts, Harry remembered the fact that Ron had asked him to come over.
"Err… Uncle Vernon?" said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.
"What?" he replied shortly.
"My friend Ron wants to know if I can go to his house for the rest of the summer," said Harry, as Uncle Vernon gave him a penetrating stare, you know Ron, my friend from Hog-"
"Stop!" yelled Uncle Vernon, a slight note of panic in his voice. Uncle Vernon, who despised magic, never tolerated the mention of anything to do with it in his house. "Why should I let you go?"
Harry stopped to think for a moment. "My godfather might be able to think of a reason," said Harry, on a sudden inspiration.
Uncle Vernon was about to say something, but seemed to think better of it, and closed his mouth. Harry could clearly see a vein throbbing in his uncle's temple.
If Uncle Vernon let Harry go, that would make him happy, and he didn't want that. Yet, if he didn't let him go, Sirius would no he was being mistreated, and come to sort it out. This was a worst case scenario, because aside from Sirius being a convicted murderer, on his last meeting with a wizard, Uncle Vernon had had his living room blasted apart. However, if Uncle Vernon let Harry go, it would get rid of him three weeks early.
Uncle Vernon seemed to come to his conclusion, and turned to Harry.
"You may go," he said, "but they are not coming to collect you through my fireplace, is that understood."
"Sure," said Harry, a wide grin on his face, "I'll go and tell him right now!"
Harry then raced up the stairs and quickly whipped out a quill and some parchment.
Dear Ron,
The Dursleys have said I can come, pick me up whenever, I'm not going anywhere, and the Dursleys don't care, but as soon as possible would be nice.
See you soon,
Harry
Feeling very pleased with himself, Harry opened his suitcase and started packing his Hogwarts things for the coming year.
