Chapter 1

Harry Potter rolled over in his bed restlessly. Lately, he had been having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. He reasoned that this was because Voldemort was on the run again. Every night since he had left Hogwarts for summer vacation, he had either had trouble falling asleep or once he fell asleep, was awakened by a nightmare or something else he didn't know and frankly, he was exhausted. He had had a feeling of uneasiness about him since he left school. A glance at the clock told him it was nearly three. He fumbled around his night table for his glasses and placed them on his nose. His incredibly messy black hair hung in his eyes as he rose from the bed and headed toward the open window.

A light summer breeze blew past his window, blowing his hair back off his face. He stared out at the stars that lit up the inky blackness of the night sky and wished he had his homework to do. Before the Dursley's, the muggle family whom Harry lived with, had been informed of Harry's godfather, who just happened to be an ex convict on the run from Wizard Prision, Harry was forced to do his homework in secret at night. Now, because they thought that every time they were mean to Harry, his godfather would come and blow them up, Harry was permitted to do his homework during the day so long as he stayed in his room. When he had had to do his homework during the night, he was too tired to have nightmares or suffer from insomnia.

He stared out the window for the good part of an hour, thinking about his friends Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid, and about his godfather Sirius Black. About how happy he had been with his life until Voldemort had risen again at the end of term. Somehow he felt that it was his entire fault Voldemort had returned to power, however much everyone told him it wasn't. He also felt responsible for the death of a fellow student at Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory, although everyone assured him that that wasn't his fault either.

He finally snapped out of his reverie when he spotted his owl Hedwig accompanied by two other owls, of which he suspected belonged to Ron and Hermione, and a flying penguin. It was really the flying penguin that had brought him out of his daydreaming, nightdreaming whatever you want to call it. Penguins didn't fly. Harry had a feeling this was the work of his godfather Sirius.

The three owls and the penguin flew into his room and landed gracefully on his bed, all except for the penguin, which, obviously unused to flying crashed somewhere, near his desk. He untied the letters from each bird's leg and then opened Hedwig's cage allowing them all to drink.

He decided he would open Ron's letter first. He teared the envelope open, careful not to rip the parchment inside, and withdrew the letter. He unfolded the letter and stretched across his bed comfortably, brushing the feathers from the owls off his too big pajamas, hand me downs from his cousin Dudley, who could compare to the size of a rather small elephant.


The letter read:

Dear Harry,
Sorry it took so long to reply. Pig flew into a tree on the way out with my letter and I didn't find him until the next morning unconscious in a shrub. Then I had to find a replacement owl which took forever because Eroll died last week (No one really cared) and of course Percy wouldn't lend me his. I eventually ended up borrowing our neighbor's owl Midnight. Anyway how are you? Mum said you could come visit us next week! She said you had better ask the Dursley's, first though they didn't seem to fare very well with my family did they? You can stay for a week but then we're leaving for Jamaica on vacation (I already asked if you could come but Mum said it was a family trip and we're leaving straight from there to go to Hogwarts) so you'll have to get the muggles to take you the train station. We'll pick you up August 15. I'm really sorry you can't come I begged forever and then my mum got so annoyed she made me de-gnome the garden. I have to go now Fred and George caught the house on fire last week and now they've just exploded their beds. Mum looks ready to set their heads on fire I can't miss this. Write me soon.
Ron

Harry chuckled at the thought of Ron's owl Pig flying into a tree although it wasn't that surprising. He folded Ron's letter and put it back in the envelope. Next he opened Hermione's note. Her letter was a bit shorter then Ron's it read:

Dear Harry,
How are you? My family and I are on vacation in Ireland so that's why my reply probably took a little longer than usual to get to you. Ireland is so beautiful and everything is so green! Are you finished your homework yet? If you aren't you better hurry. School starts in only about three weeks! I've been done since July, which was good because now I have time to catch up on a few books I've wanted to read. Anyway, I hope you are well. Maybe we can meet up in Diagon Alley. Can you be there on August 28? Write me.
From,
Hermione

Of course he could rely on Hermione to write to make sure his homework was done. Her vacation in Ireland sounded really nice and Ron was going to Jamaica. Why couldn't the Dursley's ever take him on vacation? Then he pictured asking them to take him to Bermuda. Uncle Vernon would probably break every bone in his scrawny 15yr old body.
He folded Hermione's letter and placed it on top of Ron's. His next letter was from Sirius. The letter read:

Dear Harry,
How have you been? You can probably guess where I am from the penguin. Don't ask how I got it to fly. Have you received a letter from Dumbledore yet? If you haven't then I won't mention anything just yet. I hope the Muggles aren't treating you too badly. I'd probably rather be there then where I am now though. I'm freezing my butt off. The temperature is somewhere near 30 degrees below zero. I have a feeling I'll be seeing you sometime soon. If anything unusual happens like last summer. Send an owl to me right away. Then send one to Dumbledore. Hope you are well.
Sincerely,
Sirius

He neatly folded Sirius' letter and added it to the pile. What did Sirius mean when he said he would be seeing him soon? And why would Dumbledore send him, Harry a letter? Another glance at the clock told him it was four thirty. He took the last letter, which he suspected was from Hogwarts carefully opened the envelope and took out the piece of parchment that was located inside. He knew at once this wasn't the usual Hogwarts back to school letter. He unfolded it and read the words written in bright lavender ink:

Dear Mr. Potter,
I hope you've been well over summer vacation. I am sure you already know that you are especially in danger because of the return of Lord Voldemort. Right now he will do anything to get his hands on you. It is my displeasure to inform you that you will not be returning to Hogwarts this year. I feel that you will be safer if we transfer you to another wizard school in the United States of America. This way Voldemort who is expecting you to return to Hogwarts will be confused and unable to locate you for some time. We will bring you back to England for the summer and then go from there. I will be meeting you at the Weasly's next week to work out the details. The school you are going to is called Knockridde Academy. I will give you the list of supplies you need when we meet at Mr. Weasly's. You can buy everything in Diagon Alley. Please don't argue with me. Sirius has also agreed that this is what's best for you. Looking forward to meeting you at the Weasly's.
Sincerely,
Professor Dumbledore

Harry stared at the letter in disbelief afraid to believe his own eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair. This wasn't happening. It must be another nightmare but when he pinched himself and felt the pain he knew it had to be true. He was leaving Hogwarts this year and maybe forever....


A/N This is the first fanfic story I've ever written. Please review and tell me if it totally sucks or if it's ok and if I should continue it. Thanks.