Harry Potter was not a normal boy at the age of 14 nor had he been a normal boy since he was 11. You see Harry was a wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His parents haaaad been killed when he was 1 by a powerful dark wizard named Lord Voldemort. But when Voldemort had turned on Harry and tried to kill him he was not able to. For you see in her last few minutes of life Lily Potter, Harry's mother, had attempted to protect him from Voldemort, thereby passing on a mother's love to Harry. A mother's love was something Voldemort did not have and in fact never had gotten. For this reason Voldemort's attack was not strong enough to kill Harry, he escaped with a minor scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. That was scar was the very reason he was famous, but only in the wizarding world.

He was none too famous with his guardiens the Dursley's. His uncle, Vernon Dursley despised Harry so much that he would rarely talk to him. His aunt, Petunia never talked to him, the only sounds she made that had anything to do with him recently were screams and shreiks. His cousin Dudley however, was very different, he loved to poke and and puch at Harry, even though Harry could stop that by just saying the name, Sirius.

Sirius Black was Harry's godfather and was a convicted mass murderer, Harry hadn't gotten around to telling the Dursley's that Sirius was innocent quite yet.

Anyway, back to the story. Harry was laying in bed, awake. How could he sleep with all the yelling going on downstairs. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had blown up at each other when Petunia had announced that they would saty on Dudley's diet for one more year. Harry could remember the whole thing.

"Family" Aunt Petunia had stood up and was getting ready to make an announcement. "As we all can tell, my 'ickle Dudleykins has been doing very well on his diet so far." Harry held back a snigger, Dudley in the middle of trying to stand up had gotten the chair stuck around his back end.

"And the doctors told us today that another year on the diet should get Dudders dowm to average weight." finished Aunt Petunia.

"ANOTHER YEAR." shouted Vernon. " HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO LAST ANOTHER YEAR ON THIS... THIS, CRAP YOU CALL FOOD." he paused to a long gulp of air. By now Dudley had tipped over in the chair, Harry was still eating and Aunt Petunia was covering her mouth in a silent gasp.

"I AM WASTING AWAY ON THIS SO-CALLED DIET" he yelled "I'M DOWN TO 350 POUNDS PETUNIA, 350 POUNDS."

"Dudley, boy, go to your rooms" said Uncle Vernon not even looking at them. With that Dudley and Harry crept out of the room.

Harry couldn't remember much of what they said after that, and was'nt trying to make out what they were saying now, he had started trying to focus on something else when Uncle Vernon started cussing. Harry didn't want to know what would happen after that.

Just as he opened his book Flying with the Chudley Cannons, there was a thud on the window. He looked over to see Pig, short for Pigwidgeon, flying there somewhat dizzily. He rushed to the window and caught Pig just as the small owl had started to fall to the ground. Pig belonged to Harry's best friend Ron Weasley. In the midst of all the arguing Harry had seemed to forgotten that it was his birthday.

Pig was only carrying a letter, Harry knew that he wasn't big enough to be carrying big packages, so he was not surprised when minutes later the Weasley's ancient family bird Erroll came in and landed on Harry's bed and plopped over. Anybody else may have thought that the owl had died but Harry who knew the Weasley's extremely well knew that she was just extremely exhausted. Flying from The Burrow to Number 4 Private Drive was not aneasy task for a bird of Erroll's age so Harry releived the bird of the package picked her up and took her too his owls cage. Hedwig was probably still out hunting but Har knew she wouldn't mind if Erroll was in her cage. Erroll who was calm was respected by Hedwig but Pig who was easily excited by anything was not.

"Speaking of Hedwig" thought Harry as Hedwig swooped in through the window and into the cage. Pig spotted her and Erroll in the cage and swooped down to join them but was scared away by Hedwig. Just as this happened a light brown owl came through the window carrying to notes and a package. The light brown owl was followed by a gray owl carrying two packages. He releived the two owls of there packages and they immediately left. Harry sat down on his bed and focused on the gifts.

He started with the smallest one by the writing on the package he could tell that it was from Hagrid. A very friendly half-giant who kept the position of gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures tacher at Hogwarts. He opened the note first and read it

Dear Harry,

I learned how to write cursive! It's still not very neat tho. But anyway I hope ter see ya in Diagon Alley but I don't know what days i'm going so maybe will meet with luck. I hope ya like my present I thought it up all by meself, no help from Dumbledore.

Signed

Rubeus Hagrid, Gamekeeper.

After reading Hagrids letter he turned to the gift he ripped the paper off and opened the box that it was covering. Inside was a small blanket. Ironed onto the blanket was a picture of Harry's parents. In between heis barents ther was small baby with black hair.

As all wizard pictures do his parents were moving the werewaving at Harry the baby in the middle whom Harry had taken for hiiimself as a young child was laughing as he bounced on his fathers knee.

"Thank you Hagrid" whispered Harry, holding back tears. He took a couple of minutes to watch his mother and father nut finally folded up the blanket when the younger him started to cry. Next he focused on the letter from Ron. He opened and read:



Dear Harry,

How are you. I'm fine. Fred anf George have been getting in a lot more trouble with mom lately. They took the money you gave them and bought alot of ingredients. So far they've come up with almost twenty joke props. Oh yeah, they also bought me a new dress robe it's scarlet green and there isn't any ruffles. Mom and Dad said you can come whenever you feel like it we have attached your house to the floo powder network you can even come tomorrow. Well, I hope you like your present.

Signed,

Ronald Weasley

Harry opened Ron's present and found a package of floo powder, and some items that harry did not recognize right away. But he soon realized that they were some of Fred and Georges inventions after reading the labels. One of them was called Wild Wasps. When you threw them they would turn into wasps and sting people leaving huge red mark. "Malfoy will love these.' said Harry to himself.

Next he opened the letter from Hermione Granger another one of his friends.. He opened the letter and noticed her neat hand-writing right away.

Dear Harry,

I've been in Morroco all summer, you'll never guess what I found there. Well you'll see when you open my present, I just know your gonna love it. But anyway I'm not going to Diagon Alley this year, my parents will be ther though I have to go too Hogwarts a day early, so I won't be on the train either, see you at school

Hermione Granger

Once he was finished reading her note he eagerly opened her present, from what she said it was great. When he had finally ripped the wholle thing open what he saw shocked him.

"Scabbers!" he said with a mix of excitement and worry in his voice. Scabbers was a rat. Ron's rat to be exact but it wasn't only a rat it was also a person named Peter Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew was an Animagi, or someone who could turn into an animal. He was the reason why Harry couldn't live with Sirius, he was the reason Sirius was convicted in the first place. He was also the reason that Harry's parents were dead.

Harry looking for revenge started shaking the box as hard as he could. Scabbers, or Pettigrew squeaked was seemed to Harry like a rat's scream.. "Now I might be able to finally live with Sirius." he said. A surge of excitement and energy went through his body.

He had almost forgotten about the last package. The package had come with no note but Harry knew that it was from Sirius. He opend the package to find the secong living creature of the day. It was a small dog, barely born. It was a Dachshund. Harry had heard about the new rule that you could take dogs to Hogwarts in addition to rats, frogs, cats, and owls. "Now to think of a name" he said.

He sat down and thought long and hard. Finally after about a half hour or so he had come too a tie between two names, Rocky, and Norbert. He would like to get Ron's input before he decided with that out of the way harry took some of his old clothes and put them in the large space under the loose floorboard beneath his bed. The puppy could not bark yet. Harry was glad that it could not wake the Dursley's, who had stopped arguing and had gone to bed. Harry Put the puppy on his clothes and dozed off too sleep.