Disclaimer: I really don't own any of this, it's not mine, none of the
characters are mine... IT'S NOT MINE!!!!!!
A/N: Okay, I know a lot of this is really, really similar to the books. So before you rip me into little pieces and burn me to bits, would you keep in mind that I had really horrible writers block and am amazed I even got through the first chapter. Oh, this is my version of the 5th book. It's just taking Rowling too long to write the next one! hehe. :-)
C H A P T E R O N E
The Premonition
Harry Potter was not your average teenage boy, even by wizarding standards. There were many strange things about him, but the one thing that singled him out the most was the thin lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, that he had received as a baby from the dark sorcerer, Lord Voldemort. This was not a normal scar though; this scar had been given to him by a deadly curse, the same curse that had killed his parents. But amazingly, Harry had survived.
It was half past eleven, and he was lying on his back in bed, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. He was thinking of the third task and the terrible events that had taken place that night. He thought of Cedric, his parents, and Lord Voldemort, Voldemort's return to power.
Just over a month ago Harry had another encounter with Lord Voldemort. But this time, Voldemort had not been feeble and weak, but the frightful, horrific sorcerer that people had feared for over fifty years. Harry had nearly met the same fate as his parents that night, Voldemort had tried again to kill Harry.
But, why, though? Harry thought to himself. Why was Voldemort after him? Why did he have to kill his parents? Harry put his hands over his face, still coming up with more questions, but no answers came to mind.
Harry removed his hands from is face, sat up, and scanned his dark bedroom looking for something else to do than think about his past. His eyes landed on the large wooden trunk that stood open at the end of his bed. Inside the trunk there was an assortment of things Harry used at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: a cauldron, a broomstick, robes, and spellbooks.
He got up, walked quietly to the trunk, so that he wouldn't wake the Dursleys, and began rummaging through it looking for a bit of homework he might had forgotten.
As he was searching through his trunk, Harry heard the combined loud snores of his cousin Dudley and his Uncle Vernon in the next rooms. This told Harry that the Dursleys, of number four Privet Drive, were fast asleep, and that was the way Harry like the Dursleys the best.
Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were the only living relatives Harry had left. The Dursleys however, were not wizards; they were the worst type of Muggles imaginable. They hated magic more than anything else, and even though the Dursleys were well aware that Harry, being an underage wizard, couldn't use magic over the holidays; they still blamed him for anything that went wrong in the house. Harry pulled a thick, black-bound book (Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky) out of his trunk. His divination homework, this was the last thing he wanted to do since he found divination to be completely pointless and rather annoying. It was the only bit of homework he had left though, except for a nasty essay on poisons and antidotes, for Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Severus Snape.
Professor Snape, was a hooked nosed, sallow skinned, greasy haired teacher that had hated Harry ever since his first year at Hogwarts. Snape had been in the same year as Harry's father, and they had detested each other just as much as Harry and his archenemy, Malfoy, did. Even though Snape had never gotten to know Harry, he possessed the same hatred for him as he did with his father. At the end of last year, Dumbledore had sent Snape on a mission, and even though Harry had owled Sirius about it, he still had no idea what was going on in the magical world, and that made him feel a little uneasy.
He quietly tiptoed over to his desk, where Hedwig's cage sat empty. He glanced out the window to see a dark, starry, Hedwig free sky. She had been gone for nearly a three weeks now and he really hoped she would be back later tonight for his birthday. Harry wasn't worried though, she had been gone for this long before, and he just really missed her. She was the only thing in the house that didn't cringe at the site of him.
After grabbing a quill, a bottle of ink, and some parchment from his desk, he went back over to his bed and set everything down. He bent down to the loose floorboard under his bed, pulled out a flashlight, and clicked it on. He lay back down on the bed, flashlight in one hand and propped open his divination book against his pillow.
Harry found the piece of parchment he had written his assignment on, "Read pages 541-542 on meditation, meditate, and write what you see." He turned to page 541 and saw an old looking wizard floating in mid-air with his legs crossed, with a large purple turban on his head. The old man's turban reminded Harry much of the one that his old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher used to wear.
Hoping that he wouldn't have to wear a turban to meditate in Divination, he turned the page over and read:
Meditation is a fascinating form of divination, but can prove to be extremely difficult if you do not posses the needed Inner Eye. Meditating takes much concentration and the clearing of ones mind so the Inner Eye will not be clouded. This refined art can take years of practice to be done correctly, even by a highly trained witch or wizard.
Crystal-gazing and meditation are very similar, though meditation is much clearer. Meditation shows the seer a clip or scene of an event that will take place where as crystal gazing only shows pictures or small images of the future.
Looking into the future always requires the thoughtlessness of ones mind. With meditation the witch or wizard must sit crossed legged, with their eyes closed, and place their thumb and index fingers firmly together. This allows the Inner Eye to connect itself and unlock the mysteries of the future.
Harry switched off his flashlight, sat up on his bed, and crossed his legs. He placed his thumb and index fingers together as he closed his eyes. Trying to think of nothing was useless because things such as "this is stupid" and "what a joke" kept drifting across his mind.
As he sat there fatigue swept over him. He began to forget about what he was supposed to be doing and just sat there in the darkness of the room, thinking about nothing but sleep. Suddenly, a vision popped into Harry's mind..
He was no longer sitting in his dark bedroom at Number 4 Privet Drive, but standing in the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There were no students in site and it was very dark. A light flickered on up the stairs; there was a soft squeaking sound as if a door was being opened. Footsteps could be heard running frantically around and then, the light went out.
"Harry!" a voice hissed at him through the darkness, "Up here."
Harry looked up trying to see who was calling him, but it was so dark that he couldn't see anything past his nose.
"Lumos." He whispered as he pulled out his wand. The light that had appeared at the end of his wand was just enough to see a few feet in front of him. Slowly, he began to climb the large marble staircase that led to the upper floors of the school. As he reached the landing, he found the corridor in front of him just as deserted as the entrance hall. Moonlight was flooding through the window at the end of the corridor and was casting a strange, ghostly shadow; it made everything look eerie.
He walked quietly down the corridor trying to hear the presence of someone or something else around him. As he walked past an old rusty suit of armor, a door creaked behind him. Harry wheeled around on the spot looking for the cause of the noise, but saw nothing but an open door to his right. He went back to the open doorway, and walked inside. He had entered what seemed to be a small unused classroom. It was dark, so Harry lifted his wand high above his head to see the room more clearly and discovered it had no windows. He did however see a leather bound book sitting on a large oak desk, and was about to investigate it when there was a loud SLAM!
The door had closed shut. Harry, his heart now racing from the shock of the noise, was just about to try and take another look at the book when he heard a soft whisper of, "Harry."
Harry froze rooted to the spot no knowing exactly what to do. The voice had come from the far corner of the room, but Harry couldn't see anything. He slowly began edging his way to where the voice had come from, but when the wand light flooded the corner of the room no one was there.
He turned back around to leave the room only to come face to face with Draco Malfoy. But somehow Malfoy looked different; he was paler than usual, and his eyes weren't cold and uncaring, but scared. His smug expression was gone and was now replaced with one of fear, etched in his every feature.
"Harry," Malfoy whispered, panicky, "You've got to help me!"
"And why should I do that?" asked Harry backing away from Malfoy a bit.
"If you don't, no one else will! It's about-"
But what it was about Harry never found out because there was a loud BANG, and Harry was pulled awake from his vision.
Harry opened his eyes. He was back to sitting on the bed in his small, dark bedroom on Privet Drive. His eyes glanced around the room looking for the cause of such a loud bang, but there didn't seem to be one. The only thing that was different about his room than before was that Hedwig was sitting outside tapping on the window with several other birds.
He quietly got up, crossed the room, and opened the window to let the birds inside. Five birds soared into his room and landed with a soft flump on his bed. One of them was his own, Hedwig, two of them were large barn owls, and another was a tiny owl that belonged to Ron. The last bird however, was not an owl; it was a phoenix.
Harry recognized the large, swan sized bird in an instant. He was Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.
"'Lo Fawkes." Harry whispered to the phoenix as he untied that package from his feet. Fawkes let out a soft quavering note of thanks and set off through the open window.
He then untied the two official looking barn owls, and Ron's owl, Pig, who was twittering so loudly that he was sure the Dursleys would wake up. Each of the owls gave a small hoot of appreciation before setting out again. At last, Harry turned back to his own snowy owl, and untied her from her parcel. She nipped at his finger affectionately before flying across the room to her cage.
Harry sat down on his bed, picked up Pig's package, and unwrapped it from its brown paper. He found a small white box, and an envelope. Picking up the envelope, he opened it. Inside there was a card and a letter from Ron.
Dear Harry, Mum asked Dumbledore again if you could stay at our house, and he said it was okay if you stayed the last two weeks before term starts. So, can you come and visit? Hermione already said she could come, after she gets done with visiting Krum. (I don't know what she sees in him.)
The Daily Prophet ran an article last week about the Dark Wizard activity that's been occurring. The Minister of Magic, Cornelious Fudge, keeps denying that You- Know-Who is back. I don't think mum wants Fred and George to join the ministry anymore, she seems to have taken a rather disliking for Fudge.
Oh, guess what?! Fred and George bought me some new dress robes. They told me they couldn't stand seeing me in that maroon dress mum bought for me. I'm not sure where they got the money though. I reckon they started Weasleys Wizard Wheezes again.
Harry grinned. When he had handed the twins his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament, he had asked them to buy Ron some new dress robes. He was glad to know that they had done what he had asked.
We're going to be going to Diagon Alley the Wednesday before term starts. So, if you can't come and visit, try and meet us there.
Hope the Muggles are treating you well. Ron
P.S. Hermione told me she was made a Prefect. What an interesting year this is going to be.
Harry reread the postscript of Ron's message. Hermione was a Prefect. This didn't surprise him in the least, since she was at the top of the class and did all her homework correctly. Harry was pleased for his friend, but Ron did have a point, this was going to be an interesting year. He hoped that Hermione wouldn't turn into the girl version of Ron's older brother, Percy.
Turning his attention away from his thoughts, he picked up the small white box and opened it. There was what looked to be a small flashlight inside. Attached to it, there was another note from Ron.
Harry--- this is a Dark-Light Detector. If shined on a person or other living thing, it tells you whether they're a friend or not by whatever color the light turns. Green is good --- Red is bad. It's also good as a source of light. Dad says it's like a Muggle flashlight, but it works for Wizards. Bye-Ron
Harry clicked the Dark-Light Detector and shined the light on Hedwig, the light turned green. He set Ron's gift aside, and picked up a package that one of the barn owls had brought; it was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. Harry opened the box to find a piece of parchment, and a cylinder tin.
Dear Harry, Happy birthday! Hope youre havin a good holiday. Enjoy your present. You should like it. Don' let the Muggles get you down. All the best, Hagrid
Dreading opening the tin, Harry picked up his flashlight ready to strike if anything came out of it. He cautiously opened the lid of the tin to find all his favorite sweets inside, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and some Chocoballs.
"Thanks Hagrid." whispered Harry, setting down the flashlight and sweets on his bedside table.
He picked up the item Hedwig had brought; it was a large yellow envelope. He tore it open and found a single piece of parchment with one of the shortest messages he had ever seen.
Dear Harry, I can't tell you where I am, incase this owl gets intercepted, but I assure you I am safe. I can however tell you that Dumbledore is working with some people about clearing my name, but since many people believe Pettigrew to be dead he's not having much luck.
Sorry this letter is so short Harry, but you'll soon find out why. Happy Birthday! Sirius
Harry wasn't upset he hadn't gotten a present from Sirius, he just found it odd. He read the letter over again and wondered what Sirius meant by he'd soon find out why.
Putting the letter from Sirius down, Harry grabbed the large box Fawkes had brought, and found it to be quite heavy. He began to wonder how Fawkes had managed to carry this, but then remembered that Phoenix could carry extremely heavy loads.
Slitting the tape that bound the box shut, Harry pulled out his Hogwarts letter, which was sitting on top of a beautiful mahogany box. He looked at the box in awe for a moment before he opened up his Hogwarts letter that seemed to be a little thicker. He pulled out the first piece of parchment and read:
Dear Mr. Potter, Please not that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.
As you are a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, you will be expected to vote on a new team captain. The vote will take place the day before the quidditch trails.
A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
Even though quidditch was Harry's favorite sport in the whole world, he had completely forgotten about the team lacking a keeper and captain.
Oliver Wood had been the Gryffindor keeper until he left after Harry's third year, and due to the Triwizard Tournament last year, quidditch had been canceled. Harry knew there was no reserve keeper, and couldn't think of a single person that could play the position.
Harry gave up trying to think of someone, and pulled a second piece of parchment out of the envelope.
Dear Harry, Please keep this box safe for me, it is very important. It's something that your father used to keep for me, and I have no decided that you should do so. Show this box to no one Harry. That is very important.
Also, due to the current circumstances I shall be very busy this year. If you have any concerns about anything I ask you to see Professor Erodel B. Mudsubla, he will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He is a very old friend of mine, and I assure you Harry, he is no imposter. Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore
He stuffed the pieces of parchment back in the envelope, and pulled out the great mahogany box. It didn't have any hinges or locks to open it, in fact it didn't look like it could come apart at all. The only thing that was peculiar about the box was that there were very strange engravings on the top. There was one big gold circle, with several different small shapes around it, all in different colors.
Harry tried opening the box in every way possible, but nothing worked. Why would Dumbledore give him this box if he couldn't open it, and why did he want him to see this Professor Mudsubla instead of himself?
Finally getting frustrated with both the box and his thoughts, he picked up the last unopened package from Hermione. He unwrapped the box and found a present, a card, and a letter.
Dear Harry, I'm on holiday with Krum in Bulgaria at the moment. He and I both want to wish you a very happy birthday!
I'm having a great time here, Krum introduced me to the Bulgarian quidditch
team. They seemed to think I was crazy when Krum told them that I didn't play quidditch. All of them started talking rapidly in Bulgarian and then made me get on a broom so they could figure out what position I liked to play. It was rather amusing. I'm not much of a quidditch player, but I decided I liked the keeper position the best.
Ron probably told you, but I was made a Prefect! I got the letter last week; my parents are really pleased. It was kind of expected though, since my grades being so high and all.
Did you hear about the Dark Wizard activity that's been rumored? You don't think it has to do with You-Know-Who, do you? Harry, just be careful, and be safe.
Are you going to be able to go to Ron's for the last two weeks of holidays? Is Dumbledore letting you go? I really hope so, but if you can't, I'll see you no the Hogwarts Express! Love from Hermione
Harry put Hermione's letter down on his bedside table, and picked up her neatly wrapped present. He tore the paper away, and found a very large, handsome, black book. Turning it so he could see the spine, he saw green letters reading The Book of Useful Magic.
He opened the book, and a small piece of parchment fell out. It was a note from Hermione.
I thought this might become useful this year. I looked through it a bit, it's got some pretty good spells and stuff. -- Hermione
Flipping through the first couple pages; he found some pretty good curses. Maybe he would be able curse Malfoy. The thought of Malfoy made Harry remember his vision. Had he actually seen the future? Was that really going to happen? Maybe it had just been some crazy dream. Harry didn't know, but what puzzled him was that he seemed to remember it. All the dreams he had before he had never been able to remember well, but this vision seemed to be clear as if it had happened yesterday.
He decided to would worry about all of this later, and began to pick up his birthday presents and homework. He placed them neatly on the floor next to his bed. Then he took a quick glance at his clock, and saw that it was now one o'clock in the morning. Feeling very sleepy, Harry removed his glasses and lay back onto his soft bed.
He was just about to fall asleep when suddenly a soft muffled voice broke the silence of the night.
"Harry." said the voice, "Harry, are you awake? Can you hear me?"
The voiced sounded as though it was coming from somewhere underneath Harry's bed. That was impossible, wasn't it? It also sounded strangely familiar, but it couldn't be. It just couldn't be-
"Sirius?"
A/N: As you've read before, I've been having bad bouts of writers block. So, if no one really likes this and I don't get many reviews, this fic will be discontinued. That's just a heads up for all of you people that might like it.
~So did you like it, love it, hate it, or do you just want to flame it? Anyway, whatever you think, would be please click the little button below and review for me? Thanks a Bunch.~ *~EmeraldWitch~*
A/N: Okay, I know a lot of this is really, really similar to the books. So before you rip me into little pieces and burn me to bits, would you keep in mind that I had really horrible writers block and am amazed I even got through the first chapter. Oh, this is my version of the 5th book. It's just taking Rowling too long to write the next one! hehe. :-)
C H A P T E R O N E
The Premonition
Harry Potter was not your average teenage boy, even by wizarding standards. There were many strange things about him, but the one thing that singled him out the most was the thin lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, that he had received as a baby from the dark sorcerer, Lord Voldemort. This was not a normal scar though; this scar had been given to him by a deadly curse, the same curse that had killed his parents. But amazingly, Harry had survived.
It was half past eleven, and he was lying on his back in bed, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. He was thinking of the third task and the terrible events that had taken place that night. He thought of Cedric, his parents, and Lord Voldemort, Voldemort's return to power.
Just over a month ago Harry had another encounter with Lord Voldemort. But this time, Voldemort had not been feeble and weak, but the frightful, horrific sorcerer that people had feared for over fifty years. Harry had nearly met the same fate as his parents that night, Voldemort had tried again to kill Harry.
But, why, though? Harry thought to himself. Why was Voldemort after him? Why did he have to kill his parents? Harry put his hands over his face, still coming up with more questions, but no answers came to mind.
Harry removed his hands from is face, sat up, and scanned his dark bedroom looking for something else to do than think about his past. His eyes landed on the large wooden trunk that stood open at the end of his bed. Inside the trunk there was an assortment of things Harry used at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: a cauldron, a broomstick, robes, and spellbooks.
He got up, walked quietly to the trunk, so that he wouldn't wake the Dursleys, and began rummaging through it looking for a bit of homework he might had forgotten.
As he was searching through his trunk, Harry heard the combined loud snores of his cousin Dudley and his Uncle Vernon in the next rooms. This told Harry that the Dursleys, of number four Privet Drive, were fast asleep, and that was the way Harry like the Dursleys the best.
Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were the only living relatives Harry had left. The Dursleys however, were not wizards; they were the worst type of Muggles imaginable. They hated magic more than anything else, and even though the Dursleys were well aware that Harry, being an underage wizard, couldn't use magic over the holidays; they still blamed him for anything that went wrong in the house. Harry pulled a thick, black-bound book (Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky) out of his trunk. His divination homework, this was the last thing he wanted to do since he found divination to be completely pointless and rather annoying. It was the only bit of homework he had left though, except for a nasty essay on poisons and antidotes, for Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Severus Snape.
Professor Snape, was a hooked nosed, sallow skinned, greasy haired teacher that had hated Harry ever since his first year at Hogwarts. Snape had been in the same year as Harry's father, and they had detested each other just as much as Harry and his archenemy, Malfoy, did. Even though Snape had never gotten to know Harry, he possessed the same hatred for him as he did with his father. At the end of last year, Dumbledore had sent Snape on a mission, and even though Harry had owled Sirius about it, he still had no idea what was going on in the magical world, and that made him feel a little uneasy.
He quietly tiptoed over to his desk, where Hedwig's cage sat empty. He glanced out the window to see a dark, starry, Hedwig free sky. She had been gone for nearly a three weeks now and he really hoped she would be back later tonight for his birthday. Harry wasn't worried though, she had been gone for this long before, and he just really missed her. She was the only thing in the house that didn't cringe at the site of him.
After grabbing a quill, a bottle of ink, and some parchment from his desk, he went back over to his bed and set everything down. He bent down to the loose floorboard under his bed, pulled out a flashlight, and clicked it on. He lay back down on the bed, flashlight in one hand and propped open his divination book against his pillow.
Harry found the piece of parchment he had written his assignment on, "Read pages 541-542 on meditation, meditate, and write what you see." He turned to page 541 and saw an old looking wizard floating in mid-air with his legs crossed, with a large purple turban on his head. The old man's turban reminded Harry much of the one that his old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher used to wear.
Hoping that he wouldn't have to wear a turban to meditate in Divination, he turned the page over and read:
Meditation is a fascinating form of divination, but can prove to be extremely difficult if you do not posses the needed Inner Eye. Meditating takes much concentration and the clearing of ones mind so the Inner Eye will not be clouded. This refined art can take years of practice to be done correctly, even by a highly trained witch or wizard.
Crystal-gazing and meditation are very similar, though meditation is much clearer. Meditation shows the seer a clip or scene of an event that will take place where as crystal gazing only shows pictures or small images of the future.
Looking into the future always requires the thoughtlessness of ones mind. With meditation the witch or wizard must sit crossed legged, with their eyes closed, and place their thumb and index fingers firmly together. This allows the Inner Eye to connect itself and unlock the mysteries of the future.
Harry switched off his flashlight, sat up on his bed, and crossed his legs. He placed his thumb and index fingers together as he closed his eyes. Trying to think of nothing was useless because things such as "this is stupid" and "what a joke" kept drifting across his mind.
As he sat there fatigue swept over him. He began to forget about what he was supposed to be doing and just sat there in the darkness of the room, thinking about nothing but sleep. Suddenly, a vision popped into Harry's mind..
He was no longer sitting in his dark bedroom at Number 4 Privet Drive, but standing in the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There were no students in site and it was very dark. A light flickered on up the stairs; there was a soft squeaking sound as if a door was being opened. Footsteps could be heard running frantically around and then, the light went out.
"Harry!" a voice hissed at him through the darkness, "Up here."
Harry looked up trying to see who was calling him, but it was so dark that he couldn't see anything past his nose.
"Lumos." He whispered as he pulled out his wand. The light that had appeared at the end of his wand was just enough to see a few feet in front of him. Slowly, he began to climb the large marble staircase that led to the upper floors of the school. As he reached the landing, he found the corridor in front of him just as deserted as the entrance hall. Moonlight was flooding through the window at the end of the corridor and was casting a strange, ghostly shadow; it made everything look eerie.
He walked quietly down the corridor trying to hear the presence of someone or something else around him. As he walked past an old rusty suit of armor, a door creaked behind him. Harry wheeled around on the spot looking for the cause of the noise, but saw nothing but an open door to his right. He went back to the open doorway, and walked inside. He had entered what seemed to be a small unused classroom. It was dark, so Harry lifted his wand high above his head to see the room more clearly and discovered it had no windows. He did however see a leather bound book sitting on a large oak desk, and was about to investigate it when there was a loud SLAM!
The door had closed shut. Harry, his heart now racing from the shock of the noise, was just about to try and take another look at the book when he heard a soft whisper of, "Harry."
Harry froze rooted to the spot no knowing exactly what to do. The voice had come from the far corner of the room, but Harry couldn't see anything. He slowly began edging his way to where the voice had come from, but when the wand light flooded the corner of the room no one was there.
He turned back around to leave the room only to come face to face with Draco Malfoy. But somehow Malfoy looked different; he was paler than usual, and his eyes weren't cold and uncaring, but scared. His smug expression was gone and was now replaced with one of fear, etched in his every feature.
"Harry," Malfoy whispered, panicky, "You've got to help me!"
"And why should I do that?" asked Harry backing away from Malfoy a bit.
"If you don't, no one else will! It's about-"
But what it was about Harry never found out because there was a loud BANG, and Harry was pulled awake from his vision.
Harry opened his eyes. He was back to sitting on the bed in his small, dark bedroom on Privet Drive. His eyes glanced around the room looking for the cause of such a loud bang, but there didn't seem to be one. The only thing that was different about his room than before was that Hedwig was sitting outside tapping on the window with several other birds.
He quietly got up, crossed the room, and opened the window to let the birds inside. Five birds soared into his room and landed with a soft flump on his bed. One of them was his own, Hedwig, two of them were large barn owls, and another was a tiny owl that belonged to Ron. The last bird however, was not an owl; it was a phoenix.
Harry recognized the large, swan sized bird in an instant. He was Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.
"'Lo Fawkes." Harry whispered to the phoenix as he untied that package from his feet. Fawkes let out a soft quavering note of thanks and set off through the open window.
He then untied the two official looking barn owls, and Ron's owl, Pig, who was twittering so loudly that he was sure the Dursleys would wake up. Each of the owls gave a small hoot of appreciation before setting out again. At last, Harry turned back to his own snowy owl, and untied her from her parcel. She nipped at his finger affectionately before flying across the room to her cage.
Harry sat down on his bed, picked up Pig's package, and unwrapped it from its brown paper. He found a small white box, and an envelope. Picking up the envelope, he opened it. Inside there was a card and a letter from Ron.
Dear Harry, Mum asked Dumbledore again if you could stay at our house, and he said it was okay if you stayed the last two weeks before term starts. So, can you come and visit? Hermione already said she could come, after she gets done with visiting Krum. (I don't know what she sees in him.)
The Daily Prophet ran an article last week about the Dark Wizard activity that's been occurring. The Minister of Magic, Cornelious Fudge, keeps denying that You- Know-Who is back. I don't think mum wants Fred and George to join the ministry anymore, she seems to have taken a rather disliking for Fudge.
Oh, guess what?! Fred and George bought me some new dress robes. They told me they couldn't stand seeing me in that maroon dress mum bought for me. I'm not sure where they got the money though. I reckon they started Weasleys Wizard Wheezes again.
Harry grinned. When he had handed the twins his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament, he had asked them to buy Ron some new dress robes. He was glad to know that they had done what he had asked.
We're going to be going to Diagon Alley the Wednesday before term starts. So, if you can't come and visit, try and meet us there.
Hope the Muggles are treating you well. Ron
P.S. Hermione told me she was made a Prefect. What an interesting year this is going to be.
Harry reread the postscript of Ron's message. Hermione was a Prefect. This didn't surprise him in the least, since she was at the top of the class and did all her homework correctly. Harry was pleased for his friend, but Ron did have a point, this was going to be an interesting year. He hoped that Hermione wouldn't turn into the girl version of Ron's older brother, Percy.
Turning his attention away from his thoughts, he picked up the small white box and opened it. There was what looked to be a small flashlight inside. Attached to it, there was another note from Ron.
Harry--- this is a Dark-Light Detector. If shined on a person or other living thing, it tells you whether they're a friend or not by whatever color the light turns. Green is good --- Red is bad. It's also good as a source of light. Dad says it's like a Muggle flashlight, but it works for Wizards. Bye-Ron
Harry clicked the Dark-Light Detector and shined the light on Hedwig, the light turned green. He set Ron's gift aside, and picked up a package that one of the barn owls had brought; it was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. Harry opened the box to find a piece of parchment, and a cylinder tin.
Dear Harry, Happy birthday! Hope youre havin a good holiday. Enjoy your present. You should like it. Don' let the Muggles get you down. All the best, Hagrid
Dreading opening the tin, Harry picked up his flashlight ready to strike if anything came out of it. He cautiously opened the lid of the tin to find all his favorite sweets inside, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and some Chocoballs.
"Thanks Hagrid." whispered Harry, setting down the flashlight and sweets on his bedside table.
He picked up the item Hedwig had brought; it was a large yellow envelope. He tore it open and found a single piece of parchment with one of the shortest messages he had ever seen.
Dear Harry, I can't tell you where I am, incase this owl gets intercepted, but I assure you I am safe. I can however tell you that Dumbledore is working with some people about clearing my name, but since many people believe Pettigrew to be dead he's not having much luck.
Sorry this letter is so short Harry, but you'll soon find out why. Happy Birthday! Sirius
Harry wasn't upset he hadn't gotten a present from Sirius, he just found it odd. He read the letter over again and wondered what Sirius meant by he'd soon find out why.
Putting the letter from Sirius down, Harry grabbed the large box Fawkes had brought, and found it to be quite heavy. He began to wonder how Fawkes had managed to carry this, but then remembered that Phoenix could carry extremely heavy loads.
Slitting the tape that bound the box shut, Harry pulled out his Hogwarts letter, which was sitting on top of a beautiful mahogany box. He looked at the box in awe for a moment before he opened up his Hogwarts letter that seemed to be a little thicker. He pulled out the first piece of parchment and read:
Dear Mr. Potter, Please not that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.
As you are a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, you will be expected to vote on a new team captain. The vote will take place the day before the quidditch trails.
A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
Even though quidditch was Harry's favorite sport in the whole world, he had completely forgotten about the team lacking a keeper and captain.
Oliver Wood had been the Gryffindor keeper until he left after Harry's third year, and due to the Triwizard Tournament last year, quidditch had been canceled. Harry knew there was no reserve keeper, and couldn't think of a single person that could play the position.
Harry gave up trying to think of someone, and pulled a second piece of parchment out of the envelope.
Dear Harry, Please keep this box safe for me, it is very important. It's something that your father used to keep for me, and I have no decided that you should do so. Show this box to no one Harry. That is very important.
Also, due to the current circumstances I shall be very busy this year. If you have any concerns about anything I ask you to see Professor Erodel B. Mudsubla, he will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He is a very old friend of mine, and I assure you Harry, he is no imposter. Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore
He stuffed the pieces of parchment back in the envelope, and pulled out the great mahogany box. It didn't have any hinges or locks to open it, in fact it didn't look like it could come apart at all. The only thing that was peculiar about the box was that there were very strange engravings on the top. There was one big gold circle, with several different small shapes around it, all in different colors.
Harry tried opening the box in every way possible, but nothing worked. Why would Dumbledore give him this box if he couldn't open it, and why did he want him to see this Professor Mudsubla instead of himself?
Finally getting frustrated with both the box and his thoughts, he picked up the last unopened package from Hermione. He unwrapped the box and found a present, a card, and a letter.
Dear Harry, I'm on holiday with Krum in Bulgaria at the moment. He and I both want to wish you a very happy birthday!
I'm having a great time here, Krum introduced me to the Bulgarian quidditch
team. They seemed to think I was crazy when Krum told them that I didn't play quidditch. All of them started talking rapidly in Bulgarian and then made me get on a broom so they could figure out what position I liked to play. It was rather amusing. I'm not much of a quidditch player, but I decided I liked the keeper position the best.
Ron probably told you, but I was made a Prefect! I got the letter last week; my parents are really pleased. It was kind of expected though, since my grades being so high and all.
Did you hear about the Dark Wizard activity that's been rumored? You don't think it has to do with You-Know-Who, do you? Harry, just be careful, and be safe.
Are you going to be able to go to Ron's for the last two weeks of holidays? Is Dumbledore letting you go? I really hope so, but if you can't, I'll see you no the Hogwarts Express! Love from Hermione
Harry put Hermione's letter down on his bedside table, and picked up her neatly wrapped present. He tore the paper away, and found a very large, handsome, black book. Turning it so he could see the spine, he saw green letters reading The Book of Useful Magic.
He opened the book, and a small piece of parchment fell out. It was a note from Hermione.
I thought this might become useful this year. I looked through it a bit, it's got some pretty good spells and stuff. -- Hermione
Flipping through the first couple pages; he found some pretty good curses. Maybe he would be able curse Malfoy. The thought of Malfoy made Harry remember his vision. Had he actually seen the future? Was that really going to happen? Maybe it had just been some crazy dream. Harry didn't know, but what puzzled him was that he seemed to remember it. All the dreams he had before he had never been able to remember well, but this vision seemed to be clear as if it had happened yesterday.
He decided to would worry about all of this later, and began to pick up his birthday presents and homework. He placed them neatly on the floor next to his bed. Then he took a quick glance at his clock, and saw that it was now one o'clock in the morning. Feeling very sleepy, Harry removed his glasses and lay back onto his soft bed.
He was just about to fall asleep when suddenly a soft muffled voice broke the silence of the night.
"Harry." said the voice, "Harry, are you awake? Can you hear me?"
The voiced sounded as though it was coming from somewhere underneath Harry's bed. That was impossible, wasn't it? It also sounded strangely familiar, but it couldn't be. It just couldn't be-
"Sirius?"
A/N: As you've read before, I've been having bad bouts of writers block. So, if no one really likes this and I don't get many reviews, this fic will be discontinued. That's just a heads up for all of you people that might like it.
~So did you like it, love it, hate it, or do you just want to flame it? Anyway, whatever you think, would be please click the little button below and review for me? Thanks a Bunch.~ *~EmeraldWitch~*