Harry Potter and the Death Eaters' Circle
Chapter one
"Harry's Birthday"
Harry looked up from his book 'Potions for Dummies' with a confused but determined look on his face. Harry's worst class by far was Potions, and he would bet that half of his potion foul-ups were because of the Potions Master, Professor Snape. Indeed, Professor Severus Snape didn't only make potions class difficult for Harry, but he loved nothing more than giving Harry detentions and taking points from Gryffindor House. Harry had bought a few extra books in Diagon Alley before he returned to his Aunt and Uncle's house for the summer. He figured he needed all the extra help he could get for this year was the year that he and the rest of the fifth year students took the O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Harry Potter as you may have noticed by now is not an ordinary boy at all, he is a wizard, attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Truth be known, he is not even ordinary for a wizard . . . when Harry was only one year old, his own mother and father were murdered by the darkest wizard the wizarding world had ever come to know: Lord Voldemort, in fact Harry was quite responsible for Voldemort's downfall and as a result became very famous in the wizarding world. Harry had met Voldemort again during his first year at Hogwarts, had met with the memory of Voldemort (in a diary kept by young Tom Riddle) in his second year, and had dueled with Voldemort in his fourth year at Hogwarts, narrowly escaping with his life. What concerned Harry the most is that Voldemort, after thirteen years of being only strong enough to barely live, was now back in power, with most of his supporters back at his side. Harry remembered back to the end of his school year when he had won the Triwizard Tournament. He felt so guilty that he had won, when he reached the end of the third task, he was there with the other Hogwarts' champion, Cedric Diggory. They had decided to take the cup together and they would both win, but when they grabbed hold of the cup it turned out to be a portkey instead. They were instantly transported to an old graveyard. Wormtail (one of Voldemort's supporters that Harry had almost turned into the wizarding authorities but had gotten away by transfiguring into a rat -Ron's pet rat, Scabbers to be exact-) had killed Cedric on the spot. Then Wormtail finished the potion that would revive Voldemort, and Voldemort and Harry had dueled. After Harry had escaped he brought Cedric's body back to his parents at Hogwarts. Harry still felt responsible for Cedric's death, though no one blamed him. Harry pushed these thoughts out of his head as he sat down on his bed. He took off his glasses and wearily rubbed his eyes. He looked up at the clock, he noticed that in two minutes and thirteen seconds he would be fifteen years old. Only two years left at Hogwarts after this one, he thought. He shook his head in an attempt to wake himself up a little. Suddenly there was a knocking at the window, he looked up and saw his own snowy owl, Hedwig. Harry went to the window and opened it for her; she flew to her cage and dunked her beak into the water dish. Harry went over and untied the package that was tied to her leg. He saw that it was a birthday gift from Hermione, one of his best friends from Hogwarts. He gave Hedwig an owl treat and looked up in time to see four more owls swoop in through the window, he instantly recognized a small-excited owl as his best friend Ron's owl, Pig. Harry spread some more owl treats along his bed and let the owls nibble on them while he tried to relieve them each of their burden. He snatched Pig out of the air after several attempts and untied the package on his leg. Pig went to Hedwig's cage for a drink of water and flew excitedly out the window as fast as he had come. Next Harry came to a large barn owl; he recognized the writing as Hagrid's. He untied the package and the barn owl flew out the window. Harry leaned over the screech owl that sat on his bed, as he untied the package from his leg, Harry wondered why they were called screech owls, just as the owl let out a deafening screech. Harry flinched and he heard his uncle holler, "THAT BLASTED RUDDY OWL!" Harry stifled a laugh as he reached the last owl, it was a bright eagle owl Harry recognized but couldn't place. There was no package with this owl, just some rolled up parchment. He untied the parchment and the owl took off through the window. Harry sat down on his bed with all of his birthday cards and presents. He picked up the first package from Hermione. He pulled off the parchment and read: Happy Birthday, Harry! How've you been with your Aunt and Uncle? I know it is hard for you to be there, especially when you could've been at Ron's all this time. I know Dumbledore is only thinking of your best interest, and I'm glad someone is because after the Triwizard tournament, I was so worried about you, we all were. and poor Cederic and his poor parents, I can't even imagine. Oh I'm sorry Harry I
shouldn't bring it up, I know you shouldn't be thinking
about that right now either. Well, I hope you enjoy your Birthday and I hope you noticed. I DID NOT get you a book!
Love,
Hermione Intrigued to find out what exactly Hermione did send him (if it wasn't a book), Harry ripped open the paper, and gave a little chortle. It was a watch, not just a watch, but a muggle watch! He turned it around and saw in big print "WATERPROOF!" Harry had been without a watch ever since the second task in the Triwizard Tournament, during which he had to spend over an hour under water in the lake outside of the castle. Harry opened the box and took out the watch, set it and slipped it onto his wrist. Next, he reached for Ron's package. He pulled off the attached parchment and read: Oi, Happy Birthday, Harry! How are the ruddy Dursleys treating you this summer? I suppose Dumbledore is right keeping you there for now, he has those charms and spells protecting you there, you know. Mum sent him an owl today, same time I Sent Pig to you. She reckons that you'll be able to come over at least two weeks before September first. Write back and tell me how everything is going, me mum is expecting me to be a prefect and score at least 12 O.W.L.s this year, can you believe that? Like I'm Perfect Percy or something. Talk to you soon, mate.
See ya, Ron Harry put the card up on the table next to Hermione's then he ripped open the present Ron attached to Pig's leg. It was a bright orange Chudley Canons ring, in the top of the ring where a jewel might usually be placed was a miniature golden snitch. Harry put the ring on and the snitch rose into the air and buzzed quickly around his head like a fly, he watched it for a minute before he snatched it out of the air and placed it back on the ring. What a cool present, he thought. He looked back into the package and found that Mrs. Weasley had included two minced pies, the twins (Fred and George) had dropped in a few Ton-Tongue Toffees, and Ginny had enchanted a piece of parchment to blink "Happy Birthday, Harry" in an array of colors. At the bottom of the package was a wizard photo of all the Weasleys smiling and waving at him. He picked up the photo and without thinking, kissed it before he placed it on his nightstand. Then as if he realized he had been seen kissing the photograph, he blushed brightly and became angry with himself for caring what anyone thought of it. The Weasleys were the closest thing to a real family that Harry had had since his parents were murdered, unless you counted the Dursleys, which Harry didn't. Hagrid's present was next, Harry took the parchment off and read: Hiya Harry, Happee Birthday! I've been runnin' 'round fer Dumbledore this Summer. I've bin quite busy matter o' fact. Can't tell yer where I bin tho, top secret tha' is. Fas'natin creatures I come across up in them Mountains tho very interestin'. I sent yer some Pastries from a little town bakery run by muggles. Them Swedes is a might jumpy, dunno if it was Cuz o' me height tho. Anyway, Harry, I'll be seein' Yer this September.
Your friend, Hagrid. There was another parchment attached to Hagrid's package, it was from the school, a list of the new supplies and books that Harry would need to purchase before coming to school this year. He stuffed the letter in his trunk next to his fourth year books. Harry went back to his bed and picked up another package, he pulled the parchment open and read: Hi, Harry I've been really busy working with Dumbledore and the
others, trying to come up with a good defense against
You-Know-Who, but I didn't forget my Godson's Birthday! last month I had to go to Romania to talk to the dragon keepers about using dragons on our defense and I met Charlie Weasley there. It seems that the Hungarian Horntail that you fought against contracted a fatal disease after the tournament and died. When dragons die, the keepers must skin them, and take all the useful magical parts and sell them to wizarding shops and that helps to fund their work with the beasts. It just so happens that Charlie had some of the Horntail with him still, so I got you a souvenir for your Birthday from the tournament. I hope you enjoy it. Sincerely, your Godfather-SIRIUS Curiously Harry reached into the velvet bag and pulled out a large black talon attached to a strand of black leather as a necklace. Harry's eyes bulged, he couldn't believe what a great present this was, though he was upset to hear of the dragon's misfortune. He placed it around his neck and tucked it under his shirt. This was something for him to keep always and tell his grandchildren about . if he ever has grandchildren. Harry got a lump in his throat. Okay, he thought, I'm not going to worry about Voldemort until there is something to worry about. Like Ron said, there are charms and spells protecting me in this house. The only thing I have to worry about here is the Dursleys. Harry had reached the last of the presents, he pulled the piece of parchment toward him carefully. He thought for a moment before opening it, after all, he had received a gift from everyone that usually sends him something. Then he remembered when Rita Skeeter was writing ugly stories about Hermione how some of her hate mail had been cursed and she had to go to the hospital wing at school. He certainly didn't want any bubotuber pus to get on his fingers this far away from a medical witch or wizard. Cautiously, he unrolled the parchment and found something worse than bubotuber pus. It was a letter from Draco Malfoy. Harry pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and pulled the letter closer to him and read: So, Potter,
I suppose you think you are the greatest wizard of all time now that you have dueled with The Dark Lord himself. Well, Scar-head, I'm here to tell you that YOU AREN'T. You think you are so wonderful and above everyone else- hanging out with mudbloods like Granger, and muggle loving scum like the Weasleys, and even near squib trash like Longbottom! You're a disgrace to all wizards- good or bad-I'm just here to inform you that now that The Dark Lord has returned, your life is going to become a living hell, until you are dead. Oh, by the way, Potter- Happy Birthday. I have a surprise for you when you get to Hogwarts.
Draco Malfoy Harry scowled down at the piece of parchment. He could just imagine Malfoy's nasty grin and his two-idiot goons- Crabbe and Goyle sniggering next to him. Harry crumpled up the parchment and tossed it across the room into a waste paper basket. He thought of sending Hedwig to Malfoy with a nasty reply, but then he feared for Hedwig's safety. Harry sighed. Malfoy's not going to ruin my birthday, Harry thought defiantly, though in the back of his mind he did worry about Voldemort's return to power, and how it would affect his upcoming school year.
Harry looked up from his book 'Potions for Dummies' with a confused but determined look on his face. Harry's worst class by far was Potions, and he would bet that half of his potion foul-ups were because of the Potions Master, Professor Snape. Indeed, Professor Severus Snape didn't only make potions class difficult for Harry, but he loved nothing more than giving Harry detentions and taking points from Gryffindor House. Harry had bought a few extra books in Diagon Alley before he returned to his Aunt and Uncle's house for the summer. He figured he needed all the extra help he could get for this year was the year that he and the rest of the fifth year students took the O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Harry Potter as you may have noticed by now is not an ordinary boy at all, he is a wizard, attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Truth be known, he is not even ordinary for a wizard . . . when Harry was only one year old, his own mother and father were murdered by the darkest wizard the wizarding world had ever come to know: Lord Voldemort, in fact Harry was quite responsible for Voldemort's downfall and as a result became very famous in the wizarding world. Harry had met Voldemort again during his first year at Hogwarts, had met with the memory of Voldemort (in a diary kept by young Tom Riddle) in his second year, and had dueled with Voldemort in his fourth year at Hogwarts, narrowly escaping with his life. What concerned Harry the most is that Voldemort, after thirteen years of being only strong enough to barely live, was now back in power, with most of his supporters back at his side. Harry remembered back to the end of his school year when he had won the Triwizard Tournament. He felt so guilty that he had won, when he reached the end of the third task, he was there with the other Hogwarts' champion, Cedric Diggory. They had decided to take the cup together and they would both win, but when they grabbed hold of the cup it turned out to be a portkey instead. They were instantly transported to an old graveyard. Wormtail (one of Voldemort's supporters that Harry had almost turned into the wizarding authorities but had gotten away by transfiguring into a rat -Ron's pet rat, Scabbers to be exact-) had killed Cedric on the spot. Then Wormtail finished the potion that would revive Voldemort, and Voldemort and Harry had dueled. After Harry had escaped he brought Cedric's body back to his parents at Hogwarts. Harry still felt responsible for Cedric's death, though no one blamed him. Harry pushed these thoughts out of his head as he sat down on his bed. He took off his glasses and wearily rubbed his eyes. He looked up at the clock, he noticed that in two minutes and thirteen seconds he would be fifteen years old. Only two years left at Hogwarts after this one, he thought. He shook his head in an attempt to wake himself up a little. Suddenly there was a knocking at the window, he looked up and saw his own snowy owl, Hedwig. Harry went to the window and opened it for her; she flew to her cage and dunked her beak into the water dish. Harry went over and untied the package that was tied to her leg. He saw that it was a birthday gift from Hermione, one of his best friends from Hogwarts. He gave Hedwig an owl treat and looked up in time to see four more owls swoop in through the window, he instantly recognized a small-excited owl as his best friend Ron's owl, Pig. Harry spread some more owl treats along his bed and let the owls nibble on them while he tried to relieve them each of their burden. He snatched Pig out of the air after several attempts and untied the package on his leg. Pig went to Hedwig's cage for a drink of water and flew excitedly out the window as fast as he had come. Next Harry came to a large barn owl; he recognized the writing as Hagrid's. He untied the package and the barn owl flew out the window. Harry leaned over the screech owl that sat on his bed, as he untied the package from his leg, Harry wondered why they were called screech owls, just as the owl let out a deafening screech. Harry flinched and he heard his uncle holler, "THAT BLASTED RUDDY OWL!" Harry stifled a laugh as he reached the last owl, it was a bright eagle owl Harry recognized but couldn't place. There was no package with this owl, just some rolled up parchment. He untied the parchment and the owl took off through the window. Harry sat down on his bed with all of his birthday cards and presents. He picked up the first package from Hermione. He pulled off the parchment and read: Happy Birthday, Harry! How've you been with your Aunt and Uncle? I know it is hard for you to be there, especially when you could've been at Ron's all this time. I know Dumbledore is only thinking of your best interest, and I'm glad someone is because after the Triwizard tournament, I was so worried about you, we all were. and poor Cederic and his poor parents, I can't even imagine. Oh I'm sorry Harry I
shouldn't bring it up, I know you shouldn't be thinking
about that right now either. Well, I hope you enjoy your Birthday and I hope you noticed. I DID NOT get you a book!
Love,
Hermione Intrigued to find out what exactly Hermione did send him (if it wasn't a book), Harry ripped open the paper, and gave a little chortle. It was a watch, not just a watch, but a muggle watch! He turned it around and saw in big print "WATERPROOF!" Harry had been without a watch ever since the second task in the Triwizard Tournament, during which he had to spend over an hour under water in the lake outside of the castle. Harry opened the box and took out the watch, set it and slipped it onto his wrist. Next, he reached for Ron's package. He pulled off the attached parchment and read: Oi, Happy Birthday, Harry! How are the ruddy Dursleys treating you this summer? I suppose Dumbledore is right keeping you there for now, he has those charms and spells protecting you there, you know. Mum sent him an owl today, same time I Sent Pig to you. She reckons that you'll be able to come over at least two weeks before September first. Write back and tell me how everything is going, me mum is expecting me to be a prefect and score at least 12 O.W.L.s this year, can you believe that? Like I'm Perfect Percy or something. Talk to you soon, mate.
See ya, Ron Harry put the card up on the table next to Hermione's then he ripped open the present Ron attached to Pig's leg. It was a bright orange Chudley Canons ring, in the top of the ring where a jewel might usually be placed was a miniature golden snitch. Harry put the ring on and the snitch rose into the air and buzzed quickly around his head like a fly, he watched it for a minute before he snatched it out of the air and placed it back on the ring. What a cool present, he thought. He looked back into the package and found that Mrs. Weasley had included two minced pies, the twins (Fred and George) had dropped in a few Ton-Tongue Toffees, and Ginny had enchanted a piece of parchment to blink "Happy Birthday, Harry" in an array of colors. At the bottom of the package was a wizard photo of all the Weasleys smiling and waving at him. He picked up the photo and without thinking, kissed it before he placed it on his nightstand. Then as if he realized he had been seen kissing the photograph, he blushed brightly and became angry with himself for caring what anyone thought of it. The Weasleys were the closest thing to a real family that Harry had had since his parents were murdered, unless you counted the Dursleys, which Harry didn't. Hagrid's present was next, Harry took the parchment off and read: Hiya Harry, Happee Birthday! I've been runnin' 'round fer Dumbledore this Summer. I've bin quite busy matter o' fact. Can't tell yer where I bin tho, top secret tha' is. Fas'natin creatures I come across up in them Mountains tho very interestin'. I sent yer some Pastries from a little town bakery run by muggles. Them Swedes is a might jumpy, dunno if it was Cuz o' me height tho. Anyway, Harry, I'll be seein' Yer this September.
Your friend, Hagrid. There was another parchment attached to Hagrid's package, it was from the school, a list of the new supplies and books that Harry would need to purchase before coming to school this year. He stuffed the letter in his trunk next to his fourth year books. Harry went back to his bed and picked up another package, he pulled the parchment open and read: Hi, Harry I've been really busy working with Dumbledore and the
others, trying to come up with a good defense against
You-Know-Who, but I didn't forget my Godson's Birthday! last month I had to go to Romania to talk to the dragon keepers about using dragons on our defense and I met Charlie Weasley there. It seems that the Hungarian Horntail that you fought against contracted a fatal disease after the tournament and died. When dragons die, the keepers must skin them, and take all the useful magical parts and sell them to wizarding shops and that helps to fund their work with the beasts. It just so happens that Charlie had some of the Horntail with him still, so I got you a souvenir for your Birthday from the tournament. I hope you enjoy it. Sincerely, your Godfather-SIRIUS Curiously Harry reached into the velvet bag and pulled out a large black talon attached to a strand of black leather as a necklace. Harry's eyes bulged, he couldn't believe what a great present this was, though he was upset to hear of the dragon's misfortune. He placed it around his neck and tucked it under his shirt. This was something for him to keep always and tell his grandchildren about . if he ever has grandchildren. Harry got a lump in his throat. Okay, he thought, I'm not going to worry about Voldemort until there is something to worry about. Like Ron said, there are charms and spells protecting me in this house. The only thing I have to worry about here is the Dursleys. Harry had reached the last of the presents, he pulled the piece of parchment toward him carefully. He thought for a moment before opening it, after all, he had received a gift from everyone that usually sends him something. Then he remembered when Rita Skeeter was writing ugly stories about Hermione how some of her hate mail had been cursed and she had to go to the hospital wing at school. He certainly didn't want any bubotuber pus to get on his fingers this far away from a medical witch or wizard. Cautiously, he unrolled the parchment and found something worse than bubotuber pus. It was a letter from Draco Malfoy. Harry pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and pulled the letter closer to him and read: So, Potter,
I suppose you think you are the greatest wizard of all time now that you have dueled with The Dark Lord himself. Well, Scar-head, I'm here to tell you that YOU AREN'T. You think you are so wonderful and above everyone else- hanging out with mudbloods like Granger, and muggle loving scum like the Weasleys, and even near squib trash like Longbottom! You're a disgrace to all wizards- good or bad-I'm just here to inform you that now that The Dark Lord has returned, your life is going to become a living hell, until you are dead. Oh, by the way, Potter- Happy Birthday. I have a surprise for you when you get to Hogwarts.
Draco Malfoy Harry scowled down at the piece of parchment. He could just imagine Malfoy's nasty grin and his two-idiot goons- Crabbe and Goyle sniggering next to him. Harry crumpled up the parchment and tossed it across the room into a waste paper basket. He thought of sending Hedwig to Malfoy with a nasty reply, but then he feared for Hedwig's safety. Harry sighed. Malfoy's not going to ruin my birthday, Harry thought defiantly, though in the back of his mind he did worry about Voldemort's return to power, and how it would affect his upcoming school year.