Hundreds of miles away, in a different part of the world, the Boy-Who-Lived woke abruptly from another of his nightmares. He kicked off the tangled sheets and stumbled over to the window of the smallest bedroom of number four, Privet Drive. Throwing the window open, Harry took a deep breath of the clean night air. These nightmares were becoming a nightly occurrence, and they were taking their toll.
Since Cedric Diggory's murder and Lord Voldemorts resurrection at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, his nightmares had become more vivid and painful. It seemed Harry awoke every night, screaming and in pain, to the point where the Dursleys had threatened to duct tape his mouth shut for the rest of the summer if he woke them again. Showing an amazing amount of self-control, Harry was able to teach himself to remain silent, no matter how much his scar hurt.
Feeling better, Harry pulled his head back inside the room and glanced at himself in the full-length mirror. The many sleepless nights were having an effect on his appearance. Harry sported bags under his eyes and had lost a lot of weight, which was not healthy for a boy his size. Harry could just imagine Mrs. Weasley's reaction next time she saw him.
Harry dear! You look terrible! Have those monsters not fed you all summer?
Actually, Harry had plenty of food to eat, thanks to his friends, and since Dudley was no longer on his diet (on extreme protest by the school nurse) there was an abundance of food available to sneak out of the kitchen.
Harry glanced back to the mirror, his jet-black hair was still as wild and untamable as ever, if not a little more so; it completely covered the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, which is exactly what he wanted. He pulled back his hair to expose the offending scar, examining it closely. It had started to swell and had become extremely tender over the summer. The scar was becoming a constant pain. Letting his hair drop back to where it wanted to be, Harry sat down at his desk. While he was awake he might as well get some homework done.
Pulling out a quill and a bottle of emerald ink, Harry began searching through 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi for ideas to complete the nasty essay Professor Snape had assigned over the summer: List all known herbs with a healing property in alphabetical order and briefly tell about each herb with a minimum of three inches for each herb.
After working for hours, Harry had only just finished his explanation of a bezoar, when he heard a tap at the window. Looking up, Harry saw Hedwig, his snowy owl, framed by the light of dawn and hovering just outside in the company of an unfamiliar owl. Crossing the room, Harry opened the window to admit the owls. Hedwig swooped to her cage, dropping the post she was carrying on the way. The other owl however, landed on Harry's arm offering him a large parcel before diving back out the window without even a sip of water. Harry stared after the owl and reached to close the window, but not before what looked like a small feather duster zoomed into the room, chirping happily.
Harry dropped the package given to him by the strange owl on his desk before snatching the annoying fur ball from the air, which happened to be his best friend Ron's owl: Pig. Pig twittered joyfully at completing his job as Harry took the letters and deposited him on top of Hedwig's cage.
Harry closed the window before looking through his post. The letters Pig had delivered were from Ron and surprisingly, his sister Ginny. Harry set Ginny's letter aside for later, and opened up Ron's.
Harry,
Happy Birthday!
Harry paused before continuing and looked at the calendar above his bed…it was his birthday, he had forgotten! It wasn't surprising being that until two years ago he had never received a birthday card, much less a present. Pulling himself out of his reverie, Harry resumed reading the letter.
I hope those Muggles aren't treating you too badly. Have you been getting the Daily Prophet? That idiot Fudge is still denying everything, even though there's been a lot of increased Death Eater activity. Dad says it's only a matter of time until he's removed from office.
Bill and Charlie have both moved back to the Burrow and have taken active jobs in the Ministry. Bill is working on special assignment at the Gringott's Bank in Diagon Alley, and Charlie tells us he has a new job close to home, but I don't know what it is. Something with the Common Welsh Greens maybe…
I haven't heard anything from Hermione yet this summer, have you? Do you know if she's going to Bulgaria with Krum? Tell me if you hear anything.
Mom's been talking to Dumbledore, trying to get you to come over for the rest of the summer, but the Headmaster insists that he has something to talk to you about first, said he'd be sending you a letter soon. Let me know what's going on with that too.
I couldn't send your present through post, so we'll save it for you until you get here. Hope to see you soon!
Ron
Harry looked to the parcel brought by the strange owl, wondering if it was from Dumbledore like Ron had hinted at. He retrieved the package and pulled the letter off the top. It was written in the same loopy handwriting as the note he had received with his father's invisibility cloak.
Harry,
Due to the circumstances of the past year I believe we have a few things that need to be discussed. I do not feel that it is appropriate to converse through owl post, as it is easy to intercept. Similarly, we need to speak before the start of term. Enclosed is a specially designed Portkey. I know you probably do not trust them anymore, but they are the safest and easiest way to transfer you to a safe place. To activate the Portkey, just hold it in your left hand and recite the first password that you ever used to get into Gryffindor Tower. I'm sorry about all the secrecy, but I feel it is necessary in case this letter is intercepted
Albus Dumbledore
P.S. Have a wonderful Birthday.
Harry regarded the package cautiously, but decided to wait until later to open it. Turning to the letters brought by Hedwig, Harry opened the first one, which happened to be from Hermione.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I hope you like the present I got for you. I think it will be very useful after You-Know-What last year. I still shudder when I think of it…even though I know it's true I still…
Well, anyway, I've decided to turn down Krum's invitation to visit him this summer. I think it's safer to stay in the country at this time. I haven't told Ron yet; he's been a real prat about it, bugging me all the time. What has got into that boy?
I am going to be at Diagon Alley the weekend before September 1st, will I see you there? I hope so. See you soon!
Love,
Hermione
Harry picked up the package that came with the letter. It was small and rectangular—knowing Hermione it was probably a book. When he tore off the wrapping, Harry found he was right, but at the same time, wrong. It was a book, but flipping through it, not like any book he had ever seen. The cover was about four inches by three inches and the pages were completely blank except for the first page, which read:
This book contains every beginning and intermediate charm, curse, and hex presented for easy reference. The book operates on the principle of need. Hold the book closed in your hands and concentrate on what you want to accomplish. Then open the book to any page, and all spells with that effect will be available to you. You will be notified when this edition goes out of date, and will be offered the chance to exchange this book for the new edition.
Harry smiled incredulously. It would be just like Hermione to find something like this, and it would help save a lot of time on homework, although Harry doubted that was what Hermione had in mind when she bought it. He would have to think of some way to pay her back next time he saw her.
As he opened the last letter, Harry was happy to see his godfather, Sirius Black's handwriting. He hadn't heard anything from Sirius since the end of the Third Task last year.
Dear Harry,
Happy 15th Birthday! Remus, that's Professor Lupin, sends his regards. We're traveling together at the moment hunting down everyone who we talked about at the end of the school year. I can't say much in case this letter is intercepted, even though I trust Hedwig, Owl Post is still not safe these days. I'll see you soon to give you your birthday present, I think it's something you would want me to give you in person anyway.
Your godfather
Harry grimaced having read the letter. Sirius had been on the run since the end of Harry's third year from the Ministry of Magic. Now, along with helping Professor Dumbledore against Voldemort, Sirius was constantly on the lookout for the rat that framed him. Just thinking about it made Harry's blood boil.
Calming down took a serious amount of effort, but Harry finally managed it. Someday, Peter would be caught, and Sirius would walk free, but until then, his only link to his parents was a wanted criminal who would be killed on sight.
Dumbledore's package, which was still sitting on Harry's desk, caught his attention. He probably shouldn't put this meeting off very long. By the sound of it, Dumbledore had something important to tell him. Carefully, Harry unwrapped the package and removed a small wooden carving of a Phoenix. The carving, which closely resembled Fawkes, stretched its wings in Harry's hand, and looked up at him with what could only be interpreted as impatience. Harry pulled his wand out of his trunk, as he did not want to be without it in the wizarding world. Harry cleared his mind of all distractions and muttered the two words that would activate the Portkey.
Caput Draconis.
As Harry disappeared from the room, an unopened letter fell to the floor, forgotten.
A/N: Thank you Ami!!! Don't worry, I'll learn…someday…
