CHAPTER I


It was the best day of Harry's adolescent life. Harry Potter, now 14 and 11 months, was not only awaiting his fifteenth birthday in 3 weeks, but the next two Dudley-free weeks! Tommorrow, Dudley would be leaving for summer camp. Nearly a month ago, at one of Uncle Vernon's social functions for work (an event for brown-nosing of all sorts) one of his co-workers suggested to Aunt Petunia Camp Young-n-Chubby. She was horrified at first, because she still insisted Dudley was merely big-boned, and the thought of him being away for such a long time was dreadful.
After much persuation that her son's results were astounding, and assurance that telephone, postcard, and e-mail communications would be available, Petunia decided to ask Vernon.
For two whole days, Petunia and Vernon refused to speak to one another until the July 5th, when a group of older Smeltings boys from summer school managed to steal and fit 3 boys in a pair of Dudley's trousers, flying Dudley's underpants on the flagpole.
"Petunia," Vernon spoke sullenly after hanging up the telephone, shaking his head, "What the number for that bloody camp?" Dudley had recieved twenty-three going-away presents this morning, and was still storming angriliy around the house, looking for even the smallest reasons to abuse Harry.
"What do you think YOU'RE doing?!" He scowled. Harry turned in midstep. He was just heading to his room to avoided getting his ears boxed in again as he had just had before after making too much noise with the toaster. "WHY are you breathing so LOUDLY?!" Dudley snapped.
"Are you crazy?" Harry shouted, "Leave me alone!" Dudley opened his mouth to retort.
"I've got a little going away present in my room I've been wanting to give you, Dudley. I know how much you LOVE toffee..." Dudley huffed at him, and stumbled off in the opposite direction.
Next morning, they had gone to see Dudley off to the bus.
"Now, Dudders, don't let anybody pick on you. Be sure to write evryday!" said a sobbing Aunt Petunia.
"Make some new friends!" Uncle Vernon nudged Harry in the ribs.
"Ouch! Oh, um have fun, Dudley," said Harry, trying not to look so happy.
The following 3 weeks were the best Harry could ever remember whilst living with the Dursleys. No more loud noises, annoying computer games, and best of all no Harry-hunting, but as all good things come, the 3 weeks would also come to a halting end.

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Harry was just sitting there, thinking longingly of the weeks Dudley was gone, when a huge barn owl flew in, accompanied by Ron's owl Pigwidgeon, a tawny owl, and Harry's own snowy owl, Hedwig. Each of them were carrying packages, but Pigwidgeon was having a lot of trouble w/ his. Harry took Hedwig's package first, which was from Hermione. It was heavy, and he threw it on the bed, and ripped open the envelope bearing his birthday card. It read:

Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Hope you're well. Your relatives don't seem too friendly to you. How was Dudley's camp? It must've been awful for him, but fun for
you. Anyways, enclosed is your birthday present-I think it will come in handy! Sorry I haven't kept in touch, but I'm on holiday in Bulgaria with Viktor.
See you in Diagon Alley!
With Love,
Hermione

He chuckled when reading about "Vikki" as Ron called Viktor Krum, Hermione's boyfriend-it still felt odd saying "Hermione's boyfriend", it just felt, well, weird! Harry ripped open the parcel and had to stifle his snorts of laughter at the present-"A guide to your O.W.L.S.", by Gwenda Johnstone. The present also gave Harry a jolt-his Ordinary Wizarding Levels test is this year. Still chuckling, he took the package from Pigwidgeon carefully, so as not to hurt him. It, too was heavy, but not as big as Hermione's. He pulled the card taped to it off and looked at the cover for a while, then opened it. It was a letter that looked somewhat official. It read:

Dear Mr. Potter,
As one of our investors, we would like to keep you informed on our progress. Thanks to your donation, we have been extremely successful with
buying and selling. We are happy to say that profits are up 110%. As a token of our graditude, we have taken the liberty of sending you a little
gift that we beleive will come in handy. I hope you enjoy it!

-Weasley's Wizard Wheeses Co.

Laughing, Harry opened the box. "Wow!" he breathed. Inside was TONS of dangerous things from Fred and George Weasley's joke shop. There were millions of Ton-Tongue Toffes, a few fake wands, Canary Creams, and tons of new stuff he'd never seen before from Fred and George. Digging through the box, he saw the card and present from Ron down at the bottom of the box. He opened the card.

Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Hope the muggles are treating you okay. Are you gonna come visit soon? Mum and Dad said it was okay for you to come in a
few days' time. Talk to your Aunt and Uncle about it, and send Pig back with an answer. Hope you can come.

-Ron
Harry opened the second note pinned to it.

Harry,
I couldn't think of what to get you, when Dad took us to a Chudley Cannons match, and decide to get this for you. Hope you like it!
-Ron

Harry opened the parcel. It contained a poster, folded up very tiny and very carefully. It was a poster signed by-
the CHUDLEY CANNONS! "Whoa, Ron!" Harry got some tape and stuck it to his wall. Smiling, he moved on to the next one. It was the barn owl. It conatined a letter from Hgrid and another letter from Hogwarts concerning his school supplies.

Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Hope yeh're havin' fun during summer break. If th' Dursleys are treatin' yeh rotten, let me know an' I'll rough 'em up a bit.
On'y joking. Have an nice summer(or at least what's left of it)!
-Hagrid

Inside was a Frog Spawn Kit, complete with the spawn and a book guide of how to care for it. Harry, glad that it didn't bite, sat down
on his bed for a few minutes before releiving the last owl of it's burden.
It was a small package from-Sirius!

Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! Your present isn't much, but it was the best I could do. Right now, I'm staying at Remus' house, but I'll be leaving soon to
go on a task Dumbledore has sent me on. I can't tell you what it is, so don't ask. Keep me updated on anything unusual. Have a good summer break.

-Sirius

It was a small pockewatch, engraved with the words, "Happy Birthday! From your Godfather". It was sleek and shiny. Harry put it on the middle of the dresser, engraved side up, so that anyone who came into the room (which was only Harry) would be able to see it. Smiling, he looked at the clock. It was 4:00 AM! Yawning, Harry changed into his pajamas and went to bed, forgetting to take off his glasses.

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"Let's bring this meeting of The Coucil of Sorceror's Integrity into order!" Dumbledore said. Immediately, there was silence.
"I have called you all here today to discuss our most pressing situation since this council was founded-the rise of Lord Voldemort." All around the table there was a hushed whiper and many fidgeted in their seats. "This means," said Dumbledore loudly, so as to be herad over them. "that we must once again join forces, despite our many disputes, to stop this great evil power from destroying everything we have worked so hard to rebuild. Hagrid, Madam Maxime. What is your report on the giants?"
"Zey 'ave agreed to join us, but on certain terms," said Madame Maxime uncomfortably. When no one made any move to speak, she continued. "Zey want a small part of our land." She pased, then "Zey want Azkaban," she said gloomily. Immediatly there were outbursts of rage. "Azkaban? That's insane!" "Of course you won't agree to this, will you, Albus?" "Give up Azkaban? Now see here-" Dumbledore held up one hand to stop the noise. "Nicholas, what do YOU think?" he finally said.
"Well Albus, I think that we should try to negotiate with them. If they want Azkaban, give it to them, BUT they must guard the prisoners as well," Nicholas said. Dumbledore looked around the table to see if anyone disagreed.
"Very well then. Hagrid?"
"Yes sir," Hagrid answered.
"Will you and Madame Maxime please try and speak with the giants about all this? Thank you Hagrid," he said, for Hagrid had nodded his head and was getting out of his seat. "Mr. Flamel, have you seen to it that the dementors were taken off guard at Azkaban and replaced with Ministry members? Excellent. Could you please inform them of the change in plans?" Nicholas nodded his head.
"Come, Perenelle," he said to his wife.
"The rest of you, keep your eyes peeled and inform me of anything you hear, even if it is just a wild rumor. Thank you. This meeting of The Council of Sorceror's Integrity is hereby adjourned."


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Harry was walking through Hogwarts, going up the stairs, through secret passage ways until he got to the Divination classroom.
He descended up the ladder and Professor Trelawny was talking. "Harry, come here. That's right. Come here, Harry. I will now per-"but then
she turned into Uncle Vernon.
"What are you doing, boy?" Harry jerked back to consciousness. Somehow, he was in Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's bedroom. Shocked, all Harry could do was stare. Then he realized his foot was on the windowsill, as though preparing to jump off. He mumbled something, then went back to his room and couldn't sleep, so he spent all morning studying for his O.W.L.'s. He got dressed and came downstairs for breakfast. It was around 6:00 AM, so Aunt Petunia and Dudley weren't awake yet, and Uncle Vernon was getting ready for work. Uncle Vernon was searching for his keys when Harry timidly said,
"Uncle Vernon?" He jumped, looked around and said,
"What?"
"I was wondering if I could stay with the Weasleys for the rest of summer break." He held his breath, scowled, opened and closed his mouth a few times (which made him look remarkably like an over-fed fish), then-
"Alright. If you can behave until then and stay there for the remainder of the summer. You find out when they're coming here, and HOW they're coming here. None of this Foofo Powder and Mimble-wimble."
"Yes, Uncle Vernon." For some odd reason, he seemed to be in a very good mood. Then Harry realized, it was the order of drills he was making today to one of his biggest customers.
Harry quickly went up the stairs and wrote a reply to Ron.

Dear Ron,
Thanks for the birthday present. I've got it hanging up on my wall-I love it! The muggles said I could come. They want me to find out when and how you're coming to get me. Hope to see you soon!
-Harry

Harry packed up all of his belongings into one suitcase, and went back downstairs for lunch.

The next evening Harry was trudging back towards his room with some more ink.
"Blimey," he mumbled, "how much homework could they give us!" Harry pushed open his door and sat on one edge of his bed that didn't have parchment, spellbooks, or quills on it. He picked up his letter he had received from Hogwart's only a few days ago, reading it over again, carefully. Just a few months ago, when they had left for summer holiday, Harry had thought they had gotten off with an easy amount of holiday work, but now realized it was only HALF of the summer's work. It was actually a good thing sometimes, that he was cooped up in his room most of the time. (To look at it with the "glass half full" perspective") At least he had finished his first half of work.
Harry started to pick up a quill when he heard a tiny chirp in the distance. harry excitedly sprung from the bed, splattering some ink from the tiny bottle in his hand, to the gray carpet. That hoot was all too familiar to Harry, and in a second, a blurr of feathers sped past, dropping a piece of parchment onto the floor.
"Pig!" Harry whispered so not wake his Aunt and Uncle. Harry leapt up and caught they little bird on the first try. "Hey, I'm getting pretty good at this. Maybe Ron should write me more often." Harry opened Hedwig's cage, to put Pig in, and Hedwig ruffled her feathers in protest. "...Or maybe not." Harry said jokingly. Harry closed the doors, and stooped to retrieve the letter from Ron. It read:

Harry, we can pick you up the day after tommorrow at 8:00AM. That's not too soon is it? Will you have time to pack? If you need an extra day,
just send Pig back saying so. I wrote you a letter to explain how brilliant it was when we met the Chudley Cannons, but it was three scrolls
long and Mum said she didn't want me to give Pig a stroke.

See ya,
Ron

P.S. We'll be coming to your house by some of the Ministry cars. After last year, Dad had to pull quite a few strings to get them.

Harry looked over at the tiny ball of feathers and thought that Mrs. Weasley was probably right. Although Harry couldn't wait to hear
how Ron met his favorite quidditch team. He would just have to wait another day.
Harry put the letter down on the bed, and saw a splotchy black fingerprint on the back. Then he noticed he was still holding his ink bottle.
He groaned as he looked to the floor, and the dark stain spreading over the carpet. Harry opened his door, and peered out to make sure
no one was upstairs, then pulled his bed over the tainted area.