Chapter One
Contactium, Ron Weasley
The weather outside Number 4 Privet Drive was anything but pleasant. The sky was gloomy, and the sun, no matter how hard it tried, could not break through the thick gray clouds. The unpleasant atmosphere had seemed to effect the whole house. There was one occupant who felt the most disgusted; yet it had nothing to do with the weather. The upstairs bedroom used to be occupied by Dudley Dursley, a blonde-haired boy who in his short lifetime had achieved reaching the size of a baby whale. That room, however, was currently occupied by a rather skinny boy with jet-black hair. He lay flat on his bed staring up at the ceiling, immersed in thought. This was no ordinary boy by any stretch of imagination. To start, over his left eye, he bore a lightning bolt-shaped scar. How he received this scar added to his abnormality. Harry Potter had received his scar 15 years before, when an attempt to kill him by the worst wizard of the time, Lord Voldemort, had been foiled by Harry's mother's dying, ancient, pure magic. Harry Potter was a wizard, and a fairly famous one at that. He discovered this 5 years ago despite futile attempts by his muggle (non-magic) aunt and uncle. Since that time, he has had to battle things that even the toughest of wizards haven't had to face. Though through it all he has lived, he has lost more than he had ever wanted to. Nightly, Harry recalled the event that took place just a month ago. It always seemed so real to him, even in his dreams, yet Harry couldn't grasp that his godfather was gone. The one thing that was truly family to Harry had died to protect him. Since that day, Harry had felt miserable. Harry would have been thrilled with the events of this summer any of his prior years, but this year, nothing seemed to drag him out of his misery. Last summer, Harry had been shut out entirely to the magic world, only to find out that there was a secret society trying to protect him. He had lashed out at his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, for keeping him in the dark about what was happening, but their friendship stood strong, though Harry had more anger than he had ever previously had. That anger that he had demonstrated could not compare to what he felt now, however. As opposed to last year, Harry was in constant contact with all of his friends, in part thanks to guidelines set as he got off of the Hogwarts Express. If he did not inform the Order of the Phoenix that he was being treated properly three days straight, he would be personally checked on. Since he wasn't allowed to show much sign of his world in the Dursley residence, the thought of being visited every three days would have normally excited Harry greatly. This summer, however, Harry felt as if he never wanted to be a part of the wizarding world again.
He had suffered so much tragedy in his life that Harry was overwhelmed. He now, however, upheld a responsibility that would affect that entire world. A little over a month before, Harry had heard for the first time what his destiny would be. A prophecy was written about him before he was born, and it held the future. Harry was to kill the same wizard who had killed his parents, killed innocent wizards and muggles, had assisted in killing his own godfather, and had given him his scar. If he did not accomplish this task, Harry was to be the one who died, because the prophecy had said that neither could live if the other survived. Harry was now surer of one thing than he had ever been in his life- He had raw pure anger because of his godfather, Sirius Black's death, and he would seek revenge by killing Voldemort. Harry had never been truly afraid of Voldemort, unlike most in the wizarding community. He had encountered him on numerous occasions, and he had prevailed, and that was part of what made Harry truly great.
Though he often had to confront his grief and despair, Harry had made sure he kept in communication with the few things he still cared about. Ron and Hermione kept in constant contact, and though he didn't show it, Harry was extremely thankful. He didn't know what he would do without them. Harry was to join Ron and Hermione at the Burrow later that week, but Harry's mind was now taken away from blankly looking at the ceiling. A tapping had begun on his windowsill, and it was only then that Harry had realized that today was his 16th birthday. Since he met them, his friends had always come through in remembering Harry's birthday, which was a refreshing change for Harry, considering that he had only accumulated socks, paper clips, and other random household objects on the birthdays that the Dursleys had remembered. Harry slowly sat up and peered through the window to see a very small owl screeching and twittering outside the window. Harry knew this bird very well.
"Hey Pig," Harry said to Ron's owl.
As soon as Harry had managed to open the window, Pig had raced through it. Harry had to grab a hold of Pig's leg to stop him from flying around his room, and he managed to untie the parcel that was attached to Pig. As soon as Harry had released Pig, he began his usual routine of circling around the room while making an utter racket.
"Shut up Pig, you'll wake them," Harry said in a whisper.
Pig continued to circle, but his screeching was, for the most part, silenced. Harry walked back to the window, intent on closing it when a large eagle owl swooped past, nearly knocking him off his feet. It landed on Harry's desk and gave Harry a glare that clearly said, "Take these packages off of me". Harry did as the bird had instructed and untied two parcels from the owl's leg. It then flew off without a glance at Harry.
"That was thoughtful," thought Harry sarcastically. Harry glanced down to see the items that he had untied. One was an envelope that had the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry crest. Harry knew that this was undoubtedly the list of required items he would have to buy for his 6th year in school. The second however, had another official looking insignia, but it was not familiar to Harry. After further examination of the seal however, Harry knew very well what it must be. His Ordinary Wizarding Levels results. Harry had taken them towards the end of his 5th year, but the events that followed had pushed Harry's academics to the back of his mind. He did now distinctly remember only half finishing his astronomy test due to a scuffle at Hagrid's hut, and he wasn't too confident about any of his other levels as well. It was Pigwidgeon's twitching that reminded Harry that he had yet to open Ron's present and letter.
"These can wait," Harry said to himself, referring to his O.W.L.s.
Harry opened the envelope from Ron and read to himself:
Harry-
Happy birthday mate! Can't wait to see you at the end of the week. Remember Sunday at 2 p.m. We might bring a few familiar faces, just to let you know, but I want it to be a surprise. Fred, George, and dad are gonna apparate to your room to grab your stuff, and mum and I will come via floo powder. You might want to tell the muggles about that. If that oaf of an uncle doesn't want to cooperate, he'll have Charlie and Bill to deal with. They came home after I wrote my last letter to you. They decided they'd be more useful with the family now that the second war has started and all. By the way, Hermione has decided she's going to stay with Krum and his family.
Harry snickered at this. He knew that Ron wasn't too keen on Hermione and Viktor's relationship, and the fact that Hermione was going to live with him for an amount of time would surely have upset Ron. Harry looked back and continued to read.
I'll never understand girls. Anyway, about what you said in your last letter, we have been searching the Daily Prophet too, and haven't seen anything unusual, so my guess is that He's laying low. Now that the whole wizarding world knows about him, it probably wouldn't be too smart of him to try to pull anything. I hope you're feeling better than you did before, and I won't bring the subject up anymore than that. Just know that you're as much of a son to my mum as Fred, George, and me are.
Harry paused. A tear was welling up in his eye, and it was the first time all summer that he had felt appreciated. He realized Ron didn't mean it to be sentimental, but Harry hadn't really considered how much of a part of the family he was to the Weasleys. Harry wiped his eyes and went back to the letter.
Anyways Harry, Hermione is gonna stay with us the last 3 days before we catch the Hogwarts Express. You probably got your Hogwarts letter, and we did too. Ginny was made a prefect, and mum practically cried a river of joy. All she kept saying was "Two of my children! Prefects at the same time! I don't believe it." Practically cracked my ribs with all of the hugging. I don't see the bloody big deal; I never was too fond of being one. Oh well, enough of that. As I said, can't wait to see you, and I hope you like your present. Fred and George were gonna send you a Skiving Snackbox until mum caught them tying it to Pig. She practically had a fit and went on and on about how terrible her wrath would be if she found out your cousin had eaten one 'on accident'. I expect you'll probably receive one from the guys anyway. Their business is bustling, and they're doing mail order deliveries, so I expect they'll use their post owl.
It was at this that Harry realized that a large brown barn owl was softly hooting on the windowsill. Tied to its leg was a package that was undoubtedly from Fred and George. Harry got up and untied the package from the owl, which hooted in gratitude. He then soared out the window, and Harry put down the package. He sat back down, returning once more to Ron's letter.
See you soon,
Ron
Harry was about to open Ron's present when he glanced down to see an added part of the message. He read carefully.
P.S. Stupid Percy wrote an apology letter to us on Ministry letterhead. He mentioned something about 'not wanting to believe the terrible accusations his father and Dumbledore had presented' but that he finally saw that there was "some" truth to their statements. He apologized, briefly, for being professional instead of a family member. We didn't believe him, but mum has perked up ever since. Even if he is a git, he is her son. Dad shared both mum's feelings, and ours and I can see why.
Harry put the letter down and opened the gift from Ron. Inside he found a large supply of Extendible Ears, a picture of the Weasley family, a picture of Hermione and Viktor waving, a poster of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite professional Quidditch team, and a scroll of parchment. Harry unrolled it and read.
Hey Harry, Hermione sent me this spell that Viktor had taught her. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I tried it out and it really works! Hope you like it. All you do is get out the wand I enclosed, we obviously aren't allowed to use our own, swish, flick and say Contactium (name). I tried it with Hermione, and have talked to her a couple of times. She doesn't usually have her wand with her, and u can't talk to someone who doesn't have their wand too. I'll keep mine with me if you feel like giving it a try.
Harry put down the scroll of parchment and picked up the wand that Ron had sent. On it read the words Wizarding Community Network. Harry immediately realized that this must be like the muggle two-way radio. He hadn't felt like talking to anyone in a while, but the prospect of talking to Ron without him hurting Harry's eardrums on the phone was appealing. Harry grabbed his wand, swished, flicked, and spoke.
"Contactium Ron Weasley!"
Green sparks shot out of Harry's wand, and suddenly Harry heard a voice.coming from his wand.
Contactium, Ron Weasley
The weather outside Number 4 Privet Drive was anything but pleasant. The sky was gloomy, and the sun, no matter how hard it tried, could not break through the thick gray clouds. The unpleasant atmosphere had seemed to effect the whole house. There was one occupant who felt the most disgusted; yet it had nothing to do with the weather. The upstairs bedroom used to be occupied by Dudley Dursley, a blonde-haired boy who in his short lifetime had achieved reaching the size of a baby whale. That room, however, was currently occupied by a rather skinny boy with jet-black hair. He lay flat on his bed staring up at the ceiling, immersed in thought. This was no ordinary boy by any stretch of imagination. To start, over his left eye, he bore a lightning bolt-shaped scar. How he received this scar added to his abnormality. Harry Potter had received his scar 15 years before, when an attempt to kill him by the worst wizard of the time, Lord Voldemort, had been foiled by Harry's mother's dying, ancient, pure magic. Harry Potter was a wizard, and a fairly famous one at that. He discovered this 5 years ago despite futile attempts by his muggle (non-magic) aunt and uncle. Since that time, he has had to battle things that even the toughest of wizards haven't had to face. Though through it all he has lived, he has lost more than he had ever wanted to. Nightly, Harry recalled the event that took place just a month ago. It always seemed so real to him, even in his dreams, yet Harry couldn't grasp that his godfather was gone. The one thing that was truly family to Harry had died to protect him. Since that day, Harry had felt miserable. Harry would have been thrilled with the events of this summer any of his prior years, but this year, nothing seemed to drag him out of his misery. Last summer, Harry had been shut out entirely to the magic world, only to find out that there was a secret society trying to protect him. He had lashed out at his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, for keeping him in the dark about what was happening, but their friendship stood strong, though Harry had more anger than he had ever previously had. That anger that he had demonstrated could not compare to what he felt now, however. As opposed to last year, Harry was in constant contact with all of his friends, in part thanks to guidelines set as he got off of the Hogwarts Express. If he did not inform the Order of the Phoenix that he was being treated properly three days straight, he would be personally checked on. Since he wasn't allowed to show much sign of his world in the Dursley residence, the thought of being visited every three days would have normally excited Harry greatly. This summer, however, Harry felt as if he never wanted to be a part of the wizarding world again.
He had suffered so much tragedy in his life that Harry was overwhelmed. He now, however, upheld a responsibility that would affect that entire world. A little over a month before, Harry had heard for the first time what his destiny would be. A prophecy was written about him before he was born, and it held the future. Harry was to kill the same wizard who had killed his parents, killed innocent wizards and muggles, had assisted in killing his own godfather, and had given him his scar. If he did not accomplish this task, Harry was to be the one who died, because the prophecy had said that neither could live if the other survived. Harry was now surer of one thing than he had ever been in his life- He had raw pure anger because of his godfather, Sirius Black's death, and he would seek revenge by killing Voldemort. Harry had never been truly afraid of Voldemort, unlike most in the wizarding community. He had encountered him on numerous occasions, and he had prevailed, and that was part of what made Harry truly great.
Though he often had to confront his grief and despair, Harry had made sure he kept in communication with the few things he still cared about. Ron and Hermione kept in constant contact, and though he didn't show it, Harry was extremely thankful. He didn't know what he would do without them. Harry was to join Ron and Hermione at the Burrow later that week, but Harry's mind was now taken away from blankly looking at the ceiling. A tapping had begun on his windowsill, and it was only then that Harry had realized that today was his 16th birthday. Since he met them, his friends had always come through in remembering Harry's birthday, which was a refreshing change for Harry, considering that he had only accumulated socks, paper clips, and other random household objects on the birthdays that the Dursleys had remembered. Harry slowly sat up and peered through the window to see a very small owl screeching and twittering outside the window. Harry knew this bird very well.
"Hey Pig," Harry said to Ron's owl.
As soon as Harry had managed to open the window, Pig had raced through it. Harry had to grab a hold of Pig's leg to stop him from flying around his room, and he managed to untie the parcel that was attached to Pig. As soon as Harry had released Pig, he began his usual routine of circling around the room while making an utter racket.
"Shut up Pig, you'll wake them," Harry said in a whisper.
Pig continued to circle, but his screeching was, for the most part, silenced. Harry walked back to the window, intent on closing it when a large eagle owl swooped past, nearly knocking him off his feet. It landed on Harry's desk and gave Harry a glare that clearly said, "Take these packages off of me". Harry did as the bird had instructed and untied two parcels from the owl's leg. It then flew off without a glance at Harry.
"That was thoughtful," thought Harry sarcastically. Harry glanced down to see the items that he had untied. One was an envelope that had the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry crest. Harry knew that this was undoubtedly the list of required items he would have to buy for his 6th year in school. The second however, had another official looking insignia, but it was not familiar to Harry. After further examination of the seal however, Harry knew very well what it must be. His Ordinary Wizarding Levels results. Harry had taken them towards the end of his 5th year, but the events that followed had pushed Harry's academics to the back of his mind. He did now distinctly remember only half finishing his astronomy test due to a scuffle at Hagrid's hut, and he wasn't too confident about any of his other levels as well. It was Pigwidgeon's twitching that reminded Harry that he had yet to open Ron's present and letter.
"These can wait," Harry said to himself, referring to his O.W.L.s.
Harry opened the envelope from Ron and read to himself:
Harry-
Happy birthday mate! Can't wait to see you at the end of the week. Remember Sunday at 2 p.m. We might bring a few familiar faces, just to let you know, but I want it to be a surprise. Fred, George, and dad are gonna apparate to your room to grab your stuff, and mum and I will come via floo powder. You might want to tell the muggles about that. If that oaf of an uncle doesn't want to cooperate, he'll have Charlie and Bill to deal with. They came home after I wrote my last letter to you. They decided they'd be more useful with the family now that the second war has started and all. By the way, Hermione has decided she's going to stay with Krum and his family.
Harry snickered at this. He knew that Ron wasn't too keen on Hermione and Viktor's relationship, and the fact that Hermione was going to live with him for an amount of time would surely have upset Ron. Harry looked back and continued to read.
I'll never understand girls. Anyway, about what you said in your last letter, we have been searching the Daily Prophet too, and haven't seen anything unusual, so my guess is that He's laying low. Now that the whole wizarding world knows about him, it probably wouldn't be too smart of him to try to pull anything. I hope you're feeling better than you did before, and I won't bring the subject up anymore than that. Just know that you're as much of a son to my mum as Fred, George, and me are.
Harry paused. A tear was welling up in his eye, and it was the first time all summer that he had felt appreciated. He realized Ron didn't mean it to be sentimental, but Harry hadn't really considered how much of a part of the family he was to the Weasleys. Harry wiped his eyes and went back to the letter.
Anyways Harry, Hermione is gonna stay with us the last 3 days before we catch the Hogwarts Express. You probably got your Hogwarts letter, and we did too. Ginny was made a prefect, and mum practically cried a river of joy. All she kept saying was "Two of my children! Prefects at the same time! I don't believe it." Practically cracked my ribs with all of the hugging. I don't see the bloody big deal; I never was too fond of being one. Oh well, enough of that. As I said, can't wait to see you, and I hope you like your present. Fred and George were gonna send you a Skiving Snackbox until mum caught them tying it to Pig. She practically had a fit and went on and on about how terrible her wrath would be if she found out your cousin had eaten one 'on accident'. I expect you'll probably receive one from the guys anyway. Their business is bustling, and they're doing mail order deliveries, so I expect they'll use their post owl.
It was at this that Harry realized that a large brown barn owl was softly hooting on the windowsill. Tied to its leg was a package that was undoubtedly from Fred and George. Harry got up and untied the package from the owl, which hooted in gratitude. He then soared out the window, and Harry put down the package. He sat back down, returning once more to Ron's letter.
See you soon,
Ron
Harry was about to open Ron's present when he glanced down to see an added part of the message. He read carefully.
P.S. Stupid Percy wrote an apology letter to us on Ministry letterhead. He mentioned something about 'not wanting to believe the terrible accusations his father and Dumbledore had presented' but that he finally saw that there was "some" truth to their statements. He apologized, briefly, for being professional instead of a family member. We didn't believe him, but mum has perked up ever since. Even if he is a git, he is her son. Dad shared both mum's feelings, and ours and I can see why.
Harry put the letter down and opened the gift from Ron. Inside he found a large supply of Extendible Ears, a picture of the Weasley family, a picture of Hermione and Viktor waving, a poster of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite professional Quidditch team, and a scroll of parchment. Harry unrolled it and read.
Hey Harry, Hermione sent me this spell that Viktor had taught her. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I tried it out and it really works! Hope you like it. All you do is get out the wand I enclosed, we obviously aren't allowed to use our own, swish, flick and say Contactium (name). I tried it with Hermione, and have talked to her a couple of times. She doesn't usually have her wand with her, and u can't talk to someone who doesn't have their wand too. I'll keep mine with me if you feel like giving it a try.
Harry put down the scroll of parchment and picked up the wand that Ron had sent. On it read the words Wizarding Community Network. Harry immediately realized that this must be like the muggle two-way radio. He hadn't felt like talking to anyone in a while, but the prospect of talking to Ron without him hurting Harry's eardrums on the phone was appealing. Harry grabbed his wand, swished, flicked, and spoke.
"Contactium Ron Weasley!"
Green sparks shot out of Harry's wand, and suddenly Harry heard a voice.coming from his wand.