A/N - This chapter is a lot longer than my first one. More than twice as long, in fact. Most of my chapters will be longer than the first one, but shorter than this one. I try not to let them run on too long, but sometimes, there isn't a good place to stop it, like this one.

Chapter Two - A Very Happy Birthday

The next morning, a teenage boy was counting away the days until his fifteenth birthday. It was the first time in his life that he was excited about his birthday, and the anxiety was starting to get to him.

Harry sat at the breakfast table, glad that tomorrow would be his birthday. His excitement spread to his face, and his uncle noticed. "Boy!" he yelled at Harry in an angry tone. "Wipe that grin off your face!"

Harry obeyed, although rather reluctantly. His Uncle Vernon had been calling him "Boy" all summer, and was angered at anything that looked like happiness in Harry. It was his most recent attempt to keep Harry feeling low, insignificant, and most of all, unhappy.

Apart from that, the summer hadn't been too bad. One of the neighbors complained that they thought they heard an owl last summer, so Uncle Vernon had to come up with a new plan. He now forbid Harry's owl, Hedwig, to be in the house, or anywhere near it. Fortunately, he couldn't really enforce this rule, because he had to leave Harry's window as openable. He certainly couldn't afford to have any more flying cars at their house. Even so, Harry had asked his owl to stay at his friend, Hermione Granger's house. She didn't own an owl, and thought it might be useful for her to have one.

The only down side was that Harry had to spend most of his time in his room. That wasn't really a change, and he didn't care. He would rather be left alone, anyway. So, with the exception of meals, or if something odd occurred, Harry's uncle, aunt, and cousin ignored him.

That morning started out as any other morning had. Harry was silently eating his slice of a grapefruit, taking a good look at his cousin, Dudley. It was amazing, but Dudley seemed to have lost weight since he had gone on a diet last summer. His bottom, although it still took up the whole chair, did not seem to expand over the edges anymore.

Uncle Vernon took a good look at Harry, and made sure he wasn't happy. Then, he resumed reading his paper. Having finished his food, Harry stood up to go to his room.

"Not so fast, Boy," Vernon said. He held up a letter. "Yesterday, I received this in the mail. It's from some doctors. They want to study you." He tossed Harry the letter. Harry opened it and read:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,

We have recently heard that one Harry Potter, who lives under your care, attends the St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. We are doing a study of the criminal mind this summer, and would be interested in studying Harry. It will begin in the second last week of August, and run for two weeks. We will provide transportation to the study, and to St. Brutus's after the study.

Please let us know if you are interested in allowing Harry to participate in this study. If you are, please return the enclosed form to the indicated address. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Dr. and Dr. Granger

Harry put the letter down. It was obviously the work of his friend, Hermione Granger. She had come up with a creative and unobvious plan to get him away from the Dursley's for two weeks. It also ensured that he would be able to go to Diagon Alley, and get to King's Cross Station to go to school. All he had to do was try to convince Uncle Vernon to let him go to this "study." He figured that the best way to do it was to point out that he would leave them two weeks earlier, and make it sound like he didn't want to go.

"Well," Uncle Vernon said. "What do you think?" He stared at Harry closely, as though he suspected something.

"I guess it means that you won't have to put up with me for two weeks…but I don't think I want to be studied. Besides, how am I going to get to my school?"

At this, Uncle Vernon smiled. "This seems to have more benefits than drawbacks. I think you should be studied. Just, no funny business. And as for your school, you can find your own way there. You're thirteen now, you should be able to take care of yourself."

Harry was tempted to correct his uncle, but knew that he shouldn't push it. He might just ruin Hermione's plan. He watched as Uncle Vernon pulled out the form and began filling it out. Harry stood up and left for his room. Nobody seemed to notice, or care.

Once in his room, Harry pulled out a book, a quill, some ink, and some parchment. Flipping through the book, he read a page or two, and began writing. This was another thing that was better than the previous years. His relatives' ignorance meant that he no longer had to hide his school stuff. He also had a lot of free time to do his homework.

He pulled up a loose floorboard, revealing the one thing he still hid, in case someone ever looked in his room. It was food, sent to him by his friends. Last year, when Dudley began his diet, the Dursleys made everybody abide by it. Harry had written to his friends and complained, and they sent him food to make sure he didn't starve.

This year, he had gotten a lot of meat and bread from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, candy from their son, and Harry's best friend, Ron, and fruits and vegetables from Hermione. All the food was spelled so that it wouldn't go bad, and Harry really appreciated all that his friends did for him.

Eating some bacon, Harry thought about what Hermione had just done for him. He thought it was awfully kind of her, and wondered what life at her house would be like. Fortunately for Harry, the rest of the day passed quickly, and he went to sleep, knowing that when he woke up, he would be a whole year older.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed. He got dressed, and took a good look at himself in the mirror. Harry at fifteen didn't look different from Harry at fourteen, but he felt different, in some way. Staring back at him was his usual pale face with bright green eyes, and jet-black hair that never seemed to stay down.

He felt so happy that he nearly skipped down the stairs to breakfast. But when he reached the bottom, he remembered Uncle Vernon, and replaced his smile with a scowl.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon shouted, "I sent off that form. You're getting studied whether you like it or not!"

"But," Harry protested, playing his role almost perfectly.

Uncle Vernon cut him off. "No buts about it, Boy. You're getting studied. And as far as I can tell, your godfather won't be able to get us for it. You'll be with doctors."

Last summer, Harry's aunt and uncle had been terrified of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. He was accused of murder and became the only person to escape from the wizard prison, Azkaban. He was innocent, but Harry wasn't going to tell them that. It had got them to be decent last year, but was losing its effect. Since Sirius hadn't blown them to bits, liked they'd imagined he might, they started seeing Sirius as less of a threat. Harry gave Uncle Vernon a look of protest, and he saw it. "And for that, Boy, you can go to your room! Without any breakfast."

Harry slowly stood up, pretending to be sad and angry, and walked upstairs. As he went, he heard his Aunt Petunia say, "You can have his share of the orange, Dudley dears." Dudley snorted with delight. Harry chuckled to himself. Even if Dudley was loosing weight, he seemed to resemble a pig more and more everyday.

Returning to his room, Harry found a snowy owl waiting outside his window. It was Hedwig. He opened his window, letting the warm air in. He left his window open, because he knew that there would be more owls to come. Hedwig dropped her package on Harry's bed, and she perched on a bedpost.

Harry opened the package, and on top was a letter. It read:

Dear Harry,

Happy fifteenth birthday. I hope this year will turn out to be better than all the rest. In this box, I've included your present, the usual food, and a small cake. I wish i could be there personally to give it to you, but some things cannot work out. Thanks again for asking Hegwig stay with me. She's been a real help, keeping me in contact with the world.

It's taken my parents almost this long to figure out why our food seemed to be disappearing faster than we were eating it. When they found out I was sending it to you, I had to tell them about your cousin's diet. They were mad at your aunt and uncle because they said that you looked a bit underweight the last time they saw you, and you need lots of nutrition. They were actually the ones who came up with the plan.

Harry was shocked. Hermione, who was always one to follow the rules, had been doing something behind her parents' back. He laughed at how much she had changed since he first met her, almost four years ago, and returned to the letter:

Speaking of the plan, if your aunt and uncle haven't gotten a letter from my parents yet, they should be getting one soon. They're pretending to be interested in studying you because you are a "criminal." I helped them with that part, by telling them about that school that your uncle pretends you go to.

My parents decided that you should stay at our house for the last two weeks before school. I do hope your aunt and uncle agree to let you be "studied." If not, we have a few back-up plans.

Enjoy your birthday and I hope to be receiving that form from your aunt and uncle soon.

Your friend,

Hermione

Harry smiled, glad that Hermione was planning to get him away from the Dursleys. Since both her parents were muggles, or non-magical folk, it was easier for them to take him without angering his aunt and uncle that it was for Ron and his family.

Harry recalled how he had gotten away for the last three years. Once, Ron and his twin brothers Fred and George drove a flying car to Harry's house and took him to their home, the Burrow. The year after that, Harry ran away and took the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley, and he stayed in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Last year, England was hosting the Quidditch World Cup. Mr. Weasley had gotten tickets, and used Floo powder to get Harry to the Burrow again. Last year had been the best, and the only thing that made this year better was that his aunt and uncle thought they were being mean to him.

Harry put down the letter and looked into the box. On top was a small cake, just like Hermione said. It looked store bought, but Harry didn't care. It was simply decorated, and read "Happy Birthday Harry." He took the cake out, and put it to the side. The next thing in the box was assorted fruits and vegetables. These he placed under the loose floorboard.

The last thing in the box was wrapped. Harry quickly ripped the paper off it, and nearly gasped. It was a book, titled, "Survivors of Deadly Curses: How They Did It and the Side Effects." Harry hadn't realized that Hermione knew how curious he was about his survival of Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. Of course, he was the only one known to have survived, but the book might give some insight from survivors of other curses.

Harry opened the book, and flipped through it. Near the back, he saw his picture, and his name. It told his story, as if anybody in the wizarding world didn't know what he had done. Under the section about how he survived, it only said, "At the time of publication, the reasons for young Mr. Potter's survival are unknown."

Next to that, Harry saw that Hermione had written something in his book. It said, "Harry's mother sacrificed her life so that he could live. This love of hers created a type of protection that allowed him to survive the curse with only a scar." Harry smiled. Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, had told him that in his first year at the school. He, in turn, had told Ron and Hermione. It was no surprise that the rest of the world was still clueless.

The next section was about the side effects he had suffered from the curse. It listed his lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, how Harry had gotten some of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's power (like being a parselmouth), how the scar hurt when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was angry, thought about killing, or was nearby, and how he sometimes had nightmares about that.

Not really liking to read about himself, Harry closed the book. He was staring out the window when a small figure flew into his room. It turned out to be an owl, but a very small one. He recognized it as Pig, Ron's owl. Pig dropped a large parcel, meaning for it to land on Harry's lap. But Pig mis-timed his release, and the parcel landed on Harry's head.

"Ow," Harry said, rubbing his head. He picked up the package, which was small and light, hoping that there was nothing fragile in it. On top was an envelope. He opened it, and read the letter:

Dear Harry,

I hope you're having a happy birthday and a good summer. I certainly have. Fudge just realized that Dad's salary is below W.I.S.H. (Wizarding Income Standard per Household). It is like a wish come true. Fudge found out that with the size of our family, Dad should be getting more money than he's currently getting paid. It's not much, but Dad said that between books and robes, at least one of them won't have to be second hand this year, our pick. I'm definitely going for robes.

I hope Pig made it to your house all right, because there's a lot included in this package. Fred and George want to wish you a happy birthday and thank you for something. They've included a gift for you, and were going to have me write something else, but changed their minds. I'm not sure what you did, but it sounds good. From all the time that Fred and George have spent in their room, I'm not sure i would trust their present.

Mum and Dad asked me to include some chicken and ham. I don't know why, but if they've been doing this all summer, you'd have starved if it weren't for my candy. I've also included some of that. Mum and Dad also have a gift for you.

You know harry, you're really popular in our house. Ginny has a present for you as well. And then, of course, there's my gift. I hope you like it. So this package should have in it four gifts, chicken, ham, and candy. There would also be some cake, but i can't fit it in the box. I'm not sure Pig can carry this, but it's better than Errol.

Your friend,

Ron

P.S. - Pig should be able to get to your house now. Dad put a spell on the package so it will be small and light. I've also managed to include the cake.

Harry was amazed at how much the Weasleys cared for him. Looking into the box, Harry found the meat on top. He put that under the loose floorboard. Under that was the candy, in various assortments. The cake was under the candy. By the looks of it, it was a homemade cake, made by Ron. It didn't look the greatest, but Harry didn't care. It was the thought that counted.

The first of the four presents Harry pulled out was a small package from Ginny. Unwrapping it, Harry found a small box. Inside was a small model of a Hungarian Horntail. Harry was glad to see it, for he had been wondering what happened to it. There was a short note inside as well.

Harry,

I found this is Ron's trunk. He must have taken it by mistake. Have a happy birthday.

Ginny

Harry picked up the small dragon and placed it by his clock. Looking at it, he was reminded of Hogwarts. His room seemed more "at home" with the tiny, moving dragon there. It wasn't much of a present, since it was his to begin with, but Harry didn't mind. Maybe Ginny hadn't found it until recently.

Then next gift that Harry pulled out was from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Unwrapping it, he saw that it was a photo album. Opening it up, he found pictures of him, Ron, and Hermione. They were from the past three summers. He didn't remember ever having his picture taken, but was glad for them anyway. Now, he had something to remember his friends by.

Under that was the present from Fred and George. On top, it had a small letter:

Dear Harry,

Thanks a lot for what you gave us last June (we won't say what in case Ron reads this). We are using it as you asked us to, and it has really helped. We have yet to fulfil your request, but will do so when we go to Diagon Alley later this summer. Thanks a million, or rather, a thousand.

-Fred and George

P.s. - Our gift isn't a joke. It's as serious as you were when you gave us a certain something earlier this year. Especially the last part of our gift.

Harry chuckled, trying to imagine Fred and George being serious. Last June, Harry had given Fred and George his winnings from the Triwizard tournament: one thousand galleons. He gave it to them so that they could develop their joke shop. Harry knew that with Voldemort restored, Hogwarts was going to be very serious. Harry also knew that the best way to deal with the anxiety and tension was to lighten up, with the help of a few jokes. His only request was that they buy Ron some new dress robes, and say the robes were from them. Ron had suffered with dress robes with frills on them for the last year.

Harry cautiously unwrapped the gift. Underneath it was another layer of wrapping paper. He unwrapped that layer only to find another layer of paper. He ended up going through about ten layers of wrapping paper before he got to a box. Opening the box, he found another box. And in that box, was a box. Five boxes later, he was back to the wrapping paper. The trend seemed to repeat itself, but Harry noticed that the package wasn't getting any smaller.

Although annoying, Harry found this very amusing. It wasn't until he started laughing that he reached the real gift. It was a bunch of papers. The first one was another note:

Harry,

Us again. Did you like the wrapping? If you didn't figure it out, you can't get to the real present until you start laughing. It is an example of some of our more creative products that we've been working on recently. The candies were nice, but after a while, people didn't trust us. Now we've developed products that will get people laughing, but not afraid. And thanks a lot for the money. We haven't told a soul, nor plan to. Like we said in the other note, we'll buy Ron some good dress robes when we go to Diagon Alley.

Our gifts are not the most exciting, but we think you'll like them anyway.

Innocently yours,

Fred and George

Harry had to laugh as their closing. Fred and George were far from innocent. Harry looked under the note to see a stack of papers declaring that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was an official business. There was also their business report. It seemed that they were having a rough start. Harry knew that once the summer ended, and the twins could do business without hiding it, business would pick up.

But it was one of the last papers that caused Harry to gasp with shock.

A/N - A little bit of a cliffhanger. But like I said, there wasn't a good place to cut it off. It's a good thing I ended it here, otherwise this chapter would get really long. There's still Ron's gift, along with Hagrid's and Sirius's.

Okay, side note about Hermione putting a spell on her food so it won't go bad. I'm not sure how she did it, since she's not allowed to do magic over the summer, but she did it somehow.

Oh, and PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! It's my one connection to my readers. And, if you like my story, SPREAD THE WORD!! There's best thing you can ever do for an author you like is to tell other people about them.