*Privet Drive*
Harry Potter sat on his bed gazing at the picture book that sat on his lap. The young boy, really a young man now turned the page of the book and gazed longingly at the picture before him. He was looking at the picture of his parents' wedding day. He saw his father, James Potter beaming up at him and offering a wave. Harry smiled back at him recognizing once again the uncanny similarities he shared with his father. He was rather tall and lanky, like his father was back in his school days. He had inherited the same unruly black hair and a pair of black glasses framed his eyes. The only thing that Harry seemed to have had inherited from his mother were her penetrating emerald green eyes. She gave him a beaming smile and Harry fought the urge to let a single tear escape from his left eye.
"Oh for heaven's sake pull yourself together Harry! You're almost sixteen!" he scolded himself. He glanced at his watch another light smile twitching his face. He would be sixteen in under a half an hour. He grinned with excitement at the thought. He would be one year away from being able to perform magic legally seeing as wizards and witches reached their adulthood at the age of seventeen.
Harry looked back at his photo album that used to belong to his mother and father and gazed at the young man standing a little to the side of his dead parents. It had been a little over a month since he had watched Sirius die in front of his eyes and Harry never had the chance to escape it. Even though Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had told Harry over and over again that he was not responsible for his godfather's death, Harry couldn't feel a slight twinge of guilt. Harry was having an extreme lack of sleep the last couple of weeks. Every time he closed his eyes, he pictured Sirius, falling into the veil that would keep him forever. Trying not to think about it, he looked at the picture of his parents' wedding again and saw Sirius laughing brightly.
Harry didn't know how long he sat there, looking at that picture by flashlight but when his clock struck midnight and the large grandfather clock in the front hallway of Number 4 Privet Drive struck twelve times to signal the thirty-first of July he knew he had been staring at the picture for long enough.
"He's never coming back Harry. Just forget about it." Harry tried to tell himself. But no matter how hard he tried, he still pictured Sirius ready to greet him in front of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the home of the Black family and the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry threw the photo album down on the floor and was ready to drift off into yet another uneasy sleep when a sharp pecking came from his window. Putting on his glasses, Harry walked over to the window and opened it up, allowing a small tawny owl, a snow owl and a large barn owl admittance into his bedroom.
Harry instantly recognized the snow owl as his own, Hedwig, who dropped a package on Harry's bed and held out her leg for Harry to pull off a note. With a contented hoot, Hedwig flew off to her cage and drank the water that Harry had put out for her that morning.
Harry looked at the small owl who was hopping around on Harry's dresser causing a racket. Harry could hear his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia in the room next door, his uncle grunting in discomfort. "Pig would you just shut up? You're going to get me into trouble!" Harry hissed as he untied the letter from Pigwidgeon's leg and the annoying little owl zoomed into Hedwig's cage, eager to have a bit of water as well. Harry then turned to the large barn owl who gave a sort of dignified hoot before he delivered two letters to Harry. The owl ruffled his feathers and then took off threw Harry's open window and off into the night sky.
Harry turned towards the package that Hedwig had dropped off first. He opened up the package and saw that it was a new edition of Which Broomstick? One of Harry's favorite books. He then opened up the letter that came with the package and read it silently to himself.
Dear Harry,
I do trust that everything is alright with you? How are you holding up? I thought you might like this new edition of Which Broomstick seeing as the one you own know is five years out of date. I was seriously debating on whether or not to buy you Hogwarts a History so I wouldn't have to constantly remind you and Ron that you can't Apparate or Disapparate on school grounds but seeing as it is over one thousand pages long I figured you would soon lose interest.
I've been spending the holidays at the Burrow with Ron and his family and I reckon you'll be expecting an invitation any day now. Hopefully your aunt and uncle will let you go. It's been such a long time since we've seen each other Harry and I do hope you're taking care of yourself.
Can't wait to see you at the Burrow! Happy sixteenth birthday Harry!
With Love,
Hermione.
Harry smiled at Hermione's letter. Leave it to her to give Harry a book for his birthday although he was slightly put off by the fact that Hermione had been spending her whole summer with the Weaslys, Harry's favorite wizard family. He was also a bit irked at how many times she had asked him if he was doing alright, even if she did ask subtly. He knew she was asking about his condition after Sirius' death. And quite frankly Harry didn't want anybody's sympathy.
Shrugging to himself he picked up the package that had probably, without a doubt was sent from Ron. He opened up the package and a whole bunch of practical jokes had fallen out of the package followed by a small note.
Harry,
Hope you like all the stuff I sent you! I nicked it from George and Fred's joke shop in Diagon Alley! Just be careful with the Gorgatuous Sweets as they tend to make you swell up like a balloon and take up a whole room until someone pops you! -Ron
Harry let out a little laugh. So, Ron's two older twin brothers, Fred and George Weasly had pursued their dream and opened up a joke shop in Diagon Alley. The twins wouldn't have even had a joke shop if it hadn't been for Harry who had given his winnings of one thousand galleons from the TriWizard Tournament to the twins at the end of this fourth year. He then picked up Ron's letter and read it intently.
Harry,
Hope everything is going well with the muggles! Hopefully you can try some of those practical jokes on your cousin! Anyway, you need to come out to the Burrow this summer holiday! Bill and Charlie are here (for you know what) and when they're home we've been playing Quiddich in the afternoon. Even Hermione got up on my Cleansweep! You should have been there it was the greatest thing! Anyway, Dad is coming to pick you up at about three o' clock on the 31st. Just make sure you're in Mrs. Figg's house by then (Dad's already talked to her!).
Happy Birthday!
Ron
Harry smiled widely as he placed Ron and Hermione's letters on his bedside table. He hurriedly wrote his reply to Ron down on a spare piece of parchment and gave it to Pig, who left hurriedly, happy somebody gave him something to do. Harry heard Hedwig give a hoot of thanks before she settled in for the night.
The sixteen year old wizard quickly packed everything up in his trunk and when he finally settled into bed, he picked up his photo album and placed it next to his glasses and his birthday letters. Hoping that three o' clock in the afternoon would hurry up and get to Privet Drive as soon as possible.
Harry Potter sat on his bed gazing at the picture book that sat on his lap. The young boy, really a young man now turned the page of the book and gazed longingly at the picture before him. He was looking at the picture of his parents' wedding day. He saw his father, James Potter beaming up at him and offering a wave. Harry smiled back at him recognizing once again the uncanny similarities he shared with his father. He was rather tall and lanky, like his father was back in his school days. He had inherited the same unruly black hair and a pair of black glasses framed his eyes. The only thing that Harry seemed to have had inherited from his mother were her penetrating emerald green eyes. She gave him a beaming smile and Harry fought the urge to let a single tear escape from his left eye.
"Oh for heaven's sake pull yourself together Harry! You're almost sixteen!" he scolded himself. He glanced at his watch another light smile twitching his face. He would be sixteen in under a half an hour. He grinned with excitement at the thought. He would be one year away from being able to perform magic legally seeing as wizards and witches reached their adulthood at the age of seventeen.
Harry looked back at his photo album that used to belong to his mother and father and gazed at the young man standing a little to the side of his dead parents. It had been a little over a month since he had watched Sirius die in front of his eyes and Harry never had the chance to escape it. Even though Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had told Harry over and over again that he was not responsible for his godfather's death, Harry couldn't feel a slight twinge of guilt. Harry was having an extreme lack of sleep the last couple of weeks. Every time he closed his eyes, he pictured Sirius, falling into the veil that would keep him forever. Trying not to think about it, he looked at the picture of his parents' wedding again and saw Sirius laughing brightly.
Harry didn't know how long he sat there, looking at that picture by flashlight but when his clock struck midnight and the large grandfather clock in the front hallway of Number 4 Privet Drive struck twelve times to signal the thirty-first of July he knew he had been staring at the picture for long enough.
"He's never coming back Harry. Just forget about it." Harry tried to tell himself. But no matter how hard he tried, he still pictured Sirius ready to greet him in front of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the home of the Black family and the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry threw the photo album down on the floor and was ready to drift off into yet another uneasy sleep when a sharp pecking came from his window. Putting on his glasses, Harry walked over to the window and opened it up, allowing a small tawny owl, a snow owl and a large barn owl admittance into his bedroom.
Harry instantly recognized the snow owl as his own, Hedwig, who dropped a package on Harry's bed and held out her leg for Harry to pull off a note. With a contented hoot, Hedwig flew off to her cage and drank the water that Harry had put out for her that morning.
Harry looked at the small owl who was hopping around on Harry's dresser causing a racket. Harry could hear his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia in the room next door, his uncle grunting in discomfort. "Pig would you just shut up? You're going to get me into trouble!" Harry hissed as he untied the letter from Pigwidgeon's leg and the annoying little owl zoomed into Hedwig's cage, eager to have a bit of water as well. Harry then turned to the large barn owl who gave a sort of dignified hoot before he delivered two letters to Harry. The owl ruffled his feathers and then took off threw Harry's open window and off into the night sky.
Harry turned towards the package that Hedwig had dropped off first. He opened up the package and saw that it was a new edition of Which Broomstick? One of Harry's favorite books. He then opened up the letter that came with the package and read it silently to himself.
Dear Harry,
I do trust that everything is alright with you? How are you holding up? I thought you might like this new edition of Which Broomstick seeing as the one you own know is five years out of date. I was seriously debating on whether or not to buy you Hogwarts a History so I wouldn't have to constantly remind you and Ron that you can't Apparate or Disapparate on school grounds but seeing as it is over one thousand pages long I figured you would soon lose interest.
I've been spending the holidays at the Burrow with Ron and his family and I reckon you'll be expecting an invitation any day now. Hopefully your aunt and uncle will let you go. It's been such a long time since we've seen each other Harry and I do hope you're taking care of yourself.
Can't wait to see you at the Burrow! Happy sixteenth birthday Harry!
With Love,
Hermione.
Harry smiled at Hermione's letter. Leave it to her to give Harry a book for his birthday although he was slightly put off by the fact that Hermione had been spending her whole summer with the Weaslys, Harry's favorite wizard family. He was also a bit irked at how many times she had asked him if he was doing alright, even if she did ask subtly. He knew she was asking about his condition after Sirius' death. And quite frankly Harry didn't want anybody's sympathy.
Shrugging to himself he picked up the package that had probably, without a doubt was sent from Ron. He opened up the package and a whole bunch of practical jokes had fallen out of the package followed by a small note.
Harry,
Hope you like all the stuff I sent you! I nicked it from George and Fred's joke shop in Diagon Alley! Just be careful with the Gorgatuous Sweets as they tend to make you swell up like a balloon and take up a whole room until someone pops you! -Ron
Harry let out a little laugh. So, Ron's two older twin brothers, Fred and George Weasly had pursued their dream and opened up a joke shop in Diagon Alley. The twins wouldn't have even had a joke shop if it hadn't been for Harry who had given his winnings of one thousand galleons from the TriWizard Tournament to the twins at the end of this fourth year. He then picked up Ron's letter and read it intently.
Harry,
Hope everything is going well with the muggles! Hopefully you can try some of those practical jokes on your cousin! Anyway, you need to come out to the Burrow this summer holiday! Bill and Charlie are here (for you know what) and when they're home we've been playing Quiddich in the afternoon. Even Hermione got up on my Cleansweep! You should have been there it was the greatest thing! Anyway, Dad is coming to pick you up at about three o' clock on the 31st. Just make sure you're in Mrs. Figg's house by then (Dad's already talked to her!).
Happy Birthday!
Ron
Harry smiled widely as he placed Ron and Hermione's letters on his bedside table. He hurriedly wrote his reply to Ron down on a spare piece of parchment and gave it to Pig, who left hurriedly, happy somebody gave him something to do. Harry heard Hedwig give a hoot of thanks before she settled in for the night.
The sixteen year old wizard quickly packed everything up in his trunk and when he finally settled into bed, he picked up his photo album and placed it next to his glasses and his birthday letters. Hoping that three o' clock in the afternoon would hurry up and get to Privet Drive as soon as possible.