-CHAPTER ONE-
The Phoenix Flies Back
It was a breezy summer afternoon and Harry was retreating from the annoyance of the Dursley family atop the house outside the window of Dudley's second bedroom, which was 'so kindly' given to him by the Dursleys.
The bright sun was beating down on him as he listened to the furious yells of the Dursleys – attempting to find him – flooding from the open window. Harry jumped with surprise as Uncle Vernon poked his large, purplish head out the window and spotted Harry standing wobbly on the roof with his arms held over his face, shielding his eyes from the bright, burning sunlight.
'Listen here, boy!' croaked Uncle Vernon from behind his large and neatly combed moustache. 'You've been neglecting your chores! March your filthy self in here and finish them all today or it's back to the cupboard under the stairs for you!' Harry scowled at Uncle Vernon and put his hand in his pocket as though to take his wand out, thinking Uncle Vernon might try and attack him.
'You're pushing your luck,' growled Uncle Vernon madly. Harry smirked. He had his wand stashed away in his trunk, but he loved seeing the frightened look on Uncle Vernon's face whenever Harry threatened him. He climbed back in through the window without question. Uncle Vernon must be real steamed about something, he's never threatened me like that before, thought Harry nervously.
Harry stepped through the doorway to the kitchen to be met by a towering pile of dishes. Just as he slipped on an old pair of rubber gloves, a sniggering Dudley, who was just about twice as large as a baby whale, walked up behind him. It seemed hard for him to talk between his laughter.
'That's... that's a week full of dishes you got there, Potty. Just wait 'till you see what I've gone to the living room! You'll have a tough time cleaning that!' Dudley ran as fast as he could out of the kitchen, but Harry could still hear his laughter ringing through the whole house like a pig-sounding bell.
'Yeah?' Harry called after him. 'That makes sense! I pigsty for an ugly fat pig! Must be your dream home!' Harry allowed a large satisfied grin to crawl across his face, but it vanished almost instantly when the food-splattered dishes returned to his sight again.
Harry walked from the kitchen staring disgustedly and his prune-wrinkled hands. He had spent so long cleaning the dishes that his hands were beginning to feel numb.
'You, boy! Come here!' Harry turned his head to see Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia standing furiously in the middle of a great mess. Tables were overturned, glass was shattered, and the floor was covered completely in ripped up tissues.
'You scoundrel! I have half a mind to throw you from this house and feed you personally to that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cretin!' shrieked Aunt Petunia in a rage Harry had never seen before. Harry felt a burning rage build up inside of him. 'You should have suffered the same fate as your disgusting rat-brained parents!' she continued loudly. Aunt Petunia looked furious, Uncle Vernon looked slightly confused, but full of rage just the same.
'You know nothing of the wizard's world, you filthy rotten Muggles!' bellowed Harry as he raced into his room, locking the door behind him.
Harry jumped back as he saw Uncle Vernon's stubby short arm shoot through the dog door that Aunt Petunia used to deliver Harry's food when he was being punished, which was very often as the Dursley's became angrier with Harry's frequent mentioning of the wizarding world.
The wooden door began to crack slightly as Uncle Vernon thrust his arm through the door further, his head almost poking through. Harry sidled along his bed by his trunk. He attempted to flip it open from the side but the top slipped from his fingers. He grasped it with both hands and flung the lid open. He found himself staring, transfixed, at his wand that was lying on two oddly patterned socks Dobby had given him once at Hogwarts.
He shook out of his trance and grasped the wand in his hands, sweaty from anger. He inhaled a deep breath, pointed his wand at the hand emerging from the hole in the wall and... 'FLIPEN –' Uncle Vernon banged heavily on the cracked door and it collapsed to the floor.
Aunt Petunia looked at him in a disbelieving stare, her arm held diagonally across her chest as though looking at something revolting. Harry jumped onto his bed, pointing his wand threateningly.
Uncle Vernon swiped at Harry, knocking his wand from his hand and causing it to fly across the room, landing softly on an open book.
'I have you now,' snarled Uncle Vernon violently, causing his mustache to vibrate as a result of his heavy breathing.
He enclosed his hands tightly around Harry's neck but removed them suddenly as the bangs resumed.
'Dudley!' yelled Uncle Vernon angrily. 'Settle down!'
'But I'm not doing anything,' he called, his voice shaky and slightly frightened.
'But... if...' Aunt Petunia seemed lost for words, she just stared, thinking, at Harry, who was gasping for air and rubbing his neck.
Harry seized the moment and dived under Uncle Vernon's legs. He sprinted down the stairs to the door yelling gleefully:
'You'll get it now! That must be Lupin and the others! They know!' He grasped the door handle and flung it open as quickly as he could, but found himself staring across a deserted road, lined with houses of dead or dying lawns. Harry stared at the road. He could see the heat rising from it. It was hottest day of the summer and being chased by a group of fat Muggle lunatics wasn't helping much.
'Oh, you'll get it now!' roared Uncle Vernon as he waddled quickly down the stairs, his face purple with rage.
The following day, Dudley had just stopped sobbing about the loss of the door for his second bedroom, and, to Harry's disliking, he found himself cooped up in the familiarly small cupboard under the stairs; a punishment for his rudeness.
Dudley, who was running up and down the stairs over the area where Harry slept, awaked him. 'Oh, get your fat away from my room! This place shakes enough with just your snoring!' Harry yelled, punching the ceiling of the cupboard, as though trying to scare Dudley away, but he just kept going and going and going... 'Gees!' Harry finally yelled. 'You're like a bloody Duracell battery!' Harry could hear Dudley snigger, and when he continued to jump on spot, Harry, enraged, jumped from his bed, narrowly missing the ceiling with his head, and tried to pry open the locked door with his hands.
After ten minutes of futile struggling, Harry fell back onto his bed and stayed there, panting and listening to Dudley jumping on the stairs, hoping it wouldn't collapse.
Harry heard a creaking noise from beside him and he quickly shot his eyes in that direction. The door slowly opened, allowing Harry a way out of the cupboard. Harry crept from the cupboard, determined not to be seen by Dudley until he's ready to scare the stuffing out of him. Harry sank lower and lower to the ground as the level of the stairs became smaller. He grabbed the railing at the bottom of the stairs and swung around it.
'Boo!' yelled Harry, trying to fight off a large grin. Dudley bellowed a long line of curses as he fell onto his rather large behind and bumped all the way down the stairs, landing at the bottom with a loud thump.
'Mum! Daddy!' whined Dudley dramatically. 'Harry's out of the cupboard! He's trying to kill me!'
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia came storming to the top of the stairs where they noticed Harry, standing above a bewildered Dudley who was lying on his back.
'You!' bellowed Uncle Vernon in unison with Aunt Petunia.
'I didn't do anything!' protested Harry before the Dursleys had time to speak.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia pretended they didn't hear this and Aunt Petunia said, 'Oh, we'll have a talk about this, there's no escaping.'
She stared at him threateningly as Uncle Vernon steered Harry into the kitchen, closing and locking the door behind him.
'Take a seat,' said Uncle Vernon casually, before staring at him menacingly and saying, 'this may take a while.'
Harry pulled a seat from a small table. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia did the same.
'You, boy, have been causing us a lot of trouble!' began Aunt Petunia snobbishly.
Uncle Vernon continued saying, very loudly, 'FIRST THERE ARE BLOODY OWLS FLYING ALL AROUND MY HOUSE, THEN YOU THREATEN OUR – ' he was cut off by Aunt Petunia, who was the one to always say the next two words she said, finishing Uncle Vernon's rant: 'Dear Duddykins.'
'I... I can explain!' said Harry, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
'There'll be no need – or opportunity – for that!' said Aunt Petunia, looking as though she could smell something extremely foul. 'It's back to the cupboard for you!'
Hours later, Harry was pushed into his cupboard after finishing his chores yet again. He lie on his bed, which was much to small to fit his entire body, as he listened to the sound of Uncle Vernon drilling extra locks on the door.
'Oh, Vernon,' Harry heard Aunt Petunia say, sounding very appreciative, which only made Harry loathe the Dursleys even more. 'You're so good with drills,' she continued.
'I wouldn't work at Grunnings if I wasn't, dear,' he said over the sound of the drill.
Uncle Vernon finished with the new locks in twenty minutes. He locked them immediately, too. Harry was relieved at the ceasing of the drill because the noise was hurting his ears terribly.
Harry was pestered constantly by the sounds of enjoyment coming from the Dursleys. How he wished to be back at Hogwarts among his friends. He had no means of communication with them since he couldn't use Hedwig, who was still in Dudley's second bedroom. He was also sure that Uncle Vernon had burned many letters from Ron and Hermione as well.
After much thinking in the cupboard between chores, Harry had realized it was his sixteenth birthday.
Harry felt great depression when he heard Uncle Vernon yelling and Aunt Petunia shrieking. That meant that his birthday letters from his friends had arrived, and Uncle Vernon would probably eat any of the cakes, or throw them away in fear of poison.
Noon hit harshly that day as Harry was watering the Dursley's garden. Harry couldn't make out the reading on the thermometer across the garden, but he could tell it was pushing thirty degrees Celsius.
It took him three hours before the Dursleys approved of his job and he was allowed inside again, but was forced into the cupboard under the stairs.
Harry could hear a loud knocking on the door. He peered through the keyhole of the cupboard door and saw Uncle Vernon heading toward the door. It creaked open and sunlight poured in. There was a small group of people. Harry could just make out the sounds of their conversation. The only word he heard was "Harry". A few moments after the mentioning of this word: "GET OUT! OUT! GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK! Bellowed Uncle Vernon as he slammed the door on the group. An odd looking man in a bowler hat stopped the door with his hand. 'Ahh, there you are, Harry,' he said, sounding very content. He pulled a wand from his pocket and said, quite loudly; 'Accio door!' and the cupboard door flew to his wand and fell to the floor. He picked it up and cracked it over his knee. 'Now, now, Harry!' said a familiar voice. 'You can come out now.' Lupin appeared from behind the man Harry now recognized as Mad-Eye Moody. Moody turned back to Uncle Vernon. 'I trust you remember me?' he asked. 'Oh yes,' replied Uncle Vernon disgustedly. 'Mr. Eye.' Moody grunted and stepped out of the way as Nymphadora Tonks walked in, with flaming red hair. Harry was reminded immediately of the Weasleys and hoped that they were going to take him to Diagon Alley. Tonks unrolled a piece of parchment, cleared her throat and read it loudly and clearly.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,
It has come to our knowledge that our friend Mr. Harry James Potter has been thoroughly mistreated. We have learned so through the letters Harry has been sending us over the summer holidays. We have gained the right to remove Harry from the premises for the remainder of the summer from Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, but first, we are asked to interrogate the Dursleys on the goings-on, and the reasons for them, before we leave.
Yours Sincerely,
The Order of the Phoenix