"There's nothing you can do, Harry...nothing...He's gone." Harry Potter woke up with a start, his face smudged with ink. He had fallen asleep on his History of Magic homework (Describe, in detail, the difference between Odric the Odd and Edric the Evil). He had been dreaming, again, about the previous year, when he had witnessed his godfather, and the closest thing he had to a father, die. Six years previous, Harry (who had thought he was a normal boy) was informed he was a wizard, and would go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was also told that the most evil wizard in a century, Lord Voldemort, had murdered his parents, but when he tried to murder Harry, his curse backfired and forced him to go into hiding for 13 years. However, in Harry's fourth year at school, he had been transported to a graveyard, where he witnessed Voldemort return. Then, the previous year, in a valiant battle with a Death Eater (one of Voldemort's followers), Sirius Black (Harry's innocent convicted murderer godfather) was killed. Harry's aunt and uncle, with whom he lived, did not approve of magic, but they were scared of "his kind" so they left him alone. Thus, he had no one to talk to about Sirius's death.
"WAKE UP, BOY!" screamed Harry's Aunt Petunia, jolting him out of his thoughts. Harry hastily scrubbed the ink off his face, shoved his spellbooks under his bed (he was no longer forced to do his homework in the dead of night, but he did have to keep them hidden, lest a neighbor peek in his (upstairs!) window and see them), and ran downstairs. "Here's your breakfast," said Petunia, shoving his plate toward him. This consisted of one fried egg and a slice of cantaloupe. His relatives had been fairly decent toward him this summer, mostly because they were scared that the Order of the Phoenix would turn them into something quite unpleasant if they didn't. "Muu-uumm!" cried Dudley, Harry's fat cousin, "is this all I get to eat?" Since two summers previous, Dudley had been on a diet under recommendation of his school nurse. To make it easier on him, Petunia had insisted the entire family follow the diet, although that didn't do much good. "I'm sorry Dudley-dinkums, but at least your cantaloupe is bigger than Harry's, right?" replied Petunia, on the brink of tears. Dudley wasn't the only one the diet was hard on.
Just then, there was a slight diversion in the form of a large snowy owl flying through the window. Harry was allowed his owl in and out of the house now, because of a little warning some members of the OotP (namely Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody) gave the Dursleys. Harry smiled at the memory...
"We just thought we'd have a few words with you about Harry," said Mr. Weasley, smiling.
"Yeah, growled Moody. "about how he's teated at your place."
Uncle Vernon's mustache seemed to bristle with indignation. Possibly because Moody's bowler hat gave him the entirely mistaken impression that he was a kindred spirit, Vernon addressed himself to Moody.
"I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house!"
"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley," growled Moody.
Anyway, that's not the point," said Tonks. The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry --"
"And make no mistake, we'll hear about it," added Lupin plesantly.
"Yes," Said Mr. Weasley, "even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone,"
"Telephone," Hermionie corrected him.
"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have use to answer to," finished Moody.
"Are you threatening me, sir?" roared Uncle Vernon.
"Yes, I am," said Moody simply.
"And do I look like the type of man that can be intimidated?" roared Uncle Vernon. Moody let the bowler hat that was hiding his magical eye fall away.
"Why, yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley..."
Harry was snapped out of his reverie by Hedwig pecking at his arm. "Thanks, Hedwig," said Harry, taking her letter. Hedwig picked up a crumb from Harry's biscuit, then flew upstairs. Harry only then noticed that another owl had also arrived. He took it's letter, too. Suddenly, he was aware of the Dursley's eyes on him. Not in a mood for a confrontation, Harry merely pulled out his wand. "WATCH WHERE YOU POINT THAT THING, BOY!" Vernon shouted, but Harry didn't care. He turned and made his way upstairs. Harry got up to his room to discover two more owls on his bed. One he recognized as Pigwedon (Pig for short), his friend Ron's owl, with a letter and the other an owl that was, by the looks of it, a Hogwarts owl. It had a letter, as well as a package. "Thanks," Harry told the owls, taking the package and letters. Harry opened the letter that Hedwig had brought and read…
Harry,
I hope you're having a good summer. I couldn't decide what to get you for your birthday, so when we go to Diagon Alley, you can pick something out (not too expensive, please!) and I'll buy it for you. I'll see you at OotP headquarters!
Love,
Hermionie
Harry smiled. Hermionie had never failed to pick out a decent gift for him in the past (with the exception of the homework planner she had given him the previous Christmas), but nevertheless, he appreciated her concern about pleasing him. But what, he wondered, did she mean by "I'll see you at OotP headquarters"? He decided to open the other letters before he worried about it too much. The next letter he opened was the one from Ron next. It read:
Harry
Hope your alright, I'm not bad. Not gonna say much here, as I'll see you soon. I'll give you your present when I see you!
Ron
Harry sighed. When was he going to see Ron? He was getting frustrated. He now turned to the Hogwarts owl. The package, he knew, was from Hagrid, so he opened it. Inside was a photo album much like the one Harry had received in his first year, only this one had pictures of himself and his friends. There was one of him, Ron and Hermionie, one of him and Hagrid and even (Harry felt a lump in his throat) one of him and Sirus. Harry felt a overwhelming sense of grief and loss at this, and quickly closed the book. He turned to his Hogwarts letter. Inside read:
All Sixth Year students will require:
The Standard Book of Spells (grade 6)
by Miranda Goshawk
Advanced Hexes and Curses (and the countercurses needed to block them)
by Kamara Tingleton
Harry now turned to the last letter. It was very short and read.
Harry,
Right, we think you've been at your relatives long enough. We're coming to get you 5:00 today. Be ready.
Moody
Harry laughed. So this is what Ron and Hermionie meant when they said "See you soon." Smiling, Harry went downstairs to tell his aunt and uncle. This was going to be a good summer.
Harry's uncle was taking the news worse than Harry had expected. "What do you mean, they're coming today?" he roared, "we might've had an engagement. Absolutely NO consideration…" and with that, he stomped off muttering. This did not bother Harry however, because he knew that his uncle was to frightened of the "people like Harry" to do anything about it. Thinking about this, Harry smirked and went to pack his trunk.
When Harry arrived in his room, there was yet another owl waiting for him. As soon as he took its bulging envelope from it, it flew away. Harry opened the letter. It was sealed with the Hogwarts crest and read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been made into one of the first three high prefects ever. The high prefect is somewhat like a junior Head Boy or Girl. Enclosed is your badge. Your duties include:
-keeping an eye on students, including regular prefects
-patrolling the Hogwarts Express
-giving and detracting house points as you see fit
-attending staff meetings
-assigning detentions as you see fit (the detention may be served with you or another high prefect
-suggesting the demotion other prefects (however, the demotion must be approved by at least 3 teachers)
-serving as Head Boy when the real Head Boy is unavailable
If you abuse your privilege, your badge will be taken away and your status demoted. You are expected in the prefects compartment of the Hogwarts express to receive instructions from the Head Boy and Girl. The following is a list of prefects for each house:
Gryffindor: Neville Longbottom
Ginny Weasley
Ravenclaw: Luna Lovegood
Terry Boot
Hufflepuff: Susan Bones
Ernie Macmillan
Slythern Draco Malfoy
Amber Hazzard
The other high prefects are Hermionie Granger and Ronald Weasley, both of Gryffindor. The Head boy is Nicholas Yount of Gryffindor and the Head Girl is Robin Carlisle, also of Gryffindor. They will instruct you further on your duties on the Hogwarts Express.
Professor M. McGonnagal
Harry looked in the envelope. Inside was a shiny prefect badge, with "High Prefect" written on it. Harry couldn't believe it. He lie on his back, daydreaming. He daydreamed about Cho Chang, about last year's DA group, about demoting Malfoy. His mind got so out of hand, he allowed himself to think of Sirius. He immidately regreted it, since he still had a burning hole in his heart that Sirius, who he considered a substitue father, had left when he died. He had a number of angers built up: at Sirius, for dying. At Dumbledore, for keeping him locked away (making him more likely to do something stupid), and himself, for leading Sirius to his doom. With tears in his eyes, he forced thoughts away from Sirius. He was never coming back, and it did not do to dwell on the past. He let his mind wander for what seemed like hours, and actually, it was hours. He was jolted to his senses by a tap on his shoulder. Ron and Hermionie were standing beside him, with Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, and Remus Lupin.
"Harry, whats wro- OOOFF!" Ron said, then yelled as Hermionie kicked him. With a look from her, he shut up, realizing what Hermionie did that for. She apprently didn't want Harry to have to think about Sirius. Harry was grateful for this, as it meant he could keep his feelings to himself for a bit longer.
"Wha- what? Is it 5:00 already?" Harry asked. They all laughed. "Er, sorry I'm not ready," Harry said, embarrassed, "Er, Tonks, d'you think you could do that packing spell thing?"
"Sure thing!" replied Tonks, waving her wand. All of Harry's things flew into his open trunk.
"I definitely need to remember that one," Harry said with a grin.
Remus could tell that Harry's grin was fake, and knew the boy well enough to figure out he had been dwelling on Sirius. Under the pretense of asking him about a muggle contraption that looked like a small cylinder not big enough to hold anything (which Harry called a "CD Player"), Remus said, "Harry, I know you're upset about Sirius. But don't dwell on the past. Sirius wouldn't want you to be upset. In fact, he's probably very upset that you are in such a state. It took a minute before Harry realized what this implied. But no, Remus couldn't mean that. He had told Harry himself that Sirius was gone. Harry shook his head.
Meanwhile, Pig (who was still there from the morning) flew over to greet Ron by nipping him in an "affectionate" way. Even this made Harry sad, as it had been Sirius who gave Ron the little lovable ball of fluff. Still embarassed to show his feelings, he bent over the trunk, in the pretense of checking the contents. Lupin saw this and gently put an arm around Harry. This apprently gave Harry the strenth to dry his tears and get ready to go.
Moody, who had been quiet up untill this point, said, "Look, we have a few minutes. I expected the muggles to give us more trouble than they did, so I allowed extra time. Not much, mind, but a little."
Seizing the oppertunity, Hermionie said to Harry, "Look, I know it's been tough for you. I lost my grandmother a few years ago, and although I didn't actually see her die, I felt a great sense of loss. I know how you feel, Harry, and I just wanted to tell you it helps if you let it out."
Harry just glared at her. Through held-back sobs, he said, "I don't want to talk. It just makes it hurt worse." The others fell silent at this, and remained that way for several minutes. They were all startled by Moody, who said, "There's the signal." Looking around at their blank faces, he said, "Well don't just stand there, lets get going!" growled Mad-Eye. They then told the Dursleys that Harry would soon be gone, and not to worry, then Moody threw what looked like a smoke bomb on the ground, and they were at Order headquarters.
I know I suck at writing, hopefully it'll get better.