Harry cautiously followed Aunt Petunia down the hall toward the bedroom his uncle and aunt shared. He wasn't sure what she had meant by 'a few things that belonged to his mother'.
As they reached their bedroom door, Aunt Petunia turned to him and said, "Wait here while I go get them."
Harry waited for what felt like an eternity, which was really only about five minutes, until she returned from her room with a rather large trunk, which he was surprised she was capable of carrying. Aunt Petunia opened the trunk and started sifting through it. One by one, she pulled out several items.
The last thing she pulled out was a letter addressed to him. Looking at the return address, he saw that it was from his parents.
Dear Harry,
If you are reading this letter, then what we feared has come to pass. I left this trunk with the Dursleys for safe keeping, and told them that if you were ever sent to live with them, to give this to you exactly two weeks before your sixteenth birthday. I also asked Dumbledore to send an owl to Petunia as a reminder. I hope they have treated you well, and that you have met Sirius, Remus, and Peter.
At this, Harry was rather upset, knowing they had given this trunk to the Dursleys far before Pettigrew had betrayed them, probably before the Fidelus charm had been cast, and about Sirius.
If you have not, hopefully you will soon, and if any of them have died since you met them, I'm sorry to bring that up. In this trunk, I left for you all the magical items I could find that you might find useful, assuming that Voldemort has not been defeated. Also in this envelope, we left a list of what each item was, and what its magical properties are. I also hope that Dumbledore has given you your father's old cloak, and that you haven't been using it for too much mischief, though I have a feeling you are going to be just as mischievous as your father is.
With love from around the world and back again,
Your mother, Lily Potter
Harry could feel the tears welling up inside him. Petunia noticed this and slipped back downstairs to join her family in eating breakfast. As she did this, Harry pulled out the list his mother had mentioned.
1. Ring of Gryffindor - Provides you with extra courage if needed, and allows you to teleport between specified locations in Hogwarts.
2. Ring of Ravenclaw - Provides you with extra intelligence if needed, and allows you to use any spell you can already preform with a wand, without one.
3. Amulet of Slytherin - Provides you with extra ambition if needed, and allows you to hear five times better than you could naturally.
4. Belt of Hogwarts - Allows you to know of any and all secret passages and passwords used throughout the building you are currently in, and what language they are spoken in.
5. Glasses of Hufflepuff - Allows you to see through any disguise, and allows you to change your appearance(including accessories) to whatever you want any specific group of people to see.
6. Watch - Tells time, where you need to be next, where two other people that you specify are, and cannot malfunction or be damaged.
Harry rounded up all of the accessories, dropped them into the trunk, and took the trunk into his room with him. There, he found two owls waiting on his windowsill, which he had forgot to shut before leaving for breakfast. He assumed the owl that was there earlier with his O.W.L. results had already flown off. He put the trunk under the windowsill and took the letters the owls were holding, one of which was from Hermione, the other from Dumbledore. He decided to open the one from Dumbledore first.
Dear Harry,
This year I have taken it upon myself to issue the school lists personally, as McGonagall will have a lot more to do this summer than I do. Enclosed in the envelope is a form to sign up for your classes this year. The minimum you will be allowed to take is four classes, but you can take as many as ten. The class options are listed below. The requirements for that class are listed off to the side. Please note that I do not yet know any students' OWL results, and I have only included on the list those classes which you have taken requirement classes in last year.
1. Sixth Year Potions - Exceeds Expectations on Potions OWLs
2. Sixth Year Defense Against the Dark Arts - Exceeds Expectations on DADA OWLs
3. Sixth Year Transfiguration - Exceeds Expectations on Transfiguration OWLs
4. Sixth Year Charms - Exceeds Expectations on Charms OWLs
5. Sixth Year Care of Magical Creatures - Exceeds Expectations on CoMC OWLs
6. Sixth Year Herbology - Exceeds Expectations on Herbology OWLs
7. Sixth Year History of Magic - Exceeds Expectations on HoM OWLs
8. Sixth Year Astronomy - Average on Astronomy OWLs
9. Sixth Year Divination - Average on Divination OWLs
10. Advanced Potions - Outstanding on Potions OWLs
11. Defense Against Dark Forces - Outstanding on DADA OWLs
12. Animagi - Outstanding on Transfiguration OWLs
13. Enchantments - Outstanding on Charms OWLs
14. Care of Extremely Dangerous Creatures - Outstanding on CoMC OWLs
15. Magical Woodshop - Outstanding on Herbology OWLs
16. History of the Human Race - Outstanding on HoM OWLs
17. Classes of Wizards and Witches - 6th Year at Hogwarts
18. Advanced Class for Predicting the Future - Exceeds Expectations on Astronomy and Divination
Please fill out the enclosed form and return it to me before July 31. Your school list will be owled to you as soon as we recieve your class form
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
PS: I hope this year at Hogwarts will be easier to get through, I know your last year was filled with much grief. As I said in your first year, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. It also does not do to dwell on the past or death and forget to live. Please, forgive me for not telling you about the prophecy, and remember to enjoy life, we only live once....usually.
Dumbledore's postscript helped Harry to grieve over Sirius much easier than anything that had happened to him earlier that summer. He had been more of a shell of himself earlier in the summer, only leaving his room for meals which he felt Aunt Petunia unwillingly forced down his throat. Between Dumbledore's and his mother's letters, he felt he was finally recovering from Sirius' death. Harry opened Hermione's letter before actually deciding which classes he would take.
Dear Harry,
Sorry I haven't written you all summer, I just got back from a surprise trip to the states. Have you gotten your O.W.L.s yet? I just got mine not even a minute before I started writing this letter to you, I got 7 Os, 1 E, and one A. I can't believe I only got an A in History of Magic! The E I got was in Herbology, but I'm pretty happy with my results. How about you, how did you do?
What classes are you taking? I got my form to fill out, but I wanted to wait until I knew what classes you and Ron would be taking before I signed up for any of them. Ron said he's going to be taking Sixth Year Defense Against Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Enchantments, Care of Extremely Dangerous Creatures, and Classes of Wizards and Witches. He mentioned something about wanting to be able to take Animagi, but he didn't seem to care about it that much.
I'm definitely going to be taking Ancient Runes, Animagi, and Classes of Wizards and WItches. I wish I had gotten high enough marks to take History of the Human Race, but oh well. Get back to me as soon as possible, and lets figure out as many classes we can take together.
Hoping you're well,
Hermione
Harry went over his options for classes again and wrote down the ones he could take that would most likely be the most useful on a scrap paper.
Sixth Year Herbology
Advanced Potions
Defense Against Dark Forces
Animagi
Enchantments
Classes of Wizards and Witches
Care of Extremely Dangerous Creatures
He really doubted that he'd be able to talk Hermione into CoEDC, but at least Ron would be in there with him. He then began writing Hermione a response.
Dear Hermione,
Don't worry about not writing, I haven't really been myself until today anyway. Hope you had fun on your trip to the states. Yes, I just got my O.W.L.s this morning around 8 a.m. I got 5 O's, 1 E, 2 A's and 1 P. The P was in Divination, so don't worry about that. The A's were in History of Magic and Astronomy, while the E was in Herbology.
I got my form at the same time I got your letter, and I'm going to be taking Animagi and Classes of Wizards and Witches for sure, I wanted to get your opinion on the rest before I actually filled out the form. Sixth Year Herbology, Advanced Potions, Defense Against Dark Forces, Enchantments, and Care of Extremely Dangerous Creatures.
I'll only have three classes with Ron, but I know we'll all have at least one class with all of us (Classes of Wizards and Witches). Anyway, get back to me as soon as possible, I'm going to write to Ron to see why he hasn't written me.
With shock from good treatment from the Dursleys,
Harry
He put the letter to Hermione off to the side and decided to take a short break before writing to Ron. Forgetting what day it was, he glanced at the 'calendar' he made. It read Wednesday, July 17, 1996. Forty-five days until September 1. He left his room to use the restroom, before coming back to write to Ron.
Dear Ron,
How have you been? I haven't heard from you since we got off the train. How'd you do on your O.W.L.s? I did a lot better than I thought I would, 5 O's, 1 E, 2 A's and a P. If you haven't already guessed, the P was in Divination. The 2 A's were in HoM and Astronomy, and the E in Herbology. Hermione says you're taking Defense Against Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Enchantments, Care of Extremely Dangerous Creatures, and Classes of Wizards and Witches this year.
I just sent a letter to Hermione with about this much information, but I'm probably going to be taking Animagi, Classes of Wizards and Witches, Sixth Year Herbology, Advanced Potions, Defense Against Dark Forces, Enchantments, and Care of Extremely Dangerous Creatures. Write back as soon as you can with your opinion.
With shock from good treatment from the Dursleys,
Harry
Harry then grabbed both Ron's and Hermione's letters, walked over to Hedwig's cage, and tied the letters onto her legs.
"Hedwig, I need you to take this one," he said, pointing to the one on her left leg, "to Ron, don't wait for him to write a response, he can send Pig, then take the other one to Hermione, and don't come back unless you have a response from her or are with an owl that does, ok?"
Hedwig hooted and gave a little nod, letting him know she understood. He walked over to the window with Hedwig, and let her take off, telling the other two owls that were still waiting for him they could go.
Only after he had let all the owls out of his room and shut the window did he look over at his alarm clock just in time to see the clock move from 11:59 to 12:00 p.m. He instantly heard the grandfather clock chime and Aunt Petunia shout, "Lunchtime!"
He left his room and went downstairs for lunch, wondering how the time past so quickly. He felt as if he had only left the table from breakfast minutes ago.
AN: Again, sorry it took me so long to update. I'm going to try to write another chapter this weekend, then I'll go back to one or two chapters per week....I think, maybe more. :)
Thanks to M.A. Raie, Ami Black, shdurrani, Lissie89, JessieRose, Corbin, Potter playa, Silver Malfoy Potter, Julie Jewelrannah, Mella deRanged, Starlight Dreams, TsuQ, and cancan227 for reviewing so very very long ago.(most in 2003 hehe)