Chapter One

I do not claim these characters as my own.

Hermione's Invitation

Many people dream of going to the perfect place or the perfect family. Life would be so easy and fun. Perhaps a day at the beach is what you fancy, or going to a magical school to learn of magical creatures and spells is more your idea of fun. But Privet Drive is not one of those places! I'm not sure if you have heard of it but if you have, I'm sure that you are as far away as possible from it and enjoying life. If you have not, let me just say, it's not the prime vacation spot of the year. Sadly, this is where our story begins and I must say, what a beginning it will be…

It was not the fist day at Privet Drive that seemed like it would never end. Harry Potter, a young wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, felt the dreariness of the day. The Dursley's had gone out to get groceries in town, while Harry was left with nothing but a list of chores to think about. The walls of the Dursley's house felt more like a prison than a home at times. Rain pattered upon the windows with soft plopping noises as Harry looked out into the rain. It reminded him of the good times he had playing Quidditch out in the stadium against the Slytherin team. Harry's broom, The Firebolt, was the fastest broom in the magical world. Soaring high with the owls over the hills and lake of Hogwarts made Harry forget all of his worries of his life such as exams, living with his aunt and uncle, and even Voldemort; the murderer of his parents. Harry

shook himself back to reality and finished scrubbing the kitchen floor when he heard the car pull into the driveway.

"Great," Harry muttered under his breath.

He had not finished everything on the list he had been given which included dusting, cleaning the bathroom, clean the gutters, etc. As he picked up his bucket and rag, the door burst open and ran in and flipped his shoes off by the TV, followed by Vernon and Petunia with an umbrella. Apparently it was raining rather hard and getting stormy. Aunt Petunia scowled at Harry as she wrapped a huge, warm blanket around Dudley. Harry saw his uncle staring at him from behind.

"I see you have not finished these simple things I have asked you to do." He said calmly. "Can you not see," he said while his voice grew steadily louder, "That we give you everything you could possibly need: food, a home, and those clean clothes on your back?"

Harry snickered in his head. Everything, really? A family that actually cares sometimes would be nice.

"I can see just fine, thank you," Harry said.

This made Vernon's face turn a bright pink and his eyes narrow. Harry knew that talking back to his uncle made him very angry and made his face look like a small watermelon. Dudley still sat happily in his TV chair munching on chips.

"How dare you talk back to me boy," he sputtered. "Get the groceries from the car, NOW!"

Harry rolled his eyes and pulled himself out to the car. The rain poured onto Harry's head like a waterfall. He ran for the car and grabbed the few bags which they had brought home. He looked inside the bag to only to find foods such as broccoli, mangos, and lettuce.

"Not again," he moaned. Petunia had decided to put Dudley back on a diet and see if it would work this time around. Of course, Dudley would refuse to eat it and cry until some proper junk food was brought to him. And, like last time, Harry would have to eat the same foods as Dudley.

Soaking and freezing from the rain, Harry began to run back toward the house. But, he suddenly found himself stop on the driveway and look up toward the sky. He watched the clouds pour their only tears on him with the sky flashing so bright. His glasses were spattered upon and made the sky blotchy and unclear. It all brought back yet another memory, a very happy, yet sad memory. Sirius. Almost nothing made his heart feel heavy as much as the death of his own godfather. With the growing numbness in his hands, Harry watched the sky as the sun peeked through trying to see the world after an afternoon shower and walked back in. Water dripped along the floor that Harry had scrubbed so carefully and onto the carpet. Harry put the food away and headed for the stairs and to his room.

Harry plopped down on his bed, exhausted from the day's chores. He began to drift off as he reflected on the good and bad times of his life. He had saved "The Sorcerer's Stone," fought a basilisk, gone back in time, and competed in "The Triwizard Tournament" and was nearly killed by Death Eaters in the first 15 years of his life. Sometimes Harry wondered; why was he out of everyone else in the world, the boy who had to fight Voldemort. He could have had a normal life if all this didn't happen. Harry hadn't received many letters during the summer. It seemed like Hedwig would just be gone for a few days and come back later. Ron had sent a letter about the fact that Fred and George were playing with frog spawn. They were using it for a new invention they were working on called "Wart-o-Magic." It was supposed to make you get warts and be excused from classes. Unfortunately, the frog spawn got shook up too much and the bottle exploded. The house turned green and smelled of pond water. Mrs. Weasley was not too fond of the smell.

He saw a stream of light coming through the window. The street lamps came on. Harry then realized how lucky he was to see the sun every morning. When Harry lived in the cupboard under the stairs, he woke up to mice squeaking and an occasional Dudley screaming around the house. But now, life was just a little more peaceful (but still a place Harry did not want to be). Some little specks of dust were dancing in the sunlight and the chirp of a sparrow could be heard. It seemed so different from Hogwarts. The Dursleys house was too plain and quiet for Harry.

Harry missed his friends very much. He knew that without Ron and Hermione, he probably wouldn't be alive. If he could not have them as friends, the world would seem to come to an end. But Harry knew that Ron and Hermione would never leave him.

Suddenly, a large snowy owl came fluttering through the window. It was Hedwig, Harry's owl. In her beak was a small envelope addressed to Harry from Hermione. He grabbed it quickly and went into the light to read it. It said:

Dear Harry,

Hope you've had a good summer. Mine was great. Has your scar been hurting again? I got to go to a book festival where many famous authors came such as Miranda Goshawk (Standard Book of Spells Grade 1) and Emeric Switch (A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration) to sign books. It was delightful. I tracked down Hedwig for a special reason. I was hoping that you would like to come to stay with me at my house a week before school starts. Ron said he was coming. It is definitely not as fascinating as Ron's house, but it should suite you well. Please write back to me.

Best Wishes,
Hermione

P.S. - I would have called you but I didn't think your uncle would have liked it too much.

"Wow," Harry thought out loud. "Hermione's place should be interesting."

His heart began to beat faster with excitement. Anything to just get away for a while sounded great to him.

Now Harry knew he would have to ask Uncle Vernon if he could go. Harry tiptoed down the stairs careful not to make too much noise since Dudley was still sleeping. Dudley always slept in till about 10:00a.m. Or sometimes he would sleep later if Aunt Petunia didn't wake him up for breakfast. If he would wake Dudley, it sure would not be a good way to start his conversation with his uncle being boiling mad. Harry walked into the kitchen. Vernon was reading the morning newspaper and drinking his morning coffee.

"Excuse me," Harry said coolly.

"What do you want boy?" Vernon snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well," Harry said uneasily. "You see, I got this invitation from my friend. She wants me to stay at her house a week before school starts."

"So, you've got yourself a little girlfriend do you?" Vernon said in a high girly voice. "I certainly do not approve of this."

Harry's face turned red with envy.

"She is not my girlfriend! She's just my friend, like Ron."

"Well," said Vernon, "As long as it keeps you out of my house for a week. But there better not be a whole family coming out of the fireplace like two years ago. I'm warning you boy, if that happens again I'll have you thrown out to live with the squirrels for sure.

"It's better than being here," Harry thought to himself.

He ran upstairs to his room and grabbed a piece of parchment and his quill and wrote:

Dear Hermione,

My uncle said it was okay for me to come. Write back to tell me when you are coming.

Your friend,
Harry

Harry gave the letter to Hedwig and she fluttered out of the window into the night sky.