Chapter Two.

An Invitation

Harry was woken the next morning by a large tawny owl which had flown in the window and was pulling at his clothes. Harry yawned and stretching he sat up to look around to find out what had woken him. The room was blurry. He reached over and grabbed his glasses setting them firmly on his nose. The room came immediately in focus. The large tawny owl was still perched on the edge of the bed. Harry recognised the rolled up form of the Daily Prophet.

'All right, all right,' Harry said as the owl tugged on his clothes again before flying to the desk screeching loudly.

Harry flung back the covers and swung his feet out of the bed. He picked up his jeans of the back of the single wooden chair in the room. He delved deeply into one of the pockets and produced a knut which he place into the sack tied around the owl's leg. Satisfied, the owl hooted and then took flight out of the window. Harry picked up the Daily Prophet and glanced over the front cover. The headline caught his eye at once.

DEATH EATERS FLIGHT!

Harry's eyes swept the page. He saw the picture of what must have been the wizard prison on the front. He began to red quickly his eyes skimming the page.

Last night the twelve Death Eaters that were caught inside the Ministry of Magic escaped Azkaban Prison along with many others. Only a month or so ago these twelve were caught by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Remus Lupin, Alastor "Mad-Eys" Moody, ex-Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror and Nymphadora Tonks, Auror, inside the Department of Mysterys at the Ministry. This is also the place where Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge and others sighted You-Know-Who for the first time after his return.

This morning the Minister of Magic gave this statement,

'These, Death Eaters, must be caught. Although with the Dementors gone to join You-KnowWho it will be very hard to obtain any Dark Witches or Wizards for a long time. I must also mention that Bellatrix Lestrange is still at large. These people are all considered extremely dangerous to all, Muggles and wizards alike. No-one on any account should approach one of these people.'

After this announcement Minister Fudge confirmed that underage Wizards and Witches may perform spells without the bounds of school and in the presence of muggles for defence purposes only.

"The Boy Who Lived" was also at the scene when the Death Eaters were caught. They were there, in fact, to get hold of Harry Potter who was at the Ministry of Magic along with muggle-born Hermione Granger, Arthur Weasley's son and daughter, Ronald and Ginerva Weasley, Neville Longbotton, son of Auror Frank Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, daughter of the Quibbler editor. They will return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the end of the summer as planned.

Great, thought Harry, it has begun. He had a look through the paper and another headline concerning quiditch caught his eyes. He quickly read the small section underneath it.

Yesterday Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, announced the return of Serena Rosa White to England. Miss White has been missing from the country for fifteen years and was presumed dead by many. Where she has returned from however she has declined to say. Serena White was a chaser for the England team having been signed up straight after her years at Hogwarts. She left the team seventeen years ago and disappeared two years later with no trace. Miss White will however not be returning to play Quiditch but will take place at her old school of Hogwarts as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Known for being the smartest witch in Britain it is hoped that with Miss White as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that the children of Hogwarts will learn quick defensive skill in order to stand up to the wrath of You-Know-Who who has murdered on several occasions in the last year.

Harry closed his eyes his thought wandering to Sirius. No matter how he tried to block it out the fact remained that Sirius was dead. He had lost the only real family he had ever had and he didn't really count the Dursley's as family. He thought of Ron's family. Mrs Weasley had once told Sirius last summer that he, Harry was as good as her son and it had touched him. Mrs Weasley was almost like the mother he never had. She loved him like he was Ron. He could still remember last summer when he had walked in on Mrs Weasley trying to get rid of a boggart at number twelve. He saw the flashing through of each member of the Weasley family, including Harry spread out, dead on the floor. He knew that Mrs Weasley had a right to worry with all that was happening.

He couldn't wait till he got an invitation to go and stay with the Weasley's and the members of the Order at Headquarters. He remembered the letter he had received from Neville Longbottom yesterday. It would be great to see Neville again. He had been really brave the month before when he helped Harry against the Death Eaters after Hermione had been knocked unconscious, Ginny had broken her ankle, Luna had been knocked over badly and Ron had just giggled when some strange charm and been placed on him.

There was shouting in the street and Harry got off his bed sticking his head out of the window. He immediately spotted Dudley and his gang walking, or in Dudley's case waddling, down the pavement shouting after some girls in front of them. Harry laughed to himself quietly. Dudley had gone and got mixed up with girls. Harry had had trouble with Cho Chang in Ravenclaw last year after she kept bursting into fits of tears and eventually gone out with Michael Connor. Harry was sure that not all girls cried a lot. Hermione didn't cry all the time, apart from third year when she had been under a lot of stress, and neither did Ginny. Hermione had already tried to explain what Cho was feeling because Cedric Diggory had been Cho' boyfriends and he had been mudered by Voldemort. Harry had witnessed it and she then liked Harry. Harry himself couldn't make head nor tail of it. In his view girls were a complicated species of people.

Turning back into the room Harry decided that he should maybe try and get dressed. He pulled on a pair of really baggy jeans and a t-shirt that went past his knees. When he was ready Harry looked down at himself and shook his head.

'I really need some new clothes,' he voiced aloud.

As he was about to leave the room something flew in the window and dropped something on the desk. It then proceeded to fly around the lampshade, Harry look up at the light and then muttered under his breath,

'Pig.'

Harry crossed the room to the desk and picked up the letter that was lying there. He recognised Ron's handwriting straight away even though he didn't need to. It had obviously been written in excitement because it was even more squiggly than usual. Harry probably thought Ron had finally been told to write to Harry about going to Headquarters. He beam tearing it open and began to read.

Harry,

Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley are coming to get you tomorrow to bring you here. Hermione is arriving tomorrow also. Bill and Charlie are here too, as well as Fred and George. Bill's brought Fleur Delacour. They are going out. Lucky thing. Anyway there is couple of people here that you really, really need to meet. Neville is arriving today with his Uncle after dinner. So tomorrow we shall be quite a crowd. It is getting larger and larger by the minute. When you get here you won't recognise the place. It has been cleaned and painted top to toe, even the outside. See you when you get here.

Ron.

Harry's heart leapt into his throat. In a few days time it was his birthday and he would be among friends then. He couldn't wait for tomorrow. Better tell the Dursley's, he thought whilst the images of Moody, Tonks, Lupin and Kinglsey turning up on the doorstep in full wizarding dress ran through his head.

Harry practically bounced out of the room slamming the door behind him. He ran down the stairs and shot into the kitchen. Aunt Petunia was clearing up the breakfast dishes and Uncle Vernon was sitting in front of the telly watching a programme about the feeding habits of insects.

'If you want breakfast you can forget about it because we've already finish, ages ago,' said Aunt Petunia snappily looking up as Harry entered the room probably irritated by the beaming, happy look that was plastered across Harry's face at the particular point.

'No, I don't,' he beamed at her. 'I want to inform you that I am being collected tomorrow by the people you met at King's Cross last month.'

Aunt Petunia gasped and Uncle Vernon, who had been pretending not to notice Harry, suddenly jerked round looking very pale.

'They … they … they're coming … h – here?' he said slightly faintly and then swallowed staring at Harry in disbelief.

'Yes,' said Harry happily watching the effect it was having on his aunt and uncle. 'They'll be coming to get me.'

'W – when?' choked Aunt Petunia gasping as though someone had doused her in strong smelling after-shave.

'I dunno,' Harry told her truthfully. 'Sometime tomorrow when it's cloudier probably.'

Aunt Petunia nodded, her eyes wide with fear, her mouth open slightly. She looked from Harry to Vernon, who was now turning an alarming yellow colour, and then back again. Harry's own eyes shift to his Uncle who was opening and closing his mouth, looking rather like a goldfish.

'They'll be d – dressed n – normally, r – r – right?' asked Uncle Vernon barely audibly.

'Probably not,' Harry told him cheerfully. 'They will probably arrive on broomsticks in full robes and cloaks.'

He watched the effect his word had upon the Dursleys. His Uncle made a soft popping sound as if he was about to have a heart-attack, keel over and die. Harry wished he would. He glanced at his Aunt who had bristled at his words the opposite effect of Uncle Vernon.

'And what about the neighbours?' she asked her voice shaking slightly.

'What about the neighbours?' Harry asked easily.

'What if they see?' she said her voice slightly steadier.

'Aunt Petunia,' said Harry lightly with a slight edge of seriousness in his tone, 'in time to come they will probably see much worse.'

His aunt made a small sound like a squeak and nodded again.

'I just thought I'd warn you,' Harry told them before he turned and left the room. He bumped into Dudley in the hall who had just come in the front door leaving his gang outside on the doorstep.

'What are you so happy about?' asked Dudley frowning at him as Harry beamed.

'Oh nothing. Just that my friends are coming to pick me up tomorrow,' Harry told him quietly so that Piers and company wouldn't hear. Dudley's face was a picture ans Harry snort a slight laugh.

'You mean the – the one – ones a – at the s – s – station,' said Dudley.

'Yep,' Said Harry with a brief nod.

Dudley gave a yelp and ran into the kitchen probably to ask for confirmation that what Harry said was true. Harry smiled to himself and ran up the stairs taking the two at a time as he did when he was in a good mood. Pig was sitting on top of Hedwig cage when he arrived back in his room. Pig hooted as Harry crossed the room to his desk. He picked up his quill and began to write Ron a short message.

Ron,

Great news. I can't wait to get out of here. Tell Moody, Lupin, Kingsley and Tonks that I'll be looking out for them. I would love to see them again. Have you heard from Percy yet? I thought he might have come round by now. Who do I need to meet? I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.

Harry.

He tied the letter to Pig's leg and then threw him out of the window. Pig plummeted two feet and then soared into the sky. Harry watched him until he was gone and the pulled his head in the window.

Harry spent most of the day watching the clock and hoping time would move faster. He finished off his essay for Snape and by the time bedtime came he had also finished an essay for Professor McGonagall about Vanishing spells. He jumped happily into his bed at half past ten, glad he had finished all his homework and that tomorrow he would be on his way to twelve Grimwauld Place.