Chapter 1: Phone Call from Ron
"And how long are we supposed to be talking on the fellytone?" Ron mumbled in the telephone as he vigorously guzzled down his breakfast.
"Er—I think we talk as long as we want on it, Ron. And by the way, for the tenth time, it's telephone. Anyway, aside from all of the chatting, we've accomplished nothing in the past hour. What've you got to tell me?" Harry spat impatiently.
"The usual. The train leaves at 11, which we know, so I expect we'll meeting… Hermione… around then, but Mum wants to know if you need a ride to the station." There was a particularly new tone of voice Ron had used to say Hermione.
"No, mate, that's alright. The Dursleys will drive me there—they've made sure to do everything 'surrogate parents' are supposed to do since the Order scared the bloody hell out of them and said they'd be in for it if they stepped out of line with me. Why don't you go pick Hermione up while you're at it?" Harry snickered.
"Harry, you are a pain in my arse. I'll see you there. Well, I—er—I just hang this up now right?"
But Harry had already hung up. So, Ron and Hermione were still dating. Fancy that, Harry thought. He was genuinely happy for them ever since Ron "popped" the relatively simple question of asking one of his best friends to be his girlfriend earlier that summer, but his personal sadness made it difficult for Harry to express happiness at all. Sirius was gone and that would never change. Harry woke up everyday, easily more respected in the Dursley household, but his ill treatment had been replaced with a black void. Yet again, a lost family member. Harry would have taken a million of Uncle Vernon's beatings if it meant seeing Sirius again for only a second.
Harry had felt a sting in his infamous lightening bolt-shaped scar once in a while during the summer but nothing as serious as the pain he had felt last year. Voldemort really had nothing to do but wait until the school year started—for now, he was planning. That was the saddest part of Harry's miserable and lonely summer—he had felt he was without a purpose. What heroics could Harry have displayed without Voldemort wreaking havoc? Without Voldemort's distractions, Harry had nothing to do but think—think about Sirius and his death.
Clearly, Harry had never longed to get on the Hogwarts' Express as much as he did this summer.
