Chapter One
Back on Privet Drive
The moonlight streaming in through the window in the upper bedroom of Number Four Privet drive was bright enough to wake the dead. In Harry Potter's case, he would have been happy if this was true. As he lay awake reading his very worn copy of Quidditch Through The Ages by the moonlight, his mind couldn't help wandering back to the beginning of the summer, when his godfather Sirius had died.
Harry and his friends had risked their lives to save Sirius from Voldemort. Voldemort was a very evil wizard who had been trying to kill Harry since he was one year old. Harry had had a very real dream about Sirius being harmed by Voldemort. After enlisting the help of his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, their friend Neville Longbottom and Ron's sister Ginny and her friend Luna Lovegood, he set off to the Ministry of Magic to fight Voldemort only to discover it had been a lie, a trap. He regretted not listening to Hermione pleading for him to make sure his dream was real. He regretted it, because now it was his fault Sirius is gone.
Harry took of his glasses and set them on his bedside table. He rubbed his eyes and lay back, listening to his owl Hedwig cooing softly in her cage. She had brought home a dead rat earlier that evening and now that she was full it was time for her to settle down for the night. Harry's stomach rumbled loudly, disturbing her.
"Sorry Hedwig," Harry whispered. He thought about getting out of bed and getting one of the mincemeat pies that Mrs. Weasley had sent him that week, but didn't want to risk waking the rest of the Dursley household. Along with the pies was a note from Ron:
Dear Harry,
Sorry for writing to you again mate, but Hermione and I are very worried about you. You haven't written back to either of us all summer. Dad wants to come get you as soon as Dumbledore gives him permission. Then we can celebrate your birthday with you.
I hope you're doing okay. Please owl me back ASAP so we can set up a time that is good to come fetch you. Hermione is here and insists I tell you hello for her and that she misses you.
Your friend,
Ron
Harry put the note in the floorboard with the pies so his uncle Vernon wouldn't find it in his room. Harry's uncle had a very nasty temper and his bloated purple face was the last thing Harry wanted to see. Anything that had to do with Harry's school or friends could send Uncle Vernon into a flying rage. Although, Harry's school and friends were anything but normal to a muggle like Vernon Dursley, as Harry was a wizard, who went to a school for wizards called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry looked like a normal fifteen-year-old boy. His messy black hair and glasses didn't really set him apart from the rest. His over-sized and very spoiled cousin Dudley, however, was always pointing out to his friends how extremely stupid and weird Harry was, just in case they noticed that there was something about him that scared Dudley. He still had to dress in Dudley's old clothes, but lately they didn't seem to be as loose as they once were. He had been eating well for the first time ever. Ever since Mad-eye Moody and the Weasley family had threatened Uncle Vernon and his horse-faced wife, Petunia, Harry had been getting the royal treatment. Even if he could hear them all muttering things under their breath while they are giving it to him.
He was looking forward to seeing Ron and Hermione and realized he needed to get out of the depression of losing Sirius and get back into the wizarding world. He had a death to avenge and no one, not even Professor Dumbledore would stop him. He slid out of bed and grabbed a piece of parchment and set out to writing Ron back. His quill was poised above the paper for a long while before the words finally came to him.
Dear Ron and Hermione,
I'm sorry I didn't write back to you sooner. I guess I wasn't really ready for contact from the wizarding world. I will tell you all about my summer and you can tell me about yours when I see you. You can come anytime. I think Uncle Vernon is ready to be rid of me. Just tell your dad to come the normal way.
I miss you guys a lot. Talk to you soon.
Your friend,
Harry
He walked quietly to Hedwig's cage and tucked her under the chin. " I need you to wake up and take this to Ron." She hooted dolefully and glared at him as he attached it to her leg.
He threw open the window and watched her soar out over the other houses on Privet Drive, feeling excited for the first time this summer. He couldn't wait to see his best friends again. With a sigh he laid back down and finally fell into his first peaceful night's sleep of the summer.