Disclaimer: Most of the characters mentioned in the following story are borrowed from JK Rowling and are not of my own imagination. Any characters in this story that are not mentioned in any of the Harry Potter books are my own.

Sailor Serenity5: Thanks for your review. Your idea is good. Perhaps I will start another story using it, I was also quite sad when I found out that Dumbledore died.

Chapter 2

Harry Potter groaned, and rolled over, trying to ignore the tapping at his window. When it didn't stop, he rolled out of bed, grumbling. After rescuing his glasses from where they were dangling rather dangerously near the edge of the bedside table, he opened the window to let in the owls flying around outside. He heard Uncle Vernon make a small noise and froze. After realising his uncle was still asleep, he let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.

The clock next to his bed said 12.01am. Harry was now officially seventeen and able to use magic outside of school. The thought of it filled him with a sense of security, but also a bit of fear when he realised the protection spells on the house were no longer in effect.

He turned to the first owl, which was his own. Hedwig hooted softly as he unburdened her of her package and letter. Harry froze, hearing his uncle make another noise in his sleep. Remembering that he could now use magic, Harry opened his trunk with a small click and pulled out his wand. Muttering a few spells under his breath, he locked the door and placed a silencing charm around his room.

The owls were becoming impatient waiting for him, a large brown barn owl clicking its beak loudly to show its irritation. Pigwidgeon took flight, zooming around the room and hitting things loudly. As Harry watched he flew headfirst into the wardrobe, hooting loudly and continuing his flight around the room. Harry grabbed him out of the air before he damaged the mail he was carrying. After rescuing his package, he gave Pig a drink and a few owl treats, then crossed the room to the window, where he threw the bird out.

He unburdened the other owls, which were about ready to take flight again, packages and all. In turn, they each gave a hoot and flew out the window, spreading their wings and gliding through the night air. Harry looked at the small pile of packages and letters in front of him. He pulled the nearest one towards him, smiling slightly at the sight of Hermione's familiar handwriting. He opened the letter first.

Harry,

Happy birthday!

I hope this gift will be of use to you, whatever you decide to do. Although I know your mind is set on not returning to Hogwarts if it stays open, I think it might be best. Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world and we could all use as much tutoring as we can get, especially in Defence Against the Dark Arts. I know you want to find and destroy him, but we would also have access to better resources at Hogwarts. Please consider it.

We will hopefully see you soon. I don't know what you have decided to do about staying at your aunt and uncles house, you may have been invited to the Burrow but I can understand if you want to follow the plan you told us about at the end of last year.

Love from Hermione

Harry's mood had sunk a little. He knew going back to Hogwarts was probably the best thing, but he was eager to return to Godric's Hollow and spend his time tracking down each horcrux in order to destroy Voldemort. Giving a small sigh, he opened the package Hermione had sent with the letter.

He opened the wrapping paper carefully, revealing a small object within. A small piece of parchment was folded and slipped underneath it. He picked the object up, turning it over in his hands. It was a small mirror, with a gold edging. On the top of was a small blood red jewel, set in the gold. It fit easily into the palm of his hand. He held it up in front of him, seeing his own reflection in the glass. To his suprise, he felt a jolt course through his body. It ran up through his arm, into his fingertips and through to the mirror. He opened his eyes wide as the mirror became warm in his hand and dropped it onto his bed in suprise. He looked down at it warily, wondering if it was dangerous, then remembering the parchment in the parcel, he pulled it out and unfolded it.

Harry

the note said, in Hermione's writing,

This mirror stores your excess energy that can only be used by the owner. By reflecting your face in the mirror, any excess energy will be drawn into the mirror for you to use when you are tired or just have no energy. To withdraw the energy, just tap the mirror with your wand and say 'raterio.' When the mirror has energy in it, heat will be produced. The more energy it contains, the warmer the mirror is.

"Wow," Harry whispered, picking up the mirror and tracing the gold edging with a finger. "Must've cost you a fortune Hermione."

He smiled and put the mirror aside, then reached for the next parcel. Rather messy handwriting on the top told him immediately that is was from Ron. The first thing he saw as he opened the paper a delicious looking iced cake from Mrs Weasley. Harry smiled. He couldn't wait until he could go visit the burrow.

Next in the parcel was a slightly heavy square package. Harry watched the snitches on the paper fly around for a minute, but opened the package after they started giving him a headache. Inside was a book on quidditch from the last person he would expect to get a gift from- Ginny.

The note simply said:

Thanks for a great few weeks. I wish it could've lasted longer. I hope things won't be awkward between us now; I still want to be your friend, if not your girlfriend.

Ginny

Harry gave a sigh of relief. He had been hoping she would still want to be friends with him. It was driving him crazy, not knowing how she felt about their current relationship.

From Ron he received a huge box of assorted wizard candy, everything from Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, to chocolate frogs, to acid pops. Harry grinned, opening a chocolate frog.

"Thanks mate," he said to the darkness. Out of habit he turned over the card to see who he had. The grin slipped from his face, when he saw Dumbledore smiling back at him. To his suprise, the writing on the card had changed. It now read

Albus Dumbledore former Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel (also deceased) and his research towards vanquishing the dark lord (He-who-must-not-be-named). Dumbledore enjoyed chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harry's face was the picture of sadness, as he laid the card aside and opened the note Ron had sent him.

Harry,

Hope the muggles aren't treating you too badly. Mum said you can come to stay with us after your birthday if you don't have any other plans. Owl me back if you can't, but otherwise we will pick you up at 5pm on the Friday after your birthday. If you already have something else planned, don't feel guilty. Hermione is here already, she arrived two days ago. She keeps asking if you will be staying here so I need something to tell her. Ginny told me about your break-up. Don't let that stop you from staying here. Mum is driving us all bloody mad with her worrying about you. She was going to send some meat pies and other pastries with Pig, but he couldn't carry it all. It took Dad almost an hour to convince her to send just the cake. Anyway, send your reply back with Hedwig and we will hopefully see you on Friday.

Ron

Harry yawned. Friday… that was… the day after tomorrow then. Rummaging through his trunk he found a quill and a spare piece of parchment, and sat down at his desk to compose a reply to Ron. After a minute of thinking, he began the letter, the scratching of the quill sounding very loud in the dark empty room.

Ron, he wrote,

Thanks for the gift, and tell Hermione and Ginny I said thanks too. I will write them as soon as I have a chance. I was actually thinking of returning to Godric's Hollow, probably the day after my birthday, to have a look around and visit my parent's house. I'm thinking of buying a house there, my Aunt and Uncle probably won't let me stay here anymore. If it is alright with your parents, perhaps I could come to stay in a few weeks instead. Please tell Hermione I am thinking about it. She will know what I mean. Please tell your mother not to worry, I am fine and I will stay safe. Send your reply with Hedwig, she will know where to find me.

Harry

After tying the letter to Hedwig's leg he looked at the rest of the presents, deciding to leave them until the morning then climbed into bed. He pulled off his glasses and put them on the bedside table, the whole time thinking about what he should do next. He sighed, and pushed the thoughts from his mind, determined to get some sleep. There was plenty of time to think about it in the morning. Half asleep, he remembered the charms he had placed on his room. Feeling around for his wand, which lay next to his glasses on his bedside table, he muttered the right counter spells and drifted off to sleep, wand still clutched in one hand.

A/N: Yeah, boring, I know. Hopefully will get better. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon. Please R/R.