Chapter 2

By the time they were done shopping for Harry, he had six new pairs of jeans, twelve new shirts, two pairs of tennis shoes, a dark blue windbreaker, and a black baseball cap. They continued shopping, buying Dudley a new pair of pants, a shirt, and a new CD. To Harry's surprise, his cousin did not say a word the entire time they were in the store, but once they were in the car he started complaining about his mother buying Harry so many things and only three things for him. Petunia ignored her son even when they got home. Once again there were doors slamming shut but this time it was only Dudley.

"Make yourself something for lunch," Petunia said to Harry as she went outside to her garden.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said going into the kitchen.

Once he had made himself a sandwich, Harry hurried up to his room and locked the door. He pulled the parcel and letter out from under his bed. Harry opened the letter and quickly read it.

Dear Harry,

Happy birthday!

I've got your present here at Hogwarts for when you arrive.

Hope the muggles are treating you right.

All the best,

Hagrid

Harry smiled. I wonder what Hagrid got me, thought Harry as he held Ron's present in his hands. Quickly, he tore off the brown paper from the parcel and opened the box. There were more kinds of sweet than in Hermione's but Harry didn't mind. Under all the candy was a box titled Skiving Snackbox along with a tin of home made fudge from Mrs. Weasley.

"Business must be good right now," said Harry removing the candy from the box before closing it up. "Let's see what Ron has to say."

Harry,

Happy Birthday! I hope you enjoy your birthday present. Fred and George added the Snackbox after mum had checked it. Hope your summers going great. Everyone's home for the summer even Charlie even though he's been disappearing a lot lately. See ya soon, mate.

Ron

P.S.

Everyone says hello.

Harry smiled as he began to pack his things in his trunk. He knew that soon he would be leaving to spend another summer at the Burrow or at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He preferred the Burrow to the old Black house, probably because it felt homier. There was no reason for Harry to go back there since it held so many memories of his godfather, Sirius Black. Once everything was put away, he pulled out a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment paper and began to write a letter to Ron.

Ron,

Thanks for the present. Tell Fred and George thanks for the present too, it might come in handy for Snape's class. Everything's going fine here. My aunt and uncle are actually being nice to me for a change. Are you glad that this is our last year at Hogwarts? Did Hermione tell you? Her parents want to meet my aunt and uncle. I hope Uncle Vernon doesn't go crazy like he did when he met your father.

Harry

Harry waited until dust before Hedwig returned from Hermione's with a letter in her beak. He petted her as he took the letter. She gave a loving hoot as she shook her body.

"Are you willing to take this to Ron tonight?" he asked her, holding up the new letter. "Or do you want to wait until morning?"

Hedwig gave another hoot before taking the letter in her beak and soaring off into the night. Harry watched her once again before sitting on his bed. He opened the letter and read it.

Dear Harry,

I warned my parents about your guardians. They say they're willing to take the risk and if need be take you with us. That really caught my attention. We'll see you on Sunday then.

Love,

Hermione

Saturday night came all to quickly for Harry. He approached his aunt and uncle that night with extreme caution. After Dudley had gone to bed for the night, he decided to talk to his aunt and uncle about Hermione and her parents visit the next day. Harry stood in the living room entryway until his nerves got the better of him. As he turned to go to bed his uncle noticed him.

"What do you want, boy?" asked Vernon.

Uncle Vernon's face wasn't hard like it usually was when he thought Harry was sneaking around. Harry slowly walked into the room and looked at the television quickly before looking at his uncle.

"Well," said Vernon.

"I wanted to ask you something, if that's alright with you," said Harry.

"What is it?" asked Vernon, his eyes narrowing.

"A friend's parents want to meet you and Aunt Petunia," said Harry, quickly adding, "they're not like me."

Vernon went to speak but decided not to. Instead he thought for a moment and then said, "Your friend's parents aren't like you? They're...normal?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"But your friend is like you," Vernon said.

"Yes," said Harry.

"What is your friend's mum like?" asked Petunia looking away from the television.

"My friend's parents are both dentists," said Harry. "They're tall, thin couple. Reddish brown hair, and very nice."

"Hm," said Petunia turning back to the television.

"Alright," said Vernon with a smile. "Are they coming tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry. "I told them to call before they came so that we could be ready for them. Is that okay?"

"You actually used your head for once, boy," said Vernon. "Go to bed. You need all the sleep you can get for tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," said Harry.

Harry slept very well that night, but there was something nagging in the back of his mind. Something that seemed to be very important for some reason. The next morning, Harry woke to a hooting noise coming from beside his bed. When he opened his eyes, there was his pet and best friend, Hedwig.

Her amber eyes glittered in the morning light. She gave another low hoot and looked at the door. Harry climbed out of bed and quickly got dressed in a new pair of jeans and a new shirt. Just as he opened the door, Aunt Petunia was making her way up the stairs to wake them. Petunia's eyes narrowed just a little as she went to wake Dudley.

"Good morning, Aunt Petunia," said Harry. "Would you like me to make breakfast or clean something?"

"Make breakfast," she said. "Then you can help clean if there's anything left."

"Sausages and pancakes?" he asked.

"That's fine and some eggs," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," he said going into the kitchen.

As Harry finished making breakfast, Uncle Vernon and Dudley came waddling into the kitchen. Harry quickly dished each plate and placed them on the table. The two looked quickly at him and then at the food. Without so much as an argument, they ate quickly. After breakfast, Harry cleaned his room and helped his aunt clean the living room. At twelve-thirty the phone rang and Vernon answered the phone. His face wrinkled as he held out the phone.

"Hello," said Harry.

"Harry," said a feminine voice.

"Yes, this is him," said Harry.

"It's Hermione," said the feminine voice.

"Oh hello," said Harry, a smile spreading across his face.

"We're leaving our house right now," said Hermione. "It is still okay if we come, isn't it?"

"Yes it is," said Harry. "We're all ready for you."

"Good," said Hermione. "Oh I have to go. My parent's are ready. See you soon. Good bye."

"Bye," said Harry hanging up the phone.

"Was that your friend?" asked Vernon.

"Yes," said Harry. "They're on their way."

"Good," said Vernon. "Go outside and do something until you see them. Go for a walk or something."

"Yes, sir," said Harry hurrying up stairs for his shoes.

As Harry reached the end of the driveway he noticed a red bird sitting upon the street sign at the end of the road. He watched the bird for a moment before starting down the road to see what it was. When he reached the sign, he noticed the bird was watching him. The bright red bird was a phoenix. But it's eyes were a pale blue color instead of black. Attached to the bird's leg was a roll of parchment tied with an emerald green ribbon.

The phoenix flapped its wings and settled down on a garden wall near by. To Harry's surprise, it held out its leg for him. He quickly took the roll of parchment and looked at the bright red bird. Around its neck was a gold chain with a hematite tag dangling from it. Harry looked closely at the tag and read:

Starla

Harry was confused about this. The only person he knew with a phoenix was Dumbledore, but its name was Fawkes. He looked at the parchment and scratched his head as he looked around to see if anyone was watching him. As Harry looked around, he noticed a small child of five or six standing across the street from him. She was dressed in a light blue dress that went to her knees, and a dark blue cloak. She had curly strawberry blond hair and freckles under her honey colored eyes.