Chapter 1

Author's Note: Ok, if you're reading this, my summary is obviously not as bad as I thought – I tried ;-) anyway, this is serious JKR imitation material. Review and tell me whether u like it please! It will get stupid later I promise.

As the dawn broke over Privet Drive, Harry Potter was woken by a tapping on the window. He yawned and got up, putting on his glasses as he stood. He was still adjusting to these glasses, after wearing his old round ones for several years. He couldn't wait to see how people reacted to his new look; he had to stop himself looking in the mirror at every opportunity to admire the new, more rectangular frames.

Stretching, he walked the few paces to the window and opened it. In flew an owl. This did not surprise Harry at all; after all, owls had been turning up in his room for over five years now.

The owl hooted impatiently and stuck its leg out. Looking at it, he recognised it as a Hogwarts owl. His stomach turned to water. He stared at the envelope he had just untied from its leg – it bore the Hogwarts crest. He knew what this was. Obviously, it contained the usual list of what he would require for the new term, but... it probably had his OWL results in there too. He continued to stare at the envelope for several minutes, not noticing as the owl departed. He was eventually woken from his reverie by a sharp pain in his left hand, which was resting on the windowsill. He looked down to see a more familiar owl, which seemed to have just pecked him.

"Pig!" Harry exclaimed happily, as he recognised the tiny creature. He eagerly detached the letter and parcel from its leg. He did a brief double- take at the fact there were two letters, and the parcel seemed to contain two objects, before realising that one would be from Ron Weasley, the owner of the twittering featherball, and the other from Hermione Granger. Hermione, having Muggle parents, did not own an owl.

Still grinning, Harry opened the first letter.

Dear Harry,
Happy birthday! I didn't know how I was going to contact you (I assume your aunt and uncle still disapprove of you receiving Muggle post as much as owls), but then Pig turned up. Ron sent him – good idea, I suppose it's less conspicuous for one owl to turn up in Privet Drive than two.

Harry's smile widened. Typical Hermione-style thinking.

Anyway, have you had your OWL results yet? I'm so nervous about mine, I mean, that question on the Charms paper really threw me-

Harry recognised the start of one of Hermione's characteristic bouts of post-exam pessimism, and almost skimmed the next paragraph. Then he realised that the longer he took to read it, the more he would delay looking at the Hogwarts letter.

-but I think I did OK on Arithmancy, that was the one I was really worried about. So, how are you? I bet you're looking forward to going back to school. If I were you, I'd want to be busy. I hope you're not dwelling on what happened – it wasn't your fault, Harry! Remember that. Good luck with the OWL results, and happy birthday! I hope you like your present, Love Hermione.

Harry's grin slipped from his face. Why did she have to bring that up? He had thought last summer was bad, after Cedric died, but this summer had been much worse. He didn't know whether he should be grieving for Sirius, or blaming himself for his death. Every time he thought about it, he felt sick. And that wasn't the only thing. The OWLs had been preying on his mind too, but there was yet another problem. A certain person at school had been in and out of his thoughts since the end of the school term. Someone he missed seeing every day. He regretted their fights, and wished he had told the person how he felt.

He forced himself to turn his back on these miserable thoughts. With difficulty, he turned his concentration to the other letter.

Dear Harry,
I hope you're holding up OK. If you're not OK, you would write and say, wouldn't you?

Sorry mate, Mum made me put that in. Seriously though, hope you're all right. Also, I hope Pig made it to you. I mean, he's not used to carrying this much weight. Write back if he does make it, would you?

I'm guessing you might have got the exam results by now, I'm not sure how long Pig'll take to reach you. So good luck, and remember what Fred and George always say: 'Teachers are possibly the least qualified people to detect intelligence'.

Oh yeah, happy birthday! Your present's in the package, if Pig hasn't dropped it. Everyone sends best wishes, Ron. P.S. Don't want to be a sponger, but could you feed Pig before you send him back?

The smile did not resurface on Harry's face, but he refused to let himself dwell on what was bothering him. If Sirius was still alive, I'd have a letter from him too. Maybe I'd even be with him right now... Harry shook himself. He picked up the brown parcel Pigwidgeon had brought, and started to open it with a feeling of anticipation. He was halfway through opening it when a third owl flew in. Putting the parcel aside, he took the letter and package from the owl. He looked at the envelope, correctly guessing the untidy scrawl to be Hagrid's. On realising this, he glanced at the package with trepidation – Hagrid had been known to send somewhat unorthodox presents before. Harry half expected the parcel to quiver, or growl.

He turned back to the first present and finished removing the paper. First, he caught sight of a large volume bound in red leather. Embossed on the cover was 'Defensive Theories and Practices Through the Ages by Estelbert Rutherford'. This was clearly from Hermione; Harry did not need to read the attached note to tell that. He read it anyway.

Thought this might come in useful, especially if we have to start the DA again. Love Hermione.

A fleeting smile passed over his face as he read this. He had expected a book, but this one actually looked quite useful. He put it to the side and focused his attention on Ron's present. It appeared to be a scarf, but he guessed there would be more to it than that. As he perused the accompanying note, he was proved right.

This is not exactly a normal scarf Harry, so I hope you read this first. You have to say 'necesse est tu ad meum fidelite esse', then the scarf will recognise you as its master. Then you can set it on other people using this spell: 'malum agere iubet dominus tuus, Harry Potter'. Let's just say it won't do the person any good, OK? Hope you like it, from Ron.

Harry stared apprehensively at the scarf for a few moments. It was certainly an unusual present, and having the scarf as emergency backup made him feel a little better about the prospect of opening Hagrid's gift. He cleared his throat, then, looking resolutely at the scarf, began to recite the first Latin incantation. He stopped himself partway through, unsure whether this classified as underage magic or not. This led him to wonder he was still underage or not. He stared meditatively at the scarf, and noticed another note nestling inside a fold. He reached out tentatively and snatched the paper.

By the way Harry, you can probably get away with using the incantation. I asked Dad, and he said that you're no longer underage on the condition that you've passed at least three OWLs. Guess you'd better wait till you've checked the results, mate.

This made Harry feel ill again. He carefully avoided touching the scarf as he picked up and opened the letter from Hagrid. It took him a few minutes to decipher his handwriting, but eventually he got there.

Dear Harry,
Happy birthday! Hope you're well. Bet you're looking forward to being back at school, eh Harry? Well, don't worry, your present isn't dangerous-

This did not make Harry feel better. Hagrid's idea of 'not dangerous' was quite different to everyone else's.

-but I hope you'll like it. See you soon, Hagrid p.s. Grawpy sends his love.

Harry gave a snort of laughter, as he wondered whether Hagrid's half brother had actually reached that degree of communication yet. After all, the giant didn't seem to have picked up much English before except things along the lines of 'Hermy, where Hagger?'.

Harry sighed. Hagrid's attempts at domesticating creatures no one else would approach were a mystery to him, and to his friends. And, he added as an afterthought, to the Ministry of Magic. Good thing Dumbledore was back as Headmaster of Hogwarts, or Hagrid wouldn't have had a chance of keeping his job. Good thing Dumbledore was back, anyway.

He abandoned his thoughts and began the more risky task of opening the parcel. It wasn't really as bad as expected in the end; in fact it was rather a useful present. At first it appeared to just be a cross between a small box and a kazoo, but the small parchment instruction booklet proclaimed it to be an animal translator. If you talked into the mouthpiece, the booklet said, the sound emerging from the other end would be a translation of your words, understandable to any nearby magical animals.

I wonder if it covers animals like Crabbe and Goyle, Harry thought, with a laugh. But his laugh was cut short when he realised that this was the moment. He'd finished with the other post. He would have to read the school letter now. His stomach flipped over as he pictured a sheet of parchment with subjects listed on the left and a neat column of 'T's on the right. Something inside his mind assured him he would not have done that badly, but still...

He didn't want to open the envelope, but he knew that sooner or later he would have to. Filled with dread, he began to pull it open. He read the covering letter nervously, but it gave nothing away.

Dear Mr Potter,
We would like to remind you that the new term will commence on September the First. As a student who has opted to continue into Sixth Year, your list of subjects is enclosed, as are the results of your OWLs. As you may already know, the passing of at least three OWLs permits you to use magic outside of school. However, stringent regulations still apply when in the company of Muggles.

The Hogwarts Express will depart on September the First, at 11am, from King's Cross Station, Platform 9 and ¾. We hope to see you then.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Nerves had now seized Harry by the throat. His hands almost shook as he removed from the envelope the piece of parchment that would seal his fate.

Please let me have passed at least three, he thought desperately. At least one... He forced his eyes to open and to look at the parchment.

It took him a moment to make sense of the format of the sheet. At last he understood.

Astronomy: Acceptable: PASS Care of Magical Creatures: Exceeds expectations: PASS Charms: Exceeds expectations: PASS Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding: PASS Divination: Poor: FAIL Herbology: Exceeds expectations: PASS History of Magic: Acceptable: PASS Potions: Outstanding: PASS Transfiguration: Exceeds expectations: PASS

Having worked out the sheet, Harry stared in amazement. He was tempted to dance around the room, yelling at the top of his voice. He managed to suppress this urge, and instead laughed out loud, thinking of what Snape's face would look like when he found out that he, Harry, would be in the NEWT Potions class. How he had got an 'O', he had no idea whatsoever, except that a weekend's solid revision and the absence of Snape had done his potion making skills a lot of good.

He continued to laugh, mainly through relief, for several minutes. By the time he stopped, the sun had fully risen. Looking back on the morning so far, Harry began to feel that this was an excellent birthday after all. Feeling much more cheerful, he read the final sheet of parchment in the envelope.

Dear Mr Potter,
Your subjects for Sixth Year, and for NEWT examinations, will be determined in an interview with your Head of House on the first day of the new school term. Any subjects in which a student has not obtained a pass grade will not be available to said student. Certain subjects will demand a certain grade or higher for continuation to NEWT level.

As your subjects will not be determined until term has begun, an excursion to the village of Hogsmeade will take place on the first weekend of term. Students who have presented signed permission forms at some juncture since the beginning of the Third Year will be able to buy their equipment while travelling to, and around, Hogsmeade in the usual way. Those who have not presented permission forms will attend this trip under supervision, and will remain in the village only as long as is necessary to purchase their equipment. For this reason, students must have with them sufficient money for what they will require.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Harry finished reading and began to tidy the pile of parchment in front of him. On reading the part about permission forms, he had winced; Sirius had signed his at the start of Third Year. Again, he refused to dwell on this miserable thought.

So guys, there it is. Please review and there will be more soon- my betas are already demanding chapter 2