Here's chapter 2! I actually have 11 chapters done...just give me the word and I'll keep them coming until I run out! )

Chapter 2: An unexpected gift

When Harry entered the dining room, Dudley was sitting at the table. Despite his vigorous training for boxing and starvation diet, he still took up a whole side of the table by himself. He gave Harry a weak smile and offered him a piece of toast. Harry took it, nodding in thanks. He didn't think Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would like their son to be friends with someone as 'abnormal' as him. Uncle Vernon was reading the daily news, and Aunt Petunia was drinking tea, trying to stay calm. She seemed very nervous to Harry…well more nervous than usual anyway. He ate his toast in silence, and then went back upstairs to see if Hedwig had returned. When he opened the door to his room, he saw Hedwig sitting on the top of his wardrobe.

"C'mere Hedwig! I have some letters for you." She fluttered down onto his shoulder, and he picked up the letters and tied them to her leg. She took off through the open window, and Harry sighed. He hoped that they'd write back soon.

"Harry! Get down here!" came Aunt Petunia's voice. Harry sighed and went downstairs. She was standing in the living room next to a bucket filled with soapy water.

"You can't just mope around your bedroom all day! Make yourself useful! Scrub these walls so we can repaint them. I don't want to see a single speck of dirt, do you hear me?" she snapped.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," he sighed. So much for Aunt Petunia being decent to me, he thought. He picked up the rag and started scrubbing. He scrubbed until his arms and neck ached for rest. By the time he was finished, it was dinnertime. Harry slowly made his way to the dining room and sank into a chair, squinting his tired eyes against the glaring lights. He ate his charred pork chop without a fuss and went upstairs, and lay on his bed. In less than five minutes, he was sound asleep.

"Harry! Harry, can you hear me?"

"Sirius, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. Listen to me Harry, I don't have much time! The book…you have to get the book before he does!"

"What book?"

"The one you love will lead you to the book! The book holds the secret to defeating evil...get it before….he…does…."

"Who!?"

"Harry…Potter…"

"Sirius!" Harry shot up in bed, his scar burning. The dream…it had been so real! Sirius was standing on the other side of the veil, talking to him. Then Sirius faded, and Voldemort appeared, whispering his name. Sirius had said something about a book…what book? Harry wondered. And something about the one he loved…but he didn't love anyone, did he? Harry shook his head.

"It was just a stupid dream," he told himself firmly. He walked over to his mirror and looked in it. The reflection staring back looked older than he remembered. He had definitely grown a few inches, and was starting to fill out a bit more from working out so much. His hair was still as messy as ever, and his eyes almost glowed in the dim light.

"Who are you?" he asked his reflection. Then he sat on his bed and looked at the clock. It read 11:57 pm. In a few minutes, he would be sixteen. He smiled as he remembered a night, so long ago when he was laying on the floor of a grubby old cabin, staring at his cousin's watch, waiting for his 11th birthday. That was the night that he met Hagrid, and Hagrid told him all about being a wizard. He fondly remembered his first trip to Diagon Alley, his first broomstick, and Norbert the baby dragon. A soft tapping at the window interrupted his memories. He saw Hedwig sitting on the window ledge, waiting to get in. he opened the window and she swooped in and landed on top of her cage, clutching a small package in her beak. Harry took it and opened it, thinking it might be a birthday present. Inside the brown paper was a broken sneakoscope. Harry went to pick it up, and he instantly felt the familiar jerk behind his navel, and was pulled through a swirling world of color.

He landed with a soft thud in a dark room. He couldn't even see his hand two inches from his face. He stayed still, not knowing where he was. Slowly pulling his wand out of his pocket, he said,

"Lumos!" All of a sudden he was blinded as the lights were turned on, and a whole group of people yelled,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" He stumbled back in shock. There were balloons everywhere, kegs of butterbeer, and the table was laden down with all of his favorite foods. He saw Ron, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, and many others.

"Whoa…" Harry managed to say. He was speechless. He'd never had a real birthday party before. A quick glance told him that he was a Grimmuald Place, the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and Sirius's house.

"Surprised?" Ron asked. Harry nodded.

"If I woke up tomorrow morning with my head stapled to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now," he said, laughing.

"Well come on then! Let's eat!" Ron grabbed a plate and started piling food on it. Harry turned to Hermione and she reached up and gave him a hug.

"It's nice to have you back. You've gotten taller!"

"Only a little…" Harry replied, his cheeks turning pink. He let go of her and surveyed the room. It seemed like somebody was missing…

"Mrs. Weasley, where are Fred and George?"

"Oh, Harry dear, they've went to get your things. You'll be staying here the rest of the summer!"

"You mean…they're going to the Dursleys? Alone?" Harry asked nervously.

"Don't worry dear, I've told them that if they pull any hijinks, they'll have to answer to me!" she said.

"Whey tblook teh crar!" Ron said, his mouth full of food.

"Ron, would you mind speaking in English, please?" Hermione said impatiently. He swallowed.

"They took the car!" he said, laughing.

"Seriously?" Harry said, a worried look on his face.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Well, they haven't been treating me as horrible this summer…even Dudley and I are on decent terms…" he said. "He asked me about Voldemort." Ron flinched at the sound of his name.

"Come on Harry, let's forget You-Know-Who for a while! It's your birthday!" Harry nodded and grabbed a plate. He filled it and sat between Ron and Hermione.

"Wotcher, Harry!" said Tonks, smiling. She had short spiky jet black hair and vivid green eyes today. Harry looked at her, frowning.

"Um, Tonks? Are you trying to look like me?" she snickered.

"Just for the occasion!" She said.

"She was walking down the hallway one day and I thought she was you!" Hermione said.

"That could come in useful if we ever need a decoy of Harry," said a grizzly voice. Mad-Eye Moody was drinking out of his hip flask, his magical eye spinning in its socket, taking in the room and all the people.

"Don't be silly, Moody!" said Lupin.

"Um, thanks Moody…I think," Harry said. He began eating, and managed to get second helpings of everything, as he always did with Mrs. Weasley's cooking. By the time dinner was finished, he was stuffed.

"Ok, who's ready for presents?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She led them to the living room, which was much cleaner than Harry remembered it, and started handing him presents. He got a new sweater from Mrs. Weasley, along with some homemade fudge. Tonks got him a wand holster,

"So you won't blow a buttock off, Harry!" she said. Moody got him a new and improved invisibility cloak that allowed him to pass through solid objects. Ron got him a humongous box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Harry groaned at the thought of more food. Dumbledore even sent him a gift; a miniature pensive the size of an ashtray. Lupin handed him a book entitled Defensive Spells; Conquer the Darkness. He set it aside, planning to read it later.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot the cake!" Mrs. Weasley said, disappearing into the kitchen. She returned seconds later, directing a huge cake with her wand. Harry vividly remembered the floating pudding of Dobby's in his second year, and snickered. The cake was in the shape of a Quidditch field, complete with a minuscule snitch circling around one of the goal posts, which had candles on top. Mrs. Weasley lighted the candles with a wave of her wand, and Harry was treated to an off-key, yet rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. When they were finished, Harry made a quick wish and blew out the candles.

Hours later, Harry lie alone in his room. The twins still weren't back with his things, so he was still wearing the jeans and hoodie from that morning. He was absorbed in the book that Lupin gave him, and he couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts to try out some of the new spells. He had just finished reading about a deflection spell when he heard a soft knock at his door. He quietly closed his book and set it on his nightstand, then crossed the room to the door and opened it. Hermione stood at the door in her pajamas, holding a small box in her hand.

"Hermionie? What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"I wanted to give you your birthday present," she whispered. "Can I come in?"

"I guess…" he said. They sat on his bed and she handed him the box.

"Happy birthday!" she said. He opened the box. Inside was a ring, shaped like the head of a lion. In the lion's mouth was a shining ruby.

"Wow…" Harry said. He had never been very fond of jewelry, but he suspected that the ring was for more than looks.

"It's a friendship ring," Hermione explained. "I have one just like it, see?" she held up her hand, and Harry saw the same ring, only smaller. "They're bound by magic. If one of us is in trouble, the other's ring will tingle and glow. The only way that it can be taken off is if somehow our friendship is broken." Harry slipped it on his finger and tried to pull it off. It wouldn't move.

"Wow Hermione…this is great! It's perfect…now if something happens, we'll know," Harry said, smiling at her. "Does Ron have one?"

"Well…not yet. He's been kind of a jerk this summer, and I didn't have enough money with me to get a third one. Besides, I thought of you when I picked it out…not of Ron," she said, blushing. Harry noticed, and all of a sudden he felt guilty. He wondered if he should tell her about the prophecy. After all, she had just shown him an amazing gesture of friendship. Then she stood up and said,

"I'd better get back to bed then. I'm really glad you like it, Harry."

"I love it," he replied, walking with her to the door.

"'night, Harry," she said. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He felt his face turning red as he said,

"'night Hermione." He closed the door and sat on his bed. He still felt guilty about not telling her about the prophecy.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell her, and Ron," he told himself firmly. Without another word, he lie down and fell asleep, enjoying the dreams of his first real birthday party