Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Kudos go to J.F.C. for allowing me to adopt his ideas and allowing me to bounce ideas off him as well as suggesting or improving quite a few of the ideas that are going into this.

Chapter 4

Harry had quickly forgotten about his birthday, his mind on everything he had learned about magic from Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus. Aunt Carina helped on the odd occasion but for the most part she was out of the house and Harry did not pay her any mind. They were used to each other coming and going as they pleased because Harry often visited his friends and Aunt Carina still had a job and helped their neighbours whenever they needed it. Aunt Carina did not mind Harry staying out as long as he told her that he would be out late do that she did not worry.

Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had brought a couple of theory books for Harry to read so he could understand more of his magic before his magic was unblocked. They had assured him that they would stay with him in Aunt Carina's house until he was surer of his magic and would not lose control easily. They had told him that his magic would be unstable for the first month or so until his body and magic became familiar with one another again. Both Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus had explained this calmly but Harry could still see the fire within their eyes at the thought of Dumbledore binding his magic without them knowing.

They all knew that Harry would be going to Hogwarts. It was an unspoken fact between them that they all preferred not to think about with the proximity Dumbledore would have to Harry. No one liked that fact but there was nothing they could do about it, having Harry go to Durmstrang as Aunt Dorea wanted or even the alternative of Beauxbatons would arouse suspicions within the wizarding community especially since Harry was a Potter. Harry not going to Hogwarts would indicate that Harry did not side with Dumbledore which in turn would make Dumbledore assume that Harry sided with the only alternative, Voldemort, and assume that they were enemies. Harry did not want enemies when he was still new to the wizarding world and was still trying to gather his bearings. Only after gaining enough knowledge on the wizarding world would Harry be able to make a decision on whom he supported and he knew right now that it probably was not going to be Dumbledore.

He had told his friends that he was going to a boarding school up north already. Neither had been pleased with the idea of only seeing Harry during the holidays but they had reluctantly accepted it. Alex and Marcus had promised to make sure they came around to Harry's house every day so that they could make the most of the time they had left. Alex had admitted that it was going to be strange going to school without Harry every morning and having no one sitting next to during their shared classes. Similarly, it would be strange for Harry to go to lessons without Alex and Marcus being in any of them as in their school Harry usually had both of them in his classes.

Everything piling up had caused the birthday party Aunt Carina had been planning for Harry to come as a real surprise to him. He had easily lost track of the time while bombarding Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus with questions and visiting Alex or talking to Marcus over the phone whenever he could. Aunt Carina had been pleased by his surprise despite the circumstances surrounding it. This was the first time she had managed to surprise Harry in a very long time.

Most of his neighbours and classmates had come to his party, somehow the news of him leaving the school had spread like wildfire and almost everyone asked him about it when he greeted them as he walked around the room like he did every year. Aunt Carina was doing something similar except she kept to the adults while Harry had to greet everyone that had come. Harry was not entirely sure where Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus were at that moment in time but he was sure that they would show up after a while as they usually did.

Harry wasn't entirely sure whether he should be excited for his birthday or not. He wanted to be excited for the fact that he was now fifteen as he was every year for growing one year older but his birthday also signified the fact that he would have to leave his home for some unknown place soon possibly to live with people he had never met yet already had expectations for him.

Harry had to admit that he was scared of what he would find, what he would experience at Hogwarts. Everything would be so new and so very different. Dumbledore would be so close by and Harry was unwilling to allow himself to become a target or a toy for the older man to play with and manipulate as the older man seemed to enjoy doing. Aunt Carina had taught him well and he was not about to put all the knowledge he had gained from her to waste by trusting the people he met so easily.

No one had been willing to leave his party until the sun sinking in the distant horizon and it was nearly dark outside, indicating that it was not quite polite for them to stay much longer. Harry was bewildered when some of his classmates that he barely knew told him that they would miss him when they had barely uttered more than one sentence to him in the last couple of years. Harry almost let out a sigh of relief as the house slowly emptied out and grew silent. Once everyone left, they would have their yearly celebration of Harry's birthday between the people who Harry was extremely close to.

Tracy and her two friends were the only ones who remained in their home after everyone else had left. Alex and Marcus smirked at Harry as Harry swallowed thickly and wiped his suddenly wet palms on his trousers. Harry almost wished that he had never told Alex and Marcus of his crush on Tracy, they constantly teased him about it whenever Tracy walked past. The two were ruthless and Harry would be surprised if Tracy had not yet figured out what, or rather who, they teased him about.

"Harry," Tracy called as she approached him, "Happy birthday."

Harry could hear Alex snigger as Harry stumbled over his reply, "T-Thank you." Tracy smiled and Harry could swear that his heart skipped a beat.

"I'm so sorry to hear that you had to transfer to another school. I'm going to miss you," Tracy said with a small smile. "I'll always remember the first time we were paired together during chemistry and we managed to make the experiment blow up."

Harry was sure that his heart had left his body and begun to soar at that point. Harry had been harbouring this little crush of his for the past two years, ever since they had become chemistry partners. Harry knew that the explosion had been his fault, he had simply been too nervous around Tracy at that time.

Tracy would miss him, she would always remember him.

"-besides, you are kinda cute in your own way."

Harry blinked, apparently Tracy had started talking once again while he had still been processing the fact that she would miss him and remember him. Harry did not think he could even manage to think with this overload of information. Tracy thought he was cute?

"Well, it's getting late I've got to go. I hope to see you again," Tracy said with a smile as she waved and left his house with her two friends. Harry did not move, still in shock at everything Tracy had just told him. They could have been dating if he had been able to gather enough courage to simply ask her during one of the chemistry lessons while no one was watching them, all concentrating on whichever experiment they were trying to complete this time.

Aunt Carina as well as Aunt Dorea and Uncle Charlus, who had arrived only a couple of hours earlier, watched Harry with a vague sense of amusement. Charlus remembered the first time that had happened to him but he was glad for the lack of courage at that point because that left him open for when he had actually plucked up his wavering courage and tried. That had gotten him his beautiful wife.

Harry finally snapped out of his daze and noticed that Alex and Marcus looked as stunned as he had felt. Harry was slightly glad that he was not the only one that had been shocked by Tracy's words but those words made him want to go to Hogwarts less. Harry had a chance at the person he was crushing on only for that to be taken away from him before he had even been able to ask her out. Harry almost felt like he was being cheated by being forced to go to Hogwarts as he was.

Harry was about to turn around and guide his friends into the kitchen when movement outside the window caught his eye. Harry turned to fully face the window and pulled the curtain slightly back to see more clearly.

There were three figures that were walking calmly down their street. One of them was the old man who called himself Professor Dumbledore, another was a woman that looked fairly young with a mass of fiery curls that surrounded her head and another man that looked similar to the woman in age, wore thickly framed glasses and had untamable hair that was similar to what Harry knew his sometimes looked like when he woke up.

"Aunt Carina, Aunt Dorea, Uncle Charlus!" Harry called in a somewhat calm manner despite the fact that his mind was currently working as fast as it possibly could to try and postpone this meeting for a little while longer despite the utter futility he knew would come from any actions. The trio was already on their street, there was no where he could go, nowhere he could hide. Harry could have gone to Marcus's house if he had been given some warning of them visiting. Harry did not want to miss the people who had been willing to place him in an orphanage to favour his twin brother. They were not honest, they could not be if they asked for him to be under their care once more.

His biological parents were visiting unannounced and almost completely ruining what had been a truly wonderful birthday party. One of the best he had been to in a while, although that may just be his pride in Aunt Carina that made it the best.