The big one-zero

*Surrey*England*July 30, 1990*

Harry sighed as he looked at the sky of the summer sky of Privet Drive.

His last two years had been mostly uneventful with the few exceptions of discovering that Lisa was like his mother: a muggle-born witch.

His mother had somehow roped him into reading with the intention of entertaining himself instead of just using books for information.

Strange that could actually work on the days he spent without Lisa on the park.

His daily walks and hours spent on the outdoors had given him a healthy pale skin rather than the unnaturally pale it was before the health check and his walks around Surrey had given his legs a good muscle tone.

Now he could run faster than before, as evidenced by his results on the sprint test in P.E.

Lisa had also introduced him to her parents; a tall, dark-haired, forest-green-eyed, serious looking actuary with a really fun-loving spirit despite his looks, and a woman of average height, black-hair and brown eyes that worked on the pediatric ward of the London General Hospital. The woman teased Lisa as much as Lily teased him.

George and Becky Turpin were their names, and as much as Lisa denied it, they were actually fun to be with, when you put aside the talks of their jobs that is.

'It is actually quite entertaining sweety' came Lily's voce a few seconds after he thought that.

'You're an adult, of course it's not boring to you' replied Harry.

"And you'll talk about your job to Lisa when you marry her" said Lily amusedly.

Harry scowled, 'I AM NOT MARRYING HER MOM' he shouted at her, 'we are friends and nothing else'

Lily smiled, "that is what you say now sweety, just wait until you're in your fourth year" she said.

Harry blinked, 'I'm a fourth year already'

Lily snickered, "at Hogwarts dummy"

Harry nodded, convinced that an outsider would just take him for a nutter, 'that's in five years, right?' he felt his mother nod, 'I don't think so'

"Come on, you know you like her" she said to the confusion of Harry.

'She is my friend, of course I like her' replied Harry.

Lily rolled her eyes, he was a ten year old, how would he be interested in girls at that age when she herself only saw James and Severus like that on her fifth year.

Severus.

That was a sore subject for her, ever since that incident on the second term of her fifth year.

While she had passed the use of that word as a slip due pressure and anger, it still hurt that her best friend since primary school had called her that.

Outside of Harry, a few blocks away, in the Turpin residence, the eldest daughter, as a baby boy had been born not a year ago, talked to her parents.

"We have to throw him a party, he's turning ten tomorrow!" Lisa exclaimed to her parents, both of whom rolled their eyes.

"Darling, we know he is your friend, but we need you to take care of Charlie, we found no one to babysit you two" said Rebecca Turpin as she bounced a dark-haired baby on her lap.

"He made plans for MY tenth birthday" whined Lisa.

"He asked us to take you two to the mall for a movie" said George Turpin from behind his newspaper, "with our money I must add".

Lisa glared at him, "It still was a trip to the movies, and I want to do the same for him" she turned to her mom and did her best puppy eyes, "come on mummy, at least a cake"

Becky sighed at her stubborn daughter, "Alright, one cake and only that"

Lisa cheered, now all she had to do was convince Harry to come over tomorrow and they would spend the day on the sofa eating cake.

It would be his best birthday yet.

*July 31*

"Would you stop manhandling me, woman?" said Harry angrily as an eager Lisa dragged him away from the park.

"Stop struggling Harry" replied Lisa, "when you do I'll stop dragging you"

Harry grudgingly stopped trying to stay where he stood and levelled with Lisa.

The two walked in silence, Lisa with a smile and Harry with a neutral face, which was the equivalent of a happy look on anyone else.

"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

He was curious, she had after all, dragged him away from the park without explanation and not even letting him get his footing even before dragging him away.

"To my house" the girl replied.

Harry blinked, confused, "why?"

"Because it's your birthday"

"That does not answer"

To any outsider they two would make an image out of a family photo or a standard picture on a frame.

It just isn't an everyday occurrence that a girl and a boy of ten walked like friends outside of a school or a park.

Maybe some of fifteen or sixteen, but not of ten.

Not that teens were commonly seen in the boring town of Little Whining, most preferred to stay indoors, in swimming pools and in the mall.

"It's your birthday, you're turning ten and you are going to celebrate it" said Lisa as they neared her house.

Harry blinked, "I've already told you, I don't care about birthday parties." He said

The girl growled, "And I told you you're celebrating it"

"I don't care about birthdays" Harry whined

'You should just give up sweety,' Lily said, 'You can never beat a woman in an argument'

"And I don't care about that" Lisa almost snapped at him, "Now be quiet while we get there"

"There is no winning this, is there?" muttered Harry.

But Lisa heard him, and so did Lily, "No there isn't," said the two in tandem.

It was so incredibly he actually shuddered.

Following his friend's petition (i.e. order), Harry just walked in silence, taking her hand off his and scowling.

Eventually the two arrived to a house that like most at Little Whining didn't look out-of-place.

A warm-green façade that always helped Harry calm himself down after a stressful day, though he wasn't sure if it was the colour or the family that lived inside, with a garden brimming with flowers that looked naturally grown instead of the flowerbeds at the Dursley's.

A pair of rocking chairs sat on the porch of the house, while the open curtains let outsiders see a lot of family photos, some with only two people to, the most recent ones, five people smiling and waving (just a small one from Harry) at a camera.

Against his better judgement, as he knew a torture with the name of a celebration would take place, Harry entered the Turpin's home.

The sight that welcomed him, as it did every time he entered the house, was the image of what a home should be like: warm blue walls with a few decorations stuck to them, mostly paintings though a few family photos, and he meant a huge family reunion photos, were scattered about.

To the left were the stairs, a mirror image to the planning of his relative's house, while to the right was a chimney where a lot pictures of the family, old and new, plus Harry, mostly on ones with Lisa.

Lining the left wall of the room, the one that led to the entrance corridor, were bookshelves as tall as the room and covering the entire wall, all filled to the brim with books, some parts with books over books.

On the corner an almost unused armoire sat alone, inside of it rested one of the three televisions of the house, the other two were on the master bedroom and another, almost as unused as this one, in Lisa's room.

The dining room, if you could call a table with lots of papers strewn about on one end and proper chairs on the other.

To Harry's surprise and delight, on the end of the table that actually held places, sat a treacle fudge tart, his one and only favourite sweet, with ten candles already burning on top of it.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY" shouted both Becky and George Turpin from the table while Lisa shouted it from the doorway.

That led to the incredibly awkward happy birthday song, after which he and Lisa had to take care of little Charlie, not much of a chore as the baby stayed silent through all the movies they watched, before falling asleep on Harry's arms, much to his chagrin.

The little monster drooled on his shoulder.

He was wearing his best tee that day, damn it!

Soon enough evening came and Harry grudgingly left the Turpin's to go to his cupboard.

Oh well, he could practice there, now that he had enough space for a king sized bed in it.

It was full of books though, and his hammock was good enough for him.

*Master bedroom*Turpin Home*

"Honey?" Becky called, making her husband hum "do you think we should let Lisa go?"

George sighed, having already hace this discusion before, "you heard what Harry said," he started stroking his wife's hair, "it is that or her not seeing Harry ever again"

"But, what if we lose her?" she asked, pained.

"Then it will be no different than if she went of age and moved away, but we'll see her every Christams, Easter and Summer, and we can't deny her the experience," he argued.

"But what if she gets hurt?"

"It is a boarding school, my love, I doubt they don't have a infirmery, and acording to Harry it is safe"

"How could he know? He hasn't gone there yet."

"But his parents did, remember? they must have left him something to explain"

"I don't want to lose her" Becky started to cry.

"And you won't, because she'll always be our angel, right?"

George hugged her close to him, "Right" she sniffed.

Right, the last chapter before the Hogwarts letters arrive.

I planned this to be the 11 birthday, but then I thought that Harry hadn't(in my story) got the letter, which, if my mind is in the right place, arrived a week before his birthday, so I changed it to that.

The updates will go back to (hopefully) once a week, and I say hopefully because from now on I'll have a busy life: my school is doing an outing, I'm going to Chicago with my family on the 20 (no computer) to the 25, then I have to catch up on homework the next week, then projects, a musical presentation on May, my final reviwes, my finals.

So yeah, hope for the best, expect the worse, so no one gets dissapointed.

I have nothing more to say.

Goodbye