AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, life got really strange over the last month and while I did manage to finish all the planning for year two, I didn't manage to get any chapters written in advance. I also started a new job, which ate up most of my time. I'll get back in the rhythm of writing and posting soon I hope! This is a mini-chapter, because I both didn't have the time to write a full chapter, and wanted to give the events of what will be next chapter their own time without what this chapter sets up getting in the way. Year 2 will be significantly shorter than year 1, as there's not as much to set-up, but hopefully it'll be an enjoyable read regardless. See you next time!

Harry groggily opened his eyes as the morning light beamed through the window. He glanced at the clock he kept beside his bed, a mechanical analog one so as to reduce interference from whatever magic may happen in the room, it read 8 AM. Harry stretched and stood up, going over to Hedwig's cage. She was currently asleep, likely tired from her late night hunt. Harry stroked her for a moment and she made a soft hoot in her sleep, enjoying the attention. Harry then made his way to the restroom to work on his morning routine.

Walking down the stairs a few minutes later, Harry found two notes on the kitchen table. One from Andromeda, and a sealed envelope that appeared to be from Hermione. This got Harry very excited. He had been hoping to hear from any of his friends in the month that he had been living in his new home, but hadn't received any letters at all. He had been starting to think that maybe they had all forgotten him, which had weighed heavily on his heart. At least Hermione hadn't forgotten, although it was strange to Harry that she would wait this long to write.

Harry read Andromeda's note first.

Dear Harry,

Sorry neither Ted or I will be there when you wake up, but he got a call late last night that he's needed at the Hospital, apparently there was some big accident and a bunch of people are hurt, so they need doctors on hand. I unfortunately also had to go because the broom company I've been working for wanted to have a meeting regarding how to improve on the design of next year's model. They're headquartered in Lithuania, which is about three hours ahead of us, so their normal morning meeting is very early for me. I should be home by dinner time, but probably won't be able to cook anything, so I hope you're okay with take-out.

Stay Safe!

Andy

Putting the note away, Harry excitedly grabbed the letter from Hermione. He hastily ripped open the envelope and grabbed the letter inside. Hermione's neat writing greeting him on the page.

Dear Harry,

All of us in the Sphinx Club have tried to write you but you haven't responded to any of our letters. We've all been using owl mail though, so I tried to use muggle post. Glad I thought to ask the Tonks' for their address when I did if you are reading this. Have you been ignoring us? I hope not, I know you might be excited to be spending time with your new family, but even a few words would ease my worries. I've been a little bored without school going on, I did all of our assigned work in the first week we came back, and I read all of the extra books I got for the summer already. I can't even do muggle school work to pass the time, because we can't even get the materials until July.

Oh, I miss you and everyone from the Sphinx Club so much, I didn't have many friends before Hogwarts, and now I have so many good ones. Not seeing you has been hurting my heart. Have you been eating well? Studying? Have you made any new friends at your new home? Oh I've got a month's worth of questions with no answers and it's infuriating! You better write back ASAP! Then I can at least let everyone know that muggle mail works, and I can be a go between for their letters. Everyone's worried about you, you know even Daphne wrote that she was worried about you. Daphne doesn't worry about anything!

Eagerly awaiting a reply,

Hermione Jean Granger

Harry was shocked, they had been writing him but he wasn't getting any letters. He wondered why that would be. Muggle mail seemed to work, so Harry contacted a plan. He'd respond to Hermione, and with that include letters to everyone in the Sphinx Club.

Harry quickly dashed to his room and pulled out 10 sheets of paper, and drafted a letter to each of his friends in the Sphinx Club. He apologized for not responding, and mentioned that he hadn't received any of the letters, and was worried that they'd all forgotten about him. Muggle Mail seemed to work though, so any way they could send letters through that would be good. Harry included the Tonks' address, and answered some questions that they might have had. Harry also wrote that with July 31st being his birthday, that he wanted to invite everyone over to celebrate it with him.

"Hey Hedwig." Harry spoke to his avian friend, who gently hooed as Harry disturbed her from her slumber. "I know you were taking a nap, but could you get these letters to Hermione for me? I need an owl I know will get the job done, and you're the best there is girl." Hedwig let out a strong hoot of pride, and accepted the letters, before giving Harry what he recognized as 'the look'. "Yes, I know, snack first. Meet me in the downstairs window and I'll fry you some fresh bacon. I haven't had breakfast either."

Hedwig hopped out of the window Harry had open, and Harry made his way to the kitchen where he fried a small portion of bacon for he and his bird to share. Hedwig ate hers down happily, before flying off carrying the stack of letters.

Hedwig returned just as night was setting in, and quickly gave Harry a look that said "No more letters today." Attached to her leg was a note that had Hermione's neat writing on the side. Harry grabbed the note and read it.

Dear Harry,

Oh! I'm so glad that the postal system worked, although I do wonder why regular owl mail didn't. If you're reading this one, it seems as though Hedwig made it back to you just fine, so there must be something going on with the other owls. Without access to the Hogwarts library though, I'm at a loss of what to look into to find out what is happening though. If you are reading this letter though, you can ignore the one that should be coming in the mail in a day or so, since it will be mostly the same. If you can call me at Hermione's Phone Number when you get this letter, provided it's not too late. I've sent mail to all of our friends letting them know what's been happening. I told everyone to send me the mail they want to send you and I'll pass it on to you. I'll pass on the letters you sent to me. Everyone will be so excited to hear from you. I'd love to come by for your birthday! I'll have to find you a good present.

See you soon!

Hermione Jean Granger

Harry walked over to the phone that the Tonks' kept in their kitchen and dialed Hermione, letting her know that he did receive her letter from Hedwig, and they briefly discussed theories about why he hadn't been getting any owl mail letters, but Hedwig was capable of getting them to him. Realizing that they didn't have any leads, or any knowledge as to what could cause that, Harry elected to let Andromeda and Ted know, and see if they knew of any possible causes. The pair said goodnight and hung up. The fireplace then roared to life as Andromeda stepped through, and a crack was heard in the backyard as Ted appeared.

"Welcome home Ted, Andy. How was work?" Harry asked, looking at his new guardians. Ted was obviously very tired from his work, and had mostly flopped into one of the chairs that encircled the kitchen table. Andromeda was less tired, but still appeared exhausted.

"Rough, an entire train car of potions workers derailed, which then caused some unstable potions to go up. Spent hours regrowing skin and bones." Ted said, his head finding a resting place on the table. "I hate to ask Harry, but could you make some tea? I'm famished."

"I'll make some, sounds like it was bad. What about you Andy?" Harry asked, moving to start the burner on their stove.

"I'll have some as well please. My day wasn't as bad as Ted's I'm sure, just full of stuffy executives more concerned with making money than quality products. Spent hours convincing them that if they wanted next year's broom to be a significant improvement over this years, they'll need to give us the funding to do it." Andy said, giving Ted a kiss on the cheek before taking a seat beside him. "What about you Harry? How was your day?"

"Great actually, I finally got a letter from Hermione. Turns out normal owl mail isn't getting to me for some reason, but muggle mail did. Turns out everyone from the club has been trying to write. Do you know anything that could do that?" Harry asked, as he filled up the kettle with water before setting it on the stove.

"My first thought would be a mail redirect ward, those get used for if someone needs to screen your mail for you, usually for people like politicians or something. You shouldn't have one though, we'd have been informed when we adopted you so that way we could pick up the safe mail for you." Andromeda said, her face twisted in concentration. "I'd say the owls were getting lost, but 9 owls failing to find you is significant. I'll look into it for you. Tomorrow. Tonight I'm hungry. Who's up for Indian food?"

Ted and Harry cheered, as Andromeda went to the phone and ordered.

Harry had a good meal with his adopted family, and was excited to see what the rest of the summer held.