Chapter 1: Dudley's Birthday

Dudley's birthday party was on the worst day of the year. It wasn't June 23's fault, of course. The date never asked to be the birthday of Harry's horrible cousin, but it was his birthday nonetheless and, therefore, was the day when Dudley's bullying friends came to the Dursley home to terrorize Harry and any other child from Dudley's school who was unlucky enough to be dragged to Privet Drive on the day of the festivities. At least there was cake.

Harry had just finished filling up a plate at the food table in the back garden when his plate was ripped from his hands. He looked up in shock to see Dudley with a wide grin on his round face and Harry's lunch in his thick-fingered hands. "Hey, give that back!" In response, Dudley and his friend Piers started laughing and whacking Harry on the head with balloon swords the party clown had made for them. "Stop that!"

"Thanks for the food, cousin!" said Dudley.

"Fine," said Harry as he rubbed his head where it had been so brutally battered. "You know you're not going to be able to get away with this rubbish for much longer, Dudley."

Dudley laughed. Piers followed suit. "Why? Because you're a freak? Mum says your parents were freaks too."

"I may be a freak but at least I'm not a moron!"

"I know I did not just hear you say that!" said Aunt Petunia, Dudley's mother. Harry sighed. He knew that no matter what Dudley did, in his mother's eyes, he could do no wrong. It also didn't help that Dudley was right when he said his mum thought Harry was a freak. "We welcome you into our home only for you to insult my precious boy on his birthday?" Aunt Petunia wrapped her long, thin arms around her son in a protective hug. Dudley smirked.

"But he started it, he took my lunch!" Harry couldn't help trying to defend himself, even if he knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Your uncle and I spared no expense to make our little Dudley's special day perfect, there's plenty of food so there's no reason to go calling people names over it. I can't imagine my sister, God rest her soul, would be proud to hear the way you're talking to her nephew, so you apologize to your cousin!"

Harry sighed. "Yes, Aunt Petunia." He turned to Dudley. "Sorry Dudley."

"Now go inside and help your Uncle Vernon, he's bringing the presents out so Dudley can open them and there are so many of them!" She said the last part in a tone that was almost braggy, as if she expected this to make Harry feel jealous. It only served to remind him that his cousin was a spoiled brat who would almost certainly have a meltdown if his present pile wasn't taller than he was. Harry went inside without another word.

The Dursley home was tidy and very simply decorated. Warm colors, lots of brown and beige, nothing fun or flashy, and they liked it that way. Family photos hung on a wall in the entryway, and not one of them featured Harry, despite the fact that they were his only living relatives. Harry came from the part of Aunt Petunia's family that the Dursleys felt were too quirky for their strictly normal lifestyle. It seemed that his aunt had no idea what to do with a sister who dared to have a personality or live a life that was so different from her own.

Harry found Uncle Vernon in the kitchen. He was a large man with a neatly combed mustache and, to Aunt Petunia's delight, a very normal desk job in the banking industry. It was immediately clear that Aunt Petunia hadn't been exaggerating about Dudley's presents. The gift pile had started on top of the kitchen table but had quickly cascaded down to fill the chairs and, finally, pooled around the table legs on the floor. Harry couldn't imagine that Dudley's classmates, most of whom were afraid of him, cared so much for him that they would show up with such extravagant gifts for their bully. More probably they were hoping that a big enough gift would placate the birthday boy enough that he'd leave them alone for a while. Besides, Harry was certain that at least half the presents had come from Dudley's parents, as much as they spoiled him, and Uncle Vernon's sister was sure to chip in with multiple presents as well. Even Harry had done his part to contribute. It was a shame that most of it would probably be broken by the end of the next month. There was an entire room upstairs dedicated to Dudley's broken toys.

"There you are, boy. Give me a hand, would you?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry said as he bent down and began to scoop up as many presents as his arms could carry. He struggled under their weight as he waddled to the back door. The more practical thing to do would be to only carry a few at a time, but Harry had no intention of prolonging this nonsense with more trips than necessary.

By the time they were halfway done bringing the gifts out, Harry's arms were really starting to feel the burn and Dudley was crying to his mum that it was taking too long and he wanted to open his presents now. By the time they were done, Aunt Petunia had already pacified Dudley by moving up the cake cutting. And by the time Dudley was tearing into his mountain of boxes and bags, Harry had snagged himself a big piece of cake and had run off to Dudley's room to hide and enjoy his sugar in peace. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon really hadn't spared any expense on this party. The cake was delicious.

After finishing his treat, Harry began to occupy himself by nosily poking through Dudley's things. Fresh new uniforms for a fancy private school hung in the cupboard. A small bookshelf housed a few books that looked like they'd never been opened. The bed was large and unmade, revealing soft sheets covered in little teddy bears. Harry grinned knowing that Dudley would probably die of embarrassment if any of his schoolmates saw them. Too bad he'd murder Harry if he ever told anyone. By the window was a desk where Dudley had tossed a few toys that he hadn't bothered to put away properly, but the thing that Harry was most interested in was the television on the dresser. Harry grabbed the remote and pressed the power button, but nothing happened. Thinking that maybe the batteries were dead, he pressed the power button on the television itself. Still nothing happened, so Harry peered around to the back of the set, only to see that it wasn't even plugged in. Knowing Dudley, it was probably broken like most of his things. The birthday boy was probably unwrapping a new one down in the garden at that very moment.

A glance out the window showed that Dudley had been making pretty good progress on his presents. There was absolutely no way that he was taking the proper time to thank people as he opened, or even to open the card to see who each gift was from. Reluctantly, Harry headed back downstairs to join the party. His aunt and uncle would probably snap at him for wandering off if they happened to notice his absence, and they clearly weren't going to be distracted by their son's presents for much longer.

Harry re-joined the party as the responsibility of entertaining all of the kids until their parents showed up was being passed off to the poor clown. He had succeeded in corralling them all in a cluster, seated on the ground with the birthday boy front and center. Harry took a seat in the back of the group.

"Okay kids, who wants to see some magic?" the clown asked in a very silly voice. Some of the kids cheered and raised their hands. Harry chuckled quietly to himself. The clown squeezed his big, red false nose and made a honking noise with his mouth before reaching into the pocket of his oversized bright, yellow jacket. "Take a look at this!" He pulled out a black rod with white at each end. "This is my special magic wand!" Harry stifled another laugh. "Watch what happens when I wave it around and say the magic words. Abra kadabra!" The clown waved the wand, but nothing happened. "Hmm, it didn't work that time. Maybe if we all tried together? Say the magic words with me on the count of 3! One! Two! Three! Abra kadabra!" The kids joined in that time, except for Harry who wasn't sure if he should be saying things like that. This time, when the clown waved his wand it transformed into a colorful bouquet of flowers. This was met with a round of applause.

"Harry! Time to go!" said Aunt Petunia as she leaned out the back door. Harry glanced down at his watch. Three o'clock on the dot. He grinned and eagerly got to his feet.

"Everyone, wave goodbye to Harry!" said the clown. Several of the kids waved. Dudley scoffed impatiently. "Have a magical day!"

"I'm sure I will," said Harry as he ran back into the house and made his way to the front entrance and fell into Sirius's waiting arms. He was never as happy to see his godfather as he was when he was picking him up from another visit with the Dursleys.

"There you are, Harry! I see you're still all in one piece. I told you it wouldn't be so bad."

"Could be worse, I guess," Harry said as they were joined in the entryway by his aunt and uncle.

"A quick word before you head off?" Uncle Vernon asked, his voice a bit quieter than usual.

"Of course, Vernon, I've always got time for you and your family."

"You haven't been sending us any messages from… your people have you?"

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Those bird messages your people like sending each other," Aunt Petunia cut in, being a bit more direct. Her arms were crossed in front of her stomach in a protective stance.

"Not from me, I assure you," Sirius replied, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion. "We respect your wishes to not be contacted in such a manner. I installed a landline in our home specifically for your family. Have you been receiving letters by owl post?"

"No, of course not," Vernon said quickly. "Forget I mentioned it." He cleared his throat and his voice returned to its normal volume. "Have you got everything, boy?"

"Er, yes I'm all set," said Harry.

"Thank your aunt and uncle, Harry," Sirius said.

"Thank you for having me," Harry said as he shared an awkward side hug with Aunt Petunia and a quick handshake with Uncle Vernon.

"Thank you for Dudley's present, he absolutely loved it," said Aunt Petunia, even though Harry was pretty sure that neither she nor Dudley could remember what it was that they gave him.

"I'm pleased to hear, you all take care," Sirius said as he and Harry finally headed out the door and started to walk down Privet Drive. "What was that about?" he asked once they hit the sidewalk.

"No clue," siad Harry. "Do you think someone from the Wizarding World is sending them letters?" He and Sirius, much like Harry's deceased parents before him, were wizards. As far as the Dursleys were concerned, magical people were the absolute worst and most freakish kind of people imaginable. They barely seemed to tolerate Harry, only allowing him into their lives at all due to their family ties. So if they were suddenly getting letters delivered by owl, the preferred postage method in the Wizarding World, they were undoubtedly horrified beyond belief.

"I'm sure they just saw a wild owl and let their imaginations get the best of them," Sirius said with a chuckle. Harry laughed at the thought of Uncle Vernon taking out the trash and being startled by an innocent hoot. After the mysterious double murder of his parents when he was only a year old, Harry was incredibly fortunate to have his godfather to step up and raise him. He couldn't imagine how horrible it would have been if he'd been taken in by the Dursleys instead.

"Yeah considering how much they hate me just for being a wizard, I'm sure an owl would really freak him out."

"Oh, Harry." Sirius wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "They don't hate you. Trust me, I know what it looks like when your family hates you. They don't invite you to their son's birthday party."

Harry let his head fall against Sirius's chest. His godfather had been disowned by his family in his teens for not sharing in the Black family ideals of blood purity and wizard kind's superiority over all other beings. He'd been taken in by the Potters, Harry's father's family, who he often spoke of very fondly. Yet somehow, without Sirius's brother around, he was still the one to inherit his parents' money and the family home, where he now raised Harry.

"I think we're a safe enough distance away," Sirius said once they reached the intersection. He and Harry glanced around, but didn't see anyone. Harry took his godfather's outstretched hand, and the two of them disappeared, leaving Privet Drive and the Dursleys behind.