One week into our stay back at the Dursley's and I was already going mad.

Like last summer as soon as me and Harry stepped back into the hell scape known as 4 Privet Drive. Everything that had to do with magic had been taken from us and locked in the cupboard under the stairs. Our wands, books, robes, broomsticks, anything at all that the Dursley's had seen as relating to, in there words, "Our Freakish Lives."

Now of course our wands, robes, and such weren't actually needed. Given we couldn't use magic outside of Hogwarts our wands were currently worthless. And despite hating us, the Dursley's did give us enough hand me down from Dudley, and thrift store junk to clothe ourselves.

The real problem was our textbooks. Despite Exams having been cancelled for the end of last year, all the home work for next year still needed to be completed. And despite my natural smarts, that could only take me so far. Doubly so for Harry.

So we'd both waited for an opportunity, and finally we'd been given one. As Uncle Vernon had come home from work one day beaming. It had been four days since we'd returned to Privet drive.

"Petunia! Dudley! Come quick! Grunnings..." The drill manufacturing company he'd worked at. "...has gifted me a new car!" Vernon said, then frowned when he saw me and Harry. "And you two stay inside at all costs. Remember you're not to speak a word to any neighbor."

And with the Vernon had gone back outside, Aunt Petunia and Dudley both quickly followed him.

"See!" Vernon said rather loudly, clearly wanting the whole neighbor to here. "Brand new, straight of the lot."

"That's wonderful dear!" Petunia added, clearly also trying to make the neighbors aware.

"Yeah dad, it's amazing!" Dudley praised.

"Now let me show you the cupholders..."

I blocked out the noise of the Dursleys and turned to Harry.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked.

"Get our textbooks while we have a chance." Harry replied. "Yes lets."

And with that Harry went found a pin in a kitchen drawer, leaned down in front of the cupboard, and began trying to pick the lock. All the while I stood watch in case the Dursley's started coming back inside. Luckily there loud boasting of Vernon's new company car lasted and Harry was able to pick the lock, as the two of us grabbed all the textbooks we would for our homework, as well as some parchment and Quills.. After we got all we needed, Harry relocked to Cupboard, and we raced up to our shared room, hiding everything around our room, and out of site from the Dursleys.

"As long as we don't get any ink anywhere, we should be able to study and do our school work at night." Harry said as we finished hiding all the things under a loose floor board under our bed.

"Indeed." I smirked amused. "Those three will be none the wiser."

Two days passed, and both me and Harry now had a system going of how we'd do our homework. Each night one of us would do there work, then the next night the other would. We had to take turns as we only had one flashlight to see.

Harry had particularly complained about a shrinking potions essay Professor Snape had given us, and though I'd tried to softly coach him through it, it'd still been a pain for him.

However it wasn't our homework routine that caused us the first amount of trouble with the Dursley's, but a phone call...

Both me and Harry were doing our usual slave labor around the house, Harry had just gotten done taking out the trash while I was finishing up washing the dishes when the phone rang and Uncle Vernon had answered.

"Vernon Dursley speaking." Uncle Vernon said.

"HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I—WANT—TO—TALK—TO—HARRY—POTTER!" Ron had screamed through the telephone.

Both me and Harry looked at each other in horror. Ron, of course, didn't know the slightest thing about a telephone or how they worked, and to make matters worse Uncle Vernon looked furious as he had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"WHO IS THIS?" Uncle Vernon replied in a furious roar. "WHO ARE YOU?"

"RON—WEASLEY!" Ron replied as if he were trying to talk to someone who was a continent away. "I'M—A —FRIEND—OF—HARRY'S—AND—SARAH— FROM—SCHOOL—"

Uncle Vernon turned and glared at me and Harry in fury, then turned back to the phone.

"THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER OR SARAH POTTER HERE!" Vernon screamed, holding the phone as it it were a ticking time bomb. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!"

He slammed the phone back on the dock, hanging up, then turned to Harry and I, and then berated us both for over an hour, spit flying everywhere.

"HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE— PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Vernon spat in horror. "NOW BOTH OF YOU TO YOUR ROOM FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT! AND NO DINNER!"

Me and Harry bolted up the stairs, closing the door and sharing a look.

"Well that was dreadful." I said, wringing my hands and taking a deep breath.

"I should have been more specific with Ron on how to use a telephone." Harry sighed, running a hand through his tangled hair. "Well, at least it's over."

I nodded. "Yeah. It is."

It was in fact not over. As two days after Ron had called, there was another call. This time Aunt Petunia answered the phone and put it on speaker while she oversaw me peeling potatoes.

"Petunia Dursley." She spoke.

"Yes um, is Sarah there?" Lisa asked in a soft, polite voice.

However the result was the same as when Ron had called, as Petunia shrieked.

"VERNON! IT'S ANOTHER FREAK CALLING!" She screamed in horror as Vernon raced into the room and picked up the phone.

"I ALREADY TOLD THAT OTHER BOY! NEITHER A SARAH OR HARRY POTTER LIVE HERE!" Vernon screamed into the phone.

"Excuse me? But I know they do. I saw them go with you at King's cross." Lisa replied firmly, already clearly annoyed.

"YOU'RE CONFUSED GIRL!" Vernon roared.

"No, you just don't want me to talk to her because you're a bunch of abusive gits." Lisa replied, as usual not able to hold back her disdain for the Dursley's any longer.

"EXCUSE ME! HOW DARE YOU!" Vernon roared, Petunia was also shaking with rage.

"You heard me walrus." Lisa replied venomously.

I sighed as my stomach dropped further. Though everything Lisa said was true, and Vernon did look like a fat walrus. But all this would to was make the Dursleys worse than ever before...

"YOU LITTLE...YOUR PARENT'S OUGHT TO BEAT YOU!" Vernon roared.

"Whatever you say Walrus, at least I don't look like a planet could orbit me." Lisa spat back.

"ENOUGH! NEVER CALL HERE AGAIN!" Vernon then slammed the receiver down, and turned to me. "ROOM NOW! AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL I TELL YOU TO!"

I quickly scurried up stairs and shut the door, Harry eyes widened as he sat up from the bed.

"What happened?" Harry asked nervously.

"Lisa called." I began.

"Oh...oh no." Harry replied, knowing how Lisa could be.

"Yeah, she called Uncle Vernon a Walrus and said the Dursleys were child abusers. Of course it's all true mind you but..." I sighed.

"We're not to leave the room again are we?" Harry asked.

"No, we aren't. "I sighed sitting on the bed next to Harry.

"Well, hopefully it won't last as long as the time after the zoo." Harry replied.

"Yeah, hopefully not."

After that the Dursley's hadn't let us out for a good two weeks. And none of our friends had tried to call us again, in fact we hadn't heard from any of them. I assumed Lisa and Ron had told Hermione and Anthony not to call.

Even after the two weeks and being let out again, our lives were still miserable. The chores, the isolation, the fact we could only work on our homework by night. It was dreadful. Not that I expected anything less of course, this was the Dursleys, and they hated both mine and Harry's guts.

I laid in bed on one of the nights Harry was doing his home work. It had been five weeks since since we'd gotten back to the Dursleys. Five dreadful weeks. Five weeks since Hogwarts, since we'd heard from our friends, anything.

I felt as if I was going mad with boredom

I looked over at Harry. He was currently under the covers on he stomach, under the covers like a little kid who was scared of the Dark. Though I couldn't see his face, I knew what he was reading. A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. And I could tell from the pace him flipping the pages that he was bored out of his mind trying to write his essay about witch burnings in the Fourteenth Century being totally worthless from Professor Binns History of Magic Class, a essay I had completed last night.

I listened as Harry slowly and as Quietly as possible wrote his essay. I heard Harry pause writing, and the only noise was the distant snoring of Dudley. I heard Harry yawn and start to come out from under the covers.

"I'll finish this tomorrow." He whispered to me, I nodded.

"Sounds good." I replied in the same low tone.

Harry then pulled a pillowcase he'd been using to hold his books, quills, and such, out from under the bed. Put History of Magic, his essay, and quill and ink inside the pillowcase, then silently climbed out of bed and hid the pillowcase in the loose floorboard.

He then stretched, and checked the alarm clock, his eyes widening.

"It's one AM. We've been thirteen for an hour now." He said.

My eyes widened slightly in surprise, then I shrugged.

"It's not like we ever get anything anyways, the Dursley's will just forget again anyways." I replied. Sure, becoming a teenager should be a big deal for both me and Harry, but seeing as our birthday's were always forgotten, they never seemed like a bid deal.

Harry gave a sad, defeated smile. "Yeah." He replied simply, as he silently walked over to the window, past the empty cages of Uric and Hedwig.

"I'm glad Uncle Vernon finally let us let them out of there cages at night, even if he made us promise not to send any of our friends letters." I said softly, referring to the two owls.

Harry nodded, leaning against the window seal and looking out into the night sky. "Me too." Harry replied.

There were a few moments of silence. Me still sitting up in bed, Harry just staring out into the night sky. I finally got out of bed myself, stretching as I noticed Harry's eyes widen. I tilted my head in confusion, but before I could ask what was going on Harry quickly stepped back from the window as four owls flew into our room, three carrying a fourth whom looked to be unconscious.

The three conscious owls gently laid the unconscious on our bed and then all landed themselves. Me and Harry quietly rushed over and saw that the unconscious owl was Errol, a owl owned by the Weasley's family. Around Errol's legs a large piece of parchment was tied.

Harry and me raced over to Errol, I held the owl gently while Harry untied the cords around Errol's leg and put the parchment on the bed. Once this was done Harry gently carried Errol of to Hedwig's cage. Errol gave Harry and I a thankful hoot, and then began to drink from the water bowl inside Hedwig's cage.

We then turned back to the three other owls. We noticed that both Hedwig, Uric, and the fourth owl whom neither of us knew were carrying parchments' too, the fourth unknown owl in addition was carrying our Hogwarts letters for this year, and we both quickly surmised were the fourth owl was from.

Me and Harry first took the letters, and parchment from the fourth, unnamed owl. The owl gave us a nod stretched it's wings, then flew off.

"Want to open Errol's package first?" I asked in a whisper.

Harry nodded, and silently we both opened the package to reveal a birthday card with both our named on it. My eyes widened in surprise and I had to stop myself from crying out tears of joy as I watched Harry open the card, two pieces of parchment flew out, a letter and a torn our clip from the Daily Prophet.

I looked over Harry's shoulder as he smoothed out the clipping as we began to read.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE

SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.

A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend.

Me and Harry looked at each other with smiles.

"Good for them, they deserve a vacation. Especially poor Ginny after last year." I said softly.

Harry nodded. "They really do." He smiled, as we turned back to the clipping.

On the front page was a picture of the entire Weasley family. I'd never met the oldest two, Bill and Charlie, and Harry had only encountered Charlie for a short moment during first year when he'd snuck Norbert out of the castle.

The entire Weasley family was smiling and waving to us in front of a large pyramid. They'd even taken Ron's pet rat Scabbers, who was perched atop Ron's shoulder. We both smiled at the sight, then Harry picked up the letter from Ron, as I read over his shoulder.

Dear Harry and Sarah,

Happy birthday!

Look, I'm really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted.

It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.

I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.

Me and Harry shared a look. I remembered the horror stories from last year due to Ron's wand, and was very thankful he'd be getting a new one.

We then turned back to the letter, and kept reading.

We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you two there?

Don't let the Muggles get either of you down!

Try and come to London,

Ron

PS. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.

Both me and Harry shared another look at the mention of Percy being head boy, glancing at him in the photograph. He looked really proud of himself, his head boy badge was pinned to the fez he was wearing proudly.

The two of us then turned to the present Ron had sent. Harry slowly and quietly tore open the parchment. Inside were two small spinning tops made of glass, and a letter of explanation from Ron.

Harry and Sarah—these are Pocket Sneakoscope's. If there's someone untrustworthy around, they're supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and aren't reliable, because they kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.

Bye—

Ron

Me and Harry shared amused glances at the mention of Fred and George, then placed the pair of Pocket Sneakoscope's on the nightstand next to our bed. Then me and Harry turned our attention to the packages Hedwig and Uric had brought us.

"You open Hedwig's first." I say in a whisper.

Harry nods and reaches for the package that Hedwig had brought, and silently opened it. Like with Ron, it contained a letter, a card, and a rather large present. Harry first opened the letter, and I read it again over his shoulder.

Dear Harry and Sarah,

Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you two are all right. Lisa also called and mentioned her call and, well I do hope you two weren't in to much trouble for her words.

I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you two—what if they'd opened it at customs?— but then Hedwig and Uric turned up! I think they wanted to make sure you got something for your birthdays for a change. Sarah's present is with Uric. I bought your presents by owl-order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world). Did you two see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous—the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.

There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out. I hope it's not too long—it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.

Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you two make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you two come? I really hope you both can. If not, I'll see you both on the Hogwarts Express on September first!

Love from

Hermione

PS. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased. Ron doesn't seem too happy about it.

Me and Harry both had to hold back from laughing to loud at Hermione's final words, then turned out attention to the two, rather large, wrapped presents.

"If I know Hermione, she'll have sent us a thick book full of advanced spells." Harry guessed in a whisper.

"I'd be fine with that, more than fine actually." I whispered back.

Harry rolled his eyes playfully then. "Of course you would."

At the same time we both turned to the two large packages Hermione had sent, one for each of us. Both packages were heavy, and I could only wonder what Hermione had sent us that would be this bulky.

Me and Harry tore into the wrapping paper of our respective gifts, and our eyes widened at the sight before us. They were two large, black leather cases. In neat silver writing across the top were the words Broomstick Servicing Kit, both me and Harry smiled brightly and shared a excited look.

"Wow, Hermione!" Harry said in a whisper, clearly excited as he opened up his package. Seeing as they were the same thing, I decided not to open mine as to not make a mess and just see what was inside Harry's, seeing as what was in mine would be the same.

Inside were multiple tools to help one take good care of there broomstick. From a set of Tail-Twig Clippers, a small compass so you could tell your direction if traveling by broom in long directions, a large bottle of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, finally there was a book titled Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.

"This is really sweet of her, of both her and Ron." I comment, motioning to the package.

Harry nodded. "I know." Harry smiled, as we put the two leather cases aside, and turned to the last parcel Hedwig had been carrying.

It was clear from the handwriting that this was from Hagrid, with the thick brown wrapping paper and the unrefined handwriting. Together me and Harry opened the parcels and both of us gazed at what green and leathery. However before we could go any farther, the items seemed to growl and snap at us, and me and Harry shared a look.

Of course Hagrid had a knack for creatures that weren't exactly acceptable to the average thirteen year old, Norbert, Aragog, and Fluffy being fine examples.

Me and Harry shared another look, in a way this wasn't that surprising. Still, what on earth on Hagrid gotten us that would snap like this?

I let Harry take the lead as he poked at the item nervously. Again it snapped, a little louder this time. Harry reached for the lamp on our bedside table, just in case. Me and him shared another look, Harry readied to strike with the lamp if need be, raising it over his head. Then Harry gripped the rest of the brown wrapping paper, took a deep breath and pulled.

And what fell out of the wrapping paper wasn't a dragon, three headed dog, or larger spider, but a book. The book had a dark green color, and on the front written in golden lettering was a title, The Monster Book of Monsters,

And true to the title of the book, it started to move causing me to gasp as it scurried along our bed.

"Uh-oh," Muttered Harry, while I simply looked at my copy and gently placed it back in it's wrapping paper, deciding to ask Hagrid what in the world it was when we next saw him.

As for Harry's copy, it had scurried off our bed and began to hurry across the floor. It was fast, and Harry began to give chase as quietly as he can while I watched on in both worry, and amusement. Finally Harry was able to corner it under our shared desk. Harry took a deep breath, got down on all fours, then reached for the book.

"Ouch!" Harry said, causing me to flinch in worry. I saw the book had closed on him as if it were biting. It raced past Harry who again gave chance, me backing away with a shake of my head. Eventually Harry dove and managed to land on top of it, flattening it. Both me and Harry froze and listened to hear if the Dursley's had waken. Luckily all we heard was a grunt from Uncle Vernon, but he did not wake.

Me and Harry wasted no time as Harry picked his copy of the book up while I did the same for mine. His was still very angry and tried to open, while mine was still seemingly asleep. We both silently raced over to our chest of drawers, pulled out two spare belts, and secured a belt around each book. Harry's was still angry and kept trying to open to no avail, while mine remained sleeping.

"Well that was fun." I said sarcastically.

"You could say that again." Harry replied, as he reached for the shared card Hagrid had sent both of us.

Dear Harry and Sarah,

Happy birthday to you both!

Think you two might find these useful for next year. Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating you both right.

All the best,

Hagrid

Me and Harry shared a amused look.

"That's so Hagrid." I said in a whisper shaking my head.

"It really is." Harry replied sighing while smiling.

We then turned our attentions to the parcel's that Uric had brought. There were two of them, and it was easy to tell that Uric had brought gifts and letters from Anthony and Lisa. This time I was the one to lead while Harry watched. As I opened Lisa's parcel first.

Like with Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid, it contained both a letter, and a set of gifts for the both of us. I first picked up the letter and began to read, Harry doing the same over my shoulder.

Dear Sarah and Harry,

First I would like to apologize to the both of you for getting into a fight with your uncle over the phone. Not that the man didn't deserve a good tongue lashing, but for the fact that I know you two must have suffered as a result and I hope the results of my word's weren't to severe.

Second, Happy Birthday to both of you! Enclosed in this letter are gifts I think both of you will love. Unfortunately my parents are attending a teaching seminar in New York City this summer, and made me go with them. It's dreadful outside of the few days my parent's will actually take me to do anything. Alas, tis the life of a Teacher's child.

I won't be back until September 1st, so I won't see either of you until the Hogwarts express. Again I hope you accept my apology, and accept my gifts.

With best regards

Lisa

P.S your uncle really does look like a walrus.

Me and Harry had to hold back laughter at the last comment.

"She really doesn't hide how she feels, does she?" Harry comments in a amused whisper.

"Oh I know, trust me, I dorm with her." I reply

I then turned to the gifts she'd wrapped. Two medium sized packages, along with a card. I decided to save the card and surprise, and first handed one of the parcel's to Harry, as we again tore open the wrapping paper, and stared at a pair of silver boxes, inside of which were some thick books titled Flying Through History: Top Quidditch Moves for Students, and How to Master Them.

"Aw." I said as we both flipped through the books. As the title said, there were so many complex moves, and how one would do them.

Harry was completely enthralled by a move where the seeker would turn upside down, drop off there broom while going in a circle to catch the snitch, then landing back on said broom perfectly unharmed.

"Wicked." Harry muttered in amazement.

We then both turned towards the card that Lisa gave us with the books.

Sarah and Harry.

I thought you'd both like these given your love for Quidditch. All I ask is you set me up with some good seats when you go professional.

Lisa

P.S. I better get a cut of your winnings for helping you along.

Me and Harry both smiled again at her last comment, I shaking my head.

"Same old Lisa." I smiled.

We both put the books down then turned to the second and last package from Uric, which was obviously from Anthony. Like every other package there was two parcels, with a letter. I unfolded the letter, and begin to read.

Sarah and Harry.

Happy Birthday you two! It has been a real pleasure to get to know you two over the last two years. I do hope your summer hasn't been to awful, though from what Ron and Lisa have told me about there phone calls I doubt it's been pleasant.

My Holiday has been rather normal. Unlike what you've heard from Lisa, Ron, and Hermione, my family has no plans to go anywhere for the summer. Not that I'm complaining, there's more than enough books in my family library to last me until the school year.

Any way's given I'm still here maybe you two could drop at some time this summer? My parent's said you'd be free anytime you felt. I know your Aunt and Uncle are difficult, but if you ever manage to get out of there, you're free to stay at my place.

Again, can't wait to see you two. Hopefully this school year is a lot less dangerous than the last two years, though knowing how danger follows Harry like a moth to light, I doubt it (only joking) Have a good rest of your summers!

Your friend Anthony

With that we turned to the packages, they were quite a bit smaller than Lisa's, more so the size of Ron's. Me and Harry gently tore off the wrapping paper and found a pair of red boxes, and bright yellow writing that read Owl's Grooming Supplies!

Inside there were indeed what it said on the tin grooming supplies for our Owl's, including trimmers, brushes, and so forth. Me and Harry shared a glance, then looked at Uric, Hedwig, and the still present Errol. Before I turned the card Anthony had left, and read it.

Harry and Sarah.

I know it's not the most exciting, but I know how much Uric and Hedwig mean to you both, so I decided to make there grooming and care easier. Trust me from experience, it'll be worth it in the long run.

Anthony

We both smiled and turned to the three Owl's. Errol was still resting in Hedwig's cage and didn't seem to care, but both Hedwig and Uric tilted there heads , while looking both intrigued and nervous. I couldn't help but chuckle as I walked over and patted Uric on the head.

"It's okay dear, I'll be gentle when the time comes." I promise.

Uric simply hoots in response, Harry pats Hedwig then the two of us turn to the last two parcels that the fourth, now absent Owl. The parcel contained our usual Hogwarts letters, which outside of the prefix was the exactly the same. I tore my envelope open and read my letter.

Dear Miss Potter,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.

Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.

A list of books for next year is enclosed.

Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Indeed inside the envelope was also a permission form to Hogsmeade. Both of us were excited, but dreading having to ask Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign. Still, there wasn't much to be done about it now as we both turned to the time.

It was now two in the morning, and I couldn't help but yawn.

"We'll stress about these in the morning." I said in a whisper, holding up the permission forms. "For now let's get to bed."

Harry nodded. "Let's."

With that we put all the parcels, letters, presents, and such away. We put the card's on our respective night stands. Then started to climb into bed. Harry reached up and crossed another day off the calendar we'd been counting down the day's back to Hogwarts on.

As I laid down and closed my eyes, I realized...for one of the few times in my memory, our birthday actually contained joy and happiness.

And as I fell asleep, I realized I could get used to that.