(replaces chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

Not for the first time, Harry was surprised that he ended up visiting the Williams house. His friend, Benjamin Black, was a gracious host. He had many Muggle books, comic books, and movies that he had insisted Harry at least try. Harry found that he liked some of them, was alright with others, and disliked a few. Whatever Ben was doing something that he enjoyed, Harry was always invited to join in.

The house itself was in the middle of nowhere as far as Harry could tell. It was two stories with four bedrooms made of wood with a metal roof. It had a large porch that wrapped most of the way around the house. It was big and spacious, too, which Harry supposed they could do as they were in America. It was also very Muggle, but unlike the Dursleys', it was full of warmth and, more often than not, slightly dirty.

The members of the Williams family were all very kind to Harry. Charles Williams, Ben's stepfather, was a dark-haired, slightly overweight, good man that seemed to not think before he spoke. He was perfectly reasonable most of the time, but had strange and high expectations for the younger generation. Because of this, he and Ben had a difficult relationship but not a horrible one. He didn't really interact a lot with the Ben or Harry throughout the summer.

Anna Williams was a completely different person. She interacted with them and her other children very regularly and without many of the strange ideas that Mr. Williams had. A kind and loving woman who spoke her mind regularly, and loudly if sufficiently disturbed, Harry found that she would tell him stories of his parents' days at Hogwarts whenever Harry was with her, though she was not close to either of them being younger than the pair. She was horrified at how Snape taught Potions and took it upon herself to teach them both the basics and some techniques for brewing that Snape never taught.

Ben's half-sisters, Joy and Hope Williams, were as different as night and day. Joy, the elder of the sisters, had her father's hair with her mother's smile and was very outgoing and social and would constantly be out with her friends or have her friends over to visit the house. Hope, however, looked very much like her mother and was a quiet soul, more content to, like her brother, stay at home and read. When Harry asked Ben about his sisters one day, he laughed.

"They've always been like that," Harry was told. "I think of myself as the medium between them. I'm not as outgoing or ambitious as Joy, but I'm not as, oh what's the word I was - ah! reserved, I think or reckless as Hope. I don't bring drama, but am able to ride it out and attempt to work it out."

The family also had some pets. Mabel and Rose were the dogs, mixed breeds and very sweet, if a little loud when people came. Ben didn't really interact with them much. When Harry asked why, Ben explained that he had been bitten on the back on two separate occasions from a dog that he did nothing to provoke, making him a little leery of dogs in general. They also had cats, who were named Robin, Tiger, and Jessica. Robin was the oldest and a manx, rather mischievous and he was also an excellent hunter. Tiger was the middle with a solid orange coat and generally a little skittish. Ben seemed to be Tiger's favorite human though as he would often climb onto his lap when he sat down. Jessica was the smallest and youngest, a calico, who often hidden but was rather sweet.

Mr. Williams was an artist who had his shop a short walk away from the house, although most of the family didn't really go out there. Mrs. Williams worked in her gardens, which covered a large amount of the crest of the hill on which the family lived. Whenever he was called to help with the garden, Ben would grumble a little but, especially when Harry volunteered to help, would stop and do what his mother told him to do.

The family would do things together often. Whether they be playing board games, watching movies on the television, or going to the movie theatre, there was generally something that the family did together every few days.

Ben's friends from the muggle world came around to visit occasionally. They were very interesting people. Ben affectionately called them the 'nerd squad', even if his friends rolled their eyes at the title. The first time this happened, Harry had asked if they disliked the title. The group all said that they only disliked the title of the group, not the fact that they were being called nerds. Ben himself said he came up with the title after people from their school called them the group of nerds.

Harry and Ben had been sending letters to their friends from Hogwarts all summer. The past week though, Harry noticed that all his friends seemed to have stopped sending letters to him. He had only noticed because Ben had mentioned that Hermione told him to check with Harry about something she said in a previous letter that Harry didn't get when they were having breakfast with Ben's family.

"That's strange," Ben said, frowning in thought. "Do you think that someone's interfering with your mail?"

Harry thought about it. It seemed possible, but he couldn't think of anybody who would really care if he got mail.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it for now," Ben said. "Now, what'd you like to do?"

Harry looked at Ben in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"For your birthday. I mean, is there anything special that you'd like to do or is it going to be a rather quiet affair?"

Harry thought a bit about it. He honestly wasn't used to celebrating his birthday due to the Dursleys never acknowledging that it was his birthday.

Mr. Williams decided to speak up. "You should have a big party."

Ben rolled his eyes. "We don't have as many friends as you did when you were our age, Charles. And even if we did, we couldn't get them here in time for any party."

"I guess that's true," Mr. Williams admitted grudgingly.

Joy was bouncing in her seat. "We could go out to do something!"

"Staying in's good," Hope said in a quiet voice.

"It's up to Harry," Mrs. Williams said, smiling. "It's his birthday, after all."

Harry thought about it. There weren't really any movies out that he wanted to see. He also didn't want to hang out in a place with a bunch of strangers. He really didn't want to have the Williams go out of the way for him. With that, he decided.

"I'd like to stay here and celebrate, please."

Ben and Mrs. Williams nodded, Hope smiled widely, and Joy and Mr. Williams sulked a little.

Ben made sure that Harry was enjoying himself the entire day. They played board games and watched television shows that Harry was interested in watching, even if Ben had previously stated he wasn't a big fan of them. Hope was frequently included in these activities, even though she was much younger than either of the boys. Mrs. Williams had them take the day off from the chores that they normally did around the house. Joy was recruited by Mrs. Williams to help in their stead. Mr. Williams was a work for most of the day. After dinner, Harry was presented with a cake and some gifts from the family. Ben had given him a book on hexes and curses. Mr. Williams gave him a piece of art from one of the shows that he was a vendor at. Mrs. Williams gave him a book on Potions that Harry avidly read through. When he did return to reality, there was no argument over who gets to watch the telly. All in all, when Harry decided to go upstairs to the room in which he was staying, he honestly couldn't picture a better birthday. He mused about completing that book.

When Harry entered the room, however, he noticed an unexpected guest sitting on his bed.

AN: A new year! Hopefully will be better than the last! (looks at the news) ... Well, maybe socially? Or in my writing? Either way, this is the new chapter! Mostly my own writing, too! As I have always been meaning to say, reviews are appreciated, favorites are encouraging, and I only own the idea, not the franchise.

Uploaded Jan. 10th, 2020