Harry Potter stirred in his bed.
Scratch. Dink.
"Wha?" he stretched and yawned and rolled over to find
three owls pecking at his window. He glanced at his
clock; it read 1:30 a.m.
He suddenly remembered it was his birthday. He sat up,
swung his legs over the side of his bed and made his
way to the window to let the owls in. All three bore
letters; they hopped in and onto the dresser that sat
even with the window. The first, a dusty brown barn
owl, was carrying a letter and package from Hogwarts.
The second package was clearly from Ron, as it was
delivered by his owl, Pig. As for the third, Harry was
clueless as to its sender.
Harry picked up Ron’s package; it was so heavy, he
wondered how Pig had been able to carry it. A box of
Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans fell out, along with
a homemade birthday cake.
He anxiously opened the letter:
Dear Harry,
Happy birthday. I hope you like the gift. I bought the
beans, and my mom baked the cake. I hope the Dursleys
aren't treating you badly. Write back quickly if you'd
like to stay at the Burrow for the rest of the
holidays. We can pick you up.
Happy birthday again!
Ron
Harry set aside the delicious cake to keep himself
from eating it while he dealth with the other two
owls. Judging from the crude wrapping of the package
the Hogwarts owl carried, Harry guessed it was from
Hagrid. Inside, he found Hagrid's own treacle fudge
and the usual happy birthday card. Smiling, he set it
aside and opened the other letter.
In neat handwriting, the supplies he would need for
the coming school year were listed. His breath caught
in his throat when he read the P.S.:
Harry Potter is hereby reinstated to the Gryffindor
Quidditch Team and will serve this season as its
seeker and captain.
Harry had already been very happy about Ron's
suggestion and the delicious food. He was now verging
on ecstatic over being back on the Gryffindor
Quidditch Team -- and as the seeker and captain on top
of it all.
The last owl, it turned out, was from Hermione. The
letter he bore was very thin, and Harry wondered what
it could possibly say. His heart fluttered. He had
begun to think over the summer about everything they
had been through since they had become friends five
years ago -- and he was beginning to hope their
relationship might come to be more then mere
friendship. Holding his breath, he opened the
envelope, and all that fell out was a small parchment.
He unrolled it.
Meet me outside Gringotts, Saturday, 1 p.m.
-- Hermione
Harry had absolutely no clue what this could mean, but
he was very excited and intrigued nonetheless. He
wondered if it meant she wanted to give him something
too big to send by owl ... or something else ...
Wait, Harry stopped himself. Could she
possibly have feelings toward me? Or am I just
projecting that on Hermione because I'm starting to
have feelings for her?
Shoving those thoughts out of his head, Harry grabbed
a fresh parchment and quill and took to writing
quickly back to Ron.
Ron,
Of course I will come!
I got my letter from Hogwarts, and it said that I
could be on the Quidditch team again -- as the seeker
and captain!
Hermione sent me this weird card, I will tell you
about it when I get there.
Pick me up on Friday at 9 a.m.
See you then!
-- Harry
Harry couldn’t wait to go to the Burrow. He was
getting sick of Dudley's complaining about his meals.
And he was getting sick of Petunia's making him follow
Dudley's diet; it was intended to make Dudley feel
better, but Harry was smart enough to hide sweets and
cakes under the loose floorboard in his bedroom.
His thoughts returned to Hermione; when he did this,
the blood rushed to his head and his heart started to
pound faster. Adrenaline started to pump through his
veins. He couldn’t wait until Saturday. He was still
wondering what exactly Hermione was thinking.
Will she tell me she loves me? Harry wished.
What will Ron think?
Ron had, after all, once told Hermione he loved her.
Hermione had rejected him and explain at length so Ron
wouldn’t go mad.
It was finally Friday; Harry awoke bright and early in
anticipation of getting to see Ron, being able to
practice Quidditch on his Firebolt, to be immersed in
magical surroundings and out of the Muggle world.
Friday meant that tomorrow would be Saturday, and
Harry started to think more about the card from
Hermione. He was now even more anxious and confused.
Maybe I shouldn't jump to conclusions, he
thought. Maybe she doesn't want more than
friendship.
He went to the kitchen to find Dudley in one of his
usual tantrums about his breakfast.
"Eat your grape fruit or no pie," snapped Petunia.
Harry smiled to himself. Nothing could make him mad
today, not his Uncle Vernon’s criticizing, not
Petunia's nagging, not Dudley's whining. He only had
to wait another couple hours to go to the Burrow.
At 9 on the dot, the Weasleys arrived just as they had
two years prior -- causing just as big a ruckus.
In a cloud of smoke, Mr. Weasley came through the
fireplace first, followed by Ron, then Mrs. Weasley.
“AAAAHHHH,” Dudley ran to his room in terror, afraid
that the Weasley twins -- who had once caused his
tongue go grow to ten times its usual size -- would
also be coming through the fire at any moment.
"Hello, Harry!" Mr. Weasley beamed. "Got all your
things?"
Uncle Vernon grunted in fury, causing Mr. Weasley to
spin around.
"Oh! Why hello there ... uh ... Vernon. Uh ... can you
tell me about the wonders of elteckticy, or whatever
you call it? I've been so curious to find out its
qualities,” he tried to make conversation.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE
DOING HERE?" he roared.
Harry gulped.
"I WAS NEVER INFORMED OF YOUR COMING. YOU SCOUNDRELS
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Vernon hollered.
The Weasleys and Harry took a collective step back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I have to do this to you," Mrs.
Weasley said under her breath and cast a light
stunning spell on Vernon. (The Ministry of Magic would
laver have to modify the Dursleys' memories so they
wouldn’t beat Harry when he returned.)
"Quickly now!" Mr. Weasley proclaimed, and they
gathered Harry's belongings. Ron grabbed the Firebolt.
("Can I ride the Firebolt when we get back,” he said
out of the side of his mouth to Harry.) He was so
anxious that he almost broke it.
Vernon began to stir, and Mr. Weasley helped him up.
“Can you tell me how the Muggle post works?" he asked,
trying again to make conversation. Mrs. Weasley
dragged him away, knowing well Vernon would not be
answering.
Vernon shook his head and sneezed.
“GET OUT OF MY HOME!” Vernon's rage grew when he
realized he was covered in soot.
As Harry stepped into the fireplace and threw down the
floo powder, he went from the anxiety of the Dursleys
to the anxiety of thinking about Hermione. I can
hardly wait, he thought, smiling as his body
twisted through the Floo Network.