Owl Post
It was a relief for Harry when Madam Pomfrey refused to allow Elder Black to leave his hospital bed for several days. Although he had a sneaky suspicion that it would become harder to pick back up reading, the longer he was allowed to put it off. Getting to know his great grandfather was strange in and of itself though and certainly provided a distraction. The entire Black family seemed to come around him, eager to help him much to his annoyance.
He frequently complained under his breath that they were all suffocating him with their loving care, although it was clear from his expression he was enjoying their concern all the same.
Three days passed before Madam Pomfrey agreed that Arcturus could leave the hospital. It was just after lunch and they used the rest of the day to show Arcturus their suite of chambers. They were pleased to note that Mother Magic had added another room to their chambers so that Arcturus could stay with them. With Arcturus's leaving the hospital, everyone else was eager to restart reading. Harry felt like a heavy weight had settled in his stomach. It would seem he was the only one who didn't want to read the book though because even younger Harry was eagerly anticipating the chance to hear more about his future self's time at Hogwarts.
"What happened in your third year?" he asked eagerly the night before they were due to start reading once again.
"You'll find out tomorrow," he teased. He still hadn't quite gotten used to having his younger self with him. Or how protective he felt of him. It gave him a new perspective on just how wrong his life was. The boy who he used to be was just so small, so vulnerable. So unprotected.
Not any more. He has me, Harry told himself, and Sirius too.
Sirius surprised Harry by taking on the role of parent in a practical way and sending them to bed early so they'd be ready to start reading once more. But Harry couldn't sleep. He was nervous. Scared even. He considered some of the things he'd said about Sirius before he learned that he was innocent and he worried what Sirius would think. Would he forgive him?
His godfather eyed him with concern the next morning, noticing the dark bruises under his eyes as he went off to his pre-breakfast training session. Arcturus frowned too, as he looked up from the book he was reading. He was close to finishing the first book and was horrified by what his great-grandson had experienced. Harry should have been with him. Protected. Safe. And yet he'd nearly died multiple times in his first year alone.
Harry went through the motions, running laps around the chamber, much quicker than his peers, almost enjoying the strain of his muscles, casting the defensive and offensive spells that Mad Eye was teaching them, eating his breakfast as everyone chatted away about what would happen in the next book.
"Oi Potter!" Draco called across the table, looking mildly concerned.
His mother tutted beside him.
Harry didn't even react.
"Oi Potter, isn't this the year you blew up your aunt?"
Several people gasped in shock and Harry blinked. "Er... Yeah."
"You blew up Tuney?" Severus asked with an eager glint in his eyes.
"No. Not Petunia."
"But you don't have-" Severus continued.
"Uncle Vernon's sister," Harry muttered. "Aunt Marge."
After that everyone seemed to eat even quicker. It didn't look like this could be put off any longer, Harry realised. They all wandered through to the main chamber, Arcturus sitting in a deep and comfortable looking armchair next to their sofa. Professor Flitwick grabbed the book and cast the spell as silence took hold of the crowd.
Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy... And he also happened to be a wizard.
"Weren't your school things locked away?" Minerva asked.
"Yeah, but I managed to sneak some of my books out of my trunk."
It was nearly midnight... he'd probably find himself locked in the cupboard under the stairs for the rest of the summer.
"I really hope we don't have to read too much about Potter's awful relatives in this book," Malfoy muttered to his younger self.
The Dursley family of Number Four... were Harry's only living relatives.
Arcturus tutted. It wasn't right that his great grandson didn't even know that he had family beyond these awful people.
They were Muggles... they would be able to squash the magic out of him.
Everyone glared at the book.
To their fury... forbid him to talk to the neighbors.
Minerva tutted. She had told Albus that Harry shouldn't live with them and she had been right.
This separation from his spell books had been a real problem for Harry... the Dursleys need never know that he was studying magic by night.
The teachers were impressed by his determination to study even if the results were unlikely to be impressive. This was not an environment conducive to learning.
Harry was particularly keen to avoid trouble... a telephone call from a fellow wizard one week into the school vacation.
Ron blushed slightly. He hadn't meant to get Harry in trouble.
Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts... I -- WANT -- TO -- TALK -- TO -- HARRY -- POTTER!"
The muggle raised in the chamber shook their heads in disappointment while several people laughed.
Ron was yelling... DON'T YOU COME NEAR MY FAMILY!"
"Sorry, mate," Ron said, rubbing his hand through his hair awkwardly.
And he threw the receiver back... spraying Harry with spit.
"Eww," young Draco grumbled.
Ron obviously realized that he'd gotten Harry into trouble... and this summer was turning out to be almost as bad as the last one.
Sirius growled. He wished that just one of these books would have a year where Harry wasn't attacked by muggles, wix and magical creatures alike.
There was just one very small improvement... the racket Hedwig made if she was locked in her cage all the time.
"Poor Hedwig," Luna said softly.
Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird... He had been thirteen years old, without realizing it, for a whole hour.
Harry sighed at the looks of pity he was receiving.
Yet another unusual thing about Harry... He had never received a birthday card in his life.
"We'll fix that," Sirius promised, Arcturus nodding in agreement.
The Dursleys had completely ignored his last two birthdays... who didn't flinch at the sight of him.
More pitying looks made Harry glower at the floor.
Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had grown a few inches over the last year.
"I'm glad to hear that my nutrient potions were working," Madam Pomfrey muttered. She had been hiding them in his food since the very first morning of his first year at Hogwarts.
His jet-black hair, however, was just as it always had been -- stubbornly untidy, whatever he did to it.
"No way to change that," Sirius grinned. "Even when I blood adopted you it didn't change."
The eyes behind his glasses were bright green... Barely alive, Voldemort had fled.
Barty Crouch Junior glared at the book angrily.
But Harry had come face-to-face with him at Hogwarts... lucky even to have reached his thirteenth birthday.
Sirius actually whimpered at the truth of those words.
He scanned the starry sky... was a large, strangely lopsided creature, and it was flapping in Harry's direction.
"Oh, no. What now?" Tonks asked. Knowing Harry it couldn't be anything good.
He stood quite still... wondering whether to slam it shut.
"Do it!" someone shouted.
But then the bizarre creature soared over... keeled right over and lay motionless.
Mr and Mrs Weasley leaned forward. That wasn't Errol, was it? But they were in Egypt. Who would be sending Errol?
There was a large package tied to its legs... and began to gulp some water.
"But we were in Egypt," Mrs Weasley began, glaring at her children. A journey like that could have killed the poor bird.
Harry turned back to the remaining owls... looked extremely pleased with herself.
"She always looked after me," Harry smiled sadly.
She gave Harry an affectionate nip... his first ever birthday card.
Mrs Weasley was brushing tears from her eyes.
Fingers trembling slightly... MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE
"Nice," several people murmured.
Arthur Weasley... Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his shoulder and his arm around his little sister, Ginny.
Several people sneered at the reminder of the rat. A rat that was still sitting in a cage on the mantel.
Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win... who were very nice and extremely poor.
Mrs Weasley smiled softly at Harry.
He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it... I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted.
"You think," Hermione said sarcastically.
It's amazing here in Egypt.
"How dare you send Errol all that way," Mrs Weasley shouted at Ron. "You could have killed him."
"We could have visited a local post office, Ronald," Mr Weasley said, disappointment clear in his voice.
Ron didn't say anything. He knew his parents were right but thirteen year old him hadn't even considered Errol's age.
Bill's taken us around all the tombs... Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.
"Was that why I wasn't allowed in?" Ginny laughed.
I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw... a new wand for next year.
"Finally," Ollivander muttered.
Harry remembered only too well... Don't let the Muggles get you down!
Sirius huffed. It was easy for a kid from a loving family to be so bloody optimistic about the abuse another suffered.
Try and come to London... He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn-rimmed glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun.
Percy blushed in embarrassment. Really, he had been a pompous ass.
Harry now turned to his present... But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.
Bill glowered at George who sniggered.
Bye... this time from Hermione.
"Now taking bets on what Granger got Harry for his birthday," George said with a smirk. "House bets its a book."
"No deal," Ron said with a hearty laugh.
Dear Harry... what if they'd opened it at customs?
"Never send magical artifacts through the muggle post!" Moody growled.
"Find a local magical community and find the post office," Draco said with a shake of his head.
"It's not that easy to find them when you don't know where they are," Hermione defended.
"There are travel guides at Flourish and Blotts," Draco explained.
"Oh, I didn't know that," Hermione blushed.
"Perhaps this is something else that should be taught in magical primary school," Lucius murmured.
"Oh, we could do school trips abroad just like muggle schools do," Hermione said.
"School trips?" Everyone was eyeing her with confusion.
"Mostly they're just day trips," Hermione explained. "A visit to a farm or zoo to learn about animals."
"We could visit a dragon reserve," young Draco said eagerly.
"But occasionally, they do week long trips to other countries to practice languages and learn about other cultures."
"That sounds brilliant!" several of the pureblood kids said eagerly, murmuring about all the places they'd like to visit with their friends instead of their parents.
but then Hedwig turned up!... the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.
Harry grinned. Hermione really hadn't changed. Always learning something.
There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too... it's two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.
"Definitely too long," Minerva grumbled.
"Does Binns even read our essays?" Dean asked Seamus.
"Don't think so. That one time I accidentally handed in my potions essay, I managed to get an outstanding," Seamus replied. "Professor Snape, however, wasn't as impressed with my history essay. Gave me a troll. Still don't know if that was because it wasn't a potions essay or because it was really that bad."
Ron says he's going to be in London... If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first!
"Didn't your friends wonder how you'd get your school supplies if your aunt and uncle didn't let you go?" Sirius muttered irritably.
Harry shrugged.
Love from Hermione... Ron doesn't seem too happy about it.
Ron grimaced. "He was being a right git about it."
Harry laughed as he put Hermione's letter aside... a large book full of very difficult spells
"Any bets?" George asked once again but no one doubted that it was a book.
but it wasn't.
"No way!" several people cried out in surprise. Hermione smiled.
His heart gave a huge bound... reading Broomstick Servicing Kit.
"Nice!" Draco grinned. "Way to go, Granger."
"Wow, Hermione!"... a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.
Everyone was looking at Hermione. They couldn't actually believe she'd bought Harry a gift he'd really like.
Apart from his friends... One of Harry's most prized possessions was his Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom.
Several people grimaced at the reminder of what happened to that broomstick.
Harry put the leather case aside... as though it had jaws.
Sirius looked slightly panicked. Would Hagrid gift Harry a monstrous creature?
Harry froze... Hagrid didn't have a normal person's view of what was dangerous.
Hagrid blushed heavily.
Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders... and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin.
"In fairness, he didn't get Fluffy from a strange man in a pub, that was Norbert," Harry said but Hagrid coughed loudly. Harry stopped trying to defend his friend. It would seem he had in fact bought Fluffy from a man in a pub.
Harry poked the parcel nervously... a book.
"A book?" several people laughed.
Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover... scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab.
"Oh, dear," Charlie said. He loved his copy of that book but he wasn't sure if was a good text for third year care of magical creature students.
"Uh-oh,"... "Ouch!"
"It bit you?" Hagrid looked nervous.
The book snapped shut... sleepy grunt in the room next door.
"Phew!" several people murmured. They didn't want Potter getting in trouble with the muggles.
Hedwig and Errol watched interestedly... It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful,
George smirked at that.
but he put Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's... Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.
"Yeah, right," Harry frowned. "Like they'd have ever signed it."
Minerva looked sad now. It really wasn't right that Harry had been forced to live with those muggles.
A list of books for next year is enclosed... persuade Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the form?
"That will never happen," young Harry said morosely.
He looked over at the alarm clock... Harry Potter felt just like everyone else - glad, for the first time in his life, that it was his birthday.
They all smiled at that.