Unofficial Portkey Archive

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They are the property of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, etc. No money was made from the creation of this story.

Chapter Two: London with Hermione

Harry looked at the clock in his room, noticing that it read five minutes-till-eleven. He sighed heavily as he looked at himself in front of his mirror. Finding something to wear was one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. He rarely went out into the muggle world (with exception of going out with the Dursleys, which rarely happened), and wearing Dudley's handy-downs wasn't a very attractive idea. Harry managed to scrounge up a pair of his black school pants and decided to wear the sweater that Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him the previous Christmas.

His stomach was turning again with nervousness. He felt a rush of electricity run up and down his spine as he again glanced at the time on his clock. Two minutes-till-eleven it now read. Harry took another look at himself in the mirror, realizing that there was nothing more he could do to improve his appearance. He groaned softly to himself as he sat down on his bed. Why does it matter how I look? It's only Hermione. There isn't any reason to be a show off or anything.

Harry's head shot up when he heard a doorbell ring. He took in a deep breath and stood to his feet. As he walked out of his room, he could hear the Dursley's rushing to door, curious to see whom it was. To his amazement, they didn't have any sort of negative reaction. Actually, to Harry's surprise, they looked very welcoming to the stranger at the door. Harry wondered if it was Hermione at the door; however, when coming into clear view of the door, he saw something he could never imagine.

Hermione Granger was standing there with a warm smile on her face. Her long brown hair had been straightened and was hanging in a ponytail, tied together by a soft, light blue bow. She was wearing a white, sleeveless buttoned blouse, a light blue skirt that went past her knees, and held a small white pocketbook in her hands. He swallowed hard as he continued to walk down the stairs, his hand gripping the banister very tightly, his palms starting to sweat. She looked absolutely stunning.

"So you must be one of Dudley's friends from school," Aunt Petunia smiled as she let Hermione in. Dudley was speechless, his eyes fixed on the beautiful girl in front of him. He took a step forward, which in turn made Hermione take a step back. Hermione looked incredibly shocked after hearing this statement but before she got a word in, Aunt Petunia continued. "Why didn't you tell us that had such a pretty girlfriend, Dudley?"

"Actually…" Hermione started as she continued to back away.

"She's with me!" Harry announced as he quickly pushed his way through the Dursleys and stood next to Hermione.

"What?" Uncle Vernon laughed, his hands wrapping around his round stomach. "With you? Why on earth would anyone want to be with you?"

"Actually, I am with him!" Hermione replied with a stern voice. She wrapped her arms around his neck, surprising everyone including Harry. Harry looked down at her and she smiled as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. The Dursleys' jaws slowly dropped at the affection that the girl was giving Harry.

"Happy Birthday, Harry Potter. Let's go," Hermione whispered as she took the awestruck Harry by the hand and led him out of the house.

"Where do you think you're going?" Uncle Vernon roared. "Those freaks at that school of yours said that you are not to leave this house!"

"The Order gave me permission. See you all later," Harry smiled as he and Hermione walked towards the yellow taxi parked in front. Harry opened the door for her and she smiled as she entered. Harry entered after her and noticed the horrific glare he received from Dudley and Uncle Vernon. Harry grinned at them before shutting the door.

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked as he looked at the two.

"London…the Regency Café on Regency Street, please," Hermione responded.

"Oh, I know that place. Got some mighty fine grub there," the driver smiled as he set the cab in gear and drove off.

"Thanks for that, Hermione," Harry said with a grin on his face. "Just to see that look on the Uncle Vernon's face would have been a great birthday present."

"You're welcome," Hermione blushed as the two looked at each other. Hermione couldn't help but brighten her smile when she noticed the clothes that Harry was wearing. She reached out and softly touched the sleeve of Harry's sweater giggling, "Is this the best you could come up with?"

"Hey," Harry groaned as he reexamined his attire. "These just happened to be the best clothes that I have…you better believe it. Aside from these, all I have are Dudley's old clothes, which could easily fit Ron, you, and myself comfortably."

Hermione continued to giggle as she leaned back against her seat. "You'll love London. It's a great city."

"I really wouldn't know," Harry confessed softly.

"What do you mean?" Hermione's carefree look soon sank to a deeply curious one.

"Well it's…" Harry took a breath. "I don't leave the house much. I just stayed with the Dursleys, only being able to go out when they did. They rarely take me any place worth seeing. I mean, the most exciting place I've ever really been to was the zoo…and that was a good five years ago. Aside from King's Cross, I haven't really seen much of London."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione replied as she touched his hand with hers. Harry's pulse began to race and he couldn't help but turn a shade of red. "Don't worry, I'll show you around. You will have a wonderful time."

Harry's nervousness soon disappeared as the cab ride continued. Hermione told him about her previous trips to London with her parents and how much fun she had. Her voice was very soothing, almost melodic. He enjoyed listening to her stories and watching her expressions as she described each in detail. The moments in the taxi cab with Hermione was by far the most fun he's had during the whole summer.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

The cab stopped at Regency street, directly in front of the café. Hermione reached forward and handed the driver their fee before exiting the cab with Harry. Harry raised his arms into the air and stretched his back as he took a deep breath of fresh air. He looked around, examining their surroundings, amazed at how the buildings looked. Harry had never really had a chance to look around such a large Muggle city as London.

"C'mon Harry," Hermione said joyfully as she took Harry by the arm. She led him into the café and got them a seat outside under a large white umbrella. The waiter handed them the menus and told them that he would be returning shortly to take their orders.

Harry opened the menu and looked at the wide selection. He skimmed through it quickly, his eyes catching the prices. He felt guilty about not having much Muggle money with him. The most he was able scrounge out from around the Dursley's house was £4 in loose change. Harry placed the menu down and looked at Hermione. She had her menu flat on the table, her hand moving down the selections.

"I'm sorry Hermione," Harry said softly. She looked up at him curiously. "I mean, I'll pay you back from everything, I promise."

"No Harry," she replied with her head shaking. "It is your birthday, and I am treating you to everything."

"But…." Harry started but stopped when he got a surprisingly stern look from her. She looked back down at her menu and smiled when she found what she was looking for. Harry looked at his menu and continued to peruse through it, determined to find the cheapest meal to help ease his guilt.

"I'll have the club sandwich and ice tea, please," Hermione said as she handed her menu to the waiter.

"I'll take the ham sandwich and…uh…water," Harry stated as he, in turn, gave his menu to the waiter.

"Those are fine choices," the waiter smiled. "Your drinks will arrive shortly and the food should only take about ten minutes to prepare. If you need anything feel free to call on us." He bowed his head at the two and walked back into the café.

"How did you find this place?" Harry asked Hermione as he looked around the busy street, watching the people walk by.

"My parents and I come here and eat all the time. It's a really nice café and it has a great view." The two proceeded to look around, gazing at the variety of Muggles that walked by. Some wore business suits, while others wore T-shirts and shorts, and occasionally some wore leather jackets and piercings that covered their faces.

Harry's gaze soon fell upon Hermione again. She looked very pretty with her hair in ponytail. He noticed a hint of make up and couldn't help but take in a deep breath of her vanilla perfume. Harry caught himself from daydreaming when he noticed the waiter placing their drinks onto the table. The two smiled and proceeded to sip their drinks.

"You look very pretty," Harry said with a somewhat nervous tone. His eyes looked straight into hers. "I like the way your hair looks with the bow."

"Thanks," she smiled, her face turning a light pink. She ran her fingers through her ponytail and continued. "It took me forever to get my hair straight. I wish I could of just used a charm, but I was forced to use this device my mum calls a flat iron. I've never used one before, so my mum helped me out. I'm glad you like it."

"I do," he smiled as he took another sip of his water.

Their conversation continued nonstop throughout the course of their meal. The two were having a wonderful time and greatly enjoying each other's company. The two talked about how lucky Ron was getting a chance to visit the United States with his family. Harry commented that Fred and George's joke shop was doing incredibly well, and how the two are still coming up with new items to help students get out of class. Hermione groaned at the thought of how horribly her job as a Hogwarts' prefect would be affected by the circulation of Fred and George's trademark gags.

Cho Chang, a seventh year girl who played Seeker for the Ravenclaw team, somehow became their next topic of their conversation, a subject that both Harry and Hermione felt uncomfortable talking about. Harry hadn't thought much about her over the summer. Cho had begun to date Michael Corner at the end of last year's school term. Despite the fact that he liked her during his fourth and fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry didn't mind at all. He had realized that Cho and him were on two completely different wavelengths. Cho was a very emotional girl and Harry found out the hard way that he couldn't cope with her mood swings. She was a sweet and very pretty girl, but with the way things were, the two would have never worked out. He simply didn't know how to make her happy.

Hermione could tell that the subject was making Harry feel uneasy, so she decided to change it to Viktor Krum, the Seeker of the International Bulgarian Quidditch team. Harry's mind stopped with a sudden jolt. Why is she bringing him up? He couldn't explain the feeling he was getting. He felt this agonizing feeling inside him and the only thing he wanted to do was to stop the conversation before it went on any further.

"How about we get going?" Harry quickly suggested as the waiter approached with the small, black leather folder, which contained the bill.

"Sure thing," Hermione responded as she looked at the bill and placed a £10 note inside the leather folder. "Let's go."

The two stood up and left the café, walking down the street in the direction of a large theater. Hermione noticed that Harry was deep in thought and didn't want to disturb him. She instead looked around the street, gazing at all the shops and the people walking by and around them. She wondered how her life would have been if she decided to remain a muggle and not learn magic.

"Now will you look at that?" A man yelled as his friends whistled. "That's a sweet morsel you got there, lad."

Harry and Hermione turned to find several teenagers ogling her. They were wearing dark clothing and were given her very inappropriate stares as they whistled and howled. Harry's rage suddenly flared inside him, and he wanted nothing more than to walk back and turn them into slugs. He took a deep breath and instinctively wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She was surprised by this but was soon relieved to hear that the whistles and howls of the teenagers had stopped. She rested her head gently against him as the two continued to head down the street.

"Oh, sorry!" Harry exclaimed when he realized that he still had his arm around her. In fear that he might make her angry, he quickly moved his hand off her shoulder, but was soon stopped by her. She took his hand back and placed it back on her shoulder. He looked at her with a look of both confusion and joy.

"It's okay," Hermione said quietly, her face now bright pink.

Harry gave her a smile and the two continued to walk until they stopped in front of a large old fashion theater covered with lights. Harry grinned as he thought about how the theater would look when all of its lights were turned on. The two looked up at the showings and noticed that they were old American films. Harry looked down at his watch and saw that it was only half-passed-two and that there was a showing of Casablanca starting at quarter-to-three.

"Hey, want to watch a movie?" Harry asked excitedly. "I've never actually been in a movie theater before."

"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed as she looked up at him. "They must of really kept you locked up."

Harry looked down at her with an odd expression on his face, wondering if suggesting a movie was a dumb idea. She wrapped her arm around his and gave him a soft squeeze. "I'd love to see a movie."

Harry smiled and the two walked up to the ticket booth. He look at man inside and gave him a bright grin, "Two tickets for Casablanca, please."

"Okay sir, that will be £4," the man replied with a tone of utter boredom.

Hermione reached into her pocketbook, but Harry stopped her by taking her hand with his. "I can handle this one."

"But Harry…" she insisted. Harry didn't allow her to finish the sentence. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change and handed it to the somewhat aggravated worker. The man sighed and counted out the change to see that Harry had exactly £4. He handed them the tickets and the two walked in.

"Harry, I told you I could handle everything," Hermione continued.

"Please, Hermione," Harry replied as the two walked over to the concession booth. "I am more than grateful to you for wanting to pay for everything, but I would still like to chip in something. I know it wasn't much, but it was at least something."

"Oh okay, but I'll take care of everything else."

"That's perfectly fine," Harry nodded as he showed her his empty pockets. "I don't have anything else on me."

Hermione grinned at him and looked up at the menu. "One large butter popcorn, please."

After receiving their popcorn, the two walked into the theater. They found that it was only a quarter of the way full, mainly filled with couples. Harry and Hermione found nice seats right in the middle of the theater room. Hermione sat down and placed the popcorn bucket on her lap as Harry took the seat to her left. He realized that there was an arm attached to his chair that could be moved down to separate the two seats. He thought about lowering but decided to leave it up.

The theater room soon darkened and the movie began. Harry did his best to concentrate on the movie, but his attention was on Hermione. He enjoyed watching the light from the movie flicker across her face, showing her expressions. He could tell that she was focusing on the movie, occasionally taking popcorn form the bucket and slowly eating it. Harry noticed that her left hand hadn't moved since the beginning of the movie and was pretty close to his right hand.

Harry took a deep breath and moved his hand so that it laid on top of hers. Hermione let out a soft gasp of surprise and almost jumped in her seat causing the popcorn bucket to fall off her lap. The two then heard a series of people shushing, causing them both blush.

"Sorry," Harry whispered as he reached down and picked up the popcorn bucket. The majority of the popcorn had spilled out, but there was still at least a quarter left inside. "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay," Hermione smiled in return as he handed her the bucket. "It just took me surprise."

Harry decided to keep his hand away from hers, hoping not to cause another scene like before. Hermione looked over at Harry and noticed that he was afraid to move his hand, and decided to do it herself. She carefully took Harry's hand in hers, and the two smiled at each other before continuing to watch the movie. Harry let out a soft sigh. This is the best day of my life.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry and Hermione walked outside, shielding their eyes so they could get adjusted to the sunlight. The two smiled at each other and Hermione leaned against him giving him a friendly nudge. Harry grinned at her before looking at his watch. It read ten minutes-passed-five. His smile grew larger when he realized that he had a lot of time left to spend with Hermione. "Where to next?"

Hermione crossed her arms as the two began walking down the street. "If you'd like, we could stop by one of the museums and take a look around."

Harry looked at her questionably, which gave her the impression that it was a bad suggestion. "I mean…we could instead.…"

"No, Hermione," Harry replied as he gave her shoulder a friendly nudge with his. "A museum would be great."

Harry's body suddenly grew cold and his scar began to hurt incredibly. He quickly raised his hand to his forehead, trying to massage the pain away, groaning softly. Hermione noticed this, growing extremely worried. She quickly moved in front of Harry, looking at into his eyes. "What is it, Harry?"

"Danger is coming," Harry groaned softly, but before Hermione could look around, someone grabbed and pulled them into an alleyway. Harry and Hermione looked to see a person standing in front of them wearing a long, black trench coat. The hood of the dark trench coat covered the person's face, and without hesitation, the person started to walk towards them.

Harry suddenly realized that he didn't have his wand, and when Hermione didn't take hers out, he knew that she had not brought hers as well. The two started to back away from the person, Harry standing in front of Hermione. She put her hands on his back and looked around above his shoulder, staring the figure walking towards them.

"You're making things easier for me," the person muttered softly. Harry and Hermione realized that the voice belonged to a woman. It sounded soft, almost friendly, but from the movements this woman was making; she was definitely someone who wanted to harm them.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked as she looked around Harry's shoulder. "You can have all our money."

"It's not your money that I want," the woman replied softly as she continued to advance towards them.

"Then what do you want?" Harry retorted. He and Hermione soon realized that they had backed themselves into a dead-end. With nowhere else left to run, Harry knew that they would have to face the woman in front of them. Harry decided to put his fists up in a manner in which a boxer would to prepare himself for a fight, hoping that this gesture would intimidate the woman.

"You must be joking," the woman laughed as she pulled out, to Harry and Hermione's great dismay, a wand out of her trench coat. "I want your head, Potter."

"I like just where it is," Harry said despairingly as he lowered his hands from a boxing stance to a defensive one, trying to shield Hermione.

"Say your good byes," she laughed again as she raised her wand.

"Harry…." Hermione cried with a shaky voice. Harry looked around the alleyway; cursing softly to himself when he realized that there two had nowhere to run. He turned back to the woman and noticed jet-black hair flowing out of the hood of her trench coat. He narrowed his eyes and as able to get a better look at her face. Harry was almost taken aback by her; she was quite pretty with intense blue eyes. He soon noticed the fury within her eyes and knew that he and Hermione were in horrible trouble.

"Avada…" The woman hissed as she prepared to point her wand at Harry. Harry's eyes grew wide as he felt Hermione's grasp of his sweater tightened.

A stream of light suddenly flew past Harry, hitting the woman square in the chest, causing her to be launched backwards. However to Harry's astonishment, she was able to perform a somersault in the air and land on her feet.

"Now this one may be a little tricky," Harry heard a man speak from behind him.

Hermione and Harry turned to find Lupin standing behind them with Tonks, both with their wands readied. Tonks' hair was a deep red color and it hung to her shoulders. Lupin wore an angry look on his face as he pointed his wand at the woman, walking towards the two thankful kids. "Sorry we were a bit late."

"That's perfectly fine," Harry replied as he let out a sigh of relief. Hermione carefully moved from behind Harry and stood next to him, her hand held tightly in his.

"So the Order of the Phoenix has appeared to save the life of young Harry Potter," the woman snarled. Her hood had fallen back, exposing her face to them. Lupin was stunned to see such a harmless looking girl, but he kept his wand up and slowly took a few small steps forward with Tonks beside him.

"We will always protect Harry!" Tonks exclaimed as the two continued their advancement towards the woman. "You better run back to your master if you know what's good for you!"

"Oh please," the woman laughed as she glared at her two obstacles. "It will take more than you two to stop me. I will take that boy's life."

"Sorry," Lupin replied with a firm, yet calm voice. "You will not pass."

"Have it your way, then," the woman roared as she pointed her wand towards them. "Accio!"

Harry and Hermione looked behind them and their eyes widened as they saw a dumpster flying towards them. Hermione looked forward towards Harry and took a hold of Harry's sweater; pulling him down just as he reached out and took Lupin and Tonks by their arms. "Duck!"

Lupin and Tonks did and watched a huge dumpster fly over their heads, crashing into a wall that stood next to the woman. She raised her wand again as she started to advance towards them. Lupin and Tonks quickly stood to their feet, facing the woman and being careful to shield Harry and Hermione from anything she may throw at them.

"Expelliarmus!" Tonks yelled as she pointed her wand at the woman.

A bright light flew at the woman, but she easily evaded it and screamed, "Incendio!"

A fireball flew out at the end of the woman's wand, soaring directly towards them. Harry and Hermione jumped to the ground, Harry covering her with his body as both Tonks and Lupin dove to the side. The fireball exploded as it made contact with the ground, but before Lupin or Tonks could react, a fiery whip flew at Tonks.

The whip grasped Tonk's leg, instantly burning her on contact. Tonks let out a small scream as Lupin looked up to see that the whip of fire was attached the woman's wand. Lupin quickly rushed towards Tonks, but before he could reach her, the woman pulled on her whip, causing Tonks to be hurled into the air, slamming against the wall of a building.

"Tonks!" Hermione screamed as she and Harry ran to her aid. Tonks laid motionless, the back of her head was bleeding freely. The whip released its grip on her leg and flew back towards the woman, disappearing into nothingness before it reached her.

"She's hurt badly," Harry exclaimed, his voice filled with rage and fear.

Lupin looked again at the woman and knew that he was up for a tough fight. She used a Flamora weapon. But she can't possibly been alive back then, she is too young. How could she have learned how to use them?

"That's only a taste of what I can do," the woman smiled as she raised her wand, flame rushing out of it. The flame appeared in the shape of a sword and she pointed it towards Lupin. Lupin took a small step back as he readied himself. He had never faced a Flamora weapon before and wasn't precisely sure on how to combat one. He raised his wand and slowly took another step back.

"Stupefy!" Lupin shouted as the woman started to run towards them, both her hands grasping her wand.

Red sparks flew at her, which she, in turn, blocked with her sword. Lupin's gritted his teeth when he realized that he failed in stopping her advancement. He looked down at Harry, but before he could say a word, Harry picked up Tonks' wand and stood next to him.

The woman flung her flame sword down, causing Harry and Lupin to leap in opposite directions. Harry landed on his feet, but Lupin was less fortunate. His left foot landed on and empty bottle, causing him to slip and fall against the wall of the alleyway. Hermione's eyes began to water as she looked at Harry and then to the woman, who was now slowly advancing towards the fallen Lupin.

"Now it's your turn to meet your fate," the woman laughed as she raised her sword. She suddenly stopped when she felt something poking her back.

"Not if I can help it!" Harry growled, pushing Tonks' wand into the woman's back. "Expelliarmus!"

The woman was flung forward, her body colliding into the wall. She fell over unconscious, her flame sword extinguishing itself. Lupin got to his feet and rushed over to Tonks. Hermione, in turn, got up and ran to Harry, wrapping her arms around him. Harry sighed softly as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug.

"We better go before she wakes up," Lupin ordered as he lifted Tonks into his arms. Harry and Hermione nodded and followed closely behind him as they quickly made their way towards the entrance of the alleyway. Harry's heart was racing, many upon many questions bouncing off the walls of his mind. Who was she? Was she a Death Eater? What's Voldemort planning? Will the Order be able to stop him?

Lupin stopped before they reached the entrance of the alleyway. He placed Tonks down so she was sitting against the wall. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch. He looked at Harry and Hermione; both of them exhausted, and ordered, "Both of you, touch this watch."

Harry and Hermione did so as Lupin took Tonks hand and placed it on it. He opened the watch and Harry was surprised to see that there weren't hands on the face the face of the watch, just the numbers. Lupin gave them a reassured nod as he pushed on the number four. Harry and Hermione suddenly experienced a rush as they felt themselves being lifted off the ground. A bright light consumed them, causing Harry to close eyes closed. When he opened them, he realized that they were standing in the backyard of number four, Privet Drive.

"Was that a portkey?" Hermione asked as she examined the watch.

"It is based on the same principles," Lupin replied as he helped Tonks to her feet. She was now awake, but incredibly disorientated. She grasped onto Lupin's jacket in the manner intoxicated people would to steady themselves. "Each number represents a different location and when you press it, it will instantly transport you there."

"That's amazing and all," Harry interrupted as he looked up at Lupin, "but is going on? Did Voldemort send that woman after me?"

"I don't know Harry," Lupin replied with a sound of doubt in his voice. He sighed as he looked into Harry's firm eyes. "I'm sorry Harry, but I cannot permit you to leave this house again until it is time to return to Hogwarts."

Harry opened his mouth in an attempt to argue against Lupin's statement, but he felt Hermione squeezing his arm. He looked at her, her eyes pleading with him. "Please Harry, don't argue with Lupin about this. I don't want you to get hurt. Please!"

Harry took a deep breath and his anger subsided. He looked back at Lupin, who tried to give him a reassured smile, but Harry could tell that he was incredibly worried about the situation. Harry nodded to Lupin before he gave Hermione a soft smile. She returned his smile with a small one as she gently rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm really sorry about all of this," Lupin replied as he opened his watch again. "Hermione, we should get going. I'll transport you to your home. Sorry again Harry…Happy Birthday though."

Harry let out a depressed sigh, as he looked at Hermione. She gave him another tight hug and a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to take you to the museum."

"Oh no, don't worry about it," Harry replied as she walked over to Lupin. Harry quickly reached into his back pocket and pulled out Tonks' wand and Hermione's pocketbook. "I swear, you girls drop everything."

"I almost forgot about that," Hermione smiled as she took her pocketbook and Tonks' wand from him.

"Don't mention it," Harry smiled back as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Hermione blushed and placed her hand on the watch.

"Oh, your present from me will arrive tomorrow," she said as Lupin gave Harry a comforting smile. Harry watched Lupin push a number and he, Tonks, and Hermione vanished with a bright flash.

He let out another heavy sigh as he turned to find Uncle Vernon staring at him with his face a shade of deep purple. "You've got owls!"

Harry's eyes lit up as he ran passed Uncle Vernon and up to his room. He found several owls flying around in circles, each holding a wrapped package. He looked up at Hedwig, who was utterly disgusted at all of the owls that had invaded her territory. Harry walked towards the center of the room and opened his arms and with one swoop, each owl dropped Harry's presents into them. Harry was surprised by the weight of all the packages and instantly sank to his knees, placing them gently onto the floor.

The owls released several loud hoots before finally leaving Harry's room.

He looked at the first one and pulled out the card. It had been from Ron and the Weasleys. He opened it and read it to himself.

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Dear Harry,

Take care,
Ron and the Weasleys

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Harry smiled at the card and turned his attention to the nicely wrapped present. He tore the wrapping paper and opened the box to find an assortment of candy inside it. He pulled out several packages of chocolate frogs, fruit flavored wiggly gummy worms, and a large package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Harry smiled when he recalled the first time he had tried them on the Hogwarts Express, the same day that he met both Ron and Hermione. He looked inside again and found several treats that Mrs. Weasley made for him. Harry thought a second and wondered how she would have time to make them if they were in the United States. The thought went away when he noticed a wrapped package underneath the treats. He opened it to find a jacket that had the words "Old Navy" written on the front pocket. Harry was amazed at how the jacket looked and how soft it felt. He stood up and tried it on, a smile forming on his face because the jacket fit him perfectly.

He sat back down to the ground and examined another package. This one came from Mad-Eye Moody. Harry opened and found a heavy book inside. He had to make an amazing effort to pick the thick book up and out of the packaging paper, feeling incredibly sorry for the owl how had to carry it. He opened the book and read the title, The Advanced Book of Spells Used Against the Dark Arts. Harry sighed as he flipped through the pages, examining all the spells it contained. Moody wanted him to study and master such spells, especially with the Dark Lord running out and about.

His remaining presents had come from Hagrid and Lupin. Hagrid had baked him a cake covered with blue icing. Harry smiled at it and carefully took it out of the box. He then noticed a book inside that was entitled, The Monster Book of Advanced Level Monsters. Harry hesitated to pick up the book because of how the original Monster Book had reacted when a person touched it. He slowly touched the cover and quickly retracted his hand, but the book remained motionless. He hesitantly picked it up and opened it, relieved to see that it wasn't going to move. Though he did want to ensure his safety, so he quickly placed the book in his trunk and locked it.

He next opened Lupin's present and found another large book inside it. Harry let out a sigh, hoping that it wasn't another book filled with Defense against the Dark Arts spells. Instead to Harry's amazement, the book was had the title, 100 of the Most Powerful Wizards and Witches Ever!, written across the cover in gold. Harry opened the book and smiled when the saw that the first chapter was dedicated to Albus Dumbledore. He looked through the chapter, focusing his attention mostly on the pictures of Dumbledore when he was younger and reading the captions. He read through bits of the chapter noticing that it was a miniature biography of the headmaster and continued to flip the pages. The next chapter featured the Dark Lord. Harry's expression changed from happiness to extreme hatred as he skimmed through the chapter. By that point, he decided to close the book and move to his bed.

He cleared away schoolbooks and relaxed, as he lied there staring at the ceiling. His thoughts racing again as he relived the day inside his mind, trying his best to speculate Voldemort's next move.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Harry woke up the next morning and saw another owl standing next to Hedwig on her perch. The two owls were hooting to each other, engaged in a deep conversation. Harry looked at his desk and noticed nicely wrapped present sitting on it. Harry walked over to the present and realized that it was from Hermione. He quickly opened the letter and read it.

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Dear Harry,

Love,
Hermione

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Harry's smile grew as he opened her present. There were two books and a small wooden box inside the package. He looked at the first book and was amazed to see Hogwarts, A History. He noticed a piece of paper sticking out of it and he took it out. Hermione had written him a note.

He laughed to himself as he read, "Hey Harry. Read this when you get a chance. This way I won't be the only one who knows too much about our school."

He picked up the next book and his jaw dropped. The book was entitled, Strategies and Maneuvers of the World's Best Quidditch Players. Harry opened the book and flipped through the pages, his eyes focusing on the titles of the sections. He recognized a few the titles such as Hawkshead Attacking Formation and the Wronski Defensive Feint. Thanks Hermione, he thought to himself as he examined the pictures. Each picture moved to show how the maneuver or strategy looked and each section was dedicated to explaining how each was performed, how effective it was, and most importantly, instructions of how to beat it if another team were to use the maneuver on you.

Harry set the book aside and took out the small wooden box. He opened it to find a golden snitch inside it. He picked it up to find that it wasn't a real snitch and felt something inscribed into it. He looked at the inscriptions and his smile grew widen wider. Always reach out for your dreams and hold on tight once you have a good grip.

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