Ranghild the Australian school for Magic and Craft

Chapter 1 ~ Owls are very, very, very smart

Hogwarts wasn't safe, Harry had decided. And it wasn't even the school, it was more like a lack of certain headmaster when he was needed. The stone in first year and the chamber last year, who knew what Harry would have to deal with this year?

Harry resolved to study as much as possible before school started, which was hard between his chores and the whole 'no magic!' rule. Late at night Harry tip toed across his room to his desk, flicked on his lamp and opened up a textbook. For a while, Harry leafed through the book reading and taking notes here and there before he sighed and closed it. He stole a brief glance towards Hedwig's empty cage, he had let her out before he had left Hogwarts to stop her from being locked in the cage, but he had told her to stay in the immediate area of the Dursleys house in case there was an emergency. Still he wished she could have been there, he missed her soft crooning and encouraging hoots, and he was worried about her. Even though he knew she could take care of herself.

A large amount of flapping at the window made him jump and Harry quickly ran over and stuck his arm out. Perhaps Hedwig had decided to visit him?

A big, heavy Grey owl landed on his arm and poked it's leg out. Harry, well acquainted with this routine, one handedly untied the items and chucked them on his bed before digging in the bag that sat on the windowsill and bringing out three knuts. Carefully he slipped them into the bag on the other leg of the owl (not dropping any unlike last time) and watched as the big, grey owl took off into the inky black night. Harry lingered for a couple more seconds, wondering how all the owls that arrived for him knew to come at night and knew to be quiet.

Owls are very smart he concluded, quickly he searched the sky for anymore night time visitors and finding none, went to his bed.

He sat down on the bed, picked up the wizarding news paper (which came with a free gift with every issue bought!) and begun flicking through it. There was never really anything true in it but it was the only thing that allowed him to know what the heck was going on in the wizarding world (and everything has a base of truth as Hermione said or Harry thinks she said, he wasn't too sure). He was about to read an article on the seven uses of dragon blood (it looked very interesting) but noticed a couple of letters on his bed. The owl only delivered the newspaper from the ministry and shouldn't have given him letters, so Harry was honestly surprised he didn't notice them when he untied them. Quickly he looked at the address on them, no mistake, they where for him, but he did notice that one was written in Ron's messy scrawl while the other was written in Hermione's neat writing.

Ron and Hermione where Harry's two best friends and he missed them both to absolute pieces during the holidays. He wondered how the ministry owl had gotten the letters and decided that it must of bumped into Erol (the Weasley's very old owl) and taken them off him. Harry went back on his earlier conclusion, owls are not very smart. Owls are very, very, very smart.

After reading the letters, Harry hastily scribbled back a 'Yes I'm ok, I won't let the muggles get me down, I hope your having fun in Egypt' to Ron and a 'I'm doing fine, can't wait to see you too, yes I did my homework' to Hermione, Harry was ready to pass out. In a dramatic (but silent) fashion, Harry flopped from his sitting position on the bed so that he was lieing down on the bed. With a grunt he pulled the news paper out from under him (it seemed that he had lied down on top of it) and ruffled through it again. Finishing off the article about 'the seven use's of dragon blood' (which had been interesting). He flicked off his lamp and pulled the dull sheets over himself. He stared at the ceiling for a while, wondering if what he was studying would be enough to keep himself and his friends safe before deciding that he couldn't do anymore then he was right now, but still the thought knawed at him.

Harry slept fitfully that night.

A sharp rapping against the door woke Harry up, dumbly he stuffed his glasses on and immediately groaned. He had a headache and guessed that he must of fallen asleep at one am last night. Getting dressed in record time, he opened the door to see his uncle scowling down at him. If pigs could be humans, Harry thought, they would be Uncle Vernon.