Harry Potter and the Reflection of Tromedlov

Chapter 4: Hali-san.

"Wormtail? Wormtail?" a cold voice echoed in the darkness of the room. The tall, dark haired man sat down in a corner, his flaming red eyes stared into Kanna's Mirror, amused. "Wormtail, don't pretend you can't hear me. I saw the way you jumped when I called your name." He watched the person in the mirror gulp at his words and smirked.

"M-my Lord. I beg your pardon. It's just that... your voice has a strange sound since... I didn't understand..." The small wizard wrapped in a cloak too big for him glanced around. His small pale eyes were looking for a place to stare.

"Wormtail, did you follow my orders?" asked the man, his glance turning sharper.

"Of course, my Lord. Lord Vold... hem, Lord Nara... I mean... Master..."

A cold laugh echoed in the air, freezing the man's new attempts at stammering. Inside the Mirror, Wormtail shuddered.

"I don't care what you call me. I only care that you obey my orders. Did you make sure that she hid where I told you to?"

"Yes, my Lord." Peter's eyes darted around the room, trying to avoid his master's stare.

"What about the fragment? Did you put it where it could be found?"

"O-of course, Master. The fragment was put where no one should be suspicious of it. Your servant won't disappoint you-"

"I didn't tell you to put the fragment where no one would be suspicious, Wormtail!" the voice roared. "I told you to hid it where Harry Potter would find it and decide to keep it!" Peter shuddered again and hid his face under his arms.

"Ma-Master. Harry Potter WILL desire to keep the object. I-I'm SURE of this! I'm sure! He shan't put it down—"

"You better hope that he does, Wormtail. If anything goes awry, hiding your face won't help you," said the voice, laughing at his panic. "Of course, you did follow my orders, so you won't get into trouble, correct? All you have to do now is relax and keep an eye on her. Don't let her move from where she is."

"Y-yes, Sir, Master, My Lord—"said the man before the image in the Mirror faded into the face of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Do you really trust that git?" asked Naraku after staring at the wizard's face for a while.

"No," Voldemort replied, his bright red eyes filled with disgust. "Not at all. He's a coward, though, he'll follow orders because of his fear for me."

"Until someone more frightening comes along, you mean." Naraku's lips lifted into a hard smile.

"It's a risk we must take. We could show the Mark and call the other Death Eaters. But I trust them even less — they didn't do anything to help me when I needed them. Maybe the only one we can trust is..."

"Of course, I know who you're talking about. I'll send Kanna and Hakudoshi to have a talk with him, he may be of some use." The Mirror misted again and Kanna walked away, impassive.

"Kanna, you've heard what to do."

"Yes, Lord Naraku," she said blankly. She walked to a precise point of the room and disappeared. At that very moment, Nagini appeared from the exact same point and approached her master. She coiled herself around his feet.

"Good." Naraku closed his eyes and softly stroked the serpent's head. "Let's have a look at our little friend..."

§§§

Harry returned to his room, exhausted. The evening had been extremely tiring — but then he wouldn't have expected any less from Aunt Marge.

When he had returned to number four Privet Drive, his Aunt and Uncle greeted at him with a glare. Aunt Marge's bite was better than it had looked and in fact it had disappeared before she had returned to the Dursleys'. However, the Dursleys couldn't blame poor Mrs. Figg. So, they blamed Harry — he was the one responsible for the dog, after all.

Aunt Petunia scolded Harry for long time. She then sent him to bed with no dinner. Thus, the day after he'd need to take Aunt Marge to the hospital, which thing Harry supposed he wouldn't like at all.

He wanted to collapse on his bed, but something stopped him, something that gave him back some of his strength — Hedwig was back, finally, and she wasn't alone. In fact, Errol, the Weasley's elderly owl was lying on Harry's bed. It was obvious that Hedwig had dragged him for a long time, since he was lying still, as if he was dead. It looked like he wasn't breathing, but Harry knew that he was just having a rest. So, he drew near the only creature which didn't glare at him in the household. He was happy to see her.

"Welcome home, Hedwig!" he said petting her. He took some biscuits he knew she liked from his pocket and fed them to the bird who took the food politely. He picked up the letter she was carrying and then noticed the large package that Errol had been carrying, one that was larger than the owl himself. Harry had a sudden revelation.

Hang On! In few hours it's my birthday — I nearly forgot, he thought. He decided not to open the package until midnight. Harry was sure that Ron thought that Errol would take more time to get there, but Hedwig had helped him and they had arrived earlier. Harry helped Errol into Hedwig's cage, where she already waited, patiently. She glanced at him thankfully, then went to drink some water and rest her wings. Hedwig had carried Hermione's reply but, strangely, no present at all. Harry picked up her letter and read.

"Dear Harry,

"How are you? I'm sorry I haven't written sooner, but I've been trying to get permission from my parents. I can't tell you anything at the moment, but I promise you won't have to wait too much longer for the truth.

"I hope that you're alright. I'll write if there's a problem.

"Sorry, I can't tell you more.

"Love,

-Hermione."

Harry stared at the letter in disbelief. He couldn't help but be disappointed. It was the first time since he met Hermione that she hadn't sent him a present. Not that he cared that much... but he'd thought she would've at least sent him a card!

Hermione had never been so cold. Her letter seemed rushed and she was clearly hiding something. This isn't like Hermione, thought Harry.

He fought the temptation to open Ron's gift. After all he had to wait only a few hours, and he really wanted to have something to open at the right moment. He decided to at least open Ron's letter to cheer himself up.

"Dear Harry,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, mate! I hope you have better luck this time than with my last letter. I didn't want to send Errol on such a long trip, with this big a package, but I'm sure that he can do it, and he's not as noisy as Pig. I apologize for Pig! I yelled at him but he was too busy zooming around the kitchen to pay attention. I suppose the rilfe scared him to death.

"I hope that your Aunt doesn't ruin your birthday. I received a letter from Hermione and I have a feeling that you'll have a good birthday for once.

Harry stared at Ron's letter. Have a nice day? He looked at Hermione's letter again and wondered what Ron was talking about.

"But I shouldn't tell you anything, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Of course I doubt that you'll read this message that early — but you can't ever tell.

"Once again, Happy Birthday! I hope you'll enjoy the few next days — it's not the best thing you could do during the summer... but it's better than staying with the Muggles!

-Ron."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. What did Ron mean? Since when had his friends became so sublime?

He glanced over at Ron's package longingly, but he was determined not to open it. He decided to write his reply, to keep himself busy.

"Dear Ron,

"It's not that bad here, after all. Thank you for your letter and present. Errol met Hedwig in his way to Privet Drive and so he made it here earlier. It's not midnight yet, but I already got your present. I won't open it until my birthday, though; I want to have something to open then.

"I'm not sure why you're saying that Hermione will make my birthday happier. I received her letter too, Hedwig brought it, and it was cold, and sublime. I didn't expect her to send me a present, after all she had sent very expensive gifts every year, and I couldn't expect her to do this all the time. But I thought at least a card, a greeting... something. She didn't say anything at all! And your letter was very mysterious as well. What has happened to you two?

Harry paused to read what he had written and frowned — his scar was burning again.

"Damn... not now! Please!" he muttered. Pain was spreading across his face. He tried to go back to writing — perhaps keeping himself busy would make him feel better.

"Anyway, I have big news to tell you. Mrs. Figg is a witch! Yes, that old woman who took care of me when Dursleys went out with Dudley on his birthdays. And she's not your average witch — she's Dumbledore and Sirius' friend!

"Today my scar hurt again (Damn, it's hurting even now!) and I had the strangest dream ever. I was in a very hot place and I met people who talked Chinese, or Japanese... I dunno. I couldn't be heard, or seen, I could touch them but they didn't notice. When I woke up I found out it was a dream and that Sirius was there. He told me that I had a Dark Magic attack — you know, like the one I had that time, in the Astronomy Tower. Mrs. Figg told me that she was asked by Dumbledore to protect me. In reality she's a woman of Sirius' age, she's the daughter of the old lady the Dursleys knew. She took her mother's appearance using the Polijuice Potion. That's why her house smells of bad cabbages. I can't believe I never thought of that!

"She told me that the real Mrs. Figg died two years ago and she wasn't able to get out of bed long time before I was brought to Privet Drive. I'll tell you more when we'll meet at Diagon Alley. When are you going there to buy stuff for School?"

Harry couldn't go on. The burning in his scar was becoming more and more annoying and he could hardly see now. With or without his glasses everything was blurry. The last thing he remembered before falling to the ground, was what he thought was the sound of the Dursley's door bell ringing.

"I'm coming," Aunt Petunia said, walking from the lounge to the front door. Uncle Vernon was very busy telling Marge a funny story he heard at the office, and paid no attention to anything else.

"Good evening, how may I help you?" Aunt Petunia said as she stared curiously at the two middle-aged people who were waiting outside the door. A girl appeared behind them. Petunia reckoned her to be about Dudley's age. She wasn't ugly or beautiful; she had long, bushy brown hair and was staring at her in a way Petunia judged to be arrogant. In one hand she carried a big ancient book and in the other one she had a bag, which contained a mysterious package.

"Good evening, you're Mrs. Dursley, if I'm not mistaken," the tall man said sticking out his hand politely.

"Of course I am. Who are you?" Petunia asked, glancing at the man's hand suspiciously. After a moment he put it down and sighed.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Robert Granger, this is my wife, Diana and my daughter, Hermione." Aunt Petunia nodded politely to each of them, and then she stared again at the man, waiting for him to continue. "Hermione is a sch... friend of Harry," Mr. Granger changed his sentence after his daughter elbowed him. Petunia frowned hearing the name and glanced at the girl, scared. "We're..." he said, but couldn't finish his speech because Uncle Vernon's voice echoed from behind the door.

"Who's there, Petunia?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"They're PEOPLE who claim to know Harry," she replied, too much shocked to say anything more. Vernon glanced at the trio, concern in his small, blue eyes. But all he saw was an ordinary looking husband and wife, with a daughter who looked very ordinary looking as well. He glanced behind them and stared at a beautiful Rover Coupé, dark blue, that looked in very good shape.

They're probably doctors or something... people with money, Vernon thought. Uncle Vernon had a bad habit of judging people by the car that they drove and this car was new and expensive.

"What do you want?" he asked frowning — he was still thinking of who the they had asked for, and stared at them suspiciously.

"We're carrying a letter from the Hog... err the Headmaster of my daughter's school. He grants us the permission to take the boy with us. I know it's not nice of us to ask you to give up your nephew so soon. After all, as with my daughter, he just came home a short time ago. Unfortunately..." Mr. Granger said.

Vernon stared at him for a moment, his face turning violet. Mr. Granger's word's had caught his attention — yes, he would be happy to get rid of Harry early. But could he trust a person who had a daughter who was one of THEM? At least he couldn't SHOW of trusting them only because they owned a good looking car...

He grabbed the letter which Mr. Granger was handing him and ripped the envelope rapidly, giving a quick look at the contents. He glanced at Mr. Granger again suspiciously. Mr. Granger was staring at him in a friendly manner and, after all, the three of them didn't look ABNORMAL.

Aunt Petunia thought about inviting the strangers in after she recovered from the shock of someone asking for her nephew. After all Mr. and Mrs. Granger didn't look as strange as the Weasleys who had come the year before. But before she could say it, a high pitch scream came from Harry's room. Everyone frowned at the sound of something falling to the ground while Harry moaned in pain. Hermione elbowed her way into the house and immediately run upstairs, worried.

"Hermione, where are you going?" asked Mr. Granger who apologized immediately for his daughter's behaviour — after all the Dursleys hadn't invited them in yet, and it wasn't nice to go into other people's houses without permission. But Hermione hadn't paid attention, she just kept running until she reached Harry's room.

§§§

Hot. It was awfully hot. Harry got up and looked around, frowning.

No, it can't be. Please... not again! he thought. He was no longer in his bedroom, but in a forest similar to the one he had been in that morning.

He dusted off his clothes and stared at the trees — he was surrounded by darkness. His scar was burning again, but not as much as the last time and not as bad as when he wrote Ron's letter. He realized it was useless to stare, since he couldn't see anything. However, when he looked up to the sky, he saw the most beautiful site he ever stared into. It was the night of the new moon and the stars seemed to be more gorgeous than ever. The air was almost lighter, as if no smog made it heavier, and he didn't see any light in the environs. Maybe that was why the stars were shining so brightly. Such beauty took Harry's breath away.

Suddenly a wolf's howl echoed from somewhere in the distance. A shiver ran through Harry's spine bringing him back to the sad reality — he was alone, once again. He didn't have his wand and he didn't know how to return home. He found himself thinking of the people he had seen that morning, and wishing they were there.

He glanced around looking for danger, could a wolf be approaching, or perhaps something worse. His eyes were becoming accustomed to the darkness and he was beginning to recognize the shapes of the things around him. The foliage and the vegetation, the sudden flash of a wild creature's eye, in the dark branches of the trees. No wolves were around, at least he couldn't see them; he breathed a sigh of relief.

All of sudden, he noticed a light in the distance; someone had probably set up a fire. He ran in the direction of the light — maybe the person who made it would be nicer than the strange group he met that morning.

Damn, I can't see a thing! he thought walking in the light's direction. Although his eyes were now accustomed to the darkness, he didn't know this place and he couldn't be sure of where he should tread. He tripped over a root, and stammered.

"BLOODY HELL!" he yelled. He needed to reach that fire as soon as possible, he needed help. But when he got there, he got an unpleasant surprise. He had encountered the same group of people that he had seen that morning. Are they the only persons in the environs? he thought in disappointment. He tripped over another root and moaned in pain. He kicked at the root and then drew near the group. He decided to try again to get the girl's attention.

Then Harry noticed something odd, the small group all looked distressed. There was a new person in the group , or at least that's what he thought at first. A boy with long, raven hair and the exact same red clothes as the dog-eared one from that morning. God only knew why all of them liked these clothes that much!

He felt tension in the air and had the chilling impression that the boy dressed in red was glaring at him.

The girl dressed in the sailor suit looked around as though she heard him approaching. She seemed to be staring at his feet.

"Hum... do you see me?" he asked hopefully. If they could see him, Harry would be delighted.

"Gajin?" was the only word he understood her say. Harry felt excited shivers running down his spine, as the girl continued to stare at his feet. The others repeated that word as a question. The sailor-dressed girl blushed and said, "Hum... you stranger?"

Harry's heart skipped a beat. Did he hear correctly? Did she really speak... ENGLISH? Well, her English wasn't that great of course. But English, he was sure of it! He felt an adrenaline rush — he'd never imagined he could be so happy that someone was speaking his language!

"Can you see me? Can you REALLY see me? God, I LOVE you!" was the first thing that came to his mind. Harry's arms and legs shook. His heart was thumping in his chest, the adrenaline rush was giving him the creeps. He tried to calm down, but it was very hard.

"Eh?" she asked making a face. Harry decided that probably the girl didn't speak English very well.

I'm too much lucky that she knows it at all! he thought, relieved. He drew near and saw that she was following his moves, looking to the ground.

"Can-you-see-me?" he asked spelling each word slow and clearly. The girl was a foreigner, he thought, she would understand only if he spoke slowly.

"No. No see... hear," she said while her companions stared at her in amazement. "They no hear. Too." Harry frowned — if he did understand correctly the girl could hear his voice but not see him. And she was the only one; the others couldn't hear him at all. How strange!

"How's that possible? Your eyes are following me!" he said quickly and then repeated himself slowly so that she would understand. The situation was annoying, but better than that morning!

"Can not see you... I cannot. I see grass move," she said. Now he got it. She heard his voice and saw the grass moving under his feet — that's why she stared at the ground,

"Who you are?" she asked, still staring at his feet.

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter. Who are you?" he was curious to know if he got her name right, and he was even more curious to know where he was.

"I am Kagome, Higurashi Kagome. They... Those are Inuyasha, Mirokusama, Sangochan and Shippochan." The girl pointed to the red dressed boy, then she showed the older boy with the pigtail, the beautiful girl who wore the black outfit in the morning and the odd little creature with the tail. "We are... oh... nice you to meet. That is... nice to meet you." She got up and bowed in his direction. Harry did the same, by instinct, and then felt stupid — she couldn't see him, so why should he bow?

"I'm VERY happy to meet you too... this morning was awful!" he thought aloud. Kagome widened her eyes in shock.

"Anta... hum... it was you? Sorry, my English is ugly... I am not very good grade at school." The girl looked ashamed, but Harry was just relieved to understand her!

"Don't worry. Your English is fine... and I'm happy I can understand what you say."

"You no true... uh... usotsuki... liar! Arigatou... I mean — thank you anyway." She smiled, blushing. The boy dressed in red — Inuyasha — told her something and she glared at him. She replied, in an angry tone, and the boy with the pigtail asked something else. Maybe he was more polite, because Kagome didn't get mad. Even the beautiful girl — Sangochan — asked something. Kagome began to talk, excitedly. She made the gesture of a circle and kept talking for a while, as if she was saying a very important thing. Everybody stared at her with eyes wide and the small being with the tail — Shippochan — jumped to her lap.

"Err..." Harry coughed. Kagome blushed and turned around to his direction, mortified.

"Sorry, Hali-san. I to forget you." She blushed brighter. Harry found it difficult to recognize his own name. But he liked the way Kagome talked — monotone and laboured. She didn't speak English very well, she said it herself. But he didn't dislike it. To her, he'd be Hali-san.

"I'll forgive you. But only if you'll stop staring at my feet. I'm not a fly, you know," he said joking.

"Demo... where look?" she asked.

"Hum... I'm a bit taller than you. I suppose I'm as tall as the dog-eared boy I saw this morning. Where did he go?" he said aloud. Yeah, he thought, he was probably as tall as him — he hadn't really noticed that detail before.

"Dog-eared boy? Where he go?" Kagome stared at him puzzled, and then she glanced at Inuyasha. She turned around, blushing. "Well, he-"

"That boy has the same clothes. Is it a fashion or what?" Inuyasha said something and once again Kagome glared at him. Maybe he understood that they were talking about him. Suddenly, he got angry and yelled at Kagome, who yelled back at him. Then, she shut him up and stared at Harry's feet, again.

"Hali-san... so... boy dog-eared is Inuyasha. He." She pointed to the red dressed boy who was glaring in his direction and fuming.

"But..."

"I know what you think. He different now. Shingetsu... New Moon? He human at the new moon. He hanyo, half-yokai." she said, as if this explained anything. Harry hadn't understood anything she had said.

"What is a yokai?" he asked. Kagome blushed again — of course she didn't know how to explain it to him. Harry bit his lip. He didn't want to give her trouble, but he wanted to understand. In the mean time, Inuyasha was glaring at him, getting angrier but the moment. Strangely enough, though he couldn't see or hear Harry, but he seemed to know EXACTLY where Harry's face was.

"Well. Yokai is being of here, has magic powers. He has long life and he can change into an animal," explained Kagome.

A wizard? Harry thought. If these are the Wizards from the Orient, they are strange indeed, he thought to himself. They have dog ears. He laughed — Aunt Petunia would scream in horror.

"Laugh? I know I no good say it. Yokai are no human. Yokai are... how to say... spirits? No... ghosts? No-no-no, they no dead. Demons? No, not all of them evil... but some are. Yes, demons," she decided.

So they're not Wizards, but demons? I've never thought a demon could be good, Harry thought. These yokai could they be one of the various magical creatures he didn't know yet? Harry bit his lip again — Hermione would know, Kagome wouldn't have to explain anything to her. He made a promise to himself to spend more time studying that year. However, he still wasn't sure... what a half-yokai was? He decided to ask Kagome, she smiled.

"Hanyo is son of demon and human. Inuyasha no okasan... I mean, mother of Inuyasha was human. Father was demon. He half-demon, one time every month he human." Inuyasha said something which, once again, annoyed Kagome. She glared at her companion and said, "He no happy I tell you. Shingetsu... new moon is secret. Nobody must to know."

"I see," said Harry, amazed.

"No, you no see... I mean, you do not understand. You do not know what it mean. He magic power. This night he do not have, so he is in danger. He can not defend himself."

"I do understand. I'm in a similar situation," Harry said quite sure that it was true. He couldn't defend himself that night — he didn't have his wand with him. If he was visible and a... yokai would attack him... what would he do? He finally understood why the boy was glaring at him so much. "Tell your friend that I shan't tell anyone his secret. I swear. Besides, if you're the only one who can hear me, or understand me, I won't be able to tell his secret anyway. Even willingly." Kagome gave Harry a nod and told Inuyasha what he had said. The red-dressed boy seemed to relax.

The small thing with the tail — Shippochan — drew near the point where Harry was standing up and said something. The older boy with the pig tail seemed to agree and said laughing what sounded to be a joke. But the beautiful girl, Sangochan, didn't agree. Well, at least Harry thought she didn't because she stomped a loud slap onto the pigtailed boy's face.

"You have to forgive Mirokusama. He hoshi... priest. But he hentai. Perverted. He joke always but Sangochan do not like he jokes." A PRIEST? Perverted? Harry's eyes widened in shock — this world was strange, indeed!

"What did he say?" he asked, curiously. If it was a joke, he wanted to laugh as well.

"Hum... Shippochan say not nice you stand up. Mirokusama say it right, he can take Sangochan on lap so you sit down. But Sangochan not agree — if she sit there he touch her bottom-" both girls blushed. Harry sympathized with Sangochan. It shouldn't be THAT nice, after all, to have someone touch your butt. The boy called Inuyasha said something and, for once, Kagome didn't glare at him.

"Inuyasha say you can sit down like him, crossed legs," she said.

Good idea, Harry thought. The group followed his moves by staring at his feet as he approached them. Inuyasha waited until he drew near and then moved his body to allow him some empty space. Harry sat down and thanked Shippochan — he was really feeling tired. Besides, this new position had an unexpected benefit; finally Kagome wasn't staring at his feet. She had trusted what he said about being as tall as Inuyasha, and was now looking up into his eyes.

The half-demon asked something which, once again, didn't annoy Kagome. "He say now you sit down, who you are and why you are here."

Good question, Harry thought, I'd like to know it as well, but said "As I told you I'm Harry. I'm English I live in the Surrey — a place near London." And then he added, "I'm a wizard."

"A wizard? You pull rabbits out of hats?" Kagome asked. Harry laughed like a child.

"No... I don't pull them out!" he couldn't stop laughing. He knew it was rude but he couldn't help. "But I can read a crystal ball, if you want—" he continued sniggering, he couldn't help it. He waited while Kagome explained what he had said to the others, then Mirokusama asked a question. Kagome turned once again in his direction.

"Mirokusama wants to know why you are here."

"I'd like to know as well. I'd love to tell him if I knew," Harry said. Kagome stared at him, puzzled. That is... Kagome stared at the tree, which was staying right behind him. "I mean, I don't know why I am here. I feel a pain in my scar, my sight mists, I feel hot and I find myself here..." explained Harry. Kagome asked him about his scar and Harry told her about his life, Voldemort, and Hogwarts. He told her everything he could think about.

At first Harry felt it strange saying Voldemort's name and not having the people around him gasping in fear. But then he realized that these people didn't know who the Dark Lord was — in the same way that he did. They couldn't be scared of someone they never met. Kagome tried to describe to Mirokusama what Harry was saying. When she had stopped speaking, the priest closed his eyes and pondered for a long moment before replying.

"Mirokusama say that this Bodemoto powerful. Is Yokai?" Kagome asked. Harry's eyes widened when she spoke Voldemort's name. He decided that he preferred Bodemoto to You-Know-Who and it was less terrifying.

"No, he's not a yokai. I mean... maybe somehow he is one — he's evil, very evil, and powerful. Everyone refers to him as 'You-Know-Who', because they're too afraid to say his name." Kagome translated and Mirokusama said something in return.

"He say that not good no tell name. Much worst for fear." Harry nodded and looked at the priest respectfully for the first time. Even if he was an 'hentai' as Kagome said, he was really wise and worthy of respect. Dumbledore had said the same thing, after all.

"Yeah, but how do you explain it to people who stare at you as though you murdered someone in front of them when you say his name..." he thought aloud. Kagome stared at the tree behind him, puzzled. "Err... I guess you don't understand. Don't worry, it wasn't important at all," he said, feeling sick. Harry moaned in pain — his scar had begun to hurt again.

"Nani? What is happening to you, Hali-san?" asked Kagome concerned.

"The scar..." Harry said between the moans. He noticed that his sight had misted again and he felt a voice calling him in the distance.

"Harry? Harry?" It sounded like Hermione's voice. But it couldn't be, thought Harry Hermione isn't at Privet Drive! He hugged his clothes, rubbed his eyes, and tried to not vomit. He didn't want to, but he had fallen forward and he had landed on the red-dressed boy, Inuyasha. Harry heard him yelling — probably cursing at him, but he couldn't help it, he was in too much pain.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw himself lying on the familiar floor of his bedroom, in Privet Drive. He was back... he couldn't believe it! Still stunned, he sat up and put a hand to his scar, which no longer hurt.

"Harry, are you alright?" asked a voice behind him. Harry gulped and turned around quickly to find Hermione standing there. She had sat down next to him, had red eyes, a pink face and tears rolling down her cheeks. Hermione had been very worried about him. "You had me scared to death. For almost an hour you lie there, clutching your scar and screaming in pain. I didn't know what to do!" she hugged him, relieved and Harry blushed to the roots of his hair — he hadn't expect it!

"He-Hermione! What are you doing here?" he stammered, still stunned. She glanced at him and chuckled, noticing his embarrassment.

"Well... since I FORGOT to wish you a happy birthday in my letter... I decided to come here and say it directly," she said, smiling. Harry felt stupid for having doubted her.

That's why her letter was so much mysterious. Hermione must have spent a lot of time persuading her parents to come here, he thought and then he said, "How could you come upstairs? Uncle Vernon, Aunt Marge..."

"Dad and mum are downstairs with them. I heard you screaming, and I immediately ran up here. What happened?" she asked her expression changing from amusement to concern. She was biting her lip — Harry never noticed this tic of hers before, she must be really worried.

"Well, I was writing a letter to Ron," he said and then stopped, blushing his eyes widening. He remembered well what he had written in his letter! His heart sank, he didn't want Hermione to read that letter now. But her face told him that she already knew.

"Yes, I've read it. Your last phrase has the tenses messed up. 'I'm going to tell you everything when we'll meet at Diagon Alley. When will you go there—?' she said aloud, glaring at him. Harry blushed — Hermione DID read... damn!

"I'm sorry for what I wrote there. I didn't know that you—" he said feeling guilty, but she shook her head, smiling.

"It was a surprise. I knew what the reaction would be to my letter." She glanced at him, amused. "I know very well that you like it when people wish you a Happy Birthday." she was joking with him and Harry knew it. His face turned pink and he smiled. At least she wasn't worried any more and this was good. "Besides, I think you must eat this."

"Huh?" Harry stared at what Hermione had just put in his hands. "Is this my present?" he asked.

"No, silly boy... it's a chocolate bar. Don't you see, you're shaking?" she replied frowning. Harry smiled as he noticed she was right, he was shaking. He bit into the bar and felt the warmth flow through his veins — he loved that feeling! He moaned for the joy.

"What happened? I read that you felt sick even this morning. I'm sorry that I peeked at your letter, but I was worried and I needed to know." Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. Harry explained to her what had happened.

"Hali-san! Cool! Maybe we should call you that as well!" she said, giggling. Hermione was teasing him, once again — Harry glared at her.

"I don't understand why that -san in the end of the name—", puzzled Harry. Of course Hermione had read some books about Japanese culture and she told him that not only the -san, but also the -sama and the -chan were suffix which Japanese people used to show their relationship with the others.

"The girl was telling you that she respects a lot that Miroku and thinks that the girl and the little being with the tail as close friends," said Hermione finishing her small lesson. Harry stared at her in disbelief — Hermione really did know everything! "Next time you go back there, Harry — and don't look at me like that. Of course it wasn't a dream, you really went there! So, next time you go there, try to use the Understanding Charm."

"Understanding Charm?" asked Harry amazed. He KNEW it! He was SURE that Hermione was aware of a handling charm he may use to be understood! "I didn't know it existed and, anyway, I couldn't do magic there."

"Why?" Hermione asked and Harry explained that he didn't have his wand with him — Uncle Vernon hid it in the cupboard under the stairs, together with his books.

"Next time you won't have that problem, since you're going with us," said Hermione. Harry's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm leaving?" he asked excitedly. He wouldn't have to spend his birthday succumbing to Aunt Marge's will, after all.

"Yes. I got an owl from Professor Dumbledore some days ago. It was almost the same moment I got your letter. He asked me to come here to pick you up, we're going to meet with Sirius. I spent the few last days begging my parents for permission."

"Sirius? That's why he's at Mrs. Figg's..." all the mosaic's cards were falling into place. Maybe he shan't have a bad birthday, after all...