Harry Potter and the Ball of Fire

Chapter 1

Good Things

Harry Potter woke up with his scar aching. He dreamed about Voldemort killing his parents once again. It was a very vivid dream. He got on his feet and walked sleepily to the mirror. His face in the mirror was staring back. His hands were clutching his scar. Harry wasn't what you would call a normal boy. He was very skinny. He had untidy jet black hair and green eyes. Most of all, what makes him even more abnormal, was a scar on his forehead shaped like a bolt of lightning. He was famous, because of this scar. He was famous for defeating the Dark Lord. When he was just one year old, a deadly curse hit him, giving him his scar. Voldemort killed his parents and also wanted to kill him, but he couldn't. Voldemort then vanished. But last year, in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he came back with all his powers.

Harry looked at his repaired alarm clock. It was four in the morning. For four hours already, he had been fifteen years old. Then, he heard a tapping noise behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw three owls. He rushed over to open his window. They all flew in. He recognized one as his owl, Hedwig. Hedwig went in her cage and drank some water after dropping a letter on Harry's bed. Another owl dropped a letter and left. The third dropped a parcel on his bed and left also. When he was opening the letter Hedwig left for him, a piece of parchment fell out. He picked it up and read:

Harry,

Happy Birthday! Something very, very exciting happened to me. Professor McGonagall named me Prefect! I am so happy! I hope I can be Head Girl... Did you know that O.W.L.s are going to take place this year? I bought all the books I think will be useful for O.W.L.s! I memorized most of them already. I want to tell you that Ron is planning something VERY special for your birthday. I know you never received something like this. But I'm not telling you what it is. I won't let Hedwig send a present for you, but you will have lots more. Trust me, it's going to be really special. The Weasley's took a long time preparing for this.

I'll see you sooner than you think,

Hermione

Harry wondered what it could be. There was no surprise that Hermione became a Prefect. She knows almost everything! He's happy for her, but he didn't want to hear about the O.W.L.s. Then, Pigwidgeon--Ron's owl--flew in the room. It fainted on Harry's floor. Harry scooped the tiny owl up and put it in Hedwig's cage. She moved away a little. He opened the letter Pig was carrying. It was from Ron:

Harry,

Happy Birthday! We have a surprise for you. We are going to pick you up today at nine. Okay? Even if you can't, we are going to pick you up anyway. Just wait outside the house, because I don't think your uncle and aunt were very happy of our entrance last year. Also, someone special will come... I'm not telling you who.

See you at nine!

Ron

He was so curious he could hardly contain himself. Pig seemed fully recovered and flew away. He opened the parcel. A note from Hagrid fell out:

Happy Birthday Harry! See you at school!

Hagrid

He opened the present and saw sweets. All the sweets that the lady in the cart of Hogwarts Express could carry! Surprisingly, there were none of Hagrid's usual rock cakes! He hid it under the floorboard. Harry laid back on his bed and fell asleep with knowing it.

*****

Harry woke up at 7 in the morning. He stretched and got up. He put on Dudley's old sweater and his ripped old jeans that were about 7 sizes too big. He walked down the stairs into the kitchen, to find Uncle Vernon and Dudley sitting around the table. Dudley was fatter than ever. He didn't lose a pound. In fact, he was getting fatter! Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon gave up the diet, because it was no use. Mrs. Dursley was serving the bacon. She gave Dudley a huge pile on his plate and seeing Harry come, she put two on supposedly Harry's plate. Harry didn't mind, remembering the treats that Hagrid gave him.

Harry remembered the invitation from Ron. He had to ask the Dursleys.

"Um," Harry hesitated. "Uncle Vernon?"

"What?" he said coolly.

"Can I go to my friend Ron's house?" he asked.

"The family that busted our fireplace?" he asked even cooler.

"Yeah..." Harry said. "But they told me to wait outside this time."

"You can go and you don't have to come back ever again."

"Why not?"

"None of your business! And don't ask questions!"

Dudley snickered. Harry went back to his plate silently. He ate his two pieces of bacon quickly so that he can pack up. After he finished, he rushed back to his room. He took out all the magic books from his hiding place and put it in his battered suitcase. Then, he heard Dudley yell.

"I SAID I WANT MORE BACON!"

"We ran out, sweetums," Aunt Petunia tried to explain.

"I DON'T CARE! BUY ME SOME!" Dudley yelled.

"Oh I just remembered! We just have some more in the fridge! Let me get it," Mrs. Dursley said.

Dudley seemed to have quieted down. After a few minutes, Harry heard very loud footsteps that went to the room next door. Dudley went back in his room. Harry left and walked back to the kitchen, but heard Uncle Vernon's voice. He decided to listen.

"Petunia," he said. "We have to get rid of the boy."

"That's great," Aunt Petunia said. "But how about the money problems?"

Uncle Vernon's voice was so soft, Harry had to move closer to hear what they were saying.

"Grunnings is not going very well. The Tools Co. is beating us and the stock market isn't favoring us," Mr. Dursley said.

"Vernon," Mrs. Dursley said. "How are we going to tell Duddykins?"

"We just have to pretend nothing's happened."

"He's going find out sooner or later," Aunt Petunia said worriedly.

"We can't tell him. I'll tell the boy that he can stay at his friend's house forever if he wants."

At these words, Uncle Vernon came out of the kitchen. He saw Harry there and his face turned scarlet as fast as the speed of light.

"YOU! BOY!" he yelled, spraying Harry with spit. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING? SPYING?!?"

"I--"Harry started, but was interrupted by Uncle Vernon.

"Take--your--stuff--and--get--out--of--this--house!" Uncle Vernon said slowly but menacingly.

Harry went back to his room and took his large trunk and Hedwig. He looked at his clock, and saw that it was eight thirty. He made a lot of noise descending the stairs. He passed the living room, in which Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were watching television without noticing him. Or at least, not paying attention to him.

"Well," he said. "This is it. I'm leaving you forever."

Uncle Vernon grunted.

"Then," Harry said. "Bye!"

This time, there was nothing. Uncle Vernon completely ignored him. Harry went outside the house. Now, he doesn't have to come back anymore. He felt very happy. It was only eight forty, so he sat on the porch, waiting for the Weasleys. He was getting bored after five minutes, so he opened his trunk and took out the book that he received from Ron. He had read it about six times already. He flipped through the pages of Flying With the Cannons. He didn't realize the time flying by. After fifteen minutes, he felt it was not more than fifteen seconds, Mr. Weasley appeared in front of him with a small pop.

"Ready Harry?" he asked, making him jump.

"Hi Mr. Weasley!" Harry exclaimed. "Just a second."

He put his book back into his trunk.

"Wait..." he said. "How are we going to get back to the Burrow?"

"We can Apparate there," Mr. Weasley answered.

"But how? I don't know how to Apparate," Harry said worriedly.

"Not a problem," Mr. Weasley smiled. "I got special permission from the Ministry to give you the Appavice. It's an object that give Apparating ability to those who can't for half an hour."

Mr. Weasley showed Harry a pair of socks.

"This is the Appavice. All you have to do is close your eyes and say Apparado."

Harry took the socks in Mr. Weasley's hand. He did what was instructed. He was somehow thrown into a swirl and with a soft thump, he was sitting in front of a familiar house. He was back to the Burrow and this time, not returning to Privet Drive after the school year.

Chapter 2

Bad Things

Mr. Weasley appeared behind him. Ron was running toward him with Hermione keeping up behind. Mrs. Weasley stood on the porch waving and smiling. Harry waved back. His best friends stopped in front of him. They were both excited.

"Harry," Ron said. "This is going to be your best birthday ever!"

"Happy Birthday!" Hermione said.

"Thanks," Harry said.

They each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him toward the door. They stopped in front of the door.

"Ready Harry?" Ron asked.

"Sure," Harry said.

Hermione opened the door. The moment he stepped in the house, he was so shocked, he almost fell.

"SURPRISE!" a group of people yelled.

Harry stood there, dumbfounded. All his friends and the Weasley family were there. He looked around, seeing Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and even Neville Longbottom! Ginny Weasley was there, along with Fred and George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley! Harry was speechless. When he finally remembered how to talk, he asked Ron:

"Who is this special person?"

"Here she comes right now," came Ron's reply.

There, was his crush for about three years, walking to him shyly. She was the prettiest girl (in Harry's opinion) at Hogwarts. It was Cho Chang.

"Cho!" he called extremely surprised.

"Hi, Harry," she said.

He turned to Ron and Hermione.

"This is all for me?" he asked.

"Of course!" Hermione replied. "It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"This is the best birthday I ever had!" Harry said excitedly. "I've never had a party before."

"There will be lots of activities today," Ron said.

"Where did you get the money?" Harry asked.

"Fred and George," Ron said.

Harry remembered giving Fred and George a thousand Galleons last year by winning the Triwizard Tournament. He gave it to them, because they wanted to open a joke shop! He never thought that the money will be spent on him.

"Who wants snacks?" Mrs. Weasley called out and loud cheers followed.

The guests all went into the kitchen. Harry went with them. There, on the table, were snacks and sweets of all kind. There were even a few dishes that had breakfast meals in them, in case some guests didn't get the chance to eat breakfast. They helped themselves with food, and chatted with other people. Hermione walked toward Cho and Ginny. But Ron stayed with Harry.

"What activities do you have?" Harry asked.

"We have Quidditch, Treasure Hunt, Water Bombs, other competitive games, dance, shows and more," Ron said.

"You planned a lot," Harry remarked.

"Yes," Ron said.

"Wait here, I have to talk to Fred and George about something," Harry said and he left.

Fred and George were playing with the sausages. Harry walked toward them.

"Fred, George," he said.

"Oh!" Fred exclaimed. "It's Birthday Boy! What do you want?"

"Ron told me that you guys paid for this party," Harry said. "Is this true?"

"Yeah!" George said.

"Was it the thousand Galleons I gave you?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it was," George answered.

"What about your joke shop?" Harry said.

"We opened our shop, already," Fred answered.

"Old Man Bags lend us some money," George said.

"He thought our pranks were good," Fred said.

"But how are you going to pay him back?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"By given him one of every invention," Fred replied.

"Okay," Harry said.

"And Happy Birthday!" they called out as Harry turned his back.

"Thanks!" he said.

He walked back to Ron, feeling light-hearted. On his way to seeing Ron, he passed other people that all wished him a happy birthday. Ron, was right, it will definitely be the best birthday ever. There was no doubt. And--Harry thought even more happily--he didn't even get to the good part yet!

*****

"May I get your attention, please?" Mrs. Weasley shouted over the crowd and the noise.

Everyone stopped talking to look at Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you," she said. "Today, is Harry's birthday, as you all know. He is turning 15 like many of you. Maybe Harry wants to say a few words to us?"

At these words, Mrs. Weasley waved Harry to come where she is. He shook his head, but Mrs. Weasley insisted. He walked toward where she was standing. Not sure what to say, he just told his guests that he appreciated them coming to the party. Fred and George cheered for him, yelling "your speech is way too long!" and everyone laughed. Then, Mrs. Weasley started talking again.

"There will be many activities today. First we will have a treasure hunt. You will have to find keys. You have to find them in order and they have numbers on them. Next to the keys, there will be clues to direct you to the next key. There will be two teams. Each will have different routes, but your destination will be the same. Which ever group gets to the treasure, wins the game and comes back to the house. If you hear a horn blowing, that means the game is over. I will now tell you your team members. Group A members are: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cho, Fred, and George. Group B members are: Neville, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Dean, Seamus, and Percy. You may give yourselves a name."

Groups A and B gathered together. Harry joined the rest of group A.

"Harry," Fred said. "You are birthday boy, give us a name."

"I don't know..." Harry said.

"Come on," Cho said.

"All right," Harry said. "How about the Phoenixes."

"Sounds great," Ron said.

"Are you ready?" Mrs. Weasley asked everyone.

"Yes!" the rest of the people shouted.

"Group A," Mrs. Weasley said. "What is your name?"

"The Phoenixes," Harry answered.

"And group B?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"We are the Lions," Ginny said. "The Gryffindor Lions precisely."

"Now, Mr. Weasley will give you the clues for the first key," Mrs. Weasley said and Mr. Weasley stepped forward.

"Clue for the Phoenixes is:

Where the apples grow,

Where they are in a row,

Grab a big red apple,

And the key also.

And the Clue for the Lions is:

Blue, Violet, Red,

These may be colored.

The keys are there,

And another clue discovered.

Everything should be kept confidential from the other group. And you must stay in your own group and do the best of your ability. The treasure hunt will be open in... 3--2--1--Go!"

The two groups started out with noise. The treasure hunt went very smoothly. They were stuck on one riddle, but soon Hermione figured it out and they moved on. After approximately an hour of treasure hunting, they finally arrived at the spot where the treasure was supposedly hidden. What they found was a big wooden chest. They opened it and saw that inside were... sweets of every kind! They were so delighted. They took the chest back to the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley blew the horn and Harry's group--the Phoenixes--won!

*****

After the treasure hunt, they played Quidditch. The Weasley twins bought real Quidditch balls. It seems that he told everyone to bring their own broomsticks. They all did, except for Neville, because his Gram didn't allow him to do so. Knowing how unlucky and forgetful he is, no wonder why she refused! But Neville still had a chance to be a referee and commentator. Harry brought out his Firebolt. He was the Seeker as usual. Fred and George were Beaters, of course, on Harry's team. Ron was the Keeper. Hermione and Bill were Chasers. Since there was one person short in the team, Mr. Weasley became the other Chaser. Charlie, Ginny, and Percy were Chasers on the other team. Seamus and Dean were the Beaters. Mrs. Weasley was the Keeper. Cho was the Seeker. The game went very well. The way Neville was commentating, you felt that the game was even more exciting.

"And Hermione snatches the Quaffle from Percy! Watch out for that Bludger Dean sent! Looking good Hermione! Is she going to go for it? No! She passed the Quaffle to Mr. Weasley. He has been intercepted by Charlie. But Hermione gets the Quaffle again! She passes it to Bill and he SCORES!"

Harry found himself cheering with the rest of his teammates. The game went on again as Harry flew high above the other players with Cho following him closely.

"Wanna race?" Cho smiled. "I got a new broom."

"You're on!" Harry smiled back. "Go around the backyard?"

"Sure," Cho said. "May the best win!"

She took off already. Harry zoomed behind.

"Hey!" Harry shouted. "No fair!"

Cho was giggling. Seeing that Harry was almost even with her, she put more speed on the broomstick. Harry was making an effort to keep up. And finally, they were even. The finish zone was coming closer, and closer, but the two were still even. They were now only a foot away, and Harry got there just a hair faster.

"Well done," Cho said. "The best won!"

"Is that the Snitch?" Harry pointed in front, seeing a little golden dot.

"It is," Cho responded.

Harry looked at the score board, seeing it was 60 to 50 in favor of Harry's team.

"You can get the Snitch," Harry said.

"No," Cho said firmly. "We are going to race for it."

"All right," Harry said.

They flew there together. They both reached, but Harry caught the Snitch, winning the game at 210 to 50. Harry's team cheered for him and the other team came to congratulate them. They got off their broomsticks and went back to the house.

The rest of the day was also very cheerful. They had a water bomb war, which was a lot of fun. Everyone was wet from head to toe. They dried themselves off with towels and changed their clothes. Then, they watched a show, performed by the guests and the Weasleys for Harry. Most of them did skits and they were very funny. Then, they had a dance, in which Harry's partner was Cho. She was an absolutely great dancer. After, they played wizard chess. The Weasley Tournament, at least that's what Ron called it. Ron eventually won the tournament. Harry lost the second round to Seamus.

After the tournament, it was time for dinner. Mrs. Weasley cooked delicious food. There was chicken, pork chops, steaks, salads, sausages, garlic bread, seafood, and more. For dessert, they had chocolate pudding and a birthday cake for Harry. After dinner, the guests left, except for Harry and Hermione. Soon Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to bed. Harry fell asleep immediately.

He had a very alarming dream, perhaps the quantity of food was the cause. Harry dreamed that a black hooded shape walked on the sidewalk of Privet Drive. He stopped at number Four and peered in. Not finding what he came here to search, he hissed: "Harry Potter...". Then, the shape vanished and Dumbledore was standing there. He said: "Harry, you must find the Ball of Fire and destroy it!" Then the whole scene vanished as Harry awakened.

He got up and walked to the window. And opened it. He looked down, expecting to see the hooded shape, but instead, he only saw a tiny gnome running into the gnome hole. He closed the window and went in the covers again, still thinking about his strange dream. What could the Ball of Fire be? Why destroy it? Forcing himself to stop thinking about that, he fell into an uneasy and dreamless sleep.

*****

Harry's rest of the summer went well, except for the fact that he can't sleep without dreaming about the same hooded figure and Dumbledore suddenly appearing. The only change was that Dumbledore's warning became more and more persistent, which was not something comforting. Harry still didn't find out what the Ball of Fire was. He asked Hermione if she knew, but she said that she never heard of it. Hermione searched in her books, but did not find anything. Harry wanted to give up, but an uncanny sense of urgency always stops him. He even asked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley casually as they were shopping for school supplies at Diagon Alley. But they too, did not know.

Finally, the day arrived for them to go back to Hogwarts. Harry was full of ecstasy, for he was hoping that learning could take his mind off the Ball of Fire. It was September 1^st, and he was ready to go. The Weasleys took them to King's Cross. They went through the barrier and they boarded the Hogwarts Express.

On the train, Harry told his friends all about the dream. Ron and Hermione had their own opinion.

"Maybe the Ball of Fire is something You-Know-Who wants!" Ron said.

"Maybe there is no Ball of Fire," Hermione suggested.

"You do know that Harry's dreams almost always seem to come true?" Ron remarked.

"It might not be the case this time," Hermione said.

"Someone's after Harry, that's for sure," Ron said.

"Stop saying that! Harry doesn't need anymore pressure!" Hermione said.

"But you know that it is true," Ron said.

"Come on Ron, You-Know-Who isn't going to come to Hogwarts in any shape or form!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"He fears Dumbledore!"

"He no longer fears Dumbledore, if he has his powers!"

"But that still doesn't mean he's going to attack Harry right in front of Dumbledore!"

"You guys, stop that!" Harry interrupted their argument. "He's not going to attack me until Dumbledore leaves the school."

"You're right..." admits Ron. "But we still have to be cautious!"

"Of course!" Harry said.

That's when the three of them heard a snicker that seemed to come from the compartment across Harry's. Their door was closed, but you could still see the profile of the snickerer. It was Draco Malfoy. The door from the other compartment slid open, and the face of Malfoy appeared. He came to Harry's compartment and stood at the door sill with Crabbe and Goyle, behind him.

"Look! It's Potty and Weasel with their Mudblood friend!" Draco snickered again.

"Go away Malfoy!" Harry said.

"Or else what?" Malfoy smirked his trademark smirk.

"We'll..." Ron was cut off by a loud thunder and the light flickered and died.

The train screeched and stopped abruptly, making Malfoy fall on his face on the floor with Crabbe and Goyle crushing him on top. Just as they were getting up, the train shook violently. As a result, it cast them to the wall. Malfoy hit his head hard against the wall and was knocked unconscious. Crabbe and Goyle stared at Malfoy stupidly. People were screaming in the train. Harry wished that it wasn't the Dementors again. He closed his eyes, awaiting the coldness to fill their compartment. Instead, an overwhelming wave of rot rushed in. Harry opened his eyes, and covered his nose with his T-shirt. With a loud thump, something fell on the roof. You could hear something sliding down, and somehow entering the hallway. The stench was unbearable. Everyone became quiet. The lights flickered back on.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Crabbe and Goyle went to see what was happened. Outside the doorway was a human corpse! Hermione screamed. It was of an old man with gray hair and beard. Someone ran through the hallway screaming and accidentally stepped on the old man's arm and the flesh ripped off the milky white bone and fell on the floor. Hermione screamed again and fainted, and luckily was caught by Ron. The man's death was not long ago, although it was not recent. Harry couldn't figure out what that means. Crabbe and Goyle dragged Malfoy's unconscious body to their own compartment and slid the door closed. Harry slid his door closed, too.

Harry looked outside the window, expecting to see heavy rainfall. But there was not a single drop of rain. Then where did the thunder come from? Harry didn't feel a lightning streak across the thick air outside the window. He stood up to close the window. He stopped suddenly. He moved closer to the window to see better. A swift shadow seemed to have run into the tall grasses of the plains. It stopped suddenly and turned. It seemed to be staring at Harry's direction. He felt a sharp pain increasing rapidly at his forehead. His scar was burning. He grimaced in pain and clutched his scar and turned away from the window. The pain left slowly. He looked back. The shadow disappeared. Harry closed the window and sat down.

Ron was fanning Hermione. What happened? Harry wondered.