Amulet of time 1: The Age of The Founders

Chapter 1: The Weasleys

Like all previous years Harry's birthday went by unacknowledged by the Dursleys. Harry found himself spending the day doing his huge list of chores, which included weeding the garden for the third time that week. After his customary grapefruit quarter (Dudley was still on a diet) he slumped off to his room to finish his potions essay. He only had another two and a half days before he would be going to the Weasleys. He couldn't help but wonder how they would be picking him up, though. Being a wizarding family, they never arrived in what the Dursleys would class as a 'normal' manner. Last year they had picked him up by Floo, blowing up the living room wall in the process. Harry had a feeling they wouldn't be doing that again in a hurry. It wasn't as if he could be picked up by car either, as he and Ron had managed to wreck Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia in their second year. That pretty much left apparition and portkey. Harry wasn't keen on either option. He didn't know how to apparate yet, and a portkey would bring back bad memories of the Triwizard Tournament.

After finishing his essay ('Name and explain the twelve uses of dragon's blood') Harry decided to get some sleep. The dream from last night had taken a lot out of him, and he knew he would have to be up early in the morning to cook the breakfast and paint the garage door. Rolling over, he fell into a peaceful sleep and dreamed of flying Ford Anglias.

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August 3rd arrived relatively quickly, and Harry was relieved to finally be leaving the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon hadn't been too pleased when Harry had told him the Weasleys were coming. He had flat out refused to allow them to come until Harry brought up Sirius. Sirius was Harry's secret weapon. He had never told the Dursleys that he was actually innocent, so they were still afraid of having an escaped murderer turn up on their doorstep. If they ever tried to stop Harry from seeing his friends or going to school he would threaten to tell Sirius he was being mistreated. Uncle Vernon, upon hearing 'that murderous lunatic' mentioned, agreed to let Harry go with the Weasleys, providing he left quickly and discreetly.

At 11:45 Harry was sitting on his trunk by the front door. His aunt and uncle were in the living room, discreetly looking out of the window every few minutes. Dudley had refused to go anywhere near the Weasleys after the Ton Tongue Toffee incident last year and was currently locked away in his room. Harry was thankful for this. Normally Dudley would be taking this opportunity to give Harry a last beating before he left. Dudley had been particularly afraid of Harry this year, though, and had left him more or less alone.

Twelve o'clock rolled by and there was no sign of the Weasleys. By five past the Dursleys were getting restless. Harry could hear his uncle muttering about 'inconsiderate freaks'. At ten past twelve Harry was getting a little concerned. The Weasleys were often a little late, but never this late. The hall clock tolled 12:15 and there was a sudden knocking on the door. Harry, being in front of it, opened the door before his uncle had a chance to get there first. There on the step was Ron Weasley. He had grown in the short time since Harry had last seen him. Harry grinned at his friend, and grabbed one handle of his trunk while Ron grabbed the other. It was at that moment that Uncle Vernon came storming out of the living room.

"Are all of you freaks this inconsiderate? We have better things to do than stay at home all day because you aren't courteous enough to turn up on time," he bellowed as the two teenagers were going out of the door. Ron gave him a funny look before turning to Harry.

"Where does he get off calling us freaks? Come on Harry, you don't want to stay here any longer than you have to."

But Harry was still trying to figure out where they were going. Ron was apparently alone, and there was no sign of any form of Muggle transportation.